Evidence for Fermented Beetroot, Maca, and Creatine for Glute/Muscle Growth with Strength Training
Creatine is the only supplement among these three with strong evidence for promoting muscle hypertrophy when combined with strength training, while beetroot shows benefits primarily for performance rather than muscle growth, and maca has no evidence in the provided literature.
Creatine: Strong Evidence for Muscle Growth
Creatine supplementation combined with resistance training demonstrates clear benefits for muscle hypertrophy and strength gains:
Muscle Hypertrophy: A 2023 systematic review found that creatine supplementation combined with resistance training produces small but significant increases in direct measures of skeletal muscle hypertrophy in both upper and lower body (effect size 0.11, with regional increases of 0.10-0.16 cm in muscle thickness) 1. This effect appears more pronounced in younger versus older adults 1.
Strength Gains: The most recent 2025 meta-analysis confirms creatine significantly improves muscle strength, with particularly strong effects in untrained individuals compared to trained athletes 2. Another 2025 network meta-analysis ranked creatine highly effective for jump performance (SMD = 0.30) and sprint speed (SMD = -0.42) 3.
Guideline Support: The 2025 Sports Medicine scoping review of international expert consensus statements confirms that creatine supplementation is recommended in 12 guideline papers for increasing body or fat-free mass 4.
Optimal Creatine Dosing Protocol
Based on guideline recommendations 4:
- Loading phase: 15-20 g/day divided into 4 equal doses
- Maintenance phase: 1-5 g/day
- Note: Wash-out periods (4-10 weeks) were only recommended in older papers before 2007 and are no longer considered necessary
Low-to-moderate doses combined with high-intensity training yield superior results compared to high-dose protocols 2.
Beetroot: Performance Benefits, Not Muscle Growth
Beetroot supplementation shows a fundamentally different effect profile:
No Evidence for Hypertrophy: None of the provided studies demonstrate that beetroot supplementation increases muscle mass or promotes muscle growth 5, 6, 7.
Performance Benefits Only: Beetroot improves muscular endurance (SMD = 0.31) and attenuates strength decline in fatigued states (SMD = 0.64), but does not increase resting muscle strength or size 7. The 2025 umbrella review confirms beetroot enhances aerobic endurance in non-athletes and muscular strength performance (not growth) in professional athletes 6.
Mechanism: Benefits stem from improved muscle oxygenation and autonomic regulation during exercise 5, not anabolic effects on muscle tissue.
Beetroot Dosing (if used for performance, not growth)
- Acute: 8.3-16.4 mmol NO3- (515-1017 mg) taken 2-3 hours pre-exercise
- Chronic: Same dose daily for ≥3 days 6
Maca: No Evidence
No studies in the provided evidence address maca supplementation for muscle growth or athletic performance. There is insufficient evidence to recommend maca for gluteal or muscle hypertrophy.
Priority Recommendations for Muscle/Glute Growth
Based on the 2025 guideline evidence 4, the hierarchy for muscle hypertrophy should be:
- Adequate protein intake: 1.2-2.5 g/kg body mass/day, distributed as 0.25-0.50 g/kg per meal across 3-6 feeds daily, with emphasis on post-training and pre-bed intake
- Caloric surplus: 500-1000 kcal/day above maintenance
- Creatine supplementation: Loading dose followed by maintenance as outlined above
- Adequate carbohydrates: 3-12 g/kg body mass/day to prevent protein oxidation
Critical Caveats
Beetroot is not a muscle-building supplement—it enhances performance metrics during training but does not directly stimulate hypertrophy. Using it expecting muscle growth will lead to disappointment.
Creatine's effects on muscle mass are modest (small effect sizes) and work synergistically with proper training and nutrition—it is not a standalone solution 1.
Untrained individuals respond better to creatine than trained athletes, suggesting diminishing returns as training status improves 2.
No supplement significantly increased lean body mass in the 2025 network meta-analysis when examined as a standalone outcome 3, reinforcing that supplements augment—but cannot replace—proper training and nutrition fundamentals.