Should You Take Creatine and Beta Alanine on Rest Days?

A common question we get asked is whether you should take creatine on rest days and beta alanine on rest days. The short answer is yes, at least for a while. But after a certain point, daily supplementation isn’t strictly necessary. In this article, we’ll explain why.

Both creatine and beta alanine are well researched ingredients for increasing exercise performance, strength and power (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). They are both saturation-based ingredients, meaning that you need to take them consistently to increase stores in the body.

Creatine requires you to reach about 125g-140g in the body, which can be achieved by taking 5g per day for a month (6). Beta alanine on the other hand, require you to get about 178g, which can be achieved by taking 4g per day for 45 days (3).

When you first start supplementing with Creatine and beta alanine, it is key that you take them every day. This consistent intake will help you reach the necessary saturation levels in the body. 

For Creatine it is advised to continue to take consistently as the benefits are wide ranging.

For beta alanine you can either you can get away with skipping it on rest days, and only take it on training days. Alternatively, you can take it 3-4 days a week to help maintain levels.

After reaching saturation levels, you can reduce the dosage and frequency. For creatine, it takes about four weeks for levels to return to baseline if you stop taking it. For beta-alanine, it takes around 6-8 weeks. 

Loading Phase (Faster results)

• Dosage: 20g per day for 5–7 days, split into 4 doses of 5g.
• Maintenance: Then reduce to 3–5g per day to maintain saturation.
• Time to full saturation: ~5–7 days.
• Best for: Athletes who want rapid performance benefits and who HAVEN'T taken Creatine before or who have had a long break from supplementation.

No Loading Phase (Slower, but just as effective)

• Dosage: 5g per day, every day.
• Time to full saturation: ~3–4 weeks.
• Best for: People who prefer a simpler, lower-dose approach or want to avoid mild bloating sometimes reported during loading.

Beta alanine is often included in pre workout supplements. We’re not a fan of this approach for a few reasons.

• No Acute Ergogenic Effects: Beta alanine doesn’t have an immediate benefit when taken just before a workout. Preworkout supplements should contain ingredients that have an immediate and direct benefit for the upcoming training session. This is what we focused on when creating the MARCHON Pre workout and Workout Fuel.
• Inconsistent Usage: Saturation based ingredients such as beta alanine will only work if taken consistently. Most prewokouts contain less than the effective doses of beta alanine, and people don't typically take preworkout every day. For example, if a preworkout contains 3g of beta and you take it 3 times per week, that's only 9g per week. To reach the 176g saturation point, it would take you around 19 weeks.
• The difference in MARCHON Pre workout is we added a full efficacious dose of Creatine at 5g to help you hit your daily target. 

To conclude, yes, you should take creatine and beta alanine on rest days to help you reach saturation levels. Once you’ve achieved these levels, you can reduce the frequency of supplementation of beta alanine, taking it only on training days or a few times a week.

Avoid relying on pre workout supplements for your creatine and beta alanine intake, as they often contain insufficient doses and due to not taking this on a daily basis.