Coffee before gym session 'takes the pain out of exercise'

Coffee before gym session 'takes the pain out of exercise' Photo: GETTY

Scientists say caffeine reduces pain because it blocks the body's receptors that make the brain aware of muscle strain.

Lead researcher and community health expert Professor Robert Motl, who regularly drank coffee as a competitive cyclist, believes a lot of people automatically reach for a cup of coffee before a workout unaware that it helps them feel less pain.
Prof Motl, of the University of Illinois, has studied the relationship between caffeine and physical activity for the past seven years.

Initially he looked at links between caffeine intake, spinal reflexes and physical activity.

He became aware that "caffeine works on the part of the brain and spinal cord heavily involved in pain processing."

Since then a number of studies have supported Prof Motl's theory, including investigations considering such variables as exercise intensity, dose of caffeine, anxiety, sensitivity and gender.

Prof Motl said he is the first person to study the effects of caffeine on muscle pain during high-intensity exercise.

He said: "What we saw is something we didn't expect: caffeine-naïve individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine consumption."

The latest study's 25 participants were fit, college-aged males divided into two distinct groups: subjects whose everyday caffeine consumption was extremely low to non-existent, and those with an average caffeine intake of about 400 milligrams a day, the equivalent of three to four cups of coffee.

After completing an initial exercise test in the lab on a stationary cycle, for determination of maximal oxygen consumption or aerobic power, subjects returned for two monitored high-intensity, 30-minute exercise sessions.

An hour prior to each session, cyclists - who had been instructed not to consume caffeine during the prior 24-hour period - were given a pill. On one occasion, it contained a dose of caffeine measuring 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (equivalent to two to three cups of coffee); the other time, they received a placebo.

During both exercise periods, subjects' perceptions of quadriceps muscle pain was recorded at regular intervals, along with data on oxygen consumption, heart rate and work rate.

Prof Motl believes the research could prove encouraging for a range of people, including the average person who wants to become more physically active to realise the health benefits of a punishing workout.

He said: "One of the things that may have a practical application is if you go to a gym and you exercise and it hurts, you may be prone to stop doing that because pain is a stimulus that tells you to withdraw.

"So if we could give people a little caffeine and reduce the amount of pain they are experiencing, maybe that would help them stick with that exercise."