post exercise caffeine...

TheGreatGatsby

...or more specifically coffee.

There have been a number of articles published about the ingestion of caffeine before and during endurance sports that will aid performance however negligable it may be. And there is also a train of thought that caffeine in sports drinks after exercise may aid in reducing the effects of DOMS (not sure why. did a quick search for articles but nothing particularly substantial)

My question is about caffeine as a recovery aid away from sports drinks. Would the effects of drinking an espresso after exercise have the save benefits as a sports drink with caffeine in terms of aiding recovery? Does anyone have any information about this? I was just pondering the idea really and started thinking about organic dark cocoa espresso mochas - the antioxidants in the cocoa coupled with the recovery benefits of caffeine. Plus as its a small shot the cals would be lower than in a sports drinks but more intense?

I may be way of point so interested to hear other peoples views on coffee and recovery.

Gats

phil s

what's DOMS?

slowdave

DOMS = Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Alex_Simmons/RST

deliberately overstating milage syndrome

that's not a dig at anyone by the way - just a bit of fun looking for alternatives to the acronym

Alex_Simmons/RST

while coffee after a ride isn't that big a deal, I don't think that deliberately ingesting caffeine is a sensible post ride recovery strategy due to its diuretic effect (that is, it makes you pee more than consuming water or other electrolyte replacement fluids). Post-ride rehydration and re-establishing lost electrolytes is best achieved with a good sports drink. this will better able you to recover and be ready for the next day's ride.

here is a couple short extracts mentioning caffeine ingestion, post-ride:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9506802
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9127682

wheelermuk

does anyone know what the longer term effects of caffeine are - BP, HR etc. it's also supposed to inhibit vit C - any ideas what sort of time period this effect works over?

gats, at a complete guess i'd say as caffeine increases heart rate which could therefore increase recovery, although the pathways for musecle repair are probably independent of heart rate. would like to know though.

Alibran

I've read (in a runners' magazine, I think) that the usual benefits of caffeine are virtually eliminated when you take it in as coffee because there are other chemicals in the coffee that inhibit absorption of caffeine. (This might explain why I can drink a couple of cups of coffee with no noticeable effect, but take a couple of painkillers containing caffeine and I'm on a 3 hour high!)

fossyant

The problem is, everything will kill you.

Post ride - water, food, milk - sorted !!! Unless you are up for racing the next day, save your cash and re-hydrate normally and enjoy your food.

If racing - take what ever legal products you can to get back to 100% !! (but proper food and water is best) !

3wheeler

No it won't help. Can't remember the exact process that caffeine helps with during endurance exercise but it may help you keep going at a higher intensity for longer, so I wouldn't expect it to have any benefit after exercise.

If you're being healthy it's probably best to hydrate properly after training or a race, I must admit though that I have a bit of a coffee addiction

Here's a brief article that mentions how it works http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2006/11/caffeine-and-endurance/