Do you want help with explosive muscle power, increased muscle endurance, faster muscle development, and more muscle tone? I know I do.
The answer for me has always been Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate. Creapure® is a brand of Creatine Monohydrate made in Germany. It's the most widely studied Creatine, and has been proven to be safe and effective.
The reason this is the form of Creatine I use myself is, health concerns have been linked to poor manufacturing from other Creatine's. Sticking to Creapure® is a good way to avoid the risks. Follow my tips below to get the most from Creatine, and I'll show you how to add some nutritional helpers to push it a bit more.
How to use Creatine Monohydrate
To Load or not to Load. In the nineties when Creatine Monohydrate first hit the market, the most recommended way to go was to initially follow a loading regime. Then after a few days drop down to a daily maintenance dose. This was called Creatine cycling, and may be one of the most effective ways to support fastest gains. This is how I prefer to use Creatine myself.
The reason I like to use this cycle is, Creatine will kick in much faster, and when it does you feel more of a surge of progress. This is a good kick in the butt that makes me feel very motivated to train hard. It will usually kick in after about 5 to 7 days this way. Although I do personally feel it starting to kick in from about day 2.
How To Cycle Creatine
To follow this traditional Creatine Cycling loading, the way to do it is to take 4 or 5 serves of Creatine a day for the first 5 days. After this drop down to 1 or 2 serves a day for the remainder of your Creatine cycle. Use Creatine for a minimum of 12 weeks at a time to make decent progression. Then take a break for 3 or 4 weeks before starting another cycle.
How Much Creatine To Take
The recommended serving size for an average guy is about 5 grams (1 heaped teaspoon). Use that as your benchmark to work out your personal serving size.
Taking Creatine Without Loading
Alternatively, follow no loading or cycling. A popular way to go now is to take a single serve or Creatine Monohydrate every day, with no loading and no cycling on and off. It's taken continuously every day in this way.
How Long To Take Creatine
Personally I've taken Creatine continuously for around 5 or 6 months at a time, but I usually feel like a break, or something happens in my life to interrupt using it, so I have a rest from it at that point. The usual daily serving size for continuous everyday use is 3g to 5g a day.
Creatine Helpers
1. Pure Dextrose. Mix your Creatine with some Dextrose Monohydrate every time you take a serve. Following the right exercise plan, combining Creatine along with Dextrose can help some people make MASSIVE gains. If you look around the internet you will see some people take up to 100g of Dextrose with each serve of Creatine. This is a very fast way to gain weight and is best suited for bodybuilders who are bulking, or rugby players who need to size up fast. Most people will go well with about 25 to 30g of Dextrose per serve of Creatine.
2. Be Strong Nootropic. B group vitamins are important for proper Creatine synthesis. Supplementing Vitamin B's along with Creatine may help optimise cellular methylation, and muscle growth. Take one capsule per day with breakfast.
3. Pure Taurine. One way Creatine may help muscles appear more toned and harder is through muscle cell volumisation (muscle cell hydration). Taurine is also well regarded for helping with muscle cell hydration. By combining the 2 supplements together you may benefit from a synergistic effect of maximum muscle cell hydration, for greater help with strength, shape, endurance, and recovery. Take one level teaspoon, one to two times per day.
If you would like to fit Creatine into your own program, but have some questions, just let me know.
Go here to find my Creatine -> Micronised Creatine