Who drinks red bull or other caffeine beverages before they compete? I certainly do and I advise drinking or consuming in tablet form, caffeine, to those who compete in intermittent or endurance sports.  

This is because time and time again caffeine supplementation has been proven to enhance performance, along with only a handful of other supplements/ergogenic aids (creatine, carbohydrate, caffeine and protein).  

It is known that intermittent and endurance sports performance benefit from caffeine supplementation. However there is less than convincing evidence that caffeine aids high intensity performance.  

Forbes et al. (2007) studied the effects of 2mg/kg/body mass of red bull on peak and average power assessed by the Wingate cycle test and endurance assessed by 3 sets of bench press at 70% 1RM.  

The results of the Forbes et al. (2007) study showed that red bull significantly increased the total number of bench press repetitions but had no effect on peak or average power.  

This study suggests that at the dose administered red bull has no effect on peak or average power. It is interesting to note that this dose is lower than some of the doses provided in other studies reported in the literature.  

However in practice, the amount of caffeine required to elicit and ergogenic effect will depend on the individual.  

Athletes who are habitual caffeine consumers will require a higher dose than non-habitual caffeine consumers. It is important to experiment with the amount caffeine required to enhance performance in training and it is even more important to be aware of any side effects you may experience from higher than normal caffeine doses.  

Alan Ruddock CSCS, YCS