Is Coffee a Good Pre Workout?

A Special Thank You to

Kyle "The Muscle Maximizer" Leon

It seems that research is backing up the use of coffee as a pre-workout drink for a number of different reasons. If you look at just about any pre-workout drink, you're going to find some sort of stimulant. Since ephedra was banned, it's fairly likely that the exact stimulant that you'll find is going to be caffeine.

That's exactly what's in coffee. What you won't find in coffee is artificial flavors, sweeteners or a ton of calories: just good old fashioned caffeine along with serious antioxidant power and a nice, rich, wake-me-up flavor.

Coffee Boosts Fat Burning

A neat little trick that was discovered during research is that coffee triggers your body to burn fat instead of glycogen for energy during a workout. This means that you're quite literally burning fat while you're working without having to burn through your glycogen stores first.

Coffee Increases Mental Clarity

One of the benefits of caffeine is that it helps you to focus on the task at hand. When you're working out, that means that you can concentrate more easily on performing each exercise precisely and completely without your mind wandering off in a million directions.

Coffee Decreases Pain

Caffeine affects a system in your brain and spine that deals with pain, which is why it may help reduce muscle pain and burn during workouts. A study conducted at the University of Illinois in 2009 supports this. College-age men were first given a placebo before hitting the cycles, then a week later were given a caffeine pill before cycling. Significant reduction in calf pain during exercise was reported during the caffeine phase of the study.

This could help you work out longer and harder without experiencing muscle pain and burn that can reduce the number of reps or the amount of weight that you can lift. That's a pretty big bonus to any workout plan!

Caffeine Improves Performance

When you look at the combination of increased energy and focus and decreased workout pain, caffeine is bound to improve your performance. This leap in logic is supported by numerous studies, which show that caffeine consumption (with as little as one cup) can increase performance by about 12%.

Possible Downsides of Drinking Coffee as a Pre-Workout

If you're extremely sensitive to caffeine, drinking coffee may not be for you. Also, coffee is a diuretic. While that's great if you're retaining water, it's not-so-great when you're trying to hydrate your body during and after a workout.

I give a nice strong, black cup of coffee a 2 thumbs up for an inexpensive alternative to a traditional pre-workout!