Taking 20 grams of creatine a day for five days boosts the amount of creatine in young men's muscles, even if they don’t work out or eat a lot of carbs.

If young, healthy guys take a lot of creatine for 5 days straight, their muscles soak it up and end up with about 21% more creatine inside them.

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.

If young, healthy guys take a lot of creatine with a high-carb diet after a tough workout, their muscles store more creatine within just a few days — and it keeps going up the longer they take it.

Taking 21 grams of creatine a day for 5 days can boost the amount of creatine in your muscles by about 30%, but it doesn’t make your muscles build protein faster or break it down slower, whether you’ve eaten or not.

Taking creatine supplements the way some athletes do—starting with a big dose, then switching to a smaller one—might temporarily boost the sugar stored in your muscles, but that boost fades once you switch to the smaller daily dose.