Looking for a Pre-Workout Drink? Try Instant Coffee
With more than 150 million Americans drinking coffee daily alone, it is no wonder coffee is the world’s most popular drink. Should you drink it before your workout?
Coffee and Your Workout Session
As coffee contains the stimulant, caffeine, it increases your body's energy levels. A 2002 research shows that it can improve your workout performance because caffeine increases adrenaline in the body to prep for physical exertion. The feeling of adrenaline in your body also reduces feelings of tiredness. This can make your workout feel like an overall better experience and can encourage you to come back to the gym again for another session!
For those who focus their workouts around weight loss, coffee may be an added helping hand you didn’t know you needed. Myself, like many others, know the feelings of hunger and wanting to eat immediately after long physical training. This can sometimes lead to poor choices of what kinds of food we put into our body and how much of it we eat.
Fortunately, coffee has the benefit of appetite suppressing properties, which will help prevent binge eating after a hard sweat session at the gym. Not only that, but this 1968 research shows that the caffeine in a cup of coffee stimulates fat cells to break down body fat into fatty acids. So a cup of coffee before a workout can also help weight loss as it lets your body burn and use up these broken down fats when you exercise.
Coffee itself also contains many antioxidants and nutrients such as vitamin b2, b5, manganese and potassium, and magnesium and niacin.
Now you must be wondering…
"If coffee is so great as a pre-workout drink, then when should I drink coffee before a workout?"
How long before a workout should I drink coffee?
Caffeine from coffee is absorbed from the stomach after about 15-45 minutes, but the time you would feel its peak beneficial effects would be 30-75 minutes after you’ve drunken it. Because of that, drinking a cup of coffee an hour before your gym session is the best timeframe.
Or even better, "can’t I also drink coffee during a workout and have coffee after a workout?"
Now, since coffee has a diuretic effect (meaning it makes you need to pee), it may not be best to drink coffee alone during your workout. But you can always include a secondary beverage like water or a sports drink to prevent dehydration.
Coffee after an intense workout may be even more beneficial than during a workout. A 2008 study mentioned that caffeine helps replenish your body’s muscle more quickly. When consumed along with carbs, like pasta, it helps refuel your muscles with glycogen faster than if you just ate carbs alone.
For those on the go… Brewed vs. instant coffee
While all these positives of coffee for workouts are great, many people are probably wondering how they are supposed to get their coffee intake if they’re going to the gym from work or school.
With Waka Coffee, premium instant coffee, your worries of how to make coffee before or after a workout is no longer a pressing issue. Instant coffee and workouts are the best combination for those with a busy schedule and no time to wait for your coffee machine to finish brewing a cup.
As the benefits stay the same whether you have hot or cold coffee before a workout, you can make your own cup of coffee simply with water (temperature of your choice) and a pack of the best instant coffee. Waka Coffee makes small single serve packets for your convenience to take around in your purse, work bag, or even just in your pocket. You can use the instant coffee bag if you are at home or back in the office.
While coffee contains various benefits on its own, coffee as a pre-workout drink (or after if you prefer) takes these advantages to another level. With its ability to positively affect all aspects of physical activity, through improved performance and aiding weight loss, it’s a no brainer to include it within your workout regimen.
As today’s society thrives on the busyness of people, brewed coffee or wait time at a cafe is not very ideal nor time efficient. Instant coffee with its portability and ease of making great coffee is the best solution. It contains all the same benefits as regular brewed coffee but without all of the hassle and stress. Simply bring along one of Waka Coffee’s small packets, or our resealable bag and you can make yourself a cup of Colombian instant coffee in less than a minute just by adding water! Perfect for an on-the-go pre-workout or after workout drink whenever and wherever!
