Caffeine and creatine

[bor]

When I take 200 mcg of caffeine (2 pills) how long b4 and after must I NOT use creatine? Is 2 hours b4 and after OK?

[nsa]

Creatine doesn't hinder caffeine's effects. So it won't matter. Caffeine hinders creatines effects though. So if your trying to find out the reverse of what you asked it would depend on your personal half-life of caffeine, factors such as your tolerance and if your a smoker or not will effect this value.

[nsa]

BTW, the typical half-life for caffeine is 3-4 hours. And im guessing you mean 200 mg's of caffeine not 200 mcg's.

[bor]

Yep I meant mg's not mcg's, I did T3 recently so I guess it stuck with me...

And yes, I meant the opposite of what I asked...

So if the typical halflife for caff is 3-4 hours any creatine that I use 4 hours b4 and after will be uselless?

[nsa]

Not useless, but it will be less effective.

[nsa]

Not useless, but it will be less effective. Think about it, creatine in general is known for two things; increased pumps in the gym and retaining water. Caffeine slightly constricts blood vessels and is a mild diuretic.

[bor]

D@mn it

Now I don't know what to do, if I drop the caff I'll def lose some intensity in my training, but creat is important to me for muscle preservation

Thanks nsa

[bor]

NSA how about this?

I take the caff at 18:00, train at 19:00, have my PWO around 20:15, and then have the creat an hour after that, so over 3 hours would pass between the cafff and the creat, aould that work?

[nsa]

Might work. There are ways to decrease the half-life of caffeine, mainly not smoking and drinking lots of water.

Have you tried just carbing up before you workout and drink gatorade instead of water when you workout? That works great for me.

I would take the caffeine at 17:00 workout at 19:00 and have PWO shake at 20:15. The caffeine should still be on your system around then. Try that and see if that works.

[bor]

I would take the caffeine at 17:00 workout at 19:00 and have PWO shake at 20:15. The caffeine should still be on your system around then. Try that and see if that works.

So you'd put the creatine in the PWO in that case?

[nsa]

Actually no, i messed up i thought you had creatine w/ your pwo shake. Do it the way you had it just take the caffeine an hour earlier.