Creatine’s Effect on Resistance Training By: Josh Clark

The Purpose The purpose for this experiment was to compare two groups of men, one group using creatine supplementation and the other using a placebo, and to see which group increased the most in muscle mass and strength. The theory behind the test was that creatine should give the group taking it an advantage over the group taking the placebo. Taking creatine has been said to increase the creatine already in your muscles so the muscle has more energy, which increases the muscle potential to lift heavier weights.

The Experiment The experiment used nineteen weight lifters that have never used creatine monohydrate before the study. It was a double blind randomly assigned test so the subjects and the scientists did not have any knowledge of who was getting what. The creatine group took 25 grams of creatine every day for the first week, and 5 grams a day for the remaining 11 weeks of the trial. Each group did the same workout each week so the experiment would be fair to both sides.

The Experiment Continued The time of day they took the creatine was recorded to further check if creatine consumption could be affected by day or time. At the end of each week a one rep max was taken in the main power lifts to see the difference in strength in the groups. They also tested the body fat mass, muscle mass, amount of creatine in the muscle, and skeletal morphology. They also checked each type of muscle fiber to check growth rates and how each fiber was affected by the creatine monohydrate.

The Results After the 12 week training was over the creatine group saw a significantly greater results in every category compared to the placebo group. The creatine group gained 6.3% body mass while the placebo group only gained 3.6% over the 12 week period.

The Results Continued The creatine group also saw a great strength increase in their one rep bench and squat max which increased 24% and 32% compared to the placebo groups 16% and 24%. Creatine also helped by increasing the subject’s muscle fiber mass and increased the creatine found in their muscles. They also found no negative side effect for taking creating as a workout supplement.

Conclusion In conclusion, the creatine group saw a greater increase in strength, muscle mass, and the amount of creatine in their muscle fibers compared to the placebo group. It was obvious that after the 12 week training period creatine gave them a clear weight lifting advantage with no negative side effects. So with proper training and use of creatine, an individual can increase their performance faster with taking creatine then without supplementing the creatine product.