Personally, I have found the best time to take creatine is 15 minutes BEFORE a workout
and AFTER a workout with a liquid protein and carbohydrate drink. As well as first
thing in the morning on non-training days.
What kind of creatine should I buy?
With all the fancy
bell and whistle creatine supplements out there, a lot
of people of forgotten about simple, powdered creatine. All you need to know that
the best creatine manufactured is sold to companies in the form of Creapure. So
as long as you see the that the creatine bottle you have bought, as Creapure as
their source of creatine, that's the good stuff.
There has much debate about creatine purity and it is not accepted that not all
creatine is created equal.
Creatine ethyl ester is a new form of creatine. It is made up of a creatine, alcohol
and acid meaning the absorption rate into the tissue is better. Manufacturers claim
it does not cause bloating, cramping or stomach discomfort and gets into the muscle
faster resulting in better results. Due to it's chemical structure, it might result
in greater stress on the liver. Although it does seem to have potential, wait for
more research and rely on the time-tested powdered creatine.
Should I take creatine with sugar?
Stimulating insulin release by consuming high amounts of sugar has been shown to
enhance the transport and uptake of of creatine into the muscle tissue. However,
insulin is also responsible for fat storage. Therefore my recommendation would be
to only consume your creatine with simple carbohydrates if it is before or after
your workout. On non-training days, creatine would be be better shuttled using insulin
mimicking compounds like alpha lipoic acid and D-pintol which can help improve creatine
transport and retention without the excess sugars.
Conclusion
Creatine, is by far the
king of the jungle when it comes to muscle building
supplements. I have only included the information I believe to be the most critical
and useful. Your take home message is to use powdered creatine, year round before
and after your training workout and in the morning on your non-training days. Make
sure your creatine says Creapure and don't get caught up wasting any more time or
sleep on the
academic debate associated with creatine use. Just do it!