The benefits of taking creatine monohydrate for men and women have become a popular topic among fitness experts, coaches, bodybuilders and even various scientists. The discussions have included neuroscientists and anyone evaluating the supplement’s benefits regarding cognition or getting a potential boost in areas like focus and drive. However, two common questions have been how much creatine to take daily and when the best time to take it is.
While studies have highlighted the impact of creatine at various dosage levels, we specifically broke down what three experts believe on when and how much to take daily. Their responses were compared with detailed information provided by ChatGPT. The perspectives from all parties are summarized below.
When to Take Creatine for Best Results: How 3 Fitness Experts/Coaches Take Their Creatine
Of the three fitness experts/coaches we evaluated content from, it included bodybuilder/coach Jeff Nippard, fitness expert and researcher Mike Israetel and physician and researcher Peter Attia. All three touched on the topics of how much creatine to take daily and their preference/opinion on times to take it.
Expert No. 1: Professional bodybuilder, powerlifter and fitness coach Jeff Nippard offered insight into both how to approach the initial phase of taking creatine, while also digging deeper into when you should take it for workouts.
According to Nippard, creator of Jeff Nippard Fitness, it doesn’t matter a ton whether you take it before, during or after, but there have been studies that show a small benefit in taking it after a workout.
“There are two ways you can take it. You can do a one-week loading phase of 20 grams per day, followed by a maintenece phase of five grams per day for good,” Nippard explains. “Or, you can just go straight to the maintance phase, skipping the loading phase. Loading will saturate your muscles after, but both will get you to the same place over the long term.”
“It doesn’t matter when you take it, but a few studies have suggested that post-workout timing may have a slight edge.”
Expert No. 2: As Mike Israetel, creator of the RP Strength Hypertrophy app explained, taking creatine after working out can be slightly more beneficial.
“Technically speaking, by a small fraction, taking it after your workout, with carbohydrate in it, can open up the whole insulin pathway and the non-insulin pathway. [This will] get creatine into your muscles faster and fill them up more, by a very small fraction,” Israetel said.
In another post highlighted on Instagram by The Diary of a CEO podcast, Israetel points to five grams of creatine daily, and calls “loading” a “giant waste of time.”
Expert No. 3: Longtime physician and researcher who specializes in longevity medicine, Dr. Peter Attia, offered a slightly different opinion. Attia, the host of The Drive podcast, has also been a long supporter of the benefits creatine has on both strength and cognition.
During an interview with Chris Williamson of the Modern Wisdom podcast, Attia broke down his approach to creatine. When asked what supplement everyone should take daily, Attia pointed to creatine and explained how he takes it.
“Creatine monohydrate, five grams daily. I don’t think it matters when you take it, truthfully,” Attia said. “But, the most predictable and routine time for me to take it is during a workout. So just mixing it in with electrolytes and water—otherwise I’ll forget to drink it.”
Jeff Nippard says there’s not a huge argument to timing of taking creatine, but cites studies that show benefits from taking it post-workout. He also points to either loading for one week at 20 grams of creatine per day, followed by five grams per day after, or just going straight to the latter stage.
Mike Israetel highlights benefits of taking it post-workout due to the small benefits of how quickly creatine will get into your muscles. He recommends five grams of creatine per day, and pushes back on the idea of “loading.”
Peter Attia takes his creatine during a workout mixed in with other electrolyes as it’s an easy way to remember to take it. He recommends five grams of creatine daily.
From the breakdowns above, two said that ultimately they don’t believe there’s a significant enough difference in timing for it to make a huge difference on when you take creatine. However, both Israetel and Nippard cited levels of benefits if you take it post-workout, while Attia’s focus on doing it while mixing with something else during a workout was primarily to avoid forgetting to take it.
ChatGPT’s Response on When to Take Creatine for Best Results
When asking OpenAI’s ChatGPT about the best time to take creatine, I used a prompt that would put a focus around it looking at the question as a person looking to build muscle and maximize the benefits of creatine.
I entered this prompt into ChatGPT:
“Be someone who’s using creatine in the early stages of starting to use it. When should someone take creatine to maximize its benefits—before, during or after a workout? Find the best answer from detailed research.”
After an extensive “thinking” phase and several websites and other sources being scanned, it began by highlighting that taking 3-5 grams of creatine daily was best for new users. ChatGPT then went on to cite several websites, which will be listed below, before coming in with a bottom line approach to follow.
Here are a few of the primary takeaways which ChatGPT offered in its response with the websites it attributed. It also highlighted its “best research” pulled, which is bullet points 2-4.
Evidence leans slightly toward post-workout, yet most higher-quality research finds no meaningful difference as long as you take it consistently. (BioMed Central, Frontiers, PubMed)
A small randomized study in recreational lifters reported a modest edge for taking creatine immediately after workouts versus before. Gains in fat-free mass and bench press trended higher post-workout. Sample size was only 19 and the stats approach was debated. Treat this as suggestive, not decisive. (BioMed Central)
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in collegiate athletes compared pre-workout, post-workout, and placebo for 8 weeks. Results showed similar strength and body-composition changes in all creatine groups. Timing did not change outcomes. (Frontiers)
Reviews that pool the evidence conclude the same theme. Some earlier summaries hinted at a post-workout nudge, yet more recent expert reviews state that timing is not critically important for long-term gains if daily intake is consistent. (PubMed and PMC)
The final full recommendation included the following tidbits:
Take 5 g of creatine monohydrate right after today’s workout with your normal post-training snack.
Take 5 g tomorrow with breakfast if it is a rest day
Repeat daily for the next 4–8 weeks, then keep the habit.
If taking after a workout, doing so with a shake or meal is an easy habit and adds carbs and protein.
Taking creatine with food: Pairing creatine with carbohydrate or with a carb-protein meal may enhance uptake through insulin. This is practical, not mandatory. (Carolina Digital Repository)
The breakdown goes on to cite BioMed Central, stating that the broader consensus is that taking creatine daily is more important than the specific timing.
Final Conclusion on When Its Best to Take Creatine & How Much Daily
While all three experts had some level of different sorts of information to provide, the consensus ultimately landed on taking five grams of creatine daily. The consistent evaluation also primarily pointed to the importance of taking it daily, as opposed to what time you take it each day.
ChatGPT echoed a similar sentiment across the board, highlighting several websites that offer the same opinion regarding timing being less important than consistency when it comes to taking creatine.
Here’s the final look at the consensus/opinions on when and how much creatine to take:
All three experts (Nippard, Israetel, Attia) suggest 5g of creatine daily.
ChatGPT suggests 3-5 grams of creatine daily.
Nippard says “loading” creatine at 20g per day to start and then going to 5g daily is an option to consider.
Israetel says “loading” creatine is a “waste of time.”
Israetel was the biggest supporter of taking it after a workout, but Nippard also highlighted there is data to suggest it may be beneficial this way.
Attia takes his during a workout as an easy way to remember to do so.
When & How Much Creatine to Take: Fitness Experts, ChatGPT Weigh In
