Caffeine helps you exercise

By Lucy Halfhead  on Tuesday 7 April 2009

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Drinking a cup of coffee before working out makes the whole thing easier to bear, researchers have found.
 
Scientists studied the effects of caffeine on two groups of male exercisers: those who usually consumed little caffeine and those who drank an average of four cups a day.

Both groups worked out for 30-minute workouts on an exercise bike while the amount of pain they felt in their leg muscles was monitored.

Those who drank coffee felt less pain.

The research team based at the University of Illinois believe that caffeine helps stop the pain processing nerves in the brain and spinal cord from working.

The leader of the study Professor Robert Motl said that drinking caffeine could also boost your sports performance and therefore help weight loss.

‘If you go to the gym to exercise and it hurts, you might stop,’ he says. ‘So if a little caffeine reduces the pain, it might help more people stick with it and achieve their fitness goals.’

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Tuesday 7 April 2009

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