Acute caffeine strategies for improving performance in combat sports: a structured narrative review

This structured narrative review updates and contextualizes evidence on acute caffeine strategies in combat sports, with emphasis on performance effects, delivery form, combined interventions, and factors that may explain inconsistent findings.

A structured literature search was conducted in Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, PubMed, and SPORTDiscus. Eligible reports involved trained amateur, competitive, or professional combat sport athletes, evaluated an acute caffeine intervention administered before or during exercise or sport specific performance testing, and included at least one physical, cognitive, or technical tactical performance outcome. Findings were synthesized narratively because of substantial heterogeneity in sport discipline, caffeine protocol, comparator, and outcome measures.

Forty three reports met the eligibility criteria. Fourteen evaluated combined caffeine protocols, whereas 29 evaluated caffeine supplementation alone. Combined protocols included caffeine with sodium bicarbonate, carbohydrate, L theanine, Rhodiola rosea, warm up music, conditioning activity, post activation performance enhancement, or mouth rinsing. These strategies showed potential context specific benefits, particularly when caffeine was combined with warm up music or conditioning activity, but they did not establish a general advantage over isolated caffeine supplementation. For caffeine supplementation alone, favorable findings were reported for selected simulated combat outcomes, Special Judo Fitness Test performance, strength, power, muscular endurance, reaction related outcomes, and repeated high intensity activity. However, null findings were also common, even within commonly used doses of 3 to 6 mg/kg. Perceived exertion and heart rate were generally unchanged, whereas blood lactate more frequently increased following caffeine ingestion.

Acute caffeine supplementation may improve selected performance outcomes in combat sport athletes, but responses vary across disciplines, tasks, athlete characteristics, dosing strategies, delivery forms, and competition formats. Doses of 3 to 6 mg/kg remain the most frequently studied protocols, but individual responses should be assessed during training before competition. Evidence for high or repeated doses, rapid delivery forms, and combined strategies remains preliminary.