Acute Caffeine Intake And Muscle Performance In Young Female Football Players: A Controlled Trial.

Football is a highly popular team sport, and it has attracted significant research attention in enhancing the training and competitive performance of football athletes. Caffeine is a commonly utilized sports supplement in athletes’ nutrition strategies, known for its potential to enhance exercise performance. However, current research predominantly focuses on male participants, with limited investigation into the impact of caffeine on female soccer players. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of caffeine ingestion on maximal muscle strength, muscular endurance performance in female football players during follicular phase. METHODS: A total of 16 participants (mean ± standard deviation(SD): age = 19.6 ± 0.7 years, body mass = 56.1 ± 6.7 kg, height = 163.2 ± 3.8 cm, BMI = 20.9 ± 2.2 kg/m2,football training experience = 7.1 ± 1.1 years)) was recruited. By employing a randomized cross-over design, they completed two experimental trails following the ingestion of 6 mg/kg bw of caffeine(CAF) or calcium citrate(PLA). In each experimental trial, participants underwent a isokinetic muscle strength test,1RM bench press(BP) test,1RM back squat(SQT) test, and a muscle endurance test consisting of performing the maximal number of repetitions at 50% of their 1RM. RESULTS: By using the paired t-tests, it revealed that a dose of 6 mg/kg bw caffeine significantly increased the peak force and total work of the extensor and flexor muscles of the knee at 60 d/s and 180 d/s, is also enhance the 1RM of BP(27.2 ± 3.5 kg vs 29.3 ± 3.2 kg; p < 0.01) , SQT(52.8 ± 7.4 kg vs 55.9 ± 7.8 kg; p < 0.01), and maximal number of repetitions( BP :22.7 ± 6.3 reps vs 27.2 ± 4.9 reps; p < 0.01,d = 0.9; SQT :20.3 ± 6.7 reps vs 32.3 ± 11.0 reps; p < 0.01,d = 1.1). CONCLUSIONː Ingesting 6 mg/kg bw of caffeine one hour prior to training in the follicular phase can significantly enhance muscle strength performance in young female soccer players. 2023 Graduate Innovation Fund Project of Gannan Normal University