Creatine is also known as creatine monohydrate, creatine citrate, and creatine phosphate. Its beneficial uses include weight gain, increase of muscle mass and development of muscle strength. It is compared to steroids though without the associated negative side effects but one must know how to use creatine or how to take creatine for lasting results.
How to Use Creatine Properly
Before using creatine, you must understand what it is for and how it works. Creatine is a compound that boosts energy levels and helps you increase your body weight. Energy levels reach to a high that sustains the body’s efforts during explosive activities, hence it is a favorite of athletes and those working out to improve body physique.
If you are underweight or need to increase your energy levels for high intensity sports you probably heard of creatine. It is not a steroid but works like one. It increases your muscle mass and gives you the energy for brief but high intensity sports like sprinting and weight lifting. You could say that it provides your muscles the fuel it needs to perform. This is why athletes use creatine.
Synthesized creatine unlike steroids is not a banned substance but you probably heard of complaints that taking creatine did not sustain increased weight or muscle mass. This can be blamed on the improper use of creatine, not the substance. It helps to know how to use creatine effectively to maximize the benefits you can get from it because creatine is not cheap.
Creatine is found in meats but eating too much meat to get creatine results in clogged arteries; to get concentrated amounts without the negative side effect of eating too much red meat, creatine in powder or capsule form provides the solution to the dilemma. This is taken by cycles; you do not pop it daily like regular vitamins to get the desired results.
How to Take Creatine Effectively
Creatine is a dietary supplement taken in three phases that includes the resting phase. Here’s how to use creatine effectively:
Loading Phase – During the first week, take 20 g of creatine daily or as suggested by manufacturers, you take this 4 times daily for three successive days. This is best taken with a high carb drink like grape juice. It is also best to take creatine before you work out.
Maintenance Phase – The intake is reduced to one rounded teaspoon to equal 10 grams daily during the second and fourth weeks.
Resting Phase – No creatine for weeks five to eight.
Why the Resting Phase?
The body gets used to creatine and it appears that the body is no longer responding to the supplement. This explains why people complain that creatine does not seem to work for them. By following the prescribed use, you can see the sustained weight gain and muscle development.
Now that you have learned how to use creatine effectively, you can enjoy the results for a lifetime. A word of caution though, there is no FDA approval on the use of creatine so the hygienic preparation and the purity of the substance has not been regulated yet. But as long as you follow directions and take the recommended amounts, you can enjoy the benefits of creatine without worrying about the side effects brought on by steroids.
I’m Valerie Campbell, a keep fit enthusiast and personal trainer of 20 years who understands the importance of knowing how to use creatine. Did you find this article on how to use creatine…useful? You can learn a lot more on this and how to get the best results by clicking here.