Yeah… I’m usually sitting on the side of calling bullshit and was going to say something about actually altering your pH lol. The fad diets are in fact 100% complete crap. I’m not going to pretend to understand physiology and biology when i really know nothing about it but I’m still sticking to the general scientific consensus that bicarb dosing works though.
I guess it’s why sites like training peaks stress caution and recommend consulting a doctor first because it can cause heart issues.
Doesn’t sound like consensus to me. I highlight the (in my opinion) two most important sentences below:
“Consequently, it cannot be clarified if supplementation with NaHCO3 results in performance enhancement or simply balancing deficits (buffering capacity) between athletes.” 
“Participants supplementing NaHCO3 reported gastrointestinal (GI) upset including nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting” 
…and with this, I will never think about sodium bicarbonate ever again (except when it comes to baking, of course)
Well idk… I’ll keep taking it for races in the chance it works. We run waxed chains to save a few watts and do other things that are a lot more hassle and expense than downing a salty half bidon before a race.
And tbh, legs did not get the burny firery feelings in today’s crit. So there’s that. It’s one anecdote but still it seemed to work pretty well.
Genuine lol!
any way to figure out how much they use topically? i’m guessing more than orally?
New study on bicarb, tested a new loading procedure which limits GI distress. However, you still have to swallow a lot of these 00 capsules.
Hi great insight into your test, but could you let us know what level of dilution you had the bicarb in to consume it please?
I’ve experimented with bicarbonate mixed up with a little water to make a paste. For me I started with half dosage which had no side effects but at 3/4 dosage let’s just say the side effects stated are totally correct 
Random bio-hack that I learned from a brain games episode awhile ago that helps with this - pinching your nose shut greatly diminishes your sense of taste. I’ve used that to drink bicarb solutions before without excessively torturing myself.
As far as the bicarb itself helping, I have no idea. I drank it before track races and didn’t have any negative effects, at least.
I think except for caffeine and creatine there is no other OTC ergogenic aid (taken as oral supplement) that is more well researched the sodium bicarb. If you can tolerate it, it helps. Problem is, not everybody can tolerate the recommended 300mg/kg dose.
I’m going to go a different way from most with sodium bicarb recommendation: don’t take it before a race. Take it 40 minutes prior to Mary Austin…or whatever other workout is super hard for you. For three reasons:
1.) You are going to perform better during the workout if you tolerate the dosage. For sure.
2.) You are going to recover better from the workout if you tolerate the dosage.
3.) If you don’t tolerate the dosage there isn’t as much on the line. You can always do Mary Austin tomorrow. You can’t re-do that super important sprint for the city limits sign at the end of your Wednesday night group ride…that’s not something you want to risk.
For those that can’t tolerate the 300mg/kg dose…probably one in four of us…consider the Adam Marcus/Long Island University sodium bicarb dosing protocol. So far as I know that was tolerated by all subjects but it is kind of a hassle. (btw, check out the VO2max of those subjects. Yikes) Still, if you’re 8 to 6 weeks out & you really want to nail those big workouts a little sodium bicarb and a bolus of caffeine is definitely going to help.