THE EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION ON SPRINT PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGE-AGE FEMALES

Michelle Seeger, Sara Wynne, Kori Burnett, Whitney Forde, Ashley Fleming

Introduction The purpose was to better understand

whether or not a low level stimulant can effect physical performance Caffeine bans have become prevalent in recent

years in multiple athletic organizations; IOC, NCAA

Caffeine has been used by athletes in belief that it would enhance athletic performance

Hypothesis The consumption of a single cup of

caffeinated coffee will improve 50 meter sprint times, in college age females We recognize that caffeine has varying

effects on the population, in hopes of maintaining similar results we chose to use a single cup of coffee

Literature Review Turnicliffe (2008) – Canadian endurance athletes ingested various

amounts of coffee before performing endurance exercise. Those who ingested higher amounts of caffeine showed improvements in both physical performance and mental state.

Paton et al. (2001) – study focused on 20 meter sprint times with one set of participants ingesting a caffeine pill and another set ingesting a placebo. A slight increase in performance was seen in the initial sprint but increased fatigue was seen during repeated sprints (completed with 20 second rest intervals).

Carr (2008) – tested 10 team sports players for sprint times after ingesting a caffeine pill during one trial and a placebo during another trial. He used longer rest periods in between sprints (60 seconds) and found that sprint times were significantly improved when a pill containing 6mg of caffeine was ingested prior to exercise.

Equipment Keurig Cups easily regulate the amount.

Each caffeinated cup contains approx. 65 mg of caffeine

Each decaffeinated cup contains approx. 3 mg of caffeine

Coffee was only given black, additives were not allowed, hoping to prevent further imperfections in the study

Stopwatch used to time volunteers Tape Measurer

To mark off 50 meter distance

Participants 20 Female students Ages 18-23 Participate in some form of exercise

3+ times a week Data was excluded if participants were

not within a deviation of 20 pounds from the mean weight of 135 pounds To eliminate variance in the effect of caffeine

based on body weight

Methods Day 1:

Participants were required to fill out survey prior to starting experiment.

6 oz. of decaffeinated coffee was consumed prior to running.

50 meter sprints were timed and recorded for each participant.

Each participant answered the Borg Scale Perceived exertion immediately after running

Participants were required to complete three trials and answer perceived exertion scale after each.

Methods Cont… Day 2:

6 oz. of caffeinated coffee was consumed Participants were instructed to wait 15

minutes before first run Three sprinting trials of 50 meters were

timed and recorded Participants answered perceived exertion

test again after each trial Between each trial participants had to wait

5 minutes

ResultsAn ANOVA was used to test the results. At an alpha of .05 it was concluded that there was no significant difference between the caffeinated and decaffeinated tests.

Results: Borg Scale Perceived Exertion

1212.5

1313.5

1414.5

1515.5

1616.5

Trial 1Trial 2Trial 3

The results from the Borg scale were inconsistent with our statistical findings.

Caffeinated

Decaffeinated

Conclusions Our hypothesis that ingestion of caffeine will

decrease sprint times, 50m dash, in college age females, was not supported by our results. The ingestion of a low level stimulant had no

apparent effect on the performance of the volunteers.

Discussion The amount of caffeine consumed by the

participants was not enough to increase physical performance. Outside variables could have had significant effects on

the study Level of stress Lack of sleep Poor nutrition

Further Research: Levels of caffeine relative to body mass Anhydrous form, for better outcome Test participants at multiple levels to determine at

what amount subject will receive the greatest enhancement from caffeine

Take Home Message Although caffeine can play a role in

athletic performance, the amount of caffeine in a single cup of coffee is not enough to overcome the differences we may feel day to day during our physical activity.

ReferencesCarr, A., Dawson, B., Schneiker, K., Goodman, C., & Lay, B.

(2008). Effect of caffeine supplementation on repeated sprint running performance. Journal Of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness, 48(4), 472-478.

Paton G.D., Hopkins W.G., Vollebregt L. (2001) Little effect of caffeine ingestion on repeated sprints in team-sport athletes. Medicine, Science and Sports Exercise, 33, 822-825.

Tunnicliffe, J. M., Erdman, K., Reimer, R. A., Lun, V., & Shearer, J. (2008). Consumption of dietary caffeine and coffee in physically active populations: physiological interactions. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 33(6), 1301-1310. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

THANK YOU….

DR. BAUERDR. BUCKENMEYER

ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS