1058

ARTICLE
Caffeine, but not bicarbonate, improves 6 min maximal
performance in elite rowers1
Peter M. Christensen, Mads H. Petersen, Signe N. Friis, and Jens Bangsbo

Abstract: This study examined the ergogenic effects in a 6 min maximal performance test (PT) on 12 elite rowers: 6 open-weight
(mean SD; 25 1 years, and 92 3 kg) and 6 light-weight (25 3 years, and 73 6 kg), following supplementation with caffeine
(CAF), sodium bicarbonate (SB), and the combination of both, in a double-blind randomized placebo (PLA) controlled design. PT
was executed on 4 occasions, on separate days within a week, and in a non-fasted state, with standardized training being
performed the day before PT. Protocols were as follows: (i) CAF, 3 mg/kg, 45 min prior to PT + calcium as SB-PLA; (ii) SB, 0.3 g/kg,
75 min prior to PT + dextrose as CAF-PLA; (iii) CAF + SB; and (iv) PLA; CAF-PLA + SB-PLA. The total distance in the CAF (1878 97 m)
and CAF + SB (1877 97 m) was longer than in the PLA (1865 104 m; P < 0.05) and SB (1860 96 m; P < 0.01). The mean power in
CAF (400 58 W) and CAF + SB (400 58 W) was higher than the PLA (393 61 W; P < 0.05) and SB (389 57 W; P < 0.01). In CAF
and CAF + SB, power was higher (P < 0.05) relative to PLA in the last half (46 min) of PT. Trials with CAF were more effective in
light-weight rowers (1.0% 0.8% improvement in distance; P < 0.05) than in open-weight rowers (0.3% 0.8%; P > 0.05). No
difference between interventions was observed for readiness and stomach comfort before PT and perceived exertion during PT.
This study demonstrates that caffeine ingestion does improve performance in elite rowing. In contrast sodium bicarbonate does
not appear to be ergogenic, but it does not abolish the ergogenic effect of caffeine.
Key words: caffeine, bicarbonate, buffer capacity, rowing, ergogenic aids, elite athletes, pacing.
Rsum : La prsente tude examine l'effet ergogne de la supplmentation en cafine (CAF), en bicarbonate de sodium (SB) et
des deux substances dans un test de performance (PT) d'une dure de 6 min chez 6 rameurs d'lite de catgorie ouverte (25 1 ans
(moyenne -t) et 92 3 kg) et de poids lger (25 3 ans et 73 6 kg). Selon un plan alatoire crois avec groupe placebo (PLA),
le PT est administr en 4 jours diffrents d'une mme semaine dans une condition non a` jeun et l'entranement rgulier est
effectu le jour prcdant le PT. Les protocoles sont : (i) CAF, 3 mg/kg, 45 min avant PT + calcium a` titre de SB-PLA; (ii) SB, 0,3 g/kg,
75 min avant PT + dextrose a` titre de CAF-PLA; (iii) CAF + SB; et (iv) PLA, CAF-PLA + SB-PLA. La distance totale dans les conditions
CAF (1878 97 m) et CAF + SB (1877 97 m) sont plus longues que dans les conditions PLA (1865 104 m; P < 0,05) et SB (1860
96 m; P < 0,01). La puissance moyenne dans les conditions CAF (400 58 W) et CAF + SB (400 58 W) est plus leve que dans les
conditions PLA (393 61 W; P < 0,05) et SB (389 57 W; P < 0,01). Dans les conditions CAF et CAF + SB, la puissance est plus leve
(P < 0,05) comparativement a` la condition PLA durant la deuxime moiti (46 min) du PT. Les essais raliss dans la condition
CAF donnent de meilleurs rsultats chez les rameurs de poids lger (amlioration de la distance de 1,0 0,8 %; P < 0,05) que chez
les rameurs de catgorie ouverte (0,3 0,8 %; P > 0,05). On n'observe pas de diffrence de l'tat de prparation et des sensations
gastriques entre les diverses interventions avant le PT et de la perception de l'intensit de l'effort durant le PT. La prsente tude
dmontre l'efcacit de la cafine dans l'amlioration de la performance chez des rameurs d'lite. En revanche, le bicarbonate
de sodium ne semble pas prsenter un effet ergogne, mais n'annule pas l'effet ergogne de la cafine. [Traduit par la Rdaction]
Mots-cls : cafine, bicarbonate, capacit de tamponnage, aviron, facteurs ergognes, athltes d'lite, cadence.

Introduction
In world-class rowing, the competition is performed over a
2000 m distance lasting 6 min. Often the difference between the
winners of medals is small. Thus, in 6 of the 8 nals in mens
rowing at the London 2012 Olympics less than 2 s separated the
gold medal winners from the silver. It is, therefore, essential to
know which substances can improve performance, and also to
avoid the use of substances that have no effect on performance
and may cause unwanted side effects such as headache, stomach
ache, etc.
Caffeine (Burke 2008) and sodium bicarbonate (Carr et al. 2011b)
are 2 substances that have been investigated in numerous studies

for their ergogenic potential in high intensity endurance sports

(38 min). Caffeine appears to affect the central nervous system by
altering the perception of pain and motivation through actions on
adenosine receptors (Tarnopolsky 2008; Meeusen et al. 2013).
Moreover, caffeine increases adrenaline release and muscle lactate production (Jackman et al. 1996) and improves muscle potassium transport capacity (Mohr et al. 2011). In isolated animal
muscle bres, caffeine in supraphysiological doses (5 mmol/L) is
also reported to potentiate force production via effects on calcium
release (Allen and Westerblad 1995; Rosser et al. 2009). In contrast,
a lower dose (70 mol/L) is reported to have no effect on muscle
function (Rosser et al. 2009), with the latter concentration being

Received 14 December 2013. Accepted 27 April 2014.

P.M. Christensen. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Section of Integrated Physiology, University of Copenhagen, August Krogh Building,
Universitetsparken 13, 2100 KBH , Denmark; Team Danmark (Danish elite sport organization), Copenhagen, Denmark.
M.H. Petersen, S.N. Friis, and J. Bangsbo. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Section of Integrated Physiology, University of Copenhagen,
August Krogh Building, Universitetsparken 13, 2100 KBH , Denmark.
Corresponding author: Jens Bangsbo (e-mail: jbangsbo@i.ku.dk).
1This paper is a part of a Special Issue entitled Nutritional Triggers to Adaptation and Performance.
Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 39: 10581063 (2014) dx.doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2013-0577

Published at www.nrcresearchpress.com/apnm on 5 May 2014.

Christensen et al.

somewhat higher than the plasma values observed in humans

(40 mol/L) after caffeine intake of 5 mg/kg (Battram et al. 2005).
Nevertheless, caffeine in a dose of 3 mg/kg has been found to
improve 1500 m running performance (4min30s) in trained runners (Wiles et al. 1992) and 3 km cycling time-trial performance
(380 W mean power for 4.0 min) in trained cyclists (Kilding
et al. 2012). Using trained rowers, both caffeine doses of 9 mg/kg
(Anderson et al. 2000; Bruce et al. 2000) and 6 mg/kg (Bruce et al.
2000; Carr et al. 2011a) in the fasted state have been observed to
improve performance. In contrast, doses from 26 mg/kg 3 h postprandial did not alter performance in sub-elite open-weight rowers (350 W average for the 2000 m distance), which was speculated
to relate to slower uptake of caffeine in the nonfasted state
(Skinner et al. 2010). Since competition in elite sports is seldom
performed in the fasted state, it is of interest and presently unknown whether elite rowers can benet from ingestion of caffeine in the nonfasted state as was observed in cyclists (Kilding
et al. 2012), and from a low dose of caffeine (3 mg/kg) to reduce side
effects from higher doses (6 mg/kg) such as hand tremor and
irregular heartbeat (Carr et al. 2011a).
Blood bicarbonate buffers H+ ions released from contracting
muscle during intense exercise, and consequently, blood bicarbonate and blood pH is reduced during intense exercise such as
2000 m rowing (Nielsen et al. 2002). Oral bicarbonate intake therefore increases blood buffering capacity and in turn resting blood
pH is increased (Carr et al. 2011b) leading to a larger diffusional
gradient for H+ ions from muscle to plasma. Importantly, bicarbonate intake has been found to reduce intracellular acidication
during intense handgrip exercise (Raymer et al. 2004) and repeated intense cycling (Costill et al. 1984). This may be of functional importance, since low muscle pH has been implicated in
reduced muscular function (Fitts 2008). In addition, citrate intake,
which also increases blood buffer capacity, has been observed to
lower interstitial accumulation of potassium, likely due to reduced interstitial H+ ion accumulation (Street et al. 2005). Since
interstitial potassium has been associated with muscle fatigue
(McKenna et al. 2008) this may also be a mechanism by which
bicarbonate becomes ergogenic. Lastly, it may be that the higher
blood pH after oral bicarbonate intake improves muscle oxygen
delivery, since venous bicarbonate infusion during 2000 m rowing
maintained arterial pH, which reduced arterial desaturation and
improved performance (Nielsen et al. 2002). However, whether
this mechanism is present with oral bicarbonate intake is not
clear. Oral bicarbonate has been shown to improve intense endurance performance in trained runners in a 1500 m run (4min10s)
(Bird et al. 1995) and in trained cyclists in maximal tests lasting
around 4 min (average power 400 W) (Bellinger et al. 2012;
Kilding et al. 2012), whereas time to exhaustion (7 min) during
constant load exercise was unaffected by bicarbonate intake
(Linderman et al. 1992). Similar contradictive observations have
been reported for trained rowers with both improved (McNaughton
and Cedaro 1991) and unchanged performance (Brien and McKenzie
1989; Carr et al. 2011a, 2012; Kupcis et al. 2012). Part of the discrepancy may relate to gastric discomfort and nausea being a common
observation with bicarbonate intake, which in turn appears to be
augmented when consumed in the fasted state on an empty stomach (Carr et al. 2011a), but symptoms may also be present when
combined with a meal (Carr et al. 2011c).
Apparently, both caffeine and bicarbonate ingestion may improve high intensity endurance performance in trained athletes,
but knowledge is limited with respect to whether the 2 substances
combined provide an additive effect on performance. In cycling,
both substances alone and combined were ergogenic relative to a
placebo condition in a 3 km time-trial, but no additive effect was
seen with when the supplements were combined (Kilding et al.
2012). In contrast, only caffeine improved 2000 m rowing performance, whereas the effects on performance from bicarbonate
taken alone or in combination with caffeine were unclear, likely

1059

due to gastric discomfort from the bicarbonate intake (Carr et al.

2011a).
Thus, this study examined whether caffeine and bicarbonate
ingestion alone and in combination would improve competitive
performance in top-class rowers in the nonfasted state. We hypothesized that caffeine and bicarbonate used alone would improve
rowing performance, and that the combination of the 2 substances would elicit the best performance, since the 2 substances
appear to act through different mechanisms.

Materials and methods

Subjects
Twelve international level rowers: 6 male open-weight (mean
SD; 25 1 years of age, 92 3 kg); 5 male light-weight (24 3 years,
75 3 kg); and 1 female light-weight rower (27 years, 63 kg) participated in the study, with the majority of the participants having
experience from the European or the World championships. The
experimental procedures were approved by the local ethical committee of the capital region in Copenhagen (Region Hovedstaden),
and the rowers were informed about the study procedures and possible discomforts and gave their written consent to participate.
Experimental overview
Each rower performed four 6 min maximal rowing tests after
being supplemented with caffeine (CAF; 3 mg/kg administered as
pills), sodium bicarbonate (SB; 0.3 g/kg administered in capsules),
caffeine and sodium bicarbonate (CAF + SB; in the same doses
described above), or a placebo (PLA; dextrose as the caffeine placebo and calcium as the sodium bicarbonate placebo administered in the same number of pills and capsules as above). Placebo
pills and capsules were also provided to the CAF and SB groups. A
double-blind randomized design was used. Testing was performed
during the indoor season within a 1 week period, hence rowers
were expected to be in a stable physical condition. On days before
testing, moderate intensity training was performed (60 min at
75% of the heart-rate reserve). Subjects were instructed to abstain from coffee and other caffeine containing products for 36 h
before the scheduled testing. Moreover, they were instructed to
consume their last meal 3 h before testing, with instructions for
their typical routine for diet and uid ingestion before training
during all trials. The light-weight rowers were not making weight
for the performance tests. Hence, only minor differences were
likely present for total energy intake and energy distribution as
well as sodium and water intake.
Performance tests
The rowers were instructed to cover the largest possible distance during the 6 min maximal test. Apart from total distance,
mean power was calculated for the entire test duration and in
1 min intervals. The test was performed indoors on a rowing ergometer (Concept II, Vermont, USA) in a well-ventilated room
with stable temperature (20 C). During the test, the rowers were
allowed to see a display showing their pace (time/500 m) and time
elapsed, since these are important tools for the rowers to pace
themselves, and thus included to reduce day-to-day variation in
performance and to maximize performance. No verbal support
was given during the tests. All subjects had tried the performance
test numerous times, thus no familiarization test was performed.
Prior to the performance test, a 20 min standardized warm-up was
performed, with the rst part encompassing moderate intensity
for 9 min (45% of the mean power output based on each rowers
personal best in previous 6 min maximal tests; MP PB 6 min
maximal). Thereafter, 10 min encompassing ve 40 s intervals
with increasing intensity (70%100% of MP PB 6 min maximal)
separated by 80 s of low intensity rowing was performed. In the
last minute, 10 maximal strokes were performed followed by low
intensity rowing. Thereafter a 7 min rest period took place before
the initiation of the performance test. Both the warm-up procedure
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Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 39, 2014

Fig. 1. Total distance covered in a 6 min maximal test with individual values shown for 12 elite rowers after prior supplementation with
placebo (PLA), caffeine (CAF), caffeine and sodium bicarbonate (CAF + SB), and sodium bicarbonate (SB) expressed in absolute terms (A) and
relative to PLA (B). Open symbols: open-weight rowers (n = 6). Filled symbols: light-weight rowers (n = 6). *, P < 0.05 for CAF and CAF + SB
compared with PLA; ##, P < 0.01 for CAF and CAF + SB compared with SB.

##

2100

##

102

Distance (% PLA)

Distance (m)

1900

1800

1700

101

100

99

1600

1500

##

103

2000

##

PLA

CAF

CAF+SB

SB

and the recovery length are very similar to the methods used by
the rowers during competitions. In the last minute before commencing the performance test the rowers were asked about their
readiness on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). On an identical scale, each rower also reported on their level of stomach
discomfort before the test as well as perceived exertion during the
performance test when nished.
Supplementation procedures
SB (or placebo) was consumed with water ad libitum (500
750 mL) 75 min prior to start of the performance test. This is a
procedure in accordance with most studies showing a performance enhancement after bicarbonate intake with a dose and
timing known to raise both blood bicarbonate and pH levels (Carr
et al. 2011b). CAF (or placebo) was ingested with water 45 min prior
to the performance test, and this is also in accordance with previous studies that have reported improved performance after caffeine intake (Carr et al. 2011a). Subjects provided an estimated
daily consumption of caffeine containing products (coffee, cola,
energy drinks) and were distributed among 3 groups termed either non-users (n = 2), low (80 mg/day, n = 7), and moderate
(200 mg/day, n = 3). Previous studies have shown that SB intake
in hydrated subjects, as in this study, may increase plasma volume
slightly (Lindinger et al. 1999), whereas CAF in some studies may
lead to a slight reduction in plasma volume (Maughan and Grifn
2003), but this was expected to have minor inuence on performance since subjects were expected to be well hydrated as they
were allowed to drink water in the supplementation period. In
support, stroke volume is only lowered after 3% dehydration
(2.02.5 kg in the group of rowers) (Gonzalez-Alonso et al. 2000)
and plasma volume expansion does not appear to improve VO2max
in elite athletes (Warburton et al. 1999). The investigators, who
were following a blind protocol, were present at all times when
the subjects consumed the substances, but blood samples were
not obtained to verify changes in the blood of the 2 substances or
changes in plasma volume.

98

PLA

CAF

CAF+SB

SB

Statistics
Total distance and mean power during the 6 min maximal rowing test was evaluated with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
for repeated measures, both for the entire group of rowers (n = 12)
and for weight classes separately (open-weight, n = 6; light-weight,
n = 6). Readiness and stomach discomfort before the test, and
perceived exertion after the test were also evaluated with a oneway ANOVA for repeated measures. Mean power in 1 min intervals
was evaluated using a 2-way ANOVA for repeated measures and
using supplementation and interval as factors. If a signicant
main effect or interaction was found a StudentNewmanKeuls
post-hoc test was performed to identify the difference. All values
are the mean SD.

Results
Performance
Total distance for all rowers covered in the 6 min maximal test
in CAF (1878 97 m) and CAF + SB (1877 97 m) was longer than
PLA (1865 104 m) (P < 0.05) and SB (1860 96 m) (P < 0.01) (Fig. 1A).
Relative to PLA, the distance in CAF and CAF + SB was 0.7% longer
(P < 0.05) (Fig. 1B). For the light-weight rowers, distance relative to
PLA was increased by 1.1% 0.8% in CAF and 0.9% 0.8% in
CAF + SB (P < 0.05), with no difference in the SB group (0.1%
0.8%). For the open-weight rowers, change in distance relative to
PLA was unchanged (0.2% 0.9%) in the CAF group, whereas the
values were 0.4% 0.7% in CAF + SB and 0.6% 0.9% in SB (Fig. 2).
The mean powers for all rowers in the CAF (400 58 W) and
CAF + SB groups (400 58 W) were higher than for the PLA (393
61 W) (P < 0.05) and SB groups (389 57 W) (P < 0.01). The mean
power was higher (P < 0.05) in the CAF and CAF + SB groups in the
last 3 min of the test compared with PLA, and in the rst minute
and the last 3 min of the test relative to SB (Fig. 3). No order effect
was observed, with the average distances of 1868 95, 1869 102,
1872 102, and 1871 97 m on the rst, second, third, and fourth
test day, respectively.
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Christensen et al.

1061

Fig. 2. Total distance covered in a 6 min maximal test with

individual values shown for open-weight rowers (OW, n = 6; open
symbols) and light-weight rowers (LW, n = 6; lled symbols) after
prior supplementation with placebo (PLA), caffeine (CAF), caffeine
and sodium bicarbonate (CAF + SB), and sodium bicarbonate (SB)
expressed relative to PLA. *, P < 0.05 for CAF and CAF + SB compared
with PLA in LW; #, P < 0.05 for CAF and CAF + SB compared with SB
in LW; $, P < 0.05 for CAF + SB compared with SB in OW.
103
$

*#

OW

LW

102
Distance (% PLA)

Perceived exertion
No differences were observed (P = 0.56 for main effect) for perceived exertion during the 6 min maximal test among the various
groups, with values of 8.7 1.4 for CAF, 8.8 0.9 for CAF + SB, 8.4
1.2 for PLA, and 8.4 0.9 for SB.

Discussion
*#

101

100

99

98
OW

LW

OW

PLA

LW

CAF

OW

CAF+SB

LW

SB

Fig. 3. Power output during a 6 min maximal test for 12 elite

rowers after prior supplementation with placebo (PLA, white bars),
caffeine (CAF, black bars), caffeine and sodium bicarbonate
(CAF + SB, hatched bars), and sodium bicarbonate (SB, grey bars).
Data are the mean SD. *, P < 0.05 for CAF and CAF + SB compared
with PLA;
#, P < 0.05 for CAF and CAF + SB compared with SB; ##, P < 0.01 for CAF
and CAF + SB compared with SB; , P < 0.01 for PLA compared with SB.

##

500

450
Power (W)

PLA
CAF
CAF+SB

SB

400

350

groups, with values of 1.8 1.3 for CAF, 2.4 1.5 for CAF + SB, 1.5
0.7 for PLA, and 2.3 1.2 for SB.

Time (minutes)

Readiness
No differences were observed (P = 0.60 for main effect) for readiness before the 6 min maximal test, with values for the various
groups of 7.9 1.2 for CAF, 7.9 1.4 for CAF + SB, 7.8 0.6 for PLA,
and 7.4 1.2 for SB.
Stomach comfort
No differences were observed (P = 0.10 for main effect) in stomach discomfort before the 6 min maximal test among the various

The main ndings in this study were that the ingestion of caffeine, as well as caffeine with sodium bicarbonate, improved
6 min maximal rowing performance in highly trained elite rowers, whereas sodium bicarbonate by itself had no ergogenic effect,
and did not lead to gastric discomfort or reduced readiness before
the tests.
This study also demonstrated that the performance of the elite
rowers was improved following caffeine intake at a dose of
3 mg/kg body mass in the nonfasted state. In agreement with our
ndings, other studies have observed caffeine as being ergogenic
in trained rowers, but they used doses in the range of 69 mg/kg in
the fasted state (Anderson et al. 2000; Bruce et al. 2000; Carr et al.
2011a), whereas doses from 26 mg/kg in the nonfasted state did
not improve performance (Skinner et al. 2010). The contrasting
ndings compared with this study are not easily explained, but
may relate to a higher training status of the rowers (international
class) participating in this study compared with the study by
Skinner et al. (2010), assuming that a lower performance level
leads to a higher variability in the measurement of performance.
Accordingly, this is the rst study to report that a low dose of
caffeine in the nonfasted state can improve the performance of
elite rowers, which is supported by observations in trained cyclists, in the non-fasted state, completing a 3 km time-trial faster
after a similarly low dose of caffeine (Kilding et al. 2012). The
present ndings also provide a high external validity for highperformance athletes and their coaches, as the rowers appeared
to be at a higher performance level than the participants in most
of the previous studies. The mean power in the 6 min maximal
test for the 6 male open-weight rowers (92 kg) was 435 W,
whereas the 5 male light-weight rowers (75 kg) and the female
rower (63 kg) had an average power of 375 W and 255 W,
respectively. In comparison, based on reported 2000 m times, the
average power for male rowers (unknown body mass) was 310 W
(Bruce et al. 2000) and 350 W for male open-weight rowers
(88 kg) (Skinner et al. 2010). Female rowers (64 kg) averaged
215 W (Anderson et al. 2000), whereas a mixed group of male (n =
6; 82 kg) and female (n = 2; 77 kg) rowers averaged 350 W (Carr
et al. 2011a). Also, the nding that a low dose of 3 mg caffeine/kg
was sufcient to improve performance provides valuable knowledge for athletes who suffer side effects from larger doses (Carr
et al. 2011a) that might reduce the ergogenic properties of caffeine. The average improvement in distance was 0.7%, corresponding to a reduction of about 2 s in the time required to cover a
2000 m race distance lasting 6 min, in both caffeine trials relative
to the placebo. Thus, caffeine ingestion may have a large impact
on rankings when competing at the highest level, as found for the
participants in this study, most of whom had experience from the
World and European championships, and a background that included several years of training.
However, 3 of the participants did not have their performance
improved with caffeine relative to the placebo (Fig. 1). Two of the
nonresponders were drinking coffee on a daily basis, while one
was not. The remaining group consisted of one non-user and rowers with a low (80 mg) to moderate daily (200 mg) intake of
caffeine. Therefore, habitual caffeine intake does not appear to be
a decisive indicator as to whether caffeine ingested just prior to
competing will improve performance, but it should be noted that
the subjects were instructed to refrain from caffeine-containing
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1062

drinks 36 h preceding scheduled testing. In accordance, the ergogenic effect of ingesting 36 mg caffeine/kg body mass in endurance tasks with a duration of 4060 min was the same whether
habitual coffee drinkers maintained their daily intake or abstained from coffee 46 days before testing (Van Soeren and
Graham 1998; Irwin et al. 2011). It may be that the diuretic properties from caffeine reported by some (Maughan and Grifn 2003)
caused a lower plasma volume in the nonresponders that may
have abolished the caffeine's ergogenic properties, owing to a
lower stroke volume such as is seen under conditions of dehydration (Gonzalez-Alonso et al. 2000). However, this is considered
unlikely, since the rowers were expected to be adequately hydrated and, in turn, the participants consumed water while consuming the caffeine, so water loss was likely minimal and it is only
after a 3% dehydration (2.5 kg weight loss in the open-weight
rowers) that stroke volume is reported to be lowered (GonzalezAlonso et al. 2000).
Interestingly, when analyzing the performance changes, lightweight rowers appeared to respond better to caffeine compared
with open-weight rowers (Fig. 2). We have no obvious explanation
for this discrepancy, but given the low number of subjects (n = 6 in
both groups), these results may simply be due to random variation. Nevertheless, a previous study using only open-weight rowers did not report any benet from caffeine, even when using a
much larger dose than in this study (6.0 vs. 3.0 mg/kg) (Skinner
et al. 2010). Thus, it will be of interest to elucidate in future studies
whether a high body mass or muscle mass per se limits the ergogenic potential from caffeine.
Caffeine intake, either alone or in combination with bicarbonate, improved performance in the last half of the test (46 min),
whereas initial pacing (01 min) was not altered by caffeine
(Fig. 3). In contrast, studies in rowing reported that the power in
the rst quarter of a 2000 m test was augmented following caffeine intake with a higher dose (69 mg/kg) (Anderson et al. 2000;
Carr et al. 2011a). This suggests that the caffeine dosage may have
an impact on pacing in rowing, meaning that a high dose may
elicit a more aggressive pacing in the initial part of a race, which
on a speculative note may relate to a greater catecholamine response with high dosages of caffeine (Graham and Spriet 1995).
Owing to the non-invasive nature of this study, the mechanisms
by which caffeine improved rowing performance are unknown,
but may relate to actions in the nervous system via altered perception of pain (Tarnopolsky 2008; Meeusen et al. 2013), and at the
muscular level via improved lactate production (Jackman et al.
1996) and calcium release (Tarnopolsky 2008) as well as reduced
interstitial potassium accumulation in muscle (Mohr et al. 2011).
Perceived exertion was high for all of the participants (8.59.0 on
average, with 10 as the highest value) with no difference between
the groups that took caffeine or the placebo. If we accept that
perceived exertion becomes higher as a function of the time
elapsed in the test (e.g., more strenuous after 5 vs. 1 min), this
could indicate that the capacity to maintain/increase central motor drive in a state with a high degree of perceived exertion is
improved with caffeine, since the last half of the test was executed
with a higher power output in the groups that ingested caffeine
than in the group that ingested the placebo. This in turn could
indicate that the ergogenic properties of caffeine reside in altering pain perception (Tarnopolsky 2008; Meeusen et al. 2013). A
gradual build-up of interstitial potassium levels occurs with constant load intense exercise, reaching a plateau after around 3 min
with a further increase with higher workloads (Nielsen et al. 2004)
that has been linked with the development of fatigue (McKenna
et al. 2008). Caffeine has been observed to lower potassium accumulation during intense exercise, likely due to a larger catecholamine response stimulating the sodiumpotassium pump (Mohr
et al. 2011). If improved sodiumpotassium pump activation was
present in the caffeine trials, another mechanism for the improved rowing performance in the last half of the test may be that

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 39, 2014

a higher power output could be maintained for the same degree of

potassium accumulation, but this hypothesis needs to be investigated in future studies.
Performance in the SB group was not better than in the PLA
group, in contrast to the hypothesis of the study. The intake of the
sodium bicarbonate 75 min before the performance test should
have been sufcient to increase blood bicarbonate levels (Carr
et al. 2011b). This is supported by the nding that blood bicarbonate was elevated from 26 1 to 33 1 mmol/L in 15 healthy young
subjects 80 min after ingestion of the same dose and type of
capsules performed in a separate experiment after this study (S.
Jrgensen, Team Danmark, unpublished data). In one study, bicarbonate intake impaired the ergogenic effects of caffeine on
2000 m rowing performance (Carr et al. 2011a), which likely relates to the fact that all subjects reported side-effects with bicarbonate in that study. This was probably due to bicarbonate being
consumed on an empty stomach, which is in contrast to the procedures in this study, in which sodium bicarbonate intake did not
lead to a signicant degree of stomach discomfort relative to the
placebo trials. On average, a score of 2 was reported in all conditions, with 1 being the lowest possible score on a scale of 10, and
likewise no difference was observed between the SB and PLA
groups for over-all readiness before the performance test. It needs
to be considered whether the increased sodium intake following
intake of the capsules increased plasma volume. However, some
authors have reported no change in plasma volume 75 min after a
similar dose of sodium bicarbonate (Mueller et al. 2013), and others just a small increase (Lindinger et al. 1999), and even if an
increase was present it may have had minor inuence on cardiac
output and VO2max (Warburton et al. 1999). Thus, taken together,
the lack of ergogenic effect after sodium bicarbonate ingestion
does not seem to have been caused by the timing of the intake of
capsules or discomfort in the stomach, headache, nausea, etc.
The majority of other studies exploring whether oral intake of
sodium bicarbonate is ergogenic in rowing did not nd any benet in a 2000 m rowing test (Brien and McKenzie 1989; Carr et al.
2011a, 2012; Kupcis et al. 2012), which is in accordance with the
ndings from this study. However, one previous study found improved performance in rowing (McNaughton and Cedaro 1991)
following sodium bicarbonate intake, as was the case in performance tests having a duration of 4 min in both cycling (Bellinger
et al. 2012; Kilding et al. 2012) and running (Bird et al. 1995). Hence
rowing appears to be an exercise modality that is less likely to gain
an ergogenic effect from improved blood buffer capacity relative
to other types of intense endurance sports. It has been observed
that the addition of arm muscles during leg exercise lowers leg
blood ow (Secher et al. 1977). Thus, one possible mechanism for
the apparent discrepancy between rowing and other types of exercise such as running and cycling might be that leg blood ow is
lower in rowing, which could be speculated to reduce leg H+ ion
release, meaning that the improved buffer capacity is not utilized
to the degree where it reduces intramuscular leg acidication and
becomes ergogenic. Alternatively, it may be that intramuscular
acidication is not a determinant of 2000 m rowing performance,
or that highly trained rowers have an optimized buffering capacity of H+ ions in the muscle and blood (Juel 2008) where oral
bicarbonate intake did not elevate the buffering capacity to a
degree where it improved performance, as opposed to when using
venous infusion (Nielsen et al. 2002).
In summary, this study demonstrated that ingestion of a small
dose of caffeine (3 mg/kg), unlike intake of sodium bicarbonate,
improved the performance of elite rowers performing 6 min maximal rowing, with the difference occurring in the last 3 min of the
test. Moreover, the ergogenic effect of caffeine was not reduced by
the addition of sodium bicarbonate, and light-weight rowers appeared to gain a greater benet from caffeine than open-weight
rowers.
Published by NRC Research Press

Christensen et al.

Conict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conict of interest associated with this study.

Acknowledgements
Susanne Jrgensen, Team Danmark, is acknowledged for obtaining and analyzing blood for bicarbonate concentration in the
subgroup of subjects mentioned in the discussion. The study was
supported by Team Danmark (Danish elite sport organization).

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