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Short-Term Creatine Supplementation in Resistance-Trained Athletes

By the CreatineIQ Research Desk
New Research
Musculoskeletal
Athletic Performance

The long-term ergogenic benefits of creatine monohydrate (CrM) supplementation—such as increased muscle mass and maximal strength—are well documented. However, the potential advantages of very short-term acute ingestion (e.g., loading over just a few days) on immediate strength performance and recovery remain underexplored.

A 2025 double-blind, randomized crossover trial investigated whether just three days of creatine supplementation could meaningfully impact strength, heart rate variability (HRV), and muscle recovery in resistance-trained athletes.

Key Takeaways

  • Immediate Strength Gains: Just three days of creatine supplementation significantly increased the number of repetitions completed at 60-80% of 1-Repetition Maximum (1RM) during bench press and squats.
  • Higher Velocity: Bar velocity was significantly higher across all intensities for athletes taking creatine compared to the placebo.
  • Mixed Cardiovascular Picture: Creatine lowered peak heart rate at 60% 1RM and improved post-exercise parasympathetic reactivation (HRV) — but it also raised peak heart rate at 80% 1RM, so the cardiovascular effect is not uniformly favourable.
  • Accelerated Recovery: Athletes taking creatine experienced significantly less delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) prior to their second testing session.

The Study Design

The study followed a double-blind, randomized crossover design with ten physically active, resistance-trained males (average age: 21).

Participants ingested either a high dose of creatine monohydrate (0.3 g/kg/day) or a placebo for just three days. They completed two testing sessions (separated by a 7-day washout period). Each session involved bench press and back squat tests performed at 60%, 70%, and 80% of their 1RM. Researchers measured strength performance (reps, velocity), heart rate variability, peak heart rate, jump tests, and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

The Findings

The results demonstrated that creatine can act rapidly. Compared to the placebo, the three-day creatine protocol significantly increased the number of repetitions the athletes could complete across all tested intensities in both the bench press and the squat. Furthermore, the speed at which they moved the barbell (velocity) was significantly higher.

Beyond sheer strength, the recovery metrics were mostly favourable. Creatine improved post-exercise heart rate variability (specifically parasympathetic reactivation) and significantly reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness in both the upper and lower limbs, measured immediately before the second session.

The heart rate findings cut both ways, and are often reported selectively. Creatine lowered peak heart rate at 60% 1RM (p = 0.017) — but at 80% 1RM it increased peak heart rate (p = 0.047). Describing this as straightforwardly "reduced cardiovascular strain" would mean quoting only the half that flatters the supplement. The honest reading is that the cardiovascular response differed by intensity, in opposite directions, in a study of ten people.

Analyzing the Study: Strengths & Limitations

Strengths and Reputability

The crossover design is a major strength, as it allows each athlete to serve as their own control, eliminating inter-individual genetic variability from the results. The study comprehensively measured not just force output, but also bar velocity, cardiovascular stress, and subjective soreness.

Limitations

  1. Very Small Sample: Ten participants were analysed, out of eleven recruited — one was excluded for incomplete data. At this size, a single unusual responder can move a group mean, and the large effect sizes reported (up to d = 4.09) should be read as imprecise rather than enormous.
  2. Young Trained Males Only: The results may not generalize to untrained individuals or to female athletes, who have different baseline hormone and recovery profiles.
  3. Many Outcomes, Small Sample: The trial measured repetitions, velocity, power, HRV, peak heart rate, two jump tests and soreness, across two exercises and three intensities. Testing that many outcomes in ten people raises the chance that some significant findings are noise, and the paper does not report a correction for multiple comparisons.
  4. Loading Dose, Not a Maintenance Dose: At 0.3 g/kg/day this is a loading protocol — roughly 21 g/day for a 70 kg athlete — not the 3–5 g/day most people take on an ongoing basis.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors reported no potential conflicts of interest.

Conclusion

This trial is a useful challenge to the assumption that creatine needs weeks of loading before it does anything. Three days of high-dose supplementation was associated with more repetitions completed, higher bar velocity, better post-exercise HRV recovery and less muscle soreness — a coherent set of results pointing in the same direction.

Its impact is limited by its size, though, and should not be overstated. Ten young trained men, one laboratory, many outcomes measured at once, and no correction for multiple comparisons: this is a well-designed pilot, not a definitive answer. The crossover design is genuinely strong and makes the within-person comparisons more trustworthy than the sample size alone would suggest, but the effect sizes are imprecise and the cardiovascular findings point in opposite directions at different intensities. Treat it as promising early evidence that short loading protocols may work, worth confirming in a larger and more diverse sample.

References

  1. Salem A, Ammar A, Kerkeni M, et al. Short-term creatine supplementation enhances strength, reduces fatigue, and accelerates recovery in resistance-trained athletes: a double-blind, randomized, crossover trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2025;22(sup1):2617283. doi:10.1080/15502783.2026.2617283.