The main aim of the current study will be to find the optimal duration of supplementation to enhance sports performance.
Oral ingestion of nitrate (NO3-) in the form of both nitrate salts and beetroot juice has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure at rest and to also lower pulmonary oxygen uptake during exercise, in addition to improving exercise performance during cycle time trial. However, there has been no consensus on the optimal supplementation protocols, in terms of duration of supplementation to see these metabolic effects. Furthermore, a positive exercise performance effect of nitrate ingestion has primarily been observed in recreational athletes. The potentially ergogenic effects of nitrate in well-trained or elite athletes therefore remain to be fully established. Based on the gaps in current literature, our main goal will be to gain further insight into different aspects of nitrate supplementation to enhance (elite) sports performance. This will be investigated in this study by assessing the effect of an acute vs. chronic supplementation period of sodium nitrate (NaNO3-) on exercise performance.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
20
Maastricht University Medical Centre+
Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Maastricht University Medical Centre+
Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Time-trial exercise performance
The primary outcome measure will be the time to complete the time-trial following dietary nitrate or placebo ingestion
Time frame: Time trial starts 4 hours after ingestion and ends on average after 15 minutes of cycling (depending on subject's cycling speed)
Resting blood pressure
Resting blood pressure measures following ingestion of dietary nitrate
Time frame: 30 min pre-ingestion until 2.5 hours post-ingestion
Plasma nitrate and nitrite levels
Plasma nitrate and nitrite levels following ingestion of dietary nitrate
Time frame: 30 min pre-ingestion until 30 min post-time-trial testing
Submaximal exercise performance
Oxygen consumption CO2 production and heart rate during submaximal exercise
Time frame: starting from 3 hours post-ingestion on testing days until completion of the submaximal exercise
Time-trial exercise performance; power output and heart rate
Power output and heart rate during the time-trial exercise
Time frame: starting from 4 hours post-ingestion on testing days until completion of the time-trial
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