Journal of Research in Medical Sciences (Jan 2010)
The effectiveness of two energy drinks on selected indices of maximal cardiorespiratory fitness and blood lactate levels in male athletes
Abstract
Background: Consumption of energy drinks has become widespread among athletes. The effectiveness of Red Bull and Hype energy drinks on selected indices of maximal cardiorespiratory fitness and blood lactate levels in male athletes was examined in this study. Methods: Ten male student athletes (age: 22.4 ± 2.1 years, height: 180.8 ± 7.7 cm, weight: 74.2 ± 8.5 kg) performed three randomized maximal oxygen consumption tests on a treadmill. Each test was separated by four days and participants were asked to ingest Red Bull, Hype or placebo drinks 40 minutes before the exercise bout. The VO 2max , time to exhaustion, heart rate and lactate were measured to determine if the caffeine-based beverages influence performance. ANOVA test was used for analyzing data. Results: A greater value was observed in VO 2max and time to exhaustion for the Red Bull and Hype trial compared to the placebo trial (p 0.05). For blood lactate levels no significant changes were observed before and two minute after the test (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Ingestion of Red Bull and Hype prior to exercise testing is effective on some indices of cardiorespira-tory fitness but not on the blood lactate levels.
