Increased alertness, sharper brain activity, greater energy –45 to 60 minutes is all it takes for a cup of coffee to transform a sluggish morning zombie to a vigorous individual ready to take on the world…and every coffee lover knows that!
You may not be a huge fan of coffee- you may get your morning energy from other sources like tea, meditation, or even breathing exercises. You might not enjoy coffee, or the idea of caffeine early in the morning. But we’re here to show you some of coffee’s health benefits, and how coffee can help you get more out of your day – especially if you’re an athlete, fitness enthusiast, or an avid gym-goer.
Minimize Pain Perception
One of the things that stop people from pushing themselves during exercise or workouts is pain. But what if you could reduce the pain you’re feeling from intense physical activity? You’d push some more, get in those extra reps, and feel even better!
Well, drinking 2 cups of coffee 60 minutes before intense training can do just that.
Experts from the University of Georgia found that consuming 2 cups of coffee before engaging in intense workouts and exercises can reduce pain by up to 48%, far more effective than anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers like naproxen (30% pain reduction) and aspirin (only 25% pain reduction).
Feel Stronger, Perform Better
Reducing pain when working out can do wonders for your performance – but you can also feel stronger too.
Caffeine has been studied extensively – and there are over 70 studies that have focused on its benefits for both short, high intensity exercises as well as activities that require endurance. The studies unanimously agree that coffee’s most active ingredient boost performance by 12% – and this has been attributed to the beverage’s ability to reduce perceived physical exertion, leaving drinkers feeling stronger.
RPE (the rating of perceived exertion)is a scale that runs from 1 to 10, used to measure the intensity and rate the difficulty of an exercise. A 2005 meta-analysis discovered that caffeine consumption reduced RPE in participants by 5%, making exercises feel easier.
Even better however, this reduction in RPE led to improved athlete performance by up to 11%. The researchers also noted that the performance-enhancing, strength-boosting effects of caffeine are more pronounced when engaging in endurance exercises…although people who engage in short, intense exercises that last for up to 20 minutes can benefit too.
So if you’re into swimming, biking across the country, or sports like tennis, basketball, or soccer, grabbing a cup of kimbo coffee might be just what you need to bring out you’re A-game!
Refuel Your Body After A Challenging Session At The Gym
You’re sweaty and you’re feeling great.You dished out over 30 reps of bench presses, squats, dumbbell curls, or pushed yourself with any other workout– but there’s one problem. Your whole body is feeling sore and you have to regain your energy fast as there are a dozen other tasks for the day that you need to complete.
If this is a recurring issue, drinking coffee might be the quick solution you’re looking for, according to a study by John Hawley from the University of Bundoora in Australia. Glycogen is one of the fuels that keep those muscles going – and coffee has been shown to preserve the body’s glycogen levels, especially when consumed with a meal rich in carbohydrates.
Hawley’s study involved highly-trained cyclists and triathletes that rode to exhaustion during the study period and were fed carbohydrates and caffeine after.
The end of the study saw those that consumed a high-carbohydrate meal combined with caffeine maintain 60% more glycogen than those that consumed carbohydrates alone!
Keep Those Muscles Toned As You Age
Aging is a part of life – there’s nothing wrong about it and we’ve seen people age gracefully. But one thing that sucks about aging, especially if you’ve worked hard to maintain a well-toned pair of arms and legs, is the decline in muscle strength that comes with it.
This inevitable decline in muscle strength can lead to injuries and even reduce one’s quality of life. Fortunately, there are simple ways to help preserve it – and one of them is consuming coffee.
Jason Tallis, together with sports scientists from the Coventry University, presented a study at the Society for Experimental Biology. Their findings revealed that coffee could enhance the performance and strength of older muscles.
While the study also showed that these enhancing effects were less pronounced on older, weaker muscles, it should give us all a reason to start drinking more coffee!
Summing Things Up
For decades, coffee has been considered a guilty pleasure. But recent studies and research reveal that there’s nothing to be guilty of when downing a cup – and that it’s actually a superfood! Don’t miss out on the health benefits and give coffee the chance it deserves.
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