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

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a tapering period and a tapering period along with creatine supplementation on physical performance and body composition of soccer players.

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 specific preparation 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, participants were divided into two groups: Taper alone (n=9) and taper with creatine supplementation (n=9). After 10 day taper all tests similar to pre-tests were repeated. Dependent student t-test was used to compare the mean differences for pre- and post-test data. Furthermore, independent student t-test was used to compare the data for two groups.

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 no significant difference between two groups for all measured variables.

In conclusion, it appears that a tapering period have beneficial effects on physical performance of soccer players, though, consumption of creatine supplementation cannot induce any significant improvements.