• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

Baking Soda and Beta Alanine (Ethical Cheating or Ergogenic Aids)

You are here: Home / Track & Field / 800m-Mile / Baking Soda and Beta Alanine (Ethical Cheating or Ergogenic Aids)
19
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

October 14, 2011 by Jimson Lee 3 Comments

Last Updated on February 12, 2013 by Jimson Lee

This is part 5 of a multi part series.  Part 1 was the ESPN radio interview. Part 2 looked at the history of Ethical Cheating or Ergogenic Aids and some of the disgusting food choices.  Part 3 discussed coffee and caffeine.  Part 4 discussed Nootropics.

Let’s go over some of the common products you can buy today over the counter and NOT test positive, and remember this is only a short list.

Here are some of the food groups, common sources, chemical names, and classification (in no particular order):


  1. coffee, caffeine, stimulants
  2. RedBull, 5 Hour, Vitalyze, phenylalanines including Tyrosine & Taurine, nootropics
  3. baking soda, TUMS, sodium bicarbonate, beta alanine, lactic acid buffers
  4. Viagra and other Nitric Oxide products including L-Citrulline Malate and L-Arginine, vasodilators
  5. Quercetin (new product… discussed briefly here)
  6. IHT or Intermittent Hypoxic Training methods (tents, chambers, masks, etc.) to increase erythropoietin (EPO) levels and therefore increase red blood cells.
  7. Others?

Baking Soda, TUMS and Rolaids

Is popping a few Tums or Rolaids considered illegal before your 400 or 800 meters ? How about a mountain of baking soda in your morning pancakes? Isn’t that what makes McDonald’s and Denny’s pancakes so light and fluffy?

Baking soda loading has been used for decades.  We were using it back when I was an open athlete, and that was a long time ago (about the same time as mullets, MTV and music videos)

For those who want to try it, the correct dose of baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) is 0.3 grams per kilo bodyweight one hour before competition (good luck with your event being on time!).  At 85 kg, that’s 25.5 grams or about 2.5 tablespoons of baking soda.   (That’s over double a typical creatine serving) 

See also  Talent Identification: Bolt, Powell, and Yoshihide Kiryu

That’s a lot of baking soda! 

The side effect is, of course, diarrhea.

If you are going to try sodium bicarbonate and/or beta alanine, please use a Time Trial setting with a toilet nearby!

My personal stance on this:  Baking soda loading has a better effectiveness when you have multiple races in a day, say a 200 and 400m one hour apart.

Beta Alanine

Another way of buffering lactic acid is consuming carnosine which plays a significant role in pH balance of muscle cells. Carnosine is synthesized from the amino acids L-histidine and beta-alanine. 

So by taking beta-alanine, you increase carnosine, which buffers lactic acid better.

The suggested dose is 4-6 grams spread throughout the day for 4 weeks (each pill is about 800 mg, so that means 2 pills every 3-4 hours).  Like Creatine, beta-alanine should be measured through your lean body mass, and not overall weight.

They have proved that carnosine levels do increase after beta-alanine supplementation… they just haven’t proved it really works in the 400 meters.  It’s possible that in a 50 sec 400m, true lactic acid is produced over the last 20 seconds, which may be too short for beta alanine to work.  Thus 800m (and 1500m) runners may truly benefit from beta-alanine supplementation.

The results are inconclusive, and beta-alanine is legal to take.  I personally know athletes who take it and swear it works.

Again, if you are going to try sodium bicarbonate and/or beta alanine, please use a Time Trial setting!

Further studies and articles on Baking Soda on this Blog, read:

  1. Baking Soda for 400/800m Races, but Shrinks Tumors?
  2. Is Bicarbonate of Soda a Performance-Enhancing Drug?
  3. Bicarbonate Loading Raises Ethical Issues As Performance-Enhancing Aid
  4. Acidosis, Acidic and Alkaline Diets
  5. Stress, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and the Runs
See also  Complete Football Speed Program

Category icon800m-Mile,  Coaching,  Health & Wellness,  Recovery,  Sports Nutrition,  Supplements,  Track & Field Tag iconbaking soda

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jerry Brainum says

    December 2, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    I like the info on your site. http://www.appliedergogenics.blogspot.com

    Reply
  2. Al says

    May 11, 2012 at 3:01 pm

    Could baking soda be used in a drink (mixed with water) instead of pancakes ???

    Reply
  3. doug says

    September 22, 2013 at 9:00 am

    If you try bicarbonate soda, make sure you have a toilet nearby and give yourself plenty of time before your race or you may miss the race stuck in the toilet. it does work though however it also dehydrates you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Oregon22 Coaches Club now Online
  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}