Creatine May Enhance Body Weight, Strength

Creatine May Enhance Body Weight, Strength

GLASGOW, United Kingdom--Five days of creatinesupplementation was shown to increase body weight and fat-free body mass inresistance-trained men, according to research published in the July issue of Medicine& Science in Sports & Exercise (34, 7: 1176, 83, 2002) (www.ms-se.com).Researcher, from the University of Glasgow also noted creatine supplementationimproved peak force and total force during repeated bench-press exercisescompared to the placebo group.

Thirty-two men accustomed to weight training were randomlyassigned to receive either creatine (20 g/d plus 180 g/d of dextrose) or placebo(200 g/d of dextrose) for five days. Subjects in the creatine group werecategorized into "responders" (n=17) and "nonresponders"(n=4). In analyzing data from the responders group, researchers noted that thechange in peak force and total force were significantly greater compared to theplacebo group, with estimated creatine uptake being inversely correlated withtraining status. Researchers also noted a significant increase in body weightand fat-free mass, with the magnitude of increase being significantly greater inthe responder group than the placebo group.