Creatine monohydrate is among the most researched supplements in existence, with hundreds of trials behind it. The dosing is simpler than the internet suggests.
Your muscles store creatine as phosphocreatine, which regenerates ATP during short, intense effort. Supplementing raises those stores by roughly 20 to 40 per cent, and full stores mean more available energy for the first several seconds of hard work.
Two approaches reach the same destination.
Loading means around 0.3 g per kg of body weight daily, split into four doses, for five to seven days. Stores fill in about a week, then you drop to a maintenance dose.
Maintenance only means taking 3 to 5 g daily from the start. Stores fill in three to four weeks instead of one, and the end point is identical.
Loading is worth it if you want the effect quickly. Otherwise the slower route works just as well and causes fewer digestive complaints.
Creatine monohydrate. The alternatives sold at higher prices, including hydrochloride, ethyl ester and buffered versions, have not shown superiority over monohydrate in controlled comparisons.
Look for Creapure or a similar quality mark if you want assurance on purity, but the basic form is the one with the evidence.
Timing matters far less than consistency. Daily intake is what fills the stores; whether you take it before or after training is close to irrelevant.
Creatine draws water into muscle cells, which is why some people gain one to two kilograms in the first week. That is intracellular water, not fat, and it is part of how the supplement works.
On kidney concerns: in healthy people, creatine has not been shown to impair kidney function across long-term studies. It does raise serum creatinine, which is a marker used to estimate kidney function, so a blood test may look abnormal when nothing is wrong. Mention that you take creatine if you are having kidney function checked.
Hair loss comes up constantly, and it traces to a single small study in rugby players that measured a hormone rather than hair. No study has shown creatine causes hair loss.
The dose is the same, adjusted for body weight, and women may have more to gain. Women store roughly 70 to 80 per cent as much creatine as men and typically consume less through diet.
Interest has grown around midlife specifically, where creatine combined with resistance training supports muscle mass at the point oestrogen decline is working against it.
Related reading: Creatine for women · The supplements guide · Does lifting increase testosterone · Supplements that waste your money
Educational only, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor before starting supplements if you have kidney disease or take prescribed medication.