Question: Is it best to cycle on and off of creatine? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
Answer: In creatine’s infancy as a supplement, many myths surrounded it. Some of these included that you should avoid taking it with caffeine, that creatine will make you cramp and, the most extreme of all, that creatine will kill you.
One piece of useful advice that came out back then regarding creatine was that you should cycle it. The theory was that taking creatine for too long would cause the creatine receptors (located on muscle cells that allow creatine to enter them) to decrease their ability to get the supplement into the muscle cells.
This would cause the levels of creatine in muscle cells to decrease, along with desired results. This theory has yet to be supported with solid research; however, cycling creatine can be beneficial to both your muscles and your bank account.
Undoubtedly, creatine is effective at producing strength and muscle mass gains. Yet, after many months of taking creatine, those strides seem to hit a plateau. Despite not making continued gains, many guys don’t stop taking the supplement for fear that they will lose muscle and strength.
But you don’t have to worry about this — you will not lose your gains when you stop taking creatine. In fact, in a 2004 study researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) found that subjects taking creatine who stopped taking it for 12 weeks lost no strength or muscle mass.
So, yes, consider cycling creatine, but only after the results you are getting from it seem to hit a ceiling. That’s the time to stop taking it for about four weeks. You won’t lose any of your hard-earned muscle in this time period, and when you start taking it again, you’ll get another boost in strength and mass above what you experienced from your previous cycle of creatine.
Answer: In creatine’s infancy as a supplement, many myths surrounded it. Some of these included that you should avoid taking it with caffeine, that creatine will make you cramp and, the most extreme of all, that creatine will kill you.
One piece of useful advice that came out back then regarding creatine was that you should cycle it. The theory was that taking creatine for too long would cause the creatine receptors (located on muscle cells that allow creatine to enter them) to decrease their ability to get the supplement into the muscle cells.
This would cause the levels of creatine in muscle cells to decrease, along with desired results. This theory has yet to be supported with solid research; however, cycling creatine can be beneficial to both your muscles and your bank account.
Undoubtedly, creatine is effective at producing strength and muscle mass gains. Yet, after many months of taking creatine, those strides seem to hit a plateau. Despite not making continued gains, many guys don’t stop taking the supplement for fear that they will lose muscle and strength.
But you don’t have to worry about this — you will not lose your gains when you stop taking creatine. In fact, in a 2004 study researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) found that subjects taking creatine who stopped taking it for 12 weeks lost no strength or muscle mass.
So, yes, consider cycling creatine, but only after the results you are getting from it seem to hit a ceiling. That’s the time to stop taking it for about four weeks. You won’t lose any of your hard-earned muscle in this time period, and when you start taking it again, you’ll get another boost in strength and mass above what you experienced from your previous cycle of creatine.
