Pre-workout: caffeine is ideal for improving performance – 02/16/2023 – Equilibrium

For two years, Steph Gaudreau gave up her daily cup of coffee. She switched to large mugs of herbal tea, not because the caffeine was affecting her sleep or making her anxious, but to gain an edge on cross-country mountain bike races.

Hoping to boost the substance’s effect as a performance aid, Gaudreau, who lives in San Diego, Calif., would drink a cup of coffee on race day while warming up. When the pre-run caffeine boost kicked in, the athlete, now a nutrition therapist and strength coach, says she felt a sense of euphoria that helped her stay focused and mentally prepared for the run. The strategy worked. In 2010, she won first place in a regional amateur cycling race called the Kenda Cup.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world and one of the most studied. Scientists have observed caffeine’s effect on athletics since the 1900s. While there is still some disagreement as to the exact mechanism by which caffeine consumption affects exercise performance, and whether taking a break until race day can provide an advantage, scientists agree that a pre-workout cup of coffee can boost performance, whether you’re playing in the NBA or just running around your neighborhood.

However, it’s important to be aware of the potential downsides of caffeine consumption and know how best to use it to your advantage during your workout.

What are the benefits?

Gaudreau did not imagine the effect of his cup of coffee before the race. There is a good consensus among scientists that caffeine gives an advantage in exercise, whether it is running a marathon, lifting weights or playing football, says Nanci Guest, nutritionist, coach and researcher at the University of Toronto (Canada), who in 2021 led a comprehensive review of caffeine and exercise studies.

Whether consumed through coffee, a training supplement or an energy drink, caffeine tends to improve performance by an average of 2% to 5%, points out Brad Schoenfeld, professor of exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx and director of the human performance and school physical conditioning.

While caffeine moderately improves anaerobic activities (short, intense exercise) such as weight lifting, running, and high-intensity interval training, it appears to show the greatest benefit with aerobic efforts (longer, less intense exercise) such as swimming, cycling and run.

For example, a 2020 analysis of several studies on caffeine’s effect on rowing performance found that competitive rowers improved their time in a 2,000-meter lane by about four seconds after using caffeine.

“It takes a lot of work to drop the 2,000-meter row if you’ve been training for a few years,” says Mike T. Nelson, associate professor at the Carrick Institute of Clinical Neuroscience. “But if you say, ‘Hey, just take this supplement and we can instantly drop your time by four seconds,’ I’ll take the supplement.”

This response to caffeine varies from person to person, depending on factors such as genetics, gender, hormonal activity and even diet. Some see performance improvement of over 5%, while others barely notice it.

“There are caffeine fast metabolizers and caffeine slow metabolizers,” says Nelson.

How it works?

Caffeine’s influence on our nervous system starts with adenosine, a neurotransmitter that binds to specific receptors and makes us drowsy. Caffeine binds to these same receptors, blocking the function of adenosine.

“When caffeine blocks this receptor, the result is a stimulant effect,” says Guest. This, in turn, releases other hormones like dopamine and epinephrine, which are related to mood, focus, and alertness.

Some studies have shown that caffeine also helps our muscles produce more force. Our bodies need calcium to initiate muscle contractions, and caffeine helps to mobilize calcium ions so that they have greater interaction with the filaments that induce muscle fiber contractions.

“Caffeine increases the muscles’ ability to contract at a greater rate and therefore would create greater force,” says Schoenfeld.

Other studies show another powerful force at work: the placebo effect. If we expect caffeine to help us perform better, this might be enough. In one small study, competitive sprinters performed as well on caffeine as they did on a placebo, as long as they were told they had ingested caffeine. When the athletes were told they were given a placebo, they ran slower even though they had been given caffeine.

In other studies, such as the one on rowing, experts see improvements in performance over placebos, but not in measures such as oxygen consumption, heart rate or perceived difficulty in training. The human body is extremely complex, Schoenfeld says, and it’s often difficult to unravel a chemical’s effect on athletic performance.

How to use to help performance?

Whether physical or mental, the benefits of caffeine apply to competitive athletes and those who just want a slight improvement in their training. One study showed that caffeine improved the performance of 5K runners by 11 seconds and recreational athletes by 12 seconds.

“For the elite or top-level athlete, that means a lot,” says Nelson.

Studies show that the ideal performance-enhancing dose ranges between 3 and 6 mg per kilogram of body mass (although some research shows that lower doses can work).

For example, a 226mg cup of coffee has about 100mg of caffeine, although this can vary depending on the type of coffee and method of brewing. So two cups of coffee for a 160-pound person comes out to 2.9 milligrams per pound.

You may need to experiment to find the dose that’s right for you because people metabolize caffeine differently. Whatever your ideal dosage is, make sure you take it about an hour before exercise so your bloodstream has time to absorb the caffeine.

“The only thing I would say,” Guest says, “is that someone who isn’t really expending a lot of energy, like if they’re going for a walk, should probably use a lower dose, because when you’re aroused you need an outlet. “

Side effects and tolerance breaks

While caffeine can aid exercise performance, it does have some adverse effects.

“If their performance involves fine motor skills, these people tend to do worse,” Nelson points out.

If you drink coffee later in the day to help with your nightly workout, it could be interfering with your sleep.

“People underestimate the value of sleep,” says Guest. Any performance gains that caffeine is giving you could be negated if you are chronically sleep deprived. Caffeine also has other side effects for some people, including nervousness, anxiety and increased blood pressure.

If caffeine makes your sleep worse, she recommends taking it about eight to 12 hours before bed, depending on how quickly your body metabolizes the chemical.

As for Gaudreau’s strategy of abstaining from caffeine to enhance its performance-enhancing effects, a recent analysis of several studies found that habitual consumption does not attenuate the performance-enhancing effects of caffeine.

You may experience a stronger placebo effect if you reserve caffeine use for before a competition. But Guest also warns that the side effects of giving up caffeine, such as headaches, fatigue and impaired concentration, can affect your workouts.

For those who are not competitive athletes, the benefit of caffeine may be more for going to the gym than performing well there. After all, if a morning cup of coffee is what gets you out of bed, it might be all the performance boost you need.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves