Although it may not be marketed as such, creatine is a popular fitness supplement often used as a pre workout.
Many people become confused when thinking about creatine vs pre workout, but there is no need to decide between the two.
Creatine has many qualities that make it effective to take before a workout, however, it is not considered a pre workout on its own.
Creatine boosts workout performance and is found in many pre-workout supplements.
Creatine doesn't have to be taken as a pre-workout to provide beneficial effects on performance.
In fact, creatine can be taken post-workout as well. Some people may even prefer to have creatine both before and after a workout, particularly if they are taking a loading phase dose of creatine.
This article will explain what creatine is, how creatine can be a part of your pre workout supplementation routine, the benefits of using creatine, and much more.
Key Takeaways: Creatine as a Pre-Workout
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Creatine can be a pre-workout or not. Creatine helps boost performance and may be found in many pre-workout supplements or used as a pre-workout, but it doesn't have to be.
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Creatine works by providing energy to your muscles. Creatine increases phosphocreatine stores in your muscles which boosts ATP and provides more energy to perform high-intensity exercise.
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Creatine is different from a pre-workout. Creatine is a common additive to pre-workout formulas, but there are many differences between creatine and pre workout.
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Taking creatine pre- or post-workout may not be that important. Research suggests that taking creatine close to a workout is more important than if it is taken right before or right after.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in the body, in food sources, and in supplements. Creatine is made up of three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
Creatine occurs naturally in the body as it is created in the liver and kidneys.
You can also get creatine from your diet. A typical diet provides roughly half of our creatine stores from protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.
Additionally, creatine is a popular performance-enhancing supplement. Creatine helps to produce energy in your muscles for intense exercise.
In addition to consuming creatine from dietary sources, many athletes choose to take a creatine supplement to optimize their body's creatine stores and improve performance.
What Is Creatine Monohydrate?
Creatine monohydrate is the most common form of creatine found in supplements.
Most of the research on creatine supplementation has been with creatine monohydrate. Research suggests that creatine monohydrate can improve lean body mass, speed up muscle recovery after a workout, improve resistance training performance, and enhance muscle protein synthesis.
There are other less common forms of creatine such as creatine esters and creatine hydrochloride, however, these forms are less common.
How Does Creatine Work in the Body?
Most of our body's creatine can be found in our muscle cells in the form of phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine is essential from producing a compound called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
ATP is our body's main energy source which we use for muscle contraction.
When we increase creatine levels, such as with supplementation, we increase phosphocreatine stores, which then boosts ATP and provides more energy for our muscles to perform high-intensity exercise.
How Does Creatine Benefit Training Performance?
Creatine boosts ATP in your muscles. With more ATP available, there is more energy for muscles to contract and perform at high intensities. With high creatine available in muscle cells, athletes are able to perform at high intensities for longer durations before getting fatigued.
This translates to performing more reps with higher weight before exhaustion. Many athletes feel more encouraged in their workout when they notice they can lift heavier weights and have higher energy levels.
With performance improvements, you will also see improved muscle gains because you can do more. Numerous studies support using creatine to boost exercise performance and increase muscle mass [2].
Creatine also plays a role in speeding up muscle recovery after a tough resistance training workout, unlike typical pre workout formulas.
Additionally, creatine may also provide further health benefits such as improving blood sugar management and cognitive function [3, 4].
Taking Creatine Pre-Workout: Does it Help?
Creatine can provide benefits toward exercise performance regardless of whether it is taken as a pre-workout supplement or a post-workout supplement.
While creatine is not considered on its own a pre-workout, it is often used as such. Whether taken right before exercise or combined with a pre-workout supplement, creatine can be equally effective in boosting physical performance and providing an energy boost to muscles.
What is Pre Workout?
Pre workout is a type of fitness supplement that is a composition of various performance-enhancing ingredients.
Common ingredients include caffeine, and amino acids like beta alanine, citrulline, taurine, branched chain amino acids, and betaine.
Many of the ingredients in pre workout are considered nitric oxide precursors. Nitric oxide precursors include arginine, citrulline, and beetroot juice, all of which promote blood flow and may enhance cardiovascular function and endurance.
Pre workout is taken before exercise, particularly for resistance training exercise to enhance focus during a workout and optimize muscle growth.
Creatine vs Pre-Workout: What are the Differences?
While creatine can be used as a pre-workout supplement to boost performance, it is different from traditional pre-workout supplements in many ways. Below are some of the main differences between the two.
Ingredients
One of the biggest differences between creatine and pre-workout supplements is the ingredients.
While creatine is a single ingredient supplement, pre workout supplements have multiple ingredients.
Creatine is a common ingredient in many pre-workout supplements. Pre workout proprietary blends also contain several other stimulant ingredients including caffeine and non-essential amino acids such as beta-alanine, citrulline, tyrosine, and taurine which may provide an acute stimulant response of boost exercise performance in other ways [5].
Beta alanine is a non-essential amino acid that delays fatigue in muscles, improves muscle endurance, and helps to build lean muscle mass.
Both creatine and pre workout have ingredients that can boost energy, however, the ingredients in pre workout formulas might be more apt to provide an energy boost and enhance mental focus compared to creatine on its own.
Additionally, creatine is a naturally occurring compound, while many ingredients found in pre workout supplements are not, but the specific ingredients depends on the unique formulation.
Timing
To get the most out of a pre-workout supplement, gym goers must consume it right before exercise, Ideally, taking a pre workout around 20-30 minutes before starting your sweat session is most effective.
However, creatine can be taken at any time and it doesn't necessarily have to be right at the time of your workout.
Some individuals find creatine to be helpful to include in their pre-workout or take it by itself right before exercise, while others prefer to consume creatine post-workout.
While there are no current guidelines for the best time to take creatine, some researchers agree that taking it close to when you exercise is likely most beneficial for optimal training sessions and to enhance focus during your workout [6].
You may also wish to have creatine on rest days and timing on these days is likely less important than on workout days.
Benefits
Both creatine and pre workout formulas both have benefits to improve muscle strength and enhance mental focus and athletic performance during a workout.
The ingredients in pre-workout supplements will differ in their potential benefits compared to creatine supplements.
For example, creatine is a helpful pre-workout supplement because it can boost adenosine triphosphate levels in your muscles for improved performance. Creatine supplements directly increase creatine stores in the body, while pre workout doesn't have this specific niche.
On the other hand, ingredients commonly found in pre-workout supplements, such as caffeine, work by boosting energy levels to increase strength, endurance, and power [7]. Pre workout supplements may be more tailored to target mental focus compared to creatine.
Other ingredients such as specific non-essential amino acids like beta-alanine, can elevate carnosine production in the muscles which can help break down glucose for fuel during high-intensity exercise and reduce acid levels which reduces fatigue post-workout [8].
Each ingredient in pre-workout supplements will provide different benefits to give athletes a performance boost, which is why you often find many different combinations of ingredients in these products.
Can You Mix Creatine With Pre Workout?
Creatine is already a common additive in many pre-workout supplements. If you don't currently have a pre-workout that contains creatine, it is okay to add it to your current supplement. In fact, it may provide even further benefits to add it to the mix.
Many athletes choose to take two supplements separately: pre workout and creatine. However, it's also possible to find a supplement that contains both pre workout ingredients and creatine.
Can Creatine Itself Work as a Pre-Workout?
If you aren't a fan of traditional pre-workout supplements, whether you haven't noticed a significant benefit or are sensitive to stimulants such as caffeine, you can use creatine on its own as an effective pre-workout. Simply incorporate your creatine supplement within 30 minutes of starting your regular exercise routine.
However, you will likely not notice an increase in energy for your training sessions as many typical pre workouts would do.
How Much Creatine Should I Take?
The recommended maintenance dose of creatine is between 3-5 grams per day. However, many individuals begin with a loading phase to more quickly saturate their creatine stores and to build muscle more rapidly.
A loading phase is a short period, about 5-7 days, where you consume high amounts of creatine, 20-25 grams, each day. This is typically done throughout the day versus in one sitting.
For example, one may take a creatine supplement of 5 grams in the morning, before and after a workout, and in the evening for a total of 20 grams [2].
Once the loading phase is complete, you would then continue with the maintenance dose of 3-5 grams per day to keep up your body's creatine stores.
A loading phase is not a required step in taking creatine to see benefits. Some prefer a loading phase while others wish to skip it.
When starting with a loading phase dose it's important to stay adequately hydrated to reduce the risk of muscle cramping or stomach discomfort.
Keep in mind that creatine may absorbed better if taken close to a meal that contains a good source of carbohydrates and protein.
Those who partake in creatine loading often notice some side effects of water retention. While this may be disconcerting to some, others may not notice or mind. This typically resolves once the loading phase is completed but a small amount of water retention typically continues while taking creatine.
Water retention from creatine supplements occurs because creatine pulls water into your muscles. The increase in water retention is not true weight gain and not associated with an increase in fat mass [9].
How Long Does Creatine Take to Work?
When you first begin creatine supplements, if you only take the maintenance dose of 3-5 grams per day it will take anywhere from two weeks up to a month to see a noticeable improvement in exercise performance.
However, those who participate in creatine loading may experience the benefits of creatine sooner, within roughly 5-7 days.
The reason those who complete a loading phase may notice improvements sooner is that creatine loading helps to saturate your muscle creatine stores quickly compared to taking only the maintenance dose.
The faster you can boost your creatine stores the faster you will see improvements in your athletic performance.
Will Creatine Make Me Gain Weight?
A common myth when it comes to creatine supplementation is that it can cause weight gain. Those who are taking creatine, particularly during the loading phase, will notice an uptick in their weight however, this is due to water retention.
Creatine pulls water into your muscles which temporarily increases your weight. While this is most dramatic during a loading phase (between 2-5 pounds), it typically resolves or significantly improves once you go back to a maintenance dose. It will resolve completely when you stop taking creatine [10].
Creatine is likely to cause muscle growth which can sometimes translate to weight gain since muscle weighs more than fat. But keep in mind than an increase in muscle growth that leads to weight gain is not the same as fat gain.
Does Creatine Give You Energy?
Creatine gives your muscles more energy to perform high-intensity exercise so you can push through short bursts of movement without getting fatigued as quickly. The creatine stored in our muscles is increased with supplementation and our body uses that to to draw out energy during exercise.
Keep in mind, however, that the energy we get during exercise when taking creatine is not the same as the energy we may get from stimulants such as caffeine that are often found in pre-workout supplements.
Creatine allows you to perform better but it doesn't make you feel energized like many pre-workout supplements do.
Should I Take Creatine Before or After My Workout?
Creatine and pre workout are two common supplements that many people consider and utilize on their fitness journey. There is no need to decide between creatine vs pre workout because both are important.
There are no current guidelines for the best time to have creatine, but many researchers agree that taking it close to when you exercise is likely most beneficial. Creatine can either be taken as a pre workout or post workout supplement [6].
The timing of your creatine supplement will depend on a few different factors including the presence of a pre-workout supplement, if you are in a loading phase, and personal preference.
If you are already taking a pre-workout supplement that doesn't include creatine, you may wish to have creatine post-workout. If you are creatine loading, it's easier to get the required dose of creatine per day by breaking it apart into 4 servings which may include a dose right before and right after exercise.
Lastly, personal preference plays a big role. Some people prefer to consume creatine before their workout while others may not care and may alternate between pre- and post-workout, depending on the day.
To optimize your fitness journey, the most important factor is that you are getting your creatine in closely within the time you exercise to get the best results.
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