Pre-Workout Caffeine: Timing Your Boost for Optimal Performance
Comparing the effects of caffeine consumption 30 vs 60 minutes before training.
There is so much junk in pre-workout supplements these days. I've always believed that a shot of caffeine is about all the pre-workout you should need. Research has shown that it works; you know what you're getting, and it turns out that caffeine may work faster than we thought.
This study on caffeine consumption found significant differences between 30 and 60-minute post-ingestion performance. The researchers used tensiomyography (TMG) to directly assess the effects of caffeine on muscle fibers, unlike previous studies that focused on the nervous system response.
Key Points
TMG measurements were performed on the gastrocnemius medialis muscle of 42 male athletes who regularly consumed caffeine.
Participants received a dose of 6 mg/kg body weight of caffeine, and TMG measurements were taken before intake and 30 and 60 minutes afterwards.
Analysis of TMG parameters, including time to contraction (Tc), time delay (Td), and maximal displacement (Dm), revealed that muscles exhibited faster contractions and greater stiffness at the 30-minute mark compared to both pre-caffeine intake and the 60-minute time point.
In addition to faster contractions, greater stiffness suggests an enhanced muscle readiness for performance during this period.
By the 60-minute mark, the benefits in contraction speed and stiffness diminish, highlighting a temporal aspect of caffeine's effectiveness in enhancing muscle performance
Time exerted a significant main effect on Tc, Td, and Dm, while no significant effect of body side was observed.
Related
Key Takeaways
Muscle contraction time (Tc) and delay time (Td) are influenced by the duration of time passed since caffeine ingestion, with the fastest responses occurring after 30 minutes.
A systemic effect of caffeine was observed, as there were no discernible differences in measurements between the two sides of the body.
TMG proves to be an effective noninvasive method for assessing muscle responses following caffeine administration.
The findings recommend that athletes who consume caffeine may experience the greatest performance improvements in activities requiring rapid muscle contractions within 30 minutes of intake.
Reference
Pakosz P, Konieczny M, Domaszewski P, Dybek T, García-García O, Gnoiński M, Skorupska E. Muscle contraction time after caffeine intake is faster after 30 minutes than after 60 minutes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2024 Dec;21(1):2306295. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2024.2306295. Epub 2024 Jan 18. PMID: 38239059; PMCID: PMC10802797.