Creatine 101: 10 Beginner Questions Answered
Creatine is one of the most researched performance supplements in the world, and it’s popular because it tends to deliver a few small but meaningful wins—especially if you lift, sprint, play stop-and-go sports, or simply want training to feel a bit more productive.
If you’re new to it, you don’t need a complicated protocol. You need answers to the questions people actually ask before they buy a tub, take the first scoop, and wonder whether they’re doing it right. Below are the 10 most common beginner questions—answered in plain English, with the practical details that matter.
1) What is creatine, and why do people take it?
Creatine is a compound your body naturally makes and stores, mostly in your muscles (and also in the brain). You also get small amounts from foods like red meat and fish. In muscle, creatine helps you rapidly recycle energy for short, intense efforts—think heavy sets, sprints, jumps, or any training where you push hard, rest briefly, and go again. That’s why creatine is consistently linked to improved high-intensity exercise capacity and training outcomes, especially when paired with resistance training.
The important nuance: creatine isn’t a “stimulant.” It doesn’t work like caffeine. It’s more like building a bigger battery buffer for repeated bursts of effort. Many people notice the benefit as slightly better repeat performance—an extra rep here, less drop-off there—over weeks, not hours.
2) Which type of creatine should I buy?
If you want the simplest answer: choose creatine monohydrate. It’s the form used in most of the research, it’s typically the best value, and it consistently shows effectiveness and a strong safety profile at recommended doses.
You’ll see other forms marketed as “advanced” (HCl, buffered, nitrate, blends). Some people prefer them for taste or digestion, but the evidence base is strongest for monohydrate, and the real-world outcome for most beginners is that monohydrate works and is easy to dose.
3) How much creatine should I take per day?
Most beginners do well with 3–5 grams per day. That’s the classic maintenance range that builds up muscle creatine stores over time. Some protocols use bodyweight-based dosing (especially in research contexts), but you don’t need to overthink it. If you’re a smaller person or you’re cautious, start at 3 g/day. If you’re a larger person or you train hard, 5 g/day is common. The key is consistency.
4) Do I need to do a loading phase?
No. Loading is optional.
A loading phase (often 20 g/day split into 4 doses for ~5–7 days) can saturate muscle creatine faster. The trade-off is that it’s more likely to cause stomach discomfort and a quicker jump on the scale. If you’re a beginner who wants the simplest plan, skip loading and take 3–5 g daily. You’ll still get there—just more gradually.
If you’re the kind of person who loves fast feedback and tolerates it well, loading can be fine. But it’s not a requirement for results.
5) When should I take creatine—before or after workouts?
Timing matters far less than people think. Creatine works by building and maintaining higher stores in your muscle over time, so the biggest lever is daily consistency, not the exact minute you take it.
That said, many people find it easiest to attach creatine to a routine you never miss: after brushing your teeth, with lunch, in your post-workout shake, or with your afternoon water bottle. If you do that, you’ll be “right” more days than you’re wrong—and that’s what makes it effective.
6) Will creatine make me gain weight?
It can, especially at the beginning—and this is where beginners often get spooked.
Creatine can increase the amount of water stored inside muscle cells as muscle creatine stores rise. That can show up as a small scale increase (often in the first couple of weeks, more noticeable if you load). For many lifters, that’s not a problem and may even make muscles look a bit “fuller.” For anyone trying to stay in a specific weight class, it’s something to plan around.
The key mindset shift is this: early weight change on creatine is often water in muscle, not sudden fat gain. If your training and nutrition are stable, creatine doesn’t magically override them.
7) Is creatine safe? What about kidneys?
For healthy adults using recommended doses, creatine is broadly considered safe in major evidence summaries, including federal health resources.
The kidney question comes up a lot for two reasons. First, creatine can raise serum creatinine, a common lab marker. But higher creatinine on a blood test doesn’t automatically mean kidney damage—it can reflect creatine/creatinine metabolism changes rather than reduced kidney function. Second, internet myths spread faster than boring nuance.
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found creatine supplementation was associated with a modest increase in serum creatinine but did not adversely affect glomerular filtration rate (GFR), suggesting it’s likely safe for kidney function when used in standard dosing protocols.
Important caveat: if you have known kidney disease, are at high risk, or take medications that affect kidney function, don’t self-prescribe supplements casually—talk with a clinician and bring your planned dose and product. Many sources recommend closer monitoring in those cases.
8) Does creatine cause hair loss?
This is one of the most persistent myths.
The hair-loss worry became popular after an older study suggested a possible rise in DHT, but it didn’t directly measure hair outcomes. More recently, a 2025 randomized controlled trial directly assessed DHT-related measures and hair growth parameters over 12 weeks and found no significant differences between creatine and placebo groups.
If you’re genetically predisposed to hair loss, it’s understandable to be cautious. But the strongest available direct evidence does not support the claim that creatine causes hair loss in healthy people.
9) What side effects should I watch for?
Most issues beginners report are boring and manageable:
Stomach discomfort can happen, especially with large doses (like loading) or if you take it on an empty stomach. Solution: lower the dose, split it, and take it with food or more water.
Muscle cramping / dehydration fears are often exaggerated online. Still, if you train hard and sweat a lot, normal hydration and electrolytes are just good practice—creatine or not.
“Puffy” feeling or quick scale changes usually reflect water shifts. If that bothers you, avoid loading and use steady daily dosing.
If you ever feel sharp GI pain, persistent nausea, or anything that feels genuinely abnormal, stop and reassess—sometimes the issue is the product quality, dose size, or simply that your stomach doesn’t like it.
10) How long does it take to work—and how do I know it’s working?
Most people don’t “feel” creatine like a stimulant. What you notice is performance and training quality shifting over time.
A common timeline is 2–4 weeks of daily use to notice clearer effects (sooner if you load). The easiest way to tell is to track one or two repeatable benchmarks in your training:
l Your last set of a main lift: does it drop off less?
l A short interval or sprint session: do repeats feel a bit more consistent?
l A fixed rep scheme: do you hit the top end more often?
Creatine tends to show the most benefit in repeated short bursts of intense activity (weightlifting, sprinting, many team sports). It’s not an endurance miracle, and it won’t replace sleep, calories, and a sane program.
A beginner-friendly “start here” plan
If you want the lowest-friction approach that works for most people, do this:
1. Buy creatine monohydrate from a reputable brand (ideally with third-party testing).
2. Take 3–5 g daily, no loading.
3. Attach it to a routine you already do (lunch, post-workout, morning water).
4. Give it 4 weeks, then judge based on training performance, not vibes.
That’s it. No special cycling, no perfect timing, no complex stacks required.
References
l NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (health professional + consumer pages).
l International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation (2017).
l Systematic review & meta-analysis (2025): creatine supplementation and kidney function.
l Randomized controlled trial (2025): creatine supplementation and hair growth/DHT outcomes.
l Frontiers in Nutrition review (2025): common safety concerns around creatine.