Abstract
Team sports, such as field hockey, incorporate high‐intensity repeated sprints, interspersed with low‐intensity running, which can result in acidosis. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of acute sodium bicarbonate (SB) supplementation on team sport running and skill performance. Eight elite female field hockey players (age 23 ± 5 years, body mass 62.6 ± 8.4 kg, height 1.66 ± 0.05 m) completed three Field Hockey Skill Tests (FHST) interspersed with four sets of the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST). Prior to exercise, participants were supplemented with capsules equivalent to 0.2 g·kg−1 body mass (BM) of a placebo (maltodextrin) or 0.3 g·kg−1 BM SB. Field hockey skill performance incorporated overall performance time (PFT), movement time (MT), decision‐making time (DMT), and penalty time (PT). Sprint time (ST), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), blood lactate concentration, bicarbonate anion (HCO3−) concentration, pH, and base excess were measured at various time points. Data (mean ± SD) were analyzed using a two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures, with Hedges g effect sizes used to interpret the magnitude of differences. Bicarbonate anion concentration (+5.4 ± 2.6 mmol·L−1) and pH (+0.06 ± 0.03) were greater during the bicarbonate trial compared with the placebo (P < 0.001). Bicarbonate did not alter PFT (placebo: 87.9 ± 6.9 sec; bicarbonate: 89.0 ± 7.8 sec, P = 0.544, g = 0.14), MT, DMT, PT (all P > 0.30) or ST (placebo: 2.87 ± 0.12 sec; bicarbonate: 2.86 ± 0.12 sec, P = 0.893, g = −0.08). RPE was lower during the SB condition (placebo: 13 ± 2; bicarbonate: 12 ± 2, P = 0.021, g = −0.41). Acute ingestion of bicarbonate did not improve sprint or sport‐specific skill performance. Bicarbonate ingestion did result in a lower perception of effort during team‐sport running, which may have performance implications in a competitive match situation.
Highlights
High-intensity intermittent exercise requires rapid rates of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis and glycolytic flux, leading to a rise in intracellular, and subsequently, extracellular hydrogen ions (H+) (Krustrup et al 2015)
Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society
It was hypothesized that sodium bicarbonate (SB) would enhance performance of the repeated maximal sprints incorporated within the Loughborough intermittent shuttle test (LIST) and improve performance during the field hockey skill test
Summary
High-intensity intermittent exercise requires rapid rates of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis and glycolytic flux, leading to a rise in intracellular, and subsequently, extracellular hydrogen ions (H+) (Krustrup et al 2015). While some findings question the role of H+ in causing muscle fatigue (Pedersen et al 2004), H+ accumulation has been reported to contribute to a reduced exercise performance by negatively affecting the perception of effort, ion regulation, enzyme activity, and contractile proteins within the working muscles (Fabiato and Fabiato 1978; Swank and Robertson 1989; Favero et al 1995; Allen et al 2003; Girard et al 2011).
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