Caffein 101
In this article I cover the basics of caffeine, its benefits and downsides, and its role in training performance. Plus a list of the caffeine content in some popular drinks.
Read on to find out more…
What is caffeine?
Caffeine is a stimulant that works by stimulating the brain and central nervous system. It acts by blocking the chemical receptors in our brain that make us sleepy and relaxed (adenosine) and, as a result, makes us feel more alert and awake.
What are the benefits?
Caffeine has been shown to improve both physical and mental performance. It is usually used to enhance mental alertness or to aid athletic performance. caffein has been shown to improve athletic performance across strength, power and high intensity sports, but particularly in endurance based events. Making it a popular pre-workout supplement.
Taking caffeine as a pre-workout supplement
If you want to use caffeine are a pre-workout supplement, you need to get your pre-workout intake right. Too little won’t have any affect. Too much will negatively effect performance (by causing nausea, anxiety, digestive upset, etc.) ⚖️
The optimal pre-workout dose and timing varies between individuals depending on body size and tolerance. However, most research recommends roughly 200-400mg or 3-5mg/kg of bodyweight to be taken within 30-60mins of training.
Research shows that caffeine will be in your system within 30-60mins after consumption, but this can vary between individuals and can also be impacted by other factors like how much you have eaten that day, how recently you’ve eaten, how hydrated you are, etc.
A daily intake of up to 400mg/day is considered safe for most individuals. But everyone’s tolerance is different so for some, 400mg of caffein per day may be too much and start to have negative side effects.
Basically, everyone responds to caffein slightly differently. So you just need to do some testing find out what works best for you.
Are there any downsides to caffeine?
It is possible to build a caffeine tolerance, and if you use caffein to enhance your mental or physical performance then this is not an ideal scenario as you will require increasingly larger amounts to elicit the same effects. To avoid this, limit intake and consume on a ‘needs only’ basis. If you do build up a tolerance through prolonged high consumption, you can increase your caffein sensitivity again by cutting out or significantly reducing your caffein intake for a few weeks.
The biggest negative effect of caffein is how it may be impacting and disrupting your sleep.
Caffeine has a half-life of up to 6hrs. This means, if you consume a drink containing 200mg of caffeine, there will still be 100mg in your system 6hrs later. So even if you don’t consume caffeine in the evening, it might still be impacting your sleep more than you think.
As another example, if you have a coffee at 3pm half of the caffeine will still be in your system at 9pm, and a quarter at 3am! So, if you’re an avid coffee drinker and like your afternoon ‘pick-me-up’ coffee, it might be worth considering how this is impacting your sleep.
If you struggle to sleep, a good habit is to set a caffeine curfew - and it probably needs to be earlier than you think. Setting a caffein curfew of 2pm should mean that majority of the caffeine is out of your system by bedtime (depending on how many coffees, pre-workouts and energy drinks you drink). But, you might find you need to set an even earlier curfew of 12pm to make sure it’s not impacting your sleep at all.
How much caffein is in…?
Typical Coffee: 80-140mg
Double Espresso: 120-140mg
Energy drinks: 160-200mg+
Monster: 160mg
NOCCO: 180mg
REIGN: 200mg
RedBull (250ml): 80g
Diet Coke (330ml): 46mg
Pre-workout supplements: Depends on dose, but suggested servings can be 100-400mg+
Bottom line - caffeine can be great. But if you love your coffee and your sleep, keep an eye on your intake 👍🏼
For any help or advice on training, drop me a message.
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