Coffee and Crunches: Another Delicious Theory
Do we really need another reason to drink coffee (aside from the delicious aroma, the full bodied taste, and the desire to alert our bodies that we are not sleepwalking)? Maybe so, especially if there’s additional health benefit we can derive from our morning ritual. A recent study suggests that enjoying a cup of Joe prior to exercising might allow us to work out harder and longer. Sounds like my kind of experiment.
Interested in starting a career in sports medicine? This knowledge could benefit you as well. Scientists and athletes have long been aware that a cup of coffee before a workout can boost performance in endurance sports (biking and running). Caffeine, that legal drug even by International Olympic Committee rule standards, increases the amount of fatty acids in the bloodstream which allows athletes to pedal or run for longer periods of time. It is the number one legal drug in sports and it’s no surprise that Olympic athletes use it.
What is lesser known is how caffeine impacts other physical activities that are not labeled “aerobic” such as weight training or soccer. Researchers at Coventry University in England wanted to know. So they asked thirteen, healthy young men to perform typical weight training regimes. Some had energy drinks that contained caffeine an hour before, others didn’t. The men worked out like planned and the results were interesting. The men who had the caffeine were able to continue working out longer than their caffeine-less counterparts and finished more reps. They were less tired and were “eager to repeat the whole workout again soon.”
Michael Duncan, lead author of the study and senior sports lecturer in sports science, thinks the results are accurate. He believes that “with the caffeinated drink, the person felt more able to invest more effort” and “they were more psychologically ready to go again.” Because an increase in fats in the blood won’t benefit weight trainers (like in endurance sports), Dr. Duncan thinks that caffeine ‘antagonizes adenosine.’ Translation: more forceful muscle contractions and delayed fatigue.
Of course, more questions persist. How much caffeine is just the right amount to enhance workouts without producing side effects like “high blood pressure or the jitters?” No one knows for sure. Another unknown is, if people who consume cups of coffee or tea all day long, get the same benefit as those who just down a cup right before a workout.
Dr. Mohr, an exercise physiologist, suggests ‘it’s likely that you get more effect’ if you’re not drowning in caffeine all day long. However, he does state that most people will benefit from some “fatigue-delaying and mood-enhancing benefits from caffeine.” So, those of you riddled with guilt from your DD runs and your Starbucks Ventis on the way to the gym? Forget about it. Enjoy every last drop!
