Caffeine and performance over consecutive days of simulated competition

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Nutritional Supplementation

Background:

• Caffeine's ergogenic effects are established for single-day events.
• Multi-day competitions present unique physiological challenges.
• Limited research exists on caffeine's impact during consecutive days of intense exercise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of placebo (PLA) and two caffeine (CAF) doses (3 and 4.5 mg·kg) on performance in a 10-min cross-country ergometer test over two consecutive days.
• To assess if CAF can sustain performance improvements in simulated multi-day competition.

Main Methods:

• Eight elite male cross-country skiers participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.
• Performance was measured by distance covered in a 10-min all-out cross-country poling test (C-PT).
• Participants ingested either PLA or CAF 75 minutes prior to each C-PT, conducted on two consecutive days.

Main Results:

• Caffeine ingestion significantly improved poling distance by 4.0-5.1% compared to placebo on both days.
• Performance enhancement with caffeine was associated with increased heart rate, adrenaline, blood lactate, and oxygen consumption.
• Elevated creatine kinase and muscular pain on day two did not negate caffeine's performance benefits.

Conclusions:

• Caffeine supplementation effectively enhances performance in a simulated multi-day cross-country skiing competition.
• CAF is beneficial for athletes competing over consecutive days, even when muscle damage is present.
• The findings support caffeine's utility for endurance athletes in prolonged events.