The Effects of Acute Deep Seawater Supplementation on Muscle Function after Triathlon.

Trainers and athletes have always sought to reduce the failure of muscle function during long endurance events. However, nowadays, it is a topic that is generating much debate in the scientific field. Currently, deep-sea water (DSW) intake seems to be a suitable hydration alternative for this type of endurance event. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether DSW consumption during a triathlon event could preserve muscle function after exercise. Nineteen trained male triathletes (age = 39.0 ± 4.25 years; BMI = 23.67 ± 1.81 kg/m) randomly performed three triathlons, one of them consuming DSW (Totum SPORT 30 AB, Laboratories Quinton International, S.L., Spain), the other consuming isotonic placebo and the last with tap water-hydration. A vertical jump test with countermovement and an isometric muscle strength test were conducted before and after the triathlon test. There was a significant difference between treatment × time during the isometric muscle strength test. Based on the Tukey post hoc analysis, the peak net force decreased statistically in the placebo ( = 0.045) and control conditions ( = 0.026), but not in the experimental condition ( = 0.121). In addition, all of the conditions studied obtained similar results in the countermovement vertical jump after exercise. As a result, consumption of DSW seems to delay the failure of muscle function specifically in isometric exercises but does not improve performance in sports. Thus, DSW does not alter muscle capacity in a negative way; therefore, its consumption may be recommended.