Creatine for BJJ Over 40: Should You Take It?

TL;DR: Creatine for BJJ over 40 makes sense for most grapplers: it is the most researched supplement in sport, it suits the repeated short bursts of a roll, and it is not on prohibited lists. Take 3 to 5 g of plain creatine monohydrate every day, no loading needed, and give it four weeks. If you compete by weight, start it well before your weigh-in so any water shift is settled.

A round of jiu-jitsu is not a marathon.

It is a scramble, a grip fight, a pause, a bridge, another scramble.

Short, hard efforts, over and over, for five or six minutes.

That pattern is exactly where creatine has been studied most.

What creatine does

Your muscles store creatine as phosphocreatine, a fast fuel for short, hard efforts.

Supplementing tops those stores up. The International Society of Sports Nutrition's 2017 position stand concluded creatine monohydrate is the most effective supplement available for high-intensity exercise capacity and lean mass during training.

Your action: think of creatine as a daily habit, like salt in your food, not a pre-roll stimulant.

Is creatine good for BJJ?

From around our mid-thirties, muscle mass declines slowly unless we train for it.

Researchers including Candow and colleagues have reviewed creatine in older adults and found it adds to the benefit of resistance training on muscle.

For a grappler over 40, that means creatine pairs with the two strength sessions a week you should already be doing. On its own, it does little. With training, it is the best-supported option there is.

Your action: only start creatine once your strength sessions are in the calendar.

How much creatine for BJJ

• 3 to 5 g a day, every day, including rest days.
• No loading phase needed. Loading only gets you there faster.
• Take it whenever you will remember. Timing matters far less than consistency.
• Plain creatine monohydrate is the form behind almost all the research.

Our creatine monohydrate is one heaped teaspoon (5 g) per serve, 60 serves a tub, with nothing else in it.

Your action: put the tub next to the kettle or your shaker, not in the cupboard.

Creatine and making weight

Creatine draws water into muscle, so the scale can rise by a kilo or so in the first weeks.

If you compete in a weight division, start at least six weeks out so your weight has settled before you plan your cut.

Creatine is not on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list.

Your action: weigh yourself on the same morning each week for the first month and note the trend.

Creatine is for muscle, not joints

Creatine supports the muscle work. It does nothing directly for tendons, ligaments or cartilage.

That is why it makes sense to pair it with a daily joint formula. Ours is Complete Joint Care: collagen peptides, glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM in one 5 g scoop. The two mix into the same glass of water.

More on the joint side in joint supplements for BJJ, and the whole stack in best supplements for BJJ.

Your action: one glass, two scoops, every morning.

If you are on medication, carrying an injury or have a medical condition, speak with your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement.

Grant Jenkins is an ESSA Accredited Exercise Physiologist and high-performance athletic development coach with almost 30 years of coaching behind him, including national academy and professional athletes. He is a co-founder of Propel Health Australia.

References

1. Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:18.
2. Candow DG, Forbes SC, Chilibeck PD, et al. J Clin Med. 2019;8(4):488.
3. World Anti-Doping Agency. The Prohibited List, 2026.