Induced alkalosis and high-intensity exercise performance

[Truncate abstract] Sodium bicarbonate, and other agents that modify pH, have been investigated for a number of years. Pre-exercise bicarbonate ingestion induces a blood alkalosis, which potentially offsets fatigue associated with intramuscular acidity in high-intensity exercise, facilitating improvements in athletic performance. Sodium bicarbonate is most often ingested acutely, and a standard dose has been established (0.3 g.kg-1BM) via systematic dose-response investigations, but in some cases, chronic doses (0.5 g.kg-1BM daily) are taken on consecutive days. A pertinent limitation of the sodium bicarbonate literature is the lack of contemporary estimates of the physiological and performance effect magnitudes. Experimental research is also limited in the evaluation of different ingestion protocols, estimated performance effects when bicarbonate is combined with caffeine and the reliability of performance and physiological effects associated with bicarbonate loading. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effects of different modes of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on blood alkalosis and high-intensity exercise performance. Specifically, study one comprises a contemporary meta-analysis that quantifies performance (in mean power) and physiological effects (blood bicarbonate concentration and pH) of sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate and ammonium chloride. Study two, the first experimental study, evaluates performance, induced alkalosis and post-test blood lactate concentration with standard doses of sodium bicarbonate, caffeine, and both supplements combined. Physiological effects of several different bicarbonate ingestion protocols are evaluated in study three, and gastrointestinal symptoms are also quantified via responses to a detailed questionnaire...