Abstract
Purpose
Caffeine improves cycling time trial (TT) performance; however, it is unknown whether caffeine is ergogenic when competing against other riders. The aim of this study was to investigate whether caffeine improves performance during a 4-km cycling TT when riding against a virtual opponent, and whether it is associated with increased muscle activation and at the expense of greater end-exercise central and peripheral fatigue.
Methods
Using a randomized, crossover, and double-blind design, eleven well-trained cyclists completed a 4-km cycling TT alone without supplementation (CON), or against a virtual opponent after ingestion of placebo (OP-PLA) or caffeine (5 mg.kg−1, OP-CAF). Central and peripheral fatigue were quantified via the pre- to post-exercise decrease in voluntary activation and potentiated twitch force, respectively. Muscle activation was continually measured during the trial via electromyography activity.
Results
Compared to CON, OP-PLA improved 4-km cycling TT performance (P = 0.018), and OP-CAF further improved performance when compared to OP-PLA (P = 0.050). Muscle activation was higher in OP-PLA and OP-CAF than in CON throughout the trial (P = 0.003). The pre- to post-exercise reductions in voluntary activation and potentiated twitch force were, however, similar between experimental conditions (P > 0.05). Compared to CON, OP-PLA increased the rating of perceived exertion during the first 2 km, but caffeine blunted this increase with no difference between the OP-CAF and CON conditions.
Conclusions
Caffeine is ergogenic when riding against a virtual opponent, but this is not due to greater muscle activation or at the expense of greater end-exercise central or peripheral fatigue.
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Availability of data and material
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- CAF:
-
Caffeine
- CI:
-
Confidence interval
- CON:
-
Control
- EMG:
-
Electromyography activity
- ES:
-
Effect size
- Mg kg− 1 :
-
Milligrams per kilogram
- MVIC:
-
Maximal voluntary isometric contraction
- OP-CAF:
-
Against a virtual opponent after ingesting the caffeine
- OP-PLA:
-
Against a virtual opponent after ingesting the placebo
- D t 10 Hz :
-
Quadriceps force stimulated with paired doublet pulse at 10 Hz (100-ms inter-stimulus interval)
- D t 100 Hz :
-
Quadriceps force stimulated with paired doublet pulse at 100 Hz (10-ms inter-stimulus interval)
- Q tw,pot :
-
Potentiated quadriceps twitch force stimulated with single pulse (1 Hz)
- RPE:
-
Rating of perceived exertion
- RMS:
-
Root mean square
- TT:
-
Time trials
- VA:
-
Voluntary activation
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank all volunteers of the study for their participation. The authors also thank Luana L. Cabral and Caroline Silva for their technical assistance. Fabiano Tomazini is grateful for his scholarship received from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. Adriano E. Lima-Silva is grateful for his scholarship from National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—Brazil (grant 301340/2019-6). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.
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Conceptualization and design: FT, MDS-C, GP, and AEL-S; significant manuscript writing: FT, GP, and AEL-S; significant manuscript review: ACS-M, VFSA, DBC, RB, GP, MDS-C, and AEL-S; data acquisition: FT, ACS-M, and VFSA; data analysis and interpretation: FT, ACS-M, DBC, GP, and AEL-S; statistical expertise: ACS-M, RB, GP, and AEL-S; supervision: MDS-C and AEL-S. All authors have read and give final approval of this version of the manuscript for publication.
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The present study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Parana. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles contained in the Declaration of Helsinki.
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Tomazini, F., Santos-Mariano, A.C., dos S. Andrade, V.F. et al. Caffeine ingestion increases endurance performance of trained male cyclists when riding against a virtual opponent without altering muscle fatigue. Eur J Appl Physiol 122, 1915–1928 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04969-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04969-5