Effects of Creatine and Sodium Bicarbonate Coingestion on Multiple Indices of Mechanical Power Output During Repeated Wingate Tests in Trained Men

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of creatine and sodium bicarbonate coingestion on mechanical power during repeated sprints. Nine well-trained men (age = 21.6 ± 0.9 yr, stature = 1.82 ± 0.05 m, body mass = 80.1 ± 12.8 kg) participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced, crossover study using six 10-s repeated Wingate tests. Participants ingested either a placebo (0.5 g·kg−1 of maltodextrin), 20 g·d−1 of creatine monohydrate + placebo, 0.3 g·kg−1 of sodium bicarbonate + placebo, or coingestion + placebo for 7 days, with a 7-day washout between conditions. Participants were randomized into two groups with a differential counterbalanced order. Creatine conditions were ordered first and last. Indices of mechanical power output (W), total work (J) and fatigue index (W·s−1) were measured during each test and analyzed using the magnitude of differences between groups in relation to the smallest worthwhile change in performance. Compared with placebo, both creatine (effect size (ES) = 0.37-0.83) and sodium bicarbonate (ES = 0.22-0.46) reported meaningful improvements on indices of mechanical power output. Coingestion provided small meaningful improvements on indices of mechanical power output (W) compared with sodium bicarbonate (ES = 0.28-0.41), but not when compared with creatine (ES = -0.21-0.14). Coingestion provided a small meaningful improvement in total work (J; ES = 0.24) compared with creatine. Fatigue index (W·s−1) was impaired in all conditions compared with placebo. In conclusion, there was no meaningful additive effect of creatine and sodium bicarbonate coingestion on mechanical power during repeated sprints.

Serial Ingestion or Co-ingestion of Creatine and Sodium Bicarbonate on Performance Following a Resistance Exercise Workout: A Pilot Study

“…This trend provides some support for a synergistic benefit since the addition of SB seems to allow participants to complete the sets in a shorter time. The discrepancy between our study and the study by Griffen at al. (2015) may be due to methodological differences and more specifically the SB dosage (0.3 g .…”

“…Our findings are in agreement with research findings that have supported the ergogenic potential of combining Cr+SB when compared to a placebo (Barber et al, 2013;Mero et al, 2004;Griffen et al, 2015). The greatest attenuation in the decline of peak power in participants in the study by Barber et al (2013) suggests that Cr+SB may be more beneficial than Cr alone however others do not support additive performance benefits of Cr+SB when compared to creatine (Griffen et al, 2015). In our study, small ES (-0.3) were observed between SB and PLA, and Cr+SB and PLA in relation to the time it took participants to complete the four sets.…”

“…In relation to performance outcomes, there was a clearer trend for ergogenic benefits during the fifth set regardless of the buffer or combination of buffers (Cr, SB, and Cr+SB) used. On this performance aspect, we did observe similar ES as others (Griffen et al, 2015) with moderate ES (0.7-1.0) between Cr, Cr+SB and PLA, and small ES (0.4) between SB and PLA, which suggests that Cr, SB, and Cr+SB may enhance performance to greater extent than a placebo. Moreover, the largest ES (1.0) observed in the combined group also suggests that the magnitude of performance gains may be greater when combining these two buffers.…”

“…It has been previously demonstrated that co-ingestion of both supplements may be advantageous during high intensity activities (Barber et al, 2013;Mero et al, 2004) however not all of these studies included a creatine and sodium bicarbonate alone conditions whilst the ingestion protocols involved either acute ingestion or short serial supplementation period (two days). A more recent study (Griffen et al, 2015) investigated the effects of creatine and sodium bicarbonate co-ingestion on mechanical power during high intensity exercise however there was no apparent additive effect of combining these two supplements together when compared to creatine. This was perhaps due to the fact that the sodium bicarbonate dosage (0.3 g .…”

The effects of creatine supplementation on thermoregulation and physical (cognitive) performance: a review and future prospects

“…1915;Hunter 1922). Cr supplementation has been reported to improve physical performance during a variety of different exercise modalities, intensities and durations and to promote greater gains in strength, muscle mass, bone mineral density and neuromuscular function in populations ranging from trained healthy individuals to the elderly with sarcopenia undergoing exercise rehabilitation (Bosco et al 1997;Grindstaff et al 1997;Mihic et al 2000;Metzl et al 2001;Mihic et al 2000;Hespel et al 2001;Volek et al 2004;Pearlman and Fielding, 2006;Bazzucchi et al 2009;Bemben et al 2010;Devries and Phillips, 2014;Gualano et al 2011;Gualano et al 2014;Candow et al 2015;Chillibeck et al, 2015;Griffen C et al 2015;Martone et al 2015;Ramirez-Campilo et al, 2015;Wilkinson et al 2015, Phillips, 2015 (see Table 1). The mechanism(s) responsible for these effects range from Cr-induced increases in intramuscular phosphocreatine (PCr) levels and the PCr/ATP energy charge ratio, as well as a greater resynthesis rate of PCr following intense exercise, leading to a higher efficiency of ATP utilisation (Wallimann et al 2011) and to attenuated cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses during prolonged exercise in the heat (Demant and Rhodes, 1999;Terjung et al 2000;Lopez et al 2009).…”