By: Henk-Jan Dolsma of Boemerang Nutrition & Lifestyle
It must have been about ten years ago that I decided to participate in Ramadan for a few days. When I skipped breakfast I still felt fine. Around ten o'clock something started to gnaw. Two hours later the adventure was over and I poured myself a cup of coffee, shaking. Not eating and not drinking was no problem but without coffee I didn't feel well. It seemed like a good reason to cut down a bit.
Coffee contains caffeine, among other things: a substance with a number of striking properties, including a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Until 2004, it was on the doping list because of its performance-enhancing effects. In this article, I will show you how you can use it as a runner and endurance athlete and what you should consider in practice.
Effect
Caffeine has a stimulating effect on the brain in particular. The performance-enhancing effect has been demonstrated in various areas, but is most evident in endurance efforts. These central effects reduce feelings of discomfort and fatigue and stimulate activity. In addition, caffeine can also stimulate fatty acid combustion.
Please note that this can also have negative effects on some people, such as feelings of restlessness, anxiety or pressure. It can also have a stimulating effect on your digestive system.
Dosage and time of administration
The optimal dosage for most people is somewhere between three and six milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of body weight. If you are 80kg, you will be able to use between 240 and 480 mg of caffeine. Do not use more than six mg per kg of body weight yourself and experiment with lower dosages in training at first, after which you increase it in steps.
The easiest way to get caffeine is through a cup of coffee. To get close to a performance-enhancing dose, you can drink two to three cups an hour before a shorter competition. A cup contains about 100 mg, so this amount is already good for about 200 or 300 mg of caffeine. In most supplements or sports nutrition preparations, the amount of caffeine is between 75 – 200 mg.
If you are running longer races, you can start with those two to three cups of coffee about an hour before the race. Then the most used strategy is to use caffeine at the moment that fatigue sets in and sharpness decreases. In practice often the last ⅓ of a race.
- In competitions lasting less than two hours, do not use more than 3 mg/kg body weight in the latter part.
- If you run longer races, such as a marathon, you can aim for 6 mg/kg body weight in the last part.
- Make sure you test this out in practice beforehand in competition-specific training.
Important notes for practice
- There is quite a bit of variation between people in how quickly the body breaks down caffeine and how you react to it. Therefore, start with low doses and seek advice if you are going to run longer races and want to experience optimal effects. It is not useful to feel even more rushed if you are already a barrel of gunpowder at the start of a race.
- If you are pregnant or know that you do not react well to coffee, do not use extra caffeine.
- In hot and/or humid conditions, there is no performance enhancing effect of extra caffeine and it can even have negative effects. Therefore, do not use the above strategies during hot and/or humid competition conditions.
- To increase the effect of your fasted endurance training you can also use extra caffeine an hour before. The dosage in that case is 3 mg/kg body weight.
- With long-term daily use of caffeine, habituation can occur. Whether temporarily eliminating caffeine from ten days before the event has a greater performance-enhancing effect is not entirely clear. In practice, I often advise it, given the practical consequences of the first cup of coffee on 'race day': you can go to the toilet right away.
- In any case, it is good to vary your caffeine intake. It is quite healthy to be independent of any stimulant - illegal or legal 🙂
If you would like to know more about the smart use of race nutrition or smart (nutrition) strategies for sporting events, you can always stop by RunX Groningen for an appointment with Henk-Jan from Boemerang Voeding & Leefstijl.
