How Pre-Training Spinach and Arugula Can Improve Endurance Economy and Repeat Sprints
A nitrate-rich spinach or arugula dose before training can lower oxygen cost, improve blood flow, and sharpen repeat-effort performance—if you use the right dose and timing.
If you’ve ever watched heart rate drift higher on the same pace, or felt your second and third hard efforts fall apart even when you were “fit enough,” dietary nitrate is worth paying attention to. In controlled studies, nitrate from vegetables can improve exercise economy and repeated high-intensity performance by increasing nitric oxide availability, which affects blood flow, muscle efficiency, and contractile function (Larsen et al., 2007; Jones, 2014).
Spinach and arugula are practical nitrate sources. They are not magic. But if you time them correctly and dose them consistently, they can be a useful performance tool for runners, rowers, cyclists, team-sport athletes, and hybrid trainees who need better output per unit oxygen.
Why nitrate matters for performance
Dietary nitrate follows a simple pathway: nitrate is absorbed, concentrated in saliva, converted by oral bacteria to nitrite, and then reduced to nitric oxide in the body, especially when oxygen availability is low or exercise intensity is high (Lundberg et al., 2008). Nitric oxide helps vasodilation, blood flow distribution, mitochondrial efficiency, and muscle force production.
The performance outcome is not “more cardio” in a broad sense. The useful effect is smaller oxygen cost at a given workload and better maintenance of power during repeated hard efforts. In endurance settings, that can show up as a lower VO2 at the same pace or wattage. In repeat-sprint or interval settings, it can show up as higher quality across later reps (Jones, 2014; Senefeld et al., 2020).
Spinach and arugula as nitrate sources
Most athletes know about beetroot juice because it is standardized. Fewer use vegetables, even though spinach and arugula can deliver meaningful nitrate loads.
Typical nitrate content varies by growing conditions, season, and storage, but arugula is often among the richest common leafy greens, and spinach is also high enough to matter in practical portions. The problem is variability. A “salad” is not a dose unless you know the amount and timing.
A realistic pre-training target is about 5–8 mmol nitrate, which is roughly 310–500 mg nitrate. That range is commonly used in performance studies with nitrate-rich beet products and aligns with the dose range associated with ergogenic effects (McMahon et al., 2017; Senefeld et al., 2020). With vegetables, reaching this amount usually means a serious serving, not a side garnish.
Practical examples:
- Arugula: a large bowl or 100–200 g can approach meaningful nitrate intake, depending on the crop.
- Spinach: a large raw or lightly cooked serving can contribute heavily, but values vary widely.
Because of that variability, the main coaching lesson is this: use spinach and arugula as nitrate-rich foods, but don’t pretend they behave like a calibrated supplement unless you have nitrate data for the source.
What the research says about endurance economy
Endurance economy is the oxygen cost of a given pace or workload. Improve economy, and the same effort becomes cheaper. That matters in racing and in long training sessions because it delays fatigue at a given output.
Several studies have found improved exercise economy after nitrate supplementation. In one influential study, Larsen et al. (2007) showed reduced oxygen cost during submaximal exercise after nitrate intake. Other work has reported improved time-trial performance or efficiency, though results depend on fitness level, test type, and dose (Jones, 2014; McMahon et al., 2017).
The mechanism is not merely “more blood flow.” Nitric oxide appears to affect muscle energetics, calcium handling, and the balance of type I vs. type II fiber efficiency. In practical terms, the athlete does the same pace with slightly less oxygen demand, which can preserve reserve for later surges.
The effect is most relevant when the pace is hard enough to matter but not so maximal that every factor is already saturated. Think threshold runs, long intervals, tempo work, and sustained cycling efforts.
What the research says about repeat high-intensity performance
Repeat-sprint and repeated-bout work is where nitrate can be especially useful for field athletes and hybrid competitors. When efforts stack up, nitrate may help sustain power output and reduce the drop-off across later reps.
Meta-analytic findings suggest nitrate can improve repeated-sprint ability and some forms of high-intensity intermittent performance, with the best results often appearing in recreationally trained or moderately trained athletes rather than elite specialists (Senefeld et al., 2020). That makes sense: elite athletes often operate closer to physiological ceilings, leaving less room for small ergogenic shifts.
A practical interpretation:
- Better for: 6–15 x 20–60 second efforts, interval blocks, repeated hill sprints, shuttle runs, hard rowing/cycling intervals.
- Less reliable for: one-shot maximal tests where neural and technical factors dominate, or events where the athlete already has an optimized nitrate strategy.
If your training includes repeated hard outputs separated by incomplete recovery, nitrate-rich spinach or arugula can be a useful edge.
Timing, dose, and prep matter more than the food label
Nitrate is not a “just eat greens and hope” situation. You need a performance window.
Best timing
Take the nitrate-rich meal or drink about 2–3 hours before training or competition. Plasma nitrite tends to rise within this window, which is why most protocols use this timing (Jones, 2014).
Best dose
Aim for 5–8 mmol nitrate, roughly 310–500 mg, as a starting point. Some athletes will feel a benefit at the lower end; others need the upper end. Going far beyond that does not guarantee better performance and can increase the odds of GI issues if you cram in too much fiber.
Best food form
For real-world use, a spinach-arugula meal should be low in fat and moderate in fiber if you’re eating close to training. Large fat loads slow gastric emptying, and a huge fiber bomb can create GI distress. A simple meal works better:
- big arugula and spinach salad
- white rice or potatoes
- lean protein
- small amount of olive oil
That gives you nitrate without burying it under digestive stress.
Preserve the nitrate pathway
Avoid antibacterial mouthwash around the dose. The oral bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrite matter, and antiseptic mouthwash can blunt that conversion (Govoni et al., 2008). If you want the ergogenic effect, don’t sterilize the pathway.
Also, don’t rely on beet-free, nitrate-rich vegetables only to have a mouthwash habit sabotage the result.
Who benefits most
Nitrate-rich vegetable intake tends to be most useful when:
- you do sustained endurance work at moderate to hard intensity
- you need repeated high-intensity efforts with short rest
- your event lasts roughly 5 minutes to several hours, or includes many repeated accelerations
- you are not already saturating every possible performance lever
It is often more noticeable in sub-elite and recreationally trained athletes than in world-class performers (Senefeld et al., 2020). That is not a weakness. It means a well-programmed nutrition strategy may offer a real return where the athlete still has room to improve.
When it’s not worth forcing
Don’t make nitrate a religion.
Skip or reduce the dose if:
- you have a sensitive stomach and high-fiber meals bother you
- your event is too soon to digest a large salad
- your goal is pure maximal strength, where the evidence is weaker and the effect is less predictable
- you already know that certain vegetables cause bloating or urgency during hard sessions
You are trying to improve output, not win a stomach-content contest.
How to apply this
Use this as a simple, repeatable protocol for two weeks and assess whether your training feels cheaper or your repeat efforts hold up better.
Pre-endurance session protocol
2–3 hours before training
- Eat a meal with 100–200 g arugula plus 100–150 g spinach
- Add 1–2 cups cooked white rice or 300–500 g potatoes
- Include 25–35 g lean protein
- Keep fat moderate: about 10–20 g
- Avoid antibacterial mouthwash for several hours before and after
Target session
- Tempo run, threshold ride, long intervals, or a race-pace workout
- Use a steady workload where improved economy would matter
Pre-repeat-effort protocol
2–3 hours before training
- Same nitrate-rich meal as above
- Keep the pre-session meal lower in fiber than a giant raw vegetable bowl if you are prone to GI symptoms
Workout
- 8–12 x 30 seconds hard / 60–90 seconds easy
- or 6–10 x 400 m with incomplete recovery
- or 2–4 sets of 5 x 20 seconds hard with 40 seconds easy, 3 minutes between sets
Track whether later reps stay closer to early-rep power, pace, or split times.
Weekly checklist
- Use nitrate-rich spinach/arugula before 1–3 key sessions per week
- Keep the dose consistent for 2 weeks
- Compare pace, wattage, HR drift, and perceived exertion against normal
- If GI comfort is poor, reduce fiber or shift the meal earlier
- If nothing changes, do not force the strategy into every workout
The coach’s bottom line
Spinach and arugula can absolutely function as performance foods when you treat them like a dose, not a garnish. The strongest use case is a 2–3 hour pre-training meal that delivers a meaningful nitrate load for better economy, better blood flow regulation, and better maintenance of power during repeated hard work (Larsen et al., 2007; Jones, 2014; Senefeld et al., 2020).
Use enough nitrate, use the right timing, and don’t sabotage the pathway with antiseptic mouthwash. If you do that, a simple pile of greens can become a real training-day advantage.