For many athletes, especially those who exercise in the morning,
workout begins with a cup of coffee. For athletes and non-athletes alike,
coffee jump starts their day. This caffeinated boost wakes us up and
makes us more alert. With the proliferation of coffee shops on every
corner and caffeinated products sold in grocery and convenience stores, we have
become a caffeinated nation. Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the
world.
Although the benefits of caffeine in endurance exercise were
first reported over 30 years ago, new studies reveal that caffeine offers
athletes so many advantages that it should become an integral part of their
regular workout regimen. First and most important, caffeine is
exceedingly safe. Even high levels of regular caffeine are not associated
with any significant health risk. In fact, research is showing that
caffeine may offer long-term health benefits in older people. Here are
the latest facts about caffeine.
Caffeine Extends Endurance
The original research on caffeine in the 60’s suggested that
caffeine improves endurance by sparing muscle glycogen. Your muscles
contain a fixed amount of glycogen, the muscle’s energy source. When
glycogen levels are depleted, you hit the wall or bonk. Caffeine may
preserve muscle glycogen by increasing the use of fat as an energy
source.
The latest research suggests that caffeine may extend endurance
through different mechanisms. Scientists at the University of England in
Birmingham found that when caffeine was combined with carbohydrate it
stimulated the utilization of the carbohydrate in the sports drink as an energy
source. The researchers also found that caffeine increased the absorption
rate of the carbohydrate, which meant faster delivery to the muscle where it
could be converted into energy.
We now know that the brain plays an important role in extending
endurance. Fatigue signals emanating from the brain send a message to our
muscle telling us we are tired and should stop. Caffeine, by blocking
these specific signals, delays fatigue. The effect of caffeine on the
brain may also explain Australian studies that found that caffeine consumed one
hour before running sprints improves speed. In this case, caffeine may
speed muscle contraction.
Not Just Endurance
The benefits of caffeine are not limited to just endurance
activities. English researchers found that consuming caffeine before a
standard weight training regimen significantly delayed fatigue as measured by
the number of repetitions. The researchers suggested that caffeine helps
generate more forceful muscle contractions.
Even in team sports, caffeine was shown to improve
performance. Soccer players consuming caffeine dribbled, headed and
kicked the ball more accurately than when they didn’t consume caffeine.
This impressive data suggests that every athlete should
incorporate caffeine into their exercise regimen. However, there are some
myths about caffeine that many athletes believe. The first myth is that
caffeine, because of its diuretic effect, causes dehydration. The studies
show, however, that you can have up to five cups of coffee without affecting
hydration levels. In other words you can consume quite a few caffeinated
sports drinks and gels, such as 2nd Surge Gel (Chocolate &
Double Expresso contains 100mg) or Accel Gel (Chocolate
contains 20mg and Raspberry Cream has 40mg) .
The second myth is that caffeine causes GI problems. Since
surveys show that 85% of runners have GI problems at least one during a year,
the last thing they want to do is take a product that may exacerbate the
issue. In a 2005 study, researchers found that although sports drinks
cause more GI problems than water, sports drinks with caffeine caused no more
problems than sports drink without caffeine.
The Bottom Line
– Caffeine can significantly improve cycling performance
– Caffeine in doses up to 500mg is exceedingly safe for most
individuals
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