Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
Published in: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Review

Effects of caffeine intake on muscle strength and power: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors: Jozo Grgic, Eric T. Trexler, Bruno Lazinica, Zeljko Pedisic

Published in: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Caffeine is commonly used as an ergogenic aid. Literature about the effects of caffeine ingestion on muscle strength and power is equivocal. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize results from individual studies on the effects of caffeine intake on muscle strength and power.

Methods

A search through eight databases was performed to find studies on the effects of caffeine on: (i) maximal muscle strength measured using 1 repetition maximum tests; and (ii) muscle power assessed by tests of vertical jump. Meta-analyses of standardized mean differences (SMD) between placebo and caffeine trials from individual studies were conducted using the random effects model.

Results

Ten studies on the strength outcome and ten studies on the power outcome met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analyses. Caffeine ingestion improved both strength (SMD = 0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.03, 0.36; p = 0.023) and power (SMD = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.34; p = 0.047). A subgroup analysis indicated that caffeine significantly improves upper (SMD = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.39; p = 0.026) but not lower body strength (SMD = 0.15; 95% CI: -0.05, 0.34; p = 0.147).

Conclusion

The meta-analyses showed significant ergogenic effects of caffeine ingestion on maximal muscle strength of upper body and muscle power. Future studies should more rigorously control the effectiveness of blinding. Due to the paucity of evidence, additional findings are needed in the female population and using different forms of caffeine, such as gum and gel.
Literature
1.
2.
Polito MD, Souza DB, Casonatto J, Farinatti P. Acute effect of caffeine consumption on isotonic muscular strength and endurance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Sports. 2016;31:119–28.CrossRef
3.
Astorino TA, Firth K, Rohmann RL. Effect of caffeine ingestion on one-repetition maximum muscular strength. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2008;102:127–32.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Grgic J, Mikulic P. Caffeine ingestion acutely enhances muscular strength and power but not muscular endurance in resistance trained men. Eur J Sport Sci. 2017;17:1029–36.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Goldstein E, Jacobs PL, Whitehurst, Penhollow T, Antonio J. Caffeine enhances upper body strength in resistance-trained women. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010;7:18.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
6.
Williams A, Cribb P, Cooke M, Hayes A. The effect of ephedra and caffeine on maximal strength and power in resistance-trained athletes. J Strength Cond Res. 2008;22:464–70.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Ali A, O'Donnell J, Foskett A, Rutherfurd-Markwick K. The influence of caffeine ingestion on strength and power performance in female team-sport players. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2016;13:46.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
8.
Bloms LP, Fitzgerald JS, Short MW, Whitehead JR. The effects of caffeine on vertical jump height and execution in collegiate athletes. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30:1855–61.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd ed. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum; 1988.
10.
Warren GL, Park ND, Maresca RD, McKibans KI, Millard-Stafford ML. Effect of caffeine ingestion on muscular strength and endurance: a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010;42:1375–87.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Arazi H, Dehlavinejad N, Gholizadeh R. The acute effect of caffeine supplementation on strength, repetition sustainability and work volume of novice bodybuilders. Turk J Kin. 2016;2:43–8.
12.
Arazi H, Hoseinihaji M, Eghbali E. The effects of different doses of caffeine on performance, rating of perceived exertion and pain perception in teenagers female karate athletes. Braz J Pharm Sci. 2016;52:685–92.CrossRef
13.
Brooks JH, Wyld K, Chrismas BCR. Acute effects of caffeine on strength performance in trained and untrained individuals. J Athl Enhancement. 2015;4:6.CrossRef
14.
Sabblah S, Dixon D, Bottoms L. Sex differences on the acute effects of caffeine on maximal strength and muscular endurance. Comp Exerc Physiol. 2015;11:89–94.CrossRef
15.
Diaz-Lara FJ, Del Coso J, García JM, Portillo LJ, Areces F, Abián-Vicén J. Caffeine improves muscular performance in elite Brazilian Jiu-jitsu athletes. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016;16:1079–86.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Martin J. Does caffeine ingestion prior to high intensity exercise act as an ergogenic aid in sporting performance in male athletes? Cardiff school of sport. 2015 (Master’s thesis).
17.
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:264–9.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Maher CG, Sherrington C, Herbert RD, Moseley AM, Elkins M. Reliability of the PEDro scale for rating quality of randomized controlled trials. Phys Ther. 2003;83:713–21.PubMed
19.
McCrary JM, Ackermann BJ, Halaki M. A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49:935–42.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Follmann D, Elliott P, Suh I, Cutler J. Variance imputation for overviews of clinical trials with continuous response. J Clin Epidemiol. 1992;45:769–73.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Duval S, Tweedie R. Trim and fill: a simple funnel-plot-based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Biometrics. 2000;56:455–63.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Andrade-Souza VA, Bertuzzi R, de Araujo GG, Bishop D, Lima-Silva AE. Effects of isolated or combined carbohydrate and caffeine supplementation between 2 daily training sessions on soccer performance. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2015;40:457–63.CrossRefPubMed
23.
24.
Foskett A, Ali A, Gant N. Caffeine enhances cognitive function and skill performance during simulated soccer activity. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2009;19:410–23.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Gant N, Ali A, Foskett A. The influence of caffeine and carbohydrate coingestion on simulated soccer performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2010;20:191–7.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Gauvin M. The effect of caffeine supplementation on muscular endurance in recreationally active college age males. University of Rhode Island, (Master’s thesis). 2016.
27.
Le Meur Y, Hausswirth C, Mujika I. Tapering for competition: a review. Sci Sports. 2012;27:77–87.CrossRef
28.
Pyne DB, Mujika I, Reilly T. Peaking for optimal performance: research limitations and future directions. J Sports Sci. 2009;27:195–202.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Davis JK, Green JM. Caffeine and anaerobic performance: ergogenic value and mechanisms of action. Sports Med. 2009;39:813–32.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Graham TE. Caffeine and exercise: metabolism, endurance and performance. Sports Med. 2001;31:785–807.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Collomp K, Ahmaidi S, Chatard JC, Audran M, Préfaut C. Benefits of caffeine ingestion on sprint performance in trained and untrained swimmers. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1992;64:377–80.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Lane JD, Steege JF, Rupp SL, Kuhn CM. Menstrual cycle effects on caffeine elimination in the human female. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1992;43:543–6.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Liguori A, Hughes JR, Grass JA. Absorption and subjective effects of caffeine from coffee, cola and capsules. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1997;58:721–6.CrossRefPubMed
34.
35.
Grgic J. Caffeine ingestion enhances Wingate performance: a meta-analysis. Eur J Sport Sci. 2018;18:219–25.
36.
37.
Abian-Vicen J, Puente C, Salinero JJ, González-Millán C, Areces F, Muñoz G, Muñoz-Guerra J, Del Coso J. A caffeinated energy drink improves jump performance in adolescent basketball players. Amino Acids. 2014;46:1333–41.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Souza DB, Del Coso J, Casonatto J, Polito MD. Acute effects of caffeine-containing energy drinks on physical performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Nutr. 2017;56:13–27.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Saunders B, de Oliveira LF, da Silva RP, de Salles Painelli V, Gonçalves LS, Yamaguchi G, Mutti T, Maciel E, Roschel H, Artioli GG, Gualano B. Placebo in sports nutrition: a proof-of-principle study involving caffeine supplementation. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2017;27:1240–7.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Tallis J, Muhammad B, Islam M, Duncan MJ. Placebo effects of caffeine on maximal voluntary concentric force of the knee flexors and extensors. Muscle Nerve. 2016;54:479–86.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Pollo A, Carlino E, Benedetti F. The top-down influence of ergogenic placebos on muscle work and fatigue. Eur J Neurosci. 2008;28:379–88.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Pickering C, Kiely J. Are the current guidelines on caffeine use in sport optimal for everyone? Inter-individual variation in caffeine ergogenicity, and a move towards personalised sports nutrition. Sports Med. 2018;48:7–16.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Effects of caffeine intake on muscle strength and power: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors
Jozo Grgic
Eric T. Trexler
Bruno Lazinica
Zeljko Pedisic
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-018-0216-0

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 1/2018 Go to the issue

Research article

The acute effects of plyometric and sled towing stimuli with and without caffeine ingestion on vertical jump performance in professional soccer players

Research article

The impact of supplementation with pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.) juice on selected antioxidant parameters and markers of iron metabolism in rowers

Research article

Efficacy of ketogenic diet on body composition during resistance training in trained men: a randomized controlled trial

Research article

The effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse on performance, biochemical and psychophysiological variables during a cycling time trial: a crossover randomized trial

Research article

Calorie restriction regime enhances physical performance of trained athletes

Research article

Low-fat diet, and medium-fat diets containing coconut oil and soybean oil exert different metabolic effects in untrained and treadmill-trained mice