Start with the basics
One helps you train harder, one helps you recover and build.
The beginner foundation
Protein gives your body the material. Creatine helps you do more with it.
01 Protein
Protein is the material your body rebuilds with. Hit the number and you recover faster, hold onto more muscle and stay fuller between meals.
Daily target
1.6 to 2.2 g per kg body weight.
Food first, powder for the gap.
02 Creatine
Your muscles use creatine to refire on short, hard efforts, so the set that stopped at six has a good chance of getting seven. No stimulant, nothing to feel, and the most researched supplement there is.
Daily target
3 to 5 g every day.
Timing does not matter.
How they work together
One drives performance, the other helps you recover and build from it.
More energy for the intensity that drives progress.
A stronger stimulus for your muscles to respond to.
The material that repairs and builds after it.
An honest timeline
Weeks 2 to 4
A rep or two more, a little more load, better quality work in the session.
Weeks 4 to 8
Strength climbing week on week, with shape following when food and sleep hold up.
8 weeks and on
Strength up, muscle up, and the habit doing most of the work for you.
None of it works without the training, the food and the sleep. Creatine also holds a little water early on, which shows on the scales and is not fat. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication, check with your GP or pharmacist first.
