Will caffeine help me run faster?

It will certainly make you 'feel' like you can run faster. Be careful with coffee and other caffeinated products. -Nate

A few years ago it was popular for runners to drink a cup of coffee before a race because caffeine will stimulate the release of fatty acids into the bloodstream. The athletes were counting on using the fatty acids for fuel, rather than glucose, "saving" the glucose for later in the race when it might give them a second wind. There is also a study based on athletes who were given 330 milligrams of caffeine (the equivalent to two to three strong cups of coffee or seven caffeinated soft drinks) one hour before exercising. The athletes were able to perform moderate aerobic activity 15 minutes longer than their "decaffeinated" control group.

330 milligrams of caffeine is a lot of caffeine. For most people, the adverse effects of consuming that much caffeine would far outweigh the possibility of enhanced performance. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and can cause headaches, insomnia, and abnormal heart rhythms. It contributes to irritability--the last thing you need if you already have pre-race jitters. And, the effects on the colon combined with irritability often results in diarrhea.

Caffeine is also a diuretic--the description for drugs that promote water loss from the body. Having to step behind a tree in the middle of a race increases race time as much as the fatty acids released by the caffeine may decrease it.

A cup of coffee contains approximately 50 to 150 milligrams of caffeine, tea about 10 to 50 milligrams, and caffeinated soft drinks about 50 milligrams. It's also hidden in chocolate and many over the counter prescription drugs.

Caffeine may increase your endurance but it doesn't make you run faster. Bottom line is the negative effects of its use far outweigh the positive so you're better off to make water your pre-game beverage.

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Okay so now you hate Manny?

Nate: So you feel betrayed by Manny?
Blog Reader Baseball Fan (BRBF): No not really
Nate: Don't you feel like many of the baseball writers and journalists that Manny has shamed baseball?
BRBF: Well....No
Nate: Many L.A. area baseball writers feel that the Dodgers must get rid of Manny what do you think of that?
BRBF: Uh...they don't sign the checks and cash the checks from the season ticket holders.
Nate: So if you were a Dodger fan would you 'Love' Manny
BRBF: Look! I loved Pamela Anderson! I love my brand new puppy! I love my family! Manny may help the Dodgers get to the World Series. I don't want him preaching at my church to the youth group.
Nate: Do you know of are you aware of what kind of PE's Manny was taking?
BRBF: Yeah something to help him have babies and hit home runs.
Nate: So what do we do now that it seems that all if not most of the top performers in baseball and possibly other sports are juicing? What do you say to the kids?
BRBF: Well I will tenderly say to my son or daughter "If I catch yo' A$$ touching any F*&^ing Juice I as you father will lovingly kick the living S&%t out of your F)*&ing butt and you better hope you are strong enough to survive it! and I love you very much!"

Okay so we went a little overboard on the last part, so let's get serious for a moment. I would like to challenge all of my fellow strength coaches, personal trainers, and fitness consultants to convey to at least one young athlete that there are natural alternatives to anabolic steriod illegal use and abuse. Many of my colleagues feel that I am waisting my time in trying to use my personal expertise in trying to tackle this problem at where I see the root. Obviously Bob Costas, Tony Kornheiser, Mike Tirico, and the scores of baseball writers out there cannot offer any alternatives. I do not hold any journalist to blame here, they are just doing their job. I also am going to do mine:
Many of you considering going on the juice will not want to read this but sorry 'Gotta' do it: (The linked text opens to a resource on the subject)
If you are not training and eating right you are waisting your time and syringes
Once you are training and eating right, there are safe and effective nutrtional supplements containing no illegal ingredients on the market today that can help you slowly catch up to and surpass the 'roiders'


I hope I am not the only strength coach putting this information into the right hands. I certainly welcome your debate and arguments. Anything before this minor drug problem catches up to the bigger problems of coacaine, meth, heroin, and many others.

Wassup with Costas?

Every single episode of his otherwise very good show "Costas On The Radio" (Bob Costas we are talking about of course) is about how steroids have ruined his beloved baseball. At what point do you put this baby to rest and move forward? Or maybe we are getting a lot of mileage and listeners by keeping the issue alive?