Is creatine safe for Teens? A common question I get often, from both parents and teens, via email etc. The answer may not be what you are expecting!
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He’s also been published in peer reviewed journals.
Will is the author of the popular e-books, both accompanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.
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did anyone else have a bad time trying to explain his mother or father what is creatine for? you just show up with a tub full of white powder and say: “i have to take a dose every day” or “this will help me go beyond my limits…” when i started taking creatine, there wasn´t so much information around, so that really was an issue. now if you have a father like will, that´s another matter entirely:) keep up the good work!
It’s a parents job to be suspicious of any products their kids come home with. That’s their job. The burden of proof to make them OK with what you (the kid) have to supply vs the other way around. Some parents are going to be more open minded about such things, some less so. I’m not a parent, but I’d be a hard ass if I was, so be careful what you wish for. If my kid wanted to use creatine, my response would be something like “go follow a 6×6 squat workout for the next 12 weeks and if I like what I see, we will discuss it” 🙂
i think you´re absolutely right. people tend to avoid anything that requires hard work, effort and sacrifice, and the supplement industry takes advantage of that. supplementation is an area i´m particularly interested in, and ím absolutely stunned at some things those guys claim. i´m portuguese, but we get almost every brand in here, and some are so full of hype it hurts. i mean, can´t the all-powerful america (no irony here, i´m serious) find a way to stop companies from advertising “gain 1000 pounds of lean body mass with just one scoop of this…whey protein?” for all we know, they could be mixing fertilizer, coffee and bananas in one of their proprietary blends, call it “hulk 3000” and and get rich doing it… by the way, will, i am a father and, if my son wants to take creatine, i now know that it shoul be creapure, and no other:)
I hope Karen have watched your video today about Teens and Creatine and if she is still not sure she can ask you for more advice. Fantastic & fast respond to our question…….. Thanks once again
Glad it helped!
It’s funny enough that the majority of people are only concerned about the connection of creatine with physical exercise, which I understand that is a lack of knowlege about the amazing effects of creatine in serious pathologies like myopathies such as Duchenne and Beker’s distrophy. Studies prove that exogenous creatine has a positive effect in such myopathies. At this moment, Will, you’ll be asking yourself what this dude wants with all this apparently nonsense? It’s easy. If it is not asking too much I would be pleased if you can enlight just a little further this subject which in a way covers all the valuable information you has freely posted to everyone. Thank you for your job always well done. Pedro
Pedro, I was the first person to write about the many potential health benefits of creatine. Simply type “creatine” into the search box for the site, and you will have more reading then you will know what to do with regarding creatine. My creatine report also covers A-Z on creatine.
A few weeks ago, there were numerous media reports that Creatine is potentially causing a greater number of oblique injuries in Major League Baseball. While I am the last person on earth to have a scientific opinion on this subject, I do find it the topic interesting. Given the level of access these players enjoy to the best trainers and sports nutrition experts, if Creatine were really the culprit behind these injuries, you would suspect we would have seen these issue before, and the trainers would be throwing out the products immediately – but then again, maybe not… thoughts???
Media reports on creatine = worthless. Published data finds creatine does not increase cramping, dehydration, etc, etc as media reports loves to perpetuate. Until the source comes from something more objective and science based, I’d pay no attention to media reports on supplements, especially creatine, which for what ever reason, is vilified more then other supps.
“Creatine” What is it for:
Energy, strength, stamina and endurance
Recovery from exercise
Increased fat free muscle mass
Improved muscle strength
Athletic performance
Increased muscle volume
Healthy brain function
Ultralife’s Performance Creatine formula incorporates proven science and practical experience of what it takes to create peak performance and fuel high intensity training
Ultralife Creatine helps with recovery from exercise, boosts energy, strength, stamina and endurance.
Supplementation with Creatine increases and saturates the skeletal muscles and ensures there are adequate stores of Creatine, thereby helping to enhance athletic performance and build lean muscle mass.
Scientific studies have shown that the most profound results with Creatine supplementation occur with short, intense bouts of exercise, rather than prolonged, endurance types of activity. Creatine is a nitrogen-based substance that is consumed in foods as a normal part of the diet, mainly in meat, poultry and fish.
Ultralife Creatine contains 1500mg of patented Kre-Alkalyn®(Buffered Creatine). Supplementation with Creatine increases and saturates the skeletal muscles and ensures there are adequate stores of Creatine, thereby helping to enhance athletic performance and build lean muscle mass.
Scientific studies have shown that the most profound results with Creatine supplementation occur with short, intense bouts of exercise, rather than prolonged, endurance types of activity. Creatine is a nitrogen-based substance that is consumed in foods as a normal part of the diet, mainly in meat, poultry and fish.
It is also synthesised in the body from three amino acids: arginine, glycine and methionine, principally via the kidneys and liver. From these organs, Creatine is transported in the bloodstream to muscle stores, 95% of which are in skeletal muscle, where it combines with phosphates to form phosphocreatine, or Creatine phosphate.
Creatine phosphate, in turn, serves as the storage form of adenosine triphospate (ATP), the muscle’s high-energy phosphate fuel necessary for intense muscle contraction.
About 1.5- 2% of the body’s Creatine pool is converted to the metabolite creatinine every day.
Not sure what the purposes is of above post, but although it’s generally correct info, they also sell a version of have no faith in and the benefits they list are regarding monohydrate vs what they sell… See “the creatine graveyard” for additional info there. As stated, A-Z info on creatine found in my creatine report, which can be found on this web site or downloaded at: http://www.Creatine-Report.com as well as the MANY articles here and vids on creatine.
Excellent write-up of Creatine. Will has an absolutely fantastic “White Paper” on creatine, that I call the “Bible on Creatine.”
By the way I’ve seen you post on other Brink topics and am impressed that you are knowedgable and beautiful. You’ve got two of God’s greatests creations – first the human mind and second the female body!
Thank you very much Cal for your comments. I’m glad there are still some wise people who appreciate Human’s Beauty. Every body loves beauty whether it is Body beauty, mind beauty, appearance beauty ect…
I believe that ” STRONG MIND EXIST IN A STRONG BODY”. There is always something new that I need to learn and I always try to do some research to find my answers and add up to my Bank of knowledge……… 🙂
Thanks for the videos. I have a teenager going into her freshman year of high school. I am a personal trainer and high school soccer and strength coach. Here is what I have told my players and my child when it comes to supplements. 1st more is not always better. I always recommend a good protein source for after hard workouts and a well rounded nutrition plan. With creatine I have suggested that they only use before big events like college showcases. Load up on it for 3 days prior to tournament and use once each day of the tournament. I feel this makes them train hard without the help of creatine, but gives them the extra boost for those games.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
You ultimately recommend teens not use creatine. After reading your other articles on the benifits of creatine it seems creatine may be the best supplement teens should use. If it increases focus and has the ability to improve brain trauma (more and more teens are getting concussions these days) it would seem it is a wonder supplement that should take. It would be great to hear more about your thoughts on teens using creatine not so much for streght improvements but all the other potential improvements.
I was in high school about a year and a half ago. In short, teens hear the first thing about something and believe it to be true, such as “creatine is just water weight”, “creatine messes with your organs”, and the biggest kicker that I heard from my best friend, a year older than i, which his source was his human biology professor, “The heart grows inward, so your heart will get more muscle, causing you to die.” So what i’m getting at is that most people won’t search Google or go on youtube and try to find some sources to make their own opinion on supplementation topics. But there is hope for teens. A year and a half ago I got smart and searched creatine and protein on youtube. I found Will’s page and I’ve been sourcing my knowledge from him and trying to help others understand. Seriously, creatine (on topics i’ve said) and protein (on the topic of protein = fattening, and protein = will the heart muscle stronger) are big topics of those who are experimenting with proteins and supplements. Hell, if they don’t believe me. BAM! It’s on youtube for everyone to see. If they don’t believe Will, then that’s fine with me. I try to make progress while they have the option not to. It is definitely as simple as that.
Hey Will, I am a 15 year old and I am thinking about using Creatine, I have been working out every morning since the beginning of august. I’m about 5′ 9″ 152 lbs and I want to gain 8 lbs by the football start, I have already gained around 10 lbs. Now to my question If I use Creatine will it stunt my growth while using? In your video you said most teens don’t no proper form for working out and weight training, I took this into account, My school has a personal trainer and he is who I work out with, he makes sure I take off weight if there is to much, or if I am using poor form. My parents said they would buy me creatine, but I am wondering if I should.
Thanks, Morgan
Also if I use creatine and stop are their side effects?
Hi, I am 15. Have been doing weights for about a year or so. Started taking whey protien after a workout. I feel as tho I have reached a point where it’s not doing me a lot of good to continue. I put on probably 10-15 lbs of muscle. What would my next step be? Creatine? Or what?
Thanks for sharing this article! I learned a lot while reading it.