so i am a highschool racer and i have often though of drinking really strong coffee before races to boost my energy. have any of you guys done this. i'm experimenting with it to see how long it takes me to have to pee really badly. the coffee i drink is 100mg of caffeine per 8 oz and gu is 20 mg. thanks
-mpap

it is a complex answer...

caffein has been demonstrated to improve the body's effiency in glycogen metabolism... the good thing is that the effects do not become flattened by habit.

however - caffein has also been demonstrated to be a diuretic... but the good news is that with consistent use, your body gets used to it and it shouldn't dehydrate you unless you don't drink.

I would drink espresso rather than brewed coffee just because brewed coffee has more water (bloating for me) and espresso has less caffein than brewed joe. There's a medical text journal I read last semester concerning this specifically...

here's just a snip from a paper I wrote concerning this...

interesting... what has that much caffeine? for a 63kg cyclist like myself that's over 300mg, a double shot of espresso only has around 130 or so (at starbucks)

espresso generally has less caffein than joe coffee - the quick pressure means the grinds aren't soaked as long and the caffein content is lower (despite stronger taste for same volume).

But you really don't need 5mg/kilo to have the benefits... that's too much for me personally (get too jumpy and maybe even heart palpitations).

so what do you recommend?

get as much or as little as you are comfortable with - there's no telling how much you can use without trial and experimentation. Even if it was in an insignficant amount a placebo effect can be good enough.

the amounts used in the test were just picked that way because it was for a scientific paper and researchers need to validate the test with a specific dosage to standardize the testing procedures.

yeah if i drink 100mg worth of caffeine i get really jumpy and start to get really uncomfortable. but i'm going to experiment in the offseason. the weird thing is that for the rest of the day i kind of feel like i'm out of sorts kinda. thanks for the info.

I am afraid your initial comment is wrong - it does not improve glycogen efficiency as you point out. What is does do is helps release free fatty acids into the blood for use, thereby sparing glycogen. It doesn't work on glycogen per se....

yes - you are right, pardon my bad memory.

Why not just take a 200mg caffiene pill about an hour before riding.

Pro-Plus?

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Increasing metatbolism and assisting the conversion of fatty acids are the same. Your metabolism is the speed at which your body can turn food and fat into energy.

I've tried caffine and got nothing out of it.

I would recommend that you experiment with caffeine in training before you use it before a race....

A couple of months ago was experimenting with pre-ride caffeine and went for a bunch ride....... and I was a little too hypo and managed to bump someone else and come off at about 50..... believe me its the last thing you want to do...

Sorry Bruiser, going to have to disagree here. Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. Transfer of fatty acids for use in exercise is totally different - it takes an aerobically efficient metabolism to do this!

Caffeine is a very individual thing, as there have been shown to be non-responders ie, people upon whom it has no effect

Some research i was involved in looked at 3, 6 and 9 mg per kg body mass and its effects. we found that 6mg per kg body mass got the best (including statistically significant) results: 3mg was too low, whereas 9mg was too high

I have never had a cup of coffee in my life, so even 3mg would slap me around - the key is to experiment as others have suggested...

Good luck!

The word metabolism is one of the health jargon words that gets thrown around.

You're probably right though I think I saw a second definition of metabolism there.

The theory I heard for caffine was that it helped burn fat not fatty acids, but it's been a few years since that lecture.

I don't drink coffee (ever!) and I was a non-responder. I don't sleep after caffine but it doesn't make me hypo. Not sure if there is any connection there.