Effect of Beta-Alanine With and Without Sodium Bicarbonate on 2,000-m Rowing Performance

in International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

Click name to view affiliation

Ruth M. Hobson
Search for other papers by Ruth M. Hobson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Roger C. Harris
Search for other papers by Roger C. Harris in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Dan Martin
Search for other papers by Dan Martin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Perry Smith
Search for other papers by Perry Smith in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Ben Macklin
Search for other papers by Ben Macklin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Bruno Gualano
Search for other papers by Bruno Gualano in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
Craig Sale
Search for other papers by Craig Sale in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Full access

Purpose:

To examine the effect of beta-alanine only and beta-alanine with sodium bicarbonate supplementation on 2,000-m rowing performance.

Methods:

Twenty well-trained rowers (age 23 ± 4 y; height 1.85 ± 0.08 m; body mass 82.5 ± 8.9 kg) were assigned to either a placebo or beta-alanine (6.4 g·d−1 for 4 weeks) group. A 2,000-m rowing time trial (TT) was performed before supplementation (Baseline) and after 28 and 30 days of supplementation. The post supplementation trials involved supplementation with either maltodextrin or sodium bicarbonate in a double-blind, crossover design, creating four study conditions (placebo with maltodextrin; placebo with sodium bicarbonate; beta-alanine with maltodextrin; beta-alanine with sodium bicarbonate). Blood lactate, pH, bicarbonate, and base excess were measured pre-TT, immediately post-TT and at TT+5 min. Performance data were analyzed using magnitude based inferences.

Results:

Beta-alanine supplementation was very likely to be beneficial to 2,000-m rowing performance (6.4 ± 8.1 s effect compared with placebo), with the effect of sodium bicarbonate having a likely benefit (3.2 ± 8.8 s). There was a small (1.1 ± 5.6 s) but possibly beneficial additional effect when combining chronic beta-alanine supplementation with acute sodium bicarbonate supplementation compared with chronic beta-alanine supplementation alone. Sodium bicarbonate ingestion led to increases in plasma pH, base excess, bicarbonate, and lactate concentrations.

Conclusions:

Both chronic beta-alanine and acute sodium bicarbonate supplementation alone had positive effects on 2,000-m rowing performance. The addition of acute sodium bicarbonate to chronic beta-alanine supplementation may further enhance rowing performance.

Hobson, Martin, Smith, Macklin, and Sale are with the School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, UK. Harris is with Junipa Ltd., Newmarket, Suffolk, UK. Gualano is with the School of Physical Education and Sports, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

  • Collapse
  • Expand