Coffee is known to contain reinvigorating stimulants that help most of us get through the busy days at work without crashing. But did you know that coffee can also help you out in the gym? Recent research on the many benefits of coffee has shown that everyone’s favorite morning beverage can indeed positively affect workouts. Read below to learn more about how coffee can improve your fitness:
Coffee May Enhance Your Exercise Performance
When you really want to take your workout to the next level, it’s tempting to consider a performance enhancer. There are many over-the-counter supplements promising better athletic performance. However, studies indicate that there’s a much safer, natural way that you can improve your performance at the gym: drinking coffee.
Research papers have shown that caffeine, the famous stimulant in coffee, can actually improve athletic performance. Scientists have found that, at least in sports, drinking coffee could lead to improved levels of endurance. Not only that, athletes who drank coffee were less fatigued than those who didn’t.
It’s important to note that only those who consumed low to moderate amounts of coffee enjoyed these benefits. So if you’ve drunk two cups of coffee in the morning, don’t drink another one in the evening before you go to the gym. Moderation is essential if you want coffee to help you get fit.
Coffee Can Help You Burn More Fat During Long Workouts
It’s easy to believe that the longer you work out, the more fat you burn. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t really function as fat-burning machines. The human body is more prone to burning soft tissue for sugar during workouts than fat. Quite incredibly, research indicates that coffee may prompt our bodies to burn stored fat instead of soft tissue during long workout sessions.
That doesn’t mean drinking a pot of coffee is going to miraculously burn away the excess tummy flab. It depends on the type of exercise you do. When you are engaging in endurance exercises or long cardio, it may help to have caffeine in your system to burn fat.
On a side note, the studies that indicate perks like fat-burning capabilities of coffee don’t refer to all types of coffee. You can derive benefits like this only from coffee made from high-quality beans. For example, fresh coffee made with various types of coffee machines. These benefits don’t apply to instant coffee or any kind of synthetic coffee.
Coffee Can Boost Adrenaline Production
Adrenaline is the hormone that prepares our body for exercise by doing things like increasing the heart rate and expanding the lungs. The body produces more adrenaline once you begin physical activity. But for some fitness enthusiasts, this isn’t enough. Interestingly enough, coffee’s stimulating properties include boosting adrenaline in the body, which means you can work out more vigorously.
Caffeine in the system can keep fatigue away and increase both adrenaline and dopamine levels, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The researchers found that this effect made exercise less strenuous to those who participated in the study. Furthermore, they enjoyed working out more.
If you are at the initial stages of an exercise routine where you still find some tasks difficult, a cup of coffee may give you that rush you need to keep going. It may also help you derive more emotional benefits from your sessions, and prevent you from feeling burnt out afterward.
Drink Coffee to Stay Alert at the Gym
Do you find yourself losing concentration or mentally wandering off during sessions at the gym? Coffee might help you stay focused so that you complete your routines.
There are multiple studies confirming the cognitive benefits coffee can offer. Improved brain function can certainly enhance your physical performance as well. Caffeine essentially acts as a central nervous system stimulant. In particular, caffeine affects the part of your brain that controls your memory, attention span, and concentration. But what does this mean for exercising?
When you can focus better, you will be able to commit your body to what you are doing. You are less likely to make mistakes or get into an accident on the treadmill. Better focus means you can stay motivated too. You may not feel as tired as before.
Reduce Muscle Pain with Coffee
Anyone who has exercised will tell you that the toughest part of working out comes a day or two after a session ends. All those tiny muscle fibers that are broken during your session brings a world of pain that can last for days for some. Stretching can help with soreness after working out. So can coffee, as it turns out.
Several studies have confirmed that drinking coffee can significantly reduce muscle soreness following rigorous exercise. In some cases, this rate was as much as 50 percent less pain afterward. Coffee can, therefore, be a promising beverage for those prone to suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after exercise.
This is not to say that coffee is a painkiller. Studies indicate that you are less likely to experience intense muscle soreness later if you drink a cup or two of coffee before your workout. You might not even need pain medication if you have DOMS. However, individual effects may vary. You can find out if coffee can help with your workout-related muscle soreness by drinking some as advised before a session.
Keep in mind that you can enjoy benefits like those listed above only by consuming coffee in moderate amounts. To allow coffee to improve your workout performance, drink a cup between an hour and 30 minutes before your session begins.
However, limit yourself if you have already consumed a lot of coffee earlier in the day. Excessive consumption of coffee could hurt your workout rather than help it by elevating your heart rate and putting you at risk of hypertension.
As long as you stick to a cup or two a day, good coffee will certainly help you get in shape and stay fit. Plan your workouts with coffee to motivate you and keep your body active.
