Skill execution and sleep deprivation caffeine and creatine

Forget the creatine and caffeine the lesson I take from this is that sleep deprivation erodes your skills....so don't lose sleep.

Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation - a randomized placebo-controlled trial

full pdf available.

coffee the fat burner?

Coffee is a bit of a two edged sword - there are clear benefits but you have to watch that you do not over do the stimulant.

Anyway interesting study here on  coffee polyphenols and how they seem to minimise fat build up.  As ever it is in mice so it might mean lots or nothing at all.

Coffee polyphenols suppress diet-induced body fat accumulation by downregulating SREBP-1c and related molecules in C57BL/6J mice.

These findings indicate that CPP enhances energy metabolism and reduces lipogenesis by downregulating SREBP-1c and related molecules, which leads to the suppression of body fat accumulation.

.....it doesn't give you wings.

Despite what the advertising says, Red Bull apparently is not an energy drink!

Effect of Sugar-Free Red Bull Energy Drink on High-Intensity Run Time-to-Exhaustion in Young Adults.


Consuming sugar-free Red Bull energy drink before exercise has become increasingly popular among exercising individuals. The main purported active ingredient in sugar-free Red Bull is caffeine, which has been shown to increase aerobic exercise performance.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sugar-free Red Bull energy drink on high-intensity run time-to-exhaustion in young adults. Physically active university students (n = 17, 9 men, 8 woman; 21 +/- 4 years, 73.4 +/- 3.1 kg, 175.1 +/- 3.2 cm) participated in a double-blind, crossover, repeated-measures study where they were randomized to supplement with sugar-free Red Bull (2 mg.kg body mass caffeine or ~147 mg caffeine; 4 kcal/250 mL) and noncaffeinated, sugar-free placebo (lemon-lime flavored soft drink, tonic water, lime juice; 4 kcal/250 mL) separated by 7 days. Exercise capacity was assessed by a run time-to-exhaustion test at 80% &OV0312;o2max, perceived exertion was assessed immediately after exercise, and blood lactate was measured before and after exercise. There were no differences in run time-to-exhaustion (Red Bull: 12.6 +/- 3.8 minutes, placebo: 11.8 +/- 3.4 minutes), perceived exertion (Red Bull: 17.1 +/- 2.0, placebo: 16.6 +/- 1.8), or blood lactate between groups. In conclusion, sugar-free Red Bull energy drink did not influence high-intensity run time-to-exhaustion in young adults.

Have a coffee with your intervals?

Take caffeine an hour before your intervals?

Effect of caffeine supplementation on repeated sprint running performance.

AIM: This study examined the effects of 6 mgxkg(-1) caffeine ingestion in team-sport players (N.=10) on repeated-sprint running performance (5 sets of 6 x 20 m) and reaction times, 60 min after caffeine or placebo ingestion. METHODS: Best single sprint and total set sprint times, blood lactate and simple and choice reaction times (RT) were measured. RESULTS: Total sprint times across sets 1, 3 and 5 (departure every 25 s) were significantly faster after caffeine (85.49+/-5.55 s) than placebo (86.98+/-5.78 s) (P<0.05). Similarly, total sprint times across sets 2 and 4 (departure every 60 s), were significantly faster after caffeine (55.99+/-3.64 s) than placebo (56.77+/-3.74 s) (P<0.05). Significantly higher blood lactates were recorded in caffeine compared to placebo after set 3 (13.1+/-1.2 vs 10.3+/-1.4 mmolxL(-1)) (P<0.05) and set 5 (13.1+/-1.3 vs 10.3+/-1.6 mmolxL(-1)) (P<0.01). There were no significant effects on simple or choice RT, although effect sizes suggested improved post-exercise times after caffeine. CONCLUSION: Caffeine ingestion 60 min prior to exercise can enhance repeated sprint running performance and is not detrimental to reaction times.