So, drinking coffee pre-workout could help your performance

No one would blame you for thinking that a tall americano has no place in the gym. After all, weight rooms are usually littered with empty water bottles and sweaty towels, not mugs and cardboard cups.

But why is is not so many fitness types have an unquenchable love for the black stuff?

Well, a new study has claimed that drinking coffee could actually help with workouts.

According to Metro.co.uk, Bruno Gualano, a physiology professor at the University of São Paulo, conducted research to see what effect, if any, caffeine had on physical performance.

The coffee lover and avid cyclist, split a group of male cyclists into three catagories – low caffeine intake (less than one cup a day), moderate intake (two cups) and high intake (three or more cups).

The groups then performed a series of trails where they had to cycle until they burnt 450 calories.

For the first trail, the participants were given a 400mg caffeine pill (equal to two cups of coffee).

It was then repeated, after the groups took a placebo pill, and then again after they had taken nothing at all.

The results showed that almost every single cyclist recorded their fastest time after they had taken the caffeine pill.

Infact, they averaged about 3.3 per cent faster when compared to taking no pill at all, and 2.2 per cent faster than taking the placebo.

Bruno reckons the results could translate into several minutes taken off total race times.

What's more, the group who regularly drank more than three cups of coffee a day enjoyed the same benefits from the pill as those with a lower caffeine intake.

But, before you start substituting your usual pre-workout beverage for a grande skinny latté, remember that large quantities of caffeine can be dangerous.

Bruno recommends starting small to see if you fitness regime benefits from the extra lift.