Mx racers and cross country racers: do you use caffeine?

[dem3500]

Good call on the piss. Clear is good. Coffee will make it yellow. For some that's normal and they don't Any other way. I drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day. Other than that its 75-100% water. I during pop every once and a while. My first piss of the day is clear. Drink coffee yellow. I can see it change after I stop drinking coffee. Funny how were talking about piss now lol!! But its true and pop has to be one of the worst things besides cigarettes than you can put in your body. I'm glad I quit! Been about 7 months now and smelling cigarette smoke almost makes me sick now

[Onski326]

I'm an ex-partier. Use to drink a lot and smoked a pack a day for almost 17 years. Then I decided to race XC. First race I entered I thought it was a party and got a little bombed the night before. Wow. What a wake-up call. Within 4 months I'd quit smoking and within a year, quit drinking. Then started to work out. Boy did my body protest. My first goal was to try and run a mile...without stopping. Took a few months to be honest. First race I got 12th out of 16. The following year I hit a couple races. Beginner class (C) and got 7th-9th out of 12 or so. Caffeine was part of my diet. Then I got serious. That was about 4 years ago. I finished 2nd in that C class 2 years ago and got a 3rd in Over 30B last year. I now run a mile to warm up before work outs. When I run, it's usually 3 miles and only because my joints start hurting. I have the luxury of owning 6 acres so I have an ATV track around the perimeter. 3 laps is a mile. And it's secluded, private and very pretty. I try and stay away from caffeine on race days and a few days prior. I love my coffee and sugar free Rockstar but it does effect my performance on the track. I wear out much quicker and noticed my arms and/or quads can and will cramp after about 30-40 minutes in. Running has made all the difference in performance. I do enjoy it now where before it was a means to an end to get better at racing. I agree with Kyle, make goals for yourself. But make them achievable and then keep increasing them. Now I get frustrated when it's muddy out and I can't run but do even then sometimes. I'm in the best shape of my life now and it's only getting better. From what I've read on caffeine, it may help short term in quick sprints but it does dehydrate which can lead to cramping and fatigue. I know a lot of MX racers that swear by it but in low doses and I've heard XC racers I race with won't touch it with a 10' pole. So I kind of follow the majority and try and stay away on race day. Eat a big meal in the morning. Good carbs an hour or so before a race (pb&j sandwich and banana), and water and either Heed or Pedialiyte(?) in the camelback for me during the race. My endurance still isn't the best where I can run a 90 minute race without one here in the Texas heat yet but getting very close. Hope this helps some.

[rablack21]

I'm an ex-partier. Use to drink a lot and smoked a pack a day for almost 17 years. Then I decided to race XC. First race I entered I thought it was a party and got a little bombed the night before. Wow. What a wake-up call. Within 4 months I'd quit smoking and within a year, quit drinking. Then started to work out. Boy did my body protest. My first goal was to try and run a mile...without stopping. Took a few months to be honest. First race I got 12th out of 16. The following year I hit a couple races. Beginner class (C) and got 7th-9th out of 12 or so. Caffeine was part of my diet. Then I got serious. That was about 4 years ago. I finished 2nd in that C class 2 years ago and got a 3rd in Over 30B last year. I now run a mile to warm up before work outs. When I run, it's usually 3 miles and only because my joints start hurting. I have the luxury of owning 6 acres so I have an ATV track around the perimeter. 3 laps is a mile. And it's secluded, private and very pretty. I try and stay away from caffeine on race days and a few days prior. I love my coffee and sugar free Rockstar but it does effect my performance on the track. I wear out much quicker and noticed my arms and/or quads can and will cramp after about 30-40 minutes in. Running has made all the difference in performance. I do enjoy it now where before it was a means to an end to get better at racing. I agree with Kyle, make goals for yourself. But make them achievable and then keep increasing them. Now I get frustrated when it's muddy out and I can't run but do even then sometimes. I'm in the best shape of my life now and it's only getting better. From what I've read on caffeine, it may help short term in quick sprints but it does dehydrate which can lead to cramping and fatigue. I know a lot of MX racers that swear by it but in low doses and I've heard XC racers I race with won't touch it with a 10' pole. So I kind of follow the majority and try and stay away on race day. Eat a big meal in the morning. Good carbs an hour or so before a race (pb&j sandwich and banana), and water and either Heed or Pedialiyte(?) in the camelback for me during the race. My endurance still isn't the best where I can run a 90 minute race without one here in the Texas heat yet but getting very close. Hope this helps some.

Thanks for the personal experience. Wow, what a motivation! Reading this just makes me feel lazy. lol.

[Tbone07]

One thing i'm interested in trying is taking my NO pre-workout powder before a race. It dilates your blood vessels and arteries to increase blood flow. But it's got caffeine in it and requires you to drink a lot of water

I usually take this:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/xplode.html

It helps me destroy my workouts. But I actually think it's going to increase arm pump too much.

[rablack21]

One thing i'm interested in trying is taking my NO pre-workout powder before a race. It dilates your blood vessels and arteries to increase blood flow. But it's got caffeine in it and requires you to drink a lot of water

I usually take this:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/xplode.html


It helps me destroy my workouts. But I actually think it's going to increase arm pump too much.

I agree. I had considered it before as well, but I think it will have an adverse effect. I think it will make the arm pump worse instead of better.

[JoePA]

Absolutely no caffeine.

Those Monster/Rockstar/Redbull sponsored riders are barely even drinking that crap when they hand them one after a moto. It's all for show and advertising. All those things do is

I think mountain biking or cycling is the best workout for riding. Look at all the MX and ATV pro riders on Instagram, they've all got Trek or Specialized bikes and they're constantly riding them. Johnny G, Borch, Weinen and all those guys cycle together during the offseason

Running is very hard on my joints, especially my feet and knees. If I run it's on an elliptical where there's no shock on my joints. But yes it can be boring

Eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and lots of water not just the day of a race but the day before too. If you wake up in the morning and your piss is dark yellow and smells then you're dehydrated.

Best advice right there. I load up on carbs the day before but fall short the day of due to nerves....i don't eat a thing the day of the race cuz of nerves but after the last moto and I wind down i eat like a horse! I do snack on fruit during the day of the race, grapes and/or cherries and stay hydrated. I believe cardio, like others have metnioned is the way to go. going to start biking once the roads free up from crap and see how it does. Probably still get last but have lots of energy!! LOL

[Burns363R]

Arm pump... what is that?  hahaha

[rablack21]

Arm pump... what is that?  hahaha

Arm pump? Never touched the stuff!

[ESS330R]

Absolutely no caffeine.

Those Monster/Rockstar/Redbull sponsored riders are barely even drinking that crap when they hand them one after a moto. It's all for show and advertising. All those things do is

I think mountain biking or cycling is the best workout for riding. Look at all the MX and ATV pro riders on Instagram, they've all got Trek or Specialized bikes and they're constantly riding them. Johnny G, Borch, Weinen and all those guys cycle together during the offseason

Running is very hard on my joints, especially my feet and knees. If I run it's on an elliptical where there's no shock on my joints. But yes it can be boring

Eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and lots of water not just the day of a race but the day before too. If you wake up in the morning and your piss is dark yellow and smells then you're dehydrated.

Haha, they don't drink ANY energy drink after the race, its water in a Redbull, Monster etc. can.

[dham]

OK - I have been following this thread & was really curious as to every one's personal opinion on this subject matter. I have been really fortunate to have been able to race quads & 3 wheelers in a wide variety of different types of racing(MX, TT, Scrambles & various lengths of Desert Endurance races) over the last 4 years. Without going into a lot of details, let me just say that I have a bit of an educational back ground in the health industry(both books & hands on) and have enjoyed experimenting with different endurance/strength theories as they pertain to exercise & supplements especially as it relates to my hobby - RACING. I first want to say that no two people are a like and that there are millions of different theories out there. All this being said, I personally try to stay away from caffeine in my own personal daily life, not because I believe it to be a terrible thing but because I can quickly get immune to its effects - I choose to want to get it's effect when I need it most(RACING). I do believe that caffeine can & will dehydrate most of us but those dehydrating effects usually take about 45 minutes to start taking effect. However the rush(caffeine high) that most of us feel after caffeine enters our system usually takes effect in only about 10-15 minutes - at least that is when I tend to start feeling "amped up". Now if I know that a race that I am about to participate in is going to last less than 20 minutes I like to take a caffeine supplement a few minutes prior to the start because I like the extra energy and focus that I feel. If I know that a race is going to last more than 30 minutes I will not bother with taking caffeine prior to the race because I believe that its dehydrating properties will take effect during the race. Getting dehydrated during a race is one of the worst things that one can do to his or her performance. It sucks trust me!
To sum it all up, Short Races I choose to take caffeine and long races I stay away from caffeine. Either way, more importantly drink lots of water before, after and some times even during a race.  FYI- In my opinion there are way healthier/better things than caffeine that a person can take prior to a race especially when compared to the main stream energy drinks - but that is a completely different conversation!  From one racer to others that is my opinion take it or leave it.