What is creatine monohydrate in sports?

Creatine Monohydrate in Sports

Creatine monohydrate is a well-established ergogenic supplement that enhances muscle strength, power, and lean body mass by increasing intramuscular phosphocreatine stores, which aids in ATP resynthesis during high-intensity exercise and improves training capacity. 1

What is Creatine Monohydrate?

Creatine monohydrate is a dietary supplement form of creatine, a naturally occurring compound that plays a crucial role in energy metabolism. It functions as follows:

• Acts as an enzyme (creatine kinase) that catalyzes the reversible reaction of phosphocreatine and MgADP to form MgATP and creatine 2
• Serves to either re-phosphorylate ADP to ATP or store immediately available energy in the form of phosphocreatine 2
• Increases muscle creatine and phosphocreatine concentrations by approximately 15-40% when supplemented 3

Benefits in Sports Performance

Creatine monohydrate offers several performance benefits:

• Enhances high-intensity repeated sprint performance 1
• Improves training capacity, allowing athletes to train harder and longer 1
• Promotes chronic training adaptations in:
  • Muscle strength
  • Power output
  • Lean body mass 1
• Particularly effective for activities requiring high-intensity, short bursts of energy 4
• May improve performance during multiple surges in intensity and end spurts in endurance events 5

Recommended Dosage Protocols

There are two main dosing strategies:

1. Loading protocol:

   • Loading phase: ~20g/day divided into four equal doses (5g four times daily) for 5-7 days
   • Maintenance phase: 3-5g/day as a single dose 1
   • Co-ingestion with protein/carbohydrate (~50g each) enhances muscle creatine uptake 1

2. Lower dose approach:

   • 3-5g/day without loading phase
   • Achieves similar increases in muscle phosphocreatine over time
   • May minimize side effects like water retention 1

Safety Considerations

Creatine monohydrate has a strong safety profile:

• Evidence of safety is strong at intakes up to 5g/day for chronic supplementation 4
• Nearly 99% of orally ingested creatine monohydrate is either taken up by muscle or excreted in urine 3
• No medically significant side effects have been reported in the literature 3
• Most common side effect is transient water retention in early supplementation 1
• May cause a 1-2kg body mass increase after loading phase 1

Precautions

Despite its general safety, some precautions should be observed:

• Individuals with pre-existing kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, or reduced glomerular filtration rate should avoid high-dose supplementation (>3-5g/day) 1
• Maintain adequate hydration when using creatine monohydrate 1
• Discontinue use if experiencing unusual symptoms 1
• Choose supplements tested by reputable third-party testing programs (e.g., 'Informed Sport', 'HASTA') to reduce risk of contamination 1
• Be aware that approximately 15-25% of nutritional supplements may contain substances not declared on the label 1

Special Populations

Creatine monohydrate may offer benefits beyond athletic performance:

• Women: May help alleviate fatigue-related symptoms associated with menstrual cycle phases 6
• Vegans/Vegetarians: Can improve physical and cognitive performance by addressing lower baseline creatine levels 6
• Older adults: Improves physical function, walking endurance, speed, and dynamic balance 1

Form Considerations

Creatine monohydrate is the most studied and recommended form of creatine:

• There is little to no evidence that newer forms of creatine are more effective or safer than creatine monohydrate 3
• The safety, efficacy, and regulatory status of creatine monohydrate is clearly defined in almost all global markets 3

In summary, creatine monohydrate is one of the most effective and well-researched sports supplements available, with substantial evidence supporting its efficacy for enhancing performance in high-intensity exercise and its safety when used appropriately.