The influence of a tapering period and tapering period along with creatine supplementation on physical performance and body composition of soccer players

Abstract

The influence of a tapering period and tapering period along with creatinesupplementation on physical performance and body composition of soccer playersAbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a tapering period and a tapering periodalong with creatine supplementation on physical performance and body composition of soccer players.Methods: Eighteen soccer players of the first division league (age, 18.77±1.26 years; height, 174.5±5.77 cm;weight, 64.07±6.99 kg) who were in the specific preparation period were selected. At the end of specificpreparation period and before a 10 day tapering period, physical performance tests including vertical jump,lower leg strength, 60 meter dash, agility and body composition analysis were performed. Then, participantswere divided into two groups: Taper alone (n=9) and taper with creatine supplementation (n=9). After 10 daytaper all tests similar to pre-tests were repeated. Dependent student t-test was used to compare the meandifferences for pre- and post-test data. Furthermore, independent student t-test was used to compare the datafor two groups. Results: Results showed that taper resulted in a significant increase in speed (P=0.030),strength (P=0.003) and agility (P=0.007) but there were no significant changes in explosive power, agility,fat mass and lean body mass. Furthermore, when the data for two groups were compared there was nosignificant difference between two groups for all measured variables. Conclusions: In conclusion, it appearsthat a tapering period have beneficial effects on physical performance of soccer players, though, consumptionof creatine supplementation cannot induce any significant improvements.

Keywords

• tapering
• creatine supplementation
• physical performance
• body composition