Nitrate supplementation and climbing performance

By Scott K. Ferguson, Ph.D. | Co-Founder and Head Coach

Many Athletes are consuming beetroot juice to improve their performance. Here's how beets might improve your time in the mountains.

Over the past century, physiologists have paved the road to some of the greatest achievements in climbing history as we have sought to climb increasingly difficult peaks at higher altitudes. Most notably, Griffith Pugh’s seminal work on exercise performance at altitude resulted in the development of the open-circuit oxygen system which afforded the first ascent of Mt. Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. The rich tradition of science and climbing continues still today as physiologists further our understanding of what drives human performance. Awareness of these advances could help improve your performance in various climbing venues.

Dietary nitrate supplementation has gained considerable interest among scientists and athletes due to recent evidence suggesting that it may elicit beneficial impacts on the determinates of exercise performance, both at sea level and altitude. Many of the experiments have utilized beetroot juice as a convenient source of dietary nitrates and have reported improved tolerance to high-intensity exercise as well a reduction in fatigue associated metabolites such as lactate (which is often blamed for the dreaded forearm pump). Here we’ve provided some basics on how nitrate supplementation works and how you could use it to enhance your performance both at your local crag and on your next alpine adventure.

Turning on the faucet of oxygen delivery

At rest and during low-intensity exercise, our muscles use oxidative metabolism to create the energy needed for muscle contraction. This type of metabolism utilizes fat and, as it sounds, relies heavily on the availability of oxygen delivered by our blood. The nice thing about oxidative metabolism is that it is sustainable, due to the abundance of energy available from fat, allowing us to continue to exercise at a low intensity for long durations. During high-intensity exercise, our muscles require an increase in blood flow to meet the increased metabolic demands. Nitric oxide (NO) is a key molecule responsible for elevating blood flow to our muscles. When it is produced, it dilates blood vessels, allowing blood to flow at a higher rate (much like turning on a water faucet). Failure to deliver adequate oxygen to our muscles results in a switch to glycolytic metabolism which relies on carbohydrates and produces lactate and hydrogen ions (acid), thus sowing the seeds of muscular fatigue. Therefore, sufficient blood flow during exercise is crucial to maximizing muscular performance and endurance.

Nitrate supplementation and your climbing

We now know that we can increase the availability of NO simply by increasing the amount of nitrate in our diet. When nitrate is ingested, it enters our blood circulation and is then taken up by our salivary glands and secreted into our mouth where it is reduced to nitrite via bacteria. The nitrite is then swallowed and also absorbed into our blood where it is further reduced to NO. This results in greater skeletal muscle blood flow during exercise, a reduction in blood lactate concentration, improved muscle force production and ultimately enhanced exercise capacity. In addition, nitrate supplementation also improves the efficiency of mitochondria (the primary energy producers in muscle cells) effectively reducing oxygen demand in the face of improved oxygen delivery; kind of like increasing the gas tank in your car while also improving the fuel economy of the engine.

This has big implications for climbers as we consistently utilize a full spectrum of low and high-intensity moves in various environments. For those on a boulder problem, nitrate supplementation could afford the extra muscular force needed to stick an exceedingly difficult move while sport climbers may notice the ability to push through a tough sequence and still have enough stamina to finish a difficult pitch. Alpinist will likely reap the benefits of sustained improvements in muscle efficiency at high altitude where oxygen availability is greatly reduced while also allowing them to lock-off and hang on their ice tools for a bit longer during tough technical ascents.

The protocol

Taken from review article entitled "Fiber type-specific effects of dietary nitrate" that describes why dietary nitrate supplementation might work best for fast-twitch muscle fibers. Click this photo to see the full article published in Exercise and Sport Science Reviews

One thing to keep in mind is that nitrate is the key “active ingredient” in the beetroot juice. There are a plethora of green leafy vegetables that can provide sufficient amounts of nitrate, so if you don’t like beets, there are other options. Here is a shortlist of easy ways that you can use nitrate supplementation to improve your climbing performance and training efficacy.

Recent studies have found that the maximal effects seem to be elicited 2-3 hours following consumption of ~8-9 mmol of nitrate. This translates to about 100-200 grams (1/2 to 1 cup) of spinach, which is also naturally high in nitrate content. If you fancy giving the beet juice a try, you would need ~0.5-1 L to get this amount. There is no added benefit for consuming more than this amount (e.g., more is not better).

Many physiologists and athletes are now using a concentrated version of the beetroot juice available from James White Drinks Ltd. This concentrated shot packs about 4 mmol of nitrate into 70 ml’s of juice (70 ml’s is about as much as one gulp). This is a quick and convenient way for athletes to consume the concentration of nitrate requisite for physiological benefits. For climbers, this is a super-easy way to bring the supplement along on multi-day excursions. For best results consume 2 shots (~8.6 mmol of nitrate).

Some of the effects of nitrate supplementation can be elicited within 3 hours of consumption while some may take several days (i.e. 3-6) to develop. This may be because it takes multiple days of increased nitrate/nitrite levels to elicit key protein changes in skeletal muscle and/or the cardiovascular system. Therefore, it may be advisable to give this supplement a try for a couple of weeks.

While most “pre-workout” supplements recommend that their product be consumed 15-30 minutes before exercise, nitrate supplementation does not follow suit. It is imperative that the dose of nitrate be consumed at least 2-3 hours prior to the time when you plan to start your ascent. This affords enough time for the nitrate to enter the bloodstream, get secreted into the mouth and reduced to nitrite by the bacteria in our mouth. Studies also show that using antibacterial mouthwash completely abolishes any effects of nitrate supplementation so ditch the Listerine on supplement days.

The ergogenic effects of dietary of nitrate supplementation seem to be acute and may diminish 8-10 hours following supplementation. This is when plasma levels of nitrate/ nitrite return to baseline levels. Re-dosing once a day during long trips should provide ample boosts to plasma nitrate/ nitrite levels.

Natives to high altitude naturally have higher levels of nitrate/nitrite than lowlanders and therefore could benefit from some of the beneficial effects highlighted above without the need to supplement with additional nitrate. Thus, nitrate supplementation might be worth giving a try on your next high altitude climb.

Endnote: A version of this article originally appeared in the July 2016 issue of Climbing Magazine. Check it out Here if interested!