Sodium bicarbonate improves sprint performance in endurance cycling
Sebastiaan Dalle Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport September 24, 2020
Objectives
Oral sodium bicarbonate intake (NaHCO3) may improve performance in short maximal exercise by inducing metabolic alkalosis. However, it remains unknown whether NaHCO3 also enhances all-out performance at the end of an endurance competition. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of stacked NaHCO3 loading on sprint performance following a 3-h simulated cycling race.
Methods
Eleven trained male cyclists (22.3 (18.3–25.3) year; 73.0 (61.5–88) kg; VO2max: 63.7 (57–72) ml kg−1 min−1) ingested either 300 mg kg−1 body weight NaHCO3 (BIC) or NaCl (PL). NaHCO3 or NaCl was supplemented prior to (150 mg kg−1) and during (150 mg kg−1) a 3-h simulated cycling race with a 90-s all-out sprint (90S) at the end. Capillary blood samples were collected for determination of blood pH, lactate and HCO3− concentrations. Analysis of variance (lactate, pH, HCO3−) and paired t-test (power) were applied to compare variables across condition (and time).
Results
NaHCO3 intake improved mean power during 90S by ∼3% (541 ± 59 W vs. 524 ± 57 W in PL, p = 0.047, Cohen’s D = 0.28, medium). Peak blood lactate concentration and heart rate at the end of 90S were higher (p < 0.05) in BIC (16.2 ± 4.1 mmol l 1, 184 ± 7 bpm) than in PL (12.4 ± 4.2 mmol l−1, 181 ± 5 bpm). NaHCO3 ingestion increased blood [HCO3−] (31.5 ± 1.3 vs. 24.4 ± 1.5 mmol l−1 in PL, p < 0.001) and blood pH (7.50 ± 0.01 vs. 7.41 ± 0.03 in PL, p < 0.05) prior to 90S.
Conclusions
NaHCO3 supplementation prior and during endurance exercise improves short all-out exercise performance at the end of the event. Therefore, sodium bicarbonate intake can be applied as a strategy to increase success rate in endurance competitions.
