Creatine - when to take it?

[adrian72]

Hi guys!
I know this might have been asked before but i did
some searching and couldnt come up with anything.
1) Should I take Creatine before or after my workout?
2) Should I take creatine on my off days?
And a personal question, how do you cycle with creatine? I think that 3 month on 1 month off works good for me, but need to hear your advice.
Sorry for bothering you, but I would really appreciate your answers!
Thanks in advance.
Adrian

[Jaster]

Take it on off days. Take it right after your workout on lifting days.
As for a cycle I go about a year on and a week or two off. never load

[adrian72]

Originally Posted by Jaster

Take it on off days. Take it right after your workout on lifting days.
As for a cycle I go about a year on and a week or two off. never load

Hi Jaster,
Thank you for the reply. That's exactly what I'm doing (apart from a year on a week or two off)! However,
I did some reading on how creatine works which made me think that I'm not taking it
properly. If it provides additional energy to our bodies by converting to Creatine Phoshpate
which is able to react with ADP abd turn it to the energy source (ATP), it seems logical
to me that it should be taken BEFORE the workout.
Regarding my second question (taking creatine on off days), I think that this might be
useful ONLY IF there is some evidence that indicates that creatine can help with muscle recovery.
If this is true, then taking creatine on off days is a good idea, but I'm not aware of such
evidence. Anyway, I'll go on with taking it on my off days, I'll probably go on with taking it
after my workout (that's what my bottle says), but I'm a bit confused. Any explanation appreciated.
Thanks!

[Jaster]

creatine stores in the body this is why they say load to fill up yor stores. If you dont want to load you fill up in about a week. I don't load because I stay on for such a long time. This is also why it's good to take on off days.
You take it after to replace what you use in your workout.
Every thing I have read about it says take after and take on off days.

[adrian72]

Originally Posted by Jaster

creatine stores in the body this is why they say load to fill up yor stores. If you dont want to load you fill up in about a week. I don't load because I stay on for such a long time. This is also why it's good to take on off days.
You take it after to replace what you use in your workout.
Every thing I have read about it says take after and take on off days.

Hi Jaster. I'll go on that way!! Thanks & regards,
Adrian