Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
|
|
||||||||
27.11.2013 |
|
Why a touch of caffeine makes your pre-workout shake more effective
Study
To cut a long story short: it's just as difficult to keep down a sports drink with caffeine added as one without. But during exertion you absorb the glucose in an energy drink – and therefore probably also the amino acids and peptides in a shake – better when they are combined with caffeine.
On three different occasions the researchers gave ten well-trained men aged between 18 and 25 either water, or a sports drink containing electrolytes and 7 g carbohydrates per 100 ml [CES], or a sports drink containing electrolytes, carbs and 15 mg caffeine per 100 ml [CES+Caf]. After the subjects had drunk the water or sports drink, the researchers got them to cycle hard.
The carbohydrates the researchers added to the drink were 3-O-D-methyl-m-glucose [3-OMG] and rhamnose. The gut cells don't automatically absorb 3-O-D-methyl-glucose. To do so they need energy, in the form of ATP molecules. The ATP molecules enable transport proteins in the gut cells to function.
To absorb rhamnose, however, the gut cells do not require any energy: it's absorbed passively.
Results
It's worth mentioning that not all subjects reacted positively to caffeine. For one of them, the addition of caffeine had the reverse effect.
There's a pretty good chance that your pre-workout shakes will be more effective if you take a bit of caffeine at the same time. A cup of coffee should provide enough caffeine to do this.
Source:
More:
Archives:
|
|