Rhodiola Info

Want more energy during your workouts?  Interested in reducing the sore muscle feeling you get the day following a tough workout?  Trying to find something that supports your workouts without harming your body with artificial chemicals?

Following are a few resources that you might find interesting and helpful.  For myself, I notice the most dramatic difference using Rhodiola when I do a long “slow burn” type workout like biking 30 miles.  I just tend to have a bigger energy store to draw from.  That and I definitely notice decreased soreness following days when I took it prior to a workout compared to days I don’t.

the specific product claims are the following:

• -Maximize mental focus and physical endurance. Experience the energy during workouts or anytime you need a quick, effective pick-me-up.
• -Improve exercise performance. NUTRILITE Rhodiola 110 also boasts natural caffeine from green tea extract that, combined with rhodiola rosea, may help promote more vigorous workouts.
• -Shorten your recovery time after exercise. Research suggests that rhodiola rosea helps decrease recovery time by improving your body’s stress response system.

There are many studies on the effectiveness of rhodiola, so i’ll let you search any trusted sources you have.  Nutrilite has done many such studies for most of their products, but if you want a third party source, check this one out:

Acute Rhodiola rosea intake can improve endurance exercise performance.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute and 4-week Rhodiolarosea intake on physical capacity, muscle strength, speed of limb movement, reaction time, and attention. METHODS: PHASE I: A double blind placebo-controlled randomized study (n= 24) was performed, consisting of 2 sessions (2 days per session). Day 1: One hour after acute Rhodiolarosea intake (R, 200-mg Rhodiola rosea extract containing 3% rosavin + 1% salidroside plus 500 mg starch) or placebo (P, 700 mg starch) speed of limb movement (plate tapping test), aural and visual reaction time, and the ability to sustain attention (Fepsy Vigilance test) were assessed. Day 2: Following the same intake procedure as on day 1, maximal isometric knee-extension torque and endurance exercise capacity were tested. Following a 5-day washout period, the experimental procedure was repeated, with the treatment regimens being switched between groups (session 2). PHASE II: A double blind placebo-controlled study (n = 12) was performed. Subjects underwent sessions 3 and 4, identical to Phase I, separated by a 4-week R/P intake, during which subjects ingested 200 mg R/P per day. RESULTS: PHASE I: Compared with P, acute R intake in Phase I increased (p <.05) time to exhaustion from 16.8 +/- 0.7 min to 17.2+/- 0.8 min. Accordingly, VO2peak (p <.05) and VCO2peak (p<.05) increased during R compared to P from 50.9 +/- 1.8 ml x min(-1) x kg(- )1 to 52.9 +/- 2.7 ml x min(-10) x kg(-1) (VO2peak) and from 60.0 +/- 2.3 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1) to 63.5+/- 2.7 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1) (VCO2peak). Pulmonary ventilation (p =.07) tended to increase more during R than during P (P: 115.9+/- 7.7 L/min; R: 124.8 +/- 7.7 L/min). All other parameters remained unchanged. PHASE II: Four-week R intake did not alter any of the variables measured. CONCLUSION: Acute Rhodiola rosea intake can improve endurance exercise capacity in young healthy volunteers. This response was not altered by prior daily 4-week Rhodiola intake.

http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/Rhodiola_scient.html

 and three more:

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/rhodiola.htm

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/07/rhodiola-rosea-natures-anti-depressant/

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/risks-benefits-rhodiola–rosea-6222.html