title: Combined creatine and sodium bicarbonate supplementation enhances interval swimming.
abstract: This study examined the effect of simultaneous supplementation of creatine and sodium bicarbonate on consecutive maximal swims. Sixteen competitive male and female swimmers completed, in a randomized order, 2 different treatments (placebo and a combination of creatine and sodium bicarbonate) with 30 days of washout period between treatments in a double-blind crossover procedure. Both treatments consisted of placebo or creatine supplementation (20 g per day) in 6 days. In the morning of the seventh day, there was placebo or sodium bicarbonate supplementation (0.3 g per kg body weight) during 2 hours before a warm-up for 2 maximal 100-m freestyle swims that were performed with a passive recovery of 10 minutes in between. The first swims were similar, but the increase in time of the second versus the first 100-m swimming time was 0.9 seconds less (p < 0.05) in the combination group than in placebo. Mean blood pH was higher (p < 0.01-0.001) in the combination group than in placebo after supplementation on the test day. Mean blood pH decreased (p < 0.05) similarly during the swims in both groups. Mean blood lactate increased (p < 0.001) during the swims, but there were no differences in peak blood lactate between the combination group (14.9 +/- 0.9 mmol.L(-1)) and placebo (13.4 +/- 1.0 mmol.L(-1)). The data indicate that simultaneous supplementation of creatine and sodium bicarbonate enhances performance in consecutive maximal swims.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. mero@sport.jyu.fi
authors.forename: Antti A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mero
authors.forename: Kari L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Keskinen
authors.forename: Marko T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Malvela
authors.forename: Janne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sallinen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003401:Creatine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000187:drug effects; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate; D003401:Creatine