BJSM Study Reinforces Caffeine As Performance Booster

Adding to the perpetual discussion regarding whether or not caffeine contributes to overall athletic performance, the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) recently released a new set of findings based on a synopsis of past studies.

The umbrella review covered 300 primary studies with more than 4,800 participants across 11 analyses. Through its review, the BJSM concluded that, “caffeine is ergogenic for different components of exercise performance including aerobic endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, power, jumping performance and exercise speed. (BJSM)

How much impact can caffeine have? “Those who respond most strongly to caffeine might see improvements of around 16%, but this is unusual. For the average person, improvements will likely be between about 2% and 6%,” says the BJSM.

Don’t go overboard, downing several cups of your typical morning brew, however. The majority of the studies involved in this umbrella review used caffeine anhydrous, which is a highly-concentrated caffeine powder.

But, as we published back in 2015, caffeine provides Vitamin B to help produce energy, Vitamin B5 to help the body use fats and proteins, and Manganese which helps control blood sugar. It also contains Magnesium which help keep blood pressure even, Potassium which is essential to your heart and kidneys, and Niacin that can help cholesterol levels.

Coffee provides a boost to the brain by temporarily increasing focus and concentration. This can lead to increased learning. It can also help with fitness for those who work out. There are many risks associated with taking pre workout and fat burners, but those who are looking for a more natural way to have a burst of energy can drink a shot of espresso or just have a coffee for a natural boost. Caffeine can increase stamina during practice and can increase adrenaline which can lead to a better practice. (SwimSwam 2015)

Of note, the substance has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Monitoring List for some time now. Caffeine was added to WADA’s monitoring program for 2017 so experts could ‘study whether athletes are using the substance with the intent of enhancing performance.’  It remains on the 2019 edition of the monitoring program list.

You can read the entire BJSM results here.

9
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

9 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
DrSwimPhil
4 years ago

“caffeine provides Vitamin B to help produce energy, Vitamin B5 to help the body use fats and proteins, and Manganese which helps control blood sugar. It also contains Magnesium which help keep blood pressure even, Potassium which is essential to your heart and kidneys, and Niacin that can help cholesterol levels”

That’s uhh…not written correctly. Caffeine is its own chemical compound. It does not “provide” or “contain” any of those other chemicals. It *might* help with uptake of those chemicals (although I’m guessing the way the original article was written, it confused “caffeine” with coffee….), but the chemical itself has its own biochemical pathways.

Anonymous
Reply to  DrSwimPhil
4 years ago

Thank you! Caffeine C8H10N4O2. No vitamin B5, Mn, Mg, P or niacin. Caffeine might be able to be broken down into niacin C6H5NO2. Not sure if vitamin B5 C9H17NO2 could be produced inside the body by resident microbes.

Dylan
4 years ago

Caffeine is a readily available thing to the public, moreso than anything on the banned substance list. Does this effect its classification as a banned substance ?

MichiganFan
Reply to  Dylan
4 years ago

My understanding is that it is only banned in high quantities, so a cup or two before a race will not push you over the legal limit.

sven
Reply to  Dylan
4 years ago

My guess is that based on ubiquity (nearly universally available) and health effects in moderation (good), its status will not be changed. It’ll definitely help in prelims, but it’s certainly a double-edged sword in finals. Of course, that dynamic will be switched at the Olympics when they do morning finals. Everyone can load up on caffeine before finals and not worry about trouble sleeping after.

Love/Hate 500 Free
4 years ago

What is WADA going to do, ban coffee? I would love to see them try.

13 % Chinese person
Reply to  Love/Hate 500 Free
4 years ago

Officials will sit on a raised platform with steaming mugs of lattes, cappucinos , expressos & babychinos for elderly Fina members . . We haz coffee You don’t .

Hswimmer
4 years ago

What even lol

Buddy
4 years ago

Don’t do this to me plz

About Retta Race

Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having just earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

Read More »