This blog is being written while I think about a Nutella crepe. I might get after this. Anyways, how are you guys doing? Good? Fantastic. I just went to the bathroom after writing the last sentence and took a big dump. Anyways, creatine! I honestly did start taking this until I had already been working out for about 10 years (many breaks in between). It’s a very well-studied and safe supplement. It’s also vegan if that pertains to your sexy butt. Now whenever I talk about creatine, I am talking about creatine monohydrate. It’s the most studied and popular.
What is Creatine?
It’s a fine white powder that you don’t need to snort. Creatine is made from amino acids. It’s found in many food and your body actually even produces it. You’d need to eat a lot of meat to get the proper amount of creatine that you can get in a tiny little 3 to 5 gram scoop of the powder. As an example, using creatine rich foods, if you tried to get five grams of creation from beef or salmon, you’d need to eat 2.5 pounds of either a day. That’s a lot and it’ll be expensive.
What does Creatine do?
It aids in energy production for short explosive movements. Now, if you remember back to your high school biology class, our body uses energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When you use energy, ATP turns into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and then eventually adenosine monophosphate (AMP) by losing phosphate groups. What creatine can do, is help replenish AMP and ADP back to ATP much faster. This will improve you energy level for explosive movements such lifting, sprinting or straining out those giant logs while sitting on the toilet. It will also increase your anaerobic and aerobic capacity as well. On top of all that, it can increase brain cognition as well.
How and when do I take Creatine?
You take 3 to 5 grams per day. The powder usually comes with a tiny scooper which you can mix into a drink. If you just mix it into water, it tastes awful. I just mix mine in into my protein shake. As for when to take it, take it whenever you want. There’s no specific time you have to take it. Just take it daily and consistently. It’ll also take a few weeks to get to a high concentration in your body. If you miss a day or even a few days, don’t reach for the Xanax bottle, princess; it’ll take 4-6 weeks for the creatine to be out of your system completely if you stop taking it. So you’d need to miss a lot of doses.
Some people do a “loading phase” of creatine, where you take 20 g creatine split into 4-5 doses a day for about a week to see effects of creatine sooner. I did not do this, I’m not sure how sooner you would get up to the peak concentration like this anyways. If you want to do it, go for it.
Expectation
Creatine won’t turn you into superman. You won’t be able to go from dumbbell pressing 30s to 120s in a matter of week. What it will do is, allow you go get a few extra reps at your working weight or increase your working weight by a few pounds. You might also gain weight when taking creatine as you will be storing more water and might potentially feel bloated. All in all, it’s a very safe and well-studied supplement.
Key Points
- Creatine monohydrate is a very safe and well-studied supplement
- Creatine helps increase explosive energy you can perform by replenishing ATP in your body much more rapidly
- Take 3-5 grams of creatine a day
- You can do a loading phase of 20 g of creatine a day split into 4-5 doses for 7 days to see the results sooner potentially (not required though)
- You can take creatine any time of day you like, just take it consistently
- It will take a few weeks to see full results of creatine
- It would like 4-6 weeks for creatine to completely come out of your system, don’t work if you miss a dose here and there
Disclaimer: I’m not your doctor. Please consult your doctor, nutritionist or any health care professional before making any changes in your own lifestyle. These blogs are just me sharing my knowledge for you reading entertainment purpose only. None of this is medical advice.