Creatine Off Cycle????

srx600

srx600

Member
Hi,

I have been using creatine mono for about 1 year straight and decided to take a break from it. I took a week off and stopped taking it as soon as the off week started. I then began lifting again after the week off and I am my 4th workout in and all of my DB lifts have lost 5lbs and a couple reps and my BB lifts has lost 10lbs and a couple reps. Is this amount of strength loss normal? I cycled off over a year ago and lost a good deal of strength. I got discouraged so I stayed on for a year straight. Any input would be appreciated.
 
You should expect a little off strength when coming off. Also you took it off and took a break from lifting you said? That may have a part in it.. not sure. Just stick with what your doing, don't worry.
 
srx600 said:
Hi,

I have been using creatine mono for about 1 year straight and decided to take a break from it. I took a week off and stopped taking it as soon as the off week started. I then began lifting again after the week off and I am my 4th workout in and all of my DB lifts have lost 5lbs and a couple reps and my BB lifts has lost 10lbs and a couple reps. Is this amount of strength loss normal? I cycled off over a year ago and lost a good deal of strength. I got discouraged so I stayed on for a year straight. Any input would be appreciated.
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Yeah, that's pretty normal. It's amazing how effective CM is for strength gains. Those who pay attention always note the difference.

You may want to try cycling your CM in some fashion. There are a number of different methods. I use three days on at a high dose (around 20g spread out through the day), then three days off (no CM at all). This method keeps creatine stores up at all times, but you don't get the burnout factor that is sometimes associated with taking a "maintenance dose" of 5g everyday over a long period. I never get a strength decrease with the 3 on/3 off method and I never feel like I'm burnt out on CM.

Others might follow a typical dosing scheme for a few weeks, then just take a week off CM, then start back up for another few weeks. Play around with different methods and see which works.

Good luck.
 
Yeah I usualy do the 3 on/3 off but creatine and wrestling doesn't go at all so I'm waiting for the season to end in Febuary.
 
wrasslin116 said:
Also you took it off and took a break from lifting you said? That may have a part in it.
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not likely since he only took a week off, now if it was a month then yea i could see that being a good reason for the strength loss but a loss in strength is generally expected when your are taking some sort of aid. once you stop putting it in your body in high doses like you do with creatine you lose that extra umph for a lack of a better word. like ectopower said, try something different with your dosing.
 
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