The Spark You need To Go Stronger, Longer, Faster

Your morning coffee has the power to fire up your fitness and take it to the next level, the latest science shows. Here’s how to harness all its workout-boosting benefits.

- Sara Angle

Caffeine equals energy, which most of us consider a godsend in its own right. But the latest thinking is that the stimulant can also give you a significant edge at the gym.

“There are years’ worth of research proving caffeine’s efficacy,” says Jose Antonio, the CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. It has enormous power as a safe and effective performance-enhancing drug.

Caffeine works by increasing activity in the central nervous system, making you feel more alert and awake, which sharpens your concentration and speeds up your reaction times, says Philip Prins, an assistant professor at Grove City College, who has studied caffeine’s effects on exercise.

At the same time, caffeine disrupts the pain signals your muscles send to your brain, so you feel better during and after your workout, and you’re able to exercise longer and harder, says Matthew Ganio, an associate professor of exercise science at the University of Arkansas. It also revs up your metabolism.

“A person who has just had caffeine will burn more calories than someone who hasn’t, even if they’re doing the exact same workout,” says Eric Trexler, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.