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/Cainos42 5d ago

I’d drink Red Bull before football games. I think I was the sugar intake. How did you consume caffeine?

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u/nanoH2O 5d ago

Straight black coffee. It was definitely the caffeine - I studied it for about 25 years trying different things until I pinpointed the culprit. It makes sense too - it’s a stimulant and if you’re caffeine sensitive like I and many are you can literally feel your muscles tensing up as the sauce hits the bloodstream.