5 Reasons to Take Creatine While Cutting

Creatine is part of any serious lifter’s supplement stack, so much so that’s it’s almost considered an afterthought. Creatine is prevalent in many popular pre workout supplements, and is taken as a standalone product as well.

The benefits of creatine supplementation are plentiful, from increased strength and muscle mass to new emerging research suggesting that it may boost brain function. There are very few populations that wouldn’t benefit from creatine supplementation.

However, there are misconceptions about creatine which may be limiting the potential of people who work out at a gym regularly. This is particularly the case during phases of dieting, or cutting, where the goal is to lose body fat while maintaining muscle.

Creatine is typically associated with bulking phases, or periods where an individual is trying to add as much muscle mass as possible. However, creatine is a more versatile supplement than you may think. It has applications in not only physique based sports, but for athletes as well.

This article will dispel the myths associated with creatine, which will hopefully dissuade people from dropping it from their dietary supplement regimen during a cut. Creatine can provide benefits for lifters in bulking, cutting, or body recomposition phases.

1. Creatine Hydrates Muscles

Some people wrongly believe that creatine causes significant water retention under the skin, leading to a larger yet bloated physique. Creatine does lead to water retention, but within the muscle cells not subcutaneously. This is called intracellular water retention.

Creatine does not lead to the watery look commonly seen when consuming excess sodium, as it simply does not work that way. Creatine is saturated within muscle cells, acting as an energy source while also pulling water into the muscle.

This is particularly important during a dieting phase, where carbohydrates are likely limited. Carbohydrates also store water in muscle, hence the name carbohydrate. Creatine supplementation ensures muscles stay hydrated despite carbohydrate restriction.

A hydrated muscle is more anabolic, which gives potential for future muscle growth. Although muscle growth is challenging during a cutting phase, it’s important to at the very least maintain as much as possible. A properly structured dieting plan should see an individual lose proportionally more fat mass than muscle mass.

2. Creatine Improves Workout Performance

It’s natural for workout performance to dip over time when calorie intake is low. Calories provide energy, and even the most mentally tough individuals will succumb to their physical limitations during a diet. The mind can do everything to try and push through but at a certain point workouts will suffer.

Creatine’s ability to produce energy during high intensity workouts makes it a must have during periods of caloric restriction. Creatine is a vital fuel source for much of the moderate to heavy lifts that go on at the gym. It is an energy source in the same way carbohydrates and fats are. The only difference is how quickly it can produce ATP (energy). This coupled with its effect on muscle hydration is the reason it has such a profound impact on workouts.

Creatine is the most researched supplement to date. It has been shown to increase strength and power during workouts in numerous research studies. While research on other supplements’ efficacy can be debated, it is undeniable that creatine has a positive effect on workout performance.

3. Creatine Increases Muscle Volume

Muscle is 70% water. Creatine’s ability to pull water into muscle cells increases their size and volume. So while saying “creatine is just water weight” is technically true, when the thing you’re trying to grow is 70% water that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In addition, creatine’s water retention capabilities are just one small piece of the puzzle. Over time the performance benefits of creatine will lead to better workouts, and thus growth of actual skeletal muscle. So there are short term and long term benefits to creatine use.

Creatine monohydrate, the most common and most researched form, is able to completely fill muscle creatine storage levels to capacity. This can be achieved by supplementing creatine by itself. Previously it was thought that creatine should be taken with carbohydrates to enhance absorption, but this has been shown to not be true.

The opposite however, has been shown to be true. Creatine can increase glycogen storage in muscle. Glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrates. In this sense, creatine increases muscle volume in two ways; through direct water retention and through indirect glycogen synthesis.

Glycogen storage is important for muscle size and appearance as well. There is a reason bodybuilding competitors carb up before a competition. They want their muscles to look full on stage. This coupled with low body fat levels is what makes their physiques look so impressive. A lack of carbs can be the difference between winning and losing. Even if you don’t compete, this illustration still shows the importance of carbohydrates to a person’s musculature.

4. Creatine is Inexpensive

Despite all of its benefits, creatine is remarkably inexpensive. It’s almost considered a “throw in” with popular pre and post workout formulas. When looking at a pre workout supplement label, you can almost assume that creatine will be on there. Even you take it as a standalone supplement, a $20 bottle will last you months.

The aforementioned creatine monohydrate is still the gold standard and again, the cheapest in price. Creatine Hydrochloride, also known as creatine hcl, is often brought up when the topic of creatine and cutting comes about.

Creatine Hydrochloride is simply creatine with hydrochloric acid, the acid in your stomach. This form has been marketed as one that causes less stomach distress. However, gastrointestinal issues are more often due to the creatine loading protocol, rather than the type of creatine.

Creatine loading is when an individual takes 20-25g for a 5 day period in order to saturate their muscles more quickly. The standard dosage of 5g per day would still eventually saturate muscles completely, but takes a few weeks to do so.

So when the creatine hcl or creatine monohydrate debate comes up, it really comes down to personal preference. Both will fully saturate muscles, and one has not been shown to be superior to the other. This makes sense since regular creatine monohydrate fills muscle creatine stores to 100% capacity. You can’t get higher than 100%. Therefore, it’s unlikely that any new form of creatine would show any marked performance or muscle building improvements over monohydrate.

5. Creatine is Safe

Due to the substantial research on creatine, its safety has been made clear through numerous clinical trials. Creatine’s safety has been shown acutely and in long term studies. This is true for both men and women.

The myth of creatine causing cramps was debunked by this study in college football players, which showed that the players supplementing with creatine actually had lower instances of cramping and dehydration compared to the control group.

Creatine’s safety is not just evident in young athletes. A study on older Parkinson’s patients showed no deleterious side effects over the course of two years.

One fear often brought up is creatine’s influence on kidney function. Creatinine is a byproduct of creatine metabolism, and is a marker of kidney health in blood and urine tests. When supplementing with creatine, your creatinine levels may be higher than normal. However, scientific literature has shown no adverse effects in individuals with healthy kidneys who supplement with 5g per day, even in the long run.

Even in individuals with kidney issues, creatine has been shown to be safe. However, the studies are limited and most people in this population typically opt to play it safe and not use it.

Another question that often comes up is how old someone has to be to start supplementing with creatine. Compared to adults, research is younger populations is more limited. The research that is out there does in fact support not only performance benefits, but safety as well.

Detractors will often reference the 18+ age limit found on creatine supplements. But this is more of a risk management tactic used by supplement companies for legal reasons. As mentioned, studies have been performed in younger populations showing no adverse effects. But again, if you want to play it safe and wait then that is your personal decision. The main factors in this decision are if you trust the younger athlete to supplement properly (i.e. 3-5 grams per day) and maintain hydration by drinking enough water.

In healthy adults, there should be no fear when supplementing with creatine.