My #1 recommended supplement

As a sports dietitian I do not recommend supplements willy-nilly. I only recommend the ones that have science backing them and are going to help you achieve your goals.

Creatine is one of those supplements!

Research is ever growing with how creatine supplementation may help individuals (including with cognition/concussion recovery, long COVID recovery, fibromyalgia, the list goes on!). It is very much a watch this space for some of those new areas, but the reason I recommend it frequently because it’s role in lean muscle gain.

This means if you are rehabing an injury, just trying to grow your lean muscle or alter body composition this pre-season > creatine may be for you!

But how should you take it?

You do need to do a loading phase when first starting this supplement, to enable your muscles to reach saturation point. This can be done over a ~one week period or a longer four-week period. You are more likely to experience some side effects if opting for the shorter loading period (water weight).

One week load > ~20g per day (spread across the day)

Four week load > ~5g per day

After this time a maintenance dose of 3-5g is sufficient to keep muscle saturated. Levels will return to baseline over a few weeks once the supplement is ceased.

Other considerations:

Pairing creatine with a generous carbohydrate serve is recommended to promote best uptake!

Of course the above should never replace individual advice and although you may have goals around lean muscle gain etc. there are of course specific considerations depending on body size/chosen sport/medical & injury history etc.