Caffeine Cuts Workout Pain

Coffee before biking? You may have to stop on the side of the road sooner, but new research suggests that caffeine can help you get more bang from your workout buck, because it keeps you from feeling the burn.

Competitive cyclists and other athletes often consume caffeine before a competition, presumably because they feel like the buzz helps them push a little bit harder. But a study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Medicine suggests that the reason caffeine allows athletes to push themselves farther is because it makes exercise hurt that much less.

Researchers had 25 subjects engage in two bouts of high intensity cycling. Before each session, they gave every subject a pill. One time, the pill contained the equivalent of two or three cups of coffee. The other time it was just a placebo. The participants all said they felt less pain in their leg muscles during the caffeine-assisted workout than they did with the sugar pill. And it even worked for subjects who already chug a couple thermoses of joe a day. So, the barista can help your biking. Java can boost your jogging. And, of course, enjoy those lattes before your Pilates.

咖啡因能減少鍛煉中的疼痛

騎自行車鍛煉前喝一些咖啡嗎？你或許一會(huì)兒就要在路邊停下來休息，不過新的研究說鍛煉前所喝的咖啡“物超所值”，這是因?yàn)檫@些咖啡中的咖啡因讓你感受不到肌肉的酸痛感。

競(jìng)技類自行車手以及其他運(yùn)動(dòng)員經(jīng)常在比賽前飲用一些咖啡，可能是他們感到咖啡因帶來的興奮能幫助他們?cè)诒荣愔懈��?ldquo;拼命”。但是發(fā)表在4月份的《運(yùn)動(dòng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)以及鍛煉醫(yī)學(xué)國(guó)際期刊》（International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Medicine）上的一項(xiàng)研究說，咖啡因能讓運(yùn)動(dòng)員中更進(jìn)一步“拼命”的原因在于它使鍛煉中的疼痛減少很多。
 
研究者們讓25名實(shí)驗(yàn)參與者參加兩輪高強(qiáng)度的自行車活動(dòng)。在每此運(yùn)動(dòng)前，他們給這些參與者吃一片藥丸。在其中的一次測(cè)試中，這種藥丸相當(dāng)于2杯或者3咖啡。另外一次測(cè)試中，這種藥丸僅僅是安慰劑。與運(yùn)動(dòng)前僅僅吃安慰劑相比，實(shí)驗(yàn)參與者們都說在有咖啡因幫助的鍛煉中，他們感到腿部肌肉的疼痛要輕一些。對(duì)于那些已經(jīng)飲用了幾杯熱咖啡的參與者來說，這也能起到減輕運(yùn)動(dòng)中疼痛的作用。所以，咖啡吧的侍者有助于你的自行車鍛煉（注：實(shí)際指所喝的咖啡）。咖啡也能有助于你慢跑。當(dāng)然了，在你參加普拉提健身之前，好好享受你的“拿鐵”咖啡吧。

Vocabulary:

Caffeine: 咖啡因
Workout: 鍛煉
Bang: 爆炸；砰的聲音
Buck: 美元
Burn: （體育鍛煉后肌肉的）酸痛感
Competitive: 競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的
Cyclist: 自行車手
Athlete: 運(yùn)動(dòng)員
Consume: 消費(fèi)
Buzz: 興奮
Bout: 一場(chǎng)； 一陣
Session: 一節(jié)
Equivalent: 等量的
Placebo: 安慰劑
Participant: 參與者
Chug: 一飲而盡
Barista: （送以及調(diào)制咖啡的）侍者
Thermos: 暖瓶；復(fù)數(shù)為thermoses
Joe: （俚語）咖啡
Java：（俚語）咖啡
Boost: 提高；增強(qiáng)
Latte: 熱奶沫咖啡(該詞來自意大利語)

注釋：

1）bang for the buck 也可作 bang for your buck，這個(gè)美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語的意思是“花錢很合算”。比如This restaurant offers people the most bang for the buck. 這個(gè)餐館提供顧客最實(shí)惠的服務(wù)。

2）Pilates是一種運(yùn)動(dòng)健身體系，音譯為普拉提。由德裔美國(guó)人約瑟夫·普拉提（Joseph Pilates）創(chuàng)立，它的訓(xùn)練目的是通過改變?nèi)梭w肌肉功能從而改善人體脊柱腰椎等的功能。該運(yùn)動(dòng)健身法講究充分應(yīng)用呼吸和冥想。