I’m sure I’m not the only one that has wondered about this question. I remember during the summer of 2023 when I first discovered the joys of caffeine, I would drink about a cup of it before I went for my workout. I figured, “If I am more energetic, wouldn’t I see positive results after drinking caffeine?” My results are inconclusive. I didn’t record dosages, or the number of spoons of caffeine I put into the French press, or the kinds of workouts I did. Nor did I study any long-term muscular or neuromuscular effects that came from drinking caffeine before a workout. Let’s dive into what science says about how caffeine affects workout performance, specifically in a Wingate Anaerobic Test.
While I didn’t perform
a study, there was a group of scientists who did. The title of the study is “Caffeine,
but Not Creatine, Improves Anaerobic Power Without Altering Anaerobic Capacity
in Healthy Men During a Wingate Anaerobic Test”. They aimed to find how
Creatine and/or Caffeine had an influence on anaerobic power and anaerobic
capacity.
Limitations
As with all studies,
there are limitations to the reliability to the results. Such is the case here;
the sample size is only 24 individuals. Furthermore, the sample size was
limited to just men. The researchers did admit that there are “similar
ergogenic effects of caffeine and creatine between men and women”. How much of
a difference between the two genders is there? [Perhaps another article I
review will discuss this.] Finally, the dosages used may be too little for some
people or too much for others.
The researchers also
did not take any blood or muscle samples, either before, during or after the
test. But for those who aren’t researchers with specialized equipment, such as me,
evaluating our own results will have to come by taking notes on our intake and
post workout results.
Design of
Testing
The first action the
researchers took was to measure the body fat percentage of the participants
using their skinfolds. They used the chest, abdomen, and thigh skinfolds in
their calculations. The participants also filled out a food and beverage
questionnaire to determine their habitual caffeine consumption. Then the
participants performed their first Wingate Anaerobic Test and were paired
according to their peak power and mean power results.
This study was
designed as a “matched-pair, controlled-trial, crossover design”. Let’s break
this design down one set of words at a time. “Matched-pair” means that the
study will get two individuals who are most similar to each other and put one
in the control group and one in the experimental group to help control
individual differences. “Controlled-trial” is just science-y talk for “have a
control group in the study”. For a “crossover design” let’s say Group A gets
the caffeine and Group B gets the placebo. After the first set of experiments is
performed there will be a period of waiting for the drugs to exit the system
and then Group A will get the placebo and Group B will get the caffeine.
Unknowingly, of course, since if people know which group they belong to it may
have an impact on the results.
So the “matched-pairs”
were discovered and were then randomly split up into either the control or
experimental group. The experimental group was told to ingest 20 grams of
creatine per day for 8 days, while the control group ingested a placebo using
the same protocol.
When the participants
returned on their next visit they were weighed. Then half of them were to
ingest a caffeine capsule that contained 5 mg/kg [or 2.27 mg/lbs] of body mass,
specifically weighed for each individual. The other half were given a placebo. The
figure below will probably explain it better than I can. For an athletic male,
such as myself, who weighs about 200 lbs, I would have ingested about 454 mg of
caffeine! Typically, .5 ounces of coffee grounds in the French press to make my
coffee is all that I need. This is only about 100 mg of caffeine. I have to
wonder if at this point the results may be worth that amount of caffeine.
Wingate
Anaerobic Test
For those, like me,
who aren’t familiar with what a Wingate Anaerobic Test is, it is a 30-second
cycling test that measures anaerobic capacity and muscular power. One way to
perform the Wingate Anaerobic Test could be to get on the stationary bike and,
after a brief warm-up period, crank up the bike resistance to its maximum
setting and pedal as hard and as fast as you can for 30 seconds with maximal
effort. Something similar can be done on a treadmill, or even on a Full
Throttle Rowing Machine. A brief warm-up period and then maximizing your
intensity at the same time as maximizing the machines resistance.
Doing this test will
clearly tire most of, if not all of, us out. The question then is, “is the
anaerobic capacity and muscular power that we perform during the test, higher
or lower when we consume caffeine?”
Results
Ultimately, whether a
person used creatine or did not use creatine did not have an impact on athletic
performance as it relates to the Wingate Anaerobic Test. On the other hand,
those that were given caffeine in both the creatine and the placebo trials did
experience positive results in anaerobic power. Those participants experienced
significantly higher peak power compared to those given the placebo. This is
most likely due to the fact that caffeine will “excite” the nerves and muscles
in the motor and spinal receptors.
My
Analysis
Over 400 mg of
caffeine is a lot. Sometimes I’ll drink two cups of coffee, but even then I’ll
feel… uncomfortable internally. The next time I plan on doing an intense work
out session I’ll see if I’m willing to risk the potential effects of such a
high dosage.
What About
You?
I’m curious – have any
of you tried coffee before a workout? If you stop drinking coffee and give your
body time to get it all out of your system, do you find that the workout is
less satisfying in the end?
Although I am working to become a personal trainer I currently am not
one. The information in this post is intended to be a simplified summary of the
scientific paper. If you can find one to trust, consult a doctor or medical
professional for advice on health and fitness related matters. For those
interested in exploring the study in more depth, I encourage you to read the
full article. You can find the reference below.
Marinho, A. H.,
Silva-Cavalcante, M. D., Cristina-Souza, G., Sousa, F. A., Ataide-Silva, T.,
Bertuzzi, R., de Araujo, G. G., & Lima-Silva, A. E. (2024). Caffeine, but
not creatine, improves anaerobic power without altering anaerobic capacity in
healthy men during a wingate anaerobic test. International Journal of Sport
Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 34(3), 137–144.
https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2023-0191
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