Influence of Acute Beetroot Juice Intake on Agility Performance Immediately Post-Repeated Maximal Sprinting in Soccer Players.

BACKGROUND/

OBJECTIVES

Acute beetroot juice (BJ) nitrate supplementation may enhance agility and change of direction performance by increasing nitric oxide bioavailability and improving cognitive and skeletal muscle functions, thereby potentially attenuating post-sprint performance decrements.

METHODS

We investigated whether a single dose of BJ improves agility immediately after repeated maximal sprinting compared with a placebo (PL) in soccer players. Twenty-one male soccer players (competitive players: n = 8; recreational players: n = 13) completed a double-blind randomised crossover trial. Participants ingested 70 mL of BJ or PL; afterwards, they performed three sets of 6 × 20-m all-out sprints. Agility outcomes included simple response time (SRT), choice response time (CRT), and change-of-direction speed (CODS). Non-parametric analyses (Wilcoxon signed-rank test with effect size r) were applied.

RESULTS

Compared with PL, BJ improved CRT (BJ: 2.376 ± 0.255; PL: 2.534 ± 0.322; p < 0.001; r = 0.74; Z = -5.881) and CODS (BJ: 13.046 ± 1.512; PL: 13.651 ± 1.811; p < 0.001; r = 0.47; Z = -4.314). SRT was unchanged overall (BJ: 1.671 ± 0.195; PL: 1.707 ± 0.261; p = 0.185; r = 0.05; Z = -1.327).

CONCLUSIONS

Under practical field-based conditions, acute BJ intake enhanced post-sprint agility and change-of-direction performance, particularly CRT and CODS.