Caffeine in exercise - is it worthwhile?

David Hellard, from the British Military Fitness Race team and is a seasoned marathon runner. He recently launched a new concentrated caffeine sports sweet called Caffeine Bullet. Here David discusses the benefits of using caffeine in exercise.

 "It’s nearly ten years since I started running and it seems as long since I ran a personal best. Once you start getting close to your peak, shaving off even seconds can take months of training. So, when I discovered that caffeine in exercise could potentially knock minutes off even a half marathon time, I took caffeine during my next race and have come to rely on it to power me through the second half of races.

There have been over 75 studies on the use of caffeine during exercise. The average improvement in performance is 12%, with increased benefits noticed during endurance exercise.

Why caffeine in exercise?

Caffeine mobilises fat as a source of fuel, sparing your glycogen stores and has been shown to:

•             Increase your stamina and physical endurance, extending time to exhaustion

•             Reduce your muscle pain

•             Decrease your perceived exertion

•             Improved your concentration and alertness

Cut the Coffee

It’s all great new! But...here’s the bad – caffeine has diminishing returns. Your fourth coffee of the day will have little effect compared to your first ever coffee. Caffeine will, similarly, have less of an effect on race day if you constantly drink it. So take advantage of caffeine by consuming less in your daily life. Other than the odd vodka Red Bull, David now cuts caffeine completely out of his diet. You don’t need to be quite as extreme though. To completely detox of caffeine can take up to 12 days, but even if you cut it out 4 days before a big event it can make a big difference.

When to Pop?

It takes caffeine 15 to 45 minutes to hit peak concentration in the bloodstream, staying high for up to four hours. So, if you need a little pep before BMF, take some caffeine on the way to a class. Coffee is the obvious choice, but a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology concluded that there is a compound in coffee that appears to inhibit some of the performance enhancing effects of caffeine, although you will still feel a caffeine buzz. In longer sessions (90 minutes or more) you should hold back from taking caffeine from the start or you'll peak too early. Caffeine affects David very quickly, so he has found that 8 miles into a half marathon and 18 into a marathon works for him to get his caffeine on. It varies per person so you should try for yourself.

Just How Much?

The optimal dose in research has been shown to be between 3-6MG per Kilogram of bodyweight. That’s a lot, at least three cans of Red Bull for most people. David recommends experimenting with smaller doses before growing in confidence and taking your optimal amount.

Caffeine is a potent drug that has been repeatedly proven to improve performance. As with all drugs, we advise you read the guidelines before use. However, just having caffeine in his pocket frees David to run hard, as he knows he has a booster should he start to fade. There are fewer things in racing as sweet as a personal best, so start experimenting with it in your training. If you can unleash its power in your races, here’s to a few more pbs!