Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Cessation of creatine supplementation leads to a regression of muscle phosphocreatine stores to baseline levels within 4 weeks, although some gains in fat-free mass may persist longer.
If you stop taking creatine, your muscles' ability to perform high-intensity work (via phosphocreatine) will drop back to normal within about a month. However, the actual muscle tissue you built may remain for a while. You don't need to take it forever to keep your muscles, but you will lose some performance edge.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Finally, on cessation of creatine intake, muscle PCr in the creatine group returned to normal within 4 wk.
Why this rating
Clear observation of PCr regression in the subgroup, supported by statistical significance.
Source
Long-term creatine intake is beneficial to muscle performance during resistance training
Katleen Vandenberghe et al. · Journal of Applied Physiology · 1997
rct · n=19Cited 430×
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