An excellent creatine product for the loading phase.
Optimum Nutrition Creatine
(Loading Phase)
Aside from protein and your post-workout shake, creatine may be the most important supplement you can use to promote muscle growth.
My Ratings
Price: 8
Quality: 10
Value: 7
Taste: 8
Mixability: 8
Overall: 8
.
Why do I recommend it?
Pre-Load Creatine Complex by Optimum Nutrition not only provides an excellent source of creatine, but also a substantial amount of fast-acting carbs to ensure that your body actually absorbs it. Listed below are some common questions that people ask me about this product.
“How often should I use it?”
The great thing about this product is that as long as you continue to supplement with creatine after using the Pre-Load Complex you will never have to use it again. It is strictly for loading. Let me repeat that: It is strictly for loading. I recommend taking 5 grams (1 scoop) of the Pre-Load Complex 5 times a day for 5 straight days. After this, you may simply take 3 – 5 grams of plain creatine powder before and after your workouts in order to maintain muscle saturation.
“If this product is so great, then why should I switch after loading?”
Two reasons:
- By switching you can avoid taking in excess sugar, which we all know will eventually be stored as fat. Once your muscles have been completely saturated with creatine your daily intake does not have to be very high in order for your muscles to maintain saturation. The added sugar in the Pre-Load Complex helps aid absorption so that very little creatine is wasted; however, this is not necessary after the loading phase is complete. Even if most of the plain creatine powder is wasted, enough will be absorbed to replace what was naturally lost from the day before.
- You will save a ton of money! If you have a calculator handy it’s fairly easy to figure out that the Pre-Load Complex costs about $0.78 per serving (5 grams). On the other hand, plain creatine powder by Optimum Nutrition only costs $0.26 per serving. That’s a savings of about $0.50 – $1 a day, which adds up to roughly $25 over the course of a month. That’s $25 that can be put towards something else, like gas for your car, a night out with your girlfriend, or in my case, extra supplements to make my body even better!
“I’ve heard that loading creatine is not necessary. Why do you recommend it?”
Basically just to save a little time and get the advantages that training with creatine offers a little bit quicker than someone who chooses not to load it. The goal with creatine is to fill your tank up completely so that you can lift more weight and recover faster in between workouts. If you don’t load it, then you will have to wait a month or two before your muscles are totally saturated. This means that your gains in the beginning will be limited compared to someone who chose to take 25 grams a day for 5 days straight. After a month or so, both people will enjoy the same benefits. So it’s pretty much just a short cut … that’s it.
*Note: I would probably encourage people who have a high body fat percentage not to load creatine because they would be forced to take in about 150 grams of sugary carbs each day in order to make sure the creatine is properly digested. This could lead to unwanted fat storage in someone who’s main goal is probably to lose their excess fat.
“So what’s it going to end up costing me?”
Loading the creatine will end up costing a one-time fee (as long as you take your maintenance dose each day) of about $30. After this, you’re looking at about a quarter a day in order to maintain maximum levels. All of this adds up to about $120 / year, or $10 / month, making creatine one of the most inexpensive supplements there is to take. So what are you waiting for? Start taking advantage of its benefits now!
Click Here to Purchase!
***Disclaimer: I will never recommend any product that I have not personally tried and that I do not believe in 100%. However, I cannot guarantee that you will experience the same results using these products that I did. Supplements are just that … supplements. They are not magic, and will never give you the results you want if you are not training and dieting to the best of your ability. Get your diet and workout routine locked down first, and then take your body to the next level using the supplements that I suggest.
