Can You Take Creatine Without Working Out? The Surprising Truth

There are many ways to improve athletic performance through supplements. Amino acids, protein shakes, caffeine, fat burners are just a few examples. When it comes to muscle mass building and strength enhancing, the most popular choice is creatine. However, the benefits of creatine are also important for people, who do not work out a lot, or even not at all. Read, what happens if you take creatine without working out. Is it safe and reasonable?

Understanding Creatine and Its Benefits

Firstly, let’s explain, what is creatine, and why does it matter for the human body? From a chemical standpoint, creatine is a compound that naturally occurs in the cells. It’s an amino acid derivative made by liver and kidneys from three amino-acids, methionine, glycine and arginine. Creatine can also be delivered with certain food, mostly red meat and some fish species, like herring, tuna and salmon. It is also often supplemented in different forms – creatine monohydrate, creatine malate and many others.

Creatine (specifically its phosphorylated form, a phosphocreatine) plays a critical role in energy production and maintenance. It’s a buffer that allows rapid ATP (adenosine triphosphate) generation. An ATP is a primal energy source, which powers up nearly all cellular activities, such as muscle contractions, nerve impulses transmission, protein synthesis and countless others.

In a whole energy continuum, ATP is the most efficient when it comes to explosive effort but also the most short-lasting. Natural reserves of adenosine triphosphate are big enough to fuel 10 to 15 seconds of submaximal physical activity at most. After that, ATP in muscle cells has to be replenished. The more creatine you have in the body, the faster will be ATP reproduction.

What Are the Benefits of Taking Creatine Without Working Out?

Creatine is mostly supplemented by physically active people. It’s especially effective in disciplines, where raw power and strength are most important, such as lifting weights, sprinting or CrossFit exercises. However, there are plenty of benefits of taking creatine, which are less obvious. What are the benefits of taking creatine without working out?

• Faster post-strain recovery (i.e. hard physical work in the garden or at the job).
• May prevent injuries through making muscle tissue stronger.
• Possible antioxidant activity due to arginine presence.
• Muscle preservation (i.e. during a long period of hospitalisation).
• Weight gain (i.e. for people who are struggling with eating enough calories to maintain or change body composition).

There are also some findings that creatine may improve lipid profile, especially by lowering total cholesterol level and ‘bad cholesterol,’ that is LDL. However, the results of research are mixed.

Effects of creatine without working out are especially important for people on a plant-based diet, since this kind of food does not contain creatine at all. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, consider using Kre-Alkalyn or Creatine HCl as a support for your daily activities.

How Strong Are the Benefits of Creatine Without Working-Out?

Despite the versatility of creatine, remember that effects beyond working out, will be subtle. Don’t expect instant health improvement or anything like that. Not to mention, creatine, nor any other sport supplement, can replace a diverse, well-balanced diet, physical activity, deep sleep or prescription drugs. They are only an addition to a healthy lifestyle.

A good thing is creatine safety profile. In most cases, it can be supplemented through months or even years without any adverse effects. Even if any negative symptoms occur, they are usually mild and limited to digestive tract irritation.

Can You Take Creatine Without Working Out?

Taking the above under consideration, it can be said that you can take creatine daily without working out and still benefit from it. Let’s delve into a few applications of creatine a little deeper.

Creatine and Muscle Preservation

Creatine supports muscle building in a few ways. It may boost anabolic hormones' secretion, such as IGF-1 helps to regulate insulin level. Through water retention, creatine also creates a favourable environment for muscle growth. The impact on signalling pathways of mTOR and others makes your muscle cells divide more effectively.

You don’t have to lift heavy weights constantly to maintain a considerable part of muscle mass. Thus, creatine can be invaluable for people hospitalised after an accident or due to the illness. It’s also good for people, who have a break from training regimen thanks to changes in life, like a new job or long-term journey.

Although creatine won’t do the ‘hard part’ of the job (you still have to train regularly to see the full potential of creatine supplements), it will support our body in many ways. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t forget about sleep and a well-balanced diet. These are the pillars of your health.

Creatine and Weight Gain

Another benefit from creatine is weight gain. Additional kilograms on scale are important for ones with very low muscle mass due to illness, anorexia or problems with macronutrients’ absorption. Water retention level is connected with types of creatine. Highly advanced types of supplementation, such as magnesium creatine chelate or creatine HCl make your body absorb less water, but are also better soluble and easier to digest.

Creatine as Free-Radicals Scavenger

Antioxidant properties of creatine are twofold. Firstly, the presence of arginine in creatine molecules helps to fend off free radicals. Creatine can act as a ‘direct’ scavenger, removing reactive oxygen species from your body.

Secondly, increased ATP production creates an energy buffer, mainly in mitochondrial structures. As a result, creatine indirectly prevents electron leakage and creation of free radicals. It is often mentioned that creatine can help strengthen natural antioxidative enzymes in the body, mostly Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase.

Basically, your body defenses are more solid and stable. If you’re under severe physical or mental stress, it may be a good idea to supplement vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients such as magnesium, iron or B-vitamins are crucial for energy management, blood-creation processes and fitness performance.

Safety Profile of Creatine Supplementation

Creatine is one of the most thoroughly researched supplements and there is no doubt about its safety. It can be used by both men and women (including young people under 18 years old). Seldom-occurring side effects are bloating and digestive issues, nausea, diarrhoea, stomach pain. If you want to limit the risk of these issues, choose a better digestible form of creatine and divide one bigger portion into smaller ones.

Numerous people wonder about the best time to take creatine. This is a kind of supplement, which brings best results in the long-term perspective. More important than precisive timing is to take it regularly. This way you can satiate muscle cells and maintain higher concentration of active substance for a longer period.

There are several strategies about creatine, but the most common and easy to apply is a maintenance phase. It includes a stable dosage, usually between 3 to 5 grams of creatine per day (higher in case of less-stable forms of creatine and lower for highly advanced ones). Maintenance strategy includes ingestion of constant dosage of creatine, without any loadings, pauses and sudden shifts. That allows your body to concentrate creatine stably and use it effectively.

Creatine supplementation is safe for kidneys and liver if you are healthy. In case of any health problems, it would be better to consult a physician first. It’s also not recommended to take creatine during pregnancy and feeding.