Optimum Nutrition Creatine Review: Does It Deliver?

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Creatine is one of the heaviest researched supplements, with its effectiveness proven in many scientific studies.

It’s immensely popular, and there are countless sellers. It’s hard to know which one to buy.

But that’s why I’m here; I love supplements and guiding others on their supplement journeys.

Optimum Nutrition is one of the most popular fitness supplement brands. You might know them from their “Gold Standard Whey” or pre-workout.

Over the years, I’ve tried most of their supplements. In this article, I want to give you an honest review of their micronized creatine monohydrate.

I’m currently writing with an oversized coffee mug that has 5 grams of ON creatine in it.

In this article, I’ll be reviewing Optimum Nutrition Creatine.

Grab your favorite popcorn machine, pop some kernels, and find out if Optimum Nutrition Creatine is next on your supplement list.

Practical Information about Optimum Nutrition Creatine

Weight: Optimum Nutrition Creatine comes in a 300 grams (10.58 ounces) or 600 grams (21.16 ounces) tub.

Serving size: one teaspoon of 5 grams.

Supply duration: You’ll get a supply that lasts you either 60 or 120 days at one serving daily. You could do a “loading phase” when first starting, where you take 20 grams for five days. However, this isn’t necessary, and I’ve never done this.

Where to buy it: Optimum Nutrition Creatine can be purchased on Amazon.

Optimum Nutrition Creatine Explained

The Optimum Nutrition Creatine is a 100% pure micronized creatine monohydrate powder.

It does not contain calories, sugars, or artificial flavors. The daily recommended serving is 5 grams.

5,000 mg of Micronized Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine Monohydrate is creatine bound to one water molecule (mono-hydrate).

Creatine is found naturally in our muscle cells, where it helps our muscles produce energy. It’s mainly beneficial for heavy lifting and high-intensity (short-duration) exercise.

“Micronized” means that It’s micronized around 20 times. This results in creatine being more soluble in water.

It’s easier to mix, and the absorption is better and faster. However, micronized or not, it’s still the same substance (creatine monohydrate).

Therefore, the effects of micronized and normal creatine monohydrates will probably be the same long term.

Micronized will have fewer clumps, which is nice.

What does creatine do?

The energy source of your muscles is called ATP, or adenosine triphosphate.

For example, you go to the gym on Monday, and it’s international chest day. You secure a bench and start to bang out your first working set of bench presses.

After 10 reps with a certain weight, you can’t (without sacrificing your firstborn) perform the 11th rep. After the 10th rep, your chest/ shoulder/ tricep muscles ran out of ATP to use.

Your body produces and loses ATP simultaneously during a set, but production is slower, which means eventually, you run out.

Creatine is excellent because it helps your muscle to produce more ATP, which means you can do a couple more reps with a given weight.

Over time these extra repetitions and sets will result in more muscle mass, strength increases, and better performance.

Benefits of Optimum Nutrition Creatine

Creatine is one of the most studied fitness supplements that can tremendously benefit your fitness journey.

I’ve been using creatine daily for over six years, and I don’t plan to quit anytime soon.

Most benefits are the same for any (high-quality) creatine supplement. What can you expect from taking Optimum Nutrition Creatine?

Strength Progression

The increase in ATP in your muscle cells allows you to do more repetitions with any given weight.

Your body will recover and adapt to more weight lifted/ repetitions done, making a real difference in strength progress over time.

Muscle Mass

Just like your strength will adapt to more repetitions, your muscles will grow noticeably faster.

When we lift weights, we create micro-tears in our muscles. Our bodies repair these micro-tears and strengthen our muscles to handle the lifted weights in the future.

Extra repetitions using creatine lead to more micro-tears, which means more adaptation (bigger muscles).

Fat Loss

As a result of increased muscle mass faster, Optimum Nutrition Creatine can greatly support fat loss.

More muscle means your body uses more energy (increased metabolism), expediting your weight loss efforts.

Better body composition

Creatine helps your body composition both during a muscle-gain and fat-loss phase. Building more muscle will improve your muscle-to-fat ratio.

Doing more repetitions during a fat loss phase will retain muscle mass (and strength), thus improving the muscle-to-fat ratio.

Explosive Movements/ Cardio

Creatine positively affects short-duration high-intensity movements or cardio, like sprinting, jumping, or cycling.

During these types of cardio, ATP is used as the primary source of energy by your muscles.

As creatine increases ATP, this will make you more explosive and improve your performance in these areas.

Great mixability

Because the creatine monohydrate from Optimum Nutrition is micronized, it’s way more soluble while mixing in liquid.

Overall this is a way more pleasurable way of getting in your daily creatine without the hassle of dealing with clumps.

Possible side effects and safety of Optimum Nutrition Creatine

I’ve never had any side effects or adverse reactions from taking creatine monohydrate.

Creatine monohydrate is entirely safe for most healthy adults. It’s one of the most studied dietary fitness supplements.

In some uncommon cases, it may cause kidney damage, liver damage, kidney stones, weight gain, bloating, dehydration, muscle cramps, digestive concerns, compartment syndrome, and rhabdomyolysis.

The (severe) side effects are very unlikely if you stay hydrated while taking creatine.

People with kidney or liver disease or diabetes can best avoid creatine supplements. It’s also not recommended for people below 18 years old (I purged in this regard).

A minority of people get an upset stomach, cramping, diarrhea, feel nauseous, or have some unwanted water retention from creatine monohydrate.

If this is the case, creatine HCL might be a better option because it’s even more bioavailable (better absorbed), and you need a lower dose. I can recommend Beyond Raw Creatine HCL (click here for a review), which is the best value for the highest quality I’ve found.

Mixability and Flavor of Optimum Nutrition Creatine

I mix the creatine with my coffee in the morning; or a pre-workout shake.

In my experience, it dissolves immediately and doesn’t stick to the bottom (especially in coffee). The powder is completely tasteless, doesn't smell, and I don’t notice it.

It’s a fine powder, and I’ve never had any clumps. I have no complaints at all here.

Price of Optimum Nutrition Creatine

Optimum Nutrition Creatine is priced at 33.98 dollars for 300 grams and 56.44 dollars for 600 grams on Amazon. For one 5-gram serving, this comes out to around $0.57 or $0.47.

Below you can find a comparison with the other creatine supplements I’ve reviewed.

The ones I believe are of the highest quality to value are highlighted with “Recommended.”

If you have side effects from creatine monohydrate, I recommend trying HCL or PH 12-14 creatine.

• (Recommended) Bulk Supplements: $0.30 per 5-gram serving (micronized creatine monohydrate | Review)
• (Recommended) Nutricost: $0.32 per 5-gram serving (micronized creatine monohydrate | Review)
• (Recommended) Thorne: $0.38 per 5-gram serving (micronized creatine monohydrate | Review)
• (Recommended) Muscle Feast: $0.57 per 5-gram serving (patented CreaPure creatine monohydrate | Review)
• (Recommended) EFX Kre-Alkalyn: $0.27 per 2-capsule serving (patented PH 12-14 creatine monohydrate | Review)
• (Recommended) Beyond Raw: $0.42 per 2-gram serving (patented creatine HCL | Review)
• BPI: $0.38 per 5-gram serving (micronized creatine monohydrate)
• Cellucor: $0.42 per 5-gram serving (micronized creatine monohydrate)
• BodyTech: $0.47 per 5-gram serving (creatine monohydrate)
• Optimum Nutrition: $0.57 per 5-gram serving (micronized creatine monohydrate)
• Beast Creature: $0.83 per 4-gram serving (creatine complex)
• CON CRET: $1.15 per 2-gram serving (patented creatine HCL same as Beyond Raw)
• PMD CR5: $2.10 per 8-capsule serving (creatine complex)

Note: Supplement prices change frequently.

Experiences with Optimum Nutrition Creatine

In general, people love Optimum Nutrition Creatine. They state to buy it “again and again.”

Most people feel that they make noticeably more progress while taking ON Creatine. They get stronger, build/ retain more muscle, and perform better.

There are very few complaints about dissolvability, and the flavor is tasteless (which is ideal for creatine).

Pro tip: Adding (any) creatine to a hot liquid like coffee will make it dissolve a lot easier.

It’s worth mentioning that, as with any creatine monohydrate supplement, a small minority of people feel sick (diarrhea, stomach cramps, etc.) when taking it. In this case, trying a more bioavailable (more soluble) creatine HCL might be better. You can check out Beyond Raw (patented, lab-tested, and high-quality) creatine HCL.

Optimum Nutrition Creatine gets 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

Is Optimum Nutrition Creatine Worth It?

Based on my own experience, and the experiences of others, I think Optimum Nutrition Creatine is an excellent creatine supplement.

The micronized creatine monohydrate provides all the benefits of creatine, dissolves easily (especially in coffee), and is flavorless.

I’ve never had any side effects, and most others haven’t, either.

It’s not the cheapest creatine supplement you can find, but if you’re willing to spend a little extra on a well-known brand such as Optimum Nutrition, it’s worth it.

You can find Optimum Nutrition Creatine on Amazon here.

If you’re looking for a high-quality micronized creatine monohydrate that is substantially cheaper and don’t mind a bag instead of a tub (and no scoop), I recommend Bulk Supplements Creatine.

You can check out Bulk Supplement Creatine here.

If you want a creatine supplement with less chance of side effects, I can recommend Beyond Raw Creatine HCL. This can be especially great for people that experience stomach cramping, nausea, or diarrhea from creatine monohydrate.

You can find Beyond Raw Creatine on Amazon here.

I have used all three creatine supplements and believe all three creatine options are fantastic.

FAQ

When should I take/ use Optimum Nutrition Creatine?

On workout days, taking Optimum Nutrition Creatine may be beneficial before or after you work out.

On rest days, take your dose of creatine in the morning with breakfast or any other time of the day.

Is Optimum Nutrition Creatine bad for you?

No, Optimum Nutrition Creatine is safe to consume in a responsible dose for most healthy adults.

People with kidney or liver disease or diabetes can best avoid creatine supplements. It’s also not recommended for people below 18 years old (I purged in this regard).

Will Optimum Nutrition Creatine keep you awake?

No, Optimum Nutrition Creatine is not a stimulant supplement.

Does Optimum Nutrition Creatine break a fast?

No, Optimum Nutrition Creatine contains no calories and will not break a fast.

Does Optimum Nutrition Creatine contain caffeine?

No, Optimum Nutrition Creatine does not contain any caffeine.

Where to buy Optimum Nutrition Creatine?

You can easily buy Optimum Nutrition Creatine on Amazon or other webshops online.

Does optimum nutrition creatine come with a scoop?

Optimum Nutrition Creatine does come with a scoop.