Cafeine and working out

[Leroy]

I recently started working out and I remembered something from my biochemistry class.

 

Cafeine activates a diesterase which turn cAMP into AMP making the body 'burn' it's glycogen. In order to get rid of fat better, would it be a good idea to drink some cafeine drink before you work out?

 

And if so, how much cafeine would you need to consume and how long would it take before you could start working out?

 

The thing is, i've got some love handles I want to take care of but if all i'm burning in the first 15 minutes of a workout is sugar couldn't I just burn that all away before starting my workout?

 

BTW, is cafeine addictive in a physical way or a mental way? I wouldn't want get addicted to cafeine and endorphines at the same time...

[atinymonkey]

Cafeine is a diuretic, unless you like kidney damage I'd suggest you don't try to exercise with high levels of cafeine in your bloodstream.

 

Just a thought.

[Leroy]

so if you drink some coffee at school, and you've got PE 15 minutes after you have drunken the coffee, does that mean the exercise you would do i actually bad for you?

 

and btw, what do you mean by diuretic? When is a substance diuretic?

[atinymonkey]

A diuretic, to put it simply, makes you piss more. If you are losing water through exercise, and also through a diuretic then you become dehydrated rapidly. Dehydration and diuretic substances can cause kidney damage.

 

A cup of normal coffee wouldn't really be a problem, but 4 or 5 would. A cafeine pill and exercise would also be a bad idea. But hey, it's your body. I'm sure you injest worse things and do less healthy activitys in your life.

[Leroy]

so is there a substance like cafeine which burns your glycogen but isn't diuretic?

[atinymonkey]

Er, I think your looking at this the wrong way round. Mix your exercise, do an aerobic workout as well as a gym based exercise. If you run, you teach your body to breakdown the complex fats before attacking the sugar reserves (as running is a long slow drain on the bodies resources, rather than a quick drain that sugar would sustain). Then when you go to the gym the body misjudges it resource management and leaps directly to the complex fats.

 

I’d recommend you do wind sprints where you jog like normal, run full speed for 200 meters, and then return to the jog. It gets you fit fast, but it hurts. That, or swim when not at the gym. Anything that mixes the excercise will do it.

[Leroy]

k... thnx for the tips

[budullewraagh]

actually, last i checked, caffeine bonds to a protein receptor 1000x as fast as the hormone the acceptor usually should bond to. that hormone is one that makes one want to sleep. as a result, one is less inclined to sleep. another reason why caffeine isn't good to consume before exercise is the fact that it dehydrates you. sure, it helps at first, but after 3-5 minutes, it has quite a negative effect.