The typical dosage for pure creatine monohydrate is approximately 10-30 grams/day for a normal male. But there are many creatine products on the market these days. So, your creatine dosage depends on the type of creatine monohydrate supplement you are taking. Always read what's on the label!
Creatine Dosage Instructions
Your creatine dosage should be divided into 3 phases, namely loading phase, maintenance phase and wash out phase.
Loading Phase: Most of the manufacturers and health practitioners recommend a loading dose until at least 5 days before you start to take creatine so that your muscles completely saturate with creatine. This loading dose ranges from 20 to 30 grams per day, or you can also calculate the dose according to your body weight (you should take around 0.3 grams of creatine/kilogram of your body weight). This dosage should be divided into 3 to 4 daily dosages.
During the loading phase, it is very important to eat lots of carbs as this will help you to use most of the creatine that you eat; otherwise much of the creatine will just be lost down the toilet
Maintenance Phase: After the initial loading phase, then comes the maintenance phase. A maintenance dose of 2 - 5 grams of creatine per day is recommended which is required for the maintenance of the level of saturation within the muscles. The maintenance dosage is just needed to replace the amount of creatine that has degraded during the whole day.
Most doctors recommend that the maintenance phase should last for no more than 1 month. Normally, for most weight lifters after 1 month there are no extra benefits of taking creatine. After 1 month all the creatine you eat just goes to waste. The weight and muscle benefits which you have gained in that 1 month can be easily maintained through training. Many people do cycling i.e. they take creatine for 1 month, then go off for several months, and then again start taking it. As of now, nobody is sure for how long it is safe to take.
Wash Out Phase: After the loading and maintenance phases are over, a wash out phase is recommended. The wash out phase lets your body recover from the high creatine levels. Most sport practitioners advise a wash out phase of 1 month.
Is A Loading Phase Really Required?
A loading phase is not required. You can just start with the maintenance phase. But, if you want your muscle gain fast then I would surely suggest a loading phase. A loading phase helps muscles get saturated with creatine faster. Through the loading phase you will be able to get the results in just 2 weeks; otherwise with the maintenance phase alone you will get in 4 weeks. If you don't have any rush to gain muscle size then start from maintenance phase only.
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