Rookie Wellness

 Creatine Monohydrate

Most Helpful Positive Review

A great creatine for beginners

I started taking creatine around 5 years ago, coinciding with my switch from long distance running to weight training. My goal was muscle gain, and over the past few years I have put on roughly 20 lbs of muscle, and I credit a lot of this to being able to maintain my consistent gym routine with some... excellent muscle recovery aided by the use of creatine. I have tried creatine in a few different forms (gummies, powders, and ultra-fine powders), but the form that the main scientific studies are based on is the traditional non-soluble powder form, which is what this Rookie Wellness Creatine Monohydrate is. Some people are able to dry-scoop, which is to put the powder directly in your mouth and swallow it, which I am incapable of doing, so I used this powder in water like a not insane person would. Because it's not fully soluble, you need to stir it and then drink it all immediately, and then also do another rinse of the glass to get any residue. Because this is unflavored, you can add it to other beverages like protein shakes or electrolyte drinks without affecting the taste. You don't need all that much liquid to get the 5 gram serving down, 4 - 6 ounces is plenty. This creatine also contains Dandelion Extract and Hibiscus Flower Extract, with no real on-label explanation of why these ingredients are included, but my research tells me that they are acting as an anti-bloating and water shedding blend. However, one of the benefits of creatine is that it helps your muscles hold more water, which is beneficial for strength and protein synthesis - literally the whole point of why you take creatine. A pound or two increase in body weight after beginning supplementation can scare some scale-conscious consumers, but in reality this means the creatine is doing exactly what you want it to do, and the weight increase is not from stomach bloating, it's your muscles getting a little bit bigger which can actually look more appealing. Fortunately the addition of these two ingredients does not interfere with the ATP energy recycling pathway (vital during short, explosive bursts of exercise) that creatine also supports. Pairing diuretics with creatine is somewhat physiologically counterproductive if you don't also increase your water consumption. It feels like the addition of the diuretic and anti-bloating ingredients is mainly to help beginners to not be scared off by a potential mini weight bump, especially if they begin with a loading phase where they are using a greater amount of creatine for several days before tapering back to the usual 5 g daily serving. Typically a loading phase will be the only time when bloating is ever an issue because some users find higher doses of creatine to be mildly upsetting to the digestive system, although this is absolutely not typical of maintenance dosing. Seasoned users will want to increase their water intake while using this creatine blend. This was received as a part of an educational promotion.