We can say that caffeine is actually really good for the endurance athlete but we simply cannot leave the topic as simple as that. It is as if you are about to buy Thrive without actually reading Le-Vel Thrive reviews. It is really important that you only make a decision that will affect your body after you get all the necessary information about it.
The endurance athlete will need a constant source of energy and optimization of performance. Caffeine has a high reputation of a natural enhancer of energy. That is why most of the endurance athletes will go towards it first. However, understanding how the benefits appear is really important. Here is what you should know. These are the ways in which caffeine will impact the human body during endurance training.
Performance
Caffeine mobilizes fat stores inside the body and helps you to use that fat as the main fuel source. Your body can spare glycogen, a special fuel source that is normally present inside the liver and muscles. It is really important for the endurance athlete to delay glycogen depletion. As this happens the athlete is capable of performing faster, harder and for a longer period of time, all without the appearance of fatigue.
Remember that the mentioned process is really important during the first quarter of an hour of any physical activity. This is when the caffeine can substantially decrease the depletion of glycogen. When this substance reaches a high blood level, around on hour after you take it in, there is a possibility that it will not be at the right time. Because of this, it is highly recommended that you consume the caffeine based drink around 3 hours before the activity will take place.
Recovery
This is one thing that many endurance athletes are not aware of. Caffeine will help recovery because glycogen levels will peak inside your body even after you work out for up to 4 hours after the physical activity ends. All that you have to do is consume a carbs drink that includes caffeine instead of one that does not have caffeine. That helps and will make the muscle recover faster from the intensive workout it was put through.
Is Caffeine Legal In Sports?
This is quite an interesting question. Many do not know that the Olympic Committee actually allows a maximum of 12 mg of caffeine to be present in 1 urine millimeter in order to consider it legal. That basically means that normal quantities of caffeine can be taken in before you compete. If you do it at a higher level though, it will be considered as being illegal in sports.
On the whole, caffeine is useful for the endurance athlete. It is already used and you will notice that many of the sports drinks available on the market do include caffeine in them. That is a clear statement of the fact that it is useful. However, overdoing it is never a good idea, as with any substance that you would take to help you reach better training results.