Work Out Wired by Jean Jitomir

Do you use drugs?  Probably…
drug (drg)
1.         n nonfood physical material that alters an organism's normal functioning by affecting physiologic processes; a chemical substance that affects the processes of the mind or body
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Drugs change how your body and mind would otherwise function and respond to the physical environment—e.g. the world around you.  Drugs will change how you process food (send it to the fat cells for storage and extra padding or to the muscle?), how hard you push yourself during a workout, and how a person responds emotionally to stressful situations.
By all definitions, caffeine is a drug, though it is culturally acceptable to use due to its long history of use, general safety, and natural occurrence in common foods.  On the other hand, removing caffeine from the diet of a user causes withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue, headaches, and anxiety or irritability.
Caffeine is the world’s most widely used drug, and most athletes consume caffeine through energy drinks, sport gels, food and diet aids. In fact, a caffeine intake much lower than the amount condoned by the International Olympic Committee is shown in research to enhance sports performance in running events ranging from 60 seconds to 2 hours in length.  Caffeine does not allow an athlete to use ore oxygen but sends signals to muscle cells that allow athletes to produce more power and train longer. Though caffeine is not shown to help in one rep max scenarios, it may help strength and power athletes to resist fatigue and lift a little longer. 
Furthermore, the scientific evidence does NOT show that taking caffeine before exercise leads to dehydration or other negative side effects. Despite this, some coaches prohibit their athletes from consuming caffeine-containing drinks, for fear of dehydration.  The only time this ban can be effectively enforced is on the road at away games.  I believe that poor sports performance on the road is, in part and in some cases, related to athlete caffeine withdrawal.  The smartest coaches carefully instruct athletes to consume an amount that will help sports performance, but will not cause them to test positive for a dose that is too high.  The appropriate dose will vary based on the athletes and must be carefully planned and individualized.
Furthermore, there are many individual differences in the way different people’s bodies handle the drug.  For some people, half the caffeine taken is gone after 2 ½ hours, for other people the time is as long as 10 hours.  As a result, some people will still have a lot of caffeine in their system even 20 hours after having an energy drink, if the dose is high enough.  So for some people, one high dose (maybe 400mg) of caffeine in the morning can still make it hard to fall asleep at night.
In terms of dosing caffeine for sports performance, different amounts have been tested.  Between 3 and 9 mg/kg (1.4-4.1 mg/lb;  170mg for a 122lb woman on the low end; about 1 Tall order of Starbucks coffee) are often used, with varying effects.  Some studies show better athletic performance with less caffeine used in an intelligent manner.  For instance, instead of being constantly wired on caffeine all day long, dosing and timing caffeine about two hours before workouts to maximize the advantage, while avoiding caffeine for the rest of the day.  Furthermore, it is best to taper off caffeine and allow the body rest from it every so often.  If you are new to caffeine or want to use it for sports performance, start on the low end of 1.4mg/lb (the low end), so you can determine your individual tolerance.  Below is a condensed list of caffeine content of various drinks (4).

1.         Sports Medicine. 31(11):785-807, 2001.
2.         Can J Appl Physiol. 1994 Jun;19(2):111-38.
3.         Journal of Analytical Toxicology, Volume 27, Number 7, October 2003 , pp. 520-522(3).
4.         http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

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