What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a natural substance your body already makes from amino acids (the building blocks of protein). You also get some from food—mainly red meat and fish.
Your body stores creatine mostly in:
- Muscles
- Brain
Its job? To help your cells recycle energy quickly, especially during short bursts of effort—like:
- Standing up from a chair
- Climbing stairs
- Lifting shopping bags
- Doing a challenging Pilates exercise
- Catching yourself when you trip
Experts often describe it as adding a little “energy buffer” to your cells so they can do slightly more work before fatiguing.
Over time, that “slightly more” can mean:
- Better training results
- Easier daily tasks
- More muscle and strength preserved as you age
Why Creatine Matters More After 40 (Especially for Women)
From around 35–40 onwards, we naturally and gradually lose:
- Muscle mass
- Strength and power
- Bone density
Peri-menopause and menopause can speed up this process.
That’s why so many experts now talk about muscle as a “retirement plan” for your body. More muscle and strength are linked to:
- Lower risk of falls and fractures
- Better blood sugar control
- Improved metabolic health
- Better quality of life and independence
Creatine doesn’t replace exercise, but it can make your exercise more effective—especially strength training and Rehab Pilates.
Benefits of Creatine for Our Customers at Myothrive
Based on the research and what leading experts discuss, creatine can help in several areas that matter directly to our typical customers:
1. Supporting Muscle Maintenance & Strength
Creatine helps your muscles produce energy faster during effort. The result is often:
- You can do a rep or two more in a set
- Your exercises feel slightly easier over time
- You recover a bit better between sets
For you, that may translate to:
- More effective Rehab Pilates sessions
- Better results from any resistance training you do (weights, bands, bodyweight)
- Slower muscle loss as you age, and in some cases actual gains
This is particularly important if you:
- Are post-menopausal
- Have noticed a drop in strength or balance
- Are working on maintaining or improving bone density
2. Indirect Support for Bone Density
Creatine itself doesn’t build bone. But it supports the kind of training that does:
- Strength training
- Impact or weight-bearing movement
- Challenging, progressive exercises in Pilates and rehab
By helping you train a little harder or more consistently, creatine can indirectly:
- Support the stimulation your bones need to stay strong
- Help you maintain the muscle that protects your joints and skeleton
3. Brain and Cognitive Benefits
Creatine is stored in the brain and helps fuel brain cells. Studies suggest it may:
- Support memory and thinking, especially under stress or fatigue
- Help with mental performance when sleep is poor or life is demanding
- Positively influence brain health over time
For women juggling work, family, hormones and ageing, this “brain energy support” is part of why neuroscientists and longevity experts keep mentioning creatine.
4. Healthy Ageing, Function & Independence
Creatine combined with regular resistance training has been shown to help older adults:
- Improve their ability to perform daily tasks: standing up, climbing stairs, carrying items
- Walk more easily and feel more stable
- Maintain muscle and strength for longer
In other words, it’s less about “gains” and more about staying capable—exactly what most people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond tell us they want.
Common Concerns & Myths
“Isn’t creatine just for bodybuilders?”
No. That’s an old image that doesn’t match the science.
Creatine is widely used in:
- Clinical settings (e.g., neurology research, ageing, muscle disorders)
- General fitness
- Older adults working on function and strength
- Vegetarians and vegans with lower dietary creatine
For a 55-year-old woman doing Rehab Pilates twice a week, creatine is often more relevant than for a 25-year-old bodybuilder, because she has more to lose in terms of muscle and bone.
“Will creatine make me bulky?”
No. Creatine doesn’t suddenly build large muscles.
What it typically does:
- Helps you keep or slightly increase lean muscle
- May increase scale weight by 0.5–2 kg, mostly from extra water inside the muscles (intracellular water), not fat
Most women don’t see visible “bulk.” They more often notice:
- Slightly firmer muscles
- Better tone and function
- Clothes fitting the same or better
“Does creatine harm kidneys?”
In healthy people, standard creatine doses (3–5 g per day) have not been shown to damage kidneys in good-quality research.
Important points:
- Creatine use can slightly increase creatinine on a blood test. This can look like a problem if your doctor doesn’t know you’re supplementing. That’s a lab artefact, not necessarily kidney damage.
- If you have pre-existing kidney disease, diabetes with kidney involvement, or other serious medical conditions, you should discuss creatine with your GP or specialist before starting.
“What about menopause, hormones or hair loss?”
- Hormones & menopause:
There’s no good evidence that creatine disrupts female hormones in a harmful way. If anything, it can help offset some of the muscle and strength loss accelerated by the drop in oestrogen. - Hair loss:
The hair loss worry mostly comes from a small study in young male athletes. Evidence that creatine causes meaningful hair loss—especially in women—is weak. If you have a strong family history of hair thinning and are very cautious, you can watch for changes, but most women do not report hair issues from standard creatine use.
How to Take Creatine (Simple & Practical)
1. Best Form: Creatine Monohydrate
- Most studied and recommended
- Affordable
- No need for fancier versions (HCL, buffered, etc.) for most people
Look for:
- Plain creatine monohydrate powder
- From a reputable brand, ideally with third-party testing
- Side note: We stock Creatine at MyoThrive from True Protein. They are an Australian company that only use Premium ingredients.
2. How Much?
For most of our clients at Myothrive, the simplest and safest approach is:
- 3–5 grams once per day
That’s usually:
- About 1 level teaspoon of powder (check your product’s label)
You do not need a loading phase (those higher “20 g per day” protocols) unless you’re in a rush to saturate levels, which isn’t necessary for long-term health and rehab goals.
3. When to Take It?
Timing is not critical.
Choose a time you’ll remember consistently, such as:
- In a smoothie
- Stirred into water, juice, herbal tea, or yoghurt
- With breakfast or after a Pilates/strength session
Consistency matters more than timing.
4. How Long Do You Take It?
For people who tolerate it well and have no medical contraindications, creatine is often used:
- Long-term (months to years)
There’s no strong evidence you need to “cycle off” for safety. Some people like to take short breaks for their own peace of mind or to check whether they notice a difference.
Who at Myothrive Might Benefit Most?
Based on the research, creatine is especially worth considering if you:
- Are 40–80 years old, and want to maintain strength and independence
- Are in peri-menopause or menopause and concerned about muscle loss and bone density
- Do Rehab Pilates, resistance training, or are trying to get back to activity after injury
- Are trying to prevent falls or improve balance and stability
- Eat very little red meat or fish (or are vegetarian/vegan), which often means lower natural creatine stores
Creatine is not a magic solution. But if you’re already working on your health—coming to Pilates, doing your rehab exercises, paying attention to nutrition—it can be a smart, evidence-based addition.
Possible Side Effects & How to Minimise Them
Most people tolerate creatine very well. When side effects do occur, they tend to be mild and manageable:
- Mild stomach upset or cramping
- Try taking it with food
- Split the dose (e.g., half in the morning, half later)
- Ensure it’s well dissolved in enough fluid
- Slight weight increase (0.5–2 kg)
- Mostly water in the muscle, not fat
- Often settles after the first few weeks
- Bloating sensation
- More common with very high “loading” doses
- Usually avoided by sticking to 3–5 g per day
Always:
- Stay well hydrated (good practice for overall health and training anyway)
- Speak to your GP if you have kidney issues or complicated medical history
How Creatine Fits With Rehab Pilates and Myotherapy
At Myothrive, we focus on:
- Restoring pain-free movement
- Rebuilding strength and muscle balance
- Supporting bone health and joint stability
- Helping you feel confident in your body as you age
Creatine can complement this by:
- Making your Pilates and strength sessions more productive
- Supporting the energy demands of rehab exercises
- Helping you maintain the muscle you’ve worked hard to build
- Potentially supporting your brain and mood during (typically higher doses are needed for brain health)
It doesn’t replace:
- Good technique
- Gradual, progressive loading
- Adequate protein (especially important for women 40+)
- Sleep, stress management, and overall nutrition
But it can be a simple, low-effort way to increase the return you get from the work you’re already putting in.
Should You Start Creatine?
You might consider creatine if:
- You’re aged 40+, interested in staying strong, steady and independent
- You’re already doing, or planning to do, Rehab Pilates or strength training
- You want to support muscle and bone as you move through menopause and beyond
- You don’t have diagnosed kidney disease or other major medical red flags (if you do, discuss creatine with your doctor first)
Next steps:
- Talk to your GP or specialist
- Especially if you have kidney issues, hypertension, diabetes, or multiple medications.
- Ask us at Myothrive
- We can help you make sense of how creatine fits with your current rehab, Pilates or strength program.
- If cleared, start with:
- 3–5 g creatine monohydrate once per day
- Be consistent for at least 4–6 weeks
- Notice changes in strength, ease of movement, and how you feel in sessions
Final Thoughts
Among all the supplements discussed by top researchers and practitioners, creatine stands out because it is:
- Well-studied
- Relatively inexpensive
- Simple to take
- Useful for muscle, bone support (indirectly), brain and healthy ageing
For many in midlife and beyond, it’s less about “performance enhancement” and more about protecting future independence and quality of life.
Want to learn more? Experts like Dr. Darren Candow PhD who researches creatine full time is worth a look. Other fitness and wellness gurus such as Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Dr. Layne Norton and Andy Galpin are also worth a look too. If you’d like more guidance from MyoThrive, please reach out to hello@myothrive.com.au and we can organise a time to chat all things nutrition tailored to you 🙂