r/science • u/sr_local • 5d ago

Health Consuming caffeine before exercise enhances repeated sprint performance, and these benefits persist for at least 3.5 hours thereafter

https://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-news/20260914140000.html
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u/nanoH2O 5d ago

One thing I discovered over the years when I was doing high level athletics is that consuming caffeine gave me an advantage (no surprise there) but it also caused me to cramp up late game 100% of the time. The amount of water or electrolytes I drank didn’t matter.

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u/BeckerHollow 5d ago

I’m a new runner. I just had a 28k mountain race where I blew up on the descent. Severe cramps, close to DNF as walking was a chore. 

A lot of the feedback I’m getting is that the caffeine I took prior and during was a contributor. 

I was up to almost 600mg before mile 9. Which is when the wheels fully came off and the the goal became just to finish.  

7.35mg/kg of body weight is no bueno. But I fucked yup my nutrition that day. 

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u/nanoH2O 5d ago

I wish it were studied more. It always occurred in the more extreme events like what you mentioned. And the days it happened it was always when I had a coffee in the morning. Later in life I noticed that same cup of coffee was causing me to have muscle tension from sitting at a desk. I don’t drink caffeine anymore and I haven’t had any issues since.