Research

Mixed

Creatine supplementation (20 g/d) augments post-exercise muscle glycogen storage when combined with a high carbohydrate diet, with effects evident as early as 24 hours post-exercise.

If you are using creatine monohydrate (20 g/d) and consuming a high carbohydrate diet, you may experience greater muscle glycogen storage compared to carbohydrates alone. This effect is visible within 24 hours and lasts up to 6 days. However, consider that creatine loading also causes a 1-2% increase in body weight due to water retention, which might be a trade-off for endurance athletes.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Roberts et al. (88) reported a greater increase in post-exercise muscle glycogen storage following creatine (20 g/d) supplementation in addition to a high CHO diet. The greater post-exercise increase in muscle glycogen became evident as early as 24 h after exercise and was maintained following 6 days of post-exercise recovery on a CHO-rich diet.
Louise M. Burke et al. · Journal of Applied Physiology · 2016

Why this rating

Cited as a specific study finding, but noted as not universal and mechanism not fully elucidated.

Source

Postexercise muscle glycogen resynthesis in humans

Louise M. Burke et al. · Journal of Applied Physiology · 2016

DOI 10.1152/japplphysiol.00860.2016

narrative_reviewCited 223×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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