Dosage

There are different variants for the dosage of creatine capsules. The manufacturers’ specifications may contain additional useful information. Your own state of health and fitness should also be taken into account for the dosage of the capsules.

A popular method of dosage is the so-called charge. Here, 20-25 g of creatine per day are taken over a period of 5-7 days. The single dose should not exceed 5 g and there should be a time window of 3 hours between each intake.

After the charging phase follows the maintenance phase, in which the intake of 3-5 g creatine per day is sufficient. As an alternative to charging, a continuous intake of 5 g creatine per day can also lead to success. Although this method takes longer at the beginning, it does not show any significant differences to charging in the long-term analysis.

Furthermore, there is still the possibility of a creatine cure. Here too, there are two options. The first is the 12 weeks on 2 weeks off method.

As the name suggests, creatine is taken over a period of 12 weeks before a two-week break follows. In the second treatment, the pulsatile loading, there is a 3-5 day loading phase with 30-40 g creatine per day every 4 weeks. Which dosage method is most suitable should be determined by personal goals and one’s own health condition.

What should I watch out for when taking this medicine?

Creatine is a supplement that is usually taken over a longer period of time, i.e. at least 3-6 months. To be absorbed by the body, creatine takes about 30-60 minutes. In capsule form, the absorption time is also increased by 30-60 minutes because the capsule shell must first dissolve before the creatine is released.

Once the creatine has been absorbed by the body, it first passes through the portal vein from the intestine to the liver and from there into the bloodstream. There it remains for 1-1.5 hours. During training, the creatine stores in the muscle cells are emptied, so it is advisable to take it 1.5-2 hours before training so that the creatine can be stored in the muscle cells.

Nevertheless, it can be useful to take creatine after training, for example to fill the creatine stores in the muscles directly after training and thus possibly prevent muscle soreness. On non-training days, the administration of the daily dose of creatine capsules can be chosen at will. However, you should always make sure that the maximum dose is not exceeded. Anyway, excess creatine in the bloodstream is quickly broken down and excreted by the kidneys as creatinine.