Caffeine's Impact on Peri-Workout Nutrition

[quote]ParagonA wrote:

As far as I can remeber, the exact mechanism responsible for the increased insulin sensitivity with exercise is still unknown. Regular exercise training also increases insulin sensitivity, which can be documented several days after the final workout, and again the mechanism is unknown.
[/quote]

In the article I linked above, I believe Berardi mentions that the ephinephrine released in response to the caffeine is what actually increases insulin resistance.

[quote]Davinci.v2 wrote:
ParagonA wrote:

As far as I can remeber, the exact mechanism responsible for the increased insulin sensitivity with exercise is still unknown. Regular exercise training also increases insulin sensitivity, which can be documented several days after the final workout, and again the mechanism is unknown.

In the article I linked above, I believe Berardi mentions that the ephinephrine released in response to the caffeine is what actually increases insulin resistance.[/quote]

This is probably the main reason, yes. But why exercise actually increases insulin sensitivity for several days is not yet fully understood.

[quote]ParagonA wrote:
Davinci.v2 wrote:
ParagonA wrote:

As far as I can remeber, the exact mechanism responsible for the increased insulin sensitivity with exercise is still unknown. Regular exercise training also increases insulin sensitivity, which can be documented several days after the final workout, and again the mechanism is unknown.

In the article I linked above, I believe Berardi mentions that the ephinephrine released in response to the caffeine is what actually increases insulin resistance.

This is probably the main reason, yes. But why exercise actually increases insulin sensitivity for several days is not yet fully understood.[/quote]

Ah, my fault, I misread your post.

Slightly off topic:
I don’t take coffee or caffeine prior to weight training, but for the last 6 months, I’ve found a double espresso prior to my squash matches really gets my butt in gear. I’m not sure if my conditioning has just improved markedly, but I suspect the caffeine is playing a large role in motivation, focus and energy.

Ok, so after thoroughly reading that caffeine roundtable discussion this is what I came away with, and you may comment if you like:

Caffeine pre-workout increases epinephrine levels which will decrease insulin sensitivity by a whole lot, as well as decreasing glucose uptake by another whole lot (%25+ in both cases). But at the same time it provides free fatty acids for your muscles to eat up instead of glucose, and it gives you that mental focus and desire to push through the hard stuff during your training or study session or whatever.

So… this sort proves what we already knew about caffeine, it’s good for burning fat and keeping you sharp throughout your training.

And we know caffeine definitely increases epinephrine, which definitely has a negative impact on insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake.

And glucose uptake seems to be pretty important during this protocol, what with all the sugars we’re feeding our bodies before during and after with the peri-workout protocol…

And not to mention we are trying to “spike” insulin with this protocol, so we can uptake all the good muscle-building sugars and amino’s etc…

So, I would conclude that if gaining weight and getting big and strong was your goal, caffeine is counterproductive for this goal.

Might be good for “lean gains” though, as it would burn fat etc. during exercise.

But I would like to see/experiment with workouts with and without caffeine over some period of 4 weeks or something, maybe same individual 4 on 4 off, or 4 off 4 on. That would be an interesting study, because what effect would the “high” you get from caffeine have on your poundages? Maybe your growing more off of it, but progressing more slowly on the weights cause your not as “in to it”… I don’t know.

Anyways, got these crazy ideas from that link Davinci posted: Strength Training, Bodybuilding & Online Supplement Store - T NATION

I have 2 comments:

Taking caffeine pre-workout won’t necessarily increase free fatty acid utilization during your training. It takes about 5 hours after the initial ingestion of caffeine to get the “fat burning” effect which comes from the mobilization of free fatty acids in the blood stream.

Also, I’v read numerous studies stating that taking Caffeine in combination with CHO POST-WORKOUT increases glycogen synthesis up to 66% compared to just CHO.

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/01121.2007v1

[quote]Serd wrote:
I have 2 comments:

Taking caffeine pre-workout won’t necessarily increase free fatty acid utilization during your training. It takes about 5 hours after the initial ingestion of caffeine to get the “fat burning” effect which comes from the mobilization of free fatty acids in the blood stream.

Also, I’v read numerous studies stating that taking Caffeine in combination with CHO POST-WORKOUT increases glycogen synthesis up to 66% compared to just CHO.

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/01121.2007v1[/quote]

Neat study, I’m still bummed it doesn’t help me get my caffeine in for the workout itself.

OMG… so today… I tried a workout with like half as much caffeine, and it was total crap, waste of my time, I had no motivation whatsoever…

Might want to add that it was only 3 hours after I woke up too, I usually workout later in the afternoon so that might have had something to do with it, but yeah, I need at least 2 caps of HOT-ROX to really get me in the mood to lift serious… I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

Another study to stimate the consumption the caffeine pre workout. Obviusly with moderation and protecting yourself to avoid adrenal stress.

Effect of a Pre-Exercise Energy Supplement on the Acute Hormonal Response to Resistance Exercise

Results suggest that a pre-exercise energy S (combination of branched chain amino acids, creatine, taurine, caffeine, and glucuronolacton) consumed 10 minutes before resistance exercise can enhance acute exercise performance by increasing the number of repetitions performed and the total volume of exercise. The enhanced exercise performance resulted in a significantly greater increase in both growth hormone and insulin concentrations, indicating an augmented anabolic hormone response to this pre-exercise S.

[quote]pedranto wrote:
Another study to stimate the consumption the caffeine pre workout. Obviusly with moderation and protecting yourself to avoid adrenal stress.

Effect of a Pre-Exercise Energy Supplement on the Acute Hormonal Response to Resistance Exercise

Results suggest that a pre-exercise energy S (combination of branched chain amino acids, creatine, taurine, caffeine, and glucuronolacton) consumed 10 minutes before resistance exercise can enhance acute exercise performance by increasing the number of repetitions performed and the total volume of exercise. The enhanced exercise performance resulted in a significantly greater increase in both growth hormone and insulin concentrations, indicating an augmented anabolic hormone response to this pre-exercise S.[/quote]

That makes me feel better! :slight_smile:

And talking about caffeine and its interaction with insulin, what about its glycogen-sparing effect?

Morning steady cardio in fasted state is very catabolic supposedly, but intaking caffeine we can obtain such effect following a low-moderate carb diet in a fat loss, so preserve muscle mass and use fat for fuel? as an empty stomach after sleep we are in a cardio-respiratory state.

Got a question:
Lets assume that all talk (…mostly by Berardi…) that caffeine can reduce our insuline sensitivity is correct.

What if we added cinnamon to our every cup of coffee?
(…or take a few ALA pills with our coffee…)
Would that do anything?

Hey Guys,

Just thought you might find this interesting (sorry if it’s already been posted)…

“In this study, we investigated the effect and mechanism of caffeine and sucrose, major components of cola, on glucose metabolism in 90% pancreatectomized diabetic rats. After a 12-week administration of 0.01% caffeine solution, the rats exhibited reduced body weight, fats, and insulin resistance, without a change in food intake, regardless of an 11% sucrose solution supplementation. In addition, caffeine enhanced glucose-stimulated first- and second-phase insulin secretion and beta-cell hyperplasia. This insulinotropic action was explained by potentiating an insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling cascade via induction of insulin receptor substrate 2 in islets. In contrast, sucrose supplementation deteriorated insulin sensitivity and attenuated insulin/IGF-1 signaling in islets, which reduced the number of beta cells. Caffeine nullified the adverse effect of sucrose on glucose homeostasis. These findings indicate that long-term caffeine consumption can help alleviate diabetic symptoms by enhancing insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function through improved insulin/IGF-1 signaling via induction of insulin receptor substrate 2 in mildly diabetic rats.”

Cheers
Clutch

Caffeine increases the release of catecholamines.
Doesn’t this make you better at your workout?
Wouldn’t this being better at your workout weigh out the slight decrease in insulin sensitivity?
???

Does the fact that coffee is very acidic ( …it has a pH of 3-4…) have anything to do with it decreasing insulin sensitivity?

How about a more alkaline drink? Green (Organic) Tea has a pH of 7-8.
Does it have the same “devastating” effects on insulin sensitivity?