The influence of caffeine ingestion on strength and power performance in female team-sport players

What this study found

Caffeine produced a modest but meaningful ergogenic effect on eccentric lower-limb performance, especially after intermittent exercise and into the following morning. Eccentric knee flexor peak torque increased (P = 0.024; Cohen's d = 0.45), and eccentric mean power improved for both the knee flexors (P = 0.029; Cohen's d = 0.42) and knee extensors (P = 0.040; Cohen's d = 0.30). There was no clear effect on isometric strength, concentric strength or power, or countermovement jump height (CMJ height P = 0.582; estimated CMJ power P = 0.391). Free fatty acids showed a time interaction (P =…

Study & population

This was a placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study conducted in 10 healthy female team-sport athletes.

Intervention

Participants received a single oral dose of anhydrous caffeine at 6 mg/kg, delivered in a whole gelatin capsule with 500 mL of water 60 min before the intermittent running protocol.

Key limitation

The sample was very small, limiting precision and generalizability.

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