Creatine: Worth The Hype?

Creatine keeps coming up as a topic worth covering properly. Creatine is a natural compound your body already makes and stores mostly in your muscles. It helps regenerate ATP, the energy your muscles use during short bursts of effort, like lifting weights.

It's not a new discovery and it's not a trend. It's one of the most researched supplements that exists.

The science: why bother supplementing at all

If your body already makes creatine, why take more of it? Your body produces roughly 1g of creatine a day, made in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Food adds another 1 to 2g on top of that, mostly from red meat and fish. Add it up and most people are sitting well below what their muscles can actually hold.

Muscle stores saturate at a level higher than diet and natural production get you to on their own. Supplementing closes that gap. It typically raises muscle creatine stores by 20 to 40%, and that's the range where the strength, recovery and cognitive benefits actually show up.

Vegetarians and vegans start from a lower baseline, since they're missing the dietary contribution from meat and fish. They tend to notice the biggest shift when they start supplementing.

Why it matters

• Helps you lift more, recover faster between sets, and build lean muscle over time. This is especially useful as we naturally lose muscle mass with age.

• Some research links creatine supplementation, combined with resistance training, to improved bone density. This matters more for women post 40, as osteoporosis risk rises.

• Emerging research suggests creatine may support cognitive function, mental clarity, and mood. Women tend to have lower baseline creatine stores than men, partly due to diet, so the effect can be more noticeable.

• Can help reduce feelings of fatigue, particularly during the menstrual cycle or perimenopause when energy dips.

• It won't make you bulky. It supports strength and lean tissue, not excess size. If you've been avoiding creatine because you think it'll make you look "too much," that's outdated thinking.

How to use it

• 3 to 5g per day, taken consistently. No need for a loading phase. That's outdated advice.

• Timing doesn't matter much. Before or after training, or any time of day (everyday). Consistency is what counts, not timing precision.

• Creatine monohydrate is the most researched, effective, and affordable form. No need for fancy blends. This is the one I use.

• Mix it with water, juice, protein shake, whatever's easiest. It dissolves fine in most liquids.

• Creatine draws water into your muscles, so make sure you're drinking enough throughout the day.

• Give it 2 to 4 weeks of consistent use before expecting to notice a difference.

The bottom line

Creatine is cheap, well studied, and does more than build muscle. For women, especially post 40, it's one of the simplest additions you can make to support strength, bones, brain and energy at once.

Any questions, just ask.

Mads