Creatine or creatine preworkouts is one of the best supplements that can take you past your natural growth. While it’s not a steroid or other performance enhancing drug, it will give you a huge boost in strength, muscle mass and endurance — in addition to supraphysiological gains. This is quite possibly one of the best legal supplements on the market. Today, I’m going over why you should add creatine to your pre workout.
Creatine Preworkouts: Why You Should Add Creatine to Your Preworkout Supplement
Whether it’s a high stim pre workout or a non stim pre workout, all of them should have creatine. Unfortunately, many pre workouts don’t have creatine. The highest quality ones will, however if you take a pre without creatine you should add it in.
There is a certain high stim pre workout that I use which has tons of caffeine and beta alanine, but no creatine. I simply add creatine into my blender bottle as I go to the gym.
The reason why you should add creatine to your pre workout is because it gives you a boost of energy and improves your workout.
Creatine helps your cells produce more energy in short. This energy is then used to help you during your gym session.
But what’s the scientific process behind it?
Creatine increases your muscles phosphocreatine stores. Phosphocreatine makes ATP, the molecule that is used by every life form for energy. When you exercise, ATP is broken down and produces energy.
Because creatine increases your phosphocreatine stores, you are able to produce more ATP and ultimately more energy.
Combine more ATP with pre workout and BAM, you’ve got yourself a super pre workout. Creatine pre workout is superior to pre workout without creatine.
With pre workout, you usually have: caffeine, l citrulline, beta alanine and alpha GPC. Combine this with creatine for more results.
Here are some quick benefits of adding creatine to your pre workout:
- Increased stamina
- More muscle built
- Helps you build strength
Creatine VS Preworkout: Which One Is Better?
Let’s shoot out a quick hypothetical scenario: you have someone who takes a high stimulant pre workout (no creatine) vs someone who only takes creatine before they workout.
I believe that the one who takes a high stimulant pre workout is going to have a better workout every time.
Why?
Simple. Creatine does not have the energizing effects that pre workout does. It cannot compare to 300+ mg of caffeine, lots of beta alanine and pump formula ingredients.
While pre workout will give you more energy, creatine will help you build more muscle and strength in the long run.
When you combine the two, you’ll maximize your gains. If you want to make life easier, just get a pre workout that has creatine in it already. 5g or 500mg is the proper dosage you should be using.
Is Creatine With Preworkout Bad?
The quick answer to “is creatine with pre workout bad?” is no.
There are no studies or bad experiences that show mixing creatine with pre workout is bad. Of course, you might get a bad reaction if you use a dangerous pre workout like the original jack3d formula, or if you use a shady type of creatine.
Stick with trusted brands to avoid all negative side effects.
Another quick safety tip to avoid creatine pre workout being bad is to use the proper dosage. Very rarely do I double scoop pre, and I have never triple scooped.
Of course, we all see videos of people putting in four scoops of pre into an already caffeinated energy drink, but they never actually drink it. It’s just for engagement. Don’t be stupid and end up in the emergency room because you overdosed on supplements.
With creatine, you should never go over 20g a day, and that’s only when you’re in a loading phase. When I started creatine, I took 20g for 7 days, and 5g every day after.
Is Creatine Good For Preworkout?
Yes, creatine is amazing for pre workout!
Like amino acids, creatine is a substance that naturally occurs in the body. By blocking your adenosine receptors, creatine directly stimulates the regeneration of ATP and increases energy.
Pre workout ups your energy by increasing the amount of oxygen in your blood or by using stimulants like caffeine. To make sure you achieve the best outcomes, combine the two supplements. They will increase your strength and energy, enabling you to build way more muscle.
Keep in mind these are called “supplements.” Supplements are not food, they’re meant to help boost your gains by 10-30%. Unless you’re on something like SARMs, you’ll get most of your gains from a solid diet and regular lifting.
Can You Take Creatine And Preworkout Together?
Yes. That is the short answer; the full answer is a little more complicated. It involves science.
Your body burns up stored energy every time you move, exercise, or play a sport. Your fuel gauge depletes more quickly the harder the exercise. Think of it like driving a car. The faster and harder you drive it, the worse gas mileage you get.
Your body needs the energy currency known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, in order to use the stored energy.
You need this substance to utilize carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins as fuel, and without it you wouldn’t be able to carry out any of your cellular functions. If you want to boost your bodies natural energy stores, I also recommend taking carbohydrates before a workout for added fuel.
What About Preworkout That Contains Creatine?
If a pre workout already contains creatine, that’s great news! You don’t have to spend an extra $30 for a couple months supply of creatine.
A great pre workout that contains creatine is Zeus Juice.
“Best pre-workout I’ve ever taken. Keeps me alert and focused while working out. Steady stream
Jay
of energy throughout the day – no crash, no jitters, no racing heart. Love it”
I’ve personally tried this creatine pre workout and It’s great. I didn’t have to spend money on creatine because it already has that supplement, and the other ingredients are amazing.
Most high quality pre workouts should contain creatine. Just watch out for the ones with low doses though, because some will say “contains creatine” and have 1/5 of the proper dosage.
Creatine pre workouts should have at least 5g of creatine per serving.
What Is Preworkout And What Does It Do?
Pre-workouts are combinations of energizing ingredients intended to be consumed before a workout. These mixtures typically include a number of substances that are known to improve athletic performance. Caffeine, beta alanine, and l citrulline are just a few common ones.
The immediate objective of pre is to improve the effectiveness of a single training session by boosting stamina, concentration, muscle endurance, and blood flow. Think of it as putting premium fuel in a race car before driving fast.
When I take pre workout, it makes me super energized. I want to go do something physical. Usually, most people have similar reactions to mine. Another effect of pre workout is getting an insane pump. Most of these supplements have l citrulline which boosts nitric oxide. Nitric oxide increases blood flow, hence making your pump look and feel 10x better.
What is Preworkout?
Pre workout is a supplement intended to energize you. Take it before your lifting session to juice you up and get you ready to lift.
Pre workouts mostly come in powdered form that you mix into water or an energy drink (don’t actually do that). They also come in pre packaged liquid forms like energy drinks.
It’s very easy to get pre, amazon, GNC, a brand website or a local Walmart all have pre workout somewhere.
No pre workout is alike. There are thousands of different blends that will make you feel differently. The only thing most of them contain is supplements including amino acids, beta-alanine, caffeine, creatine, and artificial sweeteners, though the doses of each of these substances might vary greatly depending on the brand.
Benefits Of Creatine
10 Quick benefits of creatine (that will be discussed in depth below) are:
Your muscles’ phosphocreatine reserves are increased with creatine supplements.
The vital molecule your cells utilize for energy and all essential living processes is adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is formed with the help of phosphocreatine.
ATP is decomposed during exercise to release energy.
Your capacity to function continuously at maximal intensity is constrained by the rate of ATP resynthesis since you utilize ATP more quickly than it is made.
With the help of creatine supplements, you may manufacture more ATP energy to power your muscles during intense activity by increasing your phosphocreatine storage.
This is the main method by which creatine improves performance.
- Improves intense exercise performance
Due to creatine’s direct contribution to ATP generation, high-intensity workout performance can be significantly enhanced.
Strength, ballistic power, sprinting prowess, muscle endurance, resistance to exhaustion, muscle mass recovery, and cognitive performance are just a few of the many things that creatine enhances.
Creatine has advantages for everyone, regardless of fitness level, in contrast to supplements that solely aid expert athletes.
It enhances high-intensity exercise performance by up to 15%, according to one study.
- Makes muscles grow faster
Aside from steroids, the number one supplement in the world for increasing muscle mass is creatine.
It has been proven to rapidly improve lean body weight and muscle size in as little as 5-7 days of use.
Your muscles’ increased water content is what causes this initial surge.
Long-term, it promotes gym performance while signaling important biological pathways that support the formation of muscle fibers.
Participants who utilized creatine added an average of 4.4 pounds (2 kg) more muscle mass over the course of a 6-week training program than the control group.
Comparing individuals who took creatine to those who followed the same exercise plan without it, a thorough assessment also showed a definite gain in muscle mass.
The review analyzed the most well-liked sports supplements in the globe and came to the conclusion that creatine was the finest supplement on the market. Some of its benefits include being considerably cheaper and safer than most other sports supplements.
- Supports other functions in muscles
For building muscle mass, creatine is a well-liked and reliable substance.
It can change a variety of biological pathways that promote the development of new muscle. For instance, it promotes the production of the proteins needed to build new muscle fibers.
Additionally, it can enhance levels of IGF-1, a hormone that encourages gains in muscle mass.
Additionally, taking creatine supplements can make your muscles hold more water. Cell volumization is what causes the rapid growth of muscle.
Additionally, some studies show that creatine lowers myostatin levels, a chemical that stunts muscle growth. You can increase muscle mass more quickly by lowering myostatin.
- Decreases risk of Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine is a crucial chemical in your brain and its levels are lowered in Parkinson’s disease.
Dopamine levels dramatically drop, which results in the death of brain cells and a number of grave symptoms include tremors, loss of muscle control, and speech difficulties.
Creatine has been shown to have positive benefits on Parkinson’s mouse models, halting 90% of the regular decline in dopamine levels. There is no proof that it affects people in the same way, though.
Parkinson’s patients frequently lift weights in an effort to combat the disease’s effects on muscle strength and function.
In one study of people with this condition, adding creatine to weight exercise increased strength and everyday function more than training by itself.
- Nootropic
Creatine is crucial for the health and function of the brain.
According to research, your brain needs a lot of ATP when handling challenging tasks.
To help your brain manufacture more ATP, supplements can enhance the amount of phosphocreatine stored there. By raising dopamine levels and mitochondrial activity, creatine may also help with brain function.
Vegetarians frequently have low amounts of creatine because meat is the best nutritional source for it. One study on vegetarians who used creatine supplements discovered a 20–50% increase in various memory and IQ test results.
Creatine supplementation for two weeks greatly increased memory and recall in older people.
Creatine may improve cognitive performance and safeguard against neurological illnesses in older folk.
- Fights many neurological diseases
A decline in phosphocreatine levels in your brain is a major contributor to various neurological illnesses.
Creatine may aid in reducing or delaying the progression of disease since it can raise these levels.
Creatine increased the amount of phosphocreatine in the brain in Huntington’s disease-infected mice from 26% to 72% of pre-disease levels.
This phosphocreatine replenishment supported routine activity and decreased cell death by about 25%.
Creatine supplementation has been linked to the treatment of many disorders, including:
- Alzheimer’s
- Stroke with ischemia
- Brain or spinal cord injury due to epilepsy
An illness that damages the motor neurons necessary for movement, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, has also been proven to benefit from creatine supplementation. It increased survival rate by 17%, reduced muscle atrophy, and enhanced motor function.
- Lowers blood sugar levels and fights diabetes
According to research, creatine supplements may lower blood sugar levels by improving the activity of GLUT-4, a molecule that transports blood sugar to your muscles.
How creatine impacts blood sugar levels following a high-carb diet was investigated in a 12-week research. Exercise alone was not as effective at controlling blood sugar as those who also took creatine.
An important indicator of diabetes risk is the short-term blood sugar response to a meal. The better, the faster your body can remove sugar from your blood.
These benefits are encouraging, but more human studies on the long-term effects of creatine on diabetes and blood sugar regulation are required.
- Safe to use
In addition to its many advantages, creatine is also one of the most affordable and secure supplements on the market. Online, there is a huge selection.
More than 100 years of research and a plethora of studies back up its long-term safety. Clinical investigations that lasted up to five years found no negative effects in healthy subjects.
Additionally, supplementing is incredibly simple: just take 5 (regular) and 20 (loading phase) grams of powdered creatine monohydrate every day.
- Reduces tiredness
Supplemental creatine may also lessen tiredness and fatigue.
In a 6-month study of individuals with traumatic brain injury, those who took creatine supplements reported 50% less dizziness than those who did not.
Additionally, compared to 80% of patients in the control group, just 10% of those in the supplement group reported feeling tired.
Another study found that taking creatine during sleep deprivation reduced fatigue and improved energy.
Creatine has also been utilized to lessen fatigue when exercising in hot conditions, as well as in athletes undergoing a cycling test (R).
What Is Creatine And What Does It Do?
Creatine is an organic compound that is naturally produced in the muscle cells. It’s an amino acid combination of glycine and arginine.
The main purpose of creatine is to essentially give the muscles more energy. Creatine increases your ATP output. For those of you who didn’t take biology, ATP gives your muscles energy so your body can function.
In fitness, most people will take creatine to increase muscle strength, give them more energy during a workout and increase strength.
Creatine Before and After Pics
Below is a before and after picture taken 24 hours apart after consuming my creatine-based preworkout formula Zeus Juice.
The pump and volume is noticeably different between the two photos.
Creatine is one of the few legal performance enhancing supplements shown to yield supramaximal results.
The shame is that most creatine preworkouts do not contain an active dose of creatine unlike Zeus Juice, where you won’t have to fork out your money on additional creatine supplements to get an proper dose.
Dry Scooping Creatine
We all know that there are immense dangers when it comes to dry scooping preworkout.
Undiluted stimulants such as caffeine may pack an extra wallop as the body cannot metabolize them as slowly as when they are consumed in conjunction with water or other drinks.
Tragically, some gymgoers have either suffered heart attacks and even death from caffeine overdose by dry scooping preworkout.
However, dry scooping 5-10g of pure creatine won’t be fatal, but might be unpleasant.
Creatine isn’t a very water-soluble supplement that quickly becomes uncoupled after mixing.
Nobody is clamoring to dry scoop creatine for the latest TikTok trend because it simply isn’t a wise thing to do.
Sure, you won’t end up in the hospital and bioavailability won’t be greatly affected.
Be cautious with dry scooping preworkout.
If taking creatine with juice or water is unpleasant for you, instead of dry scooping it, simply blend creatine in your protein shake.
