Effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To examine the effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance. Methods Sixteen recreationally active subjects (7 females and 9 males) completed three sprint tests, each consisting of four 12 sec efforts against a resistance equal to 5.5% of body weight; efforts were separated by 2.5 min of cycling at zero resistance. Test one established baseline; test two and three were preceded by seven days of daily consumption of 591 ml of a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage as a placebo or a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage containing 0.42% betaine (approximately 2.5 grams of betaine a day); half the beverage was consumed in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. We used a double blind random order cross-over design; there was a 3 wk washout between trials two and three. Average and maximum peak and mean power were analyzed with one-way repeated measures ANOVA and, where indicated, a Student Newman-Keuls. Results Compared to baseline, betaine ingestion increased average peak power (6.4%; p Conclusions One week of betaine ingestion improved cycling sprint power in recreationally active males and females.

Keywords

• Anaerobic power
• Ergogenic aid
• Creatine
• Wingate