Table 1. 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
de Salles Painelli et al. 2013 Competitive swimmers Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 90 100 / 200 m swim < 70 s / < 120 s High Mild YES/NO Combined with BA, NaHCO3 improved 200 m time (F=1.36; p=0.28), but not 100 m (F=5.17; p=0.024).
Duncan et al. 2014 Experienced athletes Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 60 80% 1RM barbell exercise 10-12 repetitions High Mild YES/NO NaHCO3 improves back squat (F(1,7)=10.98; p=0.04), but not bench press (p=0.428).
Felippe et al. 2016 Experienced judo athletes Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 120, 90, 60 Special judo fitness test 3 x 1.15 min High None YES/NO Only NaHCO3 does not improve performance, but combined with caffeine (F=0.80; p=0.02).
McClung et al. 2007 Endurance athletes Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 120-90 5 x 1000 m run 5 x 3 min High Mild YES NaHCO3 resulted in performance improvement and lowered blood lactate (F(1,15)=51.4; p<0.001; η2=0.774).
Lindh et al. 2008 Elite swimmers Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 90-60 200 m swim < 2 min High None YES NaHCO3 improved performance in 8 out of 9 athletes by 1.6% (p=0.04).
Zajac et al. 2009 Well-trained swimmers Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 90 4 x 50 m swim 4x < 30 s High None YES NaHCO3 ingestion improves performance by 1.5 s compared to controls (F(2,28)=5.63; p<0.05).
Siegler et al. 2010a Competitive boxers Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 60 Sparring bouts 4 x 3 min High Mild YES Punch efficacy increased after ingestion of NaHCO3 (p>0.001).
Siegler et al. 2010b University swimmers Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 150 8 x 25 m swim 110-120 s High None YES NaHCO3 improved total swim time by 2%. Mean difference overall was 4.4 seconds (d=0.15; p=0.04).
Kilding et al. 2012 Well-trained cyclists Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 120, 90, 60 HIIT cycling < 4 min High Mild YES Caffeine and NaHCO3 consumed separately led to performance enhancements (ES= 0.21; p=0.01).
Ducker et al. 2013 Team sport players Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 60 Repeated sprint test ~ 1 min High N/A YES Single NaHCO3 supplementation improved performance (d=0.56).
Mero et al. 2013 Competitive swimmers Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 60 2 x 100m swim < 60 s High None YES NaHCO3 improves swimming performance by 2.4% / 1.5s (p<0.05).
Thomas et al. 2016 Trained cyclists Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 90 Cycling test 1.10 min High N/A YES Lesser VO2 and VE decrease during trial while supplementing NaHCO3 (r=0.74; p<0.01).
Pruscino et al. 2008 High elite swimmers Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 120-30 2 x 200m swim ~ 2 min High N/A NO No significant improvement in time after ingestion of NaHCO3 (ES=0.25±0.26; p=0.052).
Zabala et al. 2008 Professional BMX cyclists Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 90 CMJ & Wingate cycling test 3 x 30 s High N/A NO No statistically significant effect on performance after ingesting NaHCO3 (p>0.05).
Zabala et al. 2011 Elite national BMX cyclists Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 90 CMJ & Wingate cycling test 3 x 30 s High None NO No improvements regarding performance after ingesting NaHCO3 (p>0.05).
Joyce et al. 2012** Competitive swimmers Capsule; 0.3 g/kg BM 90 2 x 200 m swim < 2 min High Mild NO Acute supplementation of NaHCO3 had no effect on swimming performance (F=0.48; p=0.08).
Stöggl et al. 2014 Endurance athletes Fluid solution; 0.3 g/kg BM 90, 10 Treadmill running bouts 3 x 2 min High Mild NO Improvements in lactate, blood pH and HCO3- was found while supplementing NaHCO3 (p<0.01).
**paper is displayed twice as acute and chronic supplementation and was investigated separately. g: Gram; kg: Kilogram; BM: Body mass; min: Minutes; m: Meter; NaHCO3: Sodium Bicarbonate; BA: Beta-alanine; 1RM: One-repetition maximum; HIIT: High-intensity interval training; BMX: Bicycle motocross; CMJ: Counter movement jump; N/A: Not applicable. High: Maximum effort; Mild: Minimum discomfort; None: No discomfort; VO2: Oxygen consumption; VE: Ventilation; F: Fishers F test; d= Cohen’s d; ES: Effect size; r= Pearson correlation