Mention creatine and most people picture bodybuilders and protein tubs. That's a shame, because creatine is one of the safest and best-studied supplements there is, with hundreds of trials behind it, and its benefits reach far beyond the gym: power, recovery, healthy aging muscles and even your brain.
Kiting is a perfect match. Every pop, every edge hold through a gust, every landing is a short, hard effort. And you repeat those efforts hundreds of times per session.
1. Your Muscles' Rapid-Charge Battery
Your muscles run on ATP, but they only store enough for a few seconds of all-out effort. To rebuild it fast, they use phosphocreatine, a stored form of creatine that recharges ATP almost instantly:
- More stored fuel: Supplementing raises the creatine stored in your muscles by roughly 20 to 40%, depending on how much you had to start with.
- Better repeated efforts: The biggest effect shows up in repeated short bursts with little rest, which is exactly what a choppy, gusty session is.
- More training quality: Because you can do a bit more work in each off-water strength session, the gains add up over months.
The Research Consensus
The International Society of Sports Nutrition calls creatine monohydrate the most effective nutritional supplement available for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass, and concluded that it's safe for healthy people at recommended doses, including long-term use.
2. Protecting the Frame as You Age
After 40, we lose muscle mass and especially fast-twitch power every decade unless we fight for it. Those fast-twitch fibers are what let you react to a gust, stomp a landing and catch yourself in a crash. Meta-analyses of studies in older adults show that creatine combined with strength training builds more muscle and strength than training alone. For riders who want to keep sending in their 50s and 60s, that's a big deal.
3. A Fuel for Your Brain Too
Your brain also uses creatine to keep energy steady. Research has found benefits for memory and mental performance, especially when you're short on sleep. A 2024 study in Scientific Reports showed that a single high dose of creatine reduced the mental performance drop caused by a night of sleep deprivation. Early flights, long travel days and dawn sessions, anyone?
4. The Simple Creatine Protocol
Daily Dose
Take it any time of day, with water or mixed into a drink. Consistency is what matters: your muscles fill up over about 3 to 4 weeks and stay full as long as you keep taking it.
Skip the loading phase: You can load with 20 g a day for a week, but it's not necessary and some people get stomach upset. Steady daily dosing gets you to the same place.
Hydrate Well
Creatine pulls water into your muscle cells, which is part of how it works (it's not "bloat" under your skin). Kiting in the sun already dehydrates you, so make drinking enough water part of the routine.
Pair It With Strength Work
Creatine amplifies training. Pair it with the leg and tendon work in The 100-Year Frame and the core work in Defending the Lumbar Spine.
5. How We Take It
DoNotAge offers a Performance add-on to their daily sachet routine that adds creatine, Nitralis (a nitrate ingredient that supports nitric oxide and blood flow) and NAC. Combined with the 15-ingredient daily sachet, that covers energy at the muscle level and at the cellular level (NMN and CoQ10 for your mitochondria). Since I started the daily routine, my heart rate during hard efforts sits lower and I recover faster between sessions, and that's exactly the kind of change you notice on day three of a windy week.
Power Up Your Daily Protocol (10% Off)
Start with the DoNotAge daily sachet and add the Performance add-on (creatine, Nitralis and NAC) when you're ready. Use discount code KITEHOMIEZ at checkout for 10% off your entire order.
Shop DoNotAge →Free: The Kiter's 10-Minute Flexibility Routine
The mobility and core routine we use before and after sessions, as a free PDF. Plus new videos and posts every few weeks.
This article is for general education and isn't medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting a supplement or a fasting routine, especially if you are pregnant, have a medical condition or take medication. Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.