It goes without saying that a lot of people will try supplements at some point to enhance their physical performance to a point that can’t be achieved through standard physiology/diet.

When it comes to training intensity a lot of people will experiment with pre-workouts to allow them to train that extra bit harder and fight off fatigue throughout their workouts. Now I’m not too sure about you, but I’ve had a few pre-workouts over my time in the gym and these stimulatory agents benefits sometimes don’t outweigh the negatives. The trouble sleeping, the intense skin tingling, tunnel vision, eventual dependence on it for even daily energy.. the list goes on.

Why not use something naturally produced like coffee?

The caffeine in coffee acts upon your central nervous system, causing an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity (this being your fight or flight system). Basically, the caffeine is getting your body ready for activity.

A typical dose to get an ergogenic effect from coffee is 2-6mg per kilo of bodyweight. So for most individuals this will range from 1-3 shots of coffee 1 hour prior to training.

Some of the performance benefits of caffeine on the body include;

• Reduction in your perception of fatigue
• Enhanced motor unit recruitment
• Increased repeated short sprint performance
• Increase in high-intensity intervals or sets of resistance training

There is also a number of studies which suggest caffeine and the antioxidants in coffee may have preventative benefits for diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s and certain types of cancer.

So, before you spend a few hours of your pay on a tub of chemicals, go and get an iced long black with an extra shot and reap the natural rewards of coffee.