\u201cThe study included sedentary adults ages 45 to 65 who took either 10 grams of creatine or a placebo for 12 weeks. Participants chose whether to join an exercise and diet program. Only the supplement was randomized, and each no-exercise group included just 13 people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Schwarzenegger explained that creatine can cause water retention, which can distort the study\u2019s body scans that measure it as lean tissue:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cCreatine can make a body scan report more lean mass without proving that someone built more muscle. Creatine pulls fluid into muscle cells; this is a good thing because it hydrates the muscle, but it\u2019s not true muscle growth. And body scans count that water as lean tissue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the researchers didn\u2019t measure body water or muscle size, they couldn\u2019t separate new muscle from added fluid. The way members gained \u201clean tissue\u201d suggests it was more likely water than new muscle. Most of the increase in lean mass appeared during the first six weeks, then stalled or declined, which tends to run counter to what you see with muscle growth, where results progress over time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Researchers also noticed that the increase in lean mass among participants who took creatine alongside exercise declined from nearly four pounds at week six to approximately three pounds at week 12, suggesting that water retention might be involved:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn the creatine-plus-exercise group, the increase dropped from about 3.7 pounds above baseline at week six to 2.8 pounds at week 12. That pattern fits shifting water levels better than steady muscle growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When measuring strength, the results were even less clear:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe strength results weren\u2019t much more convincing. Participants who took creatine without exercising increased their bench press roughly 8 percent, but the improvement didn\u2019t reach statistical significance even compared with their own starting point. Some of the change could have come from getting better at the test. In other words, like any skill, doing reps makes you better at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
According to Schwarzenegger, the study overstated what creatine offers its users, but he said it still deserves its strong reputation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cCreatine also appeared to help exercisers lose more body fat, but only when fat was expressed as a percentage. Adding water to the lean side of the calculation automatically lowers body-fat percentage. Fat mass itself wasn\u2019t clearly different from placebo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to separate two truths: this study overstated creatine\u2019s effects. And creatine still deserves its strong reputation. Creatine is effective, but it\u2019s not magic. If you want to build strength and muscle, you still need to put in the work at the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Despite these findings, Schwarzenegger doesn\u2019t underestimate creatine<\/a>. He maintains that it\u2019s an effective supplement with huge upsides, especially for those engaging in regular training.\u00a0<\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>Arnold Schwarzenegger Discusses Whether Creatine or Beetroot Juice Is Superior for Strength and Performance<\/a><\/p>\n\n