Does Coffee Help Boost Exercise Performance?

Check out this answer from Consensus:

Coffee, primarily due to its caffeine content, can enhance various aspects of exercise performance, including endurance, resistance training, and muscle glycogen recovery. While the benefits are well-supported by research, individual responses may vary, and athletes should tailor their caffeine intake to their specific needs and tolerances. Overall, coffee can be a valuable addition to an athlete’s regimen to boost exercise performance.

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages globally, primarily due to its stimulating effects attributed to caffeine. The potential ergogenic benefits of coffee, particularly in enhancing exercise performance, have been a subject of extensive research. This article explores the impact of coffee on various aspects of exercise performance, including endurance, resistance training, and muscle recovery, by reviewing findings from multiple studies.

Coffee and Endurance Performance

Several studies have demonstrated that coffee can significantly enhance endurance performance. For instance, a study by Richardson and Clarke2 found that caffeine ingestion through coffee improved performance during a resistance exercise protocol. Similarly, another study highlighted that both caffeine and coffee consumed one hour prior to exercise improved endurance exercise performance, with performance times significantly faster for both caffeine and coffee compared to placebo and decaf3. An umbrella review of 21 meta-analyses also supported the ergogenic effects of caffeine on aerobic endurance, muscle strength, and exercise speed4.

Coffee and Resistance Training

The effects of coffee on resistance training have also been explored. Richardson and Clarke2 reported that coffee and decaffeinated coffee plus caffeine improved performance during a resistance exercise protocol, although the improvements were not consistent across multiple bouts. This suggests that while coffee can enhance resistance exercise performance, the benefits may vary depending on the exercise protocol and individual differences.

Coffee and Muscle Glycogen Recovery

Coffee has been shown to positively affect muscle glycogen recovery post-exercise. A randomized clinical trial found that the consumption of coffee with milk resulted in greater muscle glycogen recovery and a higher glycemic and insulinemic response compared to a control beverage1. Additionally, a systematic review indicated that various components of coffee, such as caffeine, cafestol, and caffeic acid, had a neutral or positive role in glucose metabolism and muscle glycogen recovery8.

Mechanisms of Action

The ergogenic effects of coffee are primarily attributed to caffeine, which enhances performance through several mechanisms. Caffeine increases the release of adrenaline, which in turn stimulates the release of free fatty acids from adipose tissue, providing an additional energy source during prolonged exercise5. It also reduces the perception of effort, allowing athletes to train harder and longer6. Furthermore, caffeine has been shown to improve cognitive function, including attention and vigilance, which can be beneficial during both aerobic and anaerobic exercise10.

Practical Implications

For athletes considering coffee as an ergogenic aid, it is essential to note that the optimal dose of caffeine ranges from 3 to 6 mg/kg body mass, typically consumed 60 minutes before exercise10. However, individual responses to caffeine can vary due to genetic differences and habitual caffeine intake, which should be considered when determining the appropriate dosage10.

Does coffee help boost exercise performance?

Neil Clarke has answered Near Certain

An expert from Covenant University in Nutrition

There is growing evidence that similar exercise benefits can be obtained from caffeine and coffee ingestion. Providing that the amount of caffeine is matched, coffee may be used as an alternative to caffeine and should exert an ergogenic effect in most individuals. Furthermore, the performance benefits are similar for men and women e.g. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/11/2575.

Caffeine is one of the most researched substances reported to help athletes perform better and train longer and harder. As a result, professional and amateur sportspeople often take it as a performance-enhancing “ergogenic” aids for a wide range of activities. These include intermittent exercise such as football and racket sports, endurance exercise such as running and cycling, and resistance exercise such as weightlifting.

But while most research looks at the effects of pure caffeine consumed as tablets with water, in the real world most people get their caffeine from coffee, energy drinks or other products like special gels or chewing gum. So will drinking a cup of joe before your workout actually make a difference? The answer could depend as much on your genes as what kind of coffee you’re drinking.

Scientists think caffeine affects the body chemical adenosine, which normally promotes sleep and suppresses arousal. Caffeine ties up the receptors in the brain that detect adenosine and so makes it more alert.

But it may also increase stimulation of the central nervous system, making exercise seem like it involves less effort and pain. In high-intensity activities such as resistance training or sprinting, it may increase the number of fibres used in muscle contractions, meaning movements can be more frequent and forceful.

Faster, higher, stronger

Research has shown that pure caffeine can help endurance athletes run faster and cycle for longer. It can help footballers to sprint more often and over greater distances, and basketball players to jump higher. It can help tennis players and golfers to hit the ball with greater accuracy. And it can help weightlifters lift more weight.

The evidence for caffeine’s effects on sprinting is more mixed. Limited improvements have been found for events lasting under three minutes. But for races of around ten seconds, caffeine can improve peak power output, speed, and strength.

An increasing number of studies have also shown that coffee can be used as an alternative to caffeine to improve cycling and competitive running performance, and produce similar results similar to pure caffeine. In fact, coffee may even be more effective at improving resistance exercise than caffeine alone. Similarly, drinking energy drinks containing caffeine before exercise can improve mental focus, alertness, anaerobic performance and endurance performance.

But drinking coffee isn’t like taking a measured dose of caffeine. The amount of stimulant in a cup, and so how it affects you, will depend on the blend of coffee and how it is brewed. Studies have shown consuming either 0.15g or 0.09g of caffeinated coffee per kilogram of body weight can improve performance. So a dessert spoon of coffee granules rather than a traditional teaspoon is probably best.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that each piece of research shows caffeine improves athletic performance of a group of people as a whole. But we also know that genetic factors have a big influence on our responses to caffeine and not everyone reacts in the same way. This means consuming caffeine won’t necessarily improve your performance.

Potential downsides

In fact, you could end up feeling nauseated and jittery at a time when, if you are competing, you are already feeling anxious. And, as caffeine’s effects can linger for up to five hours, taking it too late in the day could disrupt your sleep, which is a big factor in health and fitness in general. This means it’s important to practice with caffeine during training sessions or friendly fixtures before using it for an important event.

Some have also suggested that you should abstain from caffeine in order to enjoy a better effect on your performance when you consume it for exercise. But maintaining your normal intake will prevent any possible withdrawal symptoms and still provide benefits if caffeine is taken before exercise. Its effects peak between 30 and 75 minutes after ingestion.

Finally, it’s a a commonly held belief that caffeine is a diuretic that will lead to dehydration because it makes you produce more urine. But a number of studies have shown that this isn’t the case with moderate amounts of coffee, cola or any other caffeinated beverage, which help keep you hydrated like any other drink.

I have adapted this answer from my original article in The Conversation  

Does coffee help boost exercise performance?

Neil Schwarz has answered Likely

An expert from University of South Alabama in Sports Science, Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology

Coffee may help to improve performance. Individuals vary in their response to caffeine/coffee intake. If tolerated well, coffee can help both mental and physical performance.

Does coffee help boost exercise performance?

Vitor Valenti has answered Likely

An expert from São Paulo State University in Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease

Caffeine improves exercise performance. However, if you have cardiovascular disorder, we suggest you to not intake caffeine before effort, in order to avoid any health complication during recovery.