Drained After The Workout? - Coffee Is Your New Muscle Recharger

Recent research gives a thumbs-up to coffee, stating that coffee helps muscles to recharge immediately after a strenuous workout, helping them recover the lost Glycogen much faster thus and improving performance in general.

It is known that when athletes or sports persons, or for that matter, anyone involved in any form of rigorous exercise, has worked out for a few hours the muscles see a depletion in the level of Glycogen, which can be termed as their main fuel source.

However, a study published by The American Physiological Society found that, athletes given carbohydrates and caffeine had upto 66% more glycogen in their muscles even after the rigorous exercises than those given nothing or only carbohydrates.

"If you have 66% more fuel for the next day's training or competition, there is absolutely no question you will go farther or faster," said Dr. Hawley, the study's senior author.

The study which was conducted in four different sessions was performed on seven top notch endurance cyclists. As per the researchers they were asked to ride a cycle ergometer right until they felt fully exhausted and drained out. They were then given dinner which was low on carbohydrates and were asked to leave for home.

The athletes were not allowed to eat anything until the second session which was held next day, in the morning itself. Due to the excessive exercise the previous day, muscle glycogen levels of the athletes were at their lowest as compared to those before the experiment began.

They were again made to cycle till exhaustion and then some of them were given a drink containing carbohydrates and some were given a drink rich in carbohydrates and caffeine both. They were asked to rest in the laboratory after that for the next four hours.

The whole process was repeated again after a week.

After all the four sessions, the researchers realized that although, the athletes showed no difference in the glycogen levels one hour after having the carbohydrate only drink or the carbohydrate and caffeine drink: the real difference became noticeable after four hours of having ingested the drinks.

It was found that four hours after taking the drinks, athletes who had taken the carbohydrate and caffeine combo drink showed 66% higher muscle glycogen levels, than those who had taken only the carbohydrate rich drink.

In addition to high muscle glycogen levels there was an increase in the blood glucose and plasmadefine insulindefine levels also, together with many signaling proteins, helping the transport of glucose into the blood.

However, despite these findings researchers also held out a warning to the athletes to consume any such caffeine rich drinks only under strict guidance, especially if preparing for a big event. They suggested the incorporation of such drinks in daily workout routines well in advance before any competition so that trainers and athletes could identify any negative effects well in advance.

Other than coffee being it’s main and the most popular source, Caffeine can be found in many other sources like – energy drinks, health drinks, colas etc.