Creatine Dose (/day)
How to take your creatine dose.
Divide the loading dose into 4 equal parts; take one part every 4-5 hours. In other words, if your loading dose is 20 grams per day, you would take 5 grams of creatine four times a day during the loading phase. For the best results completely dissolve this amount of creatine powder into at least 16 ounces of fruit juice. Take one part with your morning meal, another at lunch, one immediately after your workout, and one before you go to bed. Again, do not take creatine immediately before you work out. The reason for this will be given in a subsequent newsletter. The loading phase should not exceed 5 days.
NOTE: As far as creatine is concerned, more isn't necessarily better. During the five days of loading, an equivalent of one day's creatine dose (~20 grams) is absorbed by our muscles. This is equal to about 1/5, or 20%, of our pre-existing muscle creatine reserves. After five days, creatine absorption by skeletal muscle declines precipitously. This can be either because the muscle is full or because creatine entry at the muscle surface is being blocked. No matter the reason, it doesn't make sense (economically or physiologically) to continue creatine loading for more than 5 days.
Maintenance
Normally, our creatine stores degrade at a rate of about 2 grams per day. This amount would need to be replaced each day in order to "maintain" the stores full. The purpose of the maintenance dose is to replace this loss amount of creatine. During the maintenance phase, reduce the creatine dose to 0.03 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight. This is equivalent to 2.1 grams of creatine per day for a 70 kilogram (154 pound) person; 70 x 0.03=2.1. It is recommended that the maintenance phase not exceed 4-5 weeks. Take the maintenance dose immediately following your workout.
Wash-out
Following the maintenance phase a wash-out period should be incorporated to allow the body to recover from abnormally high creatine concentrations. The commonly recommended duration of the wash-out period is one month. Usually our muscle creatine reserves return to their original levels after one month of stopping supplementation. After washout, the next round of supplementation may commence again.
Concluding Remarks
Remember that these values are for pure creatine monohydrate. If your creatine product contains other additives, such as sugars, this will increase the recommended dose. This should be explained with the manufactures instructions. Nevertheless, the actual amount of creatine you take should not exceed what was outlined above.
How to take your creatine dose.
Divide the loading dose into 4 equal parts; take one part every 4-5 hours. In other words, if your loading dose is 20 grams per day, you would take 5 grams of creatine four times a day during the loading phase. For the best results completely dissolve this amount of creatine powder into at least 16 ounces of fruit juice. Take one part with your morning meal, another at lunch, one immediately after your workout, and one before you go to bed. Again, do not take creatine immediately before you work out. The reason for this will be given in a subsequent newsletter. The loading phase should not exceed 5 days.
NOTE: As far as creatine is concerned, more isn't necessarily better. During the five days of loading, an equivalent of one day's creatine dose (~20 grams) is absorbed by our muscles. This is equal to about 1/5, or 20%, of our pre-existing muscle creatine reserves. After five days, creatine absorption by skeletal muscle declines precipitously. This can be either because the muscle is full or because creatine entry at the muscle surface is being blocked. No matter the reason, it doesn't make sense (economically or physiologically) to continue creatine loading for more than 5 days.
Maintenance
Normally, our creatine stores degrade at a rate of about 2 grams per day. This amount would need to be replaced each day in order to "maintain" the stores full. The purpose of the maintenance dose is to replace this loss amount of creatine. During the maintenance phase, reduce the creatine dose to 0.03 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight. This is equivalent to 2.1 grams of creatine per day for a 70 kilogram (154 pound) person; 70 x 0.03=2.1. It is recommended that the maintenance phase not exceed 4-5 weeks. Take the maintenance dose immediately following your workout.
Wash-out
Following the maintenance phase a wash-out period should be incorporated to allow the body to recover from abnormally high creatine concentrations. The commonly recommended duration of the wash-out period is one month. Usually our muscle creatine reserves return to their original levels after one month of stopping supplementation. After washout, the next round of supplementation may commence again.
Concluding Remarks
Remember that these values are for pure creatine monohydrate. If your creatine product contains other additives, such as sugars, this will increase the recommended dose. This should be explained with the manufactures instructions. Nevertheless, the actual amount of creatine you take should not exceed what was outlined above.
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