Relax with a cup of coffee to go faster

Regular practice has prepared you to take on the next strenuous challenge, which may be a bike race, a cross country hike on a mountain bike, a 10K mini marathon, or a hike in the hills with some challenging climbing ahead. . Some days your muscles seem ready to master the course and you feel ready to take on challenges that are more difficult. Then, inexplicably, you struggle to perform a routine that you’ve easily performed a hundred times before. About halfway through the course, you feel your energy draining, your muscles begin to tense, and the finish line seems too far away. Climbing that rock face seemed easy, but the way down is proving troublesome. Losing control now can have catastrophic results.

Of course, many factors contribute to your performance on any given day, beyond just general conditioning. Adequate sleep the night before, diet, hydration, and rest are just a few of the important influences on your strength and stamina. If you’ve experienced unexpected loss of muscle strength, doing one simple thing can help provide the boost of energy and strength just when you need it. You might go a bit faster, and your strength might last a bit longer because of it.

About an hour before you start your run or other strenuous activity, drink a large cup of caffeinated coffee. Regardless of whether the exercise is a short uphill sprint, a long hike, or a cross-country mountain biking event, the caffeine in coffee helps you improve your strength and stamina. Caffeine also boosts your brain’s performance, so you’ll be less likely to lose focus during your run, keeping your feet firmly planted on the road, your tires on the track, or your toes in the right crevice in the rock.

Coffee polyphenols are powerful antioxidants that help maintain brain health and lower blood pressure. These antioxidants, combined with caffeine, also help your body recover faster from exercise by accelerating the recovery of glycogen levels. Athletes often drink carbohydrate-protein drinks after races to speed recovery. Adding a cup of coffee to the mix works even better.

It’s possible to overindulge in caffeine, so it’s important to stick to one large cup before your race. A caffeine overdose can make you feel dizzy and dizzy, create a feeling of anxiety, and even give you a palpitations. These are all conditions that you want to avoid during any strenuous physical activity and running in particular. Also, the extra caffeine will do nothing to further enhance your performance.

Timing of caffeine intake is important as maximum performance benefits are experienced approximately one to two hours after drinking the coffee. The combination of polyphenols and caffeine in coffee seems to work better than pure caffeine supplements, so leave those behind and make your own natural booster. Enjoy that morning cuppa and hit the road faster and stronger.