How does creatine work?
Creatine supplements work by increasing the amount of creatine phosphate stored in your muscles, which then allows your body to quickly recover between all-out maximal efforts and go again, since those creatine phosphate stores are key for explosive power. It does this by helping to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is what the body uses to contract muscles. But there are other benefits that go along with it beyond sprinting. (For more on the science of creatine, Bicycling has a great explainer here.)
What can creatine do?
It may help build lean muscle mass
While you may not want huge biceps like the bros at the gym, you still want rock solid quads and glutes as a cyclist. Creatine can help maintain and even potentially build that lean muscle mass that’s so important to your cycling abilities as well as your overall health and longevity. And if you’re recovering from an injury, creatine may also help you hold onto that lean muscle mass while you take time off the bike and out of the gym.
It may help your sprint
The research is a bit mixed on creatine’s ability to boost your sprinting abilities. Some studies have found no impact on a final sprint (though they did find other positive benefits) while others found that it can improve a rider’s ability to push hard towards the end of longer events, or even to perform well in multiple sprints with rest interspersed between.
It may help you perform in the heat
While some people find that the water retention that can come as a side effect of creatine is a detriment to performance, others find that it’s actually helpful when it comes to dealing with hot races and rides. It may also help you recover faster from these and other hard efforts, though as many experts note, there’s still a lot of research to be done here.
It can be helpful for concussion recovery
Researchers have found that while there’s still more research to be done, it appears that creatine may improve outcome and reduce symptom severity for those suffering from traumatic brain injuries like concussions. They found that supplementation reduced injury to nerve cells, helped the brain stay functioning at normal energy levels, and improved both cognitive and physical symptoms. However, don’t wait until post-concussion to start taking creatine for this benefit: Researchers note that because it takes a while to start working, the best way to help speed concussion recovery is to be preemptively supplementing.
How to use creatine as a cyclist
You can get creatine monohydrate from Enervit—where you know you’ll be getting a carefully formulated, tested and vetted product. For cyclists, taking it couldn’t be easier: Blend into your post-ride smoothie, mix with yogurt at breakfast, or simply mix it into water, since it’s unflavored and dissolves easily.
It will takes time to work. Unlike, say, energy from caffeine, creatine takes a while to be effective, and it only works if you’re using it regularly. Typically, it takes a few weeks to start seeing any positive effects, and even those will be minor. It’s not going to turn a pure endurance athlete into a super sprinter: It will just potentially give you a small boost in those maximal efforts.
There are also some initial potential side effects: Women in particular may notice that there’s a period of time when first using creatine where they’ll be more likely to retain water. This eventually will go away, but it can be disconcerting—and is likely why creatine has been slow to gain popularity.
Finally, don’t expect creatine to help much if you’re not training at all. While it can improve performance, it can only do so by allowing you to push harder in workouts, do that one extra rep, or sprint that tiny bit harder. You still have to do the high-intensity work to make creatine effective!
Creatine users used to be instructed to begin with a loading phase, taking larger doses to get started. But most experts now agree that you can start with a normal serving size—roughly 3.4 grams of creatine monohydrate—once a day.
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