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.

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.

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.

If you're a guy who lifts weights, taking creatine won't make you hold more water outside your cells compared to just training — the water increase seems to come from working out, not the supplement.

When young women who don't usually exercise start lifting weights, their bodies lose some water inside their cells and overall, which might mean their muscles are holding less water, but it doesn't affect the water outside their cells.

If you're a young guy who lifts weights for fun, taking a 5-gram creatine supplement right after your workout might help you gain a little more muscle and get a bit stronger than taking it before your workout — but we're not super sure because the study was small and the results weren't clear-cut.