A WORKOUT POWERHOUSE: CAFFEINE
Whenever you wake up in the morning, do you smell that cup of coffee before your feet even hit the floor? Without it, does your body feel sluggish and your brain foggy? You have caffeine to thank for that coffee-induced pick-me-up. Caffeine is also found in many dietary supplements, especially pre-workouts, that help give amazing benefits for athletic performance. Let’s find out what caffeine is all about!
What Is Caffeine
Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in the world1. When ingested, caffeine stimulates our central nervous system by binding to receptors that would otherwise relax – in turn, enhancing alertness, increasing energy and reducing feelings of tiredness2. Caffeine can be found in multiple foods and beverages, including coffee, green tea, soda, and energy drinks. It can also be found in dietary supplements such as pre-workouts, sports gels, and even multivitamins.
Read More: Complete Pre-Workout Guide: What It Is, Benefits, Ingredients And More
What Are The Benefits of Caffeine and Why Is It Important for Athletic Performance?
Caffeine is recognized for its thermogenic powers, improvements in mental alertness and benefits to athletic performance. Caffeine is a widely utilized pre-workout ingredient shown to improve physical and mental focus.
Most commonly consumed 30–60 minutes before exercise, the beneficial dose is 3–6mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. For a 150-pound individual, that’s approximately 200–400mg of caffeine per day. According to a position paper by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), caffeine has consistently shown to improve exercise performance in both trained and untrained individuals; can improve cognitive function and attention; and can enhance both anaerobic and aerobic performance. The ISSN also states “Small to moderate benefits of caffeine use include, but are not limited to: muscular endurance, movement velocity and muscular strength, sprinting, jumping, and throwing performance, as well as a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic sport-specific actions”3.
Those who consume caffeine as part of their pre-workout routine may be giving themselves more than just a performance upgrade. Caffeine has also been shown to stimulate the brain, improving cognitive tasks and may help reaction time.
Read More: How Does Caffeine Boost Performance
The Take Home Message
Caffeine has been extensively studied as a successful stimulant in both trained and untrained individuals. It has the power to help with cognitive function and attention while also enhancing athletic performance. If caffeine sounds like a good fit to support your goals, check out GNC’s vast assortment of pre-workout supplements, energy drinks and more!
References
1. Caffeine for performance. opss. (2020, April 30). Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.opss.org/article/caffeine-performance
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Office of dietary supplements – dietary supplements for exercise and athletic performance. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Retrieved June 27, 2022, from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfessional/
3. https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4.pdf
