Is caffeine a useful aid in sports?
Most people like coffee! But is caffeine a useful aid in sports?
Caffeine is one of the most popular ergogenic aids in sports. Caffeine acts at different levels in the organism by complex mechanisms. Experts agree that caffeine has positive effects on endurance performances in adult athletes and possible positive effects on fatigue, pain perception, vigilance and cognitive performances. Currently, there is no clear agreement as to specific short strength exercises such as weightlifting or short sprinting.
What types of exercise could benefit from caffeine according to recent studies?
● Endurance exercises (middle & long distances), high-intensity intermittent exercises (e.g. team sports)
Practical recommendations:
The recommended caffeine dose is 3-6 mg/kg body weight, about 60 min prior exercise. In longer endurance exercises, it may be useful to have a further intake 40-60 min before the final phase of the race. All new supplementation strategies should be defined by an expert and tested during training periods, based on individual protocols according to the exercise type.
Caffeine alone seems to be even more effective than coffee or energy drinks, where other compounds could interact with the caffeine. However, taking a supplement always means increasing the risk of positive doping tests, since supplements may be contaminated with prohibited substances which aren’t cited as ingredient. Since coffee is the most common source of caffeine and is both much safer and less controversial than a dietary supplement, it is the preferred option.
For a 70 kg athlete the effects can be observed with 2 cups of coffee.
Good to know:
● Caffeine is not recommended for young athletes under 18 years and every athlete should adopt a “food first” strategy. Supplements cannot compensate a nutrient poor diet.
● The response to caffeine is very individual, nervous and sensible athletes as well as nonusers should be cautious before using caffeine to avoid side-affects such as sweating, dizziness, tremors or sleeplessness.
● Caffeine is a stimulant which is still on the WADA monitoring program after its removal from the list of prohibited substances in 2004.
Sources:
Ahrens, J. N., Crixell, S. H., Lloyd, L. K., & Walker, J. L. (2007). The physiological effects of caffeine in women during treadmill walking. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21(1), 164–168. https://doi.org/10.1519/R-20115.1
Southward, K., Rutherfurd-Markwick, K. J., & Ali, A. (2018, August 6). The Effect of Acute Caffeine Ingestion on Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta–Analysis. Sports Medicine, Vol. 48, pp. 1913–1928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0939-8
Goldstein, E. R., Ziegenfuss, T., Kalman, D., Kreider, R., Campbell, B., Wilborn, C., Antonio, J. (2010). International society of sports nutrition position stand: Caffeine and performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Vol. 7, p. 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-7-5
Franco-Alvarenga, P. E., Brietzke, C., Canestri, R., Goethel, M. F., Hettinga, F., Santos, T. M., & Pires, F. O. (2019). Caffeine improved cycling trial performance in mentally fatigued cyclists, regardless of alterations in prefrontal cortex activation. Physiology and Behavior, 204, 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.02.009
Hodgson AB, Randell RK, Jeukendrup AE. (2013) The Metabolic and Performance Effects of Caffeine Compared to Coffee during Endurance Exercise. PLoS ONE 8(4): e59561.