Coffee and exercising

In an ideal world we would all have healthy bodies and love the time to simply enjoy a deliciously made freshly brewed coffee. Sadly, the world just isn’t that co-operative, we all have to rush around doing what we can to exercise and drink our coffees on the go. So, when is the best time to enjoy a coffee when you’re planning to do some exercising?

According to one recent study, the best time to drink a coffee is before exercising. Scientists who researched a group of 46 amateur cyclists found that drinking coffee before a bike ride was more beneficial.

The 46 cyclists were asked to complete a questionnaire about how much coffee they usually drank, then were divided into two groups: the low group, made up of people who typically drank one or two cups a day, and the high group; people who drank four to five cups a day. Some of the cyclists were then given a cup of Nescafé Original, containing three milligrammes per kilogramme (mg/kg) of caffeine, while others drank a placebo. An hour later, they completed a five-kilometre cycling time trial on an exercise machine. Drinking coffee before the trial improved people’s physical performance by on average 1.7%, regardless of how much coffee participants usually drank, the researchers found. That’s not a massive increase but if you’re trying to up your speed or endurance, this suggests a quick espresso might be a good shout.