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Should I take Creatine before or after my workout?
Seems like such an easy question - but as with most things,
nothing is ever that easy. The answer that is right most of
the time is - before your workout. However, the form of creatine (powder, liquid, gum, etc.) you use affects the answer. In
addition if you are taking a supplement that has other ingredients
in addition to the creatine - that can also play into the
answer. So - let's look at some more detail...
What do the scientific studies say
about when to take creatine?
Most of the studies involved giving volunteers powder
creatine monohydrate before a workout. If they were doing
a loading phase it was split into 4 servings (5 grams
each) and these were given throughout the day. Still other
studies split the dosage even in the maintenance phase
and give half the creatine before a workout and the other
half after.
This all sounds confusing - but it points to two facts.
First, very few studies have been done with taking creatine
only after a workout. Second, the exact timing of when
you take the creatine may not be critical. As long as
you have creatine available to your muscles - it will
be effective. |
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How long does creatine stay in the blood stream?
When you take creatine in powder form - it is in your blood
stream for about 1 - 1.5 hours. For muscle growth the creatine must be absorbed into the muscles. So, if you are working
out and deplete your creatine supply in your muscles AND you
have creatine available in the blood stream, your muscles
can replenish their creatine supply from the creatine in your
blood.
Here is the important point - if your muscles are fully saturated
with creatine and you are not working out ( so you are not
depleting your creatine stores) then after 1.5 hours the creatine
in your blood will be converted into creatinine and excreted.
So, with Creatine powder - should I take it before
my workout or after?
Here is our advice - take the powder about 1 hour before your
workout. Here is our reasoning...
It can take about 1 hour for the creatine to be absorbed into
the bloodstream - and from that point you have about 1.5 hours
to use the creatine or lose it. So, let's say you workout
at 10am - here is our logic. At 9am you take the creatine
powder. By 10am the creatine is in the blood stream. Your
muscles are probably mostly saturated with creatine from the
supplement you took the day before. So, some of the creatine
you took at 9am may be absorbed into the muscles - but the
rest is still in the blood. At 10am you start working out
and depleting the creatine in your muscles. Your muscles then
replenish their creatine supply from the creatine in the blood
stream. Your workout ends at 11am (you really should not workout
more than 1 hour - but that is a topic for a different day).
Remember, you took creatine at 9am - but it was not absorbed
into the blood stream until 10am. This means it will stay
there until 11:30am (1.5 hours). So, now you have another
1/2 hour where your muscles can replenish their creatine supply
if depleted. In a way you are getting the best of all worlds
- you have creatine available before, during and after your
workout.
You will hear other theories - but that is what we have found
to be most effective. Since creatine supplies us with energy
when working out - it is important we have creatine available
during our workout. Creatine as a recovery agent is much less
clear, so taking it after a workout to help with recovery
is not proven.
Why does my bottle say take it after a workout?
Good question - there are a few reasons for that. The first
is that they have a different opinion than us on how creatine
works. If this is the case, I would call and ask them to explain
exactly why they think after a workout is better. A second
reason is that your supplement has other ingredients besides
creatine. Many companies have tried to improve on creatine
by adding all types of other supplements. It may be that some
of those other supplements do much better if taken after a
workout. After a workout is a great time to take a protein
supplement because your body is in a growth phase (anabolic).
Taking creatine after a workout is not a terrible idea - it
is a great time to get the creatine absorbed into the muscles.
We just feel, it is important to have creatine available to
the muscles during your workout if their creatine supply is
depleted. Again, if the manufacturer can provide a clear explanation
of why to take it after a workout - fine.
What if I have been taking creatine after my workout?
Don't worry you have still been getting most the benefits
of creatine. What is probably happening is the creatine you
take after your workout on Monday is what your body will use
during your workout on Tuesday. I know - we said creatine
only lasts 1.5 hours in the blood stream. However, creatine
can last for days once it is trapped within your muscles.
So, the creatine you take after your Monday workout is pulled
into the depleted muscles where it will stay for days until
you use it up. The only problem is that if you deplete your
creatine stores during a workout you will not have any other
creatine available. This is why we think taking it before
a workout is better.
What about liquid, serum, effervescent or creatine
gum?
The body absorbs these forms of creatine more quickly. For
this reason, we still recommend taking them before a workout
- but only about 20 minutes before a workout. Again, the creatine
will stay in the blood stream for up to 1.5 hours - but it
will only take 20 minutes for the creatine to get into the
blood stream.
Should I take creatine on my off days?
Seems like a simple question - but it is very hard to get
a straight answer on this one. There is some evidence that
indicates that creatine can help with muscle recovery. If
this is true, then taking creatine on your off days is a good
idea. Our feeling is that more research needs to be done before
anyone can conclusively say that creatine helps with recovery.
This research may not come anytime soon so you are left to
make your own decision. If you feel that creatine is helping
with muscle recovery, then yes take it on your off days. If
you are not convinced that creatine helps with recovery, then
you do not need to take it on off days.
Many people believe that you need to take creatine everyday
to keep your creatine levels topped off. We do not see the
research that proves this to be true. If you are taking creatine
for the muscular boost in energy, that taking it just on workout
days should be fine.
Want more facts to make this questions more confusing? A University
of Kentucky study shows that use of creatine could help the
brain recover from concussions and other injuries commonly
suffered by professional and amateur athletes (the study was
published in the Annals of Neurology - 11/2000). Brain damage
was reduced 21% when creatine was given to mice three days
before injury and 36% when given five days ahead of time.
Rats given a diet with creatine for four weeks had 50% less
brain damage than rats that did not receive creatine. This
may explain why pro football players can recover so quickly
from concussions - they take creatine.
So, if you play a contact sport you may want to take creatine
everyday for the possible prevention of brain damage. Of course,
more research needs to be done - but just another factor to
consider when you decide if you should use creatine on your
off days.
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