What is Creatine? Benefits, Uses, and How it Helps Workouts

INSIGHT | September 2025

Creatine – one of the most widely researched and effective supplements for improving exercise performance, yet also one of the most misunderstood.

At its core, creatine is a natural compound stored in your muscles that helps produce energy during short bursts of high-intensity exercise. While it’s found in small amounts in foods like red meat and fish¹, creatine supplements have become popular in the fitness world for their ability to help build and maintain muscle mass and promote body and brain health².

So how does creatine work – and how can it support your fitness routine?

Whether it’s lifting heavier, recovering faster, or simply getting more out of your F45 workouts, we’ll explore creatine’s benefits for women and men – unpacking the top creatine uses, and understanding when to take it for maximum effect. Given how many misconceptions creatine attracts, we’ll also be outlining – then debunking – six of the most common creatine myths. Read on!

What is creatine?

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance stored in your muscle cells and made from three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine³. Your body produces it in small amounts in the liver and kidneys.

But what does creatine do, exactly – and what role does it play in helping you build a strong, sustainable fitness routine?

During exercise, your body uses ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as its main energy source. The only problem? If you’re engaging in high-intensity training, like a resistance or hybrid workout session here at F45, ATP runs out – quickly.

How does creatine help? Well, creatine (stored as phosphocreatine in your muscles)4 works to regenerate ATP at a rapid rate. Think of creatine as like a rechargeable battery: once your immediate energy stores run out, creatine helps top them back up – so you can keep pushing harder, for longer.

While creatine exists in several forms, creatine monohydrate is by far the most studied and recommended5. It’s safe, effective, and cost-efficient – which is why it’s the go-to choice for athletes and everyday gym-goers alike.

Creatine benefits: top 4 advantages of creatine for workouts

Pushing through a sweaty F45 cardio class? Practicing periodization training? Experimenting with progressive overload to add more intensity to your workouts?

Whatever your goals, creatine can help you go further. Read on for a closer look at four key advantages of creatine.

1. Improved strength and power output

By helping your muscles produce more ATP during explosive efforts, creatine can enable you to lift heavier and perform more reps before fatigue sets in6.

At F45, that could translate to being able to push harder in compound lifts (like squats or deadlifts) and execute power moves like box jumps with greater intensity – unlocking access to even more of strength training’s top benefits.

2. Better recovery between sets

Because it accelerates ATP regeneration, one of the top creatine benefits is that it shortens the time it takes for your muscles to “reset” between bouts of exercise.

That means you’re able to sustain higher intensity across multiple sets or intervals – crucial for navigating back-to-back stations in an F45 group fitness class. With creatine in your system, you’ll feel less drained mid-workout and able to keep your performance consistent: from the first round to the last.

3. Enhanced muscle volume and hydration

Creatine draws water into your muscle cells, which improves cell hydration7. This doesn’t just create the appearance of fuller muscles – it supports the biochemical processes that drive performance. In an F45 session, better hydrated muscles can mean stronger contractions and greater endurance during those high-rep, high-intensity blocks that define functional training.

4. Increased lean muscle growth long-term

By allowing you to train harder and more often, creatine creates the foundation for long-term improvements in lean muscle. It’s also been shown to support older gym-goers in maintaining and building muscle mass after 60, making it a useful aid for customizing and planning effective workouts after 60.

When should you take creatine? Timing explained

Creatine: before or after workout?

Research hasn’t landed on a single “best” time to take creatine, but what we do know is that timing it close to your workouts may offer an advantage. Whether you take it before or after training, consistency is the most important factor for keeping your muscles saturated and ready to perform.

Creatine before workout

When you take creatine around one to two hours before exercise, your body has time to absorb it and raise the levels in your bloodstream⁸. By the time you’re into your F45 session, blood flow to your working muscles is already increasing, which helps deliver creatine right where it’s needed. This can support more energy and power in explosive moves like box jumps, sprints, or heavy lifts.

Want to know more about how to fuel your body ahead of a workout? Our guide to what to eat before a workout will help.

Creatine after workout

Taking creatine after training is another popular choice. After a tough session, your muscles are in “recovery mode” and blood flow remains high for up to two hours. At this point, pairing creatine with a plate of carb- and protein-rich food – perhaps one you’ve already meal–prepped for the week – may help your muscles absorb it more effectively, as your body is already primed to take in nutrients⁸.

Separating fact from fiction: 6 creatine myths, debunked

Creatine has picked up plenty of myths over the years – from being labeled a steroid to claims it causes bloating. Let’s set the record straight with what the science actually says and show how creatine for workouts really works.

Myth 1: Creatine is a steroid

Creatine is often lumped into the same conversation as anabolic steroids – but in reality, the two couldn’t be more different.

Steroids alter hormones⁹; creatine is a natural compound found in your muscles and in foods like meat and fish. It simply helps regenerate energy during training.

Myth 2: Creatine is only for bodybuilders

While bodybuilders were among the first to popularize it, creatine’s benefits extend to anyone who trains.

From HIIT and endurance running to functional training at F45, creatine helps everyday gym-goers and athletes alike improve performance and recovery.

Myth 3: Creatine causes kidney and liver damage

Decades of research show that creatine is safe for healthy individuals when taken at recommended doses⁷. Concerns about organ damage are not supported by science – the key is sticking to between 3 and 5g of creatine per day and fueling your body with a balanced diet that includes macronutrients, micronutrients and, every now and then, a healthy dining–out option in your favorite restaurant.

Myth 4: Creatine causes bloating or weight gain

Creatine increases water retention inside muscle cells – not under the skin⁷. This intracellular hydration supports muscle function and fullness, which is a positive effect for performance (and aesthetics).

Myth 5: Women shouldn’t take creatine

Creatine is just as effective and safe for women as it is for men10.

In fact, women can benefit equally from creatine’s role in strength, recovery, and lean muscle development – particularly in high-volume, endurance-style training.

To learn more about how strength training supports women’s metabolism and fitness, explore our myth-busting guide for a complete breakdown.

Myth 6: Creatine timing makes or breaks results

Some swear by certain pre-workout nutrition rituals, others by post-workout protein shakes. Most research, however, indicates that the most important factor is simply taking it consistently. Timing tweaks matter far less than daily use.

Now you know which creatine benefits to remember – and which creatine myths to forget – join us to untangle another often misunderstood distinction in the fitness space: hypertrophy vs strength training.