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A common question we often get is whether you should take creatine and beta alanine on rest days. The short answer is yes. However, you don’t have to after a certain point. Let me explain.
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; once you’ve reached these levels, you can actually reduce the frequency of supplementation.
After this initial loading phase, you can get away with skipping taking these supplements on rest days, and only take them on training days. Alternatively, you can take them 3-4 days a week, whenever suits you best.
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.
Creatine and beta alanine are often included in pre workout supplements. We’re not a fan of this approach for a few reasons.
Many supplement brands will suggest taking their preworkout supplements daily to maintain creatine and beta alanine levels. This advice can be very misleading and is generally just a way to drive sales.
We believe that using standalone creatine and beta alanine supplements is a better option. This allows you to control your dosage better, as well as enabling you to add them to foods, shakes or water as needed.
To conclude, yes, you should take creatine and beta alanine on rest days, during the initial loading phase to reach saturation levels. Once you’ve achieved these levels, you can reduce the frequency of supplementation, taking them only on training days or a few times a week.
Avoid relying on preworkout supplements for your creatine and beta alanine intake, as they often contain insufficient doses. If you’re looking for the best pre workout to take with with your creatine and beta alanine, check out workout fuel.
Whilst you're here, be sure to take a look at our article with everything you need to know about creatine as well as our article on how much creatine do you need per day.
