Despite being the most researched and proven sports supplement ever, most people don’t have all of the facts straight about creatine. The main questions I get asked are how and when to take it, is it safe? should I cycle? what should I take it with? What shouldn’t I take it with? and about the different forms of creatine. In the following two-part article I’ll address all of these questions and more, so that you can make the best choices around your creatine use and that means that you’ll be able to get the best possible results from your efforts in the gym!
First off, let’s go over the basics. There is no reason for me to bang on about the benefits of creatine. It is so effective at building strength and muscle (if used properly), that even the extremely restrictive UK advertising authorities have allowed companies to make these kinds of claims about it. More impressive is the fact that there are over 3,000 studies on creatine and exercise! So creatine is without question the real deal.
Next, let’s get the safety issue out of the way. As long ago as 2000, a roundtable of 12 of the world’s foremost creatine experts found “no definitive evidence” that creatine has any side effects whatsoever and the results were published by the American College of Sports Medicine. One study even found creatine to be safe when subjects took it for up to five years and as much as 80 grams per day! Actually, in some studies, the “placebo” group (that didn’t get creatine) reported more negative effects than the creatine group.