PMD CR5 Creatine Review: Worth the Investment?

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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.

While most studies have been done on creatine monohydrate, many more forms exist.

Some may be better absorbed by the body, have more benefits, or lower the chance of side effects.

PMD has made its own patented formula consisting of 5 different types of creatine with added betaine.

Is this the supplement that’ll take your gym efforts to the next level? Let’s find out.

In this article, I’ll be reviewing PMD CR5 Creatine.

Grab your favorite popcorn machine, pop some kernels, and find out if PMD CR5 Creatine is next on your supplement list.

Practical Information about PMD CR5 Creatine

Tub: PMD CR5 Creatine contains 240 creatine capsules, each containing five forms of creatine and betaine anhydrous.

Serving size: 4 creatine capsules twice daily.

Supply duration: You don’t need a loading phase, so you’ll get a 30-day supply of eight capsules daily.

Where to buy it: PMD CR5 Creatine can be purchased on Amazon.

PMD CR5 Creatine Explained

It’s important to know that none of these creatine forms have been subjected to nearly as many studies as creatine monohydrate.

There may or may not be an actual benefit of taking these forms of creatine over creatine monohydrate.

Nice to know: creatine monohydrate is a creatine molecule bound to a water molecule.

It’s a proprietary blend, so we have no idea what quantities of each ingredient are in it. This is a downside. It’s always best to know what we put inside our bodies.

Four pills of the CR5 Proprietary Blend is 2,575 mg. I’ll go over each component.

Magnesium Creatine Chelate (Creatine MagnaPower)

This is creatine that is bound to magnesium. Magnesium also plays a vital role in the production of ATP (among other things), so the combination of both may have some advantages such as:

• Better absorption in the body thanks to higher bioavailability of both creatine and Magnesium.
• Greater increase in muscle power and performance.
• An increase in hydration on a cellular level may signal muscle growth.
• More full-looking muscles.
• Better recovery from micro tears caused by working out.
• Less chance of bloating.

Creatine Citrate

This is creatine bound to citric acid. This may slightly increase solubility and absorption, but you’ll need double the dose of creatine monohydrate.

Creatine Alpha Ketoglutarate

This is creatine bound to AKG or Alpha Ketoglutarate. AKG is vital in cell metabolism and can decrease protein catabolism and increase protein synthesis.

Together with creatine, it can lead to better absorption of the creatine, which may enhance the benefits.

Creatine Pyruvate

Creatine Pyruvate is creatine combined with pyruvic acid. Pyruvic acid may aid in weight loss and boost athletic performance.

Di-Creatine Malate

This is a combination of creatine with malic acid. The malic acid makes the creatine more resistant to the acids in the stomach, which means less creatine will be broken down before it reaches its destination.

It increases absorption, which again may enhance the benefits of creatine.

Betaine Anhydrous

Betaine increases the amount of water in muscle cells, which results in a better pump during exercise.

Studies (2 times 1,25g/day) have also shown increased strength, better endurance, more muscle mass, faster weight loss, and less muscle fatigue.

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 PMD CR5 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 PMD CR5 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, PMD CR5 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.

Greater absorption

The creatine forms used in the CR5 Creatine Blend may be better absorbed by the body, meaning more of the creatine is used to benefit our workouts.

Betaine Anhydrous

As mentioned above, betaine can increase the water in muscle cells. This may give you better pumps, increased strength, better endurance, more muscle mass, faster weight loss, and less muscle fatigue.

However, studies have been done with 1,250 mg twice daily. We have no idea how much betaine is in the CR5 Blend, so we can’t know if you’re getting the benefits.

Possible side effects and safety of PMD CR5 Creatine

Creatine monohydrate is entirely safe for most healthy adults. It’s one of the most studied dietary fitness supplements. These forms of creatine are likely as safe, but fewer studies have been done.

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.

Price of PMD CR5 Creatine

PMD CR5 Creatine is priced at 62.99 dollars for 240 creatine capsules on Amazon. The daily recommended dose of 8 creatine capsules comes out to around $2.10.

This is 5-7 times more expensive than most of the creatine supplements I’ve reviewed.

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)

Note: Supplement prices change frequently.

Experiences with PMD CR5 Creatine

Overall, people are delighted with PMD CR5 Creatine.

Many notice a faster rate of improvement in strength, endurance, and muscle gains. It also seems to speed up recovery.

Some people find it the best creatine supplement they’ve tried and won’t switch to another brand soon.

Few people complain about side effects, indicating that it’s less common with CR5 Creatine than with regular creatine monohydrate.

The criticism is mainly on the astronomically high price, which is said in words such as “you can find a better creatine supplement for half the price.”

PMD CR5 Creatine gets 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon (and Amazon’s Choice).

Is PMD CR5 Creatine Worth It?

I think the PMD Sports CR5 Professional Creatine Complex is worth a try if you’re willing to spend much money on an experimental formula.

It has the benefits of creatine and possibly of betaine anhydrous. However, the proprietary blend leaves us guessing about dosages, and I prefer to know what I’m consuming.

On top of that, the price is (in my opinion) ridiculous for a creatine supplement. You can buy a high-quality creatine and betaine supplement for less than half the cost of CR5.

Also, in my opinion, five forms of creatine are unnecessary. When taking a creatine supplement, the body stores more and more creatine over time (it takes a while before creatine works).

Eventually, the creatine stores inside your body are “full,” and you’ll experience the benefits of creatine. After, you need a daily maintenance dose to keep it “full.”

A loading phase is also unnecessary to achieve this. As you can see, the actual form of creatine might not matter that much in the long run.

I recommend taking (micronized) creatine monohydrate (most researched) or creatine HCL if you notice side effects from monohydrate.

You can find my recommendations above in my price comparison.

If you want to try PMD CR5 Creatine, you can find it on Amazon here.

FAQ

When should I take/ use PMD CR5 Creatine?

On workout days, taking PMD CR5 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 PMD CR5 Creatine bad for you?

PMD CR5 Creatine is likely 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 PMD CR5 Creatine keep you awake?

No, PMD CR5 Creatine is not a stimulant supplement.

Does PMD CR5 Creatine break a fast?

No, PMD CR5 Creatine contains no calories and will not break a fast.

Does PMD CR5 Creatine contain caffeine?

No, PMD CR5 Creatine does not contain any caffeine.

Where to buy PMD CR5 Creatine?

You can easily buy PMD CR5 Creatine on Amazon or other webshops online.