Beetroot juice did not add reps for women lifters on bench or leg press

Beetroot juice is sold as a pre-workout because its nitrate is supposed to boost muscular endurance. When researchers tested it in 16 resistance-trained women, reps did not go up. The women averaged 27 years old, with a 1RM of 31.4 kg on bench press and 198.6 kg on 45° leg press. The trial was randomized, double-blind and crossover, so each woman went through all three conditions.

What was compared?

• Nitrate-rich beetroot juice — a commercial shot with 12.8 mmol of nitrate
• Placebo drink — the same drink with only 0.92 mmol of nitrate
• Nothing — the control condition

Each drink was taken 2.5 hours before training. The women then did four sets to failure at 60% of 1RM on bench press and 45° leg press, resting 2 minutes between sets.

How different were the rep totals?

Total bench reps over four sets were 56.0 with beetroot juice, 58.9 with placebo and 55.6 with nothing. On leg press, beetroot juice actually produced the fewest: 79.3, against 80.4 with placebo and 82.6 with nothing. Neither difference was significant. Perceived exertion, heart rate, blood pressure and blood lactate did not differ from placebo. For a longer trial in which beetroot juice added nothing to 12 weeks of training, see the 12-week beetroot juice study.

What is worth logging instead?

If you want more reps on high-rep sets, rest intervals, sleep and how you felt that day are more worth writing down than a beetroot shot. If you still want to test a supplement, compare reps to failure at the same load and rest on several days with and without it. Differences of two or three reps, like those in this study, fall within normal day-to-day swing.