Creatine and strength training: the king of supplements for maximum strength and muscle growth

After the 1992 Barcelona Olympics the popularity of creatine shot up – four years later in Atlanta an estimated 80 % of athletes were using it. Today it belongs to the narrow group of supplements with very reliable scientific evidence of both effectiveness and safety.

Growth of muscle mass and strength

A ten-week study (Vandenberghe et al., 1997) showed that, compared with the group taking a placebo, athletes taking creatine achieved significantly better results:

The results of this and other studies suggest that the combination of creatine and strength training may be significantly more effective for developing strength and increasing muscle mass than training alone. At the same time Wagenmakers (1999) points out that creatine supplementation may allow a higher number of repetitions during training, which leads to higher quality of training work and potentially also to an anabolic response from the body.

Creatine is also linked to increased retention of water in the muscle cells, which may lead to them getting bigger. This shows up as an increase in body weight of 1 to 2 kilograms during the initial week-long loading phase. It is precisely cell hydration that is considered one of the factors supporting anabolic processes, for example increased protein synthesis and the storage of proteins in muscle tissue (Lang et al. 1998). Although some studies in both animals and humans suggest possible anabolic effects of creatine, in healthy individuals there is so far no evidence that creatine directly influences protein metabolism.

Why does creatine work in muscle exercise?

The key to understanding creatine is cellular energy. During short, high-intensity muscle contractions (such as strength training or sprinting) the muscles use up a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The problem is that the stores of ATP in our muscles are very small and at maximum effort they are used up within a few seconds. Creatine taken in from food or supplements is converted in the muscles into phosphocreatine (PCr). Its job is to act as a fast energy reserve. Phosphocreatine can immediately give up its phosphate group and restore the broken-down ATP in a flash. Larger stores of creatine therefore give the muscles a much greater capacity to generate energy quickly. Another fundamental benefit is that the breakdown of phosphocreatine uses up hydrogen ions, which helps to buffer acidification of the muscles and so delays the onset of muscle fatigue.

Is supplementation necessary or is a normal diet enough?

Creatine is a non-essential nutrient and our body can produce a certain amount of creatine itself in the liver and pancreas from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. In a normal diet we find it primarily in animal sources such as red meat, poultry and seafood. The daily intake from these foods is on average 2 g. So although we do take it in from food, supplementation makes a great deal of sense. Most people who start taking a supplement increase their creatine stores in the muscles by roughly 20 %.

How should creatine be dosed?

To reach the maximum capacity of the muscles (their saturation increases by roughly 20 %), two main dosing protocols are used in the specialist literature and in studies:

Conclusion for athletes

In the world of sports nutrition, which is often full of exaggerated marketing promises and ineffective substances, creatine is a bright exception. Decades of research consistently confirm its safety and its demonstrable benefit for strength performance, buffering fatigue and supporting muscle hypertrophy. Whether you choose a fast loading phase or slower continuous dosing, creatine is an affordable and extremely reliable food supplement for anyone who wants to maximise their strength.

1. Vandenberghe, K., M. Goris, P. Van Hecke, M. Van Leemputte, L. Vangerven, and P. Hespel. 1997. Long-term creatine intake is beneficial to muscle performance during resistance training. J Appl Physiol 83(6):2055–2063.
2. Lang, F., G.L. Busch, M. Ritter, H. Volkl, S. Waldegger, E. Gulbins, and D. Haussinger. 1998. Functional significance of cell volume regulatory mechanisms. Physiol Rev 78(1):247–306.
3. Jeukendrup, A., & Gleeson, M. (2025). Sport nutrition (4th ed.). Human Kinetics.
4. Wagenmakers, A.J.M. 1999. Nutritional supplements: Effects on exercise performance and metabolism. In The metabolic basis of performance in exercise and sport, edited by D.R. Lamb and R. Murray, 209–220. Carmel, IN: Cooper.