Must Read about Creatine!

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Due to the fact we seem to get a new thread every day asking the exact same questions we cover over and over, I present The Creatine FAQ.

What is creatine?
In simple terms, its a chemical present in muscle tissue that works with calcium to contract the muscle. If you run out of sufficient creatine in the muscles, you won't be able to fully contract the muscle.
Therefore, we basically take creatine so we can workout longer, in the hopes that will lead to better strength/size gains.
And it will, if your training is good, diet is good, and you're giving yourself enough time to recover.
So, by supplementing you gradually build up creatine in the muscles, giving you more endurance. You don't get the benefits of creatine by taking it 30 minutes before a workout...you get them by building up over time.
We refer to that as reaching 'saturation' (more on this under dosing...)

So creatine is a steroid?
Wrong - re-read the above paragraph. Did I state it was a hormone, that it boosted testosterone, that it even directly affected your ability to gain muscle? Nope.

Do I need to take creatine?
Hell no! Remember, the word 'supplement' means 'non-essential...secondary'. Creatine will help if you use it correctly, but the world had strong, muscular people roaming about long before creatine supplementation.

What are the side effects?
In a healthy person, very minor. Stomach aches, muscle cramps, headache...all of which most likely mean you're not drinking enough water, because creatine will make you retain a little extra water so you've got to compensate.
Now, people with a history of kidney problems should avoid creatine because any excess creatine will break down into creatinine and that's not good for unhealthy kidneys.
Likewise, if you take creatine and start experiencing kidney or odd lower back pain, stop taking it and go see your doctor. Its really unlikely, but possible that taking creatine will reveal an existing kidney problem you weren't aware of.

What's the best creatine?
A tricky question. For most people, pure creatine monohydrate is perfect. Its cheap ($15 for 500g on average), easy to find, and works.
For those who don't seem to "respond" to monohydrate, I suggest creatine ethyl ester (a.k.a. CEE or CE2). Its not much more expensive, and has a better absorption rate, and many say they don't feel bloated on CEE.
I personally don't feel bloat on monohydrate, even though I definitely put on some water weight.
Try to get monohydrate that says CreaPure on the label somewhere. This is a processing method that gives the cleanest, purest creatine available.

I'd really avoid products that blend creatine with other stuff, namely sugar and NO2 products. NO2 is kind of a pointless supplement, and you can buy your own dextrose to mix with your creatine for a lot less money than these pre-mixed concoctions.

How much do I take?
For the average 200lb male, 5g a day, which is a heaping teaspoon, is all you need.
Some labels talk about 'loading'...taking 4 doses a day for 5-7 days. This isn't really necessary. You can load by taking 5g a day for 3 weeks. Either method is going to get you to saturation. As long as you keep up the daily dose of 1 teaspoon, you'll maintain saturation. Take it on the days you don't train too (which is typically only 1 day a week you aren't lifting or doing cardio)...you're maintaining a level of saturation that requires consistency.

When is the best time for taking it before/during/after workout? - asked by Christonian
Doesn't really matter that much, as creatine works through maintaining saturation. It doesn't work quickly. Be consistent and it'll do its thing. But to answer the question, its most often recommended to put your creatine in your post workout shake/meal, simply because you've just used up some creatine in the muscles for your workout, so the body *should* be more inclined to uptake some post workout.
Add to the fact that creatine monohydrate absorbs better when insulin is spiked, and that most PWO shakes contain some dextrose or malto-dextrin to spike insulin...it just makes sense.



Timing of creatine use is far less important than consistent use. Post workout shake is simply convenient, and since you just worked out, you used some up so its just a somewhat logical time to replenish. But as long as you take it consistently at any time of day, you'll receive the benefits.

As far as when you stop taking creatine...you de-saturate the muscles and the benefits cease. if you retained excess water, you'll lose a few pounds of weight (which is why some people falsely believe that creatine directly adds muscle). Some people also say they feel weaker/have less muscle endurance...hard to say if that's mostly mental, and it could really depend on your natural/baseline creatine levels.
I kind of feel like people who 'don't respond' to creatine use probably have a naturally higher level of creatine, so they don't get a noticable boost. But that's my own theory, nothing scientific to prove it.

This has recently been put into question. A study has been published showing that pre AND post workout creatine supplementation works better than morning AND night. Proving that the area around your workout, would be ideal.


Is it safe to take both protein shakes along with creatine shakes in the same day? If so what is the best way to go about doing so? finally should you take them seperately? or could you mix both powders into 1 drink? - Question posed by Eluzion
Yes, you need to take creatine daily to reap its benefits. Protein and creatine are fine to take in the same day...even in the same shake. Most find it more convenient that way, but its not required.

Do I need to cycle creatine?
No good research has been done on this aspect. Common sense says yes, give your body a break from creatine supplementation from time to time, or at least lower the dose, skip a couple days a week, etc. The thought is to prevent the body from relying too much on the external supplementation.
On the flip side, many people talk of taking creatine religiously for years with no side effects.

I'm 14 (15, 16, etc), can I take creatine?
Again, common sense screams out no!. You're 14, you're still growing, still developing, and really shouldn't be working out in a way where creatine is gonna make or break your goals.
Science hasn't done much research on anyone younger than 18, so I would suggest you stick to a good diet, a multivitamin, and nothing more than a simple whey protein powder for supplements until you're 18.

I'm female...is creatine safe for me?
Leave it to scientists to only study male athletes... I haven't personally seen much on female studies...but since creatine's a naturally occurring substance that we all use, and its not a steroid in any way shape or form, I see no reason a woman should avoid creatine supplementation.
Dosage should be a little lower, simply due to the fact that women normally have less lean muscle so less is needed to hit and maintain saturation.
Disclaimer: If you're pregnant, don't take creatine!

I only workout three days per week. Should I really be taking creatine on non-training days? (-or days I only do cardio?) - added 1-19-2010

Again, creatine supplementation works by increasing the levels inside the muscle cells until the point of saturation.

so you have to get them saturated, and then maintain that saturation. every day your body gets rid of excess creatine. days you train you get rid of even more.

since most of us lack the scientific gadgets to monitor levels inside the cells, its just easy to take the 'maximum, safe, and useful dose every day'. plus creatine monohydrate is cheap, so cost isn't a real factor for 'not' taking it daily.

having said that, I've read research that men over 200lbs (and assuming not a ton of excess body fat, and plenty of lean muscle) should take 5g per day. men under 200lbs can do 3g a day and be able to maintain saturation.

few studies are out there using women, but I'd say your average female trainee would do well with daily 3g doses, and only the taller / more muscular women should do the 5g dose.

Conclusion

That should answer all the basic questions. If you have a question not covered above, post it. I'll eventually add it to this sticky.
I reserve the right to delete/split questions/comments that don't fall under the designation of 'Frequently Asked'.
 
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