Just a few grams of creatine daily is said to promote recovery and muscle building – even during climbing and climbing training. To test the benefits of creatine for finger strength, Lattice dares to do a self-experiment.
Magnus Midtbø called the progress he made in his training after his two-month creatine phase "unbelievable." The Norwegian professional climber took creatine for the first time in a self-experiment. The result: a five kilogram increase in body weight and new records in various training exercises. Should we all take creatine now?
How creatine works in the body
Creatine is a substance naturally present in the body that is stored primarily in muscle cells, where it serves as a rapid energy source during short, intense exercise. It helps to more quickly restore ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the cells' primary energy source.
Creatine puts the body into a state that optimally supports muscle building.
Edward Gibson-Smith, PhD and research on creatine
When administered externally, creatine rapidly increases the body's ATP stores, thereby improving strength, power, and short-term performance. It can also support muscle growth by increasing cell hydration and indirectly promoting protein synthesis.
Benefits of creatine for climbers
The benefits of creatine for climbers are ultimately the same as in strength training: in the short term, strength and explosive power are increased, and recovery times are also shortened.
The supplement can also be beneficial for women with less natural creatine – or for competitive climbers who rely on quick recovery.
Edward Gibson-Smith
Better grip endurance in 7 days thanks to creatine?
To test the effect of creatine on grip endurance in practice, a Lattice climber took 20 grams of creatine daily for a week—spread over four doses per day. Afterward, she reduced her intake to just 5 grams per day for a few days.
Unlike Midtbø, the goal here was not to observe the long-term training effects of creatine, but rather the short-term effects on finger strength endurance. To achieve this, the Lattice team conducted various Gibson-Smith finger strength tests. The results: positive—but they must be viewed with caution.
The creatine self-experiment: all results
In the video from Lattice Training, you can watch the entire self-experiment with creatine and all the results of the finger strength tests in detail. Important: This is a self-experiment conducted by a single climber, not a representative study.
In general, although the effectiveness of creatine is well documented, it can still vary from person to person – this is especially true for the potential weight gain due to water retention.
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Credits cover photo: Lattice training