It’s 5:30AM, and I am sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee, home brewed. If it weren’t for this cup of coffee, I would still be in bed. Sure, no matter how many times I hit snooze on the alarm clock (and subsequently pissed the neighbors off), I need the kick of some serious caffeine to get me going, like a lot of people. Still, there seems to be an almost stigma associated with drinking coffee (or other caffeinated drinks), and it’s effects on exercise.

For one, caffeine serves as a diuretic, which means that it the body expel liquids more quickly than the body would otherwise normally do. Less liquids increase the rate at which you dehydrate. Clearly, this is not a great thing for someone who is already sweating out fluids in a competition or at the gym. But, with ample water in-take (the old rule of thumb of 1-2 gallons a day depending on activity level), you are pretty much guaranteed that you won’t dehydrate yourself to the point of danger.

The other main, functional claim against caffeine is that it raises blood pressure. For anyone with a history of high blood pressure, this should be cause for concern. As someone who recently tried to freak me out told me, energy drinks “with very high amounts of caffeine and other herbal elements, which are not approved by the FDA, combined together produces high BP, irregular heart beat, and coupled with exercise for body building, may cause fatal heart disease.” Yeah, that doesn’t sound great. The only energy drink that I take is Sugar Free Red Bull, and the caffeine in that is only about 80mn, roughly the same as a cup of coffee.

In fact, I drink a Red Bull usually on my way to the gym when I work out in the evenings. I spend a lot of time in coffee shops, so I’m usually tired of coffee by the end of the day, and I just need that quick jolt.

On the one hand, it gives me physical energy. Regardless of how tired I may be physically, I can still push myself to keep going. Caffeine increases your metabolic rate, thereby raising the rate at which you use stored fat for energy, certainly a good thing when working out. As Matt P. said in his spin class on Friday, “I shouldn’t have had that cup of coffee before class!” He said this because he realized just how hard he was kicking our asses. I was actually thinking, “I’m glad you had that coffee, because this class is great!”

The other benefit from caffeine is how it can make you mentally alert. I can’t think in the morning until I have my first cup of java. I know athletes who always have at least some caffeine jolt before they go out on the field, because in addition to the physical aspect, they appreciate the enhanced level of alertness they get.

Part of my love for the caffeine, usually in the form of either coffee (with Splenda and skim milk) or Red Bull (sugar free of course), is probably mental; a psychological dependence. I am fully aware of this, but until someone can prove to me what the harm it exactly could be doing to me is, I probably won’t stop. The plusses seem to outweigh the minuses. Most of the recent studies published online, in fact, cite that coffee is not such a terrible drink, after all. I certainly will have no problem grabbing my second cup this morning, and a Red Bull (sugar free) later in the day.