The-Athlete’s BodyBlog

LATEST PERFORMANCE BENEFITS OF CAFFEINE

Legend has it that coffee was "discovered" around 850 AD in upper Egypt by a goat herder named Khaldi. One day Khaldi noticed that his goats were eating red berries (coffee beans) from a shrub and noticed the goats were acting very strange.  The goats were jumping around and acting more energetic than usual. After watching this, Khaldi mustered up the courage to try some of the berries himself and reported a unusual increase in energy after consumption of the beans.   Khaldi then spoke with some monks who decided to cook the berries to make a drink and….coffee was born! Little did Khaldi know that his discovery would be would be helping millions of athletes for generations to come. Coffee is a good way to start the day but some bodybuilders may want to consider functional foods for better results.  For example, functional food coffee such as JavaFit may be a better for bodybuilders to drink than regular coffee.  JavaFit coffee contains caffeine, green tea extract, garcinia cambogia and niacin.  It has been reported that JavaFit has a significant effects on resting energy expenditure compared to normal caffeinated coffee for 3-hours following ingestion5.  JavaFit coffee has also been shown to increase post-exercise energy expenditure as well13.
Caffeine has been found to increase alertness via several biochemical pathways.  The primary pathways in caffeine stimulates the central nervous system is by directly inhibiting phosphodiesterases and increasing cyclic AMP, inhibiting adenosine receptors, stimulating adrenaline release, and increasing intracellular muscle calcium levels.  Many bodybuilders may feel like their muscles are “twitching” when too much caffeine is taken,  it has been demonstrated that caffeine is able to induce “twitching” of the muscle fibers without contraction and complete muscle contraction in a dose-dependent manner when caffeine is administered15. 
Adenosine is primarily an inhibitory chemical; caffeine blocks the actions of adenosine. Several animal studies show that adenosine acts on specific receptors to induce sleep. These adenosine receptors are scattered throughout the body and brain. A recent study on cats - renowned sleepers - pinpointed one arousal network and confirmed that adenosine is a natural sleep inducer. The scientists have found that natural concentrations of adenosine build up in parts of the brain system during the cats’ waking periods and causes them to fall sleep16. Caffeine works by binding to these adenosine receptors, and keeping adenosine from binding with its receptor. That’s how caffeine keeps you awake.  Adenosine also inhibits the release of most brain excitatory neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine, and may reduce dopamine synthesis. Decreases in dopamine have been linked to fatigue during exercise.