Note from Pikes Peak Athletics: At Pikes Peak Athletics, the health and well-being of our athletes is our top priority. While we aim to provide helpful information to support athletic development, we are not specifically endorsing the use of creatine or recommending any particular dosage. Supplement use—especially among youth athletes—should always be approached with caution and in consultation with a healthcare or nutrition professional.
Swimmers and their families should also be aware of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) rules regarding supplement use. Not all supplements are safe or permitted in competitive sports, and it’s essential to ensure any product used is NSF Certified for Sport or third-party tested.
The following article, provided by TSF Sport Nutrition, is for educational purposes only.
Creatine is the most widely studied sport nutrition supplement
…and can be particularly beneficial for swimmers due to its role in enhancing short-term, high-intensity performance. During intense swimming events, especially sprints or repeated high-effort intervals, the body relies heavily on the phosphocreatine (PCr) system to rapidly regenerate ATP, the primary energy currency of muscle cells. Creatine supplementation increases the availability of phosphocreatine in muscles, which allows athletes to maintain peak power output for longer periods, delay fatigue, and recover more efficiently between efforts. This is especially important in swimming, where split-second performance improvements can significantly impact results.
The phosphocreatine system is the dominant energy pathway during explosive movements lasting up to 10 seconds—such as starts, turns, and short-distance races in swimming. By replenishing phosphocreatine stores more rapidly, creatine helps swimmers sustain high-intensity bursts with greater efficiency. Additionally, enhanced recovery from interval training sessions, made possible by improved ATP regeneration, allows swimmers to train at higher intensities over time, potentially leading to better adaptations in strength and anaerobic power. Therefore, incorporating creatine into a swimmer’s nutritional strategy can support both in-competition performance and overall training capacity.
There have been many studies on creatine supplementation in adolescents with no negative side effects reported, other than GI upset due to taking high doses. Taken with food and water, these GI symptoms do not generally occur.
Things to know about creatine:
Type: 99% of research is on creatine monohydrate and the other types do not show increases in muscle creatine content
Timing: Take it within 2 hours of sport either before or after, whichever you prefer
Absorption: Carbohydrates increase the absorption: take with pre training carbs or post training carbs
Loading phase:
- First 5 days: 5 grams 4 times daily
- Or 0.3g/kgBW / 5 days 4x/day
Maintenance phase:
- 3-5g daily in single dose
- Or 0.03g/kgBW
150lb athlete = 68kg = 2.0g/day
Washout period: 4 weeks
NSF certified for sport: this is a third party that tests supplements specifically for the NCAA banned substances. This logo means that what the container says is inside is actually inside and it’s not filled with sawdust, which is kind of legal due to our limited regulations on supplements in the US.
Brands:
Contact Jordan Pitts for sport nutrition consulting today! I help families with meal planning and strategies to ensure optimal muscular growth and sport performance for athletes of all ages!
Jordan Pitts, MS, RD | TSF Sport Nutrition
(817) 845-0788
5390 N Academy Blvd Suite 110, Colorado Springs, CO 80918