Caffeine Increases Muscle Performance During a Bench Press Training Session.

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Nutrition
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Caffeine is a known ergogenic aid, improving maximal strength, power, and endurance.
• Previous studies often used protocols not representative of typical strength training sessions.
• Velocity-based training (VBT) is a modern approach to strength training that quantifies performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of acute caffeine ingestion on muscle performance within a simulated VBT workout.
• To determine if caffeine enhances metrics like bar velocity, force, and power during a structured resistance training session.

Main Methods:

• A double-blind, randomized, and counterbalanced experiment involving 12 participants.
• Participants ingested either 3 mg/kg body mass of caffeine or a placebo.
• Subjects performed 4 sets of 8 repetitions of the bench press at 70% of one-repetition maximum, aiming for maximal velocity, with performance data captured by a rotatory encoder.

Main Results:

• Caffeine ingestion significantly increased mean bar velocity (+7.8%) and peak bar velocity (+8.7%) compared to placebo.
• Mean force (+1.5%), mean power output (+10.1%), and peak power output (+8.2%) were also significantly elevated with caffeine.
• Total work performed during the entire workout was significantly higher in the caffeine trial (7.01 kJ) versus the placebo trial (6.55 kJ).

Conclusions:

• Acute caffeine intake at 3 mg/kg body mass effectively enhances muscle performance during a VBT bench press workout.
• Caffeine consumption leads to greater total work completed across a training session.
• Caffeine is a viable ergogenic strategy for improving performance in velocity-based strength training sessions.