The Impact of Rhodiola Rosea Extract on Strength Performance in Alternative Bench-Press and Bench-Pull Exercises Under Resting and Mental Fatigue Conditions: A Randomized, Triple-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial
PubMed 40289957 · doi:10.3390/nu17060940
What was done
A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial evaluated the effects of 4 days of *Rhodiola rosea* (RR) supplementation on upper-body resistance exercise under resting or mentally fatigued conditions in 18 healthy young adults (7 women). Following a familiarization and one-repetition maximum testing session, participants completed four experimental sessions separated by 7-day washouts: RR + Stroop test (mental fatigue), RR + control video, placebo + Stroop test, and placebo + control video. Outcomes included bench-press repetitions, bench-pull velocity, cognitive performance (Stroop and Multiple Object Tracking tests), mental fatigue, and perceived exertion.
What was found
RR supplementation exerted trivial-to-small effects on mental fatigue, visuo-cognitive processing, and rating of perceived exertion. Under the resting (control video) condition, RR significantly increased the number of repetitions completed in the bench press and the fastest velocity achieved in the bench pull during select sets compared with placebo. Across 52 total comparisons, 17 small effect sizes were identified (14 favoring RR, 3 favoring placebo), with all other comparisons showing trivial differences. Exact quantitative values, standard deviations, and p-values were not provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
These findings indicate that short-term *Rhodiola rosea* supplementation provides modest, isolated ergogenic benefits for upper-body muscular endurance and movement velocity in non-fatigued states, but does not meaningfully counteract mental fatigue or enhance cognitive metrics during resistance exercise.
Limits
The study is constrained by a small sample size (n = 18) and a short 4-day supplementation window. Testing 52 comparisons elevates the risk of false-positive findings, and reported benefits were restricted to small effect sizes in specific exercise sets rather than uniform performance gains. Long-term training adaptations and chronic supplementation were not evaluated.
Cited by
- supports Rhodiola rosea supplementation has been shown in research to enhance muscular endurance in terms of the number of repetitions completed.