4. Discussion
muscle mass
The purpose of the current study was to determine whether a 9-week ACC supplementation can improve 1-RM values generated during bench press and back squat exercises in women undergoing resistance training. The main finding of the study was a significant 1-RM improvement in the back squat exercise in the ACC group compared with the PL group, whether expressed in absolute values (kg), normalized to body mass (BW), or to lean body mass (LBM) to minimize the large variance of BW, LBM, and 1-RM values. The lack of a significant difference between groups in 1-RM values generated in the bench press exercise following the intervention period may be explained by the smaller muscle mass of those participants performing this task [To the best of our knowledge, there are no published studies that determine the ergogenic effect of ACC supplementation. Therefore, we compared our results with studies using sodium bicarbonate (NaHCOThe overall improvement in the 1-RM values among all participants (within group) in the current study is a result of the well-controlled training. Considering that most of the participants began the study with relatively low muscle strength (i.e., mean back squat 1-RM values = 53.8 ± 11.5 kg), this was an expected outcome [Calcium supplementations has generally not been considered ergogenic [Considering the role of the carbonate component of the ACC, Hoffman et al. [Bicarbonate comprises ∼95% of the body’s total COThe current study is the first to examine possible ergogenic effects of ACC supplementation. Since all the participants underwent an identical training program, administered and supervised by the same research team personnel, close supervision of the participants’ adherence to ACC/placebo consumption was possible. Study limitations include the fact that measuring initial calcium blood levels before and after the study period might have been valuable in better understanding daily calcium intake and response to the supplementation.