No additive effect of creatine, caffeine, and sodium bicarbonate on intense exercise performance in endurance‐trained individuals

Apr 22, 2024Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports

Creatine, caffeine, and sodium bicarbonate do not improve intense exercise in endurance-trained people

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Abstract

Creatine loading increased mean power output during a 15-second sprint by 34 W compared to placebo.

Caffeine supplementation improved mean power output in a 6-minute time trial by 12 W compared to placebo.
The combination of caffeine and sodium bicarbonate increased mean power output in the 6-minute time trial by 8 W compared to placebo.
Sodium bicarbonate alone showed no significant effect on performance during the 6-minute time trial.
Creatine did not significantly enhance performance during the 6-minute time trial compared to placebo.
Caffeine and creatine effects on performance do not appear to be additive.

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BACKGROUND: Athletes commonly use creatine, caffeine, and sodium bicarbonate for performance enhancement. While their isolated effects are well-described, less is known about their potential additive effects.

METHODS: Following a baseline trial, we randomized 12 endurance-trained males (age: 25 ± 5 years, VO: 56.7 ± 4.6 mL kg min; mean ± SD) and 11 females (age: 25 ± 3 years, VO: 50.2 ± 3.4 mL kg min) to 5 days of creatine monohydrate (0.3 g kg per day) or placebo loading, followed by a daily maintenance dose (0.04 g kg) throughout the study. After the loading period, subjects completed four trials in randomized order where they ingested caffeine (3 mg kg), sodium bicarbonate (0.3 g kg), placebo, or both caffeine and sodium bicarbonate before a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), 15-s sprint, and 6-min time trial. 2max2max -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

RESULTS: Compared to placebo, mean power output during 15-s sprint was higher following loading with creatine than placebo (+34 W, 95% CI: 10 to 58, p = 0.008), but with no additional effect of caffeine (+10 W, 95% CI: -7 to 24, p = 0.156) or sodium bicarbonate (+5 W, 95% CI: -4 to 13, p = 0.397). Mean power output during 6-min time trial was higher with caffeine (+12 W, 95% CI: 5 to 18, p = 0.001) and caffeine + sodium bicarbonate (+8 W, 95% CI: 0 to 15, p = 0.038), whereas sodium bicarbonate (-1 W, 95% CI: -7 to 6, p = 0.851) and creatine (-6 W, 95% CI: -15 to 4, p = 0.250) had no effects.

CONCLUSION: While creatine and caffeine can enhance sprint- and time trial performance, respectively, these effects do not seem additive. Therefore, supplementing with either creatine or caffeine appears sufficient to enhance sprint or short intense exercise performance.

Key numbers

34 W

Increase in Mean Power Output (15-s Sprint)

Mean power output during 15-s sprint following creatine loading vs. placebo

12 W

Increase in Mean Power Output (6-min Time Trial)

Mean power output during 6-min time trial with caffeine vs. placebo

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Abstract

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