The combined effect of creatine and sodium bicarbonate supplementation on blood lactate and anaerobic power in young taekwondo players.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effect of Creatine (Cr) and sodium bicarbonate (SB) supplementation on blood lactate and anaerobic power during two bouts of repeated vertical jump test in taekwondo players. Methods: Sixteen young male taekwondo players were matched in two treatments (Cr+SB, n=8 and placebo (P), n=8) according to weight, Vo2max and anaerobic power in double-blinded procedure. Both treatments consisted of placebo (20 gr maltodextrine per day) or Cr supplementation (20 gr Cr per day) in a period of six days. In the morning of the seventh day and after the blood taking, there was P or SB supplementation (0.065 gr per kg body weight), an hour before two repeated vertical jump tests that were performed in 30 seconds with an hour of active recovery between sets. Blood samples were taken in two phases, each phase in three steps after an overnight fast. The data was analyzed via repeated measures, post hoc least significant difference (LSD) and independent t-test in significant level P≤0.05. Results: Mean of anaerobic power increased significantly during first (P=0.006) and especially in second (P=0.001) bout of test in combined group at post-test, but blood lactate levels were not affected by Cr and SB supplementation. Anaerobic power increased significantly in second bout of test at post-test in combined group more than placebo group (P=0.049). Conclusion: The main finding of the study was that supplementation of CrSB improved the anaerobic power but did not have significant effect on blood lactate.