Are you tired of spending a fortune on supplements that don’t work? You might be surprised to learn that one of the best pre-workout boosters is probably already in your kitchen right now. This supplement is even recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine and it costs less than $2 at your local supermarket. Want to know what this supplement is? It’s baking soda! Yes, you heard that right.
The studies on this simple and common ingredient when it comes to exercise performance are staggering. A recent study by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition concludes that overall, the evidence indicates that sodium bicarbonate may improve single bout high intensity cycling and running. Another study published by Healthline claims sodium bicarbonate, AKA baking soda, has benefits for physical performance. It can increase strength, coordination, and high-intensity exercise performance.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends it as one of the top ways to enhance performance. In this blog post, I’ll explain why baking soda works well for exercise performance, including how and when to take it to get maximum benefits out of it.
What is sodium bicarbonate?
Known as sodium bicarbonate in the scientific community, baking soda is considered the best natural pre-workout.
The American College of Sports Medicine has described sodium bicarbonate as an ergogenic aid that helps boost performance by delaying muscle fatigue.
In simple words, whenever you exercise, your muscles tire with the effort and leave a burning sensation in your body due to lactic acid buildup in your muscles. This slowly pulls you to exhaustion and makes you feel demotivated, hence negatively affecting your stamina and performance.
Sometimes you might even cut your workout short. So taking sodium bicarbonate as a pre-workout helps delay muscle fatigue by neutralizing acid buildup in your muscles. In this case, you attempt longer workouts and don’t get the burning feeling early in the process.
But what exactly does sodium bicarbonate do that delays muscle fatigue? For this, let me explain why you feel fatigued during intense workouts. Your body releases chemicals into your muscle tissue like lactic acid and hydrogen forms in the muscle cells.
Although most of these chemicals are buffered, which means they are reduced, some remain in the muscle cells. This is how an acidic environment is created in your body.
It causes your muscles to burn, and you feel fatigued. This results in exhaustion and bad workout performance. Now let me tell you how sodium bicarbonate can do wonders for your body.
Benifits Of Sodium Bicarbonate
According to research, when you take it as a pre-workout, it reduces the metabolic byproducts built in your muscle cells during the workout and improves short-term endurance. This research was conducted by giving sodium bicarbonate to 21 cyclists.
They performed exercises after 30 minutes and stopped when they felt fatigued. It was analyzed that they exceeded their usual strength threshold, which shows that athletes can feel less exertion when taking baking soda, eventually leading to prolonged performance.
Another benefit of taking sodium bicarbonate is that you perform better in the last few seconds of your workout than in the beginning. It gives a push to your endurance at the end of your exercise.
In a study, 20 males participated in a rowing event and a 1.5-second performance improvement was noticed in the last 1,000 meters of 2,000 meters. It has significant importance, as you can win a race in just a few seconds. This boost in performance is also found in other sports like cycling, sprinting, and swimming.
It shows taking baking soda as a pre-workout will give you the endurance to complete the last sets of your exercises efficiently. We now understand how baking soda intake can greatly benefit high endurance athletes, but is it helpful for interval training? Yes, it is.
Interval Training
Interval training is when you switch between intense and less intense exercises during a session, whether swimming, cycling, or weightlifting. This is backed up by a study in which 13 athletes took a yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 2 after consuming baking soda.
This test analyzes an athlete’s ability of endurance and strength by repeatedly performing an anaerobic exercise with small intervals of break.
The data found a 14% performance increase and a lower perceived exhaustion rate. This states that baking soda also helps reduce fatigue and elevates performance in interval training.
One of the best benefits people don’t talk about using baking soda as a pre-workout supplement is that you can save a lot of money. Supplements are a very, very important fitness need for gym lovers, so they keep them in bulk.
There are many options for pre-workouts in the market, from whey protein to various formulas, but most are expensive. Not only do they come with health risks and mixed results with their effectiveness, but some contain synthetic ingredients such as preservatives and sweeteners.
Some people are even sensitive to stimulants like coffee, and these formulas are filled with them. Baking soda is a natural compound, yet affordable. Hence, it is safe, and buying bulk for longer use won’t dent your bank account.
Again, if you tried a bunch of supplements before and feel like most of them are overpriced and offer very little benefits, baking soda may be the answer you were looking for. It’s very cheap and highly effective.
Since you have learned how baking soda has fantastic benefits as a pre-workout supplement, let’s look into the required dosage, its form, and how we should take it.
Sodium bicarbonate is easily available in pill, capsule, or powder form. Regardless of whichever form you use, you should expect the same results.
Dosage
According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the required dose is 0.3 grams per kilogram of your weight. For example, if your weight is 80 kg or 177 lbs, you need to take 24 grams of baking soda or 4 teaspoons.
It is advised to take it 60 to 180 minutes before exercise for optimal results. If you’re taking it as a pill or capsule, you can swallow it with some sips of water, which is the most convenient way. But if you want to use plain baking soda powder, you have to dissolve the required dose in a glass of water.
However, the cloudy mixture can be difficult to drink as it can make you feel nauseous. People who may experience stomach upset by taking baking soda in a glass of water can consume it with a small high-carbohydrate snack or meal.
Another way to avoid discomfort is to divide this dosage into 3 equal parts and have it after your meals, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you’re new to using baking soda as a pre-workout, here are a few tips to ensure the best experience.
Try it on a day when you’re not doing an important workout. This way, you can test how your body reacts without worrying about performance.
Second, stay well-hydrated. Baking soda can increase your body’s sodium levels, so it’s really important to drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay balanced.
Finally, pair baking soda with a solid pre-workout meal. While it’s great for buffering acid, it doesn’t provide energy like carbohydrates or fats.
Eating a balanced meal about 2 to 3 hours before your workout will give you the fuel you need to perform at your best.
As with any supplement or strategy, it’s important to listen to your body and find what works best for you.
Start small, experiment with different doses, and see how baking soda fits into your routine. Who knows, this humble kitchen ingredient might just become your new favorite pre-workout.
Sources:
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
Healthline.com – How Does Sodium Bicarbonate Affect Sports Performance?
Journal of the International society of sports nutrition