Acute Creatine Ingestion Before Resistance Training Enhances Strength Performance More than Ingestion During or After...

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Sports Science

Background:

• Creatine supplementation is known to enhance strength exercise adaptations.
• Limited research exists on the acute effects of creatine timing relative to exercise.
• Understanding optimal creatine timing can inform training and supplementation protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acute effects of single-dose creatine timing on strength performance.
• To assess the influence of creatine timing on cognitive function and perceptual responses.
• To examine changes in selected blood biomarkers related to muscle damage and renal function.

Main Methods:

• Randomized, placebo-controlled crossover design with 11 physically active men.
• Five conditions: creatine before (CrB), during (CrD), after exercise (CrF), placebo (PL), and control.
• Standardized strength training session assessing bench press and back squat performance; CMJ, cognitive tests, POMS, RPE, PRS, DOMS, and blood markers were measured.

Main Results:

• Pre-exercise creatine ingestion (CrB) significantly enhanced bench press and back squat performance compared to placebo and control.
• Creatine kinase and creatinine concentrations showed significant condition-dependent effects.
• No significant differences were found in countermovement jump, cognitive performance, or perceptual responses across conditions.

Conclusions:

• Ingesting creatine before exercise, without a loading phase, was associated with superior acute strength performance.
• The findings suggest a potential benefit of pre-exercise creatine timing for immediate performance.
• Results are exploratory and require confirmation with larger sample sizes and refined study designs.