The Effect of Acute and Chronic Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation Loading With Exhaustive Work on Performance Indicators and Fatigue of Soldiers

During the military service, soldiers suffer from fatigue and reduced motivation. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of chronic and acute sodium bicarbonate supplementation loading along with exhaustive work on the performance and fatigue indicators of soldiers.
In this study, 30 soldiers were divided into a semi-experimental design into two groups (control, intervention). The control group received dextrose (% 0.02) and the intervention group consumed two methods of chronic loading (0.5 g/kg) and acute (0.3 g/kg) sodium bicarbonate supplementation. In order to calculate the chemical variables (bicarbonate, lactate, PH), blood samples were taken before and after the exercise test and one hour later. The exercise test for Wingate test was used to assess the subjects.
Results reveal that the level of the acidity of the blood with chronic sodium bicarbonate supplementation has led to the alkalization of the blood and fatigue to be postponed. The results showed that the use of bicarbonate in the acute and chronic loading led to an improved excretion of the lactate.
Due to the buffering properties of sodium bicarbonate supplementation and delaying the time to fatigue and improve performances, chronic loading for short and severe activities in soldiers and even athletes can be recommended.