Is coffee a good pre-workout?
In today's post, I will discuss if truly coffee is good as a pre-work for you.
Whether you're a morning person or not, you will most likely agree that there's something special about coffee.
A lot of people consume popular pre-workout drinks like Gorilla mode.
But many people also believe that coffee can give them an edge in their exercise routines.
For instance, there are people who believe that coffee will help them power through the day.
But does science back up this claim? Read on to find out more about the potential benefits—and drawbacks—of using coffee as a pre-workout supplement.
What’s Inside Your Coffee?
Before we get to the pros and cons of having that espresso before working out, let’s first discuss what coffee is made from and why it gives us that undeniable burst of energy.
For starters, coffee is made by roasting the beans of the Coffea plant before turning into the best coffee beans in the UK.
We can attribute the energising quality of coffee to the presence of caffeine, which is a stimulant that gives you that sense of alertness once it reaches your central nervous system (CNS).
Apart from that, caffeine can affect your cardiovascular system and make you feel pumped up. Essentially, this is why you feel less tired and more awake after finishing a cup of coffee.
This is also why aside from being a key element in coffee, caffeine is a major ingredient in medicines for treating migraines, drowsiness, and headaches. In another article, I also looked at the scieence to proof if coffee is also a good post-workout.
I suggest that once you are done reading this article, you can check that out as well.
Health Benefits, Negative Effects, and the Role of Genetics
The benefits of coffee don’t stop at making you feel more energetic, though. Coffee also contains diterpenes and antioxidants, both of which may have positive physiological implications for the human body.
And if you have ever asked is coffee good for gut health, the answer is an emphatic YES.
These benefits include a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, protection against neurodegenerative disorders, better weight management, and lower chances of depression.
That said, it would also do you good to be aware of the negative effects of too much coffee in your body.
Too much caffeine can also result in increased anxiety, disrupted sleep patterns, heartburn, and acid reflux—especially if you already have existing problems with your stomach. To help with this, you'll need to buy low acid coffee in the uk.
How our body reacts to coffee also depends on our genes
But even though excessive caffeine intake is generally bad for you, studies have also shown that people can react differently to coffee depending on their genetic makeup.
For instance, there are people with a genetic variation that makes them slow metabolisers of caffeine, thus rendering them vulnerable to myocardial infarction and hypertension if they consume coffee beyond 200mg.
So although coffee can have little to no adverse effects on your body, it may be a different case for someone who often experiences palpitation after consuming the drink.
Since thequestion is still Is coffee a good pre-workout, I will work you through more details.
Caffeine Intake and Physical Activities
The intake of caffeine—or more specifically, coffee—before exercise routines and sports activities is a debate that’s been going on for years.
Some athletes believe that caffeine is a great performance enhancer that can deliver significant cognitive and physical benefits.
However, other athletes tend to avoid coffee before major events.
This is primarily due to coffee’s reputation for making us feel jittery or nauseated, especially when sleep-deprived.
On top of that, coffee is known for inducing trips to the bathroom, which can be counterproductive when working out or playing on the field.
So while the answer as to whether coffee is a good ergogenic supplement can be blurry, we can still look at both sides of the argument to weigh the pros and cons ourselves. How our body reacts to coffee also depends on our genes.
Coffee Before Workout: The Pros
The benefits of exercise to our bodies are far and many, but drinking your favourite specialty coffee may take your performance to the next level. Here are some of the reasons why drinking coffee before a workout may be a wise decision after all:
Boosts Metabolism and Helps You Burn Fat
Coffee is a natural stimulant, and as such, the body reacts to it with increased energy. This also means an increase in metabolic rate, which in turn improves your body’s fat oxidation or fat-burning capacity.
In fact, according to a research article published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, taking caffeine or drinking strong coffee 30 minutes prior to aerobic exercise can boost your body’s capacity to burn fat.
Makes You More Focused and Alert
As a stimulant, coffee can give you the mental alertness necessary to make your workout more productive.
If you want to dispel sleepiness and lethargy for your next workout session, a cup of coffee might be necessary to keep your mind sharp in order to fully concentrate on your exercise routine.
Gives You More Endurance and Aerobic Power
Caffeine’s energising quality allows athletes to expend greater power, train longer, and resist fatigue better. But aside from having improved endurance, the body can also experience increased aerobic power with caffeine intake. This can be useful for isometric exercises such as pullups and pushups, as well as activities like jogging, walking, hiking, cycling, and swimming. Coffee may also hold the key to lasting through exhausting anaerobic activities like sprinting, jump squats, and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Additionally, some studies show that ingesting caffeine can help you stave off exhaustion a little longer.
Improves Speed, Strength, and Overall Performance
If you want to shake up the way you do your workout, a cup of coffee just might do the trick.
Various studies have shown that ingesting caffeine at low-to-moderate levels does wonders to your vigor and muscle performance.
In fact, according to a University of Sao Paulo study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, acute caffeine consumption can improve performance regardless of how often one ingests the natural stimulant.
As part of the study, the researchers conducted time-trial performance tests on 40 professional male cyclists.
The researchers categorised the cyclists based on habitual coffee intake and gave them 400mg caffeine tablets followed by placebo tablets that contained only gelatin.
For the final ride, the riders were not given pills. According to the research findings, most of the riders pedalled faster and harder after swallowing the caffeinated pill, finishing their laps with a speed increase of 3.3 percent.
In comparison, they completed their rides with a 2.2 percent increase after taking the placebo.
In another analysis, researchers found that caffeine can significantly improve the speed of people undergoing workout routines that last from 45 seconds to 8 minutes.
Some studies also suggest that caffeine can positively impact muscle strength, upper body power, and vertical jump height.
Reduces Muscle Soreness
While it’s more common to drink coffee after a workout to relieve some of the pain, having that cup before an exercise routine can also give you an advantage. Studies have shown that consuming caffeine before intense physical activity can significantly reduce muscle pain. Also, a paper by University of Rhode Island researchers links pre-workout coffee drinking to reduced post-exercise soreness, suggesting that caffeine can speed up muscle recovery. When you exercise, lactic acid can build up in your muscles, giving you that burning sensation you get after strenuous activities. Caffeine resolves this by reducing lactic acid while also managing the potassium and calcium ions in your muscle cells, enabling them to boost power production and contract smoothly. So if you’re the type who gives up on exercise once you “feel the burn”, perhaps you need a jolt from your go-to home brew beforehand.
Coffee Before Workout: The Cons
But before you go gung-ho on coffee, you also need to consider the side effects and risks that come with ingesting the drink prior to exercise. These are the reasons why drinking coffee before a workout can also give you a disadvantage:
Induces Anxiety and Insomnia
Some people have increased sensitivity to caffeine and are more vulnerable to issues such as heightened anxiety levels and sleep problems. When taken in large amounts, coffee can lead to insomnia, which is counterproductive to exercise since insufficient sleep affects muscle recovery.
Results in Stomach Problems
Diarrhea and other stomach problems are common issues that come with drinking coffee, particularly strong coffee and especially on an empty stomach. So if you’re starting the day with exercise and caffeine, it would be wise to drink strong coffee in small quantities and wait at least half an hour before working out.
May Lead to Caffeine Overdose
Caffeine can be highly addictive and may even lead to dependence in some people. But while caffeine overdose is a rare occurrence, it’s still possible for you to suffer from toxicity after consuming too much coffee. Besides the aforementioned side effects, the symptoms of caffeine overdose include dizziness, breathing troubles, nausea, and increased thirst and urination. You can be a fan of coffee AND working out!
Tips for Drinking Coffee Before Working Out
If you’ve decided to incorporate coffee drinking into your pre-workout routine, here are some things you’d do well to consider:
Drink at Moderate Doses
As with most things, coffee drinking requires moderation. If possible, avoid high doses or more than two cups of coffee, especially when you’re minutes away from starting your workout. Doing so will help you prevent unwanted side effects that will only disrupt your exercise. As such, it’s best to stick with the 200-300mg limit for caffeine intake that most health organisations including the National Health Service (NHS) recommend.
Mind the Time and Exercises You Need to Do
Generally, experts recommend drinking coffee at least 20 minutes before your workout to make the most of its performance-enhancing effects.
But while the effects of coffee partially depends on the person’s body, coffee’s stimulating effect usually takes place around half an hour after consumption.
And once caffeine gets in your bloodstream, half of the amount you ingested can stay in your body for up to 11 hours.
However, experts also recommend taking the exercises you do into consideration. For example, it may not be good to have a bladder full of liquid during routines that require burpees or constant jumping.
If you’re going to do these exercises, you need to wait a bit longer than 30 minutes after your coffee.
But if you’re going cycling, consuming coffee 20-30 minutes before should be fine.
People who like to work out at night are also discouraged from taking in too much caffeine, especially since health experts don’t recommend drinking coffee 4-6 hours before sleeping.
It’s best to avoid drinking coffee after 3 p.m. to help you sleep better at night after your workout.
Keep Water in Handy and Wind Down
Coffee can have a diuretic effect on a short-term basis, which is why you sometimes feel thirsty.
To balance the fluids in your body, make sure to drink lots of water throughout your session.
Also, you should ensure that you’re getting enough rest before, during, and after your workout to keep the coffee buzz from burning you out.
Mind Your Body
Lastly, you need to make sure that you’re fully aware of your body’s capacity and limits.
Remember, caffeine tolerance varies from person to person and our bodies have different ways of absorbing coffee.
Science has given us insights on how coffee can boost performance, but at the same time.
it’s important not to overly rely on coffee or force yourself to drink coffee that you’re starting to consume large amounts.
Similarly, you don’t have to miss out on the benefits that coffee can give you just because you’re scared of the side effects.
If you have a history of adverse post-coffee effects but want a pre-workout caffeine fix, it may be a good idea to consult a medical professional to know how to manage your body even with the presence of coffee.
Is It Good to Drink Coffee Before Working Out? It Depends!
As we have learned from science, coffee does have an effect on your body that makes you perform better during exercise.
These effects can range from mental alertness to better pain tolerance, which can definitely benefit you during high-intensity activities.
However, how your body reacts to caffeine in your system also depends on how your genes are designed.
So while you feel pretty much alright after one or two cups, another person may feel the effects more intensely than you do. Still, the benefits outweigh the risks.
As long as you take coffee in moderation, know the best times to take it, and have a sense of awareness about your body, you’ll probably be fine.
Coffee is a good wake-up beverage that gets us ready for the day. But other than that, coffee also packs a punch that makes it a worthy consideration for a pre-workout drink.
Conclusion
Okay, let's end with this, whenever you are asked is coffee a good pre-workout? answer YES and that's all. If the person requires you to provide some expert opinion in that regard, simply point them to this article.
I am positive after reading, it should help them reach a conclusion on the topic of whether coffee is good for the body.
It's over to you now! So is coffee a good pre-workout in your opinion? let me hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
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