Drinking coffee before exercise can effectively reduce the pain caused by exercise.

Have you ever made a fitness plan and quit because you felt tired? If so, try drinking coffee before exercising, and you may be able to stick with it.

US researchers found that drinking coffee before exercise can effectively reduce pain caused by exercise, which works for people who drink coffee and those who don't.

experimental

Professor Robert R. Motel has been studying caffeine and exercise for seven years. He found that caffeine affects parts of the brain and spinal cord that process pain, presumably reducing pain from exercise.

To prove this hypothesis, Motel and the researchers organized experiments.

They divided 25 healthy men in their 20s into two groups. One group drank very little or no coffee, while the other consumed an average of about 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, the equivalent of drinking three to four cups of coffee.

The researchers first had the subjects ride exercise bikes to measure each person's maximum oxygen consumption. They were then assigned to two intense 30-minute exercise cycles.

The experiment stipulated that subjects should not consume caffeine on their own for 24 hours before exercise.

conclusion

The researchers gave the subjects pills an hour before the exercise began. The first group received tablets containing caffeine at 5 mg/kg before exercise, while the second group received caffeine-free placebos before exercise.

At intervals after the exercise began, the researchers recorded how painful the quadriceps felt, as well as their oxygen consumption, heart rate and exercise efficiency.

The results showed that the 25 people experienced the same degree of pain reduction during exercise.

"The results were unexpected," Motel said."It was clear that if you were already consuming caffeine regularly, you'd need to drink more to get a stronger boost. But this tolerance effect isn't universal…You give caffeine to regular and infrequent coffee drinkers, and you scan their brains, and you see exactly the same brain activity. It's interesting."

continue

Motel said his team will test the findings in mice to better understand the biology of caffeine's pain relief.

"If we understand the biological mechanisms involved, we can understand why tolerance effects exist or do not exist," he said.

A former competitive cyclist, Motel also plans to study whether caffeine helps improve athletic performance. But he says the results are enough for the average person.

"If you go to the gym and feel pain, you might want to stop, and pain is what makes you quit," Motel said."If some caffeine reduces pain, it might help them stick with exercise."