Caffeine
Show me someone who is involved in a sport that doesn’t use caffeine. If you can, I would put money on their performances improving if they consumed it. Caffeine sits in a rare area of being both a nutrient and a drug. It’s drunk in the morning before you head out the door. It’s drunk halfway through the day to pick you up. It’s drunk while catching up with your friends. The same thing we use, and abuse, so readily in our daily lives can have a huge impact on our performance. It’s one of the five compounds that have enough evidence to be included in the International Olympic Committee Consensus. So what is it, why should you be consuming it and how.
Let’s start at the foundation of every movement we make. For us to move or carry out any biological process we require energy and that energy comes in the form of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). The first part of that name is crucial, adenosine. What does the last part remind you of? So, ATP has three phosphates. Tri = Three. To use energy from ATP we break one of the phosphates off. Now it’s ADP, di = two. If we were to break off another phosphate we would be left with AMP, mono = one. You get the idea. Adenosine receptors are found all over the body and when one particular receptor, A1, is activated it promotes sleepiness. This is where caffeine shines. Why does caffeine wake you up or pick you up during the day? Caffeine blocks the A1 receptor and increases alertness. It doesn’t end there. Caffeine also blocks another adenosine receptor, A2a. When caffeine blocks this little number it increases dopamine levels resulting in a mood-enhancing effect. That’s not all folks, caffeine has a lot more up its sleeves. Caffeine can increase the release of calcium in our muscles, increasing the muscles' contractile potential.
So how does this apply to you? Caffeine benefits almost every sport, mainly through its blocking of adenosine which results in reduced fatigue and increased alertness. Caffeine has been shown to replicate the peak ability of our muscles’ performance that typically occurs late in the day but during the early hours of the morning. Even if you’re a morning person, your body won’t be prepared to perform at its max but caffeine can help with that.
Okay great, but how much should I be having? The best starting point is tailoring it to you, ideally start at 3mg per kg of your bodyweight but take care if trying more than 6mg perkg of bodyweight, after all, caffeine is a stimulant. In the UK the average cup of Starbucks coffee (350ml) will typically contain 66mg of caffeine whilst the same drink from Costa will contain an astounding 325mg. So, there’s a big difference depending on where you source your brew. For a performance benefit, it’s not measured in cups of Starbucks cappuccinos, it’s based on your body weight but as caffeine is a stimulant and can have severe consequences if abused make sure to consult with a sport nutritionist/dietitian before upping your intake. If you want to have an educated hand guide you to your optimal individual amount, drop me a message here at Compleat Performance.
