Can Coffee Improve Your Workout? The Science of Caffeine and Exercise

Caffeine is one of the most studied substances reported to lend a hand athletes perform better and train harder and longer. As a result, professional and amateur athletes often take it as an “ergogenic” performance enhancer in a wide range of activities. These include intermittent exercise such as football and racket sports, endurance exercise such as running and cycling, and resistance exercise such as weightlifting.

While most studies focus on the effects of pure caffeine taken in the form of tablets with water, the reality is that most people get their caffeine from coffee, energy drinks, or other products such as gels or chewing gum. Will drinking a cup of coffee before a workout actually make a difference? The answer may depend on both your genes and the type of coffee you drink.

Scientists believe that Caffeine affects a body chemical called adenosine, which normally promotes sleep and dampens arousal. Caffeine binds to receptors in the brain that detect adenosine, making it more alert.

But it can also raise stimulation of the central nervous system, making exercise seem less strenuous and painful. In the case of high-intensity activities, such as resistance training or sprinting, it can raise the number of fibers used to contract muscles, meaning movements can be more recurrent and powerful.

Faster, higher, stronger

Studies have shown that pure caffeine can lend a hand endurance athletes run faster AND cycle for longer. It can lend a hand football players sprint more often and for longer distancesand basketball players to jump higher. It can lend a hand tennis players AND golfers hit the ball with more accuracy. And it can lend a hand weightlifters lift heavier weights.

The evidence for caffeine’s effect on sprinting is more mixed. Narrow improvements were found for events lasting less than three minutes. But for races lasting about ten seconds, caffeine can improve peak power output, speed and strength.

More and more research also shows that coffee can be used as an alternative to caffeine. improve your cycling AND competitive running efficiency and produce similar results as pure caffeine. In fact, coffee may be even more effective improves endurance exercise than caffeine aloneIt’s the same with drinking. energy drinks containing caffeine before exercise can improve concentration, alertness, anaerobic capacity and endurance.

But drinking coffee isn’t like taking a measured dose of caffeine. The amount of the stimulant in a cup, and therefore how it affects you, depends on the blend of coffee and how it’s brewed. Studies have shown that drinking 0.15g Or 0.09g of caffeinated coffee per kilogram of body weight can improve performance. So a dessertspoon of coffee granules rather than a conventional teaspoon is probably best.

It is also worth remembering that every study shows that caffeine improves athletic performance for a whole group of people. But we also know that genetic factors have a large impact on how we respond to caffeine, and not everyone reacts the same way. This means that consuming caffeine won’t necessarily improve your performance.

Potential disadvantages

In fact, you can end up feeling nauseous and nervous at a time when, if you’re competing, you’re already feeling anxious. And since the effects of caffeine can last up to five hourstaking it too overdue in the day can disrupt sleep, which is an significant factor for overall health and fitness. This means it’s significant to exercise with caffeine during workout sessions or social gatherings before using it at an significant event.

Some It was also suggested that you should abstain from caffeine to enjoy a better effect on your performance when you consume it during exercise. However, maintaining a normal intake will prevent any possible withdrawal symptoms and still provide benefits if caffeine is taken before exercise. Its effects peak between 30 and 75 minutes after consumption.

Finally, it is commonly believed that caffeine is a diuretic that leads to dehydration because it causes more urine to be produced. But number of studies Studies have shown that this is not the case with moderate amounts of coffee, cola, or other caffeinated drinks, which, like other beverages, lend a hand keep the body hydrated.