Updated on November 29, 2025, with new Latin American Spanish and Mandarin audio versions to help readers worldwide access this content.
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🇪🇸 Spanish (Latinoamérica)
Este audio explica cómo usar matcha para ganar músculo y matcha para reducir la fatiga de manera natural.
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🎧 Now Available: Chinese Audio Version
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I’m happy to share a Chinese audio version of this article, created in response to the growing number of readers from China. Your interest and engagement mean a lot!
Introduction
Matcha green tea isn’t just a trendy drink—it may actually help your body adapt to resistance training. A 2023 clinical trial published in Nutrition Journal found that drinking matcha daily helped participants experience less fatigue, greater muscle gains, and lower stress levels after resistance exercise.
A Forgotten Chinese Invention Revived in Japan
Although most people associate matcha with Japan’s tea ceremonies, its roots actually trace back to China’s Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE). At that time, monks and scholars enjoyed 末茶 (mò chá), a finely powdered green tea whisked into hot water—a method known as 點茶 (diǎn chá).
This practice crossed the sea in the late 12th century with Zen Buddhist monks such as Eisai, who brought powdered tea and meditation from China to Japan. Over time, Japan refined the art—developing 抹茶 (mǒ chá in Chinese, matcha in Japanese) using shade-grown tencha leaves, stone-ground into the vibrant green powder central to the Japanese tea ceremony (茶道, sadō).
Interestingly, China has recently revived its own powdered green tea production, both for local consumption and export. In that sense, matcha has come full circle—a Chinese innovation perfected in Japan and now celebrated worldwide.
The Study
Researchers from Japan recruited healthy, untrained young men and divided them into two groups:
- Matcha group: consumed a beverage with 1.5 g of matcha powder twice daily (about 3 g/day).
- Placebo group: consumed a calorie-matched, non-matcha drink.
Two separate trials were conducted:
- Trial 1 (8 weeks) — resistance training with or without matcha.
- The matcha group showed a trend toward greater leg-strength improvement and less subjective fatigue after one week.
- Trial 2 (12 weeks) — longer training period.
- The matcha group developed more skeletal-muscle mass and had lower salivary cortisol, a hormone linked to stress.
Gut microbiota analysis revealed increases in beneficial bacteria like Ruminococcus, Oscillospira, and Butyricimonas, which correlated with strength improvements.
Interestingly, these same gut microbes are not unique to Japan—they are also found in people from Western countries, where they’re linked to healthy metabolism and butyrate production, a compound known to support gut and muscle function.
(Shigeta, Mizuho et al. “Matcha green tea beverage moderates fatigue and supports resistance training-induced adaptation.” Nutrition Journal, vol. 22, no. 32, 2023, https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-023-00859-4.)*
How Matcha Might Work to Increase Strength and Muscle Mass
Resistance training triggers two opposing processes in your muscles—catabolism and anabolism.
- Catabolism means breaking down. During intense workouts, muscle fibers are damaged, and protein breakdown increases as the body releases stress hormones like cortisol. This is a normal part of training; catabolism clears out old or damaged proteins.
- Anabolism means building up. After exercise, your body repairs those micro-tears by synthesizing new muscle proteins, leading to growth and strength gains.
- The balance between catabolism and anabolism determines whether you gain or lose muscle over time.
Matcha appears to help tip this balance toward anabolism. The 2023 Nutrition Journal study found that men who drank about 3 g of matcha daily during resistance training gained more muscle mass, felt less fatigue, and had lower cortisol levels than those given a placebo beverage.
Here’s how matcha may do that:
1. Reduces Stress Hormone (Cortisol)
Cortisol rises during hard exercise and chronic stress. It’s catabolic, meaning it breaks down muscle tissue for fuel.
Matcha contains L-theanine—an amino acid that calms the nervous system—and catechins (EGCG) that help regulate stress response. Together, they blunt cortisol’s muscle-wasting effects, helping keep the body in an anabolic (muscle-building) state.
- In the study, salivary cortisol was significantly lower in the matcha group after 12 weeks.
- Lower cortisol means less muscle breakdown and better recovery between sessions.
2. Antioxidants That Protect Muscle Cells
Exercise-induced oxidative stress can slow recovery and extend the catabolic phase. Matcha’s EGCG and other polyphenols activate antioxidant defenses (like Nrf2) and reduce inflammation by suppressing NF-κB.
This helps limit muscle damage, shortens recovery time, and allows earlier rebuilding—essentially moving the body from “breakdown” to “build-up” mode faster.
3. Gut Microbiota Support and Butyrate Production
The matcha group showed increases in Ruminococcus, Oscillospira, and Butyricimonas—bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate.
Butyrate is a signaling molecule that enhances insulin sensitivity, energy efficiency, and anabolic signaling (via AMPK and mTOR pathways).
This leads to better nutrient utilization, less muscle inflammation, and more effective protein synthesis after training.
Importantly, these same gut microbes are common in Western populations, meaning this mechanism likely extends beyond Japan.
4. Improved Energy and Mitochondrial Efficiency
Matcha enhances mitochondrial biogenesis—the creation of new energy-producing mitochondria—through activation of PGC-1α, the same pathway stimulated by endurance training.
More mitochondria mean greater energy availability, enabling you to train longer and recover faster, both of which reinforce the anabolic cycle.
5. Better Blood Flow and Nutrient Delivery
Catechins improve nitric oxide production, enhancing circulation to working muscles.
This increased blood flow supplies more oxygen, amino acids, and glucose to muscles after exercise, optimizing recovery and growth.
6. Balanced Energy: Caffeine + L-Theanine
Matcha’s unique combination of moderate caffeine and L-theanine delivers energy with focus, not overstimulation.
That steady alertness improves training quality and neuromuscular coordination, further contributing to strength and hypertrophy.
Summary: Matcha Tips the Balance Toward Growth
During resistance training, muscles are constantly moving between breakdown (catabolism) and repair (anabolism).
By reducing cortisol, quenching oxidative stress, supporting beneficial gut microbes, and enhancing nutrient delivery, matcha helps shift this internal balance toward net muscle gain.
In short:
Matcha doesn’t build muscle directly—it helps your body recover faster, reduce stress, and use nutrients more efficiently so that every workout counts more.
What the Results Mean
While matcha is no magic powder, the results suggest it can support exercise recovery and adaptation by:
- Reducing stress hormone (cortisol) levels
- Lowering fatigue during early training weeks
- Enhancing gut health, which may improve nutrient absorption and inflammation control
- Slightly increasing muscle mass when combined with consistent resistance exercise
However, the authors emphasize that most effects were modest and sometimes not statistically strong. The biggest gains still came from the exercise itself—matcha simply provided a small edge.
Limitations
- The subjects were young, untrained men, so results may differ for women, older adults, or trained athletes.
- The matcha product was industry-supplied, so independent replication is needed.
- The study cannot isolate which component (catechins, theanine, fiber, etc.) produced the effects.
- Benefits appeared as trends, not universal statistical significance.
Takeaway
For people starting resistance training, adding matcha to your day might:
- Help you recover faster,
- Support a healthier gut, and
- Provide a mental and physical boost during adaptation.
But it won’t replace the fundamentals—progressive training, sleep, and proper nutrition remain far more important.
How to Apply It
- Amount: ~3 g/day (about 1 teaspoon) of high-quality matcha powder.
- Timing: once in the morning and once after exercise.
- Pair with: whole foods rich in protein and fiber to support microbiome and muscle repair.
- Avoid excess: high caffeine intake can cause jitters or insomnia in sensitive individuals.
Final Word
This study adds to growing evidence that nutrient-rich plant compounds—not just supplements—can fine-tune how the body responds to exercise.
Matcha’s mix of antioxidants, amino acids, and microbiota-friendly compounds may make it a useful, natural ally for anyone looking to train smarter, not just harder.
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Related:
References:
- Shigeta, Mizuho et al. “Matcha green tea beverage moderates fatigue and supports resistance training-induced adaptation.” Nutrition Journal, vol. 22, no. 32, 2023, https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-023-00859-4.
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