KidTruth

Hey, ladies and gents. I have some questions about energy -

I'm a bit of a coffee/caffeine fiend and usually have two or three cups in the morning, and another at lunch, another if I'm stuck working overtime. I work in a law firm, so this is definitely the norm (IE, encouraged) here. The downside to all this caffeine is that I crash around 6:00 PM, which is right when I get home. If I drink more coffee I won't get to sleep on time, so I don't have the energy I would like at the end of the day.

I bike 10 miles every morning and do a lot of reps on low-weight for my arms. I was wondering if anyone has some experience switching from coffee to a more balanced energy source, or if there is a particular vitamin that would increase my general energy all day (nothing like ephedrine, please.) Would quitting coffee give me more energy in general?

Let me know, thanks.

El_Scorchio

Not really,

The energy you need to excercise comes from a balanced diet, plenty of carbs through the day mixed in with some protein.

Then a protein rich diet meal in the evening.

I also drink probably 7/8 cups of coffee a day evey day and have done since about 1989, it has never afected my training.

flip18436572

I hate coffee, and have never used it for anything to help keep me going. You should be able to get rid of coffee completely and just have a good diet to keep you energized.

Jarery

Try switching to Matcha Tea. If you make it thin it has the same caffeine as coffee, if you make it thick it has 2x the caffeine as coffee. But unlike coffee the caffeine is basically time released, so instead of a caffeine rush followed by crash, you get a nice caffeine energy boost for 4-6 hours with no crash.

Its also the highest concentration of antioxidants know to man. Of course you only have a gram or 2 at a serving so its a deceiving stat.

Enthalpic

How would you know then? You haven't tried life without coffee.

To the op, cutting back on the coffee might help. As for supplements a b-vitamin complex may help.

umd

B vitamins

Jet Travis

Are you getting enough sleep? Many people don't get enough.
Do you take days off between your weight workouts?
How's your diet? Lots of those fruits, whole grains, veggies and lean protein sources?
Can you take a 5-10 minute brisk walk now and then throughout the day when you're feeling sluggish?

El_Scorchio

[QUOTE=Enthalpic;5502448]How would you know then? You haven't tried life without coffee.

QUOTE]

I know i have not tried life without coffee, but then i like it so have no intention of stopping drinking it.

I feel that the way my traiing is progressing it seems to not affect it.

As a stimulant it could possibly help with focus !!

Just a thought.

KidTruth

I'll look into the B-Vitamins, as well as that rocket fuel tea.

I sleep about 7 hours a night on average. I'd like to sleep more, but I get up at 5:15 every morning to exercise and often don't get home from work until 7 or 8.

I only do light weight lifting so I usually don't take days off. I do have a followup question however:

Sometimes (like this morning) my legs just feel too tired and stiff to ride. It has been six days since I've taken a day off of riding and I've averaged about 15 miles a day. I don't have any real soreness to speak of, just this stiff, weak feeling in my legs.

This usually passes when I take a day off. Do I NEED to take the day off, or can I just force myself through it? Anyone else have similar experiences?

JPradun

Take a day off. If your rides are intense enough, you probably need it.