If you're a guy who lifts weights, taking creatine for 8 weeks can help you gain muscle and hold more water inside your muscle cells — but the water doesn't increase more than the muscle does, so it's not just 'bloating' — it's real growth.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

38

Community contributions welcome

38

Creatine Supplementation Does Not Influence the Ratio Between Intracellular Water and Skeletal Muscle Mass in Resistance-Trained Men.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2020 Nov 1

The study found that when men took creatine and lifted weights, their muscles grew and their muscle cells held more water, but the balance between muscle size and water stayed the same—just like the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Creatine Supplementation Does Not Influence the Ratio Between Intracellular Water and Skeletal Muscle Mass in Resistance-Trained Men.

Score: 38

DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0080

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If you're a guy who lifts weights, taking creatine might help you gain more muscle and hold onto more water inside your cells than just training alone.

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When guys who lift weights gain muscle, their muscle cells also hold more water — and this happens whether or not they take creatine. It suggests that growing muscle might be linked to how much water the cells hold.

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Taking 3 to 5 grams of creatine every day can help your muscles store more energy, making you stronger, more powerful, and better at building muscle when you lift weights—without making you gain fat.

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Taking creatine powder for about a week—first a lot, then a little—can boost the amount of creatine in your muscles by over 13%, which helps your muscles store more energy.

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