Recovery Support for Physical and Mental Training Stress
Stress from training doesn’t just show up in your muscles. It also presents itself as mental fatigue, low motivation, sluggish recovery, and that burned-out feeling after hard or repetitive sessions. That's where Rhodiola rosea can help, and why we've included over 90mg per serving in our Energy Gummies.
What is it: Rhodiola rosea is an adaptogenic herb studied for its ability to help the body respond to physical stress and mental fatigue. For endurance athletes and lifters alike, Rhodiola should be thought of not as a stimulant, but as a recovery-support ingredient—one that may help athletes bounce back more efficiently from training.
What Is Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola rosea has a long history of use in Eastern Europe and Asia for managing fatigue and improving resilience during periods of physical and mental stress. In modern research, it’s commonly described as an adaptogen—a category of compounds studied for helping the body adapt to stressors rather than masking them (Stojcheva & Quintela, 2022 ↗).
Underdog Energy Gummies focus on compounds of Rhodiola such as rosavins and salidroside (maybe more active), which are used as quality markers, based on clinical studies (Xu et al., 2024 ↗).
Mental Recovery From Stress and Fatigue
Mental fatigue is a real limiter for performance. Research on Rhodiola consistently centers on its effects on stress-related fatigue, mood, and perceived mental load.
Clinical trials and reviews report that Rhodiola supplementation may improve measures of fatigue and stress under demanding conditions, with some studies showing benefits within days to weeks (Stojcheva & Quintela, 2022 ↗).
In a randomized controlled trial, Rhodiola supplementation was associated with improvements in anxiety and stress-related outcomes, alongside cognitive measures (Cropley et al., 2015 ↗).
Important takeaway: When training volume is high or life stress stacks on top of workouts, Rhodiola may help you feel mentally steadier and less drained—supporting consistency across training weeks and volume.
Impacts on Physical Recovery and Training Stress
Recovery isn’t just rest—it’s how efficiently your body adapts to stress. A 2025 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials reported that Rhodiola supplementation was associated with improvements in antioxidant capacity and reductions in muscle-damage markers such as creatine kinase (CK) (Wang et al., 2025 ↗).
These findings suggest Rhodiola may support the body’s ability to handle repeated physical stress—especially relevant for endurance athletes, lifters, and anyone training frequently.
What This Means for Athletes
- Endurance athletes: may benefit from improved tolerance to cumulative fatigue during long training blocks
- Lifters: may benefit from support around nervous-system fatigue and recovery between hard sessions
- Cross-training: may feel smoother when mental stress and physical stress are both addressed
Think of Rhodiola as a resilience ingredient—supporting how you respond to training stress, not just how hard you can push on a single day.
How Underdogs Uses Rhodiola
Underdogs Energy Gummies contain over 90mg of Rhodiola rosea per serving, a dose aligned with amounts commonly studied in performance and fatigue-related research.
We include Rhodiola to complement fast-acting carbohydrates, electrolytes, and smooth caffeine—to support both mental and physical recovery from stress.
This makes Underdogs especially useful during long training days, early-morning workouts, high-stress weeks, and periods of cumulative fatigue.
A Note on Safety
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) considers Rhodiola possibly safe for use. Those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medications should consult a healthcare professional before use. (NCCIH ↗)