Bodybuilding.com - Sodium Bicarbonate: Will It Reduce Muscle Soreness?

Printable page

Did you know?
The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

Here we are going to make an effort to answer the question about whether or not Sodium Bicarbonate will improve a workout and what the consequences may be if you ingest to much. Read below to learn more about this interesting supplement.

Sodium Bicarbonate: Will It Reduce Muscle Soreness?

By: Christopher Mohr

Q: Chris,
Have you ever heard of anyone eating baking soda to help reduce muscle soreness? A guy at my gym swears by this practice and said he can no long squat without baking soda. Any insight on this one? It sounds a bit gimmicky, but it would surely be an inexpensive supplement if it worked!

Background

Let me slip into my lab coat real quick, tighten up the tape between my glasses, and take out my biochem book for a minute. Anaerobic exercise (sprints, weight training, bursts of speed, like in football, etc) requires a high turnover rate of the body's energy source, ATP.

ATP: Energy's Currency!
If one has ever wondered just how we are able to summons the energy to perform a number of activities under a variety of conditions, the answer, in large part, is ATP. Without ATP, ones body would simply fail to function. Learn why...
[ Click here to learn more. ]

ATP can only provide a second or two worth of energy, so turnover is rapid and crucial. The rapid production of ATP comes from the breakdown of phosphocreatine, the storage form of creatine, and something called anaerobic glycolysis.

Depending on the necessity of energy, and quick energy at that, glycolysis will run its course. However, when glycolysis begins to move into high gear, it also produces hydrogen ions, which have been implicated in muscle fatigue (you know, the burning feeling in your quads when doing a drop set of leg extensions) and some speculate muscle soreness after the workout.

What Is A Drop Set?
These are done with barbells. Do a set then, without racking the bar, get two spotters to pull off a preset amount of weight. Continue with that weight. Keep stripping as desired. This will thoroughly burn out a muscle. It is similar to drop sets, but there is absolutely no rest. Learn more and view a video of a drop set here.

Subsequently, if there was a way to buffer those hydrogen ions, it could mean that you may be able to continue the normally anaerobic activities (sprinting, lifting, etc) for a longer period of time.

The body has an internal mechanism to buffer some of this hydrogen. A recent study actually demonstrated a change in blood pH as well, moving it more towards the acidic side of things (which is the result of and increase in hydrogen ions), so a more "basic" supplement, that could help in the buffering process may be effective.

Research Protocol

A recent study published by the American College of Sports Medicine's journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, took a look at the effects of sodium bicarbonate (e.g., baking soda) on sprint performance.

Researchers sought out to determine the effects of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on an intermittent sprint test. The sprint was designed to replicate the average sprint profile of a typical team-sport game.

The theory behind this study was similar to what I described earlier. Many team sports require athletes to perform repeated start and stop high-intensity efforts (think basketball, football, field or ice hockey, etc). To perform well, it is crucial that athletes are able to recover between each burst; if not, performance will suffer and the game, event, or competition will be lost.

Subjects

In this small study, seven female team sport athletes were recruited. None of the subjects were using any other nutritional supplements simultaneously.

Experiment

VO2 Max Calculator
Enter the total distance covered in meters in 12 minutes and then press the 'Calculate' button.

* 1600 meters = 1 mile
* 5280 feet = 1 mile
* 3 feet = 1 meter

Distance
meters

VO2 Max mls/kg/min

Forty-eight hours later, in a random, counterbalanced order, subjects then performed the sprint test after the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (2 * 0.2g/kg doses taken 90 and 20 minutes before the start of the sprint test) or placebo. The next sprint test was separated by one week to provide what's called a washout period.

This was done to ensure there were no residual effects from the supplement on the participants in the study. The researchers felt that one week was enough time to clear any sodium bicarbonate from the blood.

Other supplements, like creatine, for example, take approximately 30 days to clear. After the one week washout period, subjects were given the opposite supplement than the first test.

Sprint Test

The researchers divided the protocol into 2 minute blocks of sprinting, active recovery, and rest. More specifically, subjects had a 4 second all out sprint, followed by 100 seconds of active recovery, followed by 20 seconds of rest.

Subjects were given a 10 minute passive recovery between the simulated halves.

Supplementation Protocol

The dose of sodium bicarb was selected because pilot work suggested there were no negative side effects. It's very important to note that larger doses (0.3 g/kg) dramatically increased GI disturbances (can be very painful GI disturbances). This will surely put a damper on heavy deadlifts. Therefore, it's important to emphasize, more is not better.

Results

The main finding in this study was that pre-exercise ingestion of sodium bicarbonate was effective in buffering the pH of the blood before and during the sprint test. Second was that the supplement was beneficial at selected time points during the second half of the sprint test.

The thought of giving the dose of supplement they did in two times before the workout was novel; no other study has followed this same protocol. Therefore, it's a bit premature to suggest everyone begin taking this same dose in the manner outlined to enhance performance.

Anecdotally, I've heard from a colleague who works with several pro athletes that they actually dilute alka seltzer (same buffering agent) in water and drink this during a workout to prevent cramping. Remember, more is not better; don't blame me when you're pulling a "Harry Dunn" from the bathroom scene in Dumb and Dumber.

Related Pre-Exercise Articles:

Reference:

David Bishop and Brett Claudius. Effects of Induced Metabolic Alkalosis on Prolonged Intermittent-Sprint Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Vol 37, No5, pp. 759-767.

chris@MohrResults.com