Will drinking a cup of coffee help a person run farther? Caffeine is a stimulant. It is found in coffee and many soft drinks. It is used as an ergogenic aid because it enhances the release of fatty acids. When fatty acids are used as a fuel source, glycogen is spared. This delays the onset of fatigue.
Research shows that caffeine can enhance an athlete’s performance during prolonged, moderate-intensity endurance exercise, as well as short-term, intense exercise. One cup of coffee is not enough, but drinking 2.5 cups of coffee up to an hour before exercising does improve endurance. Not everyone will benefit, however.
Athletes who are not used to caffeine consumption will respond better than those who consume it every day. Caffeine may upset some athlete’s stomachs. It also is a diuretic, but it is not likely to increase the risk of dehydration during exercise.
Whether or not caffeine is effective, it is illegal to consume excess caffeine to enhance performance during athletic competition. The International Olympic Committee prohibits athletes from competing when urine caffeine levels are 12 micro g per ml or greater.
For urine caffeine to reach this level, an individual would need to drink 6 to 8 cups of coffee within about two hours. Caffeine is also found in pill form in products such as NoDoz, which contains about 100 mg of caffeine per tablet—about the same amount as in a cup of coffee.
If fat could get into muscle mitochondria faster, ATP would be produced more efficiently, glycogen would be spared, and endurance would increase. The manufacturers of carnitine supplements claim that this is what these supplements do. They are marketed to athletes as a “fat burner”—a substance that will enhance the utilization of fat during exercise.
Fat burners are supposed to increase the use of body fat, spare carbohydrates, and allow athletes to exercise for a longer time before exhaustion. Carnitine is a molecule made from the amino acids lysine and methionine. It is needed to transport fatty acids into the mitochondria, where they are used to produce ATP.
Carnitine is not an essential nutrient, and does not need to be supplied in the diet to ensure the efficient use of fatty acids. Supplements are not needed to maintain enough carnitine in the muscle during exercise. Supplements have not been found to increase fat loss, the use of fat as fuel during exercise, or endurance.
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