Creatine & cardio?

[leoaamro]

hey
i read the sticky bout creatine and information of supplements before and after cardio.
Iam going to start taking creatine, its been 6 months of going to the gym and i've lost my waist from 38" to 33" and my weight from 88kgs to 70kgs. My height is 5'8".
My routine work out begins with 25mins of cardio (15mins treadmill and 10 mins cycling) and then weight training.
My question is, for the above workout when do i take creatine? The thing iam concerned is that should i reduce my cardio as i'll be draining my energy and do cardio post workout or just reduce it and do it pre workout? and should i take creatine before my workout or right after?
thanks alot

[Gong]

As far as I know, and this is how I use creatine, you split it up, i take about 5g in morning, then 30 mins before workout i take 5g, and then at night I take 5g, thats for a loading phase though,my maintenance I just take it in the morning 5g

[freshlytainted]

cardio should be done post workout. simple logic - lifting doesn't affect your cardio as much as cardio does to your lifting. if you do your cardio BEFORE your weights, you'll be spending precious energy that can be spent forcing out those crucial extra reps.

best thing's to do a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on a seperate day. if you can't do that, take creatine about 30mins before your workout, lift, do your cardio, then take creatine AGAIN right after that. look at "when to take supplements" sticky for more info.

[dannyboy9]

fresh summed it up for you. Very well-said so unless there's no way around it, separate your lifting and cardio, doing them on different days. HIIT has seemed like the best route to go as far as effectiveness towards fat loss and minimal muscle loss for those that have tried it.

If you decide your only option is to commit to doing cardio after your lifting, it might be a good idea to take in some whey protein after your lifting (before your cardio) and after you've completed your cardio. The best route would be to lift and commit to cardio on different days though.

[waynaferd]

Bahhh, why burn calories on non lifting days when they *could* be going to repair and growth. You've burned up most of your glucose while lifting, so take advantage of that little detail and burn some fat by doing cardio right after (not to intense, tho). Same idea as AM cardio.......

[Merk0135]

I take my creatine before and after lifting. The other optimal times to take it is in the morning before breakfast and after lifting. As far as your cardio goes it depends on your goals. I prefer 20-30 min of moderate to light cardio after my weight training.