Coffee & Fitness
September 1, 2007
Recent research indicates that having some coffee prior to a workout might actually be a good thing, despite long-standing advice to the contrary.
For years, people have believed that consuming caffeine would dehydrate the body or result in an electrolyte imbalance or that it might affect body temperature and have a negative impact on heat tolerance during exercise…
So says Lawrence Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. And he continues…
Our research indicates that none of these concerns is valid.
Caffeine is, in fact, a mild diuretic; this is the basis for the seemingly common-sense assumption that too much caffeine could result in dehydration. However, Armstrong explains that moderate caffeine intake - up to about 500 milligrams a day - is not enough to interfere with a workout. “Dehydration is about the balance of fluid intake and fluid loss,” he says. There also appears to be a tolerance associated with the diuretic features of caffeine; as anyone who drinks coffee regularly knows, these effects seem to diminish over time.
So the evidence to suggest coffee would hinder a workout is lacking. What’s more interesting is that the evidence that does exist seems to support the idea that caffeine somehow fights fatigue in long workouts.
Read more in the MSNBC article.
Does anyone have any personal experience to offer on this topic? Has coffee intake hindered/aided your workouts?
I most certainly support the idea that caffeine fights fatigue in long enduring workouts. Pre-workout supplements have become the hottest new thing for those who exercise regularly, and there are over 60 different products produced by 50 top brand names that all offer the same thing–ENERGY. My buddies and I use them and notice a massive difference from days that we don’t. Most contain a minimum of 100mg of caffeine per scoop and suggest 1-3 scoops 45 minutes prior to a workout. Energy, focus, and intensity are all significantly upped, and our workouts are much more productive. We’ve tried the same products but in “decaf” versions. Those are just flavored powders.
I agree too. Way back in the day when ephedra was legal it made for one of the best pre-workout supplements IMO. It worked in two ways, coffee does too but to a lesser degree, it gave you the energy rush for intensity and focus but it also curbed appetite. Sometimes the lack of appetite was annoying, but usually it was good for me because it was all I could do to get a protein shake down after an ephedra based workout, so it helped me build lean muscle. Too bad people went and abused it and killed themselves. Hopefully people wont go nuts with the caffeine based products.