Creatine Loading Formula
Two protocols saturate muscle creatine stores: loading (20 g/day for 5–7 days then 3–5 g/day) or steady (3–5 g/day for ~28 days). Both reach the same endpoint; loading just gets there faster.
Formula
Copy the exact expression or work through it step by step below.
loading_phase: dose_g = 0.3 × mass_kg per day, split into 4 doses, for 5–7 days
maintenance: dose_g = 0.03 × mass_kg per day (or flat 3–5 g) indefinitely Variables
dose_g
Daily creatine dose
Grams of creatine monohydrate. Studies overwhelmingly use monohydrate; other forms (HCl, ethyl ester) are marketed but not better supported.
mass_kg
Body mass
Kilograms. Larger people have more muscle and therefore more storage capacity, so dose scales linearly.
Step By Step
- 1
Choose protocol: loading for fast results, maintenance-only for slower-but-simpler.
Loading: 5–7 days at high dose, then drop to maintenance. Skip-loading: just take 3–5 g/day, reach saturation in ~28 days.
- 2
If loading: compute 0.3 g/kg/day and split into 4 doses spread across the day with meals.
78 kg × 0.3 = 23.4 g/day. 4 doses of ~5.9 g. Take with a meal containing carbs and protein for best uptake.
- 3
After day 5–7, drop to maintenance.
0.03 × 78 = 2.34 g/day. In practice, round to 3–5 g/day (margin handles individual variability).
- 4
Continue maintenance indefinitely. Stopping returns intramuscular creatine to baseline over 4–6 weeks.
Daily 3 g with any meal. No cycling needed. Drink an extra ~500 ml water during the first week — creatine pulls water into muscle.
Worked Example
78 kg adult, loading protocol
Body mass (kg)
78
Protocol
Loading + maintenance
Loading: 0.3 × 78 = 23.4 g/day for 6 days, split 4 × 5.85 g. Maintenance: ~3 g/day thereafter.
23 g/day for 6 days (~140 g total during load), then 3 g/day indefinitely. Expect 1–2 kg increase in scale weight (water) within 7–10 days.
Common Variations
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Sources & References
- Kreider RB et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine — Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2017)
- Hultman E et al. Muscle creatine loading in men — Journal of Applied Physiology (1996)