Caffeine has long been a staple in performance training. Rhodiola rosea, an adaptogenic herb, has gained attention for its ability to reduce fatigue and improve recovery. But what happens when you combine the two? A new randomized trial in trained athletes tested whether caffeine plus Rhodiola could do more than either supplement alone — and the results suggest a unique synergy that improved both explosive power and fatigue recovery.

What the Study Found
Researchers recruited 48 male volleyball players and randomly assigned them into four groups: placebo, caffeine, Rhodiola rosea, or caffeine + Rhodiola. Over four weeks, all athletes completed a standardized lower-body resistance training program, including squats, deadlifts, lunges, and plyometrics. Performance was evaluated with multiple tests: two-step approach jump, countermovement jump (CMJ), five-jump test, 20 consecutive vertical jumps, and repeated jump recovery. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was also tracked across training sessions.

Key findings included:

• Explosive Power Gains: The caffeine + Rhodiola group achieved the highest scores across jump height tests (two-step, CMJ, five-jump). Neither caffeine nor Rhodiola alone significantly outperformed placebo.
  
  
• Fatigue Resistance: During 20 consecutive vertical jumps, the combined group maintained higher average heights compared to all other groups.
  
  
• Recovery Under Stress: In repeated jump recovery, the combined group showed the least decline in performance across rounds.
  
  
• Perceived Fatigue: Both Rhodiola and the combined group reported lower RPE by week 4, but the greatest reduction occurred with the combined supplementation.
  
  
• Synergy, Not Additivity: The benefits weren’t simply the sum of each supplement’s effects. The pairing created measurable improvements that neither produced alone.
  
  

Why This Matters
The physiology points toward a complementary mechanism: Rhodiola supports mitochondrial function and antioxidant defense, while caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by antagonizing adenosine receptors. Together, they appear to both delay fatigue and enhance neuromuscular output. For athletes in sports requiring repeated high-intensity efforts, that combination is rare and valuable.

The other key takeaway is that supplementation context matters. Caffeine and Rhodiola, when isolated, offered little more than placebo in this study. It was the interaction that drove results — underscoring the importance of studying combinations rather than single compounds in isolation.

How We Apply This at VeloU
For baseball athletes, explosive lower-body power underpins nearly every aspect of performance — from drive-leg force on the mound to ground-force transfer at the plate. The ability to repeat those outputs without fatigue breakdown is just as critical. While this study was performed in volleyball players, the physiological mechanisms are not sport-specific, making the findings worth evaluating in baseball contexts.

At VeloU, we see this as an emerging concept for further exploration. The fact that the greatest improvements came from a supplement stack highlights the potential for nutritional strategies that pair fatigue management with central nervous system stimulation. Still, we recognize the limitations: short duration, sport-specific sample, and lack of direct baseball performance measures. The next step is testing whether these results translate to throwing velocity, bat speed, or fatigue resilience in pitchers and hitters.

Caffeine and Rhodiola are not new supplements. But when used together, this study shows they can enhance explosive power and sustain output during fatigue in ways neither could achieve alone. For baseball athletes and coaches, the question becomes whether a carefully managed supplementation strategy could provide similar benefits on the field. At VeloU, that’s exactly the type of question we’re eager to investigate.

Reference

Wang, Z., Du, H., Li, H., Zhao, K., Zhao, B., Ma, Y., Zhang, J., Wu, K., Jiang, W., & Liu, C. (2025). Effects of the combined supplementation of caffeine and Rhodiola rosea with resistance training on lower limb explosive power in male volleyball players. Nutrients, 17(681). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17040681