Can Ashwagandha Boost Muscle Gains?

A 2025 comprehensive review of the herbal supplement ashwagandha, known for its stress-reducing properties, may boost muscle gains in ways beyond promoting relaxation. While it’s not the first proof of ashwagandha’s benefits, this new review synthesized studies examining its mechanisms and effects across multiple domains. (1) 

Literature Takeaways 

• Muscle/Strength: Modest lean muscle gains, ~40–60% of creatine’s strength effect.
• Stress/Hormones: Lowers cortisol, slightly raises testosterone.
• Recovery/Endurance: Better VO₂ max, recovery, and less soreness.
• Best Use: 300–600mg/day, especially during high stress or fat loss.

The new data shows most benefits between 300 and 900 milligrams daily, typically taken for 8-12 weeks, with 600 milligrams being the most commonly effective dose.

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The review was narrative rather than systematic, so no formal risk-of-bias scoring was applied. Eighty percent of studies were conducted on young men, with the first female randomized controlled trial only appearing in 2025, limiting data for females.

Sample sizes were typically under 60 participants, and most studies lasted only 8-12 weeks, leaving long-term effects unclear.

Lean Muscle & Strength Gains

The muscle-building effects of ashwagandha are evident. “There is a discernible increase in lean mass that’s measured and verifiable,” Dr. Israetel explained, “It comes out to roughly a few pounds of muscle over that typical time course.” Approximately 25-40% of creatine’s muscle-building capacity; modest but meaningful.

The results for strength were slightly better: the effects of “40 to 60% of the effect of creatine” for one-rep max improvements, typically showing 5-8% increases over 8-12 week programs.

Can Ashwagandha Optimize Hormones?

Ashwagandha appears to function through hormonal modulation. “Testosterone makes you jacked, cortisol makes you less jacked,” Dr. Israetel declared. “Testosterone makes you leaner, cortisol makes you less lean.” (2)(3)

“If you reduce cortisol substantially with [ashwagandha] and boost testosterone, that’s where many of these other benefits really come from,” Dr. Israetel clarified.

Aerobic Capacity and Recovery

Ashwagandha appears to boost VO₂ max significantly, with studies showing approximately 4ml/kg/min improvements over 8-12 weeks. (4) This enhancement in aerobic capacity could improve recovery between sets and training sessions.

Recovery markers showed improvement, demonstrating 10-20% better recovery scale scores and reduced soreness perception.

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Effects on Stress & Anxiety 

Ashwagandha has robust effects on stress management, with multiple studies demonstrating anxiety reduction. (5)(6)(7)(8) This has psychological and physiological benefits, such as improved training outcomes through better sleep quality and lower chronic cortisol exposure. (9)

Side Effects & Safety

While generally safe for most healthy adults, ashwagandha isn’t always completely side-effect-free, with many reports of undesirable mental and physical reactions. Reducing stress and anxiety, though good, could interfere with natural emotions if excessive. 

The Ashwagandha Verdict

The review positions ashwagandha as a “moderate multi-mechanism adjunct” rather than a tier-one supplement like creatine. Ashwagandha provides roughly half of creatine’s physiological effects plus more benefits.

Stressful periods like the latter stages of fat loss, when cortisol levels are elevated, may be optimal for ashwagandha dosing. Taking 300-600mg daily of high-quality extract in the morning may offer a low-risk option for modest but noticeable improvements. Always speak to your physician before taking new supplements.

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References

1. Sprengel M, Laskowski R, Jost Z. Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) supplementation: a review of its mechanisms, health benefits, and role in sports performance. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2025 Feb 5;22(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s12986-025-00902-7. PMID: 39910586; PMCID: PMC11800443.
2. Katsuhara S, Yokomoto-Umakoshi M, Umakoshi H, Matsuda Y, Iwahashi N, Kaneko H, Ogata M, Fukumoto T, Terada E, Sakamoto R, Ogawa Y. Impact of Cortisol on Reduction in Muscle Strength and Mass: A Mendelian Randomization Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Mar 24;107(4):e1477-e1487. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab862. PMID: 34850018.
3. Braun TP, Marks DL. The regulation of muscle mass by endogenous glucocorticoids. Front Physiol. 2015 Feb 3;6:12. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2015.00012. PMID: 25691871; PMCID: PMC4315033.
4. Choudhary B, Shetty A, Langade DG. Efficacy of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera [L.] Dunal) in improving cardiorespiratory endurance in healthy athletic adults. Ayu. 2015 Jan-Mar;36(1):63-8. doi: 10.4103/0974-8520.169002. PMID: 26730141; PMCID: PMC4687242.
5. Bachour G, Samir A, Haddad S, Houssaini MA, El Radad M. Effects of Ashwagandha Supplements on Cortisol, Stress, and Anxiety Levels in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. BJPsych Open. 2025 Jun 20;11(Suppl 1):S39. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2025.10136. PMCID: PMC12242034.
6. Akhgarjand C, Asoudeh F, Bagheri A, Kalantar Z, Vahabi Z, Shab-Bidar S, Rezvani H, Djafarian K. Does Ashwagandha supplementation have a beneficial effect on the management of anxiety and stress? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytother Res. 2022 Nov;36(11):4115-4124. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7598. Epub 2022 Aug 25. PMID: 36017529.
7. Pandit S, Srivastav AK, Sur TK, Chaudhuri S, Wang Y, Biswas TK. Effects of Withania somnifera Extract in Chronically Stressed Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2024 Apr 26;16(9):1293. doi: 10.3390/nu16091293. PMID: 38732539; PMCID: PMC11085552.
8. Albalawi AA. Dual impact of Ashwagandha: Significant cortisol reduction but no effects on perceived stress – A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Health. 2025 Aug 1:2601060251363647. doi: 10.1177/02601060251363647. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40746175.
9. Salve J, Pate S, Debnath K, Langade D. Adaptogenic and Anxiolytic Effects of Ashwagandha Root Extract in Healthy Adults: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study. Cureus. 2019 Dec 25;11(12):e6466. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6466. PMID: 32021735; PMCID: PMC6979308.

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