It is all about caffeine, since there is coffee decaffeinated, meaning that the amount of caffeine they have is quite low or indeed zero. Although, if the coffee you drink in the morning and / or another time of day is normal and well loaded with caffeine, then here is this article you will realize how good it is to consume this caffeine-laden coffee before you go to the gym to apply your weight training routine.
It must be taken into account that coffee has other beneficial properties for health because it provides some vitamins and minerals. Usually good for promoting good digestion.
Some people claim to attribute effects on prevention against colon cancer. Of course these properties are attributed to coffee with and without caffeine.
In this article I will discuss the effects of caffeine consumption in the pre-workout period, that is, the effects that caffeine can promote in the body to help it perform better during the strength workout, to help reduce fatigue symptoms, to help you recover faster in breaks between sets and exercises.
The effects of caffeine on sports performance
First we are going to take as base a systematic review carried out in 2008 by researchers of the sport nutrition department of the Australian Sports Institute, where it is mentioned that the effects of caffeine are only remarkable in endurance and / or long breath exercises
Exercises such as long-winded races, rowing sport, Iron Man events, competitions where we pass through performing different kinds of exercises with cyclic structure, such as the Stop and Go type, that is, where rest times are very short and the duration of the exercises performed are relatively long, as for example also obstacle courses that can last from 1 to 5 minutes on average.
As for exercises such as traditional weightlifting, PowerLifting, Sprints, among others, it is said that the effects of caffeine on this type of exercises or workouts are still unclear.
It is also mentioned that in order to demonstrate that there are performance-enhancing effects during weight training and / or maximum intensity and short duration exercises with caffeine consumption, further studies are required. For this reason, further down in this article I will write the analysis of a more recent study, carried out in 2017 ...
... where the performance of muscle strength and fatigue tolerance is evaluated in trained young women supplemented with caffeine ... where I must say from now ... there are good effects in terms of supplementation with Caffeine in this population.
Another thing I wanted to mention is that in this systematic review conducted at the Australian sports institute, it is said that the effects of caffeine on the body can be good and without reaching harmful effects when consumed approximately 3 milligrams of caffeine per each kilogram of total body mass, regardless of whether you are a man or whether you are a woman.
KEEP IN MIND: in this systematic review mentioned the do not mention ages. But in the following study which I will mention next, the most recent, being the population trained women, the average age is determined in addition to other characteristics.
Performance of muscle strength and fatigue tolerance in young trained women supplemented with caffeine
The study that I will mention below is titled with this subtitle.
Objective: The objective of this study was to verify the effects of caffeine supplementation on the aspects of strength and fatigue tolerance in a group of women who underwent different strength exercises involving weights.
Study methods: 8 women with an average age of 25 years (some were 20 years and another 30 years), to verify the effects of caffeine consumption on the aforementioned physical performance variables (strength and fatigue tolerance), with BMI ranging from 20 to 23 kg / m2 and a training experience of no less than 12 months, were submitted to four MR / resistance tests:
Pull Down, Hack Squat, Bench Press and Knee extension. This last exercise (Knee extension) was executed as a drop set, starting with 100 kg, then with 80 kg and then with 60 kg, each series executed at muscular failure.
They performed this sequence of exercises in four consecutive blocks for one week. The same women underwent this training each week with a different supplementation.
- In the first week the women performed the training sessions without having consumed neither caffeine nor placebo.
- In the following week they were supplemented with 6 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of total body mass, 30 minutes before each training session.
- In the next and last week, the same group was given a placebo (without their knowledge that it was a placebo) 30 minutes before each training session.
Results of the study: well, here I do not want to put the large number of statistical variables which are usually placed in each study of this type, because maybe you would not understand and / or probably could get bored or confused.
But to summarize, the results showed significant differences between the consumption of caffeine and the non-consumption of the this substance in terms of the effects of strenght and tolerance to fatigue.
Conclusions of the study: according to the results obtained in the measurements of the pre and post tests in each of the mentioned exercises, it was possible to demonstrate or to verify that caffeine improved the tolerance to the exhaustion and that also has a tendency to improve the strenght in these trained young women.
Caffeine supplementation is probably useful for improving performance in women who engage in sports and / or workouts with this type of physical ability.
An investigation / study with a large number of volunteers could clarify some controversies observed here, since it would be great to be able to clarify if the effects of caffeine can be attributed also to population of greater or lesser age, and with a level of previous training much inferior and / or completely sedentary.
TO FINISH: You can try to consume caffeine 30 minutes before performing your weight training routine, to stimulate your nervous system, and apparently caffeine also helps to improve strength and resistance to fatigue not only thanks to this factor (stimulation Of the central nervous system).
This takes into account that the strenght gained is not only due to the muscular volume itself but also to the force of the nervous impulses that are propagated and arrive until the motoneurons. So if caffeine can stimulate the nervous system, for obvious reasons we might say that strength also increases.
And if this happens, tolerance to fatigue may also improve. This can be tested, perhaps starting with only 3 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of your total body mass, for one or two weeks, and according to the changes you notice you decide if you continue with this dose or higher (6 Milligrams of caffeine per kg of total body mass, 30 minutes prior to your weight training session).
You can do this by drinking coffee, but if you notice that consuming lots of coffee causes you a lot of colic (which is quite annoying during a training session), then you opt for caffeine-containing supplements, or there are actually some that are only manufactured on the basis of caffeine, that is, they do not contain other substances.
KEEP IN MIND: It is said that coffee has a very powerful diuretic effect, so to speak, so it can decrease the absorption of other compounds / supplements such as creatine, glutamine, BCAA's, etc.
So if you are going to train and you want to test the efficacy of caffeine through the intake of coffee, then you only choose to consume coffee. Another option is to consume only caffeine to be able to consume the mentioned supplements without the absorption of these is compromised in a high percentage.
References:
Anderson ME, Bruce CR, Fraser SF, Stepto NK, Klein R, Hopkins WG, Hawley JA. (2000). Improved 2000-meter rowing performance in competitive oarswomen after caffeine ingestion. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 10: 464-475 Medline, ISI.
Armstrong LE. (2002). Caffeine, body fluid-electrolyte balance, and exercise performance. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 12: 189-206 Medline, ISI.
Fett y col (2017). Performance of muscle strength and fatigue tolerance in young trained women supplemented with caffeine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28409508