Acute beetroot juice supplementation did not enhance intermittent running performance in trained rugby players.

It has been suggested that NO₃^- supplementation might have ergogenic potential for team sport athletes, however, the impact of nitrate supplementation on intermittent running performance of rugby players is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of acute NO₃^- supplementation on the Prone Yo-Yo IR1 performance in trained male rugby players.Acute supplementation of high-dose nitrate supplementation substantially increased plasma NO₃^- and NO₂^- concentrations but did not improve the Prone Yo-Yo IR1 performance and countermovement jump performance in trained rugby players.The findings of the present study do not support acute BRJ supplementation as a nutritional ergogenic aid for trained rugby players, at least for the Prone Yo-Yo IR1performance, but are in line with the notion that supplementation of NO₃^- is less likely to be ergogenic in well trained athletes.