The Effect of a Protein Hydrolysate on Muscle Strength Recovery

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Overtraining is a real problem for (semi-)professional athletes. Overtraining is often caused by the bodies' lack of ability to recover between training. In addition, during high intensity training reactive oxygen species are formed up to 20 fold compared to resting values. This causes increased muscle tissue damage after intense exercise, which slows down recovery. Improving recovery may increase an athlete's ability to reach higher training volumes resulting in establishing a higher performance plateau. It is known that hydrolyzed proteins have a positive effect on muscle protein synthesis due to its faster absorption rate. Therefore, it is hypothesized that a known protein hydrolysate may have positive effects on strength recovery.

Official Title
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The Effect of a Protein Hydrolysate on Muscle Strength Recovery in Athletes

Conditions
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Muscle Strength Recovery

Intervention / Treatment
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* Dietary Supplement: Protein hydrolysate high dose
* Dietary Supplement: Protein hydrolysate low dose
* Dietary Supplement: Placebo


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy individuals (based on their medical history provided during a general health questionnaire) Participants are amateur or (semi-) professional athletes in resistance or interval sports (engage in >6 hours of intense physical activity per week). Age 18 - 35 Experience in resistance training Exclusion Criteria: Use of creatine supplements and/or anabolic steroids. Allergy to test product/protein Allergy to specific protein hydrolysate BMI lower than 18 or higher than 30. Lack of technique in correctly performing a barbell squat (judged by sports physiologist). Recent muscle injury in legs or back less than one month before the start of the study. Cardiovascular complications Use of medication Administration of investigational drugs or participation in any scientific intervention study which may interfere with this study (to be decided by the principle investigator), in the 180 days prior to the study. Abuse of products; alcohol (> 20 alcoholic units per week) and drugs

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Triple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Protein hydrolysate high dose<br> | Dietary Supplement: Protein hydrolysate high dose<br> <br> |
| Experimental: Protein hydrolysate low dose<br> | Dietary Supplement: Protein hydrolysate low dose<br> <br> |
| Placebo Comparator: Placebo<br> | Dietary Supplement: Placebo<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Muscle strength recovery | difference in peak force between the exhaustion challenge and the recovery challenge, measured with a linear encoder during a squat exercise | 4 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blood lactate buildup | in mmol/L, measured trough a finger prick after exhaustion and recovery challenge | 4 weeks | 
| Body composition | fat percentage, based on 4-point skin fold measurement | 4 weeks | 
| Exercise volume | amount of repetitions x time taken x power, measured with a linear encoder during squat exercise | 4 weeks | 
| Peak force output | measured with a linear encoder during the squat exercise | 4 weeks |