Pages

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Run Faster on Coffee

The headline said it all: "Run faster on Coffee". Reading through the Sunday Times Life section this evening, the headline caught my attention. Experience runners have always warned of the danger of drinking coffee before a run and here was something that ran contrary to the advice.

The article went on to describe the experience of 2 runners and the effect the caffeine in the coffee has on their run. Apparently, what works is that the caffeine increases the power output of muscles by releasing calcium that is stored in the muscle. This enables athletes to keep going longer and faster in the same length of time. Caffeine also affects the brain's sensation of exhaustion so in effect keeping one going longer.

This is the best news ever. So the next time I head out for a run in the morning, I going to give that milo a miss and have my cuppa!

3 comments:

  1. Hehe... always had coffee and 2 slices of bread before a ride...
    Maybe the coffee did help in my rides. =)

    Usually dun take anything before a run.
    Not as if I run a lot. =p

    ReplyDelete
  2. kopi is a must for me in the morning, a perk-up for any run for sure...try it :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't do anything without my morning coffee first, especially before a run! So the research finally validated what I know is true! :)

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin