Posted: April 20, 2005

Science of Sport: Creatine and Interval Workouts - and See Bert Run

The Running Research News Weekly Training Update - Issue # 43, April 19, 2005

Hi Everyone,

Creatine supplementation can boost the quality of your interval workouts.

We know this thanks to a variety of different studies, including a recent piece of research in which well-trained cyclists were divided up into creatine-supplemented and placebo groups (1). The workout of choice was 8 X 15 seconds at maximal intensity (similar to an abridged lactate-stacker session), and the recovery intervals were either one, three, or six minutes in duration (three separate workouts were analyzed). This interesting work detected heightened work-interval power in the creatine group when the one- and three-minute recoveries were utilized.

Of course, you might be thinking: "Those were pretty short intervals. What happens during longer intervals lasting three minutes or more, for example?"

Again, the research suggests that creatine supplementation can be helpful. In one study carried out with runners who were completing 1000-meter intervals, regular creatine ingestion was linked with higher running speeds during the final intervals of a tough session.

How could a copious intake of creatine speed up your intervals? There is debate about the mechanism by which creatine acts, but one reasonable explanation is that creatine supplementation boosts the concentrations of a chemical called creatine phosphate inside muscle cells. Creatine phosphate can be a key source of fuel during intense interval workouts.

The "right" loading dose of creatine is about .3 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, taken over a six-day period. For the "average" distance runner, that's about 15 to 20 grams daily, and this grammage should be doled out in three to five separate allotments over the course of the day, rather than in one bolus. Creatine should always be taken with regular food, not by itself. Once you have loaded, you can get by with about three grams of daily creatine to keep muscle levels of the stuff pretty high. It's important to note that there is no solid evidence that creatine increases the risk of muscle cramps. In addition, very expensive, designer creatine formulas work no better than the simple creatine monohydrate one can buy in a tub at GNC.

True, Eliud Kipchoge has never let creatine pass his lips; the same can be said for Catherine Ndereba. But - the rest of us are looking for small, legal nutritional edges when we can get them, aren't we?

There is one problem associated with creatine supplementation, however: The white powder usually makes you gain weight. In one study, creatine supplementation hoisted the weights of endurance runners by 1 percent, and the runners' 6-K performance times fell by 1 percent.

This weight gain is no doubt due to an osmotic effect. As creatine phosphate builds up in the muscle cells of supplemented runners, it "drags" extra water into the fibers - water which would ordinarily be eliminated from the body. A runner ends up with somewhat water-logged muscles, and as a result body mass increases.

This can hurt you when you try to run a 5K or 10K. To put it simply, you don't need to lug the extra weight around; in fact, it hurts your running economy.

It hurts you when you embark on an interval workout, too. After all, who wants to run 800s on the track with extra water sloshing around in his/her legs?

But, this hurt is compensated for during an interval workout by the extra creatine phosphate. When creatine supplementation is going on, the creatine-phosphate re-synthesis rate is boosted during recovery intervals, allowing subsequent work intervals to be higher in quality. There are no recovery intervals in races, so creatine doesn't work as well for actual competitions.

The solution? There is none.

Just kidding! The solution is to supplement with creatine before you enter your very high-quality phase of training, the phase which emphasizes lots of running at vVO2max and faster. Then, go off the stuff four weeks or so before your big competition, allowing surplus creatine, water, and weight to drain out of your muscles. You won't lose your running potency just because your intramuscular concentration of creatine is falling. As Jack Daniels used to say, "When you're better, you're better." And - you'll be better because you have trained more intensely during your creatine-aided interval phase of training, and that stage of betterness will stay with you even after you have put the white powder up on your highest kitchen shelf. You'll lose the water weight once you have gone cold creatine turkey - and you'll have a great chance to lose your old, stale PR, too.

References

(1) "Effect of Recovery Interval on Multiple-Bout Sprint Cycling Performance after Acute Creatine Supplementation," Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, Vol. 16 (1), pp. 109-116, 2002

Run With Bert

People often ask me: "If I come to your running camp in Malibu, what kinds of runners will I meet there."

The answer is: "You'll meet - and run with - great people like Bert Starke."

Bert was a commercial, multi-IFR pilot, flying urgently needed medical supplies into the extreme, northern regions of Canada until a fateful day in September, 1985 when his plane crashed in dense fog, just short of the runway. He suffered very serious injuries, was in a coma for one week, hospitalized for seven.

He only remembers the last three days. On his first day of awareness, he was served a huge breakfast, eggs, sausage, potatoes, cheese curds, toast and butter. He was certain that he would be overweight if he had been eating such breakfasts for seven weeks, but the scales revealed a 25-pound weight loss - to 147. "A great running weight," Bert thought.

But alas - the 25 pounds lost in bed were the result of a disappearance of muscle tissue, not fat. It took Bert four weeks, running every day, to work his way up to just one mile of continuous running. Things progressed positively and more rapidly from then on. He ran his first marathon the following May, subscribed to Running Research News, and ended up running five marathons in the 2:50 to 2:55 range.

Today, Bert is still helping the people of northern Canada - from the back of the plane, as a paramedic on air ambulances. He is looking forward to the ultimate runner's vacation at our California camp, wants to learn how to organize and effectively implement his training, and is especially interested in finding out how to go under 2:50 for the marathon "before age starts to slow him down" (he's 41). Bert is coming to our June 21-26 camp, and you can meet him and run with him there.

Please don't forget that our special camp offer expires on Monday, April 25. Until then, two people can sign up for camp together for the very low rate of $800 each (usual price is $995). In addition, one person can enroll for just $895. After April 25, we will have to return to our usual pricing.

To find out more about the camp, please go to www.rrnews.com, scroll down the page, and then click on the "blurb" about the camp near the bottom of the page. You'll be taken to a page with lots of information about the camp - and a link to our camp brochure and application.

With very kindest regards,

Owen Anderson