Caffeine and Kilos: Is coffee the best pre-workout?
Barbells smash the ground. Coffee fills the air. High fives run rampant from new PR’s.
Stepping foot into a crossfit gym you are immediately surrounded by hard work, caffeine and kilos BUT the average lifter believes that coffee is the best pre-workout.
At atomic strength we always strive to take an objective, scientific perspective. Let's take a look and see if Caffeine really is the best pre-workout.
Argument for Caffeine
The argument for caffeine and pre-workout is extensive. Many studies show clear increases in endurance performance but few show clear boosts to anaerobic performance. We wanted to see if caffeine could help users boost performance in the big lifts. In a recent study users were asked to complete BenchPress with and without caffeine doses. On a consistent basis these women achieved higher maximum bench press results when caffeine was administered.
It should be noted that no difference was seen when participants completed max repetitions at 60% max. This indicated that caffeine may be highly effective when it comes to gross force production, yet may limit the ability to resynthesize glycogen during a set.
Contrary to popular belief, caffeine may also be an effective post-workout tool. A study published by the School of Medical Sciences, RMIT University, Australia found that when consumed with carbohydrates after exercise, caffeine assisted in muscle glycogen resynthesis. This increase resulted in 66% higher resynthesis of glycogen. This in turn can help you to recover faster and come primed and ready for the next workout.
Arguments Against Caffeine
We should not forget that caffeine is in fact a drug. Like any other drug, caffeine can create tolerance, addiction and dependency. As a general rule of thumb, caffeine intake should not exceed 150-200mg/day in users under 100kg and supplementing caffeine should only be completed 2-3x/week.
Caffeine should not be consumed for anyone who has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart conditions or lung conditions.
Caffeine can be one of the most effective supplements to boost raw power and performance, yet the contraindications should be considered for any user. At Atomic Strength we understand the negative effects of caffeine and created a pre-workout with no crash, no jitters, and low caffeine doses. Find Apocalypse here.
RESOURCES
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18467543/
