Effects of caffeine ingestion on exercise-induced changes during high-intensity, intermittent exercise

In this study a double-blind design was used to determine the effect of caffeine on time to exhaustion and on associated metabolic and circulatory measures. Eight male subjects ingested either caffeine (5 mg/kg body weight) or a placebo 1 hr prior to exercise at 85-90% of maximum workload. Subjects were encouraged to complete three 30-min intermittent cycling periods at 70 rpm with 5 min rest between each. The exercise was terminated when the subject failed to complete three 30-min periods or failed to maintain 70 rpm for at least 15 s consecutively. Serum free fatty acids, glycerol, blood glucose, lactate, perceived exertion, heart rate, and O2 cost were measured. The time to exhaustion was significantly longer during the caffeine trial than during the placebo trial. Serum free fatty acid levels were significantly different between trials. The decline in blood glucose levels was significantly less during the caffeine trial than during the placebo trial. There were no significant differences between trials for the other measures. It was concluded that caffeine increases time to exhaustion when trained subjects cycled intermittently at high levels of intensity.