Caffeine

By Mike Lackner

It’s time to talk about the world’s most popular drug! Now that I have your attention, we are going to discuss caffeine. Yes, caffeine is the most widely used drug on this planet. What? Caffeine is a drug? You mean that innocent little “pick-me-up” that everyone uses everyday is a drug? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant. It has many benefits when consumed in moderate amounts, especially in the bodybuilding world.

Caffeine belongs to a group of compounds known as alkaloids. Alkaloids are basic compounds that form water-soluble salts. Most alkaloids are well-defined crystalline substances that unite with acids to form salts. In plants, they may exist in the free state, as salts, or even as nitrogen-oxides. Alkaloids come in 31 different forms. An alkaloid is a plant-derived compound that is toxic or physiologically active. It contains a nitrogen molecule in a heterocyclic ring (look it up). Alkaloids are used in pharmaceuticals, and as central nervous system agents, stimulants, poisons, hallucinogens, analgesics (pain relievers) and antileukemic drugs.
Caffeine belongs to a group of alkaloid compounds known as methylxanthines. Methylxanthines cause the blocking of adenosine receptors in the brain. (There seems to be an abundance of brain blockage everywhere I go these days!) Adenosine slows down brain activity, though it is not well understood how. The important thing is that the brain is not receiving adenosine, so adenosine cannot tell it to slow down your system. This gives caffeine its stimulant effect. These methylxanthine alkaloids also relax the tissues around the airways of the lungs. They are used in medications as bronchial-dilators. Methylxanthines are found in plants such as guarana, kola nuts, coffee, tea, cocoa beans, mate and some others. Guarana, tea, kola, cocoa, and coffee are the caffeinated plants.
It’s ability to stimulate the central nervous system makes caffeine a very powerful energy accelerator. The caffeine molecule is actually able to get into the muscle cell and provide a sustaining energy source delaying fatigue. It also helps you stay alert. This is due to caffeine being very similar to adenine (a component of ATP, DNA and cyclic AMP), which allows it to slip right into adenosine receptors, keeping cyclic AMP active rather than it being broken down. When cyclic AMP breaks down, the body's energy supply decreases, because it is produced from ATP. Caffeine tricks the body into using enzymes to break it down instead, so that the cyclic AMP supply remains higher for longer.
Caffeine is rapidly absorbed from the digestive system. Within 60 – 90 minutes after consumption it peaks in blood concentration. Caffeine stays in your system for 24 – 48 hours. Its average half-life is 4-5 hours, but can range between 2-10 hours depending on genetic, physiological and environmental factors.
The recommended maximum daily caffeine dosage is 250mg. This amount is easy to reach. Caffeine is not only in coffee but in many food products and medicines. A regular 250ml cup of coffee contains about 100-125mg of caffeine, depending on the concentration, type of bean, and brewing system. So, if you drink coffee, check if the other things you consume during the day contain caffeine as well.
Here are some standards for caffeine amounts in common products:

Given caffeine’s ability to get into the muscle cells, it is apparent that it can help provide extra energy to fuel muscles during intense training. It helps stop the body breaking down too much ATP, which provides the cells with energy. Think about how much more intense and lasting your workout could be if you had a couple cups of coffee before going to the gym. You could have the energy to blast through that extra rep. To do just one more set. To push yourself to a new level of training and growth.
For those of you who enjoy doing cardio after weight training, caffeine may help you go even faster and longer, helping you get in better cardiovascular condition and burn more fat.
In fact, caffeine helps you burn fat even when you are not doing cardio. Because it is a stimulant, it increases the rate at which the body burns calories, even at rest. So, you continue to get benefits from caffeine even after leaving the gym.
Caffeine is able to burn fat all by itself, thanks to its thermogenic effect. It causes the release of hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), the hormone responsible for creating the lipolysis (fat-burning) cycle. Lipolysis is when your body forces fats into the bloodstream to burn for energy. Now, that doesn’t mean you can just sit around and drink coffee and watch the fat melt away. It only boosts the activity of this system, it doesn’t send it into supersonic hyper-drive.
Although fat burning is very important, caffeine can also help you in other ways at the gym. Studies found that when non-caffeine users took some caffeine, they were able to lift more weight. The exact reason is still under investigation.
So far, we have seen that caffeine can help you lift heavier weights, have more stamina for long, intense training sessions and help you burn more fat. It sounds as if caffeine should be part of everyone’s training regimen. Well, just like most supplements, caffeine must be used responsibly and with caution. It is a natural diuretic. This means it forces the body to rid itself of water. If someone is not consuming enough water, or if they are doing long sessions of running or cardio without water, they can easily dehydrate.
People with a history of kidney problems should stay away from caffeine and, because caffeine is acidic, so should anyone with an ulcer or other type of stomach ailment. Some studies show a slight correlation between high caffeine intake and heart disease. It has not been proved that caffeine causes such disease but the medical community has warned of a possible association.
If you want to try to add a little fire power to your routine, burn fat a little faster and enhance your mental alertness, drink a couple cups of coffee about an hour before you hit the gym. However, use reason and do not overdo it. Too much caffeine can be harmful and dangerous. You don’t have to drink so much that you are running around like a gerbil that just snorted a bag of cocaine. Limit yourself to 250mg a day and none on the days you don’t train. It’s good to be wired, fired and inspired, just don’t end up retired!