“Taken together, the data indicate that ingesting creatine before training may provide the most consistent acute strength benefit when no loading phase is used, with limited influence on neuromuscular power, cognitive outcomes, or subjective recovery,” researchers in Tunisia, Spain, and Norway wrote in the journal Nutrients.
“Practically, athletes using a single creatine dose may benefit from taking it about two hours before resistance training when the primary goal is to enhance acute strength performance,” they added.
However, the researchers noted that the pilot trial findings are exploratory and need to be confirmed by a larger sample size.
“The present findings should not be extrapolated to chronic supplementation practices, for which loading and maintenance protocols remain the evidence-based approach for maximizing broader performance and recovery adaptations,” they concluded.
Creatine timing
The exercise performance and muscular benefits of creatine monohydrate are well established.
Creatine supplementation strategies often consist of a loading phase of 20- 25 g daily for five to seven days to rapidly increase reserves, followed by a daily maintenance dose of 3- 5 g.
The loading phase aims to saturate muscle stores of creatine quickly, but may cause adverse gastrointestinal effects or water retention. Taking a lower dose over a longer period increases muscle reserves but may take longer to maximize creatine’s benefits.
Previous studies assessing the timing of chronic creatine use have shown mixed results. The current researchers reported that their study is the first to evaluate creatine’s acute effects before, during, and after exercise.
“Skeletal blood flow kinetics likely explain the distinct ergogenic advantage observed with pre-exercise delivery,” they wrote, explaining that increased blood flow during exercise, coupled with increased plasma creatine, may result in “greater delivery, retention, and metabolization of the nutrients to the exercised muscle.”
However, factors such as participants’ diets and individual creatine stores may have influenced their metabolic responses, and because the study lacked measurements of muscle fibers, hormonal responses, and other variables, the mechanisms remain unclear.
Study details
The randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial involved 11 physically active men who completed five experimental conditions: Creatine (CR) ingested two hours before exercise (CrB), during exercise between sets (CrD), after exercise immediately following the training session (CrF), placebo (PL), and a no-supplement control.
The creatine monohydrate supplement and placebo were administered at a dose of 0.1 g of creatine per 1 kg body mass.
Each experimental condition included a strength-training session in which participants were assessed on bench press (BP) and back squat (BSQ) performance across six sets at 80% of 1-RM for each exercise.
The researchers also evaluated countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, Profile of Mood States (POMS), cognitive performance, perceived exertion (RPE), perceived recovery scale (PRS), delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and blood markers of muscle damage and renal function.
They reported a “significant main effect of condition for both BP and BSQ performance,” with greater performance observed when taking the supplement before exercise compared with placebo and control.
Blood concentrations were higher when creatine was taken after exercise and lower when taken before exercise than during exercise. There were no differences for CMJ performance or the other biochemical markers and evaluations.
“Pre-exercise creatine ingestion (without loading phase) was associated with greater acute strength performance compared with other timing conditions,” the researchers wrote, noting that the exploratory findings must be confirmed with a higher sample size and robust placebo structures.
Source: Nutrients 2026, 18(11), 1789; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18111789, “Acute Creatine Ingestion Before Resistance Training Enhances Strength Performance More than Ingestion During or After Training: A Randomized Crossover Pilot Trial.” Authors: K. B. Maaoui et al.
