Chromium picolinate effects on body composition and muscular performance in wrestlers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of 14 wk of ch romium picolinate supplementation during the final 16 wk of a preseason res istance and conditioning program on body composition and neuromuscular perf ormance in NCAA Division I wrestlers. During this phase of training, wrestl ers are primarily interested in trying so improve physical performance and wrestling technique and are not engaged in severe, acute weighs loss practi ces commonly employed before competition. Methods: This double-blinded, ran domized placebo-controlled study involved 20 wrestlers from the University of Oklahoma assigned to either a treatment group (Cr+3; N = 7; 20.4 yr +/- 0.1) receiving 200 mu g chromium picolinate daily, a placebo group (P; N = 7; 19.9 yr +/- 0.2), or a control group (C; N = 6; 20.2 yr +/-: 0.1) using a stratified random sampling technique based on weight classification. Body composition, neuromuscular performance, metabolic performance, and serum i nsulin and glucose were measured before and immediately following the suppl ementation and training period. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated no significant changes in body composition for any of the groups. Aerobic p ower increased significantly (P < 0.002) in all groups, independent of supp lementation. There were significant trial and group X trial interactions fo r upper body endurance (P = 0.038) and relative bench press power (P = 0.05 0). Post-hoc analyses revealed that the C group increased upper body endura nce (P = 0.006), but none of the pre- to post-test changes in bench press p ower were significant. Conclusions: These results suggest that chromium pic olinate supplementation coupled with a typical preseason training program d oes not enhance body composition or performance variables beyond improvemen ts seen with training alone.