Creatine Monohydrate
Donates a phosphate group to ADP via creatine kinase, regenerating ATP during high-intensity muscular contraction. Increases intracellular phosphocreatine stores, buffering energy demand during the first 10 seconds of maximal effort. Secondary effects include cell volumization via osmotic water retention and emerging evidence for neuroprotective properties through brain phosphocreatine elevation.
Three tiers ordered by aggressiveness. Tier chips on every OPTIMIZE intervention let you filter the catalog by your evidence tolerance.
- creatinine
- egfr
- bun
- renal-impairment-severe
- PMID:12945830Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations — Mol Cell Biochem, 2003
- PMID:28615996International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation — J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017
- PMID:33557850Creatine supplementation and brain health — Nutrients, 2021
Creatine monohydrate is the most studied ergogenic supplement in existence. Over 500 peer-reviewed papers. The mechanism is simple — more phosphocreatine means faster ATP regeneration during maximal effort. The loading protocol saturates stores in a week. The maintenance protocol gets you there in a month. Both reach the same endpoint. Every other form of creatine (HCl, ethyl ester, buffered) exists to solve a problem that monohydrate does not have. 99% bioavailability. Pennies per serving. Nothing to optimize here except consistency.
This is not medical advice
Discuss with a licensed clinician before starting, stopping, or changing any compound. This page documents what the research literature describes — it is not a prescription.
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