Why All This Caffinated Hype?
So because I’m bodybuider by day and nerd by night I wonder about weird physiological things and anatomical questions sometimes. So this morning me, and my ADD self were doing cardio and this crazy questions about caffeine just popped into my head! How in the world does caffeine work?!?
Well, to understand this requires a relatively firm grounding in physiology but I will try to translate in a vernacular that you can better understand. First of all, how great is caffeine? So great, I know! Coffee, green tea, pre-workouts and chocolate, ok maybe not chocolate but definitely coffee and most pre-workouts are awesome! So really how in the world does this happen, I drink a cup of coffee and then get energy, right?
Caffeine is a unique stimulant that acts upon the central nervous system. There are many theories on the mechanism of action of caffeine meaning there are many different thoughts on how it truly works. Caffeine increases the body’s ability to use fat as an energy source via the stimulation of adrenaline. Adrenaline causes the speeding up of fat metabolism releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream. I was able to visit an ACSM conference last summer and observe some research posters that touched on this very aspect of the mechanism of action of caffeine. The research was congruent with other findings that caffeine indeed does increase the mobilization of fatty acids into the bloodstream. Most of the research that has been conducted focuses predominantly on endurance and performance during endurance exercises. Now knowing that caffeine increases the usage and mobilization of free fatty acids in the blood, this would be promising for endurance athletes. But what about us bodybuilders, can caffeine help us too?
Good news for us today, yes! Caffeine has shown to improve anaerobic performance on the grounds of alternative theories. This research is less frequent than that of the endurance performance but it is relevant! The theories of the mechanism of action for bouts of resistance training are different though. While the mobilization of free fatty acids is good, its not going to give us that extra boost of energy we need to say lift a hundred extra pounds of steel. One theory for this increase in performance of power is that the stimulation of the central nervous system produces psychological effects that actually make your brain think that you are doing less work than you actually are and in turn you are able to, in this case, lift more or lift heavier. This could be explained by the stimulation of the hormone epinephrine. Other research also shows some awesome results about this little booger of a hormone epinephrine. With the increased stimulation of epinephrine from the adrenal glands, research as concluded that the muscles actually have improved contraction during short bouts of intense exercise such as weightlifting! This in joint with the psychological factor of being able to lift more, you can actually lift heavier. However, it is important to note that caffeine causes no physical changes to the muscle itself. So in time you can become stronger by using caffeine for the simple reason of it allowing you to lift that little bit extra. By lifting that small extra amount even of the slightest bit, you are increasing the stimulation of the muscle fibers and causing them to work harder, and in turn with proper rest and nutrition they will grow! Pretty cool right? Yes, very cool. Word from the mouth of a bodybuilder by day and nerd by night!
Another important note, this article is not an advocation for or suggestion for use of caffeine. People should speak with their physician before using any caffeine in any amounts if they have an underlying heart condition or family history of heart disease.
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