Most of my training is done early morning and always involves caffeine (coffee before or mix during).
I don’t understand why people would ingest it post workout though… Saw 2 posts above indicating they use it post workout. Some research is done on the benefits post training (glycogen repletion and some other stuff), but most studies done on this window indicate the oposite - > one should reffrain from caffeine after training (to improve recovery).
Caffeine = increase cortisol secretion – > Something you don’t really want after training.
In case of 2 a days, maybe bit of a different story
I make cold brew bottles with maltodextrin. I get cold brew concentrate from Trader Joe’s, fairly economical, and buy malt in bulk. Works great, been doing it for years now. Trader Joes
I have a can of Red Bull substitute (Aldi’s own brand Red Thunder) prior to a workout - generally find it helps me get going and haven’t had any ill effects. I should note I am normally riding by 5.30am, so a little pick me up does help somewhat!
As a Maths teacher I am considered a bit of an alien, as I will drink a lot of water daily (~3 litres), but barely touch caffeine during the day, and definitely not after 2pm.
I’ve experimented a little and found some interesting results.
A lot of reading suggests the effect is on perceived exertion rather than enhancing strength or muscular ability. Have no idea if that is correct but I guess the outcome is the same - IE you go faster or further
I found that because I drink a fair bit of black coffee every morning as part of my daily AM ritual / work approach that taking caffeine pre-ride seemed to provide little benefit that I could discern.
I cut out drinking coffee or tea for 6 weeks and then tried a couple of rides (indoors and outdoors) with a strong pre ride coffee (cafetière).
The impact was positive and noticeable. What I couldn’t work out was whether I was any faster than before, when I’d taken caffeine pre-ride whilst being on my daily coffee routine.
I wonder if in fact the benefit was broadly the same, the only difference being I ‘noticed’ it more as I didn’t have the background coffee in my system.
For indoor training, which predominantly do in the evening, I avoid caffeine as it usually means I end up struggling to get off to sleep that night.
