Creatine: what are the risks and how do you take it?
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied supplements: it helps you do a few more reps and, over time, gain a little more strength and muscle. Take 3 to 5 g a day, every day, at any time. In healthy people it is considered safe; the most common effect is a gain of 1 to 2 kg of water in the muscles.
What it does
Creatine increases the muscle stores of phosphocreatine, which supplies energy for short, intense efforts. In practice: one or two extra reps per set, which add up to more strength and muscle over the weeks.
How to take it
Creatine monohydrate, 3 to 5 g a day, with water or a meal, whenever it suits you. A loading phase (about 20 g a day in four doses for five to seven days) fills the muscles faster but is optional. There is no need to cycle it.
The real side effects
Water retention in the muscles: 1 to 2 kg on the scale in the first weeks, which is not fat. Some people have digestive discomfort with large doses; splitting the dose usually solves it.
Kidneys and hair: the myths
The ISSN position stand (Kreider et al., 2017) concludes that creatine is safe for healthy people at the recommended doses. It can raise blood creatinine, which can be mistaken for a kidney problem: tell your doctor before a blood test. The fear of hair loss comes from a single 2009 study that has not been confirmed.
Who should be careful
If you have kidney disease, take regular medication or are under 18, ask a doctor first. Choose a product tested by an independent lab, and remember that creatine helps your training, it does not replace it.
Put it into practice
About this guide
STARK editorial guide. Examples explain how to use the library and record training; they are not individual coaching.
Training principles: Kreider et al. (2017), ISSN position stand on creatine supplementation.
The session examples come from the STARK program catalogue linked above.