In every cell of the body, creatine is a chemical that naturally exists.
By increasing the amount of creatine in your cells, creatine supplements may increase your strength and muscle mass.
How about the ideal time to take it, though? One of the most well-liked supplements for improving athletic performance is creatine.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that it enhances muscle mass and strength.
Its safety for consumption has also been proven by extensive research.
Although you may already be aware of creatine’s safety and efficacy, there seems to be some misunderstanding over the ideal time to consume it.
Everything you need to know about when to use creatine is covered in this article.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
✅ Although there is some controversy over the ideal time to use creatine, it is a safe and reliable supplement.
✅ According to a study, it may be preferable to consume creatine right before or right after working out on workout days as opposed to long before or right after.
✅ Although the timing is generally less crucial than on exercise days, it may be advantageous to take it with food on rest days.
✅ Exercise earlier in the day, drink less water before bed, and sleep on the side opposite the stent are among the options you can consider.
✅ Additionally, taking creatine along with foods high in protein and carbohydrates may help you get the most out of it.
Why Do You Use Creatine?
Your body’s cells naturally contain the chemical creatine. It is also a very well-known nutritional supplement that has undergone extensive research. Increasing the content of creatine in your cells through supplementation can have positive effects on your health and performance.
These advantages include improved muscular health and exercise performance as well as potential neurological advantages including enhanced brain function in the elderly.
According to studies, creatine can, on average, boost strength gains from a weight training regimen by 5 to 10%. These performance advantages are most likely attributable to creatine’s crucial function in the cellular energy cycle. It’s a supplement worth thinking about if you wish to improve your general health and muscular power.
Taking Supplements on Days You Work Out
There are three basic alternatives for taking creatine on days that you work out. You can take it right before exercising, right after exercising, or at another time that is not right before exercising. Another choice is to divide your daily dosage and spread it out over the course of the day.
Is it Okay to Take It After a Workout?
Finding the ideal timing to use creatine supplements has been the focus of numerous studies. In one study, it was determined if taking five grams of creatine before or after exercise was more beneficial for adult men.
Participants were weight-trained five days per week and took creatine either before or after exercise during the four-week research. At the conclusion of the trial, the group who took creatine after exercise showed larger gains in lean mass and strength.
However, according to some studies, there is no difference in taking it before or after exercise. Overall, it’s unclear whether there are any discernible differences between taking creatine before or after exercise based on the scant research that is currently available.
Should they be taken right before or right after exercise?
Supplementing soon before or right after exercise appears to be preferable to supplementing long before or right after exercise. Adults who were weight trained were given a nutritional supplement containing creatine, carbohydrates, and protein in one 10-week research.
There were two groups formed from the participants. While the other group took the supplement in the morning and evening, well away from exercise, one group received the supplement right before and right after exercise.
By the end of the research, those who took the supplement right before exercising had accumulated more muscle and strength than those who took it in the morning and the evening.
According to this research, taking creatine right before exercise may be preferable to take it at another time of the day. For instance, you might split the dose and take half before activity and the other half after, or you could take the entire dose after working out.
Supplements on Days Off
The timing of supplements on days of rest is probably far less crucial than on days of exercise. To maintain your muscles’ high creatine levels, you should supplement on rest days.
A “loading phase” is often advised when commencing a creatine supplement regimen. Approximately 20 grams must be consumed throughout this phase over the course of five days.
Over several days, this quickly raises the amount of creatine in your muscles. A reduced daily maintenance dose of 3-5 grams is advised after that.
The goal of taking supplements on rest days if you are on a maintenance dose is to simply keep your muscles’ high levels of creatine stable. In general, it probably doesn’t matter much how you take this dose.
However, as will be covered in more detail below, taking the supplement with food may be advantageous.
Do you need to include anything more with it?
Although the advantages of using creatine supplements are well known, many individuals are unsure of how to make the most of them. To improve its potency, researchers have experimented with adding extra substances like protein, carbohydrates, amino acids, cinnamon, and different plant-based chemicals.
According to numerous studies, combining carbohydrates with creatine boosts how much of it is absorbed by your muscles. Other research, however, has shown that adding carbohydrates does not improve performance.
In some of the experiments, doses of approximately 100 grams of carbohydrates, or around 400 calories, were employed. These extra calories could cause weight gain if you don’t need them. Overall, taking creatine and carbs at the same time might be advantageous, but the additional carbs may increase your chance of overeating.
An effective technique would be to avoid consuming additional carbs outside of your regular diet and take creatine when you typically eat a meal that contains carbs.
Eating protein and amino acids together with this meal is also a good idea because they may assist your body to retain creatine to a greater level.