December 11, 2009
Can caffeine safely be used as part of bodybuilding supplements? Do you avoid any supplement that has caffeine as a major ingredient? You don’t have to avoid it. Caffeine is a legitimate bodybuilding supplement because of how it works in the body.
There is a chemical in your body called Adenosine that helps you sleep. Adenosine links to receptors in the brain that cause blood cells to expand and nerve cell activity to reduce making you drowsy. Caffeine causes completely different reactions in the body, but to the receptors in the brain caffeine appears to be the same as Adenosine. Caffeine hooks to the same receptors, but it makes the nerve cells move quicker and causes increased neuron firing in the brain.
The pituitary gland produces adrenaline with the neuron firing in the brain is increased. The mixture of adrenaline and rapid firing neurons gives you the “buzz” affect often experienced with caffeine. Adrenaline is the “fight or flight” hormone and it causes many physical reactions including:
Your breathing tubes dilate to help you admit more oxygen so your muscles work more efficiently.
Heart rate increases to move that oxygen rich to the muscles.
Blood vessels nearer to the skin narrow, increasing blood flow to the muscles.
Blood flow to the stomach decreases.
The liver discharges sugar into the blood for more energy.
Muscles tighten getting ready for action.
It is easy to see how each of these physical reactions can ramp up your workout. Look at a biceps training article to see how you can combine this supplement with good form to get big biceps.
Caffeine can really be one of the best bodybuilding supplements, so don’t avoid it.
Most people can safely take about 500 mg of caffeine each day, you will train harder and longer if you take it as a supplement befor your workout. It is not necessary to drink 8 cups of coffee or to buy costly supplements to get the caffeine you need to jump start your workout. This is what you do to get the best, least expensive body building supplement out there:
Find the gneric brand of “No-Doze” or “Stay-Alert” at your local drug store. Check the active ingredients label to be sure the generic has the same ingredients as the name brand. Look for uncoated pills because they are more easily crushed. These pills generally have about 200 mg. of caffeine - about the same as in 2.5 cups of coffee.
Crush a tablet into a powder about 15 minutes prior to your workout. Sprinkle it into either juice or coffee and drink it. Caffeine effects wear off after about an hour and are not permanent. Look at this article about getting big biceps or this one about getting a six pack to see how to best use the extra kick you get from caffeine.
Some research has shown that using caffeine may not only reduce the chances of developing Parkinson’s disease, but also may boost memory. So stop steering clear of caffeine, use it to increase muscle.
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