There are few products with as many benefits for sports performance as creatine. When Naked Nutrition introduced their new Creatine HCl Powder formula, I was excited to give it a try. Here’s a quick rundown on my thoughts and if Naked Creatine is right for you:
Product Effectiveness: There’s been so much research and articles written on creatine I’m not going to try to sell you on how effective creatine is as a supplement. Put it this way, there’s a reason it is still one of the most popular supplements in sports nutrition.
OCR/Hybrid Use: For those looking to improve strength for getting across obstacles or crushing your next hybrid fitness event, creatine should be at the top of your list. There’s a reason almost every brand has a creatine product and it has been a mainstay of the industry for my entire lifetime, it’s because it works.
Creatine naturally occurs in meat, so if you tend not to eat a lot of meat, I would add this is a recommended supplement. If you sometimes (or always) eat vegan or vegetarian, then I would 100% add this to your diet. Even those who are meat eaters will still get additional benefits from creatine, as shown by strength athletes.
Creatine Issues: I’ve taken creatine on and off for a good portion of my adult life. I’ll often use it for strength focused phases and taper back on some of my endurance focused training blocks. The one consistent problem I’ve had is…to put it nicely…”stomach issues”.
What I love about Naked Lean Creatine is there are dosing instructions for body-weight, something a lot of supplements tend to ignore when they give a recommended serving size. This will avoid a good percentage of the problems up front. Second, they use Creatine HCl which your body absorbs better so you don’t need to consume as much to get an effective response.
Because I love you, the fans of The OCR Report, I decided to put it to the test and take double the recommended dose in the name of reporting. I’m happy to report, no “stomach issues”. Perhaps a psychological effect, but I also felt immediately stronger at my next trip to the gym. There’s something satisfying about knowing you are consuming an effective dose without extra garbage (basically what the concept Naked Nutrition was built on). While the short-term gains might be psychological, the long-term gains are backed by science.
Naked as a Brand: Naked as a brand gets their name because they don’t put fillers, artificial flavors or other garbage into their products. You order creatine, you get creatine. You order whey, you get whey. You order casein, you get casein. It is why I keep returning to their brand.
Flavor: The danger Naked Nutrition always runs is lack of flavor due to their non-existent additives. I went with Raspberry Lime, which is flavored from prickly pear extract, I’m happy to report Naked Lean Creatine is delicious. Not “supplement” delicious where it tastes good for a supplement, but legitimately good, like I would be willing to drink it as a normal drink. 10/10 for taste easy. For true purists, they also have an unflavored version, which I like as an option if you are adding it to something else you are already drinking.
Overall: If you are looking to add Creatine to your training regime, Naked Nutrition has you covered. I’ve been bouncing around with supplement brands for 20 years trying different products. I’m sold on Naked Nutrition though, all active ingredients, clean products and no additives. You are getting what you are paying for without anything else. Whatever you are putting in your supplement stack, I would always shop Naked Nutrition as your first stop. Just be warned, you may never leave.
