Welcome to my weekly summary of the latest research from the world of sports science!
This week’s research roundup explores the benefits of creatine beyond muscle gains, how caffeine can rescue performance after a sleepless night, and why foam rolling might be more useful pre-workout than for recovery—read on!
Creatine Is More Than Just a Strength Supplement
This study reviewed the growing research on creatine’s benefits beyond its well-known role in strength and power output. Researchers highlighted how creatine supplementation can support cognitive function, improve recovery, and even help preserve muscle in aging populations. The study also emphasized its importance for vegans and vegetarians, who may have lower natural creatine stores due to the absence of animal products in their diet. While creatine is often associated with athletes, its wide-ranging benefits suggest that regular supplementation could be useful for anyone looking to optimize muscle function, brain health, and long-term physical resilience.
My thoughts: This is a great summary of everything creatine has to offer outside of strength and power. The study reinforces something I’ve said for years—creatine should be treated like a daily vitamin for athletes, and consistency is key. It’s also worth noting that vegans and vegetarians naturally have lower creatine stores, so supplementing can be especially beneficial. Blonyx HMB+ Creatine pairs creatine with HMB to further support muscle retention and recovery.
Caffeine Helps Offset Poor Sleep for Athletes
This study explored how caffeine impacts physical performance following sleep deprivation in a group of college-aged male soccer players. After just four hours of sleep, participants performed anaerobic and aerobic fitness tests after taking either caffeine or a placebo. The caffeine group showed significantly better performance across the board. While quality rest is important, especially when you’re training hard, caffeine can help mask the fatigue and performance decline caused by a bad night’s sleep.
My thoughts: Sleep is vital to not only performance but also health. In my time as a sleep scientist, I came to realize how widespread sleep deprivation is and how much caffeine has been institutionalized as a way of enabling this habit. Please don’t do this. If you are serious about achieving your athletic goals, see sleep as a priority and don’t abuse caffeine. If you feel confident you aren’t caffeine-dependent, then this study demonstrates its power—perhaps something to consider on race day when nerves keep you up the night before. Learn more about how caffeine improves your athletic performance.
Foam Rolling Aids Flexibility but Not Recovery
This study examined whether foam rolling improves recovery following high-intensity functional training in CrossFit athletes. While foam rolling did not significantly affect physiological recovery markers like muscle soreness or fatigue, it’s still known to improve range of motion. Researchers concluded that foam rolling might not accelerate post-exercise recovery, but it could still play a valuable role when used pre-workout to enhance movement quality and reduce injury risk.
My thoughts: In the past, I’ve posted studies showing that foam rolling increases range of motion. This study specifically looks at recovery from functional fitness/CrossFit-style training. I'm not surprised that applying mechanical pressure to a muscle fails to alter physiological indicators of recovery, and this makes it clear for me how and when to use a foam roller (or any trigger point-type therapy). My suggestion is to roll out after a warm-up and prior to your training. This way you'll increase your range of motion, move better and, I hypothesize, reduce your risk of injury. Check out our blog on active recovery for athletes for more best practices.
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.
– Train hard!
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