NIFS Healthy Living Blog

Creatine is one of the most popular sports supplements, but is it right for you? Creatine, or creatine monohydrate, is a compound created by amino acids (methionine, glycine, and arginine) that is used for energy by the skeletal muscles, which are responsible for movement and maintaining posture. Creatine is important for maintaining a steady supply of energy to your muscles during exercise, especially short-burst, high-intensity activities (such as weight lifting, sprinting, or jumping). It can also help increase muscle growth, speed up recovery, and temporarily increase water retention in muscles, which may reduce dehydration and cramping. 

Your body produces about half of its creatine supply naturally in the liver. The other half comes from your diet, particularly protein-rich, animal-based foods such as red meat (beef and pork), fish, and seafood (tuna, salmon, herring, cod). 

You can also obtain creatine through supplements. Creatine monohydrate is one of the most researched supplements available, specifically for its impact on sports and exercise performance. The general recommendation for creatine supplementation is 3–5 grams per day, or 0.1 g per kilogram of body weight (1 kg = 2.2 pounds). Exact dosing will depend on your individual goals. Alcohol and/or caffeine use may interact with creatine, lessening its effectiveness or leading to side effects, such as dehydration.

Who Benefits Most? 

• Athletes and active individuals: Those involved in strength training, sprinting, or high-intensity exercise often see improvements in performance and recovery. 

• Older adults: Research suggests creatine can help maintain muscle mass and strength, which supports mobility, balance, and independence as we age. 

• Vegetarians and vegans: Since they consume little or no dietary creatine, supplementation may be especially beneficial for performance and energy. 
  

Best Time to Take It 

The most important factor with creatine is consistency. Whether you take it before or after exercise—or even with a meal on rest days—the benefits come from daily use. Some evidence suggests pairing creatine with a post-workout meal that includes protein and carbohydrates may enhance absorption, but the key is regular intake. 

Creatine can be a safe and effective tool for improving strength, recovery, and overall muscle health when paired with consistent exercise—but it’s not a magic pill. Always check with a healthcare professional or dietitian before starting any supplement, especially if you take prescription medications or have a chronic health condition. 

Finally, remember that in the United States, supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. This means it is not guaranteed that what’s on the label is actually in the product. To protect yourself, always choose supplements that have been third-party tested by organizations such as NSF or USP. 

The first quarter of the year is behind us, and for many, those New Year's resolutions may feel like a distant memory. Maybe you started strong in January, only to have motivation wane as life got busy. Or perhaps you never quite found the time to commit to your health goals. The good news? Spring is the perfect opportunity to refresh your mindset, refocus your goals, and build sustainable habits that carry you through the rest of the year.

Reassess & Reset Your Goals

If you’ve fallen off track, now is the time to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and where you can make adjustments. Were your original goals realistic and specific? Instead of broad resolutions like “eat healthier” or “work out more,” refine them into actionable steps, such as:

• Plan and prep three balanced meals per week.
• Strength train twice a week and walk 8,000+ steps per day.
• Prioritize hydration by drinking at least 80 ounces of water daily.

Small, achievable goals build confidence and create long-term success.

Meal Prepping Made Simple

Consistency starts in the kitchen. If meal prepping feels overwhelming, keep it simple:

1. Batch cook proteins like grilled chicken, turkey, or tofu.
2. Pre-chop veggies so they’re easy to grab for meals or snacks.
3. Stock nutrient-dense staples like Greek yogurt, nuts, eggs, whole grains, and frozen fruits/veggies.

Fueling your body properly makes it easier to stay active and energized throughout the day.

Stay Active Without Overcomplicating It

Movement doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing effort. If your workouts have been inconsistent, ease back in by:

• Trying a new class at the gym for variety and motivation.
• Walking or biking outside now that the weather is warming up.
• Setting a non-negotiable workout time in your schedule.

Progress isn’t about perfection—it’s about consistency. Even small steps forward will make a difference over time.

Spring Forward with Sustainable Habits

This season is a fresh start. Whether you’re refocusing on nutrition, movement, or overall well-being, commit to small, sustainable changes rather than short-term fixes. Progress isn’t measured by how perfect you are but by how often you show up for yourself.

Let this be your sign to spring into action—reignite your motivation, take control of your habits, and make the rest of the year your strongest yet.

Procrastination often sneaks in when it comes to exercise. Whether it’s the allure of the couch, a packed schedule, or a lack of motivation, sticking to a workout routine can feel like a challenge. But with the right strategies, you can break the cycle and make fitness a consistent part of your life.

Identify Your Roadblocks

The first step in overcoming procrastination is pinpointing what holds you back. Does a long workout seem overwhelming? Do you run out of energy after work? Once you recognize your triggers, adjust your approach. Try morning workouts if evenings are tough, or start with short, manageable sessions to build momentum.

Schedule Your Workouts

"I don’t have time" is one of the most common excuses. The fix? Treat exercise like any other priority—schedule it. Block out time in your calendar and stick to it. Short on time? Break your workout into smaller chunks, like a 10-minute session during lunch or a 20-minute morning routine.

Create Accountability and Motivation

Accountability makes all the difference. Find a workout buddy, join a class, or use an app to track progress. Celebrate every win, big or small—whether it's lifting heavier, running farther, or simply sticking to your plan for a month. The more you acknowledge your progress, the more motivated you’ll be to keep going.

Make Exercise a Habit, Not a Hassle

Overcoming procrastination is about shifting your mindset. By identifying barriers, managing your time, and building accountability, you can turn exercise into a habit that feels natural—not forced. Start small, stay consistent, and reward your progress. Soon, working out won’t be something you “have to do” but something you want to do.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Consistency is Key,” but why? Individuals engaged in fitness pursue their goals by progressing some level of their training. What often gets overlooked is the foundation that makes progress possible: consistency. 

The Way to Long-Term Fitness 

Achieving any fitness goal takes time and steady effort. To reach your dreams, you must stack “wins.” No one transforms overnight, and accepting this truth helps you embrace the value of consistency. Completing a killer workout is great, but it means little without regular effort to keep challenging your body. 

While intense workouts can be beneficial, they’re not always necessary. Long-term fitness is about sustainability. If your routine makes you miserable or leaves you dreading the gym, your ability to stay consistent will suffer. Instead, create a plan that fits your life and brings you joy. When fitness feels rewarding, consistency follows. 

A Key to Mental Health 

Exercise has been shown to boost mental health through various physiological processes. But even beyond that, the structure and routine of exercise itself can be a game-changer. By building workouts into your schedule, you’re more likely to follow through, creating a cycle of consistency that supports both your mind and body. 

Tips for Consistency 

Tip #1: Set realistic goals. 

To stay consistent, start with a plan that’s manageable. Overestimating how often you can work out can lead to burnout. If you’re new to fitness, start with just two sessions per week—enough to create momentum without overwhelming yourself. On low-energy days, tell yourself, “I’ll go for 10 minutes and see how I feel.” Often, showing up is the hardest part. 

Tip #2: Mix things up to avoid plateaus. 

Everyone hits plateaus, but how you respond makes the difference. Switching up your exercises every 3-5 weeks can re-energize your routine and re-sensitize your body to progress. For example, swap regular squats for goblet squats or Bulgarian split squats. Variation keeps things fresh and challenges your muscles in new ways. 

Tip #3: Tap into your purpose, not just motivation. 

Motivation can be powerful, but it’s fleeting. Instead of relying on motivation alone, focus on your purpose—your ‘why.’ Ask yourself what drives you: improved health, confidence, or setting an example for loved ones. Purpose provides a deeper, more lasting source of commitment that keeps you consistent even on tough days. 

Personal Experience 

Playing football for 10 years taught me the value of consistent effort. My coach’s mantra, “Win Right Now, Win the Next,” emphasized focusing on the moment rather than the whole game. Over time, those small wins added up to big results. 

Fitness is similar—it’s not linear. You’ll have highs and lows, but consistency creates an upward trend over time. Believe in your process, celebrate your wins, and keep building momentum. 

Consistency is the secret to achieving your goals. Start with small, manageable steps, stay intentional, and trust the process. Celebrate each win, learn from challenges, and keep showing up. Every step forward is progress toward the life you want to create. 

Consistency is arguably the most important component when working to accomplish goals, in or out of the gym. Without consistency, programs are unorganized, the body has a harder time adapting, and forming habits may be more challenging.

Build and Follow Workout Programming

Whatever your goals may be, they require a consistent level of training for you to reach them. One way to ensure consistency within the scope of your goals is to build a program. Programs make it much easier to stay on track because you won’t have to think about what you’re going to do at the gym today—it’s already written out. Most programs are designed to be followed for a set amount of time, typically about 4 weeks. Depending on the desired goal, the program will have a different focus—hypertrophy, endurance, strength, and so on. Each day is designed with the goal in mind, while ensuring that you are training in a way that minimizes imbalances within the body. If you aren’t following the program consistently, the chance of it working is reduced.

Theoretically, if you have a program and you don’t follow it, the body is not going to be able to adapt to the program because there isn’t an opportunity for progressive overload, which is when the amount of stress on the body is gradually increased over time, leading to increased strength and performance.

Work Toward Adaptations

Biologically, a lot of things happen in the body during exercise. Over time these reactions change the body to become stronger, grow, or run more efficiently. Different factors affect adaptations in everyone, so it’s impossible to predict when these changes will occur. But being consistent with training will increase the likelihood of seeing adaptations sooner.

Different modes of exercise elicit different adaptations. Endurance training will produce different changes than resistance training. While there are far too many adaptations to discuss in this blog, a few examples reported by the CDC include the following:

• Improved ability of muscles to use fat as energy
• Stronger ligaments and tendons
• Increased VO2 max and lactate threshold
• Increased number of capillaries in muscles
• Cardiac muscle hypertrophy
• Increased force production

Each of these changes is beneficial for different scenarios. The body is either becoming more efficient or stronger, or performance is enhanced. However, these long-term benefits are seen only after consistent training over a period of time.

Create Habits

We are creatures of habit. The more we practice something, the more natural it becomes. We experience this when we learn to walk as babies, when we learn to drive, and when we exercise. It’s normal to feel out of your element when you try something new, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you feel.

Current research suggests that to make a habit stick it must be performed for 68 consecutive days. The idea of sticking with something brand new for 68 days may feel overwhelming for some people. When taking on a new challenge, focusing on taking it day by day might be a helpful mindset. Yes, we might be aiming to create a lifelong habit; however, thinking about just starting a habit to last for years could seem daunting. Start by doing it for one day, and then two, and then three, and so on.

Once you feel comfortable with one small change, add another small change, and so on. Small changes are more sustainable over the long term and add up to form new habits. There will likely be days that your plan doesn’t work out how it was supposed to, but that doesn’t mean all progress is lost.

The Takeaway

Our bodies adapt gradually to exercise. In the end, consistency will help you reach your goals. Without it, you might not have enough structure to allow for growth. Work first on figuring out your goals, determine the best route to achieve them, and get started with one step. If you’re not sure how to get started, the trainers at NIFS can help you set goals and develop programs tailored to those goals.

This blog was written by Hannah Peters, BS, CPT, Health Fitness Instructor. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.