Before you head to your next workout, have you considered trying coffee for a pre-workout boost? Many people swear by a quick shot of espresso or cup of coffee before their workout. And the best part is, you don’t have to do it every day or every workout. You can just use it on the times you feel like you need it.
Keep in mind that pre-workout coffee boosts really only help if you work out first thing in the morning, or in the early afternoon. It is recommended not to have coffee within six hours of going to sleep, so if you are an evening exerciser, this technique is probably not for you. That said, let’s look at some of the benefits to having coffee before you exercise. Jiale Coffee has all the scoop you need.
Here are some ways that coffee can help you boost your next workout:
1. It helps burn fat
Coffee can help you burn fat during exercise because of the high caffeine content it has. In addition, caffeine suppresses your appetite so drinking coffee first thing in the morning might help you take in fewer calories as well. However, there are a few additional things to know about this.
First, you should use it in moderation. Studies have shown that one to two cups pre-workout can give you a needed boost but more than that is likely to have the opposite effect and cause you to crash and burn.
Secondly, you need to remember that these studies are based on plain, black coffee alone. If you add sugar or other sweeteners, as well as creamer or milk and other flavorings to your coffee, you still get the benefits of the caffeine, but you may be adding more fat to your diet.
2. Coffee helps boost energy
As you probably already know, coffee can help boost energy. Most people start on coffee for the caffeine boost and not for the flavor itself. If you take one to two cups of coffee before a workout, you will experience an energy boost that can help you in your workout.
If you’re not much of a morning person but you’re trying to get that early workout in, coffee might help wake you up. Or, if you’re awake but sluggish and feel yourself struggling to get through the workout, a boost of pre-workout coffee may do the trick. Just remember not to have too much, or you’ll crash mid-workout.
3. It increases metabolism
Coffee can also increase your metabolism. This is the reason it can help you burn fat. With age and hormonal changes, many people find their metabolism slows down. Caffeine found in coffee increases the metabolic rate and helps your body burn energy faster.
Caffeine needs about 15 minutes to get into your bloodstream so for optimal impact, you could have a cup and then drive/walk to the gym, or if you’re doing a home workout, just plan your coffee about fifteen minutes before you start your workout.
4. Coffee promotes concentration
When you’re in the gym or hitting your home workout, concentration is important. Whether you are repeating a typical routine, or trying something new, your workout will have a bigger impact when you concentrate properly. Caffeine found in coffee helps increase mental focus.
It’s a natural stimulant that can help improve brain function, memory and concentration, when taken in small doses. Studies done with athletes have shown it can help improve concentration, aiding the athletes in high levels of exercise intensity.
5. It can increase athletic performance
Coffee can also help increase your performance and athletic ability. The International Society of Sports Nutrition states that, “Caffeine is effective for enhancing sport performance in trained athletes when consumed in low-to-moderate dosages (~3-6 mg/kg) and overall does not result in further enhancement in performance when consumed in higher dosages (≥ 9 mg/kg).”
Coffee stimulates the body to use fat stores instead of muscle glycogen when working out for long periods of time or with fatigue. This allows for more long-term use of the muscles. Athletes also report a more positive workout experience with less fatigue when they have a moderate amount of coffee first.
6. Coffee can help fight disease
Some studies have shown that coffee has powerful antioxidants that help fight disease. These antioxidants can work to remove free radicals from the body that cause inflammation. According to research published in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “coffee provides one of the greatest sources of antioxidants in the American diet.”
While both caffeine and coffee have been linked to disease prevention, remember it is not a magical cure. You still need to exercise regularly, eat a healthy, balanced diet, and get preventative medical care.
7. Coffee can reduce muscle pain
Another benefit to a pre-coffee workout is that it can help lower your muscle pain symptoms afterwards. Intense workouts will cause muscle soreness afterwards, as this is how our muscles grow. Drinking a cup or two of coffee before your intense workout has been shown to help some people experience less pain afterwards.
Exercise causes lactic acid build-up in the muscles which can be very painful. In fact, it can cause some people to stop working out, or not work out as frequently because of the discomfort. Coffee can help lessen this discomfort and get you back in the gym sooner.
As you can see, pre-workout coffee boosts can help you in a variety of ways. It can help accelerate fat loss and also help increase performance. It’s not going to magically melt away fat or turn you into an athlete while you sit on the couch watching TV, but it will help accentuate what you are already doing.
Keep in mind that caffeine is a drug and just like any other drug, it will lose efficacy when taken habitually in large doses. You’ll work up a tolerance and need more and more caffeine to reach these same benefits. We recommend using smaller doses and taking breaks from your pre-workout coffee boosts regularly, that way it continues to work positively for you over time.
