Editors Note: Creatine is a ridiculously effective supplement, but ask any female athlete about the possibility of using it for their performance and you will get either a blank stare or the excuse train rolling in on not wanting to “get big”. Mandy has done a great job of breaking the stereotype of creatine supplementation for female athletes. Enjoy the article!
– Joel
Creatine and the Female Athlete
Guest post by Mandy Wray, MS, CSCS for Just Fly Sports
Creatine monohydrate is considered one of the top ergogenic aids on the market today. Despite the wide usage, popularity and mounds of research regarding creatine supplementation, female athletes are typically misinformed on the usage, safety and purpose of creatine as an exercise performance aid. Let’s look at why creatine monohydrate should jump to the top of a female athlete’s supplement list.
Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid compound stored in the human body in amounts ranging from 120-140 g in a 70kg person, and can be found as creatine phosphate (CP) in the phosphorylated form, or free creatine (Bemben 2005). To make a long story short, you need ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) for muscular contraction, and when this ATP runs out, or runs low, CP is able to aid in ATP resynthesis. Creatine may also be used as a proton buffer, meaning that during bouts of high intensity exercise, creatine may help to clear lactate or hydrogen ions from the system. By regulating this process, creatine maintains muscle pH balance and prevents acidification resulting in performance decrements. These two points become especially important during high intensity activity and in training at high demands (Demant & Rhodes, 1999).
All of that science to say, during high intensity sprints (HIIT training), olympic lifts, kettle bell snatches, and heavy squats or box jumps, you need to resynthesize ATP very quickly to continue to work at the same intensity and workload. Bottom line, an athlete on creatine may be able to squeeze out a few more reps, go heavier, or even kick out another interval during HIIT session when creatine is readily available (Rawson et. al. (Tarnopolsky MA, 2000). For illustration sake, creatine is like rocket fuel. If you really want to take off, you MUST have that booster fuel in the tank. Otherwise you’re just crankin’ the gas like everybody else. This resynthesis becomes important during training so the athlete is able to train at a higher intensity and increase adaptation to a greater exercise stimulus.
Creatine might not do this much for you, but it will seriously help your training!
We’ve talked about the science behind creatine, but there is a stigma surrounding creatine and the female athlete that must be combated. As a female, I was absolutely skeptical (before looking into the research) of the benefits of creatine for women. I had heard everything that you and your athletes may have also heard about creatine from the mass media. The truth is: it’s safe, It’s effective, and it will drive up performance when training intensely.
Myths about creatine supplementation in females have been pushed since the 1990’s and have ranged from “kidney damage” to “bulky weight gain and dehydration”. Let me start by saying that creatine monohydrate is one of the most researched supplements in the world and no significant harmful effects have been found in healthy individuals. A groundbreaking study performed by Vandenberghe et.al. 1997 examined long term creatine supplementation in untrained females. This study found that creatine supplementation increased fat free mass and significantly increased lower body muscle strength and power. The study used a loading phase (about 20g) for 4 days, followed by a low dose (5g per day) for 10 weeks along with a resistance training program of 1 hour a day, 3 days a week for 10 weeks. This was considered a long term supplementation protocol, and no harmful effects were reported; only performance gains!
A more recent study concludes that creatine supplementation improves athletic performance in swimmers. The study found significant improvements in 1-repetition maximum bench press, 60 yard dash swimming and vertical jump ability after a 5g dose 4x each day for only 6 days. These swimmers were already on a vigorous exercise and training program and saw significant improvements in just days! This lays solid framework for the case of creatine supplementation in both the long and short term, not only without harmful effects, but with significant improvements in female athletes.
The battle of the scale is a very important topic when discussing creatine use with the female population.
Another point of warfare regarding creatine supplementation and the female athlete will be potential weight gain. The number going up on the bathroom scale is an important topic to discuss with female athletes due to specific issues such as the female athlete triad and body dysmorphia. Some specific reasons the athlete may feel weight gain may be due to the increased water retention that may come from creatine supplemtation, or just an increase in lean mass causing a positive weight gain (Juhn MS, 1998). A little science behind both phenomenon is the suggestion that creatine causes a change in cell osmolality by moving extracellular water into the muscle cell, therefore causing cell swelling. This mechanism of action is associated with muscle hypertrophy and an increase in muscle protein synthesis (Poortmas & Francaux, 2000). Through this cell swelling there may be an increase in water retention and therefore subsequent weight gain on the scale.
This is an important talking point for any coach to discuss with a female athlete as weight fluctuations may affect both physical and psychological performance. Although this legitimate fear persists among female athletes, there is data that supports the contrary. Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan, professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and industry leading sport supplement researcher discusses her views on women and creatine by stating “the physiological benefits extend from increasing creatine phosphate stores, to delaying fatigue, enhancing hydration, improving cognition, and speeding recovery. More so, there is data that suggests that women demonstrate no weight gain, and can even benefit mentally during and after pregnancy. A low dose (5 grams daily) is what I would recommend.” As research on the subject continues to grow, the case for creatine supplementation in women continues to strengthen.
Scientific literature holds mountains of research regarding creatine and performance, although creatine comes in many forms, mixtures and matrices. Let’s narrow it down to the power house, creatine monohydrate. Creatine monohydrate is the most researched and found to be most effective in maintaining muscle creatine storages (Kreider, et al., 2007). In contrast there have been beneficial effects found from creatine bi-citrate loading in muscle buffering capacity in females to delay the onset of neuromuscular fatigue, so creatine bi-citrate may be a nice option as well (Smith, 2007). Several publications have noted significant findings in formulas such as Beta alanine and creatine combinations, as well as creatine plus β-hydroxy-β-methylbuterate (HMB), but the typical comparison and/or addition was with creatine monohydrate as the gold standard for supplementation. Going for the simplest creatine monohydrate you can find in adequate dosage will save some time and keep a little cash in your wallet.
Supplementation protocols
How much and when? General recommendations vary, but the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends roughly .3g/kg of body weight to elevate creatine storages for roughly 3 days, followed by a relatively low dosage of 3-5g per day to continue to keep storages elevated( (Kreider, et al., 2007). Although most protocols for creatine supplementation will call for an initial loading phase followed by a maintenance cycle, current research recommends that a loading phase is not necessary to attain adequate creatine storages. In fact, this strategy may be more acceptable for women. Some research suggests that women possess a decreased response to a bolus of creatine due to the amount of stored creatine already available. It is important to note that the research is conflicting on this issue and more research is needed to better understand the gender specific response of creatine supplementation protocols in females. However, for a solid recommendation, a low dose of creatine post workout (3-5g per day) is adequate for maintaining muscle creatine storages and enhancing performance. This protocol may also be more beneficial for female athletes due to the decreased bloating effect associated with a lower dosage.
Summary and Conclusion
- Creatine provides a greater energy supply to the muscles during high intensity training activities
- Creatine supplementation has been proven to improve power markers such as 1RM bench press and vertical jump in female athletes.
- Some sources suggest that creatine may not lead to weight gain in women and can provide psychological benefits.
- Weight gain that may occur during creatine supplementation is due to lean mass and intracellular fluid increases.
- 3-5g per day is an adequate create dosage post workout.
Any way you slice it, creatine is a must for any serious athlete, male or female. There may be obstacles and stigmas developed by pop-culture and attached to creatine supplementation that must be overcome before supplementation is fully mainstreamed regardless of gender. It is important to note that if an improvement in exercise intensity is a goal, creatine may be at least a step in achieving this goal.
About Mandy:
Mandy Wray, M.S. CSCS is an author, trainer and motivator. She holds her Masters in exercise physiology from Baylor University where she focused her studies in strength and conditioning, and weight loss in women. She has published various research articles in subjects including; exercise physiology, nutrition, supplementation and exercise performance. She continues to write as well do research in the exercise field. Mandy is a power lifter and competitor, and known for her ability to inspire and empower athletes to be stronger through resistance training.
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