Does Creatine KILL Your VO₂ Max? (Science Explained)

Creatine is the most researched sports

supplement in the world. It's famous for

building strength, muscle, and even

brain power. But what if I told you it

might actually make your V2 max worse?

My name is Nicholas. I'm a sport

scientist, physiotherapist, and former

professional triathlete. And in this

video, I'm going to show you what

creatine actually does to your body,

what the latest science say about its

effect on V2 max and endurance, who

should seriously consider taking it, and

who might want to think twice, and how

to decide if creatine is worth it for

your training. By the end of this video,

you'll know if creatine is a secret

weapon for endurance athletes or if it's

actually holding you back. So, let's

start with what you clicked on this

video for. Does creatine kill V2 max? In

2023, a major scientific review looked

at exactly that, and the results were

not what I was expecting. But before we

dive into the findings, let's quickly

cover what creatine even is. In simple

terms, creatine is a naturally occurring

compound stored in your muscles that

helps rapidly regenerate energy during

short, explosive efforts. Now, here's

the surprising part. After looking

across different ages, sports, and

training setups, the researchers came to

one clear conclusion. Creatine

supplementation had a negative effect on

V2 max. And it didn't seem to matter how

much you trained, how much you

supplemented, or who you were. On

average, athletes who took creatine saw

smaller improvements in V2 max compared

to those who didn't. So, does that mean

we should all avoid creatine if we want

to run faster for longer? Well, not so

fast. You see, here's the thing. V2 max

is not just an expression of how much

oxygen your body can use. It's expressed

as milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of

body weight per minute. So, if your body

weight goes up, your V2 max goes down,

even if your absolute oxygen uptake

stays the same. And guess what's one of

creatine's absolutely most reliable

effects? Weight gain. not fat, but water

stored inside your muscles. On average,

people gain around 1 to two kilograms of

body weight when starting to supplement

with creatine. So, the drop in V2 max

the researchers saw might not mean that

your aerobic engine is weaker. In other

words, creatine might make your V2 max

look worse on paper while your

performance stay the same or even

improve. But that begs the question,

does performance stay the same? or does

the added weight from creatine make you

perform worse? To answer that, we can

look at this meta analysis from 2023.

This time, researchers gathered all the

studies on creatine supplementation in

trained endurance athletes, and this is

what they concluded. Creatine

monohydrate supplementation was shown to

be ineffective on endurance performance

in a trained population, which fits our

earlier point. Even though your V2 max

looks worse on paper, or at least you

improve less than without creatine, your

performance stays about the same. It

does not mean that your performance is

worse. But if you're a runner where

weight is such a key factor, I still

think it's worth noting that most people

gain a kilogram or two when they start

to take creatine. So, what's the

takeaway? If your goal is pure

endurance, then creatine won't help you

in a single session. It likely won't

tank you, but it won't move the needle

either. So, if creatine is not a magic

pill for your V2 max, and it might

actually make it worse, then why do so

many endurance athletes still take it?

This is where it gets interesting and a

bit nuanced. You see, creatine has been

shown to have a few other effects,

effects that might actually make

endurance athletes better over the long

run. You see, a scientific review from

2021 that examined all the benefits of

creatine on athletic performance found

that creatine can make you better in

nine different areas. It helps you push

harder for longer in short intense

bursts. It helps your muscles grow

bigger and stronger over time. It helps

your muscles store more fuel for

training and racing. It increases your

anorobic threshold, meaning you can go

faster before your legs start to burn

out. It might help your cells deliver

energy more efficiently. It makes you

capable of handling more total training

without breaking down as quickly. It

enhances recovery, meaning you bounce

back faster between workouts. And

finally, it gives you a greater training

tolerance. And those last three are

especially interesting if you want to

run faster for longer or become a better

endurance athlete. You see, if you can

handle more work, recover faster, and

tolerate more training volume, then over

time, you can train harder, get more

adaptations, and get better, which

potentially makes you a better athlete

long term. So, given the science, if

you're looking to increase endurance, I

think whether or not you should take

creatine depends on your training

volume. People who don't train that much

and has plenty of time between workouts

to recover probably won't benefit as

much from creatine as someone who has a

high training volume. At least not when

it comes to endurance. But for athletes

who train a lot and want to see if they

can fit more training in, I think that

experimenting with creatine can be a

solid approach. So, if creatine won't

make you crush your next marathon, why

do so many athletes, including myself,

still take it? Because endurance

performance isn't the complete story.

You see, creatine doesn't just affect

your muscles, it also affects your

brain. In 2024, a meta analysis showed

that current evidence suggests that

creatine monohydrate supplementation may

confer beneficial effects on cognitive

function in adults, particularly in the

domains of memory, attention time, and

information processing speed. Think of

it like this. Creatine won't make you

Einstein, but it will give you a bit

more energy when your brain feels fried.

Think of it like an extra rep for your

mind. And if your goal is longevity,

then there's another thing to consider.

Creatine supports muscle mass and

strength as we age. That means better

protection against injuries, stronger

bones, and just the ability to stay

healthy and active for longer if you do

it right. So, if you want to try

creatine, how much should you take? And

are there any side effects? For years,

the standard advice has been simple. 3

to 5 g of creatine per day. That's

usually enough to keep your muscles

fully saturated, giving you the strength

and recovery benefits we talked about

earlier. But when it comes to the brain,

things are a little bit different. Some

studies have tested higher doses, around

20 g per day for a week or two, and

found that it raises brain creatine

levels faster with small but noticeable

benefits for memory and fatigue

resistance. The downside is that at this

dosage, you're more likely to get some

stomach issues or just waste your money

because you're fully saturated. So,

you're basically just flushing it down

the toilet. Now, before you go out to

buy a kilogram of creatine, let's first

discuss some of the downsides and the

myths surrounding creatine. First, the

most common side effect is water

retention and bloating. When you start

creatine, you usually gain 1 to 2 kg of

body weight as you store more water

inside your muscles. For most people,

that's not a problem because we want

water inside our muscles. Then we look

more muscular and more full. But if

you're chasing race weights, it's

something to keep in mind. Second,

stomach issues. A higher dose,

especially 20 grams per day or even

more, can give some people nausea and

diarrhea. That's why it's often best to

split the dose up throughout the day or

just start with five grams and then

build your way up from there. And then

for some reason there's still a ton of

myths surrounding creatine. So let me

try to set the record straight using a

scientific review from 2021 as the

evidence. The first myth is that

creatine is just water weight. Creatine

does pull some water inside the muscles

at first. But long-term studies show

that it doesn't increase bloating over

the long term or cause any unhealthy

water retention. In fact, that extra

water inside the muscles is actually a

good thing. It's linked to growth and

performance. Myth number two is that

creatine is a steroid. It's not.

Steroids are hormones. Creatine is just

a compound that your body already makes.

And you also get it from foods like

meat. It fuels energy production, a

completely different mechanism, and it's

completely legal as of recording this

video. Of course, the next myth is that

creatine damages your kidneys. The truth

is this has been tested for over 20

years. In healthy people, recommended

dosages of creatine does not cause

kidney damage. The only reason this myth

exists is because creatine can increase

the levels of what's called creatinine

in blood work. And creatinine can be a

proxy that doctors use to assess kidney

function. But according to the research,

that's a false flag, not actual damage.

The next myth is that creatine makes you

bald. The truth is, the only study ever

to suggest this was a tiny trial in

rugby players that found a temporary

bump in DHT, a hormone loosely linked to

hair loss. No follow-up studies have

ever confirmed that. Today, there is

zero solid evidence to support that

creatine causes hair loss. The next myth

is that creatine causes dehydration and

cramps. The truth is, large trials, even

in football players training in the

heat, found the opposite. creatine users

actually had fewer cramps. They also had

fewer heat illnesses. But a small note

here, you do store more water, so most

people find that they feel better if

they also up their water intake with

their creatine. Myth number six is that

you need to load creatine. The truth is

that you can load with about 20 grams

per day for a week and then go down to 5

g and then your muscles are saturated

and they will get saturated faster. But

you could also just go with five grams

per day and then in about a month you

will be just as saturated and get the

full benefits as if you had loaded with

20 g 20 g for the first week. So loading

isn't required. And the last myth is

that creatine only helps bodybuilders.

Sure, it is amazing for strength, power,

and muscle building, but research also

shows benefits for adults recovery from

injury, endurance athletes and heavy

training and even brain health. If

you're healthy, creatine is safe. It

might make your V2 max number look a bit

lower, but it's probably because of

water weight. For endurance training, it

won't boost a single race, but it can

help you recover faster, train harder,

and even give you a small mental edge.

But it won't really help that much

unless you are combining it with the

right type of training. And I'm going to

show you exactly how to do that in this

video right