Kreatin - Hyper oder Wundermittel?

Creatine

– Everyone knows it or has at least heard of it.
Creatine is probably the most studied supplement for increasing performance with over 700 studies on safety and effectiveness. 

Creatine can be produced by the body itself and can be found   in various foods, especially raw meat. However, eating large amounts of meat is still not enough to experience an increase in performance. 

The dietary supplement plays a particularly important role in short-term exertion (0-10 seconds), as the energy (ATP) is largely obtained from creatine phosphate. According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the body’s creatine stores are only 60-80% full with a normal diet, which includes an intake of around 1-2g of creatine per day. By supplementing, however, you can increase the stores by 20-40%! (1)

Loading phase or 5g/day? 

The quickest way to increase storage is through a so-called loading phase. This involves taking 20-25g of creatine per day for 7 days and then reducing it to 5g per day. 

The other option is to start with 5g per day. The disadvantage of this, however, is that it may be that the reserves are only fully filled after a month and only then will the effects be noticeable. 

So if you start with creatine, a 1-week loading phase probably makes more sense. 

It should be mentioned, however, that during a loading phase, you will naturally need to take significantly more creatine at the beginning. In other words, you will finish your pack quicker. 
If you look at the effects over the entire period of use, the differences in performance are probably marginal in the end. 

effectiveness

A review (summary of several studies) from 2003 which analyzed more than 300 studies came to the conclusion that taking creatine resulted in an increase of 5-15% in maximum strength and power. (2)

Volek and colleagues were even able to show that creatine supplementation led to 30% more bench press repetitions in trainees with over 6 years of training experience! (3) 

Since we now know that there is a strong correlation between training volume and hypertrophy, it is safe to assume that more work (more repetitions) leads to more muscle growth!

Water retention

Another fact that is often heard in connection with creatine is that it causes water retention. The good thing about this is that the water is not stored subcutaneously, i.e. under the skin, as is often assumed, but intracellularly, i.e. in the muscle cell itself. In other words, it makes the muscles appear larger and, in some cases, even contributes positively to muscle growth due to the cell swelling. 

“non responders” – does it work for everyone?

It is estimated that around 20-30% of the population are so-called “non-responders”, meaning that creatine supplementation has no effect on them. These are usually people who eat meat frequently and are older. (4)

Recommended dosage

With creatine, it is not necessary to pause the intake after a certain period of time because, unlike with caffeine, the body does not develop a tolerance to it. 

A 2003 study found that taking creatine for 21 months had no negative health effects.  (5)

Conclusion

• Creatine can increase performance 
• Taking with loading phase leads to faster results
• Recommended intake: Loading phase with 25g/day for 7 days, then 5g/day indefinitely
• no maximum duration of use. 

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(1) Kreider et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine

(2) RB, Kreider (2003). Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations.

(3) Volek et al. (1997). Creatine supplementation enhances muscular performance during high-intensity resistance exercise.

(4) DG, Syrotuik (2004). Acute creatine monohydrate supplementation: a descriptive physiological profile of responders vs. nonresponders. 

(5) R. Kreider et al. (2003). Long-term creatine supplementation does not significantly affect clinical markers of health in athletes.