Should You Use Caffeine During Exercise?

With so many supplements on the market it's hard to know which ones work and which ones don't. Even if a supplement does what it claims, there are still the issues of safety, purity, and quality of the supplement. As a general rule, you should focus on food first and supplements second as a supplement is not going to make up for a poor diet and in many cases eating a high quality, varied diet is enough to get what your body needs. However, there are a few supplements out there that studies have found to be effective and one of them is caffeine with regards to endurance exercise.
Studies have shown that caffeine may help improve performance in endurance exercise in a couple of ways. First, by stimulating the Central Nervous System which improves alertness and reaction time as well as having an analgesic (pain relieving) effect. In this case, caffeine is thought to decrease the perceived effort of your exercise. Secondly, caffeine stimulates fat oxidation in your cells which increases the energy available to your working muscles.
This means that caffeine may help you exercise harder and longer with less pain!
Everyone metabolizes caffeine slightly different. That's why one cup of coffee can have one person bouncing off the walls and another barely feeling stimulated at all. If you are a heavy caffeine user you are less likely to reap the performance benefits but it may still be worth a try.
The suggested dose for caffeine during exercise is 3-6 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. Either taking the caffeine 1 hour before exercise, or as several smaller doses during exercise will result in the same effect.

So for a 150 lb athlete: 150lbs/2.2= 68.18 kg x 3= 204-409 mg of caffeine.

Many sports gels now contain caffeine but usually not in large enough amounts to yield a performance benefit. If you are using them already, however, choosing a flavor with caffeine is an option to get some caffeine in. Often times athletes will use caffeine tablets in order to get the necessary amount of caffeine. They can be dissolved in a sports beverage or taken with water. Don't use energy drinks as they contain many other artificial stimulants that won't improve performance and may have other negative side effects such as heart palpations and dizziness.
Remember, do not try any new nutrition strategies the day of a competition. Experiment with different doses of caffeine from different forms at different times during training to determine what works best for you.

How much caffeine is in….

Starbucks Coffee: 330 mg
Folgers brewed coffee: 160-200 mg
Black or Green Tea: 60-100 mg
Coca Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper (12 fl oz):35-55 mg
SoBe Adrenaline Rush: 150 mg
Rockstar (original): 160 mg
Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate (packet): 1-3 mg
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar (1.5oz)-10 mg
Jelly Belly Extreme Sports Beans (14): 50 mg
PowerBar Tangerine 2x Caffeine Gel: 50 mg
Excedrin Extra Strength(2 tablets): 130 mg
*16 fl. Oz drinks unless otherwise noted


To check on the safety of a specific supplement check out:
www.consumerlabs.com