Legal performance enhancers you should be using

Caffeine is a legal performance enhancer you should look to incorporate into your training and race day schedule. Proven to increase your focus and reduce your perception of effort it can help maximize your performance. In large doses however it can cause anxiousness and sleep difficulty. Knowing your tolerance is important. In this video I discuss caffeine and performance with sports dietitian Marianna Ghattas . Don’t forget to subscribe to my Jockey Nutrition’s YouTube channel to get the latest tips-and-tricks. I discuss this topic in more detail including a FREE RACE DAY PLAN BELOW. In the blog below I discuss caffeine loading in detail including an example intake for race day.

So how does caffeine improve your performance?
It acts on the brain and central nervous system to increase activity. It leads to increased mental alertness and ‘reduced perception of effort or enhanced recruitment of motor units’ (Burke & Deakin, 2015, p. 515). This means you can work and focus longer without feeling tired. Caffeine will last in your system anywhere from 5-12 hours depending on the individual and how efficient they are at breaking caffeine down.

What are the negative side effects?
Each person has their own threshold for caffeine similar to alcohol or lactose. Burke & Deakin (2015, p. 518) suggests that negative effects begin to show when the individual takes greater than 6mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. Negative side effects:

1. Anxiety or agitation worsens - caffeine is a stimulant that fires up your muscles and central nervous system. It makes you think more rapidly. Whether you suffer from anxiety or not evidence suggests that greater than 210mg will increase your level of anxiety (FSANZ, 2018). Potentially effecting your performance.

2. Upset stomach or diarrhea - caffeine is a known diuretic and if taken in excess can lead to cramps for some people or diarrhea. Others experience headaches and dizziness.

3. Insomnia or disrupted sleep - if you exceed your threshold or 210mg of caffeine your sleep will be effected. You may not be able to fall asleep and even if you are a person who can have a coffee before bed the second phase of your sleep cycle will still be effected. You do not drop into that deep sleep. So although you are getting the 7-hours of recommended sleep, you may still wake tired, irritable and lethargic. Only reaching for the next coffee to keep you going.

4. After the energy burst, an even greater feeling of fatigue - this is why during race day you need to top up your caffeine intake. See caffeine loading timetable below as a guide.

5. Trembling hands

6. Rapid heartbeat

7. Frequent urination

How much caffeine is ok to have?
The Better Health Channel (2018) suggests that 400mg of caffeine or less daily is an acceptable amount. Food Standards Australian & New Zealand (FSANZ, 2018) reports evidence that 210mg of caffeine in adults results in increased anxiety. On race day aim between 1-3mg of caffeine per kg of body weight (Burke & Deakin, 2015). For example if you weight 55kg aim between 55-165mg caffeine during the races.

To help you calculate your intake see Table 1 below.

Table 1: Caffeine content in products
(Better Health Channel (2018), ABC (2014) and FSANZ (2018))

What can effect your threshold?
Your threshold for caffeine is ever changing. When you are healthy your body will tolerate more. However when you are sick, on medication, stressed, hormonal, taking drugs including alcohol your tolerance goes down. This means you could have less coffee and it would effect you easier. Take this onboard if you find you are coming down with the flu especially as caffeine can effect your sleep and hydration both are vital for a quick recovery.

How to caffeine load on race day?
I cannot emphasize enough that you must practice any changes to your diet prior to race day (food, fluid and/or supplements). The last thing you want is for side effects to occur causing your performance to be compromised.

Below is a guide to caffeine loading only. This will vary from jockey to jockey for many reasons; gender, weight and/or difficulty meeting correct weight, tolerance, history of anxiety, depression or poor sleep, gut symptoms or headaches.

Nutrition plan: Trackwork + Race Day
3am Coffee made on milk

Track work 3:30-7:00am

10:00am consume caffeine source 1-hour prior to your first race.
i.e. short black, 1/2-1 NoDose or 1-2 Revvie caffeine strips.

Race 1 - 11:00am

After your first race you need to top up your caffeine across the day. For some of you a race day can last 4-6 hours. Top up hourly or if you are more sensitive you may only need it 10-30 minutes before your next race. Studies show that caffeine peaks at 1-hour after consumption. When topping up your caffeine you can choose from a variety of products; sip on tea or coffee if your weight allows throughout the day AND/OR 1/2-1 espresso, 1/2-1 NoDoz Tablet or 1-2 Revvies energy strips. Note however that coffee and tea caffeine content can vary from cup-to-cup despite being the same brand. NoDoz or caffeine supplements give you a consistent dose.

Once you have finished at the races it is important to rehydrate as caffeine is a diuretic and you may or may not have stripped water weight. Try replace your fluid by 1.5 x the kilograms lost in sweat. For example if you sweated off 1kg, then consume 1.5 liters over the next few hours after the races. Be sure to include electrolytes like hydralyte, powerade zero or SOSHydration. Alternatively have a vegemite sandwich (as it is high in salt and will help you to replace the salt lost similar to that of hydralyte) as well as carbohydrates.

To sum it all up:
1, You should use caffeine as it is a legal performance enhancer.
2. Be mindful of your threshold before negative side effects occur, trying not to exceed 210mg on your days off and 400mg when at the races.

Let me know how you went and leave a comment below.

Meg

References:

ABC. (2014). The Truth About Green Tea. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/03/05/3957040.htm

Better Health Channel. (2018). Caffeine. Retrieved from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/caffeine

Food Services Australian and New Zealand (FSANZ). (2018). Caffeine. Retrieved from http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/generalissues/Pages/Caffeine.aspx

Burke, L., & Deakin, V. (2015). Clinical Sports Nutrition (5th ed.). North Ryde, NSW: McGraw Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd.