OK, I already knew that caffeine could give my running pace a boost (and I haven't run a race without a cup of coffee to start things off since!), but it turns out caffeine has another benefit -- a reduction of post-workout pain. Shoot, I might be more excited about that than I am about running faster!

A small study found that fit, young men experienced less soreness after a tough cycling session if they had a dose of caffeine prior to the workout. This held true for both those who habitually ingested caffeine and those who generally avoided it. So, even if you guzzle the java every morning, you might not build up a tolerance, so everyone can enjoy the benefits. Yay!

So why does caffeine reduce post-workout muscle soreness? Robert Motl, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was one of the researchers involved in the study. He found that caffeine affects a system in the brain and spinal cord involved in pain processing, and, as any athlete knows, less pain can lead to improved performance.

Dr. Motl put it in somewhat fancier language in a news release about the study: "If you go to the gym and you exercise and it hurts, you may be prone to stop doing that because pain is an aversive stimulus that tells you to withdraw. So if we could give people a little caffeine and reduce the amount of pain they're experiencing, maybe that would help them stick with that exercise."

However you say it, I think it's safe to say that a moderate amount of caffeine in the morning before a big workout might be a smart move. Give it a try and let me know if you see a difference!