What Happened When I Started Taking Creatine Every Day
Did I notice a difference when I started taking creatine every day? Yes. Keep reading to find out what.
You hear a lot about taking creatine–an amino acid located mostly in our brain and muscles where it’s used for energy –but I wanted to share my experience plus some usage tips and information. I started taking creatine every day at the beginning of the year as one of many tweaks I made to my training to finally get over the injury hump and start performing again.
My go-to registered sports dietitian Megan Robinson recommended, as a female runner over 40, taking creatine was a smart move. I was hesitant at first because I thought, isn’t creatine for bodybuilders?
But more research on my end made me see that creatine isn’t just beneficial for master’s runners but for lots of people (including the older population).
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My Experience with Creatine
In December, after feeling super sluggish on my runs, I started making changes to how I trained and nourished my body. Some changes included lowering my volume, intentionally lifting heavy twice a week, eating protein at every meal and snack, and prioritizing sleep. (You can see all my training tweaks here).
I also started taking 5 mg of Momentous creatine monohydrate, a tasteless white powder that dissolved in my water, each morning about 30 minutes before running alone with my breakfast of carbs and protein. Did I notice a difference? Yes. Did I see a difference? Also, yes.
The biggest immediate difference I noticed with taking creatine was less fatigue on my runs. I also stopped having days of brain fog—which was rare but still happened, especially during PMS.
About four months after taking creatine daily, I realized that my body was looking different.
At first, I was a little miffed because I realized I had gained weight. But then some pictures of me running made me realize I was more muscular (perhaps explaining the weight gain). Soon after this, I took a strength test and learned that I was considerably stronger—almost double in some regards since the last test just 4 months prior. This is thanks to the intentional lifting I was doing coupled with the consistent dosage of creatine.
I was taking creatine 30 minutes before my workouts as recommended by my RD but am now taking it afterwards in hopes of improving recovery and muscle composition. Robinson had recommended I take it before (with food—which is key for improving strength) as I was dealing with fatigue. (I may take it before key workouts if I feel like it is needed).
So, when should you take creatine before running? When should you take it after? Who should take creatine and how much? Let’s get to your essential creatine cheat sheet.
How to Take Creatine
How much creatine should you take?
In general, you will want to take 3-5 mg of creatine monohydrate every day. Some RDs will recommend a loading phase where you take about 25 mg of creatine a day for a week (depending on weight) to saturate the muscles and accelerate results. However, this can cause bloating, GI distress, and weight gain from water retention.
I went with the less GI-risky tact of 5 mg a day. It’s super easy to start this habit as the creatine is flavorless. I drink it in a little bit of water quickly before it settles in my cup.
Consistency is key to building creatine levels, so you want to take it even on rest days, Robinson points out.
When should you take creatine?
When you take creatine depends on your goals, says Robinson.
Benefits of Creatine Before a Workout
If you are wanting to boost performance, take 3-5 grams of creatine about 30 minutes before exercise.
Why? Creatine helps replenish ATP (adenosine triphosphate), your body’s primary energy carrier, allowing for more sustained energy during high-intensity exercises. Creatine may also help with strength, power, muscle endurance, and mental focus, and improve hydration by drawing water into the muscle cells.
Benefits of Taking Creatine After a Workout
Runners wanting to improve recovery should regularly take about 3-5 grams of creatine within a half hour after their run, or 0.3g per kilogram of body weight a day, according to the International Society of Sports Nutrition. (A kilogram is 2.2 pounds).
Why? Creatine can enhance glycogen replenishment, key for recovery. It can also reduce muscle protein breakdown. Additionally, creatine supplementation can increase muscle fiber size and muscle swelling which is thought to stimulate muscle growth. This can be especially effective when taken post-workout, as muscles are more receptive to nutrients and growth signals at this time.
It’s worth noting that creatine supplementation has other benefits outside of athletic performance. I looked into this after my physical therapist told me he has his parents (in their 70s) supplement their creatine due to its benefits for heart health and brain health, among others.
What creatine supplement should you take?
Personally, I prefer the simple creatine. There are many with added supplements with more purported benefits. However, I like the tasteless and ease of the Momentous Creatine and the Thorne Creatine
Previnex, a former sponsor of mine, has a creatine supplement called Muscle Health that includes additional ingredients for muscle strength, composition, and recovery. I have yet to consistently try the Previnex Muscle Health PLUS because it is flavored and so not as easy to take. But my co-host of the Miles with Moms podcast, Tricia DeNardis is in love with it and says she has noticed huge strength gains.
So, should all runners take creatine?
No, not all runners need to take creatine. Runners in the below categories should consider taking creatine:
- runner who strength-trains multiple times a week
- sprinter
- person who performs HIIT exercises
- runner in the midst of a hard training cycle (such as a marathoner)
- master’s runner
- a runner who is injured needing to maintain muscle mass due to inactivity or immobility
- a runner who is carb loading as creatine helps you retain fluid and carbs
Why shouldn’t all runners take creatine then?
Creatine supplementation is not really recommended for most recreational runners unless they are lifting weights, doing sprints, in a high-training load, or are master’s athletes.
The main benefit for most runners in supplementing with creatine comes in enhancing recovery, not performance in long-distance running (or really reps longer than short sprints of around 20 seconds).
Why? The creatine-phosphate system is not used in middle or long-distance running, as these events rely more on glycolysis and oxidative metabolism.
However, runners who are in a high training load, such as in the peak phase of a marathon cycle, may find benefits from regularly supplementing with creatine after their workouts to spur recovery, as there is evidence that creatine enhances recovery and glycogen synthesis. This is especially true if you are also lifting weights several times a week during this period.
With this in mind, if you’re able to recover faster and thus train harder, then your performance may improve—as an indirect correlation to creatine supplementation.
Robinson recommends taking creatine to her masters’ runners—particularly those over 50. Research indicates that creatine supplementation increases aging muscle mass and strength, possibly by influencing high-energy phosphate metabolism, muscle protein kinetics and growth factors, and bone mineral enhancement.
Now, I want to know! Do you take creatine? If so, have you noticed a difference?
