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Ergogenic Aid Guidance Plus Creatine 101

  • Writer: Rachel Cutts
    Rachel Cutts
  • Nov 4, 2020
  • 8 min read

Updated: Nov 29, 2020









Introduction:

In previous blog posts, I wrote about the importance of consuming macro-nutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates), micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals), and staying hydrated to properly fuel your body for playing high-level basketball. Not only are the content of your meals important for optimizing your health and performance, so are is the timing of those meals and snacks. I recommend eating a well-balanced nutrient dense diet consisting of 4 to 6 meals per day plus snacks for good health, performance, and recovery.


Being an elite basketball player means you train 5 to 6 days per week, participating in intermittent high-intensity exercise for as long as 2 to 3 hours per day. Perhaps more if multiple training session, games and/or practices are scheduled. Given that basketball is physically demanding sport, it would be wise to consider consuming supplements proven to be effective in maximizing your gains and improving your performance.


When considering performance nutritional supplements and other erogenic aids, you should use a systematic approach to help you chose the best products to meet your health and performance goals. In this blog we will discuss things to consider prior to purchasing a product; as well as, discuss the most-effective supplement for improving short-duration high-intensity exercise in this blog.

So What is an Ergogenic Aid?


They are any training techniques, devices, nutritional ingredients or practices, pharmacological methods, or psychological techniques that have the potential to improve exercise performance capacity or enhance training adaptations with the exercise session or over the course of time.1,2

For instance, they may help you prepare for exercise, improve your exercise efficiency, speed or enhance your recovery, and/or assist you in preventing injury during intense training.

Examples of Ergogenic Nutritional Ingredient and Their Benefits

  • Creatine monohydrate is naturally occurring nitrogenous compound found in the body.1,2 Primary food sources are red meat and seafood. Its proposed benefits include increases lean body mass, improving performance, and exercise capacity.1,2 This compound is discussed in greater detail below.

Creatine is most-effective supplement for improving short-duration high-intensity exercise.


  • Essential amino acids (EAAs) are the building blocks of proteins that the body cannot make on its own.1 Its proposed benefits include stimulating muscle protein synthesis but it has not been shown to increase muscle mass alone.1,2 EAAs are abundant in high-quality protein sources such as whey isolate, casein micellar, and soy isolate. 1,2

Intaking EAAs from high-quality protein sources will likely yield the best results in promoting lean muscle mass. 1

Why does it matter to you?


Creatine and high-quality protein supplements are beneficial to you because increasing your muscle mass and exercise capacity can help you become stronger and more explosive. The game of basketball is becoming more physical. The benefit to having more muscle mass is your body becoming more resilient to the excessive body contact experienced when getting through pick and rolls and driving to the lane.

Choose Dietary Supplements that are Tested for Quality Assurance


The FDA established the Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) for dietary supplements to help protect consumers against contamination issues and set the standard for good manufacturing of dietary supplements. 1 GMP inspections focus on quality control, record keeping, and documentation. 1 Look for supplements with this certification on their label to improve your confidence in buying the supplement.



Dietary supplements should be tested for quality assurance by reputable raw material manufactures. The company should conduct a series of thorough toxicity testing to determine the purity of their raw ingredients. 1

Third-party testing is when companies submit their products for independent testing by unaffiliated testing companies to certify that their products meet label claims.1 Supplements with third-party testing reduces the likelihood the supplement has banned substances.1 This is because it requires companies to comply with product testing and ongoing monitoring and screening for contaminates and banned substances of the NBA.1,3

The following links are third-party organizations and companies test and certify dietary supplements for purity2:

www.Consumerlab.com

www.nsf.org/consumer/dietary_supplements

www.usp.org/USPVerified

When you look at supplements you will see that companies often use catchy words and claims on their product labels to peak your interest. When you see these claims, take a step back and ask a couple questions prior to purchasing.

Questions to ask before purchasing a supplement:

1. Does the Theory Make Sense? 1

  • Look for flaws in the scientific logic. Does what the company claims sound reasonable to you?

  • You can make a informed decision by checking the claim and it's logic by looking to cited literature

    • Read reviews about the supplement from peer-reviewed research which can be found at: National Library of Medicine’s Pub Med Online www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

    • Consult reputable organization's position statements such as the International Society of Sports Nutrition, which can be found at: www.biomedcentral.com/collections/ISSNPosP

2. Is the Supplement Legal and Safe?1

  • Use these the sources as cited above to determine:

    • If there are any reported side effects.

    • How long a particular supplement has been studied.

    • The dosages and timing evaluated and recommended. Often supplements will make validated claims but their dosage is less than the proven amount.

  • Consult the Physicians’ Desk Reference for nutritional and herbal supplements to determine:

    • If any side effects have been reported.

    • If there are any known drug interactions.

    • If there are any recalls, withdrawals, and safety alerts

3. Is there any scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness and ergogenic value? 1

  • Check the supplement’s cited references first. They should be specific studies that evaluated the benefits not just general references. Also, look at the disclosure sections to identify authors who have a potential economic interest in the outcomes of studies.

  • Then check the sources cited above to evaluate if research has been done in athletic population. Studies using athletes as subjects are more likely to provide similar outcomes for you.

    • Were the studies well-controlled? Gold-standard is a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial. An added plus would be a cross-over design where each subject, at different times are exposed to each treatment separated by an internal known as a “washout period”.1

    • Were results of the study presented at a reputable scientific meeting and/or published in a high impact reputable peer-reviewed scientific journal?

Asking all of these questions help you make an informed decision about purchasing and using a product.

Creatine Monohydrate


As mentioned above creatine is highly studied ergogenic aid. It is used in the body as a source of muscle energy to produce force in the form of creatine phosphate during brief high intensity activities. 1,2

Commonly seen claims on supplements and website's advertising products containing creatine include:


1. "Increases in lean body mass."4

FACT CHECK: Research supports this statement

A study suggested creatine supplementation increases muscle cell volume and muscle fiber hypertrophy when combined with repeated high-intensity short duration activities. 5 Increases in the size of your individual muscle fibers ultimately increases your total body lean body mass.


2. "Boosts performance in the gym."6

FACT CHECK: Research supports this statement

Two published studies concluded creatine supplementation improves exercise performance, post-training adaptations and exercise capacity during high-intensity exercise. 5, 7 Since it a quick energy source it can improve your ability to maintain and sustain force output for a longer period of time.2


3. "Sprint Faster" 8

FACT CHECK: Research support this statement

ISSN's position stand found that creatine supplementation enhanced exercise capacity.9 Ultimately this can lead to increased exercise capacity and quality of training. This result in you being more capable of performing activities such as sprints, jumps and, lifts for longer and/or with greater intensities.

Bottom line


Creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement currently available to athletes to increase high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. 5,7,9

Who is creatine for?


YOU

Creatine has been shown to benefit athletes who participate in repeated intermittent high-intensity activities. If you are vegetarian you may even benefit more, as larger increases in muscle creatine after supplementation are seen in this population versus meat and fish eaters 2,10

Also, it is effective for all genders and adults participating in weightlifting and other intermittent high-intensity sports; as well as, older populations for its health benefits. 5,9

Dosage and Timing suggestions

The usual dosage is 3 to 5 grams/day up 10 grams/day for larger athletes or 0.03-0.07 grams/kg of body weight per day. 1,5,7,9


Research supports a short term-loading phase were you would intake up to 20 to 25 grams/day for 3 to 7 days, splitting the dosagee into 4 serving per day. 5, 7, 9


This would be equivalent to consuming ~5 to 6 grams 4 times/day.

The amount of creatine in the blood typically peaks at approximately 60 minutes after oral ingestion.11 After which it can be assumed there is an increased uptake into the muscles thereafter. 12


I would recommend consuming one of your servings 60 minutes prior to high-intensity exercise.


The addition of carbohydrate or carbohydrate and protein to a creatine supplement appears to increase muscular uptake of creatine, 1,2


Take your creatine supplement with a carbohydrate snack or meal to increase the amount of creatine available to your muscles.


Side effects, concerns, and/or other cons


Weight gain after intaking creatine has also been occasionally reported, likely due to the increase in water retention associated with the update of creatine into the muscles. 9, 13 A study reported minor side effects such as GI disturbances and cramps.5 However, multiple short and long duration studies have reported no apparent side effects.1,9


Also, for individuals under 18, it is recommended that creatine supplementation only be used by those consuming a well-balanced nutrient dense diet, training competitive with supervision, and aware of the proper dosing and timing of the supplement. 1,9

Conclusion


When assessing whether you should take a supplement or not there a couple of things you should consider. Such as, does the product match your performance and health goals, is the product safe, is it free-from banned and toxic substances, and finally is it's benefits supported by the research.


When you find a particular product of interest you should also assess it's quality assurance standards and certifications. It is recommended you choose products that are tested by a third-party testing center such as NSF. This helps to decrease the likelihood of the product having banned and toxic substances.


Creatine has been proven to promote lean muscle mass and increase high-intensity exercise capacity. Intaking 3 to 5 grams per day up to 10 grams per day is the recommended dosage. Consuming creatine daily and eating a well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet that meets your estimated daily energy needs is recommended for good health and improved performance.

References


1. Kreider, R. B. (2019). Essentials of exercise and sport nutrition: Science to practice. Raleigh, NC: Lulu.

2. Rosenbloom, C. A. (2012). Sports nutrition: A practice manual for professionals. E. J. Coleman (Ed.). Chicago, IL: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

5. Volek, J. S., & Rawson, E. S. (2004). Scientific basis and practical aspects of creatine supplementation for athletes. Nutrition, 20(7-8), 609-614.

7. Cooper R, Naclerio F, Allgrove J, Jimenez A. Creatine supplementation with specific view to exercise/sports performance: an update. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012;9:33.

9. Kreider, R. B., Kalman, D. S., Antonio, J., Ziegenfuss, T. N., Wildman, R., Collins, R., Lopez, H. L. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 18. doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z

10. Watt, K. K., Garnham, A. P., & Snow, R. J. (2004). Skeletal muscle total creatine content and creatine transporter gene expression in vegetarians prior to and following creatine supplementation. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 14(5), 517-531.

11.Hultman, E., Soderlund, K., Timmons, J. A., Cederblad, G., & Greenhaff, P. L. (1996). Muscle creatine loading in men. Journal of applied physiology, 81(1), 232-237.

12. Jäger, R., Purpura, M., Shao, A., Inoue, T., & Kreider, R. B. (2011). Analysis of the efficacy, safety, and regulatory status of novel forms of creatine. Amino acids, 40(5), 1369-1383.

13. Terjung, R. L., Clarkson, P., Eichner, E. R., Greenhaff, P. L., Hespel, P. J., Israel, R. G., ... & Wagenmakers, A. J. (2000). American College of Sports Medicine roundtable. The physiological and health effects of oral creatine supplementation. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 32(3), 706-717.



 
 
 

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