Creatin' muscle
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2000Six weeks of creatine supplementation increased upper arm muscle size by 7.9 square centimetres in a group of weight trainers, a US study has found.
Southern Illinois University researchers put 23 men on a six-week cycle of oral creatine supplementation in conjunction with a resistance training program, testing the effects on upper arm muscles, strength and body composition.
One group took a 500mL flavoured drink with 5g creatine monohydrate and 32g sucrose four times a day for five days, and then the same drink with 2g creatine once a day. A placebo group took a 500mL flavoured sucrose drink with no creatine.
All subjects trained twice a week with training loads that progressed from 6 reps maximum to 2 reps maximum.
The study, published in the American College of Sports Medicine Journal, March 2000, found:
- upper arm muscle area in the creatine group increased at an average of 7.9 square centimetres and did not change in the placebo group;
- the creatine group lifted an average of 42.8kg in week 1, increasing to 54.7kg in week 6 while the placebo group lifted 42.5kg, then 49.3kg;
- body mass increased in the creatine group from 86.7kg to 88.7kg with fat-free mass increasing from 71.2kg to 72.8kg;
- there were no changes in body mass or fat-free mass in the placebo group;
- there were no changes in fat mass and percent body fat in either group.
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