DOES DRINKING COFFEE IMPROVE YOUR WORKOUT?

A good old cup of coffee in the morning not only boost up with energy but also enhance the workout effects, improve performance and delays fatigue. This is the reason why many workout supplements have caffeine as an ingredient, which is a substance monitored by the International Olympic Committee. Every system in our body is affected by Caffeine but its impact on our mood, alertness, exercise performance and metabolism are due to some interactions. Apart from Energy drinks, caffeine is received from coffee or some special gels or chewing gum. So does drinking coffee before doing workouts really make a difference?  Here’s how Caffeine works:

      Fats are broken down from fat tissues.

On an average of 11-15% caffeine improves physical performance and so also increases hormone epinephrine blood levels. Thus Epinephrine hormone travels to the fat tissues through blood and breaks down the fats into fatty acid in the blood which in turn is used as a fuel. So more the fuel stronger and a longer workout.

          Muscle pain is delayed.

Recent studies have shown that taking caffeine before weight training exercises increase the amount of weight lifted and so also the reps. The reason behind this is that caffeine has the ability to blunt the muscle pain so that they don’t get fatigued as fast as resistance training.

      Energy and mood are improved.

Caffeine boosts up the firing of neurons and thus neurotransmitters are released including dopamine and norepinephrine. This in turn effect brain functions like memory, mood, energy levels and reaction times. This in turns pumps us to do a good workout as it brightens our mood and energy level.

      More burned Calories.

This doesn’t affect the workouts but is in hand glove with the workout. It burns more calories during the workout. A study published in the magazine International Journal of Sport Nutrition shows that the caffeine is taken before works out burns 15% more calories than not taken.

Also Read: How eating Chocolates helps in losing weight?

      Metabolism Increases.

Caffeine burns body calories even when you are not exercising as per a study. That means while resting it also burns calories and that too a percent of 3-11%. But this effect is nor for all persons. The effect of fat burning leans person is high as 29% whereas in Obese it is 10%. Also, this effect diminishes with age.

So what does this all means? How much coffee or rather caffeine you should take. Remember overdosing will lead to problems like inability to focus, insomnia, irritability, gastrointestinal  unrest.  Hence these may have an effect on your workouts.

How much should you intake?

3-9 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight is required to enhance our workouts. In plain terms, a 6-ounce cup of coffee contains 60-180 mg of caffeine. And a 1.5ounce of espresso contains 60-70mg of caffeine. Now calculate your intake. If the body weight is said 50kg then the required caffeine is around 150-450mg caffeine, hence around 12-14 ounce of coffee.

When to take? Intake of caffeine?

You should take 1 hour before your workout.

So, then give out a try …………