Time to Renew Your Pre-Workout Tolerance? Caffeine Cycling Explained

Caffeine is a powerful supplement to give an explosive boost of energy to your workout — known to increase endurance, reps, strength and recovery.^1,2,3,4 But, if you find you need an extra boost of energy to take your training up a level, it might be time to change up your pre-workout supplementation. While it can be tempting to up your number of scoops, firstly, you should always stick to the recommended dosage, and second, there’s a way you can safely reset your caffeine tolerance. Enter, caffeine cycling.

Pre-Workout Supplements & Performance

Pre-workout supplements can help you perform harder and for longer — giving you the edge to build a better body or peak your athletic performance. Most pre-workout supplements contain caffeine, which has been shown to boast serious ergogenic benefits like a boost to exercise endurance, extra reps, bigger strength gains, and improved muscle recovery.^1,2,3,4

Caffeine Tolerance & Cycling

Caffeine triggers an adrenaline rush — the fight-or-flight response that causes muscles to contract and become ready for action. With chronic consumption, the adrenal glands begin to burn out and fatigue, along with a host of changes within the central nervous system that blunt the body’s usual response.

To preserve those coveted stimulatory effects of your favourite pre-workout, sports scientists widely recommend caffeine cycling to renew your tolerance.⁵ Cycling caffeine is simply a brief period where you’ll stop consuming caffeine (‘cycling off’) – typically for around 2 weeks, which research has shown is an adequate amount of time to reduce your tolerance, and feel the effects of caffeine once again.