How does Caffeine affect Aspects of Working Out?
There are many different opinions on how coffee impacts your overall health. Although I will not state my belief on the subject right now, I would like to recap this study conducted by the Sport Science Research Group I just read on the effects caffeine had on work and power.
-WORK DONE is the product of the force and the distance over which the force was applied (Work=Force x Distance)
-CRITICAL POWER is how much work is done divided by how much time it took to do that work (Power= Work/time).
The study was done with 9 men who cycled until exhaustion with different exercise intensities. These tests were done on different days to determine how work and power where affected by the placebo and caffeine pill. The placebo is a pill that is used for psychological benefit rather than a physiological benefit. In other words, the participants did not know which day they were given the caffeine pill. This makes the results more reliable in a way.
The results of the study included time to exhaustion was longer with caffeine that the placebo. The aerobic energy expenditure increased with caffeine. The anaerobic lactic did not increase with caffeine. Caffeine also increases end values of heart rate and ventilation in this study.
This study showed caffeine increased total work done. It also increased the amount of time it took to reach a point of exhaustion. This study does not mean the American College of Sports Medicine endorses caffeine before work out. I also do not endorse caffeine before a workout. This is a study that I thought was interesting. Please leave your thoughts below!