The most common dosing protocols for creatine supplementation typically involve an initial loading phase followed by a maintenance phase:

1. Loading Phase:

   • Dosage: 20 to 25 grams per day, divided into 4 doses of 5 grams each.
   • Duration: 5 to 7 days¹².

2. Maintenance Phase:

   • Dosage: 3 to 5 grams per day.
   • Duration: Indefinitely or as needed, based on individual goals¹².

Alternatively, some protocols forego the loading phase and utilize a consistent daily dose:

• Daily Dose Without Loading:
  • Dosage: Approximately 3 to 6 grams per day.
  • Duration: Effective increases in muscle creatine stores can still be achieved, but it will take longer than with a loading phase (typically over 3 to 4 weeks)³⁴.

Dosage can also be based on body weight:

• Loading Dosage: 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight per day during the loading phase³.
• Maintenance Dosage: 0.03 grams per kilogram of body weight per day during the maintenance phase³⁴.

Footnotes

1. "Creatine." Mayo Clinic, 2023. Mayo Clinic article. ↩ ↩²

2. Alireza Naderi, "Timing, optimal dose and intake duration of dietary supplements with evidence-based use in sports nutrition," NCBI, 2016. ↩ ↩²

3. Matthew Hall, "Creatine supplementation - PubMed," PubMed, 2024. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Richard B. Kreider, "Creatine in Health and Disease," NCBI, 2021. ↩ ↩²