Got Coffee?

Pre workout coffee intake can increase fat burning during exercise. BUT before you fill up your cup for your next workout, keep reading because there are a couple important considerations you should pay attention to.

Coffee is an antioxidant and has compounds that are beneficial for your health and reduce the risk of certain diseases.. On top of that, a recent study just came out shedding light on how caffeine intake of 3mg/kg pre exercise can increase fat oxidation during exercise. 

While all of this is great, there are a few individual circumstances where coffee may not be beneficial. For example, caffeine interferes with estrogen metabolism, so if you have high estrogen levels you may need to cut back on the caffeine. You may also need to cut back if you experience anxiousness, jitters or...hate to say it, but if you rely on caffeine to get you going in the morning/throughout the day, it may be a good idea to slowly decrease the amount you’re consuming.

Your ability to process caffeine depends on your genetics. Some people can process it fast while others simply can’t. 

In addition to your ability to metabolize caffeine, you want to be cautious of your stress response too. Caffeine can be an added “stressor” on the body and increases your stress hormone cortisol (as well as increases your heart rate). So if you are in a stressful period of your life and drinking coffee while fasting then working out in a fasted state - this could be too many stressors on your body, especially for women who are still in their reproductive years.

On a brighter note - coffee has been shown to have positive effects on cognition and performance, regardless of the amount of caffeine - so yes, decaf has benefits too! 

When it comes to the benefits of coffee, it depends on your individual tolerance. And as always...there can always be too much of a good thing and this is especially true with coffee/caffeine. At living.fit we love coffee so much, we recorded an entire video on it! Tune in here: https://youtu.be/njPOTGo7vrk

Check out more interviews and articles from Marcus Martinez and Aaron Guyett in the blog, or get full versions by subscribing to our membership here:  https://www.living.fit/kettlebell-workout-plans-and-memberships

References:

Collado-Mateo, D., Lavín-Pérez, A. M., Merellano-Navarro, E., & Coso, J. D. (2020). Effect of Acute Caffeine Intake on the Fat Oxidation Rate during Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 12(12), 3603. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12123603

O'Keefe, J. H., DiNicolantonio, J. J., & Lavie, C. J. (2018). Coffee for Cardioprotection and Longevity. Progress in cardiovascular diseases, 61(1), 38–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2018.02.002

Shukitt-Hale, B., Miller, M. G., Chu, Y. F., Lyle, B. J., & Joseph, J. A. (2013). Coffee, but not caffeine, has positive effects on cognition and psychomotor behavior in aging. Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 35(6), 2183–2192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-012-9509-4 

Liang, N., & Kitts, D. D. (2014). Antioxidant property of coffee components: assessment of methods that define mechanisms of action. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 19(11), 19180–19208. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules191119180

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201092316.htm