How To Use CREATINE To Build Muscle: Loading, Timing & Hair Loss? (Science Explained)

Summary

This video discusses creatine, a well-researched supplement with over 700 human studies backing its safety and effectiveness. It debunks common supplement industry issues like false marketing and overpricing, highlighting creatine's affordability and performance benefits. The video explains creatine's role in ATP production, its effects on strength and muscle growth, and addresses concerns about non-responders, side effects, and potential links to male pattern baldness. It concludes with a sponsorship mention for hims, offering solutions for hair and sexual health.

Takeaways

• 💊 The supplement industry is often criticized for false marketing and overpricing, but creatine stands out as a well-researched and affordable option.
• 🧪 Creatine is backed by over 700 human studies, making it one of the most researched sports supplements for safety and effectiveness.
• 💰 Despite some variants being marketed at high prices, regular creatine monohydrate is cost-effective and offers significant benefits for muscle performance.
• 🥩 To get the same dose from creatine powder as from one teaspoon, one would need to consume a kilogram of raw beef, highlighting the practicality of supplementation.
• ⚡ Creatine works by replenishing ATP quickly, which is crucial for high-intensity, short-duration exercises like sprints and weightlifting.
• 💪 Supplementing with creatine can increase muscle creatine stores by 20-40%, enhancing physical performance and muscle growth.
• 🔋 The fastest way to reach creatine saturation is through a loading phase of 20-25 grams per day for a week, followed by a maintenance dose of 5 grams daily.
• 🏋️‍♂️ A 2003 review of 300 studies showed that creatine supplementation can increase maximal strength and power by 5-15%.
• 💦 Creatine can cause muscular water retention, but this is not a cause for concern as it aids in muscle fiber diameter increase and potential growth.
• ⚠️ While some individuals may not respond to creatine, the broad research support, affordability, and low risk profile make it a worthwhile supplement for most.
• ☕️ There's no need to cycle off creatine, and combining it with caffeine may even have synergistic effects, contrary to an older study's speculation.

Q & A

What are the two main reasons the supplement industry gets a bad reputation according to the script?

The two main reasons are false marketing, where products often don't do what they claim to do, and overpricing, where products are often too expensive for what they offer.

Why is creatine considered a supplement that doesn't commit to the common supplement industry shams?

Creatine is well-researched with over 700 human studies on its safety and efficacy. It is also not expensive, especially when compared to the amount one would need to consume through food to get the same benefits.

What are the variants of creatine that are often falsely marketed and overpriced?

Creatine HCl and creatine ethyl ester are variants that are often falsely marketed and overpriced, as they do not have the same scientific backing as simple creatine monohydrate.

How does the body produce energy and what role does creatine play?

The body has three main energy systems that produce ATP: the aerobic system, the anaerobic system, and the phosphagen energy system. Creatine plays a role in the phosphagen energy system by providing a quick source of ATP through creatine phosphate stored in muscles.

What is the significance of ATP in the body's energy systems?

ATP is the main energy currency used in the body. It is produced by the body's energy systems to fuel various activities, with creatine phosphate providing a rapid source of ATP for high-intensity, short-duration exercises.

How does creatine supplementation affect creatine stores in the body?

Supplementation can boost creatine stores by 20 to 40 percent, with a normal diet only achieving 60 to 80 percent saturation. The fastest way to reach saturation is through creatine loading followed by a maintenance phase.

What is the recommended maintenance dose of creatine after reaching saturation?

After reaching saturation, a maintenance dose of 5 grams per day is enough to maintain creatine stores.

What is the difference between creatine loading and starting with a maintenance dose?

Creatine loading (20-25 grams per day for a week) allows for faster saturation and quicker benefits, while starting with a maintenance dose of 5 grams per day may take up to a month to reach the same saturation levels.

Does the timing of creatine supplementation matter, and what does the research say?

While some studies suggest post-workout supplementation may be slightly better, other research indicates that creatine can be effectively taken at any time of the day to reach saturation levels.

What are the potential benefits of creatine supplementation on strength and muscle growth?

Creatine supplementation can lead to a 5 to 15 percent increase in maximal strength and power, and even in experienced trainees, it can result in more reps achieved across sets with moderate weight.

Does creatine cause any side effects, and are there any concerns about its long-term use?

Creatine can cause muscular water retention, but this is not a cause for concern as it occurs within the muscle fibers. Long-term use of creatine has not been shown to have adverse health effects, and there is no need to cycle off of it.

Is there any scientific evidence linking creatine supplementation to male pattern baldness?

There is no direct scientific evidence linking creatine to male pattern baldness. However, one study found an increase in DHT levels with creatine supplementation, which could potentially be a concern for men with a genetic predisposition to hair loss.

What is the relationship between creatine and caffeine, and can they be safely combined?

While an older study speculated an inhibitory effect between creatine and caffeine, more recent studies have shown a synergistic effect when taken together, with no apparent safety concerns.

Outlines

00:00

💊 Understanding Creatine's Value and Usage

The first paragraph discusses the supplement industry's common issues of false marketing and overpricing. Creatine, however, stands out as a well-researched supplement with over 700 human studies supporting its safety and effectiveness. Despite some variants being marketed with less scientific backing and higher prices, regular creatine monohydrate is affordable. The body produces creatine naturally and it's found in uncooked meats, but dietary intake is often insufficient for performance enhancement. Creatine works by supporting the phosphagen energy system, which rapidly produces ATP for high-intensity, short-duration activities. Supplementing with creatine can increase muscle creatine stores by 20-40%, with saturation achieved through loading (20-25g per day for a week) or a slower maintenance dose (5g per day). Research suggests post-workout creatine intake may enhance fat-free mass and strength, though other studies indicate benefits regardless of timing. Creatine is linked to increased muscle water retention, which is not a concern as it aids muscle growth. Non-responders to creatine exist, but its broad positive effects, affordability, and low risk profile make it a worthwhile supplement. There's no need to cycle off creatine, and combining it with caffeine may have synergistic effects.

05:02

🏋️‍♂️ Creatine and Its Impact on Health and Hair

The second paragraph addresses the potential link between creatine supplementation and male pattern baldness, noting a lack of direct scientific investigation. A 2009 study showed a temporary increase in DHT levels with creatine use, but this may only be relevant for those predisposed to hair loss. The speaker suggests caution and possibly combining creatine with finasteride for such individuals. The paragraph transitions into a sponsorship message for 'hims', a company offering hair and sexual health products, including finasteride. The speaker emphasizes 'hims' as a science-based company providing virtual medical consultations and treatments, and offers a discount for viewers. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to try 'hims' products and a reminder to like and subscribe for more content.

Keywords

💡Supplement Industry

The supplement industry refers to the market and businesses involved in the production and sale of dietary supplements. In the video, it is mentioned as receiving a 'bad rap' due to false marketing and overpricing of products, which are common issues that consumers face. The video discusses creatine as an exception to these issues, being well-researched and reasonably priced.

💡Creatine

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound and a popular sports supplement known for its ability to enhance athletic performance, particularly in high-intensity and strength training. The video highlights creatine as a supplement that is well-researched with over 700 human studies and does not suffer from the common issues of false marketing or overpricing.

💡Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine monohydrate is the most common and well-researched form of creatine supplement. The video emphasizes that while creatine variants like creatine HCl or creatine ethyl ester may be marketed, it is creatine monohydrate that has the strongest scientific backing and is more affordable.

💡False Marketing

False marketing in the context of the video refers to the misleading claims made by some supplement companies about the effectiveness of their products. This is one of the reasons the supplement industry gets a bad reputation, as many products do not live up to their advertised benefits.

💡Overpricing

Overpricing is highlighted as another issue within the supplement industry, where products are sold at prices that do not reflect their actual value or effectiveness. The video contrasts this with creatine, which is described as not being overpriced and offering a practical alternative to obtaining the supplement through diet alone.

💡ATP

ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the primary energy currency of the body's cells. The video explains that creatine works by increasing the body's stores of creatine phosphate, which is used to rapidly produce ATP during high-intensity exercise, thus supporting quick bursts of energy.

💡Phosphagen Energy System

The phosphagen energy system is one of the body's three main energy systems discussed in the video. It is responsible for producing ATP very quickly, primarily using creatine phosphate. This system is crucial for short, high-intensity activities where immediate energy is required.

💡Creatine Loading

Creatine loading is a strategy mentioned in the video where an individual consumes a large amount of creatine (20-25 grams per day) for a week to quickly saturate their muscles with creatine. This approach is said to allow for faster achievement of saturation levels compared to starting with a maintenance dose.

💡Saturation

In the context of creatine supplementation, saturation refers to the optimal filling of muscle creatine stores. The video explains that a normal diet may only achieve 60-80% saturation, whereas supplementation can increase this to 100%, leading to enhanced athletic performance.

💡Non-Responders

Non-responders are individuals who do not experience the expected benefits from creatine supplementation. The video notes that approximately 20-30% of people may fall into this category, with high meat consumers and older trainees being more likely to be non-responders.

💡Intramuscular Water Retention

Intramuscular water retention is a phenomenon where water is held within muscle cells, which can occur as a result of creatine supplementation. The video explains that this is not a negative side effect but rather a beneficial one, as it can contribute to increased muscle fiber diameter and potentially enhance muscle growth.

Highlights

The supplement industry is often criticized for false marketing and overpricing.

Creatine is a well-researched supplement with over 700 human studies supporting its safety and efficacy.

False marketing of creatine often involves variants like creatine HCl or creatine ethyl ester, which lack strong scientific backing.

Creatine monohydrate is affordable and provides a practical alternative to obtaining the same dose from food, such as beef.

Creatine is a small tripeptide composed of three amino acids and is naturally produced by the body and found in uncooked meats.

Even with a high-meat diet, one may not get enough creatine for its performance-enhancing effects due to low natural content and cooking denaturation.

ATP is the body's main energy currency, and creatine plays a crucial role in the phosphagen energy system for quick ATP production.

Supplementation with creatine can increase muscle creatine stores by 20 to 40 percent, enhancing energy availability for high-intensity exercise.

The fastest way to reach creatine saturation is through a loading phase of 20-25 grams per day for a week, followed by a maintenance dose.

A maintenance dose of 5 grams per day is sufficient to maintain creatine saturation after the loading phase.

Creatine supplementation has been shown to increase maximal strength and power by 5 to 15 percent.

Even experienced trainees can benefit from creatine, with one study showing a 30 percent increase in reps achieved with creatine supplementation.

Creatine supplementation can lead to increased intramuscular water, which may contribute to muscle growth through cellular swelling.

A significant portion of the population may not respond to creatine supplementation, particularly those with high meat consumption or older trainees.

There is no need to cycle off creatine, as the body does not develop a tolerance, and long-term use has not shown adverse health effects.

Combining creatine and caffeine may have a synergistic effect, contrary to a small 1996 study that speculated an inhibitory effect.

The link between creatine supplementation and male pattern baldness is not directly established, but it may be a concern for those with a genetic predisposition.

The benefits of creatine supplementation, such as improved performance and muscle growth, are considered to outweigh the costs and potential risks.

Hims is a company offering science-based hair and sexual health products for men, including treatments for hair loss.

Hims provides a virtual visit with a licensed doctor and a month trial of their hair kit for viewers of the channel at a special price.

Transcripts

I think the supplement industry gets a

bad rap for two main reasons the first

is false marketing the products often

don't actually do what their claim to do

and the second is over pricing products

are often way too expensive for what

they actually offer

luckily creatine is a supplement that

doesn't commit either of these shams

it's the most well researched sports

supplement with over 700 human studies

investigating its safety and efficacy

and while it can be subject to false

marketing that's usually through the

promotion of its variants like creatine

HCl or creatine ethyl ester which don't

have nearly the same scientific backing

as simple creatine monohydrate often

jack the price up unnecessarily

and plain old creatine is actually not

expensive at all in fact in order to get

the same dose from one teaspoon of

creatine powder you have to eat a

kilogram of raw beef so the price

difference practical difference makes

supplementation a no brainer

so creatine is a small tripeptide

meaning it's made up of three amino

acids linked together our bodies can

produce it naturally and it's found

naturally in foods almost exclusively

and uncooked meats but even if you're

eating a ton of meat you're still not

getting enough creatine to see its

performance and physique enhancing

effects because it's found in pretty low

amounts and cooking denatures the

creatine anyway but before we can

understand why creatine works it's

important to understand how it works so

first a quick primer on ATP the body has

three main energy systems which work

together to produce ATP the main energy

currency used in the body the aerobic

system produces ATP slowly using blood

glucose and fat as fuel for long

duration workouts like distance running

the anaerobic system produces ATP more

quickly using blood glucose for intense

bouts lasting 30 seconds to two minutes

like say 50 meter freestyle swimming and

the phosphagen energy system produces

ATP extremely quickly by using creatine

phosphate stored in muscle so when you

need energy very quickly such as when

doing a fast followed Sprint or a heavy

set of bench press your body relies on

creatine phosphate as the quick source

of ATP it needs and according to an

International Society of sports

nutrition positions

a normal diet containing 1 to 2 grams of

creatine per day will have creatine

stores only 60 to 80% saturated while

supplementation of creatine boosts

creatine stores by 20 to 40 percent

meaning saturation is best achieved

through supplementation the fastest way

to reach saturation is through creatine

loading followed by a maintenance phase

so if you take 20 to 25 grams per day

for a week then you'll reach saturation

levels within a week and start seeing

the benefits right away then after the

loading period just 5 grams per day will

be enough to maintain saturation from

then on on the other hand you could just

start with the 5 grams maintenance dose

without any loading however it may take

up to a month to reach saturation and to

see the same results so if taking

creatine for the first time or after a

long break loading up makes most sense

to me 1 2013 paper suggests that taking

creatine post-workout increases fat free

mass and benchpress strength better than

taking a pre-workout but granted the

differences were pretty small the study

hasn't been replicated and a plethora of

other studies have indicated that one

can reach saturation levels just fine by

taking creatine any time of day 1 2003

review looking at 300 studies say it's a

five to fifteen percent increase in

maximal strength and power with creatine

supplementation and a landmark paper

from Volek and colleagues found that

even in subjects with six years of

training experience creatine

supplementation resulted in 30 percent

more reps achieved across five sets with

a moderate weight taken to failure and

considering the strong link between

training volume and hypertrophy being

able to perform more work should

translate to more muscle over time

creatine does cause and try muscular

water retention but it isn't anything to

be worried about since water is being

held inside the muscle where you want it

not under the skin or anywhere else and

after all intramuscular water does

increase muscle fiber diameter which

could further increase muscle growth

through cellular swelling mechanisms

it's worth mentioning that some folks

don't appear to respond to creatine

supplementation at all with best

estimates ranging from about twenty to

thirty percent of people falling into

this camp folks with high meat

consumption and older trainees are more

likely to be non-responders but give

the massive breadth of research showing

a positive effect its affordability and

vanishingly low risk of side effects

it's probably in your best interest to

supplement anyway there's no need to

cycle off creatine because unlike

caffeine your body won't develop a

tolerance to its effects and a 2003

study found that 21 consecutive months

of supplementation led to no ill health

effects I also don't think we need to

worry about combining creatine and

caffeine together although one 1996

paper did speculate the existence of

some sort of inhibitory effect the study

only had nine subjects meaning it was

statistically underpowered and since

then three other studies have shown the

exact opposite result a synergistic

effect of taking creatine and caffeine

together whether or not creatine can

contribute to male pattern baldness his

question that hasn't been directly

investigated in the scientific

literature one 2009 study on rugby

players found that taking 5 grams of

creatine per day for two weeks increased

DHT levels by 40%

however weight training alone has been

shown to increase DHT and while DHT does

seem to be a player in hair loss this

may only apply to men with a genetic

predisposition or a family history of

hair loss so if you do happen to be in

that camp be more cautious with creatine

or consider stacking it with finasteride

which has been shown to reduce T to DHT

conversion in the end I think the

benefits far outweigh the costs when it

comes to creatine supplementation and I

hope that in a supplement industry rich

with over promises under deliveries

creatine is one that lives up to the

hype for you and your gains okay what is

going on everyone so first I just want

to say thank you for watching the video

I hope you guys really liked it and

before we go I want to give a huge shout

out to hims for sponsoring this video

this is a sponsorship that I'm really

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that the inconvenience or sometimes

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today and him's takes your privacy very

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so their treatments are very well

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evidence so thanks to hims for

sponsoring the video thank you guys once

again for watching if you are interested

make sure you check out that first link

in the description box below leave me a

like if you enjoyed the video please

subscribe if you happen to be new and

I'll see you guys all here in the next

video