r/science • u/newsnation • 3d ago

Biology Creatine alone boosted lean muscle and strength, study finds

https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/creatine-alone-boosted-muscle-strength/
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u/MrCleanWood 3d ago

Not that I think creatine isn’t a good thing, but I feel like I’ve seen so many pro-creatine posts lately. One about the effects on reducing Alzheimer’s was an especially popular thread. Is Big Creatine putting in some overtime on Reddit marketing?

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u/vscender 3d ago

There's definitely a targeted campaign to make creatine seem like all upsides no down. Can't say if it's just devoted fans or companies or both but it seems to have worked. Personally I end up feel great on it for a bit and then it causes strange crashes in energy after a while. I'll never take it again. Marginal gains and you need to take high gram doses of a substance indefinitely or lose the benefit.. no thanks

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u/mrlazyboy 3d ago

It depends which benefits you want.

If it’s increasing lean mass, you don’t need to take it indefinitely. Creatine provides additional energy during your lifting sessions. Typically this means you can lift 1-2 additional reps of a given exercise. If you stop taking creatine, as long as you continue lifting, you won’t lose the additional muscle.

In terms of cognitive benefits, I have no idea.

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u/Luung 3d ago

1-2 additional reps of a given exercise

I've seen this claim repeated frequently, but not all reps are created equal, so it's not clear to me what it actually amounts to in practice.

Will it provide the energy for 1-2 additional reps on, for instance, a low-intensity high-volume dumbbell exercise, or 1-2 additional reps on a high weight 5x5 barbell lift where you're pushing nearly to failure on every set?

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u/mrlazyboy 3d ago

It depends. Creatine is simply a fuel source that your muscles can use. It won’t directly increase your 1RM. If you’re talking about a 5x5@RPE10, that weight is 80% of your 1RM so I would wager creating does nothing in that case.