Everything you need to know about caffeine

Caffeine is one of the few ergogenic aids that is proven to enhance performance in sport, particularly in events that requires someone to push to their limit. One of the most prominent sources of caffeine is coffee. It’s no surprise that individuals who partake in endurance sports have somewhat of a love affair with it. 

There is a rich culture surrounding riding a bike and drinking your favourite type of liquid gold. I’m not sure you can even call yourself a bike shop if you don’t serve coffee. 

This coffee culture transcends through almost every endurance sport though; runners, cyclists, triathletes...they all love coffee. Most people have a friend, or even a few, who like to think of themselves as somewhat of a coffee connoisseur. They might know what the best type of roast is for the perfect flat white or what the optimal time is to brew a V60, so all of the flavour is extracted, but can they tell you how much caffeine you need to improve performance? 

Some don’t really care how much is needed and some don’t care what coffee tastes like, they just drink it to give them a boost. There is an almost endless amount of research surrounding caffeine and exercise and the how much is needed to boost performance is well established. The purpose of this journal article is to give you a very simple and accurate guide on how much caffeine to take and when you taking it can help you perform better. 

First off, there’s a bit of ground work to cover which will help you take more from the rest of the article. 

How much caffeine is needed to improve performance?

 About 3mg of caffeine per kg of weight, but 200mg is a good figure to focus on. 

How long does caffeine take to kick in?

 Anywhere from 30-60minutes.

What’s the half-life of caffeine?

 Typically, 4 hours but it could be longer. 

How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee?

 Anywhere from 80-120mg’s

As opposed to listing the benefits of caffeine, they’ll be explained throughout the course of the article in relation to that use. 

How much caffeine should I take before exercise and when should I take it?

As mentioned above, around 3mg/kg of bodyweight of caffeine is needed to significantly improve performance. To keep it simple, aiming to consume around 200mg is ideal. So, depending on what type of coffee you have, this could be 2 double espressos. 

It takes 30-60minutes for the caffeine to kick in, so spreading the caffeine intake over the hour before training is an effective method to produce optimal results.

 Caffeine consumption before exercise improves performance via multiple mechanisms:

It can improve performance in short and intense efforts by facilitating nerve pulse transmission and increasing ion transport in muscles to name a couple. Consuming caffeine before short and hard sessions is highly recommended. 

Performance in longer events is improved as the perception of effort is reduced and there’s increases of hormone production that positively affect mood and perception of pain. Taking caffeine before long distance endurance events is part of an overall strategy which the next section will cover. 

There is some evidence that caffeine can increase the level of free-fatty acids in the blood stream. This is a good reason to drink black coffee before doing fasted exercise in the morning as the aim of those sessions is to promote fat metabolism. Mixing MCT oil with the coffee is an effective way to further promote fat metabolism. MCT is simply medium-chain lengths of fat that are more easily absorbed than normal fat sources as are shorter in length. It can therefore be used as an energy source relatively quickly. 

How much caffeine should I ingest during exercise?

Taking caffeine during shorter events and training sessions is really not necessary. There will be very little benefit of taking anything when exercise duration is less than 90minutes. 

Consuming caffeine in longer training sessions and endurance events is highly recommended. As already discussed, caffeine will positively effect performance and taking it before and during should be part of your overall strategy. 

Taking it in training and sticking to guidelines will reduce any adverse effects. Taking too much caffeine and not practicing with it, like anything, could cause gastric issues. I always consume caffeine before a race as it gets the ‘system’ going so to speak and gets me ready faster. Taking the right amount of caffeine over the course of the race shouldn’t create any problems. Consuming too much caffeine could cause an athlete to feel palpitations, especially if they use it without practicing with it. 

200mg of caffeine is optimal to improve performance. The aim during events is to maintain this level of caffeine in our system. The half-life of caffeine, as mentioned, is roughly 4 hours. So, consuming 100mg of caffeine every 2 hours is an effective way to maintain optimal levels. This could be consumed as 1x100mg every 2 hours or 1x50mg every hour. 

This is where preparation becomes important. Blindly taking high levels of caffeine during an event is a recipe for disaster. Equally, not taking enough will reduce the highly beneficial effects. 

Many drinks that contain caffeine have a highly altered taste and that in itself can make people feel a little unsettled. There are some options that include caffeine and the taste is undetectable. Maurten have created tasteless gels and the caffeinated gel contains 100g of caffeine which is undetectable to the taste. Caffeine tabs are also an effective way of consuming caffeine without having to deal with a bitter taste but they’re not that practical to take during an event. They are useful before an event though if someone simply doesn’t like drinking coffee. 

Can caffeine improve recovery time?

There is good evidence that consuming caffeine after hard sessions, that deplete glycogen stores, can help speed up the time it takes for glycogen levels to be replenished. Caffeine facilitates glucose uptake from blood into muscles via multiple mechanisms but I wouldn’t worry about what they are. What’s important is noting that having a coffee with your cake after a tough session is probably a very good idea. 

If you’re trying to maximise performance, look at what you’re eating after hard sessions and then plan caffeine intake alongside good recovery food. 

This could also have implications for when you do hard sessions. I wouldn’t recommend having caffeine within the 6-8hr window before you plan to go to bed so this strategy wouldn’t be advisable if you’re training hard in the evening. It may be more beneficial to do a hard session in the early afternoon, if possible, so you can maximise performance and recovery time. This is more applicable to athletes who very focused on results and are willing to look at all facets of their preparation and training. 

Final Takeaways:

Caffeine is a powerful ergogenic aid and is very beneficial when used appropriately. It can be used before, during and after exercise to facilitate performance. 

It can be taken in multiple forms such as caffeine tabs, sports gels/drinks, energy drinks, tea and coffee. Taking caffeine in different forms can have benefits in specific settings. For example, drinking a coffee before a hard session can be part of a pre-performance routine and help mentally prepare you for the task ahead. However, you’re not going to drink a coffee in the middle of a half marathon so a caffeine gel would be more suitable. 

The golden rule with any session or race that matters, is to not try anything new. Practice with caffeine in different situations and consume different amounts to find out what works for you. Use the guidelines highlighted in this article to form a plan. It’s possible to get by if you wing it and some people consume so much caffeine it won’t really ever matter what they take, but I would always look to have a strategy.

A final note is to not worry about habituation. Studies have shown that we get the same benefits from caffeine whether we abstain from it or carry on as normal. Not consuming caffeine for a few weeks in a bid to get a greater benefit will more likely cause a problem as your body may not be able to comfortably handle the amount needed to better performance. 

So, carry on drinking coffee and enjoy perfecting your latte art. Just think about how you can best use it to give you the most benefit. 

As ever, please comment below if you have any questions.