Creatine stands as a well-researched supplement renowned for its muscle growth and performance benefits, irrespective of your fitness level. Musashi Creatine amplifies gym power, intensifies workouts, and boosts muscle growth by enabling that extra rep crucial for stimulating muscle growth.
Understanding Creatine Cycling
A loading phase is advised at the start of any creatine cycle. This saturates your muscles and increases cell volume, boosting lean muscle tissue and growth. During the loading phase, you should consume a large dosage of creatine for 5-7 days, before moving to a lower maintenance dosage.
Creatine cycling refers to the consumption pattern of which you use creatine. Common cycles include a loading phase, followed by a maintenance phase and ending with a break from creatine supplementation.
Creatine cycling allows your body to get the greatest benefits for power, strength, and muscle gain. It also prevents you from always relying on supplementation, allowing you time to reset and naturally produce your own creatine.
Common Creatine Cycles
Loading phase: 5-7 days of 20-25g per day, split into 5g doses throughout the day.
Maintenance phase: 4-6 weeks of 5g per day
Rest period: 2-4 weeks off creatine (other supplements can be used during this time) before the next loading phase and cycle begin again.
Maximising Creatine Uptake
The uptake of creatine within the muscle is best when creatine is consumed in combination with protein and carbohydrate and can be consumed as part of a pre- or post-workout shake. Musashi protein powders can be added to any of the Musashi protein shakes e.g., Musashi 100% Whey or Musashi Bulk, before or after training.
Tailoring Creatine Dosage
Creatine tolerance will vary among individuals. For some people, larger dosages of 20g per day will result in stomach cramps and discomfort whereas others can tolerate up to 30g per day without side effects. Water retention is often experienced with creatine supplementation. To reduce large amounts of fluid retention, we advise you increase daily water consumption to 2-3 litres a day. If stomach pains are experienced while taking creatine, stop all supplementation ASAP and consult a healthcare professional.
The Benefit of Cycling Creatine
By cycling creatine, you can increase the ability to store more, resulting in more energy produced to support muscle gains. It does not work in the same way as energy boosters like caffeine, but it increases the reserves allowing the muscles to work harder for longer. To maximise results with creatine, cycling is recommended. Remember to have a break between cycles and increase daily water intake when using creatine.
Musashi R&D Podcast #43: Do I Need To Load and Cycle Creatine?
If you want to learn more, listen to Episode 43 of the Musashi R&D podcast, where the team discusses a highly debated question about the necessity of loading and cycling creatine. The guys explain the concepts of loading and cycling creatine, the reasons behind them, and how each is performed. Check out this podcast episode to learn more and decide for yourself.
