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Creatine HCl claims to be more soluble, better absorbed, and effective at smaller doses, all with less water retention.

The HCL version is about 72 percent creatine by weight. It’s also relatively inexpensive.Ĭreatine HCl is creatine bound to a hydrochloride molecule. The most commonly studied form of creatine in literature is creatine monohydrate, regarding both efficacy and dose. As a result, monohydrate is about 88 percent creatine by weight. The name “creatine monohydrate” comes from the fact that this type of creatine includes one molecule of water. Creatine Monohydrate vs Creatine Hydrochloride Note: There are reports that ingesting creatine with carbohydrate or carbohydrate and protein (ex: post-workout recovery shake) can more consistently promote greater creatine retention. Larger athletes may need 5-10 g/day additionally as a maintenance dose. You can also use the daily dose of 3 to 5 g/day if you don’t need to achieve creatine saturation quickly. However, such a loading dose is not necessary. The fastest way to increase muscle creatine stores is to ingest 5 g creatine monohydrate (or approximately 0.3 g/kg body weight) four times daily for 5 to 7 days, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 to 5 g/day or 0.1 g/kg of body mass/day. It may also help athletes tolerate heavy increases in training volume. Creatine supplementation may reduce muscle damage and enhance recovery from intense exercise. Creatine supplementation can, in fact, reduce the severity of spinal cord injury, cerebral ischemia, and concussion or traumatic brain injury by promoting cellular homeostasis. Creatine supplementation with carbohydrate or a combination of carbohydrates and protein have been reported to promote greater muscle glycogen storage than carbohydrate supplementation alone, so you don’t fatigue as fast.

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Creatine supplementation can allow you to do more work over a series of sets or sprints leading to greater gains in strength, muscle mass, and/or performance due to an improvement in the quality of training. About 95 percent of creatine is stored in muscle, while 5 percent is in the brain. Can creatine help performance?Īs we mentioned, creatine has a bevy of benefits.

Performance of high-intensity and/or repetitive exercise is generally increased by 10 to 20 percent after creatine loading. Therefore, dietary supplementation of creatine can increase muscle creatine by 20 to 40 percent. On average, a normal diet supplies about 1 to 2 g/day of creatine from foods, leaving muscle creatine stores at about 60 to 80 percent saturation. It helps maintain ATP (energy) availability, particularly during maximal effort anaerobic exercise, like sprinting. The body uses creatine as an energy source for quick bursts (think 5 to 15 seconds). Because of this, vegetarians have been reported to have lower creatine stores and therefore may see greater boosts in muscle creatine after taking supplements. Creatine is an amino acid naturally found in animal products like chicken, steak, and fish.

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