COFFEE - GOOD OR BAD FOR TRAINING?

How does caffeine affect your body, especially when training?

We're not here to say whether you should or shouldn’t drink coffee, as everyone’s body is different and we all respond in different ways, but the pros and cons below can help you to make a better informed decision!

PROS

-Increased energy

-Can reduce muscle soreness after a workout

-Acutely, caffeine can increase the basal metabolic rate and enhance fat oxidation during exercise. It has been shown that plasma levels of free fatty acids increase 50-100 percent following caffeine ingestion. Thus, the increased availability of free fatty acids may lead to a glycogen-sparing effect and thereby delay fatigue. (according to triathlete.com)

-Can improve continuous exercise time to exhaustion. This effect appears to increase as the duration of the event exceeds 30 minutes, but caffeine has also been shown to enhance performance during incremental exercise protocols lasting eight to 22 minutes and sprints lasting less than 90 seconds (according to triathlete.com).

-Contains antioxidants antioxidants and polyphenols like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins.

-University of Utah scientists found people who drink four cups daily are 39 per cent less likely to suffer from cancers of the mouth and larynx. Four cups can also reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes.

CONS

-Cholesterol. Heavy consumption of boiled coffee elevates blood total and LDL      (“bad”) cholesterol levels.

-Coffee  can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias).

-Dehydration - if you are training hard and sweating you should already be drinking a lot of water. Coffee is a diuretic,and if you drink a lot you will be losing even more fluid, so should be increasing your water intake even more, especially if training.

-Disturbance of sleep. Caffeine increases adrenaline and cortisol - its stimulant effects will make it more difficult to sleep and can increase agitation and stress.

-May increase risk of heart attacks.