The purpose of this study was to compare the
combined effects of creatine monohydrate (Cr) and beta-alanine (BA) with their
isolated use on performance and physiological parameters during repeated sprint
sequences (RSS). Forty-four male (n=34) and female (n=10) amateur team- and
racket sport players (25.1±3.1 years; 175.2±9.8 cm; 76.0±10.3 kg; 15.2±6.8%
body fat) performed ten repetitions of 6-s sprints with departure every 30 s,
before and after a 28-day supplementation period with either Cr (n=11, 5 g‧day-1),
BA (n=10, 6 g‧day-1), combined Cr and BA (n=12, 5 g‧day-1
of Cr plus 6g‧day-1 of BA) or placebo (11 g‧day-1 of rice
flour). Peak (PP) and mean power (MP), performance decrement (%Dec), heart rate
(HR), blood lactate concentration (LA) and perceived exertion (RPE) were
measured. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine the effects of
groups (Cr, BA, CrBA, P), sprint number (1 to 10), and time (pre- vs.
post-supplementation) on all variables. A significant increase in PP was shown in
the post- compared to the pre-supplementation in Cr (+5.2%) and BA (+5.2%)
groups only (p<.05), and significant decreases in MP in all groups (3.7% to
6.4%, p<.05), except BA. %Dec was significantly decreased post-supplementation
in the Cr group only (17.4%, p<.05). No effects were shown on HR, RPE and LA
(p<.05). These results show no additional benefits of the combination of Cr
and BA on RSS performance and suggest that longer sprint or total exercise
duration might be necessary to observe the benefits of the combined
supplementation.