How Much Creatine Should I Take

08 March 2009 | Bodybuilding Nutrition Tips

This is an interesting question that I’ve been pondering for the past few weeks. I’ve been supplementing with creatine, just taking a couple of grams a day pre-workout, and I’ve noticed some positive results. However, I’ve talked about this subject with one of the fitness instructors down the gym and he seems to have a different take on how much creatine I should be taking. I’ve also talked to my brother John and he recommended I read up on this subject, as I may be surprised to find out that you don’t need to take as much as I had originally thought.

I’ve been reading the nutrition bible, “The Complete Guide To Sports Nutritrion” by Anita Bean and found some interesting information about how much creatine you should supplement with.

There seems to be two schools of thought on how you should supplement with creatine, largely differing in their opinions about how much you should use to load versus how long you should load for. I’ll try and explain these various different methods.

Short loading period

Load up with a large daily dose (20 - 25 grams) split into four doses, for the first five days of supplementation, then revert to a 2 gram a day dose for maintenance. The only problem there seems to be with this method is that about two thirds of the creatine will not be absorbed by the body, instead being flushed out in your urine.

The alternative method for a short loading period is to take 5-6 grams per day, but split into 1 gram servings. The theory being that the body will absorb the same amount of creatine without wasting any of it by passing it out in urine. Like with the larger loading method above, you will need to revert to a maintenance dose of 2 grams per day after loading.

Long loading period

The alternative to the short loading involves loading with a 3 gram serving of creatine daily for thirty days, then reverting to a maintenance dose of 2 grams daily. There is also evidence that this method produces less water retention (Hultman et al 1996).

Both methods will clearly work, and you should see an improvement in your strength and muscle gains by taking creatine. However, there is evidence to suggest that creatine has no or little effect in some people, mostly this seems to be those that have a high concentration of slow twitch muscle fibres.