The effectiveness of two energy drinks on selected indices of maximal cardiorespiratory fitness and blood lactate levels in male athletes

BACKGROUND: Consumption of energy drinks has become widespread among athletes. The effectiveness of Red Bull and Hype energy drinks on selected indices of maximal cardiorespiratory fitness and blood lactate levels in male athletes was examined in this study. METHODS: Ten male student athletes (age: 22.4 ± 2.1 years, height: 180.8 ± 7.7 cm, weight: 74.2 ± 8.5 kg) performed three randomized maximal oxygen consumption tests on a treadmill. Each test was separated by four days and participants were asked to ingest Red Bull, Hype or placebo drinks 40 minutes before the exercise bout. The VO2max, time to exhaustion, heart rate and lactate were measured to determine if the caffeine-based beverages influence performance. ANOVA test was used for analyzing data. RESULTS: A greater value was observed in VO2max and time to exhaustion for the Red Bull and Hype trial compared to the placebo trial (p 0.05). No significant difference was found in pre- and post-test heart rate for two drinks (p 0.05). For blood lactate levels no significant changes were observed before and two minute after the test (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Ingestion of Red Bull and Hype prior to exercise testing is effective on some indices of cardiorespiratory fitness but not on the blood lactate levels.