Creatine Supplementation and Athletic Performance

Abstract

Nutritional supplements and other ergogenic aids have gained widespread use among professional, amateur, recreational, and student athletes for their potential to enhance athletic performance and provide a competitive edge. Creatine monohydrate is one of the more commonly used and potentially beneficial supplements that currently is viewed to be safe. Supplementation with oral creatine augments skeletal muscle creatine concentrations in most individuals, which has been shown to promote gains in lean body mass when used in conjunction with resistance training, to enhance power and strength, and to improve performance in intense exercise, especially during repeated bouts. Young athletes, however, must be cautious about taking creatine because its effects on growth and development are unknown and long-term safety has not been established. Variability in research study designs and small sample sizes have left many questions unanswered regarding the safety and efficacy of chronic supplementation. This is an active area of clinical investigation and the results of ongoing and future research should guide the appropriate use of creatine to enhance athletic performance among athletes of all ages. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 33: 615-621.

Supplementation with a proprietary blend of ancient peat and apple extract may improve body composition without affecting hematology in resistance-trained men

“…rapamycin may be attenuated, thereby permitting enhanced anabolic signaling and possibly muscle protein synthesis (Xie et al 2011). An improved resistance to fatiguing exercise is also possible via this mechanism, such as with previous research on creatine monohydrate, which increases ATP availability (Racette 2003), and previous research regarding creatine's capabilities for increasing muscle mass has been well established (Buford et al 2007). However, more thorough research is required before considering this as a viable mechanism because of the fact that previously enhanced intramuscular ATP levels have only been examined in 1 resting subject (Reyes-Izquierdo et al 2014).…”

Estereologia e morfometria do tecido muscular-esquelético de animais submetidos a um programa de treinamento de força e suplementação de creatina durante 9 semanas

“…A utilização exógena de creatina se dá por meio da suplementação, normalmente da isoforma monoidratada, nas dosagens recomendadas pelas pesquisas e pareceres internacionais, que variam de 0,3 g a 0,5 g de creatina por quilograma de massa corporal [5][6][7]. Os principais efeitos do consumo exógeno são melhoras ergogênicas e aumento de força muscular, além de potenciais efeitos preventivos a lesões, proteção das células neurais e termorregulação corporal [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Is it helpful to study a commercial multi-nutrient supplement on exercise performance?

“…As discussed by the authors, Muscle Fuel™ contains numerous ingredients and it is, therefore, "impossible to determine which ingredient(s) provided the primary ergogenic response" (Kraemer et al 2007). Nevertheless, we think that the ingestion of creatine and caVeine may have been of major relevance for the improvements in performance in this study, as this has been shown in previous studies (Racette 2003;Rawson and Volek 2003;Volek 2003;Spriet and Gibala 2004). But in our opinion it is of much greater relevance that studies using a polypragmatic approach in nutritional supplementation, which do not allow to analyse the eVects of single substances, are not very helpful for sports medicine and athletes, as physicians, coaches and athletes may be motivated or even forced to supplement many substances simultaneously, and thereby a doping-mentality is generated in athletes.…”