Drinking coffee before your workout has been a longstanding "trend" in the fitness industry.
It has often been hailed as the ultimate performance enhancer. But does it actually help to boost performance?
Coffee's main effect on the body is to increase your alertness.
Caffeine's energising effects peak about an hour after consumption and can last for three to six hours.
If you are feeling sluggish, or are still waking up before your workout, this increased arousal will help to get you going before attempting that workout.
That in itself could help make your workout feel easier, by decreasing your perceived exertion.
The main source of energy for your muscles comes from a stored version of glucose, called glycogen.
This is a sugar, and would be classified as a carbohydrate.
Once glycogen stores run out, your muscles will start to fatigue and will eventually fail to function optimally.
Your muscles are, however, able to use fat stores as an energy source.
Having caffeine before a workout could trigger your muscles to burn fat more easily while working out.
This will help to preserve your glycogen stores, and in turn will make your workout feel less strenuous and delay that dreaded muscle fatigue and failure.
This will enable you to get through longer workouts, with less muscle soreness.
Since muscles turn to glycogen first, it seems that the effects of coffee are more noticeable in longer exercise sessions and endurance exercise, rather than in short bouts of exercise.
There is no definite answer (yet) as to how long you need to exercise for before you are able to feel the effects of fatburning due to caffeine intake.
However, most studies have tested the muscles after about two hours of exercise.
Some research has also suggested that caffeine can have a direct effect on your muscles and their ability to generate power.
Once you've had your coffee, it goes straight to your head! It works to switch off certain receptors in your brain.
Blocking the A1 receptor wards off sleepiness and increases endurance as mentioned above.
Blocking the A2A receptor causes an increase in adrenaline, which in turn increases your focus and enhances your power output.
By consuming caffeine and carbohydrates, you are able to speedily and effectively replenish your glycogen stores.
This helps you recover from strenuous exercise more quickly, which is ideal for those who exercise frequently.
