Does Caffeine Improve Strength?

Caffeine is arguably the most heavily taken drug across America. It not only keeps you awake during work but can also improve your workout capacity. It is included in practically every pre workout out there, but what is it actually contributing to?

Greg Nuckols from MASS reviewed an article on muscle strength and fatigue tolerance on women supplemented with caffeine. The investigation found that caffeine both improves 1-rep max weight and increases the number of reps on a lift when going to failure. One novel finding is that caffeine performed better during lower body lifts rather than upper body lifts. The best results were not just from one cup of coffee however, which contains about 95mg of caffeine, but about 5-6 times that.

The takeaway is that you will certainly improve the quality of you lift if you take caffeine before hand. However, you must take more than just a cup of coffee to get the best results. Be aware that it is possible to develop a tolerance to caffeine, so it is recommended to only take large doses on days when you are going for big weight. Also if you have not taken caffeine before, ease into heavier doses to see how your body reacts first.