Why Supplement With Creatine?
Creatine works to increase muscular storage of a form of energy called creatine phosphate (CP). CP has an important role in the production of energy for short-duration and high-intensity exercise. Without getting too scientific, by supplementing with creatine, muscular stores of CP are increased, helping to feed the ATP-PC energy system, which is the main energy system that we use in the gym when training with near maximal weight and power-type exercises.
Additionally, when CP is depleted within the muscle, muscular fatigue is increased. Increasing creatine stores within the body have been proven to help increase CP levels so that a greater work output can be achieved during anaerobic activity, in addition to helping reduce the amount that our body’s own natural stores are depleted.
Creatine supplementation benefits:
✓ Greater than normal levels of creatine stored in the muscle – this means more energy for high-intensity exercise and less depletion.
✓ Creatine levels being regenerated quicker, meaning greater recovery, and enhanced storage of creatine for the next time your body wants to use its own stores.
As we’ve briefly touched upon, increasing the creatine content within the muscles helps prolong the depletion of phosphocreatine. This in short means an increase in muscular endurance, as well as an increase in strength and power.
Before Exercise
Some prefer taking creatine prior to working out. Before training, it makes sense to load your muscle cells with this brilliant supplement to reap the full benefits early on. Essentially, more creatine means more ATP, the prime source of cellular energy.
Having more ATP equals more power accessible to the muscles. What that means is there’s more power to activate the muscle fibres, so more weight lifting power.
After Exercise
But don’t forget about the crucial post-exercise recovery opportunity. After working out, your muscles have endured a fierce session of being torn up, beaten and hammered wildly. Taking creatine supplements post-workout is the perfect time to thrust some good stuff into your muscles to boost the growth & recovery process.
Throw creatine in there as well as carbohydrates and protein, and your starving muscle cells will pretty much absorb the potent supplement and soak up all its goodness. To find out more about why creatine is so popular and the difference between this popular supplement and protein powder, visit our blog post Creatine vs Protein.
So, make sure you load in another dose of creatine. It’ll prepare you for your next weight lifting or gym session. Remember the old saying? “After exercise, you should eat for your next training session, not the one you’ve just finished”.
Whenever
Those who take creatine at any time believe both the aforementioned methods of taking it are pretty much supplementation superstition. Why stress about the timing? Because creatine is good for you, you should see the benefits while you’re supplementing with it.
So, when is the best time to take creatine then?
When to Take Creatine Monohydrate?
We recommend taking creatine half an hour before training and another immediately after, so you get 5 grams in total. For example, you could take the whole dose before you exercise, or afterwards. Or, split the dose, taking half of it before you exercise and the other half afterwards.
You can also take it on rest days by taking one serving in the morning and another in the evening. Recommended amounts vary depending on your body weight but generally, we advise having 5g directly before or after a workout.
How and When to Take Creatine?
Dosing creatine correctly appears to be between 3-5 grams per day. You can “load” for the first 5-7 days to help saturate your cells. But beyond that, there’s no advantage to taking hefty amounts.
Once you’ve completed the loading phase, you then progress to maintenance. Whilst some maintain on 5 grams per day, others need just 2-3 grams per day.