Being into weightlifting and powerlifting I had always wondered if the hype around creatine was there for any good reason. "Creatine" an apparent wonder drug is claimed to increase muscle mass, strength and even stimulate brain function. I decided to read a scholarly article to learn more entitled:

EFFECT OF THIRTY DAYS OF CREATINE SUPPLEMENTATION WITH PHOSPHATE SALTS ON ANAEROBIC WORKING CAPACITY AND BODY WEIGHT IN MEN

I found it in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and you can access it here.

The article begins by informing the audience of the large popularity supplementing with creatine has gained. They discuss the apparent benefits of creatine; the increased performance during anaerobic activity along with an increase in body weight while having no dangerous side effects. The authors discuss the typical dosing regimen an athlete would use and explain the science behind the effects of creatine. The article than goes on to see if they can legitimize or disprove these claims through a double blind-experiment with 32 young-male test subjects. 32 of the males received either a serving of 2-5g of creatine or a placebo in the form of dextrose over the course of 30 days. Prior to the start of the experiment bench mark performances were taken in typical anaerobic activities and each subjects weight was taken. Any effects the creatine of placebo might have would be based of the intial stats of the subjects. The subjects anaerobic power tests and body weights were measured 10, 20 and 30 days into the test along with 10 days post-supplementation.

The results showed that no signifcant change in anaroebic power was made due to the creatine. However, there was a 1.0 kg average gain in weight by the 10 day mark for the subjects dosed with creatine. The article than goes into detail on how using a specified dose of creatine(less than what they tell you to take) can have a larger impact on anaerobic exercises.

The use of scholarly articles and journals is very beneficial in that you know the research that is being presented to you is legitimate and true. For topics in weightlifting the amount of online research one can do is limitless, there are so many people expressing their ideas on what supplements to take and what exercises to do, even though they have no actual training or certification. Using a scholarly journal for a study so controversial is a good strategy in that you know what you are reading is legitimate and not a manifestation of someone who thinks they are a doctor.