The Influence of Recovery Duration on High-Intensity Exercise Performance After Oral Creatine Supplementation

William H. Cooke, William S. Barnes

Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 1997, 22:(5) 454-467, 10.1139/h97-029

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of creatine supplementation on the ability to reproduce and maintain a high percentage of peak power output during the second of two bouts of high-intensity cycle sprinting following four different recovery intervals. Eighty healthy, active male subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups (creatine or placebo) and one of four recovery intervals (30, 60, 90, or 120?s). Two maximal cycle ergometer sprints, separated by the assigned recovery interval were performed before and after a 5-day supplementation protocol in which 20?g/day of creatine (plus 4?g/day glucose) or 24?g/day glucose placebo were ingested by subjects from creatine and placebo groups, respectively. Maximal peak power output (PP) and the absolute time to fatigue (TTF) were compared pre- versus postsupplementation. No significant group interactions were noted in this study. Specifically, creatine supplementation had no effect on subjects’ ability to reproduce or maintain a high percentage of PP during the second bout of exercise.

Creatine supplementation and dynamic high-intensity intermittent exercise – Article first published online: 30 JAN 2007 Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

P. D. Balsom*,
B. Ekblom,
K. Söerlund,
B. Sjödln,
E. Hultman†

Two intermittent high-intensity exercise protocols were performed before and after the administration of either creatine or a placebo, and performance characteristics and selected physiological responses were studied. Each exercise protocol consisted of 10 6-s bouts of high-intensity cycling at 2 exercise intensities (130 rev/min [EX130]: ?820 W and 140 rev/min [EX140)]: ? 880 W) so that in EX130 the same amount of exercise was performed before and after the administration period, whereas an exercise intensity in EX140 was chosen to induce fatigue over the 10 exercise bouts. Sixteen healthy male subjects were randomly assigned to the 2 experimental groups. A double-blind design was used in this study. There were no significant changes in the placebo group for any of the measured parameters. Performance towards the end of each exercise bout in EX140 was enhanced following creatine supplementation, as shown by a smaller decline in work output from baseline along the 10 trials. Although more work was performed in EX140, after vs before the administration period, blood lactate accumulation decreased (mean and SEM), from 10.8 (0.5) to 9.1 (0.8) mmol·l?1 and plasma accumulation of hypoxanthine decreased from 21.1 (0.4) to 16.7 (0.8) ?mol·l?1, but there was no change in oxygen uptake measured during 3 exercise and recovery periods [3.18 (0–1) vs 3.14 (0.1) l·min?1]. In EX130 blood lactate accumulation decreased, from 7.0 (0.5) to 5.1 (0.5) mmol·l?1, and oxygen uptake was also lower, decreasing from 2.84 (0.1) to 2.78 (0.1) l·min?1. A significant increase in body mass (11 kg: range 0.3 to 2.5 kg) was found in the creatine group. The mechanism responsible for the improved performance with creatine supplementation are postulated to be both a higher initial creatine phosphate content availability and an increased rate of creatine phosphate resynthesis during recovery periods. The lower blood lactate and hypoxanthine accumulation can also be explained by these mechanisms.

We could probably go tit for tat on these for a while…..

I am getting to be faster than I’ve ever been I think, and I’m doing possibly 1-2 hours a week if that.

I do about 7 hours per week and am getting slower.

Correct me if I am wrong but I suspect you came to running more recently which means you will improve from your previous fitness level quite significantly whereas I am on the way down (from quite a low peak it has to be said) so my training is more to try and remain competitive as I get older but I am always going to get slower!

I dont think there is anything particularly tough about the OP’s schedule although I know nothing of marshal arts.

I dont think there is anything particularly tough about the OP’s schedule although I know nothing of marshal arts.

Nor do I. If you are struggling to recover I’d suggest protein shakes but only if you can’t get proper food within 30mins of exercise.

Molly – you’re in cloud cuckoo land…

Whole milk? Really? I’m cutting it out (of lattes) in an effort to get skinny, am upping the riding and running. Should I stick with whole milk?

Semi-skimmed has fractionally more protein per 100ml.

The total workload’s not that huge*, but a proper rest day would probably be a good thing, as would lowering the overall amount of exercise one week a month – cut out the non-social sports for that week, for example.

* depending on your bike commute – 8 miles bimbling along on the flat is nothing, a solid 4 mile climb on a daily basis is another…

(Probably should point out that I’m not a coach, but I’ve read (and even followed!) various training plans, and I’ve yet to find one that doesn’t include rest days and weeks.)

We could probably go tit for tat on these for a while…..

Could do, but that would be boring. I don’t have a view on creatine, i just posted the first thing google scholar gave me.

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/strengthtraining.html

“11. Train To Win, Not To Fail”

Yes whole milk!

Whole milk is only 4% fat and actually has more carbs than fat in it, and loads of protein.

If you want to lose weight then the thing to play around with is your carb intake. Keep your protein and fats at a good level to maintain lean muscle and cut back on the cake!

the crucial question is were you doing more or less hrs per week (at the same intensity) before 1-2 hours made you faster “than i’ve ever been”?

I used to do 10-15 hours a week.

if you were doing less then it’s hardly surprising, if you were doing more then people would be interested in the details of your 1-2 hrs

Well give iDave some money and I’m sure he’ll fill you in.

Correct me if I am wrong but I suspect you came to running more recently

Yes – it has improved my cardiovascular capacity a lot, I think – I hardly get out of breath now when cycling at max. This may just mean that my legs are weak though, I dunno.

How much activity did you do before? if you’re going from 0 to that then you’ll feel knackered and will probably get an injury, however if you’ve increased the programme by say 20% than thats not unrealisitc.

You will get used to the routine naturally, anything that gives your muscles a really good workout will take a couple of days to recover from until you get used to it. I think supplements make a small difference, most probably a placebo however those affects shouldn’t be underestimated.