Sodium bicarbonate and caffeine as ergogenic aids

Question 1

Describe sodium bicarbonate:

Answer 1

• SB (NaHCO3) is a salt composed of sodium ions and bicarbonate ions
  
  • It is an alkalinising agent, agent also referred to as baking soda, commonly used in cooking. - very salty

Question 2

Why do people take sodium bicarbonate?

Answer 2

• In maximal exercise of 30 seconds or more energy production is driven by anaerobic glycolysis
  
  • Anaerobic glycolysis produces large amount of lactic acid (H+ and lactate) which reduce pH(e.g.: increase the acidity of the muscle) - often going from ~ 7.0 - 6.5 in muscle. - lactic acid does not cause fatigue, Hydrogen causes fatigue, if pH reduces too far.
  • The build-up of these metabolites(hydrogen) in the muscle causes fatigue in these events (1-10 minutes). Therefore, cannot produce the same amount of force = slow down
  • To delay fatigue, we shuttle these metabolites to the blood (pH can drop from 7.4 -7.1 after high intensity exercise). Causes blood pH to drop as well.
  • We have chemical buffers that can normalise H+ build-up –> haemoglobin and bicarbonate most important
  • But during exercise the H+ build-up exceeds the bodies capacity to excrete the H+ from the blood. So increasing ability to make muscles more effective buffers, we can delay that onset of fatigue(ingesting sodium bicarbonate)
  • Consuming exogenous bicarbonate can help to buffer H+ from the blood (not muscle but efflux of H+ from blood has the knock on effect of increasing efflux from the muscle to the blood
  • This helps to normalise pH levels – there these are often referred to as alkalizing agents

Question 3

Does sodium bicarbonate supplementation work?

Answer 3

Sodium bicarbonate ingestion does help to reduce blood pH – alkalising the blood before exercise
Baseline is before any consumption of sodium bicarbonate
- Supplemented group have a less significant drop in blood pH levels = delays fatigue
- increases peak power output

Question 4

When is it best to use sodium bicarbonate supplements?

Answer 4

➢Better for events between >1 - 7 minutes (Why?!) - works on the systems where anaerobic glycolysis is most prominent
➢Effects quite individual – might not be useful for all and elite athletes
➢Best dose is 0.2 – 0.4 g/kg body mass 60 – 120 min pre-exercise in flavoured water or capsule(most effective way)

Question 5

Does Sodium bicarbonate improve muscle strength?

Answer 5

Measured in 1 rep max, not causing a huge buildup of H+ ions, will mainly be phosphocreatine

Question 6

Does Sodium bicarbonate help muscular endurance?

Answer 6

SMD is the mean difference in the effect size(>0.8 is determined as a large effect), and divide by the variation among groups
- Endurance for number of times exercises were completed
- Line all the way to the right had an effect size of 2.85, so should be emitted as it is an outlier

Question 7

What is sodium citrate?

Answer 7

• Sodium citrate is also an alkalinising agent, and works in a similar fashion to sodium bicarbonate
  
  • Proposed to provide the same benefits as sodium bicarbonate without the GI distress – however, this isn’t very well supported with research.

Question 8

Who would benefit most from using sodium citrate?

Name a potential side-effect?

Answer 8

• Track running
  
  • Track cycling
  • Rowing events
  • Repeated sprints
  • Any exercise between 1-7 minutes

Side-effects being:
* GI complaints are common

Question 9

What is caffeine?

Answer 9

• Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system – found in many plants
  
  • Can increase alertness and delay the onset of fatigue, most notably blocks the adenosine receptor
  • Was banned for use by WADA until 2004 - being over the level of caffeine would lead to a doping ban
  • Comes in many different forms, which causes you to get different amounts (e.g.: tea, pain killers, chocolate, coffee)

Question 10

What is a potential issue for athletes when taking supplements?

How does caffeine work?

Answer 10

• Caffeine based product could be made in a facility that also has banned supplements, some form of contamination could occur. - should be considered
  • First work in the 1970’s found that caffeine increased fatty acid oxidation during aerobic exercise
  • Example from Ivy et al., (1979)
    – why would an increase in fatty acid oxidation increase aerobic endurance performance? Increased fat metabolism
  • So should be able to exercise for longer as glycogen is not used, instead fat is.
  • Therefore, caffeine is usually added to weight loss products
  • However, several (later) studies found performance improvements without changes in fat oxidation, indicating that this was not the key mechanism for the performance effects

Question 11

What are some other mechanisms describing the way caffeine works?

Answer 11

• Precise mechanisms not entirely clear, but likely related to the caffeine as a stimulant – exercise feels easier when you consume caffeine!
  
  • Most hypothesis are related its ability to decrease RPE and directly act of the adenosine receptors to increase arousal
    – Caffeine reduces the sleepiness, so lower rate of perceived exertion.
    This allows us to perform better
• Caffeine might also increase Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum helping to enhance muscle force production – this could translate into greater power output and performance in resistance and aerobic exercise.
  Data is not as strong as around the adenosine receptor.

Question 12

In what dosage should caffeine be consumed?

Answer 12

• 3mg seems to be the best dose for most people.
  No difference seen between 5 and 13 mg doses.
• Twenty competitive cyclists completed two 30- km time trials that included a maximal effort 0.2- km sprint each 10-km. Caffeine (~3–4 mg/kg) or placebo was administered double-blind via chewing gum at the 10-km point following completion of the first sprint

Question 13

Are caffeine’s benefits related to a specific sport?

Answer 13

Caffeine works, most beneficial and most widely used in all sports
- More effective doing aerobic exercise than anaerobic exercise

Question 14

What are some side-effects of caffeine?

Answer 14

• Caffeine shakes! irritability, disrupted sleep, GI function, tremor, bradycardia(sleep disruption) etc
  
  • To get the most out of caffeine, you should stop it for a few weeks, as you get habituated to it. Then after this time period you will see larger benefits.
  • Shows that everyone with caffeine still had a performance benefit

Very little research on consuming caffeine with anther supplement, no augmented affect shown