i recently used the ask ato function on ato boldon’s website regarding how creatine should be used. he thought that it should be used on hard days (mondays) or for a week before competition, but not continuously.
what are your opinions about this protocol? would i still gain the benefits of creatine by taking it that seldomly?
If you want the benefits of taking creatine why not take it every day? It’s dirt cheap.
Taking it one day per week, you only mentioned hard days as being monday, I don’t believe would be of much benefit considering the most predominant way creatine seems to work is by filling your muscles with more water making a more anabolic muscle. I can’t see you getting this effect from one day of creatine per week.
As far as taking only the week before a meet: I don’t like this because if you are a good responder to creatine you can gain up to 10 pounds of water weight and that’s 10 pounds of extra water, not even muscle, that you are trying to haul ass down the track.
one guy from my old school, PHD guy, did a huge research thesis on creatine, and he told me that you only need to take it on very hard training days…not everyday…
he said keep the load to 5mg and then a week before the major competition, up it to 10-15mg and make sure your very very hydrated…
didnt ask questions, just did what he said…he knows his stuff.
mg or g?
jysp, you can receive some benefits of creatine by taking it as Ato suggested. You don’t have to take it all the time. As always, stay alert for any hints of cramping or muscle issues (that are of course not related to the creatine:rolleyes: )
ooops, yeah Grams…
and yeah, cramps, ahhhh, killed me at my last comp…but if you stay waterized…you should be fine.
Started taking Kre-Alkalyn, 1.5 mg per capsule, very easy on stomach, no cramping, very pleased with results, only take it on hard days and only need to go to 3 mg, anyone else tried this product?
Yea I’ve tried it all. Kre-Alkalyn was ok. Creatine mono gives me a bit of water weight gain which I’m not a fan of. I took a bulk CEE a few years back that gave me muscle contraction/cramping issues.
The interesting thing is that there are a ton of studies about the effectiveness of Creatine Monohydrate. There are almost none on CEE or Kre-Alkalyn to my knowledge. Also interesting is that Kre-Alkalyn seems it would be better than CEE but CEE seems to be much more hyped/popular.
All that being said, creatine should be a spectacular supplement for 100m sprinters (increasing phosphate stores) however not many sprinters are huge fans of it. Paper vs real world.
On the hard sessions or in the week before a big race sound like the advice and experience I’ve had. All good from my persective.
The marketting around the loading aspect seems to have been debunked in that the companies only want you to purchase more and more of the product!
Loading seems to create more problems than not.
Try a few grams a day.
I’d do it like that also, but I’d perhaps cycle it, 3 weeks on, 1 week off.
Creatine can prevent fluid loss out of the muscle cells after very hard training but can also cause fluid gain beyond normal if overused so I think using it on hard days with the low dose split between pre and post workout would likely be the best idea.
This strategy of using creatine only around high intensity workouts is something new to me. Certainly it would appear to get around the negative affect of bloating however is there research on its effectiveness that way versus regular daily use? 
Oldspeeder,
how did you find that product and protocol versus ‘tradtional’ methods?
Oldspeeder,
how did you find that product and protocol versus ‘tradtional’ methods?
I’ve been using Kre-Alkalyn for 2 months now, only on hard days and no more than 3 grams, I’m trying to do exactly as the manufactorer suggests, I have had no cramps nor bloating and have had very good results, I suppose you could take a smaller dose on non-workout days and cycle as suggested, perhaps I’ll try that as I have 4 weeks until my big meet.
For sure this is perhaps the best way to use it. Use it everyday at a medium to high dose and you significantly increase the chances of pulling a muscle due to fluid retention. I’ve seen it time and time again.
This also supports the idea of loading on creatine before long plane flights while in training or competition. Anyway to help stop dehydration the better.
Thanks people, for sure my approach to creatine use has changed as a result of this thread.
Let us know if you notice any changes in your performance as a result of altering your creatine supplementation.
is creatine legal for 100 m sprint>? if you drink 2kre alkaline capsules every day?
I also like the idea of cycling on and off between creatine as i have heard that constant use will eventually lead to the body becoming reliant on the supplement and will stop producing it naturally.
Not sure that is true but read the rest of the thread for reason enough