Is having caffeine (like coffee) before a workout beneficial, dangerous, or neither?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “is it ok to drink coffee before workout“
Is having caffeine (like coffee) before a workout beneficial, dangerous, or neither?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “is it ok to drink coffee before workout“
Most studies show it to be beneficial, due to its stimulatory and vasodilatory effects (meaning it increases performance–and thus muscle rebuilding stimuli–and bloodflow).
There is a caveat, however. Caffeine makes it much more difficult to absorb creatine for a certain period (I’m not sure how long) after consumption. Since creatine is probably more beneficial to performance and workout results than caffeine, I’d personally forego caffeine and use creatine.
Some of the major health benefits of drinking coffee before doing exercise are given below:
It reduces the risk of kidney stones
Provide instant energy to the body.
Treats asthma and headache
Lessen the risk of depression
Protect from diabetes
Reduces the risk of liver cancer
Reduces the workout pain
Prevention against heart diseases.
Boost up the memory power
Helps in warming up the body.
Coffee makes a great pre-workout as it causes fat cells to be used as an energy source as opposed to glycogen. Also, the high amounts of caffeine in black coffee will increase your metabolism, which makes you burn more calories throughout the day in addition to that caffeine also increases your concentration which will eventually help you in focusing on your workouts .
For more information you can refer to this article:
5 ways coffee intensifies your workouts
Yes, if you have no medical condition that you can consume caffeine prior to workout.
It helps in alertness. It increases heart rate and with good diet it helps in losing fat too.
Because Caffeine is the main ingredient used in Pre-Workout and Fat-burners.
But, cycle it off after 30–40 days for 1–2 we…
As you probably already know, Coffee contains a high amount of caffeine. Caffeine is a substance which is mostly safe, unless consumed excessively. Now, all these energy drinks we see on the market such as Red bull etc. also contain caffeine, which is why they are marketed as “Sports drinks”. However, one very important fact that majority of the youth are unaware of is the high amount of sugar and other sweeteners these drinks contain. These sweeteners are extremely harmful in the long run, infant, there is a group of people ( mainly scientists and doctors) who are actively working to classify sugar as a regulated drug as it is addictive and harmful.
Coffee on the other hand, does not contain any sugar when in its pure form. It does take time for one to get used to the bitter taste of coffee but once achieved, it can be a delicious and very beneficial drink, especially before exercise. The caffeine present in the coffee makes one feel hyperactive while somewhat numbing the pain receptors which makes an athlete last longer during exercise. I have competed in a number of high school and university level sports competitions ( I am a university level athlete) and I can safely say that once an athlete is used to coffee, it is very hard indeed to give yourself without using coffee as a pre-workout supplement.
Hope this helps! 🙂
Moderation is a key.
Coffee is not a panacea, but numerous double-blind studies have show that it does, in fact, increase mental alertness and performance… to a point, and then it becomes detrimental.
So yes, it will give you that mental boost and you’ll be able to perform better. But I wouldn’t advise to use it regularly.
In higher doses it increases metabolism and heart beats. So beware when doing cardio or heavy squats.
I recommend 200mg caffeine (2 cups of coffee) from time to time to break plateaus.
Not if you can tolerate it. Most pre-workouts are ; cups of coffee worth of caffeine in one serve. Coffee is about 70–80mg per cup, most pre workouts are 300mg.
I use the Cellucor C4 extreme pre-workout supp on days when I want to push hard. A single scoop of this stuff is about 160mg of caffeine. You only get about 95mg caffeine from a cup of coffee. I use 2 scoops because I’m a regular coffee drinker, 2 – 3 cups a day, and hence have a relatively good tolerance to caffeine. Now imagine taking the pre-workout supp and coffee back to back, if this is what your question is about. That’s enough caffeine to give you the jitters. Imagine doing this 3 – 4 hours before bedtime if you workout in the evening. You will most likely have trouble sleeping.
Use pre-workout supps with caution. Assess your caffeine tolerance level if you’re going to consume coffee on the side. While it’s not bad in itself you don’t want to get caught up in a sleep deprivation cycle and use coffee and pre-workout supps to keep you going. This will indeed not end well because it will mess up your hormonal balance i.e. leptin, ghrelin and cortisol levels.
If you really must, I’ve found that a shot of coffee (long black/espresso, not the diluted stuff) is enough to “wake you up” before a workout.
As others have stated, caffeine is a stimulant and is a performance enhancing substance. Take a look at this website:
Caffeine – Scientific Review on Usage, Dosage, Side Effects
This website is a compilation of studies in an easy to read format.
Caffeine has been shown to increase power production, increase metabolism, heart rate, and blood pressure. It is also a vasoconstrictor. While coffee is generally safe (how many people die of coffee consumption a year?) it does have its dangers. It is a stimulant after all. If you have a known heart problem or you are predisposed, you should take caution when consuming caffeine as it will cause your heart to work overtime.
Bear in mind that a recent experiment also showed that coffee has been shown to impeded sleep up to 6 hours later. Individuals who had consumed 6 hours before bed experienced significant sleep disruptions. They quantified the disruptions to be equal to an hour of sleep.
http://www.aasmnet.org/jcsm/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=29198
To avoid the sleep disruptions I would recommend not consuming any caffeine 8 hours before bed. The half life of caffeine is approx 5-6 hours. However, for many of us, our lust for caffeine is much too great and we’ll consume it anyway 😛 This is a trade off between having a good workout and getting a good nights sleep. We take the caffeine to have a good workout because we are tired from the day. However would we be tired from the day if our sleep wasn’t so bad from the caffeine? It seems to be an endless circle.
Hello user
Yes drinking Coffee half n hour before hitting the gym or any exercise session will help you to give extra push. Caffine increase alertness of mind , coffee will increase metabolism which makes you to burn more calories. Most of the pre workout supplements and energy drink contains big amount of caffine .
Black Coffee ( without milk and sugar) is suggested to get more health benefits.
Add 3 gms of black grounded coffee in 200 ml of hot water and enjoy.
Please upvote if you find my answers helpful.
Caffeine is a powerful stimulant. Caffeine has been demonstrated in studies to improve endurance, high-intensity exercise, and power sports. However, it appears that it is most beneficial to trained athletes. The suggested amount is 200–400 mg, given 30–60 minutes before an exercise, depending on body weight.
Coffee has developed a negative image for being harmful and dehydrating. However, it is difficult to break the habit of drinking a warm cup of coffee first thing in the morning. The majority of people start their day with a cup of coffee, and if you work out in the morning, you’ve probably questioned if it’s beneficial for your health or not.
According to research published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, athletes who drank a cup of steaming hot coffee before their daily workout burned 15% more calories for three hours thereafter than those who took a placebo.
For the most part no. If it’s really close to one another I would say pick on or the other. In general most people can handle up to 400mg of caffeine a day before health issues occur.
Peet’s
Coffee is my standard pre-workout drink. Caffeeeeinne is AWESOME! Sometimes I add whey powder with BCAAs to it. I take my creatine at separate times, so I don’t worry about absorption.
Everyone knows coffee dehydrates you which you should not be while working out. If you still want to have your coffee, I would say drink a lot of water throughout the workout.
Thanks for the A2A. What kind of workout are we talking about here, exactly?
If running (or cycling or another endurance sport), then here’s my take…
As others have pointed out, caffeine is definitely a performance-enhancer for endurance athletes… up to a point . And that point varies a lot from person to person. If you take too much, it will dehydrate you, make your stomach cramp, and generally do terrible things to your digestive system.
Caffeine is probably not very beneficial before a workout . I think the point of training is to train your body, rather than to trick your nervous system into pushing your body harder, which is basically what caffeine does.
I do take caffeinated sugar/electrolyte gel packs for nutrition on long runs (18 miles or longer), mostly to try to calibrate the appropriate dose for a race. I take moderate doses of caffeine before and during a major race like a marathon.
It depends. If you becone dependent on a ton of substances as your personal power supply, eventually your adrenals (and other glands) will stop making the hormones you will need in the right quantities and you will become dependent on them, and start to need more just to feel normal. But if it is just once in a while, you dont’t have too much to worry about.
Victor Allen’s
In my experience very positive. I have had a strong cup of coffee or a no doz tablet for many years pre workout. It perks me up esp when I am having a sluggish time of it at the start. Much cheaper than energy drinks.
Caffeine is usually preferred as a pre-workout drink. This is due to the fact that it makes our mind alert acting as a stimulant. Adenosine is a chemical found in our brain which makes us feel drowsy by slowing down the activity of the Central Nervous System. As soon as we are awake, adenosine concentration keeps on increasing with every hour. This makes us feel sleepy by the end of the day. Caffeine makes us alert by binding with adenosine receptors so that they are not read by our brain. Instead, it induces the secretion of Dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that sends signals from one part of the brain to other. In its presence, if we read or do anything, our mind remembers it as it keeps our mind alert. Dopamine helps us pay attention and stay focused. It also affects our learning process and the retention power of the brain. Since caffeine is the contributing factor in the release of dopamine it in-turn makes us active and alert. Another reason for caffeine to gain popularity among sports industry is that it increases utilization of fatty acids during exercise as a fuel. It reduces the feeling of exhaustion and increases endurance and stamina.
Coffee has lots of benefits. Taking it before doing exercise will also provide various healthy benefits.
Some of the major healthy benefits of coffee are mentioned below:
Reduce headache.
Improves blood circulation.
Lowers down the risk of kidney stone.
Reduce the risk of oral cancer.
Reduce the level of stress.
Reduce inflammation.
Preserves your muscles.
It is a lowest calorie drink.
Improve your focus.
Makes you smarter.
Source of anti oxidants.
Helps you workout harder, etc.
Coffee is a diuretic and therefore dehydrating. You don’t need stimulation before or during exercise as the movement itself will be stimulating. There really isn’t a benefit to drinking coffee before exercise.
I drink a small cup always before workout, never after, though. Heard is not good to drink after working out, not sure why.
Not at all, it actually can be used en lieu of any pre-workout drink. Caffeine works as a stimulant, which is also the main ingredient in most pre-workout drinks. The one thing I’d be careful of is using coffee if you workout in the morning. For many people coffee can really start a very dangerous cascade that results in bowel movements, and the last thing you need is to start having that urge when you’re in the middle of a heavy set of squats…it doesn’t end well.
You do not need any stimulant for work out if you follow a correct diet. Caffeine could upset stomach and raise blood pressure and dehydrate you. All of which will affect your work out.
I have seen crazy people drinking soda or smoothie during work out.
March 23, 2021 — Taking caffeine — or drinking strong coffee — half an hour before aerobic exercise can increase fat-burning, according to a new study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Caffeine is Very Effective Caffeine is one of the most effective exercise supplements available. It is also very cheap and relatively safe to use. Studies have shown that caffeine can benefit endurance performance, high-intensity exercise and power sports.
You may experience some digestive discomfort but for the most part the two are harmless. However, this would depend on the preworkout you’re talking about. Some contain a compound known as 1–3 dymethol which is a strong stimulant that can cause itching, flush, and abdominal discomfort. Not to mention, supplements are neither food nor drug so they are not regulated by the FDA, so what’s in them is not being held to a strict standard. You can find protein/carb shake recipes that use iced coffee and the mixture of healthy carbs, lean bioavailable protein and the caffeine in coffee should be more than sufficient. Plus you know what you’re consuming. Be safe, and have fun
It depends on how sensitive you are too caffeine.
If you are not to sensitive and your portion size on the preworkout is not too aggressive, I don’t think it is that bad for you.
If you start to feel fidgety and your heart rate is a bit fast, then maybe you want to cut out one of the two.
Eight O’Clock
Probably neither. Many athletes consume caffeine prior to competitions; many nutritional supplements contain caffeine as well. I’ve never heard of someone attributing a good performance on a workout or competition to caffeine intake, however. If it works for you, don’t worry about doing it.
Caffeine is a great pre-workout. It supplies your body and mind with an increase in stimulation that has the benefit of pushing your workouts harder and further. Almost all pre-workout supplements contain a fairly hefty dose of caffeine. Most people do just as well with a strong cup of coffee or a couple of cups of tea before a workout. But there are many pre-workout formulas that also offer other benefits.
Hi,
Thanks for your A2A, I hope I can give you a bit more insight into Caffeine supplementation with my response. And if I leave you with some further questions, don’t hesitate to just drop me a message.
Caffeine
Firstly caffeine is a stimulant and should be used with caution. caffeine at dosages of <10g can have a toxic effect on the body. But used correctly caffeine can be safely and most important, effectively used as a pre-workout supplement. Caffeine is so effective that prior to 2004, caffeine was listed as a controlled substance for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with maximum caffeine limits of <12ug/ml of urine. A study into the prevalence of caffeine usage amongst professional athletes was carried out by a (J Del Cosco 2011) , which discovered around 75% usage among study participants.
What We Found
Caffeine is a stimulant that binds to receptors in the brain, increasing nerve activity to reduce signs of physical fatigue. Since it also promotes alertness, it is therefore very effective at reducing signs of mental fatigue. What this means is that consuming caffeine just before a workout will allow you to exercise longer and at a higher intensity level. To enjoy the benefits, you should consume a cup of coffee or take supplements between 30 and 45 minutes before beginning an exercise program. Some further reading here on our insights into the subject Caffeine as a Pre-Workout Supplement ~ Anabolic.co
I hope this helps, and good luck with everything.
Oscar
Anabolicco
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Thanks for the A2A Ryan. As an engineer and coffee lover, not (yet) a doctor, noch promoviert, I’ll defer to those with more experience in the Bio sector, especially Jonathan . Dan has some interesting points on running, but for me “workout” means compound lifting, due to not (yet) having a great love of running.
For me, I actually use caffeine as a bait for my morning workout: I’m allowed to go to my favorite cafe and order a flat white and bacon and egg roll, breaking my otherwise plant based diet, as motivation not to hit snooze on my morning alarm. As for danger, that depends on tolerance, but more than 200mg in a serve (double shot espresso:22g basket) gets most people (other than baristas and hardcore addicts) into cardiac trouble sitting down, let alone doing exercise.
Dunkin’