The Bitter Taste that Gets You Going: Quinine Mouthrinse Provides Instant 4% Power Boost During 30s All-Out Sprint
Getting ready for an all-out sprint? A bitter mouth rinse W/ quinine will provide instant power boost of 4% in ‘ur 30s cycle sprint more than a sweet mouth rinse could do . If you're a powerlifter, the idea that rinsing your mouth with a bitter substance can improve your performance is probably no news for you... even though, powerlifters smell, not taste ammonia, smelling and tasting are, after all, more or less two sides of the same coin (Rozin. 1982). Against that background and in view of the similar brain activation patterns scientists have observed in response to bitter and sweet taste perception, it appears only logical for Sharon Gam et al. to speculate in a 2014 paper, which is still worth its own SuppVersity article (!), that rinsing w/ quinine, a distinctly bitter substance, could produce the same or at least similar power increments as sweet substances. For longer sprints bicarbonate may be the more effective choice The Hazards of Acidosis Build Bigger L...