Fitness, Nutrition, Health and Sports Blog In the HSNstore Blog you will find tips about Fitness, sport in general, nutrition, and health – HSNstore.com 
With this beginner’s guide by HSN, you can get started with creatine safely and effectively to achieve the best results in physical performance and muscle mass growth.
Index
- 1 How does creatine work in the body?
- 2 Who can take creatine?
- 3 What is the recommended dose to start taking creatine?
- 4 Is it necessary to do a loading phase when starting creatine?
- 5 How to mix and prepare creatine
- 6 Should I take creatine before or after training?
- 7 What are the possible side effects of creatine and how can they be avoided?
- 8 Can I combine creatine with other supplements?
- 9 Bibliographic sources
How does creatine work in the body?
Creatine is an organic compound naturally present in the body and in foods such as meat and fish.
When stored in muscles as phosphocreatine, it contributes to the production of ATP, which is essential for muscle contractions.
By increasing phosphocreatine stores in the muscles, creatine enhances performance in high-intensity, short-duration exercise, such as weightlifting and sprinting.
Its intake as a sports supplement provides benefits in sport:
- Improved physical performance, endurance and strength.
- Increased muscle mass.
- Reduced fatigue and recovery time.
Who can take creatine?
Creatine can be taken by healthy adults of legal age and any athlete, regardless of gender or age.
Nowadays, creatine is one of the most commonly used food supplements by regular gym users and high-performance athletes.
What is the recommended dose to start taking creatine?
The daily dose of creatine is 3 grams.
You may have heard that the usual dose is 5 or 10 grams per day, and there is even a recommendation such as 1g of creatine x 10kg of body weight.
The problem with this dose is that it causes frequent digestive discomfort without additional benefits.
Is it necessary to do a loading phase when starting creatine?
No, it is not.
However, for competitive purposes, the effects of creatine can be speeded up by a pre-loading phase of up to 20 g per day for 5-7 days.
How to mix and prepare creatine
You can drink it directly in a glass with water, or any other drink you like (juices, etc.).
On the other hand, it is often added to protein shakes, or even taken with other products such as pre-workouts, HMB, carbohydrates…
Should I take creatine before or after training?
No, it is not.
You can take creatine at any time of the day, at your convenience. It is quite common that to “avoid forgetfulness” it is often combined with protein intake.
What are the possible side effects of creatine and how can they be avoided?
Creatine is a safe sports supplement.
If you are a healthy person, the only precaution you should take when buying a creatine-based food supplement is to be sure of the quality of the manufacturer that sells it.
Can I combine creatine with other supplements?
The benefits of creatine can be enhanced by certain food supplements, as it does not interact negatively with them and can be used to produce a synergistic effect.
Bibliographic sources
- Lanhers, C., Pereira, B., Naughton, G., Trousselard, M., Lesage, F. X., & Dutheil, F. (2017). Creatine Supplementation and Upper Limb Strength Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 47 (1), 163-173. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29138605/
- Kreider, R. B., Kalman, D. S., Antonio, J., Ziegenfuss, T. N., Wildman, R., Collins, R., … & Lopez, H. L. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
