Caffeine, heart rate and working out?

Question

One of the things I did earlier this year was to abolish caffeine from my diet. I figured after 30 years of the stuff, it was time for it to go (and the habits that go with it -- for example, with a coffee, I'd be tempted to add a bagel, etc.).

I really suffered no ill effects except about two weeks of headaches, and continued with my workouts and seem to have toned up a bit. My blood pressure, which had been a slight problem when I was on caffeine, became low-normal.

But recently I had a relapse. I work at a college and school started again, and I found that I needed a caffeine boost to get through a killer stretch. During this time, I noticed my average heart rate on the elliptical machine was 160 as opposed to 140 without caffeine.

I am back on the no-caffeine bandwagon now and notice my heart rate is back to 140 or so average on the machine.

But it begs the question -- is caffeine good for a workout if it does get the heart rate up like that for people like me? 160 is better than 140, right?

Answer 1

i like your way of thinking, i had the same thought process when i smoked years ago.. if i smoked and it was harder to breathe when i had to run during training days, was i getting a better cardio workout rather than doing the workout as a non smoker??? and i must ask you this, why dont you  up the intensity of your workout to reach 160 bpm when you are not taking caffeine?

Answer 2

Drink decaf if you need that caffeine hit.

Here are a couple of links

http://www.completefitness.com.au/articl...

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Ca-De/Caff...