Effect of Creatine Supplementation

Effect of Creatine SupplementationAbstractIntroductionThe substance ab routine of creatin tack ons as an aid to enhance per work onance in sports go to prominence by and by it was revealed that the British Olympic team had apply state nutritional supplements in the build up to the Barcelona games of 1992. The Times (7 August 1992) account that high profile athletes such as Linford Christie and S each(prenominal)y Gunnell had won golden medals spell victimization creatin during their preparation. Although sometimes viewed as contr oversial by divisions of the sporting partnership, creatin as a nutritional supplement is suddenly branchingal and its use is encouraged by certain sporting institutions. An subject of this dilemma is within the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), whereby the distri steadyion of creatin by team coaches is banned but individual athletes are still al low-pitcheded to ensure the supplement themselves, although the Athletic Mana gement journal, among former(a)s, postulates that this was d angiotensin-converting enzyme in order to train the playing field rather than as a result of a side frame discovery (NCAA clamps down on supplements, 2000 12.5). Creatine is a naturally occurring substance be mainly in meat and tip 2 Herda,T.J. 2009 that was first isolated in careworn energy by Michel-Eugne Chevreul in 1832 and feastn its name from the derivation of the Greek name for flesh, Kreas. Twelve years later, the German scientist Justus von Liebig theorised that this compound was necessary to produce stringy action in vertebrates after observing foxes in the wild and canvas their creatine ciphers to those in captivity. He even went as far as to harvest his own supply of creatine from the foxes and marketed it as Fleisch Extrakt, proclaiming that it would dispense with the frame to do more(prenominal) work and for over a century this was the nonwithstanding creatine supplement ever produced.It has been established by the scientific community that augmentd intake of creatine as a dietary supplement pull up stakes lead to an subjoin in the join creatine (TC) and creatine phosphoric acid (PC) concentrations in impecunious muscularity builder 10 Finn,J.P. 200111 Harris,R.C. 1992 14 Greenhaff,P.L. 1994 . PC is simply the phosphorylated form of creatine that is give mainly in point little brawniness which is utilized during high-intesity shape to quickly replace the diminished adenosine triphosphate (adenosine triphosphate) stores 2 Herda,T.J. 2009 . This is accomplishd through the actions of the enzyme creatine phosphokinase (CPK) which is ensnare in high concentrations in muscles, allowing for agile refillment of ATP despite the rising levels of intracellular adenosine diphosphate (ADP) that occurs during performance 2 Herda,T.J. 2009 . Ergo increasing the bodies creatine stores should result in an modify efficacy to regenerate the skeletal muscle fibres ATP stores and consequently lead to improved process and delayed onset of fatigue during bouts of high- saturation compute (Hargreaves, M. 2006).The aim of this composing is to review the current literature regarding creatines hypothetic in effect(p) heart and soul on muscle performance and ensure what is the optimal method of delivering the supplement to the skeletal muscle. Since creatine became fashionable in the mid 1990s, numerous sports supplement companies consume been researching how it can best be administered into the proboscis, with regards to dose coat, timing and the different forms of creatine now available. Other factors sine qua non to be considered such as potentiality side imprint and certain population hosts who whitethorn be at risk when employ creatine. The general consensus is that it does work as an ergogenic aid be by Leuthholtz and Kreider (2001) as a technique or practice that serves to increase performance readiness, the efficiency to perform work, the ability to recover from exercise, and/or the flavour of learn thereby promoting greater teach adaptations. An another(prenominal) aim of this root word is to examine the machines behind creatines beneficial effect and where these overtures take place i.e. exceptional(prenominal) muscle fibre founts. It is also important to consider what is meant by improvement does it mean performance in specific exercises or just in muscle development in general? Are there feature proposition sports events where the improvements are marked and easily noticeable?The two enzymes required for de novo ( lastogenous) discount of creatine in humans, transamidinase and methyltransferase, are out-of-doors in the kidneys, pancreas and liver 18 Balsom,P.D. 1994 . Therefore creatine leases to be comported via the bloodstream to the muscles where it is needed and it has been open that the normal range of creatine concentration within plasma is in the midst of 50 and 100 mol/L 18 Ba lsom,P.D. 1994 . To de end pointine the supply amount of creatine in the torso, the levels of both the free form (FC) and phosporylated forms need to be combined. The present day analysis is that for a man of 70kg, his TC leave behind amount to approximately 120g, with a turnover (of creatine to creatinine, the break-down point of intersection of creatine phosphate in muscle) estimated at about 1.6% per day 19 HOBERMAN,H.D. 1948 . This equates to about 2g in an average male, which is replaced by both endogenous and exogenous sources, the latter coming mainly from meat and fish as menti unmatchablenessd earlier, with herring being a particularly good example 18 Balsom,P.D. 1994 . In 1986, Hoogwerf et al calculated that the average creatine pulmonary tuberculosis in a mixed diet was 1g per day so the remaining gram has to be made up by endogenous discount, while those individuals whose diet lacks creatine completely imputable to insufficient animal produce intake, such as vege tarians or vegans, will have to make up their daily intake entirely through endogenous means 21 Delanghe,J. 1989 . In toll of distribution, skeletal muscle is home to 95% of the TC found in the tree trunk, two-thirds of which is in the phosphorylated form 18 Balsom,P.D. 1994 . The remaining 5% is found more often than not in the brain, heart and dischargees.Ageing appears to have no effect on the thorough amount of TC found within skeletal muscles, but levels of PC were found to be debase in untrained time-worn individuals compared to their younger counterparts, while FC was found in higher concentrations in the elderly cohort 22 Moller,P. 1982 . A subsequent upbringing take apart by Moller and co-workers revealed that once the elderly individuals had undertaken some basic exercise, their FC and PC levels more well resembled those of the younger group. This points to a conclusion that inactivity will result in the dephosphorylation of creatine, a process that can easily b e reversed by a return to training.A 1989 employment by Tesch et al order of battleed that type II muscle fibres have higher concentrations of PC than their type I counterparts, during residuuming state. These findings are to be expect since the anaerobic type II fibres use PC as their major storage fuel so that ATP can be generated quickly, as opposed to the type I fall twitch fibres that primarily use triglycerides as their main source of fuel. sooner exploring creatines proposed effects on muscle performance and development, it is important to consider how its ingestion actually influences the bodies stores. In 1992 Harris et al showed that ingesting 5g of creatine monohydrate resulted in the elevation of the level of creatine in plasma, one hour later, from 50-100 mol/L to over 500 mol/L. Unfortunately the only research conducted that has uncovered the mechanism behind creatines transport from bloodstream into muscle was done in rats 27 Fitch,C.D. 1966 . It was found that t he intracellular trapping of creatine and a saturable process allowed for transport of the compound from the bloodstream crossways to the muscle and explained the high creatine contented of the skeletal muscle. Perhaps surprisingly, this is still the al some we know about this particular mechanism after over 40 years and is definitely an bailiwick that is prime for future research.Creatine monohydrate versus creatine ethyl esterWhile creatine monohydrates (CM) use is widespread, creatine ethyl ester (CEE) is less well known in the public domain. Manufacturers of the latter claim it is more readily absorbed into the body ascribable to being more lipophilic and therefore having a durable half-life once ingested. It is converted back into creatine once digested as it is an ethyl ester derivative of creatine, specifically developed by the University of Nebraska checkup Centres technology transfer entity, UNeMed. The claims of the various manufacturers of this specific type of cre atine were repugn by a force field by Child and Tallon that was presented at the internationalistic Society of Sports Nutrition 4th annual meeting. They had found that CEE was quickly bewildered down into creatinine payable in part to the descendd acid perceptual constancy ca employ by the issueition of the ethyl group (Child Tallon 2007). The proposed beneficial benefits of the two varieties will be discussed in length later on.Effect on body multitudeIn 1975, Ingwall et al hypothesized that creatine could stimulate both cardiac and skeletal muscle into a state of hypertrophy by myofibrillar protein synthesis. In vitro and in vivo skeletal muscle had increase synthesis of the contractile proteins actin and myosin as well as the muscle specific iso-enzyme creatine phosphokinase, all of which were due to creatines selectivity. With the increased accumulation of these myofibrillar proteins, skeletal muscle went into a state of hypertrophy. This count is considered as the s ign groundbreaking research into the methods behind creatines effect and a lot of the subsequent ideas mentioned in this piece summon it extensively.Ingwall followed this initial subject area up a year later 16 Ingwall,J.S. 1976 with a paper on creatines effect as a potential chemical substance signal that links increased muscular activity with increased contractile mass. An important factor to note is that this paper is not referring to creatine as a dietary supplement, as its effects as an ergogenic aid were not fully understood until the ahead of time 1990s, but rather as an end product of the contraction mechanism. Its aim was to establish the biochemical and physiological mechanisms by which muscular hypertrophy occurs after increased muscular activity and heartbeat the effects of increased intracellular creatine levels in differentiating skeletal muscle cells in culture. The conclusion was that although creatine probably does play a region in selectively controlling the rate of synthesis of muscle-specific proteins, it is hard to nail down whether these results would apply in vivo.There are two schools of thought when it comes to assessing the diverseness in body composition that comes with creatine subjunction an increase in fat-free mass, first proposed by Earnest et al in 1996, and/or an increase in the relative body of water content of skeletal muscles. Francaux and Poortmans found that after nine weeks of training and creatine accessory, their was an increase in the implicit value of both total body water (TBW) content and intracellular water (ICW) levels but not the relative value, indicating that the gain of 1-2kg of total body mass they observed was due to dry matter growth 17 Francaux,M. 1999 . These results were equal to those obtained by Kreider et al in 1996 in that there was an increase in total body mass without a change in the TBW percentage 28 Kreider,R.B. 1996 . When specifically studying the effects of creatine ethyl est er (CEE) subjunction, Spillane et al found no momentous changes in TBW between the CEE, creatine monohydrate and placebo groups after unplumbed confrontation training changeless 48 days 26 Spillane,M. 2009 . This study paid particular interest to the supposed water computer memory qualities of CEE as m whatsoever of the manufacturers of the supplement claim that the esterfication process it undergoes increases cells permeableness to creatine and minimizes the amount of freecellular water (ECW) retained during supplement 26 Spillane,M. 2009 . As suggested by Mesa and colleagues 80 Mesa,J.L. 2002 , one of the potential benefits of creatine supplementation is the accompanied increase in TBW and ICW that military service facilitate skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Furthermore in 1998 Kreider et al conducted a study that used bioelectrical impedance to evaluate the changes in body composition after concise term (28d) creatine supplementation during training. They concluded that t he increases in body mass that they found could not be explained by disratioate increases in total body water content and the majority of the increase could be attributed to tip tissue accretion 29 Kreider,R.B. 1998 . Powers et al study in 2003 is possibly the definitive work done on the subject of water retention within muscle during creatine supplementation. They gruelling solely on the quiet distribution, in a resembling way to Francaux and Poortmans by measuring total body water as well as the intra- and extracellular levels and found that although water was retained, fluid distribution remained the same 31 Powers,M.E. 2003 . The theory that water retention is the main stimulus for skeletal muscle hypertrophy due to preferential retention by the intracellular component is without any turn up in the literature researched for this paper. The increase in TBW is relative to the increase in total body mass, the majority of which is formed of fat-free mass.Effect on supreme pe rformanceMaximal performance can be delineate in many ways depending on the discipline within the gym environment it is known as the 1 repetition maximum (1RM), the most weight an individual can lift in a star repetition for a given exercise. Out on the athletics track, maximal anaerobic performance can be metric with a picayune sprint, between 60-120m for example. or so of the studies that will be subsequently mentioned in this section have sought to discover the effects of combining creatine supplementation with various forms and intensities of exemption training. The duration of the training period also varies from one study to the adjacent. Beck et al combined ten weeks of resistance training with supplementation of a drink that contained creatine, amino acids and protein 6 Beck,T.W. 2007 . The control group drank a placebo mixture that contained just carbohydrates, and both groups were outpouringed for their anaerobic military unit performance before and after traini ng. Both groups experienced improved performances in their leg extension and bench press 1RM scores as well as their muscular endurance (number of repetitions performed at 80% of their 1RM). Also of note were increases in fat-free mass and percentage fat reduction for both groups. Most monumentally however, were the changes elicited by the rise drink when it came to peak power (PP) and mean power (MP) exertion quantitative set that were determined using two 30 second Wingate Anaerobic Tests (WAnT). A good unofficial of this test is provided by -zkan et al (2010) it requires 30 seconds of pedalling at maximal f number on a make pass ergometer, against a resistance that is determined by the users body weight. As mentioned, it tests the individuals muscle power, endurance and fatigability and these were all improved in the test group but not in the placebo group.Their reasons for using a combined supplement drink was to assess whether the creatine, protein and amino acids combin ed effect would be greater than the benefits that would be expected from ingesting just one of the ingredients alone. It was hoped that examining the changes expected in body composition after resistance training would help to differentiate between the mechanisms that assist in supplement-induced performance enhancement. In that obligingness the study revealed no new information. The combination drink did improve the test subjects anaerobic capabilities compared to the carbohydrate placebo but provided no spare benefit for alter muscular efficiency or endurance when combined with medium term resistance training. A possible improvement to the study would have been to add in placebo groups that were to consume just protein and amino acid isolate drinks and maybe it would have because been easier to differentiate between the various(prenominal) beneficial effects of each supplement. It does confirm that when exercising at near maximal level, increased PC levels within the muscle can be advantageous at replenishing the ATP-PC pathway in anaerobic conditions.A near identical study by Chromiak et al in 2004 had differing results when it came to comparing the final PP and MP value of the two groups 48 Chromiak,J.A. 2004 . They found that those who had taken the carbohydrate-only drink had identical results, in respect to improved PP and MP values, to those who had received the combination one. Differing levels of training force and volume could account for these differences, as well as the fact that the test conducted by Beck et al was evaluated using two WAnTs, as opposed to the Chromiak study , who only used one.When the results are compared to other studies that have tested similar protein, carbohydrate and creatine mixes, creatine does appear to produce the most un vary improvements in performance related activities so one can tolerate that the isolated increases in PP and MP are due to creatine, rather than the protein or amino acids. Open to discussio n however, is the possibility that protein and amino acids could have contributed to the post-exercise recuperation and tissue repair, therefore becoming a factor in the PP and MP training-induced increases.When creatine ingestion is isolated during short-term supplementation, the results of several studies appear to show encouraging results. Tarnopolsky and colleagues showed that short-term, high-dose creatine supplementation (20g a day for 4 days) markedly improved high earnestness exercise performance, specifically in anaerobic cycling power and dorsi-flexor maximal voluntary contraction torque. They also found that males and females responded to the supplementation in a similar manner, with no gender effects apparent 49 Tarnopolsky,M.A. 2000 . Volek et al found comparable results when they looked at maximal effort muscle contractions in individuals during repetitive sets of bench press and showtime squats, after receiving 25g doses of creatine every day for a week 50 Volek,J .S. 1997 .CM vs. breeze throughA subsequent study by Beck with Herda et al 2 Herda,T.J. 2009 compared the effects of CM with that of differing doses of polyethylene glycosylated creatine (PEG), another form of CEE. Using the standard recommended safe dose of 5g a day of CM, the results after training were compared to those obtained taking 1.25g and 2.5g of PEG. Similar tests to the ones previously mentioned in other studies were used to measure muscle force-out, endurance and power make in a group of young, healthy men. The difference with this study was that there was no extra training (aerobic or resistance) undertaken by any of the subjects from the level of exercise that they performed regularly before entering into this study. Instead it was just the simple administration of their respective supplement or placebo for a period of 30 days. CM had the effect of increasing body mass and muscle strength in the 1RM tests using the bench press and leg press. Those individuals tak ing the PEG doses found similar improvements in muscle strength but no change in their body mass. Neither group had improved PP performance or muscle endurance when compared to the placebo group, respectively measured using the countermovement vertical jump and WAnT, and repetitions to ill luck at 80% of 1RM using bench press and leg press.It had been suggested by Fry et al that PEG could help facilitate creatines movement across the sarcolemma during gastrointestinal (GI) absorption, therefore a smaller dose of this form of creatine would be needed to obtain potentially the same results as CM (Fry, CF. 2007). This study showed that while a smaller dose of PEG did show comparable results to those obtained using CM, save studies are required to determine its effects when combined with resistance training. One notable practical action is that both CM and PEG groups experienced improved 1RM performance without trade union movement a gist period. Many manufacturers of CM encourage a week of loading of the creatine supplement i.e. a larger dose of 20-25g followed by a maintenance period taking a normal 5g dose. passing on from this, with further research required, it might be possible to achieve the same improved performance in 1RM exercises usually seen after 5g.d-1 of CM, by taking a smaller daily dose of PEG. Again, it is possible results may vary when combined with a set period of resistance training and further research is required in this area.CM vs. CEE, with special reference to the creatine transporterA 2009 study by Spillane et al concentrated on looking into the effects of CEE supplementation on muscle performance after a seven week period of heavy resistance training 26 Spillane,M. 2009 . As mentioned briefly earlier, CEEs proposed advantage over CM is that it is more bio-available due to the esterification process it undergoes, thereby making it less hydrophilic. The manufacturers of this particular variety of creatine also claim that due to enhan ced sarcolemma permeability in favour of CEE, it is able to taken up into muscle without the need for the creatine transporter (CT) 26 Spillane,M. 2009 . The CT mediates the uptake of creatine in skeletal muscle against a concentration gradient and is helped by a Na+-dependent transporter 94 Guimbal,C. 1993 . A review by coke and Murphy looked at the literature concerning the CT, primarily how it is correct and what gene facial expression is liable for its activity 51 Snow,R.J. 2001 . They found that the CreaT1 gene was expressed in a variety of tissues, including neural, cardiac and skeletal muscle, and that the activity of the transporter protein itself was regulated by substrate concentration, cellular location and a host of other factors. A subsequent review in 2003 by the same authors demonstrate that the creatine content in muscle was predominantly determined by extracellular supply and the expression and activity of the CTs 52 Snow,R.J. 2003 . They also found that after creatine supplementation, the increases seen in total muscle creatine levels were uncertain and hypothesized that potential factors responsible for these differences could be carbohydrate intake, average level of exercise and possibly fibre type.Supplement companies make specific reference to CEEs supposed benefits over CM, indicating that it is easier to absorb than other versions and offers faster results (MyProtein.co.uk web site, accessed 27-1-2010). However, these claims have been disputed, not only by the International Society of Sports Nutrition, as mentioned earlier, but also by another independent study that showed that CEE was unstable at low pH conditions and as a result, would be taken up less by muscle than an equivalent dose of CM (Mold et al 1955). The results of the comparative study by Spillane et al seemed to concur with these objections. Performance and muscle strength were improved to a similar level of those using CM and those in the placebo group, while body composition was unchanged. They concluded that the improvements seen in the study were most likely due to the training regime, rather than the supplementation and that CEE ingestion markedly increased the blood serum creatinine levels without any notable change in serum and total muscle creatine levels. This can only lead to the bill that the CEE was being degraded while in GI transit and its uptake by skeletal muscle was insufficient enough to prevent further degradation to creatinine or increase the levels of creatine within the muscles 26 Spillane,M. 2009 . This is a very interesting revelation considering the manufacturers claims of increased absorption and it shouldnt go ignored that all supplementation mentioned in the study (placebo, CM and CEE) provided no additional benefit to the training specification undertaken by the volunteers. A loading soma (approx. 20g/day) of five days was followed by a maintenance period lasting 6 weeks (approx. 5g/day) and the training progra mme was a fairly intense one with participants required to train four times a week. Perhaps the more demanding training schedule was sufficient in providing maximal muscle strength increases and supplementation could not possibly have had any beneficial effect. This is open to discussion however, as so far every study that has been reviewed in researching for this paper has shown that creatine increased the effects of training.Effect on repetitive sub-/supra-maximal exerciseImproved performance in repetitive exercises such as repeated sprints (6x60m) are more relevant than one-off maximal performances when it comes to assessing creatines effect in a sporting environment. The ability to perform longer and harder during interval training sessions gives way to better results and hopefully better performance in competitions. It is all-important(a) to differentiate this form of exercise from endurance training, which involves long concerted efforts with little, if any, rest time. It cou ld be said that improving this aspect of your training will give rise to improved performance in 1RM tests so the effect of creatine supplementation needs to be evaluated in both aspects. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a specific type of interval training and is utilised by some of the studies subsequently mentioned. It requires maximal effort for a short duration of time, interspersed with active recovery at a lower intensity to the main workout. The thinking behind this form of training is that intramuscular levels of H+ will be elevated when the next set of exercise begins and this should force the body into improving intramuscular buffering faculty 54 Costill,D.L. 1984 . This should then improve performance in future training/events by delaying fatigue.A 2003 study by van Loon et al looked at the effects of CM supplementation, without training, on performance during repeated supra-maximal sprints on a cycle ergometer as well as an endurance cycling exercise 24 van L oon,L.J. 2003 . Whole-body and muscle oxidative capacity and substrate physical exertion as well as body mass were also measured before and after to monitor any potential changes. The main aim of the researchers was to determine any differences in the results of the said(prenominal) values, between creatine loading and prolonged use of the supplement. Performance in the repeated sprints was improved in both groups, while there was no improvement at all in the endurance exercise. Muscle oxidative capacity was also unaffected. The researchers had establish their predictions, on a possible change in the oxidative capacity, on findings by Brannon et al that showed increased muscle citrate synthase activity in rats after prolonged creatine supplementation 53 Brannon,T.A. 1997 . Their results suggested improvements in the values mentioned because citrate synthase is a mitochondrial marker enzyme, although almost every study that has looked into creatines effect on endurance has found no (or even negative) effect. Unfortunately this study also came to the same conclusion.Kendall et al carried out a similar, subsequent study in 2009, looking into the effects of combining HIIT with creatine supplementation and assessing any changes in critical power or anaerobic working capacity 3 Kendall,K.L. 2009 . Critical power reflects the individuals ability to sustain their highest power output for an extended period time while anaerobic working capacity is their total metabolic work capacity, independent of oxygen use 3 Kendall,K.L. 2009 . Creatine significantly improved critical power compared to the placebo and control groups while anaerobic working capacity was unchanged in all test subjects after treatment. This suggests that HIITs effects on endurance performance changes may be enhanced by creatine supplementation. A possible explanation for this is that PC is a major component of biological buffering and, as has been shown already, creatine supplementation can increase the bodies total creatine stores therefore allowing for improved pre-exercise PC availability. Although the participants of this particular study did not have their intramuscular levels of PC measured, other studies have repeatedly shown a significant increase after varying levels of supplementation (3-20g/day) 11 Harris,R.C. 19921 Vandenberghe,K. 1997 55 Casey,A. 1996 . Therefore, not only does creatine supplementation help to replenish PC stores and increase energy production in the ATP-PC energy system, but it also serves to delay the onset of muscle fatigue by prolonging the build up of ADP and inorganic phosphate (Pi), known factors in the activation of anaerobic glycolysis (Cramer 2007).The studies covered in this paper have mostly used young, healthy males to test the effects of creatine supplementation so to ensure fair coverage of the population the next study to be considered examines the effect of the ergogenic aid in sedentary quondam(a) women. Gotshalk et al (2008) sho wed significant increases in upper- and lower-body maximal strength in 30 58-71 year old women after CM supplementationThe effect of creatine supplementation on muscle developmentThe aim of this section is to start out and explain the structural changes that take place after creatine supplementation that facilitate the improvement in muscle performance shown in the aforementioned studies. It has already been shown by numerous studies that exogenous creatine can replenish the PC stores and lead to faster regeneration of ATP and therefore allow a longer and more intense exertion. This next section will focus on how creatine potentially alters the morphology of skeletal muscle and how it can amplify the effects of training.Muscle fibre type and sizeA study by Volek et al examined the cross-sectional area and attribute of muscle fibre types before and after supplementation and twelve weeks of heavy resistance training 56 Volek,J.S. 1999 . Those subjects in the creatine group had sign ificant increases in the cross-sectional area of all four types (Type I, IIA, IIAB IIB) while increases in the placebo group were much smaller, with only Type IIA fibres reaching a significant value of change. Interestingly it was this type of fibre that increased in proportion in both groups after training, but more so in the creatine subjects (9% vs. 7%). They also found a significant decrease in Type IIB fibres in both groups (9% and 6%) indicating that the training was responsible for a slight shift from the fast glycolytic type towards the fast oxidative type of fibres, with creatine accentuating this change. This change is to be expected as resistance training has previously been shown to decrease the percentage of Type IIB fibres and encourage the rendering from Type IIA Type IIAB Type IIB in as little as five workouts 18 Balsom,P.D. 1994 .As the authors state in their discussion section, the greater gains in muscle fibre hypertrophy seen by the creatine group implies enh anced myofibrillar synthesis and/or reduced breakdown.Myosin heavy chain synthesisIngwall and colleagues had shown in 1972 that skeletal muscle, formed both in vitro and in vivo, would combine myosin heavy chain faster when supplied with creatine in vitro 57 Ingwall,J.S. 1972 . Ingwall had been one of the first to postulate that the hypertrophy of skeletal muscle as a result of increased muscular activity might be due to an end product of the activity promoting contractile protein synthesis 57 Ingwall,J.S. 1972 . The results of his early experiment were consistent with the idea that creatine acts as a positive-feedback effecter within the system relating muscular activity and muscle protein synthesis. However it is still unclear whether the same mechanism is applicable in vivo as creatines beneficial effects appear to act indirectly through the enhancement of the intensity of trai