In recent years a significant amount of research has been done on the effects of caffeine and athletic performance. This has especially increased with the introduction of commercially available caffeinated beverages and sports drinks. For example, Red Bull energy drinks are popular with athletes and non athletes and experiments have shown the drinks can improve cycling endurance performance by an average of 4.7% (1). Another reason for the increase is that up until 2004, caffeine was a prohibited substance in the sporting world but the protocol changed and it has now been legalised. However, it is still monitored by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) during competition phases to prevent substance misuse and in the past few years they have observed a significant increase in the use of caffeine in the athlete population.
Most of the research that has been undertaken has focused on endurance events in running, cycling, swimming and triathlon. Data collected so far has been conclusive in promoting the benefits (reaching up to 20-50%) of caffeine intake across a variety of sports and athletic activities for improving performance in time trials and endurance in open ended trials where the athlete has to continue exercising for as long as possible.
Optimum timing of intake and different ingestion protocols are interesting variables that could have an overall effect on performance that can be experimented with. Caffeine is best taken before you start the exercise or competition. Caffeine levels in the body can peak between 30-60minutes after ingestion so drinking a caffeinated drink 1 hour before your athletic event will be the most beneficial. Caffeine stays in your system for up to 6 hours so this can help out for much longer endurance events.
Lots of research has focused on different dosages of caffeine to try and determine a dose-response relationship and to find the optimum dose that has the greatest effect. A study investigated the effect of two doses of caffeine (3mg and 6mg per kg of bodyweight) on endurance cycle time trial performance with 16 experienced male cyclists. Results of the study indicated a significant improvement in performance in both the caffeine treatments compared to the placebo. The study concluded that a caffeine dose of 3mg per kg of bodyweight was sufficient in improving performance significantly, however doubling the dose did not result in any further improvements in time trial performance (2). Therefore, the highest caffeine dosage might not always be the best so pick one that works for you.
There are many different factors that can influence the effect of caffeine on the body such as age, gender, current intake of caffeine in the diet, tolerance levels, rate of caffeine metabolism and the caffeine dose. If you are interested in using caffeine as an aid to your performance then start off with small dosages and if these are well tolerated then experiment and gradually increase them.
Some examples of caffeine content in drinks:
- 65mg – Nespresso Coffee Capsules (39ml)
- 85mg – Red Bull (250ml can)
- 225mg – Starbucks Grande Caffe Americano
- 240mg – Mega Monster Energy Drink (709ml can)
- 240mg – Starbucks Tall Fresh Filter Coffee
Please feel free to contact the G4 Didsbury Clinic to speak to a member of our diet & nutrition team for any questions that you may have or if you wish to arrange a consultation to discuss your diet, nutrition and lifestyle.
References:
- Ivy, J., Kammer, L., Ding, Z., Wang, B., et al, Improved Cycling Time-Trial Performance After Ingestion of a Caffeine Energy Drink, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2009, 19, 61-78
- Desbrow, B., Biddulph, C., Devlin, B., et al. The effects of different doses of caffeine on endurance cycling time trial performance, Journal of Sport Sciences, 2012, Volume 30, (2), 115-120