CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION AND PERFORMANCE IN ELITE ATHLETES

Caffeine Consumption and Sport Performance in Elite Athletes

Hannah Still

Master of Physical Education

November 2015

Southwest Minnesota State University

Marshall, Minnesota 56528

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Section 2

Review of Selected Literature and Research

Section 2 discusses selected review literature and research dealing with

caffeine consumption within sports performance in a variety of elite level sports.

Chapter 2 is divided into sections which include (a) a background of caffeine, (b)

rules and regulations of caffeine within athletics, (c) caffeine consumption and

enhancing performance, and (d) summary and conclusion of literature reviewed.

It is important to note that caffeine consumption has been actively researched

since the 1970s, but most studies on caffeine consumption were carried out from

2012-2015. This recent research is looking at different amounts of caffeine

consumption taken in a variety of forms to understand if this is helping with

enhancements in sports performance.

Background of Caffeine

Caffeine is a common stimulant that is ingested worldwide by most of

todays population in hopes to activate the brain and fight of drowsiness. As for

the world of athletics, caffeine usage has always had a high tolerance. Caffeine is

a naturally occurring plant alkaloid that is found in over 60 different plant species,

but is a stimulant that is classified as a drug due to its lack of nutritional value

(Kielser & Armsey, 2006.). Caffeine can be consumed in many different forms

such a coffee, soft drinks, energy drinks, chocolate, as well as over the counter
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stimulants, appetite suppressants, analgesics, and cold and sinus preparations

(Kielser & Armsey, 2006.). Although there are many different forms of caffeine,

according to Kiesler and Armsey (2006), 75% of caffeine is consumed in the form

of coffee.

As shown in various studies, caffeine based energy drinks are the main

source used for research on sport performance. For instance, the separate studies

performed by Gallo-Salazar (2015) and Del Coso (2013) both used caffeinated

energy drinks for research on caffeine and sport performance. Del Coso also

performed another similar study in 2014 and used a caffeinated energy drink in

order to study the effects of caffeine consumption in exercise. Other research

used a caffeinated energy drink to study jump performance and activity patterns in

elite badminton players (Abian et al., 2015). While all of these used caffeinated

energy drinks as a form of consumption, they all ended in success by showing

improvement in sport performance.

With the variety of ways to consume caffeine, there are not only benefits,

but effects and risks that should be considered before ingesting. According to

Spriet (2014), high doses of caffeine intake (5-13 mg/kg) before endurance

activities are shown to have ergogenic effects. It was also revealed that high

doses of caffeine before exercise increased heart rates, increased blood lactate

levels, as well as increased blood free fatty acids and glycerol levels. While these
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effects have proved to be true through various studies, research has demonstrated

troubling side effects with high doses of caffeine before sport. Some of these

effects include gastrointestinal upset, nervousness, mental confusion, inability to

focus, and disturbed sleeping (Spriet, 2014). In studies where the caffeine dosage

was lowered to a restrained dose of 5-6 mg/kg, all of the ergogenic effects were

maintained, but the side effects still remained. Low doses of caffeine are

considered to be anything that is less than 3mg/kg (Spriet, 2014). Spriet (2014)

acknowledges that low caffeine doses do not alter responses to exercise; improve

alertness or cognitive processes during or after exercise; and are rarely associated

with any side effects, unlike the higher doses of caffeine consumption.

Caffeine is quickly absorbed, especially when ingested through coffee or

any type of capsule and can appear in the blood anywhere from 5-15 minutes with

peak time of anywhere from 40 to 80 minutes (Spriet, 2014). Due to caffeines

peak time being at 40-80 minutes, many studies that are presented usually wait up

to 60 minutes after caffeine consumption before administering a test.

Rules and Regulations

Caffeine Consumption and Enhancing Sport Performance

Caffeine research in exercise and sport has changed in the past few years

and has transitioned from regulations in sport to examining the potential

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ergogenic effects of different caffeine doses in a variety of sport performance

scenarios. Within this transition of caffeine consumption focusing more on sport

performance, many different scenarios are taking place to test this study. For

instance, these caffeine studies are either tested with endurance based activities or

agility/sprint based activities. These also are varied with many different dosages

of caffeine, whether it be low or high.

Caffeine Consumption in Endurance Activities

A study performed by Desbrow et al. in 2011 focused on the different doses of

caffeine on endurance cycling time trial performance in male athletes. These participants

either consumed the placebo (3mg/kg of caffeine capsules) or 6 mg/kg of caffeine

capsules, 90 minutes before completing the 75% of peak sustainable power output for 60

minutes. Although there was not a huge difference in the two different dosages of

caffeine, this study succeeded to show a significant improvement in exercise performance

with the higher doses of caffeine treatments compared to the placebo. The ingestion of

caffeine resulted in higher heart rates and proved to be beneficial to endurance

improvements for cyclists for up to one hour. Although this is true, greater levels of

circulating caffeine resulting from the higher doses do not equate to better performance

outcomes, rather than help improve cycling performance in well-trained and familiarized

athletes. Doubling the dose to 6mg/kg does not confer any additional improvements.

Irwin et al. (2010) performed a similar study dealing with high-intensity

endurance cycling performance, but took a different approach involving caffeine

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consumption. This study investigated the impact of a controlled four day withdrawal

period on the effect of an acute caffeine dose on endurance performance. Irwin et al.

(2010) states that caffeine elicits an ergogenic effect of endurance activities and that

habitual caffeine consumption can cause changes in the metabolic response to acute

caffeine ingestion, which may dampen the ergogenic potential of caffeine during

exercise. With this being said, the aim of this study was to explore the effect of acute

moderate caffeine dose (3mg/kg) on time trial performance, following a four day

controlled withdrawal period, in habitual caffeine consumers. The twelve male cyclists

that participated in this study were regular caffeine consumers and had to abstain for four

days from any forms of caffeine prior to the trials. During the withdrawal period, it was

reported by the participants that all but one experienced withdrawal-like symptoms,

including headaches and some level of fatigue, while also feeling less focused and

motivated. Following the four days of no caffeine consumption, the participants were

instructed to either ingest the placebo or the capsules that contained caffeine, ninety

minutes before completing time trials. These time trials included one hour of cycling at

75% peak sustainable power output. This study indicated that the four day withdrawal

period had no impact on the ergogenic effects, but it was reported that during the caffeine

treatment, many participants did report feeling more alert and not as tired.

Irwin et al. (2010) believes that one explanation for the inability of a withdrawal

period to influence the ergogenic potential of caffeine in the study performed, could be

the habitual intakes of the participants. Habitual intake of caffeine builds up a tolerance

to the effects of acute caffeine administration and it is proposed that at least four days of
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withdrawal from caffeine re-sensitizes an individual to the physiological effects of

caffeine. Therefore, acute caffeine supplementation positively effects exercise

performance and provides and ergogenic benefit in regular caffeine users regardless of a

withdrawal period (Irwin et al., 2010).

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References

Abian, P., Del Coso, J., Salinero, J. J., Gallo-Salazar, C., Areces, F., Ruiz-Vicente, D., &

Abian-Vicen, J. (2015). The ingestion of a caffeinated energy drink improves

jump performance and activity patterns in elite badminton players. Journal of

Sports Sciences, 33(10), 1042-1050.

Del Coso, J., Ramrez, J. A., Muoz, G., Portillo, J., Gonzalez-Milln, C., Muoz, V., &

Muoz-Guerra, J. (2013). Caffeine-containing energy drink improves physical

performance of elite rugby players during a simulated match. Applied Physiology,

Nutrition & Metabolism, 38(4), 368-374.

Del Coso, J., Prez-Lpez, A., Abian-Vicen, J., Salinero, J. J., Lara, B., & Valads, D.

(2014). Enhancing physical performance in male volleyball players with a

caffeine-containing energy drink. International Journal of Sports Physiology &

Performance, 9(6), 1013-1018.

Desbrow, B., Biddulph, C., Devlin, B., Grant, G. D., Anoopkumar-Dukie, S., & Leveritt,

M. D. 2012). The effects of different doses of caffeine on endurance cycling time

trial performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(2), 115-120.

Gallo-Salazar, C., Areces, F., Abin-Vicn, J., Lara, B., Salinero, J.J., Gonzalez-Milln,

C., & Del Coso, J. (2015). Enhancing physical performance in elite junior tennis
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Gwacham, N., & Wagner, D. R. (2012). Acute effects of a caffeine-taurine energy drink

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Keisler, B. D., & Armsey, T. D. (2006). Caffeine as an ergogenic aid. Current Sports

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Lorino, A. J., Lloyd, L. K., Crixell, S. H., & Walker, J. L. (2006). The effects of caffeine

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Rosenfeld, L. S., Mihalov, J. J., Carlson, S. J., & Mattia, A. (2014). Regulatory status of

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Spriet, L. (2014). Exercise and sport performance with low doses of caffeine. Sports

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Vanata, D. (2014). Caffeine improves sprint-distance performance among division II

collegiate swimmers. Sport Journal, 1.

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