Caffeine Gum Before Training
We get asked this more than almost anything else, so here's exactly how we time it ourselves.
Introduction
Here's what we landed on, and what we still do ourselves before a session. A piece about ten to fifteen minutes before you start moving gives the caffeine enough time to get into your system, without you standing around waiting on it.
Gum doesn't behave like a drink or a capsule. It's absorbed straight through the inside of your cheek, so a decent chunk of it is already in your bloodstream before you've even finished chewing. That's a big part of why we built the product this way in the first place.
“We didn't want people standing around waiting for a product to kick in. We wanted it ready when they were.”
— Josh, Co-Founder
If you train first thing in the morning before you've eaten, you'll probably feel it a bit quicker than if you're chewing on a full stomach later in the day. That's normal. Everyone's slightly different depending on body weight, tolerance and what else they've had that day.
And if one piece isn't quite cutting it, whether that's a longer session, a heavier programme, or just a day you're running on empty, there's nothing wrong with having a second. This is meant to be used as you need it, not rationed like there's a penalty for getting the timing slightly wrong.
How We Actually Use It
On heavy days, one of us will chew a piece on the walk into the gym. On longer sessions, especially anything past ninety minutes, a second piece around the halfway point keeps things steady instead of tailing off in the back half. On lighter days, plenty of people skip it altogether. It's not something you need to force into every single session.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
- Training fasted usually means it hits a little quicker than on a full stomach.
- A second piece is fine for longer or more demanding sessions. Just space it out rather than chewing both at once.
- New to it? Start with one piece and see how you get on before adding a second.
Where This Comes From
We're not just making this up as we go. The speed difference between gum and capsules has actually been measured: Kamimori et al. (2002) found caffeine reached peak blood levels roughly twice as fast from gum as from capsules in a controlled trial (International Journal of Pharmaceutics). And the performance side has real weight behind it too. Grgic et al. (2020) reviewed 21 separate meta-analyses and found consistent evidence that caffeine supports exercise performance across strength, power and endurance work (British Journal of Sports Medicine).
