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Can You Take Creatine And C4 Together? (Is It Safe?)

By Author Robb

Posted on Last updated:

Both creatine and C4 are safe supplements when taken in isolation, and there’s no current evidence to suggest that it’s harmful to take creatine and C4 together. Also, C4 already contains creatine (albeit a small amount), so lots of people are safely consuming creatine and C4 without even realising.

In this article, we look at the benefits of creatine and C4 and see if there are any further benefits of mixing these 2 compounds.

Contents Show

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is a natural organic acid that’s made in the body to help provide energy to cells, particularly muscle cells.

It’s naturally found in red meat and fish, and some people take creatine supplements to improve their performance.

Benefits of Creatine

Creatine Improves Athletic Performance

There are lots of studies which demonstrate creatine’s ability to improve physical performance.

In one of these studies, 8 ice-hockey players supplemented with creatine and 8 ice-hockey players took a placebo.

The results showed that those who took creatine had significantly more power in their sprinting.

Creatine Helps Increase Muscle Mass

A review of creatine supplementation concluded that creatine increases muscle hypertrophy (i.e. muscle growth) in all healthy young populations.

Some of the studies even showed that creatine increases muscle growth in untrained populations, suggesting that creatine was the direct cause of increased muscle mass.

Creatine Improves Cognitive Function

One of the lesser-known benefits of creatine is its ability to improve mental function.

In a study of older people, creatine improved the subjects’ memory and recall ability.

Creatine Helps Prevent Fatigue

Another physical benefit of creatine is that it can help reduce muscular fatigue.

For example, in one study, 15 people took either a placebo or 20g of creatine per day for 5 days before performing a cycle test.

Interestingly, those who took creatine had delayed onset of fatigue during the test.

What Is C4?

C4 is a popular pre workout supplement produced by Cellucor.

Many gym-goers take C4 before their training sessions for a boost of energy.

Benefits of C4

C4 May Increase Fat Loss

Thanks to its high caffeine content, C4 may help increase fat loss.

A review of 19 studies showed that taking caffeine significantly increases fat oxidation.

Since C4 is high in caffeine, you may benefit from more fat loss (assuming you’re in a calorie deficit of course!)

C4 May Help Improve Focus

Although C4 is a supplement that’s mainly used by gym bros who are trying to gain muscle and strength, it actually offers other benefits which are unrelated to physical performance.

For example, some studies suggest that caffeine – which is one of the main active ingredients in C4 – can improve cognitive function.

So, if you take C4, you may find that you can focus better.

(Interestingly, some folks take pre workout for studying!)

C4 May Give You More Energy

Like most pre workout supplements, C4 may boost your energy.

Both caffeine and B vitamins, which are included in C4, have been shown to increase energy.

By having more energy in the gym, you can have a more productive workout.

Are There Any Benefits of Taking Creatine And C4 Together?

As there are currently no studies, it’s unclear whether taking creatine and C4 together provides further benefits than taking them individually.

When Is The Best Time To Take Creatine And C4 Together?

Research shows that creatine is best taken after your workout for maximizing muscle and strength gains.

That being said, since C4 is a pre workout, it makes sense taking both of these before working out.

Creatine does work when taken before your work out, but it works a little bit better after the gym.

And since C4 is high in caffeine, you should avoid taking these 2 after 3pm as the caffeine may disrupt your sleep quality.

Closing Thoughts

In summary:

  • There are no studies which suggest that it’s unsafe to take creatine and C4 together.
  • Since C4 already contains creatine, you should have no problem taking them together assuming your body can tolerate C4.
  • There’s limited evidence that mixing creatine and C4 provides additional benefits than taking them in isolation.

That’s all for this article, but can you take creatine and CLA together? Or what about taking taurine and creatine together?

Hope this helped!

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949037/#B14-nutrients-14-01255

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10573659/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18039377/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17828627/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33255240/