Coffee - a benefit or annoyance for evening training?

We all know that a morning coffee can really hit the spot and give you a boost of energy, great just before a morning session.

Until recently, most of the research i'd read on the topic looked at the benefits of coffee to performance during a session, regardless of time.

There is no doubt that coffee can be a performance enhancer, helping you physical gains, the data points to that.

I came across a bit of research (summary from a great research site I am subscribed to) the other day that was looking at coffee (the ergogenic effect) and comparing it's benefits on training sessions in the morning vs in the evening - the geek in me went wild.

This is a really interesting topic to look at.

You are either going to train first thing before work or last thing after work, and depending on which one, might impact your decision on coffee use.

The first thing to look at was whether coffee was more effective before a morning session or an evening one.

The answer appears to be that coffee is just less effective when taken later in the day.

Performance improvements were far greater in the participants when they used coffee before a morning session.

On the whole people tended to perform better in the evening BUT coffee in the morning closed this gap massively.

So as a starting point, if you train in the morning, coffee is a no brainer.

Another thing to look at is the dosage.

In the study I am referring to, they compared 3mg/kg, 6mg/kg and a 0mg/kg placebo. As you'd probably guess 6mg/kg was the most effective, giving the best performance boosts.

So what about for those of you training in the evening, what does this mean for your sessions and where does coffee fit in?

Well, the benefits of coffee simply weren't as effective later in the day. It is likely using coffee in the hope of better sessions and results in the gym, might not be a good bet.

When you add to that, the fact that coffee has a half life of 6 hours, your decision becomes a lot easier.

Caffeine will still have half its content in your system 6 hours later, meaning a 4pm or 5pm pre session coffee is going to impact your sleep.

So when you add up that there may not be big, if any, improvements to your sessions and the fact you will sleep worse, my recommendation is to avoid coffee before evening training.

For you morning trainers, keep using coffee, it seems to work. It can also be really effective on days sleep has been limited or if you are a usual evening gym goer but are looking to switch to a morning routine.