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Caffeine in Endurance Sports

Science confirms – again – efficacy in endurance sports

Many studies have already proven the ergogenic effect of caffeine in competition. The focus was usually on a performance duration of about one hour. However, caffeine can also noticeably improve longer endurance performances, as the scientists Talanian/Spriet have demonstrated.

Their study investigated whether late caffeine intake during exercise would also lead to a significant improvement in performance. 15 athletes underwent four times a 2-hour cycling test, followed by a time trial that lasted 30 minutes. After 80 minutes (i.e. 40 minutes before the time trial), the athletes took either 200 mg, 100 mg or a placebo product with 0 mg caffeine without knowing what dose they were given. The results speak for themselves: The athletes with the highest caffeine intake performed best in the time trial (26:36 ± 0:22), followed by the athletes with the low dose (27:36 ± 0:32) and the placebo intake (28:41 ± 0:38).

The graph prepared by Asker Jeukendrup illustrates the outcome very well: » Timing of caffeine intake in long races

Conclusion for endurance athletes
• Taking caffeine during exercise, about 40-60 minutes before the desired effect, improves performance during longer endurance activities.
• 200 mg caffeine proves to be more effective than 100 mg caffeine.
• It seems beneficial to take additional caffeine during competition if performance peaks are targeted later in the race.
• Here too, taking 200 mg of caffeine around 40-60 minutes before the «peak» is optimal.

Good to know
Despite all the positive effects, it must be emphasized that caffeine supplementation only has the desired effect, if the athlete can tolerate the caffeine intake well. The previously propagated «caffeine wash-out», i.e. the renunciation of all caffeine sources during 24 hours before the competition, has been partially refuted, but seems to depend on the individual as well.

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Literature
Talanian/Spriet (2016): Low and moderate doses of caffeine late in exercise improve performance in trained cyclists. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016 Aug;41(8):850-5.

Author: Remo Jutzeler
Head R&D SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Applied Food Sciences UAS
MAS Nutrition & Health ETHZ

LIQUID ENERGY GELS

Benefit and application

LIQUID ENERGY GELS stand for high energy density with optimal compatibility. This highly concentrated energy in liquid form is ideal for workouts in which breathing and athletic performance must not be compromised by chewing or digestion. LIQUID ENERGY GELS are available as resealable tubes or sachets and can be used right before a workout or during high intensity activities. SPONSER® offers many different varieties which can easily be combined.

»All LIQUID ENERGY GELS from SPONSER in comparison (PDF)

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Effects of Caffeine

Caffeine in sports: position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN)

The times when caffeine was on the doping list are long gone. But that does not mean that caffeine has no influence on athletic performance. Quite the opposite. The position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) is very clear and summarizes the most important caffeine findings:

• Taking a sufficient dose of caffeine about 1060 minutes before exercise can increase concentration, alertness, and both anaerobic and aerobic endurance.

• Caffeine increases athletic performance at a dosage of 36 mg/kg body weight. A further improvement is not expected at higher doses. Conversely, however, too high doses (> 9 mg/kg) can produce adverse effects such as nervousness.

• Caffeine is more effective in free form compared to bound caffeine, as found in coffee, guarana or tea. One cup of coffee contains about 60100 mg of caffeine in bound form.

• Caffeine can increase alertness under prolonged stress, but also during periods of little sleep. This is not only important for participants in ultraendurance events, but also in mountain sports and on expeditions, as well as for students and during activities such as long car journeys.

• Caffeine is performanceenhancing during longlasting endurance activities and highly effective during timetrial performances (e.g. time trials).

• Caffeine is also beneficial for highintensity exercise, including team and ball sports such as soccer and tennis, which are characterized by intermittent exercise over a long period of time.

• The scientific evidence shows no caffeinerelated fluid loss or other adverse changes in fluid balance that could affect performance.

• There is evidence that taking lowenergy caffeine drinks/shots during targeted training for endurance or weight loss also promotes a small additional fat reduction, compared to exercise alone. However, it is necessary to use only lowenergy products for this purpose.

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Literature
Goldstein ER et al. (2010): International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010 Jan 27;7(1):5.

Author: Remo Jutzeler
Head R&D SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Applied Food Sciences UAS
MAS Nutrition & Health ETHZ

Caffeine in Sports

Dosage recommendations for caffeine

Caffeine can significantly contribute to improving endurance performance. Many studies that have proven the positive effect of caffeine in competition have assumed a performance duration of about one hour. There are no studies on events lasting more than 24 hours.

Ideally, the intake of caffeine should be timed to suit specific phases in competition (performance decline, final phase, night-time, etc.). It is therefore advantageous to plan the intake times in order to coincide with the (mentally and physically) demanding performance phases.

Basically, the recommended dosage for caffeine in sports is around 3-4 mg/kg body weight. A person weighing 70 kg would consume 210-280 mg of caffeine, for example. The effectiveness curve of caffeine runs from about 30-40 minutes after ingestion to 3-4 hours afterwards. Afterwards, caffeine must be replenished. Negative effects due to overdose can only occur from 5-6 mg/kg body weight within this time period. However, this would primarily affect cognitive and not physical performance factors.

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Author: Remo Jutzeler
Head R&D SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Applied Food Sciences UAS
MAS Nutrition & Health ETH

Interview Yuliya Yelistratova

Interview with the Ukrainian pro-triathlete Yuliya Yelistratova

Yuliya Yelistratova is one of the most recognised and experienced ITU triathletes. The Ukrainian athlete has already claimed several ITU World Cup podiums, besides making it to three Summer Olympics already (Beijing, London and Rio). She is actually number two of the Continental Triathlon Ranking Europe. SPONSER has met the 31 one year old pro-triathlete who is right aiming to qualify for her fourth Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo.

Yuliya, how was your season for far and what are your key races coming up this year?

I feel rather fit this season and showed consistent results on my way to qualify for Tokyo 202; including 5th place in Karlovy Vary World Cup and 10th in Weert European Championships. I have done another great training camp in the altitude recently, and now aiming for results on the podium. My key races in the end of this season will be the World Cups in Lima and Santo Domingo, both in November 2019. At the same time I will do several European Cups in order defend my leader's position in the European ranking.

What importance does nutrition in general have in your daily life and also as an athlete?

Most of the people have big loadings today. I always take care of what I eat, but it's not possible to get all necessary vitamins and amino acids with the food. Especially when training hard and racing, the body needs additional supplements. People should take high quality nutrition in order to stay healthy and happy, and athletes also in order to achieve their goals.

What is the best nutrition tip you can give to athletes in general and triathletes in particular?

It's very important to be confident in the quality of nutrition that you have. That is why I've chosen Sponser. Ideally to have nutritionists who would recommend products and quantity based on your lifestyle and body characteristics.

Which three SPONSER products are your favourite ones and why?

Hard task to highlight only three, as many of them are very important to me. But if I would have to choose:

1. LIQUID ENERGY PLUS. It helps me to do my best for the races supplying with fast energy and caffeine. It's very handy to use, indispensable during competitions and helps me during hard training as well.
2. LONG ENERGY. This smart product helps me to train efficiently, giving opportunity to keep important volumes and intensity.
3. PRO RECOVERY. It takes care about my recovery after intensive training sessions or competitions, providing necessary proteins, carbohydrates and amino acids.

Crossfit nutrition

Nutrition plays an important role when it comes to crossfit workouts

Most crossfit trainings last about an hour and therefore correspond to high intensity train; apart from warm-up, coordinative units and cooldown. In other words, the training is rather short, but extremely intensive, similar to interval training.

Nutrition before training
If you want to do a high intensity training, it is essential to start the training with filled stores. Not with a full stomach, of course, but not sober either. Ideally, a few easily digestible bites should be taken shortly before training: depending on preferences and tolerance, this can be a small banana, an easily digestible sports bar, a honey bread, a carbohydrate-containing sports drink or something silimar.

During training
During a crossfit training there is usually no or very little time for food intake. Sports drinks that contain a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution and thus support endurance performance and fluid intake are particularly suitable for this purpose. ISOTONIC or the mildly aromatic, acid-free COMPETITION are the beverages of choice for crossfit athletes. If the training lasts longer than one hour, a LIQUID ENERGY GEL tube (with or without caffeine) can help to keep the blood sugar level high and to avoid hangers during the workout. Solid food is not appropriate during a crossfit workout, as the athlete has neither the time to chew nor the energy to digest.

After the workout
The immediate nutrition after a high intensity workout pursues the following goals: hydration, supply of electrolytes and energy, regeneration. For these reasons it is important to supply the body with carbohydrates, liquids and protein within 30 minutes after the training. Besides protein-rich ready-to-drink products such as PROTEIN SMOOTHIE or PROTEIN DRINK, regeneration products such as PRO RECOVERY or RECOVERY SHAKE, which are mixed with water or milk, are indicated. But also a PROTEIN 50 Bar or a PROTEIN LOW CARB Bar, a low-sugar quark dish or a small cheese roll serve regeneration.

Protein for crossfit athletes
Protein fulfils many important functions in your body. To perform its tasks optimally, your body must be provided with the necessary basic protein requirements. The Swiss Society for Sports Nutrition therefore recommends athletes a daily amount of approx. 1.3-1.8 g protein per kg body weight. For a woman of 60 kg this means about 80-110 g protein per day, while a man of 80 kg body weight needs about 105-144 g dietary protein. For special phases such as strength building, diets or weight training, higher recommendations of 2.0-2.7 g protein per kilogram body weight apply. With our protein calculator the recommended daily requirements can be calculated to cover your individual needs.

Protein: timing of intake
The body protein is in a dynamic equilibrium. It is constantly built up and broken down. This is called anabolism or catabolism. Therefore, you are dependent on a regular intake. For optimal protein synthesis, about 20-30 g of protein should be consumed every 3-4 hours.

» download infographic «protein synthesis» (PDF)

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Conclusion
With the right nutrition, crossfit training does not get easier, but definitely more effective. Above all, it should not be forgotten that individual tolerance and personal taste preferences are always to be taken into consideration.
So get ready for your next crossfit training, the kettlebells are waiting!

Author: Remo Jutzeler
Head R&D SPONSER SPORT FOOD
Ing. Applied Food Sciences UAS
MAS Nutrition & Health ETHZ

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