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Beetroot shots, anyone tried?

ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 28,045
in Training, fitness and health
The 70 ml shots with 400 mg of nitrate... anyone has any experience of use in training/racing to share?

I like beetroot juice, so taste is not an issue for me
left the forum March 2023

Posts

  • jgsijgsi Posts: 5,062
    Used to....minimal if nil value to performance on reflection - placebo effect.
    But, digestion system had benefit...fibre intake of the juice variety..the shots, less so I would think.
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 28,045
    yeah, I am always a bit sceptical about the miracle foods... but there is "scientific evidence" of a 2.7% improve in performance...

    That is 308 Watt where it was 300... a couple of seconds up a 3-4 minute climb
    left the forum March 2023
  • oxomanoxoman Posts: 11,743
    Juice yes, shots no. Couldn't get on with the side effects. But I wasn't using them for anything other than health gains.
    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • imposter2.0imposter2.0 Posts: 12,016
    Used to, when I was racing. I stopped bothering, as the sheer horror of the beetroot taste easily outweighed any potential benefit...
  • harry-sharry-s Posts: 295
    There's a proven gain IIRC, mostly to do with vasodilation. It's hard to say if the gain is perceptible, I don't think we're geared up physiologically to feel those sorts of changes, but as you say, it appears to be measurable.
    I've used them on long events, and managed to freak a guy out at an adjacent urinal at the end of one, - your pee will come out bright red. I told him it was all to do with "the suffering"...
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 28,045
    Yes, broadly speaking Nitrogen oxide dilates vessels allowing for improved oxygenation of tissues, a bit like having a higher VO2 max in the end... probably needs to be the right dose at the right time... too late and you just carrying around fluids, too early and the effect is gone.
    I was thinking for TT and hill climbs might work, as you know your start time exactly and the event is really short, so you can maximise the effect.

    Side effects: yes, beetroot makes me go too, but typically it is a day after issue and yes pee comes out a salmon shade of pink... not a biggy, quite entertaining actually
    left the forum March 2023
  • oxomanoxoman Posts: 11,743
    The side effects I was thinking of tbh is purely the colour. Someone actually took me to one side and suggested I visit a doctor, he thought it was blood in my pee. Prefer my beetroot with my salad now.
    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • joeyhalloranjoeyhalloran Posts: 1,070
    Just a quick note, eating beetroot and drinking juice won't be the same as the shots which are specifically farmed and treated to increase levels of NO2.
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 28,045
    joeyhalloran said:

    Just a quick note, eating beetroot and drinking juice won't be the same as the shots which are specifically farmed and treated to increase levels of NO2.

    Yes, the amount in a shot is about the same as a pint of juice. Drinking a pint of juice before a race doesn't seem like a great idea, hence I thought of the shots...
    left the forum March 2023
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