Should caffeine be part of your fueling strategy?
Before considering how to add caffeine to your fueling strategy, Sports Scientist Abby Coleman looks at whether you should even be using caffeine in the first place…
At the most fundamental level a fueling strategy should aim to adequately replace the three acute costs of all endurance performance namely carbohydrates sodium and fluid how you pull on what we call the three levers will be very individual to you but the science suggests that all endurance athletes can benefit from some replacement of carbs sodium and fluid caffeine
On the other hand should be seen as a fourth optional performance enhancing tool to include as part of your fueling strategy the majority of athletes will benefit from including some in their training and racing but it may not be appropriate for absolutely everyone so before working out how to use caffeine in your fueling strategy let’s take a step back and figure
Out whether using caffeine is right for you now caffeine is classified as the world’s most used drug with around 90 of adults using it daily it’s a stimulant which can increase our perceived energy levels our ability to focus and our productivity which is why it’s a staple in many people’s lives when trying to perform at their best and certainly those in the office
Will tell you that i’m not the same person before i’ve had my morning coffee a recent study revealed that 76 of elite athletes for using caffeine around their events as it can enhance endurance and skill and strength based performance but caffeine does have a dark side it was even banned up until 2004 by the international olympic committee and appeared on wada’s
Prohibited list due to its ergogenic effects everyday caffeine users may be familiar with the side effects of consuming too much caffeine these can include headaches jitters insomnia and feelings of anxiety there’s also the dreaded caffeine crash which is when the effects of caffeine wear off and energy levels plummet your experience of the performance enhancing
And negative side effects of caffeine may differ to others your tolerance boils down to genetic variation which means that people can be divided into fast slow or very slow metabolizers fast metabolizers typically have a lower sensitivity and a higher tolerance to caffeine especially when taking it regularly these are the folk that seem to get the biggest benefit
And the least drawbacks to caffeine consumption on the other hand slow or very slow metabolizers have a lower tolerance and a higher sensitivity to caffeine consumption and as a result the caffeine stays in their system for longer and they have more pronounced negative side effects to help you decide if you should be building caffeine into your fueling strategy
Let’s take a look at this venn diagram if you’re a daily consumer of caffeine have used caffeine before in races and have no experience of adverse effects you’re highly likely to benefit test your intake first in training aiming for around three to six milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight you’re still likely to benefit from introducing caffeine
To your fueling strategy if you meet two out of three of this criteria for example you’re a daily capping consumer and have suffered no adverse effects however you’re yet to trial caffeine out in racing as before the advice would be to test your caffeine intake out in training first if you don’t meet any of these criteria or only one that doesn’t mean that you
Categorically cannot use caffeine but proceed cautiously and start with a lower dose so based on all of that if you feel that adding caffeine to your fueling strategy is appropriate for you check out our next video in the series to learn how to use caffeine before your training sessions and races you
Transcribed from video
Should caffeine be part of your fueling strategy? By Precision Fuel \u0026 Hydration