Creatine Loading Phase: Necessary or Waste of Time?

What creatine actually does

Before we talk about loading, let me make sure you actually understand what creatine does. Because I talk to guys every week who take it but could not explain the mechanism if you put a gun to their head.

Creatine is a molecule your body produces naturally, mostly in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. It is also found in red meat and fish. Your muscles store creatine as phosphocreatine, which is used to regenerate ATP (adenosine triphosphate) during short, high-intensity efforts. ATP is the actual energy currency your muscles use to contract.

When you are doing a heavy set of squats, your muscles burn through ATP in about 8-10 seconds. Phosphocreatine donates its phosphate group to regenerate ATP, giving you a few more seconds of high output. When supplementing creatine, you increase the amount of phosphocreatine stored in your muscles by about 20-40%, which means you can maintain high-intensity effort for slightly longer.

In practical terms, this means maybe one or two extra reps on a heavy set, slightly better performance on the last few sets of your workout, and marginally faster recovery between sets. Over weeks and months, those small performance improvements compound into more total training volume, which means more muscle growth.

A 2003 meta-analysis by Branch published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research analyzed 96 studies and found that creatine supplementation increased maximum strength by about 8% and repetition performance by about 14% compared to placebo. That is real, measurable, repeatable.

Creatine monohydrate is the single most studied supplement in sports nutrition history. It works. End of debate on that front.

What is a loading phase

A creatine loading phase involves taking a high dose (typically 20 grams per day, split into 4 doses of 5 grams) for 5-7 days to rapidly saturate your muscles with creatine. After the loading phase, you drop to a maintenance dose of 3-5 grams per day.

The alternative is to skip loading entirely and just take 3-5 grams per day from day one. This approach takes longer to saturate your muscles (about 3-4 weeks instead of 5-7 days) but eventually reaches the same endpoint.

Both methods result in the same level of muscle creatine saturation. The only difference is how fast you get there.

The research on loading vs not loading

Here is where it gets interesting. The original loading protocol came from a landmark 1992 study by Harris et al. published in Clinical Science. They found that taking 20g/day for 5 days increased muscle creatine content by about 20%. This became the template that the entire supplement industry ran with.

But subsequent research showed that you do not need to load. A 1996 study by Hultman et al. compared two groups: one that loaded with 20g/day for 6 days and then maintained at 2g/day, and another that took 3g/day from the start with no loading. After 28 days, both groups had the same level of muscle creatine saturation.

Let me repeat that because it matters: after 28 days, there was no difference. The loading group got there faster. The non-loading group got to the exact same place. They just took about three weeks longer.

A more recent 2021 review by Antonio et al. in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition confirmed these findings and concluded that while loading is effective for rapid saturation, it is not necessary. A daily dose of 3-5g achieves the same results over a slightly longer timeframe.

So the question becomes: is getting there 3 weeks faster worth the downsides?

Why loading phases became popular

Honestly? Money. Supplement companies sell more creatine if they can convince you to use 20 grams a day for the first week instead of 5. A loading phase burns through your tub four times faster during that initial period.

The early studies also made loading seem more impressive because they measured effects after just 5-7 days. If you compared a loading group to a non-loading group after one week, of course the loading group showed more benefit. The non-loading group had barely started building up their stores.

But nobody was really asking the right question, which is: does loading produce better long-term results than not loading? And the answer, from every study that has looked at it, is no.

The fitness industry has a habit of turning short-term research into permanent protocols. Loading phases are a prime example. They made sense in a lab studying acute effects. They do not make much practical sense for someone who is going to take creatine for years.

Side effects of loading

This is the part that actually matters for your day-to-day life. Loading at 20g/day has some well-documented downsides:

Water retention. Creatine pulls water into your muscle cells (this is actually part of how it works, increasing cell hydration signals for growth). During a loading phase, this water retention happens rapidly and can result in gaining 2-5 pounds in less than a week. This freaks some people out, especially those watching the scale closely. With standard dosing, the water weight gain is more gradual and less noticeable.

GI distress. Taking 20 grams of creatine in a day, even split into four doses, causes stomach cramping, bloating, and diarrhea in a meaningful percentage of people. I tried loading exactly once when I first started taking creatine about 10 years ago. I spent most of that week uncomfortably bloated and running to the bathroom. Never again.

A 2009 study by Ostojic and Ahmetovic reported that about 25% of subjects in loading phase protocols experienced gastrointestinal side effects, compared to essentially zero in maintenance dose groups.

Wasted creatine. Your body can only absorb so much creatine at once. When you slam 5 grams four times a day, a significant portion passes through unabsorbed and ends up in your urine. You are literally flushing money down the toilet. A 2004 study by Rawson et al. showed that urinary creatine excretion was significantly higher during loading phases, indicating that much of the excess was not being retained.

What I actually recommend

Take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate every single day. That is it. No loading. No cycling. No timing it around your workouts. Just 5 grams, any time of day, every day, forever.

Here is my actual protocol:

• •Buy the cheapest creatine monohydrate you can find (Creapure branded is fine but not necessary)
• •Put a tub of it next to your coffee maker or wherever you go every morning
• •Scoop 5 grams into whatever you are drinking in the morning
• •Done

No mixing with grape juice. No taking it post-workout. No worrying about absorption windows. A 2013 study by Candow et al. found no difference in creatine effectiveness based on timing (before vs. after training). It does not matter when you take it. Just take it consistently.

Within about 3-4 weeks, your muscles will be fully saturated. You will start noticing slightly better performance in the gym, maybe an extra rep here and there, slightly better endurance on high-rep sets. It is not dramatic. It is not going to transform your physique overnight. But over months and years, those marginal gains compound into real results.

Common creatine questions answered

Do I need to cycle creatine? No. There is no evidence that cycling on and off provides any benefit. Your body does not build tolerance to creatine. Take it continuously.

Will creatine make me look bloated? At maintenance doses, the water retention is intramuscular (inside the muscle cells), which actually makes your muscles look fuller and harder, not puffy. The bloated look people complain about usually comes from loading phases or from confusing creatine water retention with actual fat gain from eating too much.

Is creatine safe for my kidneys? Yes. If you have healthy kidneys, creatine does not damage them. A 2018 review by de Souza e Silva et al. examined the evidence across dozens of studies and found no adverse effects on kidney function in healthy individuals, even at doses above the recommended amount. If you have pre-existing kidney disease, talk to your doctor. But for healthy lifters, this is a non-issue.

Does the type of creatine matter? Creatine monohydrate is the most studied and the cheapest. Every other form (creatine HCL, buffered creatine, creatine ethyl ester, etc.) has either been shown to be no better than monohydrate or has insufficient evidence to justify the higher price. A 2012 study by Jagim et al. compared creatine HCL to monohydrate and found no significant differences. Save your money. Buy monohydrate.

How much water should I drink with creatine? Drink enough water in general. You do not need to force extra water because of creatine. The old advice about needing to drink a gallon per day when taking creatine was never supported by evidence. Just drink when you are thirsty and maybe a bit more on training days.

Does creatine cause hair loss? This comes from a single 2009 study by van der Merwe et al. that showed creatine increased DHT (dihydrotestosterone) levels in rugby players. DHT is associated with male pattern baldness. But this is one small study, it has never been replicated, and the increase in DHT was within normal physiological ranges. If you are genetically predisposed to hair loss, it might accelerate it very slightly. But the evidence is thin. I have been taking creatine for a decade with no hair issues. Make of that what you will.

The bottom line

Loading phases are not necessary. They get you to full saturation about 3 weeks faster, but they come with GI side effects, water weight spikes, and wasted product. Unless you have a competition in two weeks and need every possible advantage right now, there is no reason to load.

Just take 5 grams a day. Be patient. In a month you will be fully saturated. In three months you will notice the cumulative training benefits. In a year, you will wonder why anyone bothers with loading.

Creatine is one of the few supplements that genuinely works. Do not overcomplicate it.