Does taking caffeine kill pain, pump up your endurance?

Washington, March 31: Do you know that savouring a cup of coffee before your daily morning workout might keep you going for reasons you haven't even fathomed.

As a former cyclist, University of Illinois (U of I) kinesiology and community health professor Robert Motl routinely met his teammates at a coffee shop to take caffeine before going on long-distance rides.

"The notion was that caffeine was helping us train harder... to push ourselves a little harder," he said. The cyclists didn't know why it helped, they just knew it was effective.

It is becoming increasingly common for athletes, before competing, to consume a variety of substances including caffeine, motivated by "the notion that it will help you metabolise fat more readily."

The U of I professor has been investigating the relationship between caffeine and physical activity as a side-show during his exploration of the possible links between caffeine intake, spinal reflexes and physical activity.

Seven years later, with several studies considering the relationship between physical activity and caffeine behind him, Motl has a much better understanding of why that cuppa Joe he used to consume before distance training and competing enhanced his cycling ability.

"This study looks at the effects of caffeine on muscle pain during high-intensity exercise as a function of habitual caffeine use," he said. "No one has examined that before.

"What we saw is something we didn't expect: caffeine-na�ve individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine (consumption)."

His findings are based on his study of 25 volunteers who were fit, college-aged males divided into two distinct groups. Their daily caffeine consumption was extremely low to non-existent, and those with an average caffeine intake of about three to four cups of coffee, said an U of I release.

These findings are slated for publication in the April edition of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.