Caffeine for faster shooting

[texasdog]

Does caffiene help you shoot better especialy for those morning shoots? I dont drink alot of caffeine but took some NOVapor before a match this last weekend and did very poorly. I am thinking of going caff free for Texas State IDPA this weekend.

[38supPat]

Do not go cold turkey, if you drink a lot of coffee the effects of caffine withdrawl are worse than having it in your system, instead just cut back. Have one cup in the morning at least an hour before shooting. I have some good info on caffine and sports performance. I'll dig it up and post it.

[SLM]

I'm a coffee and Pepsi drinker... Too much caffeine before a match does not work out well for me. Couple the caffeine with match nerves and I get a bit shaky. Before an early morning match I limit myself to one or two cups of coffee. More than that and I can feel it. I'd suggest limiting your intake and see what happens.

[XRe]

If you're a caffeine drinker, drink your normal dose. Don't load up. The jitters can have a very negative effect. !!! Skipping your usual caffeine will also have deleterious effects... sluggishness, potentially severe headache, etc... Best bet is to wean yourself off of it entirely, but...

I drink coffee in the morning. On match days, I stick with the above - I have my usual amount, and avoid for the rest of the day. Occasionally, I will drink more, but only in special cases. I try to avoid those cases by altering my sleep schedule to line up with the match I'm headed to a couple of weeks before the match...

[Pittbug]

I'm with XRe. I drink a mug of coffee on the way to each match, not because it will make me perform better than usual, but because I know I'll perform worse if I don't have it.

[Steve J]

Best bet is to wean yourself off of it entirely, but...

I've tried that twice. Long after all of the withdrawal symptoms were over I remained perpetually lethargic.

If you feel you need more caffeine to be up for the first stage, but that extra amount will make you jittery try running in place instead.

If you're not already hooked on energy drinks, don't start. There are mega doses of other nasties in those that are far worse than caffeine from coffee.

[bbbean]

For me, more caffeine just means I can miss faster. I try to just drink the same amount of caffeine I would on a normal day at the office. I'll throw a coke in the cooler in case I find myself dragging after an hour or two - same as I do at the office.

[Victor_R]

I'm also a coffee and Pepsi drinker. I have moka from Starbucks everyday. It doesn't affect me but I'm sure to much coffee will.

[JeffWard]

Caffeine definitely improves and accelerates mental acuity. It improves reflexes, by shortening the contraction time (twitch rate) in your muscles. It focuses your eyes faster (same twitch rate impact). It increases body temperature, which improves contraction time further, and increases heart rate, supplying more oxygen to working muscle. Yes, I am a fitness and nutrition professional.

If you're shooting bench-rest where precision is king, stay away from the go-juice.

If you're shooting USPSA where the A-Zone is huge, and speed, reaction time, and visual acquisition time is king... load up!

I drink NOS, or Monster, before and WHILE I'm shooting, between stages!

I shoot better scores jacked up than I do mellow!

Then I drink a few beers after the match with the guys to bring me back down... LOL

Disclaimer: I'm a fitness and nutrition professional... I've been getting up to train clients at 5-5:30 am for years. I'm an admitted caffeine addict... I practice on caffeine, so I shoot on caffeine. If you're not a caffeine user... your results may vary!!!!!

JeffWard

[texasdog]

Caffeine definitely improves and accelerates mental acuity. It improves reflexes, by shortening the contraction time (twitch rate) in your muscles. It focuses your eyes faster (same twitch rate impact). It increases body temperature, which improves contraction time further, and increases heart rate, supplying more oxygen to working muscle. Yes, I am a fitness and nutrition professional.

If you're shooting bench-rest where precision is king, stay away from the go-juice.

If you're shooting USPSA where the A-Zone is huge, and speed, reaction time, and visual acquisition time is king... load up!

I drink NOS, or Monster, before and WHILE I'm shooting, between stages!

I shoot better scores jacked up than I do mellow!

Then I drink a few beers after the match with the guys to bring me back down... LOL

Disclaimer: I'm a fitness and nutrition professional... I've been getting up to train clients at 5-5:30 am for years. I'm an admitted caffeine addict... I practice on caffeine, so I shoot on caffeine. If you're not a caffeine user... your results may vary!!!!!

JeffWard

Great info, I dont drink alot of caffeine. But will more regurally. Have you tried NOexplode or NOVapor before a match?

[Shawn Knight]

If you're a caffeine drinker, drink your normal dose. Don't load up. The jitters can have a very negative effect. !!! Skipping your usual caffeine will also have deleterious effects... sluggishness, potentially severe headache, etc... Best bet is to wean yourself off of it entirely, but...

I drink coffee in the morning. On match days, I stick with the above - I have my usual amount, and avoid for the rest of the day. Occasionally, I will drink more, but only in special cases. I try to avoid those cases by altering my sleep schedule to line up with the match I'm headed to a couple of weeks before the match...

I agree.

I also have to say that you need to eat breakfast! Shooting on an empty stomach is a bad idea!!

[LPatterson]

If I didn't have my normal pot of coffee before a match I probably wouldn't make it past the 2nd stage. I also have G2 or Gatorade(Tiger) to suck on during the wait on stages as well as water and food bars, Roasted Nut Crunch or Planters. I also start match days with breakfast, OJ and chocolate milk and if the blood sugar was low I carry malted milk tablets to chew during the day.

[XRe]

Caffeine definitely improves and accelerates mental acuity. It improves reflexes, by shortening the contraction time (twitch rate) in your muscles. It focuses your eyes faster (same twitch rate impact). It increases body temperature, which improves contraction time further, and increases heart rate, supplying more oxygen to working muscle. Yes, I am a fitness and nutrition professional.

Define "improves", and explain to us why an increased heart rate and "accelerated mental acuity" translates into better match scores... and then explain why it is that the top shooters in the game are not running around drinking loads of caffeinated drinks before they shoot?

The reason is pretty simple. All of those things also increase tendency to make mental errors, and decreases fine motor control (which is required for things that are unimportant to the game... you know, like trigger control... ).

If you're shooting bench-rest where precision is king, stay away from the go-juice.

If you're shooting USPSA where the A-Zone is huge, and speed, reaction time, and visual acquisition time is king... load up!

Jeff, you may understand the physical effects of caffeine on the body, but you definitely do not understand their effects on the full system as it pertains to performance in the practical shooting environment. For gross motor skills, and performance in sports that do not require fine motor control, those traits are useful. Where fine motor control matters, their effects become deleterious in short order.

Don't get me wrong - there are a number of benefits to caffeine, and coffee specifically. Its like any other drug, though - over used, its too much of a good thing, and it loses its positive effects if used to excess (especially when you really need those positive effects at some point).

I drink NOS, or Monster, before and WHILE I'm shooting, between stages!

I shoot better scores jacked up than I do mellow!

First... I hope that's the sugar free stuff, cause the blood sugar roller coaster you'd be on otherwise is doing nothing for your shooting, either. If not that... I hope you're joking

If your scores are better when you feel "jacked up", you've got a hole in your mental game... lack of control and understanding over "level of arousal".

Then I drink a few beers after the match with the guys to bring me back down... LOL

Do you think the fact that you need to counteract the stimulant with a depressant should be a clue about anything???

[XRe]

I also have to say that you need to eat breakfast! Shooting on an empty stomach is a bad idea!!

I cannot agree enough with you, here! Fuel up well before, and stay fueled up during. Fuel well the night before, too. If your energy lags during the day, you're not keeping up with hydration and/or fuel - and lack of those things effects your performance in ways that stimulants cannot make up for.... If you're not overdoing it on the stimulants, they can help to some extent, but nothing makes up for lack of the necessary fuel in the system...

[zero_down]

I have found that taking something (too much coffee/soda) to make me faster or increase speed, usually backfires. You get too jittery when you get to the line and you start missing targets cuz your going too fast or even worse you start forgeting to shoot that target to the far right/left cuz you just didn't lean out far enough. Mag changes start messing up and it just goes bad. Drink your usual amount to wake up but no more. If anything, you want something to relax you at the match instead of making you speedier. One of my best matches was a match that I shot just for fun. I told myself to relax since it was just a fun match and I felt that I ran those stages smoother and cleaner then I've ever done. All because I took a step back and relaxed instead of trying to push myself. Push yourself in practice, not at the match.

[Alan550]

I'll tell you the same thing a college buddy told me back in the '60s. "Take the exam on the same dope you studied on!"

Alan~^~

[s_gorilla45]

I'll add that if you are using caffene on a regular basis, make sure you are drinking extra water. The effects of dehydration are first noticed in the eyes. You will have a decrease in your visual acuity with a very slight level of dehydration. I see many shooters here in the Phoenix area shoot without water handy. I bring at the least 2 gallons for a full day match in the winter here and add 2 or 3 gatoraides in the summer.

[dfwmiket]

Can't add much to what's already been said, but don't do any more or any less than you would any other day---- I've tried shooting all jacked on Monster and/or coffee, and it was detrimental to my overall match performance. I felt the urge to "go fast" regardless, which isn't conducive to good hits. (At least not for me!) Experiment with what's best for you, but don't over do it.

That's my .02.........take it for what it's worth.

-Mike

[texasdog]

Can't add much to what's already been said, but don't do any more or any less than you would any other day---- I've tried shooting all jacked on Monster and/or coffee, and it was detrimental to my overall match performance. I felt the urge to "go fast" regardless, which isn't conducive to good hits. (At least not for me!) Experiment with what's best for you, but don't over do it.

That's my .02.........take it for what it's worth.

-Mike

all good info!

[G-ManBart]

Does caffiene help you shoot better especialy for those morning shoots?

No, but it does make the world a much safer place for everyone in my general vicinity

I like to say that in the morning I'm a danger to all that's good and wholesome in a pre-caffeinated state. R,

[Flexmoney]

I'll tell you the same thing a college buddy told me back in the '60s. "Take the exam on the same dope you studied on!"

Alan~^~

LOL... I think there is actually a psychological term for that (state dependency?).

[BSeevers]

I like to wash my coffee down with a red bull. I don't get the jitters though and if you do this process give you THE JITTERS X 10

[outerlimits]

every time i see daniel horner shoot a shotgun, i'm thinking it must be...

[Holshot]

Something to consider is alertness. If your mental sharpness lets you down for a couple tenths then that can be a miss. Proper nutrition is key for me to keep the sustrate up and I add a supplement that pumps up the energy and alertness so that my mind dosesn't let me down. Caffeine can help. None of it works if you're dehydrated.

My rules: No alcohol the night before if I care about the match the next day. NO fast food the morning of. NO food the night before that may get my guts all messed up. I try to drink enough water to make me pee a couple times per match.

I'm a physician and athlete and the above came from a year or so of trying different products, routines, and constant consultation with my partner who is also a physician and a power lifter. We also enlisted a buddy of ours who is an athlete and owner of a nutrition store.

There is more of a difference I've found the older I get.

Still learning so if you have some advise I'm all ears.

Good Luck

[mlmiller1]

Funny story: My first big match was the American Handgunner championship man on man steel match in Montrose Co. Range Elevation is like 7200 above sea level. I live at 3300' so that is a big difference. First morning I get up early & think, HMM, what should I do to get ready to shoot? My adrenalin was wayyyy high already with some very edgy nerves. I figure I'll just do what I do at home. So, I go to the nearest convenience store & buy a big mountain dew & a 6 pack of chocolate donuts. I eat & drink this on the way to the range. That is NOT a good idea. Between the excitement, the elevation, & the caffeine in the donuts & Dew, I was a mess!!!! My hands were shaking so hard I could hardly see the sights, much less use them & it lasted half the morning. Felt like I was having heart failure. Then crash, it was gone & now I was exhausted. hahahaha. CRAZY! That evening I asked my wife "what should I do?" as she studies healthy foods & all that. She suggested NO Mt. Dew or Chocolate but instead some protein & juice. That works lots better. I normally make a McDonald's or a burrito place & drink lots of good fluids but no sodas or coffee in the morning. Lesson learned!

MLM