Can creatine and caffeine be combined effectively?
Effects of supplementing creatine and caffeine simultaneously
Many people using pre-workout supplements ask if creatine and caffeine can be combined effectively. It’s a valid question considering creatine and caffeine are often combined in popular pre-workout products such as MusclePharm’s Assault, BSN’s N.O.-Xplode, Bentancourt Nutrition’s Bullnox, UPSlabs Jack3D or BPI Sports’ 1.M.R. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of studies to either fully confirm or debunk the fact that caffeine influences the effect creatine supplementation has on strength training.
Examine.com has evaluated the results from various studies and also concludes that the effects of co-ingesting creatine and caffeine are not yet clear:
Co-ingesting creatine with Caffeine appears to partially negate the benefits of creatine supplementation (at 5 mg/kg bodyweight) during the loading phase. The exact mechanism is not known, but might be related to opposing actions on muscle contraction time.
However, caffeine does not negate the benefits of creatine loading when not co-ingested, but just taken before exercise in the same dosage. This result indicates that loading creatine without caffeine on a daily basis, but saving caffeine for select workouts, may be an effective strategy as creatine does not adversely affect Caffeine’s ergogenic effects and may enhance creatine’s effectiveness in anaerobic exertion if the two compounds are alternated.
For more information regarding recent research, also read my article on how to combine creatine and caffeine effectively.
Caffeine’s effects on creatine absorption
Does caffeine influence the absorption of creatine? Again, due to lack of scientific studies, the short answer is “we’re not sure”. If you wish to use both, perhaps the best solution until more information becomes available is to play it safe and use caffeine as early as possible in the morning and load up on creatine later in the day. As you are probably aware, creatine is shuttled to muscle cells more effectively when combined with a carbohydrate-rich beverage, so I would recommend drinking some grape juice or some pure glucose with your daily dosage of creatine.
Also read my article on how to maximize creatine absorption.
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