Why does creatine make muscles look fuller?
Creatine supplementation increases glycogen storage but not GLUT-4 expression in human skeletal muscle.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Creatine increased muscle glycogen by 18±5% without changing GLUT-4, GS-1, or Gln-1 expression.
It’s widely believed creatine works by upregulating GLUT-4 to pull more glucose into muscles. This study shows that mechanism is wrong—yet glycogen still rose, meaning a completely unknown pathway is involved.
Practical Takeaways
If you want the 'fuller muscle' look, do a 5-day creatine loading phase (20g/day). But if you switch to maintenance (2g/day), the effect fades.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Creatine increased muscle glycogen by 18±5% without changing GLUT-4, GS-1, or Gln-1 expression.
It’s widely believed creatine works by upregulating GLUT-4 to pull more glucose into muscles. This study shows that mechanism is wrong—yet glycogen still rose, meaning a completely unknown pathway is involved.
Practical Takeaways
If you want the 'fuller muscle' look, do a 5-day creatine loading phase (20g/day). But if you switch to maintenance (2g/day), the effect fades.
Publication
Journal
Clinical science
Year
2004
Authors
L. V. van Loon, R. Murphy, A. Oosterlaar, D. Cameron-Smith, M. Hargreaves, A. Wagenmakers, R. Snow
Related Content
Claims (3)
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.
Taking creatine supplements for about six weeks doesn’t seem to change the levels of a specific protein and its genetic instructions in your muscles, even if you’re healthy.
Taking creatine supplements may help your muscles store more glycogen, which is like a sugar reservoir, and since glycogen holds onto water, your muscles end up holding more water too.