Optimum Performance and the Use of Caffeine
January 11, 2009
Do you grab a quick caffeinated beverage before racing, or chug a caffeinated sports drink during your workout? Many athletes believe consuming a shot or two of caffeine is an ideal way to get that quick boost of energy in the quest for better performance. However the effects of caffeine on your endurance training may not be giving you the results you are looking for. Of course, many people use caffeine throughout their day to help stimulate them during daily activities and energize them during their workouts. Understanding the effects that caffeine has on a body is important in deciding whether or not to use caffeine as part of your training program.
Caffeine is actually a toxic stimulant found in nature. Although it revs the body up, it provides zero in terms of energy. After ingesting caffeine, your body automatically begins the process of metabolizing (getting rid of) it. This metabolic activity actually costs you energy and takes it from your storage of nutrients. Therefore a stimulant like caffeine triggers an abnormal “speeding up” reaction to begin eliminating it. This “speeding up” is the caffeine buzz you feel, but in actuality it is depleting your body of necessary energy and nutrients.
Not only does the process of metabolizing caffeine use up energy, it has diuretic effects (fluid loss) as the body tries to clear it from your system. This creates a negative water balance in your body, leading you to urinate more. Coupled with the elevated heart rate usually caused by caffeine, the diuretic effect could lead to over-stimulation of your body, potentially leading to dehydration in people already pushed to their physical limits. During this process of elimination we can be fooled into thinking that the stimulant is an energy value, when really it is an energy cost.
A recent article published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, titled “Caffeine and Endurance Performance”, by Matthew S. Ganio, et al., is a systematic review of 21 different studies which measured performance with a time-trial test. They looked at endurance events that were at least five (5) minutes or longer, such as cycling, running, etc. The authors of this study concluded that although the performance improvements were varied among the studies researched, they found that factors including timing, ingestion mode/vehicle, and subject habituation may have influenced study results.
One significant recommendation Ganio, et al., made from this review was that endurance athletes abstain from caffeine use at least seven (7) days before competition to maximize its ergogenic (boosting) effect. Also, it was noted by Ganio, et al. that if caffeine is used for an ergogenic effect, it should be ingested within 60 minutes or less of competition or training. The amount of caffeine commonly shown to improve endurance performance is between 3 and 6 mg. per kg-1 body mass. The caffeine benefit was equally effective when consumed with a carbohydrate solution, gum, or water alone, however coffee was noted to not to be as effective a caffeine source. When caffeine is used on a regular basis, the ergogenic effect is not as great, compared to using it sporadically or not at all.
Overall, chronic use of caffeine appears to have far less effective results in time-trial testing, and appears to cost the body energy and nutrients in elimination from the body on a daily basis. However, should an athlete decide that caffeine use is beneficial, it would make sense to follow the guidelines for amounts ingested and limit use during time trials spaced seven days or more apart, prior to race day. Determining the best use of caffeine, if any, is a personal decision best made with the advice of your physician and coach.
Before grabbing that caffeinated sports drink, consider the effects of caffeine on your body. Because of the generally negative effect that metabolizing caffeine has on a body, Coach Kaehler does not advocate the use of caffeine as a regular part of a training program. Instead, he believes that a well balanced, specially designed training and nutrition program is much more effective for achieving the maximum performance results desired on race day.
Coach Kaehler has posted this for informational purposes only, and that the use of caffeine for performance enhancement is a personal preference. It should be noted, however, that he does not recommend the use of caffeine for the clients he trains.
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