Anyone into health and fitness is always looking for ways to improve their performance. When it comes to supplements to do that, there’s no shortage. Pre-workouts, electrolytes, BCAAs, EAAs, protein, carbs… the list goes on. But if you’re looking to maximize muscle growth, there’s one that consistently sparks interest—creatine.
Creatine has been the gold star for muscle growth for ages, and it’s one of the most popular ergogenic aids used among bodybuilders and athletes. While it has a lot to offer for performance and recovery, what about for times when you’re not training? Can you take creatine without working out?
We’re looking at the science behind creatine—what it is, what it has to offer, and if there’s a benefit to supplementing without training.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a molecule naturally produced in the body by the liver and kidneys from three amino acids—methionine, glycine, and arginine—and plays a significant role in energy availability.
It’s important for regeneration of the body’s main source of energy, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used to power every biological process that happens within your body.
The body maintains pretty large creatine stores, with approximately 95% of creatine found in the body stored in skeletal muscles as phosphocreatine and the remaining 5% divided between the brain and testes 1. Creatine stored in muscles is an important component for the regeneration of ATP.
The body relies on a constant supply of ATP to fuel all activities, including muscular contraction. When ATP is not regenerated at a fast enough pace, any activity comes to a screeching halt, which probably means an abrupt end to your training session.
However, the substrate needed to rephosphorylate ADP into ATP to supply active muscle tissue depends on muscle reserves of phosphocreatine (PCr).
Because prolonged high-intensity activity rapidly depletes phosphocreatine stores, unless replenished energy output will also decline because of insufficient substrate needed to meet the demands of high-intensity exercise 2. When ATP cannot be regenerated, maximal effort takes a massive hit and your power output tanks.
Simply put, the main role of creatine during exercise is to combine with a phosphoryl group (Pi) to form phosphocreatine. During the energy production cycle, ATP is degraded into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and an inorganic phosphate molecule (Pi), which provides energy to fuel biological functions. The free energy released from the hydrolysis of phosphocreatine to creatine and phosphate is used as a buffer to resynthesis ATP. This entire process guarantees ATP availability during high-intensity, maximal effort anaerobic activities 1.
Benefits Of Taking Creatine
For most people, supplementing with creatine means more muscle and better strength, and while creatine plays a major role in supporting maximal muscle growth via boosting energy availability and work capacity, it also plays a role in recovery.
1. Better Performance And Muscle Growth
If you’re looking for enhanced performance and better muscle growth, creatine is your guy. Because muscle cells require a constant supply of energy and rapidly utilize phosphocreatine during high-intensity exercise, supplementing with creatine boosts muscle stores, which translates directly to more energy, more power, and more muscle growth.
A larger creatine phosphate pool also leads to faster regeneration of ATP, which helps support more rapid recovery after intense exercise.
Some studies suggest it can also reduce blood lactate accumulation during low-intensity aerobic activity, thus improving lactate threshold and ventilatory threshold.
What’s more, research suggests that creatine supplementation may also be beneficial for aerobic exercise. Endurance activates exceeding 150 seconds rely on a process called oxidative phosphorylation to provide energy.
Once exercise surpasses 150 seconds, the benefits of creatine on ATP regeneration decreases, but studies show that creatine supplementation may actually alter substrate utilization for energy production, possibly leading to an increase in endurance performance 3.
If that’s not enough, studies have found that creatine supplementation can boost levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which has powerful anabolic effects on skeletal muscle and may further enhance muscle growth by mediating the growth-promoting effects of growth hormone (GH) 4.
2. Stronger Recovery
Recovery is a part of performance that many athletes neglect. While things like diet, sleep, stress levels, and the like play a significant role in supporting muscle recovery, supplementation does, too.
Studies find that when combined with carbohydrates (glucose) post-workout, creatine supplementation may improve both creatine and carbohydrate retention in muscle, and because replenishing muscle glycogen stores is essential for muscle recovery, it can help to speed up the rate of repair and recovery 1.
Additionally, there is also potential for creatine to reduce the extent of muscle damage incurred with intense training. Studies show that supplementation can reduce several markers of inflammation, including cytokines, prostaglandins, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 5, 6.
Can I Take Creatine Without Working Out?
One of the main reasons people choose to take creatine is to enhance workout performance. Due to its role in boosting energy availability, which translates into a better work capacity and greater muscle gains, there wouldn’t be much of a point in supplementing creatine if you’re not going to train.
However, some research does suggest that creatine may offer benefits outside the gym. There’s evidence that creatine may also be beneficial for 1:
- Post-workout recovery
- Injury prevention
- Thermoregulation
- Rehabilitation
- Concussion and/or spinal cord neuroprotection
Studies have found that creatine supplementation may benefit neurological and cognitive function 7. Research shows that higher brain concentrations of creatine are linked to improved neuropsychological performance. It may also improve cognitive function hindered due to sleep deprivation and/or natural impairment due to aging.
Additionally, one review found that creatine benefits older adults, such as improvements in fatigue resistance, strength, muscle mass, bone mineral density, and performance, some of which occur even without concurrent exercise 8.
Final Thoughts
With all that said, creatine is one of those supplements that offers the biggest bang for your buck if you’re training hard.
Its ability to rapidly regenerate ATP means that you’ll not only get a pump like no other, but you can sustain that pump for increased muscle hypertrophy and a stronger recovery afterward.
However, based on available research, creatine may offer other non-training benefits, but its effect on muscle growth and recovery remains its primary role.
References
- RB Kreider, DS Kalman, J Antonio, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 Jun; 14(18).
- TW Buford, RB Kreider, JR Stout, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise.J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007; 4: 6.
- JD Branch. Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: a meta-analysis. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003 Jun; 13(2): 198-226.
- GR Adams. Insulin-like growth factor in muscle growth and its potential abuse by athletes. West J Med. 2001; 175(1): 7-9.
- MB Cooke, E Rybalka, AD Williams, PJ Cribb, A Hayes. Creatine supplementation enhances muscle force recovery after eccentrically-induced muscle damage in healthy individuals. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009 Jun 2; 6: 13.
- RV Santos, RA Bassit, EC Caperuto, LF Costa Rosa. The effect of creatine supplementation upon inflammatory and muscle soreness markers after a 30km race. Life Sci. 2004 Sep 3; 75(16): 1917-24.
- R Cooper, F Naclerio, J Allgrove, A Jimenez. Creatine supplementation with specific view to exercise/sports performance: an update. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012;9(1):33.
- ES Rawson, AC Use of creatine in the elderly and evidence for effects on cognitive function in young and old.Amino Acids. 2011;40(5):1349-1362.
