The Research Behind Baking Soda for Athletes
Research shows sodium bicarbonate can help athletes:
- Delay fatigue during high-intensity efforts. See the fasted-training study.
- Buffer acid build-up and increase total reps before exhaustion. See the CrossFit study.
- Improve repeated sprint power, even in heat. See the heat chamber study.
- Improve time-trial performance over longer efforts. See the 40km cycling study.
However, baking soda causes GI distress in roughly 1 in 3 athletes.
21% more sprint power, 37% less fatigue
In trained men, a 14-hour fast alone improved sprint power by roughly 10% and muscular endurance by 24%. Adding sodium bicarbonate on top pushed sprint power up ~21% and cut fatigue by 37%, though it did cause mild stomach discomfort in some athletes.
More reps, longer time to exhaustion in CrossFit
In highly trained female CrossFit athletes, sodium bicarbonate increased both time to exhaustion and total reps during cycling intervals and a barbell thruster test. It also caused more stomach upset in some athletes than the alternative.
54 seconds faster over a 40km ride
Trained cyclists improved a 40km time trial by an average of 54 seconds when bicarbonate was delivered as mini-tablets inside a carbohydrate hydrogel, which is a delivery method built specifically to minimize the usual stomach issues.
About 1 in 3 athletes get GI issues
Across a meta-analysis of 11 placebo-controlled running trials, gastrointestinal side effects showed up in roughly 30% of bicarbonate trials versus about 3% on placebo, and close to 1 in 11 people couldn't tolerate it at all.
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Baking Soda vs. Beta Alanine
Beta-Alanine
Sodium Bicarbonate
Where it buffers
Inside the muscle (raises carnosine)
In the blood, outside the muscle
When you take it
Daily, every day
One acute dose, 1–3 hrs before training
Time to feel it
1–2 weeks for early effects, 5+ weeks for full effect
Same session
GI side effects
Occasional harmless tingling
About 1 in 3 athletes
Typical dose
6g/day, split into two 3g doses
0.2–0.5g per kg bodyweight
Get the Acid Buffering Without the Bathroom
Sodium bicarbonate buffers acid in your blood, which is exactly why it can upset your gut. Taking beta-alanine avoids this issue by raising carnosine levels that buffers acid inside the muscle itself.