How much creatine to take, by bodyweight and goal
The evidence-backed dose is 3-5 g/day of creatine monohydrate, every day. Loading (20 g/day for 5-7 days) is optional. The dose by bodyweight, plus when to load.
What people ask us next.
- How much creatine should I take per day?
- 3-5 g/day of creatine monohydrate, taken every day with or without food (Kreider et al. 2017, ISSN position stand). At that dose muscle stores saturate in ~3-4 weeks. Scaled to body size it is ~0.03 g/kg/day, which is under 5 g even for a 100 kg person, so a flat 5 g/day covers almost everyone. Taking more does not raise muscle creatine further; the excess is excreted.
- Do I need to load creatine?
- No, loading is optional. Loading (20 g/day split into 4 doses for 5-7 days, then 3-5 g/day) saturates muscle in ~1 week instead of ~4, but Hultman et al. 1996 showed the final muscle creatine concentration is identical whether you load or take 3 g/day for a month. Load only if you need the effect within a week; otherwise 5 g/day from the start avoids the extra GI upset and faster water-weight gain.
- How much creatine should I take for my bodyweight?
- Maintenance scales to ~0.03 g/kg/day (Kreider et al. 2017): ~1.8 g at 60 kg, ~2.4 g at 80 kg, ~3 g at 100 kg. Because every reasonable bodyweight lands under 5 g, a flat 5 g/day is the simplest dose that covers everyone with a margin. Heavier or more muscular people sit at the top of the per-kg range but still need well under 5 g.
- When should I take creatine?
- Timing barely matters because saturation depends on total daily intake over weeks, not on one well-timed dose. There is a small signal favoring post-workout intake with carbohydrate and protein via insulin-driven uptake (Antonio & Ciccone 2013), but the effect is minor next to simply taking it daily without missing days. Pick a fixed habit, breakfast or your post-workout shake, and keep it consistent.
- Can I take too much creatine?
- Exceeding the saturating dose has no upside: once muscle stores are full the excess is excreted in urine, so 10 g/day saturates no more than 5 g/day while wasting product, and very high acute doses mainly cause GI distress. The ISSN considers 3-5 g/day maintenance and short-term 20 g/day loading safe in healthy adults (Kreider et al. 2017). People with kidney disease should check with a clinician first.
- Do I need to cycle creatine?
- No. Creatine does not need cycling or off-weeks; long-term daily use at 3-5 g/day is well tolerated in trials up to 5 years with no adverse kidney or liver effects in healthy people (Kreider et al. 2017). If you stop, stores decline over ~4-6 weeks (Hultman et al. 1996), and you can simply resume 3-5 g/day without re-loading.
Every claim, cited.
- [01]Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, et al. 2017. ISSN position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 14:18. 3-5 g/day maintenance, 0.03 g/kg/day scaling, 20 g/day loading, long-term safety.
- [02]Hultman E, Soderlund K, Timmons JA, et al. 1996. Muscle creatine loading in men. J Appl Physiol 81(1):232-237. Loading (20 g/day x 6 days) and 3 g/day x 28 days reach identical final muscle creatine; stores decline over ~4-6 weeks after stopping.
- [03]Harris RC, Soderlund K, Hultman E. 1992. Elevation of creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by creatine supplementation. Clin Sci 83(3):367-374. ~20% rise in muscle phosphocreatine with supplementation.
- [04]Antonio J, Ciccone V. 2013. The effects of pre versus post workout supplementation of creatine monohydrate on body composition and strength. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 10:36. Small advantage for post-workout timing.
- [05]Jagim AR, Oliver JM, Sanchez A, et al. 2012. A buffered form of creatine does not promote greater changes in muscle creatine content than monohydrate. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 9:43. Monohydrate is not outperformed by buffered creatine.
The Larderlab Team builds evidence-led frameworks for eating, lifting, and stocking a kitchen. We cite every claim. We publish the spreadsheet when possible. We buy what we review at retail price. When new data lands, we revise with a dated note.
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