Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation on 2000m Rowing Performance
Craig Sale Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 45(5S): 561, May 2013.
The ability to buffer H+ could be vital to exercise performance as high concentrations of H+ contribute to the development of fatigue. The ability of sodium bicarbonate to improve rowing capacity and performance has previously been investigated, however results remain equivocal and such studies use small numbers of participants.
PURPOSE: To examine the effect of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on 2000m rowing ergometer performance.
METHODS: Twenty trained male rowers (age 23±4y; height 1.85±0.08m; mass 82.5±8.9kg; 2000m personal best time 409±16s) completed two 2000m rowing ergometer tests as fast as possible, separated by 48h. Participants were supplemented prior to exercise with 0.3g·kg-1BM of sodium bicarbonate (SB), or a placebo (maltodextrin; PLA). The doses were administered as 0.2g·kg-1BM four hours before the trial and 0.1g·kg-1BM two hours before the trial in an effort to prevent gastrointestinal distress. Trials were conducted using a double blinded, randomised,
counterbalanced cross over study design. Time to complete the 2000m and time taken for each 500m were recorded and blood lactate, bicarbonate, pH and base excess were determined preexercise, immediately post-exercise and 5 minutes post-exercise. Performance data were analysed using paired t-tests and magnitude based inferences (MBI), while haematological data were analysed using a repeated measures ANOVA.
RESULTS: With SB the 2000m test was completed 1.2±4.1s faster (PLA 412.0±15.1s, SB 410.7±14.9s; P=0.095; MBI: likely beneficial). Furthermore, SB was 0.5±1.2s faster than PLA in the third 500m (P=0.035; MBI: likely beneficial) and 1.1±1.7s faster in the fourth 500m (P=0.004; MBI: very likely beneficial). One participant experienced severe gastrointestinal distress on the SB trial but was still able to perform the test, improving performance, although this could be due to the removal of the blinding. Blood lactate, bicarbonate, pH and base excess were all
significantly different between SB and PLA. Bicarbonate, pH and base excess fell and lactate rose from pre-exercise to post-exercise.
CONCLUSIONS: Sodium bicarbonate supplementation is likely to be beneficial to the performance of those competing in 2000m rowing events, particularly in the second half of the event.