1. Active ischemic pre‐conditioning does not additively improve short‐term high‐intensity cycling performance when combined with caffeine ingestion in trained young men.
- Author
-
Jessen, Søren, Zeuthen, Martin, Sommer Jeppesen, Jan, Kehler, Frederik, Olesen, Casper Bjerre, Pallisgaard, Anders, Christiansen, Danny, and Bangsbo, Jens
- Subjects
CAFFEINE ,MEN ,FOOD consumption ,PLACEBOS ,RESEARCH funding ,HIGH-intensity interval training ,BLIND experiment ,STATISTICAL sampling ,EXERCISE intensity ,RANDOMIZED controlled trials ,ISCHEMIC preconditioning ,CYCLING ,CROSSOVER trials ,LACTATES ,BLOOD flow restriction training ,BODY movement ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,DIETARY supplements ,WARMUP - Abstract
We investigated the effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) with and without caffeine supplementation on mean power output (MPO) during a 4‐min cycling time‐trial (TT). In a double‐blinded, randomized, crossover‐design, 11 trained men performed a TT on 4 days separated by ∼1 week. One hour before TT, participants ingested either caffeine (3 mg kg bw−1) or placebo pills, after which femoral blood‐flow was either restricted with occlusion cuffs inflated to ∼180 mmHg (IPC), or sham‐restricted (0–10 mmHg; Sham) during 3 × 2‐min low‐intensity cycling (10% of incremental peak power output). Then, participants performed a standardized warm‐up followed by the TT. Plasma lactate and K+ concentrations and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured throughout trials. TT MPO was 382 ± 17 W in Placebo + Sham and not different from Placebo + IPC (−1 W; 95% CI: −9 to 7; p = 0.848; d: 0.06), whereas MPO was higher with Caffeine + Sham (+6W; 95% CI: −2 to 14; p = 0.115; d: 0.49) and Caffeine + IPC (+8 W; 95% CI: 2–13; p = 0.019; d: 0.79) versus Placebo + Sham. MPO differences were attributed to caffeine (caffeine main‐effect: +7 W; 95% CI: 2–13; p = 0.015; d: 0.54. IPC main‐effect: 0 W; 95% CI: −6 to 7; p = 0.891; d: 0.03; caffeine × IPC interaction‐effect: p = 0.580; d: 0.17). TT RPE and plasma variables were not different between treatments. In conlcusion, IPC with co‐ingestion of placebo does not improve short‐term high‐intensity performance in trained men versus a double‐placebo control (Placebo + Sham) and does not additively enhance performance with caffeine. These data do not support IPC as a useful strategy for athletes prior to competition but confirms caffeine's performance‐enhancing effect. Highlights: Active ischemic preconditioning (IPC) prior to exercise has been proposed as a strategy to enhance short‐term exercise performance.However, the effect of combined IPC and caffeine ingestion on short‐term high‐intensity exercise performance in trained individuals remains unclear.Active IPC with co‐ingestion of placebo pills did not improve short‐term high‐intensity exercise performance in trained men and its use cannot be recommended over caffeine to improve subsequent short‐term maximal performanceIngestion of caffeine (3 mg kg bw−1) prior to short‐term high‐intensity exercise is an effective ergogenic strategy which athletes may benefit from. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF