Creatine calculator

How much creatine should you take a day?

The usual creatine dose is 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day, taken every day. The calculator gives you two ways to start, both taken from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand on creatine, which reviews the trials to date.

• Steady. 3 g of creatine monohydrate a day. The ISSN describes this as an alternative to loading, taken for 28 days to fill muscle creatine stores. 3 g a day is also the amount behind the authorised GB health claim for creatine: it increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise.
• Loading. About 0.3 g per kg of body weight a day for 5 to 7 days, split into four doses, then 3 to 5 g a day to keep stores topped up. For a 70 kg adult that is about 21 g a day. The ISSN notes that larger athletes may need 5 to 10 g a day to maintain stores.

Both routes aim at the same full stores. Loading gets there in about a week; the steady dose takes about four weeks but skips the big daily amounts, and the ISSN notes that loading also brings short-term fluid retention of about 0.5 to 1 litre. If you are not sure, start steady.

How much creatine per day by weight?

Most adults take 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day whatever they weigh, and the ISSN says some larger athletes may need 5 to 10 g. The calculator scales only the loading dose, at about 0.3 g per kg of body weight a day for 5 to 7 days, split into four doses. A 2021 review (Antonio and colleagues) also gives 0.1 g per kg of body mass a day as an alternative to the flat 3 to 5 g, which works out at 7 g for a 70 kg adult.

After loading, go back to 3 to 5 g a day.

How much water to mix creatine with

Creatine monohydrate does not dissolve well. One litre of water at about 20 °C dissolves 14 g of it; at fridge temperature (4 °C) only 6 g; in water at 50 °C, 34 g. So:

If you use less water, some powder sits at the bottom of the glass. Swirl it and drink that too, because that is part of your dose. A warm drink dissolves it faster.

Mix it and drink it rather than making bottles up days ahead. Creatine slowly turns into creatinine in water, faster in acidic drinks and at room temperature: in one set of tests, 21% had broken down after three days at 25 °C in an acidic solution (pH 3.5), against 4% at pH 5.5. Once you swallow it, very little converts in the stomach.

How much water should I drink on creatine?

There is no official guideline on extra water for people taking creatine. The NHS suggests 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day for most adults, and more when you exercise or it is hot. That is a sensible baseline on creatine too. The old worry that creatine dehydrates you or causes cramp is something the ISSN looked at in its safety review, and the studies did not support it.

Which creatine to buy

Creatine monohydrate is the form used in nearly all the research. A 2011 review of newer forms (creatine ethyl ester, buffered creatine, liquid creatine and others) found none had been shown to work better than monohydrate, and liquid creatine had no effect on muscle stores in the study that tested it.

Who should check first

Creatine has been widely studied in healthy adults. If you have kidney disease, take medicines that affect your kidneys, are under 18, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, ask your GP or pharmacist before you start. For more on timing, mixing and side effects, read how to take creatine.