Does Creatine Increase Testosterone?

According to a study, fitness equipment sales grew 170% during coronavirus lockdown. That should not be all that surprising, considering that gyms were not open during that time. 

Still, the main takeaway should be that more and more people are exercising. And with that being the case, people new to the gym frequently start to dip their toes in the supplemental market.

What Are Workout Supplements?

Workout supplements are nutritional supplements that are marketed to increase both your workout and performance. Supplements include items such as pre-workout, amino acids, whey protein, and creatine.

What Is Creatine?

Out of all the supplements out there on the market, creatine monohydrate causes a lot of confusion. Why? Well, not many people know what creatine is. The main generalization is that creatine causes you to have bigger muscles. That is true to an extent, but that is not all that creatine is. 

Creatine is a natural substance that is found in human beings' muscles. It helps your body produce the energy needed to participate in heavy lifting or exercise.

What Does Creatine Do?

As stated above, creatine helps your body produce enough energy to participate in intense exercise. And yes, that creatine is produced naturally, but supplementing creatine can help your body perform at an even higher level than ever. 

When you supplement creatine, you increase the amount of stored energy in your cells. It helps the body produce high levels of adenosine 5'-triphosphate, better known as ATP. 

The body relies on ATP as its "energy bank," so when you add more creatine to your body, you are essentially adding more energy. Supplementing creatine, along with working out, creates several beneficial cellular processes that improve performance, build muscle mass (both in the short and long term), and improve recovery.

How Do You Use It?

Creatine is different from most supplements to start because of the loading phase. To load your body up with creatine stores, one takes 20 grams of creatine for 5-7 days. After that loading period, you are able to take just 3-5 grams a day to maintain that elevated level of creatine. 

Note: Creatine supplements come in both powder and pill form. 

Does Creatine Increase Testosterone? 

While creatine helps in building muscle, providing more energy, and improving the body's recovery process, it does not increase testosterone in the body. It is a little unclear where this idea came from, but it is safe to assume that the use of products like steroids and human growth hormone (HGH)- both of which increase testosterone- lead people to believe that increased testosterone coincides with increased muscle mass. 

Now, creatine does elevate levels of some hormones like dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and growth hormone while participating in exercise, but it does not increase a person's resting hormonal level. Creatine does many things, but significantly increasing testosterone is not one of them. And, at the end of the day, it does not matter if the supplement helps you get to where you want in your exercise journey.