THE EFFECTS OF CREATINE SUPPLEMENTATION ON ANAEROBIC POWER PERFORMANCE

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Creatine is one of the most popular dietary supplements in the field of sport worldwide and is the most popular and widely researched natural supplements. Creatine is one of the few sport supplements that have not been banned and is used by athletes at various levels. Creatine is commercially available in different forms, but regardless of its form, supplementation with creatine has consistently shown to increase strength, fat free mass, muscle morphology and the synthesis of muscle contractile proteins. Scientific studies by: Stone et al.(2003), McGuine et al.(2002) and Zuniga JM et al.( 2012) have shown that creatine supplementation provide an ergogenic aid in activities involving repeated bouts of high intensity anaerobic performance. However, there have been mixed results in regards to the effectiveness of creatine supplementation in a single bout high intensity activities. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of creatine supplementation on anaerobic power performance in a single bout high intensity activity. METHODS: Five physically active college students (male =3 and female 2) volunteered for this study (mean ± SD: age, 26.20 ±4.09 yrs; weight, 80.58 ±21.06 kg; Height, 1.77 ± 0.13 m). All subjects were students of the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas. Each subject reported to the UTA Kinesiology department laboratory on three separate occasions. Each subject performs a 30 second anaerobic test using an electrically braked cycle ergometer without any supplementation on the first occasion (baseline data). Subjects were randomly assigned to either a placebo (sugar pill) or creatine supplement based on their body weight (0.1 g/kg of body weight) for seven days prior to the second and third anaerobic power tests. Each testing was preceded by a one minute warm-up pedaling at 60 revolutions per minute (rpm), followed by a 30 section pedaling at an “all out” pace. Data were recorded by a computerized soft ware program attached to the cycle ergometer. Each anaerobic power testing was concluded with a 1-3 minutes cool-down for each subject. RESULTS: The data collected during the baseline, placebo and creatine supplementation sessions are as follows: Baseline (B):(Mean ± SD: peak power, 1229.00 ± 505.88W; mean power, 687.40 ± 289.81W; total work, 61.92 ± 19.62 J; fatigue rate, 44.10 ± 24.69 W/Sec); Placebo (Pl): (Mean ± SD: peak power,1212.80 ± 580.71W; mean power, 666.60 ± 284.49W, total work, 62.00 ± 19.53 J; fatigue rate, 44.88 ± 26.83 W/Sec); and Creatine supplement (Cr): ( Mean ± SD: peak power, 1318 ± 497.17W; mean power, 734.40 ± 276.05W; total work, 64.14 ± 15.10 J; fatigue rate, 49.34 ± 23.03 J). There was a significant difference between placebo and creatine supplementation in relation to mean power (P= 0.02). There was no significant difference between placebo and creatine supplementation in relation to peak power, total work and fatigue rate (P>0.05).There was no significance difference between B vs. Cr, and B vs. P data. CONCLUSION: The result of this study indicates that creatine supplementation has effect on mean anaerobic power performance in single bout high intensity activities.