It can be difficult to get around to a regular exercise routine, but a natural pre-workout drink can be a big help to energizing and fueling a successful workout. There are a lot of choices, many of them artificial and synthetic.

That’s why in the following article, we review the exciting nutrients and natural compounds in matcha tea, and why they are beneficial to working out.

Including why matcha for pre-workout is a great way of boosting metabolism, total energy, and your level of fitness. No more questions about “pre-workout ingredients,” or “pre-workout side effects.” 

Natural Pre Workout Drink | Healthy Pre-Workout foods?

Matcha tea is considered a whole-food, even if you actually drink it. You don’t have to worry about bioavailability or maximum absorption of your workout nutrients. Instead, just drink a bowl of matcha powder and you’ll feel ready to go! 

Matcha for your pre workout benefits your mind, body, and soul –– without sacrificing muscle gain or long term endurance. 

Matcha Green Tea: Key Features of a Healthy Pre Workout Supplement

Often when people are choosing an alternative pre workout drink, such as a natural pre workout with green tea, it’s because they are looking to improve upon an already health-conscious exercise regimen.

If you’ve become concerned whether your choice of pre workout drinks are safe, it’s likely because you’ve realized the majority of these options exist with artificial ingredients, caffeine extracts, and big doses of certain nutrients which push your body into a state of maximum energy output.

Instead, you should look for a pre workout which honors your health, and your physiology above all else. Something which will actually protect and optimize your workout, rather than forcing your body to ramp up energy in an unhealthy and potentially dangerous way.

Matcha green tea for pre workout energy is an excellent balance of energy and endurance, without those side effects. 

Here are the natural compounds in matcha tea | Matcha for Pre Workout Energy Optimization

Exercise is good for health, but too much of it can cause stress inside the body. And any acute exercise without the proper safeguards can create oxidative stress, impacting recovery, muscle gain, and long term endurance. 

Whether you strive for daily workouts, or intense yet occasional strength training, it’s a good idea to prime your metabolism with the right nutrients and protective compounds.

An alternative pre workout drink should certainly boost your energy, but that doesn’t have to rely on huge doses of caffeine and synthetic, isolated molecules. The focus may better rest in optimizing the natural mechanisms already in place–inside each of our bodies–to maximize workouts.

Pre Workout Antioxidants | Pre Workouts Safe for Heart?

That includes natural pre workout drinks which may offer a neutralizing effect on free radicals released by your body, especially those from exercise that may adversely affect health; examples include heart muscle and the kidneys.  

Virtually every metabolic process may produce oxidative stress, and that’s why the body has robust systems for antioxidants; not only from within, someone looking for a healthy pre workout drink may also boost bioactive antioxidants from outside the body.

That said, exercise is in fact considered a stressor, and as your metabolism burns energy, those reactions release free radicals and signal other stress responses to ramp up; even though these are typically temporary changes, it’s possible to help the body control them better.

Pre-Workouts for Endurance | HIIT Pre-Workout Drink

These are reasons why matcha green tea for pre-workout energy has become popular. Matcha has more than one hundred fold the antioxidant content of regular green tea. The potent antioxidant EGCG found in this natural pre-workout drink reportedly increases total available energy for muscles during exercise [1].

In fact, the rich polyphenols in matcha tea are studied for improving endurance, like in cycling or running. Staving off exhaustion, those protective compounds may also have a balancing effect against exercise side effects.

One example, even if you’re not using a creatine supplement: green tea has been observed to buffer elevated creatine kinase levels [1], a biomarker of oxidative and muscle stress related to exercise. 

Why Drink Matcha Before Your Workouts

• This enzyme can be specifically elevated by creatine supplements and intense exercise [2], so here it may be particularly wise to consider matcha tea
• Potential anti-stress properties of matcha green tea may also achieve a more controlled inflammatory and cortisol response to exercise [3]
• Specialized flavonoids and polyphenols in matcha tea may help blood vessels relax and recover from exercise by the NrF2 pathway [4-5]

Besides matcha tea being an obvious choice for a healthy pre-workout drink (e.g. natural caffeine), it also happens to pack a punch for a number of other reasons like the vitamin and minerals, and even amino acid content.

For example, matcha tea contains a wide range of naturally occurring amino acids, including arginine which is a cofactor of citrulline, a popular pre-workout supplement. 

Are pre-workout drinks unhealthy?

In summary, it’s interesting to note how most pre-workout supplements will directly provide ready-made energy, whereas natural pre-workout drinks help encourage your body to achieve an improved, more natural energy output.

Furthermore, unlike coffee and other popular energy drinks which are typically acidic, matcha tea won’t cause that problem. That’s good to know because it’s suggested for an optimal workout to try and limit acidity. The reason why is that exercise is already an acid-producing activity.

Added Bonus of Matcha Tea | Healthy Pre Workout Drinks

It’s said that the best nutrition comes in the form of whole foods, rather than extracts, isolates, and synthetic or processed foods. The same applies to pre workout drinks which often rely on isolated compounds to make their claims. 

Compared to these unhealthy pre workout drinks, matcha tea takes the lead for healthy workout energy. The natural amino acid content of premium matcha means that you’re enjoying naturally occurring branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) for your workout.

In fact, matcha green tea amino acids are a complete profile of all essential amino acids, and even many conditional amino acids. These are the bare-bones of healthy workout fuel, and are just how nature intended them.

Pre Workout Side Effects? Switch to a Homemade Pre Workout Drink

It’s surprisingly easy to make a homemade pre workout drink. In fact, in Japan matcha tea has been prepared ahead of intense activity for nearly 1,000 years. It’s the ultimate, at-home pre workout drink. Just scoop, whisk, and sip!

No need to make a complicated concoction of isolated compounds and special nutrients; matcha green tea is nature’s finest blend of vitamins and minerals, workout-friendly amino acids, and potent antioxidants to help you recover quicker. 

The bottom line with Pre-Workout Supplements: The Choice is yours with Matcha

Matcha for pre workout energy helps increase blood flow, fight free radicals, and quench the need for optimal nutrition on a cellular level. It’s also assuring to note that matcha tea is associated with increased endurance, especially in intense exercise regimens.  

-Team Matcha Kari  

SHOP MATCHA

 

*  *  *

Related

• Matcha and Heart Health
• Amino acid Content of Matcha Tea
• Vitamins and Minerals found in Matcha Green Tea
• Improving Exercise Endurance with Matcha
• Matcha Pre Workout Drink for Weight loss?

Disclaimer: These statements in this blog post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. It's essential to consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes.

References
[1] Teng, Y. S., & Wu, D. (2017). Anti-fatigue effect of green tea polyphenols (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG). Pharmacognosy magazine, 13(50), 326.
[2] Cancela, P., Ohanian, C., Cuitino, E., & Hackney, A. C. (2008). Creatine supplementation does not affect clinical health markers in football players. British journal of sports medicine, 42(9), 731-735.
[3] Sugita, M., Kapoor, M. P., Nishimura, A., & Okubo, T. (2016). Influence of green tea catechins on oxidative stress metabolites at rest and during exercise in healthy humans. Nutrition, 32(3), 321-331.
[4] Lorenz, M., et al. (2004). A constituent of green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, activates endothelial nitric oxide synthase by a phosphatidylinositol-3-OH-kinase-, cAMP-dependent protein kinase-, and Akt-dependent pathway and leads to endothelial-dependent vasorelaxation. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279(7), 6190-6195.
[5]https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/drinking-tea-may-benefit-the-heart-and-blood-vessels