Sodium phosphate as an ergogenic aid

Legal nutritional ergogenic aids can offer athletes an additional avenue to enhance their performance beyond what they can achieve through training. Consequently, the investigation of new nutritional ergogenic aids is constantly being undertaken. One emerging nutritional supplement that has shown some positive benefits for sporting performance is sodium phosphate. For ergogenic purposes, sodium phosphate is supplemented orally in capsule form, at a dose of 3-5 g/day for a period of between 3 and 6 days. A number of exercise performance-enhancing alterations have been reported to occur with sodium phosphate supplementation, which include an increased aerobic capacity, increased peak power output, increased anaerobic threshold and improved myocardial and cardiovascular responses to exercise. A range of mechanisms have been posited to account for these ergogenic effects. These include enhancements in 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) concentrations, myocardial efficiency, buffering capacity and adenosine triphosphate/phosphocreatine synthesis. Whilst there is evidence to support the ergogenic benefits of sodium phosphate, many studies researching this substance differ in terms of the administered dose and dosing protocol, the washout period employed and the fitness level of the participants recruited. Additionally, the effect of gender has received very little attention in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to critically examine the use of sodium phosphate as an ergogenic aid, with a focus on identifying relevant further research.