Caffeine effects on aerobic exercise and

sports performance
Haley Molden

Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to research and gain more
knowledge and understanding on the ergogenic effects of
.caffeine on aerobic exercise and sports performance. In the
athletic world caffeine is known to aid performance but the
understanding of why this happens is little known. Extensive
researching and reading was done through medical and
sports medicinal journals to fully understand caffeines
ergogenic effects on sports performance and exercise with
an emphasis on aerobic exercise. The results found were
that caffeine ingested at 3-8 mg per kg of body weight can
improve aerobic performance by ~3-5% when taken ~ 1 hour
prior to exercise. The improvement comes from attenuated
Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE), increased time to
exhaustion, attenuated decreases in leg power, and
improved mood and readiness to invest effort. The
conclusion is that caffeine is a safe and readily available
supplement to improve sport performance.

Introduction
Caffeine is a very widely used stimulant drug. As much
as 90% of the population ingests caffeine on a regular
basis. It is the most widely used stimulant drug used by
athletes to improve sport performance (1). Caffeine is
completely absorbed within 45 minutes after ingestion
(6). Once absorbed into the blood stream, caffeine
stimulates the central nervous system (CNS), which
results in increased levels of focus and alertness (6).
Many reasons of caffeines effects on the body have
been suggested but its exact causes are unknown. The
more probable suggestion stems from the thought that
muscle contractions cause pain by placing mechanical
force on nociceptors that are pressure-sensitive (10).
This force causes many algesic (pain sensitive)
biochemicals to generate within the contracting muscle
(10).
Caffeine is known to be a potent adenosine
antagonist and because of caffeines lipophilic nature it
easily crosses the blood brain barrier to inhibit
adenosine receptors especially receptors A1 and A2a
(2, 10). Adenosine inhibits many of the brains excitatory
neurotransmitters like dopamine for example (2). When
adenosine inhibits the secretions of these
neurotransmitters it causes reduced arousal, an
increase in sleep and a decrease in spontaneous
behavioral activity (2). When caffeine is ingested and
inhibits adenosine receptors that are involved in the
nociceptive system it alters the muscle sensory
processes explaining the hypoalgesic effect of caffeine
during exercise (10).

The University of Kansas

Research done through PubMed database

Results
Subjects reported feeling soreness on palpation on the
fourth day while ingesting caffeine but this extended time
of feeling sore could be explained by when participants
consumed caffeine they performed more reps on the fifth
set to failure thus the participants doing more work
compared to ingesting the placebo (1). This study also
found that when the participants consumed caffeine their
ratings of perceived exertion were significantly lower in
the final three sets of the exercise compared to the
placebo (1).
Caffeine showed to significantly increase time to
exhaustion compared to the placebo group however, that
improvement was slightly greater for the non-users (3).
Furthermore, the effect of caffeine was still in effect for
the non-users after 6 hours but in the users of caffeine
this was not the case (3). Also, RPE was reduced after
the ingestion of caffeine for both the users and the nonusers but the lower RPE occurred later during the
endurance ride for the non-users (3).
Flueck et al. performed a study examining the
ergogenic effects of caffeine on a 3 minute all out arm
crank test in paraplegic, tetraplegic, and able bodied
participants (4). The results of this study showed a
significant increase in peak power within the first minute
of the three minute all out arm crank test but only in the
paraplegic group (4). The difference between the
paraplegic individuals and able bodied participants can
be explained by paraplegic individuals have more type 1
fibers in the deltoids compared to abled bodied
individuals with more of their type 1 fibers being in the
lower body (4).
Another variable that could determine the capacity of
the ergogenic effect of caffeine on aerobic exercise is
gender. A study was performed with all female
participants to compare another study done with all male
participants. The participants performed a bike ride
where the intensity incrementally increased until the
participant reached volitional fatigue (10). The females in
this study experienced a reduction in pain intensity
ratings after ingesting caffeine (10). The magnitude of the
hypoalgesic effect that was observed was twice as much
as what was observed in the similar all mens study (10).
Acker-Hewitt et al. looked at the effect of caffeine and
carbohydrate ingestion individually and together to
determine how they worked in unison. The subjects who
were in the caffeine and carbohydrate group were 3.4%
faster at a higher intensity compared to the placebo
group (11). The caffeine only and carbohydrate only
groups performance improved but not enough to be
considered statistically significant (11).

Figure 2: Intramuscular signaling protein levels 15 minutes and 180

minutes post exercise

Conclusions
Some variables effect the magnitude of the hypoalgesic
effect of caffeine. Women appear to have a greater
response. How often one ingests caffeine can alter the
hypoalgesic effect. Where the bulk of ones type 1 muscle
fibers are located.
Caffeine is shown to have an ergogenic effect on aerobic
exercise. Dosage should be at 3-8 mg per kg of body
weight. Ingestion of caffeine should be 45 minutes to an
hour prior to exercise or competition.