Does Red Bull make you swim faster?

At Dobkanize, we have always been intrigued by the possibility of a magical-yet-legal potion that can make us superhuman. And if there is such a drug, could it be caffeine? Does it really make you faster, or is it all in your head? We decided to test it out to see what really happens. The drink of choice in this article is Red Bull. I’m sure there are a lot of sports drinks out there, but Red Bull is common enough to be applicable to a wide audience. It contains all of the stuff you would expect to give you an extra boost: lots of sugar, and lots of caffeine.

The experiment was simple. Coach Dobko swam a series of 25yard sprints, as fast as possible, taking as much rest as needed between repeats to ensure full recovery (usually about 8-10 minutes). Then Dobko downed a total of 3 cans of Red Bull (8.3 fluid ounces each), two of them 45minutes before exercise and the third 15 minutes before exercise. Each can of Red Bull contains 78mg of caffeine and 27grams of sugar, which equates to a total of 234mg of caffeine and 81grams of sugar. Then Dobko swam the same series of 25yard sprints, as fast as possible (quantity 4 sprints before, 4 sprints after). If Red Bull truly makes you stronger, then the times in the second set should be faster than from the first set.

The results are summarized in the chart below. The bottom line is that Red Bull didn’t make any difference in sprinting times. Coach Dobko didn’t go any faster, and thankfully not any slower, to an accuracy of plus/minus 0.15seconds (or plus/minus 1.5% of total time). The average time was almost identical, with a 0.01 second difference between caffeine vs. no caffeine (well within the confidence interval of the experiment).

The interesting thing about this experiment was that the times were the same, but the repeats themselves felt very different. In simple terms, the sprints without Red Bull hurt a lot more, and my recovery felt a lot slower. Conversely, the sprints after taking Red Bull felt a lot stronger, with the recovery much more immediate. What felt similar was that with or without Red Bull, I felt that I was pressing on the water with arms and legs at same power and intensity. I just felt like that same power was easier to come by with the Red Bull. That could be important in swimming, especially when you get tired and it gets hard to concentrate.

The act of sprint swimming is dependent on applying maximum power at the maximum leverage on the water. This is challenging thing to do when your arm is revolving 360 degrees every 0.8 seconds, and the legs are churning up and down somewhere north of 140 revolutions per minute. You don’t really have time to think about what your arms and legs are doing. You get maybe one piece of technique that you can apply, and that’s it, even for the best swimmers out there. The rest of it is focusing on a mental picture of grabbing water as if it’s a solid object. Sprint swimming feels like an uncontrollable yet organized seizure. If you think too much, then you go too slow.

Obviously, triathletes don’t have to worry about the speeds in this experiment (over 2yards per second). But are different distractions in a triathlon swim that can affect concentration. Most people find it hard to hold perfect technique in waves. Wind, current, fog, silt, sun, aggressive competitors and everything else can be distracting. Anything that makes it easier to get in the zone on technique would be a big help. I’m not sure if Red Bull or any other energy drink would do this for you. All I’ve got from this article is subjective thoughts. But I am anxious to find out!

My recommendation regarding Red Bull (or any other energy drink) is to try it out during a workout or early season race and see what happens to your performance. And always experiment in moderation, with the endorsement of your physician. It may make you feel more alert and may make recovery and focus easier for you. Or it may make you feel sick, which should make you stop exercising immediately. Or it may do nothing. Physical processes going on caused by the sugar and/or the caffeine might influence your race result. Or it may all be in your head. Whatever you decide, it is reasonable to assume that caffeine / sugar won’t make your top speed any faster.