Lesson: Balance Workout Needs

Workout sugar and caffeine. Is it in you? If so, why?

Don't you love those Lucozade commercials?

You feel like more of a badass just watching them. It seems like the right supplement will make you—as Rocky Balboa's trainer Mickey said—eat lightning and crap thunder.

With all the fitness products out there, it's easy to feel like you need something to make your workout more exciting or fuel you like a top-notch athlete.

But do you really?

Match your intake to your needs

For many people, it's easy to overeat after exercise, or to look for something special to "support" training. Over time, certain ungrounded thinking patterns like those can stall fat loss.

Stories like:

• "Burning a lot of calories" in workouts

• "Earning" a big meal

• Using food as rewards and "treats" for good workout behavior

Unless you're skiing Antarctica or running across the Sahara, training may not "burn" as much energy as you expect.

Food morality doesn't change the facts of nutrition. Even if food is a "reward for good behavior", the calories count just the same.

No matter what the moral stories are attached, food is nourishing.

Unless you're doing an excessive amount of daily physical activity, the body adapts to changes in exercise by maintaining relatively stable metabolism.

Even while you're active, the most important basic principles remain the same:

• Eat mindfully and slowly, learning to follow your body cues.

• Eat real food that nourishes your body.

• Eat when you're truly physically hungry. Stop when you're 80% full.

Those simple principles save you the wonder and worry of doing complex mathematics (or spending your hard-earned money on flavoured blue water) for your workout nutrition.

Stoking the fire: Caffeine

Speaking of keeping it simple, one of the best workout boosters:

A cup of naturally caffeinated coffee.

The main active ingredient of many "workout booster" supplements is caffeine or some similar stimulant, such as theobromine. These might be listed with euphemistic or botanical names like "black tea extract" or "guarana". To your body, they're all the same.

Caffeine is one of the best-known and well-established "workout boosters" around, which is why (above certain amounts) it's banned by the International Olympic Committee.

Unless you're hitting the giant slalom soon, you could consider enjoying a double espresso before your training.

If you train in the morning or early afternoon, and are looking for a "workout booster", try having a small cup (6–8 oz) of coffee or an espresso 30 to 60 minutes beforehand.

Caffeine is both simple and powerful. Experiment thoughtfully and pay attention to how it affects you in both training and recovery afterwards. Are you still able to wind down and get to sleep when you want to?

In some people, the drug can have lingering effects for hours afterwards.

Keep it simple

You don't need supplements. Start by ensuring that your basic daily practices are solid and consistent.

Listen to and follow your body cues and choose whole food as much as possible.

Once you're rocking the consistency, and still feel like you could use an occasional workout boost, consider a small dose of pre-workout caffeine.