Energy Boost before CFA?

There's nothing in the rules against it. As others have said, don't if you are not sure how your body will react. I usually have a coffee before doing crossfit workouts and can feel a positive result in output vs. no caffeine. That said, I didn't have coffee before my cfa. Different mindset knowing what was riding on the result which gave me enough of a boost.
 
(Anyone else picturing the running Forest Gump meme??)
 
A traditional and safe energy booster is to carbo-load 24 to 36 hours out from the significant event. That means eating some pasta. Do not carbo-load often as it will a). diminish the effects of the boost, and b). make you fat.
 
Uh, that doesn't actually work ..... you can only store so much glycogen, and your body fills it up naturally.

There are ways to spike your stores, but they are specific involved workouts that are timed with eating very quickly.

Bottom line is, you will barely eat into your glycogen stores with the CFA. It is not a half marathon or longer. Just eat normal, stay hydrated. This event isn't rocket science.
 
A bit of overanalysis paralysis in this thread IMO. Yeah caffeine has been shown to provide slight boosts in athletic performance but it’s not going to make the difference between passing and failing. Maybe it helps you crank out 5 extra pushups and shave 10 seconds off your mile. To me this implies two things:

(1) It’s neither “unfair” nor does it defeat the purpose of the fitness test. If you’re out of shape, you won’t pass just because you chugged some caffeine beforehand. And it’s not giving you any unfair advantage because it’s not prohibited and caffeine is available for any other candidates too (It’s not like this is some secret super-soldier serum from Captain America).

(2) If it makes any difference it’s gonna be minor. Like 10 points on the SAT, if that. In other words it probably doesn’t matter much either way, but if you want to leave no stone unturned and feel like it will help, go for it.

By the way, please check with your doctor before taking energy drinks. And read the back of the label of anything you consume. Plenty of energy drinks are fine but some of those brands pack some nasty stuff. Good luck with your CFA!
 
Kierkegaard said:
A bit of overanalysis paralysis in this thread IMO. Yeah caffeine has been shown to provide slight boosts in athletic performance but it’s not going to make the difference between passing and failing. Maybe it helps you crank out 5 extra pushups and shave 10 seconds off your mile. To me this implies two things:

(1) It’s neither “unfair” nor does it defeat the purpose of the fitness test. If you’re out of shape, you won’t pass just because you chugged some caffeine beforehand. And it’s not giving you any unfair advantage because it’s not prohibited and caffeine is available for any other candidates too (It’s not like this is some secret super-soldier serum from Captain America).

(2) If it makes any difference it’s gonna be minor. Like 10 points on the SAT, if that. In other words it probably doesn’t matter much either way, but if you want to leave no stone unturned and feel like it will help, go for it.

By the way, please check with your doctor before taking energy drinks. And read the back of the label of anything you consume. Plenty of energy drinks are fine but some of those brands pack some nasty stuff. Good luck with your CFA!
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Also, checking the label won’t always provide accurate metrics. Energy drinks aren’t monitored by the FDA as they are nutritional “supplements”.

Plenty of independent testing has shown that the amount of caffeine and other ingredients they indicate they have per serving is way off. This is also true of other minerals, vitamins, folic acids, etc.

Fruity Pebbles has more monitoring than these drinks do. That should scare the crap out of you. Especially since the latest FDA recommendations say sugar cereals are good for you. Lobbyists much?
 
Heatherg21 said:
All academy athletes in D1 sports are considered NCAA athletes correct?

And in a combat or deployed scenario may not have consistent access to these supplements/boosters?

My thought is that either you are physically capable of passing the CFA and PRT without anything other than smart nutrition and hydration. Or you aren’t.

No military member when deployed down range is going to be able to have the types of researched or studied enhancing products available.

You have to be fit on your own merits. IMHO.

And caffeine has too often played a role in young, healthy, cardiac deaths.
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Yep definitely agree with this.

This is why moderation is essential. Many Special Forces Prep training programs recommend using supplements like pre-workout, protein powder, BCAA's, etc. But, they all point out that you should stop all supplements at least a month before you begin your training to avoid any adverse withdrawal effects.

Supplements are beneficial to increase the rate of your development, especially when trying to maximize your performance in a constrained time window. But, they should not be relied upon as your sole reason for performance.

And again, these are supplements. As many others have already stated, supplements will not fix poor sleep, nutrition, hydration, etc.
 
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