You wake up in the morning...and what is the first thought on your mind? Well there could be two options based off my experiences...
1. Holy S___t I have to pee!
2. I need a coffee!!
You're stiff, you're groggy, you're a damn Zombie!!
Although that first sip of coffee in the morning tasted the best of all the caffeinated beverages during your day, you were suffering from withdrawal symptoms. You went 6-8 hours (or longer if you are lucky or unemployed) without an intake of caffeine and just like any other drug it comes with withdrawal symptons too.
Now I'm not anti-caffeine, I actually love it. Who doesn't like the feeling a stimulant gives us when you are feeling lethargic? I've had the best workouts after drinking a great pre-workout like DECIMATE from CygenLabs. That's what they are there for...to take you to a whole new level.
It started years ago when the average dude like you or me just wasn't cutting it with a cup of coffee before training. As always it is human nature to push boundaries and exceed limitations. The pre-workout drink/energy drink was introduced and PR's in training have been dropping like Kristen Stewart's career (of course it was going to suck.... she is a horrible actress and now with the cheating scandal..... uh oh).
Now here is where it starts to suck. When you ingest caffeine over a period of time you build up a tolerance. Think about the average cup of coffee... it averages 75-150mg of caffeine and many people drink multiple cups per day. Here is my story...
When I was 18 I started work in a manual labour job in a factory. There was shift work, production quota and the pressure for quality as well. That's pretty demanding of a kid freshly graduated from high school. So the group of guys I was training with were older than me and were into stimulants like caffeine and ephedrine. So looking up to these guys I jumped right in. Great workouts and felt like a million bucks! So if it worked for training then why not during work? Done. Shift work was nothing now.
Consider I had that mentality right up until 15 days ago. I am turning 30 in October so that is 12 years using stimulants to function daily! I couldn't do anything without taking in some form of energy producer. Home renos, yard work, workouts and even visiting with friends after 9pm...haha
Here is an example of what I would take in a day:
First thing in the morning to "wake up" - coffee or caffeine pill 100mg if coffee, 200mg if pill
Lunch- caffeine pill or pre-workout drink - 200mg for pill, 300mg for pre-workout
Pre-Workout- 300mg pre-workout drink
Throughout the day could have included a Pepsi at anytime too. We're talking close to 1000mg of caffeine in one day. I'd wake up and feel like crap. No energy and stiff muscles. Yes, caffeine dehydrates your muscles and takes away some of your flexibility.
So I read an article a friend posted on FB. Scotty MacDiarmid is an intelligent guy who is in tune with the human body and an accomplished powerlifter. When he posted that article it hit me because I just slammed an energy drink because I was tired ... I was sitting at my computer at work.
I wanted to break my habit. Like I said before, I am NOT anti-caffeine. I love it still. I plan on using it before workouts and competitions/meets again BUT I will do it with some smarts this time. I understand that there are many benefits to using caffeine too. I just had to refresh and detox my body. I was at the point where I would take the strongest pre-workout I have ever taken ... DECIMATE and I would still be dragging my ass. If you've ever taken DECIMATE then you'd know how strong and effective it is. You want to increase your lifts? Take it.
Fast forward 15 days and I am halfway through my target of being caffeine free for 30 days. The first 3 days were by far the worst. Day one include major headaches ALL day and it was hard to shake, my first caffeine free workout sucked. Day two and the headaches subsided only to be replaced by extreme lethargy. Day Three was tough but the headaches were gone, lethargy was less BUT my strength wasn't affected too badly during a heavy strongman events session. After that it starts to get better. They say it takes approx. 2 weeks for all withdrawal symptoms to disappear and then another 2 weeks for the full repair process to complete.
I'll let you know on Day 30 how I feel. So far I feel good and have set some personal records training at home... that is a good sign!! Physically and mentally I feel more refreshed. I encourage everyone to try this 30 day challenge and recharge your body!
Here is the link that made me challenge myself - http://bodytechnician.com/caffeine.html
This challenge was in good timing with 100% RAW Powerlifting Nationals coming up in September. I'll be recharged and ready to go!!
1. Holy S___t I have to pee!
2. I need a coffee!!
You're stiff, you're groggy, you're a damn Zombie!!
Although that first sip of coffee in the morning tasted the best of all the caffeinated beverages during your day, you were suffering from withdrawal symptoms. You went 6-8 hours (or longer if you are lucky or unemployed) without an intake of caffeine and just like any other drug it comes with withdrawal symptons too.
Now I'm not anti-caffeine, I actually love it. Who doesn't like the feeling a stimulant gives us when you are feeling lethargic? I've had the best workouts after drinking a great pre-workout like DECIMATE from CygenLabs. That's what they are there for...to take you to a whole new level.
It started years ago when the average dude like you or me just wasn't cutting it with a cup of coffee before training. As always it is human nature to push boundaries and exceed limitations. The pre-workout drink/energy drink was introduced and PR's in training have been dropping like Kristen Stewart's career (of course it was going to suck.... she is a horrible actress and now with the cheating scandal..... uh oh).
Now here is where it starts to suck. When you ingest caffeine over a period of time you build up a tolerance. Think about the average cup of coffee... it averages 75-150mg of caffeine and many people drink multiple cups per day. Here is my story...
When I was 18 I started work in a manual labour job in a factory. There was shift work, production quota and the pressure for quality as well. That's pretty demanding of a kid freshly graduated from high school. So the group of guys I was training with were older than me and were into stimulants like caffeine and ephedrine. So looking up to these guys I jumped right in. Great workouts and felt like a million bucks! So if it worked for training then why not during work? Done. Shift work was nothing now.
Consider I had that mentality right up until 15 days ago. I am turning 30 in October so that is 12 years using stimulants to function daily! I couldn't do anything without taking in some form of energy producer. Home renos, yard work, workouts and even visiting with friends after 9pm...haha
Here is an example of what I would take in a day:
First thing in the morning to "wake up" - coffee or caffeine pill 100mg if coffee, 200mg if pill
Lunch- caffeine pill or pre-workout drink - 200mg for pill, 300mg for pre-workout
Pre-Workout- 300mg pre-workout drink
Throughout the day could have included a Pepsi at anytime too. We're talking close to 1000mg of caffeine in one day. I'd wake up and feel like crap. No energy and stiff muscles. Yes, caffeine dehydrates your muscles and takes away some of your flexibility.
So I read an article a friend posted on FB. Scotty MacDiarmid is an intelligent guy who is in tune with the human body and an accomplished powerlifter. When he posted that article it hit me because I just slammed an energy drink because I was tired ... I was sitting at my computer at work.
I wanted to break my habit. Like I said before, I am NOT anti-caffeine. I love it still. I plan on using it before workouts and competitions/meets again BUT I will do it with some smarts this time. I understand that there are many benefits to using caffeine too. I just had to refresh and detox my body. I was at the point where I would take the strongest pre-workout I have ever taken ... DECIMATE and I would still be dragging my ass. If you've ever taken DECIMATE then you'd know how strong and effective it is. You want to increase your lifts? Take it.
Fast forward 15 days and I am halfway through my target of being caffeine free for 30 days. The first 3 days were by far the worst. Day one include major headaches ALL day and it was hard to shake, my first caffeine free workout sucked. Day two and the headaches subsided only to be replaced by extreme lethargy. Day Three was tough but the headaches were gone, lethargy was less BUT my strength wasn't affected too badly during a heavy strongman events session. After that it starts to get better. They say it takes approx. 2 weeks for all withdrawal symptoms to disappear and then another 2 weeks for the full repair process to complete.
I'll let you know on Day 30 how I feel. So far I feel good and have set some personal records training at home... that is a good sign!! Physically and mentally I feel more refreshed. I encourage everyone to try this 30 day challenge and recharge your body!
Here is the link that made me challenge myself - http://bodytechnician.com/caffeine.html
This challenge was in good timing with 100% RAW Powerlifting Nationals coming up in September. I'll be recharged and ready to go!!
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