How Coffee Can Jump-start Your Hike

This is a guest post written by Sarah Jones. Sarah writes about the benefits, techniques, and varieties of coffee on her blog, We Dream of Coffee . She hopes to share her knowledge so that more people can enjoy this amazing drink.

The open air, the earth skirting beneath your feet, the wind jostling your hair and the sun illuminating every footstep you take. Getting in touch with nature is one of the many benefits to hiking. What seems almost sacrilegious is a cup of coffee before sweating out all of the toxins in your body; however, coffee may just be what you need to jump-start your hike according to new scientific evidence.

Fitness enthusiasts might tout green tea as the best means to get your caffeine; however new research shows that coffee might just be what you need to enhance your endurance during your trek into the mountains. With a host of other health benefits and the endless variety of coffee available, there is certainly a brew for every adrenaline junkie out there.

The Science Supporting the Bean

Caffeine has been proven to help accelerate fat loss, when black coffee – sorry no sugar or milk for us – is consumed. The caffeine can encourage the body to use fat cells for energy instead of glycogen, therefore speeding up the rate at which fat is burnt within the body. Caffeine has also been found to reduce appetite, which means that you should have less of a desire for doughnuts after reaching the summit.

A study out of the journal of Sports Medicine found that athletes who consumed coffee were able to increase their personal performance and train longer and at a greater capacity than they used to. This was found across several sport disciplines and is not solely related to strength training. A further study also mentioned that athletes who drank coffee were able to run 4.2 seconds faster.

Caffeine has also been found to have the additional benefit on mental acuity. People who drank coffee in a study were found to concentrate more on their workouts and their personal performance within the exercise, than without the coffee.

Coffee drinkers were also found to experience far lesser physical pain during exercise than the non-coffee drinkers and thus were able to have more challenging workouts and completed more reps than they previously were able to. Coffee happens to be one of the most concentrated sources of antioxidants within the typical American’s daily diet.

Adding Coffee to Your Workout Plan

It has been found that the best time to drink coffee for optimum benefits to your workout is around an hour before you begin as caffeine may be absorbed by the bloodstream within 15 minutes. However, the effects only reach maximum impact at around 30 to 75 minutes after being consumed.

Additional water consumption is recommended as well after drinking your cup of coffee to keep you hydrated and running at full steam. Bear in mind that too much coffee has been known to have both dehydration and laxative-like effects on individuals, neither of which are desirable before a hike or any activity.

For those choosing to work out later in the day, you may still be able to have some of the liquid gold, due to the fact that people process caffeine differently. Some are able to have their caffeine fix in the evening and not have any negative effects, while others may not be able to sleep until the wee hours of the morning. This is due to individual weight, age, metabolism and other unique factors.

If the idea of eschewing the benefits of caffeine for a night time rendezvous up the Rocky Mountains, or the mere thought of a 5am trail run is enough to send you round the bend, then fear not. Black tea is an option with between 14 and 70 mg of caffeine in a regular size cup. You can also choose dark roasted coffee beans as these have been found to have significantly less caffeine than lighter roasted beans.

Another idea is to start taking your coffee cold. Cold brewed coffee has a far lower level of caffeine in its composition than its warmer counterparts. The great thing about coffee really is that it is so versatile and can be prepared virtually anywhere, from your cozy kitchen to on an open fire in the middle of a campsite out in some corner of nature.

For those afraid of having to succumb to instant coffee, instead of their freshly ground concoctions that normally delight us all before the day begins, fear not. Quite a few recipes can be whipped up in the middle of nowhere, including a well-known favorite the Americano .

Coffee is one of the easiest and most flavorful ways to boost your workout in a natural way, with an increase in your performance ability, recovery, mental acuity, and the ability to aid in weight loss. It is a wonder that it isn’t prescribed as part of a healthy lifestyle. Why not try adding some to your pre-morning hike preparations today?