FIVE ONE SIX

i've noticed that i've been riding noticeable better since i've started using Perpetuem with caffeine over Heed, but my heart rate is also noticeable higher, which i'm guessing is due to the caffeine and the fact that i'm riding harder. basically, if i take a Bayer aspirin before the ride, will it help lower my heart rate during the ride at all, and if so will that negate the benefit that the caffeine is doing?

i had to take 9 months off last year because of a calf injury, and it's been much harder getting back up to my old pace than i thought it would be. i'm definitely making improvements, and i'm starting to feel like the old me, but right now i'll take any advantage i can get to help keep up with the friends that i used to ride with 2 years ago...

Tom Stormcrowe

Short answer....
No, Aspirin is buffered with caffeine. It will thin your blood though.

DrPete 

Aspirin does nothing to your heart rate.

Far more likely than the 25mg of caffeine in Perpetuem (which is less than a can of coke) is the fact that you're training and your LT HR is rising--I'd dare say it has absolutely nothing to do with the whiff of caffeine that's in Perpetuem.

clausen

At what level would caffeine be noticeable? The Cliff shots I use have 50mg per serving and I always wondered if had any beneficial affect.

DrPete 

I suppose if you don't drink any caffeine ever then 50mg might be noticeable. For me, whose morning routine includes 16oz of strongly-brewed imported coffee, 50mg is maybe enough to keep me from feeling like total crap and having a headache if I skip my morning cup. It totally depends on your tolerance (and degree of dependence).

eb314

I took part in a lab study when I was in college that tested the effects of caffiene.

Basically we were given a water bottle and a bag of powder, and told to mix and drink it 45 minutes before we came in. We brought our bikes in which they hooked up to a cyclocomputer and had us warm up then ride an all-out 10 mile TT. The next week we did the same thing. One of the times the mix was lemonade powder, the other it had caffiene mixed in. With the caffiene, everyone put out more watts in their TT. Personally, I averaged about 15 watts higher.

It wasn't the most scientific experiment possible, but I'm a believer.

Oh, and as payment we were given free vo2 max tests. Rewarded with more torture.

FIVE ONE SIX

Ok, thanks for the help. I was just really wondering because while my max HR is only a beat or two higher, my average HR is honestly around 10 beats or so higher. My average 2 years ago was around the low to mid 150's on moderate rides, but yesterday afternoon my average was 163 and it was a rather flat ride. I know that's pretty high for an average, but even when I rode a few years ago it was always in the 150's, and I'll be the first person to admit that I'm far from being an athlete and I've never been in great shape...

ridethecliche

The 15 watt difference is meaningless if you were training during that time.

Hard effort previous day= lower effort.

Did they tell everyone what to do leading up to that test?

If the study was large enough, then I guess it makes it better.

Still a cool study though

DaveSSS 

I've always found that a good shot of caffiene raised my heart rate by about 10 BPM at the same preceived level of exertion. Unfortuantely, your max heart rate does not go up, so all it does is prime the pump, so to speak.

Although it's considered a no-no, products with ephedrine will boost performance and so will a shot of Primatine mist before a ride.

When you get older, your max heart rate drops. I used to be able to do 200 bpm, at least until my late thirties or early forties. At 56, I've seen at least 185, but that only happens if I do a ridiculous effort that may make my right arm start to go numb before I shut it down. I consider 168 a high endurance rate. If I'm running 172-175, my time is limited.

Buddhalite

You're likely to find that you can lose weight this way. The classic ECA(Ephedra, Caffeine, Aspirin) stack is technically not legal in the US but you can just get Ephedrine in OTC asthma medication.

DrPete 

Your max HR can't be higher. If it is, it just means that where you were before wasn't your real max HR.

DannoXYZ 

I've seen plenty of studies like this. Just search on Journal of Applied Physiology or any other scientific publication and you'll find that caffeine has been documented numerous times with the effects you've noticed. However, it actually doesn't raise FTP, but lets you push harder into the grey-fuzzy border. The caffeine works on your brain and tricks it into not feeling as much pain and allowing you to push harder.

Bah Humbug

Truth. I loved that stuff when it was legal. I stopped using it before it was banned, though, because I felt my heart flutter when I was just sitting at my computer.

I've also seen ephedrine pills for sale at the counter at rest areas on the Masspike. It's not terribly unavailable.

DrPete 

This is a DUMB idea.

Val23708

+1 Heard the same while I was in school.

socalrider

Caffeine and Aspirin Stack have been used for many years by workout buffs.. They do not negate each other at all..

I found that products like BSN's No-Xplode give you a similar pre workout pump.. When I take this I seem to go a little faster, it definitely revs you up..

Buddhalite

I wasn't trying to imply that it was a good idea especially in a cardio intensive biking. Having lost a lot of weight the last 2 years with weight lifting this is just something that you find people doing a lot of.

FIVE ONE SIX

i meant my max HR for that particular ride, as per my HR monitor...

cyccommute 

The caffeine isn't a buffering agent. It's an analgesic adjuvant which means that it enhances the effects the analgesic such as aspirin or acetaminophen. Buffering agents are substances added to adjust the pH or reduce the acidity of acids like aspirin (salicylic acid).

DrPete 

OK, just checking...

If you want more info on stimulants in cycling, pay a visit to Tom Simpson...

2manybikes

Good point !

DannoXYZ 

What was actually the cause of Tom's death? Numerous sources I've found said he "rode himself to death" or "died of exhaustion", which isn't really descriptive of the pathological cause of death.

DrPete 

He was doped to the gills with amphetamines and alcohol. I recall one story that said his corpse took a while to let go of the bars because he was so wired.

bob the nailer

Forget the caffeine, just go with viagra, proven to increase performance at altitude, and after the race with the podium girl as well.

DannoXYZ 

So it was some kind of heart failure?