creatine monohydrate procedures

[FitModel]

I haven't take monohydrate in probably 3 years, so I forget what exactly is the best way to take this creatine...I used Green Mag, Size on, Green Buldge and other expensive CEE's and non of them did anything, so i'm gonna try the monohyrdate before I give up all hope of creatines...

i'm going with Met Rx just regular mohohydrate...

now I read that loading for 3 days is sufficient and anything more then 3 days is overkill...
so i'm planning on doing 3 days at 25g a day...proceeded by 5 g a day for at least 4 weeks before I re-evaluate the situation...

I plan on taking it with Gatorade, or any other sports drink with sugar in it (is that corrent?) also, is there anything I can eat to help the effects and absorption better (ie apple post workout)



is it better to take pre or post workout?
what is the best drink to take it in (gatorade, grape juice...etc...)

 

[SwolE Mammoth]

I haven't take monohydrate in probably 3 years, so I forget what exactly is the best way to take this creatine...I used Green Mag, Size on, Green Buldge and other expensive CEE's and non of them did anything, so i'm gonna try the monohyrdate before I give up all hope of creatines...

i'm going with Met Rx just regular mohohydrate...

now I read that loading for 3 days is sufficient and anything more then 3 days is overkill...
so i'm planning on doing 3 days at 25g a day...proceeded by 5 g a day for at least 4 weeks before I re-evaluate the situation...

I plan on taking it with Gatorade, or any other sports drink with sugar in it (is that corrent?) also, is there anything I can eat to help the effects and absorption better (ie apple post workout)



is it better to take pre or post workout?
what is the best drink to take it in (gatorade, grape juice...etc...)

Forgot loading. that is crap. 5g before workout and 5g after workout. or you can just take 5-10g pwo. forget the gatorade. they use fructose....garbage. you are correct on the sugar part though. it is very helpful in absorbtion. I just take it with non fat milk pwo. it has 12g of sugar 9g protein and 12g of carbs

 

[EctoPower]

I don't believe 10g of mono per day is enough and it will not keep your creatine stores up long term. Neither will a 5g per day maintenence regimen. Eventually your creatine stores deplete. This is why many people report that creatine worked at first but the effects diminished later on. Recommend cycling 3 days on, 3 days off at 20-25g per day. I do 5g pre workout and 5g post workout. Then 2 more 5g servings later, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. It's worked well for me and I never feel like the creatine is failing to work.

Gatorade is fine (not just fructose, there is dextrose too), but not really optimum. Dextrose is the superior sugar and you can get it as a seperate item (DGC by AST is my fave). Use it in the pre and post workout creatine, but not later on in the day. You only need the sugar around your workout. Later in the day it's more likely to turn into fat.

Give it a try. I tried the maintenence dose approach and CEE in the past. Nothing has worked for me like this method of cycling mono. Good luck.

 

[ReaperX]

I use 10g per day and it seems to work. I also limit it to 10g because I will start getting progressively worse crampings as I keep upping the dose. I hate to disagree with both individuals but if you do use dexatrose take it like 15min after your creatine.

I never believed in the creatine loading way back in the day and I personally don't believe the insulin spike that is expierenced is substantially long enough to force the creatine in esp if they are taken at the same time. Using dexatrose may prove helpful when taken awhile after the creatine. Using alpha lipoic acid is beneficial as well.

 

[EctoPower]

I use 10g per day and it seems to work. I also limit it to 10g because I will start getting progressively worse crampings as I keep upping the dose. I hate to disagree with both individuals but if you do use dexatrose take it like 15min after your creatine.

I never believed in the creatine loading way back in the day and I personally don't believe the insulin spike that is expierenced is substantially long enough to force the creatine in esp if they are taken at the same time. Using dexatrose may prove helpful when taken awhile after the creatine. Using alpha lipoic acid is beneficial as well.

Hey Reaper, what's shakin man? You don't feel after a few weeks that the creatine effects are wearing off?

I've just read some about some studies that show creatine levels dropping off and a need for a significant amount to keep levels in an effective range. I had that problem in college with creatine mono. After a couple months I didn't feel like creatine was helping anymore. Basically, a lot of my lifts plataued, despite changing routine and everything. I actually gave up on creatine altogether after that, until a few years ago.

And why do you think it's beneficial to wait 15min for dextrose? What's happening in those 15min that makes it work better? I think whey and creatine are both absorbed pretty quickly, so it doesn't seem like you would need a long insulin spike anyway. Just curious about where you came up with that part.

 

[ReaperX]

Hey Reaper, what's shakin man? You don't feel after a few weeks that the creatine effects are wearing off?

I've just read some about some studies that show creatine levels dropping off and a need for a significant amount to keep levels in an effective range. I had that problem in college with creatine mono. After a couple months I didn't feel like creatine was helping anymore. Basically, a lot of my lifts plataued, despite changing routine and everything. I actually gave up on creatine altogether after that, until a few years ago.

And why do you think it's beneficial to wait 15min for dextrose? What's happening in those 15min that makes it work better? I think whey and creatine are both absorbed pretty quickly, so it doesn't seem like you would need a long insulin spike anyway. Just curious about where you came up with that part.

What's up Ecto ? I do feel creatine diminish after awhile I should have mentioned it in my earlier post. What I usually do is take 4 week intervals, then take off 2 weeks to let the water drain out of my body (this usually takes about 4 days) and let me body re-adjust. After about 2 weeks I'll get on it again at about 10g each day all at once. If I could I'd do 5g pre-workout and 5g after, but with my schedule I can only get around to taking it once so I do it all at the same time...which sucks. In fact my creatine isn't doing sh-t anymore so I'll probably stop today taking it for a couple weeks.

I don't have any scientific literature specifically that shows that the insulin spike does not last as long, but it was my understanding that dexatrose is absorbed faster than creatine. At that rate it sorta 'jumps the gun' with the insulin before the creatine gets a chance to piggyback it. The dexatrose induced insulin spike is long gone by the time creatine is ready. All this that I am saying is based on my own hypothesis and I like to use a combo of ALA and dexatrose to fully force the creatine so that's how I've done things. There also too is this article I came across awhile after I was doing this by Big Cat at bb.com who made a write up on it so that just further led me to believe it.

At any rate I believe the best time to use creatine is 2-1.5 or more hrs prior to workout, and use it post workout as well. Personally myself, I take my creatine post workout BEFORE my protein, but thats just me.

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[SwolE Mammoth]

Hey Reaper, what's shakin man? You don't feel after a few weeks that the creatine effects are wearing off?

I've just read some about some studies that show creatine levels dropping off and a need for a significant amount to keep levels in an effective range. I had that problem in college with creatine mono. After a couple months I didn't feel like creatine was helping anymore. Basically, a lot of my lifts plataued, despite changing routine and everything. I actually gave up on creatine altogether after that, until a few years ago.

And why do you think it's beneficial to wait 15min for dextrose? What's happening in those 15min that makes it work better? I think whey and creatine are both absorbed pretty quickly, so it doesn't seem like you would need a long insulin spike anyway. Just curious about where you came up with that part.

you know, after thinking about, I guess I did see the effects drop off. lol. that is probably why I stopped taking it after about 3 weeks. also, gatorade no longer has dextrose in it...at least according to the label I'm reading. I have the orange 16oz in my hand right now. I do not see any dextrose in the ingredients, but I do see fructose. ummmm weird. thanks for the info. on your suggested use.

 

[EctoPower]

you know, after thinking about, I guess I did see the effects drop off. lol. that is probably why I stopped taking it after about 3 weeks. also, gatorade no longer has dextrose in it...at least according to the label I'm reading. I have the orange 16oz in my hand right now. I do not see any dextrose in the ingredients, but I do see fructose. ummmm weird. thanks for the info. on your suggested use.

Gatorade liquid, or powdered mix? I used to use the mix and that had dextrose. But maybe they changed it.

You're welcome. I hope you try the cycling method. It was a revelation for me. "Wait, it's cheap and the effects never diminish? Holy cr*p!!!!"

 

[ReaperX]

Its difficult to pinpoint an exact amount imo, because there are many different factors such as, what is the actual human utlization rate of creatine, how much creatine is expelled during vigorious training, how much can the body actually hold per bodyweight ? I have a tendency just to overkill it, since any extra will just get pissed out anyway. I'd rather have a little too much than not enough.

 

[Thunderbay]

Hey I was thinking about goin onto monhydrate to, im currently on Size on, noticing wicked results. I just dont like to drop 80 bucks on a creatine. The main question I was wondering here is I was going to take dextrose with mine. Just wondering how much dextrose should I take.

My plan for taking monohydrate was mixing all the powder, with the amount of dextrose I needed, plus some koolaid of course for a good taste. Do I need the koolaid at all besides the taste though, since I do have the dextrose?

 

[FitModel]

so what seems to be the drink of choice to take Creatine mono in?

 

[ReaperX]

so what seems to be the drink of choice to take Creatine mono in?

I take mine with diet white cranberry. I usually use some type of diet fruit drink b/c personally I don't like the taste of creatine mono.

 

[ReaperX]

Hey I was thinking about goin onto monhydrate to, im currently on Size on, noticing wicked results. I just dont like to drop 80 bucks on a creatine. The main question I was wondering here is I was going to take dextrose with mine. Just wondering how much dextrose should I take.

My plan for taking monohydrate was mixing all the powder, with the amount of dextrose I needed, plus some koolaid of course for a good taste. Do I need the koolaid at all besides the taste though, since I do have the dextrose?

Although dexatrose creates an insulin spike thus shoving the creatine in your muscles, the creatine will still go to your muscles ultimately whether you use it or not which never made me a fan of it....that's just my opinion.

If your looking for good quality dexatrose IDS's 'Waximaize' seems to be pretty popular and all of my bodybuilding friends swear by it. I've never used it, but now that I'm mentioning it I might give it a whirl later on.

Occasionally I'll pop some ALA capsules, but the majority of the time I don't use anything, I just drink it in diet juice to cover the taste and let it do its thing. Also too I know this is a heated debate, but I prefer micronized creatine over the regular chunky kind.

 

[EctoPower]

Hey I was thinking about goin onto monhydrate to, im currently on Size on, noticing wicked results. I just dont like to drop 80 bucks on a creatine. The main question I was wondering here is I was going to take dextrose with mine. Just wondering how much dextrose should I take.

My plan for taking monohydrate was mixing all the powder, with the amount of dextrose I needed, plus some koolaid of course for a good taste. Do I need the koolaid at all besides the taste though, since I do have the dextrose?

Around 30g of dextrose is good, I think. But 20g may also be effective. No need for the kool-aid, except for taste if you want.

My pre-workout shake on creatine days is 2 scoops ON whey (vanilla), 1 scoop ON Pre-Load Creatine (orange), 10g glutamine. Post-workout shake is identical, except I add 5g of BCAAs. The dextrose is mixed with the creatine in Pre-Load. That with the whey and flavoring completely masks the nasty creatine taste. Tastes vaguely like an orange creamsicle.

Later in the day, I either mix regular creatine mono with a protein shake, or just put it in water and chug it. Nasty, but I try to just get it over with. Mixing it with whey for a shake covers up the taste pretty well.

And I agree with Reaper, micronized creatine goes down a bit better. The controversy is whether micronizing creatine makes absorption faster/better. I think it does and as a result limits the always-b*tched-about "bloat," but not everyone agrees. ALA is good stuff too, by the way.

 

[Thunderbay]

Although dexatrose creates an insulin spike thus shoving the creatine in your muscles, the creatine will still go to your muscles ultimately whether you use it or not which never made me a fan of it....that's just my opinion.

If your looking for good quality dexatrose IDS's 'Waximaize' seems to be pretty popular and all of my bodybuilding friends swear by it. I've never used it, but now that I'm mentioning it I might give it a whirl later on.

Occasionally I'll pop some ALA capsules, but the majority of the time I don't use anything, I just drink it in diet juice to cover the taste and let it do its thing. Also too I know this is a heated debate, but I prefer micronized creatine over the regular chunky kind.

Thanks for the help!

Im in kinda a small town, so iv only aactually seen one kind of dextrose ever, never really looked at it though. I will give the micronized a try to, this is going to be my first time ever taking creatine monohydrate. Sorry to steal the thread if I did.

I would get the exact same results right if i just took monohydrate instead of CEE, it would just take a little but longer to get to the cells correct?

Thanks for the help, you guys are much more useful then sherdog.

 

[TheNinja]

I'll tell you what works the best for me. It should work for you too.

Week 1 - take 5grams of creatine 3x a day.
Weeks 2-8/12 - depending how long of cycle you want to do - take 5grams of creatine with your morning shake (or whatever you drink). On workout days also take 5g immediately after workout.

Take 1-2 months off.

Some people may say 5-10g is not enough, but I always find that between that and the food I eat, it's plenty for me.

I take my creatine with my morning shake which contains skim milk and ON 100% whey. I feel in the morning my body absorbs things very quickly and easily. I take my post-workout creatine with anywhere between 40-80g of dextrose/malto mix and 30-40g of ON 100% Whey protein.

I also had less cramping and toilet issues with micronized creatine. They both worked the same though.

 

[fritzer]

check out "creatine ethyl-ester is inferior" thread on AM here, goes over a lot of this stuff you are asking

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