Caffeine and Hiking

[bruno]

2 words--peet's coffee. anywhere in nh you can get it? they should open one in the amusement park that is north conway!

and i agree with ospreyboya!! (where's terry?)

 

[Rugger]

You will take my French Roast from me when you pry it from my dead fingers!

 

[Maddy]

Remember this:

"There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats."

ARe you serious. I have never heard that and would like to know more about it.
Have been trying to give it up and this could be my motivating factor.
I love my Starbucks Yukon blend best when first stepping out of my tent in the am.
Where do we get this info???
Thanks

 

[Doc McPeak]

Chocolate covered espresso beans on the summit!

Yummmm...

 

[Puck]

actualy caffeine does cause leg cramps if line at Starbucks is long and slow moving.

 

[Stan]

Caffein is a reliable diuretic for me for which I counter with additional hydration which means ... even more pit stops. So my dilemma before each hike is, cup of java or fewer pit stops?

 

[Neil]

However, I have read that you need some carbo to use the fat, so you want to keep some carbo in the system.

Doug

Absolutley. Fats burn in a carbohydrate flame. Caffeine spares the carbs.

Everytime one of these threads comes up regarding nutrition, I'm amazed by the number of people who seem to treat hiking like a world-class sports performance. Vitamins, supplements, caffeine, blood-doping (well, OK... I haven't seen that discussed here... yet).
...
SNIP
...
OK, that's my rant for this morning...

We obsessive folks enjoy that type of thing. However, my hiking buddy and I did notice a big improvement in our endurance levels when we switched from a high fat, high protein diet to a low fat, high carb diet while out on multiday winter camping trips. (We ditched the bacon and brought wine. )

 

[McRat]

Never fond of coffee, but love my 2-3 mugs of tea a day.

Maybe it's just the addiction talking, but when I don't have the time to brew a pot of tea I just know the day is going to go poorly from there.

Red Bull is best saved in the car for the three hour ride home in the dark after a day of hiking.

 

[Jonatha]

Off the subject.....

Maddy,

Is your avatar a Swissy?

 

[Jasonst]

Fill 'er up: "Glycogen is the principal fuel for muscles and exhaustion occurs when it is depleted. A secondary fuel, which is much more abundant, is fat... Caffeine mobilizes fat stores and encourages working muscles to use fat as a fuel. This delays the depletion of muscle glycogen and allows for a prolongation of exercise... caffeine has been shown to decrease glycogen utilization by as much as 50%.

Trying to pry into the science behind this... I noticed that fat is the primary fuel for aerobic activites in the '65 - 75% of max' heart rate zone. I am guessing that glycogen (carbs) are the primary fuel for the 75% and up. Holding all other things constant, would the obvious (going slower - thus lower heart rate) allow us to burn mostly fat, and thus tap into this "endless" supply of energy? Is this as basic as I am making it sound?

 

[Remix]

Jasonst- Per my polar heart rate manual: You should exercise at lower heart rates for longer periods of time if your primary goal is to lose weight by diminishing fat. However, if your primary goal is to improve the aerobic efficiency of your body, you should exercise at higher heart rates. Time is dependent on how long you can stay in "oxygen" debt.

So I think you have it right.

 

[Maddy]

Maddy,

Is your avatar a Swissy?

YES!!!
Welcome Bernie...the Bernese Mountain Dog.
9.5 weeks old and weights 25 lbs.
Can't wait to hike with him. Tried to pull him in my pulk today but he wasn't too keen of the idea.
He doesn't need any Starbucks to rev him up.
He's a real love and quite a handsome dude!