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Recommended Serving
A loading phase of 4 days for people under 200 lbs and 5 days for people over
this weight. The loading phase is 5g (a rounded teaspoon full) taken 4 times a
day at evenly spaced intervals. Many people will benefit by taking a serving
prior to training and another serving after training.
The maintenance phase is 2-10g
per day. 2g is the minimum level required to accumulate muscle creatine levels.
The most popular maintenance dose is 5g per day, which is the dosage used in
most studies.
Creatine can be used on a 4-6
weeks on, 4 weeks off, followed by a reloading phase. It can also be used
continuously on a maintenance phase.
Serving Timings
During the loading phase, take the first serving before breakfast, the second
prior to training, the third after training and the fourth serving before going
to bed. During the maintenance phase, take a single dose after training.
Alternatively, split the serving in 2 and take the first half prior to training
and the second immediately after training.
How to Take It
Creatine is denatured during its journey into muscle tissue. By decreasing the
time creatine sits in the stomach, and by elevating insulin levels, creatine is
more effectively stored.
To minimise the time in the
stomach, creatine is best taken in juice, water, tea, coffee, or even a protein
drink. To ensure the stomach empties, take at least 20oz of fluid (about a
pint). If you take creatine in a small drink, follow it with additional water,
to a total of 20oz of fluids.
Insulin levels can be elevated by
taking creatine in a glucose drink, or a fruit juice high in glucose such as
cranberry juice.
Some people suffer intestinal
distress when taking creatine. This is because creatine is not dissolved well in
water and acts as a bulking agent in the intestine. This problem can be
rectified by taking more frequent, smaller, doses through the day in a hot drink
which increases the amount of powder which is dissolved in the liquid.
Supplement Facts
1. Creatine is not denatured when taken in a hot drink, in fact studies have
shown that tea and coffee seem to increase creatine storage and not reduce it as
was originally thought.
2. Creatine will stay stable in
liquid for a number of hours. If you mix it in the morning but only drink it
later in the day, don't worry, it's still active.
3. Not all fruit juices elevate
insulin levels, most are high in fructose, which has minimum impact on insulin
and therefore have no benefits when taken with Creatine.
4. Creatine can be taken with
protein drinks with minimum impact on effectiveness.
5. Creatine is naturally
occurring in the diet, it's found in all red meats, at around 1-2g per day in
the average meat eaters diet.
6. There are no known cases of
creatine causing health problems of the kidneys, liver or heart in healthy
individuals.
Reported Benefits
1. Creatine increases cell volume via water storage. Hydrated muscle cells
synthesise protein faster, ie muscle grows faster.
2. Creatine adds lean body weight within days.
3. Creatine will increase the length of time that maximum effort can be applied,
typically you will get 1 or 2 extra reps in each set.
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