
Too much to give up, it seems. Although the last run (a couple of months) wasn’t a bad attempt. As with everything I eat and drink, the goal is moderation. So far, that seems to be working.
I’m currently only drinking a cup of coffee every 2 or 3 days – far from previous levels. In addition to this is a fair amount (probably 2-3 cups per day) of green tea; once again this is well below previous levels. A couple of things to note here :
The first is timing. I never have coffee as an accompaniment to a meal; instead it’s considered a relaxing treat. The aroma and flavour – in fact the entire experience of preparing/serving/drinking it – is far more important than simply drinking it for short-term benefits as a stimulant. For this reason, it never coincides with a pre-workout meal.
The second is quantity. The days of drinking 5-6 cups in a row are not set to make a return because, quite honestly, I get hungry after the second cup and my mind switches instantly into food mode. Hunger makes everything else seem insignificant.
Nary a day goes by without one study or another looking at the effects of caffeine consumption. Strong coffee, caffeine tablets, soft drinks etc; yet the subjects of such studies are rarely those involved in weight training, or even some form of regular exercise. Instead, many of the studies focus on the average adult with what is believed to be a typical caffeine consumption.
As a result, there have been many varied opinions on weight training and caffeine consumption. A few I came across during today’s cup :
Caffeine Roundtable
T-nation
Dr John Berardi, Dr Lonnie Lowery and Douglas Kalman
Caffeine Limits Blood Flow To Heart Muscle During Exercise
Science Daily
NB : Full text of the referenced study is here (subscription – free abstract available)
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