Low-dose caffeine consumption is a valuable strategy for increasing time to exhaustion, explosive power, and reducing muscle soreness in professional male kickboxers

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of acute caffeine supplementation of varied doses on kickboxing athletes' performance indices and perceived muscle pain. Methods: Twelve kickboxing athletes participated in 3 exercise sessions and caffeine supplementation comprising doses of 3 mg/kg (C3), 6 mg/kg (C6), or 3- placebo (PLA) with a one-week wash-out period between exercise trials. The supplement was taken 60 minutes before each exercise session. In each session, the subjects first performed the vertical jump, Wingate anaerobic test and after a 45-minute break, performed the Bruce maximal aerobic test and the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), oxygen consumption equivalent to ventilation threshold (VT2), Time-to-exhaustion (TTE), Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), relative peak power (RPP), relative mean power (RMP), relative lowest power (RLP) and the Wingite Fatigue Index (WFI) after Bruce test were examined. Results: Consumption of C3 or C6 significantly increased the TTE following treadmill testing (p<0.05), but had no effect on the WFI (p> 0.05). Compared to PLA, the consumption of C3 and C6 significantly increased vertical jump (p<0.05). C3 significantly increases the RPP (p <0.05), whereas C6 did not (p> 0.05) during the Wingate Test. Muscle soreness after two hours (Ms2) showed a significant decrease after C6 supplementation compared to C3 and PLA (p<0.05). In contrast, no significant effect was observed on the VO2max, %VO2max at ventilatory threshold 2, and RPE (p>0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, acute consumption of low to moderate doses of caffeine induces relative improvements in anaerobic and lower-body muscular power, muscle soreness, and TTE in male kickboxing athletes.