Creatine monohydrate improved cycling Wingate performance but not cognitive function in young active males and...

This study evaluated the effects of creatine monohydrate (Cr) supplementation on cognitive and physical performance of young, healthy, omnivorous and physically active individuals, before and after high-intensity exercise. Forty healthy volunteers (20 males [age 23 ± 5 y] and 20 females [age 24 ± 5 y]) completed three visits comprising a familiarization to all test procedures, followed by 2 main trials separated by 1 week of 20 g/day Cr or placebo (maltodextrin) supplementation in a parallel-group design. Participants performed the Stroop Colour and Word Test 1 and 2 and Trail Test A and B pre- and post- a 30-s Wingate cycling test. Cr improved mean (pre-supplementation: 526 W; 95% CI: 510,542; vs. post-supplementation: 570 W; 95% CI: 554,586; p = 0.002; Effect size [ES]=0.94) and peak (pre-supplementation: 738 W; 95% CI: 684,791; vs. post-supplementation: 797 W; 95% CI: 743,850; p = 0.002; ES = 0.91) power output, with no sex differences shown. There were no effects of Cr on any of the cognitive tasks. Cr supplementation improved 30-s Wingate performance but did not affect cognitive performance. These data suggest that Cr may be beneficial for those involved in explosive exercise bouts. There appeared to be a learning effect for several of the cognitive tests, which may have masked any effect with Cr.