Caffeine Endurance Racing Performance

Caffeine & It’s Role in Performance

Many of you consume caffeine on a regular basis. It can be found in coffee, tea, soft drink, energy drinks & chocolate. You may even use it to help you stay awake and alert in the mornings or whilst driving. But what is it’s role in your athletic performance?

A number of studies have found that caffeine improves performance and it was once on the WADA’s (world anti-doping authority) list of banned substances. It has since been moved to the”monitoring” list and is acceptable for consumption in training & competition.

Caffeine has been proved to increase alertness and endurance performance. The recommended dosage is 3-6mg/kg of body weight consumed 60mins prior to exercise. The amount of caffeine in the bloodstream peaks between 30-60mins with the affects lasting up to 5 hours. Although some studies have shown improved performance with additional caffeine taken later in the session/event.

Therefore, it would be recommended to take a small amount of caffeine (3mg/kg of body weight) 60mins prior to exercise and then 1mg/kg body weight every 2 hours after that.

Source: Asker Jeukendrup (2011) Nutrition for endurance sports: Marathon, triathlon, and road cycling (view here)

Read further about Coca-Cola’s role in endurance nutrition.

About the Author: Stephane Vander Bruggen

5x AG World Champion, Sub 9h Ironman athlete - Stephane originates from Belgium and spent many of his early years racing triathlon there. It is in Belgium through the influence of his parents that he fell in love with the sport. A natural competitor Stephane became a student of the sport always searching for ways to give him an edge over his competition. This constant study and striving for improvement has naturally progressed into a passion for coaching triathlon and its individual disciplines.