Date of Award

12-2020

Type

Thesis

Major

Master of Science

Degree Type

MS

Department

Health, Physical Education, and Exercise Science

First Advisor

Clayton Nicks

Second Advisor

Kate Early

Third Advisor

Bryan Tyo

Abstract

Research indicates that a moderate dose of caffeine may enhance muscular strength and power, particularly in males. Less is known on caffeine’s impact on muscular performance in females. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 200 mg dose caffeine gum on muscular strength and muscular power in recreationally active females. Nineteen women participated in 3 laboratory sessions, the first being the familiarization trial. During the next two visits, the participants were given either 200 mg of caffeine gum or a placebo gum, rested for 15 minutes, completed a 10 minute warm-up, then performed performance testing consisting of maximal jump height testing on a force plate, followed by one repetition maximum testing for the bench press and leg press. While the caffeine resulted in higher mean differences for all tests, there were no significant differences between caffeine or placebo trials (p > 0.05) for any performance measures except the maximal squat jump (p = 0.04). In conclusion, a 200 mg dose of caffeine is not sufficient to improve muscular strength and some instances of muscular power. This is a novel finding, and future studies should look at altering time to absorption or higher dosing of caffeine gum.

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