LMNT: How caffeine improves physical performance

At least one afternoon a week, I hit a wall. A long stretch of office work, a meeting or two that ran long, and suddenly it's 4 pm with jiu-jitsu on the calendar in an hour.

So I reach for caffeine, just a quarter cup of coffee or an

LMNT Lemonade Iced Tea

. Fifteen minutes later there's a little spring in my step, and the guy who shows up at the gym is a lot sharper than the one who was slumped over the laptop.

Caffeine is one of the most reliable performance tools we've got, and like around

75% of competitive athletes

, I use it strategically.

It helps to know what's happening under the hood. As you train:

A molecule called adenosine builds up and starts to create feelings of fatigue.

Caffeine blocks that signal so the same effort feels easier. You can push a little harder, a little longer, with less strain.

The dose is where most people go sideways. Here's the protocol I keep coming back to:

For most workouts:

about 50 mg to 100 mg, roughly 15 minutes before I start. The effects typically peak in the middle of my session.

For afternoon training:

keep it to 25–50 mg so it doesn't follow me to bed.

For evening sessions:

skip it, and let sleep handle recovery.

More caffeine isn't better. Caffeine metabolism and tolerance vary a lot from person to person, so your sweet spot may be lower than you'd guess. Start conservative, notice how you feel, and adjust from there.

In

today's article

, we explore the research on caffeine and physical performance:

The endurance edge, backed by meta-analyses (including how caffeine can shave nearly a minute off a 30-minute cycling effort and drop perceived exertion from a 7 to a 5).

How deliberate use of caffeine can help fuel multi-hour efforts like marathons and century rides, and when front-loading backfires.

How strength and power gains show up at doses as low as 76 mg — a fraction of what most pre-workouts pack.

Read the full article:

How caffeine influences physical performance

Caffeine is one of the most effective tools we have to enhance physical performance but a little can go a long way. Dial in a strategy that works for you. You'll feel the difference when you get it right.

Stay Salty,

Robb and the LMNT Team

Read Now

HOW A PRO OPTIMIZES CAFFEINE INTAKE

Zach Bitter running up a set of stairs and cooling off by pouring water from his bottle over himself.

When the effort stretches into hours, a big hit of caffeine can work against you.

Get over-amped early and you risk going out too fast then paying for it later down the trail.

Endurance coach, ultramarathoner, and LMNT Partner Zach Bitter aims for something steadier instead: just enough caffeine to settle into a sustainable pace and lock it in, mile after mile.

Watch Bitter

break down how he doses and times caffeine throughout a long race.

Watch Video

We'll be salty about it, but if you must: .

Drink LMNT, Inc. 1925 Grand Ave Billings, MT 59102