That's Fit

I know I've mentioned it several times before, but there have been an astonishing amount of studies conducted on the potential benefits vs. the alleged detriments of caffeine. I'm not exactly sure which number the following study is (maybe 14,289 ... who knows), but it struck me as a bit interesting.

Researchers from the University of Georgia claim that caffeine may help reduce pain. 16 study volunteers were asked to consume caffeine or a placebo one hour before peddling on a stationary bike for 30 minutes. The exercise was purposely designed to make the volunteer's muscles ache, presumably with a high resistance setting on the bike. After the 30 minutes was up, volunteers who consumed caffeine before the exercise reported less thigh muscle pain than those who received the placebo.

So does this mean you should down a few Red Bulls before heading off to the gym? I'm not sure, really. Especially when you take into account another study (we'll call this one study number 7,453) showing that high amounts of caffeine can restrict blood flow to the heart during exercise by up to 39 percent.

As always, the verdict is still out on caffeine. What are your thoughts on caffeine? Is it healthy or not?