Are you looking to boost your workout sessions? Do you want to try something healthy and safe? Then try sipping up some matcha before heading to the gym!
Matcha is a caffeinated drink packed with nutrients, antioxidants, amino acids, and more healthy goodness. Matcha drinkers feel energized, relaxed, and focused after downing a cup of their favorite green drink.
But do matcha and exercise go hand in hand? Can you boost your workouts and gym gains simply by drinking matcha daily?
In this guide, we will answer these questions and more. Plus, the appropriate time to drink matcha to get the most out of your workouts.
Increasing Exercise Performance
Many factors determine how well you can perform in the gym. Some of those factors are:
- Proper hydration during workouts
- Dedicating time for recovery
- Staying motivated (playing music or podcasts during workouts)
- Your diet
"Giving it your all" in the gym is great. However, you will only limit yourself if you neglect recovery and diet. What you put into your body is a crucial piece of the puzzle for attaining a healthy and strong body.
Workout supplements are essential for providing your body with the nutrients it needs to help the muscles recover effectively. That being said, you can still get sufficient nutrients from your food, especially if you plan on eating right.
Source: NutritionWithAnna.com
One drink packed with nutrients, antioxidants, and amino acids (like L-theanine) is matcha tea. Let's look closer at how adding matcha to your diet can help improve exercise performance.
The Science Behind Matcha and Exercise
While research is ongoing, science has shown that matcha can be a valuable supplement to an exercise routine. In addition, some studies have found that drinking matcha before a workout can positively impact performance, improving overall fitness outcomes.
Matcha contains ingredients that make an excellent workout supplement. Ingredients such as L-theanine, catechins, and caffeine can boost energy levels, which is ideal for those seeking to increase their workout intensity.
Matcha provides additional benefits that help improve workout performance. Here's a summary of all the workout benefits that come from drinking matcha:
Boosts Metabolism
Matcha contains high levels of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), known for boosting metabolism and its thermogenic effects in the body.
Source: Healthline.com
Regular exercise, on its own, will boost your resting metabolic rate. Adding matcha to your diet will further encourage this metabolism boost.
A better metabolism will make your body more efficient at burning calories. The body will burn those extra calories for energy effectively due to a better metabolism, increasing performance in your workouts.
Mental Focus
Your mental state does play a significant part in exercise, which is why mental focus is essential.
Matcha improves mental focus, brain function, alertness, and memory. The L-theanine and caffeine content in matcha is the reason for this.
L-theanine is known for improving mood and relieving stress. Consuming L-theanine and caffeine (both found in matcha) will keep you energetic, focused, and alert.
Boost in Energy
We have already mentioned that consuming L-theanine and caffeine can be beneficial. Especially if you want to improve your mental focus in the office and the gym.
Another area where these two ingredients excel is energy. The caffeine from matcha will give you a decent energy boost, similar to coffee. L-theanine regulates the side effects of caffeine by enhancing your mood and stress levels.
The combination of L-theanine and caffeine will provide a sustained energy boost that comes without the jitters associated with drinking too much coffee. This makes matcha an excellent pre-workout drink.
Pre-Workout Drinks Improve Exercise Performance
Pre-workout drinks are popular with gymgoers because it allows them to be more focused and energetic. You can improve your overall exercise performance by consuming a pre-workout regularly.
The pre-workout will allow you to exceed your body’s natural performance limit and build muscle faster while increasing your exercise performance.
So, what makes a pre-workout so good? For starters, the main ingredient in a pre-workout is caffeine. Pre-workout drinks contain high levels of caffeine, which supply the body with intense energy, ideal for improving exercise performance.
Source: MedicPresents.com
Pre-workout drinks are readily available from almost every fitness and supplement brand. The key ingredient in most of these drinks is caffeine. However, some brands include additional ingredients like Nitronic acid to boost thermogenesis.
Matcha as a Pre-Workout
Some people believe that a branded pre-workout drink isn't always necessary. Their logic is that if caffeine is the main ingredient of a pre-workout, they will simply find caffeine elsewhere.
For this reason, many people drink a cup of coffee before they work out. About 40 minutes before. Coffee contains a high concentration of caffeine, which most people find sufficient for producing the energy they require for a great workout.
The downside to drinking coffee is the "jittery sensation" it leaves you with. This anxiousness can negatively affect your state of mind, which can also affect your workouts. In this regard, drinking matcha is a game-changer!
Matcha does include caffeine, which makes it a worthy pre-workout drink. In addition, the L-theanine content in matcha reduces anxiety and improves mental alertness and focus. This means a caffeinated energy boost without the jitters.
Drink a cup of matcha before you exercise, and you will get a decent energy boost, remain focused, and stay calm after your workout session.
Because matcha also has a calming effect, you can quickly cool down after a workout. This is perfect for people that work out later in the day. Branded pre-workout drinks and coffee can affect your sleep quality (making it harder to fall asleep). Drinking coffee in the evening may not allow you to fall asleep quickly. Matcha, on the other hand, doesn't affect your sleep.
We did an in-depth comparison of matcha and coffee to find out which drink is more beneficial to your daily lifestyle.
Click here to learn more about Caffeine in Matcha and if Matcha is Better Than Coffee.
TL;DR: Matcha and Exercise
Drinking matcha regularly can certainly improve exercise performance. It's possible because of these reasons:
- Matcha boosts metabolism, making the body more efficient at burning calories. This will allow the body to burn calories effectively during workouts.
- You can achieve a better mental focus by drinking matcha. A better mental state is necessary when stepping up your game with more intense workouts.
- The caffeine content in matcha provides an excellent energy boost, ideal for giving that additional push in a workout.
Pre-workout drinks are another game-changing workout supplement that's filled with caffeine. A caffeinated drink like a branded pre-workout or coffee can supply a decent amount of energy before a workout.
Matcha's caffeine content is suitable as a pre-workout drink. The L-theanine in matcha will also keep you focused during a workout while allowing you to remain calm after a workout.