Creatine is a widely used supplement, with statistics showing that 15-40% of athletes and military personnel have used it (1). And it works! A recent review of the science concluded that taking creatine with strength training will increase strength by 20% compared to a measly 12% without (2).

So it works. It will increase your strength if you take it. But there are other potential athletic benefits to taking creatine, benefits that are only just coming to light in the research… read on.

Not sure what creatine is? Start with the basics:

Athletes know that recovery is paramount to ensure you're always performing at a high level, and creatine can help with that.

A 2003 study from the University of Connecticut followed subjects put through a grueling 10 weeks of very high volume "overreaching" training, combined with very limited recovery time between workouts (3). Unlike the placebo group who's performance actually dropped through overtraining, those taking creatine actually improved performance.

The reason for this could be a reduction in muscle damage. Another study from Australia showed that subjects doing muscle damaging eccentric exercises were found to have much less evidence of muscle damage (through blood tests) (4). Incidentally this study also showed that strength following the eccentric exercise was 10-21% higher in those who supplemented with creatine.

Adding HMB also amplifies the effects - read more here:

A lot of safety data on creatine focuses on it's potential to INCREASE risk of injury if being used. So far the opposite has been true (1). In fact, a 2003 study that followed college football players during the season reported that athletes who were supplementing with creatine encountered less incidences of muscle cramps, tightness, strains, or injury than those that didn't supplement with creatine (5). Yes, there needs to be more research into this relationship, but being stronger is a fairly good way of reducing the risk of injury, as shown in a 2019 study on hurling athletes (6).

1. Kreider et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Read the research

2. Rawson & Volek (2003). Effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance.Read the research

3. Volek et al. (2004). The effects of creatine supplementation on muscular performance and body composition responses to short-term resistance training overreaching. Read the research

4. Cooke at al. (2009). Creatine supplementation enhances muscle force recovery after eccentrically-induced muscle damage in healthy individuals. Read the research

5. Greenwood et al. (2003). Cramping and Injury Incidence in Collegiate Football Players Are Reduced by Creatine Supplementation. Read the research

6. Malone et al. (2019). Can the workload–injury relationship be moderated by improved strength, speed and repeated-sprint qualities?Read the research