~'*Drinking coffee before working out*'~

He was my cream, and I was his coffee. And when you poured us together, it was something.It was… a cup of confusion. Considering all the past concern about possible health risks from drinking coffee, newer reports of coffee’s possible protective effects are showing that we don’t necessarly have to say no, to that hot or cold cup of joe.

Most of us start our morning with a cup of coffee.There are many positive aspects to it and its primary ingredient, caffeine. Caffeine prevents sleepiness and sharpens your thinking by blocking the action of the neurotransmitter adenosine. It can lift your mood by affecting another neurotransmitter, dopamine. It also “revs you up” by promoting the release of adrenaline. Also,a recent study suggests that a couple cups of coffee before a tough workout may lower the chances of sore muscles later on.That cup of coffee that many gym rats, bikers and runners swill before a workout does more than energize them. It kills some of the pain of athletic exertion.And it works regardless of whether a person already had a coffee habit or not.

Caffeine works on a system in the brain and spinal cord (the adenosine neuromodulatory system) that is heavily involved in pain processing, says University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Robert Motl. And since caffeine blocks adenosine, the biochemical that plays an important role in energy transfer and thus exercise, he speculated that it could reduce pain.

Our average daily consumption of caffeine is about 280 milligrams, or the equivalent of two and a half 6-ounce cups of brewed coffee a day, but we can get coffee in so many other beverages, as well as sweets, coffee-flavored foods and over the counter and prescription medications that many of us are consuming.

Coffee Serving Size Caffeine Content

Coffee (drip) 8 oz 130 mg

Coffee (instant) 8 oz 95 mg

Espresso (depending on brand) 1 oz 50 mg

Decaf (drip or instant) 8 oz 3 mg

Iced coffee blended drink 16 oz 130 mg

Other Beverages Serving Size Caffeine Content

Classic and Diet Coke 12 oz 46 mg

Pepsi and Diet Pepsi 12 oz 36 mg

Chocolate Milk 8 oz 8 mg

Tea Serving Size Caffeine Content

Black Tea (3-minute brew) 6 oz 35 mg

Instant Tea 6 oz 25 mg

Green Tea 6 oz 25 mg

Sweets Serving Size Caffeine Content

Haagen Dazs Coffee ice cream 1 cup 58 mg

Hershey’s special dark 1.5 oz 31 mg

chocolate

Baking chocolate 1 oz 25 mg

Meanwhile, the current research could prove encouraging for a range of people, including the average person who wants to become more physically active to realize the health benefits.At high doses (defined as anywhere between 200 and 800 milligrams), we can see negative effects even in “low risk” adults, which include nervousness, anxiety and rapid heartbeat.Thus, be a moderate coffee drinking individual and espresso yourself while working out!