best way to take creatine

[Unit]

what is the best way to take creatine, do I take before and after my workout or do i split in smaller quantaties and take it through out the day

and anotherthing what is this matainance and loading phase with creatine

 

[Parrasque]

you dont take it. work out naturally.

 

[Carlito]

anally.

 

[Balmain_Boy]

Loading phase is a gimmick pedalled by the companies that make creatine. Basically if you load yourself up with creatine, your muscles get saturated with it quicker. It's a waste of creatine though, it's much better to just take a standard amount form day one.

On workout days, take it straight after you workout preferably with carbs. On off days split your dose into 2, morning and night. Also take with carbs.

Take it for 6 weeks max, then have 8 weeks off it. Take it for longer than 6 weeks and it's useless.

 

[brooksy19]

Loading phase is a gimmick pedalled by the companies that make creatine. Basically if you load yourself up with creatine, your muscles get saturated with it quicker. It's a waste of creatine though, it's much better to just take a standard amount form day one.

On workout days, take it straight after you workout preferably with carbs. On off days split your dose into 2, morning and night. Also take with carbs.

Take it for 6 weeks max, then have 8 weeks off it. Take it for longer than 6 weeks and it's useless.

Correct.

I don't take it anymore though.

 

[Balmain_Boy]

Either. It's fairly unecessary, unless you don't eat red meat.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

You're all wasting your lifes

 

[Balmain_Boy]

Thanks for that Martin.

 

[Unit]

Either. It's fairly unecessary, unless you don't eat red meat.

a serving of red meat does not contain the appropiate amount that would have an effect.

you dont take it. work out naturally.

creatine is natural.

 

[Balmain_Boy]

a serving of red meat does not contain the appropiate amount that would have an effect.



creatine is natural.

Well it depends on what effect you desire I suppose. Creatine is really most useful for people trying to get out of a...plateau I suppose. That's the only reason I woud use it. Especially when there is no confirmation on the long term health impacts.

 

[OVP]

I actually inject it into my eyeballs so it gives me that extra "bit".

Hope this helps ...

 

[shadow grinder]

you dont take it. work out naturally.

your body already produces creatine anyway.

if you wanna go the saturated way then take about 30 grams a day for about 5 days ..then after that take like 15 grams a day....mmmm saturation. but yeah there is no real need to do that anyway.

 

[Phillips]

and what does this so called "creatine" actually do?

 

[bartman]

Makes your balls shrink? ;-) *shrugs*

 

[mattyj]

Well it depends on what effect you desire I suppose. Creatine is really most useful for people trying to get out of a...plateau I suppose.

Not really, I presume you talking about a weight training platea, creatine would only be useful if your training involves power and max strength lifting between 1 and 3 reps.

Its used by mostly athletes that are involved in short burst sports. It buffers your CP (Creatine Phosphate) system, that particular energy system is used in the initial firing of a muscle. Its perfect really for League and Union as contact situations are really short and sharp.

Loading phase is a gimmick pedalled by the companies that make creatine. Basically if you load yourself up with creatine, your muscles get saturated with it quicker.

The Australian Institute of Sport still recomends a loading phase and most other strength and conditioning coaches i know ask their players to load with it as well. It is important to cycle it though, as it is a natuarlly occuring substance in the body and after a long period of having high levels of it in your system your body reads this and cools of its own production of it.

About 10-15% of people already have higher than normal levels of creatine in their bodys naturally and therefore will get little or no effect from supplementing from it

 

[Balmain_Boy]

Not really, I presume you talking about a weight training platea, creatine would only be useful if your training involves power and max strength lifting between 1 and 3 reps.

Not true, well not according to the literature I have read and from personal experience. I know when I took creatine I had significant increase in strength even though gains had plateaued at that stage. After I went off it, I lost some of that strength, but I was still stronger than pre creatine levels. I was also able to keep the gains going.

 

[mattyj]

I didnt say it wouldnt increase your strength, thats exactly what it does (for around 10 seconds). You suggusted that weight training was the main purpose to use it, where its main use is as a sports supplement rather that a weight training supplement.

 

[Balmain_Boy]

Ah my mistake.

I was summing this bloke wanted to use it in the context of weight training. If this was the case, THEN one should generally only use it to escape a plateau.

 

[mattyj]

Fair enough, the post was in relation to weight training. Just on that note though, in relation to Units question, you need to make sure you have a little　bit of a base before you take creatine for improving you lifting strength.

The reason being is that there is a period about 6 weeks into your training where your muscles have made pretty big strength gains yet for some reason your support structure like your tendons and ligaments have not matched those gains yet, this is the period where a lot of injuries occur anyway but creatine being a strength enhancer would magnify this more and therefore you would open yourself up for some ligament or tendon damage.

 

[Balmain_Boy]

Yeh creatine isn't something for people just starting weights.