AUTHOR=de Poli Rodrigo de Araujo Bonetti , Roncada Luan Henrique , Malta Elvis de Souza , Artioli Guilherme Giannini , Bertuzzi Rômulo , Zagatto Alessandro Moura 

TITLE=Creatine Supplementation Improves Phosphagen Energy Pathway During Supramaximal Effort, but Does Not Improve Anaerobic Capacity or Performance

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00352

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2019.00352

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study aimed to investigate the effects of short-duration creatine monohydrate supplementation on anaerobic capacity (AC), anaerobic energy pathways, and time-to-exhaustion during high-intensity running. Fourteen healthy men underwent a graded exercise test (GXT) followed by a O<sub>2max</sub> confirmation test, 5 submaximal efforts, and 4 supramaximal running bouts at 115% of <inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mi mathcolor="black" mathvariant="normal">V</mml:mi><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub> intensity (the first two supramaximal sessions were applied as familiarization trials) to measure the AC using two procedures; the maximum accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) and non-oxidative pathways energetics sum (AC<sub>[La-]+EPOCfast</sub>). The investigation was conducted in a single-blind and placebo-controlled manner, with participants performing the efforts first after being supplemented with a placebo (dextrose 20 g⋅day<sup>-1</sup> for 5 days), and then, after a 7 day “placebo” washout period, they started the same procedure under creatine supplementation (20 g⋅day<sup>-1</sup> for 5 days. This order was chosen due to the prolonged washout of creatine. MAOD was not different between placebo (3.35 ± 0.65 L) and creatine conditions (3.39 ± 0.79 L; P = 0.58) and presented a negligible effect [effect size (ES) = 0.08], similar to, AC<sub>[La-]+EPOCfast</sub> (placebo condition (3.66 ± 0.79 Land under creatine ingestion 3.82 ± 0.85 L; P = 0.07) presenting a small effect (ES = 0.20). The energetics from the phosphagen pathway increased significantly after creatine supplementation (1.66 ± 0.40 L) compared to the placebo condition (1.55 ± 0.42 L; P = 0.03). However, the glycolytic and oxidative pathways were not different between conditions. Furthermore, time to exhaustion did not differ between placebo (160.79 ± 37.76 s) and creatine conditions (163.64 ± 38.72; P = 0.49). Therefore, we can conclude that creatine supplementation improves the phosphagen energy contribution, but with no statistical effect on AC or time to exhaustion in supramaximal running.</p>