Rhodiola Rosea and Endurance Performance: What Athletes Should Know

Rhodiola Rosea has moved from traditional herbal medicine into the spotlight of modern sports science. As an “adaptogen,” it is thought to help the body handle stress and fatigue, which naturally makes it interesting for runners, cyclists, and other endurance athletes.

Recent research provides a clearer picture: Rhodiola is not a magic bullet, but when used correctly it can offer small, meaningful boosts in performance and recovery for some athletes.

Rhodiola Rosea's main bioactive compounds, especially rosavin and salidroside, appear to influence how the body responds to physical stress. Proposed mechanisms include:

• Better management of energy substrates (fat and carbohydrate use during exercise)

• Reduced fatigue and muscle damage

• Enhanced antioxidant activity and reduced oxidative stress [1] [2]A 2025 meta-analysis of 26 randomised controlled trials (668 participants) found that Rhodiola Rosea supplementation:

• Improved VO₂max (aerobic capacity) with a small effect size

• Increased time to exhaustion and improved time-trial performance

• Enhanced antioxidant defenses (higher total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase)

• Reduced lactate and creatine kinase, suggesting better metabolic efficiency and less muscle damage [3]

Interestingly, benefits tended to be greater at doses above 400 mg/day in subgroup analyses [3].

One of the most consistent findings is that acute (single-dose) use before exercise is where Rhodiola shines for endurance:

• A classic trial using 200 mg of Rhodiola Rosea (3% rosavin, 1% salidroside) taken 60 minutes pre‑exercise increased time to exhaustion and VO₂peak in young healthy volunteers, without affecting other variables [4].

• Another study using about 3 mg/kg (~200–250 mg for many adults) one hour before a 6‑mile cycling time trial found faster completion times and lower perceived exertion [5].

• A 2023 systematic review of randomised trials concluded that acute Rhodiola Roseas has a positive effect on endurance performance and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) [6].

In contrast, chronic daily supplementation shows a split picture:

• A 4‑week, 600 mg/day trial improved psychomotor performance (faster reaction times) and antioxidant capacity but did not change endurance capacity in active men [7].

• A study in trained male athletes found that 4 weeks of Rhodiola Rosea did not improve VO₂max or test duration, but did reduce post‑exercise lactate and creatine kinase and lowered free fatty acids, suggesting improved muscle recovery and fat utilization rather than direct endurance gains [8].

• The 2023 systematic review reports that chronic Rhodiola seems more helpful for anaerobic performance (short, high‑intensity efforts) and for reducing muscle damage than for pure endurance outcomes [6].

• The 2023 narrative review similarly concludes that acute ~200 mg pre‑exercise improves time‑to‑exhaustion and time trials in recreational athletes, while chronic supplementation has “limited documented benefits” for endurance, though higher chronic doses (1500–2400 mg/day) can enhance sprint and resistance performance [1].

The improvements reported in acute studies are modest but real:

• Small but statistically significant improvements in time‑trial performance (e.g., shaving seconds off a 6‑mile cycling TT)

• Slight increases in VO₂peak

Lower perceived exertion at a given workload and lower heart rate during standardised warm‑ups [5] [4]. For competitive or serious recreational athletes, a 1–2% improvement can be the difference between placing and not placing. For others, the main benefit may be feeling like the effort is more manageable and bouncing back a bit faster.

Based on current human trials and reviews, an evidence‑based, practical endurance protocol looks like this:

Form: Standardised Rhodiola rosea extract

Standardisation: Around 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside like we have in MARCHON workout fuel. [1] [4]

• Acute dose: About 400 mg (or roughly 3 mg/kg). Taken ~60 minutes before your key endurance session or race [1] [5] [4]
• Chronic background use (optional): 400–600 mg/day may enhance antioxidant status and recovery, but is not clearly necessary for acute endurance benefits [6] [3] [7] [8].
• Higher chronic doses (1500–2400 mg/day) have shown benefits mainly for anaerobic performance and resistance training, not long‑duration endurance [1] [9] [10].

What About Stacking with Caffeine?

Two recent human studies looked at Rhodiola + caffeine:

• In resistance‑trained and untrained volunteers, 30 days of Rhodiola plus a single pre‑exercise caffeine dose improved strength, muscular endurance, and explosive performance more than either alone [11] [12].

• In male volleyball players, 4 weeks of Rhodiola + caffeine plus resistance training led to the greatest improvements in jump performance, fatigue resistance, and lower RPE during high‑intensity sessions [13].

These are more about power and explosiveness than classic endurance, but they suggest that combining Rhodiola with caffeine like we have in the MARCHON Workout Fuel, might be particularly effective when your sport mixes endurance with repeated high‑intensity efforts.

Across the literature:

• Most positive endurance results are in healthy, recreationally active young adults, not elite endurance athletes [1] [6] [3] [7] [4] [8].

• Trained individuals in the meta-analysis did show greater reductions in creatine kinase, hinting at better recovery in fitter athletes [3].

If you want to experiment with Rhodiola for endurance:

1. Use it acutely on key days.

   • Start with ~400 mg standardised extract about 60 minutes before a hard workout or race. Use MARCHON workout fuel as an easy option to achieve this.

2. Test it in training first.

   • Try it on a familiar session and compare perceived effort, heart rate, and performance against your typical data.

3. Consider chronic low‑to‑moderate dosing if you care about recovery:

   • 400–600 mg/day for a few weeks may help with antioxidant status and muscle damage, even if it doesn’t push VO₂max higher [7] [8].

4. Don’t expect miracles.

   • Think of Rhodiola as a small edge, not a substitute for training, sleep, and nutrition.

5. If you already use caffeine, you may see extra benefit from combining the two, especially for sports with repeated high‑intensity efforts, though this has been studied more for power/strength than pure endurance. [11] [12] [13].

Across modern systematic reviews, meta‑analyses, and controlled trials, Rhodiola Rosea emerges as a safe adaptogen that can modestly enhance endurance performance, particularly when taken acutely about an hour before exercise. Chronic use seems more useful for recovery and high‑intensity/anaerobic performance than for directly increasing VO₂max or race times. For endurance athletes, Rhodiola is best viewed as a targeted tool for key sessions, not a foundation of performance.

1. Deshpande, A., Irani, N., Balkrishnan, R., & Benny, I. A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study to evaluate the effects of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep quality in healthy adults.. Sleep medicine. 2020; 72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.03.012

2. Langade, D., Kanchi, S., Salve, J., Debnath, K., & Ambegaokar, D. Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Insomnia and Anxiety: A Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled Study. Cureus. 2019; 11. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5797

3. Kelgane, S., Salve, J., Sampara, P., & Debnath, K. Efficacy and Tolerability of Ashwagandha Root Extract in the Elderly for Improvement of General Well-being and Sleep: A Prospective, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study. Cureus. 2020; 12. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.7083

4. Salve, J., Pate, S., Debnath, K., & Langade, D. Adaptogenic and Anxiolytic Effects of Ashwagandha Root Extract in Healthy Adults: A Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study. Cureus. 2019; 11. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.6466

5. Gopukumar, K., Thanawala, S., Somepalli, V., Rao, T., Thamatam, V., & Chauhan, S. Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract on Cognitive Functions in Healthy, Stressed Adults: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM. 2021; 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8254344

6. Langade, D., Thakare, V., Kanchi, S., & Kelgane, S. Clinical evaluation of the pharmacological impact of ashwagandha root extract on sleep in healthy volunteers and insomnia patients: A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study.. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113276

7. Pérez-Piñero, S., Muñoz-Carrillo, J., Echepare-Taberna, J., Muñoz-Cámara, M., Herrera-Fernández, C., Ávila-Gandía, V., Ladreda, M., Martínez, J., & López-Román, F. Effectiveness of Enriched Milk with Ashwagandha Extract and Tryptophan for Improving Subjective Sleep Quality in Adults with Sleep Problems: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial. Clocks & Sleep. 2024; 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep6030028

8. Raut, A., Rege, N., Tadvi, F., Solanki, P., Kene, K., Shirolkar, S., Pandey, S., Vaidya, R., & Vaidya, A. Exploratory study to evaluate tolerability, safety, and activity of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in healthy volunteers. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 2012; 3. https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-9476.100168

9. Baker, C., Kirby, J., O'Connor, J., Lindsay, K., Hutchins, A., & Harris, M. The Perceived Impact of Ashwagandha on Stress, Sleep Quality, Energy, and Mental Clarity for College Students: Qualitative Analysis of a Double-Blind Randomised Control Trial.. Journal of medicinal food. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2022.0042

10. O'Connor, J., Lindsay, K., Baker, C., Kirby, J., Hutchins, A., & Harris, M. The Impact of Ashwagandha on Stress, Sleep Quality, and Food Cravings in College Students: Quantitative Analysis of a Double-Blind Randomised Control Trial.. Journal of medicinal food. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2022.0040

11. Coope, O., Salguero, A., Spurr, T., Calvente, A., Farre, A., Fisas, E., Lloyd, B., Gooderick, J., Sangrà, M., & Román-Viñas, B. Effects of Root Extract of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) on Perception of Recovery and Muscle Strength in Female Athletes. European Journal of Sport Science. 2025; 25. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12265

12. Atul, U., Charu, B., & Umesh, S. Efficacy of Brimhana Nasya and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) root powder in primary insomnia in elderly male: A randomised open-label clinical study. Ayu. 2020; 41. https://doi.org/10.4103/ayu.ayu_177_19