Creatine Loading
dws00
Posts: 159 Member
Is the loading phase necessary when taking creatine? I read it both ways. Any personal experiences? Thanks!
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Replies
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donaldws00 wrote: »Is the loading phase necessary when taking creatine? I read it both ways. Any personal experiences? Thanks!
Its a saturator, so you can preload or just allow for accumulation. Loading might help very short term. The bigger question i would be concerned about is how does your calories, macro and training look like? Creatine can be beneficial if you are a responder but only if other fwctors are addressed first.
Sorry to tangent a bit.0 -
From a reliable source:
https://examine.com/nutrition/do-i-need-to-load-creatine/What are the differences between loading and not?
Creatine loading will cause faster saturation of muscles with creatine, and can cause greater acute increases in strength and body weight (via water retention). This may also confer a psychological benefit, since you can 'see' yourself getting bigger.
Taking a smaller dose for a longer period of time will eventually reach the same saturation point, but will take longer.
The differences at the end of a cycle, should you choose to end the cycle, would be minimal.1 -
Most experts seem to be of the opinion that it isn't necessary. People selling creatine seem to think it's very important.3
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I read that it was not necessary. So, I didn't do it. Just took 5g/day from the start.1
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I've started and stopped creative a few times and have never loaded. It takes maybe a week to feel like my lifts are getting easier. I'm not sure what difference loading makes since I've never tried it.1
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From all the professionals I've followed it's absolutely not necessary. You'll be saturated and "loaded" over the course of a week or two. And in the long term of your fitness goals (years), loading for a week or so is entirely pointless unless you just like wasting things. I've been taking normal doses of 5g daily for a month now and I felt "loaded" within 2 weeks. Make sure to keep your water intake high, I aim for the usual gallon a day. I've already noticed the effects and "gains" and I feel great in the gym.1
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Necessary? No. Even if you did it, it's not gonna make that much of difference if mass is what you're trying to attain.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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The first time I took Creatine, I did an initial preload. After one week, I broke out in hives. I went to my doctor who immediately identified Creatine as the culprit. I stopped and the hives went away. The doctor said the "preload" was too much for my body to handle and hives are a known adverse reaction to too much Creatine. If I hadn't done the preload, I probably wouldn't have gotten hives, but I didn't re-start taking Creatine since I didn't want to take the risk of getting hives again.1
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i never did it. just started very conservatively because it was the first time i'd ever bought any kind of intentional chemical just for the sake of my gym 'performance'. so in my mind '!! DRUGS !!' and it was kind of a big thing, psychologically.
i've always been fine without the whole loading thing. i actually think 'load' for me has a lot more to do with the amount of water i take in, than the amount of creatine.
mind you, i'm a 51yo woman and at 5'3" and about 140 pounds, 5 grammes is probably more than plenty for my muscle mass. i usually take quite a bit less than that. i seem to respond to it very quickly, but as i said it's mostly about how much water i send down after it.1 -
It shaves 2 weeks off of the loading phase and uses up 3-6 weeks worth of creatine. It's not worth it. Just do the 5g a day and keep going forward1
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No need1
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i never loaded and don't see a need to based on what i have read1
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Pre-loading is recommended by the manufacturers so you consume 2-3x a normal dose and need to buy a new tub sooner. There is no need to pre-load it.3
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trigden1991 wrote: »Pre-loading is recommended by the manufacturers so you consume 2-3x a normal dose and need to buy a new tub sooner. There is no need to pre-load it.
so you mean it is a marketing ploy????????? LOL2 -
donaldws00 wrote: »Is the loading phase necessary when taking creatine? I read it both ways. Any personal experiences? Thanks!
Its a saturator, so you can preload or just allow for accumulation. Loading might help very short term. The bigger question i would be concerned about is how does your calories, macro and training look like? Creatine can be beneficial if you are a responder but only if other fwctors are addressed first.
Sorry to tangent a bit.
How do you know if you're a none responder or responsive to creatine? I never found much of a benefit to taking it, haven't in a year now but was thinking of giving it a try again.
OP: "Everything you need to know about creatine" (except how to identify if you're responsive.. or I missed that part)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9eCtOFIf40
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trigden1991 wrote: »Pre-loading is recommended by the manufacturers so you consume 2-3x a normal dose and need to buy a new tub sooner. There is no need to pre-load it.
so you mean it is a marketing ploy????????? LOL
There is not much in the "fitness" industry that isn't. Excluding CICO, but I do have a book if you're interested
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Creatine is used by the body but as a supplement there is a very slight improvement if any. Creatine as a supplement could be considered as a placebo. Getting a proper cycle for any effect is super difficult too according to my Kinesiology teacher.0
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MatthiasJo98 wrote: »Creatine is used by the body but as a supplement there is a very slight improvement if any. Creatine as a supplement could be considered as a placebo. Getting a proper cycle for any effect is super difficult too according to my Kinesiology teacher.
Then I would highly question your Kinesiology teacher's understanding. It's one of the most studied drugs and have been proven in many people.
https://examine.com/supplements/Creatine/1 -
Tedebearduff wrote: »donaldws00 wrote: »Is the loading phase necessary when taking creatine? I read it both ways. Any personal experiences? Thanks!
Its a saturator, so you can preload or just allow for accumulation. Loading might help very short term. The bigger question i would be concerned about is how does your calories, macro and training look like? Creatine can be beneficial if you are a responder but only if other fwctors are addressed first.
Sorry to tangent a bit.
How do you know if you're a none responder or responsive to creatine? I never found much of a benefit to taking it, haven't in a year now but was thinking of giving it a try again.
OP: "Everything you need to know about creatine" (except how to identify if you're responsive.. or I missed that part)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9eCtOFIf40
So I had severe stomach cramping, even with loads of water (like 150oz +). Also, I didn't see any volume increases in my lifts. Thence my conclusion of not being a non responder. I assume it was due to the large amount of meats I eat daily, but to be honest, I don't eat the quantities that Eric Helms discusses or in the matter he discusses. It may be possible I will try again, with a few different brands. I guess it's possible there were some fillers or other ingredient in the brands I tried previously. But I won't try that again until I max out of my lifts.
Similarly, I also know I don't respond to caffeine. No amount of caffeine would keep me awake or even increase my energy.2 -
MatthiasJo98 wrote: »Creatine is used by the body but as a supplement there is a very slight improvement if any. Creatine as a supplement could be considered as a placebo. Getting a proper cycle for any effect is super difficult too according to my Kinesiology teacher.
Does your kinesiology teacher even lift?
Creatine is probably the only supplement legally available that has consistently shown numerous beneficial results in numerous peer-reviewed RCTs.
And you don't cycle creatine.2 -
I don't mean to thread-jack, but what is the deal with creatine and water? It's been mentioned twice in this post and I saw it sometime earlier this week. Why are you supposed to drink huge amounts of water with creatine?0
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jennybearlv wrote: »I don't mean to thread-jack, but what is the deal with creatine and water? It's been mentioned twice in this post and I saw it sometime earlier this week. Why are you supposed to drink huge amounts of water with creatine?
Go to 12:54 in the Eric Helms video above.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »Pre-loading is recommended by the manufacturers so you consume 2-3x a normal dose and need to buy a new tub sooner. There is no need to pre-load it.
so you mean it is a marketing ploy????????? LOL
There is not much in the "fitness" industry that isn't. Excluding CICO, but I do have a book if you're interested
Lol na but if you got oceanfront property in Arizona, I'm in1 -
jennybearlv wrote: »I don't mean to thread-jack, but what is the deal with creatine and water? It's been mentioned twice in this post and I saw it sometime earlier this week. Why are you supposed to drink huge amounts of water with creatine?
because Bad Stuff happens if you don't.
nah, i only know what any moderately googlefu person would know. creatine either generates or gets metabolized into atp, which lurks in your muscles as a supply of energy/fuel. atp storage 'needs' a lot of water, which is what i like best about the stuff. it sucks water into my muscles and my muscles might not be stronger but they feel much more comfortable.
supposedly stomach things happen if the creatine has to go find its own water by sucking it out of non-muscle cells. i think. idk. i just drop my teaspoonful into a little more than a litre of water and that seems to work out for me.0 -
jennybearlv wrote: »I don't mean to thread-jack, but what is the deal with creatine and water? It's been mentioned twice in this post and I saw it sometime earlier this week. Why are you supposed to drink huge amounts of water with creatine?
Somewhat rough explanation, but it's good enough, IMO. Ceatine helps shunt water to your muscles. Since the water is getting sent to your muscles, it's not getting used elsewhere. Thus, in order to remain properly hydrated and for your other organs/tissues to function properly, you need more water.
It's a little more involved, but that's the basic gist of it.0
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