It is known that the consumption of nitrates directly affects an improvement in performance thanks to their metabolization into nitric oxide, which is the signaling molecule that will produce the well-known benefits in sports performance, both in strength sports and in endurance sports.
It is known that the consumption of nitrates to improve performance can be done both acutely and chronically, that is:
- Acute nitrate consumption: Take the nitrate dose between 1,5-2 hours before the sports event. The acute or daily nitrate dose should be more than 370 mg, although there does not seem to be any greater benefit from consuming more than 740 mg
- Chronic nitrate consumption: Intakes from 3 to 7 days before the event may be useful.
What interests us is how we could use nitrates in endurance sports?
Although we know that a specific intake prior to a competition is going to provide us with an ergogenic aid, recent studies suggest that skeletal muscle could be an “active” reservoir of nitrates, so we are going to detail different protocols of chronic consumption.
Basic protocol:
Between 5-7 days prior to the sporting event, consume 600 mg of nitrates once a day. Taking a prior intake 1,5-2h before the competition.
Adaptations to the protocol:
- Tests of less than 2 hours duration: We will take it 2 hours before the competition.
- Tests of between 3-4 h. It would be convenient to analyze the type of competitions, it could be considered to carry out
intake up to 45-60´ before so that the effect of the nitrate is more intense in the 2th part of the test
where the requirements and the demand are usually higher. - Tests lasting between 5-6 hours. In this type of competition, where we seek for the vasodilator effect to be maintained at the end of the test, we would have the option of consuming the nitrate during the first 60-90 minutes of the test.
What happens with ultra-endurance races, such as the UTMB, a mountain trail with 171 km and more than 10.000 meters of accumulated elevation gain?
We meet world-class athletes who will take the test at 20 or 21h while many athletes will have an anticipation of more than 46 hours.
We will maintain the usual charging protocol, but with some examples of adaptation for this type of very special tests:
- Worldwide and up to 24 h: We will maintain the usual intake by performing the “last” intake of the loading protocol 2-3 hours before the event and we would introduce 2 intakes during the trial after 8 h and 16 h. Obviously, it would be necessary to test, evaluate, and analyze this strategy with the athlete. It would not be a general recommendation, but we like to show how you can work with the elite; remember that not all of us drive rally or Formula 1 cars, our cars run on gasoline…. but not exactly the same.
- When a “popular” athlete sets out to take on the challenge of completing a multi-day ultra-endurance test, we can design a nitrate supplementation plan that, in addition to taking a dose every 2-3 hours before the start of the competition, maintains a nitrate intake every 12 hours. We should previously test this protocol in some of the training sessions.
What happens in stage races, like you could be a cycling race?
In addition to the classic loading protocol, we would maintain nitrate intake in the hours prior to the start of the stages, adjusting the timing of intake to the duration of the test, even considering the possibility of taking nitrate in the first part of the stage on days lasting more than 5-6 hours.
Author
Rubén Cuenca Arce, sports nutritionist for high-performance athletes CV00482 and Licensed in Pharmacy.
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