I have written a few articles on creatine now discussing the benefits it gives and what exactly it actually is. I don’t want to bore you with stuff you have already read, but to recap, the benefits include;
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Increase in muscle strength
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Increase in muscle size (if in a calorie surplus)
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Increase in lean body weight
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Better athletic performance
How does it work again?
Simply put, creatine helps regenerate ATP stores used by high intensity contractions. It does this by supplying an extra phosphate to help regenerate the ATP faster. As well as this, creatine also increases cell volumization which is important for protein synthesis and protein breakdown. When training, we trigger protein synthesis and also protein breakdown. The addition of creatine though shifts the balance towards protein synthesis.
What I didn’t discuss in previous articles is that if creatine will make you gain weight. There seems to be a lot of accusations thrown around about creatine causing bloat and adding pounds to your frame in a relatively short space of time. Does creatine make you gain weight is quite a common question in the fitness industry and can be misunderstood at times. Let’s see what reasons creatine might make you gain weight.
The best way to start answering this question is to deal with the common creatine bloat. But what is this?
Without boring you with any science, basically it's water weight. If you didn’t know, muscles are 73% water.
The reason this is important is because of how creatine works. Creatine helps you store more water in your muscles and it is not uncommon that in the first week of creatine use you may see an increase of 1-3 pounds. Keep in mind that if you have a high percentage of lean muscle mass already, you may see this reaching 4-5 pounds. It is important to realise that this initial weight gain isn’t fat, but it isn’t muscle either. However, it is an indication that the creatine is working and you are a step closer to feeling all the benefits creatine has to offer.
Now, it’s not all bad news, so don’t stop supplementing with creatine after a week because all you think you are going to gain is water weight. Your body is now better equipped for hard training, building muscle and faster recovery.
However, basic principles still apply. In order to make the most out of creatine your goal should be to add muscle. To do this, you still need to be in a calorie surplus. Taking any supplement, without a calorie surplus won’t ever be strong enough for you to build slabs of muscle unless, you decide to try steroids in which case that is a personal choice. To make the most out of creatine, I recommend before starting creatine, find out your maintenance calories. There are many ways to do this, the easiest being searching for a calorie calculator on the internet. Once you have done this, add 500 calories per day to this amount whilst you cycle with creatine. A creatine cycle should last around 6-8 weeks. This is plenty of time to add new tissue to your frame and reap all the benefits creatine has to offer. Remember when you come off to keep the calories the same, don’t drop them again, as all your new muscle will need the energy!
So to conclude, the initial weight gain from creatine is going to be water being drawn into your muscles. Remember, this means your body is now primed for hard training and muscle building, so make every workout count! The next few weeks however, if diet and training are on point, any weight gain seen should be in the form of muscle!
