How to load Creatine?

**speedsta** · 08-30-2002, 11:14 AM

I just bought some creatine, however there is no loading instructions on it and have never taken creatine before. I bought the powder.

How much do i use, and how often (including before workouts etc.

Also, how often do I mix the dextrose in it and how much do it put?

Thanks.

**DevilsDeity** · 08-30-2002, 11:25 AM

10g a day

5 in the morning and 5 after a workout

**Vegas Kid** · 08-30-2002, 12:32 PM

I personally don't believe in pre-loading. I think you're going to end up pissing most of it out so like DD said, 10g a day. Make sure you mix it with non-acidic juice (no OJ, but grape juice OK). You could just drink it with water, it really has no taste.

**speedsta** · 09-02-2002, 11:07 AM

If i drink it with grape juice, do i still need dextrose?

Also how much is 10g in comparison to a table or teaspoon?
Thanks

**kreper69** · 09-02-2002, 11:13 AM

i just drink it with water bro. don't load up on it take 10g a day.
i take 5g before i workout,and 5g after workout. i don't know what you have ,but the directions should tell you how much is equal to 5g bro
mine is 1 tablespoon=5g

**The French Curler** · 09-03-2002, 11:43 AM

Don't load creatine bro, it's pointless, just a way for companies to make more money.

**speedsta** · 09-03-2002, 10:01 PM

What do u mean dont load creatine?
Dont take it?

**kreper69** · 09-04-2002, 07:58 PM

yes, take the creatine don't go through the loading phase

Originally posted by speedsta
What do u mean dont load creatine?
Dont take it?

**dudsy** · 09-05-2002, 06:18 AM

drink 5g before then 5g after your main workout for the day, i've found the best way to drink it is with lucozade because it is sweetened with glucose and is carbonated so the creatine dissolves instantly, use half a 300ml bottle per serve and your getting around 25g of pure glucose.(and tastes good too!)

**Little Jonah** · 09-05-2002, 11:23 PM

IMO loading creatine is just a ploy from companies to make you comsume more
10 mg per day 5 before and 5 after pumping da iron!!!

**speedsta** · 09-05-2002, 11:50 PM

ok thanks..
How long before working out?
1hr, 30mins, etc..??

Thanks

**dudsy** · 09-06-2002, 02:10 AM

bout 30 mins b4 then asap after workout

**speedsta** · 09-06-2002, 05:25 AM

Do u think i should take ne creatine on my days off or only on workout days?

**Vegas Kid** · 09-06-2002, 09:39 AM

You can take it on both, maybe cut the dose in 1/2 on non-workout days.

**Jimmy_Bravo** · 09-06-2002, 09:15 PM

Okay, Always mix 5 grams of creatine with 2 heaping teaspoons of dextrose. I also like to add a non acidic juice powder for taste. This all goes together in water. Take one dose 45-30 mins before workout. One dose during workout, and one dose right after workout. Total 15 grams a day. Take this on your days off too. I usually add it all together in one big drink at about the time I would normally workout.

**speedsta** · 09-08-2002, 03:34 AM

I think 15gs is too much isnt it?

**babi** · 09-08-2002, 09:59 AM

keep in mind man more its not better with creatine.you can only gain10-15lbs no matter if you take 10or 100 grams a day.its not a hormone where you can make continius gains even in latter stages.

**speedsta** · 09-09-2002, 02:16 AM

Yeh so i think im gonna take 5gs before and 5gs after weights.

But not quite sure about days off?
And Should I save the creatine untill I do a cycle of Winny, or do It know?

**babi** · 09-09-2002, 03:47 PM

days off take only 5gr in the morning.imo you dont need to take creatine when on steroids

**demetri** · 09-09-2002, 04:11 PM

First I agree with everyone else on the loading phase. It's just a waste of money and a ploy by the supplement companies to get you to use more.

How big are you speedsta? I don't see how taking 10g of creatine will benefit you unless your about 200 pounds of lean mass. I'm a little squirt and I found that I did well on 5g. From what I understand taking too much creatine can lead to dehydration, which is counter productive to taking creatine in the first place.

IMO it's always better to take a little bit less than a little bit more.

**speedsta** · 09-09-2002, 10:04 PM

im around 193lbs. 174cm.
I think i might take 10g, or 5..lol.. not sure..

And is it better to take it with Grape juice or Grapefruit juice?

**demetri** · 09-10-2002, 04:29 AM

The Colgan report recommended that you go half grape and half grape fruit so that's what I did.

Last time I had some creatine I just used diet soda and I think my results were about the same. I was on a keto diet and was staying far away from carbs and sugar.

**speedsta** · 09-10-2002, 07:28 AM

ok now im really confused.. ive been hearing way too many things!!

I think just Grape Juice. 5g before 5g after and on days off 5g in morning..

Thats ok?

**babi** · 09-10-2002, 02:53 PM

consider taking it with a glass of powerade cuz the powerade has a lot of carbs

**FromFleshtoSteel** · 09-12-2002, 03:32 PM

i was reading that you shouldn't take it with juice...it converts to some unusable form in your stomach. anybody else read this??? I take it with gatorade or something like that, shoot for around 50 grams simple sugar in it. 5 in morning, 5 after workout. Don't do loading phase, but take it everyday, whether working out that day or not. It needs to build up in your muscles and saturate them. That's what they're trying to do when you load...saturate your muscles. But I think you end up wasting it because your body can't handle that much at once, especially if you don't space it out evenly over the day. That's just my opinion though, not sure of the hard facts on that one.

**SonGoku** · 10-15-2002, 07:40 AM

1 year ago or so I heard a lecture by a dutch PhD who had done some research on creatine, I don't remember his name. According to him his studies showed some remarkable results. Here are some of the points I remeber:
- preloading didnt' make any difference
- 2 g a day was enough, going higher wouldn't make any difference
- taking creatine more than 6 weeks in a row was a waste and that you should do 3-4 months off before starting again
- only some 60-70% would profit from using creatine as some people's natural level was so high that they wouldn't benefit from adding extra creatine through supplements

I never heard these statements about creatine before. But he sounded fair enough.

It's been some time since I've done creatine, I didn't preload and used some 5-10g ed with OK results.

**Rayden** · 10-16-2002, 09:34 AM

I would recommend taking creatine in a liquid form. The powder form causes too much stress in your liver and you end up pissing more than half of it out anyway. With the liquid form, it by passes the liver and goes directly into the bloodstream and tehre is no loading phase at all.
And your dose is 5ml a day. Oh yeah, and it tastes a lot better ! ! (lol)

**SonGoku** · 10-17-2002, 01:27 AM

Originally posted by Rayden
I would recommend taking creatine in a liquid form. The powder form causes too much stress in your liver and you end up pissing more than half of it out anyway. With the liquid form, it by passes the liver and goes directly into the bloodstream and tehre is no loading phase at all.
And your dose is 5ml a day. Oh yeah, and it tastes a lot better ! ! (lol)

Ohh yes by the way, the dutch PhD I talked about in my former reply also mentioned that creatine could not stay in a liquid for more than 30 minutes or so, after that it would totally loose it's "functionality", so to say. He said that creatine sold i liquid form has nopurpose at all.

Again I stress that I have no personal experience with this.

**Rayden** · 10-17-2002, 08:02 AM

Thanks SonGoku..............I am gonna check out the Liquid Creatine Theory..

**SonGoku** · 10-18-2002, 02:13 AM

Hey Rayden, if you find some info on this subject please let us know!!

**jimmibo** · 10-20-2002, 05:16 PM

BUMP

Anyone know any more? Thanks :-)

**thughater** · 10-21-2002, 12:46 PM

5g before has worked well for me,

creatine is found naturally in alot of foods like fish,

but the reason you take creatine MONOhydrate is because it is already broken down and your body can accept it quicky, like a simple sugar vs a complex carb,

that is why you should take it right before your workout

do not load, your body can only accept around 5g a day so there is no reason to take 30g of it a day

**BullDogg20** · 10-21-2002, 09:06 PM

I found this article on a websight and i found it very interesting and might help you out alot!!!!!!

This German study suggests that low doses of creatine can help endurance athletes when they need to surge or kick for the line
Creatine, as most PP readers will know, is manufactured routinely by the liver and kidneys and may be found in significant quantities in muscle, nerve and sperm cells. Within the muscles, it is used in the form of creatine phosphate, a high octane chemical which assists in supplying the energy indirectly needed to perform muscle contractions. This process of muscles being powered is performed by adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is created inside muscle cells from carbohydrates,fats and proteins in the presence of oxygen, being broken down to adenosine diphosphate(ADP) during exercise. However, since ATP is generated slowly, creatine phosphate acts as a reserve source of immediately available energy by giving its phosphate to ADP creating ATP quickly in order to make the muscles work.

Numerous studies, many of them reported in PP, show that oral creatine monohydrate supplementation can produce performance-enhancing effects during anaerobic bouts of repeated exercise. This, of course, is good news for sprinters and weight lifters,but what about endurance athletes, who surge during a race to break the field or kick for the line at the end - can creatine supplementation help them? Recently, Dr Martin Engelhardt from the Orthopoadische Universitatsklinik in Frankfurt formulated a cycle ergometer experiment comparing endurance/ power endurance exercise in athletes without creatine supplementation against those with low-dose supplementation.

Twelve regional class triathletes aged between 22 and 27 were selected to take part in the test. Each athlete underwent a preliminary incremental cycle ergometer testto determine their 3 mmol.L-1 blood lactate intensity. Once established, this intensitywas used as the aerobic exercise intensity for the experiment.

The testing began with each athlete performing their aerobic exercise on the cyclefor 30 minutes, followed by two bouts of high-intensity interval training, which involved cycling hard for 15 secs and then 45 secs at their aerobic exercise intensity,10 times before two minutes rest and systematically repeating the interval session.After this, the subjects were 'rewarded' with another 30 minutes of cycling at their specific aerobic exercise intensity (a total of one hour and 20 minutes cycling!).The test results were then kept from the athletes, and the following day they were administered 6 grams of creatine daily (to be taken in two 3g doses) for a period of five days before returning to repeat the test. You've probably noticed that the creatine loading dose only amounted to 30g over the five days, whereas in many other studies of creatine supplementation the normal dose is 100g (four doses of 5g dailyfor five days).

Blood samples were taken throughout the testing to monitor creatine, creatinine (the degradation product of creatine), glucose and lactate levels, whereas urine samples(for measurement of creatine and creatinine urine levels) heart rate and oxygen uptakewere measured both before and after the aerobic exercises.

And the results? As you would expect, after creatine supplementation analysis ofthe blood and urine samples showed significant increases in the serum creatine concentration in the blood and serum creatinine levels in the urine. Fifty per cent of the athletes in the first test couldn't complete the entire second 30 min bout of endurance exercise,whereas after taking creatine each of the athletes who had struggled in the firsttest managed to increase their ride time by four minutes, although this increase didn't reach any statistical significance. However, after creatine supplementation,the researchers report that the total number of interval reps increased significantly and that 75 per cent of the athletes improved their performance (nobody did the reverse).Lactate concentrations showed no changes in the endurance test and interval training following supplementation. Blood glucose levels, however, decreased significantly between baseline levels and minutes 25-50 before creatine but did not decrease significantly during the same periods after supplementation.

After analysing the results, the researchers concluded that, at lower doses, ie, 6g daily for five days, creatine supplementation appears to have an effective impact on endurance athletes if they are required to sprint during an aerobic bout (as may happen when, for instance, you find yourself up against a couple of Kenyans during a 10K race). This conclusion is supported by the 18 per cent increase in interval performance after supplementation that was found in the study.
The problem is that the test wasn't performed as a double-blind trial, so both the athletes and the testers knew exactly when each athlete was taking creatine. Thus, sceptics could argue that it was the psychological or placebo effect that enabled the athletes to perform much better during the second test because they believedthe creatine was going to help them. That objection apart, it is interesting that such a comparatively low dose of creatine compared to normal practice seems to have had such a significant effect. One possible explanation is that an individual's creatine 'pool' is positively related to lean body mass; the more muscle, the larger the natural creatine stores. Thus an athlete with a slight frame would need less creatine supplementation than a bulkier athlete.

(Engelhardt, M. at al (1998). 'Creatine supplementation in endurance sports' Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, 30 (7): pp 1123-1129)
Jamie Mcloughlin

**jleighty17** · 10-21-2002, 09:26 PM

i dont see the big deal between taking 5g or 10 g the stuff is so inexpensive who cares if u pee some of it out i would rather have some extra then not enough.
JLI