Brad Wilkins. Ph.D. is VP of Science and Innovation at Amp Human and Chairman of Amp Human's Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Wilkins has over 25 years of research experience with over 40 published scientific articles and patents. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the Mayo Clinic. As an accomplished scientist at Nike, he founded the Nike+ Sport Performance Laboratory, and led the scientific team in Nike’s quest to break the two-hour marathon barrier (Breaking2). You can learn more about him and the rest of our Scientific Advisory Board members here.

The raw data supporting the conclusion of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. Ethics statement All studies were approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Oregon and were performed in accordance with the principles outlined by the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects after a verbal and written briefing of all experimental procedures. 2.2 Study design BW holds equity in Momentous and has served as a scientific advisor to Momentous; BW stands to financially benefit from the success of Momentous’ products; BW has engaged in this research for and is publishing on behalf of Momentous. JH has received a research contract from Momentous; the University of Oregon remains Halliwill’s primary place of employment and all research are attributed to the University of Oregon. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Publisher’s note A less known, and less understood, benefit of bicarbonate or an enhanced buffering potential is improved recovery by reducing post-exercise or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following heavy exercise or training sessions. Pre-exercise application of PR Lotion can aid in recovery between training sessions in two ways. First, adequate bicarbonate levels in the muscle can reduce post-exercise inflammation. Bicarbonate creates an alkaline environment surrounding the muscle cells, which can reduce the chemical stress caused by acid production during intense exercise. This, in turn, can reduce the post-exercise inflammatory response following intense exercise [4]. It is this inflammatory response which, in part, contributes to DOMS experienced following a competition or intense training session. Second, PR Lotion may decrease edema or tissue swelling that occurs following heavy or long training sessions. Both sodium and bicarbonate concentrations in the extracellular space (and in the blood) can modulate fluid shifts between the inside and the outside of the muscle cells. It is the buildup of fluid or edema that contributes to the pain we sense as muscle soreness. Anything that can reduce the fluid accumulation in the muscle can reduce DOMS.

Following baseline sampling, in the primary study, 40g of PR Lotion (Momentous, Park City, UT, United States) was applied by an investigative team member over the entire surface area of each leg from ankle to groin. As PR Lotion is 33% sodium bicarbonate, a total of 26.4g of sodium bicarbonate were applied. For the follow-up placebo control study, 40g of a placebo version of PR Lotion, which included all the ingredients of PR Lotion except for sodium bicarbonate, was applied to each leg. Amp Human's Science Advisory Board chairman Dr Brad Wilkins helps explain the science of bicarb, why PR Lotion works and why it's a must have training product for any athlete. I recently received a link to a blog post summarizing a 2021 study with such gobstopping results that I must admit my initial reaction was: this seems too good to be true. The title of the study is “PR Lotion significantly improves high-intensity interval performance.” Specifically, the study found more than a 20% improvement in high-intensity interval training to exhaustion in a study of competitive cyclists.

So what is this magical lotion? It’s essentially nothing more than a topical delivery of sodium bicarbonate, more commonly referred to as baking soda. As it turns out, athletes have used baking soda for decades – it’s one of the most extensively studied ergogenic aids out there. But why would baking soda of all things improve performance? Dr. Jason Siegler (University of Western Australia) examined the effect of PR Lotion on blood lactate concentration and performance outcomes with repeated 30 second cycling intervals at 120% of peak power (30 second rest) to exhaustion. A similar rise in blood lactate levels was observed compared to oral sodium bicarbonate ingestion (standard dose of 0.3g/kg body weight). Although the study did not observe the typical increase in blood bicarbonate (or increase in blood pH) usually associated with sodium bicarbonate ingestion, the results suggest PR Lotion was as effective as ingesting sodium bicarbonate at buffering H+ production in the muscle at high intensities. Furthermore, the cyclists performed similarly (defined by cumulative cycling time) compared to oral sodium bicarbonate ingestion. Similar performance outcomes, combined with the observation that blood lactate values were similar, suggests PR Lotion is an effective ergogenic aid during high intensity or repeated bouts of high intensity exercise. There are two important benefits of increased buffering with sodium bicarbonate delivery through PR Lotion. First, enhanced buffering capacity to limit the negative impact of rapid acid production in the muscle. This can diminish the progression of fatigue during high intensity training session and competitions, thereby enabling high quality training and maintenance of performance during competition. Second, PR Lotion can reduce the sensation of post-exercise or delayed onset muscle soreness. That is, sodium bicarbonate may alleviate post exercise inflammation and edema or swelling following intense training, allowing athletes to recover more effectively and increase “readiness” for subsequent training sessions. Combined, PR Lotion can be an important tool to enhance the quality of training loads, allow effective recovery between training sessions, and enable the maintenance of desired performance outcomes. According to one study, participants experienced a 53.5% reduction in post-workout DOMS and a heart rate that was 3.1% lower than the control group.

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Sodium bicarbonate is a simple, naturally occurring electrolyte that your body uses to regulate pH. While most people know it as baking soda, sodium bicarbonate has been widely used and researched as a performance aid since the 1930’s. However, there's a catch - when consumed orally, sodium bicarbonate can cause major GI distress, offseting any performance benefits. Using patented technology, PR Lotion delivers sodium bicarbonate directly to your working muscles through your skin, bypassing the gut and eliminating GI distress. Studies suggest that baking soda indeed offers a small benefit during hard exercise bouts lasting between about one and ten minutes, although the results are inconsistent. So why doesn’t everyone looking for an edge spike their water bottles with Arm & Hammer before a competition? Because of course, there’s a catch: many people using it experience gastrointestinal side effects which can limit its efficacy. In other words, cramping, vomiting, or diarrhea can more than offset any benefits from baking soda. But delivering the baking soda through the skin bypasses the GI tract and limits these adverse effects. In fact, the 2021 PR Lotion study described above notes that no side effects were reported by participants. Earlier Evidence

The main active ingredient is sodium bicarbonate, or bicarb for short, and this natural electrolyte supports muscle function by buffering the acid created by the muscles during exercise As alluded to, this actually wasn’t the first study testing the benefits of PR Lotion. The 2021 trial references another from 2018, which, according to a blog post from the company’s manufacturers, is awaiting submission for publication. However, results from this trial and two related poster presentations are summarized in the blog post, so let’s look at what they found. Siegler, J.C., et al., Mechanistic Insights into the Efficacy of Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation to Improve Athletic Performance. Sports Med Open, 2016. 2(1): p. 41.

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Even though the performance benefits of bicarbonate are clear, the potential for negative side effects in the gut can significantly discourage athletes from ingesting sodium bicarbonate. In fact, to combat the negative side effects, athletes include extensive and sometimes tedious protocols or strategies for sodium bicarbonate consumption into their pre-training or pre-competition routine. The timing of ingestion before exercise, the quantity of sodium bicarb ingested, and the “loading” strategy are all necessary considerations to carefully plan before ingesting sodium bicarbonate for the performance benefits without the negative side effects. Adding to the complexity, ingestion strategies need to be highly personalized to each athlete, as individuals can have varying responses or sensitivities to oral sodium bicarbonate. Comments containing language or concepts that could be deemed offensive will be deleted. Note this may include abusive, threatening, pornographic, offensive, misleading or libelous language. This isn't my first time experimenting with sodium bicarbonate during training. While at university, I participated in a research project quantifying the benefits of using bicarb during endurance cycling and the results showed that while there was an advantage to be had, for many people the resulting stomach issues and untimely toilet trips meant it simply wasn't worth it. It should also be noted that this study and many others have found that the benefits of bicarb have high variability, which is to say that different individuals will experience different results. Because of the reduced inflammation and muscle soreness between training sessions, PR Lotion can improve the rate of recovery or readiness to train. That is, diminished muscle soreness in the days following intense exercise, aids in the recovery of muscle function which can only enhance the quality of the subsequent training session. The improved readiness to train, combined with increased buffering potential in the muscle, promotes the maintenance of high training loads or high-quality training efforts. This means that the athlete is more ready and able to handle the required or prescribed training loads. PR Lotion can, therefore, help an athlete be more physically capable of performing the intended training session, which will allow for overall superior adaptations to the prescribed training. The challenge with oral supplementation or ingestion of sodium bicarbonate is absorption and delivery through the gut without significant gastrointestinal distress. A well-known side effect for athletes who ingest sodium bicarbonate before competition or training can be significant GI distress. It is common for athletes to feel nausea, bloating, have diarrhea, or have significant stomach “cramping” when consuming sodium bicarbonate before workouts or competition.

PR Lotion is the first and only topical lotion to deliver sodium bicarbonate directly through the skin. This enhances the buffering capacity of the body and the muscle while circumventing the potentially debilitating GI distress. In addition, PR Lotion removes much of the complexity required in pre-exercise ingestion protocol or strategies. In contrast to ingested sodium bicarbonate, there is little need for athletes to incorporate tedious pre-exercise protocols, strategies, or routines to combat negative side effects. This makes PR Lotion a very practical solution for delivering the performance benefits of sodium bicarbonate and a very scalable solution for athletes to use regularly during training and competition. PR Lotion effectively eliminates all problems associated with the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate, while providing athletes with the benefits described in over 40 years of sodium bicarbonate research. PR Lotion sidesteps the ingestion issue: instead of eating it, you rub it on your legs. No gastrointestinal distress. How Do You Use It?Since then, I apply Amp Human lotion before every leg workout. For me, it works. Workouts are easier (no they’re not. they’re always hard) and recovery time is cut down too. I have not tried it on my upper body for arms/chest days yet, but I’m anxious to give it a go. Does Bicarb Lotion Actually Work? Studies Say So. More bicarb in the muscles neutralises lactic acid as it’s created, enabling the athlete to go harder for longer, with faster recovery