November 18, 2019

Ashwagandha for bodybuilding, fat loss and muscle growth

Ashwagandha für Bodybuilding, Fettabbau und Muskelwachstum

Adaptogens and ashwagandha in particular have become very popular in recent years. These products seemed to have come out of nowhere and have taken the world of health and fitness by storm with their many potential benefits and minimal to non-existent drawbacks.

The question that arises is whether ashwagandha can also have benefits for bodybuilders. Let's see what science has to say about this.

Ashwagandha, muscle growth and strength

Every month a new, seemingly more effective supplement for building strength and muscle mass appears on the market. Most of these products do not work, but this seems to be different with ashwagandha.

In a controlled study, men who received 500 mg of standardized root extracts of ashwagandha were able to increase their speed and lower body muscle strength compared to the placebo group (1). In addition, subjects who received a daily dose of Arjuna were able to improve their cardiovascular endurance, while at the same time an improvement in systolic blood pressure was observed. The scientists concluded that both supplements are safe and harmless for adults as long as the dosages are correct.

In another study, scientists divided 57 men between the ages of 18 and 50 into two groups: one group took 300 mg of an ashwagandha root extract twice a day, while the second received only a placebo (2). All subjects had little to no experience of training with weights.

The researchers wanted to investigate the effects of ashwagandha on muscle strength and muscle mass, as well as markers of recovery, body composition and serum testosterone levels. Both groups performed resistance training for 8 weeks before the initial measurements were repeated. Compared to the placebo group, ashwagandha showed the following changes (2):

More significant strength gains in bench press and leg extension
Significant muscle growth in the chest and arms
Much less training-induced muscle damage, which indicates better recovery
Stronger increases in testosterone levels
Greater fat loss

In another study, subjects were given progressively higher doses of ashwagandha over a 30-day period (3). They started with 750 mg and increased to 1250 mg in the last 10 days of the study.

Apart from one subject who discontinued the study prematurely due to hallucinations and dizziness, all other subjects showed reduced levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, increased strength levels and reductions in body fat percentage. Six of the subjects also reported better sleep.

Ashwagandha appears to provide promising results. However, it should be noted that further studies are needed to draw definitive conclusions. The studies cited here are short-term studies with a relatively small number of subjects. It is therefore not clear how these effects might change in the long term (say 6 months) or with more subjects.

Ashwagandha for fat loss

Some studies, a few of which are mentioned above, have linked ashwagandha supplementation to fat loss. A number of interesting studies (one of which was conducted with subjects suffering from binge-eating disorder) concluded that ashwagandha accelerates fat loss (2, 4). So while it's true to say that ashwagandha can help us lose fat, it's important to emphasize that ashwagandha can't necessarily achieve this on its own.

In a study conducted with elite cyclists, the subjects were split into two groups: One group received 500 mg of an ashwagandha extract twice daily, while the other received a placebo (5). After eight weeks of the study, the scientists concluded that the subjects in the ashwagandha group showed significant improvements in their aerobic capacity compared to the subjects in the placebo group. However, no improvement in fat oxidation was observed.

It is also worth mentioning that ashwagandha appears to have an effect on thyroid function. Studies suggest that ashwagandha may increase levels of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 in people with subclinical hypothyroidism (6). T3 and T4 are two hormones that are essential for maintaining body temperature and metabolic health, among other things.

Optimal levels of these hormones are crucial for effective fat loss. People who suffer from hyperthyroidism or are taking thyroid hormones should discuss the use of ashwagandha with their doctor to ensure that thyroid hormone levels do not become too elevated.

Is ashwagandha beneficial for bodybuilders?

Some research suggests so. We have several studies that show promising benefits of ashwagandha in terms of muscle growth, fat loss, strength and power release. But while I would love to jump on the bandwagon and tout ashwagandha as a gift to humanity, it's still a little too early for that.

Sure, it has been shown that ashwagandha could help subjects build a little more muscle and develop a higher power release during certain exercises. The problem, however, is that all of these studies were of short duration (eight weeks or less) and involved a limited number of subjects (the largest of these studies involved 57 subjects). In addition, most of them involved untrained subjects with minimal training experience.

We therefore need longer studies with more subjects before we can draw definitive conclusions about the true effects of ashwagandha for us. Do these effects last if ashwagandha is used for longer than eight weeks? Does the body develop a certain tolerance to ashwagandha over time? Are the observed effects just as pronounced in subjects with more training experience?

These and many other questions cannot be answered at the moment.

Other benefits and potential side effects of ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is one of the best-studied adaptogens, with studies dating back to the 1960s. Over the decades, scientists have compiled a long list of benefits of ashwagandha:

1. ashwagandha can lower cortisol levels and increase resilience to stress

Cortisol is essential for good health. It helps us wake up after sleep, it leads to superior fat loss, it keeps inflammation in a normal range and it supports our alertness. However, when cortisol levels are chronically elevated, cortisol can have devastating effects on our health. Such an increase is usually the result of chronic stress.

Scientific research suggests that ashwagandha may be able to reliably and safely reduce elevated cortisol levels, increase resilience to stress and improve perceived quality of life (7, 8).

2 Ashwagandha may reduce the incidence of anxiety and anxiety disorders

So far, we know that ashwagandha can increase resistance to stress. In some studies, this benefit has been associated with a reduction in anxiety and fear, particularly in stress-induced anxiety (9).

In another study, ashwagandha supplementation appeared to help subjects reduce their stress-induced eating and lose weight more efficiently (10).

Other studies have been able to replicate these results, although the anxiety-relieving effects tended to be less pronounced when the cause was not chronic stress.

3 Ashwagandha may improve cognitive abilities

Ashwagandha appears to be able to improve a range of different cognitive abilities. In some studies, ashwagandha has been shown to improve cognitive function, memory, concentration and information processing speed in people with mild cognitive impairment (11).

In a placebo-controlled study, ashwagandha was also able to improve cognitive capacity in subjects with bipolar disorder (12).

Side effects of ashwagandha

The only known side effect of ashwagandha to date is mild drowsiness and sedation in a small percentage of subjects in scientific studies. In a study mentioned above, one subject reported hallucinogenic effects with dizziness at a dosage of 750 mg ashwagandha (3). As this was an isolated event that was not reported in any other study, we cannot say whether this was a genuine side effect of ashwagandha.

Conclusion

All in all, ashwagandha is a medicinal plant that many can benefit from using. Its stress-reducing abilities can significantly improve the quality of life.

In addition to this, ashwagandha may also have benefits for athletes and bodybuilders in terms of muscle building and fat loss. However, more research is needed to determine the long-term effects in this regard.

References:

Source: https://pumpsomeiron.com/ashwagandha-for-bodybuilding-fat-loss-and-muscle-growth/

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