How to use caffeine to improve your athletic performance
Want to get the most from a caffeine boost? Then save it for the important races, when you need it most say scientists
Athletes who don’t drink caffeine-rich drinks, such as coffee, tea and energy drinks, on a daily basis, gain more performance benefit from a caffeine boost than those that do consume caffeine regularly, sports scientists at Dublin City University have found.
Researchers Dr Brendan Egan and Mark Evans examined the impact of caffeine, in the form of caffeinated chewing gum, on the performance of 18 male team sport athletes during a series of repeated sprints.
The athletes undertook 10 repeated sprints under conditions with and without two sticks of the caffeinated gum, which is equivalent to two strong cups of coffee.
They found that the caffeinated gum provided very little advantage to athletes whose bodies may have become desensitised to caffeine through a process called habituation, which occurs by having caffeine frequently.
However, the athletes who had a low habitual caffeine consumption maintained their performance in repeated sprint tests after ingesting a caffeinated chewing gum, while the performance of athletes who consumed the caffeine equivalent of three or more cups of coffee per day worsened over the course of the ten repeated sprints. This indicated that this second group did not benefit from caffeine as a performance aid.
Caffeine is regarded as one of the most popular performance enhancing supplements among athletes. Its benefits include improved muscle strength, mental alertness, as well as reducing the perception of effort during intense activity, therefore helping athletes to perform faster and longer.
The findings from the DCU-led study were published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
Caffeine: what, when and how much to take
220 Triathlon Team
Journalists, reviewers, coaches and athletes 
