Is it OK to have caffeine before cardio?

Hi Castell,

I'm going to defer to Mark regarding the part of your question about whether your espresso will aid in fat loss. He's the nutrition expert here and I am sure that he can do a much better job articulating the benefits of caffeine.

Caffeine can raise heart rate and blood pressure, but unless you're incredibly caffeine sensitive, it should not significantly increase these values from what they were, pre-caffeine, even at rest.

When we start exercising, the muscle contractions stimulate our central nervous system to raise our heart rate. This helps to increase the amount of blood being pumped out to the working muscle, allowing the body to engage in exercise without becoming prematurely fatigued. When the heart rate and/or blood pressure increases from resting values, the amount of oxygen the heart muscle, the myocardium, needs to do this extra work is increased. This can be calculated by multiplying the heart rate by the systolic blood pressure and is called the rate pressure product or double product. Myocardial oxygen demand is incredibly important in patients with heart disease who experience stable angina, chest pain that occurs with exertion when the myocardium doesn’t receive adequate oxygen because symptoms should occur at the same oxygen threshold and this needs to be taken into account when recommending exercise. However, in a healthy person who isn't incredibly caffeine sensitive, the effect of caffeine should be negligible compared to that of exercise on the heart's oxygen demand.

That being said, other drugs, like cocaine, cause a significant increased oxygen demand on the heart and can cause a heart attack in an otherwise young person without other risk factors. So there is some validity to the claim that an increased heart rate, and therefore, an increased myocardial oxygen demand during exercise, in certain circumstances (i.e. pre-existing heart disease or using illicit drugs) can increase the risk of a heart attack. But I believe that it is very highly likely that the effect of one espresso on an individual’s heart rate will result in an increased risk of a cardiac event.

I do hope this helped to answer your question and enjoy your espresso!

Hi Castell,

Caffeine both increases the use of fat for fuel during exercise and increases exercise performance, so I would certainly suggest taking 100 - 250mg of caffeine before training (depending upon your body size and tolerance to caffeine).

HOWEVER, coffee (unlike tea or pure caffeine) does not increase exercise performance. There seems to be a substance in coffee that eliminates the performance-enhancing effects of caffeine.

Many thanks Lauren for your elaborate answer. I can sip my espresso in peace now :)

Mark, any Caffeine products that you could recommend?

Castell

Hi Castell

You can either just use any caffeine tablet from a reputable company or use a pre-workout product - virtually all of them contain caffeine. A product I helped formulate called '.50 Calibre' by Grenade is coming out soon (about 2 months), which I believe will be the best product on the market (but I am a bit biased). I and many fitness athletes and bodybuilders have used it and feedback has been almost universally excellent. Until then, you could use NOS Fusion or Animal Rage.