Caffeine
Caffeine can become your best friend when it comes to training. The trick is to ensure your consumption is at the appropriate time.
Learning where caffeine can be found and the amount is important to learn so you can begin to recognise how your body responds to it throughout the day:
- Coffee (single espresso = 75-80mg)
- Typical Pre-workout mixes (100-200mg)
- Typical Fat burners (250mg)
- Energy drinks (80mg)
- Tea (green tea = 30-50mg, black tea = 35-42mg)
- Dark chocolate (1oz/28g = 20mg)
- Coke-Cola (34mg, diet coke = 46mg)
The recommended maximum caffeine intake per day is 400mg which equates to roughly 4-5 coffees a day (Mayo clinic). So, be mindful if you’re taking a pre-workout before training as well as sipping on tea and coffee throughout the day.
PROS TO CONSUMING BEFORE A WORKOUT:
- Thermogenic effect – increases metabolic rate thus burning more calories
- Improves cognitive function
- Improves endurance levels (great for hypertrophy and endurance sports!)
CAFFEINE REMAINS IN THE BODY FOR 5-6 HOURS
Something that’s really important to remember. If you have an evening gym session at 6pm and you have a pre-workout drink at 5pm, that caffeine content will remain in your system until 10pm that night. Depending on your tolerance levels you may not notice any effect prior to getting to sleep. Alternatively the caffeine swimming around in your system can affect your sleep duration by making it harder for you to settle down as well as the quality of sleep (for when you eventually fall asleep).