Creatine, explained

Creatine is a compound your body already makes and that you get from meat and fish. It helps your muscles regenerate energy quickly during short, hard efforts like a heavy set or a sprint.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition calls creatine monohydrate the most effective nutritional supplement available for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training.

How much

The standard maintenance dose in research is 3 to 5 grams a day. Some people start with a loading phase of about 20 grams a day split into four doses for five to seven days, which fills muscle stores faster. Skipping the load works too; it just takes a few weeks to get to the same place.

Timing matters much less than taking it every day.

Myths, checked

• "It damages your kidneys." Studies in healthy people have not shown this at recommended doses. If you have kidney disease, talk to your doctor first.
• "It is a steroid." It is not. It is an amino acid derivative found in food.
• "It makes you bloated." Early weight gain is mostly water stored inside muscle, which is part of how it works.
• "You need fancy forms." Monohydrate is the form used in almost all of the research.

Who it is for

Anyone doing resistance training or sports with repeated short bursts. Research also looks at creatine for older adults and for vegetarians, who tend to start with lower stores. It is one of the few supplements where the evidence is genuinely strong.