In sports, the “best” supplement is the one that helps you train consistently. That usually means two things: (1) you can produce high-quality work in the sessions that matter, and (2) you recover well enough to repeat it tomorrow. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is often marketed as an “adaptogen,” basically a plant extract that may help the body handle stress. For athletes, that pitch is attractive because training stress is real stress, especially during heavy pre-season blocks.
But does ashwagandha actually move performance? The two papers you uploaded cover two angles: a systematic review and meta-analysis in athletes, and a newer randomized trial in team-sport athletes during a demanding pre-season. Put together, they suggest a consistent theme: ashwagandha may support aerobic fitness and some markers of recovery, but effects are not universal, may depend on context (sport, training phase), and might differ by sex.
Below is what the studies found, and what I would (and would not) do with it in real-world coaching.
The effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) on sports performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Main question the study investigates. Does ashwagandha supplementation improve sports performance outcomes in athletes, especially aerobic fitness (VO2max)?
Methods
The authors systematically searched multiple databases for randomized controlled trials in athletes using ashwagandha and compared outcomes versus placebo or control. Eight trials (all conducted in India) were included across athletics, hockey, cycling, boxing, and sprinting. They ran a meta-analysis focused on VO2max and summarized other performance and fitness outcomes.
Key results
- Across four studies included in the VO2max meta-analysis, ashwagandha increased VO2max by about 4.09 ml/kg/min versus placebo, but results varied a lot between studies (high heterogeneity).
- The broader set of included trials reported improvements in several areas, such as time to exhaustion, peak and average power, core strength/stability, heart-rate recovery, and field fitness tests (for example shuttle run, broad jump, pull-ups, sit-ups).
- Typical dosing in these trials was 300–500 mg of aqueous root extract twice daily for 8–12 weeks, although the exact preparations varied.
- Safety reporting was limited. Only a couple of studies explicitly noted no adverse effects, and several did not clearly report side-effect monitoring.
Authors’ conclusions. The review concludes that ashwagandha supplementation appears to enhance sports performance in athletes, with the strongest pooled evidence for improving VO2max. The authors also emphasize that findings should be interpreted cautiously due to variation in preparations, dosing, populations, and study quality.
Ashwagandha root extract stabilises physiological stress responses, improves perceived recovery and enhances muscle strength in team sports athletes during pre-season training (Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial)
Main question the study investigates. Does 42 days of 600 mg/day ashwagandha root extract improve stress biomarkers, perceived recovery, strength, and aerobic capacity in male and female team-sport athletes during pre-season training?
Methods
Fifty-six sub-elite athletes (rugby, water polo, football) in a Barcelona sports academy were randomized to ashwagandha 600 mg/day (root-only extract, standardized for withanolides) or placebo for 42 days during pre-season training. Salivary hormones were measured after training (including cortisol and cortisone), strength and jump/pull-up tests were performed, aerobic fitness was assessed with a shuttle-run style test (Bronco), and next-day recovery was tracked using the Hooper Index (sleep, stress, fatigue, soreness).
Key results
- Stress biomarkers: In women, cortisol rose in the placebo group across the training period, while it remained stable with ashwagandha. In men, cortisone rose in the placebo group, while it remained stable with ashwagandha.
- Perceived recovery (female athletes): Overall Hooper Index scores improved in the ashwagandha group, along with lower soreness (DOMS) and improved fatigue ratings. These recovery changes were not seen in men.
- Strength/power (male athletes): Countermovement jump performance improved in the ashwagandha group. Pull-ups improved in both groups, which suggests a training effect that is not specific to the supplement. Other strength measures did not show clear supplement-specific effects.
- Aerobic capacity: The aerobic test did not meaningfully change in either sex over the 42 days.
Authors’ conclusions. The authors conclude that 600 mg/day of ashwagandha root extract for 42 days during pre-season may stabilize stress biomarkers and support recovery perception (especially in female athletes), with modest strength/power benefits observed in male athletes. They note that more research is needed to refine dosing, timing, and long-term effects in athletic settings.
Synthesis: where the studies agree, where they differ
Where they agree
Both papers point in the same general direction: ashwagandha is more likely to show benefits when athletes are under meaningful training stress and when outcomes are measured as “capacity to handle training” (aerobic fitness, recovery markers, and select performance tests). The systematic review suggests aerobic fitness (VO2max) is the clearest performance signal across multiple athlete studies, while the pre-season trial adds a practical layer: under a tough training block, ashwagandha may blunt the rise in stress hormones seen in placebo and improve how athletes feel the next day.
Where they differ
- Outcome focus: The review centers on VO2max and broader performance tests across sports, while the team-sport trial found no change in aerobic test performance over 42 days and instead highlighted stress biomarkers and recovery perception.
- Time course: Many VO2max gains in the review come from 8–12 week protocols, while the team-sport trial ran 6 weeks. That timing difference matters, especially for aerobic adaptations.
- Population and context: The review’s athlete trials were all conducted in India and across mixed sports, while the team-sport trial was a European academy setting with high-intensity intermittent training demands.
- Sex-specific signals: The team-sport trial showed recovery benefits mainly in women and performance benefits mainly in men. The review does not consistently break outcomes down by sex across studies, so we cannot assume the same pattern holds everywhere.
Evidence-based conclusions drawn from both studies
- 1.Ashwagandha can improve aerobic fitness in athletes, with the best pooled evidence showing an increase in VO2max after longer protocols (often 8–12 weeks), although results vary across studies.
- 2.In a demanding pre-season setting, ashwagandha may help stabilize physiological stress responses, as reflected by cortisol/cortisone changes compared with placebo.
- 3.Perceived recovery benefits are plausible, especially in female athletes during heavy training, based on improvements in soreness and fatigue ratings in the team-sport trial.
- 4.Strength and power effects look modest and selective, with one clear signal in countermovement jump in men, while many other strength measures did not show supplement-specific changes.
- 5.The evidence base is promising but not definitive, because study quality, supplement preparations, and populations vary, and side-effect reporting is not consistently detailed.
What this means for your training
If you are considering ashwagandha as part of your training science toolkit, treat it like a “recovery support” experiment, not a magic performance switch.
- Use it in the right phase: heavy training blocks. The most convincing use case from these studies is pre-season or high-load periods where recovery and stress management are limiting factors. In that context, the team-sport trial suggests 600 mg/day may support next-day recovery perception (especially in women) and stabilize stress biomarkers compared with placebo.
- If your goal is endurance adaptation, think 8–12 weeks, not 10 days. The VO2max improvements in the review are generally linked to longer supplementation windows and consistent daily intake. If you are chasing aerobic gains (VO2max, time to exhaustion), align the timing with your base or build phase rather than expecting a rapid boost.
- Don’t expect universal strength or hypertrophy gains. One jump test improved in men in the pre-season trial, but most strength outcomes did not clearly separate from training effects. For strength training and hypertrophy, your biggest levers remain progressive overload, protein intake, sleep, and smart fatigue management. Ashwagandha, if it helps at all, is likely an extra few percent via better recovery, not a primary driver.
- Choose a product that matches the studies. These papers used root extracts with standardized dosing, not random blends. If you choose to try it, pick a root-only extract with clear standardization and third-party testing, especially if you compete in tested sport.
- Track what matters and set a stop rule. Run it like a coaching trial: track soreness, sleep quality, fatigue, session quality, and a couple of repeatable performance markers (for example jump height, reps at a fixed load, or a consistent aerobic test). If nothing moves after a full block (6–12 weeks depending on goal), it is probably not worth continuing.
- Be cautious with medications and individual response. Even when studies look safe in healthy athletes, real people vary. If you take prescription medications or have medical conditions, get medical guidance before starting any adaptogen-style supplement.