In this 2026 International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition study, Ammar and colleagues found that creatine significantly improved heavy bench press repetitions while beetroot juice enhanced muscle oxygen saturation, lowered heart rate during moderate loads, and improved recovery markers, suggesting complementary mechanisms that may support both performance output and training sustainability.

Key Takeaways: Creatine and Beetroot Juice

Creatine directly increases strength and heavy lifting performance, which strongly supports muscle growth.
Beetroot juice improves muscle oxygen levels and recovery markers, which may enhance training quality over time.
Because they work through completely different mechanisms, creatine and beetroot juice may complement each other, even though stacking was not directly tested in the study.

Creatine and Beetroot Juice Work Differently — And That’s a Good Thing

If you spend any time in a gym, you already know creatine has earned its reputation. It’s one of the most researched supplements in sports nutrition and consistently shows benefits for strength, power, and lean muscle mass.

Beetroot juice, on the other hand, is newer to the muscle-building conversation. Traditionally associated with endurance athletes, it is now gaining traction among lifters because of its ability to improve blood flow and muscle oxygen delivery.

A 2026 study by Ammar and colleagues published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition compared creatine and beetroot juice during resistance training sessions. The researchers found that creatine improved heavy lifting performance, while beetroot juice enhanced muscle oxygen levels and reduced cardiovascular strain.¹

These findings matter because muscle growth does not rely on one mechanism. It depends on force production, training volume, recovery, and repeated high-quality sessions. Creatine and beetroot juice influence different parts of that process.

Let’s break down what the science shows about each supplement and how they may support muscle growth.

Creatine and Beetroot Juice: Understanding How They Work

Before diving into results, we need to understand why creatine and beetroot juice affect the body differently.

Creatine helps your muscles produce energy quickly during short, intense efforts. When you lift heavy weights, your muscles rely on rapid energy production.² That’s where creatine shines.

Beetroot juice works through a separate pathway. It contains natural nitrates, which your body converts into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps widen blood vessels. When blood vessels widen, more blood and oxygen reach your muscles.³

More oxygen means muscles can work more efficiently. That’s why beetroot juice for muscle growth has become increasingly popular in bodybuilding circles.

When people debate creatine vs beetroot juice, they often assume one must be better. But the mechanisms are different. One improves energy production. The other improves circulation and oxygen delivery.

And that distinction is critical.

Methodology: How the Creatine and Beetroot Juice Study Was Conducted

The researchers recruited eleven healthy young men with six to twenty-four weeks of resistance training experience. They were not complete beginners, but they were not advanced lifters either.

Each participant completed three separate phases:

Creatine supplementation
Beetroot juice supplementation
Placebo

The study used a crossover design. That means every participant tried all three conditions. This strengthens reliability because each person acts as his own comparison.

Supplement Dosing

Creatine was given at 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for three days.

For someone weighing 82 kilograms (181 pounds), that equals about 24.6 grams per day.

Beetroot juice provided about 450 milligrams of nitrate daily.

Each phase lasted four days. On testing days, participants performed:

Back squats
Bench press

They completed sets at 60 percent, 70 percent, and 80 percent of their one repetition maximum until failure.

Researchers measured:

Repetitions completed
Bar speed
Muscle oxygen levels
Heart rate
Heart rate variability (a recovery marker)
Blood lactate

This allowed a full comparison of creatine vs beetroot juice, not just strength numbers.

Results: Creatine and Beetroot Juice Affect Performance Differently

Creatine significantly improved bench press repetitions at 80 percent of one-repetition maximum compared to placebo.
Creatine improved peak bar velocity compared to placebo.
Creatine supported favorable recovery markers compared to placebo.

This is important because increased repetition capacity at heavy loads directly increases training stimulus, which supports muscle growth over time.

While the study was short-term, the improvement in heavy-load performance reinforces decades of research showing creatine as one of the most reliable tools for hypertrophy support.

What the 2026 Study Found About Beetroot Juice

The Ammar et al. (2026) study revealed several important findings about beetroot juice:

Beetroot significantly increased muscle oxygen saturation at all lifting intensities compared to creatine and placebo.
Beetroot lowered peak heart rate during moderate-intensity bench press.
Beetroot improved heart rate variability markers compared to placebo.

While beetroot did not dramatically increase repetition numbers like creatine, it improved physiological conditions that may support long-term training quality.

Better oxygenation and lower cardiovascular strain could allow athletes to recover faster between sets and sessions. Over time, which could contribute to greater total training volume.

Creatine vs Beetroot Juice: Why This Shouldn’t Be a Competition

When comparing creatine and beetroot juice, it becomes clear that they act through different biological pathways.

Creatine primarily enhances intracellular energy production. It directly increases force output and repetition capacity.⁴

Beetroot juice primarily enhances vascular function and oxygen delivery. It supports efficiency and recovery.⁵

The 2026 study did not test a combined supplementation group. However, the authors concluded that creatine preferentially enhanced mechanical performance, while beetroot provided broader cardiometabolic and autonomic benefits (Ammar et al., 2026).

From a physiological standpoint, combining creatine and beetroot juice may address both performance output and recovery quality.

Muscle growth requires:

High mechanical tension
Sufficient training volume
Repeated sessions with adequate recovery

Creatine supports the first two factors directly. Beetroot juice may support the third.

Creatine and Beetroot Juice for Muscle Growth

Creatine remains one of the most well-supported supplements for muscle growth. Decades of research confirm its ability to increase strength, training capacity, and lean mass.⁶

Beetroot juice represents an emerging strategy. It improves blood flow, oxygen delivery, and certain recovery markers. ⁷While it may not directly increase repetition counts like creatine, it may improve the physiological environment that supports training quality.

The 2026 study by Ammar and colleagues highlights these distinct effects. Creatine improved heavy-load performance. Beetroot improved muscle oxygenation and cardiovascular responses.

Because these supplements work through different mechanisms, they may be complementary rather than competitive.

Future research should directly test combined supplementation. Based on current evidence, creatine is foundational for hypertrophy, and beetroot juice may enhance the training environment that supports muscle growth.

References

1 Ammar, A. et al. Beetroot juice or creatine: which yields greater short-term benefits for resistance training capacity, performance and key physiological responses? International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 1-21 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2026.2625827

2 Branch, J. D. Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: a meta-analysis. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 13, 198-226 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.13.2.198

3 Bailey, S. J. et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. J Appl Physiol (1985) 107, 1144-1155 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00722.2009

4 Ashtary-Larky, D. et al. Creatine supplementation and resistance training: a comparison between novice and experienced lifters – a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 22, 2586523 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2025.2586523

5 Jones, A. M., Thompson, C., Wylie, L. J. & Vanhatalo, A. Dietary Nitrate and Physical Performance. Annu Rev Nutr 38, 303-328 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-082117-051622

6 Kreider, R. B. 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 14, 18 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z

7 San Juan, A. F. et al. Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Weightlifting Exercise Performance in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. Nutrients 12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082227