Does amp humans sodium bicarbonate lotion actually improve your cycling performance? Today we're diving into the science to find out and I'll also be discussing oral sodium bicarbonate better known as baking soda and whether or not this everyday household item could make you a faster cyclist. Welcome back to another video. If you're a regular internet browser, you may have seen ads for a product called amp human and in particular the endorsement from Lance Armstrong. This stuff absolutely works. It's called amp human. Not tested. It works amazing. Both teams in the Super Bowl last year used it. Both teams in the Stanley Cup this year used it. We have guys in this year's and last year's Tour de France using it. I'm telling you, it's a game changer. Well, clearly Lance knows what he's talking about when it comes to performance enhancing substances. I'll take five bottles. That's a topic that we aren't going to get into but what we will be discussing today is whether or not there's any science to support the use of topical sodium bicarbonate. Before I get into it, I want to let you know that this is not a review video where I try the product and then tell you whether or not I thought it worked. We're going to stay away from personal anecdotes and endorsements and primarily just stick to the research and see what the science has to say. This is important because some of the research on sodium bicarbonate suggests that there's a high individual variability, meaning that it may work well for me but not for you or vice versa. So getting anyone's review of the product may not tell you a whole lot about how it will affect your performance. For those of you unfamiliar with ampumins topical sodium bicarbonate product, here's the theory. Sodium bicarbonate, which is more commonly referred to as baking soda, has been used for decades as an organic aid by buffering muscle acid production, which delays the onset of fatigue and athletes. However, gastrointestinal side effects limit the use of sodium bicarbonate. These GI issues make taking sodium bicarbonate a lot less practical because obviously you can't perform at your best with an upset stomach. This is where topical sodium bicarbonate comes in. Ampumin, which makes topical sodium bicarbonate, claims that by applying it to your skin you can get the benefits of taking it orally without the negative side effects that it has on your gut. Great idea and theory, but what does the science have to say? Does it actually work in practice? Let's start by taking a look at the science on oral sodium bicarbonate because there has actually been a fair bit of research in this area. This study on sodium bicarbonate intake on high-intensity exercise performance took 13 subjects and tested repeated 20 meter running performance with and without prior ingestion of sodium bicarbonate. Blood pH was higher under the sodium bicarbonate condition and performance in the repeated 20 meter running test improved as well. They conclude that the results indicate a link between improved fatigue resistance during high-intensity intermittent exercise and a sodium bicarbonate induced improved buffer capacity that may affect perceived exertion during intense intermittent exhaustive exercise. How applicable are these results to cycling? It's hard to say, but similar studies have been done on cyclists as well. For example, this study tested repeated cycling sprint ability after sodium bicarbonate ingestion. What they found was that sodium bicarbonate ingestion significantly increased total work compared to the control and placebo conditions and resulted in an elevated blood buffering capacity before exercise and throughout the protocol. However, it's important to note that the ingestion protocol used in this study increased GI distress among the participants. These studies all looked at the effects of sodium bicarbonate on sprint performance, but what about longer efforts? This study tested the effect of sodium bicarbonate on one hour cycling performance in 10 well-trained cyclists. Each was tested in control, placebo, and experimental conditions, and what they found was that significantly more work was completed when subjects consumed sodium bicarbonate than when they consumed a placebo or nothing at all. From the results of these studies, it may seem like popping baking soda right before your ride is a no-brainer. 2. Honestly, this is exactly what I've been waiting for, something that I can bite cheap at the grocery store that isn't vegetables that will make me faster without training more. Or before you raid the baking aisle, there are some serious caveats that you should be aware of. As I've already mentioned, there's a high individual variability, so not everyone is going to see the same results. Part of the reason for this may have to do with how well trained you are. This 2012 meta-analysis looking at many studies on sodium bicarbonate and athletic performance found that the overall effect size of the influence of sodium bicarbonate on performance was moderate. However, it was significantly lower for specifically trained as opposed to recreationally trained participants. So if you're a seasoned cyclist, it may have less of an effect on you. This is ironic considering that this is the population that would consider something like this. Another consideration is that taking sodium bicarbonate with other ergogenic aids may diminish its effects. For example, this study tested taking sodium bicarbonate and caffeine together. Caffeine has been shown to have a beneficial effect on endurance performance, and sure enough, this study found that when ingested individually, both caffeine and sodium bicarbonate enhanced high intensity cycling time trial performance in trained cyclists. However, the ergogenic effects of these two popular supplements was not additive, meaning that taking the two supplements together was not more effective than just taking one or the other individually. Similar results have been found when combining sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine. Although the results from this study were a little more promising, they still didn't reach statistical significance when combining the two substances. And of course, let's not forget the gastrointestinal distress that's associated with sodium bicarbonate intake. This study on sodium bicarbonate and high intensity cycling capacity came to the conclusion that sodium bicarbonate improved high intensity cycling capacity, but only with the exclusion of participants experiencing GI discomfort. Differences in blood responses suggest that sodium bicarbonate may not be beneficial to all individuals. If you do decide to experiment with sodium bicarbonate, though, there are some measures that you can take to reduce GI discomfort. Research has shown that timing matters when taking sodium bicarbonate. Most research suggests taking it one to two hours before, but three hours before exercise seems to cause the least amount of GI issues, as well as taking it with a high carbohydrate meal. The recommended starting dosage is between 0.2 and 0.4 grams per kilogram of body weight. And of course, be sure to try it in training before race day so you know how your body will react. That's the science on taking sodium bicarbonate orally. There's some potential benefits, but the results are variable and the risk of GI problems is high. I wouldn't recommend oral sodium bicarbonate for anybody doing long rides or races because GI issues are already commonplace in those events, and you want your gut to be working as well as it can. Alright, let's get into why you probably clicked on this video. The products from amp human are significantly more expensive than your everyday baking soda, but perhaps it's worth the extra price if you can get the same performance benefits without the GI issues. Before I jump into the research, I want to say that the science on topical sodium bicarbonate is extremely limited, mainly because it's such a new product. Most of it isn't peer reviewed and all of it is funded by amp human, so it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. With that, let's get into it. This study on topical sodium bicarbonate and exercise performance took 21 trained subjects and had them complete a variety of tests after applying bicarbonate or a placebo lotion. Higher lactate levels and other significant effects support the ability of this lotion to transdermally deliver sodium bicarbonate, but did this have an impact on performance. While there was a lower heart rate and rate of perceived exertion in the bicarbonate group, but only at the 15 minute mark in a 1 hour test, significance was not reached when examining performance differences. So basically, no, topical sodium bicarbonate did not increase performance, and what's really telling is that this is a study that was funded by amp human that they post on their website to prove that their product works. I found it funny that they display this incredibly misleading graph that makes it look like heart rate was cut in half when using amp human, but then you realize that the graph starts at 175 beats per minute and only goes up to 181. And this data was only true for the 15 minute mark of a 1 hour time trial. Personally, this is not data that I would use to support my product. However, amp does have a couple more studies with more favorable results. One of their claims is that the lotion relieves muscle soreness, and they use this study to back up that claim. This study was done at the same time with the same participants as the other study, so one could say that it's really the same study, and that amp was just trying to make it look like they have more research than they actually do in the science section of the website, but that's neither here nor there. This study did find a significantly shorter recovery period from doms when using the lotion over the placebo after the high intensity test, but not after the 1 hour time trial. When using amp subjects had a 53% decrease in soreness from 24 to 48 hours after exercise, well, the control condition actually had an increase in soreness by 34%. These are certainly more promising results, but again, we have to keep in mind that this study was funded by amp human. This is the last study that amp includes on their website that took eight volunteer cyclists and had them apply sodium bicarbonate lotion or a placebo before performing high intensity intervals to exhaustion. The results were that the subjects performed an average of 13.6 intervals with the control and 17 intervals with the bicarbonate lotion. Again, promising results here, but this study isn't peer reviewed and was at the very least influenced by industry. Alright, so what can we conclude here? Well, unfortunately, not a whole lot. There simply isn't enough science at this point to conclude whether or not sodium bicarbonate works or not. That doesn't mean that it doesn't work, it just means that more research needs to be done. There's certainly a reasonable probability that it might work considering the research on taking sodium bicarbonate orally. There have been a lot of reports from notable athletes that it improved their performance. We have to keep in mind with personal anecdotes though that the placebo effect can be quite powerful, especially with a product like this. Thinking something works may be enough to make it so. Given that there's already a high variability of responses to sodium bicarbonate to begin with, you could probably get a whole range of responses when you ask people who've tried it, does it work or not. The only thing to do now if you're still curious would be to try it for yourself, and if you end up going faster, who cares whether it was the placebo or the lotion. At the end of the day, you're going faster, which is the end goal. Alright guys, exciting announcement. I'm now selling Hypergain Beast Mode in cupcake-centred lotion form. Does it work? Well, I'll just let the KOM leader board answer that. Thanks for watching, I hope you guys found this information helpful, be sure to subscribe and hit the bell notification so you don't miss any uploads, and if you liked this video, be sure to give it a like and share it with your cycling friends. I'll see you in the next one.