Creatine Supplement: Helpful, Harmful, or a Waste of Money?
Creatine is one of the most popular and widely researched sports supplements on the market today. Found in pre-workouts, recovery blends, and sold as a standalone powder, it's praised by gym-goers and athletes alike. But is creatine just fitness hype? Is it safe? Does it bulk you up or bloat your waistline?
Let’s go further into what creatine actually does—and doesn’t do—for your body.
What Is Creatine, and What Does It Do?
Creatine is a compound naturally found in your muscles and brain. It helps regenerate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the main energy source for short bursts of activity like sprinting or lifting weights.
Supplementing with creatine increases the muscles’ phosphocreatine stores, allowing you to perform better during high-intensity training.
Benefits supported by science:
Increased strength and power
Improved exercise performance
Greater muscle mass (mostly due to increased water retention initially, and later, actual muscle protein growth)
Enhanced recovery and possibly even cognitive benefits
Is Creatine Wasteful?
For most people—especially those doing resistance training or high-intensity workouts—creatine is far from wasteful.
In fact, it's:
One of the most cost-effective supplements on the market
Backed by hundreds of peer-reviewed studies
Shown to be effective in both the short and long term
If you’re sedentary or don’t engage in strength training, the benefits are far less pronounced. In that case, it might not do much for you.
Verdict: Not wasteful, if used with proper training.
Is Creatine Harmful?
Creatine has been under scrutiny for years—often unfairly. Concerns about kidney damage, dehydration, and cramping have been raised, but clinical studies on healthy individuals have not substantiated these claims.
Important considerations:
People with pre-existing kidney issues should consult a doctor before supplementing.
It may cause water retention, especially during the loading phase (more on that below).
Minor side effects: bloating, stomach discomfort, or cramping in some users.
Verdict: Safe for healthy individuals, according to decades of research.
Creatine and Body Composition: Does It Grow Biceps or Shrink Waists?
Biceps:
Yes, creatine can help increase biceps size, but not directly.
The initial increase in muscle size is due to water retention in the muscle cells.
Over time, because it enhances training performance, it leads to actual muscle growth if you're lifting consistently.
Think of creatine as a tool that helps you train harder and recover faster—which leads to hypertrophy (muscle growth), including in the biceps.
Waist:
Creatine does not cause fat gain.
However, during the initial week (especially if you "load" with high doses), you might see the scale go up due to increased water weight. Some people report a slightly puffier midsection at first, but this isn’t fat and often levels out.
Verdict:
Biceps = likely growth
Waist = might appear slightly bloated at first, but no fat gain
How to Take Creatine
Loading phase (optional): 20g/day for 5–7 days (split into 4 doses)
Maintenance: 3–5g/day thereafter
No loading? Just take 3–5g/day. It will take a few weeks to saturate your muscles but works the same long-term.
Best timing? Anytime works, but post-workout with carbs/protein may slightly boost uptake.
Bottom Line: Should You Take Creatine?
If you're:
Doing resistance or high-intensity training
Looking to improve strength, muscle size, or recovery
Healthy with no pre-existing kidney issues
…then yes, creatine is a helpful, safe, and affordable supplement.
If you're expecting fat loss, “dry” aesthetics, or a magic pill—it’s not that. But as part of a smart training and nutrition plan, creatine absolutely earns its place on the shelf.