When to Take Creatine For Maximum Effects

Ok now you have decided to take creatine as a supplement as part of your muscle building regime.

Great but when do I take creatine? What's the best time to take it?

This is a "classic" question raised frequently by both existing and potential consumer of creatine. So lets address this question here in this article.

There are a few conflicting opinions on this. Some may tell you to take it before your workout. Some however say that it would be best taken immediately after a workout. And there is also a group of people who would swear that taking it before and after a workout would give you the optimal benefits.

So which is the best way to take creatine?

Lets dig into the rational behind these different schools of thoughts.

Take creatine before a workout

Those supporting this approach rationalized that by taking creatine before exercise would means that it would be readily available during your training. This initially makes sense. But looking at it logically, this argument just simply does not hold. Why? Because it would takes time for the supplement to enter into the muscle cells whereby it can then serve its purpose of enhancing performance. You can't simply expect to take a serving of the creatine just before starting your training and expect it to work right away.

Another potential problem with taking creatine before workout is that of dehydration. Creatine, as we know, pulls fluids into the muscles and this may result in depriving other body tissues of the much-needed fluids. Working out with a dehydrated body is by no means appropriate.

Lastly, some of these products do contain sugars and when taken before exercise would create what we call a sugar rush. In a sugar rush, blood flow would increase in the intestines where the absorption of the sugar would take place. Less blood flow will occur in the muscles and the temporary blood flow depletion is not appropriate for carrying out heavy exercises.

Take Creatine after a workout

Going by the above argument, if it's advisable not to take creatine before workout, then it's only obvious that you should take it post workout.

The logic behind this is actually very simple: workouts will deplete your creatine and so taking the supplement post workout will replenish it back!

One additional advantage is that your muscles tend to be more receptive to the effects of insulin after a workout. By creating an insulin spike through taking in sugars, creatine intake by the muscles would correspondingly increase.

So the bottom Line is: We have no scientific data to support pre-workout creatine use, but also none to suggest it's harmful. On the contrary, there are numerous studies that supported the post-workouts consumption of creatine. For me, I'd rather stick with the tried and true method until evidence to the contrary arrives.

Do you want to know how to get the most out of your creatine supplement? Knowing when to take creatine alone wouldn't give you the best results. Do you know how you should take creatine, how much to take and which brand is best? Find out all these from Creatine Facts - How to Take Creatine