Do you take your dose of creatine only before training? This article will show you that it is more effective to include it in the post-workout period!

Two Lamborghinis

I used to work for the company that first popularized creatine. This was in the 90s, when people lived in mud huts and watched movies on their primitive VCRs.
Back then we sold tiny 150 g boxes of creatine, which is a supply for about 30 days, for about 1.750 CZK. In today's money, that's about 100.000,- crowns and a gold brick! Yes!, creatine was damn expensive in the beginning.
Today, however, it is very affordable, with 500 g of quality creatine starting at 350,- crowns.

The owner of the company bought a Lamborghini. Then he bought another one, in a different colour. I think he owns Canada today.

Soon, dozens of companies were selling creatine in every imaginable form. You could even buy colored creatine gummy bears. Creatine began to be added to dozens, if not hundreds, of bodybuilding supplements.

Creatine forgotten in the cupboard

After a short time, creatine slowly ceased to interest us. It was because there wasn't enough of it in the products, it wasn't of good quality, and it didn't have much effect. This is a perfect recipe for forgetfulness. When you take something long enough, you forget what it did for you in the beginning.

However, creatine is still an incredibly effective supplement, and athletes who start taking it again are always surprised that it still helps them as much as it did when they first took it.

However, the same questions keep coming up: what's the best way to saturate? When is it best to take it? The advice for satiation hasn't changed, but the timing is trying to adjust in the latest study I'm going to present to you today.

The best way to saturate with creatine

You'll remember that creatine works best after the body has been saturated with it.

The advice first given to us by creatine pioneer Richard Kreider still holds true:

Take 0.3 g per kilo of body weight 4 times a day for 5 to 7 days. Or more simply, 5 g in each dose. Once the muscle cells are saturated with creatine, 2-3 g per day as a maintenance dose will suffice.

You might as well skip that pesky saturation phase, and take 3 to 5 g daily for 4 weeks, which is what they did in the study below.

The best time to take creatine

The current trend dictates taking creatine before training. We also take our coffee before a boring lecture, not after. We expect the same with other supplements. However, researchers at Nova Southeastern University in Florida wanted to find out if this is really the best strategy.

They took 19 athletes and divided them into 2 groups. Both groups exercised the same, but one took their 5g of creatine before training, while the other took it after.

After 4 weeks, the gentlemen in the group with creatine after training had gained TWICE as much lean muscle mass as those who took it before training. They also lost about 1 extra pound of fat. Even in benching, they averaged a few pounds better than the first group.

What does this mean for you?

The researchers aren't sure what was behind the much better result of the group that took creatine after training. The training may have made the muscle cells more sensitive to creatine. Or it's possible that the post-workout meal arranged for a spike in insulin levels that improved creatine absorption.

Either way, if you're not already taking creatine (post workout), you're crazy! Pull it out of the cupboard or buy a new dose and start again.
There aren't many other supplements that will give you such fast and undiscussable results.

You can buy creatine, and its various forms, from us, and you can buy it HERE.

Source: www.t-nation.com - You 're Taking Creatine at the Wrong Time
Study: Antonio J, Ciccone V. "The effects of pre versus post workout supplementation of creatine monohydrate on body composition and strength." J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013 Aug 6;10:36.
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