Sodium citrate and sodium bicarbonate for CrossFit exercise
What it found
In highly trained female CrossFit athletes, sodium bicarbonate led to faster cycling times than sodium citrate, the two combined, or a placebo.
Sodium citrate on its own was not faster than the placebo.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood bicarbonate levels
Before exercise, blood bicarbonate was higher with sodium bicarbonate than with sodium citrate or the placebo.
Cycling performance
Cycling times were faster with sodium bicarbonate than with sodium citrate, the combination, or the placebo. Sodium citrate and the combination were not significantly faster than the placebo.
Blood lactate
Blood lactate after exercise was higher with sodium bicarbonate than with the placebo.
Gut symptoms
Before exercise, gut symptom scores were higher with sodium bicarbonate than with the placebo or sodium citrate.
What the authors conclude
“Ingestion of 0.3 g·kg-1 BM of SB improved extracellular buffering capacity when compared with SC and PLA, allowing exercise performance improvements.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that taking 0.3 g·kg-1 BM of sodium bicarbonate improved extracellular buffering capacity compared with sodium citrate and placebo.
- They say this allowed exercise performance improvements.
How it was done
Ten trained female CrossFit athletes did four 6-km cycling time trials. Before each trial they took enteric-coated capsules of sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, both combined, or a placebo. Blood acid-base balance was measured before taking the capsules, before exercise, and after exercise.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The study only included highly trained female CrossFit athletes, so the results may not apply to other people.
- It looked at short cycling time trials, not other types of exercise or longer-term use.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Edge Hill University, United Kingdom; Beijing Sport University, China
The paper
- Title
- Individual and Combined Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Citrate Supplementation on High-Intensity Exercise Performance in Highly Trained Female CrossFit Athletes
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Martin RAXJ, Yang X, McNaughton LR (2025). Individual and Combined Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Citrate Supplementation on High-Intensity Exercise Performance in Highly Trained Female CrossFit Athletes. International journal of sports physiology and performance. doi:10.1123/ijspp.2024-0190PubMed 40840560DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error