THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CREATINE DOSING
Creatine, or creatine monohydrate, is one of the most popular supplements used by athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts. Creatine has promising performance enhancements due to its role in muscle energy, muscle protein synthesis, and cellular hydration, making it a staple in supplement regimens. However, with different dosing protocols and opinions on the optimal amount of creatine to take, it can be difficult to know what the best approach is. In this article, we’ll explore the different dosing strategies for creatine to help you determine the best way to use creatine as part of your routine.
CREATINE BASICS
Creatine is a non-protein amino acid found primarily in muscle cells. Creatine can be obtained through our diets, supplementation, or made in the body. Approximately 95% of the body’s creatine is found in skeletal muscle known for helping produce ATP [1]. When you exercise, your body uses ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as its primary energy source during high-intensity, short bursts of physical activity. Activities like circuits, sprints, or weightlifting lean primarily on creatine and glycogen (stored sugar) to fuel muscle contractions. Supplementation of creatine has been shown to improve performance in high-intensity exercise by replenishing creatine stores for readily available ATP. The extra push of energy might allow you to perform more reps and increase your overall training volume. Long term training adaptations can lead to improvements in high-intensity exercise capacity and improved muscle mass and muscle strength from the extra dose of creatine for energy support [2]. These benefits are observed when creatine supplementation is combined with a resistance training program. There are several different forms of creatine available on the market, but the most popular and well-researched form is creatine monohydrate. Creatine monohydrate has been shown to be safe and effective for most people, and it is also relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of creatine.
Read more: Exploring the World of Creatine: Which Form is Best?
CREATINE DOSING STRATEGIES
Beyond what you might hear on social media about creatine loading, cycling, or a maintenance phase, these different dosing strategies will depend on your individual needs and goals. Here are some dosing strategies for creatine based on what the scientific evidence supports:
LOADING PHASE
Creatine loading typically involves taking 20 grams of creatine, divided into 4-5 equal doses, for 5-7 days to rapidly increase your muscle creatine stores [1]. The loading phase reduces the amount of time it takes for the muscle cells to be fully saturated with creatine. From our diets or the liver making creatine on its own, we only get approximately 60-80% saturation. Which means supplementing is a great tool to max out our cellular capacity of creatine. The International Society of Sports Medicine supports creatine loading because it is more efficient than taking a daily 5 gram dose of creatine to fully saturate the muscle cells. Without a loading phase it would take approximately 28 days to fully saturate muscle cells, so loading helps expedite the process [1]. After a loading phase, help maintain your muscle creatine with a maintenance dose. If you’re a novice to creatine, incorporating a loading phase can help you saturate the cells with creatine quicker but if you’re a creatine veteran, taking a maintenance dose will suffice.
CREATINE MAINTENANCE DOSE
If you’re curious about creatine dosing and wondering how much creatine I should take, here are some guidelines. A daily maintenance phase of 3-10 grams per day helps retain muscle creatine stores. Around 1-2% of creatine is lost in our urine daily from natural metabolism. Scientists believe approximately 1-3g of creatine are needed to replace these normal loses of creatine for maintenance [1]. Remember this is just to replace the saturation levels at 60-80% which is why the maintenance dose is higher than 1-3 grams daily. It is unknown if athletes participating in high-intensity exercise lose more creatine. Other factors, such a vegetarians or individuals in larger body sizes might need additional creatine to maintain optimal levels within the muscle cells. While there are no specific recommendations to determine creatine dosing based on weight, it is an area of researchers continue to explore. A creatine dosing regimen for maintenance is typically 3-5 grams per day, creatine research improving performance outcomes range from 3-10 grams per day [3].
CREATINE CYCLING
A creatine dosing cycle is another dosing strategy for creatine that involves taking creatine for a certain period of time (usually 6-8 weeks) and then taking a break for a few weeks before starting again. However, based on the available research to date, creatine cycling has not been clinically studied. Most creatine research involves a one-time exposure, a loading phase followed by a maintenance phase, or a maintenance phase over a longer time, such as a year. Further, none of the scientific communities, such as The International Society for Sports Medicine speak about creatine cycling. While cycling might be preferred for some people, it is not necessary for most individuals. Studies have shown taking creatine daily is safe and effective [1].
TIMING OF CREATINE DOSING
When to take creatine is truly up to the user. A creatine dose prior to your workout can help to top off muscle creatine stores to provide energy fuel for activity. Or following a training session to replace creatine stores and stimulate pathways to help enhance muscle protein synthesis. There are pre-workouts and post workout recovery products that include creatine as part of their formulas. The dose in product depends on the source – creatine monohydrate dosing is usually a higher amount, while micro creatine dosing is often used when the formula contains creatine HCl. What’s most important is that you are taking creatine consistently on a daily basis – even no workout days!
COMBINING CREATINE WITH CARBOHYDRATES
There is some evidence showing when creatine is consumed with carbohydrates it helps improve creatine retention [4, 5]. In clinically studies people who consumed creatine with a dextrose solution (basically sugar water) retained more creatine compared to creatine consumed alone. This suggests combining creatine with carbohydrates improves retention. It should be noted, the studies only investigated creatine retention, not performance outcomes. Further, it is unknown if the dextrose solution would translate into the same retention benefit if creatine was combined with a carbohydrate-rich food.
FIND YOUR CREATINE ROUTINE
In conclusion, dosing creatine comes down to your personal needs, creatine baseline, and goals. While there is some evidence to support combining creatine with carbohydrates, it’s limited. Stick to a loading or maintenance phase depending on your baseline. If you’re new to creatine supplementation start a loading phase to expedite maxing out your creatine stores. If you’ve been around the creatine block, stick to your maintenance dose to replace and maintain your creatine stores. GNC provides the best creatine products to fuel your goals.
References
- Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, Ziegenfuss TN, Wildman R, Collins R, Candow DG, Kleiner SM, Almada AL, Lopez HL. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 Jun 13;14:18. doi: 10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z. PMID: 28615996; PMCID: PMC5469049.
- Wax B, Kerksick CM, Jagim AR, Mayo JJ, Lyons BC, Kreider RB. Creatine for Exercise and Sports Performance, with Recovery Considerations for Healthy Populations. Nutrients. 2021 Jun 2;13(6):1915. doi: 10.3390/nu13061915. PMID: 34199588; PMCID: PMC8228369.
- Harris RC, Soderlund K, Hultman E. Elevation of creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by creatine supplementation. Clin Sci (Lond) 1992;83(3):367–374. doi: 10.1042/cs0830367.
- Green AL, et al. Carbohydrate ingestion augments skeletal muscle creatine accumulation during creatine supplementation in humans. Am J Physiol. 1996;271(5 Pt 1):E821–E826.
- Steenge GR, Simpson EJ, Greenhaff PL. Protein- and carbohydrate-induced augmentation of whole body creatine retention in humans. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2000;89(3):1165–1171
