Welcome to my weekly summary of the latest research from the world of sports science!
This week’s research roundup dives into the wide-reaching benefits of creatine; the performance-boosting potential of stacking creatine, beta-alanine, and L-citrulline in high-intensity sports; and how resistance training helps endurance athletes like runners and cyclists—read on!
12 Proven Benefits of Creatine for Athletes
This study compiles decades of creatine research to highlight just how broad its benefits are—for both athletic performance and overall health. Creatine has long been associated with improvements in strength, muscle mass, and high-intensity exercise performance. But this review also highlights creatine’s role in maintaining bone density, especially in aging populations, and its potential neuroprotective effects under stress or fatigue.
While best known among strength and power athletes, the findings position creatine not just as a sports performance enhancer, but as a versatile tool for promoting long-term health and resilience. Whether for powerlifters, endurance athletes, or everyday individuals seeking to preserve physical strength and cognitive function, creatine stands out as one of the most thoroughly researched and effective supplements available.
My thoughts: This is a very solid update on creatine research. The study summarizes 12 well-supported benefits, covering everything from improved power output and endurance to recovery and cognitive function. If you're looking for a high-quality option, Blonyx HMB+ Creatine is designed to enhance both muscle recovery and strength development. Check out our post on what makes creatine and HMB the dynamic duo for endurance and strength to learn more.
Supplements Boost High-Intensity Basketball Performance
This study tested whether creatine, beta-alanine, L-citrulline, or a combination of all three could improve basketball players' performance during 4 weeks of sprint interval training. Forty-eight athletes were divided into six groups (each supplement alone, a combo group, placebo, and control), training three times weekly with pre- and post-tests measuring jump height, sprint speed, agility, and endurance. While all groups improved—likely due to training alone—the supplement groups saw significantly greater gains, with the combination of all three delivering the best results.
My thoughts: This study highlights the real-world benefits of combining well-known supplements for athletic performance. If you’re doing high-intensity training, taking Blonyx HMB+ Creatine, Blonyx Beta Alanine, and L-citrulline—especially together—may provide a performance boost.
Resistance Training Boosts Running Economy
This meta-analysis reviewed 17 systematic reviews and meta-analyses to examine how strength training affects endurance athletes. The consensus? Adding resistance training improves running economy and may help maintain VO₂ max over time. While there were some limitations in methodology across the studies, the findings strongly support that endurance athletes—from runners to cyclists—who skip the weights might be leaving performance gains on the table.
My thoughts: What’s important here is the vast amount of data these researchers waded through. After reading this I can confidently say: If you’re an endurance athlete and you aren’t doing regular strength training, you won’t be meeting your potential. Read more about this in our blog on the importance of strength training for all athletes.
That’s all for this week! If you learned something new and are curious to know more, head over to the Blonyx Blog or my growing list of weekly research summaries where I help you further improve your athletic performance by keeping you up to date on the latest findings from the world of sports science.
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