Acute sodium bicarbonate intake as a precursor to performance in swimmers
Keywords:
sodium bicarbonate, ergogenic aid, swimmingAbstract
Introduction: Ergogenic aids can improve adaptations to training and exercise performance capacity.
Objective: To determine the effect of acute sodium bicarbonate intake on swimming times in an intermittent and incremental field protocol.
Methods: Ten swimmers with more than nine years of experience in the sport participated in the study. They underwent a field test consisting of 4x50 m crawl swimming, followed by 10 minutes of recovery and, finally, 2x25 m swimming. The time for each lap was recorded. Forty-eight hours after the test, the athletes received an acute dose of sodium bicarbonate (0.3 mg/kg in 300 ml of water) one hour before the second field test under the same conditions as the first evaluation.
Results: An improvement in swimming times was identified for the 200 m distance (pre 209.9 ± 20.93 s, post 199.4 ± 18.00 s, p < 0.05). Times after rest were also improved, but only for the second 25 m lap (pre 45.3 ± 5.37 s, post 43.27 ± 5.64 s, p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Bicarbonate, as an ergogenic aid, appears to reduce swimming times, especially in prolonged efforts. Its effect is intensified in incremental and intermittent activities that require sustained performance.
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