The BEST Way To Use Creatine For Muscle Growth (4 STEPS)
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers a comprehensive guide on maximizing the benefits of creatine supplementation for muscle growth and strength. It clarifies the effectiveness of creatine monohydrate, debunks the need for fancy forms, and suggests a daily dosage of 3 grams. The script also discusses loading protocols to quickly saturate muscles with creatine and advises on timing and combinations for optimal absorption. Finally, it touches on potential interference with caffeine, emphasizing the importance of consistency and proper use alongside a tailored training and nutrition plan.
Takeaways
- 🌟 Creatine is scientifically proven to be an effective and safe supplement for building muscle and increasing strength.
- 💡 Creatine naturally occurs in our bodies and is used as an energy source for high-intensity activities.
- 🔍 Research shows that all forms of creatine are equally effective, with creatine monohydrate being the most cost-effective.
- 💰 Save money by choosing creatine monohydrate, which is the cheapest and most effective option available.
- 📉 Avoid low dosages of 1-2 grams per day, as studies show they are insufficient for performance improvements.
- 📈 A daily dose of 3 grams of creatine monohydrate is suggested for most people, based on its effectiveness and efficiency.
- 🚀 Consider a loading protocol of 20 grams per day for a week to quickly saturate muscle creatine stores, or a non-loading protocol of 3 grams per day for gradual saturation.
- 🏋️♂️ Timing of creatine intake is not critical for performance, but consistency is key for maintaining elevated creatine levels.
- 🍏 There is some evidence that taking creatine with carbohydrates and protein may enhance saturation levels during the initial phase.
- ☕ Be cautious with caffeine consumption, as it may potentially interfere with the benefits of creatine, especially when taken together.
- 🔄 Creatine is not a magic solution; it works best when combined with a proper training and nutrition plan.
Q & A
What is creatine and what role does it play in muscle building and strength?
-Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in the body that serves as an energy source for muscles during high-intensity activities. Supplementing with creatine can increase natural creatine levels, leading to a significant boost in power and strength during workouts, which over time can translate to greater muscle growth.
Why is it important to choose the right type of creatine?
-Choosing the right type of creatine is crucial to avoid wasting money on unnecessary forms. Research indicates that all forms of creatine are equally effective at boosting muscle creatine levels, with creatine monohydrate being the most cost-effective.
What is the cheapest and most effective form of creatine according to the 2021 systematic review?
-Creatine monohydrate is the cheapest and most effective form of creatine, as it has been shown to be as effective as more expensive forms without additional benefits.
What is the recommended daily dosage of creatine monohydrate for most people?
-The recommended daily dosage of creatine monohydrate for most people is three grams per day, which is sufficient for maintaining elevated creatine stores and providing performance benefits.
Why might a higher initial dose of creatine be considered when starting supplementation?
-A higher initial dose, known as the loading protocol, can help saturate muscle creatine levels more quickly, allowing individuals to experience the benefits of creatine supplementation sooner.
What are the two protocols for starting creatine supplementation, and what are their differences?
-The two protocols are the loading protocol and the non-loading protocol. The loading protocol involves taking 20 grams of creatine per day for about seven days to quickly saturate muscles, followed by a maintenance dose of three grams per day. The non-loading protocol involves starting with three grams per day and gradually increasing creatine stores over three to four weeks before experiencing the benefits.
Why might the timing of creatine supplementation matter?
-While creatine does not have an immediate effect, some research suggests that taking it after a workout may lead to slightly better lean mass increases compared to taking it before a workout. However, consistency in timing is more important than the specific timing itself.
Can taking creatine with certain substances interfere with its effectiveness?
-Some research indicates that regular caffeine consumption may hinder the benefits of creatine. To avoid potential interference, it's recommended to either reduce caffeine consumption or avoid taking creatine and caffeine at the same time.
What should you look for in a creatine supplement to ensure you're choosing the right one?
-To ensure you're choosing the right creatine supplement, look for creatine monohydrate as the only ingredient on the nutritional label, which indicates a cost-effective and scientifically supported choice.
What is the potential downside of following the loading protocol for creatine supplementation?
-The potential downside of the loading protocol is the possibility of experiencing digestive distress from taking high doses of creatine at once. However, this can be mitigated by spacing out the daily dose into multiple servings.
How can you maximize the benefits of creatine while minimizing costs?
-To maximize benefits and minimize costs, stick to creatine monohydrate, follow either the loading or non-loading protocol to saturate your muscles, and then maintain elevated creatine stores with a daily dose of about three grams.
Outlines
💪 Maximizing Creatine Benefits
This paragraph introduces the effectiveness and safety of creatine as a supplement for muscle growth and strength. It emphasizes the importance of using the right type of creatine and the correct dosage to avoid wasting money. The paragraph also discusses creatine monohydrate as the most cost-effective and scientifically proven form, debunking the claims of more expensive alternatives. The optimal daily dosage is suggested to be around 3 grams, which is less than the common 5-gram scoop size, potentially extending the supplement's duration and cost-effectiveness.
🚀 Creatine Loading vs. Non-Loading Protocols
This section delves into the specifics of creatine supplementation protocols, contrasting the loading and non-loading methods. The loading protocol involves a higher initial dose of 20 grams per day for seven days to rapidly saturate muscle creatine levels, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 grams per day. Conversely, the non-loading protocol starts with a consistent 3 grams per day, gradually increasing muscle stores over three to four weeks. The paragraph also touches on the potential benefits and drawbacks of each method, including the impact on body weight and the timing of creatine intake relative to workouts.
⏱ Optimal Timing and Consumption of Creatine
The final paragraph addresses misconceptions about when to take creatine and what to consume it with for maximum benefits. It clarifies that taking creatine pre-workout does not offer unique advantages and that post-workout timing may have a minor benefit during the saturation phase. The paragraph also suggests that consistency in daily intake is key, and highlights potential interference with caffeine, which might counteract creatine's effects. Recommendations are provided to either avoid caffeine or consume it separately from creatine to maximize the supplement's benefits.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Creatine
💡Creatine Monohydrate
💡Buffered Creatine
💡Dosage
💡Loading Protocol
💡Non-Loading Protocol
💡Caffeine
💡Carbohydrates and Protein
💡Consistency
💡Supplement Store
💡Science-Based Program
Highlights
Creatine is scientifically proven to be an effective and safe supplement for building muscle and strength.
Creatine is a natural substance used as an energy source for high-intensity activities.
Supplementing with creatine can increase natural levels by about 30%, boosting power and strength in workouts.
Creatine monohydrate is the most cost-effective and effective form of creatine.
Fancy forms of creatine are not more effective than creatine monohydrate despite higher costs.
A daily dose of 3 grams of creatine monohydrate is sufficient for most people.
Lower doses of 1-2 grams per day are not effective for performance improvement.
A loading protocol of 20 grams per day for 7 days can rapidly saturate muscle creatine levels.
A non-loading protocol gradually increases creatine stores over 3-4 weeks.
The loading protocol may be preferable for those dieting due to immediate weight changes.
Creatine should be taken consistently every day for maintenance.
There is no significant benefit to taking creatine pre-workout.
Taking creatine with carbohydrates and protein may enhance saturation levels initially.
Caffeine consumption may potentially interfere with the benefits of creatine.
Avoiding caffeine or taking it separately from creatine can mitigate potential interference.
Creatine is not a magic solution but can provide an edge when paired with proper training and nutrition.
For personalized training and nutrition plans, consider taking an analysis quiz at buildwithscience.com.
Transcripts
with over a thousand studies being done
on creatine it's scientifically proven
to be an effective and safe supplement
to help you build stronger and bigger
muscles but science also reveals that
there's a specific way to use it to
maximize its benefits and save you money
while you're at it today i'll show you
how to do just that in four easy steps
before we dive into step one let's first
briefly discuss what creatine is and how
it can help you build more muscle and
strength so creatine is a substance that
we naturally produce and use up as an
energy source to power our muscles
through the first 10 seconds or so of
high intensity activities such as
sprints or tough set of bench press when
we supplement with creatine we can
increase our natural creatine levels by
about 30
this increase if maintained through
consistent supplementation has been
shown to provide a significant boost in
power and strength during our workouts
which over time has been shown to
translate to significantly greater
muscle growth it's effective and it
works but it's also very easy to waste a
bunch of money on it without fully
reopening its benefits the first step to
avoiding that is to make sure that you
pick the right type of creatine walk
into a supplement store and you'll be
recommended all sorts of fancy forms of
creatine that are supposed to boost
absorption or provide some kind of
enhanced effect but what does research
say
well ever since my last creatine video i
posted a couple years back there's been
some new contenders in the market
luckily a 2021 systematic review was
recently published that analyzed eight
different forms of creatine to determine
which was most effective as you can see
in the following table the researchers
also broke down the cost per serving for
the different forms of creatine with
creatine monohydrate being the cheapest
with buffered creatine costing almost 8
times as much
of the 8 which came out on top well it
turns out they all work just as
effectively at boosting muscle creatine
levels which makes sense plain old
creatine monohydrate has no problems
with absorption nor does it cause any
notable effects that a more costly
alternative would be solving these
alternatives still exist in the market
however because companies try to one-up
their competitors by claiming to have a
proprietary formula that makes it seem
like they're more effective than others
who just sell a single ingredient
cheaper form of creatine because of this
they can charge more of a premium for
their product but their fancy forms have
not beaten out plain old creature
monohydrate regardless of what their
marketing tries to convince you so given
that you could save over a dollar every
single day from sticking to plain old
crew to monohydrate save your money and
stick to that you can easily tell if
you're picking the right choice if you
look at the nutritional label and the
only ingredient shown is creatine
monohydrate all right so after you've
picked up your creative monohydrate the
next step you want to get right is how
much to take as it does seem there's a
lower limit that you'll want to meet for
example one study on female swimmers
showed that two grams per day of
creatine monohydrate supplementation for
six months failed to improve their
performance similarly another study
showed that one gram per day of
supplementation for a full year failed
to improve muscle function or lean mass
meaning that one to two grams per day is
likely too low of a dose however the
typical dose of 5 grams per day which is
also the standard scoop size for most
creatine products may actually be
overkill illustrating this is a 2018
paper that compared the effects of
supplementing with either 3 grams or 5
grams of creatine monohydrate per day
when compared to the placebo both groups
experience significant increases in
strength and based on the results the
researchers suggest that 3 grams per day
is a sufficient dose for most lifters
and if you crunch the numbers it makes
sense given that studies have shown a
significant improvement in performance
from dosages of around 0.03 grams per
kilogram per day so for a 170 pound
individual that amounts to just 2.3
grams of creatine per day which is less
than half of the often recommended 5
gram scoop size that would mean that
your tub of 30 servings of creatine
would last you two months instead of
just one so what i'd recommend is stick
to three grams per day a little less
than the typical scoop size as that's
going to be more than enough for the
vast majority of people if you are on
the much heavier side then you may
benefit from just a slightly higher dose
based on your body weight now with that
being said when you first start taking
creatine you may actually want to
consider bumping up the dose far above
this this is where step three comes into
play so after you start taking creatine
it takes time for your creatine levels
in your muscles to gradually increase
and fully saturate it doesn't happen
overnight and in fact often takes a
couple weeks to significantly increase
depending on how fast you'd like to
experience the effects of creatine
though there's two protocols you can use
the loading protocol is a method that
helps you saturate your muscles with
creatine as fast as possible so you can
start reaping the benefits right away
this involves taking five grams of
creatine four times per day to get a
total of 20 grams per day you repeat
this for about seven days to elevate
your creatine stores and then afterwards
drop down to just three grams per day as
we previously talked about in order to
now maintain your elevated creatine
stores in contrast the non-loaning
protocol is a method that gradually
increases your creatine stores in this
case you simply stick to three grams per
day from the start but rather than
taking just a week to elevate your
creatine stores this protocol will
typically take about three to four weeks
before you start experiencing the
benefits of supplementation
both protocols do get you to the same
point so there isn't necessarily a
better one to pick from the loading
method is advantageous if you'd like to
read the benefits as quickly as possible
and it's also the protocol i'd recommend
if you're dieting this is because as
your creatine stores increase your
muscles will begin to store more water
with it and your body weight will
increase
taking a low daily dose will often
result in a slow and gradual rise in
your body weight over the first two to
three weeks which can skew your weight
loss results on the other hand loading
for a week will cause a quick initial
spike in your weight but then you can
easily use that as your new baseline
body weight going forward rather than
having to wait several weeks to find out
how creatine has affected your weight
the only potential downside of a loading
protocol could be some digestive
distress from taking so much at once but
that seems to be mitigated if you space
out your 20 grams per day into multiple
doses like we discussed so pick your
poison and follow whichever protocol
that you'll be most consistent with but
as you do so it's important to
understand when to take it and what to
avoid taking it with to maximize this
benefit this is where step four comes in
when i first started taking creatine i
was under the impression that it was
best taken right before my workout to
help power my muscles and i also heard
that i should chug it with grape juice
to get an added benefit i vividly
remember being in my car creating tub
and great juice in hand following the
protocol and then proceeding to have a
kid you know one of the best workouts of
my life since then i've learned the
placebo effect is a hell of a drug but
i've also learned the truth about when
and what to take creatine with although
there isn't too much research that dives
into the specifics of timing remember
creatine doesn't have an immediate
effect this means that taking a
pre-workout doesn't provide any unique
benefit and it makes no sense why many
supplement companies still include
creatine as part of their pre-workout
formula in fact one study found a 1.7
difference in lean mass increases when
taking it after your workout in
comparison to before your workout but
this difference wasn't significant by
research standards as for what to take
it with there is some evidence that
taking creatine with carbohydrates and
protein increases saturation levels more
than just taking creatine on its own but
this only really makes a difference
during the initial saturation phase and
is of lesser relevance during the
maintenance phase so while taking it
with a post-workout meal may have a very
small benefit what's most important is
that you're taking it every day at a
time that you could be consistent with
but with that being said there is a
small possibility that caffeine
consumption may actually hinder the
benefits of creatine this is illustrated
by a recent 2021 paper and an excellent
analysis of it by dr eric trexler within
it he took the past five studies done on
creatine and caffeine and found that in
four of those five studies creatine
alone worked to produce a desired
outcome such as a boost in torque
strength and hypertrophy however in all
of those five studies when creatine was
combined with regular caffeine
consumption equivalent to at least two
to three cups of coffee a day despite
the muscles still being saturated with
higher levels of creatine it now failed
to provide any performance benefits dr
trexler speculates that it may either
have to do with some of the opposing
effects that creatine and caffeine have
on our muscles from habitual consumption
or the fact that taking them together
can cause gastrointestinal discomfort
and would negatively affect your workout
but the research is still far from
conclusive for now here are the best
recommendations if you're extremely
concerned about the potential
interference between caffeine and
creatine ditch regular caffeine
consumption since creatine tends to
provide greater benefits over time
instead save your caffeine consumption
just for times or workouts when you need
it the most but for many that can be a
tough ask in which case a more suitable
alternative is to simply avoid taking
creatine and caffeine together at the
same time
so i know we covered quite a bit but
here are the main key points to get the
most bang for your buck using creatine
monohydrate follow either the loading
protocol or non-loaded protocol to
saturate your muscles and then take
about three grams of it whenever you
wish every single day to maintain it and
then after a few weeks there are a few
signs that you want to look for to see
if it's working for you as it's not
going to work for everyone this is
something i'm actually going to cover in
a follow-up video that i'll link at the
end of this one when it's up that being
said guys creatine just like any other
supplement it's not magic it doesn't do
the work for you but when paired with
the right training and nutrition plan it
can help you give you a bit of an edge
and if you're looking for a simple yet
effective science-based program you can
trust that shows you exactly how to
train and how to eat to transform your
specific body as efficiently as possible
and simply head on over to
buildwithscience.com and take our
analysis quiz to find the best program
for you and your body thanks for
watching i highly recommend you give
these two videos a watch next and don't
forget to hit that subscribe button for
more i'll see you next time
Parcourir plus de vidéos associées
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fyKlImJglZE/hq720.jpg)
Bodybuilding Simplified: Creatine
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PFg16I_iJyA/hq720.jpg)
Busting Creatine Myths: Separating Fact From Fiction
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KaynC1xbjfU/hq720.jpg)
Should You Supplement With Creatine? - Rhonda Patrick
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/f1yTizyAFpc/hq720.jpg)
The SMARTEST Way to Finally LOSE FAT in 2024 (Science Explained)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uHriPeuoh4k/hq720.jpg)
This Is What Happens When You Take Creatine + Whey Protein (15 studies)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M4K0s792wAU/hq720.jpg)
How To Build Muscle And Lose Fat At The Same Time: Step By Step Explained (Body Recomposition)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)