Is caffeine good or bad?

The complete guide to caffeine:

• What is caffeine?
• How does it work?
• How does it affect the CNS?
• What are the risks and benefits?
• What is the optimal dosage and timing?

In our Starbucks-driven world, it's no surprise that caffeine is the most commonly used (or abused) over-the-counter stimulant. Walk into any gas station and you'll likely find an entire shelf reserved exclusively for energy drinks: Rockstar, Red Bull, Jolt, etc. Oh yeah, don't worry if you missed that shelf because there will be a whole line of energy shots waiting for you at the register (replace the term energy with caffeine and you've got what's at the top of the most commonly used stimulant list).

Most people aren't even aware of their caffeine intake - they simply follow the social norms of a morning cup of coffee and give in to the temptation to fight the afternoon slump at the office...But then it happens. You wake up, drink a triple espresso and don't feel that familiar boost you crave. Your heart starts pounding, you feel lethargic, unmotivated, irritable and wonder why.... Well, in a generic sense, you are no different from a heroin junkie going through withdrawal symptoms. You have become addicted. For most people, this isn't much of a problem because they just sit at their desk all day long and probably worry more about who in the office might have a birthday so they have an excuse to eat cake. For strength athletes and fitness enthusiasts, however, this can spell disaster for performance.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not out to demonize caffeine consumption, but rather to give you an idea of how this widely used stimulant can take your athletic performance to a whole new level when used correctly.

Caffeine: what it is and how it works

A brief summary:

Caffeine (sometimes referred to as 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is an organic, alkaline substance and a derivative of xanthine. It is primarily found in tea leaves, coffee beans, guarana, various fruits and other sources. Its homologs -- theobromine (aka 3,7-dimethylxanthine) and theophylline (aka 1,3-dimethylxanthine) - are primarily found in kola nuts and the cocoa plant. While caffeine is metabolized in the liver to its homologues (albeit not in substantial amounts), which have slightly different effects in humans, we will focus primarily on the physiological effects that caffeine has on athletic performance.

Methylxanthines act as stimulants of the central nervous and myocardial systems and are often used therapeutically to treat conditions such as COPD and asthma due to their bronchodilator properties. They act as acetylcholinesterase and phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, with the latter of the two being of most interest to us from a performance perspective. PDE enzymes serve to break phosphodiester bonds such as those in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Thus, inhibition of the PDE enzymes prevents (delays) the degradation of cAMP and cGMP. This is an important mechanism because cAMP and cGMP both serve as secondary messengers in signal transduction channels. In short, cAMP and cGMP transmit signals from different hormones and other substrates from cell membrane receptors to intracellular targets. When these signals are amplified by cAMP and cGMP, metabolic processes, which we will look at below, occur more rapidly.

A brief introduction - What happens when your central nervous system (CNS) is stimulated The CNS in humans consists of the brain and spinal cord and is the pathway for sending and receiving signals between all parts of the body. When the neurons of the CNS are stimulated and cAMP/cGMP is activated, various bodily functions are switched into a kind of turbo mode. The primary acute effects of this are:

• An increased heart rate
• A constriction of the veins
• Psychostimulation
• Stimulation of the metabolism
• Increased urination

Some of these effects are indeed beneficial for sporting and physical goals. Many studies have investigated the benefits of caffeine on cardio and resistance training and how caffeine can increase aerobic and anaerobic performance. There appear to be several mechanisms by which caffeine can act as a performance enhancing compound. These include, among others:

• Increased exogenous carbohydrate metabolism
• Increased fatty acid oxidation
• Increased epinephrine (adrenaline) levels
• Dilation of the bronchi
• Reduced interstitial muscle potassium levels

All of these would be desirable benefits for anyone looking to increase their athletic performance and fat loss. Simply put, increased carbohydrate metabolism allows for more efficient use of carbohydrates for energy. Increased fatty acid oxidation means more of your life preservers are used for your workout, increased epinephrine levels give you that "cloud nine" feeling and can provide a psychological boost, bronchodilation allows for increased oxygen uptake and reduced interstitial muscle potassium levels may delay the onset of fatigue during intense exercise.

The benefits and risks of caffeine before exercise

Caffeine is indeed a useful addition to your pre-workout arsenal, but ultimately it depends on your goals and circumstances. Recreational and competitive bodybuilders can gain many benefits from the correct use of caffeine. Taken before cardio training, it will improve fat oxidation, carbohydrate utilization and your mental focus, helping you to train at a higher intensity. All of this is also desirable for anaerobic performance, which is why caffeine also has its place before training with weights. However, certain sport-specific skills require precise motor coordination and technique, which is why caffeine could impair athletic performance during a competition. For this reason, you should be cautious about using caffeine before sporting events if caffeine makes you feel anxious.

If these are some of the positive and pronounced effects of caffeine on athletic performance, you may wonder if caffeine is some kind of miracle drug. However, caffeine can also have numerous side effects, which are typically dose-dependent (i.e. the more caffeine consumed, the more severe these side effects become). Such side effects include:

• Dehydration and cramps
• headaches
• Nausea, dizziness and lightheadedness
• Digestive problems
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Palpitations
• Increased blood pressure
• Mental problems such as irritability, anxiety, nervousness, depression, etc.
• Reduced fine motor skills
• Increased plasma cortisol levels (although this effect is reduced in healthy individuals)

After seeing these possible side effects, you might be thinking of starting an anti-caffeine campaign. But before you write this substance off as something that does more harm than good, remember the old adage: the difference between medicine and poison is the dose. As with most things in life, moderation is the key. The good news is that most of these side effects are avoidable if you use caffeine correctly.

The proper use of caffeine in your exercise program

Caffeine is a little more complicated than other supplements when it comes to optimizing the benefits while minimizing the side effects. Most studies have concluded that there is no significant dose-dependent link when it comes to caffeine and performance. Increasing caffeine dosage beyond a certain point does not provide additional performance benefits and may instead lead to more side effects. The key to proper caffeine use is to find the point of optimal dosing and use caffeine cyclically to resensitize the CNS.

Dosage and timing

The general dosage recommendation for increasing performance with caffeine is 1 to 3 mg per kilogram of body weight. For an athlete weighing 80 kilograms, this corresponds to a dosage range of 80 to 240 mg. Within this range, each athlete must find their own optimal dosage through trial and error, depending on their goals and sensitivity to caffeine. Caffeine is a relatively fast-acting compound with a short half-life of 4 to 6 hours (assuming your liver is working properly), so it is generally recommended to take caffeine 30 to 60 minutes before training or competition. If you take caffeine on an empty stomach, it may even be sufficient to take caffeine 10 to 15 minutes before training, as food will slightly reduce the absorption rate. If you are someone who prefers to eat a sensible pre-workout meal, I would aim to take caffeine one to two hours after that meal. The main reason for this is that this approach should help to minimize any potential digestive discomfort from combining the caffeine with your pre-workout meal.

If you train in the morning before your first meal, you can also combine caffeine with some whey protein/casein and/or branched-chain amino acids and consume this mixture on the way to the gym (if you need carbohydrates, you can also add some Gatorade or some simple carbohydrates to the mix). Again, timing and dosage will need some fine tuning until you know how you react to caffeine.

The best source of caffeine

Since caffeine is an isolated chemical, it won't make much difference whether you consume caffeine in its natural form (i.e. coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.) or in the form of synthetic sources (tablets, powders, energy drinks, supplements, caffeinated soft drinks, etc.). Personally, I like to take my caffeine in the form of pre-workout supplements that list caffeine in the form of anhydrous caffeine on the label.

When it comes to controlling dosage, I tend to prefer caffeine in supplement form over natural sources of caffeine, as the caffeine content can vary from coffee bean to coffee bean and tea leaf to tea leaf. On the other hand, if you're one of those all-organic freaks (no offense), then enjoy your coffee.

How to deal with desensitization

The most feared characteristic of caffeine is that it is addictive and that the dosage required to achieve performance benefits gradually increases as you become accustomed to caffeine. This is why most coffee drinkers can down a triple espresso without feeling a thing - or they get a short-lived burst of energy followed by a slump 20 minutes later.

If you have reached such a point, then I would strongly recommend reducing your coffee consumption gradually or cold turkey (if you can live with the withdrawal symptoms for a few days). The length of time required to achieve desensitization is debatable as the number of variables that come into play is too great. A general recommendation is that you should take 1 to 2 weeks off caffeine (and other over-the-counter stimulants) for every 8 to 12 weeks that you have been using caffeine.

This will be another case of trial and error. However, if you find that you are doing well with caffeine and are still getting positive effects after 4 to 5 months in a row, then listen to your body and continue to use caffeine. On the other hand, if you feel terrible after 3 weeks of supplementing with caffeine (or without your daily dose), then it's time to rethink your approach and stop your caffeine consumption for a while.

The time it takes for your body to become sensitive to caffeine again will be affected by how often you've used caffeine and how much you've used. If you only use it two to three times a week in moderate doses, then you can probably use it indefinitely - or until you feel a little limp without it (i.e. you need caffeine to function). If you're the type of person who likes to push the envelope, you may become desensitized to the effects of caffeine within a few weeks. In general, you'll probably notice when it's time to give yourself a break, as you'll experience many of the side effects already mentioned: headaches, irritability, lethargy, reduced motivation, etc.

At this point, it's time to give your CNS and adrenal cortex a break (also consider reducing your exercise intensity so that it is in line with your caffeine cycles).

Is caffeine for you?

As with any other supplement, everyone needs to find out for themselves through research or anecdotal experience whether or not the benefits will help them achieve their goals. If you're the naturally energetic type who doesn't feel like they need more stimulation from exogenous sources, then I don't think you need caffeine. However, I also think that most athletic endeavors can be supported by caffeine supplementation. Ultimately, the user needs to know whether or not they like the way caffeine affects them.

Some people do not tolerate caffeine particularly well, so it would have a devastating effect on their performance and it would make no sense to recommend caffeine use to these people. Adolescents and people suffering from a medical condition should consult their doctor before using stimulants such as caffeine. And yes, caffeine can be fatal in high enough amounts (> 5 grams), which is why it should be treated like any other drug and not abused.

Source: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/caffeine-good-bad-risks-benefits