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Dubious Effects of Creatine on Markers of CNS Adaptation and Heart Health in "Bodybuilders" - Reason to Be Afraid?

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Bodybuilding and creatine ain't mentioned in one breath without a reason - Crea simply works! Dozens of studies have shown that... not one, however, tested the effects on the CNS. Based on the extreme excitement I observed in response my recent Facebook News  item on creatine's ability to reduce the sleep requirements in a rodent trial [ (re-)read it ], I assume that you'd like to learn about more or less every study on everyone's favorite ergogenic - correct? Not every study? Oh, yes, obviously, study #103 showing that creatine yields strength and size increases on your average hypertrophy workout would indeed no longer be news-worthy. Much in contrast, however, to a study that claims that creatine may blunt the beneficial effects of resistance training on heart health ? Ok, I see that's getting you excited. So let's take a closer look at how the authors come up with claim... You can learn more about creatine at the SuppVersity Creatine Doubles ...
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Physique Athletes Not Prone to Metab./Hormonal 'Damage', Recent Pilot Study in 15 Male & Female Athletes Suggests

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Even though the study has male and female study participants this study is still more geared towards the men - why else do we have testosterone, but not estrogen measurements? As the scientists point out as early as in the title, a recent paper by Trexel et al. (2017) is indeed (at best) a "pilot study" to "evaluate changes in body composition, metabolic rate, and hormones during post-competition recovery" in "physique athletes". In view of the lack of reliable data from the contest preparations o bodybuilders and other physique-sport athletes, even this "pilot" data is more than worth reporting. That's particularly true, because it is still not clear, as Trexel et al. write whether the "physiological effects of contest preparation persist after competition" and thus whether "they may predispose [...] to preferential gain of fat mass and prolonged, deleterious endocrine side effects" (Trexel 2017) Read about rather...
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Dieting Down to ~10% Body Fat for Women: Contest Prep Study - Deficits, Muscles, Hormones and the Yo-Yo Effect

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This would unquestionably be at the lower end of contest BF% levels (avg. 12%) the women in this study achieved, The number of studies on fitness and bodybuilding competitions is limited. Probably you will remember my previous discussions of the paper/s by Rossow, et al. ("Natural bodybuilding competition preparation and recovery: a 12-month case study." | 2013)  Kistler, et al. ("Case Study: Natural Bodybuilding Contest Preparation." International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism", 2014), and  Robinson et al. ("A nutrition and conditioning intervention for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: case study" | 2015). And yes, three is not just the number of studies that I've covered at the SuppVersity , it's also the number of decently recent studies dabbling with dieting down for a contest in one of the "physique sports". High protein helps, but do not counter the weight-loss-induced changes in RMR ...
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Put Up or Shut Up! How Effective is Caffeine for Gymrats, Self-Proclaimed Bodybuilders & Lifting Weights, in General?

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Let's be honest: The authors exaggerate when they call the subjects 'bodybuilders' Yes, there are dozens, no, I guess hundreds of studies investigating the effects of caffeine in (a) various groups of people (from the obese sedentary slob to the Olympian gold medallist) and (b) a vast range of contexts from the sit-to-stand test in the elderly to the effects of repeated caffeine consumption on high intensity performance (the results are interesting, by the way | learn more ). What is surprisingly hard to find, however, are studies that deal with bodybuilding and caffeine which are not case reports of how some bro poisoned himself with an overdose of straight caffeine or caffeine-containing fat burners. You can learn more about coffee and caffeine at the SuppVersity For Caffeine, Timing Matters! 45 Min or More? Caffeine Helps When Taken Intra-Workout, too Coffee can Help You Get into Ketosis Caffeine's Effect on Testosterone, Estrogen & SHBG ...
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Nine Short Workouts (AM+PM) p. Week Yield Extra Strength, Size and Performance Gains Compared to Volume Matched 3-Day Split, All Differences are Non-Significant, Though

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15 min in the AM, 15 in the PM = Win? For many of you that may sound laughable, but according to a recent study from the University   of Copenhagen  it is at least as effective as three "mammoth" workouts-sessions per week. What kind of trainee are you? Do you hit the gym thrice a week, spend two hours there and crawl out of the gymdoors totally exhausted? Yeah... Well that means you're not the fitness model guy, who trains twice a day for 15-20 minutes only and swears that this is the only way to do it? After all these questions you're probably asking yourself if the answers you gave in your mind were good or bad for ya? Right? Well, eventually, both forms of training can be equally effective. If we take a closer look at the non-significant study outcomes in a recent paper by scientists from the University of Copenhagen (Kilen. 2015), though body composition and strength may in fact benefit more if you train more frequently - even  if the total workout volume...
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