Read on to find out how to take caffeine properly to boost athletic performance. Caffeine is an excellent stimulant of the nervous system, it is widely popular in the pharmaceutical industry, various preparations are made on the basis of it, due to the high efficiency of the substance and low cost part of the financial nature. But in addition to medications, caffeine is found in the favorite foods of many people and every day they get their dose of alkaloid together with a cup of tea or coffee, or maybe eaten chocolate. In addition to affecting the nervous system and brain activity, caffeine in sports has a positive effect on athletes during physical activity, increasing their endurance and converting subcutaneous fat into fuel for training.
Caffeine burns fat
This alkaloid has proven itself in many aspects of the functionality of the human body, one of which is fat burning. Caffeine increases the synthesis of fatty acids in the blood, which, in turn, are responsible for the use of fat in the form of expendable energy, while even when a person is at rest, more calories are burned. This effect is due not only to an increase in the amount of fatty acids, but also to the acceleration of metabolic processes, which increase by several percent after each cup of coffee you drink. Therefore, caffeine is not a replaceable component in sports, especially when burning extra centimeters.
In addition, various studies have shown that at the time of exercise, if a dietary supplement in the form of caffeine was taken thirty minutes before it, the number of calories burned increased by 50%. As a result, about 70% of the total calories will be burned due to fat oxidation and 30% due to the breakdown of sugar.
It is also important to note that exercise will be easier for people who have taken caffeine, as it increases endurance and the ability to perform more difficult physical tasks. Psychological fatigue against this background is also noticeably reduced.
Caffeine - benefits and harms
Caffeine helps to achieve better athletic performance by increasing endurance, this is its main action. The substance promotes the synthesis of adrenaline, which accelerates the production of fatty acids, thereby converting fat into energy, without affecting the glycogen found in the muscles. The alkaloid also affects brain activity, allowing you to exercise more intensely without feeling tired. That is, the psycho-emotional state after drinking caffeine becomes more agitated due to the release of an additional portion of adrenaline into the bloodstream and makes the body work at its peak. Thus, caffeine in sports helps to cope with plateau conditions.
Important for bodybuilders to use caffeine is that it increases strength through the release of norepinephrine and does not consume glycogen, which is so important for muscle gain. And norepinephrine improves muscle contraction, which also affects muscle growth. Various experiments in this area have established that athletes' endurance increases by more than 20% when drinking two cups of coffee, while this amount of drink does not affect the water balance in the body and cannot contribute to dehydration.
Athletes with respiratory difficulties will also appreciate the benefits of taking caffeine. Studies have shown that the substance improves the contractility of the diaphragm.
Australian scientists have come to the conclusion that caffeine in sports promotes faster recovery of strength and glycogen after exercise, if taken together with a gainer or just with fast carbohydrates. The indicator was 66% higher, in contrast to taking only a carbohydrate cocktail. And subsequent workouts are easier and more intense.
The use of caffeine in sports
You can get the dose of caffeine you need with black tea, coffee, or dietary supplements specially formulated for this purpose. The latter option is the most convenient, since the supplement is easily absorbed by the body, shows good results and is inexpensive at the same time. Athletes who don't like coffee will especially appreciate the benefits of supplements in tablet form.
In order for the alkaloid to bring results, a strategy for its intake should be developed. If you opt for a caffeinated dietary supplement, it is usually based on guarana, a plant that is rich in caffeine is legal and affordable. The dosage in this case should be on average 3-4 mg per kilogram of human weight, but the exact recommendations for doses for each athlete are individual and depend on physiological characteristics. Therefore, for some, the permissible dose is 200 and 400 mg of the substance, and for others, 100 mg can cause signs of an overdose.
The most effective caffeine is taken one hour before the start of the workout, no matter in what form. It is during this time that the substance is best absorbed in plasma and will bring the best result. The substance retains its effect for another two to three hours, it is completely excreted from the body after 12 hours. If a competition is coming, it is recommended to reduce the dose of caffeine three days before the start, but take a high dose an hour before the start, which should significantly increase its effect. Since 2008, caffeine has been removed from the list of prohibited supplements, although years earlier, caffeine was not used in sports.
If you intend to get caffeine from coffee, you should choose natural varieties, preferably in whole beans and process them yourself. Two hundred grams of natural coffee contains about 135 mg of pure caffeine. If you choose an instant drink, its content is lower, about 100 mg. Cola is also a source of caffeine, but it is significantly inferior in its content in coffee or tea, 60 mg in 200 g of the drink. In addition, cola contains a lot of sugar, which is unacceptable for a bodybuilder's protein diet, excess glucose will only harm the workout. It is best to skip this option and opt for a healthier one, such as coffee or dietary supplements. Energy drinks are also based on caffeine, but along with it there are guarana, taurine and other components that affect the psycho-emotional state. But they, as well as freeze-dried coffee in cans, has additional harmful preservatives that allow the product to be stored longer.
Caffeine overdose - symptoms
Important! A dose in excess of nine milligrams per kilogram of a person's weight can become dangerous and cause side effects from different body systems. For each, the dosage is individual, but it is not desirable to exceed 5 mg per kilogram of weight, since various negative manifestations may occur. The main ones include:
- increased agitation;
- sleep disturbance;
- sense of anxiety;
- dry mouth;
- darkening in the eyes;
- tinnitus;
- increased sweating;
- rapid heartbeat and breathing;
- nausea and vomiting;
- upset gastrointestinal tract;
- caffeine in sports increases the feeling of heat in the body.
Also, an overdose of caffeine in sports leads to the expansion of the coronary vessels, which can cause the development of pathologies such as coronary heart disease or heart attack. Systematic abuse of caffeine causes a reverse reaction, it can lead to depletion of the nervous system and, instead of increasing physical activity, on the contrary, reduce it. At the same time, the alkaloid stimulates the production and density of gastric juice, which can adversely affect the digestive tract, especially for people who suffer from gastritis or stomach ulcers. Coffee should be drunk on an empty stomach, preferably on an empty stomach, but not washed down with food. Since fermentation or decay processes may occur, due to the rapid transportation of the ingested products through the gastrointestinal tract.
Caffeine is addictive, this should be remembered, each time, with a systematic, daily intake, an increasing dose of the substance will be required to feel the effect of its use. And after a sharp abolition of the use of an alkaloid, after prolonged use, inhibition of nerve receptors in the central nervous system occurs. As a result, it manifests itself as weakness, disability, depression. Brain activity is inhibited, the body lacks energy, the source of which it was drastically deprived.
Caffeine is an excellent stimulant of the nervous system, and also has a positive effect on athletes during physical activity, increasing their endurance and converting subcutaneous fat into fuel for training.
The use of creatine with caffeine in sports
Another point that worries athletes is the compatibility of caffeine with creatine. Over the years, battles have been fought over their compatibility. Some studies speak of a positive effect, while others, on the contrary, deny this fact. Caffeine acts as an inhibitory agent on creatine, but works together to produce positive, not negative effects. So, for example, the effect of caffeine is equal to two, from creatine as well, but in the total use the figure comes out - three. Where two is the effect of caffeine, and one is from creatine, but the total effect is greater than if the substances are used separately, despite the fact that the effect of creatine is nevertheless weakened by the effect of caffeine. Based on this, it is quite reasonable to use supplements that contain both substances, if the individual tolerance of the body allows this to be done.
Summarizing the above, it should be noted that caffeine in sports is a completely harmless and useful nutritional supplement for athletes who want to increase their endurance and energy during training. But harmlessness will only be in the case when the dosage of the substance does not exceed the permissible limits, otherwise, instead of inexhaustible energy, you can get a completely opposite effect and, in addition, problems with the cardiovascular system of the body and not only. Remember that everything is good in moderation, including caffeine, and how you will use it from dietary supplements or, drinking coffee, black tea, this is a purely individual decision of each athlete.
Video about the benefits and harms of coffee in bodybuilding:
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