If you care about your health and shape, undoubtedly you exercise regularly and notice your diet. If you are a coffee lover, you might be concerned about the health effects of drinking coffee. In this blog, we will discuss the effects of caffeine on sportsmen's bodies. If you find a cup of coffee useful, we will tell you when the best time is for blending coffee and exercise.
How Coffee Can Affect Athletes Positively
Let's check if caffeine can be genuinely beneficial for sportsmen.
Improved Endurance and Performance
If you are an endurance athlete, caffeine in coffee can help you boost your performance by preventing you from getting tired quickly. Through intensive exercise, our body first uses glycogen. But when you drink coffee before your exercise, your body uses fat for energy instead of using up muscle glycogen. So, by drinking coffee, muscle glycogen can be spared for providing energy. That’s why endurance athletes can physically and mentally tolerate longer when they consume caffeine before their vigorous workouts.
Reduced Muscle Pain and Soreness
It might be interesting to know that during exercise, caffeine can reduce the feeling of pain, particularly in endurance and strength activities. This will help athletes tolerate pain much better. Studies have shown that drinking coffee can reduce muscle soreness post-exercise by up to 48%. This is especially valuable for those returning from an off-season or having intense workouts.
For example, they have understood that women who took a caffeine pill after working out had significantly fewer sore muscles than those on placebo.
Faster Recovery
After exercising, restoring muscle glycogen is very important for recovery. As we discussed before, coffee can significantly increase muscle glycogen storage. But how?
When caffeine is combined with carbohydrates, it can enhance spared glycogen by up to 66%, compared to carbohydrate ingestion alone. So, it enables an athlete to train at a peak level over different workouts.
For example, when an athlete drinks coffee after exercising, they might experience faster recovery and more endurance during the next day’s training.
Fat Loss
From previous sections, you have understood that caffeine can use fat as an initial energy source. So, if you want to cut your weight, especially before competition or for a better body shape, coffee can be effective.
Cognitive Benefits
After drinking coffee, you may experience better focus, quicker reactions, and enhanced decision-making. That’s because of the caffeine in coffee, due to its effect on cognitive function. It can stimulate the central nervous system, which leads to rapid responses and strategic thinking. All these abilities boost our performance in many different kinds of sports, like soccer, basketball, baseball, etc.
Also, studies show that caffeine can benefit long-term brain health. It may lower the risk of age-related cognitive decline.
Mood and Mental Health Benefits
Caffeine can affect your mood positively. That’s why regular consumption might reduce the risks of depression and suicide attempts. On the other hand, mental well-being plays a vital role in motivation, which is essential for athletes. It’s important because they can focus better and improve their performance.
Numerous studies have shown that 2-4 cups of coffee per day can lead to a notable decrease in the chances of suffering from depression and committing suicide. Caffeine boosts the availability of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin.
Anti-inflammatory Effects
Coffee is rich in antioxidants such as chlorogenic acids, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. These antioxidants reduce inflammation from injuries and speed up the healing process.
Some studies on athletes showed that the amount of lipid peroxidation is reduced by utilizing coffee, and it helps with recovery. This can make it a valuable tool for reducing inflammation and boosting overall health during workouts.
Optimal Caffeine Dose and Timing for Athletes
Best Dose
Research and experiences have proved that 40 to 60 minutes before the training session is the best time to drink coffee. Your body has enough time to absorb and digest the caffeine in order not to feel stomachache.
Timing
It is recommended to consume about 3 to 6 mg of caffeine for each kg of body weight to achieve the best performance. For example, if you are 68 kg, the approximate caffeine amount is 204-408 mg. However, you need to note that it is completely personal, and you have to utilize caffeine based on your own body.
Caffeine Side Effects
As we considered above, caffeine dosage and timing are vital to notice because if you drink too much coffee or at an inappropriate time, you will face some risks, such as:
- Trouble sleeping
- Anxiety and restlessness
- Stomach issues or heartburn
- Shakiness or dizziness
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Headaches
Conclusion
Now we can claim that a cup of coffee can be a perfect teammate for athletes if they consider the appropriate dosage and timing. It can boost their energy, reduce recovery time, help in losing fat, and totally improve performance through training sessions. If you are searching for coffee equipment, from portable coffee makers to professional espresso machines, you can find them all through our website. Our Lepresso team is pleased to supply whatever you need in coffee terms.