upplements can be a valuable addition to your fitness routine, helping enhance your workouts and support overall well-being. But with so many options available, how do you know which one to turn to? For starters, creatine is a good option to consider.
Creatine is one of the few supplements on the market with sufficient research that proves its effectiveness and safety. It has been extensively researched for its ability to increase strength, improve exercise performance, and promote muscular growth.
Understanding Creatine
Essentially, creatine provides your muscles with energy during workouts, allowing you to push harder and recover faster. This translates to heavier lifts, faster sprints, with the potential for less muscle soreness the next day. What’s even better, it’s super low-risk and can be particularly beneficial for women.
Creatine is a natural substance produced by our bodies, with the liver, kidneys and pancreas producing approximately one gram every day. Most of this compound comes from our food, such as red meat, fish, chicken and even dairy products. Women can especially benefit from this supplement, as they tend to have lower natural creatine storage than men, about 70 to 80% less. Furthermore, women generally consume less creatine than men, making us good candidates for supplementation.
What Creatine is Best?
The best creatine powder for women you can buy is creatine monohydrate. It’s the most studied form, recognised for its high stability and absorption. While other forms are available, there is insufficient data to conclude that they are better, and some have performed poorly in studies.
Creatine monohydrate is very similar to the natural creatine produced by our bodies. It works by increasing the body’s phosphocreatine stores, a substance that aids in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the major energy source for cellular processes, particularly brief bursts of intensive physical exercise like CrossFit and heavy lifts.
To help you better understand, think of ATP as an energy molecule. When muscle cells need energy, ATP is broken down to release energy for muscle contraction. The high demand for energy during high-intense exercise, causes ATP to be rapidly depleted, resulting in fatigue.
With more creatine stored in your muscles, more ATP will be produced. This is the purpose of creatine supplementation – increased ATP synthesis decreased muscular fatigue and faster recovery after intense workouts.
Benefits of Supplementing With Creatine
The benefits of creatine powder for women are many.
Increased Lean Body Mass
Creatine supplements combined with resistance training can help women of any age to gain muscle more effectively. But it can be particularly beneficial for older women.
As we get old, we tend to experience a natural loss of muscle tissue. The result of this muscle loss is a slower metabolism, reduced mobility and increased risk of falls. Supplementing with creatine while performing resistance training can help prevent this muscle loss. This means, with the help of creatine, older women become more able to engage in resistance exercises and build and maintain muscles more effectively than exercise alone.
Faster Muscle Recovery
The extra energy you get with creatine not only helps you train harder but also supports faster recovery afterwards. By replenishing ATP stores more quickly, creatine helps reduce muscle fatigue and soreness, allowing your muscles to recover faster. This means you can train more consistently with less downtime between sessions. Plus, creatine is known to support muscle hydration and reduce exercise-induced inflammation, which further aids in recovery.
Improved Cognitive Function
On top of physical benefits, creatine also plays a role in cognition (thinking and learning). Simply said, supplementing with creatine can give your brain a boost.
When you’re training, especially during intense workouts, mental sharpness is just as important as physical strength. A focused mind helps with proper form, coordination, and motivation to push through challenging sessions. Creatine can also help reduce mental fatigue, making it easier to stay consistent with workouts.
Improved Bone Health
Women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures, particularly as we age and our estrogen levels decline. Strong bones are essential for supporting an active lifestyle. Research has shown that creatine helps increase bone mineral density by improving the function of bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and reducing bone breakdown. This helps keep bones strong and resilient.
Are There Any Negatives to Creatine?
Being one of the most well-researched supplements make creatine also one of the safest. However, like any supplement, it may have some downsides for some women.
Temporary water retention is one of them. Creatine pulls water into your muscles, which can lead to slight weight gain. Understand that this is not fat gain. Still, you may end up feeling “puffier” in the beginning.
Some women also experience bloating, cramping or an upset stomach, especially if taking too much creatine at once. Staying well-hydrated can help manage bloating and sticking to 3-5 grams per day can help prevent digestive discomfort.
These side effects are usually temporary and tend to disappear within a couple of weeks.
When and How Much Creatine Should Women Consume?
To achieve optimal results, creatine needs to be taken consistently, rather than at a specific time. However, research suggests that taking it before or after workouts may lead to slightly better results. Take create before workouts for an extra energy boost, after exercise to enhance muscle recovery and growth or anytime to maintain muscle saturation. You can mix your creatine powder with water, juice or a smoothie.
As for how much to take, 3 to 5 grams per day is the standard recommendation for most women. This is enough to ensure consistent muscle saturation and long-term benefits. To saturate your muscles quickly, you can consider starting with a loading phase. This consists of taking 20 grams of creatine per day split into 4 doses of 5 grams per 5 to 7 days. However, this isn’t necessary. Taking 3 to 5 grams daily from the start will still be effective over time.
When shopping for your creatine, you’ll want to choose options without flavours and frills. It’s also a good idea to check if the product is third-party tested. These tests ensure that no additional ingredients are included in the product. Consider a well-known brand and read reviews to find out what other customers have to say about the product.
