Coffee + Training = Gains (The unknown facts to unlocking your gym potential.) - Contemporary Athlete Skip to content

My coffee addiction has a workout problem. Or some variable of that statement is appropriate for this post. I recently found myself sitting in the office drinking a pot of Death Wish Coffee for the better part of 5 hours the other day. Working incessantly on a very exciting, but necessary overhaul of the Contemporary Athlete website. As this community grows and changes I find myself taking occasional observatory steps back so as to see if this crazy awesome ship is traveling in the direction I would like it to; and if not how do I correct that.

Soooooooo a short story long, COFFEE, I love it. It is good for you. (So is a glass of red wine but that is for another post) I drink my coffee generally as a dark roast, black, in a 12 oz. cup. All in all, boring, uncomplicated and I am pretty sure makes me a sociopath. (Thanks random Facebook post)

 

Quick disclaimer: I am not a certified nutritionist, dietitian, or anything of the like (yet) so this is strictly my OPINION, based on my personal food intake and a ridiculous amount of reading.

 

So here are couple quick things:

 

  • Potential for Genius! (Ok not quite) but an earth shattering effect, coffee is a stimulant. It has caffeine in it. Which blocks a neurotransmitter inhibitor called Adenosine. By stopping this inhibitor it increases neuronal firing and releases dopamine and norepinephrine. Also it is proven through controlled experimentation that caffeine improves mood, reaction time, memory, and general cognitive function.

 

  • Superhero strength and skinny! (<- A freaking gold plated unicorn says what?) It raises your metabolism and the oxidation of fatty acids. This is due to it being a stimulant and the effect it has on the central nervous system. It has been proven through different meta-analyses that it increases exercise performance by an average of 11-12% this is due to it’s affects on several biological mechanisms, one of them being the mobilization of fatty acids from fat tissue.

 

  • Type II Diabetes can suck a doughnut! (But, but, can I still have a doughnut? NO, no you cannot) in observational studies, coffee is frequently associated with a lower risk of diabetes. The range of this is anywhere from 25% to as high as 65%. A recent review article I read with close to half a million participants showed that with every extra cup of coffee people had, it lowered their risk by 7%.

 

  • If Mayan gods are doing it… (The Mayan people originally made Coffee as a soup, or porridge. They also ate people’s hearts [<- I think, that could be a lie though…]) Many of the nutrients in coffee beans make it into the drink.

 

  1. 11% of the RDA for Riboflavin (Vitamin B2).
  2. 6% of RDA for Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5).
  3. 2% of the RDA for Niacin (Vitamin B3) and Thiamine (B1).
  4. 3% of the RDA for Potassium and Manganese.

 

Coffee is the largest source of antioxidants in the western diet; this outranks both fruits and veggies.

 

Last thing I have to say though. Great facts here but… once you start filling it with 37 sugars, or artificial sweeteners, a half a gallon of milk or creamer, you have then eradicated all that awesomeness with a whole bunch of not goodness.

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