Caffeine with a carb meal before soccer-style exercise
What it found
In 8 recreational soccer players, caffeine added to a high-carb meal did not significantly improve exercise capacity after an 85-minute soccer simulation, though players ran 109 m further on average.
They also rated their effort lower during the caffeine trial.
What they found
Studies in people
Exercise capacity
After caffeine, players ran 109 m further on average in the endurance test, a 12.8% improvement, but this was not statistically significant. Five of the seven players who completed the test did better after caffeine.
Perceived effort
Players rated their effort lower throughout the simulation after caffeine, with an average rating of 11.7 compared to 12.8 on placebo. This difference was statistically significant.
Fuel use
The rates at which players burned carbohydrate and fat did not differ between the caffeine and placebo trials.
Blood metabolites
Blood levels of glucose, fatty acids, glycerol and β-hydroxybutyrate were similar between conditions. Lactate was higher after caffeine, but no specific post-hoc difference was found.
Heart rate
Average heart rate during exercise was similar between the caffeine and placebo trials, at 160 and 158 beats per minute respectively.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, the additional caffeine supplementation following a CHO meal may reduce the perceived effort (RPE) undertaken during a soccer simulated protocol and enhance endurance capacity somewhat following a simulated soccer match.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that adding caffeine to a carbohydrate meal may reduce perceived effort during a soccer simulation and somewhat enhance endurance capacity after a simulated match.
- They state that there was no evidence that these effects were linked to changes in energy metabolism or fuel use during exercise.
- They advise that caution should be exercised when interpreting these findings due to a lack of statistical power.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if caffeine would help performance when taken with a typical pre-match high-carb meal, since most previous studies did not use a realistic match-day nutrition plan.
Eight male recreational soccer players completed an 85-minute soccer simulation on a treadmill followed by a Yo-yo endurance test, twice. Before exercise they ate a high-carb meal and took either 5 mg/kg body mass of caffeine or a placebo, with a carb drink at half-time.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study with only 8 recreational players, so the results may not apply to other groups or to professional athletes.
- The performance improvement was not statistically significant, so it could be due to chance.
- The study cannot show whether the lower perceived effort would lead to better performance in a real match.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Massey University, New Zealand
The paper
- Title
- Addition of Caffeine to a Carbohydrate Feeding Strategy Prior to Intermittent Exercise
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Hulton AT, Vitzel K, Doran DA, MacLaren DPM (2020). Addition of Caffeine to a Carbohydrate Feeding Strategy Prior to Intermittent Exercise. International journal of sports medicine. doi:10.1055/a-1121-7817Free full textPubMed 32252101DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error