EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE AND EPHEDRINE INGESTION ON CANADIAN FORCES WARRIOR TEST 1620

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of combined caffeine and ephedrine (C+E) ingestion on the Canadian Forces Warrior Test (WT), a 3.2 km run performed in “fighting order dress” (FO), and examined if drug ingestion on day 1 would affect a WT time 24 hours later. FO included a helmet, rifle, bayonet, ammunition, webbing, back pack and full canteen. Total weight carried was 11 kg. Nine healthy male recreational runners (37±10 yrs, 175±5 cm, 81±11 kg) with ˙VO2 max of 58±5 ml·kg-1min-1 completed a control (Con) and 6 balanced and double blind WT trials. The treatment trials were performed 2 hours after ingestion of 375 mg caffeine plus 75 mg ephedrine, or a placebo(P). Trials were performed in 3 sets of 2, i.e. two trials were done 24 hours apart, and each set was separated by one week. The sets were: drug first (D1), placebo second (P2); placebo first (P1), drug second (D2); placebo first (P3), placebo second (P4). WT times were similar for Con (15.3±6), P1(15.4±9), P2 (15.5±1.1), P3 (15.4±.9), and P4 (15.4 min±.9) and were significantly (p<0.01) longer than C+E trials(14.8±.7 and 14.6±.8 min for D1 and D2 trials respectively). Heart rates during WT were significantly higher for the drug trials[185±11(D1) and 185±12 (D2)] compared with all others[180±11 (Con), 179±10 (P1), 179±11 (P2), 179±11(P3) and 178±10 (P4)]. In conclusion, WT performance was enhanced following ingestion of C+E.