question about loading phase of creatine

bada_bing

here's the story, bought Cell Tech creatine supplement last month. It advised me to take 2 servings daily for the loading phase which was the first five days, then after that take one serving a day regardless of whether you are training or not. Now i stuck to this routine for 3 weeks until i got hit with a bad case of the flu so i stopped training and taking the creatine for 9 days and then went back on it as soon as i recovered but this time i didn't stick to the daily serving routine. I only took the single serving on the days that i was training on ( 4 times a week).

now the question is , the label says that i should continue taking this supplement for 8 weeks and so i have only one or two servings left. bearing in mind that i broke the routine for 9 days and have been taking the supplement intermittently since then, so when i buy a new tub of the same product should i start the loading phase again or do i just take a single serving daily for 4 weeks to finish the recommended course of 8 weeks??

Shrimp

do you know the reprecutions of creo?

bada_bing

i think any side effects with creatine are only associated with serious bodybuilders abusing the use of creatine and drinking plenty of water daily helps your body to process the creatine without harming your liver. i have been drinking at least 2 litres daily when taking creatine.

here's a link that provides the facts about creatine.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=71542&highlight=creatine

pwd

bada_bing wrote:

here's the story, bought Cell Tech creatine supplement last month. It advised me to take 2 servings daily for the loading phase which was the first five days, then after that take one serving a day regardless of whether you are training or not. Now i stuck to this routine for 3 weeks until i got hit with a bad case of the flu so i stopped training and taking the creatine for 9 days and then went back on it as soon as i recovered but this time i didn't stick to the daily serving routine. I only took the single serving on the days that i was training on ( 4 times a week).

now the question is , the label says that i should continue taking this supplement for 8 weeks and so i have only one or two servings left. bearing in mind that i broke the routine for 9 days and have been taking the supplement intermittently since then, so when i buy a new tub of the same product should i start the loading phase again or do i just take a single serving daily for 4 weeks to finish the recommended course of 8 weeks??

You'd be best off taking two 5g servings a day. Taking twice as much creatine as you need for a week won't harm you at all however, you'll just excrete it. Horror stories about the supplement involve people taking huge amounts more than they should. [That said, cycling your usage of it may cause it to be more effective.] So starting the loading phase again is not harmful or anything.
However, the loading phase is redundant really. If you just take two 5g servings a day, instead of 2 10g servings, you will still store as much in your muscles as your body can, although it will take a little longer (maybe two weeks instead of one).

AARRRGH

If you read the forums on getbig.com and t-nation.com, you'll see most bodybuilders no longer bother with the loading phase anymore - most just take 5 - 10g a day. Anymore and you'll saturate your muscles and piss it away...

Personally, I only take it on days I train as it dehydrates me too much.

RonanC

bada_bing wrote:

so when i buy a new tub of the same product should i start the loading phase again or do i just take a single serving daily for 4 weeks to finish the recommended course of 8 weeks??

Not strictly necessary to do the loading phase again but I would advise you to save your money and just buy creatine mono + dextrose. Most Muscletech product are grossly overpriced and the exact same ingredients can be bought much cheaper elsewhere under different labels. See my post here for an example of how to make your own Cell-Tech for 1/3 of the price most places charge.