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Teen supplements & creatine use
Posted on 5/21/26 at 12:29 pm
Posted on 5/21/26 at 12:29 pm
I have a 14yo, starting his first summer of high school football weightlifting and conditioning next week. They will train 3 days a week, 1.5hrs a day until pre-season camp starts. He wants to add some muscle/weight this summer training hard. I already committed to buy all the food and protein he can eat all summer. He's already on multivitamins, and I bought him some BCAA/electrolyte powder for recovery. He's asking if he can take some creatine gummies. I think he's still too young, but I don't know. It's hard to find information online about teen use of creatine other than don't do it. I took it when I was probably 18, but it was just coming out back then. I know there's got to be more studies/science on the useful/harmful affects by now. What is this board's opinion? What other supplements could help him besides lots of fuel and what we're already doing?
7
Posted on 5/21/26 at 12:48 pm to lowhound
My 14yr old is taking creatine gummies already.
The key with teenage boys is changing the ratio of what they eat. Yes, they are garbage disposals, but more of what is being shoveled in needs to be protein, not bags of Takis, etc.
The key with teenage boys is changing the ratio of what they eat. Yes, they are garbage disposals, but more of what is being shoveled in needs to be protein, not bags of Takis, etc.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 12:51 pm to lowhound
Creatine is one of the most researched supplements in the world. It is absolutely safe. Give him 5-10grams a day. The biggest issues people face with creatine supplementation is GI issues. But it'll be more like indigestion/diarrhea. Most likely he won't have those issues.
Food is going to be the biggest thing you can do for him. Make sure he gets enough protein. 1 gram per pound of bodyweight he wants to be/play at. Food you eat/chew gets better absorption than food you drink (protein shakes).
After practice/strength training he will be depleted of glycogen. If you are giving him a protein shake after make sure there is some kind of carbohydrate added to it or given to him on the side. I usually add a couple teaspoons of honey to my shakes.
Nothing wrong with Creatine Gummies, but I think they are a waste of money. Creatine Monohydrate powder is good. Creapure is preferred.
Hope this helps
Food is going to be the biggest thing you can do for him. Make sure he gets enough protein. 1 gram per pound of bodyweight he wants to be/play at. Food you eat/chew gets better absorption than food you drink (protein shakes).
After practice/strength training he will be depleted of glycogen. If you are giving him a protein shake after make sure there is some kind of carbohydrate added to it or given to him on the side. I usually add a couple teaspoons of honey to my shakes.
Nothing wrong with Creatine Gummies, but I think they are a waste of money. Creatine Monohydrate powder is good. Creapure is preferred.
Hope this helps
Posted on 5/21/26 at 1:08 pm to PrezCock
quote:
Nothing wrong with Creatine Gummies, but I think they are a waste of money. Creatine Monohydrate powder is good.
This.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 1:29 pm to Salmon
When's the best time to take it? Pre-workout hydration?
Posted on 5/21/26 at 1:35 pm to lowhound
quote:
When's the best time to take it? Pre-workout hydration?
There really is no best time. Creatine works by saturating your muscles cells with creatine. This provides your phospho-creatine energy system access to more energy. Saturation usually takes a week or so. This is why a bunch of the time you will see a "loading" phase with creatine. "Loading" isn't really needed, it just brings that saturation phase down a few days.
One caveat, I believe people with diabetes need to time their creatine intake, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 2:35 pm to PrezCock
Look for Creapure on Amazon, and at his age, unless he's already tall or big, stick to the 5 dosing. If he's already 6 feet tall and just lean, go up to 10. Easiest thing to do is take it at the same time every day. Either first thing in the morning, or after workouts, right before bed, as long as it is consistent.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 3:23 pm to lowhound
quote:
I think he's still too young, but I don't know. It's hard to find information online about teen use of creatine other than don't do it.
That’s only because there are limited studies in teen usage. Which I’m sure they avoid for ethical reasons. But as others have said it is the most studied supplement on the planet and is extremely safe when used properly. I’d say just make sure he is taking the recommended dose and make sure he is getting plenty of water. Heck if you are still unsure start him off at 2 or 3 grams per day and work him up to 5 slowly.
My son is 12 and sees me taking creatine every day and has been asking when he can start taking it. He’s been working out with me for about 6 months now. I told him when he turns 13 (which is pretty soon) I’ll let him take 1g per day and work him up as he grows. 1g of creatine can be found in an 8 oz ribeye.
ETA: Shoot, this thread has convinced me. I’m going to start giving my son creatine now. Just ordered him his own tub of Creapure.
This post was edited on 5/22/26 at 7:06 am
Posted on 5/21/26 at 3:43 pm to lowhound
so actually the younger you are the more you get from creatine from a brain development standpoint. older adults (60+) and younger pre-teen and teenagers benefit the most as their brains are developing or losing capacity(older adults)
from a performance benefit, there is not real age limit but 14 is about perfect time to take advantage of the ability to regenerate atp.
now the gummies....are shite. the BCAA are a waste of money too
get him on 10g creatine monohydrate in the form of creapure to make sure its the purest form out there. im saying 10g for the brain benefits, if you only care about the performance benefits, 5g is plenty to max that.
get him eating 200g protein a day from whole foods and weigh himself to make sure he is in a surplus. he should shoot for 1-15.lbs of weight gain per week. make him weigh firs thing in the morning after taking a piss.
from a performance benefit, there is not real age limit but 14 is about perfect time to take advantage of the ability to regenerate atp.
now the gummies....are shite. the BCAA are a waste of money too
get him on 10g creatine monohydrate in the form of creapure to make sure its the purest form out there. im saying 10g for the brain benefits, if you only care about the performance benefits, 5g is plenty to max that.
get him eating 200g protein a day from whole foods and weigh himself to make sure he is in a surplus. he should shoot for 1-15.lbs of weight gain per week. make him weigh firs thing in the morning after taking a piss.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 3:43 pm to lowhound
ftr my kids have been on it since they were very young in varying doses. im talking 8 years old young.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 3:46 pm to lowhound
quote:
and I bought him some BCAA/electrolyte powder for recovery.
Whey Protein has all he needs for recovery, including BCAA's.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 3:47 pm to PrezCock
quote:
Nothing wrong with Creatine Gummies
Except for not having actual creatine in them.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 4:05 pm to LSUPERMAN
Yea, the gummy form of most things are pretty garbage. They've largely been shown to be woefully inaccurate as far as concentrations are concerned. Just use the creatine monohydrate powder that is creapure. Nutricost is on amazon and is solid quality creapure and pretty reasonably priced.
This post was edited on 5/21/26 at 4:44 pm
Posted on 5/21/26 at 4:33 pm to GoCrazyAuburn
He's been taking gummy multivitamins. What multivitamins would be better?
Posted on 5/21/26 at 4:37 pm to lowhound
Any non-gummy ones 
It isn't that the gummies are bad per se, though they can have a decent amount of sugar in them, its just that there is a very wide margin of error with them to where the dosages are very inaccurate, it's just a result of the process of making them.
If you like that brand of multi-vitamin, i'm sure they have a normal pill form of them. They will be much more accurate and you are more assured to be getting your money's worth.
It isn't that the gummies are bad per se, though they can have a decent amount of sugar in them, its just that there is a very wide margin of error with them to where the dosages are very inaccurate, it's just a result of the process of making them.
If you like that brand of multi-vitamin, i'm sure they have a normal pill form of them. They will be much more accurate and you are more assured to be getting your money's worth.
This post was edited on 5/21/26 at 4:41 pm
Posted on 5/21/26 at 5:45 pm to LSUPERMAN
quote:
Except for not having actual creatine in them.
I completely understand that some are garbage, but some do have creatine in them.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 6:00 pm to PrezCock
That’s kind of missing the point though. Even the “good” gummies are going to be wildly inconsistent. When you can just take the powder straight, there isn’t much of a point to going the gummy route, it is just wasting money.
Posted on 5/21/26 at 6:11 pm to GoCrazyAuburn
I completely understand your point. And what I'm about to say isn't meant to be argumentative. But creatine works by saturation, which takes time. So getting inconsistent creatine intake with gummies isn't terrible. If a bag of creatine gummies has 100 grams of creatine in it, the inconsistency is going to be with each individual gummy, not the aggregate which is what really matters. I'm not saying it's the best route, and if you look at my entire comment that you quoted you would see that I prefer, and suggested, a powdered form of creatine monohydrate.
This is what you just wrote;
This is what I wrote in my first comment;
What's the difference? Please explain how I'm "kind of missing the point though"?
This is what you just wrote;
quote:
When you can just take the powder straight, there isn’t much of a point to going the gummy route, it is just wasting money.
This is what I wrote in my first comment;
quote:
Nothing wrong with Creatine Gummies, but I think they are a waste of money. Creatine Monohydrate powder is good. Creapure is preferred.
What's the difference? Please explain how I'm "kind of missing the point though"?
Posted on 5/21/26 at 6:23 pm to PrezCock
quote:
What's the difference? Please explain how I'm "kind of missing the point though"?
I didn’t see that that was your comment, so my apologies there
I saw your last comment that I responded to and the one you quoted in the response.
ETA: but since we are on the topic, studies recently showed that up to 95% of the tested creatine gummies contained none to almost no (less than 1%) active creatine. The process of making them is a core issue to it, with the properties of creatine. I understand you aren’t saying otherwise, but for the sake of the actual discussion for the OP, it is worth noting just how bad the gummies actually are in quality comparatively. Legion, Create, Iron Labs and there are a few others, but that’s largely it for the gummy route.
This post was edited on 5/21/26 at 6:53 pm
Posted on 5/21/26 at 6:50 pm to GoCrazyAuburn
quote:
it is worth noting just how bad the gummies actually are in quality
I wholeheartedly agree with you, and that is why these discussions are important.
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