Creatine for strength: the rare supplement that clearly works — if you train
Evidence is good enough to be worth trying for this claim. · Multiple large RCTs or meta-analyses agree.
If you lift, creatine adds a few reps and a few percent of strength over weeks, with the best safety record in the category. Without training it does very little. The 'brain' benefits are real but small and mostly in older or sleep-short adults.
The world's evidence
- Effect, in daily-life terms
- About 5–10% more strength and a few extra reps at high intensity over weeks of training, plus 1–2 kg of water-related weight early on; small, inconsistent gains on memory tasks, mainly in older or sleep-deprived adults.
- Who was studied
- Hundreds of RCTs in trained and untrained adults; position stand from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Cognition evidence is from a small number of short RCTs.
- Cheaper option with better evidence
- Resistance training (2× per week)
Worth knowing
Extensively studied and considered safe for healthy adults at 3–5 g/day; the early weight gain is water. People with kidney disease should ask a professional first. It only does anything if you train.
Your evidence
Research says what happens on average. Log it for 14 days and Feelments shows what changed in your sleep, energy or mood — a pattern in your own logs, not a claim.
Sources
- Guideline (2017) — Kreider et al., J Int Soc Sports Nutr — ISSN position stand: creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic supplement for high-intensity exercise capacity and lean mass during training; safe in healthy populations.
- Meta-analysis / review (2018) — Avgerinos et al., Exp Gerontol — systematic review of RCTs on creatine and cognition in healthy adults: possible short-term memory benefit, evidence limited.
Last reviewed 2026-09-03. Verdicts are editorial assessments of published research, at the population level.
Feelments is for personal tracking and general wellness education. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.