Have you ever drink coffee before a workout? If not, then you are missing an important element that can boost your workout performance.
In addition to performance enhancement, there are some other benefits of drinking coffee before a workout.
This is a detailed article explaining why should you drink coffee before a workout, how it helps, and when to drink it.
Why Should You Drink Coffee Before A Workout?
Coffee is preferred as a pre-workout drink because of the presence of caffeine in it. It is actually caffeine which does all the wonders.
Caffeine is a powerful substance that rapidly absorbed in your bloodstream and stimulates your nervous system. It boosts your workout performance and has some other benefits too.
However, there are some other beverages too which have caffeine in it but coffee is the most preferred one. The reason being, it contains the highest amount of caffeine as you can see in the chart above. Also, unlike other drinks like Redbull, coffee doesn’t contain any artificial sugar in it.
SUMMARY: Caffeine boosts your workout performance in several ways. Due to the presence of high caffeine, you should drink coffee before a workout.
Benefits Of Drinking Coffee Before A Workout
Caffeine present in coffee offers you various physical and mental benefits.
1. Boosts Athletic Performance
Several studies have shown that drinking coffee before a workout increases athletic performance. According to a report published in Sports Medicine, mentions that “athletes can train with more power and for a longer time after consuming caffeine.”
In fact, due to its positive effects on athletic performance, some organizations like NCAA – have started to ban it in high doses. Coffee helps in improving both strength and endurance exercise performance in different ways.
Endurance
One study shows that a strong dose of coffee (containing about 400 mg of caffeine) increases the endurance ability of athletes. That study found that they were able to cover 2-3.2 km (1.3-2 miles) more than the placebo group (1).
A study was done to check the effects of coffee on running speed shown that regular coffee drinkers were 4.2 seconds faster than their counterparts. Coffee helps in reducing the perception of effort, due to which athletes are able to run faster (2).
Another study was done to check the effects of caffeine and carbs. It found an improvement in performance by 4.6% compared to carbs alone, and 9% compared to water alone (3).
SUMMARY: Several studies shows that coffee can cause major improvements in the performance of endurance athletes.
Strength
There are several studies that show a positive impact of drinking coffee before a workout on strength and power. However, it still needs more conclusive evidence.
A study was done on 37 resistance-trained men shows that there was a significant increase in bench press of ingesting caffeine-containing supplement before a workout. However, there was not much benefits in improving lower body strength (4).
SUMMARY: For increasing strength and power, the researches about the effects of coffee are mostly positive, but still mixed.
High-Intensity Exercises
Drinking coffee before a workout is very beneficial for trained athletes, but seems less effective for beginners.
Studies done on active men doing bike sprints found no difference between the effects of coffee and water (5).
However, for advanced-level athletes, coffee is linked with a significant improvement in performance (6).
SUMMARY: For high-intensity exercises, coffee may be beneficial for trained athletes but not for beginners.
2. Accelerates Fat Loss
One of the best benefits of drinking coffee before a workout is its fat-burning properties. Coffee is high in caffeine, which is a common ingredient in any fat loss or weight loss supplement.
A study done in Canada shows that consuming caffeine before exercise can increase the burning of stored fat by up to 30% (7). Another study found that it can cause fat cells to be used as an energy source as opposed to glycogen (8).
On top of that, drinking coffee before a workout can increase the amount of fat you burn during exercise. It increases heat production, which helps in burning more calories and fat.
In addition, a high amount of caffeine present in coffee increases your metabolism, which further helps in burning more calories throughout the day.
SUMMARY: Drinking coffee before a workout helps in releasing more fat from fat cells. It also helps in burning more calories.
3. Coffee Improves Focus In Your Workout
Due to the high caffeine content, coffee plays a major role in increasing the focus on your workout. It works by stimulating the CNS (central nervous system).
Drinking coffee before a workout helps you in making a better mind to muscle connection while performing an exercise. This helps your body to push harder in your workout by increasing adrenaline production.
Coffee is even more helpful if you do workout early morning. It increases your alertness and makes you awake by blocking sleep-inducing chemicals in the brain.
SUMMARY: Drinking coffee before a workout stimulates your CNS that improves focus and helps in making better mind-muscle connection.
4. Reduces Muscle Pain And Soreness
Researchers at the University of Illinois found that people who consume coffee before a workout experiences less muscle pain during their workout than their non-caffeinated counterparts.
A study done at The University of Georgia found that a moderate dose of caffeine can reduce DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) by up to 48% (9).
Heidi Skolnik, M.S., a sports nutritionist says “Coffee can also increase the release of feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine, which effects pain receptors and mood” while you working out.
SUMMARY: Researches shows that drinking coffee before a workout helps in reducing muscle pain and delayed onset muscle soreness.
How To Drink Coffee Before A Workout
Well, some people add some sugar, milk, or even cream in it. But it is best to drink just a simple cup of black coffee before a workout. Adding sugar and fat won’t give you any benefit and you may feel bloated during exercise.
Black coffee doesn’t work as a replacement for your meal. You still need to eat your pre-workout meal to get fuel for exercise. Just have a cup of black coffee alongside or after it, for that extra energy boost.
If your goal is weight loss or you are up for early morning cardio, then it is totally fine to drink black coffee alone.
SUMMARY: You don’t need to add milk and sugar, just add coffee in hot water and drink it along with or after your pre-workout meal.
When Should You Drink Coffee Before A Workout
One main thing to keep in mind before downing coffee before a workout is the timing of having it.
The caffeine present in coffee absorbs quickly and mixes in the blood within 30-60 minutes. Its peak concentration shows about one to two hours after ingestion. Hence, have a cup of black coffee around 30-60 minutes before your workout (10).
The half-life of caffeine is about 6 hours. So if you are a morning person then there is no issue but if you hit the gym late in the evening, then it might be better to skip your pre-workout coffee.
For instance, if you are planning to sleep at 11 p.m. and hitting the gym at 8 p.m. then your pre-workout coffee may interfere with your sleep by giving you a restless night.
The general rule is to take your last cup of coffee before six to eight hours before you go to sleep. That means if your aim is to sleep at 11 p.m. then don’t drink coffee later than 5 p.m.
SUMMARY: Have a cup of coffee before 30-60 min of workout to get maximum benefits. Avoid coffee if you do workout late in the evening.
Is It Equivalent To Pre-workout Supplements?
Your local supplement store is likely to have a lot of fancy pre-workout powders with fascinating labels on them. They can spike your heart rate and give you a mental boost before your workout.
The main ingredient in these pre-workout supplements is caffeine. Well, you can get these same benefits with a cup of strong black coffee before a workout. You don’t need to waste money on these expensive supplements at all.
In addition, coffee is very cheap and all-natural, unlike other supplements. Just make a simple cup of black coffee without adding sugar, milk or cream in it, and you are good to go to the gym.
SUMMARY: Pre-workout supplements often contain the same active ingredient – caffeine, which is why coffee is as good as these fancy powders.
Dosage
The caffeine content in your cup of coffee is highly variable, ranging from 50 – 400 mg per cup. Check the caffeine content of the coffee on the label or on the website of whichever brand you are using.
About 3-5 mg of caffeine per kg body weight is recommended to consume before a workout. For example, if your weight is 60 kg then you should consume 180-300 mg of caffeine prior to your workout.
Aa a general rule, a minimum dose of about 200 mg of caffeine one hour before the workout is enough to give you the above benefits in your workout.
If you drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages several times a day, then you should keep a count on your total caffeine intake throughout the day. As there are various harmful effects of high caffeine intake.
You must have read:
Harmful Effects Of High Caffeine Intake
Several studies suggest that your overall caffeine intake should not go beyond 400 mg per day. This is the safe limit for most healthy adults. However, some people consume even more than that without any side effects (11).
SUMMARY: A 3-5 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight is all you need to consume before a workout.
Coffee Before A Workout – In A Nutshell
- Downing a cup of strong black coffee can provide you several benefits like fat loss, better performance, more focus, less fatigue and muscle soreness.
- Timing is very important, drink it 30-60 minutes prior to the exercise. Avoid coffee if you do workout late in the evening.
- Don’t add any sugar or milk in your coffee, it doesn’t give you any extra benefit and can increase your calory intake.
- As a beginner, you can start with 150 mg of caffeine and go up to 3-5 mg per kg bodyweight. Don’t consume too much of it as it can have several harmful effects.
- It is a natural substance and easily available. No doubt, coffee is one of the best and cheapest pre-workout.
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Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to make a great article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.