The effects of caffeine supplementation on multiple sprint and countermovement jump performance

Purpose: Caffeine is accepted as an ergogenic aid for endurance sports; however, within short duration maximal bout exercise or repeated sprints the effects are unclear. In addition, the effects of jump performance after caffeine consumption is also uncertain. The current protocol examined this gap in the literature, by evaluating how 6 mg·kg-1 body mass of caffeine effects a recreationally trained athlete’s ability to perform multiple running sprints and countermovement jumps (CMJ’s). Method: Adopting a double-blind, randomised crossover and counterbalanced design. Twelve recreationally trained males (Age, 20.6 ± 1.4 years; Height, 181 ± 6 cm; Mass, 77.7 ± 8.8kg) were required to ingest a liquid supplement containing 6 mg·kg-1 body mass of caffeine or 6 mg·kg-1 body mass of a placebo (Dextrose) one hour prior to the completion of a multiple running sprints (12 × 30m; repeated at 30 second intervals) and CMJ protocol (15 × CMJ’s). Sprint time and CMJ height were recorded during each trial, with rate of perceived exertion (RPE) being recorded after every third sprint. Results: Caffeine supplementation resulted in significant decreases in sprint time of 2.7% compared to the placebo (p 0.05). There was also no significant difference reported for CMJ height (p > 0.05) or CMJ peak power (p > 0.05). RPE taken directly after every third sprint and was also not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: A 6mg/kg dose of caffeine, one hour prior to a 30 metre sprint, significantly improved sprint time and metres-per-second travelled. However, there was no reported significant enhancements to CMJ performance