Pre-workout or Coffee?
Increases Productivity
It's been proven time and time again that caffeine intake prior to exercise is linked to increased athletic performance. Caffeine allows athletes to train at a greater power output and/or train longer. Along with increased energy to push through tough workouts, black coffee also provides an increase in mental focus, keeping your workouts productive and effective. It's for these reasons that caffeine is used in nearly every pre-workout available in the the market. We were in search of the cleanest use of caffeine as a pre-workout and realized that it has been around for thousands of years, coffee.
Accelerates Fat Loss
One of the most overlooked and greatest benefits of coffee as a pre-workout is it's fat-burning properties. When taken as a pre-workout, coffee can cause fat cells to to be used as an energy source rather than glycogen. Also, drinking high amounts of caffeine in black coffee will increase your metabolism, which increases the amount of calories burned throughout the day. Having coffee before you workout increases that effect. As an added bonus, caffeine and other compounds found in coffee act as an appetite suppressant, causing you to consume less overall.
Decreases Muscle Pain
Researchers from the University of Illinois found that athletes who consumed coffee prior to their workouts experienced less muscle pain during their workout. This study was conducted by cyclists and professor of kinesiology, Robert Motl. In an article found on Illinois News Bureau, he states:
"One of the things that may be a practical application, is if you go to the gym and you exercise and it hurts, you may be prone to stop doing that because pain is an aversive stimulus that tells you to withdraw. So if we could give people a little caffeine and reduce the amount of pain they're experiencing, maybe that would help them stick with that exercise. Maybe then they'll push a little harder as well... maybe get even better adaptations to the exercise."
Prevents Disease
Coffee has been proven to help your body prevent disease. It contains high amounts of antioxidants, which prevents against damage from free radicals. Moderate coffee consumption (three to four cups per day) has been linked with longer lifespan. In fact, a November 2015 study in Circulation found that coffee consumption was associated with an 8% to 15% reduction in the risk of death (with larger reductions among those with higher coffee consumption).
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