It’s a well-known fact that coffee is perhaps the most popular morning drink in the world, with about ⅔ of American adults drinking a cup of coffee in the morning. The caffeine simply wakes you up more effectively, giving you a boost of physical and mental energy.
But it’s actually good for your workouts as well. Drinking a cup (or two small cups) of coffee about half an hour before your workout can work wonders for your exercise routine. Here are some of the benefits:
It Makes You Stronger
Building bigger muscles is one of the more common reasons to working out. And to do that properly, you should lift lots of weight. And coffee can help with that.
The latest research studies indicate that drinking coffee helps in boosting your maximum muscle and upper body strength. Studies have shown that it improves the performance of powerlifters, and it even increases the height of your vertical jump. So, if you’re playing basketball to get fit, then coffee is one way to boost your performance legally.
It Makes You Faster
The elite athletes in such fields as cycling, running, and swimming are all so close together in terms of performance, that even a 1% improvement can drastically change their rankings. Can coffee help?
Some studies seem to indicate this. It’s been found that caffeine offers considerable improvements in speeds, for workouts that last anywhere from 45 seconds to 8 minutes. It’s also been found to improve speed for other resistance exercises, including squats, sit-ups, and pushups.
It Boosts Aerobic Power
The latest research also indicate that caffeine actually brings the most improvements for aerobic endurance. More specifically, it’s great for sports and exercises such as swimming, running, cycling, and even cross-country skiing.
It Reduces Anaerobic Fatigue
Anaerobic activities such as sprinting, jump squats, and HIIT are all notoriously tiring. But you may keep exhaustion at bay for a longer time with some coffee before your workout. Studies involving cyclists have indicated this, with the cyclists who took some coffee enjoying major improvements.
It Reduces Muscle Pain
Regardless of the saying “No pain, no gain,” no one really wants to go through stiffness and muscle pain after a workout. But pre-workout caffeine seems to help reduce the chances of muscle pain afterwards
Final Word
Of course, like everything else, optimal result are all about moderation. Coffee is good as long as you don’t overdo it. There are lots of evidence that too much coffee can lead to negative side effects like being too anxious or jittery, and disruptions to your sleep cycle.
You may want to stick to just 2 to 4 cups of coffee a day. More specifically, your best bet is to go with 3 to 6 milligrams of caffeine for every kilogram in your body.
As for your pre-workout coffee, a cup or two of coffee should suffice. Wait for about 30 minutes for the caffeine to kick in before you head on out to your local Blast Fitness gym, then you can kick ass in your workout!