Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Caffeine and Exercise Performance

grapplinglane.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 120 posts

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#21

Post by fegu »

bheadmaster wrote: post #15
pgt wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

L-theanine is the active non-sedative anxiolytic in green tea that gives it such a "smooth high" when combined with its methylxanthine stimulants, theobromine and caffeine - which are natural pesticides, by the way. Anecdote of one: I stopped taking L-Theanine because I would experience a noticeable comedown of apathy two days later.

> I stopped taking L-Theanine because I would experience a noticeable comedown of apathy two days later. This was also my experience, but not two days later - the same day. I'd take L-Theanine, feel okay for a few hours, then feel extremely irritable and anxious for the rest of the day. More L-Theanine didn't help.

Is there any statistics on whether women drink more green tea than men? It certainly seems that way.

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#22

Post by EntropyIsAHoax »

AtillaBosma wrote: post #5

A bit unrelated, but I always get sleepy from coffee for some reason. Even yesterday I was just yawning and almost falling asleep between sets at the gym, even though I drank an espresso right before the workout. I had a normal 8 hours of sleep that night too, so don't think it has to do with sleep deprivation. Is this something anyone else has issues with?

Do you have ADHD? I don't know if there's actual evidence whether it's related, but I often hear this from people with ADHD

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#23

Post by jtwaleson »

bheadmaster wrote: post #14
jtwaleson wrote: post #10

I've recently started taking 200mg caffeine pills in the morning instead of coffee. A very cheap and easy way to boost energy in the morning, within about 15 minutes you really want to get out of bed, and no need to walk to the coffee machine. 200 pills are about $5, which is a lot cheaper than coffee. I'll probably tone down the dose, because it's the equivalent of 3 espressos, which is a bit much. I would normally…

I've used 200mg caffeine pills back in college, exactly for the purpose of waking up in the morning. For me, the tolerance made the effect go away after a month or two. I could take a caffeine pill, and go back to sleep. I had to start taking two, then three, until one morning I took so many I was basically shaking from caffeine, yet I was still sleepy. Maybe it was just me, though. Everyone's metabolism is different…

That sounds very unhealthy :) I try to remind myself that these are slightly dangerous things and I should stick to one per day.

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#24

Post by pgt »

fredgrott wrote: post #7

Note, From my ADHD way of controlling my ADHD the ideal way to stack caffeine with other stimulants is to take 70mg or less daily with the ECGC component of green tea in the form of Cacao to get both Caffeine and Theobromine !. Theobromine is a weaker stimulant that has a lot longer half life than caffeine. 2. ECGC from green tea changes the conformation of the adenosine receptor, i.e. blocks it thus raising dopamine…

Hmm, did not know that EGCG affects conformation of the adenosine receptor [^1].

To clarify, are you saying you're taking only cacao + EGCG to manage your ADHD? How about 90% Lindt dark chocolate as cacao source? Do you then stack L-DOPA on top of that.

Aside: EGCG counteracts the release of vasopressin (which causes your body to retain liquids), which is used post-MDMA roll to aid urination.

[^1]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16733047/

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#25

Post by markmark »

bheadmaster wrote: post #14
jtwaleson wrote: post #10

I've recently started taking 200mg caffeine pills in the morning instead of coffee. A very cheap and easy way to boost energy in the morning, within about 15 minutes you really want to get out of bed, and no need to walk to the coffee machine. 200 pills are about $5, which is a lot cheaper than coffee. I'll probably tone down the dose, because it's the equivalent of 3 espressos, which is a bit much. I would normally…

I've used 200mg caffeine pills back in college, exactly for the purpose of waking up in the morning. For me, the tolerance made the effect go away after a month or two. I could take a caffeine pill, and go back to sleep. I had to start taking two, then three, until one morning I took so many I was basically shaking from caffeine, yet I was still sleepy. Maybe it was just me, though. Everyone's metabolism is different…

As I understand it the body pretty quickly gets used to caffeine use, then taking your typical amount just gets you to the same level you'd always be if you never had caffeine. I still drink coffee though.

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#26

Post by bbarn »

n4r9 wrote: post #9
pgt wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

L-theanine is the active non-sedative anxiolytic in green tea that gives it such a "smooth high" when combined with its methylxanthine stimulants, theobromine and caffeine - which are natural pesticides, by the way. Anecdote of one: I stopped taking L-Theanine because I would experience a noticeable comedown of apathy two days later.

I believe it's present in all teas: black, oolong, white etc... as well as green.

That would make sense as all of those are the same plant, just harvested at different times and treated differently.

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#27

Post by pmontra »

One data point: I can drink 3 espressos at midnight, go to bed and fall asleep. Apparently I'm immune to caffeine which is both good (I can have a coffee at any time of the day) and bad (if I'm sleepy and I have to drive a coffee won't wake me up.) Maybe I also won't get any of those exercise performance effects.

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#28

Post by pelasaco »

being an old bjj black belt (4th degree), I loved to see it here. I'm training bjj/grappling for more than 30 years right now. I'm 40, and started it when I was 10. I did the math and I drink around 6mg-8mg/kg/day. My question is regarding the caffeine tolerance. Should I reset it from time to time? Never did it, but I'm curious if it exists and its necessary or if that's just a myth.

OSS

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#29

Post by eptcyka »

glogla wrote: post #2

Wasn't caffeine combined with contact sports linked to some brain damage? I remember this being a thing going around - the proposed mechanism was that while caffeine helps in general, it constricts brain blood vessels making blows to head more dangerous, since blow to head "spills" stuff from neurons and due to the constriction they take longer to be resupplied. I remember some scientific articles on this but I don't…

> Wasn't caffeine combined with contact sports linked to some brain damage?

Contact sports and oats will be linked to some brain damage. Contact sports and listening to seagulls in the evening too will lead to brain damage.

Re: Caffeine and Exercise Performance

#30

Post by nicoburns »

pmontra wrote: post #27

One data point: I can drink 3 espressos at midnight, go to bed and fall asleep. Apparently I'm immune to caffeine which is both good (I can have a coffee at any time of the day) and bad (if I'm sleepy and I have to drive a coffee won't wake me up.) Maybe I also won't get any of those exercise performance effects.

Yeah, it’s crazy how different peoples responses to caffeine are. One cup of tea at 9am will affect my sleep!
Post reply on HN