Lifting weights in general makes you feel great. You get a nice burn, you get some cardio in, and you get to burn calories all at the same time. In addition, if your nutrition is on point, you’ll get bigger muscles and get a shredded body in no time. It’s also one of the best ways to burn fat!
But if you’re lifting weights after drinking coffee as a sort of pre-workout supplement to get you some energy to use to do so, you may be doing more harm than good, and here’s why:
Caffeine May Drive Blood Away from Where You Need it
Because caffeine helps keep blood flowing in your body, it may be moving too quickly to go to where you need it most when you’re lifting weights. This can result in a feeling of being really tired when you’ve just started. You may also feel really groggy and sleepy after just a few sets.
This is because your blood is flowing so smoothly that your unable to ‘clump’ it up to use it for your workouts.
Lack of Cortisol Production May Hurt Your Health
When you’re always drinking caffeinated beverages, your adrenal glands are constantly working and trying to produce adrenaline. Over time, your adrenal glands have a hard time naturally producing this chemical that is produced in the fight-or-flight response.
If you feel tired every morning, you’re likely suffering from this adrenal fatigue syndrome.
But even worse is that you’re not producing any natural cortisol anymore. And when you lift weights, your body produces cortisol. But when your body is trying t produce something that it has none of, it seriously hurts your immune system.
This is one of the key reasons why people get sick so often when they lift weights, and it’s because their bodies are going to a well of cortisol that is completely dry.
Hurts Your Energy Supplies
When you’re using coffee to wake you up, it can only work for so long before you build up a tolerance to it. This tolerance gets higher and higher the longer you use coffee to wake you up, and before you know it, you’re unable to function without it.
This leads to a reduced energy supply, and you’ll even suffer from a hangover effect when you try to wean yourself off of it.
It’s best to lift weights without any help from stimulants. Or if you need them, use them sparingly.
