Anyone drink coffee before training?

[Mr. Miyagi]

Someone suggested it to me and I thought it was worth a try. I remember reading that Ken Shamrock does not allow it. One mug about an hour before, it gave me extra energy and my muscles didn't exhaust as easily as they would without coffee. On the downside, I dehydrated a bit and had to take water breaks several times over the course of two hours. Maybe it gives you a false sense of what you are capable of and maybe your endurance won't actually get better with the aid of coffee. Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences about this?

[rockinronnie]

Mr.Miyagi - I ingest baking soda in any fruit juice about an hour or so before a BJJ class / weight workout. One teaspoon in eight ounces of lightly sweetened juice not only increases my energy level, but the lactic acid within the mucsles does not build up as fast as when I ingested only juice, water or nothing at all.

I've never tried coffee before. I'll give it a try though. Thanks.

Ronnie.

____________________________
A straight arm's still a broken arm - Master JPF

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

Caffine doesnt seem to do much for boosting my energy or affect me at all. Does anyone else here experience this as well?

[Oberleutnant]

I don't have the time RIGHT now to go into greater detail, but two notes:

Caffeine can be a performance enhancer , and rockinronnie: THat's physiologically impossible, unless you "shoot up" baking soda suspension in a large-guage needle directly into your muscles, which is bound to cause problems. Lactate is both an inhibitor(altering intracellular PH), and required component of certain energy pathways. I'll try to elaborate on both of these statements in greater detail later.

[rockinronnie]

Not impossible in my case bro. I got this from a fellow I work with that use to train race horses. He'd feed them the baking soda with water, and their race times improved with the soda, as opposed to without. He says all the horse trainers use it. And since baking soda is a natural ingredient, and is used in many ways in cooking, etc., I figured it couldn't hurt me, in small amounts. I used to fatigue quicker without the soda, but as long as I ingest it at least an hour before training, I notice an increase in the longevity of my stamina, as opposed to a quick rush of energy. If it's a placibo effect, it's doing me wonders. I'll stick to it. One thing though - it tastes awful. It won't be for everyone. Thats why I add the fruit juice instead of water. It's still awful, but not as much.

Ronnie.

[SanDiegoBJJ]

in my case-ive built up quite a bit of tolerance for caffeine , so my doses have to become bigger and bigger the more frequently i take it-but it does help me with energy


as for the baking soda idea-if it works even only as a placebo, then im definitely gonna try it-i have pretty big legs and i build up a killer lactic acid buildup when i do fast repetitive motions with my legs-i serioulsy hope itll work out for me-if not then i really need something to get past this buildup-any ideas?

[Underdog]

I base my entire life on coffee....

I'm a coffee shop owner!

LOL, but to be serious; it all depend on your bodytipe: I don't know if you are referring to the typical USA coffee, that for us Italians it's basically a VERY watered down and large cup of blackened water with lots of sugar; this coffee is absolutely no harmful if not for the sugar contents, I think.

If you are referring to a shot of espresso, well if you are accustomed to it (addicted must be a better word) you'll blunt its energyzing properties up to a point that you'll not feel absolutely nothing. Until you withdraw from taking it; in this case you may feel some headaches and tremblings.

One thing is very true however; coffee is a DIURETIC and will flush you from water big time; keep your water intake up to 3 liters/day if you train hard.

Myself, without three shots of expresso in the morning I can't even crawl out of the bed to jog...

But I'm addicted beyond hope....

[Hawk]

Coffee has always helped me, but I usually do it a couple hours before working out. That way I don't dehydrate as quick.
Hawk

[Mad Dog]

There are numerous scientific studies which have shown that caffeine definitely can act as a performance enhancer. I just take mine in pill form, as I don't particularly care for coffee. I always drink tons of water anyway, so the diuretic effect has never been an issue for me. People with high blood pressure should, of course, be wary of ingesting high doses.

[Anaconda]

Yeah, I usually drink an espresso before I lift or roll. Helps me sweat right away, and the coating of my stomach helps me not get hungry for the next 3 hrs.

[fascistfury]

instead of baking soda, i take a couple of tums. it is supposed to reduce the buildup of lactic acid in your system and muscles...plus it keeps me from getting indigestion while i roll. later!