Is coffee good for me and my workouts?
I live in Seattle where we have a coffee shop on every corner. No joke. I’m not much of a coffee drinker but it seems as though drinking coffee is a requirement to live here. Actually, I am a coffee drinker, but I have no more than 1 cup a few days per week and in this town that’s doesn’t really qualify me as a coffee drinker. I can get through my day without it.
Last time I checked my stack of gift cards, at least four of them were for Starbucks. I’m probably one of the only people who can make a Starbucks gift card last over a month. People love their coffee.
On the days I do go for a cup of coffee it is usually because I’m feeling sleepy and want to clear the cobwebs from my head so I can face the day. Occasionally, I like to have a half cup before I go out for a run as a little pick me up
But what are the effects relating to fitness? If that grande-no-foam-double-whipped-extra-shot-no-fat latte gives us the get-up-and-go to start our day, will it do the same if we’re headed out for a run?
Perhaps. But, first lets talk about the ingredients in coffee.
The main ingredient in coffee that gives us that jolt is caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that normally causes a calming effect in the body. The resulting neural stimulation due to this blockage causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, the “fight or flight” hormone. Your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, your muscles tighten up, and glucose is released into your blood stream for extra energy. Voila… you now have the caffeine buzz.
Physiologically, caffeine makes you feel alert, pumps adrenaline to give you energy and changes dopamine production to make you feel good. Another cup, anyone?
In my coffee and exercise research, I have found studies that show caffeine ingestion prior to exercising extended endurance in moderately strenuous aerobic activity. Other studies researching caffeine consumption on elite distance runners showed increased performance times following caffeine consumption.
Furthermore, studies have found that, when it comes to exercise, caffeine:
- delays fatigue (I like that!)
-slows the breakdown of muscle glycogen, which means your body has more fuel to keep going
-enhances endurance
-keeps you more alert
-can reduce muscles pain during exercise
Reading theses benefits might have you grabbing a coffee right now. However, I have to tell you these benefits are minimal. What these studies fail to highlight is the percentage of increases on performance.
I currently continue to read a lot on this topic. The biggest percentage increase I have found in my documents is 6%. For an Olympic athlete and/or professional athletes, this percent can be the difference in finishing first or second place. BUT, for the rest of us, this just isn’t a big enough deal to actually improve our performance significantly.
Drinking coffee before your next race isn’t going to make you a superhero. However, if you find you have a better workout with a coffee beforehand, then go for it. We are all different and so our bodies respond differently to caffeine.
How about the negative effects of coffee?
Caffeine is a diuretic and causes a loss of fluid, which then leads to a dehydrating effect. This is obviously not conducive to fitness activities such as running a marathon! It is also important when considering the further loss of fluid while exercising in hot environments.
Caffeine stimulation on the central nervous system can produce restlessness, headaches, and irritability. Caffeine also elevates your heart rate and blood pressure. Over the long-term as your body gets used to caffeine, it requires higher amounts to get the same effects. Certainly, having your body in a state of caffeine emergency all day long isn’t very healthy.
Perhaps the most important long-term problem is the effect of caffeine on sleep. The half-life of caffeine in the body is about 6 hours. If you drink a big cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine at 4PM, at 10PM you still have about 100mg in your body. By 4AM, you still have 50mg floating in your system. Even though you may be able to sleep, you may not be able to obtain the restful benefits of deep sleep. What’s worse, the cycle continues as you may use more and more caffeine in hopes of counteracting this deficit.
What do I think?
In my opinion, proper hydration is critical to optimum performance, and therefore, caffeine should be limited in your sports nutrition program (especially those of us training for a marathon). One cup of coffee (8oz) is 180mg. The long-standing advice still applies of no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day (3 cups per day). If you do drink, try to keep it at no more than 3 cups a day.
My one and occasional two cups on any given day is not enough to hamper my hydration levels. I also drink water along with my coffee. 1 cup coffee, 1 cup of water too! Because each runner responds differently to caffeine, don’t assume you will perform better with a caffeine-boost. You might just end up nauseated, coping with a “coffee stomach”, or suffering from caffeine jitters at a time when you are already nervous and anxious. It is something you will have to experiment with.
I’m sure some of you reading this post are regular caffeine drinkers and you perhaps find that you can drink coffee and run and you are just fine. That’s great. I’m not telling you to quit. But, if you do experience some of the negative side effects I listed above, maybe you will consider reducing your intake.
I mostly receive questions about coffee from my readers and clients who do not drink coffee. They read something in a magazine or newspaper about the positive effect coffee has on exercise and wonder if they shouldn’t start drinking it. My response: No. A solid training and nutrition program is the best bet!
As with everything else, moderation is the key to healthy caffeine consumption. Further research is needed to clearly determine whether the performance-enhancing benefits of caffeine outweigh the potential risks.
Ohh, and one more thing regarding coffee consumption. Drink black coffee or low fat lattes (a little half n half is ok). Stay away from the high-fat, high-calorie mochas, caramel machiattos, cinnamon dolce latte, frappuccinos, etc.
Please feel free to leave your comments below. Thanks.
Posted by admin | in Nutrition | 13 Comments
I say yes! I agree that light lattes and black coffee are the best options though. Although I’m wary of sugar free syrups (but they do taste so good!) I’ve read a lot about the coffee itself having heart-healthy benefits in terms of blood flow in your veins. Don’t quote me there, I can’t remember exactly.
Black coffee also goes great in a chocolate protein shake!
I like the topic, Jill. I’m with you… I drink it because I like it. Yes, it also get the motor running in the morning, but that’s not the reason I drink coffee. It’s an enjoyable morning ritual. I recently switched from a coffee sissy (drink with cream and sugar) to a black coffee or espresso drinker. Love it!
On the topic of caffeine as an exercise stimulant, it is proven to work as you indicated, over a 1-2 hour period. I’m not an elite athlete, but I’ll take a 6% increase. Over a two hour effort that’s a healthy 7 minute PR… all else equal. One other thing to note, the studies I’ve seen used caffeine supplements in pill form. Those supplements contain the amount of caffeine present in many, many cups of coffee. One or two cups before a race or workout, while perhaps necessary to induce wakefulness or even sanity, will do almost nothing to improve performance. You probably don’t want to take such a supplement if you’re not racing. That much caffeine will probably drive you crazy without the huge race effort. Those results were also done on subjects without a caffeine tolerance. If you want the kind of effect mentioned in the study, you’ll probably need to ween yourself off of coffee for a week or two… and that’s just craziness!
I enjoy a cup of coffee in the mornings, although I don’t always need the caffeine boost. My solution is to make half-caf. That way, I get just a little boost, and can enjoy it without worrying about the jitters, etc.
Interesting post! I like coffee and tend to stick with just coffee and not a fancy drink but I always feel like I should cut back to one cup a day…not two. Thanks for the research you’ve done!
thanks for the comments. A lot of research continues with coffee. I think it might soon come out as a “health food”.
Chuck– I also have come across studies that have found coffee to have heart health benefits. Stay tuned……….
What do you think about using 5-hour energy?
Meg,
In addition to an appropriate does of caffeine, 5-hr energy also includes good nutrients such as niacin and B vitamins. this is great, but just because a little of something is good doesn’t mean a lot is better. So all of these nutrients (all B vitamins) are necessary, but the excessive amounts are not – and too much of some nutrients can even be dangerous. If you are taking a daily multi-vitamin you can risk too much of these nutrients.
It’s more healthful to get your daily dose of these vitamins in foods like fish or dairy products.
Bottom line: Try to only drink these 5-Hour Energy drinks occasionally. Three rules for natural energy: get enough sleep, exercise regularly and eat well (fruits and veggies).
Thanks for the 4-1-1, Jill. I am a coffee drinker (2 cups a day, spread out over the morning, early afternoon), so I am clearly caffiene-tolerant with no problem. HOWEVER, GU with caffeine wreaks HAVOC on my system during a marathon. For some reason, I get stomach/bathroom issues when I ingest caffinated GUs……of course, one learns this the hard way! LOL
I don’t drink coffee, but sometimes I use caffeinated gels. I really don’t notice a difference in those from the regular gels, though, in how I run.
I did a similar post a while back, and I pretty much concur with all that you are saying. Right after I posted, RW reported on a new study that once again took the cautionary approach to caffeine. So the jury is pretty much still out. I think if it’s something you are used to in training, in moderation, then you can handle it. As an infrequent coffee drinker myself, it’s not something I would ever try on race day, that’s for sure!
Good topic. I am not a coffee (or energy drink) drinker, but have wondered about the relationship to sports usage. Thanks.
Great topic! It’s so frustrating with coffee and tea. One week it’s great for you the next it’s bad for you. I am going with it! I drink decaf coffee and tea most of the time. What’s your opinion or knowledge of decaf?
Regarding pure-form caffeine. I’d like to share my experience with using it. For starters, you can get caffeine pills from any health food/supplement store. I got 100 (200mg each) for about $8. For me, that’s about 50 uses. $8 barely pays for two coffees from Starbucks.
Performance: YES. I always run faster when taking caffeine. You feel like you’re flying, and your running feels more urgent.
Side effects: Taken in large doses, you will probably experience headaches, or feel jittery. However, I have experienced zero side effects when staying within 400mg in a day. As far as the diuretic factor, I haven’t experienced any problems with caffeine/running/having to pee, and I have read several articles that say caffeine is no longer considered to have a significant diuretic effect. A quick google search gave me this: “http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html”
If any one is curious about trying caffeine to improve performance, start small, see how it makes you feel. If it doesn’t agree with your body, stop taking it. Everyone is different.