Should Women Take Creatine?
Is creatine something you’ve thought about taking?
Maybe you have heard it’s great for strength gains but you’re concerned that taking creatine will lead to water retention and bloating. This is something women can experience with their menstrual cycle and sure as heck don’t want to take something that will further induce that. Understandably, women can be apprehensive about taking this supplement.
The health and fitness supplement market is highly lucrative and under-researched. It takes advantage of how people view their bodies and the industry can encourage people to spend a fortune on supplements, promising amazing things that do not have the desired effects.
However, creatine is one of the most heavily researched supplements and one that is actually proven to work. It is also one of the most popular supplements there is.
More research about creatine has been conducted in men but there is evidence women can benefit from it too.
So…What Is Creatine?
Creatine is an effective supplement for performance in the gym. It can be taken in form of a powder or a pill. The effects of creatine are:
- It helps you train harder
- Improves performance in the gym
- Enhances strength
- Increases muscle size
Creatine is not a steroid. It is made up of amino acids but it is not considered a protein because it metabolises differently.
But How Does It Work?
Your body already produces creatine. Creatine is produced naturally by the body, primarily the liver. It is also found in food sources such as red meat and fish.
Creatine replenishes your ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) stores, meaning your muscles can work harder for longer because they have extra fuel. With limited ATP stores your muscles have to work harder to recover after any stress.
Because your muscles have a limited supply of ATP the muscles will fatigue quickly but creatine can help top up the energy required for your muscles to move. And they will move more weight, for longer.
Women & Creatine
Women can be put off as they think it will cause weight gain and water retention. Some women may retain water when first using but this seems to diminish over time so don’t be too quick to come off it when you start taking it.
Creatine seems to have a positive effect on women who take it for long periods of time. Those who take it for a short stint did not see any beneficial strength gains and it also doesn’t seem to have an effect on anaerobic exercise such as sprinting.
Creatine will help your muscles grow and help you build more strength. The scales will probably go up when you're weight training as you're growing muscle but try not to focus on the scales. Focus more about how you look and feel - strong, lean, powerful!
How to take it
The recommended amount is 3-5g of creatine a day.
When first taking creatine give it time to work and if you do not see any changes then you can increase the dose.
Take quick digesting simple carbs like fruit, juice, yoghurt when you take it. You don’t necessarily need to take it right before you hit the gym.
The Takeaway
Creatine seems to have a beneficial effect on women who take it in the long run.
It has more of an effect on women who strength train rather than those who do anaerobic training like HIIT.
Higher doses should be taken for a short time then the amount decreased - taking large amounts all the time as the muscle becomes saturated with creatine and stops having the desired effect.
It may cause water retention but give it time to settle before coming off it.
Remember that a supplement should be exactly that - supplementary to a high quality and well balanced diet.
