Creatine Intake suggestions appreciated, Cheers.

[Atom-ant-2007]

Any reccomendations on creatine intake?

The gym i train at has its own creatine, these are its details = $38.00, 750g, Ingredients: 100% pharmaceutical grade creatine monohydrate

Is this alrite?

The suggested use on my container is 4 x 5g creatine per day for 5 days followed by a maintenance phase of 2g - 5g once per day.

I heard to not do the loading phase?

[blairandkelly]

why would anyone tell you not to load? if you dont reach saturation levels the stuff is of no benifit , thats from what i understand anyway

[Flex]

LOADING PHASE - DAYS 1 to 5: For best results from creatine supplementation, it is recommended to load for five days and then go on a maintenance phase for 5 to 8 weeks. During the loading phase (5 days) you use approx 3-6 serves daily, each serve being a heaped teaspoon - approx 5 grams, spread over the course of the day.

MAINTENANCE PHASE: Then for the maintenance phase (up to 8 weeks) you use 3 to 5 grams daily. After the maintenance phase have 1-2 weeks off creatine and then begin the “cycle” again. The most important time for the use of creatine, and any other supplement, is within an hour of completing training when the body is most responsive and requires all the nutrients it can get for optimum recovery. This is commonly called the window of opportunity. During the maintenance phase you would therefore use one serve post workout and if required, another serve approximately 12 hours earlier or later (depending on time of day trained).

CREATINE AND CARBOHYDRATES

Many users find that they get better results from creatine when combined with 30 grams of high glycemic (High GI) carbohydrates. High glycemic simple sugars result in an insulin spike/release within the body. This helps with the uptake of creatine as the creatine is pushed through the muscle cell membrane by the insulin. This can be acheived either by consuming 5 grams of creatine with grape juice (approx 250-300ml provides 30 grams carbs), some other form of simple carbs (white bread) or using dextrose monohydrate. Dextrose monohydrate, also known as glucose, is sold as “Brewing Sugar” in home brew stores and supermarkets (around $5 per kg) and is a very cost effective solution for increasing the insulin response.

There are also many formulas available that combine creatine with carbohydrates, as well as including other ingredients that can increase the uptake of creatine. Some of the more well known formulas are EAS Phosphagen HP, EAS Phosphagen Elite, and MuscleTech Cell Tech.

The most common ingredients included in these formulas are Taurine, Alpha Lipoic acid, chromium, beta alanine, and D-Pinitol. These ingredients are included as they may improve the way the body absorbs creatine by increasing the insulin response and carbohydrate utilisation. Beta alanine is now a popular supplement for reducing lactic acid buildup.

LATEST CREATINE RESEARCH DOSING RECOMMENDATIONS - http://www.creapure.com

Short-term Creatine supplementation of 15 to 25 g for 5 days increases the total muscle Creatine content by 15-30% and Phosphocreatine stores by 10-40% (analyzed by muscle biopsy).

After 5 days loading, 2-5 g as maintenance dose is sufficient to keep Creatine levels elevated. Without maintenance dose Creatine levels return to baseline after 4 to 5 weeks.

Similar increases in Creatine levels can be achieved using low-dose long-term supplementation of 3 g per day for 28 days.

However, there seems to be an upper limit of muscular Creatine content (~ 160 mmol per kg of dry muscle mass). Continued use of high amounts of Creatine (15 g or higher) does not increase the Creatine content in the muscle further and is therefore unnecessary.

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Unfortunately if you only paid $38 for 750g of creatine my guess is that it wouldn't be of a high quality unless your gym isn't into making money. Personally I wouldn't use creatine that wasn't manufactured either by Pfanstiehl in the USA or Creapure in Germany. With China's current record of quality control which is undoubtably where the majority of cheap creatine will be coming from I wouldn't want to think about what might be in it. Does it have a brand name on it or state who is manufacturing it for them? Most gyms don't know jack about sports nutrition so I can't imagine they put too much thought into what kind of creatine they use.

[Pseudonym]

Thanks for sharing that writeup Flex. You're allowed to credit the source if you want. :wink:

While we're on the subject, what are your thoughts about dissolving creatine in hot water, as per John Berardi's suggestion?

[Flex]

I follow John Berardi's work so have come across that in the past. He knows a lot more than me and I can't see any issues with hot water other than it tasting pretty bad. I haven't used creatine for a number of years now but when I did I never had GI issues and I used to mix it up with all sorts of things. I think it's one of those things that you just have to try. If you find you get GI distress try it with warm water, however the easiest way to use it is to throw it in your PWO shake.

[Dumbelldog]

I follow John Berardi's work so have come across that in the past. He knows a lot more than me and I can't see any issues with hot water other than it tasting pretty bad. I haven't used creatine for a number of years now but when I did I never had GI issues and I used to mix it up with all sorts of things. I think it's one of those things that you just have to try. If you find you get GI distress try it with warm water, however the easiest way to use it is to throw it in your PWO shake.

I agree PWO shake is the best, a lot of people say to have it prior to training I don't think that that is as effective.