Whats the longest cycle of creatine recommended

[bbock727]

Im on my 3rd week of creatine and im up 19lbs!! I really dont wanna get off this stuff right at summer time Whats the maximum recommended cycle? Maybe ill stop taking it right now.. go off of it for a week or 2 and then start up again for the rest of the summer.

Some epople as 3wks on 1 wk off, some say 2 months on 1 month off.

what do u guys recommend? I really dont wanna lose 20lbs, creatine has really made a difference

 

[Mildot]

I have been taking creatine for 3 years straight.

 

[natedog]

You should cycle creatine regularly, IMO. If you haven't, you should try it. I have never taken it for more than 8 weeks without cycling off. I feel that the effects seem to diminish with time.

When you stop taking creatine, it takes about 30 days (give or take a few) for your body to return to normal levels of creatine. I have always had good results going back on creatine when I cycled off for 4 weeks.

My suggestion would be to stay on through the end of June or so, cycle off for July and do a cutting phase, then start taking it again in August. If you stick with it, you will be happy in August and September.

Note: nothing has come up in studies saying you "need" to cycle creatine, but from my own experience and what I've read of other people's experiences it is more effective when cycled.

 

[2supreme]

Research article that talks about creatine cycling:

http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/haycock/research-update-013.htm

 

[natedog]

Research article that talks about creatine cycling:

http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/haycock/research-update-013.htm

Nice! I had not seen that study before. Thanks!

 

[frayedends]

I took creatine for six months in a row and toward the end it started to really fuck my intestines up (I won't go any further than that). Now that I'm off I'm fine and next time I'll try the two months on one off like mentioned earlier.