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Sodium Bicarbonate and all the Hype

There’s a moment I remember so clearly it almost makes me laugh now.

Early in my career, before marginal gains were packaged into sleek marketing and lab-tested drink mixes, I had heard whispers about sodium bicarbonate—baking soda—as this almost magical performance enhancer.

So naturally, I tried it.


I stood in my kitchen, scooped what I thought was the “right” amount into a water bottle, shook it up, and forced it down before a hard session. It tasted exactly how you’d expect—flat, chalky, aggressively alkaline—but I convinced myself that meant it was working.

What followed wasn’t some breakthrough ride. It was a stomach that felt like it was turning inside out, bloating, cramping, and a workout where I was far more focused on survival than performance. That was my introduction to sodium bicarbonate loading, and in many ways, that story still captures the truth behind the hype we’re seeing again today.

Sodium bicarbonate loading isn’t new. It dates back decades and was studied heavily in exercise physiology labs as researchers tried to better understand fatigue at the muscular level. At its core, this all ties into one key concept: acid-base balance. When we ride hard—especially in those brutal VO₂ max efforts or repeated anaerobic bursts—our bodies rapidly produce hydrogen ions. This accumulation contributes to the drop in pH inside the muscle, creating that familiar burning sensation and ultimately limiting force production.

The idea behind bicarbonate loading is simple: increase the body’s buffering capacity so you can delay that drop in pH and sustain high-intensity output longer. And physiologically, that concept is very real.

At the cellular level, sodium bicarbonate works as an extracellular buffer. It increases the concentration of bicarbonate in the blood, which creates a stronger gradient between the inside of the muscle cell and the bloodstream. As hydrogen ions accumulate inside the muscle during high-intensity work, they can be transported out more efficiently. The result is less intracellular acidity, a slight delay in fatigue, and the potential to maintain repeated high-intensity efforts for just a little longer.

This is particularly relevant in efforts like short, punchy climbs, repeated attacks, sprint intervals, and VO₂ max work. It doesn’t magically make you stronger; it simply gives your body a slightly better environment to tolerate the byproducts of intensity.


But here’s the part that often gets glossed over. That buffering effect comes at a cost. If you’ve ever tried the DIY baking soda method like I did, you already know exactly what I mean. Gastrointestinal distress is incredibly common. We’re talking bloating, nausea, diarrhea, cramping, and that unmistakable feeling mid-ride where you know something is off.


The reason is simple. You’re essentially dumping a large sodium load and an alkaline substance into your gut, which disrupts normal digestion and fluid balance. Even in controlled studies, a significant portion of athletes simply cannot tolerate it. And when your gut is compromised, performance drops fast. No buffering advantage is worth a full system shutdown.

This is where modern science has stepped in. Brands like Maurten have taken that same physiological principle and tried to solve the biggest limiter: the gut. Their bicarb system uses hydrogel technology to encapsulate sodium bicarbonate, allowing it to pass through the stomach more effectively before being released in the intestines.


The goal is to reduce gastrointestinal distress while still increasing blood bicarbonate levels. And to their credit, it’s one of the most refined approaches we’ve seen. Athletes at the highest level are using it, Olympic programs are integrating it, and WorldTour riders are experimenting with it in very controlled ways.


But this is where we need to take it with a grain of salt.

Yes, it can work. Yes, there is real science behind it. But it is not a shortcut, and it is not a substitute for the fundamentals. At the very top level of sport, where margins are razor thin, small advantages matter. We’re talking about athletes who already have dialed nutrition, years of aerobic development, highly trained buffering systems, precise pacing strategies, and elite recovery protocols.


For them, a one to two percent improvement in high-intensity repeatability can be meaningful. But that’s the key—it’s marginal, not foundational.

This is where I see athletes get it wrong. There’s a temptation to look for the edge before building the engine, to chase supplements before mastering consistency, to optimize before doing the actual work. But your body already has an incredibly powerful buffering system, and it adapts through training.


Repeated exposure to high-intensity efforts increases your muscle’s ability to tolerate and clear acidity. Mitochondrial density improves, lactate shuttling becomes more efficient, and your entire system becomes more resilient. No supplement replaces that. Not even close.


There are also a lot of myths floating around. Sodium bicarbonate does not make you inherently faster; it may slightly delay fatigue in very specific high-intensity scenarios. More is not better; higher doses dramatically increase the risk of gastrointestinal distress with diminishing returns. Just because professionals use it does not mean everyone should, as they are operating in a completely different physiological and performance context. It does not replace proper fueling, and without adequate carbohydrates and hydration, it does very little. And perhaps most importantly, it is not necessary for performance—many elite athletes never use it at all.


After that early baking soda disaster, I stepped away from it for a long time, and honestly, I built some of my strongest fitness without ever touching it. Now, I see it differently. It’s a tool—a very specific one—that might have a place in a very specific scenario, but only after everything else is already in place. And even then, it needs to be tested, practiced, and respected, not thrown into a bottle the morning of a big ride.


There’s always going to be something new, something promising, something that claims to give you that edge. And sometimes, there’s truth in it. But performance doesn’t come from hacks. It comes from stacking the basics over and over until they become unshakable.

Consistency.

Nutrition.

Recovery.

Mindset.

Work.

That’s the real system your body builds over time.

So if you’re curious about sodium bicarbonate, explore it, learn it, and test it carefully. But don’t let it distract you from the bigger picture. Because the strongest athletes aren’t the ones chasing every edge—they’re the ones who’ve earned the right to benefit from them.

Resources & Further Reading

Scientific Research & Reviews

Key Studies & Evidence

Practical Application & Athlete Insight

Modern Product & Innovation

Optional Deep Dive Topics (if readers want to go further)

  • Acid-base balance in exercise physiology

  • Lactate transport (MCT transporters)

  • Intracellular vs extracellular buffering

  • VO₂ max and glycolytic energy systems

 
 
 

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