Should I Buffer Myself?

[old] H_2O · Post by **[old] H_2O** » December 4th, 2005, 9:48 pm

With only 4g of sodium bicarbonate per day for six days I can expect to raise my VO2max by 9%, power at AT by 12% and even increase blood hemoglobin by 5%. <a href='http://www.pureendurance.net/lactic_acid' target='_blank'>http://www.pureendurance.net/lactic_acid</a> 4g of sodium bicarbonate is one tea spoon of baking powder. Should I do this or not? Please vote and elaborate.

[old] george nz · Post by **[old] george nz** » December 4th, 2005, 10:03 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'>QUOTE(H_2O @ Dec 5 2005, 02:48 PM)</div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>With only 4g of sodium bicarbonate per day for six days I can expect to raise my VO2max by 9%, power at AT by 12% and even increase blood hemoglobin by 5%. <a href='http://www.pureendurance.net/lactic_acid' target='_blank'>http://www.pureendurance.net/lactic_acid</a> 4g of sodium bicarbonate is one tea spoon of baking powder. Should I do this or not? Please vote and elaborate. </td></tr></table> Hi, you would need to elaborate why you are doing this before a opinion can be offered. Is the objective at the end of the period to race on that day or are you just looking for a short term training boost. George

[old] H_2O · Post by **[old] H_2O** » December 4th, 2005, 10:14 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'>QUOTE(george nz @ Dec 4 2005, 09:03 PM)</div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>Hi, you would need to elaborate why you are doing this before a opinion can be offered. Is the objective at the end of the period to race on that day or are you just looking for a short term training boost. George </td></tr></table> I will probably race at the end of January. I don't plan to buffer the race. But if I follow this regimen with the results as claimed I gain a greater advantage from the improved training than if I were to buffer the race itself. I would be eating 4g of bicarbonate a day for a longer period to support improved training. I am not sure I believe the article but the improvements are simply astronomical.

[old] Roland Baltutis · Post by **[old] Roland Baltutis** » December 5th, 2005, 6:24 am

Before embarking on a sodium bicarb training supplementation program you must first ensure that you have the correct dosage. Otherwise you won't get the desired result. It is also important to follow the correct loading protocol. The Australian Institute of Sport has done some testing on ergs with elite rowers and found an average improvement of 48 meters over 6 minutes (from 1815 m to 1861m). They recommend its use but suggest the following loading and dosage: 0.3g of sodium bicarbonate per kg body weight (about 4 teaspoons for a lightweight and 5 for a heavyweight). This must be divided into 5 doses and taken every 30 minutes from 3 hours before the row. I assume you have tried other forms of buffering agents before deciding on sodium bicarbs. You should see some improved results for 2Ks. However you still need to do all the hard work on the erg and shouldn't use it as a soft option. Roland Baltutis

[old] hjs · Post by **[old] hjs** » December 5th, 2005, 8:03 am

I would say. Try it yourself ans show us the results. I have no expirience with the stuff.

[old] remador · Post by **[old] remador** » December 5th, 2005, 10:13 am

My position about this is that even if I was a professional sportsman, it would be quite difficult for anyone to get me engaged in taking such kind of thing (maybe I would never become one, I know). As Georgenz pointed out in another thread, you can't mess with your metabolism and expect not to pay the bill. Of course there are different products and degrees of dependence around, but, my advice is not to start trying. The less may lead to the most. AM

[old] Stretch · Post by **[old] Stretch** » December 5th, 2005, 11:04 am

Might be worth studying up on <a href='http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2000/05_00/fall.htm' target='_blank'>hypernatremia</a> if you're going to be chowing down on sodium bicarbonate. Might also want to get clear on the difference between Baking Soda -- pure sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) -- and Baking Powder -- which contains added acid salts like sodium aluminum sulfate (NaAl(SO4)2) -- before you dig in.

[old] TabbRows · Post by **[old] TabbRows** » December 5th, 2005, 11:57 am

[quote=Stretch,Dec 5 2005, 11:04 AM] Might be worth studying up on <a href='http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2000/05_00/fall.htm' target='_blank'>hypernatremia</a> if you're going to be chowing down on sodium bicarbonate. Sounds a lot like rec runners trying altitude training just before a marathon in hopes of gaining an extra 15-30 seconds toward their PR. Or bikers going all out and spending mega bucks on the latest Lance Armstrong time tiral bike in hopes of cutting their metric century time by 2 minutes. Train a bit harder and accomplish the same results. I for one wouldn't be able to remember or sometimes be able to do all the loading steps recommended for this process. 12 meters is a couple of extra tugs with the back and arms.

[old] PaulS · Post by **[old] PaulS** » December 5th, 2005, 1:13 pm

Did you read to the bottom of the article you cite? "Side effects As for the side-effects, these may take the form of pain, cramping, diarrhoea or a feeling of being bloated, the athlete who suffers must try to eliminate them. Drinking up to a litre of water with the dose is often effective and should be carried out as standard. Breaking up the bicarbonate dose into, say, four equal portions taken over the course of an hour may also help. There are potential side effects to taking higher than normal levels of Sodium Bicarbonate so consult with your doctor first." Not sure about you, but these don't sound too good to risk on race day. The rest of the article seemed to go both ways anyhow, i.e. "Lactate Friend or foe?" They conclude that it sounds much like a "friend", but then suggest buffering it? What this is called in the real word is a "gimmick".

[old] Citroen · Post by **[old] Citroen** » December 5th, 2005, 2:57 pm

Curiously, (well perhaps not) this is being discussed on <a href='http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum' target='_blank'>http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum</a> today. Here's a sensible article that pulls together all the research on Sodium Bicarbonate (and Sodium Citrate): <a href='http://www.fletchersportscience.co.uk/s ... e.php?s=13' target='_blank'>http://www.fletchersportscience.co.uk/s ... =13</a>

[old] H_2O · Post by **[old] H_2O** » December 5th, 2005, 3:28 pm

Thanks for all the replies. I have never tried a buffering agent before and am not even sure that lactate buildup is my limiting factor. Indeed I am not sure I know what that is. I have on rare occasions (but not in any of my 2K races) had a strange feeling of the hamstrings seizing up ---- fairly alarming, prompting me to slow down immediately. I would not characterize this as a "leg burn" however, more like the onset of failure. I seem to be limited by general malaise and a feeling that I just can't go any harder. So I am reluctant to ingest large quantities such as 30 grams as Roland indicates (and I have seen in articles myself). What caught my eye in the above article was the almost unbelievable effects claimed by the relatively small dose of 4 grams a day. I would be willing to ingest that much and report to you the effects. Unfortunately I am now not in peak shape and seem to be coming around again. I need to first get to close to peak shape before an intelligent experiment can be conducted. I will let you know as soon as I am ready.

[old] H_2O · Post by **[old] H_2O** » December 5th, 2005, 5:06 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'>QUOTE(Stretch @ Dec 5 2005, 10:04 AM)</div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>Might be worth studying up on <a href='http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2000/05_00/fall.htm' target='_blank'>hypernatremia</a> if you're going to be chowing down on sodium bicarbonate. Might also want to get clear on the difference between Baking Soda -- pure sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) -- and Baking Powder -- which contains added acid salts like sodium aluminum sulfate (NaAl(SO4)2) -- before you dig in. </td></tr></table> Thanks. This link is very scary indeed. I am definitely not interested in a 30 gram sodium bicarbonate intake. I am going to reflect upon the 4 gram regimen though, in fact this <a href='http://www.ironpower.biz/downloads/Bigg ... uscles.PDF' target='_blank'>http://www.ironpower.biz/downloads/Bigg ... PDF</a> looks even more interesting as I don't eat red meat and might need Creatine too. Should not be a problem if I reduce the salt intake correspondingly. Actually I believe I have been afflicted with hyponatremia. I do eat very little salt and sweat excessively. I used to have problems with cramps all the time. Finally I started putting cooking salt into my drink (but only about a quarter tea spoon) together with potassium chloride and magnesium citrate. This did alleviate the problem.

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