my track coach is giving us monster energy drinks before track races

there's no race long enough in high school for caffeine to dehydrate you. just be careful and don't go too serious on your warm-up strides with that super caffeine boost, you'll wear yourself out.

i normally never drink coffee, but this past year i reserved coffee for super-difficult workouts and races...maybe 1-2 times per month max. I think caffeine before a race is awesome, but i know it's banned at some doses in NCAA, so beware

when you don't take it regularly, it has an amazing strength - dulls your perception of pain, keeps you focused when you're tired, gets the blood flowing, etc. there's a good documentary on Netflix about a team who trains naturally and uses caffeine pills before the end of the stage to stay focused tactically.. (it's called Clean Spirit i think)

My new routine for half marathons:

1.5 cups coffee 3 hours before race (helps you evacuate and wake you up)

(1) GU w/ 50mg caffeine 10 mins before race start

(1) GU w/ 50mg caffeine at mile 5-6

I took 5 GU's during a recent marathon and 4 of them were the caffeine ones. I alternated electrolyte and water and hit EVERY aid station. 2:33, 3rd marathon

From reading this, he'd be a great coach in any country in the world other than America. Here in Australia no one would care what a coach is giving you as long as it's a legal substance.

A gel is basically the same as what is in red bull, monster, etc. Sugar and caffeine. They are both proven to be beneficial to performance. You are also never going to reach the legal limit from caffeine on energy drinks alone.

D3_Nuts wrote:

kmaclam wrote:

Huh? Have a coffee "at least"??? But Monster is insane??? Like they are at opposite ends of a spectrum? Why "at least" have a coffee? For the caffeine? That's why he's giving them some energy drink! For the caffeine.

Coffee is one thing and hard to even come close to the performance enhancing limits set for caffeine consuming coffee. However, with Monster or any Monster like drink that's questionable. I can deal with an athlete drinking coffee of their own choice or tea or a cola product, but I would highly advise against any of the Monster type drinks. Two problems here for me, forced coercion and drinks that probably take athletes over acceptable limits from a PED standpoint, and a moral and ethical standpoint about athlete health.

Nope, you are mistaken. With coffee at say 100 - 150mg caffeine per serving, you would 'max out' on the caffeine limit way before you would with most any energy drinks. Six 8oz cups of coffee for a total of 48oz. would get you there while 48oz. of Monster would leave you well short.

letsrun dietician wrote:

is he a good coach wrote:

hes been doing this all indoor season, and I don't have a problem with it. but I know it has a lot of caffeine and caffeine could potentially dehydrate some of the distance runners in their longer races, especially when outdoor season comes and it is hot outside (my highschool is in chandler Arizona, a phoenix suberb)

he serves it to us cold, which is good, and he says it will not only give us energy before the race, but also help us focus during the race; which is actually true because caffeine does indeed help your attention span and ability to focus.

No; he's not a good coach. This is stupid. Quit drinking that crap.

What he said

Hey does anybody remember that TAB cola commercial from

the early nineteen seventies? Not the TAB "for beautiful people."

The TAB cola commercial is from approximately from the time

when Nixon was impeached. This commercial mysteriously cannot

be located.

It goes like this, [warming up brain cells]

"One calorie less then TAB is water

[bottled water sound effect, 'kerplunk, kerplunk, kerpunk'].

'Cause one calorie more you can TAB,

one calorie, one calorie, one calorie, one calorie

One calorie less then TAB is water

[bottled water sound effect, 'kerplunk, kerplunk, kerplunk'].

'Cause one calorie more you can TAB,

The caffeine in those drinks really aren't going to make much difference at all.

I'm surprised at all the posters concerned with the health effects and calling the coach to be investigated/fired. It's an off the shelf energy drink.

Aside from your teeth falling out from all the sugar and getting fat, there are no negative effects from consuming one every week or other week.

He probably thinks it will give you some get up and go so you can put your training into the race better and run to your ability.

No doping to see here, if you are reading this WADA, get back to investigating Kenya.

This is basically absolute proof your coach has no idea what he's doing. At the same time it is absolute proof your coach wants you to race better.

Metric Miler wrote:

I'm surprised at all the posters concerned with the health effects and calling the coach to be investigated/fired. It's an off the shelf energy drink.

Aside from your teeth falling out from all the sugar and getting fat, there are no negative effects from consuming one every week or other week.

.

THATS WHY YOU DRINK SUGAR FREE AND NO CAL BRO

Dehydration is the least of your worries with energy drinks. The caffeine itself isn't necessarily the worst part for you. Taurine for example has been banned in several countries.. In some states the use of energy drinks are banned, especially Virginia league, as that's the one I'm most familiar.

Energy drinks have led to several athletes having cardiac arrest so that is most definitely something you'd want to avoid at all costs.. In summary, there's a potential for death, and because of that it has been banned from many state high school competitions. Stick with a coffee if you absolutely need or want some form of an edge. And yes this is a very bad coaching move.

Truck Boi wrote:

That's fvcked up. Monster drinks are awesome though.

LOL. Very true. And anyone who finds their pulse racing after a Monster is simply sensitive to caffeine. Or a girly-man.

I used to drink amp energy drinks before xc races in college. If they don't cause you to shit yourself I think they help alot.

I used to take caffeine pills before racing the 800. Idk about Monster though, especially for longer races, as I agree with the others who say it makes you crap yourself. But hey, whatever works for you.

It would hurt a coach's credibility with me if he used gimmicks like this. Work me hard and train me so that I'm better than the next guy. Don't rely on some sports drink to do the work for us.

Hello friends I'm you Run Gum friend.

Are you tired, run down, listless?

Do you poop out at track meets?

Are you unpopular?

I have all the answers to your problems in this little stick of gum.

All you have to do is chew one piece before your race.

It's so tasty too!

This is where we should be using real world scenarios and understand the real world implications. If someone drinks 6 cups of coffee in 2 hours I am impressed. While I have seen idiots downing 3 monster drinks in 10 minutes. The label says 160mg, but Guarana seed extract depending on the amount used makes Monster Drinks about 250-300mg of caffeine total. When I start seeing people gulping down Coffee like Monster drinks I will see some of your reasoning until then your logic fails what is reasonably possible. Caffeine amounts are only listed when they are an additive. This is why chocolate bars that do not have added caffeine don't list caffeine amounts. Consuming 3 Monster drinks is likely going to put someone over the threshold, roughly the equivalent of drinking 6 cups of coffee in the same window of time and since we don't see people consuming coffee like energy drinks you can't make the assumption of equivalence on equal volumes only on assumption of the ability to consume equal amounts.

My point is that you are saying "have some coffee at least" while you are at the same time railing against the caffeine in energy drinks. Coffee has way more caffeine oz. for oz. than these drinks. And do you really believe an 800 meter guy is gonna down 3 - 16oz. energy drinks before his race?? (" This is where we should be using real world scenarios"). No way! If anything I picture the coach cracking a can & the boys passing it around for a swig. Would you rather they had a Baskin Robbins Cappuccino Blast with 234 mg. of caffeine? And where did you get this???---"but Guarana seed extract depending on the amount used makes Monster Drinks about 250-300mg of caffeine total".

is he a good coach wrote:

hes been doing this all indoor season, and I don't have a problem with it. but I know it has a lot of caffeine and caffeine could potentially dehydrate some of the distance runners in their longer races, especially when outdoor season comes and it is hot outside (my highschool is in chandler Arizona, a phoenix suberb)

he serves it to us cold, which is good, and he says it will not only give us energy before the race, but also help us focus during the race; which is actually true because caffeine does indeed help your attention span and ability to focus.

stop complaining. Our coach used to shove his hands down our pants before a race. Use your imagination. It was awful.

Caffeine Concentration

Nescafe Ice Java contains 117.65 mgs of caffeine per fluid ounce !!! More than 10 times a Monster drink. I'm just saying that if you're advocating having a coffee "at least" (meaning 2 or 3?), that perhaps you're being disingenuous slamming energy drinks. And I am in no way advocating that T & F coaches give their athletes caffeine (though I have not seen one study of the hundreds now completed that disprove the performance enhancement aspect). Rather, a coach should be giving a 'pep' talk not a pep drink.

Nyck Simmonds wrote:

Hello friends I'm you Run Gum friend.

Are you tired, run down, listless?

Do you poop out at track meets?

Are you unpopular?

I have all the answers to your problems in this little stick of gum.

All you have to do is chew one piece before your race.

It's so tasty too!

Nycky, you got a lot of 'splainin' to do