Table 2.
Acute NaHCO3 supplementation, exercise duration > 4 minutes.
| Article | Athletes | Supplementation (type/dose) | Ingestion (min before exercise) | Exercise | Exercise Time | Intensity | Side Effects | Effects of NaHCO3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christensen et al. 2014 | Lightweight rowers | Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM | 75 | Rowing test | 6 min | High | None | YES/NO | Solely NaHCO3 has no effect, but combined with caffeine (ES: 0.6; p<0.01). |
| Freis et al. 2017 | Endurance athletes | Fluid Solution; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90 | Endurance exercise tests | 40 ± 6 min | High | Severe | YES/NO | NaHCO3 led to no change in time to exhaustion but higher maximum running speed (p=0.009). |
| Wu et al. 2010 | Division 1 tennis players | Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90-60 | Tennis match + skill test | > 50 min | Moderate | N/A | YES | Decline in tennis specific performance decreased after a match with NaHCO3 (d=1.26; p=0.004). |
| Mueller et al. 2013 | Cyclists / triathletes | Tablet; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90 | Cycling test | 10-16 min | High | N/A | YES | NaHCO3 is improves time to exhaustion compared to a placebo (+ 23.5%) (F(1,7)=35.45; p=0.001 η2=0.84). |
| Egger et al. 2014 | Trained cyclists | Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM | 120-60 | Cycling test | < 30 min | Moderate To High | None | YES | Cycling time to exhaustion was improved under NaHCO3 compared to a placebo (ES: 0.6; p<0.05) |
| Krustrup et al. 2015 | Trained athletes | Capsule; 0.4 g/kg BM | 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 | YOYO-IR test | < 10 min | High | N/A | YES | The performance was improved by NaHCO3 (+ 14%) (p<0.05). |
| Marriott et al. 2015 | Sub-elite athletes | Capsule; 0.4 g/kg BM | 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 | Upper body- + YOYO-IR test | 17 min + 10 min | High | Mild | YES | NaHCO3 improved YOYO-IR performance by + 23% (p<0.05). |
| Lopes-Silva et al. 2018 | Taekwondo athletes | Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90 | Taekwondo combat | 6 min | Moderate To High | Mild | YES | NaHCO3 increased and sum attack time during taekwondo combat F(1,8)= 6.11; p=0.04; η2=0.43). |
| Tan et al. 2010 | Elite water polo players | Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90 | Water polo trial | 40 min | Moderate To High | None | NO | No effect on trial performance was detected (p=0.51 ES: 0.09±0.23). |
| Cameron et al. 2010 | Rugby union players | Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90 | Rugby specific sprint test | ~ 9 min | Moderate To High | Severe | NO | No improvement on sprint performance which is suspected to be due to GI distress (p=0.13). |
| Kupcis et al. 2012 | Lightweight rowers | Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM | 90, 80, 70 | 2000 m rowing | ~ 7 min | High | None | NO | NaHCO3 provides no benefit for rowing performance (p=0.41; ES: 0.05). |
| Hobson et al. 2013 | Well-trained rowers | Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM | 120 | 2000 m rowing | ~ 7 min | High | None to Severe | NO | Neither, NaHCO3 and Beta alanine (or combined) have an effect on performance (p<0.05) |
| Hobson et al. 2014 | Well-trained rowers | Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM | 120 | 2000 m rowing | 6.25-7.30 min | High | None to Severe | NO | Ingestion of NaHCO3 has no effect on rowing performance (p<0.09). |
| Afman et al. 2014 | Basketball players | Fluid solution; 0.4 g/kg BM | 90, 20 | Basketball test | 4 x 15 min | Moderate | Moderate | NO | NaHCO3 led to no significant changes in skilled performance test (F=2.1; p=0.1) |
g: Gram; kg: Kilogram; BM: Body mass; min: Minutes; m: Meter; NaHCO3: Sodium Bicarbonate; YOYO-IR: Yo-Yo Intermittent-Recovery Test; N/A: Not applicable; High: Maximum effort; Moderate: Modest effort; Mild: Minimum discomfort; Moderate: Some discomfort, None: No discomfort; Severe: Serious discomfort; ES: Effect size. d= Cohens d; F= Fisher’s F test; η2= eta-squared.