In 2024 Rise has teamed up with the ultimate endurance event series, Tough Mudder, to bring you exciting and adrenaline fuelled fun. In preparation for the upcoming Tough Mudder events, we'd thought we'd first understand the relationship between coffee and exercise better - is coffee a help? Or a hindrance?

Have a read below to find out what top athletes think, and what the research says!

First, a bit about Tough Mudder

We're sure most of you have heard of Tough Mudder, it's been around for over 10 years and has always been a firm favourite in the Rise household. Tough Mudder is an endurance event series that features various obstacle courses designed to test participants' physical and mental strength. It is not a traditional race against the clock, but rather a team-oriented challenge that encourages camaraderie and teamwork. The events are known for their demanding courses, which often include mud (obviously), water, and a variety of obstacles.

This year Rise has teamed up with Tough Mudder to offer our Rise subscribers 20% off all Tough Mudder events and we're keen for you all to be involved! Before you get booking, let's take a look at whether having a rise coffee before the race makes sense? 

Drinking coffee before exercise 

The key active ingredient in coffee is caffeine, which is a natural stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Here are some potential advantages of consuming coffee before any sort of workout:

• Improved Physical Performance:
• Caffeine can enhance physical performance by increasing adrenaline levels. This can be particularly beneficial for activities that require endurance, such as running or cycling (or a Tough Mudder!)
• Increased Fat Burning:
• Caffeine can stimulate the release of adrenaline, which in turn can increase the breakdown of body fat. This can be advantageous for individuals looking to improve their body composition. Although this isn't necessarily true for everyone. 
• Enhanced Focus and Alertness:
• Caffeine is known to improve cognitive functions, including alertness and concentration. This can be beneficial for staying focused during a workout. Caffeine definitely helps our Co-Founder, Ben, with his ADHD and helps him to really focus on whatever task he is doing. 
• Reduced Perceived Effort:
• Some studies suggest that caffeine can lower the perception of effort during exercise, making the same level of exertion feel less challenging.
• Delayed Fatigue:
• Caffeine may help delay the onset of fatigue, allowing individuals to exercise for a longer duration before feeling tired.
• Improved Endurance:
• Athletes, especially endurance athletes, often use caffeine as an ergogenic aid to enhance performance. It may improve endurance by mobilizing fatty acids from the fat tissues, making them available for energy.
• Antioxidant Properties:
• Coffee contains antioxidants that may help combat oxidative stress. Moderate consumption of coffee has been associated with certain health benefits.

However, with any health information, it's important to note that caffeine affects everyone differently. To find out more, we spoke to two athletes about how caffeine helps or hinders them with their training and performance. 

Meet the RISE athletes

First up, we talk to Sarah Davies - a RISE coffee subscriber and Commonwealth Gold medal Weightlifter to hear how coffee plays a part in her performance. 

Hi Sarah! 

1) How do you like your coffee?

My usual go to is a flat white. Especially when Ed makes it and brings it to bed for me in the morning on the weekend

2) What role does caffeine play in your training and fitness regime? If it does?

I definitely need caffeine in my training routine especially on those heavier session where I need the extra pick me up

3) Do you think caffeine benefits your training and performance?

There's a lot of research into caffeine helping with training and I definitely feel the difference when I've had more caffeine than normal as I feel like superwoman

4) what’s your top tip for anyone who was interested in becoming a professional athlete? Or is just getting started with fitness training?

My first tip would just to be to bite the bullet and start. Find a good club for whatever the sport or a gym that's welcoming and makes you feel at home then find a good coach/PT to help you

5) Lastly, have you ever done a Tough Mudder race? If you haven’t, would you fancy joining team RiSE at an event this year? (Obviously we know you would be too busy with Paris haha but might be a fun question to have an answer to anyway!).

I haven't ever done one but would love to. Maybe after Paris I could put it on my to do list

Thank you sooo much for speaking with us! 

Up next ,we speak with Mat Morgan, a RISE subscriber and regular ultra marathon runner!

Hi Mat! 

1) How do you like your coffee?

Apologies to the purists, but I take mine with a big splash of whole milk. I get my whole beans delivered by RiSE and filter that through a v60.

2) What role does caffeine play in your training and fitness regime? If it does?

My morning coffee gets things moving, so to speak. Being able to make a deposit before heading out the door on a run is a huge weight off my mind, which I’m sure is something all runners can attest to. 

3) Do you think caffeine benefits your training and performance?

Definitely. A strong coffee really cuts through my laziness like nothing else, which gets me training. And on race day a caffeine hit late in the run can really pull me out of a mental funk that I often find myself in after hours of plodding along.

4) What's your top tip for anyone who is interested in becoming an athlete? Or is just getting started with fitness training?

I have a strong suspicion that most people that say they hate running are running too fast. Running is a movement, not a speed – so slow down. Get good at running slowly, and build up from there.

5) Lastly, have you ever done a Tough Mudder race? If you haven’t, would you fancy joining team RiSE at an event this year? (Obviously we know you would be too busy with Paris haha but might be a fun question to have an answer to anyway!). 

No, but it’s been on my to-do list for far too long. Just give me the date and I’ll be there