Does caffeine really improve running performance? This question you might ask yourself every time while taking another caffeine gel.
Here is a good research about the caffeine effect on running performance. Researchers tested 23 elite athletes in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design (what else do we need to trust it?). Each athlete did four maximal treadmill tests: twice with caffeine and twice with placebo. Caffeine was taken at a dose of about 4.5 mg per kg of body weight (that’s a lot, around 7 average gels or 5 cups of espresso), 45 minutes before the test. Performance was measured in an incline treadmill test.
1️⃣ Caffeine improved time until exhaustion by 5-6%.
2️⃣ Importantly, caffeine slightly increased VO2max by around 1.2% (which is interesting because caffeine is usually not thought to raise VO2max). How much is 1.2% VO2max - check on our calculator.
Caffeine also increased maximal heart rate, ventilation, oxygen deficit, and lactate levels.
The main conclusion is that caffeine improves high-intensity endurance performance. While 1.2% performance improvements don’t sound like much, it can be extremely important for advanced and especially elite runners.