So, when you first start taking creatine, it takes time for your muscles to become fully saturated with that additional creatine. Note that you will experience a few side effects throughout this period. That said, you won't experience the performance benefits until full saturation which we'll talk about later.
Taking creatine for the first time
It's important to keep in mind that weight gain associated with creatine supplementation will be in the form of water weight and/or muscle mass. Creatine really works in the way of putting more water into your muscles so they may work at first capacity.
How long does it take for the benefits of creatine to work? As with working out, results aren't immediate with creatine supplements. Consistency and dedication are key to seeing the benefits of supplemental creatine. It can take anywhere from seven to 28 days to see the effects of creatine on your energy levels.
Creatine makes your muscles look bigger, while actually making them bigger as well. First, creatine causes your muscle cells to store more water which causes your muscles to appear fuller and larger. You may notice the size increase a few days or weeks after starting creatine supplementation.
While it depends on many factors, including your method of taking creatine, the average person starts to see results within one to four weeks.
How much bigger does creatine make you? It depends on your exercise routine. But some studies show that people who take creatine supplements may gain an extra two to four pounds of muscle mass during four to 12 weeks of regular exercise than people who don't take creatine.
Effects Of Stopping Creatine. Some people who stop taking creatine may experience effects such as loss of muscle mass, strength, or endurance; on the other hand, some people report no side effects.
The supplement is particularly popular among high school, college, and professional athletes, especially football and hockey players, wrestlers, and gymnasts. Creatine is thought to improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise.
"It's better to eat good sources of carbohydrates and lean protein." In the end, creatine alone will not make you a bigger man. "Only when combined with exercise does it improve the quality of training," Greenhaff says. "You still have to do the work."
Caffeine counteracts the ergogenic action of muscle creatine loading. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1996 Feb;80(2):452-7. doi: 10.1152/jappl.
So, you can definitely take creatine if you don't go to the gym or if you're not trying to get 'big'. For people who don't work out, the benefits are mainly that creatine will give you that energy boost for any day-to-day movement, and will also improve brain function.
Increased Water Weight
Creatine helps increase muscle mass by drawing extra water into the muscle cells, causing you to retain fluid. While your muscles haven't actually started growing yet, the increased water is important for future muscle growth, and can be the cause of initial weight gain.
Creatine can be taken to improve physical performance and enhance workouts. 1 There is concern among users that it can cause acne or other skin issues. However, creatine does not cause acne.
Most athletes use creatine either less than one hour before or immediately after working out. Using it after exercise can be beneficial because exercising stimulates blood circulation and cells can then be supplied with creatine more quickly. Nevertheless, creatine can be taken at any time.
However, when supplementing with creatine, you should drink an additional 8-10 cups of water daily, or slightly more, depending on your exercise regimen.
How many grams of creatine should you take a day? For maximizing your creatine muscle stores quickly, you should do a creatine loading phase of 20 grams daily for 5–7 days. Follow this with a maintenance dose of between 2–10 grams per day. Some people also find an approach of 3 grams daily for 28 days works well too.
Many people feel creatine monohydrate supplementation alters their sleep. Creatine ingestion shortens total and deep sleep in rats, probably by affecting sleep homeostasis. Despite shortening sleep, creatine often produces numerous beneficial health effects.
There is very little evidence that caffeine counteracts the benefits of creatine. Supplementation with either creatine or caffeine has consistently been shown to enhance high-intensity exercise performance in most people, and the ingredients are thought to achieve this feat via separate physiological mechanisms.
Will I look more cut off creatine? No, going off of creatine will not make you look more cut. Creatine increases muscle mass but does not increase body fat. The weight gained from taking creatine is from water retention in the muscle cells.
It possibly Decreases Muscle Mass.
But, the muscle size will likely appear smaller due to losing the water weight gain. A loss in muscle tissue occurs for a few other reasons as well, including low-calorie diets and illness.