Coffee Bean Direct Blog

Coffee vs Pain

Hello Everybody!

So, I was trolling the interwebs for coffee news again and I found a gem! I came across an article that suggested that coffee can reduce the muscle pain associated with work outs… what?! That’s awesome… oh wait does this mean I have no excuse for not working out?

According a study conducted my a professor Robert Motl of the University of Illinois, coffee does help to reduce the muscle pain associated with exercise! Well, more so the caffeine in coffee. Of course more research has to be done before they can know the specifics of caffeine vs pain, but it certainly is a step in the right direction.

“One of the things that may be a practical application, is if you go to the gym and you exercise and it hurts, you may be prone to stop doing that because pain is an aversive stimulus that tells you to withdraw,” Motl said. “So if we could give people a little caffeine and reduce the amount of pain they’re experiencing, maybe that would help them stick with that exercise.”

I also came across a great pre-workout smoothie:

1 1/2 cups brewed coffee, cold or at room temperature
2 6-ounce containers plain low-fat yogurt (1 1/2 cups)
2 medium ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
3 to 4 ice cubes
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons honey, or to taste*
* (Use more or less honey depending on the ripeness of the bananas.)

Place all ingredients in a blender container. Cover, and blend on high speed for 1 minute, or until smooth. Pour into 4 glasses. Serve immediately.

Per serving: Calories: 154; Protein: 6 grams; Carbohydrate: 30 grams; Fat: 2 grams; Cholesterol: 5 mg.; Sodium: 63 mg.

I hope this information was helpful… I know it has motivated me to step it up a notch with my workout!

Sources: livescience.com, coffeescience.org