Effects Of Sports Cream On Aerobic Fitness Of Physically Healthy And Activity Individuals

Athletes frequently incorporate muscle rubs into their pre-game routines in hoping to enhance sporting performance. Phiten Metax Cream is a metal-infused cream at nano-level that may improve cellular growth, musculoskeletal efficiency and enhance muscle recovery. PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of Phiten Metax Cream on aerobic fitness performance among physically fit and healthy individuals. METHODS: Ten healthy male participants (age: 24.00 ± 0.00 yrs; height: 174.6 ± 6.75 cm; weight: 70.82 ± 10.92 kg; body mass index (BMI): 23.24 ± 3.43 kg·m-2; body fat percent (BF%): 15.49 ± 6.36 %; VO2max: 49.82 ± 5.20 mL·kg-1·min-1; fat free mass: 59.42 ± 6.62 kg) underwent a randomised double-blinded crossover experimental design and completed 2 trials - placebo (PL) and phiten metax (PM). Participants completed Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA) to measure body composition. Thereafter, they completed a maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) treadmill run test using the modified Astrand protocol. Subsequent 2 trials were conducted with a 7-day washout period. OMNI Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), time-to-exhaustion (TTE), pre- and post-blood lactate (bLa) were measured during the test. RESULTS: Paired t-test revealed no significant differences between trials for TTE (PM: 2035.30 ± 494.85 secs vs PL: 2036.70 ± 490.68 secs, p = 0.963); pre-bLa (PM: 1.44 ± 0.64 mmol·L-1 vs. PL: 1.31 ± 0.45 mmol·L-1, p = 0.593); post-bLa (PM: 3.94 ± 1.23 mmol·L-1 vs. PL: 4.02 ± 1.12 mmol·L-1, p = 0.861); maximum HR (HRmax) (179.80 ± 5.83 beats·min-1 vs PL: 178.20 ± 3.91 beats·min-1, p = 0.253). All participants reached a maximum of RPE 10 for both trials. There were significant correlations between weight and fat free mass (weight: 70.82 ± 10.92 kg vs. fat free mass: 59.42 ± 6.62 kg, p = 0.002, r = 848); TTE PM and TTE PL (PM: 2035.30 ± 494.85 secs vs PL: 2036.70 ± 490.68 secs, p = 0.000; r = 0.982). CONCLUSION: Results revealed that participants reached maximal effort for both trials and pre-bLa results also indicated participants commenced both trials with similar bLa readings. Phiten Metax cream may not improve aerobic sporting performance. However, future studies could investigate the effects of Phiten Metax cream on recovery after induced fatiguing exercise.