Is Creatine Good for Weight Gain? Does it Boost Muscle Growth?

Is Creatine Good for Weight Gain

Imad Deryan Founder of OJ Digital Solutions

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

You’ve probably heard of creatine and how bodybuilders hold it in high regard. Can creatine help you gain weight and build muscle? The answer is a big YES! In fact, a study published in 2003 showed that 30 days of high-dose creatine supplementation can yield an average weight gain of 3.75lbs!

When I was starting my journey to bulking up, I often wondered if adding creatine to my diet can help me hit my fitness goal. In this article, we find out how creatine can transform your skinny physique into a muscular one in no time.

What Exactly is Creatine?

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound used by your body for producing energy while you exercise. Athletes and bodybuilders take it to complete more reps, lift heavier weights, and give their muscles a larger appearance.

Your body produces creatine on its own from arginine, glycine, and methionine. You may also obtain small amounts of creatine by eating steak or fish.

Visit your local health supplement store and you will most likely see all types of creatine powders or capsules that you can choose from as well.

Can Creatine Help You Gain Weight?

Yes, creatine can definitely help you gain weight. But we have to be clear, the weight that you will gain from creatine alone will come from water weight – not fat or muscle.

Creatine does not contain any protein, calories, or fat that can be used for building lean muscle or increasing your fat stores. So how does it actually help you gain weight?

Creatine drives more water into and around your muscle cells. This gives your muscles a larger and more-volumized appearance, making you look more muscular.

Creatine for larger muscles

Can Creatine Lead to Muscle Growth?

Creatine is one of the best supplements to take if you are trying to build lean muscle. Strictly speaking, however, creatine does not directly cause lean muscle development. So, how exactly does it help you gain muscle?

Creatine is all about boosting your workout performance, allowing you to push yourself harder while you take on high-intensity reps. As you know, working out creates tiny tears in your muscle tissue. Whenever you rest, your body repairs those micro-tears – resulting in stronger, harder, and well-toned muscle mass.

So, by taking creatine, you get to enhance your physical performance, which translates to the growth of larger and stronger muscles.

Creatine for Boosting Workout Performance

Creatine is helpful when it comes to boosting your muscles’ phosphocreatine reserves. Phosphocreatine is needed for synthesizing ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the primary molecule that is used by your cells as a source of energy.

Whenever you work out, ATP is broken down by the body to produce energy. When it gets used up, your body gradually resynthesizes ATP on its own.

Taking creatine significantly increases your body’s phosphocreatine stores. This gives your muscles more ATP to use during high-intensity reps and sets. A study even showed that creatine can improve high-intensity workout performance by up to 15%.

High intensity workout

Creatine for Delaying the Onset of Muscle Fatigue

Whenever you work out, you feel that stinging sensation in your muscles. That burning sensation is caused by lactic acid, which is produced in your muscles as a byproduct of high-intensity exercise.

As soon as you feel your muscles starting to hurt, you end up cutting your sets short and taking an unnecessary break.

Creatine has been shown to help buffer the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles. This helps prolong your muscle endurance, allowing you to throw in more reps and lift heavier weights with less feelings of muscle soreness.

Creatine for Larger Muscles

As mentioned earlier, creatine drives more water into your muscle cells. This makes your muscles appear larger in size due to their increased water content.

By saturating your muscle cells with water, creatine also creates the perfect environment for muscle growth to take place.

To enjoy the best muscle-building effects out of creatine, make sure to consume high amounts of protein and follow an effective strength-training program.

Is it Safe to Use Creatine Every Day?

You might be wondering if creatine causes any adverse side effects when taken every day. There are creatine users who reported to have experienced unwanted issues, such as dehydration, muscle cramps, bloating, or indigestion. 

However, research shows that creatine is one of the safest supplements in the market today. This study showed test participants who took creatine supplements for 21 months did not experience any negative effects.

What’s Next?

Creatine can be a good supplement to take if you are looking to bulk up. If you are looking for a mass gainer that also contains creatine, check out this post now.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Will creatine make me fat?

Creatine can make you look bigger, not because it promotes fat storage, but because it saturates your muscles with water.

Does creatine have calories?

No, creatine does not have any calories, or at the very least, only a tiny amount of calories.

Is taking creatine a good idea for skinny guys?

Yes, creatine can help you build stronger and larger muscles.

How much weight can you gain by taking creatine?

It all depends on your diet, lifestyle, and exercise habits.

How much muscle can you gain in a month with creatine?

In a 6-week study involving well-trained athletes, creatine has been shown to yield a 2.6kg increase in muscle mass.