Caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant. It works by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and sleepiness, leading to increased alertness, improved focus, and reduced perception of effort during physical activity. When used strategically—typically 30-60 minutes before exercise in moderate doses—caffeine can be a powerful tool for optimizing athletic performance. Today I’ll answer these three questions:

• Should you take before athletics?

• How much should you take?

• What are the downsides?

Should you take before athletics?

Caffeine can have a lot of benefits for athletes. It can prolong your endurance for both resistance training and aerobic (running for example) activities. As stated above, caffeine can block adenosine, a neurotransmitter that makes you tired. This allows you to enhance your focus and reaction time, as well as reduce your perception of work making workouts feel easier. Caffeine can also improve your motor unit recruitment allowing for increase in strength and power with activities. These effects of caffeine can improve your performance on the field, court, or in the weightroom.

How much you should take?

The recommendation per CSCS on how much caffeine you should take before an activity is 3-9mg/kg body weight. 9mg/kg body weight is A LOT of caffeine. I personally have been drinking caffeinated pre workout for about 7 years now and I never go anywhere near 9mg/kg of my body weight. It is best to start around 3mg/kg of your body weight and if you feel it is not enough to get the benefits, then you can slowly increase.

What are the downsides?

Of course, there are some downsides of taking caffeine. Number 1, caffeine can cause sleep disturbances. The recommendation is to avoid caffeine at least 6-8 hours prior to going to bed. If your sensitive to caffeine, 10-12 hours would be better. Many people cannot tolerate caffeine no matter when taken throughout the day and it causes them issues sleeping. Sleeping and recovery outweigh the benefits of caffeine and I would not recommend taking caffeine if you sleep is affected tremendously because sleep is where you truly grow and get improvements in your body. Some athletes may experience some stomach discomfort from caffeine. If this happens to you, first I’d suggest drinking the caffeine slower prior to your workout. I’d also suggest reducing the amount of caffeine your drinking. If you’re still having discomfort, I would not recommend continuing with the supplement.