Dr. Mirken: Caffeine and Hot Weather Exercise at Her Active Life

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Dr. Mirken: Caffeine and Hot Weather Exercise

Posted July 11, 2008 at 01:00 PM by Martha Jones

Section: Her Fitness

ENTER IMAGE NAME BETWEEN QUOTES - USE ENGLISH NOT FILE NAMING STRUCTURE A study from Toledo, Spain shows that giving caffeine to dehydrated bicycle racers helps them ride faster, longer and with more power in hot weather (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, July 2008). When combined with water and carbohydrates, caffeine ingestion increases the force of muscular contractions which helps them to pedal with more power. Almost all professional bicycle riders take caffeine is some form because they know it helps them to ride faster.

Another recent study from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign shows that caffeine helps to reduce muscle pain in riders pedaling as hard and as long as they can (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, May 2008). Other studies have shown that caffeine is a diuretic only when a person is at rest, not during exercise.

These reported benefits of caffeine for cyclists can be expected to apply to other sports as well. However, people with heart damage should be cautious about taking caffeine before exercising. It is a stimulant and may increase risk of irregular heart beats.

This post is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, M.D. and used with permission. Dr. Mirkin is board certified in Sports Medicine and has practiced for over 40 years. He has completed more than 40 marathons and was a talk show host of a nationally-syndicated radio program for about 25 years. For more articles by Dr. Mirkin, click here.

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75 Responses to “Dr. Mirken: Caffeine and Hot Weather Exercise” (Leave a reply)

Health Fitness Reports from United States said:

Interesting Studies, I thought caffeine only supplied short term energy causing a ‘crash’ in energy after a few hours. I’ll have to consume caffeine for my next workout, thanks
August 19, 2008 at 12:41 PM
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September 10, 2008 at 09:13 AM
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That’s cool! And I though caffeine is always bad for the body!
September 11, 2008 at 09:32 AM
San Antonio Lawyer said:

Interesting article! Thank you for a great post. Keep it up!
September 13, 2008 at 05:14 AM
Honda Fairings said:

As a caffeine adict I appreciate a lot this article. Thanks.
September 23, 2008 at 11:45 AM
El Chiflon said:

Never knew that caffeine has a lot of benefits until now especially to cyclists. Thank you for sharing this information.

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October 5, 2008 at 10:31 AM
closet designs from Arizona said:

Well it’s logic. Because if you’ll read the history of coffee, you’ll see that it was first used in war. The soldiers had to eat some balls of coffee to get more power.
October 6, 2008 at 08:57 AM
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Wow! I have learned something today in that very short article. I would never thought caffeine has its benefits most especially for dehydrated bikers or for athletic. Well I always thought its always bad for our health, but look at the bright side.
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The Coffea plant is native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia
February 10, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Fat Burner from Scotland said:

This is very interesting. I have always just taken chocolate to give me energy and never even considered taking caffeine. Thanks.
February 11, 2009 at 02:48 PM
Most Fun Games said:

I have learned something today in that very short article. I would never thought caffeine has its benefits most especially for dehydrated bikers or for athletic. Well I always thought its always bad for our health, but look at the bright side.
February 23, 2009 at 10:27 AM
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That is crazy, more coffee..
February 23, 2009 at 12:16 PM
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Really?Caffeine has benefits to our physical fitness.
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Tower Defence from UK said:

Is caffeine allowed in atheletics? I think it is not… But I am also not sure about it. SO better ask the sports authority before using that if you are a sportsman. But other than that it is a good energy producer to get you energy in your body.
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Read this article, I fell in love with coffee.
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June 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Civil Litigation from Birmingham said:

I’ve found it helps a lot for my running and martial arts. Though not so good for the calmer kenjutsu kata which need precision. There’s nothing worse than getting caffeine shakes when you’re trying to pull off a perfect move.
June 12, 2009 at 09:52 AM
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I didn’t knew that caffeine is good for our body. I also thought that drinking coffee makes the body loose water more rapidly. How does the coffee ball tasted?
June 14, 2009 at 02:32 PM
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Coffee good for you? I though caffine was bad for people?
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June 17, 2009 at 10:47 PM
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Great caffine good for you!
June 19, 2009 at 11:55 AM
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Hey I read in a health review last week that drinking coffee makes the body loose water more readily by urination. And isn’t caffeine harmful for our body.
June 19, 2009 at 01:26 PM
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- Avoid substances that dehydrate the body: Be sure to restrict caffeine and alcohol. Some medications, such as antihistamines, are also dehydration risks.
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July 30, 2009 at 02:42 AM
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Coffee has many benefits as well as the caffeine boost. The down side to getting that extra boost of energy is that it is never for a prolonged period of time and is followed by the uninvited ‘crash’ phase (as if recovering from the race wasn’t enough). The best alternative is a buffered caffeine coffee such as BSkinny Coffee made specifically with Buffered Caffeine for sustained periods of glycemicall energy. Tri-athletes to wrestlers are finding that buffered caffeine coffee is the best alternative and aren’t experiencing the crashes afterwards with Skinny Coffee. Keep those peddles going, your mug warm, and we’ll see you at the finish line!
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This is no secret; most people who workout seriously know that a cup of strong coffee before a workout can really reduce the pain of exercise.

Try this the next time: have a cup of strong coffee before you start your next workout..it’ll help you go longer, without the pain
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I understand caffeine isn’t a performance-enhancement drug and all it does is from natural ways and I don’t mind it. But if caffeine is such a great help, I can take it myself and pedal hard so I can lose some calories lol!
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As we know that most people who workout seriously know that a cup of strong coffee before a workout can really reduce the pain of exercise . I understand cafferine isn’t a performance enhancement drug and all it does is from caffeine is such a great help, we can take it myself and pedal hard so I can lose calories.
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Coffee helps the hot weather, i think.
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Yes, caffeine can make also our body more active and not only our body but also our minds. And it is also a good as antioxidant i think..
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