Clinical Reviews
By Bill Campbell, Ph.D., Exercise and Performance Nutrition Laboratory, University of South Florida
 Prevent Fatigue with Baking Soda? Who Knew?!
 You may find sodium bicarbonate (i.e., baking soda) in some surprising places, like iSatori's 3-XL.
McNaughton LR, Siegler J, and Midgley A. Ergogenic effects of sodium bicarbonate. Curr Sports Med Rep, 7(4): 230-236, July/August 2008.
Delaying fatigue is the essence of optimal performance. It was the great football coach Vince Lombardi who said: "Fatigue makes cowards of us all," and he couldn't have stated it more clearly. Hard work, consistent workouts, and a solid nutrition plan all contribute to delaying fatigue during intense exercise and competition, but there is also a common household ingredient that may help prevent fatigue. Baking soda (i.e., sodium bicarbonate).
Researchers from the University of Hull in England recently published a comprehensive review on sodium bicarbonate and how its ingestion may improve exercise performance. In general, sodium bicarbonate's effectiveness is due to its alkalinity and therefore reduces the acidity of the blood that is increased as a result of high-intensity exercise. It appears that the optimal ingestible amount of sodium bicarbonate is 0.3 grams/kg of bodyweight (or approximately 25 grams of sodium bicarbonate for a 185-pound individual).
The authors did note that some individuals do not tolerate sodium bicarbonate well and may experience GI upset. One suggestion for improving sodium bicarbonate tolerance is to incorporate a long-term loading plan so the digestive system has time to adapt to this compound.
Typically, sodium bicarbonate is ingested to improve short-term, high-intensity activities. However, the authors pointed out that both short-term and long-term high-intensity exercise can benefit from the ergogenic effects of sodium bicarbonate. In summary, if you choose to supplement with sodium bicarbonate, it would be wise to increase the amount slowly over the course of several weeks and then monitor performance as well as GI responses.
Recovery from Training—New Insights
Bishop PA, Jones E, and Woods AK. Recovery from Training: A Brief Review. J Strength Cond Res. 2008 May;22(3):1015-24.
Athletes spend a much greater proportion of their time recovering than they do in training. While the research on recovery from training is lacking, there has been an increase in scientific studies investigating this important topic. Recently, a review of this topic was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
 Ingesting a post-workout beverage (containing carbohydrates and protein), like Eat-Smart, is a must for optimal recovery.
The focus of this review was on training recovery (the recovery between workouts), which is essential for optimal performance and making continual gains. In their review, the authors discussed several methods for enhancing recovery, including rehydration, diet, massage therapy, and cryotherapy.
Elaborating on some of these techniques, the authors indicated that the volume of fluid replaced must exceed that amount lost during the exercise bout (because the body is not 100% efficient in retaining the ingested fluid). Ingesting a post-workout beverage (containing carbohydrates and protein) is a must for optimal recovery.
In relation to massage therapy, the authors stated that there are no well-designed studies that have shown that massage enhances recovery. However, the potential psychological benefit of massage on recovery should not be discounted. Lastly, the authors concluded that cryotherapy (i.e., cold water immersion) does seem to have an effect on some aspects of recovery, though its effects on performance varies among individuals.
So the best advice in terms of recovery strategies is to make sure you consume a post-workout beverage that contains both protein and carbs as well as try out the other various methods and see what works for you personally.
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