Effects of oral creatine supplementation on high intensity, intermittent exercise performance in competitive squash players

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral creatine sup plementation on high intensity, intermittent exercise performance in compet itive squash players. Nine squash players (mean SEM (V) over dot O(2)max = 61.9 +/- 2.1 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1); body mass = 73 +/- 3 kg) performed an o n-court "ghosting" routine that involved 10 sets of 2 repetitions of simula ted positional play, each set interspersed with 30 s passive recovery. A do uble blind, crossover design was utilised whereby experimental and control groups supplemented 4 times daily for 5 d with 0.075 g . kg(-1) body mass o f creatine monohydrate and maltodextrine, respectively, and a 4 wk washout period separated the crossover of treatments. The experimental group improv ed mean set sprint time by 3.2 +/- 0.8% over and above the changes noted fo r the control group (P = 0.004 and 95% Cl = 1.4 to 5.1%). Sets 2 to 10 were completed in a significantly shorter time following creatine supplementati on compared to the placebo condition (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these data support existing evidence that creatine supplementation improves high inten sity, intermittent exercise performance. in addition, the present study pro vides new evidence that oral creatine supplementation improves exercise per formance in competitive squash players.