Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, and stored in muscles, the brain, the heart, and other tissues. It fuels your muscles so you can produce energy quickly, perform at your best, and recover fasteCreatine is not just about strength. For women over 40, it encourages lean muscle growth by allowing heavier lifting and more repetitions. It supports bone density, protects brain health, and helps fight cognitive decline. It is one of the most effective, well-researched tools for staying strong and vibrant as you age.
Imagine a single, safe, and affordable supplement that helps you feel stronger in your workouts, sharper during your day, and more energetic well into your 40s, 50s, and beyond. That supplement is creatine.
For years, creatine has been marketed almost exclusively to men in the gym. But the science is clear: creatine is a powerful tool for women, especially as they age. It supports muscle strength, bone health, brain function, metabolism, and recovery. I use it daily and cannot imagine life without it.
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, and stored in muscles, the brain, the heart, and other tissues. It fuels your muscles so you can produce energy quickly, perform at your best, and recover faster.
Creatine is not just about strength. For women over 40, it encourages lean muscle growth by allowing heavier lifting and more repetitions. It supports bone density, protects brain health, and helps fight cognitive decline. It is one of the most effective, well-researched tools for staying strong and vibrant as you age.
Many women are unsure how to take creatine, so here is what works best for me and my clients. I prefer micronized creatine monohydrate because it is well studied, cost-effective, and easy to digest. I recommend three to five grams every single day. Consistency matters more than timing, but I find the best results when I take it in the morning or about an hour before training.
Creatine is not just for gym enthusiasts — it belongs in every midlife wellness routine.
For a deeper dive into the science and benefits of creatine, listen to Episode 13 of my podcast, Creatine for Women in Midlife: The One Supplement That Rules Them All.
I hope you enjoyed this episode!
You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs
To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review
This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.
Topics covered
Resources Mentioned
Follow Me:
Find me on Instagram: @hollyperkins
Learn more on my website: hollyperkins.com
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/HollyPerkinsFitness
Holly Perkins 0:00
Imagine if there were one simple, safe, and affordable supplement that could actually help you feel stronger during your workouts, sharper during your day, and more energetic in your 40s, 50s, and beyond. Guess what? There is, and it is called creatine. For years, it has been marketed mostly to men in the gym, but the science is clear: creatine is a game changer for women, especially as we age. It supports muscle strength, bone health, brain function, and even your metabolism. Today, we are breaking down the benefits, the science, and why creatine might just be the most overlooked tool in your midlife wellness toolkit. So keep listening.
Holly Perkins 0:50
Welcome to the Holly Perkins Health Podcast. If you are a woman over the age of 35 and have health, fitness, or nutrition questions for your body, you are in the right place. I am Holly Perkins, a women's strength and nutrition expert with over 30 years of experience helping thousands of women transform their bodies to be stronger, more resilient, and more energetic inside and out. Every week, you will walk away with a real plan for improving your body composition so you can feel better now, reduce inflammation, and create lasting health.
Holly Perkins 1:27
So if you are ready to create the body that you need to keep up with the life that you love, let us dive in. Hey, friend, before we get started today, I wanted to fill you in on a change that is coming to the Holly Perkins Health Podcast. In order to keep supporting the show and making it better, my team and I recently went through the process of meeting with several potential advertising agencies. I was very intentional about this because protecting the integrity of this community is my top priority, and I am thrilled to share that we have partnered with a company that feels like the perfect fit.
Holly Perkins 2:08
What this means for you: for the first time ever, you will start hearing some ads on the podcast that are not in my voice. And here is the thing, I will continue to be very specific about what brands and messages are allowed here. My commitment is to keep this podcast an inclusive, supportive, and inspiring space for you. And actually, I am really excited about this change because it allows me to keep producing high quality episodes for all the years to come. And honestly, how surprised would you be if this shift ended up making the podcast even stronger?
Holly Perkins 2:48
So thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of this journey with me. I am looking forward to all that is ahead as we keep redefining what it means to be a strong, powerful, unstoppable, and healthy woman with a bright future. Thank you so much for listening. Hello and welcome to the Holly Perkins Health Podcast. I am Holly Perkins, and if you are a woman over 40 who is ready to feel stronger, more vibrant, and just more confident in your body, you are in the right place. Every week, I share proven strategies to help you create the body that you need to keep up with the life that you love.
Holly Perkins 3:35
A few days ago, I stood in my kitchen and dry scooped five grams of creatine powder, just like I do every day, and I had the following stream of consciousness. I said to myself, I cannot believe I was so afraid to use this supplement for most of my career. I cannot even imagine my day without it now. Why did it take me so long to get on board, and why are not more women over 40 using it to improve their health and wellness? Oh, because it is either misunderstood or it is thought to be used by the gym bros with big muscles, and I know many women are actually still really afraid of getting more muscle than they actually want.
Holly Perkins 4:23
You know what? I need to do a podcast episode on this because I personally believe that every woman should be taking it. I am the type of person that talks to myself. Do you talk to yourself? I find that I actually think out a lot of my big ideas that way, and often my best ideas come from talking to myself.
Holly Perkins 4:42
So here we are, my friend. In today's episode, I am going to share the who, the what, where, when, and why of creatine so that you can decide if it is something you want to add to your holistic health and wellness routine, because the benefits of creatine go way beyond your workouts to your brain health and to giving you all day energy. I am going to share exactly what I take, what I recommend to my clients, and how and when to take it for optimal results.
Holly Perkins 5:15
If you are a woman over 40, and you struggle with fatigue, feeling weaker in your workouts, or just never feeling strong physically, or if you battle brain fog and struggle to get your thoughts and your words out clearly, we all know that is no way to live. In fact, before taking creatine regularly, I struggled with all of these symptoms. Something I noticed in the past few years is that it would just take me a while to put together the right sentence in my head and to find the right words to be able to express what I was trying to say.
Holly Perkins 5:52
And you might find that funny because I am a writer and a podcaster, but the truth is, a lot of times I have to pause for a moment to really get my brain going. Now that I have been taking creatine regularly, it is very, very different, and I just notice much stronger brain power in general. Now I just want to say, when I find something that is really powerful for me, I want to tell everyone about it. I get very passionate, I get very excited, and I want to say explicitly, I am not sponsored by a creatine company.
Holly Perkins 6:29
Sadly, I wish that I was, but I am not. No one is paying me to share this information with you. This is simply my take on it, and these are the things that I do personally and share with my clients because I 100 percent
Holly Perkins 6:42
believe in what I am going to share with you today. So in this episode, you will learn the benefits of creatine for women over 40, how to use creatine to improve health, wellness, and fitness, and exactly when to take it and in what form. So if you are interested to learn more about creatine, you are going to get it all in this one episode.
Holly Perkins 7:05
After being in practice now for over 30 years, I have seen some truly incredible transformations with my most successful clients. Because of this, I know without a doubt that every woman is capable of becoming a powerhouse and feeling unstoppable in your body at any age. I coach women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, and my methods have worked for women in every decade of life. If you are wanting to feel powerful in your body, feel good throughout your day, and finally understand how to get stronger in the gym, this episode is for you.
Holly Perkins 7:50
The biggest mistake most women make is to think that creatine is for men, gym bros, or the super fit elite. And while all of those people are taking creatine, that does not mean that it is not for you, even if you are just starting your strength training journey. Creatine is a naturally occurring non protein compound, and it is found in small amounts in certain foods like meat and fish, and it is produced by your liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
Holly Perkins 8:25
And while it is naturally occurring in nature and food, chemically, it is synthesized from the three amino acids that you get from food: arginine, glycine, and methionine. So in other words, the truth is you are already eating creatine in small amounts if you eat any animal meats or fish. In the body, about 95 percent of creatine is stored in muscles, and it is mostly stored as something called phosphocreatine.
Holly Perkins 8:57
Now, it does not really matter, but of course, I want to try and bring some of the science here, but you may never hear that word again. The rest of the creatine in your body is stored in your brain, your heart, and other tissues. So think about that. The creatine that we eat or synthesize from the proteins that we eat lives in some of your most important muscle organs. Interesting, right? The brain, muscles, heart, and other tissues. Creatine is crucial for energy production, especially during high intensity, short duration activities like sprinting or specifically lifting weights. See, if you are lifting weights correctly,
Holly Perkins 9:44
Or rather, I should say, according to what I teach, each set during a strength workout should feel like a mini workout in and of itself, and it should be systemically challenging. So one set, let us say of leg press, is like a 30 second interval workout where your body is working hard and your heart rate increases in direct relationship to the intensity of the weight load relative to your current ability. It is like one set is interval training. I talk about this all the time.
Holly Perkins 10:22
This is where creatine is particularly helpful to support your energy needs during each set of your workout, and therefore, of course, your workout as a whole. So here is the biological process and how creatine actually works. This is a bit of a science lesson, so you can scrub forward if you are not interested. Number one, energy in your muscles comes from something called adenosine triphosphate.
Holly Perkins 10:49
We call it ATP for short. This is your cell's form of currency for energy. I like to think of it as the gasoline, or the fuel, for your muscles. Number two, during brief, intense effort, like an appropriately challenging set of leg press, ATP breaks down into something called adenosine diphosphate, ADP, to release energy so that you can push and actually contract your muscles and work hard when your weight load feels heavy. Number three, as I said, most creatine is stored in the muscles as phosphocreatine, and it donates a phosphate to ADP, recycling
Holly Perkins 11:42
it back into ATP, giving your muscles more immediate energy. It is like this beautiful recycling so that your muscles have the fuel they need. And do not worry about the science lesson, I just want you to kind of understand the basics because sometimes clients come to me and they think that creatine is an ergogenic aid, and while it is technically, it is not typical in the sense that it is a stimulant or that it is anything unnatural or man made. It is actually a very natural substance.
Holly Perkins 12:21
Then number four, this conversion allows you to perform more reps, push harder, or recover better and faster between your sets. So it is just like fueling your muscle in the best way so that you can perform better. Hey, friend, want to talk about my favorite topic? You might think it is food or strength training, and those are definitely up there for sure, but behind the scenes, I am obsessed with sleep. It is my favorite pastime, and my husband teases me and says that I am the queen of sleep. I love to sleep, but it has not always been this way.
Holly Perkins 13:08
There were years when I would toss and turn, wake up multiple times during the night and then not be able to go back to sleep, or I would wake up in the morning and feel like I literally had not slept at all. There were a lot of those years, and that was a problem because sleep is not just about rest. It is when your body repairs, restores, recovers, and resets.
Holly Perkins 13:35
The truth is, you can do all the right things, balance your macronutrients, strength train three times per week, and hydrate, but if you are not sleeping well, it is like trying to build a house on a cracked foundation. And that is why I rely on Beam's Dream Powder, a healthy nighttime blend designed for people who take their sleep health seriously with science backed ingredients like reishi, magnesium, L theanine, apigenin, and melatonin.
Holly Perkins 14:09
Beam's Dream Powder is formulated to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up sharp without the grogginess of other sleep aids. And I am not the only one, Beam has already improved over 17.5 million nights of sleep, helping people across the country wake up and feel their best. And right now, Beam is offering up to 40 percent off their best selling Dream Powder for my listeners. Perfect timing to lock in your summer sleep strategy. Just go to shopbeam.com forward slash HollyP and use code HollyP at checkout. That is shop B E A M dot com forward slash HollyP and use code HollyP for up to 40 percent off. Grab the deal and give your sleep the same attention that you give the rest of your health today.
Holly Perkins 15:12
So in other words, creatine essentially increases your muscle's capacity to produce energy quickly. In some ways, it is the fuel your muscles use to contract better. Because of this, it actually makes you stronger. You will feel more powerful when you push the leg press sled, and therefore, you will be able to make better progress in your workouts in general because you feel, and actually are, stronger during your workout.
Holly Perkins 15:46
When I first started using creatine for my workouts, I was in my 40s, and I could not believe the difference that it made. And this was back in the days when I do not think I knew a single other woman that was using creatine. I have always been very interested in what the men and bodybuilders do in their practice, and I always just kind of believed, well, if it works for them, let me see if it could work for me.
Holly Perkins 16:13
And that is really why I started using creatine, and I was blown away by how beneficial it was. Back then, I only used it before my workouts, but now I use it and recommend it daily, regardless of workouts, and I will talk about that more in a minute. Research has shown that creatine is not just for strength. It has multiple effects, especially relevant for women over 40, including number one, muscle growth. By allowing you to lift heavier or perform more repetitions, it indirectly increases muscle size and strength. It helps you perform better.
Holly Perkins 16:55
Number two, bone health. Some evidence suggests that it may support bone density, especially when it is combined with resistance training. And number three, brain health. Creatine is also used by your brain for energy. Remember how I said it is stored in the brain? Studies indicate potential cognitive benefits, especially during mental fatigue. And these days, what woman does not have mental fatigue, right? If you are over 40 or in your 50s, you know the struggle is real.
Holly Perkins 17:28
There is a real shift in quick thinking, clear thinking, and just brain power in general. Creatine is now being used as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases. It is that valuable to the brain. I notice a huge benefit during any of my writing intensive days or when I have to really use my brain during the day. I see a big boost. And lastly, recovery. Creatine may reduce muscle damage, I believe it does, and improve recovery after intense exercise.
Holly Perkins 18:06
Another misunderstanding is that creatine is dangerous in any way. Old school thinking is that it is harmful for your kidneys. As always, I have linked quite a bit of research in the show notes below if you are curious. Regarding safety, numerous organizations and studies have proven that creatine is both safe and effective, and the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand states that there is no scientific evidence that the short or long term use of creatine monohydrate has any detrimental effects on otherwise healthy individuals.
Holly Perkins 18:46
To date, several hundred peer reviewed research studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of creatine monohydrate supplementation in improving exercise performance. Nearly 70 percent of these studies have reported a significant improvement in exercise capacity, while the other studies have generally reported non significant gains in performance. Either way, they are showing gains, it is just the degree. While it is still inconclusive, the existing research on creatine suggests that it is a powerful tool capable of increasing brain creatine stores, which may help in cognitive functioning, particularly during times of metabolic stress, such as sleep deprivation.
Holly Perkins 19:34
I know that is so common for a lot of my clients, hypoxia, mental fatigue, and even traumatic brain injury, TBI, which is also common in some people who have had accidents and sports injuries, and both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. While more research is needed, we do believe that creatine is going to be a very powerful supplement to battle the various forms of cognitive decline. So the question becomes, can we use creatine preemptively to avoid cognitive decline?
Holly Perkins 20:09
When a new client joins the Body Composition Project, they often say that they are interested in wanting to begin creatine, but they had been reluctant because they did not understand all of the important details, like when and how to take it. So let me share how I help my clients use creatine to improve health, wellness, and performance. First, there are various forms of creatine, including creatine monohydrate, that is the most popular, creatine HCl, creatine ethyl ester, and buffered creatine, which is also known as crealkalyn.
Holly Perkins 20:51
Now listen, the clever supplement marketing companies will tell you why one version is better than the other. I once got pulled into the marketing hype too. In the end, after years of experimentation, I did not see any additional benefits when I used the more expensive designer versions. Most professionals like me know that creatine monohydrate is the gold standard for a reason.
Holly Perkins 21:21
It works, it is inexpensive, and it is vastly studied. I personally use and recommend creatine monohydrate, and more specifically, I use and recommend the micronized version, and I have found that I do not see any issues with bloating or water retention when we use that form. I would say that one in about thirty women tell me that they noticed some water retention in general in the first two to three weeks, but that it subsides after they stay consistent with it and their body adapts.
Holly Perkins 21:59
When it comes to delivery methods, you will find powders, capsules, pills, gummies, and even beverages as options. I will share my thoughts here and what I tell my clients, but the truth is, you are a grown woman and free to make your own decision in terms of preference. The first thing to think about is how you actually want to take it, and that is very much about personal preference.
Holly Perkins 22:28
Some women do not want to, or really even cannot, swallow pills, and therefore a powder, beverage, or gummy might be best for her. Another woman does not want to use a powder and would actually prefer a capsule or a tablet. I am going to break it down the way that I see it. If there are no limitations and you are open to using any delivery method, I suggest first taking a look at the cost per serving.
Holly Perkins 22:57
I will review dosing in a minute and what exactly a serving is, but you will most likely be taking between three and five grams of creatine per day. Therefore, be sure to look at the packaging to determine your price per serving. I am a practical person, so I buy a two pound container of powder from a prominent brand, and a five gram serving costs me just 23 cents.
Holly Perkins 23:32
That is for powder. For a while I was interested in trying a gummy version because the addition of the carbohydrate that they put into these gummies in the form of sugar is actually very helpful when you are taking creatine, and I personally loved the portability. When I take a dry powder, I am almost always combining it with some carbohydrate, so the gummy version seemed like a really great idea to me, but the cost per five gram serving of the gummies is one dollar and eighty six cents per serving.
Holly Perkins 24:11
That makes it around 56 dollars per month if you take it every day. For me, it does not really matter. I would rather be economical and save my money there. But if cost is not a big issue for you and you prefer to take a different version, take the one that you want. The next big question is when to take it. In general, there are two protocols.
Holly Perkins 24:34
Number one, if you want to test the waters, you are a little nervous, and you want to start slowly, you could take creatine only on your strength training days. This is what I used to do, and in this case, I recommend taking it one to two hours before your workout so that you get the noticeable benefits of improved strength and performance.
Number two, in general, I do recommend taking it every day regardless of your activity because it really is so good for general energy, stamina, and brain power.
Holly Perkins 25:13
If you are someone like me who really struggles with energy regularly or you feel like you are dragging through your days, this might be something that could be very helpful for you. I love taking it every single day, and I really do feel a difference on the days when I do not take it. In this case, you would be taking it every day in the morning or one to two hours before your workout if that is later in the day.
In short, it does not really matter when you take it if you are taking it every day. If I am not going to work out in the morning, I will save it and make sure I take it after lunch before my workout.
Holly Perkins 25:52
Personally, I do recommend taking it in the morning or before your workouts because that is when you are going to get the benefits during your workout or during your day. Other voices out there might say to take creatine as a recovery method, and you would take it after your workout. Personally, I do not find that as beneficial, and I want to feel the benefit during my workout.
When it comes to how you actually take it, you really cannot go wrong because there are suggestions that it is better taken in the absence of other proteins and with carbohydrates, and there are other suggestions that it is best with proteins and during a meal. Therefore, I really feel like you should take it when you know you will take it consistently.
Holly Perkins 26:42
After a lot of experimentation with myself and my clients, I like to take it away from other proteins and with some carbohydrates. I might mix my powder in with two ounces of pomegranate juice, or I will often just dry scoop it and then eat some fruit.
If that is an unfamiliar term for you, dry scooping is when you literally take a scoop of it, dump the powder in your mouth, and then rinse it down with water.
Holly Perkins 27:13
When I first saw it done, I thought, oh gosh, there is no way I could do that. But then I realized it is actually quite economical time wise because I can just dump it in and swallow it. The truth is, it does not taste bad. It is not sweet like a flavored drink mix, but it really does not taste like much of anything. I just rinse it down with water and it is done, and then I can choose to eat whatever carbohydrates I want.
In terms of dosing, there are two protocols that are widely debated.
Holly Perkins 27:43
Number one, the first and older recommendation is doing what is called a loading phase where you take a larger amount for about seven days so that you are able to fully saturate your muscles with creatine. In this situation, you would take about 20 grams per day, split up into four doses throughout the day for about a week. Some research suggests that this is the most effective. Like I said, this is the tried and true older protocol.
Holly Perkins 28:18
There is also research that suggests you can achieve the same exact effect after three to four weeks by taking a normal serving of three to five grams per day. In this case, you just want to make sure that if you are going to do it, you start and stay consistent to reach full muscle saturation.
Honestly, again, I feel like you cannot go wrong, and I am not completely convinced about this concept of muscle saturation. Now, who am I to challenge research, right? But I will say there were times when I never went through a loading phase and I went straight to taking it only three times per week before my workouts, and without a doubt, I felt the benefits clearly.
Holly Perkins 29:11
Because of that, I have never felt that a loading phase is particularly necessary, especially if you are concerned about water retention or any kind of bloating. Do your own research here, but what I teach and what I have practiced is that if you are going to start it and you are open to taking it every day, just start with three to five grams per day and stay consistent with it.
If you want a deeper dive on creatine and dosing, listen to episode 13, Creatine for Women in Midlife: The One Supplement That Rules Them All. I have a different perspective on creatine there, and I really do dive deep on getting your dosing right.
Holly Perkins 30:00
There you have it. You can now consider yourself a creatine routine expert for women over 40 to improve health and wellness. I hope that you enjoyed this episode. I hope that it helped to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings about creatine.
You might still feel a little bit intimidated about taking creatine, and I personally believe it to be a powerful thing to consider adding to your health, fitness, and wellness protocols. If you still feel unsure, check the links in my show notes and do your own research. I believe that creatine will one day be as universally accepted as vitamin C, and honestly, I cannot wait to see that day.
Holly Perkins 30:46
Oh, and hey, if you have not heard, I have a brand new, totally free three day workshop called Midlife Muscle Mastery coming up. When you join me for this three day training, you will learn exactly how to feel amazing, get stronger, and have more energy than you know what to do with.
You will also learn why your body composition, which is how much of you is muscle versus how much of you is fat, is the most important number for your health, and why it is the game changer to focus on this year. You will also get my three proven steps to becoming more muscle and less fat so that your body burns fat naturally, allowing you to feel lean, strong, and powerful every single day. Join me.
Holly Perkins 31:36
It is totally free, but you do have to sign up. Come on over to my website, hollyperkins.com forward slash free workshop, and you can grab your free seat now.
I hope you enjoyed this episode, and make sure that you stay tuned for another brand new one next Tuesday. Stay strong, my friend. Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode. I am so happy that you are here, and I hope you loved it.
If you did, please take a moment to subscribe, share with your friends, and leave a review. If you want more from me, check out my blog and coaching programs over at hollyperkins.com. That is all for now, I will see you next week.