TITLE PAGE
Effective time for Consumption of Pre-Exercise Energy Drink to Enhance
Cardio-Respiratory Fitness
Neeraj Kumar1, Deepika Srivastava2, Nilesh Nath Tiwari3, Suchi Dwivedi4
1. Asst. Professor cum Academic Coordinator, Saaii College of Medical Science &
Technology, Kanpur, UP, India
2, 3 & 4: Scholar, Dept. of Physiotherapy, Saaii College of Medical Science &
Technology, Kanpur, UP, India
Corresponding Author:
Neeraj Kumar
BPT, MSPT
Asst. Professor & Academic Coordinator, Dept. of Physiotherapy,
Saaii College of Medical Science & Technology, Kanpur, India
Phone No.: +91-9005411557
Email id: physioner@gmail.com
Co-Authors:
Deepika Srivastava, Nilesh Nath Tiwari, Suchi Dwivedi
BPT, Dept. of Physiotherapy
Saaii College of Medical Science & Technology, Kanpur
Abstract:
The purpose of the present research work was to determine the appropriate timing of
ingestion of energy drink prior to exercise to improve VO2 max. A total of 15 male healthy
individual, whose mean age and height were 20.47 years (±2.00) and 130.83 cm (±17.26)
respectively, participated in this study and were placed in three different groups, in Group A
they performed Bruce treadmill test without taking any supplement, in Group B they
consumed energy drink 20 minutes before performing test and in Group C they consumed
same energy drink immediately before performing the test. Statistical significant differences
were found in VO2 max between Group A, Group B and Group C. the finding of this study
concluded that ingestion of energy drink before exercise helps in enhancing the VO2 max,
but its timing of ingestion does not affect as much since both group B and group C showed
relatively similar findings.
Keywords: VO2 max, cardiorespiratory fitness, energy drink, Bruce treadmill protocol
Introduction:
The VO2 max is considered as one of the most important determinant of athletes’ fitness
(1)
.
VO2 max or cardio-respiratory fitness is the ability to perform moderate to high intensity
exercises for prolonged periods
(2, 3)
. VO2 max can be measured by direct or indirect
measurements (4). In which, Bruce treadmill testing is one which is much reliable and valid (2).
It is believed that pre-exercise ingestion of energy drink improves cardio-respiratory fitness.
Consumption of energy drink in sports is now very common
enhance athletic performance
(5)
. It is being widely used to
(6)
. The most widely used energy drink worldwide is Red Bull
(7, 8)
, and many research have also been done on Red Bull energy drink and its effect on VO2
max (9, 10, 11). There are numerous studies who found that pre-exercise consumption of energy
drink improves VO2 max during exercise
(9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
, but there is a paucity of work
related to the finding of exact timing of ingestion of energy drink before exercise to improve
VO2 max at its best. Therefore, the purpose of present research work is to find the
appropriate timing, whether 20 minutes prior or just immediate before the exercise, of
consumption of pre-exercise energy drink to enhance VO2 max, and this study will help the
Athletes, Coaches, Physiotherapist, Team Physician, Team Managers and dieticians to get
acquainted with the use of energy drink for improvement of VO2 max.
Materials and Methods:
Subject Sample:
Total 15 volunteer male, moderately active healthy subjects, devoid of any drug abuse, non
gym user and non athletes aged between 18-25 years randomly selected in this study. The all
same 15 subjects were placed in three different groups. Group A consists of measurement of
VO2 max without any prior supplement. Group B consists of measurement of VO2 max with
consumption of Red Bull energy drink 20 minutes prior to the test, and Group C consists of
measurement of VO2 max with consumption of Red Bull energy drink just immediate before
starting the test.
Measures & Procedures:
The test for measuring VO2 max was divided on three testing session with an interval of
minimum 1 week for each group respectively. The measurement of VO2 max had been done
on motor driven Treadmill using ‘Bruce protocol’. Subjects were asked to report 30 minutes
prior to each testing session. The sequence of all three testing session were randomized with
5 subjects consumed nothing, another 5 subjects consumed energy drink 20 minutes prior
whereas another 5 subjects consumed energy drink just immediate before the test, on first
testing session.
Statistical analysis: Mean and SD were used to prepare summary statistics. ANOVA (F) and
Post Hoc with Scheffe test were used to determine the differences between all the groups.
The statistical analysis was done on SPSS v 16.00.
Results:
A total of 15 male, healthy individuals participated in the present study with the mean age of
20.47 years (±02.00), and their mean weight were 130.83 lbs (±17.26).
The subjects were placed in three different groups and their VO2 max was measured by
treadmill using Bruce protocol.
Among group A, group B, and Group C the VO2 max (ml/kg/min) were 53.38 (±4.24), 60.80
(±3.15) and 59.24 (±3.58) respectively; and heart rate (beat/min) were 152.13 (±10.32),
131.47 (±15.48), and 137.07 (±14.54), as shown by its mean plot in fig. 1
‘Place Figure 1 here’
One way ANOVA were applied between heart rate and VO2 max among all the three groups
and Post Hoc multiple Scheffe range test were applied to determine the inter group
differences which is shown in table 1.
‘Place Table 1 here’
Discussion:
The purpose of the present research work was to find the appropriate timing of consumption
of pre-exercise energy drink to enhance the cardio-respiratory fitness. 15 participants were
participated in three testing session and placed in three different groups as, Group A (control
group), Group B (ingestion of energy drink 20 minutes prior to test) and Group C (ingestion
of energy drink just immediate before the test). The cardio-respiratory fitness or VO2 max
was determined by treadmill using Bruce protocol.
Statistical significant difference found in Heart Rate (F= 9.22) and VO2 max (F=16.92)
between Group A, Group B and Group C.
The Post Hoc Scheffe test revealed statistical significant difference between Group A and
Group B among Heart rate (Mean Difference= 20.66, p<0.001) and VO2 max (Mean
Difference= 7.42, p<0.001). This finding suggest that consumption of energy drink 20
minutes before starting the exercise helps in enhancing the VO2 max during exercise, which
is in relation to the finding of Kazemi et al. (2009) (15), Ivy et al. (2009) (10), & Rahnama et al.
(2009) (16) who stated that energy drink has ergogenic effects on endurance performance as it
enhances the VO2 max during exercises.
We have found similar kind of trend between Group A and Group C in regards to Heart rate
(Mean Difference= 15.06, p<0.05) and VO2 max (Mean Difference= 5.86, p<0.001), and it
reveals that consumption of energy drink immediately before the exercise also increases the
VO2 max during that exercise of the individual. This finding is consistent with the findings of
Walsh et al. (2010) (6) who stated that the energy drink supplement can significantly increase
time to exhaustion during a moderate intensity run.
Statistical insignificant difference were found between Group B and Group C among Heart
Rate (Mean Difference= -5.6, p=0.536) and VO2 max (Mean Difference= 1.55, p=0.518).
According to this finding, it can be suggested that the VO2 max of an individual can be
increased during an exercise with the help of consumption of pre-exercise energy drink
irrespective of its timing of consumption. Since, the average VO2 max value of Group B is
more than Group C so, it can be suggested that ingestion of energy drink 20 minutes before
the exercise can give better VO2 max.
Conclusion:
The finding of the present study reveals that pre-exercise ingestion of energy dink helps in
increasing VO2 max during exercise. Energy drink can be administered anytime between 20
minutes to immediately before the exercise as its effect is relatively similar on VO2 max.
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Figure 1: Mean Plot of Heart Rate and VO2 Max among all Three Groups
Table 1: Comparison of Heart rate and VO2 max between all three groups
Variable
GROUP
GROUP
HR
A
B
20.66667*
.001
C
15.06667*
.016
A
-20.66667*
.001
C
-5.60000
.536
A
-15.06667*
.016
B
5.60000
.536
B
-7.41733**
.000
C
-5.86333**
.000
A
7.41733**
.000
C
1.55400
.518
A
5.86333**
.000
B
-1.55400
.518
B
C
VO2MAX
A
B
C
. Significant at p< 0.001
. Significant at p<0.05
**
*
Mean Difference
Sig.