Effects of 28 days of resistance exercise and consuming a commercially available pre-workout supplement, NO-Shotgun®, on body composition, muscle strength and mass, markers of satellite cell activation, and clinical safety markers in males

Purpose: This study determined the effects of 28 days of heavy resistance exercise combined with the nutritional supplement, NO-Shotgun (R), on body composition, muscle strength and mass, markers of satellite cell activation, and clinical safety markers. Methods: Eighteen non-resistance-trained males participated in a resistance training program (3 x 10-RM) 4 times/wk for 28 days while also ingesting 27 g/day of placebo (PL) or NO-Shotgun (R) (NO) 30 min prior to exercise. Data were analyzed with separate 2 x 2 ANOVA and t-tests (p < 0.05). Results: Total body mass was increased in both groups (p = 0.001), but without any significant increases in total body water (p = 0.77). No significant changes occurred with fat mass (p = 0.62); however fat-free mass did increase with training (p = 0.001), and NO was significantly greater than PL (p = 0.001). Bench press strength for NO was significantly greater than PL (p = 0.003). Myofibrillar protein increased with training (p = 0.001), with NO being significantly greater than PL (p = 0.019). Serum IGF-1 (p = 0.046) and HGF (p = 0.06) were significantly increased with training and for NO HGF was greater than PL (p = 0.002). Muscle phosphorylated c-met was increased with training for both groups (p = 0.019). Total DNA was increased in both groups (p = 0.006), while NO was significantly greater than PL (p = 0.038). For DNA/protein, PL was decreased and NO was not changed (p = 0.014). All of the myogenic regulatory factors were increased with training; however, NO was shown to be significantly greater than PL for Myo-D (p = 0.008) and MRF-4 (p = 0.022). No significant differences were located for any of the whole blood and serum clinical chemistry markers (p > 0.05). Conclusion: When combined with heavy resistance training for 28 days, NO-Shotgun (R) is not associated with any negative side effects, nor does it abnormally impact any of the clinical chemistry markers. Rather, NO-Shotgun (R) effectively increases muscle strength and mass, myofibrillar protein content, and increases the content of markers indicative of satellite cell activation.