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.