I going to start back to taking creatine again after a 5 year vacation. Previously, I would take creatine in the morning with water.
After being awoken to the concept of nutrient timing, I am wondering what the best time to take creatine is.
Would it be preworkout - like when I take my Power Drive? Or would it be more beneficial to take it immediately PWO when I drink my Surge?
I split the dose and do both. A little in some tea/w sugar pre workout, a little in a shake or yogurt post work out. Yogurt suspends it nicely but it gets a little gritty. Overall, it works prety well though, and the uptake is good enough to avoid that nasty side effect.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I going to start back to taking creatine again after a 5 year vacation. Previously, I would take creatine in the morning with water.
After being awoken to the concept of nutrient timing, I am wondering what the best time to take creatine is.
Would it be preworkout - like when I take my Power Drive? Or would it be more beneficial to take it immediately PWO when I drink my Surge?
[/quote]
Mix it with Surge. I can’t explain the scientific crap about it, but CW says mix it with Surge :). Something like replenishing your muscles or something.
I believe the current consensus would be to take it post workout with your shake/meal.
PWO with some carbs is when all the manufacturers say to take it, or on and empty stomach 30 min. before you eat anything.
A lot of the contributors to T-Nation don’t seem to view the timing or “loading” as vital, just so long as you’re getting your creatine. Why did you ever stop taking it?
Rainjack, in your PWO shake. It’s going to enter your muscles by the same mechanism as the protein and aminos, post-workout.
On non-workout days, it doesn’t matter.
I tried it on an empty stomach last time I was on it, and it would make me puke every time - which is why i quit taking it.
I will start using it PWO in my Surge.
Do you take it on non-training days, as well?
I feel like such a newb.
It’s always good to revisit fundamentals. I take it every day. Might not help, but it doesn’t hurt.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I tried it on an empty stomach last time I was on it, and it would make me puke every time - which is why i quit taking it.
I will start using it PWO in my Surge.
Do you take it on non-training days, as well?
I feel like such a newb.[/quote]
Yeah on non-workout days just take it in the morning, that way you get the benefit from any water you consume throught the day, or something…
Rainjack,
You may want to keep your creatine powder in a different room than your ‘home brew’. Just a thought 
yup,
Every day just take a tsp and call it good. PWO is great but really whenever youcan consistantly remember and doesnt upset your Tummy fine.
[quote]Dr. Ryan wrote:
Rainjack,
You may want to keep your creatine powder in a different room than your ‘home brew’. Just a thought :)[/quote]
Everybody’s a comedian.
I made a new rule at my house: No white powders on the cabinet at any time when Dad is homebrewing controlled substances.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I feel like such a newb.[/quote]
Priceless. What kind of creatine were you taking and how did you take it (as in mixed with what)? I’ve never heard anyone puke because of creatine.
RJ,
I recall reading an article on T-Nation that it was not necessary and a waste of money (albeit minimal) to take creatine every day.
Does anyone else remember that article?
I took the regular old creatine monohydrate - the micronized version(whatever that means). I would mix it with 6 oz. of water as soon as I got up. 20 minutes later I would puke. Every time. I don’t know if that is common, or not, but my wife and I both had nausea issues with the creatine.
Found the article (David J. Barr):
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459369
"If you?re working out and using creatine 4-5 times a week, then you?d only be missing a few days a week of loading, and any minor dips in muscle creatine levels would be bumped back up to max on training days.
Any decreases in muscle creatine would be negligible, considering that muscle creatine levels are still slightly elevated a full month after supplementation has been completely stopped (Vandenberghe et al., 1997; Hultman et al., 1996). Even if we assume that muscle creatine levels return to normal at the end of the month off, this means that we only lose an average of ~3% of our extra creatine each day ?certainly not enough to make a difference, especially when we take into account the training effect."
[quote]Dr. Ryan wrote:
Rainjack,
You may want to keep your creatine powder in a different room than your ‘home brew’. Just a thought :)[/quote]
I am never going to live this one down. Am I right?
Rainjack, not only is it easier to take in your Surge, but you can also store more of it if you take it then. Taking it at some time other than PWO, on workout days, is just reducing its efficiency. So, double-bonus. 5g should be enough.
As someone else mentioned, on non-workout days, it might not even be necessary, though it certainly won’t hurt. To prevent hurling, just throw it into a grow shake or something. No reason to take it by itself.
Being that Creatine is mainly to restore ATP (Adenosine TriPhosphate) levels, there is no need for use any other time except PWO for this simple reason. Because your body naturally excretes smaller amounts of Creatine naturally on a daily basis you would not ever have a need to load up on it throughout the day unless your muscles were going through a constant motion where there would be a chance of fatigue.
Touching base on the whole Creating Loading aspect though; This is merely a marketing strategy and if you are able to find information that states otherwise I would be interested in reading up on it.
Other than that I think you are good to go.
I hope this helped, If you need any more help dont hesitate to PM me.