Anyone who knows me or follows me on social media will know that I like a coffee or 2 (or 3).
I went from having my first Mocha about 6 years ago to now being a bit of an Americano with no milk coffee connoisseur.
Well, that’s possibly down to the fact that I think that for the most part regularly consumed liquid calories are f*$#ing pointless.
(Apart from protein shakes and in SOME cases, fruit and veg based smoothies).
Also, maybe connoisseur is way too far but I like to think I know the difference between a decent and a not so decent cup.
HOW CAFFEINE AFFECTS GYM PERFORMANCE
Being a Personal Trainer means long days spent mostly in the gym (duh).
It’s not the type of job you could do for any length of time if you didn’t absolutely love it. Luckily I do.
Some of those long days are delivering 1-1 sessions. Some is planning those sessions, constructing training and diet programmes, sending and replying to emails, producing content for the website and social media, training myself etc.
Much of that behind the scenes work is spent in any nearby coffee shop with a chilled vibe and good wi-fi.
It is in these spots that I have developed my appreciation for a decent cup of coffee.
Before I delve into my 3 favourite spots I thought I should first try to put some useful fitness related content into this blog so here’s a bit about caffeine (de-caff drinkers look away now) that explains the pros and cons for gym performance.
HOW CAFFEINE WORKS
Caffeine is the most heavily consumed supplement worldwide largely due to the huge popularity of coffee!
Apparently there are around two billion cups consumed every day and in the UK we drink approximately 95 million cups!
So sticking to how it relates to exercise, here are 4 ways caffeine actually works:
1. Consuming caffeine can produce a slight euphoric feeling. If you consume it regularly however, over time you will become desensitised to this particular effect. It is often this feeling subsiding that leads people to believe they are tolerant although the benefits listed below still persist in spite of this.
2. The presence of the caffeine molecule in our system reduces tiredness by blocking the physiological pathways in our body that cause that tired feeling.
3. It increases the release of hormones such as Adrenaline which stimulate the release of free fatty acids into circulation to be utilised for fuel.
4. Seems to act locally within the muscle to increase muscle contractile force potential although this last benefit is less well understood.
HOW MUCH CAFFEINE YOU SHOULD HAVE
Sounds ideal but like most things the benefits and potential negative effects are largely a dosage issue.
So how much do you need?
Here’s the thing, in order to maximally stimulate the effects mentioned above you need to be getting 4mg-6mg of caffeine per kg Bodyweight. So if you weigh 80kg, that is around 400mg!
If you didn’t know, that is a lot of caffeine!
To provide some perspective the average cup of coffee contains somewhere around 90mg of caffeine (its hard to say how much exactly because a cup of coffee is simply water filtered through a non-exact amount of ground beans). A 250ml can of Red Bull contains 80mg.
A specialised pre-workout supplement can contain anywhere between 150mg – 300mg of caffeine depending on the brand. The main reason you won’t find anything higher than these numbers is largely down to individual tolerance.
Some people will find that even low-moderate amounts of caffeine leave them feeling anxious and agitated. Also, due to its diuretic and laxative properties caffeine can leave you needing to run to the toilet when your tolerance threshold has been hit! Neither of these is particularly comfortable and obviously not ideal just prior to exercise.
HOW TO AVOID NEGATIVE SIDE-EFFECTS
The next consideration which relates to a potential downside to caffeine is its ability to inhibit sleep.
Caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours – basically every 5 hours post consumption the amount in your system will have halved. So, having coffee later in the day could potentially mean you’ll still have enough in your system to inhibit tiredness. Therefore, it will affect your ability to get a decent nights shut eye.
So with this in mind, my main advice for anyone who is looking to utilise caffeine as part of a pre-workout routine is trial and error.
Testing your response to different amounts of caffeine and being wary of having large amounts later in the day is the best way to establish where your threshold limit is. This can lead to you benefiting from this well researched, tried and tested stimulant without the negative side effects.
MY FAVOURITE COFFEE SPOTS IN GLASGOW
So now that we’re all caffeine experts, let’s move on to my 3 personal favourite coffee spots in Glasgow…
1. Laboratorio Espresso
Situated on West Nile Street the coffee here is spot on. It’s a cozy little spot that I mostly venture to when I’m not planning on doing any work and I’m just looking to take a break and relax with some good quality coffee.
2. Sartis Right
Outside the gym that I work from on Bath Street, this place has a really authentic Italian feel. You can sit in, relax and enjoy some very reasonably priced, delicious coffee.
3. Caffè Nero (Sauchiehall Street)
Now the hipsters and genuine coffee connoisseurs might be offended at the idea someone could pick a commercial coffee shop but I couldn’t leave it out as this is my go-to for when I’m looking to sit in and be productive AF with work.
The staff are friendly, the wi-fi is good. It has that Central Perk from Friends feel with its comfortable couches and out of all the commercial coffee shops, it is my personal favourite.
Enjoy 🙂
