Acute and chronic supplementation of a performance drink and its influence on exercise performance and hydration in male Reserve Officer Training Corps members at Oklahoma State University

Scope and Method of Study. Research has shown that overall caffeine is beneficial for athletes but there has been little to no research that looks at the effects of performance drinks (PD) on performance. The purpose of this two phase study was to examine the effects the PD on hydration, time to exhaustion (TTE) during maximal exercise, VO2max, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), muscular strength and serum lipids in 10 male, Oklahoma State University, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) members. TTE, RPE and VO2max were measured using the Bruce Protocol. Muscular strength was assessed on the Biodex Isokinetic Dynamometer. Data for urine specific gravity, urinary caffeine and 24 hour recalls were also collected. Blood was taken for serum lipid analyses. In phase one of the study, participant's baseline data was collected and one week later participants were randomly assigned to either the placebo or PD group. Treatments were administered 30 minutes prior to exercise testing. For phase 2 of the study, participants were again randomly assigned to either the placebo or PD group. Participant's then received their treatment 30 minutes prior to ROTC training for a total of 6 treatments over a 2 week period. At the end of the 2 week period, treatment and tests were repeated. Participant's then crossed-over and received the opposite treatment for the same period of time. The final set of testing was then conducted.;Findings and Conclusions. Results of the study suggest that the PD is effective in improving VO2max and TTE after both acute and chronic supplementation (p< 0.05). No changes were seen in hydration or RPE. Muscular endurance was not significantly altered with acute supplementation but significant decreases in flexion peak torque (p < 0.05) occurred with chronic supplementation. Total serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein were unaffected. Triglycerides increased with chronic PD consumption (p < 0.05) and HDL decreased with chronic PD consumption (p < 0.05). More research is needed to investigate the influence of the PD on serum lipids.