“This is an article that I wrote for Australian triathlete magazine – it has proved to be a hot topic with many requests to share it, so here it is…”
Sure it tastes great and gives us a morning kick, but is caffeine a friend or a foe to the body? You may be happier than you expected with my response…
I must admit there have been many occasions that the only reason I have emerged from under the covers following the shriek of my early morning alarm clock has been the allure of my post-workout piccolo! The very thought of sipping this warm ever so satisfying beverage is enough to have me out of bed and buzzing within seconds (no kidding). To my non-exercising friends this is pure madness. Surely I could simply get up at a reasonable hour, jump into my car and head over to one of the many fabulous cafes around Melbourne like every one else. Ahh, but what they don’t understand is just how much better coffee tastes following exercise! One of the many benefits of exercise has to be the ability to experience this. Training and coffee, like peanut butter and celery!
Which leads me to the burning question: “Is it okay and possibly even beneficial to drink coffee?” Well, fortunately for me and all you coffee addicted people out there, the overwhelmingly answer among experts is YES! Lets take a closer look.
Firstly keep in mind that caffeine is not synonymous with coffee. Caffeine is of course found in an array of food and beverages including sports nutrition products and even in medication. If it’s the caffeine you’re after, you could simply get it by popping a few pills, however if it’s the lifestyle you seek, well then sipping a latte at a trendy café is the way to go.
No matter where it comes from, in the right doses caffeine has been shown over and over again to be beneficial to endurance performance i.e. exercise greater than 90-minutes. So what is the right dose? The International society of sports nutrition currently recommends a level of 3-6mg per kilogram body weight in order to elicit performance-enhancing effects (and that’s just to start!). If we take a 70kg athlete this translates to 210-420mg of caffeine. This amount of caffeine may not sound like very much but in reality if you aimed to achieve this intake level with coffee alone you would need a minimum of three espressos just to get you started! In order for these beneficial effects to continue throughout a race you would then need to continually top-up. To be a little more specific current recommendations for endurance athletes wishing to take advantage of the ergogenic effects of caffeine should aim for following:
- A single large dose of caffeine (3-6mg per kilogram body weight) 60 minutes prior to the start of exercise
- Followed by ‘top-up’ doses of approximately 3mg of caffeine per kilogram body weight every 3-4hours
This strategy would of course involve a degree of planning and practice.
Lucky for us there are now user friendly caffeinate sports nutrition products that can aid in meeting these requirement should you wish to trial and/or take advantage of these performance enhancing effects. A variety of carbohydrate gels containing caffeine are now available on the market. Make sure you check the packaging or do some prior research by visiting product websites to find out the specific level of caffeine a product contains (this can vary considerably). Other products, such as No-Doz tablets, which provide 100mg of caffeine per tablet can also offer a quick, easy alternative.
What you need to be aware of
Caffeine has, as I’ve mentioned above, been shown in numerous studies to provide a beneficial effect on performance. More specifically caffeine has been shown to lower RPE (Rate of perceived exertion), it improves voluntary reaction time, enhances alertness and may even have a glycogen-sparing effect.
However, there are downsides and it is gut stimulation that is the most obvious one for triathletes. There have been endless stories of races coming to a sudden halt as athletes are forced to succumb to the dreaded effects of gut stimulation resulting in diarrhoea. Now there are many things that could contribute to ‘gut issues’ on race day but it is important to understand that caffeine could complicate the matter further, especially if you are prone to a sensitive gut. Nervous energy and a bit of the jitters pre-race coupled with a little too much caffeine could be just enough to tip you over the edge. I therefore raise a caution at this point.
Another consideration is that there are vast differences between individuals in regards to how they react to caffeine. I would always suggest trialling caffeine-intake strategies in early season or less important races to understand its effects on your body under race conditions. It is clear that certain individuals respond to caffeine far more than others and there are individuals who are complete ‘non-responders’.
Another issue that is important to point out is the relationship of caffeine to diuresis i.e. urine output. Caffeine at rest can possibly increase the likelihood of dehydration by increasing urine output. However recent research has been able to demonstrate that while caffeine at rest may increase our diuretic response this is not the case during exercise and therefore this should not be a concern in relation to your performance during an event.
Interestingly we build a tolerance towards caffeine too. I have read many race reports and blogs from extremely disciplined pro athletes who deprive themselves of their beloved coffee for a few weeks leading into Hawaii (or key races) thereby ensuring heightened beneficial performance enhancing effects from caffeine when they down their first coffee on race morning. If you’d like to trial caffeine and its effects on your performance I would suggest you keep a few things in mind:
- Choose a less important or early season race to trial caffeine use just in case things don’t go according to plan
- Avoid routine use of caffeine in the weeks leading up to an event in order to elicit a greater response
- Trial varying products that contain caffeine to find one that works best for you
- Have a plan
Yes caffeine may improve your performance but I personally reckon a cup of perfectly brewed coffee at a fine café sipped slowly and enjoyed with friends could improve your life!
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