Creatine maintenance phase - how long?

Jason wrote:
> I would be surprised if this isn't an FAQ, but I couldn't find the
> answer anywhere so I apologize if I'm just not searching correctly.
>
> I'm cycling creatine for the first time in many, many years.

Why are you cycling it?

> I just completed the loading phase (25g/day), and am entering the
> maintenance
> phase (5g/day).
>
> My question is, how long should the maintenance phase last? I'm
> reading mixed reports, ranging from 4 weeks to 9 months!
>
> Once the maintenance phase is completed, how long should I stay off of
> creatine completely before starting a new loading phase?

There's no evidence to suggest constant creatine use if harmful.

>
> TIA,
>
> Jason
>
>
> PS, to anyone interested, my chest went from 43" to 45" inside of 2
> weeks, my bicep/triceps went from 13 1/2" to 15", and my thighs went
> from 21 1/2" to 24". The only thing I did different was add creatine!
> The only downside is that I had diarrea and stomach cramps for the
> last couple of days, but I suspect that will go away now that the
> loading phase is complete.

Yep, however the loading phase is wholey unnecessary!! 5 days at 25g/day
gives the same effect as 25 days at 5g/day or thereabouts.

--
Bully
Protein bars: http://www.proteinbars.co.uk

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
 >> Stay informed about: Creatine maintenance phase - how long? 

Sorry to reply so late to this one. I mainly didn't want you guys to
think that I didn't read it; I read both of your replies immediately,
but am just now remembering to reply.

> > Why are you cycling it?

My information may be outdated, but I was under the belief that a
loading phase of about a week was required, followed by a maintenance
phase of several weeks. The maintenance phase would be followed by a
few weeks of no supplement at all, and then go back to the loading
phase.

I had a plethora of sources from searching on Google, but this was the
one that seemed the most informative (and was the only one that I
bookmarked):
http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?Id=1188

> > There's no evidence to suggest constant creatine use if harmful.
>
> In fact, there's evidence that low dose constant creatine use is
> healthy, 'specially for old farts like me.

I don't think that the data implied that it was "harmful," per se, but
that for maximum growth a period of down-time would be beneficial. This
is just a guess on my part, but since I noticed the most growth during
the loading phase then it would make sense to schedule yourself a
periodic loading phase.

FWIW, tomorrow will be exactly 1 month into my new routine that
includes creatine so I'm looking very forward to taking some
measurements. I've taken random measurements throughout the month, and
I've found that if I measure immediately after a workout then my
targeted muscles are easily 1/2" larger than if they're cold. That may
be old news to you guys, but no one had ever told me that one!

I'm even getting bicep peaks (something I've never had; even in high
school). Thanks to an article by the Governator, I'm trying a new (to
me) concentration technique that's boosting my natural peak so that I'm
loosing the football shape.

- Jason
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