Knowing exactly how to take creatine is very important. This article outlines how much creatine you should take in order to stay safe while also maximizing results. Learn about loading, maintenance, cycling, and timing.

At this point in time, most researchers, pharmacists, and scientists agree that creatine is safe. If this is true, then why do we always hear horror stories from people who claim to have been negatively affected by creatine?

Many people on the Internet claim that creatine causes kidney stones; some people will even tell a first hand account of how something terrible happened to them. Are all of these people lying? Probably not. Creatine can negatively affect you if you do not know how to properly use it. But this is true with any substance. Water is the most important substance known to man, but if you drink too much water at one time you could die. Tuna fish is a very healthy food choice, but if you eat too much of it you will suffer from its high levels of mercury. What I'm trying to say is that- Creatine is not bad, misusing creatine is bad.

People aren't trying to damage their bodies. Many people simply do not know exactly how to take creatine. There is so much information (and misinformation) about creatine taking that it's hard to figure out what to do. That's where I come in. I will explain exactly how much creatine to take and when to take it. If you follow my guidelines, you will be safe and your results will be maximized.

(These guidelines apply to 100% creatine monohydrate, however they should also apply to creatine malate, creatine ethyl ester, and creatine alpha-ketoglutarate. If you take a different form of creatine than consult your supplement's label.)

There are three stages in creatine supplementation. These are loading, maintenance, and cycling off.

The loading stage:

Supplement companies often recommend that when you start taking creatine you should begin by loading. This means that when you first begin taking creatine you should take abnormally high doses. Companies claim that this saturates your muscles so that you can see results faster. For example: On the back of my creatine monohydrate jug, the label instructs you to consume 20 grams of creatine for the first seven days and then it tells you to consume 5 grams of creatine per day after the first seven days.

My advice on the loading stage:

I always believed that the "loading stage" was, in part, a way for supplement companies to sell more product. Obviously if you use more, then you run out sooner and you need to go out and buy more. I do not suggest that you completely abandon the loading phase however because I believe that it may provide some benefits. I recommend a mini-loading phase, in which for the first three days that you take creatine, you consume 12 grams per day. These 12 grams should be consumed in 3 doses of 4 grams each. The time at which you take your 3 doses does not matter much, but it should preferably be separated by at least one hour. With each dose you should drink at least 8 ounces of water, or 8 ounces of either apple or grape juice.

For example - For the first three days that I am taking creatine: I consume 4 grams of creatine with approximately 10 ounces of apple juice, with my breakfast. Then about midway through my day I consume another 4 grams of creatine with approximately 10 ounces of apple juice. And finally, I consume another 4 grams of creatine with approximately 8 ounces of water immediately before bed. On the fourth day I begin my "maintenance phase".

The maintenance stage:

The maintenance stage comes after the loading stage and it is simply the normal creatine taking phase. For Example: My jug tells you to take 5 grams of creatine per day.

My advice on the maintenance stage:

I have heard that you can take as many as 10 grams of creatine per day during the maintenance phase, however I recommend 6 grams on workout days and 3-4 grams on non-workout days. On workout days - you should take 4 grams of creatine with 8-12 ounces of water, about 30 minutes before your workout; and you should take 2 grams of creatine with 8-12 ounces of either water, apple juice, or grape juice immediately after your workout. On non-workout days you should take 3-4 grams of creatine with 8-12 onces of water, with your breakfast. This plan will maximize your results while keeping you safe. I follow this plan for 6 weeks before I temporarily stop taking creatine.

The cycling stage:

"Cycling" is term commonly used in the supplement world. Cycling means that you take a substance for some time, then you stop taking it for some time. This is important in creatine taking.

My advice on the cycling stage:

After taking creatine for approximately 6 weeks your body has adapted to taking creating. Increases in strength have probably slowed down and since you have an abundance of creatine, your body has stopped naturally producing it. Therefore I recommend that after the 6 week maintenance phase you take 3 weeks off from creatine supplementation. This causes your body to start naturally producing creatine again, and when you restart the whole cycle with the "mini-loading phase" your results will skyrocket again. The combination of your body's creatine with the supplemented creatine will once again ignite muscle growth. Don't worry that when you cycle off creatine your muscles will wither or your strength will go away, as long as you keep training you will keep your initial gains, and when you come back to creatine it'll be just like when you first started using it.

REMEMBER TO DRINK PLENTY OF WATER WHILE USING CREATINE.

In review- your creatine "cycle" should last 9 weeks and three days. Start with the "mini-loading phase", continue on to the 6 week maintenance period, and then completely stop taking supplemental creatine for 3 weeks. After this you simply start back up from the beginning.

Good luck. I hope you utilize creatine to it's full potential. Your muscles will appreciate it (and so will the ladies)