Hello,

I hate to admit it ... I find that coffee before a workout seems to help my endurance.  What are your thoughts?  I know that caffeine can drain water from your body, so I try to drink more water during my workouts.

When I exercise in the morning on weekends, I going to try to give up coffee before exercise.  However, when I exercise after leaving work for the day, I still find I need the coffee to keep my endurance level up at the end of the day.

You might try switching to yerba mate, if you find you really want the caffiene boost but it’s not lasting or making you cycle through caffiene boosts and crashes.

I drink coffee with breakfast, because I like how it tastes, but I find that mate tends to give me a longer lasting, gentler boost.

You can find it in teabags at most grocery stores with a natural foods section, just make sure if you give it a shot you steep it in hot, not boiling, water, or it becomes VERY bitter.

Food for thought on caffeine as a diuretic.

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Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2005 Jun;15(3):252-65. Links
Fluid, electrolyte, and renal indices of hydration during 11 days of controlled caffeine consumption.
Armstrong LE, Pumerantz AC, Roti MW, Judelson DA, Watson G, Dias JC, Sokmen B, Casa DJ, Maresh CM, Lieberman H, Kellogg M.
University of Connecticut, Human Performance Laboratory, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.

This investigation determined if 3 levels of controlled caffeine consumption affected fluid-electrolyte balance and renal function differently. Healthy males (mean +/- standard deviation; age, 21.6 +/- 3.3 y) consumed 3 mg caffeine . kg(-1) . d(-1). on days 1 to 6 (equilibration phase). On days 7 to 11 (treatment phase), subjects consumed either 0 mg (C0; placebo; n= 20), 3 mg (C3; n = 20), or 6 mg (C6; n = 19) caffeine . kg(-1) . d(-1) in capsules, with no other dietary caffeine intake. The following variables were unaffected (P > 0.05) by different caffeine doses on days 1, 3, 6, 9, and 11 and were within normal clinical ranges: body mass, urine osmolality, urine specific gravity, urine color, 24-h urine volume, 24-h Na+ and K+ excretion, 24-h creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, serum Na+ and K+, serum osmolality, hematocrit, and total plasma protein. Therefore, C0, C3, and C6 exhibited no evidence of hypohydration. These findings question the widely accepted notion that caffeine consumption acts chronically as a diuretic.

I drink coffee every day before my runs. Usually, it’s all I have. No breakfast, no bars, no gels, just good old black coffee. Maybe it’s not the healthiest way to go about things but it’s how I do it. I’ve never really given much thought to it really. I even drink a couple cups before running a marathon. I can’t say that I can tell the diffference either way. During a marathon I’m thirsty and after I’ve finished, I’m tired. But I don’t think it has anything to do with the coffee.

As a former caffeine fiend - I know how hard it is to give it up - I did gradually decreased my consumption and now don’t miss it at all.  However, I used to depend on it to give me a shot in the arm and extra energy for workouts - I know how you feel.

Thanks for your thoughts, Jen from Nebraska.

Yes, I have already started to give it up when I exercise on the weekends.  I now rely on it only at the end of the day when I exercise after leaving the office for the day.

I don’t like coffie but take Vivarin ( 200 mg caffenie in a tablet) every morning and one in the afternoon.I would like very much to give it up because I have been doing this for most of my adult life. When I try to quit , my brain gets fuzzy and I have an excruciating headache. I have also heard that if you want to lose weight you must give up caffeine because it increases your cortisol and makes you want to eat more .

Oh, I see.  I’ve heard that decaf can actually help reduce colon cancer.
I’m trying get away from caffeine before a workout.  It seems to be working, at least on the weekends.

I can relate to the coffee bug...my gym is in a strip mall and there’s a Starbucks across from the gym. That’s where I get my post workout coffee. Before my workout, all I drink is water. You said the coffee helps your endurance, mine does the same but backwards. The coffee is a reward for completing my workout.

I really enjoy coffee, the taste and the morning ritual of it too. But on several occasions I have gone cold turkey when I thought I was becoming dependent on it. Now I’ve managed to keep it to a cup or less a day. It’s the first week or so after you back off that you miss it the most. I just drank lots more water then.

Jeff, I think that the more you exercise you’ll find that you won’t “need” the coffee (OK, really the caffeine). That post exercise buzz is bound to be coming soon.

But when all else fails, Monster Low Carb Energy Drink does the trick too.

Malama Pono,
Fat Jeff

Like with all things in life, moderation is the key. I love my cup of french press coffee in the morning, and the occasional iced non-fat mocha with no whip… in fact, I think I’ll go get one right now.

I too love my coffee as well.  I just have one cup in the morning and then after that water, tea, and other assorted good for you fruit drinks.  I usually just have it during the week and take a break from it on the weekend.  It is strange for me though, because sometimes I wake up in the morning and I just don’t want to have coffee at all.  Usually on really hot days in the summer I skip it and wait until a nice cool day to have it again.  I love the morning ritual of grinding my beans, preparing the coffee maker, and then brewing it.  I love opening the package and the smell of the beans wafting toward me, love it.  I have been researching roasting my own beans at home to get an even fresher cup of coffee.  Anybody out there have any experience with this one??  Do you notice a difference between the quality of beans that you roast and the ones you get in the store?? Just curious.

Scooby