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Creatine questions


joelbct
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Hey, I read through the past posts on creatine, but have a few questions remaining. I have never taken it before. I've been working out for about 2 years, tho I had a 2 month break and have just been back in the gym the for 5 weeks now.

 

1. Anyway, when should I take it, ie morning, or directly before working out?

 

2. Someone said start with 1/2 gram, then work it up to 5, is this a good idea?

 

3. Should I take it every day, or just the days I am in the gym?

 

4. How many weeks at a time should I be on it before cycling off, what is a good schedule?

 

5. Anything else I should know, other than drink 2 gallons of water/day?

 

Thanks,

Joel

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When i've bought it the container says to have a loading dose of like 5 grams, and I guess you do that a few times a day the first few days. Then you have the maintenance doses that are like a gram. When ive used it i'd probably get 2 grams a day every day since I lived on protein shakes. I've dropped them and also dont have creatine. I think its like drinking sand, the times ive used it, the creatine never mixes in that well.

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Studies I've seen indicate that there is no evidence that pre-consumption of creatine is a benefit. In those cases, I think it's a manufacturing ploy... if they can get you to double your consumption, more $$ for them.

 

Once daily, pwo is sufficient. If you are not training that day, then take in the am.

Loading doses are usually not required, either.

 

I did have a good article link to something Lyle Mcdonald wrote about it, but can't find it at the moment. In the meantime, here's a pretty thorough one I found on T-Nation.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=768093

While I usually read articles there with a huge grain of salt, this one was well done and well-researched.

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Hey, I read through the past posts on creatine, but have a few questions remaining. I have never taken it before. I've been working out for about 2 years, tho I had a 2 month break and have just been back in the gym the for 5 weeks now.

 

1. Anyway, when should I take it, ie morning, or directly before working out?

 

2. Someone said start with 1/2 gram, then work it up to 5, is this a good idea?

 

3. Should I take it every day, or just the days I am in the gym?

 

4. How many weeks at a time should I be on it before cycling off, what is a good schedule?

 

5. Anything else I should know, other than drink 2 gallons of water/day?

 

Thanks,

Joel

 

These are the things I have heard about creatine, as well as some things I have found out myself when I take it.

 

1. They say to take it on an empty stomach, so I usually take it in the morning.

 

2. 5 grams is way too much, the more you take the more likely you are to get craps etc, and other problems that people can experience from creatine. I found about 2 grams per day was more than enough.

 

3. You take it every day...

 

4. I usually take creatine for 6 weeks, then cycle off for a couple of months, if not longer... It stuffs up my cardio, way too much... You body gets use to it as well, so it stops working. They say to cycle off for the same number of weeks that you take it for. So if you take it for 6 weeks, cycle off for at least 6 weeks. I find it upsets my stomach a bit by the end, so you are more than happy to stop taking it.

 

5. Also watch your calcium intake etc... I'm not sure if this is true but I have been told that due to the fact that it pulls water into your muscles, it also moves minerals around as well, maybe someone with medical knowledge can comment more on this...

If you are taking any medication or suppliments, just be a little careful as they will be processed in your kidneys, along with the creatine. It will put stress on your kidneys and can change the way that medications work (This came from a pharmacist that I saw in hospital once)

 

I hope some of this helps

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