Creatine supplements help improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and promote muscle recovery after a workout. Others put their creatine in coffee drinks for an added boost of energy and for maximum productivity. But does this trick actually work? 

We’ve also added an FAQ section to help you be assured of your supplementation.

Creatine – What Is It For & Who Uses It

Creatine is an amino acid in your body’s muscles and the brain – but the body usually stores creatine as phosphocreatine in the muscles, where it’s used for energy, which is why athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts take creatine orally to boost strength, increase muscle mass and improve athletic performance.

Studies have demonstrated that when combined with various kinds of training, creatine supplementation is effective at augmenting training workouts and increasing muscular strength and lean body mass. One study, in particular, found that its test subjects maintained physical strength (even without using a barbell) by gulping two 20 g of creatine four times a week. 

Creatine supplements provide a continuous energy supply by keeping production up in working muscles, with 95% stored in the skeletal muscle and used during physical activities. For example, it allows athletes to do more sprints or reps during their workouts, resulting in greater gains in strength, muscle mass, and performance. 

Some energy drink brands have even falsely advertised that their drinks contain creatine to capitalize on the supplement’s popularity.

Food Sources Of Creatine

People can get creatine through certain food sources, although they don’t contain the same amounts as commercially-manufactured supplements. Foods with creatine include:

• Herring
• Chicken
• Pork
• Beef
• Salmon
• Eggs
• Milk
• Leafy vegetables
• Nuts

Other Benefits

Aside from increasing strength and muscle mass, creatine also does the following: 

• Prevents injuries – Taking oral creatine can help reduce injuries to the muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, and nerves, as well as dehydration and muscle cramping.
• Improves cognition and brain health – Creatine supplementation might improve performance during cognitive tasks like critical thinking, focus, and memorization, especially among older adults.
• Promotes bone health – Creatine supplementation might help reduce age-related skeletal muscle and bone mineral density declines. Combined with weight training, creatine can also slow down the loss of bone mass as you age and ease the effects of osteoarthritis.
• Benefits the liver – Creatine administration can diminish fat accumulation and result in beneficial effects in fatty liver and non-alcoholic liver disease.
• Slows down skin aging – Early research suggests that applying topical creatine and other ingredients to the face daily for a 6-weeks can help reduce skin sag and wrinkles in men. Another study suggests that a cream containing creatine and folic acid improves sun damage and reduces wrinkles.

Putting Creatine In Your Coffee – Is It A Good Idea?

Like creatine and other supplements, coffee is also a popular pre-workout drink among athletes and bodybuilders, as the caffeine in coffee helps boost energy, which often makes workout sessions more effective and productive. 

As a result, many people mix their creatine and coffee together. But is it safe? – Yes, it is.

Science considers both creatine and caffeine as ergogenic aids, which aim to improve performance, endurance, or recovery. While research already shows their individual benefits as effective pre-workout substances, studies also prove their effectiveness as a pair.

One study showed that caffeine and creatine may increase high-intensity interval training (HIIT) power, showing that both can increase sprinting speed and lean body mass. Another study also discovered that pre-workout supplements containing both creatine and caffeine (among other vitamins) effectively increase muscular strength and physical endurance.

The combination keeps you alert and awake, as researchers from the UK Sport council found, in a study done on rugby players, that creatine worked just as well as caffeine at relieving the effects of sleep deprivation during a rugby skill test. 

→ Do Creatine Supplements Contain Caffeine?

→ Mixing Creatine with Protein Powder

Side Effects

Taking creatine and caffeine together is, for the most part, safe and useful for athletes. However, it’s important to remember that everyone may react differently to this combination. 

Various studies have observed some people experiencing digestive discomfort after taking both creatine and caffeine. Some researchers also suggest that caffeine might decrease creatine’s efficacy, though there is insufficient research to back this, and it could simply depend on whether caffeine is taken on a short-term or long-term basis.

Some people also reported experiencing muscle cramps and muscle strains and pulls. The accumulation of creatine within muscle cells may lead to fluid shifts from the extracellular compartment to intracellular spaces. It results in a shrinkage of extracellular fluid volume, causing muscle cramping.

Taking too much caffeine can hinder sleep and affect sleep quality, so it’s important to avoid caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime to maintain a healthy sleep cycle. Sensitivity to caffeine varies individually, with some people being able to tolerate more or less caffeine before experiencing unwanted side effects.

Energy crashes are also associated with caffeine, especially if a person took a higher dose than normal and was previously tired. These crashes typically occur within 3-4 hours. 

Tips To Keep In Mind

• Hydration is still important in exercise/workout routines, so drink plenty of water, especially when working out and playing sports. 
• Limit your caffeine intake to avoid side effects if you’re sensitive to caffeine.
• If you’re new to taking creatine, you can load creatine by first taking around 20g per day for 5-7 days, then gradually increasing your intake as weeks go by. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Takeaway

Creatine is a popular and highly effective pre-workout supplement used by athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts to boost their performance and increase muscle strength and mass. When mixed with coffee, it gets an added boost of energy, alertness, and mental focus. 

But before you shake your workout bottle, it’s important to keep everything in moderation, subscribe to a healthy diet, and keep hydrated before, during, and after workouts to make them more effective. That way, you also get to avoid side effects and health problems in the long run.