Examination of a pre-exercise high energy drink on exercise
performance
Jay R Hoffman*, Mattan W Hoffman and Christopher Tranchina
Address: Department of Health and Exercise Science, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718, USA
Email: Jay R Hoffman* - hoffmanj@tcnj.edu
* Corresponding author
from 2008 International Society of Sports Nutrition Conference and Expo
Las Vegas, NV, USA. 9–10 June 2008
Published: 17 September 2008
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5(Suppl 1):P29 doi:10.1186/1550-2783-5-S1-P29
This abstract is available from:
http://www.jissn.com/content/5/S1/P29
© 2008 Hoffman et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Background
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a
pre-exercise high energy drink on reaction time and anaerobic
power in competitive strength/power athletes. In
addition, the effect of the pre-exercise drink on subjective
feelings of energy, fatigue, alertness and focus was also
explored.
Methods
Twelve male strength/power athletes (21.1 ± 1.3 y; 179.8
± 7.1 cm; 88.6 ± 12.1 kg; 17.6 ± 3.3% body fat) underwent
two testing sessions administered in a randomized and
double-blind fashion. During each session, subjects
reported to the Human Performance Laboratory and were
provided either 120 ml of a high energy drink (S), commercially
marketed as Redline® or 120 ml of a placebo (P).
The placebo was similar in taste and appearance but contained
no active ingredients. Following consumption of
the supplement or placebo subjects rested quietly for 10-
minutes prior to completing a 4-question survey and commencing
exercise. The survey consisted of 4 questions asking
each subject to describe their feelings of energy,
fatigue, alertness and focus at that moment. Following the
completion of the questionnaire subjects performed a 2-
minute quickness and reaction test on the Makoto testing
device (Makoto USA, Centennial CO) and a 20-second
Wingate Anaerobic Power test. Following a 10-minute rest
subjects repeated the testing sequence and after a similar
rest period a third and final testing sequence was performed.
The Makoto testing device consisted of subjects
reacting to both a visual and auditory stimulus and striking
one out of 30 potential targets on three towers.
Results
Significant difference in reaction performance was seen
between S and P in both average number of targets struck
(55.8 ± 7.4 versus 51.9 ± 7.4, respectively) and percent of
targets struck (71.9 ± 10.5% versus 66.8 ± 10.9%, respectively).
No significant differences between trials were seen
in any anaerobic power measure. Subjective feelings of
energy (3.5 ± 0.5 versus 3.1 ± 0.5) and focus (3.8 ± 0.5 versus
3.3 ± 0.7) were significantly higher during S compared
to P, respectively. In addition, trends towards an increased
alertness (p = 0.088) and a decreased fatigue (p = 0.091)
were also seen in S compared to P.