Which Form of Creatine is Best (NOT MONOHYDRATE!)

Creatine is one of the most popular workout supplements in the industry, for good reason. There are very few who would argue the efficacy and safety of creatine. That said, there are many different forms of creatine and knowing which one is best is a common question. In this video, I’m going to tell you which form of creatine is best and you may be shocked to know that it is not creatine monohydrate.

Now before we get started, we are assuming that creatine’s usefulness is not at question here. With literally thousands of studies performed on humans (and more importantly athletes) we have a plethora of information supporting its use as an ergogenic aid. Training and sports performance are significantly improved through supplementation with creatine.

What I really want to cover is whether creatine monohydrate is the superior form of creatine to take. To begin, it is definitely the most prevalent form of creatine. Unfortunately, this has much to do with the fact that it is the cheapest to manufacture. As you know, cheap doesn’t always equate to best. In the case of creatine it brings along with it a few downsides that are worthy of your consideration.

First, creatine monohydrate tends to create more gastric discomfort and bloating than do the buffered forms of creatine discussed in this video. The reason is due to it’s alkalinity. With a higher ph, the monohydrate is not as easily dissolved in water and can lead to bloating within the small intestine as the body attempts to continue to absorb it. Even micronized creatine is still monohydrate and though the particles are smaller, the issues of absorbability remain the same.

Buffered creatine on the other hand (such as kre-alkalyn or creatine hcl) are bound forms of creatine that effectively lower the overall ph. This can increase its absorption higher up in the digestive tract and increase the overall conversion percentage. This means you can take less of these and still reap the benefits of the science backed effective dosages.

The second major benefit to the latter forms of creatine is that due to the lower dosages needed, as well as their chemical makeup, less of the creatine is converted into creatinine. This byproduct of creatine monohydrate is undesirable and can disrupt extracellular water balance further leading to additional gastric issues.

Without need to worry about excessive creatinine buildup, it is possible to take creatine hcl or kre-alkalyn without cycling on or off. Finally, with higher absorption noted from both forms vs creatine monohydrate you can decrease the dose required to produce an effect. Whereas a loading phase with a follow up maintenance of 5 grams per day is needed for monohydrate to work best, a mere 2 grams of either alternative will produce nearly the same results.

[macorelus]

As soon as I saw 'NOT MONOHYDRATE' I looked over to my counter at the Creatine Monohydrate I just bought...

[woodbrochillson]

You guys are unbelievable.. First of all, Jeff has been selling his supplements (and they have been used by professional athletes) for 5 years now. You're calling him a sellout all the sudden? Second, the dude has been putting out videos with free content for you..you want to be ungrateful and try to crucify him for promoting his supplements? You think that the guy shouldn't try to promote business? Get the fuck outta here. This man provides the most sound fitness advice on YouTube with everything backed by science and his knowledge as a physical therapist.

Also, all of you commenting saying that he's a liar and is bullshitting you in this video..did you watch objectively, or did you come in pissed off because it doesn't agree with your opinion?? He never once said that monohydrates are bad and that you shouldn't take them. He CLEARLY mentions that monos and HCL provide the EXACT same benefits! Jeff simply believes that one is preferable than the other for certain reasons. He is not saying "if you don't take my supplements, you're doing it wrong, " ... he is saying that his supps contain what he believes are the best ingredients for you

Get the fuck off your high horses and stop acting like you know more than this guy, because I guarantee that you don't and your broscience bullshit is exactly that...bullshit.

[dasun]

I snort 10g of creatine for breakfast and then put coke in my preworkout. shit has changed my life

[apocalipsysfire]

both my father and i took monohydrate for a year, then went for some blood and urine testing and had normal creatinine levels, both had muscle and strength gains with no negative reactions, so I can tell you now most bodies react differently

[thNYSV]

7 years later and the only form of creatine for sale at Athlean X is creatine monohydrate.

[arber]

Jeff is always talking the opposite of all the other youtubers😂 but he's right 99% of the time

[MarioTomicOfficial]

One of the rare videos I disagree with Jeff. Bottom line: Creatine Monohydrate will saturate your muscle cells 100%, you can't store more than 100% lol
Even if these 2 forms of creatine mentioned in the vid are effective (and there's not much research on it) they wouldn't work better than monohydrate. They could potentially work just as good at a higher price point. Keep in mind that monohydrate is one of the most studied supplements out there with 30 years of research backing up the positive effects.

[doukhobar]

This is my first time hearing of Creatine HCl, sounds amazing! I do have a background in biochemistry (M.S.), nutrition and personal training. Many pharmaceutical products are bound to HCl for quick disassociation once put in water. This really makes sense to me! Explains why it mixes better too. It's basically disaccociating the Cl ion from the creatine molecule.

[K]

Mixing your monohydrate with warm lime juice makes it a lot more soluble both because of the acidity and higher temperature. It doesn't taste great, but it's great if you're a bodybuilder on a budget. Hope this helps somebody

[NorthsideChamps]

the science on the other forms of creatine just aren't there. monohydrate just works and it's cheap. the other forms are SUPPOSED to be better, but there's no concrete proof that they are.

[pwnzor]

It's time to address all of the negativity in the comment section, all of you scientific geniuses who call Jeff a sell-out, someone who's talking bullshit and so on.


First of all, at the end of each video Jeff makes a reference to his Athlean X programs, WHAT A SHOCKER, he makes money off of that. But guess fucking what ? He also does those same workouts, he also takes those same supplements. He is very consistent with that, if he finds massive amounts of evidence that an exercise or a substance are bad for you he is going to address it in a video and he is not going to do it himself. ALL, EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE of the things he preaches on this channel he also does personally. I don't know why it comes as a surprise that he promotes the supplement he sells, that does not make him a sell-out that makes him consistent and credible.


On top of all of that, he really delivers content that is underpinned by proper science. The only thing you can fault him for in this case is that he did not provide any of the studies he talks about regarding the two forms of creatine mentioned in the video. But you know what ? Instead of saying that he is a sell-out, a dickhead, a bullshit con artist, a scammer, why not post a comment asking him to show you the studies OR even better do the research yourself. BUT DO THE RESEARCH PROPERLY. Don't just google stupid shit and then take your "credible" source like bodybuilding.com or menshealth or some random bro science guy. Go to google scholar or your university data base and find proper scientific journal articles that prove Jeff's content wrong.


Finally, Jeff, thanks for all the hard work and no bullshit approach. Thanks for being the one guy on youtube that doesn't lie and does what he preaches.

[shutdahellup]

3:26 To anyone that is thick in the head and thinks he's saying to not take monohydrate... There you go, clean up ur ear wax and listen carefully... You're welcome.

[fitnessdreams]

He’s got a valid point about the monohydrate. My L-Creatinine level’s shot up like crazy (1.55; normal upper limit is 1.2) when I was taking creatine monohydrate. My doctor asked me to stopped and the levels returned to normal (1.15), resulting in much less strain on the kidneys.

[captainAUBS]

CREATINE MONOHYDRATE IS THE MOST STUDIED PERFORMANCE SUPPLEMENT. MOST TRUSTED, MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF CREATINE.

[tohopes]

Two things:
1) Why do people spam "notification squad" on YouTube?
2) Why do they think it makes them look smart?

[CreativiTimothy]

Summary of video and my understanding:
1) Creatine Monohydrate is like the same as the other forms of creatine except the absorption may not be as good, so you have to take more. But all forms of creatine for the most part provide the same muscle strength benefit and recovery, etc.
2) Creatine Monohydrate may have some side effects like bloating because you have to drink a lot of water for it to absorb. Good option to buy more absorbant forms of creatine like creatine hydrochloride if bloating is a problem. (From my experience, it's a lot more expensive, so only buy if you have bloating problems. If not, buy regular creatine monohydrate.)

[Daniel-iirq]

I’ve been taking both and they’re both equally effective. Less bloating than the monohydrate but also cost a lot more

[Pepesplants]

Am I missing something? You say Creatine Monohydrate is not good to use for many reasons then I go to your web page and you sell Creatine Monohydrate. Make it make sense?

[dennis]

I have used monohydrate, HCL, and Kre- alkalyne all of them worked great.The down side was that all 3 increased my creatinine levels to dangerous levels.I tried tri-creatine malate it worked just as well as the other 3 plus it lowered my creatinine to safer levels.

[marcussteinsund]

This was accutually NOT a sellout video, this was very informative and he taught us a lot!