Creatine Monohydrate or Creatine HCl?

A Conquer Club Deep Dive Dispatch into the Science and Self-Experimentation Regarding Energy, Recovery, and Cognitive Power of Creatine

Creatine is often the first supplement gymgoers learn about, with the exception of whey protein, etc. But it is often not truly understood; whether it be the general science surrounding it, or how their own body reacts to it and how they should accordingly adapt.
It has been studied for over thirty years, validated across hundreds of trials, and praised for its ability to enhance muscle strength, power output, recovery, and even cognitive performance.

Yet not all creatine feels the same.

PAUSE.

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Some people thrive on creatine monohydrate, the time-tested form used in nearly every clinical study to date.
Others, like myself, find it heavy. It sits in the gut, causes mild bloating, or fails to deliver that clean performance edge.

That’s where creatine hydrochloride (HCl) enters the discussion.
It dissolves effortlessly, digests without discomfort, and for many lifters, delivers a noticeable clarity — physical and mental — that monohydrate sometimes does not.

The question is:
Does that feeling reflect superior absorption, or simply better tolerance?
And can HCl truly outperform monohydrate, or is it just more comfortable to take?

Let’s strip the nonsensicalities away and examine what both research and real-world experience reveal.

A Brief Origin Story

Creatine Monohydrate was first identified in 1832 by the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul.
It became popular in the 1990s after Olympic sprinters and strength athletes began using it, following early studies showing that saturating the muscle with creatine increased phosphocreatine stores — the body’s rapid energy currency.

Creatine Hydrochloride (HCl) came much later.
Chemists sought a way to increase creatine’s solubility and reduce the water retention often reported with monohydrate. By binding creatine to a hydrochloride molecule, they improved its ability to dissolve in water and likely improved gastric tolerance as well.

Chemically, monohydrate is about 88% creatine base, while HCl is about 78%. That means per gram, monohydrate technically delivers slightly more raw creatine. But bioavailability isn’t always dictated by percentage alone — solubility, acidity, and digestion all affect how much reaches the bloodstream.

The Modern Research: HCl vs. Monohydrate

Despite the growing market for HCl, only a handful of direct comparisons exist. Two stand out as the most controlled and recent.

1. Eghbali et al., 2024

Read study on PubMed Central

This 8-week trial compared three groups of trained men:

Creatine Monohydrate (with loading): 0.136 g/lb/day for one week, then 0.0136 g/lb/day for maintenance.

Creatine Monohydrate (no loading): 0.0136 g/lb/day.

Creatine Hydrochloride (HCl): 0.0136 g/lb/day.

(For reference: 0.3 g/kg ≈ 0.136 g/lb, and 0.03 g/kg ≈ 0.0136 g/lb.)

All groups trained under identical resistance protocols.
The results were clear: both creatine groups improved strength, muscle thickness, and lean body mass, while the placebo group did not.
However, there was no significant difference between monohydrate and HCl in any measured outcome.

In essence: HCl worked — but not better.

2. Tayebi & Arazi, 2020 / 2021

Read study at physactiv.eu

In this short-term trial, soldiers supplemented with either 3 g/day of creatine monohydrate, 3 g/day of creatine HCl, or 20 g/day of monohydrate for seven days.
Both the 3-gram groups performed similarly, while the high-dose monohydrate group saw slightly greater improvements in power output.

Once again, HCl proved equally effective at matched doses — but there was no evidence that smaller amounts of HCl provided the same effect as full monohydrate saturation.

The Chemistry of Equivalence

Because of the different molecular weights, the actual creatine base content differs slightly between the two forms.

From a chemical standpoint, you need slightly more HCl to match the creatine base provided by monohydrate — not less. That’s fine with me.

Where HCl may excel is in its digestibility. It dissolves faster and may absorb more comfortably, which can make consistent intake easier for people with sensitive digestion or those prone to bloating on monohydrate.

My Experiment: Capsules vs. Powder

I’ve used creatine HCl capsules for years. They were simple, convenient, and clean — but the results were inconsistent from brand to brand.

I currently purchase from KAGED. I’m not currently affilliated, but here is a $30 code if you’re interested.

KAGED: https://www.talkable.com/x/lPQRpS

Anyway, when my supplier ran out, I switched to HCl powder (I’ve never liked creatine powders as they typically have a bitter taste but I said screw it) and decided to match the upper limits of typical monohydrate dosing, roughly fifteen to twenty grams daily.

The difference was dramatic.

My cognition sharpened almost immediately. Even on short sleep, my morning energy felt steady and composed. Workouts were explosive, but that took around a month of consistent use. After a month, strength and drive held longer into sessions and I began hitting PRs left and right. And this wasn’t a stimulant effect. It was systemic; an overall kind of energy that feels like your cells are firing cleanly again. Not a temporary “euphoric” feeling I would say.

Caffeine alone often fails to do that, especially when you’re underslept. Personally, I could have 10 espresso shots and still fall asleep sometimes if I am running on low sleep. But those 10 espresso shots paired with creatine HCl? It was as if my brain regained full access to its reserves. Absolutely wired.

This reinforced a principle I’ve always believed: stimulation without restoration is just fatigue disguised.
Creatine restores. It fills the tank.

Beyond Strength: The Cognitive Connection

Creatine’s influence on the brain is no longer theoretical. It has become one of the most compelling frontiers of modern performance science.
A 2023 Sports Medicine review by Candow and colleagues consolidated more than a decade of findings showing that creatine does far more than refuel muscle; it energizes the mind.

The brain consumes about twenty percent of the body’s total energy and depends heavily on the phosphocreatine system to maintain ATP levels during moments of high cognitive demand. When sleep deprivation, stress, or fatigue set in, ATP declines rapidly, leading to mental dullness and slower reaction times. Supplementing with creatine helps stabilize this process by preserving energy flow within the brain.

Recent human studies have confirmed that creatine can sustain memory, reaction time, and focus when the brain’s energy systems are strained. Participants supplementing with twenty grams per day for a week showed sharper executive function and faster responses during oxygen deprivation. Rugby players who were sleep-deprived maintained passing accuracy and mental clarity better than those who did not supplement. Researchers attribute this resilience to improved mitochondrial efficiency, greater oxygen utilization, and elevated phosphocreatine availability in neural tissue.

The same review also highlighted creatine’s growing relevance for mental health. In several clinical settings, creatine supplementation has shown potential to ease symptoms of depression and anxiety by improving ATP turnover, supporting neurotransmitter balance, and elevating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. There is emerging evidence that long-term use can aid recovery from traumatic brain injuries and stabilize cellular energy metabolism in neurodegenerative and muscular disorders.

High-dose and longer-duration protocols—twenty grams or more per day for several weeks—appear capable of raising brain creatine content by five to ten percent. That increase is enough to improve cognitive endurance and emotional stability during metabolic stress. Interestingly, these effects tend to be stronger in older adults, women, and individuals exposed to sustained mental or emotional strain, which may reflect natural differences in baseline brain creatine levels and hormone-driven transport efficiency.

This aligns with what I noticed in my own experience with creatine HCl. My physical output rose, but so did my ability to think and perform under fatigue. Even when underslept, my mind remained alert, focused, and balanced. It was not a jolt of stimulation but a sense of steady clarity, as if my body and brain were working in unison again.

Creatine is often labeled a muscle supplement, but that definition undersells its potential. It is a neurometabolic enhancer, a nutrient that restores the body’s energy while awakening the mind.

Practical Application: Timing and Synergy

Timing:
Morning and post-training appear most beneficial. Morning doses support neural recovery and baseline ATP production, while post-training supplementation replenishes muscular stores.

Synergy:
Creatine pairs well with sodium, taurine, and carbohydrates for improved uptake.
Stacking it with caffeine is safe, though caffeine may slightly delay absorption in some cases. Typically not a big deal.

Hydration:
Because creatine increases intracellular water, maintaining adequate sodium and hydration levels can enhance both absorption and muscle fullness.

Interpreting the Research: What It Really Means

If your body handles creatine monohydrate well, it remains the most validated, cost-effective option.
But if you’ve struggled with digestion, discomfort, or fatigue from it, creatine HCl offers a highly functional alternative.

The studies show no superiority, but individual biology can tip the scale.

The takeaway: both forms work. The right form is the one your body accepts and your mind feels.

In the end, the practice is the same: observe, test, adjust.
The path to mastery is not about blind adherence, but about intelligent experimentation.
You are both the scientist and the subject.

If you learn how to read your own physiology, you never have to guess again.

Take care,

Joshua

Looking for 1 on 1 Coaching? Exclusive Conquer Club content? Free Telegram Community of like-minded individuals? GOLD? RICHES? THE FOUNTAIN OF IMMORTALITY?

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