How long should you take creatine in resistance training?

Ambitious strength athletes interested in muscle mass build-up should consider the following points when taking creatine:

In the past, it was commonly recommended to pause taking creatine after twelve weeks for several weeks. This was because it was not known whether the body's own creatine synthesis would be inhibited if exogenous creatine was supplemented for an extended time period. It is now known that this is not the case even after more than a year of creatine supplementation, and that creatine can therefore be taken for longer periods of time. The position Stand Paper of the International Society for Sports Nutrition confirms this.

Nevertheless, we recommend that creatine intake be aligned with the training and competition calendar. Supplementation with creatine makes little sense in training phases that focus on basics or technical skills.

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Literature
Jaeger et al. (2017): International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 Jun 20;14:20.

Author: Yvonne Forster Nigg
Ing. Appl Food Sciences FH
dipl. Dietician HF