A growing body of evidence suggests that caffeine works to enhance short term, high-intensity contractions by blocking the adenosine receptor and by enhancing neuromuscular excitation. Caffeine is similar in structure to adenosine— it easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds to adenosine receptors, blocking their action. If you were to give someone a dose of adenosine, he would get very sleepy— as adenosine levels in the brain rise during the evening, which promotes sleep. A reduction in adenosine activity could result in better training sessions, as reduced adenosine results in greater muscular recruitment and reduced pain perception— what more could a bodybuilder want during a workout?
A study conducted in 2002 found that chewing your caffeine may be better and result in higher absorption than taking caffeine pills. The study found that compared to caffeine tablets, caffeine gum had higher absorption rates— as it’s absorbed through the buccal mucosa, thereby bypassing the digestive tract and liver degradation. In an earlier “Bodybuilding Science” column, I reported on a study that found that caffeine administration enhanced testosterone production during resistance exercise— and it also increased cortisol levels. It’s almost a double-edged sword for bodybuilders!
Researchers have yet to explore the impact of caffeine chewing gum on performance. Scientists from New Zealand administered caffeine to cyclists as an absolute dose (240 mgs) by giving them six pieces of commercially available Jolt (spearmint flavored) caffeine chewing gum—or the same flavor in a placebo (Wrigley gum). After 10 sprint tests, the cyclists who received the caffeine gum had substantial improvements in performance by reducing fatigue. Another interesting finding was that testosterone increased by ~12 percent in the caffeine chewing gum group, whereas cortisol decreased ~21 percent relative to the placebo group.
So the question I am sure you are asking is, “Why did cortisol decrease in the latter study and increase in the former study?” The researchers speculated it was the doses used in the studies—researchers used 240 mgs in the latter study, whereas in the former study, subjects consumed 800 mgs of caffeine.
The use of caffeine gum may be something that bodybuilders may want to explore. Caffeine is absorbed more rapidly from chewing gum than from pills, and at lower doses seems to have a beneficial impact on the testosterone to cortisol ratio— whereas at higher doses, it seems to have diminishing returns.
Reference:
Paton CD, Lowe T, Irvine A. Caffeinated chewing gum increases repeated sprint performance and augments increases in testosterone in competitive cyclists. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2010 Aug 25. [E-pub, ahead of print]
A study conducted in 2002 found that chewing your caffeine may be better and result in higher absorption than taking caffeine pills. The study found that compared to caffeine tablets, caffeine gum had higher absorption rates— as it’s absorbed through the buccal mucosa, thereby bypassing the digestive tract and liver degradation. In an earlier “Bodybuilding Science” column, I reported on a study that found that caffeine administration enhanced testosterone production during resistance exercise— and it also increased cortisol levels. It’s almost a double-edged sword for bodybuilders!
Researchers have yet to explore the impact of caffeine chewing gum on performance. Scientists from New Zealand administered caffeine to cyclists as an absolute dose (240 mgs) by giving them six pieces of commercially available Jolt (spearmint flavored) caffeine chewing gum—or the same flavor in a placebo (Wrigley gum). After 10 sprint tests, the cyclists who received the caffeine gum had substantial improvements in performance by reducing fatigue. Another interesting finding was that testosterone increased by ~12 percent in the caffeine chewing gum group, whereas cortisol decreased ~21 percent relative to the placebo group.
So the question I am sure you are asking is, “Why did cortisol decrease in the latter study and increase in the former study?” The researchers speculated it was the doses used in the studies—researchers used 240 mgs in the latter study, whereas in the former study, subjects consumed 800 mgs of caffeine.
The use of caffeine gum may be something that bodybuilders may want to explore. Caffeine is absorbed more rapidly from chewing gum than from pills, and at lower doses seems to have a beneficial impact on the testosterone to cortisol ratio— whereas at higher doses, it seems to have diminishing returns.
Reference:
Paton CD, Lowe T, Irvine A. Caffeinated chewing gum increases repeated sprint performance and augments increases in testosterone in competitive cyclists. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2010 Aug 25. [E-pub, ahead of print]
