The Effect of Caffeine Supplementation on Endurance Performance in Multi Sprint Sports

Introduction • Over the last 25 years, caffeine has been one of the most widely studied ergogenic aids by sports scientists. During this time there has been indisputable support for the beneficial effects of oral caffeine ingestion on prolonged submaximal endurance exercise (Graham and Spriet, 1991; Bell and McLellan, 2002) • Recently there is growing evidence that caffeine can improve performance in short term high intensity exercise, lasting from several seconds up to ~ 7 minutes (Spriet, 1995; Graham, 2001) • To date, there are no published findings into the effects of caffeine on performance of an intermittent nature with altering intensities as experienced during multi sprint sports. • Historically fitness testing in multiple sprint sports has involved the completion of a multistage fitness tests to estimate maximum oxygen uptake VO2max as a measure of aerobic fitness (Gore 2000). Individuals with high VO2max values can be said to possess endurance fitness or cardiorespiratory fitness, however in multiple sprint sports VO2max is not the sole component of fitness. • Recently the JAM test has been developed (Martin and Jones, 2001) to identify the physiological variables important in executing intermittent exercise. It combines them in a manner, which simulates the activity pattern of multiple sprint sports players. • The JAM test was used to investigate the effects of caffeine supplementation on multiple sprint performance