For me personally, caffeine in the form of a coffee is part of my morning ritual. I love the taste and the social connection that comes alongside it ☕️
Caffeine is also one of the most well researched ergogenic (performance enhancing) agents used within the sports performance space, and for good reason. The vast majority of studies show that caffeine, used at the correct time and appropriate dose can enhance endurance and high intensity exercise performance in both recreational and highly trained individuals.
What is caffeine and how does it work?
Caffeine is a naturally occurring chemical found in a variety of plant derived consumables including cocoa and coffee beans, tea and guarana. From these, manufacturers have been able to isolate and concentrate caffeine to then add to a wide variety of products including soft drinks, energy drinks, chewing gum, tablets and sports nutrition products (pre workout, energy gels/ chews etc).
Caffeine is highly bioavailable, appearing in the bloodstream just minutes after being ingested and peaking in concentration within 30-120 minutes (depending on the source & concentration ingested). The Rate at which is metabolised, broken down and excreted is largely individual - which is why some people will be more sensitive than others to its effects.
Its performance enhancing effects are thought to be through action on:
The central nervous system (CNS): By blocking Adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine is a naturally occurring compound found in our body which circulates and binds to receptors in the brain leading to feelings of fatigue, lethargy & even heightened pain response. By blocking adenosine form binding, caffeine delays/ offsets fatigue and can reduce rate of perceived exertion (RPE)/ discomfort during exercise.
The skeletal muscles: By increasing the availability of calcium (Ca2+) which is used in muscle contraction and force production.
Glycogen repletion: By facilitating resynthesis of glycogen when consumed alongside carbohydrates (CHO) post exercise. Particularly if only suboptimal CHO is tolerated. Thus playing a role in recovery.
Not to mention the effects of increased alertness, concentration and focus that can play an important part of sports performance.
How much do I need?
Most of us can probably relate to that ‘wired’ feeling, shakes/ anxiousness, poor sleep and even heart palpitations after having to much coffee……which are all symptoms of caffeine overconsumption that we want to avoid.
Research has consistently shown caffeine doses of 3-6 mg/ kg body weight can improve sports performance.
For some individuals as little as 1 - 2 mg/ kg can have a similar impact as lower doses and mega dosing >9 mg/ kg is likely to cause significant negative side effects without eliciting any further performance benefits. It's also worth mentioning that for elites competing, overdosing caffeine can lead to disqualification through blood serology testing.
If you don’t use caffeine or have very little in your diet at baseline it would be sensible to start right at the lower end (1-2mg/ kg) and work upwards to find your sweet spot.
How and when should I take it?
Everyone jumps to coffee when caffeine is mentioned, but there is a wide variety of ways to consume caffeine including;
Caffeinated chewing gum
Caffeine tablets
Energy gels
Energy chews
Caffeinated energy drinks
Mouth rinses/ shots
Chocolate
The dose of caffeine different products contain will vary wildly so it's essential that you check before consuming and also consider how many you may be planning to consume to ensure you don’t overdose. This is particularly true when using gels/ chews/ drinks if also used as a source of CHO!
Commonly it is recommended to consume caffeine ~60 minutes before exercise.
However, you may want to tweak this depending on your chosen caffeine source. For example; caffeine in chewing gum and tablets will be more rapidly absorbed than that found in your gels or coffee so you may wish to take these <30 minutes.
In very long duration efforts, taking on a source of caffeine mid way - later stages of the session may be helpful to take the edge of discomfort/ fatigue and maintain focus.
The bottom line is that your ideal dose, timing and source of caffeine is likely going to be different to the next person so it's important that you explore different products and try out during your training to find what's right for you!
Like any other ergogenic agent you should treat caffeine as the ‘icing on the cake’ and consider after you have nailed good foundations of nutrition. It should not take the place of carbohydrates and, if you find you are leaning on caffeine for ‘energy’ you probably need to stop and ensure you are consuming adequate calories and macronutrients to support your training .
Feeling lost? Feel you would benefit from some individualised sports nutrition advice? Get in contact with me!
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Good reads below:
Lowery, L. M., et al. (2023) International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 20(1): 2237952. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2023.2237952
Jeukendrup, A. (2017). Can caffeine improve absorption of carbs?. MySportsScience https://www.mysportscience.com/post/2017/04/11/can-caffeine-improve-absorption-of-carbs
Jeukendrup, A. (2017). How does caffeine work?. MySportsScience
Pedersen, D. J., et al. (2008) High rates of muscle glycogen resynthesis after exhaustive exercise when carbohydrate is coingested with caffeine. Journal of Applied Physiology, 105(1):7-13. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01121.2007.
Velasquez, N. S., et al. (2024). Can caffeine improve your performance? Psychophysiological effects - A systematic review. doi: 10.20960/nh.04820. Online ahead of print
Yeo, S. E., et al. (2005) Caffeine increases exogenous carbohydrate oxidation during exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 99 (3), 844-50. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00170.2005