The fact that caffeine provides an energy kick hasn’t escaped athletes. It’s well known to them that caffeine decreases the perceived difficulty of exercise. This fact comes in especially handy late in an event such as a triathlon, when your body would otherwise be screaming to slow the pace if not stop altogether. The same holds true for team sports, where players can be dragging from fatigue late in a game. That extra shot of energy can provide just enough of a surge to enable them to make that pinpoint pass, score, or make the play that gives their team the win.
Less appreciated is the fact that caffeine also boosts cognitive performance during exercise, and that it’s a benefit that applies to all sorts of athletes, including those involved in team sports.
Boosting cognitive performance gives you an edge
Okay, you’re thinking, “What in the world does cognitive performance have to do with athletic performance?”
Well, more than you might think.
Cognitive performance is a scientific catch-all phrase that encompasses critical performance factors such as concentration, focus, reaction time, and tactical decision making. Yes, physical skill will get you on the playing field; but when all is said and done, it’s how you put that skill to use, especially late in a game when everyone is tired, that determines who ends up with a “W.”
So cognitive performance is part of the mental side of sports performance. And no matter what your activity is — whether it’s a team sport, racquet sport, cycling, mountain biking, skiing, swinging a golf club, an endurance event, or even NASCAR racing — in order to be firing on all cylinders, you’ve not only got to have the upper hand physically, but you also need that mental edge. And a well-timed and -measured shot of caffeine might be just the thing to give you that edge.
The latest science
Exactly how caffeine works its magic isn’t fully known, but the experts believe that its power resides in the fact that it functions as a central nervous system stimulant. With caffeine circulating in your system, the chemical compound that would normally have you kicking back, calm, and maybe even feeling sleepy is effectively neutralized. As a result, not only do you feel and perform like you have more energy during exercise, you are sharper and more dialed in upstairs.
The brain-boosting benefit of caffeine during exercise isn’t just scientific theory. Published studies have demonstrated its benefits:
In a study of soccer players, researchers had athletes complete a 90-minute workout on the pitch, including tests of their soccer skills. An hour before the workout, players took either caffeine or a placebo without caffeine. After the data was tabulated, the investigators found that when the players took caffeine, their passing was more accurate and their jumping height was higher than when they had no caffeine in their system. And they accomplished this without any detrimental effects on other measures of performance.
But do those kinds of benefits really matter on the field?
The answer is yes, especially if you consider that threading the needle on a pass to a streaking forward late in a game, or getting an inch or two higher than your defender when trying to head the ball on a corner kick, might be the critical difference in a tight match.
Golf is another example of a sport where caffeine gets the thumbs up. A round of golf typically takes four or more hours to complete; as many golfers will attest, the combination of exertion, hunger, and dehydration out on the links can take a toll on your swing and your concentration. Putting accuracy can really tank late in a round. Researchers took a group of experienced golfers and had them consume a carbohydrate sports drink, with or without caffeine, before and during 18 holes of golf. At each hole, their putting performance was assessed, and every three holes they were asked to rate their mental fatigue and tiredness. Here again, as with the soccer players, caffeine had a beneficial effect. In fact, performance on the greens was better, and golfers reported less mental fatigue and tiredness, when they consumed the beverage with both caffeine and carbs as compared to the beverage with carbs alone.
A boost when it counts the most
Most athletes start an activity or a game feeling strong; it’s late in the contest when fatigue takes hold. As fatigue builds, concentration and focus start to wane, and reaction time and tactical decision making take a hit. This next study underscores the point that having some caffeine in the system might be most important when the going gets tough.
In the study, 24 trained cyclists consumed either a sports bar with carbohydrates and caffeine, a sports bar with just carbs and no caffeine, or a flavored beverage without carbs or caffeine. The athletes then rode at a moderate pace for 2.5 hours, and then at a vigorous pace until they became exhausted. The respective bars and beverage were consumed again about 1 hour and 2 hours into the exercise. Measures of cognitive performance were taken before, during, and just after exercise. As you probably can guess, cognitive function was slowest when the beverage alone was consumed and fastest when the bar with carbs and caffeine was provided. And not only did this cognitive benefit occur during exercise, it persisted even after exercise, despite the fact that athletes who took the carb-caffeine combination were able to ride for a longer period before becoming exhausted.
A one-two punch
The findings from the cycling study bring up another important point: Don’t miss out on the one-two punch that a combination of carbs and caffeine can offer, because each can independently boost cognitive performance. If you compete long enough, your muscles will run low on carbs, and you can bet that your brain will be running low on glucose, its preferred fuel. So by providing a combination of carbs and caffeine during exercise of an hour or more, you can reap the full performance benefits that each has to offer.
Get practical
If you’re intrigued, you’re probably also wondering how much caffeine you need in order to boost cognitive performance, and how you go about taking in caffeine during your activity.
Generally, lower amounts of caffeine get the job done. The recommended caffeine dose for performance improvement is 0.45–1.36 mg caffeine per lb body weight (1–3 mg per kg). For a 150-lb (68-kg) athlete, that equates to a dose of about 68–204 mg of caffeine. It’s a good idea to use the lowest dose that’s effective for you. You can take in caffeine all at once in the hour before your activity; better yet, spread out your caffeine intake by taking some before and some during exercise.
PowerBar
® makes it easy to get the caffeine and carbs that you need before and during your activity with
PowerBar® Energy Blasts gel filled chews and
PowerBar® Energy Gel.
- PowerBar Energy Blasts gel filled chews offer a choice of 25 mg, 50 mg, or no caffeine per serving (see following table). They are formulated with PowerBar® C2MAX dual source energy blend, a 2:1 glucose-to-fructose blend that has been found to deliver 20–50% more energy to muscles than glucose alone and to improve endurance performance by 8%. Consume a packet of Energy Blasts gel filled chews 30–60 minutes before exercise in order to top off energy stores and get a shot of caffeine. And during activities lasting longer than 1 hour, have 1–3 Energy Blasts gel filled chews every 10 minutes.
- PowerBar Energy Gel offers a choice of 25 mg, 50 mg, or no caffeine per serving (see following table). It too is formulated with PowerBar C2MAX dual source energy blend. PowerBar Energy Gels also contain 200 mg of sodium — a key electrolyte that is lost in sweat; inadequate sodium levels are associated with muscle cramping in some athletes. Consume 1–2 PowerBar Energy Gels every 20–45 minutes during your activity, followed by a few sips of water. (Note: One PowerBar Energy Gel is the energy equivalent of six Energy Blasts gel filled chews.)
| Caffeine Source | Serving Size | Caffeine
(mg/serving) | Carbs
(g/serving) |
PowerBar® Energy Gel varieties with 2x caffeine:
- Double Latte
- Tangerine | 1 packet | 50 | 27 |
PowerBar Energy Gel varieties with 1x caffeine:
- Chocolate
- Green Apple
- Strawberry Banana | 1 packet | 25 | 27–28 |
PowerBar Energy Gel varieties with no caffeine:
- Raspberry Cream
- Vanilla | 1 packet | 0 | 27 |
PowerBar® Energy Blasts gel filled chews
varieties with 2x caffeine:
- Cola | 6 pieces | 50 | 30 |
PowerBar Energy Blasts gel filled chews
varieties with 1x caffeine:
- Strawberry Banana | 6 pieces | 25 | 30 |
PowerBar Energy Blasts gel filled chews
varieties with no caffeine:
- Raspberry
- Lemon | 6 pieces | 0 | 30 |
|
For more information on the role of caffeine in boosting athletic performance, click on this link
Using Caffeine to Improve Athletic Performance.
References:
Foskett A, Ali A, Grant N. Caffeine Enhances Cognitive Function and Skill Performance During Simulated Soccer Activity. Int J Sports Nutr Exerc Metab 2009; 19: 410–423.
Stevenson EJ, Hayes PR, Allison SJ. The Effect of a Carbohydrate-Caffeine Sports Drink on Simulated Golf Performance. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2009; 34: 681–688.
Hogervorst E, Bandelow S, Schmitt J, Jentjens R, Oliveira M, Allgrove J, Carter T, Gleeson M. Caffeine Improves Physical and Cognitive Performance During Exhaustive Exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2008; 40: 1,841–1,851.
Sokmen B, Armstrong LE, Kraemer WJ, Casa DJ, Dias JC, Judelson DA, Maresh CM. Caffeine Use in Sports: Considerations for the Athlete. J Strength Conditioning Res 2008; 22: 978–986.
Topics:
During, Research, Brain Function, Usage, Caffeine
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