Caffeine (1, 3, 7-Trimethylxanthine) is a habitual substance present in a wide variety of beverages and in choclate based foods. It is also used as adjuvants in some drugs. There have been numerous reports that caffeine is an ergogenic aid, ingestion of the drug has been shown to increase endurance, particularly in prolonged exercise lasting 30 -120 minutes. The present study was undertaken to study the effects of caffeine in coffee on endurance exercise in young healthy adult males. Twenty young males participated in this single blind study. Participants underwent two testing sessions seperated by 7days. The testing sessions consisted of handgrip strength test, Rate of percieved exertion scale (RPE) test and an incremental test to exhaustion on treadmill. Paired “t” test revealed significant difference in handgrip strength test, RPE scale, exhaustion time, maximal oxyzen uptake(VO2 max) and heart rate(p>0.05) before and after caffeine exhaustion. The present study indicates that caffeine consumed 60 minutes before exercise can enhance exercise performance by increasing the total time to fatigue.
