The Effects of Caffeinated “Energy Shots” on Time Trial Performance

An emerging trend in sports nutrition is the consumption of energy drinks and “energy shots”. Energy shots may prove to be a viable pre-competition supplement for runners. Six male runners (mean ± SD age and VO₂max: 22.5 ± 1.8 years and 69.1 ± 5.7 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) completed three trials placebo (PLA; 0 mg caffeine), Guayakí Yerba Maté Organic Energy Shot™ (YM; 140 mg caffeine), or Red Bull Energy Shot™ (RB; 80 mg caffeine)]. Treatments were ingested following a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover design. Participants ran a five kilometer time trial on a treadmill. No differences (p > 0.05) in performance were detected with RB (17.55 ± 1.01 min) or YM ingestion (17.86 ± 1.59 min) compared to placebo (17.44 ± 1.25 min). Overall, energy shot ingestion did not improve time-trial running performance in trained runners.