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Creatine Monohydrate vs. Creatine Phosphate

Creatine is, without a doubt, the most effective supplement on the market for building muscle and increasing strength. Creatine is stored in the muscle as creatine phosphate and as free creatine.

Some people believe that supplementing with creatine phosphate could be more effective than the more popular creatine monohydrate. A recent study conducted at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri attempted to determine which for of creatine supplementation was superior for strength and muscle gains during a 6-week training cycle.

Thirty-five men were divided into 3 groups: Creatine Monohydrate (CM), Creatine Phosphate (CP), and Placebo (PL). Prior to supplementation, researchers tested their strength on the bench press, leg press, arm curl endurance, and estimated their lean body mass. After pre-testing, the subjects loaded with 20 grams (5 grams, 4 times daily), then went on a 10 gram per day maintenance dose for the remainder of the 6 weeks.

At week 6, both CM (creatine monohydrate) and CP (creatine phosphate groups demonstrated increases in strength in the bench press (CM+9.6%, CP+8.5%), leg press (CM+12.3%, CP+11.4%), curl endurance (CM+107%,CP+120%), and lean body mass (CM+3.5%, CP+3.0%). The placebo group (PL) showed no change during the testing period. The researchers concluded that supplementation with creatine monohydrate or creatine phosphate may be more effective than resistance training alone for improvements in strength and muscularity.

This is the first study to compare both types of creatine and their effectiveness. Thus, at least from this one study, there is no difference in the ergogenic benefits of CM versus CP. Probably the main reason creatine monohydrate has been more popular to this point is that creatine phosphate is less stable and simply tastes a lot worse. And in the opinion of many, taste IS paramount.