"Comparison of Creatine Ingestion and Resistance Training on Energy Exp" by Paul J. Arciero, Norman S. Hannibal III et al.
 

Comparison of Creatine Ingestion and Resistance Training on Energy Expenditure and Limb Blood Flow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2001

Abstract

This study determined the effects of 28 days of oral creatine ingestion (days 1 to 5 = 20g/d; [5 g 4 times daily]: days 6 to 28 = 10 g/d; [5 g twice daily]) alone and with resistance training (5 hours/week) on resting metabolic rate (RMR), body composition, muscular strength (1RM), and limb blood flow (LBF). Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 30 healthy male volunteers (21 [plusmn] 3 years; 18 to 30 years) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups; pure creatine monohydrate alone (Cr; n = 10), creatine plus resistance training (Cr-RT; n = 10), or placebo plus resistance training (P-RT; n = 10). Body composition (DEXA, Lunar DPX-IQ), body mass, bench, and leg press 1RM (isotonic), RMR (indirect calorimetry; ventilated hood), and forearm and calf LBF (venous occlusive plethysmography) were obtained on all 30 subjects on 3 occasions beginning at approximately 6:00 AM following an overnight fast and 24 hours removed from the last training session; baseline (day 0), and 7 days and 29 days following the interventions. No differences existed among groups at baseline for any of the variables measured. Following the 28-day interventions, body mass (Cr, 73.9 [plusmn] 11.5 v 75.6 [plusmn] 12.5 kg; Cr-RT, 78.8 [plusmn] 6.7 v 80.8 [plusmn] 6.8 kg; P [lt ] .01) and total body water (Cr, 40.4 [plusmn] 6.8 v 42.6 [plusmn] 7.2 L, 5.5%; Cr-RT, 40.6 [plusmn] 2.4 v 42.3 [plusmn] 2.2 L, 4.3%; P [lt ] .01) increased significantly in Cr and Cr-RT, but remained unchanged in P-RT, whereas, fat-free mass (FFM) increased significantly in Cr-RT (63 [plusmn] 2.8 v 64.7 [plusmn] 3.6 kg; P [lt ] .01) and showed a tendency to increase in Cr (58.1 [plusmn] 8.1 v 59 [plusmn] 8.8 kg; P = .07). Following the 28-day period, all groups significantly increased (P [lt ] .01) bench (Cr, 77.3 [plusmn] 4 v 83.2 [plusmn] 3.6 kg; Cr-RT, 76.8 [plusmn] 4.5 v90.5 [plusmn] 4.5 kg; P-RT, 76.0 [plusmn] 3.4 v 85.5 [plusmn] 3.2 kg), and leg press (Cr, 205.5 [plusmn] 14.5 v238.6 [plusmn] 13.2 kg; Cr-RT, 167.7 [plusmn] 13.2 v 238.6 [plusmn] 17.3 kg; P-RT, 200.5 [plusmn] 9.5 v 255 [plusmn] 13.2 kg) 1RM muscular strength. However, Cr-RT improved significantly more (P [lt ] .05) on the leg press 1RM than Cr and P-RT and the bench press 1RM than Cr (P [lt ] .01). Calf (30%) and forearm (38%) LBF increased significantly (P [lt ] .05) in the Cr-RT, but remained unchanged in the Cr and P-RT groups following the supplementation period. RMR expressed on an absolute basis was increased in the Cr (1,860.1 [plusmn] 164.9 v1,907 [plusmn] 173.4 kcal/d, 2.5%; P [lt ] .05) and Cr-RT (1,971.4 [plusmn] 171.8 v 2,085.7 [plusmn] 183.6 kcal/d, 5%; P [lt ] .05), but remained unchanged from baseline in P-RT. Total cholesterol decreased significantly in Cr-RT ([minus ]9.9%; 172 [plusmn] 27 v 155 [plusmn] 26 mg/dL; P [lt ] .01) compared with Cr (174 [plusmn] 46 v 178 [plusmn] 43 mg/dL) and P-RT (162 [plusmn] 32 v 161 [plusmn] 36 mg/dL) following the 28-day intervention. These findings suggest that the addition of creatine supplementation to resistance training significantly increases total and fat-free body mass, muscular strength, peripheral blood flow, and resting energy expenditure and improves blood cholesterol.

Publication Title

Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental

Volume

50

Issue

12

First Page

1429

Last Page

1434

DOI of Published Version

10.1053/meta.2001.28159

Publisher

Elsevier

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