Dietary nitrate supplementation does not improve resistance exercise performance in resistance-trained women

Brennan, Sydney N. and Foster, Justin M. and Gerardo, Raymond T. and Molnar, Trevor J. and Tran, Ryan and Sottile, Christopher B. and Geppert, Kyle S. and Egiazarian, Michael and Ballhagen, Abigail F. and Ghimire, Money and Renwick, John R. M. and Gough, Lewis A. and Gonzalez, Stewart D. and Allen, Jason D. and Rowland, Samantha N. and Bailey, Stephen J. and Pennell, Adam and Tan, Rachel (2026) Dietary nitrate supplementation does not improve resistance exercise performance in resistance-trained women. European Journal of Applied Physiology. ISSN 1439-6319

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Abstract

Dietary nitrate supplementation has been purported to enhance explosive exercise performance; however, research examining the efficacy of nitrate to improve resistance exercise performance, such as weightlifting, in women is scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of an acute nitrate dose on neuromuscular performance during barbell back squat and bench press. Eighteen resistance-trained women were assigned in a randomized, double-blinded, crossover design to consume: (1) nitrate-depleted beetroot juice (PL; negligible nitrate) and (2) nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BR; ~ 6.7 mmol nitrate) 2.5 h prior to exercise. Participants performed explosive efforts during 1 set of 3 repetitions at 55%1RM, 60%1RM, and 65%1RM, with each set interspersed by 2 min of passive recovery. A linear transducer was used to assess peak and mean power and velocity of each set. There were no differences between conditions for back squat and bench press variables (P > 0.05) with the exception that performance declined in BR compared to PL in 60%1RM bench press mean power (BR: 201 ± 61 W vs. PL: 206 ± 61 W; P = 0.047, gz = -0.48) and mean velocity (BR: 0.68 ± 0.08 m/s vs. PL: 0.70 ± 0.08 m/s; P = 0.049, gz = -0.50). These results indicate that acute nitrate ingestion does not improve back squat performance and more research is required to elucidate if nitrate elicits ergolytic effects in resistance-trained women.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1007/s00421-026-06206-9
Dates:	Date Event 3 April 2026 Published Online 16 March 2026 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Nitric oxide, Beetroot, Muscle, Weightlifting, Ergogenic aid, Training, Fatigue
Subjects:	CAH03 - biological and sport sciences > CAH03-02 - sport and exercise sciences > CAH03-02-01 - sport and exercise sciences
Divisions:	Life and Health Sciences > Life and Sports Sciences
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	22 Apr 2026 12:36
Last Modified:	22 Apr 2026 12:36
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16990

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