Creatine dosage controversy

[Theonlyoperator]

After reading this article http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/koch1.htm I was wondering which way was the best way to take creatine.

The classic way where you load the first week then take a maintenance dose
or the way where you take a certain amount of creatine for every pound you wheigh, that varys from week to week.

If anyones had any expirience with both weighs and could tell me which way works the best.

[Suareezay]

general rule of thumb is no load phase
monohydrate = 5g pre/post workout
CEE = 2-3g pre/post workout

[skUnky]

so r u saying take it before and after workout or what?

[Winter]

CEE = 2-3g pre/post workout

I do about 15g(3teaspoons).
That's what the bottle recommends so that's what I've been doin for the past couple of months.

Is what I'm doing bad?

[Bast]

There is no "best amount" to be taken of creatine, take the amount that suits YOU.
I personally run 20g/day training days and 10 on off days.

I do not cycle it either, its not needed.

[Double3]

I cycle it.

I started taking it in Jan and I've only been taking mono 5g after my workouts. Seem to be getting the same results as when I took it everyday.

I loaded the first time I ever took it. Really don't think it is necessary and a waste. Maybe if you load you will start getting results the first week rather than the second.

[walls]

Big heaped teaspoon an hour before training, and mix a big heaped one in with your post training shake....

This has gave me the shortened rest periods and slight gains on those last reps, without the water retention I got from loading it...

[0nyx]

if your taking a lot, would that not be deminishing to your kidneys with the build up of creatinine?

when i took it, i took CEE 2-3 grams a day

[solcraft]

ask ten people, you'll get ten diffrent answers. as far as science goes, your body can only absorb so much creatine. of course some people can absorb more, some less, dependant on your diet, age ,wieght, and how much red meat you consume.The amount of creatine you need as an individual can be calculated simply by using the following formula:

Loading Phase:
0.3 grams x bodyweight in kilograms (pounds divided by 2.2024)

Maintenance Phase:
0.03 grams x bodyweight in kilograms (pounds divided by 2.2024)

This means that a 220 pound man would need the following amount of creatine:

220 pounds/2.2024 = 100 kilograms
0.3 grams x 100 kilograms = 30 grams of creatine per day.

Take this in divided dosages throughout the day (i.e. six teaspoons per day) for five days. After that you are excreting most of it in your urine. During the maintenance phase this same person would only need 3 grams of creatine per day (0.03g x100 kg). That's all!
The reason for this is that you are simply replacing what is lost from skeletal muscle, after that extra creatine will be excreted (lost in the urine); you need very little to maintain your creatine stores.
alot of people skip the loading phase all together, myself included. this is fine your body just will take longer to build up the stores.
the problem with having too much creatine in your system is that creatine is broken down into another substance called creatinine, which is filtered out of your blood by the kidneys and then passed out of your body in urine. creatinine is known to be toxic to the body. i'm sure you can see the problem with having an excess ammount in the body.
hope this little bit f info helps shed some light. by all means if any one has some more information (scientific,studies, etc) to share ,educate us.