Biomaterial Database

The Effects of Preexercise Caffeinated Coffee Ingestion on Endurance Performance: An Evidence-Based Review. 2016

Simon Higgins, and Chad R Straight, and Richard D Lewis

Dept. of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Endurance athletes commonly ingest caffeine as a means to enhance training intensity and competitive performance. A widely-used source of caffeine is coffee, however conflicting evidence exists regarding the efficacy of coffee in improving endurance performance. In this context, the aims of this evidence-based review were threefold: 1) to evaluate the effects of preexercise coffee on endurance performance, 2) to evaluate the effects of coffee on perceived exertion during endurance performance, and 3) to translate the research into usable information for athletes to make an informed decision regarding the intake of caffeine via coffee as a potential ergogenic aid. Searches of three major databases were performed using terms caffeine and coffee, or coffee-caffeine, and endurance, or aerobic. Included studies (n = 9) evaluated the effects of caffeinated coffee on human subjects, provided the caffeine dose administered, administered caffeine ≥ 45 min before testing, and included a measure of endurance performance (e.g., time trial). Significant improvements in endurance performance were observed in five of nine studies, which were on average 24.2% over controls for time to exhaustion trials, and 3.1% for time to completion trials. Three of six studies found that coffee reduced perceived exertion during performance measures significantly more than control conditions (p < .05). Based on the reviewed studies there is moderate evidence supporting the use of coffee as an ergogenic aid to improve performance in endurance cycling and running. Coffee providing 3-8.1 mg/kg (1.36-3.68 mg/lb) of caffeine may be used as a safe alternative to anhydrous caffeine to improve endurance performance.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010807	Physical Endurance	The time span between the beginning of physical activity by an individual and the termination because of exhaustion.	Endurance, Physical,Physical Stamina,Stamina, Physical
D002110	Caffeine	A methylxanthine naturally occurring in some beverages and also used as a pharmacological agent. Caffeine's most notable pharmacological effect is as a central nervous system stimulant, increasing alertness and producing agitation. It also relaxes SMOOTH MUSCLE, stimulates CARDIAC MUSCLE, stimulates DIURESIS, and appears to be useful in the treatment of some types of headache. Several cellular actions of caffeine have been observed, but it is not entirely clear how each contributes to its pharmacological profile. Among the most important are inhibition of cyclic nucleotide PHOSPHODIESTERASES, antagonism of ADENOSINE RECEPTORS, and modulation of intracellular calcium handling.	1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine,Caffedrine,Coffeinum N,Coffeinum Purrum,Dexitac,Durvitan,No Doz,Percoffedrinol N,Percutaféine,Quick-Pep,Vivarin,Quick Pep,QuickPep
D003069	Coffee	A beverage made from ground COFFEA beans (SEEDS) infused in hot water. It generally contains CAFFEINE and THEOPHYLLINE unless it is decaffeinated.
D005082	Physical Exertion	Expenditure of energy during PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. Intensity of exertion may be measured by rate of OXYGEN CONSUMPTION; HEAT produced, or HEART RATE. Perceived exertion, a psychological measure of exertion, is included.	Physical Effort,Effort, Physical,Efforts, Physical,Exertion, Physical,Exertions, Physical,Physical Efforts,Physical Exertions
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001642	Bicycling	The use of a bicycle for transportation or recreation. It does not include the use of a bicycle in studying the body's response to physical exertion (BICYCLE ERGOMETRY TEST see EXERCISE TEST).
D012420	Running	An activity in which the body is propelled by moving the legs rapidly. Running is performed at a moderate to rapid pace and should be differentiated from JOGGING, which is performed at a much slower pace.	Runnings
D015201	Meta-Analysis as Topic	A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc., with application chiefly in the areas of research and medicine.	Clinical Trial Overviews,Data Pooling,Overviews, Clinical Trial,Clinical Trial Overview,Data Poolings,Meta Analysis as Topic,Overview, Clinical Trial
D015444	Exercise	Physical activity which is usually regular and done with the intention of improving or maintaining PHYSICAL FITNESS or HEALTH. Contrast with PHYSICAL EXERTION which is concerned largely with the physiologic and metabolic response to energy expenditure.	Aerobic Exercise,Exercise, Aerobic,Exercise, Isometric,Exercise, Physical,Isometric Exercise,Physical Activity,Acute Exercise,Exercise Training,Activities, Physical,Activity, Physical,Acute Exercises,Aerobic Exercises,Exercise Trainings,Exercise, Acute,Exercises,Exercises, Acute,Exercises, Aerobic,Exercises, Isometric,Exercises, Physical,Isometric Exercises,Physical Activities,Physical Exercise,Physical Exercises,Training, Exercise,Trainings, Exercise
D016032	Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic	Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.	Clinical Trials, Randomized,Controlled Clinical Trials, Randomized,Trials, Randomized Clinical