What is creatine and the best way to use it?
If you’ve been looking for ways to quickly increase your muscle mass, there’s nothing better than creatine. It is THE most effective supplement on the market, period.
While creatine is available in various forms, such as tablets, gelcaps, and mixes, creatine monohydrate garners the best results, primarily due to its high absorption rate.
What is creatine?
Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid produced in the liver that helps supply energy to cells throughout the body, especially muscle cells. It is made up of three amino acids: L-arginine, glycine and L-methionine. Because of creatine’s ability to deliver energy where it’s needed, it’s used primarily by athletes to increase their ability to produce energy quickly, improving athletic performance and enabling them to train harder.
A common question from users is how is creatine best used? Important factors to consider are quantity, duration, and consumption.
The human body is not far from a machine. Regular and routine consumption of ANY product can make your body immune to it, thus diminishing its effect over time. As such, contrary to some opinions, Creatine Monohydrate must be cycled. It must be taken in phases during a fixed schedule, then stopped for a while before resuming consumption.
How to take Creatine?
There are many theories about the optimal ways to consume creatine. While some argue that there is no such thing as a perfect way, most users prefer to mix it with some simple carbohydrates. Creatine can be mixed into your protein shake, but I recommend taking it with high glycemic carbs as the insulin spike provided by simple carbs helps absorb creatine much faster. Some of these carbohydrates are Glucon D, grape juice, Gatorade.
The following are the phases of a cycle: Charge, Hold, Pause.
Charging:
The bulking cycle is where you consume a large amount of creatine to increase your performance. In the loading phase, the ideal consumption is 3 to 5 5g portions, spread evenly throughout the day. This must be carried out for 1 week.
Maintenance:
After the loading phase, you should maintain an intake of 5g per day for a period of 4 weeks, thus maintaining the gains from the loading phase.
Pause:
After your maintenance phase, take a break from creatine. You don’t want your body to become immune, so take a month off and then consider restarting the cycle.
For those who experience indigestion or heartburn during the bulking phase, a 6 week cycle of 5g per day is recommended. You may not get the initial gains, however you will see great results over time.
Good luck and get out!