Comparison between creatine monohydrate and creatine HCl on body composition and performance of the Brazilian Olympic team

Abstract

Weight-dependent athletes have trouble to balance the energy consumption to the needs of the sport they practice. As performance depends on that balance, it would be ideal to find a supplement that would be ergogenic without promoting weight increase. Monohydrate creatine supplementation is effective to improve strength and power but water retention and weight gain are side effects that avoid its use. An alternative molecule, creatine HCl, proposes the same an ergogenic effects without the undesirable effects. So, this study compared the effects of both creatines on performance and body composition of elite gymnastics athletes. 11 males, 18 to 25 years old took part into the randomized cross-over model: Creatine Monohydrate Supplement (MCG), resistant starch (RS) and HCl Supplement (HClG). Pre and Post all the experimental conditions, body fat percentage, body weight, lean body mass and total water amount were measured, bench press and leg press 1RM test were also carried out. Lean mass increased with both treatments (p <0.05), fat percentage decreased only with HCl (p <0.05) and strength gains were significantly improved for both supplements. We concluded that both creatines improve strength but only HCl allows this effect without retaining water.