Effects of 8 days intake of hydrogen-rich water on muscular endurance performance and fatigue recovery during resistance training
Zhou K et al. · Front Physiol. 2024;15:1458882.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study
Exercise and recovery
H₂-rich water
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Healthy trained male university students performing resistance training at least three times per week
18 participants
Eight-day intake period in each condition, 1-week crossover washout and recovery measurements through 48 hours
1,920 mL/day for 7 days, then 1,260 mL divided before, during and after the resistance-training session on day 8
H₂ dissolved in water — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas.
1,600 ppb dissolved H₂ according to the device manufacturer; reported pH 7.9, oxidation-reduction potential 650 mV as printed in the accessible text (sign not shown), and temperature 22°C.
Not applicable — oral water, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
Purified placebo water matched in appearance, taste and odor
Outcomes and reported result
Half-squat power and repetitions to failure, countermovement jump, perceived recovery and muscle soreness
Total half-squat power (50,866.7 vs 46,431.0 W; p=0.032) and total repetitions (78.2 vs 70.3; p=0.019) were higher with H₂ water. Countermovement jump, perceived recovery and muscle-soreness outcomes did not significantly differ.
Intervention, full outcome tables, funding and conflict statement checked in the open-access publisher full text; independent appraisal remains incomplete.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Small male-only crossover study, short intervention and many outcomes. The H₂ concentration was reported from manufacturer information rather than an independent measurement. Authors declared no commercial conflicts; university funding was reported.
Young resistance-trained men performing six sets of half squats to failure at 70% of one-repetition maximum.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
PMID: 39434721 · DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1458882
Open-access publisher and PMC full texts are available.
Open-access Frontiers and PMC full texts plus PubMed bibliographic record.
2026-08-10