Would You Like A Little Caffeine With Your Workout?
Posted on 27 July 2009 by admin
Ok, I’ll bet you think that was a joke, don’t you? Everyone knows caffeine is supposed to be bad for you. You hear it all the time, and from a lot of different people, including doctors, so why would you want to use caffeine in conjunction with your exercise program? Before we completely dismiss the notion of caffeine as an exercise aid, consider the following.
Caffeine is one of the methyl derivatives of xanthine. Xanthines occure naturally in more than 60 plants and caffeine is the most potent of these and is found in coffee, tea, chocolate, many soft drinks and diet aids.
There is no doubt that caffeine works to help exercise performance. It is known to stimulate the central nervous system, mobilize various hormones that are involved in metabolic processes, improve muscle contraction, and improve the use of fats and carbohydrates for energy. But, and this is a big but, how you use it is very important in whether you’ll get maximum performance benefits from it so take note of the results of numerous studies on the subject of caffeine use to inhance performance in order to fully understand how caffeine use can benefit your exercise program.
Here are the findings of those studies:
- explosive athletes who do short duration sports such as power-lifting, sprints, ect. Do not appear to benefit from caffeine use
- endurance athletes such as long distance cyclists, runners, swimmers, ect. Can improve their performance with caffeine use.
- reaction time can be improved with caffeine use.
- the best dose of caffeine is around 3.0 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. Below that, little performance improvement is noted and above that, there will be a performance decrement.
- an athlete who uses caffeine after abstaining from it for several days sees improved performance.
- fat loss with exercise is increased when caffeine is taken prior to exercise.
- the half life of caffeine in your system is 2 to 2 ½ hours and it’s effects are of similar duration.
- caffeine intake results in increased alertness, reduced drowsiness and a reduced perception of fatigue.
With the above in mind, it would seem beneficial to use caffeine before exercise. Even those involved in powerlifting and sprinting can still benefit from the improved alertness and reaction time.
Now, something to point out here is that there are those who do not respond well to caffeine. About 20% of the population will exhibit adverse effects to caffeine such as cardiac arrhythmias, excessive urination, insomnia, withdrawal headaches and a type of anxiety called “caffeineism”. If your in the 20% who experience any of these effects from caffeine use, don’t use it! The benefits you get from it are not worth those side effects.
If you have ulcers you are cautioned against using caffeine because it causes a 400% increase in acid levels in the stomach.
The recommended dose of caffeine in coffee form is around two cups one hour before exercise.
The bottom line on using caffeine to help you perform better during exercise is, yes, it does have it’s benefits, but, it should be used wisely and only you can determine whether or not it’s helping your exercise performance and if it’s right for you.
December 1st, 2009 at 1:32 pm
ooh i cant drink 2 cups of coffee… maybe once iced coffee…but more than that makes my vision blur!
December 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
I agree that caffeine helps prior to workouts. For years, I’ve started each morning with a cup of coffee on the way to the gym. Don’t overdo it though. One cup is plenty. I’ve noticed extra strength in weight training and the ability to have an extra step in running/sprint workouts. Like most things, caffeine is good in modertation. However, I’ve noticed a difference between coffee and tea. If I drink too late in the day, I am wired for the rest of the evening and have trouble sleeping. With coffee, I don’t have that same “wired” effect.
January 1st, 2010 at 1:22 pm
There is a drink that was developed for the athletes who flew the Daedalus Flight and is used by 54 Gold medalists in all sports that has all of the benefits of caffeine and non of the drawbacks. It enhances performance whether being able to do more reps, or have more endurance for running, cycling etc. I can send a paper on it if you wish. sabrams@earnlink.net
Love your articles.
January 8th, 2010 at 3:29 am
I will try to have a cup of coffee before the exercise next week. I’d to see what effects it has on me; if none, or if I will have a little bit of extra strength.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:50 pm
I’m a big fan of caffeine (in coffee form). It’s gotten me up many mountains (Cayambe, Rainier, Aconcagua….). A shot of coffee Goo high on the mountain & I’m good.
April 25th, 2010 at 4:27 am
A strong coffee before a workout really does give a good boost. Many energy drinks contain caffeine for this very reason. Athletes often have an espresso first thing in the morning before their first workout. Drink about 30 minutes before your workout for maximum gains.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I am having problems trying to undertake the Squat training. It leads to issues with my muscles the following morning. Any tips? Thank you beforehand and good site.
September 10th, 2010 at 8:47 am
I have a couple cups of coffee on a daily basis prior to going to the gym. I use to go to the gym on basically an empty stomach and I found I had difficulty getting through my workouts. After I started to take the time to have a small bowl of a whole grain cereal with a couple cups of coffee I have far more energy to get through my workouts. If you lack energy prior to getting to the gym, running or bicycling you will not be able to achieve your workout goals.
October 4th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
pretty informative. I love coffee but I didn’t know that it has such impact on my body. All this while i thought it brings more harm that good. But now that Ive discover the truth, I’ll stick to my coffee
October 9th, 2010 at 3:11 am
Lots of fantastic reading here, many thanks! I had been researching on yahoo when I found your publish, I’m going to add your feed to Google Reader, I look forward to more from you.
October 27th, 2010 at 5:46 am
it gave me the boost if only i had food. Coffee taken alone doesn’t have any effect on me though.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
I like #6 “fat loss with exercise is increased when caffeine is taken prior to exercise.” These days I only drink decaf though. I guess there is still some caffeine in decaf.