Abstract
To date there have been a number of studies that have assessed the effects of caffeine on Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Pain Scale scores during continuous exercise. Presently there is little information about the effects of caffeine on RPE and Pain Scale scores during short term, anaerobic and muscle endurance activity. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the effects of low-dose caffeine administration on RPE and Pain Scale scores after the one-minute pushup test and the Wingate Anaerobic cycling test. Ten college-aged males were recruited to participate in the investigation. The subjects were given either a piece of caffeinated chewing gum designed to deliver 100 mg of Caffeine in a buccal manner, or a placebo gum with identical shape and flavoring in a double-blind, placebo controlled, repeated measures design. The subjects chewed the gum (caffeine or placebo) for five minutes to allow for caffeine absorption and subsequently performed the one-minute push-up test followed by the Wingate anaerobic test. Subjects responded to the standard Borg RPE scale and the Mosby 10-pt pain scale immediately after each test. The results of the study did not demonstrate any significant difference in performance on either assessment, nor in the responses to the pain scale or RPE scale (p>0.05). It appears based upon this data that low-dose buccal caffeine is neither an effective ergogenic aid nor analgesic for muscle endurance or anaerobic efforts. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]