Hydrogen Water Boosts Athletic Performance in Repeated Sprint Cycling
- Authors
- Alessandro Da Ponte, Nicola Giovanelli, Daniele Nigris, Stefano Lazzer
- Journal
- The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
- Year
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06883-9
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Italy
- Health Condition
- Exercise Fatigue
- Body System
- Muscular
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water for two weeks helped trained cyclists maintain their peak power output during a series of intense sprints, unlike those who drank regular water.
Key Finding
Two weeks of hydrogen-rich water intake preserved peak power output during repeated sprints in trained cyclists, while placebo water showed significant power decrements during later sprints.
Summary
This study tested whether drinking hydrogen-rich water for two weeks could help trained cyclists perform better during repeated hard sprints. Eight male cyclists drank either regular water or hydrogen-rich water daily, then completed a 30-minute cycling test with ten sprint intervals. The cyclists who drank hydrogen-rich water maintained their peak power output throughout the sprints, while those drinking regular water showed a significant drop in power during the 8th and 9th sprints.
Practical Takeaway
This small study in trained athletes suggests hydrogen-rich water may help maintain sprint performance during prolonged exercise, though the mechanism remains unclear and results are limited to eight highly trained cyclists. Larger studies in diverse populations would be needed to determine if these findings apply more broadly.
Abstract
Background: Recent studies showed a positive effect of Hydrogen Rich Water (HRW) intake on acid-basic homeostasis at rest. We investigated 2-weeks of HRW intake on repeated sprint performance and acid-base status during prolonged intermittent cycling exercise. Methods: In a cross over single-blind protocol, eight trained male cyclists (age [mean ± SD] 41±7 years, body mass 72.3±4.4 kg, height 1.77±0.04 m, maximal oxygen uptake [V̇ O2max] 52.6±4.4 ml·kg-1·min-1) were provided daily with 2 liters of placebo normal water (PLA, pH 7.6, oxidation/reduction potential [ORP] +230 mV, free hydrogen content 0 ppb) or HRW (pH 9.8, ORP -180 mV, free Hydrogen 450 ppb). Tests were performed at baseline and after each period of two weeks of treatment. The treatments were counter-balanced and the sequence randomized. The 30-min intermittent cycling trial consisted in ten 3-min blocks, each one composed by 90 sec at 40% V̇ O2max, 60 sec at 60% V̇ O2max, 16 sec all out sprint, and 14 sec active recovery. Oxygen uptake (V̇ O2), heart rate and power output were measured during the whole test, while mean and peak power output (PPO), time to peak power and fatigue index (FI) were determined during all the 16 sec sprints. Lactate, pH and bicarbonate [HCO3-] concentrations were determined at rest and after each sprint on blood obtained by an antecubital vein indwelling catheter. Results: In the PLA group, PPO in absolute values decreased significantly at the 8th and 9th of 10 sprints and in relative values, ΔPPO, decrease significantly at 6th, 8th and 9th of 10 sprints (by mean: -12±5%, p<0.006), while it remained unchanged in HRW group. Mean power, FI, time to peak power and total work showed no differences between groups. In both conditions lactate levels increased while pH and [HCO3-] decreased progressively as a function of the number of sprints. Conclusions: Two weeks of HRW intake may help to maintain PPO in repetitive sprints to exhaustion over 30 minutes.