5 Best Creatine Supplements For Men (Expert Nutritionist’s Top Picks)

Creatine is one of the best supplements for men who want to get more from their time in the gym.

In the world of hyped-up supplements, creatine stands alone, with a mountain of research showing its benefits, including:

Increased muscle mass
Faster recovery between workouts
Increased strength and power

But when it comes to finding the best creatine for men, it can quickly get overwhelming.

There is a TON of options on the market, after all.

In this guide to the best creatines for men, a sports dietitian walks you through the top creatines, what to look for, and answers some of your pressing questions when it comes to creatine supplements for men.

Let’s jump right in.

Best Creatines for Men – Quick Look

Having tested over 60 creatine supplements, both in my own practice as a sports dietitian but also with clients over the years, the best creatine for men is the Crazy Nutrition Ultimate CRN-5 Creatine.

It lands as our top choice because:

Combines four different creatine compounds for maximum absorption
Multiple flavors for increased palatability
Scientifically-backed ingredients
Easy to digest
Subscription option for increased savings

Whether you are a bodybuilder looking to increase muscle mass or an athlete looking for more power and speed the Ultimate CRN-5 Creatine is the best creatine on the planet for men.

Shop Crazy Nutrition Ultimate CRN-5 Creatine Today

Understanding the Benefits of Creatine for Men

Creatine is a naturally-occurring compound that can be found in small amounts in certain foods.

Creatine plays a crucial role in providing energy to cells, especially during short bursts of physical activity such as weightlifting, explosive movements, and interval training.

But the benefits of creatine for men go far beyond just muscle performance.

Supplementing with creatine also helps you recover faster, improves cognitive function, and is also one of the safest supplements on the planet.

Here is an overview of what the science has to say about the benefits of creatine supplements for men:

Better workouts – Creatine is a proven way to get more from your workouts. Whether you are lifting weights, doing high-intensity interval training, or you are a sprint or power athlete, creatine has been shown to help you lift more, train longer, and generate more power and speed (Kreider et al., 2003).

Bigger muscles – One of the key reasons men love creatine so much is because of its proven ability to increase muscle mass and strength. One meta-analysis looked at over 30 years of studies of supplements and found that creatine was far and away the most effective at building lean muscle tissue (Nissen et al., 2005).

Improved muscle recovery – Creatine has been shown to speed up muscle recovery between workouts. Participants in a study who supplemented with creatine had significantly higher knee extension strength (21% increase in isometric strength) after a hard workout compared to a control group (Cooke et al., 2009). Faster muscle recovery means you can get back to the gym faster at full strength.

Reduced muscle soreness – Sore muscles can be a real pain in the butt. Instead of hitting the gym you are on the couch, icing sore muscles. While creatine won’t completely eliminate the soreness, research published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (Cook et al., 2009) showed that supplementing with creatine can help men reduce muscle soreness by an average of a whopping 84%.

Improve cognitive function – Not only is creatine great for your muscles, but there is a growing body of research that shows how beneficial creatine can be for cognitive function. One study in particular (McMorris et al., 2007) showed just two weeks of creatine supplementation significantly increased recall and memory.

Extremely safe – Creatine is one of the most studied supplements on the planet. Countless studies (Bizzarini & De Angelis., 2004) have shown it to be extremely safe, with “no strong evidence linking creatine supplementation to deterioration of [gastro, cardiovascular, muscoskeletal, renal and liver] functions.”

When it comes to building muscle, recovering faster, and improved performance in the gym, there is no supplement that can hold a candle to creatine, making it an essential supplement for men.

Next, we’ll take a deeper look at the top creatine supplements on the market for men.

The Best Creatine Supplements for Men

Crazy Nutrition Ultimate CRN-5

Best overall creatine for men

Crazy Nutrition’s Ultimate CRN-5 Creatine lands at the top of our list of the best creatines for men, and it’s not even really that close of a competition.

The Ultimate CRN-5 comes with five different creatine compounds, including 3,750mg of creatine monohydrate per serving.

The other creatine compounds in the CRN-5 include:

Creatine hydrochloride (HCL)
Creatine ethyl ester
Tri-creatine malate
Creatine citrate pyruvate

Each blend of creatine offers different benefits, from faster absorption (creatine ethyl ester) to reduced bloating (HCL), giving you the ultimate creatine for maximum effort at the gym.

One of the main issues athletes I work with have with creatine is dehydration. Partly because they are working harder than they would otherwise, athletes can “red line” when supplementing with creatine.

Ultimate CRN-5 intelligently solves for this by including electrolytes to ensure hydration when pushing the limits in the gym or on the field.

Finally, Ultimate CRN-5 comes in two flavors (Lemon & Lime or Orange & Mango). Creatine is rarely at the top of the list when it comes to palatable supplements, but that’s not the case with the Ultimate CRN-5.

Shop the Ultimate CRN-5 exclusively at Crazy Nutrition’s official website here.

Transparent Labs Creatine HMB

Best creatine monohydrate for men

Looking for a more simplified creatine supplement? Welp, men will have to look no further than the Creatine HMB made by Transparent Labs.

Each serving contains 5,000mg of creatine monohydrate. Creatine monohydrate is by far the most tested form of creatine supplements on the market, with its efficacy demonstrated in countless studies and papers (Antonio et al., 2021, Hall & Trojian, 2013, etc).

Transparent Labs, which makes all of their supplements in a GMO-certified facility and has them tested by third-party agencies to ensure purity, nails it with this simple and proven creatine monohydrate.

It’s easy to mix, digests quickly (the formula includes black pepper extract for faster absorption), and

The Transparent Labs Creatine HMB is the best creatine monohydrate for men looking for a simple, tasty creatine monohydrate that is void of unnecessary fillers, additives and dyes.

It’s available in ten (!!!) different flavors, as well as unflavored option for mixing the creatine with your usual post-workout shake, and Transparent Labs often has deals when ordering via subscription.

Shop Transparent Labs Creatine HMB at their Official Website Here

Bulk Supplements Creatine Monohydrate

Best budget-friendly creatine monohydrate for men

Creatine is not only highly effective and research-backed, but it’s also one of the most budget-friendly supplements on the planet.

The Bulk Supplements Creatine Monohydrate Micronized Powder is an excellent example of this. Each pack comes with 500mg of pure creatine monohydrate (up to 100 servings) for just $20.

Bulk Supplements produces their supplements in a GMP-certified facility to ensure consistency and purity with each batch and they third-party test to ensure quality.

The creatine monohydrate also been extremely well-reviewed on Amazon, with nearly 40,000 five-star reviews.

For men who want to start with creatine monohydrate but don’t need to “advanced” ingredients of more expensive creatines, the Bulk Supplements Creatine Monohydrate is a great place to start.

Shop Bulk Supplements Creatine Monohydrate at Amazon

Con-Cret Creatine HCL Capsules

Best creatine capsules for men

While creatine is a wonder supplement in many regards, there is one thing that most men can agree on when it comes to taking creatine—it usually tastes like garbage.

Creatine capsules solve this problem by packaging all of the performance-boosting benefits of creatine into capsule form. No shakes, no mixing, no yucky taste—pop the capsule and off you go.

The Con-Cret Creatine HCl Capsules have long been my preferred creatine capsule for men. The micronized creatine is easier to absorb compared to cheaper creatine monohydrates which can often be clumpy and lead to absorption and digestive issues.

Each serving has 750mg of creatine hydrochloride and reduces a lot of the bloating that can be typical of supplementing with creatine.

A single bottle contains 90 servings, enough to last most users around three months and costs less than $30 at Amazon.

Better performance in the gym, less bloating, and no clumpy shakes.

Shop Con-Cret Creatine Capsules at Amazon

Gorilla Mode Pre Workout (with Creatine)

Best creatine and pre-workout combo for men

Putting together a quality stack for your muscle-building stacks can be a challenge (and expensive!).

The Gorilla Mode Pre Workout takes care of two birds with one proverbial stone with this delicious pre-workout that also has 2,500mg of creatine monohydrate in each serving.

This preworkout isn’t overly caffeinated, making it an ideal choice for people who don’t tolerate high doses of caffeine that is typical of many pre-workout powders on the market.

While the 2,500mg won’t be enough for larger users, the Gorilla Made Pre Workout is the perfect option for men who want creatine and pre-workout packaged together and the savings that come with it.

Shop Gorilla Mode Pre Workout with Creatine at Amazon

How to Choose the Best Creatine for Men

Creatine is a very popular and effective supplement for men looking to improve their workouts and overall health.

With so many creatine brands on the market and all of the lingo that comes with supplements out there, it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out which creatine is best for men.

Here are some key things to look for when shopping around:

Types of creatine – The most popular and most studied form of creatine is creatine monohydrate. It’s also very inexpensive. Other types of creatine include micronized creatine, creatine hydrochloride (HCL), creatine ethyl ester, and various compound versions such as those found in Ultimate CRN-5.

Dosage – The dosage for men when supplementing with creatine varies by overall body mass. Average size men should dose with no more than 5g of creatine after a brief loading phase. As we will see shortly, larger men will want to consider dosing with up to 10g of creatine per day to keep creatine stores full.

Purity – Supplement companies tend to have a bad name in the industry for spiking supplements. Look for a reputable brand that has third-party testing of their facilities and supplements to assess for quality.

Cost – Creatine is one of the cheaper supplements on the market, especially when you consider the vast body of research supporting its efficacy. A simplified creatine monohydrate can be as cheap as $20 per container, while more feature-rich creatines like the Ultimate CRN-5 and Transparent Labs Creatine HMB can cost around $40 to $50 per container.

Talk to your healthcare professional – As always, make sure to discuss your exercise and nutritional goals with a qualified physician or dietitian. They can help to provide you with individualized guidance based on your goals and needs.

Creatine for Men – FAQs

Is creatine safe to take?

Creatine is one of the most widely studied supplements on the planet.

While creatine is typically taken by men for the performance effects, including improvements in high-intensity exercise, leading to improved muscle mass and strength, multiple clinical studies (Hespel et al., 2001) have shown creatine supplementation to also help reduce the severity of injury, improve recovery, and help athletes train under strenuous loads.

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (Kreider et al., 2007) examined over 1,000 creatine studies and found the only consistently reported side effect to be weight gain.

The paper authors note that “short and long-term studies in healthy and diseased populations, from infants to the elderly, at dosages ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 g/kg/day for up to 5 years have consistently shown that creatine supplementation poses no adverse health risks and may provide a number of health and performance benefits.”

No studies, whether short-term or long-term, have indicated that creatine supplementation is unsafe for men.

How much creatine should men take?

Men should take 3-5g of creatine per day to maintain muscle creatine stores. A loading phase of 0.3g of creatine per KG of bodyweight for 5-7 days is also recommended (Harris et al., 1992).

Some studies with larger athletes have shown that they may require up to 10g of creatine per day to fill creatine stores (Hultman et al., 1985).

How much muscle can creatine help men build?

While individual experiences will vary according to diet, workout frequency, and resistance training routine, one study found that supplementing with creatine helped a group of healthy adult add 2kg of muscle mass over the span of 9 weeks.

The study, published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupation Physiology (Francaux et al., 1999), showed that the control and placebo groups did not add mass, while the group that supplemented with creatine increased an average of 2kg of body mass while retaining consistent volumes of water retention.

When is the best time for men to take creatine?

Research (Antonio & Ciccone, 2013) with a group of 19 male bodybuilders found that creatine supplementation was most effective when taken after resistance training.

The study, titled “The effects of pre versus post workout supplementation of creatine monohydrate on body composition and strength” showed that muscle mass and strength for the post-workout creatine group was significantly higher compared to the pre-workout group.

To get the most from your creatine, men should consider taking it after their workouts.

Conclusion

Putting it all together, creatine is one of the best supplements men can take for improving performance in the gym.

The right creatine for you comes down to budget, the type of creatine you prefer, and budget.

For men who are serious about their performance in the gym, there is no better option than the Crazy Nutrition Ultra CRN-5 Creatine, thanks to its multi-creatine blend, multiple flavors, and lightning-fast absorption.

Shop the Crazy Nutrition CRN-5 Creatine at their official website here.

Pick out the best creatine for you and your goals, and level up your workouts in the gym!

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