Are there so-called non-responders to creatine? People who do not respond to the use of creatine? How do you find out if creatine works for you?
Non-responders to creatine
When we talk about ‘non-responders’, we need to make a distinction between:
- People who do not notice any results
- People who do not achieve any results
Creatine can lead to an increase in strength and weight. However, you should not expect a doubling of your maximum bench press. If you expect that by using creatine you will suddenly become the King of the Gym, then chances are that in your personal experience creatine ‘doesn’t work’.
In 2003, a meta-analysis was conducted comparing various studies on the effect of creatine [1]. From that comparison, it was found that creatine increased strength by 8 or 14 percent, depending on how strength was measured (increase in 1RM/3RM/10RM or number of reps).
Those 8 and 14 percent were averages of results that varied widely. For example, from 3 to as much as 45 percent increase in 1RM bench press. A 45 percent increase in your max bench press weight is hard to miss. However, an increase of 5 to 10 percent will not be noticeable quickly, especially if you are not keeping track of your progress.
There are also large differences in terms of an increase in dry mass. Here too, you can only notice a difference by keeping track of your progress.
Creatine Saturation
A more accurate way to know if you benefit from creatine supplementation is by measuring whether the creatine you take is actually absorbed into the muscles and to what extent this increases your original creatine levels. Research has shown that people with higher current levels of creatine in the muscles benefit less from creatine intake [2,3,4].
Research has also shown that people who can increase their current, often lower, levels also achieve a greater increase in strength [5,6,7].
In a small-scale study from 1994, we clearly see the influence of baseline creatine values on the usefulness of creatine supplementation [2].
Below you can see the baseline creatine values (measured in creatine phosphate, free-form creatine, and total creatine). Total creatine was lower at the start among the five ‘responders’ compared to the three ‘non-responders’, namely 119.4 vs 130.4 nmol/kg(-1). The group starting with the lower value of 119.4 managed to increase this to about 146 (depending on the exact measurement moment). The group starting with an average value of 130 only managed to increase this to 138 nmol/kg.
The difference between the two groups was thus (more than) compensated.
In a 2004 study, the extent to which creatine was absorbed by the muscles was also examined. This time in 11 healthy, young men who loaded creatine for 5 days. They received 0.3 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight per day. A man weighing 80 kg thus received 24 grams of creatine per day.
They divided the men into three groups: responders, quasi-responders, and non-responders with respective increases in creatine and creatine phosphate of 29.5 mmol.kg(-1), (n = 3), 14.9 mmol.kg(-1) (n = 5), and 5.1 mmol.kg(-1) (n = 3). There were thus as many non-responders (3) as responders, while most men fell into the ‘quasi-responders’ group. Also in this study, men with a lower baseline value of creatine were found to benefit the most from loading.
Most visually clear is the graph from the study by Harris and colleagues from 1992 [8]. In that study, various loading protocols were used. Including a protocol in which 5 grams of creatine was ingested 4 to 6 times a day (every 2 hours).
Below you can see what this meant for the creatine levels of the 17 participants. You can see that those with the lowest baseline creatine values made the greatest gains. The largest increase occurred in the first two days.
Amount of Muscle Mass and Muscle Fiber Type
In addition to the original creatine levels, the study also found that the amount of muscle mass plays a role in the extent to which creatine is absorbed. This is logical, the more muscle mass, the more creatine you can absorb into the muscle mass.
Furthermore, the ratio of muscle fiber types in the muscles also played a role. A higher ratio of type II muscle fibers led to a higher uptake. This is also not surprising, these fast muscle fibers store more creatine phosphate. Higher creatine levels are advantageous because they can provide more ATP. Type II muscle fibers use more ATP and therefore consume more creatine phosphate than type I muscle fibers [9].
Finally, gender also plays a role in the absorption of creatine, but we will address that in a separate article.
Does creatine work for me?
We don’t all have the opportunity to measure our personal absorption of creatine. The easiest way to estimate this is by looking at your diet and, as mentioned earlier, measuring the results carefully.
Vegetarians are more likely to benefit from creatine supplementation than meat-eaters. After all, you normally get creatine mainly from meat. Vegetarians generally have lower creatine levels and therefore a greater chance that supplementation can increase levels. Research shows that the creatine levels of vegetarians increase three times as much with creatine intake as those of meat-eaters (25 vs 7 percent increase in total creatine and 37 vs 11 percent increase in creatine phosphate) [10].
If you decide to use creatine, it is useful to measure your progress, both in terms of strength and weight. This does mean that you need to know what your usual progress is under similar circumstances. If you suddenly become motivated, eat better, train better, and use creatine, you naturally do not know to what extent creatine contributed to your result.
Cheaper than Steak
The chance that creatine has a relatively large effect, as shown in the above studies, is about as likely as it not having an effect or having a small effect, depending on your personal creatine levels. Unless you are a vegetarian or eat little meat, it remains (at least initially) a gamble whether it benefits you.
It should be noted that creatine as a supplement is relatively cheap. Compared to other supplements, even or perhaps especially if you take into account the likelihood and extent of results. Also compared to the natural source, meat, a pot of creatine monohydrate is inexpensive. Since serious side effects are rare, I adhere to the motto: if it doesn’t help, it doesn’t hurt. Finally, you should see the glass as half full. You can complain that creatine doesn’t work for you if you don’t see any results. However, the reality is that you simply don’t need to supplement because you are already saturated. Someone else has to stir powder that never dissolves in a drink, you eat a steak.
References
- Effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance.
Rawson ES, Volek JS. J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Nov; 17(4):822-31. - Greenhaff PL, Bodin K, Soderlund K, Hultman E: Effect of oral creatine supplementation on skeletal muscle phosphocreatine resynthesis. Am J Physiol 266: E725–E730, 1994
- Syrotuik DG, Bell GJ. Acute creatine monohydrate supplementation: a descriptive physiological profile of responders vs. nonresponders. J Strength Cond Res. 2004 Aug;18(3):610-7. PubMed PMID: 15320650.
- Demant TW, Rhodes EC. Effects of creatine supplementation on exercise performance. Sports Med. 1999 Jul;28(1):49-60. Review. PubMed PMID: 10461712.
- Casey A, Constantin-Teodosiu D, Howell S, Hultman E, Greenhaff PL: Creatine ingestion favorably affects performance and muscle metabolism during maximal exercise in humans. Am J Physiol (Endo Metab) 271: E31–E37, 1996
- Snow RJ, McKenna MJ, Selig SE, Kemp J, Stathis CG, Zhao S: Effect of creatine supplementation on sprint exercise performance and muscle metabolism. J Appl Physiol 84: 1667–1673, 1998
- Vandenberghe K, Van Hecke P, Van Leemputte M, Vanstapel F, Hespel P: Phosphocreatine resynthesis is not affected by creatine loading. Med Sci Sports Exerc 31: 236–242, 1999
- Harris RC, Soderlund K, Hultman E. Elevation of creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by creatine supplementation. Clin Sci 1992;83:367–74.
- Soderlund K, Greenhaff PL, Hultman E. Energy metabolism in type I and type II human muscle fibres during short term electrical stimulation at different frequencies.Acta Physiol Scand 1992;144:15–22.
- Burke DG, Candow DG, Chilibeck PD, MacNeil LG, Roy BD, Tarnopolsky MA, Ziegenfuss T. Effect of creatine supplementation and resistance-exercise training on muscle insulin-like growth factor in young adults. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2008;18:389–398.
