Geri A. Moore

Effect of two and five days of creatine loading on anaerobic working capacity in women.

Law, YLL, Ong, WS, GillianYap, TL, Lim, SCJ, and Chia, EV. Effects of two and five days of creatine loading on muscular strength and anaerobic power in trained athletes. J Strength Cond Res 23(3): 906-914, 2009-The purpose of this study was to establish the effects of 2 and 5 days of creatine loading, coupled with resistance training, on muscular strength and anaerobic performance in trained athletes. Seventeen trained men were randomly assigned to a creatine or a placebo group. The creatine supplementation group consumed 20 g of creatine per day (4 doses of 5 g per day), whereas the placebo group was given a placebo similar in appearance and taste over the 5-day supplementation duration. Anaerobic power and strength performance measures, in addition to blood and urine analysis, were conducted in the morning before the supplementation began and on the third and sixth day to establish the effect of 2 and 5 days of creatine loading, respectively. The study found that a 5-day creatine loading regime coupled with resistance training resulted in significant improvements in both average anaerobic power, as measured by the 30-second Wingate test and back squat strength compared with just training alone. However, 2 days of supplementation was not sufficient to produce similar performance gains as that observed at the end of 5 days of loading in trained men, despite increases in creatine uptake in the body. The standard 5-day loading regime should hence be prescribed to individuals supplementing with creatine for enhanced strength and power.

Effects of 8 weeks of creatine supplementation on exercise performance and fat-free weight in football players during training

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in bench press strength (BPS), vertical jump (VJ), 100 yd dash time, and fat-free weight (FFW) in football players following 8 weeks of supplementation with a carbohydrate placebo (CHO), creatine monohydrate (CM), or CM plus CHO. Using a double blind random design, 24 college football players were placed into one of three treatment conditions: CHO) 35g CHO; CM) 5.25g CM plus 1g CHO; or CM+CHO) 5.25g CM and 33g CHO. All treatments were similar in taste and were ingested four times per day for five consecutive days and twice daily thereafter. All subjects weight trained for 1 h and participated in 30 min of speed drills four times per week for 8 weeks. The CM+CHO group experienced significant (p<0.05) improvement in BPS, VJ, 100 yd dash time and FFW when compared to the CHO group. However, delta scores for the CM group were not significantly different from the CHO group. These data suggest that CHO taken with CM during training may be superior to training alone for enhancing exercise performance and FFW.

Effect of Creatine Phosphate Supplementation on Anaerobic Working Capacity and Body Weight After Two and Six Days of Loading in Men and Women

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 2 and 6 days of creatine phosphate loading on anaerobic working capacity (AWC) and body weight (BW) in men and women. Sixty-one men (n = 31) and women (n = 30) randomly received 1 of 3 treatments (4 3 5 g·d-1 X 6 days) using a double blind design: (a) 18 g dextrose as placebo (PL); (b) 5.0 g Cr + 20 g dextrose (Cr); or (c) 5.0 g Cr + 18 g dextrose + 4 g of sodium and potassium phosphates (CrP). AWC was determined at baseline and following 2 and 6 days of supplementation using the Critical Power Test. BW increased significantly over time, and the mean value for the men was significantly greater compared to that for women, but there were no interactions (p > 0.05). There were gender-specific responses for AWC expressed in both absolute values (kJ) and relative to BW (kJ· kg-1), with the women demonstrating no significant interactions. For the men, CrP loading significantly increased AWC following 2 days (23.8%) and 6 days (49.8%) of supplementation vs. PL (kJ and kJ·kg-1). Cr supplementation increased AWC 13–15% in both genders compared to PL (1.1%–3.0% decline); although this result was not statistically significant, it may have some practical significance.

Effect of thirty days of creatine supplementation with phosphate salts on anaerobic working capacity and body weight in men.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 30 days of single-dose creatine supplementation with phosphate salts (CPS) on body weight (BW) and anaerobic working capacity (AWC) in men. Using a double-blind design, 32 men randomly received 1 serving of either CPS (5 g Cr + 4 g phosphate) (n = 17) or 20 g of dextrose as placebo (PL) (n = 15) for 30 days. AWC determined from the Critical Power Test and BW were measured at baseline, 10 days, 20 days, 30 days, and 10 days post-supplementation. Results (2 × 5 ANOVA) showed no significant differences between groups for AWC at any time point; however, BW was significantly increased at 10 days in the CPS group (1.0 kg) vs. PL (0.0 kg), and remained elevated for the duration of the study. These findings suggest that a single 5 g·d−1 dose of CPS for 30 days increases BW but is not effective for increasing AWC in men.

Using employee experts to offer an interprofessional diabetes risk reduction program to fellow employees.

A recent increase in the incidence of diabetes and pre-diabetes is causing many employers to spend more of their healthcare benefit budgets to manage the conditions. A self-insured university in the USA has implemented an interprofessional diabetes mellitus risk reduction program using its own employee faculty and staff experts to help fellow employees manage their diabetes and pre-diabetes. The interprofessional team consists of five pharmacists, a dietitian, an exercise physiologist, a health educator and a licensed mental health practitioner. In addition, the participants physician serves as a consultant to the program, as does a human resources healthcare benefits specialist and a wellness coordinator. The volunteer program takes place at the worksite during regular business hours and is free of charge to the employees. The faculty and staff delivering the program justify the cost of their time through an interprofessional educational model that the program will soon provide to university students.