Caffeine: Dose, Timing and the Crash Nobody Plans For

Caffeine is the most effective legal performance enhancer in sport and the one men most consistently misuse. The research consensus is narrow and clear: 3 to 6 mg per kilogram of bodyweight, taken 45 to 60 minutes before the session.

For a 90 kg man that is 270 to 540 mg — more than most people expect, and the reason a single espresso does almost nothing for performance beyond placebo. The caveat is tolerance: daily users lose a large majority of the ergogenic effect within two weeks.

• Cycle down to under 100 mg a day for two weeks before an event you care about.
• Cut off all caffeine 10 hours before bed; the half-life is five to six hours.
• Caffeine plus 200 mg of L-theanine smooths the jitter without killing the benefit.
• Do not stack with a pre-workout that hides caffeine in a proprietary blend.