What Creatine Can Do After 45

"Isn't creatine the stuff in the giant tubs, for people who train six days a week?" . That is the reaction most people in their forties have when a coach brings it up. It sits in the same mental drawer as neon protein shakes and bicep curls in the mirror - something for someone else.

A trial published this summer makes a good case for opening that drawer again.

What the study did

Researchers at Texas A&M University took 64 healthy adults aged 45 to 65 and followed them for 12 weeks. Half took 10 grams of creatine monohydrate a day. Half took a placebo. Some carried on with their normal lives and did no structured exercise. Others trained three times a week, mixing resistance and aerobic work, while eating in a calorie deficit to lose weight. The results were published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in August.

What it found

In the people who did not train at all, those on creatine gained around 1.1 kilograms of lean tissue over the 12 weeks and got stronger on the leg press and the bench press. No extra sessions and no change to the week.

In the people who trained and dieted, creatine added around 1.4 kilograms of lean tissue while they lost fat. That matters more than it sounds. When you diet in your forties and fifties, some of what comes off is muscle, and muscle is the thing you most want to keep. Here the creatine group came out of a weight loss phase with more of it, and with bigger strength gains than the people doing the same training on a placebo.

What it did not do was improve aerobic fitness. Your heart and lungs still need their own work.

So how does it work?

Creatine is not exotic. Your body makes it, and you eat it in meat and fish. It sits in your muscles as a quick reserve of energy for short, hard efforts: the last two reps of a set, the push up a steep hill. Topping that reserve up lets a muscle do a little more work each time, and over weeks a little more work adds up.

Why would it help someone who is not training at all? The plain answer is that the study does not fully explain it. Part of the early gain in lean tissue on creatine is water drawn into the muscle, which is well documented. Some may come from the muscle putting that extra energy to use in ordinary movement, the stairs and the shopping. Strength went up too, which water alone would not explain. Twelve weeks is short and 64 people is a small group, so treat this as a promising result rather than a settled one.

Where I would be careful

I like this trial because it was run on the right people. Most creatine research has used young men who already train hard. This one used people in the age range most of our clients sit in, many of whom were doing no exercise at all.

Even so, a few things are worth knowing before you buy anything.

1. Keep it plain. Creatine monohydrate is the form with the evidence behind it. Supplements in the UK are not checked the way medicines are, so choose a supplier that has its batches independently tested.
2. The dose in this trial was high. It used 10 grams a day. Most long term research uses 3 to 5 grams a day, and that is where the official position statements sit.
3. Expect the scale to move. A kilo or so in the first few weeks is common. It is water in the muscle, not fat.
4. Check first if you have a health condition. If you have kidney problems or take regular medication, talk to your GP before you start.

A supplement, not a substitute.

We are not in the business of selling tubs of anything. What interests us is what this means for the training. On this evidence, creatine looks like a sensible helper for people in their forties and fifties who want to hold on to muscle, especially through a diet. It does not replace lifting. The people who trained got more from it than the people who did not, and they also got the things no supplement can give you: a stronger heart, steadier balance, and a body that knows how to move under load.

Which leaves the giant tubs. They are still ugly to look at. What is inside them has earned a second look.

If you want to talk through whether creatine fits your training, and what the training around it should look like, the first session with us is a free consultation. You can book one here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.exclusive-fitness.net/contact/&source=gmail&ust=1791274381312000&sa=E.

Exclusive Fitness is a private, one to one personal training studio in Canterbury, led by senior coaches Tom Forrest and Leon Baker, supported by a team of trainers, with sports physiotherapist Jake Wilson based in the same studio.

Some of the data behind this piece

Texas A&M Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab (principal investigator Richard Kreider). Twelve week randomised, placebo controlled trial of creatine in adults aged 45 to 65. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2026. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2026.2716273&source=gmail&ust=1791274381312000&sa=E

Study finds creatine's benefits extend beyond the gym. Texas A&M University, 18 September 2026. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2026/09/18/study-finds-creatines-benefits-extend-beyond-the-gym/&source=gmail&ust=1791274381312000&sa=E

Kreider RB, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z&source=gmail&ust=1791274381312000&sa=E