Beetroot juice or creatine: which yields greater short-term benefits for resistance training capacity, performance and key physiological responses?

Creatine significantly improved repetition performance at 80% 1RM in bench press compared to placebo.

• Effect size d = 1.33 (large effect) for CR vs. PLA at 80% 1RM in bench press
• Study involved 11 novice resistance-trained men in a randomized controlled crossover design
• Supplementation period was approximately 72 hours
• Bench press sets were performed at 60-80% 1RM

Both creatine and beetroot juice produced moderate-to-very large effects on movement velocity, with beetroot juice showing superior effects compared to placebo.

• Effect sizes ranged from d = 1.40 to 2.82 for both CR and BJ versus PLA on velocity outcomes
• BJ produced larger effect sizes on velocity (d up to 2.82) compared to CR (d up to 1.40) relative to PLA
• Velocity was assessed during both bench press and back squat exercises
• These were classified as moderate-to-very large effects

Beetroot juice produced higher intramuscular oxygen saturation compared to both placebo and creatine.

• Effect sizes for SmO2 with BJ vs. PLA and CR ranged from d = 1.74 to 2.9 (large-to-very large effects)
• Intramuscular oxygen saturation (SmO2) was measured during resistance training sessions
• BJ outperformed both PLA and CR conditions for this outcome
• These represent large-to-very large effect sizes

Beetroot juice resulted in lower peak heart rate during resistance training compared to both placebo and creatine.

• Effect sizes for lower peak HR with BJ ranged from d = 0.83 to 2.74 compared to PLA and CR
• These represent moderate-to-very large effects
• Peak heart rate was assessed during bench press and back squat sets
• BJ showed superior HR responses compared to both comparison conditions

Beetroot juice produced more favourable autonomic recovery compared to both placebo and creatine.

• RMSSD effect sizes with BJ ranged from d = 0.91 to 2.99 compared to PLA and CR
• RMSSD is a heart rate variability measure reflecting parasympathetic autonomic activity
• These represent large-to-very large effect sizes for autonomic recovery
• Heart rate variability (HRV) was used as the key measure of autonomic recovery

Individual modulation analysis indicated greater proportions of meaningful individual adaptations following beetroot juice compared to creatine.

• Individual modulation prevalence was specifically determined as part of the analysis
• BJ showed greater proportions of meaningful individual adaptations than CR
• This analysis was performed across performance, physiological, and autonomic outcomes
• The crossover design with 11 participants allowed within-subject comparisons for individual modulation analysis

The study employed a randomized controlled crossover trial design with three conditions (creatine, beetroot juice, and placebo) over approximately 72 hours of supplementation.

• Eleven novice resistance-trained men participated
• Conditions were CR, BJ, and PLA (placebo)
• Supplementation period was approximately 72 hours per condition
• Exercises included bench press (BP) and back squat (BS) at 60-80% 1RM
• Outcomes included repetition performance, movement velocity, SmO2, peak HR, and HRV