A four-week regimen of creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation combined with standardized resistance training supports early training adaptations in male novices by improving subjective recovery and altering anabolic–catabolic responses, according to findings from a randomized controlled trial. However, the nutritional intervention does not confer any additional gains in short-term muscular strength or endurance compared with resistance training alone.
Writing in BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers noted that while multi-ingredient formulas containing creatine are frequently used to assist early resistance-training adaptations, their precise impacts on performance, subjective recovery, and anabolic–catabolic markers in untrained individuals had remained incompletely characterized.
To investigate these effects, investigators conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial enrolling 46 male resistance-training novices. Participants were allocated either to receive the creatine-based multi-ingredient supplement or a placebo, with 40 participants ultimately completing the full four-week intervention and qualifying for the final analysis.
Both study cohorts completed an identical standardized resistance-training
Both study cohorts completed an identical standardized resistance-training program over the four-week period. The research team evaluated participant body composition, exercise performance, biochemical markers, kidney-function parameters, and standardized fatigue and recovery scores, using two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance along with exploratory correlation analyses to evaluate outcomes.
Exercise testing revealed that leg press one-repetition maximum improved significantly over time across both study arms, but supplementation provided no superior advantage over placebo for this strength measure. In contrast, participants receiving the creatine-based multi-ingredient supplement demonstrated greater increases in muscle mass and thigh circumference, a more favorable testosterone-to-cortisol change pattern, stable creatine kinase responses, and improved subjective recovery scores compared to the control group.
Kidney-function parameters remained within normal physiological ranges for all participants throughout the study duration. Furthermore, exploratory correlation analyses indicated that changes in the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio were positively associated with both leg press one-repetition maximum improvements and enhanced subjective recovery scores. The study was prospectively registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry under identifier ChiCTR2500114236.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial was structured
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial was structured to evaluate whether creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation alters adaptations when combined with standardized resistance training. A total of 46 male resistance-training novices were originally allocated to either the creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation group, designated as CR, or the placebo group, designated as PL. Over the course of the four-week intervention, 40 participants completed the full protocol and were included in the final analysis. Because both groups performed the same standardized resistance-training program, the experimental design enabled direct comparisons between the CR and PL groups across all physiological, performance, and recovery outcomes.
The investigators tracked a defined panel of outcomes to capture intervention effects, including body composition, exercise performance, biochemical markers, kidney-function parameters, and fatigue and recovery scores. To evaluate the resulting data, the researchers performed two-way repeated-measures ANOVA to assess intervention effects between the CR and PL cohorts over the four-week intervention. In addition, exploratory correlation analyses were conducted to examine associations among changes in the measured outcomes, providing insight into how physiological and subjective recovery parameters tracked alongside performance adaptations in these male resistance-training novices.
In the performance assessments, leg press 1RM improved over time in both the CR group and the PL group, demonstrating that resistance training increased lower-body strength across cohorts. However, CR supplementation provided no additional benefit for leg press 1RM, indicating that the multi-ingredient formula did not augment short-term strength or muscular endurance. In contrast, group differences favored the CR cohort in recovery-related and body composition outcomes. Compared with PL, participants in the CR group showed greater increases in muscle mass and thigh circumference, a more favorable T/C change pattern, stable CK responses, and improved subjective recovery.
Safety assessments indicated that kidney-function parameters remained within
Safety assessments indicated that kidney-function parameters remained within the normal physiological range in all participants throughout the four-week intervention. Exploratory correlation analyses further revealed that changes in the T/C ratio were positively associated with changes in subjective recovery scores and leg press 1RM. Based on these collective findings, the researchers concluded that four weeks of creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation combined with standardized resistance training may support early training adaptation in male resistance-training novices by improving recovery-related and anabolic–catabolic responses, without providing additional benefits for short-term strength or muscular endurance.
Subject of Research: Creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation and early resistance-training adaptations
Article Title: Creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation improves recovery and alters anabolic–catabolic responses without augmenting short-term strength gains in male resistance-training novices: A randomized controlled trial
Article References: Chen, Q., Li, X., Tang, Y., Weng, J., Liu, J., Wang, X., & Guo, X. (2026). Creatine-based multi-ingredient supplementation improves recovery and alters anabolic–catabolic responses without augmenting short-term strength gains in male resistance-training novices: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-026-02191-w
DOI:10.1186/s13102-026-02191-w
Keywords: creatine, resistance training, sports nutrition, muscle mass, exercise recovery, anabolic-catabolic response, strength training, Creatine-based, multi-ingredient, supplementation, improves, recovery
News. Creatine Blend Improves Novice Recovery Without Augmenting Short-Term Strength. Scienmag
