Does baking soda boost your high-rep workouts?

Short answer

A little. An analysis of 13 studies found it raised muscular endurance, such as reps, but not the heaviest weight lifted. The gain was a few reps over a whole workout in the later, tired sets (4% in a 12-person study), and stomach upset such as bloating and nausea was common.

Does baking soda boost your high-rep workouts?
'Baking soda → neutralizes acid in muscle → a few more reps' — does this formula hold?
Some say the burning that stops you at the end of a high-rep set comes from acid building up. So taking baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), which soaks up acid, is supposed to let you squeeze out a few more reps. We checked whether it actually improves performance.
It does soak up acid in the body
Acid buffer in the blood rose sharply
An analysis that pooled 189 studies with 2,019 people found baking soda raised bicarbonate, the acid buffer in blood, by 5.2 units on average, and improved exercise performance compared with a placebo. The effect was clear in hard efforts lasting 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
More reps, same max weight
Muscular endurance rose, max strength did not
Pooling 13 studies that measured muscular endurance, such as reps, people did more after baking soda. That held for small muscles like the arms and big muscles like the legs. But in 11 studies of max strength, it did not rise, whether people were rested or tired.
How many more reps, really?
134 total reps became 140, about 4% more
12 people did 4 sets each of squats, leg presses and leg extensions with a 10–12-rep weight. Total reps were 134.4 on placebo and 139.8 on baking soda. When 19 people did 3 sets of bench press to failure, total reps also rose, and the extra reps came in sets 2 and 3.
But the effect was small
A few extra reps across a whole workout
The same 19 people saw no difference in biceps curls. In a trial where 12 people did 6 sets each of chest and leg exercises, chest reps per set were 7.42 vs 7.1, not a meaningful difference. Baking soda added a few reps in the later, tired sets.
Stomach upset was common
Bloating, nausea, vomiting, belly pain
The amount most studies used is about 21 g for a 70 kg (154 lb) person. The most common side effects were bloating, nausea, vomiting and belly pain, and a 2026 review of 101 studies found this amount caused stomach upset ranging from mild to severe. In a 13-person trial, taking it with a high-carb meal caused the least stomach upset.
Bottom line: high-rep performance rises a little
Max weight stays the same, and stomach upset came with it
Baking soda raised muscular endurance but not max strength. The gain was a few reps over a whole workout in the later, tired sets (about 4% in a 12-person study). Stomach upset is common, so unless a few extra reps really matter that day, you can skip it.