Bicarbonate and sprints: a trial in basketball players suggests an additional benefit, without quantifying it

Four groups followed for four weeks

The researchers randomly assigned 40 basketball players to four groups of ten participants. Three groups added interval sprints to their usual training, with either sodium bicarbonate at 0.3 g/kg of body mass, bicarbonate at 0.45 g/kg, or a placebo. A fourth group served as a control.

The intervention lasted four weeks during preseason preparation. The relevant groups performed three sprint sessions per week. These doses describe the experimental conditions, not advice on use.

Assessments before and after the intervention covered vertical and horizontal jumps, the 20-meter sprint, changes of direction, distance in the Yo-Yo IR1 test, and peak and mean power in the Wingate test. All participants completed the intervention.

A reported advantage, but no effect size

According to the abstract, all three sprint groups improved their performance, with greater gains than the control group. Both groups receiving bicarbonate improved more than the sprint-plus-placebo group across all measured variables.

The 0.45 g/kg group also achieved statistically greater improvements than the 0.3 g/kg group. This comparison suggests a dose-related effect in this trial. However, it is not enough to establish that increasing the dose consistently provides a useful benefit.

The abstract provides neither absolute changes nor confidence intervals. It is therefore impossible to say how much time the players shaved off their sprints or how much additional distance they covered. A statistically significant difference does not, on its own, indicate its importance for sports performance.

Tolerability remains an open question

The authors emphasize that the value of the higher dose must be weighed against possible gastrointestinal discomfort and individual tolerability. However, the abstract does not detail the adverse effects observed. The fact that all players completed the intervention does not demonstrate an absence of symptoms.

With ten participants per group and four weeks of follow-up, this trial cannot establish whether the gains persist or whether prolonged use is safe. Its findings concern trained men and physical tests, not match performance directly.

Only the PubMed abstract was consulted. The precise administration protocol, the quality of blinding, funding, and conflicts of interest could not be verified.

What we can take away

This trial suggests an additional benefit from bicarbonate combined with sprint training in trained basketball players. Without quantified gains or detailed tolerability data, it does not justify favoring the higher dose.