Dietary Nitrate Supplementation Worsens Resistance Exercise Performance in Resistance-Trained Females

Authors

Sydney N. Brennan, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Raymond T. Gerardo, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Trevor J. Molnar, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Justin M. Foster, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Ryan Tran, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Kyle S. Geppert, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Christopher B. Sottile, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Michael Egiazarian, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Abigail F. Ballhagen, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Stewart D. Gonzalez, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Adam Pennell, Pepperdine UniversityFollow
Rachel Tan, Pepperdine UniversityFollow

Abstract

Dietary nitrate supplementation appears to preferentially target type II muscle fibers for beneficial effects; however, research examining the efficacy of nitrate in females and resistance exercise is scarce. PURPOSE: To investigate if dietary nitrate, provided as concentrated nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BR), improved resistance exercise performance in back squat and bench press compared to nitrate-depleted beetroot juice (PL) in resistance-trained females. METHODS: Eighteen resistance-trained females aged reported to the lab for a total of four visits over a 2-week period. Participants performed a one repetition maximum protocol (1RM) and familiarization to the experimental protocol, and were assigned in a randomized, double-blind crossover fashion to two conditions to consume nitrate-depleted beetroot juice (PL; negligible nitrate per dose) and nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BR; ~6 mmol of nitrate per dose). Power and velocity data were collected using a linear transducer during the experimental protocol consisting of barbell back squats and bench press at 55% one-repetition max (1RM), 60%1RM, and 65%1RM. A paired t-test was used to assess statistical differences between conditions for all performance variables and was accepted as P ≤0.05. RESULTS: Mean power (BR: 201 ± 61 W vs. PL: 206 ± 61 W; P < 0.05), and mean velocity (BR: 0.68 ± 0.08 m/s vs. PL: 0.70 ± 0.08 m/s; P = 0.05) during bench press at 60%1RM were significantly different between conditions. There were no significant differences between conditions for all other performance variables in 55%1RM, 60%1RM, and 65%1RM back squat and bench press (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dietary nitrate supplementation may negatively impact mean power and mean velocity during barbell bench press, at least under the conditions of this study. Future studies should investigate the impact of nitrate dosing strategies and other resistance exercise protocols to provide further insight into the effects of nitrate on resistance exercise performance in females. These results indicate that females may not benefit from acute nitrate ingestion for bench press.

Recommended Citation

Brennan, Sydney N.; Gerardo, Raymond T.; Molnar, Trevor J.; Foster, Justin M.; Tran, Ryan; Geppert, Kyle S.; Sottile, Christopher B.; Egiazarian, Michael; Ballhagen, Abigail F.; Gonzalez, Stewart D.; Pennell, Adam; and Tan, Rachel (2025) "Dietary Nitrate Supplementation Worsens Resistance Exercise Performance in Resistance-Trained Females," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 14: Iss. 5, Article 94.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol14/iss5/94