The Truth About That "Creatine Is Useless" Study

A recent 2025 study from an Australian research team has sparked debate in the fitness world:

They claim:

"5 grams of creatine per day had no significant effect on lean body mass when combined with resistance training."

At first glance, it sounds damning. But as always, the deeper story lives in the details.

I read the entire study so you don’t have to. Here’s a breakdown of what it actually says, what it doesn’t, and how to interpret it as someone chasing real progress.

What They Did:

• 63 untrained adults (average age ~31)

• Creatine group: 5g/day for 13 weeks

• Control group: no supplement

• After a 7-day "wash-in" (no training), both groups followed the same 12-week resistance training program

• Lean body mass (LBM) measured at three points: baseline, post-wash-in, and post-training

What They Found:

• After 7 days of creatine without training, the creatine group gained ~0.5 kg of lean mass (p = 0.03)

• That increase came mostly from the trunk region (not limbs), likely related to fluid shifts

• After 12 weeks of training, both groups gained ~2 kg of LBM, with no significant difference between them (p = 0.71)

• In females, creatine users gained more total LBM than controls (+2.6 kg vs. +1.4 kg, p = 0.01)

• In males, there was no measurable difference

Why This Isn’t the Whole Story: This study is solid in structure, but it's limited by a few factors:

• No loading phase (5g/day may take 3-4 weeks to saturate muscle fully)

• No measure of actual creatine uptake

• No control over hydration, gut contents, or water intake

• All subjects were untrained and responded well to lifting alone

• DXA scans, while precise, are sensitive to body water, especially in the trunk

It’s also worth noting: there was no placebo, and creatine status (e.g. vegetarian vs. omnivore) wasn’t tracked.

So Does Creatine Work? Yes. And the broader research still supports it.

A 2017 meta-analysis (Chilibeck et al.) found that creatine users gained ~1.37 kg more lean mass than controls across multiple studies.

A 2021 systematic review by Forbes et al. supported these findings, showing consistent improvements in high-intensity exercise performance and total work volume, especially when resistance training is structured and progressive.

Creatine is also linked to:

• Increased phosphocreatine stores, which directly support ATP regeneration (short-term energy) during heavy training

• Improved muscle hydration, which contributes to cellular signaling and growth

• Enhanced recovery from intense bouts of exercise

Emerging studies even suggest cognitive and neuroprotective benefits, particularly in older adults and during sleep-deprived states.

Creatine is not going to will miracles into reality. It’s not supposed to. But when combined with consistent training, sleep, and nutrition, it gives you the margin of benefit to recover better, train harder, and adapt more efficiently over time.

Final Thoughts This study doesn’t disprove creatine. It reminds us that:

• Context matters

• Measurement tools have limitations

• Inputs drive results

Creatine amplifies what you’re already doing. It does nothing on its own. But over time, the compounding edge it provides is well documented, and still worthwhile.

Until next time,

Joshua