Should You Take Creatine Pre-Or Post-Workout?

Believe it or not, Creatine is one of the most studied sports nutrition supplements yet there is a lot of confusion about the best time to take creatine. Should you take creatine pre-or post-workout?

According to research, the best time to take creatine is after a workout. This is simply because creatine has a more positive and significant effect on increasing muscular strength and lean muscle mass after workouts. However, there are also advantages of taking creatine before a workout as the body can digest creatine faster to utilize it during exercise. So how do you find out what is the best time to take creatine?

What Does The Science Say?

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition revealed that subjects who consumed creatine after a resistance training workout noticed a larger increase in lean body mass than those who took creatine before their workouts. A different study published in the Journal of Exercise and Nutrition also concluded that the best time to take creatine is after a workout when it comes to body composition. This study also demonstrated that the intake of creatine immediately after a workout had significant and positive effects on muscular strength.

According to Canadian researchers, the timing of creatine doesn't significantly impact the benefits. In fact, the participants who consumed creatine before their workout reported a larger 1RMs at the end of the study. To complicate things further, there is also evidence suggesting that the intake of creatine during a workout is effective as well. Intra-workout creatine consumption can enhance muscular endurance as well as muscular strength.

Truth be told, all of these findings suggest to a great degree that the exact timing of creatine intake is not as important as taking creatine consistently. Creatine can still build up the creatine stores in the body even when you take it in on non-training and rest days. These creatine stores can be utilized later when you work out.

Why Take Creatine Before Workouts?

The basic idea (behind consuming creatine supplements before workouts) is to replace depleting creatine levels in the body. Your body has sufficient time to reach peak creatine levels during workouts if you take creatine supplements 30-60 minutes before you exercise. It has also been suggested that a combination of caffeine and creatine supplementation can in fact enhance the effects of creatine. Primarily, it has been seen that creatine is best taken before workouts when it is resistance training workouts. The intake of consuming creatine supplements before a workout is less effective for high-intensity cardio exercises.

Why Take Creatine After Workouts?

The intake of creatine supplements after workouts can promote increased muscular strength and an increase in lean muscle mass. This is primarily because of the fact that resistance training stimulates an increase in skeletal muscle blood flow that, in turn, leads to a higher quantity of creatine getting stored in the trained muscles. Furthermore, the loss of glycogen and other nutrients and an increase in blood circulation means the cells of your body are more primed to quickly replace what was lost during the workouts.

Many gym coaches and bodybuilders are of the view that the consumption of creatine supplements is enriched when complemented with a high-carb or high-protein + high-carb meal after workouts.

Why Take Creatine During Workouts?

According to many powerlifters, the best time to take creatine is during workouts. If you have not taken more than 5g creatine within 30-60 minutes before working out, the body has sufficient time to put it to use.

Conclusion

The exact timing of creatine supplements is not as important as the consistency of creatine consumption. Once you have been using creatine supplements for a while, your body can still derive the optimum advantages of creatine supplementation, irrespective of when take it.

It can be easily concluded that the exact timing of creatine supplementation. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the consumption of creatine is an individual preference. If you prefer using creatine before, during, or after workouts, it’s completely your choice. Your body will still be able to realize the positive effects of creatine supplementation.

We hope that this piece of information on the best time to take creatine supplements was useful to you in countless ways.