Caffeine for Sports Performance is the definitive resource for all your questions regarding caffeine and its impact on sports performance. Based on the most recent research, studies, and guidelines, this guide is ideal for athletes and fitness enthusiasts looking to improve training and competition. Inside you will find these features: The history of how caffeine has become the most widely used drug in the world The pros and cons of using caffeine, including habitual daily caffeine intake, to boost sports performance Personal usage guides that can be applied to various sports or scenarios of caffeine use in training and competition Health advice regarding caffeine use Performance effects of caffeine use Safety considerations and potential risks Best and worst sources for caffeine Caffeine for Sports Performance provides plenty of practical tips for using caffeine. In particular you will find sidebars that feature interviews with top athletes and coaches who have interesting stories to tell regarding their experiences using caffeine. You will also gain new insight into current attitudes towards caffeine and how those attitudes have changed over the years. Caffeine for Sports Performance gives you all you need to understand and use caffeine to get the most out of your sport.

Objective:  To qualitatively explore the attitudes, expectations and career plans of aspiring dietetic students. Design:  Qualitative study involving open‐ended semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews. Subjects:  Sixty‐three student applicants to the Griffith University Master of Nutrition and Dietetics Program over the 2002–2003 period. Main outcome measures:  Attitudinal data about the motivations, competency expectations and career plans of Nutrition and Dietetic program applicants. Analysis:  Qualitative content analysis. Results:  Student applicants had a mix of health science and exercise science undergraduate training backgrounds, were in their early to mid‐20s and were recent graduates. The most common motivations for becoming a dietitian was a long‐term primary interest in nutrition, health and helping people inspired by previous experience with other dietitians, family or personal illnesses and significant others such as mothers and teachers. Approximately 30% of applicants reported being motivated by personal experiences (self or friends) with obesity or eating disorders. High‐level communication and organisational skills and nutrition knowledge were the common competency expectations of dietitians among potential students. Most reported working clinically, running a private practice (particularly in sports nutrition) or in mixed practice settings with autonomy and practice diversity as long‐term career aspirations. There was a generally low level of specific awareness of public health nutrition or food service management practice opportunities in the profession. Conclusions:  There appears to be a need to further market the diversity of practice in the profession to senior school‐age and undergraduate students so that applicants are more informed of the realities of career opportunities.

In this study we investigated the effects of variously derived sources of low-dose caffeine on mood/arousal and cognitive performance. Twenty-two participants (15 men, 7 women; M age: 28.2, SD = 9.0 years) undertook five randomized, crossover trials in which they consumed either a water control (CON) or 80 mg of caffeine from one of four sources (coffee [COF], energy drink [END], capsule [CAP], and dissolvable mouth strip [STR]). We measured the participants’ perceived efficacy of these varied caffeine sources pre-treatment; and we measured mood/arousal at pre-treatment, and again at 15 and 45 minutes post-treatment. We also measured choice reaction-time at 15 and 45 minutes post-treatment, and participants completed the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) 45 minutes post-treatment. Caffeine increased participant ratings of alertness and decreased their ratings of tiredness irrespective of source ( p’s < .05), and all sources of caffeine decreased reaction time on the PVT ( p’s < .05), with ex-Gaussian distributional analysis localizing this to the tau-parameter, indicating lower variability. However, only the COF source was associated with improved ‘overall mood’ ( p’s < .05). Participants expected to perform better on the PVT with COF compared to CON, but there were no other significant associations between source expectancy and performance. In sum, a modest dose of caffeine, regardless of source, positively impacted mood/arousal and cognitive performance, and these effects did not appear to be influenced by expectations.

Coaches are important figures of influence with potential to create environments that influence athlete health and performance outcomes. Ideally, coaches provide supportive environments that lead to performance optimisation and long-term health. Coaches who employ language and behaviours that overemphasise body composition and/or provide misinformed nutrition advice may predispose athletes to low energy availability (LEA) and the associated health consequences. Having a clear understanding of current knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of coaches with regard to LEA is required to guide future coach education/support initiatives to optimise athlete health and performance. Thus, the aim of this investigation was to systematically review published literature regarding coach knowledge, attitudes/beliefs and behaviours of LEA. Data from 20 eligible studies was extracted into predetermined categories according to coach ‘knowledge‘; ‘attitudes/ beliefs’; and ‘behaviours’ regarding LEA/Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport/Female Athlete Triad and/or eating disorders and/or disordered eating. Any single study could provide outcomes to inform one or multiple of these categories. The majority of results were drawn from studies conducted prior to LEA being defined as a concern for athlete health, which limited our understanding of the contemporary knowledge, attitudes/eliefs and behaviours of coaches on this important issue. That said, indications of gaps in coach knowledge and the employment of inappropriate attitudes/beliefs and behaviours regarding issues associated with LEA were evident. An opportunity exists for key stakeholders to develop comprehensive coach education frameworks, which equip coaches with the adequate capability, opportunity and motivation to support athlete health and avoid the consequences of LEA.