Creatine for Women

Creatine is certainly having its moment. With many of my clients asking whether or not they should be taking it, I thought it deserved its own blog.

When it comes to fitness supplements, creatine is one of the most studied compounds in exercise science but that doesn’t mean every woman needs to take it. In fact, it’s not essential for getting stronger or fitter. What matters most is good nutrition, consistent and progressive training, and recovery. This blog explains what creatine is, how the body uses it, how you get it from food, what current research shows, and when supplementation might be an optional choice.

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in the body that helps regenerate ATP, the energy your muscles use for short bursts of high-intensity activity such as lifting, sprinting, or HIIT. Most creatine in the body is stored in muscle as phosphocreatine, which fuels these explosive efforts. Your body makes creatine from amino acids, and you can also get it from foods, mainly animal-based protein sources.

Why Creatine Matters for Exercise

Research shows that creatine, particularly creatine monohydrate, can:

• Increase capacity for short, intense activity, helping you do more reps or lift heavier.

• Support greater training adaptations when combined with resistance exercise over time.

• Enlarge muscle creatine stores, potentially improving strength and power output.

That said, not all people respond the same way, and diet and training habits are the primary drivers of results. Performance effects seen in studies occur in addition to solid training and recovery, not instead of them. Additionally, evidence in women specifically is growing but currently smaller than for male athletes, so results can vary.

Natural Dietary Sources of Creatine

You don’t need supplements to get creatine, your diet already provides some. The majority comes from animal protein, so vegetarians and vegans may consume less. However, your body still produces creatine naturally, so supplementation is not automatically required.

Foods with naturally higher creatine include:

• Meat and poultry: beef, pork, lamb, chicken

• Fish and seafood: herring, salmon, tuna, cod

• Other animal proteins: small amounts present as part of muscle tissue

To reach gram-level amounts of creatine from food alone would typically require larger portions of meat or fish regularly. Average omnivorous diets provide around 1-2 g of dietary creatine per day depending on intake.

Eating a variety of protein-rich foods supports creatine levels naturally and also aids muscle recovery and overall training adaptations.

Supplements

Creatine supplements are safe for most healthy adults when taken at common doses (~3-5 g/day). Position statements confirm no evidence of harm in short- or long-term use for healthy populations.

That said, trusted guidance (e.g. NHS) recommends that people with kidney conditions, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those on certain medications should consult a healthcare professional before supplementing.

Key points about supplementation:

• Supplements should be chosen carefully; always seek guidance from a qualified fitness or nutrition professional.

• Not everyone will notice a huge benefit.

  You don’t need creatine to make progress. A balanced nutrition + training is the foundation.

If you choose to supplement:

• The most studied form is creatine monohydrate.

• Start at a lower dose and increase gradually if needed.

• Consistency matters more than timing so taking it daily is most important.

  
  

When Creatine May Be More Helpful

Creatine supplements may be a useful option for some women, such as:

• Those performing frequent resistance or high-intensity training.

• People on plant-based diets with lower dietary creatine intake.

Even in these cases, supplementation is optional, and should always complement solid nutrition, sleep, hydration, and well-designed training, not replace them.

My Experience

I took creatine daily for six months. I noticed slight improvements in mental clarity and less brain fog - possibly from increased ATP availability in the brain but saw little difference in physical output. I also experienced slight water retention, which made some sessions less comfortable. This highlights that individual responses vary and that supplements are a personal choice, not a necessity for fitness success.