How Coffee and Weightlifting Are the Perfect Match
Most of us can’t imagine starting our morning off without a delicious cup of coffee. We depend on our brew to stir us awake and to get us ready for crushing the day ahead. However, coffee offers people more support than getting us out of bed. Thanks to its high antioxidant levels, this natural stimulant actually makes coffee and weightlifting a match made in fitness heaven.
This all-natural stimulant has everything you need to get your heart pumping so you feel motivated, aids your tissues in repairing themselves from wear and tear and keeps you laser-focused on your goals. Let’s take a look at why caffeine and exercise performance go together and how coffee and weight training is the combo you need to get gains.
How Does Caffeine and Exercise Performance Work?
Coffee and weightlifting are the peanut butter and jelly of the fitness world. It’s just that, not everyone knows it yet. However, coffee checks off all the boxes you need for the perfect weight training session.
Caffeine helps with:
- Alertness
- Focus
- Blood Flow
- Muscle Repair
- Fat Burning
- Breathing
As anyone who has to drag themselves to work can attest, coffee is an excellent stimulant. That’s because caffeine inhibits a molecule in our central nervous system that makes us sleepy. This hormone is known as adenosine.
When our brain secretes adenosine, it binds to receptors that communicate with our central nervous system. This interaction causes cells to slow down, essentially preparing the body for rest. Due to these chemical reactions, we feel lethargic. In other words, our behinds don’t want to pump iron.
Drinking coffee before workout is a great tool for combating this laziness. That’s because the caffeine molecule is quite similar to that of adenosine. Therefore, it fits like a glove in adenosine receptors. However, caffeine doesn’t cause the drowsy sensation that adenosine does. Instead, it creates a stimulating effect. That’s why coffee and weight training go hand-in-hand.
Coffee and Weight Training Focus
Now that we’re in the gym, we sometimes need a little extra motivation. Thankfully, coffee can be that gym partner you need. Plus, a cup of brew is a lot less annoying than hanging with some of those grunters out there.
Since caffeine speeds up cells in the central nervous system, coffee makes things happen. That includes getting you into the mental zone.
Let’s face it; progress can come with some severe roadblocks. When we workout, we can get into our own heads, hitting a wall as we reach our peak performance. This sort of mental quit sets us up for workouts laden with complacency or plateauing.
Research on caffeine and brain activity found that this molecule has a profound impact on our prefrontal cortex.
This region within the frontal lobe of the brain influences critical functions, such as:
- Memory
- Attention Span
- Knowledge Flexibility
- Problem-Solving
- Personality
By drinking coffee before workout, we ignore the internal naysaying. Instead of getting lost in our negative thoughts, we can become in tune with what our body is telling us.
When merging coffee and weightlifting, we can create stronger muscle memory connections. Therefore, our mind and body will determine the correct methods for optimal performance. We will be more apt to creating better training habits, including proper form.
In addition, coffee will help us find that sweet rhythm when we’re attempting to up our reps. Getting into that zone is essential, especially when you’re trying to isolate and tone specific body parts. These little improvements will help us craft a better workout plan and improve our attitude in the workroom.
How Coffee and Weightlifting Can Help with Weight Loss
Whether you are a bodybuilder or someone looking to tone up excess skin after some weight loss, weightlifting is beneficial for reaching your goals. That’s because the coffee will motivate and support you as you drag yourself to the gym. However, caffeine will also improve your chances of keeping the weight off.
Just like caffeine and exercise performance are a reliable pair, coffee and weight loss have a long history, too. A big reason for this long-standing relationship is because coffee helps boost our metabolism.
There is more than just caffeine in coffee that helps achieve this desired effect. Coffee beans are rich in nutrients that are beneficial in any weight loss or weight training program. One of these beneficial compounds is chlorogenic acid.
Research shows that this acid stimulates our liver. As a result, our liver produces more bile. When bile enters the intestine, it helps clear out the toxins. That leaves more opportunities to fill up on healthy fats and complex carbs that will help us get leaner.
Coffee Can Improve Your Endurance
Whether you’re doing weight training cardio, or hiking in nature, we need the endurance to push through. The first sign that we’re getting gassed in shortness of breath. A big reason for this is that oxygenated blood being pumped out by your heart isn’t reaching all the vital areas of our body as efficiently. Thankfully, there are other compounds at play that make coffee and weightlifting the perfect match.
Coffee beans have a beneficial compound known as theophylline. This molecule is actually used in medications to help patients with asthma and COPD. That’s because theophylline relaxes muscles around our airways. Therefore, we can take in deeper breaths that will fuel us through our workout.
How Coffee Aids in Muscle Repair During Workout and After
In addition, coffee contains a compound known as theobromine. This molecule is known as a vasodilator. That means, it relaxes blood vessels so they can move through the arteries more efficiently. This action is beneficial for neutralizing the pH balance of your muscles why you workout.
As we push our muscles past their threshold, they secrete lactic acid. When this acid builds up, we may experience pain and cramping that will make us want to quit.
Plus, this all-natural stimulant may alleviate soreness you experience after a workout. One study found that drinking two cups of coffee before workout may reduce muscle soreness after the session by approximately 50%.
The reason why coffee helps delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is, once again, thanks to the relationship between caffeine and adenosine. When our body experiences pain, it produces this relaxant hormone.
Think about it. When we feel pain, don’t we just want to ball up and go to bed? Part of that response is adenosine. However, adenosine sets off an inflammatory response in the system. Therefore, we experience pain in the areas that were put under a strenuous workout.
By marrying coffee and weightlifting, you can ease the damage you cause while you workout. It then helps you deal with the discomfort after the session is complete. However, it may also aid your body in the repair process.
How Coffee Can Help Post-Weight Training
When we workout, there is more clanging going on than the weights on the lat bar slamming back to the ground. All of the cells, tissues, and blood vessels in our body are contracting and retracting, as well.
The pressure caused by an intense sweat session may create oxidative stress on the cells in your body. These consequences can cause anything from muscle damage to the formation of free radicals. That’s why our diet needs antioxidants. Thankfully, one of the benefits of coffee is that it’s a rich source of these compounds.
Antioxidants fight off oxidative stress. They help clean out dead and damaged cells that may spark inflammation in the system. Furthermore, they assist in repairing some of the salvageable cells that make up our muscles. Not only does coffee and weight training inhibit the severity of DOMS, but it may speed up the recovery process and help you bulk up!
How to Pair Coffee and Weightlifting
Mixing coffee and weight training together has never been easier. In fact, you can drink the exact brew that the USA Weightlifting Team does. The easiest way to merge coffee and weightlifting is to pick up some Caffeine and Kilos.
Our organic coffee has 50% more caffeine than other brews on the market. More caffeine means increased focus, improved blood flow, and extra support for muscle repair and recovery.
Your next workout partner comes in four distinct artisan blends:
- PR Blend - South America beans, light/medium roast
- Night Train Blend - Peru beans, dark roast
- Roaster Dave’s Signature Blend - South American blend, light/medium roast
- Coffee of the Month - Rotating blends that have included Cinnaberry and Southern Hospitality
The best way to get maximum benefits of coffee and weightlifting is to drink your beverage at least a half-hour before your workout. However, you can wait up for an hour.
Most people benefit more if they drink coffee before workout because this tasty beverage can be a tad acidic. You want most of those acids to break down before working out. Otherwise, they’ll mix with the lactic acid your tissues secrete and may cause some irritation.
If you are serious about your coffee and weightlifting routine, then order a Caffeine and Kilos subscription. That way, you never have to think about placing an order. Your coffee fix will be delivered to your door each month.
Our coffee delivery plans come in a package of:
Coffee and weightlifting are the perfect pair because there are many benefits to both. Both coffee and weight training have excellent physical and mental benefits for our bodies. However, coffee also has great perks when it comes to upping your weight training game.
Have you jumped on board with coffee and weight training? Which blend is your fave? Let us know in the comments below.