Using Coffee For Workouts and a Healthy Lifestyle
People who have a routine of working out in the morning know that the most difficult task is to get out of bed. They find motivation by giving themselves a mini pep talk. If you ask any habitual fitness enthusiast about their pre-workout routine, you will get one popular answer and that is Coffee.
Does Coffee Give People An Extra Edge To Work out?
Over the past few years, there are various publications and researches that have proved that coffee is actually a great way to enhance your workout routine.
A study was issued in the Journal of Applied Psychology which studied the effect of coffee on your workout. It concluded that having coffee does make your workout more enjoyable. Another study was conducted which found out that coffee facilitates in burning fat. Athletes who took caffeine before workout burned more calories than the rest. Another study concluded that coffee enhances the performance of an athlete and their ability to gain energy.
Should Coffee Be The Go-To Pre-Workout Drink?
Coffee is one of the beverages that are natural, considering it does not have any sugar, artificial sweeteners, milks, processed creams, etc. However, the answer to the question falls in the gray area as we do not know if it benefits the athletes or not. It also depends on the amount of consumption.
Here Are A Few Scenarios Related To The Situation:
Scenario # 1:
There is a 40 years old trainer who works out daily with the goal of gaining strength and fitness. He drinks a cup of coffee because he believes it helps him wake up. He does not need coffee for the rest of the day.
So the verdict is that the guy can drink his coffee whenever he wants as he is not addicted to it. Since he has the strength to abstain his need, drinking coffee cannot become harmful for him.
Scenario # 2:
There is another fitness athlete who is 28 years old and wants to build his strength and muscles. He has a proper pre-workout routine which includes 2 cups of coffee. Later in the day, he drinks multiple cups of coffee again. This is a clear example of caffeine addiction. This guy is dependent on coffee as a stimulant to keep him going. Considering these examples, it is pretty clear that caffeine consumption could become beneficial or harmful depending on your amount of consumption. Stress and hormones also play an important role in this regard.
Too Much Of Coffee Will Make Your System Go Out Of Control
Drinking a lot of coffee along with dealing with the stress of daily workouts could lead your body to act crazy. This won’t display any positive effects.
Main Issue:
Coffee stimulates your adrenal glands which activate your fight and flight response. This releases adrenaline and raises your cortisol levels. The body does not just release adrenaline but it does so at an unnatural time just as a response to the consumption. This further worsens the human’s ability to deal with it.
Since the body gets over-stressed a lot of times, it causes your adrenal glands to burn. These are some of the other problems that arise consequently:
- Fatigue
- Mood swings
- Low libido
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Feeling tired at night
- Problematic sleep cycle
- Ability to repair from workout is spoiled
To Drink Coffee or Not?
People are confused if they should drink coffee or not. The answer is that it depends completely on you. It comes down to your amount of consumption and your dependency on coffee.
People who either drink coffee occasionally or have one cup a day feel the adrenaline rush at once. Whereas, those who are habitual drinkers and drink multiple cups a day feel difficulty in experiencing the extra edge that it brings. In the first few hours of caffeine consumption, you will feel extremely energetic and lively. While, as soon as its effects worn off, the feeling of being tired will start setting in.
Those who have become dependent on coffee should ask themselves if it is even worth it. They need to ponder upon the effects and figure out it is actually helping or harming them.
Following are some of the points that may help you wean off:
Once A Day
It will be extremely difficult to exclude coffee from your routine at once. It is recommended that start off by going back to having just one cup a day.
Water
Increasing your water intake will help you get rid of this addiction. Water is a natural energy booster that works like magic. Have lots of water early in the morning before the thought of having coffee comes to your mind.
Have A Different Workout Routine
The foremost option is to drink water before your workout. People who want to have another backup option can go for protein. Luckily, it is available in coffee flavor, so coffee lovers can use it, and some coffee lovers always keep their coffee makers with themselves.
Digestive System
Coffee is powerful enough to disrupt the workings of your digestive system. It is diuretic which causes your body to get dehydrated. Coffee also produces a huge amount of Hydrochloric Acid (HCI) in your body. This tampers your body’s ability to produce the necessary amount of HCI required for it.
Replacements
Find a replacement, like a coffee-flavored herbal tea.
See A Nutritionist
Meet a nutritionist and find amino acid supplements that will provide you a natural energy boost.
Quit Cold Turkey
Give yourself a timeline and remind yourself that you cannot have coffee. By the end of that period, you will notice an obvious difference.
Hope you find this article helpful and resolves some of your queries. You can find more information on today posting as well relevant to coffee.
