The Benefits of Drinking Coffee For a Bodybuilder

I can remember my first whole cup of coffee. It was during the Blizzard of '78 while I was sitting at the table with all the adults, playing cards by a hurricane lamp. I was about 10 years old, and a little worried that it would stunt my growth...maybe it did, I'm only 5' 6". Actually, that's a myth...coffee does not stunt growth as once thought, although for other reasons it isn't good for youngsters to drink more than a little bit, once in a while.

I can't remember when I started drinking it every morning, ritually. I was probably about 13 or 14. Now, at 41 years old it is a ritual that can be considered an addiction. This addiction is both psychological and physical. It's a psychological addiction because upon waking up, it's my motivation to get out of bed, a guaranteed start to the day. I love the smell, I like to make it - roboticly, while half asleep. If bereft of filters, I can make do with a paper towel. If out of grounds...I freak!

It's a physical addiction in the sense that the caffeine in coffee is a drug that you, and I, become physically addicted to. I remember the time I spent a few weeks in jail. I still got my morning coffee, but it was decaffeinated, and black...Not the way I prefer my coffee. I happen to like my coffee like I like my women - with long legs and big boobs. But this lack of caffeine caused me to have a pounding headache just a couple of hours after they put me back in my cage. I almost never get a headache, normally.

When it comes to training it seems like sacrifices are always required in some way shape or form. But, here is the really good news regarding this favorite beverage of mine: There are benefits to drinking coffee in the morning. But notice that I said "in the morning". Late day coffee can cause insomnia, and sleep is important for good health and muscle regeneration. I'm going to list seven reasons why a couple cups of coffee in the morning is a good thing. But before I do, I want to mention that coffee all day long, as in more than 500 mg of caffeine, about five 8 oz. cups per day is an unhealthy excess.

1. If coffee is to you as it is to me, a psychological addiction, a motivation to get out of bed, a finer point of life that is enjoyed on a daily basis. Go ahead -enjoy!
2. The less sacrifices of things that bring you pleasure at a time that you are going to train, and by that training bring on the pain that in turn expedites the gain, then there is no need to add any additional discomfort or subtract any pleasures unnecessarily.
3. In the morning is a time when I like to do my aerobic exercise, my core training, and my flexibility. Because caffeine undoes the effects that sleep induces, that can linger after waking, such as a paralysis of the muscles (so that you don't act out your dreams), coffee helps get the muscles ready to start reacting again.
4. Caffeine acts as a appetite suppressant, so for training to loose weight, this can help curb the appetite for the first two meals of the day.
5. Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning can initiate a bowel movement. So suddenly in fact that I've been known to pound on a locked bathroom door while frantically yelling "hurry up in there, I'm crowning!"
6. These regular BM's are a good thing. Exercise does a lot to keep a person regular, but evacuating in the morning, before starting core training and flexibility helps to make that activity more comfortable and effective.
7. Coffee is a diuretic also. It is healthy for the urinary tract to pee often, especially early in the day. Fluids in general are good, so start your daily intake with the best beverage going -coffee.