CREATINE MONOHYDRATE – MAX’s

FAQ

Who Should Take Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine Monohydrate is suitable for all athletes who want to maximise size, strength, power and muscle gains. It is also suitable for endurance athletes to assist in higher intenstity training sessions and events. We recommend 2 serves of about 5 grams on training days and 1 – 2 serves on non-training days. If you are a bigger body type (over 100kg) you can increase this dosage up to double. You don’t need big doses to get the benefits as too much will simply not be used by your body.

Creatine FAQ’s

Q. Is Creatine Safe? Creatine has been extensively studied and used by athletes fro almost 30 years and has been proven to be extremely safe and well tolerated by humans.

Q. Does Creatine have any side affects? Creatine can have a few side effects however their incidence varies from athlete to athlete. The most common form of Creatine is Creatine Monohydrate. This form is not particularly soluble and can cause gastric distress, bloating and diarrhoea. To avoid this some manufacturers provide a micronised version which is more soluble. A better alternative is to use other forms of Creatine that are more soluble (like MAX’S Creatine Monohydrate) which generally are better absorbed and don’t cause gastric issues.

Creatine can also cause you to retain a little extra fluid in your muscles which some trainers worry will blur their definition. In general, this affect is minimal however it can give muscles a bigger fuller look so if you are training for increased muscle size this can be a benefit.

Q. Do I need to “Load” Creatine? With the newer more soluble forms of Creatine you don’t need to go on a loading phase. Simply take the recommended daily dosage and you will start seeing benefits within about a week. Creatine can be loaded to quickly saturate your muscle by taking 2 – 3 times the daily dosage for 3 – 4 days if you want to maximise levels in your system asap.

Q. Can women trainers use Creatine? Yes – Creatine is just a suitable for women as men and offers all the same benefits.

Q. Should I cycle on and off Creatine? While it’s not strictly necessary to cycle on and off Creatine we would recommend periodically giving your system a break every few months for several weeks to allow it to return to “normal” functioning. Your Creatine use should coincide with your natural training cycles. When you are training hard and peaking for a competition or maximising your efforts, then keep you Creatine usage high. When you have scheduled in a period of lower training load then this is a naturally good time to take a break from usage.

Q. What is the best form of Creatine? Most of the research has been done on Creatine Monohydrate, and it is an effective form of Creatine, but because of the issues already discussed, there are other good options now available. The short answer here is – there is no one “best”form of Creatine, however a combination of different types with varying properties offers superior results.

Q. When should I take Creatine? Most brands suggest taking Creatine an hour or so before training to top up your Creatine levels, which is a good practice. Another good time to take your Creatine is within an hour of training as your muscles are more open to Creatine uptake – so adding Creatine to your post workout shake is a good idea. On non training days you can take Creatine at any time, however we would recommend taking one dose in the morning and a second does later in the day or evening.