Kuei-Hui Chan

Creatine supplementation has an ergogenic effect in an acute complex training bout, but the benefits of chronic creatine supplementation during long-term complex training remain unknown. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of 4-week complex training combined with creatine supplementation on sport performances and muscle damage biomarkers. Thirty explosive athletes were assigned to the creatine or placebo group, which consumed 20 g of creatine or carboxymethyl cellulose, respectively, per day for 6 days followed by 2 g of the supplements until the end of the study. After 6 days of supplementation, subjects performed tests of one repetition maximum (1-RM) strength of half squat and complex training bouts to determine the optimal individual post-activation potentiation time. Thereafter, all subjects performed a complex training programme consisting of six sets of 5-RM half squats and plyometric jumps 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Body composition, 30-m sprint and jump performances were assessed before and after the training period. Moreover, blood creatine kinase (CK) activity was analysed at the first and the last training bout. After the training, the 1-RM strength in the creatine group was significantly greater than in the placebo group (p < 0.05). CK activity after the complex training bout in the creatine group was significantly reduced compared with the placebo group (p < 0.05). No differences were noted for other variables. This study concluded that creatine supplementation combined with complex training improved maximal muscular strength and reduced muscle damage during training.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of high‐intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate‐intensity continuous training (MICT) utilizing a canoeing ergometer on endurance determinants, as well as aerobic and anaerobic performances among flat‐water canoeists. Fourteen well‐trained male flat‐water canoeists were divided into an HIIT group or an MICT group. All subjects performed a continuous graded exercise test (GXT) and three fixed‐distance (200, 500, and 1000 m) performance tests on a canoeing ergometer to determine canoeing economy, peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak), and power at VO₂peak, and to calculate the critical velocity (CV) and anaerobic work capacity before and after the training programmes. The training programme involved training on a canoeing ergometer three times per week for four weeks. HIIT consisted of seven 2 min canoeing bouts at an intensity of 90% VO₂peak separated by 1 min of rest. The MICT group was trained at an intensity of 65% VO₂peak continuously for 20 min. After four weeks of training, performance in the 200‐m distance test and the power at VO₂peak significantly improved in the HIIT group; performance in the 500 m and 1000 m distances and CV significantly improved in the MICT group. However, all variables were not significantly different between groups. It is concluded that HIIT for four weeks is an effective training strategy for improvement of short‐distance canoeing performance. In contrast, MICT improves middle‐distance canoeing performances and aerobic capacity.

Creatine plays an important role in muscle energy metabolism. Postactivation potentiation (PAP) is a phenomenon that can acutely increase muscle power, but it is an individualized process that is influenced by muscle fatigue. This study examined the effects of creatine supplementation on explosive performance and the optimal individual PAP time during a set of complex training bouts. Thirty explosive athletes performed tests of back squat for one repetition maximum (1RM) strength and complex training bouts for determining the individual optimal timing of PAP, height and peak power of a counter movement jump before and after the supplementation. Subjects were assigned to a creatine or placebo group and then consumed 20 g of creatine or carboxymethyl cellulose per day for six days. After the supplementation, the 1RM strength in the creatine group significantly increased (p < 0.05). The optimal individual PAP time in the creatine group was also significant earlier than the pre-supplementation and post-supplementation of the placebo group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in jump performance between the groups. This study demonstrates that creatine supplementation improves maximal muscle strength and the optimal individual PAP time of complex training but has no effect on explosive performance.

Famprofazone, a major ingredient of Gewolen^®, is an analgesic that has been demonstrated to be metabolized to methamphetamine (MA) and amphetamine (AM) following administration. Therefore, a famprofazone user may be interpreted as an illicit MA abuser in Taiwan because the user's urine tested positive for MA. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the concentration of MA metabolized from a single dose of Gewolen users would offend the official controlled substance regulation and be identified as MA-positive. Subjects (n = 6) received 25 mg of famprofazone and collected all urine specimens at certain timed intervals for 48 h after drug administration. The urine specimens were screened by immunoassay and then confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The highest concentration of amphetamines by immunoassay was 1954 ng/mL, and 18.8% of the urine specimens' amphetamines concentrations exceeded 500 ng/mL. The MA and AM concentrations by GC-MS analysis of these urine specimens ranged from 901 to 2670 ng/mL and 208 to 711 ng/mL, respectively. These urine specimens were interpreted as MA-positive (≥ 500 ng/mL MA and ≥ 100 ng/mL AM), according to the official test methods of Taiwan. The MA positive results appeared within 2–34 h. It is therefore clearly possible to misinterpret the legitimate famprofazone user as an MA abuser in Taiwan.