Effects of pre-exercise alkalosis on the decrease in V ˙ O 2 at the end of all-out exercise
Claire Thomas European Journal of Applied Physiology January 2016, Volume 116, Issue 1, pp 85-95
This study determined the effects of pre-exercise sodium bicarbonate ingestion (ALK) on changes in oxygen uptake (VO2) at the end of a supramaximal exercise test (SXT).
Methods
Eleven well-trained cyclists completed a 70-s all-out cycling effort, in double-blind trials, after oral ingestion of either 0.3 g kg−1 of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or 0.2 g kg−1 body mass of calcium carbonate (PLA).
Results
At the end of the PLA trial, which induced mild acidosis (blood pH = 7.20), subjects presented a significant decrease in VO2 (P < 0.05), which was related to the amplitude of the decrease in minute ventilation (V ˙ E ) during the SXT (r = 0.70, P < 0.01, n = 11). Pre-exercise metabolic alkalosis significantly prevented the exercise-induced decrease in VO2 in eleven well-trained participants (PLA: 12.5 ± 2.1 % and ALK: 4.9 ± 0.9 %, P < 0.05) and the decrease in mean power output was significantly less pronounced in ALK (P < 0.05). Changes in the VO2 decrease between PLA and ALK trials were positively related to changes in the VE decrease (r = 0.74, P < 0.001), but not to changes in power output (P > 0.05).
Conclusions
Pre-exercise alkalosis counteracted the VO2 decrease related to mild acidosis, potentially as a result of changes in VE and in muscle acid–base status during the all-out supramaximal exercise.