Effects of Caffeinated Gum on a Basketball-specific Tests in Basketball Players

National Taiwan University of Sport

This study investigated the effects of chewing 3 mg/kg of caffeinated gum on basketball free throw accuracy and basketball -specific performance. Fifteen trained basketball players with at least a top 8 national ranking were recruited to be participants in this study. After 2 simulation tests to familiarize the experimental procedure, we employed a double blind, randomized crossover design to divide participants into caffeine trial (CAF) and placebo trial (PL). The CAF trial chewed caffeine gum containing 3 mg/kg for 10 minutes, whereas the PL trial chewed a placebo gum without caffeine. After 15 minutes rest, the stationary free throw shooting test, countermovement jump, t-test, 20-meter segmented dash test, squat in the flywheel device and running based anaerobic sprint test were conducted.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 6 years of professional basketball training and with at least a top 8 national ranking
• 6 months of continuous training,
• 3 months of recovery from sports injuries such as strains and sprains.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-specialized basketball players.
• has not trained regularly for the past 6 months.
• has recovered from from a sports injury for less than 3 months, or had epilepsy, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, brain injury, or a history of caffeine allergy.
• Subjects with previous caffeine allergy response.