Effects of 28 days of two creatine nitrate based dietary supplements on bench press power in recreationally active males

Abstract

We examined 28d of randomly assigned of (1) Placebo (PL), (2) Creatine (CR, 3 g), (3) Creatine Nitrate (CrN; 1 g CR; 0.5 N) and (4) CrN2X (2 g CR; 1.0 g N) on exercise performance and body composition. Participants (N=48; 21 ±3 y) presented for fasting (12h) testing after abstaining from exercise and alcohol for 48h. Performance (reps at 70% of bench press 1 RM [BP] and repeated sprints on cycle ergometer) was measured at 0 & 4 wks. Body composition (DXA) was measured at 0, 1, & 4 wks. We used GLM to examine mean change (95% CI) from baseline. While all three treatment groups significantly increased BP repetition at 4 wks, total BP lifting volume was greater at 4 wks for CrN2X (294.6 lbs; 95% CI, 196, 393) vs CrN (164.2 lbs; 95% CI, 25, 304) and PL (187.1 lbs;95% CI, 37, 336, both p=0.02). No treatment effects were observed for cycle ergometry testing (peak or mean power, fatigue slope, and total work). While no difference in fat mass were observed for any treatment group, CrN2X did augment lean mass (1.2 lbs; 95% CI, 0.3, 2.1) and fat-free mass (1.1 lbs; 95% CI, 0.2, 2). Our results indicate that CrN2X can increase muscular endurance, and lean and fat-free mass.