Benefits of Cordyceps Mushroom Supplement For Endurance Sports
Cordyceps For Endurance Sports
Cordyceps mushroom fungus was originally used by Chinese medicine to treat a number of different ailments. They were also used by sherpas to climb to extremely high altitudes where lower air pressure at high altitude makes it feel like there is a lower percentage of oxygen making it hard to breathe.
The fungi first became popular in sports as a mushroom supplement in 1993 when Chinese female athletes were setting world records, but doping scandals made it hard to distinguish whether it was the adaptogens or the illegal drugs that made these runners so fast.
Why not just start testing the mushrooms, called Cordyceps Sinensis? Well, the mushrooms are extremely rare, and they are grown on caterpillars at high altitudes.
Cordyceps Militaris (Cordyceps M) can be commercially cultivated and the fruiting body of the mushroom can be harvested which has the cordycepin and other active ingredients that help endurance athletes.
Synthetics have arisen on the market, labeled as Cordyceps CS-4; while some studies show effectiveness, Cordyceps M has more active ingredients and other studies say that CS-4 is nowhere near effective for endurance athletes.
So, there are two types of cordyceps available to you on the internet: Cordyceps M and Cordyceps CS-4âŚyou want to take Cordyceps M! Here is a study explaining why you donât want CS-4.
There is a lot of data in this study on the effect of cordyceps in endurance sports.
Here is an article that goes more in depth on the differences of the mushrooms.
Here is another article to better understand why mycelium based products are not effective for endurance sports.
Why Take Cordyceps M For Cycling?
Cordyceps mushroom supplement is almost an aerobic power âdo everythingâ type of supplement which actually turned me off to it at first. It wasnât until I saw it highlighted by some professional teams and athletes that I dug more into it.
The claims almost seem too good to be true, but so many have reported back some slight boosts in VO2Max power and an increased threshold. How? Apparently an increase in oxygen utilization is one of the benefits of cordyceps supplements, so it makes sense that we can increase VO2Max and FTP, as well as our Time to Exhaustion.
If you want to take the best supplement for endurance cycling and get the edge on your competition, then Cordyceps M Mushrooms are the supplement that you need.
Get Cordyceps M with Discount Code âEVOQ.BIKEâ for 15% off, but if youâre a first time purchaser, get 25% off from Real Mushrooms here.
How Much Cordyceps Do I Take?
Based on the studies and previous research posted by sports brands like First Endurance, you want to consumer 3000 to 4500mg of mushrooms per day. That would be 6 to 8 capsules per day, for at least 5-6 weeks before you hit peak performance levels.
Other Cordyceps Products On The Market
The main issue we have with other cycling supplements on the market to increase your cycling capabilities is that the dosages are not correct, which is why we take Corydceps M separately.
Unfortunately a literature piece on the First Endurance Optygen HP website is no longer available, which is where we realized that the dosing was off. They referenced different studies that used far higher doses than what was in their product, but made the same claims.
If anyone still has that pdf, please send it to me at brendan@EVOQ.BIKE
First Endurance Optygen HP Review
I took Optygen HP for 8 months as my Cordyceps mushroom supplement. It was interesting because I noticed some positive effects in my training and racing and told some close friends about it. When I was reviewing Optygen HP I was first introduced to beta alanine and cordyceps and thought that this company had it nailed.
Upon further research and looking into the studies that First Endurance uses to validate their claims for Optygen HP, I realized that the dosages of the ingredients was pretty low.
There wasnât enough beta alanine or cordyceps in the pills. Why? Cost?
I started to consider what it would take in order to ingest the correct dosages and instantly realized why they didnât just increase each ingredient: you would have to take 28 pills per day!
So after reviewing Optygen HP, it dawned on me that there were just too many ingredients at low doses.
Ashwagandha also gets a lot of attention as another supplement to take, but Iâll be honest: I bought it and just couldnât add more pills to my daily regimen.
Hereâs some more information on my review from Optygen HP.
The adaptogens in OPTYGEN HP have been studied extensively for their ability to:
Increase VO2Max
Increase the body's ability to acclimatize to high levels of physical stress
Increase anaerobic threshold and reduce lactic acid.
Optygen HP consists of: Cordyceps CS-4 (Cordyceps Sinensis) (mycelia biomass) minimum 7% cordycepic acid, 1000mg. 2020 Update, now 800mg. This is not the Cordyceps you want and itâs not enough of the mushroom to be as effective.
Side note, they recommend taking 1500mg. This is not enough beta alanine! You want to take 3g of beta alanine twice a day. But now, instead of using beta alanine we use Lactigo as itâs much more effective.
Their New Claims:
Increases Endurance and Performance
Reduced Lactic Acid
Increases oxygen utilization
Increase in VO2 Max
Increase in Time to Exhaustion
Increase Anaerobic threshold
Improved exercise capacity
Increase Maximal Oxygen uptake
30% â 50% increase in Oxygen Utilization
Increase ratio of ATP by 45% â 55%
Enhanced Endurance
Increase in ATP production
The main problem with my Optygen HP review after using the supplement for over 8 months is that the dosages of the ingredients are not high enough to be effective.
Related Post: Complete Guide to Nutrition for Cycling
Where Should I Buy My Cordyceps For Cycling From?
Weâve got you covered. After scouring the internet and researching, weâve tested a bunch and the best are from Real Mushrooms, with a discount code of 15% with EVOQ.BIKE, or if youâre a first time purchaser, get 25% off from Real Mushrooms here.
The mushrooms from Real Mushrooms have:
Cordyceps Mushroom Extract*Âą (Cordyceps militaris) 1000mg
Beta-D-glucans >25%
Cordycepin > 0.3%
YOU TAKE 3 CORDYCEPS M CAPSULES Twice a day.
Reap the cordyceps mushroom benefits of one of the best endurance supplements on the market so that you can increase your VO2Max, Increase your FTP, increase your max power, and recover faster.
Donât wait because you want to have these in your system 5-6 weeks before race season starts.
Real Mushrooms Discount Code: http://shop.realmushrooms.com?ref=62
Cordyceps M mushroom capsule link: https://shop.realmushrooms.com/products/organic-cordyceps-extract-capsules?ref=62
Or Enter EVOQ.BIKE for a Real Mushrooms Discount Code on any of their products!! Check it out!!
About Brendan Housler