The optimal timing for creatine consumption

The use of creatine monohydrate as a nutritional supplement has been shown time and time again to promote superior gains in muscle mass and strength, especially when combined with weight training (1, 2). It is creatine's ability to act as a primary energy storage module that rapidly reverses the depletion of energy stores (ATP) in muscle cells during exercise, ultimately recharging energy levels within muscle cells, which promotes increased muscle performance and strength (3).

Creatine also increases calcium uptake into muscle cells (4). Since calcium promotes the interaction between the two muscle proteins actin and myosin, and it is the interaction between actin and myosin that generates muscle contraction, larger amounts of calcium within the muscle cell increase the actin-myosin interaction, thereby increasing the force of muscle contractions and thus muscle strength.

Creatine 's capacity to increase muscle hypertrophy is based in large part on its ability to stimulate new muscle cell formation (5), increase muscle protein synthesis (6) and reduce the production of the muscle-building inhibitory molecule myostatin (7), while increasing the production of certain muscle-building hormones (9).

It's all about the timing

The timing of creatine intake relative to training appears to be an important factor contributing to the aforementioned performance-enhancing effects (10). For example, a study conducted by Cribb and colleagues (11) showed that consuming 6 grams of creatine for 10 weeks both before and after training resulted in greater gains in muscle mass than consuming the same amounts of creatine in the morning and evening without regard to the time of training. In addition, a second study by Antonio and colleagues (12) compared the different effects of consuming five grams of creatine monohydrate immediately before or immediately after training over a four-week period. Interestingly, they found a greater increase in muscle mass and strength in the group that consumed creatine after training with weights than in the group that consumed creatine immediately before training.

Creatine consumption after training increases gains in muscle mass more strongly

While both of these studies strongly suggest that the timing of creatine intake is important, neither of these studies used a control group that trained with weights and only took a placebo that did not contain creatine monohydrate. The lack of this control group makes it more difficult to conclude that creatine supplementation before and/or after exercise produced relatively greater gains in muscle mass and strength.

To address this limitation, a recent study conducted by Candow and colleagues looked at the influence of consuming 8 grams of creatine monohydrate before or after resistance training, with a control group also consuming a creatine-free placebo, which provided the opportunity to determine whether the timing of creatine consumption alone influenced its performance-enhancing qualities (13).

The results of this study were similar to those of the study by Antonio and colleagues (12): subjects who consumed creatine immediately after weight training experienced greater gains in muscle mass than subjects who consumed creatine before training and subjects in the control group who performed weight training and did not consume creatine. On the other hand, this study also partially contradicted the study by Antonio and colleagues, as it found no significant difference in strength gains between the groups consuming creatine before or after training, suggesting that the timing of creatine intake only affected muscle hypertrophy, while consuming creatine either before or after training increased strength equally.

The authors of the study speculated that the relatively greater gains in muscle mass with post-workout creatine supplementation may be due to the concomitant increase in blood creatine levels, as creatine levels tend to peak approximately one to two hours after consumption, which coincides with the increased blood flow to working muscles induced by resistance training, as muscle contractions increase blood flow to muscle tissue for approximately one to two hours (14, 15). As a result, the simultaneous increases in creatine levels and muscle blood flow should increase the delivery of creatine "supercharged" blood to working muscles, thereby increasing creatine uptake into target muscle tissues, ultimately producing superior gains in muscle mass.

Counteracts muscle catabolism at the right time

Although the exact cellular mechanisms that generate the enhanced increase in muscle growth from post-workout creatine consumption are not yet fully understood, the higher amount of intramuscular creatine caused by post-workout consumption appears to stimulate superior muscle growth through a more effective increase in cellular hydration within muscle cells, which enhances muscle protein synthesis (16,17,18). The capacity of post-exercise creatine consumption to increase intramuscular creatine levels precisely one to two hours after exercise and improve both cellular hydration and muscle protein synthesis almost certainly increases the specific capacity to build muscle mass, which appears to be especially true considering that weight training tends to induce catabolic breakdown of muscle protein for several hours after exercise. For this reason, post-workout creatine consumption should be able to counteract the catabolic influence of resistance training by increasing the rate of muscle protein synthesis at just the right time, ultimately promoting muscle protein accumulation and therefore muscle growth.

In conclusion, the science shows that taking creatine monohydrate after weight training tends to promote greater muscle growth. On the other hand, the scientific data shows no significant difference in strength gains when comparing pre- and post-workout creatine use, as subjects who consumed 5 to 10 grams of creatine monohydrate per day tended to show similar impressive gains in strength regardless of the timing of creatine intake.

Since creatine is quite cheap and very safe, and most of us are trying to increase both muscle mass and strength, I recommend that the average keatin user consume about three to five grams of creatine monohydrate before and after training to maximize the capacity to build both muscle mass and strength. If you prefer to build muscle mass, you can try using a higher creatine dosage post-workout to more specifically increase the tendency to build lean muscle mass.

References:

1. McNaughton LR, Dalton B and Tarr J. The effects of creatine supplementation on high-intensity exercise performance in elite performers. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1998; 78, 236-240
2. Tipton KD and Wolfe RR. Protein and amino acids for athletes. J Sports Sci 2004; 22, 65-79
3. Bemben MG and Lamont H.S. Creatine supplementation and exercise performance: recent findings, Sports Med 2005; 35, 107-125
4. Bazzucchi I, Felici F and Sacchetti M. Effects of short-term creatine supplementation on neuromuscular function. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009;41, 1934-1941
5. Willoughby DS and Rosene J.M. Effects of oral creatine and resistance training on myogenic regulatory factor expression. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003; 35, 923-929
6. Willoughby DS and Rosene J.M. Effects of oral creatine and resistance training on myosin heavy chain expression. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001; 33, 1674-1681
7. Volek JS, Duncan ND, et al. Performance and muscle fiber adaptations to creatine supplementation and heavy resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999; 31, 1147-1156
8. van der Merwe J, Brooks NE and Myburgh KH. Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players. Clin J Sports Med 2009; 19, 399-404
9. Hoffman J, Ratamess N, et al. Effects of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine response in strength/power athletes. Int J Sports Nutr Exerc Metab 2006; 16, 430-446
10. Candow DG, Chilibeck PD, et al. Effect of ceasing creatine supplementation while maintaining resistance training in older men. J Aging Phys Act 2004; 12, 219-231
11. Cribb PJ and Hayes A. Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2006; 38, 1918-1925
12. Antonio J and Ciccone V. The effects of pre versus post workout supplementation of creatine monohydrate on body composition and strength. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2013; 10, 36
13. Candow DG, Vogt E, et al. Strategic creatine supplementation and resistance training in healthy older adults. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2015; 40, 689-694
14. Harris RC, Soderlund K and Hultman E. elevation of creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by creatine supplementation. Clin Sci (Lond) 1992; 83, 367-374
15. Tipton KD, Rasmussen BB, et al. Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2001; 281, E197-206
16. Haussinger D, Hallbrucker C, et al. Cell swelling inhibits proteolysis in perfused rat liver. Biochem J 1990; 272, 239-242
17. Haussinger D, Roth E, et al. Cellular hydration state: an important determinant of protein catabolism in health and disease. Lancet 1993, 341, 1330-1332
18. Millar ID, Barber MC, et al. Mammary protein synthesis is acutely regulated by the cellular hydration state. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1997; 230, 351-335