3) Cognitive Performance
Several studies have shown that Caffeine improves both cognitive performance and mood in the general population ^(1,2).  A study by McLellan et al. ⁽³⁾ showed that soldiers given Caffeine were able to complete a vigilance task with less errors and an obstacle course faster than their non-Caffeinated counterparts.  These tasks were performed in a sleep deprived state (4 hours of sleep) where Caffeine was supplemented 3 times at 200 mg per dose (600 mg total) with about 2.5 hours between doses.  The last dose was given 30 minutes before the testing.  The Caffeine was administered via a caffeinated gum.  The Vigilance task involved observing a building for 2 hours and recording any observations.  Within each 20 minute block, an activity lasting 5s was presented.   The Caffeine group had fewer errors than the placebo group.  There were 3 Obstacle Courses and the Caffeine group completed them faster and with fewer errors than that placebo group.  The study concluded that Caffeine “maintained both vigilance and physical performance during sustained operations that require periods of overnight wakefulness and restricted opportunities for daytime sleep.” ⁽³⁾

Another study by Lieberman et al. ⁽⁴⁾ looked at cognitive performance of U.S. Navy Seals in a sleep deprived state when supplementing with Caffeine.   Participants were randomly assigned doses of either 100, 200 or 300 mg of Caffeine in capsule form.  One hour after consumption, participants performed a battery of tests related to vigilance, reaction time, working memory, motor learning and memory.  Caffeine had the most significant effects on tasks related to alertness.  Results were also significant for assessments related to vigilance & choice reaction time for those who received the Caffeine treatment.  What was really interesting was that there was no statistical advantage of taking 300 versus 200 mg (i.e. the 300 mg group did not perform better than the 200 mg group) though there was a significant improvement in performance of the 200 mg group versus the 100 mg group.  In fact, 100 mg was no more advantageous than a placebo! ⁽⁴⁾

"Caffeine makes me more alert and helps me function better!" - Brain

These studies ^(3,4) demonstrate the effects of Caffeine on cognitive performance in a highly trained population, some of whom were in a sleep deprived state ⁽³⁾.   These findings suggest that the general population may experience similar benefits in cognitive performance by supplementing Caffeine in dosages of 200-300 mg in a normal state and up to 600 mg in a sleep deprived state.

The fact that Caffeine enhances brain function and alertness is probably not too shocking, but its effects on Endurance & Strength are both significant and positive.

4) Endurance & Strength
There is extensive research on Caffeine’s positive effects on Endurance.  While there is much less on its effects on Strength, the little research which has been done has shown a positive impact on Strength.  Several studies show little to no impact on power when supplementing with Caffeine ^(5,6,7,8,9) but a positive impact on Strength and Endurance.  To be clear, there is a difference b/w Strength and Power.  Strength is a function of the amount weight that you lift (greater weight = greater strength).  Power is a function of Strength and Speed (Power = Strength x Speed) or how fast you can lift a particular weight (faster = more power).  So, lifting 300 LBS in 2 seconds is indicative of greater POWER than lifting 300 LBS in 5 seconds.  Let’s take a look at the ergogenic (performance-enhancing) effects of Caffeine on Endurance and Strength.

a) Endurance
David Costill, Ph.D., performed the ground-breaking study on Caffeine and exercise in 1978⁽¹⁰⁾.  He took nine competitive cyclists (two females and seven males) and had them bike until exhaustion at 80% of V02 max (also known as maximal oxygen uptake, it’s a measure of how well your cardiopulmonary system functions).  Each subject consumed coffee containing 330 mg of Caffeine 60 min before the exercise or a placebo (decaffeinated coffee).  When supplementing with Caffeine, subjects were able to perform an average of 90.2 minutes of cycling as compared to an average of 75.5 minutes in the placebo trial. This reflects a 19.5% increase!  Going back to a point made in Part 1 of our article, when I touched upon Caffeine’s impact on fat loss, they also found that subjects burned 107% more fat during the Caffeine trial (118 g or 1.31 g/min) than in the placebo trial (57 g or 0.75 g/min).  Also, subjects reported that the effort during Caffeine trial felt much easier than during the placebo trial.  This sentiment was validated in a study on Caffeine’s impact on perceived exertion performed by Doherty et al⁽¹¹⁾.  The study concluded that in addition to improving exercise performance, Caffeine decreases RPE (rating of perceived exertion), which means that doing the same activity with Caffeine makes you feel like you are not working as hard as compared to doing the same activity without Caffeine.

Caffeine can delay fatigue and decrease perceived exertion.

b) Strength
Several studies have shown Caffeine’s positive impact on strength.  A study by Bliss et al. demonstrated that collegiate shot putters who supplemented with 100 mg Caffeine were able to throw 6.4% further versus a placebo⁽¹²⁾.  A study by Forbes et al. demonstrated a 6% increase in the number of Bench Press repetitions performed at 70% of 1RM (one-rep max) versus a placebo⁽⁸⁾ when ingesting a Caffeine dose of 2mg/kg of bodyweight.  A study by Beck et al. demonstrated an increase in 1RM Bench Press Strength of 2.1-5.0% when supplementing with a Caffeine dose of 2.5 mg/kg of bodyweight⁽⁶⁾.  A study by Wong et al. demonstrated increases in reps to fatigue in the bench press, lat row and shoulder press of 5-10% when supplementing with a dose of Caffeine of 6 mg/kg of bodyweight⁽¹³⁾.  A very recent study from January 2011 done by Duncan et al. showed a 6.7% increase in reps and a 10.8% increase in weight when observing Bench Press to failure using a weight of 60% of 1RM with a Caffeine dosage of 5mg/kg of bodyweight ⁽¹⁴⁾. 

Take Caffeine, get JACKED and set personal records!!!

Whether your goal is fat loss, better endurance or greater strength, Caffeine is a supplement which is cheap, readily available and definitely worth trying.  As I mentioned in Part 1, your best bet is to go with Caffeine Anhydrous in a capsule form.  Personally, I use anywhere b/w 4-6 mg/kg of bodyweight.  Since I am about 220 LBS, this equates to 400-600 mg.  I ingest it with water 15-30 minutes before training.  The effects will be noticeable and you will feel positive and energized to hit the weights.  For the average person, I would recommend starting off with 200 mg and then going up from there.  Caffeine sensitivity varies from person to person, but the max dosage to experience all of the benefits is about 5mg/kg of bodyweight.  Please be mindful to pull back on your normal Caffeine intake when supplementing with Caffeine.  On days where I train and supplement with Caffeine, I don’t even drink coffee at all afterwards.  Use your judgment with this.  A strong cup of coffee is about 200 mg of Caffeine so, if you normally have 3 cups of coffee per day and you supplement 200 mg of Caffeine when you train then, only have 2 cups of coffee that day.  Give it a shot and you will find the benefits to be worthwhile.

Did you enjoy this post? Buy me a cup of coffee

References:

1) Heatherley SV, Hayward RC, Seers HE, Rogers PJ. “Cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood, and pressor effects of caffeine after 4, 6 and 8 h caffeine abstinence”, Psychopharmacology. February 5, 2005; Volume 178, Number 4, pgs. 461-470.

2) Smit HJ, Rogers PJ. “Effects of low doses of caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low and higher caffeine consumers”. Psychopharmacology. October 2000; Volume 152, Number 2, pgs. 167-173.

3) McLellan TM, Kamimori GH, Voss DM, Tate C, Smith SJ. “Caffeine effects on physical and cognitive performance during sustained operations”. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. September 2007; Vol. 78, No. 9. pgs. 871-7.

4) Lieberman HR, Tharion WJ, Shukitt-Hale B, Speckman KL, Tulley R. “Effects of caffeine, sleep loss, and stress on cognitive performance and mood during US Navy seal training”. Psychopharmacology. November 2002, Vol. 164, No. 3. pgs. 250-61.

5) Anselme, F, Collomp, K, Mercier, B, Ahmaidi, S, and Prefaut, C. “Caffeine increases maximal anaerobic power and blood lactate concentration”. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 1992; Volume 65, Number 2, pgs. 188-191.

6) Beck, TW; Housh, TJ; Schmidt, RJ; Johnson, GO; Housh, DJ; Coburn, JW and Malek, MH. “The acute effects of a caffeine containing supplement on strength, muscular endurance, and anaerobic capabilities”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. August 2006. Volume 20, Issue 3, pgs. 506–510.

7) Collomp, K, Ahmaidi, S, Audran, M, Chanal, JL, and Prefaut, C. “Effects of caffeine ingestion on performance and anaerobic metabolism during the Wingate test”. International Journal of Sports Medicine. October 1991. Volume 12, Issue 5, pgs. 439–443.

’8) Forbes, SC, Candow, DG, Little, JP, Magnus, C, and Chilibeck, PD. “Effect of Red Bull energy drink on repeated Wingate cycle performance and bench-press muscle endurance”. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. October 2007. Volume 17, pgs. 433–444.

9) Greer, F, McLean, C, and Graham, TE. “Caffeine, performance, and metabolism during repeated Wingate exercise tests”. Journal of Applied Physiology. October 1998. Vol. 85 No. 4, pgs. 1502-1508

10) Costill DL, Dalsky GP, Fink WJ. “Effects of caffeine ingestion on metabolism and exercise performance”. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. Fall 1978. Volume 10, Issue 3, pgs. 155-8.

11) Doherty M, Smith PM. “Effects of caffeine ingestion on rating of perceived exertion during and after exercise: a meta-analysis”. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. April 2005. Volume 15, Issue 2, pgs. 69-78.

12) Bliss, MV, Bellar, D, Kamimori, GH, Glickman, EL, Barkley, JE, Ryan, EJ, and Bellar, A. “The effect of caffeine supplementation on performance in the standing shot put throw”. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. May 2008. Volume 40, Issue 5, pg. S362.

13) Wong, K, Martin, BJ, Volland, L, Rohmann, RL, and Astorino, TA. “Effect of caffeine ingestion on resistance training performance”. Presented at: Southwest ACSM Meeting; San Diego, CA, November 12, 2008

14) Duncan, MJ and Oxford, SW. “The effect of caffeine ingestion on mood state and bench press performance to failure”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. January 2011. Volume 25, Issue 1, pgs. 178–185.

In this 2 Part Series, I am going to look at:
1) The Best Form of Caffeine to consume (i.e. drip coffee vs. powder (caffeine anhydrous))
2) The effectiveness of supplementing Caffeine for Fat Loss (lipolysis)
3) The impact of Caffeine on Cognitive Performance (i.e. Brain Function)
4) The Ergogenic (performance-enhancing) effects of caffeine on Endurance and Strength

Here is a brief overview of caffeine:
- Caffeine is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance⁽¹⁾
- In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily⁽¹⁾
- It is the most commonly utilized substance in “energy” drinks
- It stimulates the Central Nervous System (CNS), making us feel alert

1) BEST Form of Caffeine
When consuming caffeine for performance, the best form is to consume is caffeine anhydrous (caffeine powder in a capsule).  The reason for this is that it is a) cheaper and b) more effective than consuming coffee in liquid form (i.e. drip coffee).

WARNING: This is NOT the best way to get your caffeine!

a) Cheaper
I use NSI Caffeine Anhydrous which I purchase from Vitacost.com.  There are 240 capsules and each contains 200 mg of caffeine.  The whole bottle costs $7.  So, let’s do the math…the Mayo Clinic’s website shows that on average a 16 oz. cup of coffee contains approx. 175 mg of caffeine⁽²⁾.  Let’s round this to 200 mg.  That 16 oz. cup of coffee costs you around $2.  The one pill of caffeine anhydrous, which is 200 mg of caffeine, costs $0.03.  Paying 67 times less money for the same amount of caffeine is a no brainer!!!

b) More Effective
Caffeine anhydrous is more effective than a cup of coffee.  Roasting coffee beans changes the composition of the beans producing compounds which inhibit and alter the effects of the caffeine⁽³⁾.  Also, it takes a lot longer to drink a 16 oz. cup of coffee than it does to pop a pill with some water.  Although the cup of coffee may have the same quantity of caffeine as a pill, it is administered over a longer period of time.  The 200 mg from the pill is administered in full right away, yet the 200 mg of caffeine from the cup of coffee is ingested in small increments over 20-30 minutes depending on how fast you drink it.

2) Fat Loss (lipolysis)
If you are interested in fat loss then, supplementing with caffeine is a great idea!  Caffeine causes your body to a) use fat as fuel, b) it does not matter your age and c) it still works even if you drink coffee daily!!! 

a) Caffeine causes fat to be used as fuel
Research suggests that caffeine affects what your body uses as fuel during exercise, switching from glycogen to an increased dependence on the mobilization of free fatty acids⁽⁴⁾.  In layman’s terms, caffeine causes your body to use fat as fuel instead of glycogen.  Specifically, researchers found that a dose of caffeine of 5mg / kg of bodyweight resulted in significant increases in intramuscular fat oxidation during cycling⁽⁴⁾. 

b) Caffeine increases the number of calories you burn, regardless of your age
A study by Arcerio et al. observed the effects that caffeine had on 10 younger men (19-26 yrs old) versus 10 older men (65-80 yrs old).  The study was double-blind and placebo-controlled.  The dosage was 5mg of caffeine per kg of fat free mass (consists of mostly muscle and bone).  The younger men consumed about 350 mg and the older men consumed about 295 mg (so, the younger men had more fat free mass than the older men).  Energy expenditure increased by 11% in the younger group and 9.5% in the older group.  The scientists who performed the study stated, “older and younger men show a similar thermogenic response to caffeine ingestion…”  Basically, both young and old can benefit from the thermogenic effects of caffeine⁽⁵⁾

c) Caffeine increases the number of calories you burn, even if you consume it regularly
Supplementing as little as 100mg of caffeine has been shown to increase energy expenditure (burning of calories) via thermogenesis (body temperature increase), even though the subjects involved in the study consumed 100-200mg of Caffeine daily⁽⁶⁾.  The increase in energy expenditure subsequent to caffeine ingestion continued for 3 hours after consumption⁽⁶⁾.  To clarify, 100-200mg daily is equivalent to 1-2 cups per day.  It only makes sense that the more you consume on a daily basis, the less the impact that supplementing caffeine will have on energy expenditure.

To review, in Part 1 we learned that Caffeine Anhydrous (pill form) is a more effective method to supplement Caffeine than drinking coffee AND Caffeine increases fat burning and calories burned, regardless of age and regular consumption of 1-2 cups per day.  Tune in for Part 2 where we will look at caffeine’s impact on cognitive performance, strength and endurance.

Did you enjoy this post? Buy me a cup of coffee

References:

1) Lovett, Richard; “Coffee: The demon drink?”, New Scientist Magazine.  September 24, 2005; Issue 2518: pgs. 577-579.

2) Mayo Clinic Staff; “Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more”, Published on 10/3/09, Accessed on 2/3/11. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

3) de Paulis, Tomas; Schmidt, Dennis E.; Bruchey, Aleksandra K.; Kirby, Michael T.; McDonald, Michael P.; Commers, Patricia, et al.; “Dicinnamoylquinides in roasted coffee inhibit the human adenosine transporter”, European Journal of Pharmacology 442 (2002) 215– 223

4) Essig D.; Costill DL, Van Handel PJ; “Effects of caffeine ingestion on utilization of muscle glycogen and lipid during leg ergometer exercise”, International Journal of Sports Medicine. 1980, 1:86-90

5) Arciero PJ, Gardner AW, Calles-Escandon J, Benowitz NL, Poehlman ET. “Effects of caffeine ingestion on NE kinetics, fat oxidation, and energy expenditure in younger and older men”. The American journal of physiology. 1995 Jun;268(6 Pt 1):E1192-8

6) Astrup, A.; Toubro, S.; Cannon, S.; Hein, P.; Breum, L.; Madsen, J; “Caffeine: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of its thermogenic, metabolic, and cardiovascular effects in healthy volunteers”. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. May 1990 Vol. 51 No. 5 pgs. 759-767