Caffeine Experiment

In 2014, the hypothesis of a study was 3 mg/kg of caffeine in the form of an energy drink would increase the speed and the distance covered in a simulated match (Lara, Gonzalez-Millan, Salinero, Abian-Vicen, Areces, Barbero-Alvarez, Munoz, Portillo, Gonzalez-Rave, & Coso, 2014). The method used was a double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized experimental design. The study used eighteen female soccer players from the same team (Lara et al., 2014). They were in their early twenties. Their average weight was one hundred and twenty-eight pounds with a height of five feet four inches. The environmental conditions were about the same (7 ± 1 °C; 87 ± 5 % of relative humidity). There were two trials that were separated by a week. The powdered caffeine energy drinks dissolved in 250 mL of tap water. The amount of caffeine

Both the placebo drink and caffeine drink had identical appearance and taste. The drinks were in opaque plastic bottles. The players consumed the drink an hour before the test. The players were nude-weighted two days before the first trial. They were told to refrain from caffeine and alcohol forty-eight hours before testing; they were not allowed to have a strenuous workout the day before trial, and they had a meal three hours before the start of the test. An hour after drinking their beverage, the players did warm-up and began the test. The performance tests included a maximal countermovement jump test, and a 7x30 m maximal running speed test with thirty seconds of active recovery between repetitions. The players were weighted ten minutes after the match. After testing, nude body weight was recorded in the last ten min of the match. Thirty to sixty minutes after the test, a urine sample was collected from all the players. Players also took a questionnaire about their feeling of power, endurance and perceived exertion during the soccer game (Lara et al.,