Pushing through a three-hour practice and one-hour lift on a Monday after cramming for an exam the night before has proven difficult or even dangerous for some athletes. However, Pepperdine student-athletes have found a way to keep their energy high even when they are not completely rested.
Energy drinks like Celsius, Monster or Reign provide a heavier kick than the average cup of coffee. These beverages contain anywhere between 200 and 300 mg of caffeine per serving, which is about two to three times more than an eight-ounce coffee.
“It’s just when I need that extra kick of energy, that’s when I can see the benefits of it.” sophomore setter Tyler Stewart said.
Caffeine is listed as a stimulant drug under NCAA banned substances, but only in extreme amounts. Athletes are allowed to drink caffeine, but they cannot surpass a urinary caffeine concentration exceeding 15 micrograms per ml, which is about 500 mg of ingested caffeine, according to SportsRd.
“If you’re having two coffees in the morning, plus an energy drink, plus pre-workout, you may pop positive on an NCAA drug test,” Pepperdine Athletic Trainer Courtney Rydholm said.
Although 500 mg seems like an unreachable amount, that is only one Celsius and one Reign combined.
“If I drink more than three or four, it gets excessive,” Stewart said. “It just makes me anxious and my body starts to shake.”
Stewart said he uses energy drinks when he needs to stay up at night to study for exams but tries to avoid them for athletics since they make his body so jittery. In fact, he prefers coffee as it benefits his mind rather than only stressing out his body.
“I was not wanting to be so reliant on energy drinks, but the more I started to drink energy drinks, the more I didn’t see it as an issue,” Stewart said.
In moderation, caffeine can be a boost for athletes in their packed schedules. The sweet and carbonated taste of energy drinks could be more appealing than coffee and they can be brought on the go between class and practice.
“There’s obviously a wide variety of energy drinks, and so some have more caffeine than others, some taste better than others and some have more artificial flavors or other junk than others,” Rydholm said.
The list of chemicals and sweeteners on the back of energy drink cans can be daunting. For example, Monster includes 28 grams of sugar, added colors, citric acid and preservatives, including sorbic and benzoic acid.
“It’s not like a Monster drink or any of that. I feel like that has a lot of other chemicals in it,” sophomore defensive specialist Laine Briggs said.
Briggs occasionally drinks energy drinks when she needs an extra boost for a big game or practice.
Some energy drinks are advertised to be healthier, like Celsius, which includes vitamins and green tea extract, but they have some added color. Despite these differences, caffeine is still an addictive substance that the NCAA can look for in drug testing.
“I just feel like there’s healthier ways to get energy,” Briggs said. “Maybe to get more sleep, first of all, and then like matcha or coffee.”
Drinking caffeine in moderation with supplemental hydration and food is the best way to intake large amounts, Rydholm said.
“There are so many athletes here that use energy drinks excessively in a way that is impacting their performance negatively,” Rydholm said. “I think a lot of athletes struggle in general with hydration and good nutrition, that’s like a baseline.”
The range of drinks to choose from provides athletes with different potions to help keep them up for an all-nighter studying for an exam or energize them for a great match against a rival team, but their caffeine intake is truly up to them and their bodies.
“At the end of the day, it’s an athlete’s decision,” Rydholm said. “I think any time you try to restrict something like that from an athletic population, they’re probably just not going to tell you that they’re consuming it anyways.”
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Email Megan Harkey: megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
