The Best Time To Take Creatine for Effective Results...

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Medically reviewed by Lindsey DeSoto, RDMedically reviewed by Lindsey DeSoto, RDMuscles store a molecule called creatine. Creatine is turned into phosphocreatine, which provides energy for short, intense efforts like sprinting, jumping, weightlifting, and team sports. Foods such as red meat, poultry, fish, and milk provide creatine. Your body also produces creatine from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine.Practicing high-intensity sports uses a lot of phosphocreatine. Because of this, your body may not produce enough creatine to meet its demands, which can decrease your performance. Taking creatine can improve your muscle mass, sports performance, post-exercise recovery, and rehabilitation from injury.Creatine is one of the most commonly used sports supplements among gym-goers and athletes. Many forms are available, but creatine monohydrate is the most widely used and researched.Personal differences, timing of creatine consumption, and dosage can affect efficacy and safety.Benefits of Taking Creatine Before ExerciseStudies looking into the timing of creatine supplementation are limited. However, some physiological mechanisms suggest that pre-exercise creatine supplementation may be superior.Exercise enhances blood flow throughout your body by up to 100 times compared to when you're resting, which means that your muscles may take up more creatine during exercise.Blood creatine levels peak one to two hours after ingestion and remain elevated for about four hours when you take 5 grams (g) of creatine. Blood flow to your muscles can stay elevated for 30 minutes after exercise or longer, depending on the type, intensity, and volume of exercise.Therefore, if you exercise for 40 to 90 minutes, you can take creatine before or during your workout.Benefits of Taking Creatine After ExerciseIt's hypothesized that muscles may be able to absorb more creatine during and after exercise. Some molecules cross cell membranes passively, while others require specific carriers called transporters. These transporters help maintain balance by exchanging molecules between cells and their environment. During exercise, specific transporters become more active to regulate the molecular exchange caused by movement. This can affect the creatine transporter, potentially increasing creatine uptake by the muscles.Which Is Better?In one study, older adults were given a creatine supplement or placebo just before or after resistance training for eight months. Those who took the creatine before or after training gained more muscle strength than those who took the placebo. Participants who took creatine after training gained more muscle mass.The same researchers designed a study that was only three months long. All participants, whether they took creatine supplements before or after exercise or took a placebo, increased muscle mass and strength.A more recent study also showed the same results. Thirty-four athletes took 5 grams of creatine either an hour before or after exercise for two months. All participants significantly increased muscle mass and strength. It's important to note that these studies had small sample sizes, with varying supplementation protocols and participant ages.More evidence is needed to determine the best time to take creatine. Both pre-exercise and post-exercise creatine supplementation can increase aspects of sports performance, such as muscle mass, repetition maximum, and the amount of weight lifted in exercises.Taking Creatine on Rest DaysRecommended protocols involve taking creatine on both training and rest days. However, there are studies showing the positive effects of creatine supplementation when taken only on training days.A study demonstrated that creatine supplementation taken only on training days, five days a week, still increased performance in the leg press, chest press, and total body strength in young adults. In another study, older adults took creatine supplements three days a week on their training days. Participants increased muscle mass and strength. However, the studies were small and included only specific demographics.Taking creatine supplements only on training days decreases costs and unnecessary usage. The impact on efficacy is not certain, so you may or may not see differences in effectiveness.How To Take CreatineYou can take creatine with or without food. Taking creatine with carbohydrates or with both carbohydrates and protein can increase muscle creatine stores more than taking creatine alone.Beta-alanine (an amino acid) may improve the effects of creatine supplementation, while caffeine may interfere with creatine's effects. However, the evidence is not clear for either of them.How Much Should You Take?Your muscles already have a certain amount of creatine. Creatine supplements can increase muscle creatine deposits by 20%-40%.Different protocols can be used for creatine supplementation. Most commonly, a higher dosage is followed by a maintenance dose. The first step is to increase the deposit with a higher dosage of creatine, and the second step is to take a lower dosage to maintain it for a longer period.Loading dose: Taking a higher dosage of 5 grams of creatine four times daily—totaling 20 grams per day for the first five to seven days—is recommended to increase muscle creatine stores. You can also calculate your daily dose as 0.3 grams of creatine for every kilogram (kg) of body weight.Maintenance dose: The recommended creatine dosage for maintenance is 3 to 5 grams a day. You can also calculate your daily dose as 0.1 grams of creatine for every kilogram of your muscle mass. So, if you have 40 kg of muscle, you can take 4 grams of creatine daily. Another recommended protocol is taking 3 grams of creatine daily for 28 days. This method gradually increases muscle creatine but is likely to extend the muscle creatine loading time, resulting in slower effects on sports performance.Be aware that many aspects of creatine supplementation, including efficiency and safety, need to be investigated further. Concerns include creatine's effects on water retention, dehydration, kidney health, hair loss, muscle cramping, and its effectiveness in women.A Quick ReviewCreatine can improve muscle mass, strength, and recovery. There is currently no strong evidence suggesting a specific timing for creatine supplementation. You can take it either before or after exercise to see benefits.How much you’ll benefit from creatine may vary based on many factors, including your age, gender, general health, diet, supplementation protocol, and the type, intensity, and volume of your training. For more Health.com news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Health.com.

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