Drinking a cup of coffee before exercising could make your workout easier, say U.S. scientists.

They studied the effects of caffeine on two groups of male exercisers: those who usually consumed little caffeine and those with an average intake of four cups a day. Both groups were asked to perform 30-minute workouts on an exercise bike while the amount of pain they felt in their leg muscles was monitored. Painkiller? People who had a cup coffee felt less pain in their legs during an exercise test The scientists, based at the University of Illinois, found that those who had consumed caffeine felt less pain.

It’s thought that caffeine helps stop the pain processing nerves in the brain and spinal cord from working. Robert Motl, a professor in community health who lead the study, said that, in theory, drinking caffeine could also boost your sports performance and encourage weight loss.

‘If you go to the gym to exercise and it hurts, you might stop,’ he says. ‘So if a little caffeine reduces the pain, it might help more people stick with it and achieve their fitness goals.’

CALORIE COUNTER

How many calories can you burn in ten minutes of walking?

SLOWLY: 23

WITH A HEAVY RUCKSACK: 40

POWER WALKING: 47

UPHILL: 70

UP STAIRS: 89

美国科学家说：在运动之前先喝一杯咖啡可以让你锻炼起来更轻松。

他们研究了咖啡因对两组男性锻炼者的作用：一组是通常很少饮用咖啡的，另一组则是保持着平均每天四杯咖啡的吸收量。这两组测试者都被要求在一个锻炼用车上做30分钟的运动，与此同时对他们在腿上所感觉到的疼痛感进行观察。止痛药？饮用过一杯咖啡的人在锻炼测试中会感觉到较少的腿部疼痛感。基本来自于伊利诺斯大学的科学家们发现那些喝过咖啡的人会感觉到较少的疼痛感。

一般认为咖啡因可以帮助阻止大脑和脊髓中疼痛处理神经的工作。一个公共卫生领域的专家罗伯特．莫托领导了这次研究，他说，理论上，喝咖啡可以改善你的运动效果也有助于减肥。

“如果你去一个健身房锻炼然后感觉到疼痛，你可能就会停止了，”他说，“所以假若一点咖啡就能减少疼痛感，那它就可能帮助更多的人忍受得了那种疼痛从而达到他们的健身目标。”

能量计算器

在十分钟的行走中你能消耗掉多少能量呢？

缓慢地：23

背着一个很重的帆布背包：40

竞走：47

上坡：70

上楼：89