Caffeine loading
tony b
Posts: 57
in General Chat
Has anyone tried this? You avoid caffeine completely for, say, a week, before an event, then take quite a bit on just before. There was a report on it in Tri 220 a while back, I think. Would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried it or has thoughts on the subject.
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I do this all the time when i race or do a marathon. I even do it when I have an A-priority speed training. This really helps; it's scientiffically proven.
But beware, likeeverything else, try this before, not on race day for the first time (which is really stupid, but apparently people keep making this mistake).
Doesnt it dehydrate if you load up with it?
dehydration used to be the thought out there in the older days; recent different researches have shown there is no dehydration(doses for this should equal way too much[&:]), but I would think twice about drinking 2 steaming cups of hot coffee when is a sahara out there. You could avoid this with cold coffee[:'(] or cafeine suplements. I take a suplement that equals 4-5 cups some 15 minutes before race.
One downside is the effect it has on me is it speeds up toilet visits(the bigones). I use it in my benefit; I drink a regular cup of coffee 2 hours before race, thismakes me go to the toilet for sure within the half hour, with makes me safe during race.
Try it Dog, the extra boost will lift you up!!!
i suppose we all should campaign for that[;)][:D].
However, red bull is the stuff, if you want to perform better in a race. I think it is a bit of a cheat though as it is a drug that is enhancing your performance.
I knocked 2 mins of my 10 cycle TT after 2 cans of red bull. Gives you the shakes though, so not good on hilly bike courses. The fizz can also give you a stitch!
The best answer is just to train smarter and you will get the results without the drugs!
why do you think the high amount of caffeine in Red Bull is a drug?? Because in enhances your performance? I'd say:if it isn't on the list, it isnt a performance enhancing drug.
Drinking during exercise enhances your performance, which doesn't mean that water is a drug.
About the coffee; if you are are regular coffee user, you should hold off the black stuff for a few days before usein race or practice. Just to allow the effects to be bigger again.
A drug is any chemical or biological substance made outside the body that alters mood or performance. Just because caffeine isn't illegal doesn't mean that is isn't a drug.
Caffeine is a stimulant which increases heart rate, breathing and blood flow all of which are required in triathlon to enhance performance.
I know my good performance on the bike was down to the caffeine and not that I'd suddenly got much fitter, so is this cheating? I would say so but that's my opinion.
Sarah
Personally I prefer to see what I can get out of my body with as little "extra" help as possible, but wheres the line? Isotonic? carb gels? hmmm....[>:]
Can the person who crosses the line loaded with caffiene claim to be a better athlete than second over the line without?
I don't profess to know a lot about drugs and banned substances but I know it's a very fine line. The banned substances don't necessarily have to be formed outside the body; they could be from within, just at elevated levels, in which case an athlete could be caught. Look at Floyd Landis in the 2006 Tour. He's claiming that his high levels of testosterone were natural, not artificial. Who knows?
One easy way of taking on board caffeine is in energy gels, many of them now have versions with caffeine added. I'm not sure what quantites of caffeine they contain and I would use these during the race not as a way to load up before. I tried them once and felt no different than when taking a normal gel, but it's a option you could try.
David.
@hound dog: In my opinion the first person is the best, because he did everything in his (legal) power to win. The caffeine gives you a benefit, but so does eating, sleeping, training,... As long as you follow the rules that are set for everyone, I'm ok with it.
Whow, quite an interesting thread this one[:D]
http://www.insidetri.com/portal/news/news.asp?item=110630