This came across my desk this week form Matt the Founder of The Feed
I agree wtih what he says here.... My .02, if you have a product /nutrion plan that is working and those produts are not caffienated, I'd suggest Caffeine Pills. I have used these , careful when you buy pills as many are 200mg and that is too much per hour. For an Ironman I generally preload with coffee in the AM, take 100mg at hour 2 and 4 on the bike and then every hour on the run, or I switch to coke for the 2nd 1/2 of an Ironman. For a 70.3, I preload with coffee, take 1 pill at 90 min on the bike and then 1 at 45 min on then run, then use Coke.
Another option are Salt Stick with Caffeine which takes care of sodium ++ and caffeine.
Whatever you do, as with any nutritiion, test it out many times in training BEFORE race day.
If you have questions about caffeine/nutrition/hydration, please reach out - as I am happy to help in any way! idropboys@gmail.com
Below is from The Feed, authored by Matt, the Founder
The most used performance-boosting drug in sports is caffeine, but most don't know how to use it properly to boost athletic performance. With this week's launch of Maurten's Caffeinated Gel, we have been getting lots of questions about how to use caffeine properly.
I'm going to breakdown how to use caffeine like a pro to fuel your training and racing:
Caffeine will boost your athletic performance
44 of 46 scientific studies show that caffeine boosted athletic performance. Historically, it was believed it was helping increase VO2Max, but more recent data suggest that the impact is more on relieving mental fatigue and decreasing our perception of fatigue enabling us to push our bodies harder.
You want to pre-load caffeine before you start.
The research shows that most athletes want to pre-load caffeine before they start training, and especially before racing. It also will take a lot more caffeine than you probably think to get to a performance-enhancing level. In reviewing all the scientific studies and in our own use, we find that 200mg of caffeine pre-training is the optimal dose. If you are coffee drinker, we recommend ~100mg in a cup of coffee or espresso within an hour before you start. Then during your warm-up or on the start line, we have been using Maurten's Caffeinated Gel for another 100mg of caffeine.
During your workout, you want to keep caffeine topped up.
Once you workout starts, you want to keep consuming caffeine if your event is over 90 minutes. Aim to consume 100mg of caffeine per hour for the first 3 hours. The upper limit is 500mg to 600mg of caffeine per day.
How much caffeine is right for me?
The first question to ask is whether you are a "habitual" caffeine user? Do you drink coffee every day? If so you want to be on the recommended levels above. If you occasional consume caffeine, the above recommendations are still valid. But if you don't consume caffeine, start lower and cut the recommendations in half to start. We have a number of chats about Maurten's 100mg of caffeine being pretty a high amount, while that's true compared to most products on the market, Maurten has done their research and for 95% of athletes a 100mg doses of caffeine is needed for it to be an effective amount for athletic performance.
How long will caffeine last?
Caffeine will start to work 5 to 15 minutes after you consume it. It will reach it's peak impact between 45 minutes to 90 minutes after consumption. The half-life (or when the effect will be diminished) is between 3 to 6 hours after you take it.
Should I stop drinking coffee/caffeine before big events?
This has long been a practice by riders I've worked within the Tour de France to taper caffeine usage before a big event. While it can't hurt and seems logical, there is little scientific data to show that this will make the caffeine significantly more effective in competition. We say avoid the headaches and withdrawal and just keep your pre-event caffeine usage at a reasonable level, but don't go cold turkey.
What are the best products to get caffeine?
1. Maurten Gel 100 Caf 100: This is hands down the current game-changer when it comes to caffeine. You also get 25g of carbs for quick-acting energy.
2. Clif Black Cherry Bloks: These are the most popular selling Clif Blok flavor and they pack 50mg of Caffeine per serving, note that a serving is 3 bloks. So each "Blok" is 16mg of caffeine.
3. Tailwind Colorado Cola Drink Mix: Aside from it tasting like cola (tastes great) it packs 35mg of caffeine per bottle/100 calories. It is our favorite caffeinated drink mix and if Cola isn't your favorite it has 3 other caffeinated flavors.
4. Run Gum: This is a fun way to get caffeine on the go. Created by 2x Olympian Nick Symmonds. The regular flavors have 100mg of caffeine per pack (2 pieces of gum) and the Extra Strength Spearmint is 200mg! We recommend chewing it for a 2 minutes then taking it out of your mouth before it becomes a bit bitter.
5. Ascent Pre-Workout: This is my favorite way to get going before gym workouts when I don't want the carbs of Maurten Gel. It packs 150mg of caffeine per serving and taste's great.
6. Coffee: Our favorite coffee options are a new product from Infinit that is an amazing Cold Brew Coffee that also packs 20g of protein and our favorite Boulder blend from Boxcar Coffee.
Pro hack: you want to take your coffee to the next level introduce it to your coffee's BFF the Vafels fresh baked Belgium style waffle. Place the Vafel over your coffee and it will gently warm the waffle while you wait for your coffee to reach drinking temperature. Vafels are available in both regular and gluten-free and we freeze them to lock in the flavor so they arrive fresh to you.
Stay caffeinated.
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