The supplement, a combination of caffeine, B-vitamins, amino acids, creatine, and beta-alanine, was found to improve agility choice reaction performance as well as boosting muscular endurance in the lower body.
“This investigation was the first to examine the effects of the pre-workout supplement Assaulton a multi-faceted, exercise testing protocol,” wrote researchers from the United States Sports Academy in Alabama, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of South Alabama in Nutrition & Metabolism.
“The results suggest that the preworkout supplement significantly improved muscular endurance and choice reaction time.”
The study supplement was provided by MusclePharm, and the Denver-based company funded the study.
Sports nutrition market
MusclePharm’s supplement joins the ranks of other sports nutrition products that make up the world leading US market for sports supplements, foods, and beverages. According to a recent report from Leatherhead Food Research, the US market is showing growth of about 5%.
The US sports supplement market was estimated to be worth a whopping $2.95 billion in 2010, and sports nutrition supplements remain one of the most bullish sectors of the overall dietary supplements industry, said the report.
New data
Led by Brandon Spradley, the researchers recruited 12 recreationally-trained men to participate in their 3-week study. The average age of the men was 28.
The men were given the supplement or a placebo to consume 20 minutes prior to a series of exercises, including one-rep maximum (1-RM) for bench and leg press, choice reaction tests, and intermittent critical velocity tests.
Results showed a significant effect in the supplement group for leg press, perceived energy, alertness, focus, and the choice reaction tests.
“The primary active ingredient in Assault is caffeine,” explained the researcher. “Caffeine is a mild stimulant that affects the central nervous system and has the potential to influence human neuromuscular performance. In an attempt to maximize the effectiveness of caffeine, supplement manufacturers often combine several ingredients, possibly enhancing caffeine’s stimulatory potential;”
Such ingredients include branched chain amino acids and creatine, they noted, both of which were included in the Assault supplement.
“From a practical perspective, college-age males who recreationally participate in sports where auditory stimuli are abundant, such as team sports where verbal cues are encouraged may experience increases in performance after ingesting the pre-workout supplement used in the current study (Assault),” they concluded.
Source: Nutrition & Metabolism
2012, 9:28, doi:10.1186/1743-7075-9-28
“Ingesting a pre-workout supplement containing caffeine, B-vitamins, amino acids, creatine, and beta-alanine before exercise delays fatigue while improving reaction time and muscular endurance”
Authors: B.D. Spradley, K.R Crowley, C-Y. Tai, K.L. Kendall, D.H. Fukuda, E.N. Esposito, S.E. Moon, J.R. Moon