The Effect Of 5 Days Of Calorie Free Creatine Supplementation On Repeated Sprint Cycling: 235 Board #142 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Recently, a new Calorie free creatine supplement has become available, which relies on sodium for uptake into the muscle. However, no studies have examined its effects on anaerobic exercise performance. PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of 5 d of creatine (20 g) with sodium (CC) supplementation on repeated sprint cycling (3 ± 30 s Wingate tests). METHODS Eight men and two women, who exercised at least 4 d·wk−1 for 60 min, volunteered for this placebo controlled crossover study. Prior to supplementation, each subject completed a practice trial and performed three 30 s Wingate tests (3WT) on a mechanically braked cycle ergometer (Monark 818E), separated by at least 5 minutes, to familiarize themselves with the testing protocols. The subjects were randomly assigned to begin with one of two supplement conditions using a double-blind design: (A) 5 g of flavored maltodextrin powder, 233 mg of sodium bicarbonate, and 175 mg of potassium bicarbonate as a placebo (PL), or (B) 5.0 g of creatine citrate, 50 mg of sucralose, 60 mg ascorbic acid, 6mcg cyanocobalamin, 233 mg sodium bicarbonate, and 175 mg potassium bicarbonate (CC). The powders were packaged to be identical in taste and appearance, and were dissolved in 16 oz. of water and ingested 4 times per day for 5 d. Prior to and following supplementation, subjects performed the 3WT protocol to provide baseline and post-supplementation values for peak (PP) and mean power (MP) in each of the three tests. During the study, the subjects were asked to maintain their normal dietary and activity patterns. To decrease the variability in the PP and MP values from any single Wingate test, the mean of the three PP and MP values were used for data analysis. Differences in mean PP and MP values between treatments were analyzed using two repeated measures ANOVA (2x2, alpha <0.05). RESULTS The results indicated that there were no significant (p > 0.05) interactions or main effects for PP or MP. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that 5 d of supplementation with a creatine product that relies on sodium for uptake had no effect on the mean PP or MP determined from three repeated Wingate tests when compared to placebo. Supported by Fortress Systems International