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VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Maciej Szukała

To improve performance and increase the body's exercise capacity, athletes often turn to ergogenic supplements. These are substances that are designed to increase efficiency, resistance to fatigue, and motivation to increase the intensity of work. The most popular ergogenic drug most of us take is caffeine. How does this substance work and is it safe?

Caffeinecan produce great results in sports. However, if you care about its energizing effect, it should be used carefully, so as not to excessively get used to the body.

What is caffeine and where do you find it?

Caffeine (also known as 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is an organic chemical compound (purine alkaloid) found, among others, in coffee, tea, cocoa. For years, it has also been produced synthetically - it is in the form of a white, fine powder with a characteristic, bitter taste.

Caffeine is a psychostimulant that stimulates the body when consumed. The effects and duration of caffeine operation depend on many factors:

  • dose of the substance taken,
  • individual tolerance (and the degree of the body's habituation),
  • body weight,
  • degree of caffeine purification.

The content of caffeine in tablets or capsules ranges from 100 to 300 mg. In pre-workout supplements, sometimes much higher doses are used (even 400 mg reinforced with other stimulants).

Caffeine can also be found in coffee (robusta can contain up to 240 mg of substances in one cup) and energy drinks (usually no more than 50-70 mg in one can).

Producers of pre-workout supplements treat caffeine as the main energizing ingredient, and also as a "bridge" that allows other stimulants to pass through the blood-brain barrier and increases their effectiveness. Depending on the brand and manufacturer, its sources may be different. Most often you will meet:

  • caffeine hydrated
  • guarana
  • yerba-matą
  • green tea
  • coffee beans (classic and green)
  • combination of caffeine and pterostilbene,
  • micronized caffeine,
  • organic caffeinepurecaff,
  • caffeine citrate,
  • caffeine malate.

How are all these sources of caffeine different? For most people, the difference will be minimal. Some forms may be less aggressive to the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, others start working a little faster.

Some manufacturers introduce several sources of caffeine into their supplements. This is to broaden the spectrum of kinetics so that the substance is released and absorbed as long as possible and causes as few side effects as possible.

In each of these cases, caffeine will work the same - it will stimulate you to act.

How much caffeine should you take before training?

It might seem that the more caffeine you take before training, the better the effect will be. In practice, it is quite the opposite. It even turns out that too high doses of caffeine reduce the body's efficiency, and also cause muscle convulsions, "cold sweats" and a feeling of total helplessness. What dose of caffeine will produce the desired stimulating effect? ​​

The optimal dose of caffeine, which increases the body's exercise capacity, is a dose of 3 to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight (for an athlete weighing 80 kg, it will be 240 to 480 mg).

It is assumed that for a he althy adult person a safe daily dose of caffeine is about 400 mg. This is equivalent to about 4-6 cups of coffee. In practice, a lot depends on individual characteristics and the degree of tolerance of organism to caffeine.

The more (and longer) you take it from other sources, the less effective it is when it comes to exercising. Therefore, it is recommended to take periodic breaks from stimulants so that the body recovers and feels the energy boost again.

While caffeine is very effective on its own, you need to be careful about combining them with other stimulants. Mixing several different pre-workouts or exceeding the doses recommended by the manufacturer is never a good idea and can be dangerous to your he alth.

In people who react to caffeine in a standard way, the maximum effectiveness of the supplement occurs 15-120 minutes after consumption and lasts from several dozen minutes to several hours.

The substance is absorbed almost immediately in the mouth (through the mucosa in the cheeks). This is why caffeine contained in supplements works slower than, for example, candies with this substance - it must be absorbed in the intestine.

Contrary to many other substances, caffeine does not accumulate in the human body, so it does not overload the kidneys and liver with metabolites. It is removed in the urine within hours of ingestion.Scientific research indicates an extended half-life in the body of pregnant women and women who use hormonal contraceptives.

Is caffeine addictive?

Like many other psychoactive substances, caffeine can cause psychological and physical dependence. In this case, we are talking about the so-called caffeine, which is even included in the ICD-10-CM disease classification F15.20 as "mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of other stimulants, including caffeine" (Other stimulant abuse with intoxication, uncomplicated).

Caffeineism is assumed to occur if the daily long-term intake of the substance is maintained at 750 mg or more within 24 hours and from all sources.

How to know caffeine addiction? For a period of up to several days after its withdrawal, the following may appear:

  • anxiety, anxiety and irritability
  • feeling unwell,
  • sleepiness.

Athletes will certainly pay attention to the reduced exercise capacity. Other common symptoms include

  • eating disorders,
  • headaches
  • and muscle tremors.

Fortunately, however, there are indications that withdrawal symptoms disappear quickly (usually within a few days).

Moreover, chronic caffeine consumption does not lead to permanent damage to internal organs such as kidneys or liver. So it is a much safer "addiction" than cigarettes or alcohol.

Could caffeine not work?

Some people may find that after consuming caffeine they do not feel any effects of its effects, regardless of the dose taken. Why is this happening?

One of the reasons may be the saturation of receptors resulting from too long intake of caffeine from various sources (e.g. pre-workout supplements, coffee, fat burners). In this case, it is enough to take a break from taking caffeine or significantly reduce its consumption. Adaptogens, such as Rhodiola Rosea and Ashwaganda, can also help restore balance.

The second reason - much less optimistic - are genetic conditions, and more specifically mutations in the CYP1A2 gene. People with the AA or GA variant of the gene are characterized by slow caffeine metabolism. In practice, this means that they do not feel the energizing effect of the substance.

People who metabolize caffeine at a moderate or fast pace are in a much better situation. The former feel its effect not very much, but for a long time. In turn, the second group strongly reacts even to low doses of caffeine, but they are also exposed to a severe energy "downhill"after consuming it.

As far as we have an influence on the work of the receptors, genetics remain out of reach and it remains to be reconciled with the fact that not everyone will experience the positive effects of drinking coffee.

In which disciplines does caffeine work best?

Caffeine can be used by athletes practicing all types of sport:

  • strength (e.g. bodybuilding),
  • endurance (ultra, long-distance runs),
  • mixed (martial arts, crossfit).

In all cases, positive effects of this substance can be noted. If the athlete's goal is to maximize performance, taking higher doses immediately before exercise is better than frequent supplementation with small doses. However, you should watch out for the "withdrawal syndrome".

Giving up caffeine right before an important sports event may have a negative impact on performance. In order for the body to get used to its action, it is worth making such a decision two or three weeks in advance.

Benefits of using caffeine

First of all, caffeine causes an increased secretion of neurotransmitters:

  • serotonin - improves mood, memory, concentration,
  • dopamine - increases motivation to act, increases the concentration of cAMP in the cell, is responsible for the increase in heart rate and the feeling of "euphoria".

Caffeine helps to release adrenaline. This hormone increases the frequency and strength of heart contractions, constricts blood vessels and improves respiratory function by expanding the airways.

As a result, the action of the supplement improves the efficiency of the psychomotor functions of the nervous system and makes us "want more". Consumption of caffeine postpones the moment of fatigue, chases away drowsiness and makes it easier to focus on the task ahead. It also improves alertness and reduces reaction time.

Caffeine in endurance sports

Athletes of endurance disciplines will appreciate the fact that the use of caffeine has a positive effect on their metabolism during exercise - it mobilizes energy management with free fatty acids and reduces the dependence on muscle glycogen in energy generation (reduced glycogenolysis and increased utilization of fatty acids in cell mitochonders) . This is why after consuming caffeine, the possible working time at moderate intensity increases dramatically.

Caffeine has also been shown to have a positive (albeit short-term) effect on the VO2 max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen that can be processed by working muscles.

Interestingly, the supplement also reduces the levelperceived muscle pain through the influence on the central nervous system.

Caffeine and anaerobic efforts

Research conducted on trained sprinters has shown that the use of caffeine can increase the number of breaks possible and increase the peak power of the effort (improve the time and explosiveness of the movement).

It also improves the level of fitness in such disciplines as crossfit or the effectiveness of techniques in martial arts.

Caffeine and fat burners

Caffeine in a small dose (already 100 mg) has a strong thermogenic effect, i.e. it increases body temperature and accelerates the breakdown of adipose tissue. This is why it is one of the main ingredients in fat burners.

Caffeine supplementation significantly increases its effectiveness in the presence of substances such as taurine, tannin, synephrine or pepper extract. This is why in fat burners you will usually find several different substances with similar effects that complement each other.

It is worth remembering that when the goal is to reduce body weight, small doses of caffeine, but taken regularly, work much better than "shock doses", which are often found in pre-workout supplements.

Could an overdose of caffeine have side effects?

Taking very high amounts of caffeine even for a short period of time can cause all sorts of side effects. The frequency of their appearance does not have to be correlated with the body's habits, but may be the result of an individual's response (including the way caffeine is metabolized).

The most common effects of overdose include:

  • irregular heartbeat, elevated heart rate and rapid breathing,
  • blood pressure fluctuations,
  • heartburn, and in extreme cases vomiting and diarrhea,
  • insomnia,
  • difficult concentration.

An overdose of caffeine, even in people who are not used to it, may occur after taking a few grams of the substance in one day. About 18-20 g of pure substance (depending on the source) is considered a lethal dose.

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ABC of exercises