Can Sodium Bicarbonate Improve Endurance Training Adaptations?

Sodium bicarbonate products, such as FLYCARB's BICARRB, are best known as race-day aids, helping athletes buffer acidity and improve performance when every second counts.

But a growing area of research suggests bicarbonate may also help improve the training response, particularly during high-intensity endurance training.

For athletes looking for new ways to break through to the next fitness level, that is an exciting possibility.

Why Bicarbonate Could Help Training

During hard exercise, the body produces large amounts of hydrogen ions alongside lactate. As acidity rises, fatigue increases and muscle function declines.

Sodium bicarbonate helps buffer this acidity.

In practical terms, this may help athletes:

• maintain power deeper into intervals
• improve repeatability between hard efforts
• tolerate more high-intensity work
• increase training quality during key sessions

The theory is that, over weeks of training, higher-quality sessions enabled by bicarbonate use, lead to greater endurance adaptations.

What Does the Research Show?

In one study, a group of women consumed sodium bicarbonate before interval cycling sessions across eight weeks of training. Compared with placebo, the bicarbonate group showed greater improvements in:

• lactate threshold
• time to fatigue

despite both groups completing similar training volume and intensity.

Another study involving a group of men performing high-intensity interval training found greater improvements in peak power output when using bicarbonate. Researchers also observed larger increases in markers associated with mitochondrial adaptation.

The evidence is still emerging, but the trend is encouraging enough that many athletes are using bicarbonate to maximise training benefits.

Which Sessions Are Most Relevant?

Bicarbonate is most likely to be useful during sessions that generate high lactate levels, such as:

• VO2 max intervals
• threshold sessions
• repeated hill efforts
• sprint interval training
• hard indoor cycling workouts

These are often the sessions that drive major endurance adaptations, but they are also the sessions most limited by fatigue.

A Final Note: Using Bicarbonate Strategically 

Evidence suggests bicarbonate has the potential to be a performance enhancing training tool. We see it as an edge that athletes can use on top of consistent training, good fueling, recovery, and smart load management.

It is also important to note that athletes do not need to use bicarbonate regularly during training to benefit on race-day.

So, if you are looking to maximise training quality during demanding interval sessions, bicarbonate may be a useful tool worth considering.