I slam 500mg+ caffeine most days. Energy is great, but am I screwing up recovery or hormones long term?
500mg daily is kinda wild bro 
That’s like two strong pre’s back to back. Energy will be there, sure but your adrenals and sleep might be taking a hit. Bad sleep = bad recovery and that’s where gains actually happen.
That’s like two strong pre’s back to back. Energy will be there, sure but your adrenals and sleep might be taking a hit. Bad sleep = bad recovery and that’s where gains actually happen.
Caffeine itself doesn’t kill gains, but wrecked sleep definitely will. If you’re tossing and turning or waking up wired at 2am, that’s the real problem.
I ran 400–600mg a day for a year. Strength was fine, but my tolerance got stupid high and I needed it just to feel normal. Once I deloaded caffeine, pumps and mood actually improved.
Hormone-wise it’s more indirect. Chronic stress + high stim + poor recovery can mess with cortisol. If cortisol stays high, that’s not ideal for muscle growth or staying lean.
If you’re young and sleeping 8 hours no problem, you’re probably fine. But if your sleep sucks or resting heart rate is up, that’s your body telling you to chill.
I cut down to 150–200mg and cycle off every few weeks now. Energy is cleaner and I don’t feel dependent on it. Gains didn’t drop at all.
Appreciate the feedback fellas. Sleep is decent but I do feel like I need the caffeine now, which is kinda the red flag. Might taper down and see if recovery and pumps actually improve without being stimmed out all the time.