Elite Physique
Dan Kennedy
Educated at the University of Western Ontario, Dan employs his degree in Kinesiology as the foundation of his personal training business Elite Physique. He’s also a National level bodybuilder and judge. Dan’s earned a reputation for his knowledge and his tell-it-like-it-is approach to performance enhancement!
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Creatine And Low-Carb Diets
Q. What’s the best way to take creatine if I’m cutting carbs?
A. Your best option would be to max out your creatine levels and then enter a maintenance phase. But first let’s look at a little creatine history...
When creatine first hit the bodybuilding scene in the early 90's everyone was told to load to get maximum effect. A typical load was 20 g of creatine per day (in divided doses) for 5 days. After that you would transition to a maintenance phase which consisted of 3-5g of creatine per day. Athletes were told to consume their creatine with grape juice (a favorite drink of Bill Phillips). MuscleTech entered the market with their game changer Cell-Tech which contained dextrose. This addition of simple carbs worked exceptionally well, especially for what scientists call “creatine non-responders”. These are individuals who just don’t seem to derive any benefit from creatine.
Creatine Loading
Do we need to load with Creatine? Well the main reason athletes load is for the rapid strength and weight increases. If they were to take just the maintenance dose they would get their muscles saturated with creatine but it would take a bit longer (about 4 weeks).
Low Carb Diets With Creatine
Take creatine with you low carb meals of shakes. Remember, protein also increases insulin production which is the driving force for shuttling creatine into the muscles via the creatine transporters. One gram of protein triggers an insulin output that's roughly 2/3rds as high as that triggered by one gram of simple carbs. I bet you didn’t know that! If you’re in doubt grab a glucose meter and check it out for yourself.
Dissolve Fully To Absorb Better
To get the most from creatine, you must ensure that it's dissolved fully. One gram of creatine dissolves in 75 ml of water. So you must ensure that you're taking enough water with your creatine. Add more water and/or heat the water up to dissolve more creatine (remember your high school chemistry class). Creatine that isn’t dissolved completely will cause bloating and possibly give you the infamous creatine shits!
If you want Dan Kennedy to help you prepare for your next contest, visit www.ElitePhysique.ca
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