What is the proper protocol to take Creatine?
Question: What is the proper protocol to take Creatine Monohydrate?
For creatine, take 3-5g/day with your post-workout shake, hopefully within 30-60min (or with any meal on your non-training days) for 8-weeks and then take a break for 2-weeks. You will ideally take it 60+min away from caffeine as caffeine is a diuretic, causing you to lose water when you urinate (whereas creatine allows for water retention).
The reasoning for taking a break is
not because of any safety concern. Creatine is super safe to take long-term. In fact, research shows that it's not even necessary to "cycle" your creatine usage (e.g. 8 weeks on, 2-weeks off).
That said, anecdotal evidence suggests that
it can be beneficial to take a break from creatine while you're on your de-load/recovery weeks, as when you reintroduce the creatine you'll see a bump in intramuscular water retention (and progress).
For more in-depth research on creatine, it's usage, and scientific backing, visit this link here:
-Dr. Anthony Balduzzi
Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Mother Project