Quick Summary: Creatine Timing
Wondering when to take creatine for the best results? Here’s the bottom line:
Creatine Before a Workout: Provides performance benefits in strength, power, and muscle growth.
Creatine After a Workout: Provides performance benefits in strength, power, and muscle growth.
Creatine Timing Overall: Matters less than taking it consistently every day.
Dosing: Best results come from 5 grams daily, even on rest days.
Stacking with carbs or protein can help support optimal absorption and results.
The Bottom Line: Take creatine when it fits your routine best. Consistency is what really counts.
If you’ve been training for any length of time, chances are you’ve heard people talk about creatine. Some swear by it. Others think it’s overrated.
So, who’s right?!
Well … It’s definitely not overrated, and there’s a lot of research to back it up. Actually, creatine is one of the most well-researched and effective supplements you can take (1).
When people first start taking creatine, they usually wonder, “Should I take creatine before or after my workout?” It’s a valid question because people do it both ways.
Not only is there confusion about when to take creatine, but also how much to take, and whether it’s safe. It is safe, but I’ll get to that.
I have personally experimented with taking creatine before workouts and taking creatine after workouts. For me, I didn't notice any differences. I do, however, notice a big difference when I take creatine consistently. This makes sense, too, because timing isn’t nearly as important as just taking it every day.
So, let’s break this all down. I’m going to cover what creatine is, when to take it, and how to use it to get the best results possible.
In This Article:
• What Is Creatine?
• How Creatine Works in the Body
• Different Forms of Creatine
• Is It Better to Take Creatine Before a Workout?
• Is Creatine More Effective After a Workout?
• Does Timing Really Matter?
• How Much Creatine Should You Take?
• Should You Take Creatine on Rest Days?
• Frequently Asked Questions About Creatine Timing
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a compound our bodies make from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. This happens mostly in your liver, kidneys, and pancreas. We also get creatine from foods like red meat and fish (2).
Inside your body, creatine is stored in muscle as phosphocreatine. Its main job is helping us recycle and produce energy more quickly. This isn't "energy" in terms of being awake and mentally alert, though. Creatine helps replenish ATP, which is used in explosive movements and periods of maximal effort.
This is why creatine supplements are so popular among athletes and lifters. More energy helps us produce more force with more speed. Not only that, but creatine is safe to take for pretty much everyone (3).
How Creatine Works in the Body
Your muscles use a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy. The problem is, when we exercise, we use a lot of ATP quickly. This all happens within seconds.
This is where creatine comes in. Supplementing with creatine can help muscles recycle ATP more efficiently, which can lead to:
• More strength and power
• Better performance in sprints or heavy lifts
• More energy early on in each set
Research shows that consistent creatine supplementation can improve strength, lean mass, and exercise performance (4). Most of these studies are done with creatine monohydrate, but there are other forms out there, too.
Different Forms of Creatine
There are actually a lot of different types of creatine on the market today. The most popular ones include:
• Creatine Monohydrate
• Creatine HCl
• Creatine Ethyl Ester
Creatine monohydrate is the first form of creatine released to the market. After that, companies wanted to come out with “hot” new forms of creatine to market.
The thing is, no type of creatine has consistently been shown to perform any better than creatine monohydrate (8). It’s also the most cost-effective form of creatine.
So while you can take whatever form you choose, I’d consider creatine monohydrate to be a no-brainer.
Is It Better to Take Creatine Before a Workout?
The idea behind taking creatine before a workout is to pre-fill your tank before training. Think of it like topping off your gas tank before taking a road trip.
If your muscles aren’t fully saturated with creatine before a workout, taking it pre-workout could be a good idea. It could make sure you’re primed and ready to perform for every workout.
Is it better to take creatine before a workout, though? Not necessarily.
Is Creatine More Effective After a Workout?
I wouldn’t say definitively that it’s more effective after a workout either. However, there are a few reasons people choose to take creatine after a workout.
One theory is that our muscles may absorb nutrients better after they’re depleted from training (5). While it may work in theory, it hasn’t been proven through research.
Another reason is to refill your tank after emptying it. Just like you don’t want your gas tank empty after a long trip. You might fill it back up after, so you have a full tank the next time you need it.
The last reason is that it may also be beneficial to take creatine with your post-workout shake. Pairing creatine with carbs and protein after training has been shown to support strength and muscle growth (6).
Taking carbs and protein after a workout is certainly beneficial. Throwing creatine in with it might make those benefits even greater.
Does Timing Really Matter?
Most research shows that whether you take it before or after exercise, the key is just to take it consistently (5). The timing aspect isn’t really of much concern.
In other words, the best time to take creatine is the time you’ll remember to take it every single day. As long as you take it, you’ll likely see the benefits from it. Whether that's before or after your workout doesn't matter.
How Much Creatine Should You Take?
A daily, 5-gram dose of creatine is the standard recommendation for most people (7). Others will choose to do a loading phase, which is also acceptable and looks something like this:
Loading Phase: 20 grams daily for the first 5-7 days, splitting it into 4, 5g servings.
Maintenance Phase: 5 grams daily to keep muscle creatine levels saturated.
Do you have to do a loading phase? No, you don’t, but there is a benefit.
If you’ve never taken creatine before, a loading phase can help saturate muscles faster. It may take 3-4 times as long to fill your muscles by starting a maintenance dose every day.
In the long run, though, both protocols will saturate your muscles with creatine. So really, it all comes down to how quickly you want to get there.
Should You Take Creatine on Rest Days?
Yes! Consistency is what can help keep your muscles saturated. Even on days you don’t train, it's still recommended to take 5 grams.
This ensures creatine builds up in your muscles over time and stays. Having high levels of creatine in your muscles is how it delivers results.
Now, missing a day here and there isn’t the end of the world. If you can always remember to take it, though, you’ll be setting yourself up for consistent progress.
Creatine Timing: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should I Take Creatine Before or After a Workout?
Both can work, but most evidence suggests consistency matters more than timing. Some studies show a slight advantage to taking it post-workout, but that’s not a sure thing.
There may be a benefit to taking it with protein and carbs, though. So if you take a post-workout shake with those two and creatine, you could see additional strength and size gains (6).
Q: Can I Take Creatine with Pre-Workout?
Yes. Many lifters stack creatine with pre-workout for convenience, especially since creatine is typically an unflavored powder. A lot of pre-workouts include creatine in their formula as well.
Q: Should I Take Creatine with Food?
Taking creatine with protein and carbs may improve absorption, but it isn’t required. Some studies also show benefits to strength and size gains when all taken together, so it’s not a bad idea. Personally, I take creatine in my post-workout shake, which is a combination of rapid-digesting carbs and protein. I'd stick to taking it with what works best for you.
Q: Does Creatine Work Immediately?
No, creatine doesn't "work" immediately. It takes a period of consistent use for your muscles to fully saturate. Once muscles are fully saturated, performance benefits can begin to show up. So make sure you take it consistently every day, and over time, you can start to notice the differences.
Final Thoughts on Creatine Timing
Whether you take creatine before or after training doesn’t matter too much. Taking creatine consistently matters way more than when you choose to take it.
Here is how I’d prioritize this in terms of importance:
1st Priority - Take 5 grams of creatine every day
2nd Priority - Take 5 grams of creatine with protein and carbs
The timing of when you take creatine matters very little in the grand scheme of things. As long as you take it every day, you can see the benefits over time.
Creatine can help support strength, muscle growth, and increased performance. There are also little to no downsides. The worst thing some people may notice is a slightly upset stomach, and that’s normally when exceeding the recommended 5-gram dose.
When it comes to choosing a type of creatine, I'd recommend creatine monohydrate. It's the cheapest, and it's proven effective.
If you're looking to give creatine a try, we offer a pure Micronized Creatine Monohydrate. It's an unflavored powder that I mix directly into my post-workout shake every time I train.
If you are planning to, or prefer to, take creatine before your workout ... we also offer pre-workout supplements like Project-1, Project-1 Pro, and Endura-Formance, all of which contain a full 5 gram serving of creatine monohydrate.
But regardless of when you decide to take creatine, remember that the best results don't come from timing. They come from consistency, hard work, and following the right plan.
I know we covered a lot today, so if you have any questions in the meantime ... don't hesitate to reach out to us. We have a full team of NASM Certified Personal Trainers and Nutrition Coaches right here in St. Louis, Missouri.
Just give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 or send us an email at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com. We're available Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 8 PM Central and Saturday & Sunday from 9 AM to 7 PM Central.
We'll be more than happy to help in any way we can!
References:
(1) Wax B, et al. Creatine for Exercise and Sports Performance, with Recovery Considerations for Healthy Populations. Nutrients. 2021;13(6):1915.
(2) Kaviani M, et al. Benefits of Creatine Supplementation for Vegetarians Compared to Omnivorous Athletes: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(9):3041.
(3) Kreider RB, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:18.
(4) Wu SH, et al. Creatine Supplementation for Muscle Growth: A Scoping Review of Randomized Clinical Trials from 2012 to 2021. Nutrients. 2022;14(6):1255.
(5) Ribeiro F, et al. Timing of Creatine Supplementation around Exercise: A Real Concern? Nutrients. 2021;13(8):2844.
(6) Cribb PJ, et al. A creatine-protein-carbohydrate supplement enhances responses to resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(11):1960-8.
(7) Antonio J, et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021;18(1):13.
(8) Fazio C, et al. Efficacy of Alternative Forms of Creatine Supplementation on Improving Performance and Body Composition in Healthy Subjects: A Systematic Review. J Strength Cond Res. 2022;36(9):2663-2670.
