Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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07.05.2009 |
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Creatine is pep pill for elderly
Before starting to take the supplement, the researchers measured the subjects' muscle strength by getting them to stand up and sit down for as long as they could, and to do hand grip exercises. The six-week creatine course had no effect on the number of times that the subjects could stand up, but the strength in their hands increased, by seven percent. This is illustrated in the figure below. White = before; black = after.
The researchers also got their test subjects to cycle with electrodes attached to their leg muscles. This enabled the researchers to measure the strength with which the nerves stimulated the muscle tissue. When people use their muscles, the intensity of the electrical stimuli from the nerves to the muscles increases as the muscles become tired. The stronger stimuli are probably needed to activate muscle fibres that have been inactive until that moment.
The researchers got their subjects to cycle a couple of times consecutively as fast as their heart rate would allow. They measured how tired the subjects were through the electrodes. This way the researchers could measure their subjects' physical working capacity at fatigue threshold (PWCFT). The creatine supplement had a statistically significant effect on this too. The PWCFT increased by sixteen percent.
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