What is MARCHON™ Creatine Monohydrate designed for?
MARCHON™ Creatine Monohydrate is designed to increase strength & power, aid cognition, and improve recovery.
What is Creatine Monohydrate, and what does it do?
Creatine monohydrate is a naturally occurring compound found in certain foods and produced by the body. It is a popular and well-researched dietary supplement used to enhance athletic performance and support muscle growth.
How many servings and how much creatine monohydrate does one bag provide?
Each bag of creatine provides approximately 63 servings, with each serving containing 5g of creatine monohydrate.
What are the key benefits of using creatine monohydrate?
Some key benefits of creatine monohydrate include increased ATP production, improved exercise performance in high-intensity activities, increased muscle growth through protein synthesis, and better hydration and cell volume due to its water-drawing effect.
How does creatine monohydrate improve exercise performance?
Creatine monohydrate enhances exercise performance by increasing ATP availability, which is the primary energy source for muscle contractions during high-intensity activities like weightlifting and sprinting.
Do I need to load Creatine?
A creatine loading phase isn't strictly necessary. Evidence shows that supplementing with a smaller dose will have the same effect, but it'll just take a bit longer to maximise creatine storage, which can be achieved by a daily dose of 3-5g. Loading typically involves taking a higher dose of creatine for a short period (usually 5-7 days) before settling into a maintenance dose. The standard loading protocol is to take around 20 grams of creatine per day (divided into 4 doses of 5 grams each) during this loading phase.
The purpose of loading is to rapidly increase the creatine levels in your muscles, which can help you experience the performance-enhancing benefits of creatine more quickly. However this is only recommended if you have an event coming up in a short time period and you haven’t supplemented before.
For best results a consistent dose of 5g every day is recommended.
If I stop taking Creatine how long does it take for my stores to return to baseline?
Research shows that it takes around 3-4 weeks for levels to return to pre supplementation levels. Don’t concern yourself if you go away on holiday, forgot to take for a week or so, you will still be repeating the benefits! Just make sure you have the subscription so you don’t run out!
Do I need to drink more when taking Creatine?
When you start taking creatine, it's important to stay well-hydrated because creatine can cause water retention in some individuals. This is often temporary and is not a cause for concern, but adequate hydration can help minimise any discomfort.
Does Creatine cause bloating and water retention?
Creatine can cause an initial increase in water retention when you start using it. This is because creatine draws water into muscle cells, increasing their volume. This can lead to temporary weight gain and a feeling of "bloating." It's important to note that this is not the same as subcutaneous water retention that can make you look puffy or swollen; rather, it's an intracellular effect.
Not everyone experiences significant water retention or bloating with creatine supplementation. Responses to creatine can vary from person to person. Some individuals may notice a more pronounced effect, while others may experience minimal or no water retention.
The extent of water retention may depend on the dosage and duration of creatine supplementation. Higher doses or loading phases may lead to more significant water retention initially.
However, over time, as your body adapts to creatine supplementation, the initial water retention typically decreases. Many people find that the initial bloating or water weight gain becomes less noticeable after a week or so of consistent use.
Can I take Creatine if I am vegan?
Yes absolutely! As Creatine is naturally found in meat and fish products it is hard to get when following a plant based diet. Supplementing with Creatine is advised to aid your exercise performance if you follow a vegan diet.
What is the best time to take Creatine?
The key factor to reaping the benefits of creatine is saturating your stores in the body, so timing doesn’t really matter. However there is a small amount of research showing that on workout days, it may be better to take creatine shortly after you exercise (REF)
It may be beneficial to take it with food (specifically protein and carbs) as this aids absorption and potential negates the issues with bloating (REF)
Should I take Creatine if I do endurance exercise?
Absolutely you should! Recent research provides some evidence that creatine can positively enhance muscle glycogen which is an important substrate metabolised during high-intensity or long-duration endurance exercise, leading to enhanced performance. (REF)
