Numerous studies have reported significant improvements in one-rep max strength of subjects taking creatine. For example, Belgian researchers reported in a 1997 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology that untrained subjects taking creatine while following a 10-week weight-training program increased their one-rep max on the squat by 25% more than those taking a placebo while following the same program. A 1998 study by University of Nebraska (Omaha) researchers found that trained collegiate football players taking creatine while following an 8-week weight-training program gained a 6% increase in their one-rep bench press strength, while those taking a placebo experienced no strength gains at all. A review on creatine printed in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that out of 16 studies investigating the effects of creatine on one-rep max strength, the average increase in strength was about 10% more in those taking creatine as compared to those taking a placebo
There are a plethora of studies showing that creatine significantly boosts muscle growth. The University of Queensland researchers found that the powerlifters taking creatine gained an average of over 6 pounds of lean body weight, with some subjects gaining as much as 11 pounds of lean body weight in less than four weeks, while those taking a placebo had no change in body weight at all (see Figure 3). Since creatine supplementation likely does not increase bone mass or organ mass, the increase in lean body weight is more reasonably the result of a gain in muscle mass. A study by researchers at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale reported in a 2000 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that trained weight-lifters taking creatine gained almost 5 pounds of lean body weight in six weeks, while those taking a placebo experienced no change in body weight