@Heretic One substance is a diuretic and the other requires you to be really well hydrated so there is a balancing act.
Thanks for the reply. This will be my first time to try caffeine. I do not drink coffee, tea, or soft drinks, so I do not have experience with caffeineās effect on me. However to shave a few seconds up my favorite climb, I am willing to give it a try.
From my experience, maintaining enough hydration is hard enough as I often ride in hot/humid climates.
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This is news to me. I always feel good after exercise so if I make sure Iām adding the right dose of caffeine - Wow! Look out!!!
Thanks @coach.jinger.g . This is great!
Thatās an interesting (and quite long list) of things that interact unhappily with creatine.
Thatās brilliant to know and does make me wonder if itās one of those supplements that carries more risk (we donāt know what we donāt know). Kidneys and livers have enough to deal with I suspect !
Thanks for sharing
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@Heretic Check out the hydration podcast.
Drinking Lessons: Hydration Basics to Improve Performance
I have been adding electrolytes from ScratchLabs to my bottles and find it helps better manage hydration.
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SUPPLEMENT #3
NITRATE
definition
- nitrates are compounds that occur naturally in the human body and some foods, such as vegetables (arugula, spinach, celery, beetroot)
- nitrates (NO3) consist of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms
mechanism
- dietary nitrate supplementation produces an ergogenic effect due to the improvement of mitochondrial oxygen efficiency through a reduction in the oxygen cost of exercise that increases vasodilation and blood flow to the skeletal muscle
- also, enhanced function of type II muscle fibers and reduced ATP cost of muscle force production
dose
- acute dose is around 6-12 mmol/day administered 2-3 hours before the activity
- chronic dose is around 6-12 mmol over 6-15 days
performance impact
- 4ā25% greater exercise time to exhaustion and of 1ā3% improvement in sport- specific time trial performances lasting <40 min in duration
- 8 days of nitrate supplementation resulted in improvements to 4-km time trial performance in well-trained male endurance cyclists
- improvement in exercise tolerance, which could help with exhaustion over time
additional interesting tidbits
- the dose necessary for this ergogenic effect seems to have a direct relationship with the physical condition of the athlete
- general health benefits too - inorganic nitrates can lower blood pressure, reduce chronic inflammation, and improve cardiovascular health
- supplementing caffeine or using antibacterial mouthwashes and chewing gums cancels out the benefits of nitrate
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Yeah- drug and supplement interactions are always a long listā¦ and always worth a chat with a physician before starting anything new.
@robyork Could be worth a try!- if you take any other supplements or medications make sure you are aware of any interactions- ask your doctor if you are unsure. Keep me posted if you give it a go and feel a positive benefit!
SUPPLEMENT #4
BETA-ALANINE
definition
- nonessential amino acid (produced by the body)
mechanism
- combines with the amino acid histidine to form carnosine, a dipeptide that helps delay the onset of pH decline and muscle fatigue with the beneficial effects of building endurance and improving recovery
- augments intracellular buffering capacity, having potential beneficial effects on sustained high-intensity exercise performance
dose
- daily consumption of ā¼65 mg/kg body mass, ingested with a split-dose regimen (0.8ā1.6 g every 3ā4 hours) over an extended supplement time frame of 10ā12 weeks
performance impact
- average peak power increase of 11.4% after eight weeks of supplementation in endurance cyclists
- 28 days of beta-alanine supplementation increased cycling performance via an extended time to exhaustion and the total work completed with associated lactate clearance during passive rest
- small but potentially significant performance benefits (ā¼0.2ā3%) during both continuous and intermittent exercise tasks of 30 seconds to 10 minutes in duration
additional interesting tidbits
- supplementing for three weeks may increase lean muscle mass
- antioxidant benefits of carnosine include neutralizing free radicals and reducing oxidative stress
- top food sources of beta-alanine are meat, poultry, and fish
- vegetarians and vegans have about 50% less carnosine in their muscles compared to omnivores
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Thanks @coach.jinger.g Beta Alanine has always intrigued me. I knew about taking it for 12 weeks to get a measurable benefit but had never done that before. Iād only ever taken it on a race startline combined with caffeine and aspirin. Which is disturbingly legal but makes it possible to hold onto the craziness at the start of a race before things settle down. Have been debating using this rather than creatine to improve lean muscle mass and endurance performance.
@coach.jinger.g Well that got my attention. I am a mostly vegan athlete so this might be something to study further. I assume the studies were not limited to vegans so potential power increase could be even higher given vegans have on average 50% less carnosine.
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SUPPLEMENT #5
SODIUM BICARBONATE
definition
- NaHCO3 or baking soda
mechanism
- neutralizes acids, prevents a rise in acidity when the amount of acid increases
- produce more lactate with less of an increase in blood acidity
dose
- 0.2ā0.4 g/kg BM, consumed 75-180 min prior to training or competition with plenty of water
- split doses (multiple smaller doses) ingested over a 30ā180 min
- serial-loading with 3ā4 smaller doses per day for 2ā4 consecutive days prior to an event
performance impact
- majority of research focused on track cycling with power increases ranging from 3-8%
- supplementation prior and during endurance exercise improves short all-out exercise performance at the end of the event by increasing mean power by 3%
additional interesting tidbits
- gastrointestinal distress is common, one strategy to reduce is co-ingestion with a small, carbohydrate-rich meal
- sodium citrate has been proposed as an alternative because of lower reported rates of gastrointestinal upset
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gives a performance gain! 
Now hereās a questionā¦does it count if it is an ingredient in baking? Or does it not because itās done itās chemical reaction by the time we come to eating it?
20g-30g of bicarb per 100kg non-athlete. I can see why that causes gastro issues.
Normally only use this stuff to clean sinks and drains and the reaction with vinegar is explosive.
Wonder if I should try a tiny amount one day with breakfast. On a day Iām planning on being at home all day
I think I like @DameLisa idea of supplementing via baking products though.
Thanks again for sharing this @coach.jinger.g ā¦ the things we never knew !!
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Yeah I went back and looked at this concept. I use like 5g of it to make a whole banana bread. So Iād need to eat like 4 loaves of banana bread a day! Would also cause gastro intestinal distress 
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Skratch all day!!! There Superfuel helped me get up two Cat 2 mountains in Asheville, NC.
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@BykeRyder18 Definitely! I have used Superfuel as well and also like their bars. I also Untapped maple syrup for both workouts and races.
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