Cycling creatine, meaning taking it for a set number of weeks and then stopping for a while, used to be common advice. These days, most of the research and most coaches will tell you it isn't necessary. Your body handles creatine the same way whether you've been taking it for two weeks or two years. Still, plenty of people prefer to cycle it, so here's how to approach it either way.

The traditional loading and maintenance approach

This is the classic method: take around 20 grams a day, split into four 5 gram doses, for five to seven days. This saturates your muscle creatine stores quickly. After that, drop down to a maintenance dose of 3 to 5 grams a day to keep those stores topped up.

The simpler daily approach

If you'd rather skip the loading phase, just take 3 to 5 grams every day from the start. It takes around three to four weeks to reach the same saturation point you'd hit in a week of loading, but you avoid the extra water weight showing up all at once and you don't need to remember multiple doses a day.

So do you need to cycle it at all?

Not for any physiological reason. Creatine isn't a hormone and your body doesn't build up a tolerance to it, so there's no biological need to take breaks. Some people still cycle off for a few weeks every few months, usually for personal reasons like managing supplement budgets, wanting a clean slate before a specific event, or just personal preference. If you do decide to stop, your muscle creatine stores will gradually decline over three to four weeks, and you can start again with either method whenever you like.

A simple plan to follow

For most people, the easiest and most sustainable approach is this: skip loading, take 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily, take it around the same time each day, and keep at it long term. Drink enough water throughout the day, particularly during the first couple of weeks while your muscles are still filling their creatine stores. If you have any existing kidney or health concerns, check with your doctor before starting, as they'll be able to advise on what's appropriate for you specifically.