How caffeine improves physical performance

Caffeine Benefits: Physical Performance

At least one afternoon a week, I hit a wall. A long stretch of office work, a meeting or two that ran long, and suddenly it's 4 pm with jiu-jitsu on the calendar in an hour.

So I reach for caffeine, just a quarter cup of coffee or an LMNT Lemonade Iced Tea. Fifteen minutes later there's a little spring in my step, and the guy who shows up at the gym is a lot sharper than the one who was slumped over the laptop.

Caffeine is one of the most reliable performance tools we've got, and like around 75% of competitive athletes, I use it strategically.

It helps to know what's happening under the hood. As you train:

A molecule called adenosine builds up and starts to create feelings of fatigue.

Caffeine blocks that signal so the same effort feels easier. You can push a little harder, a little longer, with less strain.

The dose is where most people go sideways. Here's the protocol I keep coming back to:

For most workouts: about 50 mg to 100 mg, roughly 15 minutes before I start. The effects typically peak in the middle of my session.

For afternoon training: keep it to 25–50 mg so it doesn't follow me to bed.