Cordyceps Effects on Endurance, Stamina, and Athletic Performance

In 1993, Cordyceps was in all sports headlines when, at the Chinese National Games, nine world records – including the 10,000 metres, won  by an astonishing 40 seconds – were broken by the Chinese team. It was claimed that Cordyceps improves stamina and athletic performance, reduces muscle soreness and promotes muscle building, even though it does not contain any steroids.

In 2004, the New Zealand Herald published an article about a clinical trial on the effect of Cordyceps. The experiment revealed that, for the 131 volunteers in the trial, there was a significant increase in aerobic fitness when participants took extracts of Cordyceps.  The study also showed that Cordyceps extract is effective in enhancing aerobic exercise capability, endurance exercise performance and exercise metabolism and alleviating fatigue in healthy humans.  The results were presented to the American Physiological Society in April, 2004.

Another study conducted on mice showed that taking Cordyceps for 6 weeks can improve swimming capabilities.  In addition, Cordyceps reduces lactic acid build-up in muscles, which makes muscles sore after a workout.