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Placebo And Red Bull Experiment

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The purpose of this study is comparing the effects of Red Bull and a non-caffeinated drink with endurance cycling TT performance. The hypothesis of this experiment is that the Red Bull and the non-caffeinated drink will improve the performance between each trial compared to the placebo. There were 12 subjects, but one withdrew from the experiment due to stomach problems. The 11 participants are male, age between 25-37 years old, no height represented, weighing between 76-88 kg and the participant was a cyclist or athlete. Each participant went to the laboratory 6 different times. The first visit of the experiment was to let the participant do a cycle ergometer test for exhaustion. After the first visit, the participant had to do 2 more visits …show more content…

Also, the participants didn’t drink any alcohol or do strenuous exercise before each trial. The TT (time-trial) improved for both caffeine and Red Bull compared to the placebo. The caffeine was .043 and Red Bull was .039. The average of TT times also improved for caffeine, Red Bull and placebo. The caffeine improved by 3.1% between 120 to 292 seconds. The Red Bull improved by 2.8% between 109 to 262 seconds. The trend of HR, RPE, and quadriceps muscle pain increased rapidly. The average HR for caffeine vs. placebo was .068. The average HR for Red Bull vs. placebo was .086. The amount of leg pain with caffeine vs. placebo was .085. The amount of leg pain with Red Bull vs. placebo was .052. The HR value and amount of leg pain values failed to reach the amount of statistical significance. The gastric discomfort had a rating greater than 5 on a scale of 10 from 2 participants from ingesting Red Bull. The participants said the pain was very sharp feeling nauseated. The rest of the participants has a minor discomfort from the experiment less than 3 on a scale of 10. The plasma caffeine and glucose wasn’t different between all 3 different conditions with caffeine, Red Bull and placebo. The participants were blinded and couldn’t guess the order of which each variable was given to the participant during the experiment. Only 1 participant guessed the right order of how each variable was given through the trial. The results of the experiment was to compare the effects of Red Bull with an equal amount of caffeine with TT endurance cycling performance. The hypothesis was proven right that the Red Bull and the non-caffeinated drink did improve the participant’s performance compared to the placebo containing Gatorade and carbonated water. The results also vary that the ingredients doesn’t alter the plasma caffeine, glucose, quadriceps muscle pain, HR, or

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