Seawater Attenuates Blood Lactate Response to YoYo Intermittent Running Test Level 2 in Euhydrated Field-Sport Athletes - A Crossover Double-Blind Placebo Trial

The current sports nutrition supplement market is being fl ooded with a plethora of products claiming to enhance athletic performance and wellbeing. Although stimulants and protein supplements are among the most common, electrolyte and carbohydrate-based hydration supplements are being marketed to Irish athletes and weekend warriors. This is exempli fi ed by seawater (SW) supplements which have been proposed as an ergogenic hydration supplement in fi eld-sports, both in Ireland and the UK (1) . Current SW research lacks external validity to said fi eld-sports which therefore warrants further research. The following study investigated the blood lactate (BLa) response to high-intensity intermittent running following SW ingestion via a YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 2 (YoYo IR2). Nine amateur fi eld-sport athletes completed a crossover, double-blind placebo study design, supplementing with SW or a taste-matched placebo (PL). BLa was assessed at baseline, and both intra and post-test. Assumption testing was performed and all data was analyzed using SPSS. A paired t-test assessed changes in BLa, and the BLa peak values obtained. > 0.05). Signi cant differences existed between PL and 2 minutes and 2 t (8) = 3.168, p = 0.013, d = 0.79, and at 4 – 6 minutes post-test, t (8) = 2.723, p = 0.026, d = 1.02. BLaPeak signi fi in PL, t (8) 2.500, p = 0.037, These indicate a signi fi cant effect of SW in attenuating the rate of BLa accumulation and BLaPeak following YoYo IR2 performance. the is fi