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Caffeine is a Good Thing

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:24 am
by Nev
I have found the secret to intense workouts and moderate work in the same day, and it is to take large amounts of caffeine. Two triple espressos (which I find out today actually don't have as much caffeine as regular coffee) and most of a 24 oz cup of regular coffee seem to be doing the trick. Hopefully I won't regret this tomorrow...

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:44 am
by Flip
coffee makes me shit, but i still drink a lot of it.

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:00 am
by Kupek
I think that relying on caffeine to get you through the work day and a workout is not a good idea. If you're tired, then you should get more rest. If you're using the caffeine so that you're "up" when you get to your workout, then you might need take it easier; you can't make suddeny high demands on your body, it needs time to adjust. Or you need more rest. Getting enough rest is just as important as the intensity of your workout.

I guess my point is that if you're tired, your body is telling you something, and it's better to listen to it than use a stimulant.

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:26 am
by Lox
Kupek wrote:I think that relying on caffeine to get you through the work day and a workout is not a good idea. If you're tired, then you should get more rest. If you're using the caffeine so that you're "up" when you get to your workout, then you might need take it easier; you can't make suddeny high demands on your body, it needs time to adjust. Or you need more rest. Getting enough rest is just as important as the intensity of your workout.

I guess my point is that if you're tired, your body is telling you something, and it's better to listen to it than use a stimulant.
I have read that some people like to drink a can of soda prior to a workout to give them that short-term boost in energy. I can see how that might help but that's obviously on a much simpler scale than relying on huge amounts of caffeine to get you through your day. I would agree with what you said, Kup. You have to be careful not to put such intense demands on your body or you'll just hurt yourself in the long run.

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:26 am
by Lox
Flip wrote:coffee makes me shit, but i still drink a lot of it.
Makes you or makes you feel like (or both)? :)

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:01 am
by Flip
Lox wrote:
Flip wrote:coffee makes me shit, but i still drink a lot of it.
Makes you or makes you feel like (or both)? :)

PostPosted:Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:49 am
by Nev
Kupek wrote:I think that relying on caffeine to get you through the work day and a workout is not a good idea. If you're tired, then you should get more rest. If you're using the caffeine so that you're "up" when you get to your workout, then you might need take it easier; you can't make suddeny high demands on your body, it needs time to adjust. Or you need more rest. Getting enough rest is just as important as the intensity of your workout.

I guess my point is that if you're tired, your body is telling you something, and it's better to listen to it than use a stimulant.
In the long run, I have no plans to become a caffeine addict (then again, who does?), but in the short term, between my deadline upcoming in three weeks and my need to do something about my gut - it's starting to cause lower back pain, and I'm about done with having it anyway, it's been there ever since I was 7 - I'll take my chances. I read up on the dangers of caffeine overuse, and they're pretty benign. You have to either do it for a very long time or take caffeine pills before anything really bad starts to happen.

Getting enough rest would be great, but the construction crew building a new apartment building literally ten feet from my window is not good for that. Seriously. Every morning at 7pm, except Sundays, they're up with the sun and banging away. I have 33dB-reduction earplugs, still no good. I have tried to get my body adjusted around to wake up that early, but it just doesn't seem to be how I'm wired to work well. Besides which, my co-workers on my project all keep night hours and the best time to collaborate is usually from 8-12pm.

So, for now anyway, caffeine it is. Besides, I like a drug that makes me more resistant to radioactivity and some cancers. My plan is to develop a serious green (or white) tea habit, since apparently green tea is ridiculously good for you anyway.