A Guide to Exercise and Lifestyle
Coffee & Exercise
Today, 75% of American adults drink coffee. You may very well be one of them. But have you ever stopped to wonder if there's any physical benefit to drinking it?
How does coffee affect exercise?
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Caffeine's effects improves exercise performance. Studies found that drinking coffee 1-3 hours before exercise yielded better physical performance among athletes (Gabriel et al., 2020).
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Consumption of coffee improves muscle glycogen resynthesis. After exercise, our muscles are tired. The components of coffee, while not specifically identified, are shown to increase our muscles' recovery time. The effects are evident within 4 hours post-exercise (Loureiro et al., 2021). So if you ever find yourself needing a pick-me up after an intense workout, try a cup of coffee.
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Coffee has ergogenic effects. Ergogenic refers to physical performance, stamina, and recovery. As mentioned before, coffee improves our performance and recovery. What about our stamina? Research showed that caffeine consumption impacted the endurance in athletes, leading to a better performance throughout competitions (Gabriel et al., 2020).
References
Gabriel, L. M., João Paulo Limongi França Guilherme, Luis Henrique, B. F., Tácito Pessoa de Souza-Junior, & Antonio, H. L. (2020). Caffeine and exercise performance: Possible directions for definitive findings. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2 doi:10.3389/fspor.2020.574854
Loureiro, L. M. R., Neto, E. d. S., Molina, G. E., Amato, A. A., Arruda, S. F., Reis, C. E. G., & da Costa, T.,Helena Macedo. (2021). Coffee increases post-exercise muscle glycogen recovery in endurance athletes: A randomized clinical trial. Nutrients, 13(10), 3335. doi:10.3390/nu13103335