20g of creatine per day for a week? That used to be practically "law" in gym circles. Today, we know better. Use our updated Creatine Calculator to quickly fetch your personal loading and maintenance doses.
What Happens During a Loading Phase?
The concept of loading is based on the fact that your muscular creatine stores are initially unfilled. If you ingest about 0.3g per kg of body weight (often around 20g) split into four doses over 5 to 7 days, these muscle stores fill up *incredibly fast*.
Is a Loading Phase Strictly Necessary?
Short answer: No.
If you immediately start with the maintenance dose of 3-5g per day, your stores will also reach 100% capacity – it just takes a bit longer! After exactly 28 days of a normal daily dose, the stores are as saturated as they would be after an exhausting loading phase.
Many athletes avoid the loading phase simply because taking 20g of creatine a day often leads to digestive upset.
Use our 1RM Calculator to test if the extra creatine hits you quickly!