What's the best way to
supplement with creatine? And how much creatine should you take?
Most manufacturers recommend you start your creatine supplementation with a 5-day loading phase, designed to saturate the muscles with creatine as quickly as possible. This is followed by a long period of maintenance dosing.
From my own experience, I'd say loading isn't necessary to obtain great results -- especially if you plan on taking the product for 6 weeks or so.
I usually go straight onto a maintenance plan.
Nonetheless, there are some strong believers in creatine loading, so feel free to do so if you can afford it.
According to Dr. A. Franco-Obregón's "Creatine: A Practical Guide," the criteria for loading is as follows...
Loading dose: 0.3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight (to convert pounds (lbs) to kilograms (kg), divide by 2.2. For example, suppose you weigh 200 lbs...
200/2.2 = 90.9 kg
90.9 X 0.3 = 27.27
Loading dose is 27 grams (divided into 5-6 equal doses) daily for 5 days.
Maintenance dose: .03 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Using the same 200 lbs. individual as an example...
200/2.2 - 90.9
90.9 X 0.03 = 2.72
Maintenance dose is just under 3 grams daily.
Click here for Part VI of the creatine article,
"What Creatine Product Is Right For Me?"
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