We tested Transparent Labs Creatine HMB over a six-week strength block — three lifts a week, scoop a day, taken about thirty minutes before training on lifting days and with breakfast on rest days. By week two the usual “I drank water and gained four pounds” creatine bloat showed up, then settled. By week four, top-set numbers on squat and bench were creeping up about 5 percent and we weren’t beat up the next day the way we usually are after a heavy session.

Mixing was the part we expected to hate and didn’t. The unflavored powder doesn’t dissolve as fast as some new “instantized” creatines, but a hard shake for 10 seconds clears it up. If you’re someone who hates floaters at the bottom of a shaker, this won’t drive you crazy. Taste is basically nothing — it disappears in coffee, in juice, even in plain water.

The HMB angle matters most if you train hard and eat in a deficit, or you’re past 35 and feeling the recovery curve flatten out. We’re not saying it’s magic. We are saying it noticeably blunted the “second day after squats” feeling, which is the day we usually skip mobility because it hurts to bend over.