Sodium Bicarbonate: The Performance Booster Athletes Overlook

What the science actually means for your training and racing

Most athletes know about caffeine. Some know about creatine.
Almost no one understands sodium bicarbonate.

Yet across dozens of studies, one message shows up again and again:

If your sport requires going hard for 45 seconds to 8 minutes, sodium bicarbonate is one of the most reliable performance boosters available.

This article breaks down the evidence in simple language so you can decide whether it deserves a place in your training toolbox.

What Sodium Bicarbonate Actually Helps With

1. Short, Violent Efforts (45 seconds to 8 minutes)

Think:

• VO2 max intervals
• Hard hill efforts
• 400–1500 m track
• 1–3 km cycling
• Rowing 500–2000 m
• CrossFit-style intervals

Across 25 studies, performance improved consistently.
Small bump? Yes.
Meaningful in competition? Absolutely.

This is the zone where your legs burn, breathing spikes, and pH crashes.
Bicarbonate buffers that.
You last longer at the same intensity.

2. Muscular Endurance

Across 12 studies, athletes could:

• Do more reps
• Maintain output longer
• Hold power deeper into fatigue

If your sport rewards suffering, bicarbonate helps.

3. Yo-Yo and Intermittent Running

Great for:

• Football
• Rugby
• Court sports
• Intervals with short recovery

Athletes lasted longer before fatigue shut them down.

4. 2000-m Rowing

A ~1.4% performance gain.

In rowing, that is massive.

What It Does NOT Improve

1. Max Strength

No benefit for:

• One-rep max
• Low-rep heavy lifts
• Powerlifting-style sessions

Bicarbonate isn’t creatine. It helps you tolerate acidity, not increase max force.

2. Repeated Sprint Ability

Surprisingly: no consistent improvement.

If your sport is stop-start with very short bursts, results are mixed or neutral.

The Big Difference: How You Take It Matters

Most athletes only try the “standard” protocol:

0.2–0.3 g/kg, 2–3 hours before training.

This works…
but it often wrecks your stomach.

The meta-analyses uncovered something more interesting:

Multi-Day Loading Is a Game Changer

Small doses spread across 5–7 days produced huge improvements in peak and average power during repeated sprints.

Benefits:

• Fewer GI issues
• More stable blood buffering
• Larger performance gains

This is the protocol endurance athletes should experiment with.

Why It Works (Simple Version)

High-intensity efforts create a buildup of hydrogen ions (H+).
This lowers your muscle pH and creates the familiar “burn.”

When pH drops:

• Glycolytic enzymes slow
• Muscle contraction becomes less efficient
• Fatigue hits sooner

Sodium bicarbonate increases your ability to buffer those H+ ions.
You delay the burn.
You hold power longer.
You repeat the effort with less drop-off.

That’s the entire story.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

• Nearly all studies were done on men
• Some areas (like repeated sprints) don’t have enough research
• Long-term use isn’t well studied
• GI distress is real unless dosing is smart

The science is solid, but not complete.

What This Means for Your Training

If your sessions include:

✔ all-out intervals
✔ long VO2 sets
✔ 45 sec – 8 min repeats
✔ races decided by small margins
✔ CrossFit or mixed-modality training
✔ rowing, track cycling, triathlon intervals

Sodium bicarbonate can help you hold a higher output for longer.

If your sessions are:

✘ heavy lifting
✘ short repeated sprints
✘ low-intensity work

You won’t see much value.

The Triforge Takeaway

Sodium bicarbonate is one of the most underrated performance tools available to endurance and hybrid athletes. The science is consistent, the effect is real, and the improvements are meaningful when your event or workout lives in the “red zone.”

Use it strategically.

Load it properly.

Test your response in training before race day.