Study note • PMID 37242187
The Effect of Acute Pre-Workout Supplement Ingestion on Basketball-Specific Performance of Well-Trained Athletes.
Worth trying if it fits your goal and context.
ELI5
In plain language
A pre-workout supplement's (PWS; 200 mg caffeine, 3.3 g creatine monohydrate, 3.2 g beta-alanine, 6 g citrulline malate and 5 g branched chained amino acid (BCAA) per dose) acute… (randomized trial; n=15 trained athletes).
Results section: no clear change in Time-trial performance, Time to exhaustion under the tested conditions. Treat this as a signal, not a guarantee; confirm methods and context in the full paper.
Takeaways
What the abstract suggests
- • Study question: A pre-workout supplement's (PWS; 200 mg caffeine, 3.3 g creatine monohydrate, 3.2 g beta-alanine, 6 g citrulline malate and 5 g branched chained amino acid (BCAA) per dose) acute…
- • Results section: no clear change in Time-trial performance, Time to exhaustion under the tested conditions.
- • Population: n=15 trained athletes.
- • Protocol cues (full paper): 200 mg • 0.4 mg/kg • 6 mg/kg • 5 g/day • 6 g/day • 8 g/day.
Protocol
Protocol (as reported)
- • Intervention/exposure: caffeine, beta-alanine (vs placebo).
- • Dose/time/duration cues found in the full paper: 200 mg • 0.4 mg/kg • 6 mg/kg • 5 g/day • 6 g/day • 8 g/day • 2 mg/kg • 3 days.
- • Outcomes: Time-trial performance, Time to exhaustion.
- • Replication note: abstracts often omit adherence and timing; confirm details before changing training or supplementation.
Fit
Who it helps, and who should skip it
Who it helps
- • Athletes similar to the study population (n=15 trained athletes) working on supplements.
- • Athletes who can measure Time-trial performance, Time to exhaustion with a repeatable workout or time-trial effort.
Who should skip
- • If you have symptoms or conditions that make the intervention risky, get professional guidance.
- • If you’re near race day and can’t safely test, defer the experiment.
Methods
What the study actually did
- • Design: randomized trial (double-blind, placebo-controlled).
- • Population: n=15 trained athletes.
- • Comparator: placebo.
- • Outcomes measured: Time-trial performance, Time to exhaustion.
- • Protocol cues mentioned: 200 mg • 30 min.
- • Source: PubMed PMID 37242187 (2023) — Nutrients.
Full paper
What the full paper adds
- • Design features (paper): double-blind, placebo-controlled.
- • Participants (paper): n=15 trained athletes.
- • More protocol detail (paper): 200 mg • 0.4 mg/kg • 6 mg/kg • 5 g/day • 6 g/day • 8 g/day • 2 mg/kg • 3 days.
- • Results section: no clear change in Time-trial performance, Time to exhaustion under the tested conditions.
Results excerpt
What the abstract reports
“Significant improvements in counter-movement jump (CMJ) (PWS: 4.3 +/- 2.1%; PL: 1.2 +/- 1.0%), agility (PWS: -2.9 +/- 1.8%; PL: 1.8 +/- 1.7%), RAST average (PWS: 18.3 +/- 9.1%; PL: -2.2 +/- 2.0%), minimum power (PWS: 13.7 +/- 8.9%; PL: -7.5 +/- 5.9%),…”
Note: excerpts are short; for full context, read the paper.
Limits
Limitations & bias
- • Abstract-only summaries can miss critical details (population, protocol, adherence, and context).
- • Single studies often don’t generalize to your event, history, and training load; treat results as a starting point.
- • If your context differs (elite vs recreational; cycling vs running), adjust expectations and be conservative.
- • This is performance information, not medical advice.
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