Acute Supplementation with Capsaicin Enhances Upper-Limb Performance in Male Jiu-Jitsu Athletes

Abstract

The present study investigated whether acute capsaicin (CAP) supplementation improves mean power output (MPO) and peak velocity (PV) during the performance of the free bench press exercise (FBP). Twelve (n = 12) male Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) athletes (age: 24.3 ± 1.5 years, height: 1.74 ± 0.1 m, body mass: 75.7 ± 10.1 kg) participated in this randomized, placebo (PLA)-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial. For each condition, 45 min after CAP (12 mg purified) or PLA (12 mg of Celulomax E) consumption, the participants performed four sets of five repetitions of FBP at a load of 60% of body mass with five-min rest intervals. The MPO (t = 5.6, df = 11, p = 0.001, EF = 0.3, IC 95% = −0.55 to 1.05) and PV (t = 5.4, df = 11, p = 0.001, EF = 0.5, IC 95% = −0.32 to 1.30) were significantly higher with CAP supplementation versus PLA. Acute CAP supplementation appears to improve MPO and PV during FBP in male BJJ athletes.