Dosage Caffeine
Yeah, Dosage Caffeine….the stuff that you get at Starbucks. Dosage Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is yet another sympathomimetic, and a member of the xanthine family. Luckily for us, most of the United States (and the world) is addicted to the stuff, so the FDA will probably leave us alone on this issue. Also, it's over 99% orally bioavailable, so a cup of black coffee is still socially acceptable, and basically is as good of a delivery method as a pill is.
Caffeine will raise your body temperature a bit, and also increase your ability to focus and concentrate on simple tasks. It's got both (slight) strength (neuromuscular) enhancing effects as well as endurance enhancing abilities. Those effects are noticeable enough that Dosage Caffeine, in large doses, has been banned by both the IOC and NCAA. Of course, take too much, and you'll just be jittery and anxious. Tolerance, therefore, needs to be assessed by the individual (you) ingesting it. Performance decreases seem to occur past 500mgs in a serving, though they following a bell curve. Let’s go over that a bit more.
There is an inverted-U shaped curve (like a glass with the open side on the table, instead of sitting properly). Ergo, more isn't always better. Anxiety seems to set in at doses of 1,000mgs/day, and performance can suffer after 500mgs/day. 1-2mgs/kg of bodyweight seems to be optimal for strength, endurance, and cognitive ability enhancement, not to mention being within the acceptable range for stacking with Ephedrine in a 1:10 (E:C) ratio.
Still, Dosage Caffeine is a cheap and legal stimulant that will enhance performance…unless, like me, you ingest it via the Energy-Drink you mix with your Vodka.