creatine monohydrate dosage ?

[EddieILift409]

How many grames per day i heard 10 a day pre and post work ?

 

[LeanEngineer]

20g creatine is the max I would take. I usually do about 5-10g a day, daily.

 

[Afi140]

How many grames per day i heard 10 a day pre and post work ?

there is debate about "loading" and how long it takes to reach saturation but recent studies and coop suggest 5 grams a day for a month to reach saturation. Overloading can mess you up for months. Once it is reached though you only need 3-5 grams ~ 4x a week to maintain saturation. See below for info from another forum with coop and nohype.

STUDY ABSTRACT http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14971966 The purpose of this case study was to examine the effects of repeated creatine administration on muscle phosphocreatine, plasma creatine, and urine creatine. One male subject (age, 32 years; body mass, 78.4 kg; height, 160 cm; resistance training experience, 15 years) ingested creatine (20 g.d(-1) for 5 days) during 2 bouts separated by a 30-day washout period. Muscle phosphocreatine was measured before and after supplementation. On day 1 of supplementation, blood samples were taken immediately before and hourly for 5 hours following ingestion of 5 g of creatine, and a pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma creatine was conducted. Twenty-four-hour urine collections were conducted before and for 5 days during supplementation. Muscle phosphocreatine increased 45% following the first supplementation bout, decreased 22% during the 30-day washout period, and increased 25% following the second bout. There were no meaningful differences in plasma creatine pharmacokinetic parameters between bouts 1 and 2. Total urine creatine losses during supplementation were 63.2 and 63.4 g during bouts 1 and 2, respectively. The major findings were that (a) a 30-day washout period is insufficient time for muscle phosphocreatine to return to baseline following creatine supplementation but is sufficient time for plasma and urine creatine levels to return to presupplementation values; (b) postsupplementation muscle phosphocreatine levels were similar following bouts 1 and 2 despite 23% higher presupplementation muscle phosphocreatine before bout 2; and (c) the increased muscle phosphocreatine that persisted throughout the 30-day washout period corresponded with maintenance of increased body mass (+2.0 kg). Athletes should be aware that the washout period for muscle creatine to return to baseline levels may be longer than 30 days in some individuals, and this may be accompanied by a persistent increase in body mass.

 

[Afi140]

Coops view on loading Actually there is research backing up what I do (25g a day for 3 days/ off 3 days)...a scientific study was done with a two week loading phase then eight weeks of a 3-5g maintenance dose... after eight weeks, creatine levels were lower than before the men started the trial. Achieving a high concentration of creatine within muscle is essential to triggering a powerful anabolic effect at the cellular level. However, it is clear that the traditional dosage pattern fails to maintain high muscle creatine concentrations over a longer period of time.

1. Volek et al. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 31: 1147-1156, 1999.
2. Cribb et al. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 35: S400, A2239, 2003
3. Cribb et al. Presented at The Australian Association of Exercise and Sports Science Conference, April, 2004

Excessive loading (the traditional way) may cause creatine saturation outside the cell that prevents effective muscle uptake for weeks or even months!
[4] 4. Guerrero-Ontivers, M.L. and Wallimann, T. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. 184: 427-437, 1998.

A small maintenance dose is futile at maintaining high muscle creatine concentrations. Using a small dose after loading ensures that high muscle creatine concentrations disappear within 6 weeks!
[5] 5. Van Loon et al. Clinical Science 104:153?162. 2003

 

[koi1214]

3 grams taken any time of the day is best dosing protocol.

 

[aaronuconn]

5g a day for a month then 3g 3-4 days a week.