Many GlibFittersTM have discussed their love of coffee (sorry Mojeaux) and, separately, working out. Do these two great tastes go great together? Fortunately, the good people at Stronger By Science have a ridiculously long article and an accompanying two and half hour podcast to answer your question. If you don’t have a background in biology, it’s a slog. And please, no operating heavy machinery while listening to the podcast.

Hilariously, the use of caffeine in fitness and sports really is important to libertarians. Why? Because, “…As early as 1939, scientists were calling for bans of highly concentrated caffeine products in athletic competition.” Fuck off, slavers.

“Caffeine’s fairly obvious effects include increased heart rate, blood pressure, wakefulness, and alertness. When it comes to exercise, caffeine use also results in less perceived pain, less perceived exertion, and enhanced maintenance of motor unit firing rates. The result is an improved ability to produce high forces and maintain power output during fatiguing exercise, thus enhancing fatigue resistance in a variety of tasks that include strength and sprint exercise.”

Apparently, these performance enhancing affects are subject to habituation. The scientific literature isn’t terribly clear on how quickly nor to what degree this occurs. If you are training for the big event, then you may want to abstain until the big day.

There are a number of health concerns associated with caffeine. Fortunately, they are all garbage. (Thanks doG.) Is there a nanny in your life telling you it will give you heart problems? Share this interesting tidbit with him/her/xer, “…some early epidemiological studies reported links between coffee and cardiovascular disease, but many of these early studies failed to adequately account for the fact that coffee consumption is quite highly correlated with smoking.” That might be important. I’m not a doctor but I’ll go out on a limb and say it is.

“If you drink coffee before working out, you’ll get dehydrated” said a busybody. No. No, you won’t. Per the article, “It is certainly true that caffeine has a mild diuretic effect, meaning it increases urine output (and, therefore, fluid loss). However, the most common methods of ingesting large caffeine doses also involve fluid ingestion, such as drinking a cup of coffee or an energy drink. So, while a cup of coffee may slightly increase urine output, it also provides several ounces of water, and therefore has a net positive effect for hydration status.” Give the busybody a hearty Nelson laugh.

But won’t caffeine screw up your sleep? Yes, it will unless you’re one of those people that just isn’t affected by caffeine. See Sir Digby. For anyone working out in the late afternoon or evening, take this into account. A great workout followed by a lousy night’s sleep is not a recipe for success.

Coffee and tea also have some health benefits. “Both coffee and tea are loaded with antioxidants and other bioactive compounds, and decades of research suggests that regular moderate consumption of coffee and/or tea is associated with positive, protective health outcomes. Consumption of these beverages has been associated with reduced risk of mortality, certain cancers, liver conditions, depression, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and other components of metabolic syndrome.” Go figure. I just know it tastes great and makes me happy in the morning.

In sum, have a cup or two before your workout if that works for you. The effects are modest but helpful though those effects may diminish over time.

I’m pretty sure Ted’S will post this in the comments so I’ll do it here. Suck it, Ted.

Finally, a little something for Mojeaux so she isn’t left out.