The basics are:
Creatine monohydrate is just plain creatine powder which is bland and gritty. It's cheapest- about $20 or so for 32 oz. You can get all kinds of fancy, hyped-up creatine mixed with various other supplements and sugar but they cost more. Research shows that creatine is transported into tissue better by having higher levels of insulin in the bloodstream, so that's the rationale for taking creatine in a sugary drink. The downside is that during the loading phase you're ingesting a lot of simple sugars 4x a day. Most recommend a "loading phase" to saturate the muscle tissue by taking 5 grams 4 times a day for about a week. Be aware that you have to drink more water during the loading phase because creatine "volumizes" cells by drawing water into them from the bloodstream. Also be aware that creatine causes gastrointestinal upset in some people, meaning the dreaded explosive diarrhea. This usually goes away. After the loading phase you take a maintenance dose of 3 -5 grams a day. Most instructions tell you to take the dose prior to training as research shows that exercise also increases the uptake of creatine into the cell. I would take a maintenance dose even on non-training days. As far as which type of creatine is the best you just need to do some more research on the net, try some of them, and decide for yourself.
