Caffeine - Why do athletes take it?

Caffeine is a legitimate supplement for many athletes, but why do they take it? It is of course a central nervous stimulant, found naturally in coffee, tea, as well as many soda drinks, chocolate and of course those pro-plus tablets! It is often used by athletes as a pre-workout stimulant  and there is general agreement that caffeine can enhance performance in endurance sports. Simply put caffeine enhances the contractility of skeletal and cardiac muscle, and helps metabolise fat, thereby sparing muscle glycogen stores.

To explain this process in more detail needs an understanding of the energy systems involved but the following explanation isn't too tortuous.
However, you do become habituated to it and removing it from a diet heavy in caffeine can frequently lead to caffeine withdrawal symptoms such as headaches. Side effects can include irritability, restlessness, diarrhoea, insomnia, and anxiety.
Glycogen is the principal fuel for muscles and exhaustion occurs when it is depleted. Typically this is after 90 mins of exercise (up to 3 hours for those who train regularly) and if not replaced' this is when people "hit the wall" or "bonk".  A secondary fuel, which is much more abundant, is fat. As long as there is still glycogen available, working muscles can utilize fat. Caffeine mobilizes fat stores and encourages working muscles to use fat as a fuel. This delays the depletion of muscle glycogen. The critical time period in glycogen sparing is reported to occur during the first 15 minutes of exercise, where caffeine has been shown to decrease glycogen utilization by as much as 50%. Glycogen saved at the beginning is thus available during the later stages of exercise and in most experimental studies this meant that the athletes were able to exercise longer until exhaustion occurred.

So there you have it.


So maybe it's time to personally review the daily caffeine uptake! Mands