Glaister, M., Muniz-Pumares, D., Patterson, S. D., & McInnes, G. (2013). Caffeine supplementation and peak anaerobic power output. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(5), Supplement abstract number 1112.

This study investigated the effects of acute caffeine supplementation on peak anaerobic power output and blood lactate in well-trained males (N = 14). Ss completed three trials of a protocol consisting of a series (10-13) of 6-second sprints on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer, each trial separated by five minutes of passive recovery. Sprints were performed at progressively increasing torque factors to determine the peak power/torque relationship and peak anaerobic power output. Apart from Trial 1, which was used for familiarization purposes, Ss ingested a gelatin capsule containing 5 mg/kg of caffeine or placebo (maltodextrin) one hour before each trial.

The torque factor which produced peak anaerobic power output was not significantly different between the caffeine and placebo trials. There was a significant effect of supplementation on peak anaerobic power output, with caffeine producing a higher value than the placebo. Analysis of the peak power data from the 10 common between-trial torque factors revealed a significant effect of torque factor, but no significant effect of supplement, and no torque factor × supplement interaction. In contrast, analysis of the blood lactate data revealed significantly higher blood lactate values for the caffeine trial along with a torque factor × supplement interaction which revealed that values between supplements became significantly different from the sixth sprint onwards. The torque factor (1.0 N m/kg) used in this investigation was higher than most published studies (0.75 N m/kg) and might account for the significant findings.

Implication. This study confirmed previous reports that caffeine supplementation significantly increases blood lactate and peak anaerobic power output. These findings have implications for those studies on the effects of caffeine on sprinting performance that have used standard torque factors of around 0.75 N m/kg and have failed to find an effect.

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