RACE DAY BOOST

For you coffee believers. Do you lay off the coffee for a few days before the meet or just keep drinking it regularly? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I noticed that coffee worked for me immediately. I would drink coffee before practices in college and before hockey games to get an extra boost. On race/game day, I will have about 16-30oz of coffee (just coffee with some creamer, none of that fancy latte stuff). I don't really lay off the coffee before a meet/game; I will usually have about 2 cups a day everyday. The key for me is to drink coffee on an empty stomach to get the full affect of the caffiene boost. :anim_coffee: I will usually get a large cup of coffee on the way to warmup. It is part of my pre-meet ritual. I'll refill it maybe once or twice during the course of the day. I can't speak for others, but I have to control it (sometimes I'll drink it half-decaf) because I don't want to get too hyped up; beyond a certain point I think it is counterproductive. I don't think it is worth playing games of depriving yourself and then "splurging." Some studies seem to indicate that this helps, others do not. But I am always worried about changing such things; what if if makes it harder to sleep during a meet, for instance? I don't drink a lot of caffeine during normal times and don't change that, since then I have a good handle on how it affect me (or doesn't). Just my $0.02; YMMV

For you coffee believers. Do you lay off the coffee for a few days before the meet or just keep drinking it regularly? Would that I could. I experimented with dropping off my coffee to zero this past fall with the idea that I would then re-load prior to competition. I was only successful in going about 3 weeks without caffeine, not long enough into my training to then see how this played out in a taper situation. So, I did keep up a medium level of caffeine ingestion at about 300mg per day throughout my fall training (using a typical assumption that a shot of espresso is about 100mg). I generally consumed those three shots immediately before & after my AM workout and then one shot mid-morning. During my big meet, though, I did go up to almost double that. The increase generally came from having an extra espresso shot pre-racing and then an extra shot before my 4th or 5th event. I certainly swam well, but don't believe the caffeine was the major influencer physically; maybe a slight edge psychologically. I noticed that coffee worked for me immediately. ...The key for me is to drink coffee on an empty stomach to get the full affect of the caffiene boost. True. Though health experts will cringe, the same principle applies to your preferred end of the day relaxation beverage.:)

Though health experts will cringe, the same principle applies to your preferred end of the day relaxation beverage. Or you can even take this principle to the next level, and give blood before imbibing your preferred end of the day relaxation beverage.:)

I must confess that I am having a moral dilemma with taking Adderall, in terms of possible races this next summer, since it is a banned substance for performance reasons. Don't worry, these compunds are proven to show no increase in athletic ability, in fact they may hinder it.

In the words of Hunter S. Thompson: "I do not advocate the use of dangerous drugs, wild amounts of alcohol and violence and weirdness -- but they've always worked for me." Having put in that disclaimer, let me also put in the disclaimer that I have always had an obsession with experimentation (even on myself, per the below) to learn things, not to "cheat." I am also not a doctor, a medical professional, nor do I play one on TV, so this is NOT medical advice - just me being.... me. However, that said, here are two "legal" things and two "illegal" things that REALLY, REALLY WORK and blow caffeine out of the water for me, at least in self-administered tests during training: 1) Panax Ginseng (legal) (). 600 mg taken about 60 - 90 minutes before exercise produces a noticeable and pronounced change in endurance. Other forms of ginseng do seem to work, but not as well as this type. 2) Rhodeola Rosea (legal) () 200-300 mg taken about 75-90 minutes before exercise. A bit more subtle than ginseng, but actually a stronger final effect. This stuff is amazing and a lot more expensive (5x's) than ginseng. It can also cause an upset stomach the first few times you take it. 3) Pseudophedrine (illegal) () Works well, especially for improving breathing. Really bad if you have an enlarged prostate or blood pressure issues among other things. 4) Adderall (prescription drug/ illegal) () Although normally used for ADHD (I'm not ADHD), several months ago I was put on a LOW dose of this as part of treatment for depression. (And no, I haven't killed anyone yet, D2...) It's a mixture of amphetamines. I REALLY, REALLY HATE this crap, even though it works for depression issues, because the side effects - extra energy, need less sleep, increased libido, jittery at times - are rough. I already had (too much) energy, needed little sleep, don't like being jittery and we'll leave the libido issue uncommented upon. However, it does work well for training. In truth, I think the two legal supplements work better, at least for me. I must confess that I am having a moral dilemma with taking Adderall, in terms of possible races this next summer, since it is a banned substance for performance reasons. I hope to get off it before then and not have this issue, but if not, I may just race and then disqualify myself after. BTW, you can find accessible info about all of the above in wikipedia. "It's still not weird enough for me." -LBJ