Caffeine in coffee is an addictive and powerful stimulant that can refresh the mind. Many fitness enthusiasts like to drink a cup of coffee before working out to improve their performance. But the question of what are the benefits or harms of drinking coffee for fitness has always been controversial.
Coffee, a legal stimulant, has long been used by athletes to lose weight and enhance athletic performance, and is a magic bullet to promote energy and vitality. Some studies have shown that three cups of coffee a day (about 300-400mg of caffeine) will not harm our bodies and will give us great pleasure. While this natural stimulant has great benefits in terms of athletic performance and fitness, there are some harmful effects to be aware of.
What Is Caffeine?
Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in coffee, tea and cocoa plants that works by stimulating the brain and central nervous system, which is where your alertness and preventing feelings of tiredness come into play. Caffeine primarily affects the brain and acts as a hormone blocker for adenosine (a neurotransmitter that relaxes the brain). If you drink coffee late at night, it will easily keep you awake because caffeine will keep blocking your relaxation receptors and keep you fully euphoric.
While caffeine has many benefits, including helping with weight loss, improving exercise performance and promoting gut health, unfortunate side effects include anxiety, restlessness and poor sleep, and can lead to headaches or high blood pressure. Many fat burner supplements contain caffeine that can help you get fit and lose weight. But the challenge comes in getting the right dose of caffeine, and only then will it actually help you instead of leading you down a regressive path.
Benefits Of Caffeine For Fitness
Caffeine is the main constituent of coffee, and its most important function is to stimulate the mind and another function is diuretic, which help rid your body of water. Caffeine can help with weight loss by stimulates the lipolysis process, as your body releases free fatty acids into the bloodstream for energy by destroying fat stores, which is a great way to boost your metabolism and get your body’s fat burning faster.
If you are the manager of a gym and want to improve the customer experience, it’s a good idea to prepare coffee for fitness enthusiasts. Besides, gifting personalized coffee cups can create long-term relationships with clients and enhance their loyalty.
Caffeine acts as an adenosine-receptor antagonist, it makes your brain feel less tired or relaxed, and gives you plenty of mental energy. Furthermore, it can help you improve your muscle strength and exercise endurance, relieve muscle soreness, and thus keeping you motivated in the gym. Besides, caffeine will also increase the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, which is why some people get more excited the more they work out, which can bring good training results.
Risks Of Caffeine For Fitness
Many people will prepare a reusable coffee cup before working out so they can enjoy coffee whenever they want, but do you know the right time to drink coffee in the gym?
Although caffeine has many benefits, too much caffeine can also negatively affect your body and negate all the progress you’ve made. This is because too much caffeine can cause elevated levels of anxiety and stress, raising your cortisol levels. If the level of cortisol rises, it can hinder your body’s natural recovery process after exercise. Especially when your body loses a lot of water and inorganic salts after exercise, drinking coffee at this time can promote urination, which will worsen the dehydration of your body. So, for those who like to drink coffee after exercise, maybe you should change your habit.
The real question is how much caffeine you are actually consuming throughout the day, most notably if you are taking a supplement or beverage containing caffeine. Remember to monitor your caffeine intake, especially if you’re taking fat burners or pre-workout supplements. Either way, you may be consuming more caffeine than you know what to do with.
Therefore, because of the euphoria effects of caffeine, you can improve your mental state by taking coffee 30 minutes to 1 hour before working out. Don’t let tension and anxiety consume your energy because of coffee intake. As long as you grasp the time of caffeine intake, it will be beneficial to you rather than harmful.
In a word, moderate caffeine will be beneficial to your overall health, but abuse of caffeine will cause serious damage to your health. It is best not to consume more than 300-400mg of caffeine per day, and the time period of drinking coffee is very important. Try not to drink coffee after fitness or before going to bed, which will affect your body and sleep. You’d better drink coffee 30 minutes to 1 hour before fitness, so as to improve your sports performance and promote your fitness progress.
