Haha! Trial and error!
You can always add more lotion to even out proportions. I started with a hypoallergenic base lotion - and bought several giant bottles. So I can always thin down the solution.
My wife’s input was that there is a limit as to how much bicarb the body will actually absorb. This is the role of the menthol in this formula - to enhance absorption. So, I don’t think it’s possible to get carried away with “too much” notions. The body will only take what it’s going to take.
If anyone does some more DIY versions I’d be interested in hearing about the recipe/results.
Made my own today using Lotion and Warming up Linament oil with almost a box of bi carb. No scientific amounts.
It came out as a thick cream lotion. Slightly gritty but not overly
Applying was easy. Left a slight residue. After 30mins wipes off as per instructions. This
Was Post training.
I just did my first tries of homemade bicarb lotion.
I went to the drugstore and asked for the most neutral, perfume free lotion. I was asked what for and said skin moisturizer as I was ashamed to tell my project… I ended up with Dexeryl cream.
For my first try, I mixed 5g bicarb with 20g of cream. I kept pretty much the same ratio for the second small batch, but I made a little less (it’s largely enough for my two full chicken legs). The texture is really gritty and my mix has probably too much bicarb.
I did Lamarck and Leconte with cream on my legs. I put it 30min before the workout and then clean with a baby wipe.
I made both of these though workouts without a single backpedal. I felt ok until the end and could maybe have done one more interval.
I don’t know about placebo effect, but too many elements must be considered to really know if the lotion was effective. First, I’m in my second SSB II LV in a row and I could handle these workouts last time I did them. Second element is glycogen stores. I had pretty good lunches the day prior and I think my stores were full. Sleep was okay too.
In any case, it’s really difficult for me to tell if my legs are burning more or less than usual.
What’s different is recovery. I really don’t feel as still and tired today. Same after Lamarck. But again, I handled nutrition pretty good after the workouts.
I’ll try again a few times. I know my FTP progression pretty well after SSB and I’ll see if it can impact ramp test (still paying attention not to over increase FTP, as I clearly won’t deal with this mess on my legs for every workout…)
TLDR : homemade bicarb lotion made me feel slightly better the day after hard sweet spot workouts, but it’s hard to tell if it was it or just good recovery.
For those who tried homemade lotion, what’s the name of the base you used ?
My base was whatever natural lotion my wife had, no scent, and a warming up Goanna liniment oil. I love the smell of liniment oil.
I can hear,
“Who used up my 2 year supply of my expensive lotion?” 
Ramp test today after 5 weeks of SSBLV1. Used Amp Human on previous test and todays test. Starting FTP was 173. Todays test was 189. This is back to closer where I was at the start of the year. No burning in legs. I normally feel the muscular enduarnce part to be my limiter but today it was not as noticeable. I did expect a bump in FTP and was hoping to hit 180 as it was only the start of base training with some extra rides thrown in most weeks.
No idea if amp human really works physically but it definitely has a mental impact. Ordered more today.
A new related podcast episode (I haven’t listened yet, but will soon).
https://www.podbean.com/site/EpisodeDownload/DIR76393C53ZS9C
Just listened to this. Interesting that it’s intended to be more of a training aid than a race day enhancement.
Cynically, they will sell more that way 
There were several mentions of using several tubes a month, and at $35/tube that really adds up.
I find it interesting that there is another lotion “Lactigo” that also claims a performance increase. This does not have sodium bicarbonate, but does have menthol like PR lotion does.
I’d be really interested to see an analysis that looks at how much bicarbonate actually gets put on the skin, and compare that with how many H+ ion are generated during a workout. This would seem to place some hard bounds on how much benefit it could provide.
Also, they stated that the absorption was complete in about 30 minutes. Unless the bicarbonate can remain in the blood (or readily available) for a long time after that I’m skeptical that the buffering they claim is the actual mechanism at work. The Lactigo people claim their stuff works with just menthol and another topical analgesic.
I heard in a recent podcast that the creators have version 2 of amp human coming out shortly after the new year.
I used it last year. definitely felt a big difference when I used it on race day like I could push harder without my legs burning up. Didn’t feel a difference in recovery. Too expensive for me to try to train with it
Think I’m going to wait for version 2 to come out before trying it. They said the new version will be less messy/easier to apply.
It has certainly made a believer out of me. I don’t use it everyday but it is a definite part of my pre event/group ride/ long trainer ride routine. Definitely seems to help me.
Just finished the FLO podcast. Interesting product and in theory it’ll work best for football(american) or NHL players. I went through this thread and there’s some misconceptions about how the cream works.
Menthol is not the primary promoter of absorption. This appears to be a liposome product which allows it to penetrate through the skin because our cell membranes are semi permeable lipid bilayers.
A made at home cream is not going to work because just mixing lotion with sodium bicarbonate does not make a liposome. One would need the right blend of chemicals and probably use something like sonication to create liposome encapsulations of sodium bicarb.
Theoretically, applying either to a right/left leg or specific area probably won’t make much of a difference because once absorbed, the sodium bicarb is a very polar/hydrophilic (distributes in water like table salt) substance and would spread through the rest of the body by the circulatory system.
As one of the oldest known performance enhancing substances, this is a very interesting way to bump up your ability to increase your bicarb intake. Theoretically this would be great for track and crit racers. Anytime you are bumping up on your anaerobic threshold, this would act like a buffer that gives you a little decrease in RPE or extend your ability to perform at an anaerobic effort for longer before you are overwhelmed by the protons (acid). I would expect this to perform similarly to beta alanine supplementation.
I would be very interested in someone’s experience of using this for HIIT.
I will be covering myself in my Lotion this Friday for DD!!!
Ditto.
My own cautionary tale about making your own bicarb cream…
I read the post above and was like, sure worth a try. I mixed the bicarbonate soda and lotion. I don’t know if it was a placebo but I had a couple of great rides with decent feeling legs.
I wanted to make a couple of applications, so I chucked it in a clean hair product container. Anyway, skip forward to today. I was sitting at my desk when I heard a strange creaking noise, which gave me just enough time to turn and see the container explode quite spectacularly. It turns out mixing a slightly acidic mixture with bicarb and putting it in a container… isn’t a good idea. Had enough force to break 2mm plastic.
I might consign this idea to the “eh, if it was actually practical” pile.
Has anyone tried the new version of this lotion that was recently released? If so, what are your thoughts?
Timing was good as I used all the old stuff up and ordered the new lotion last week which arrived today. Will try it later this evening for a TR indoor session and give some feedback afterwards…
