Can in-season Nordic hamstring exercise microdosing retain eccentric hamstring strength?
Rodrigo de Azevedo Franke, Carlos Eduardo Maciel Tremea, Roberto Rebolledo-Cobos, Fábio Yuzo Nakamura, Bruno Manfredini Baroni
International journal of sports medicine October 16, 2026 DOI: 10.1055/a-2982-7578 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 34 |
| Population | Athletes who completed a 5-week preseason Nordic hamstring exercise program |
| Intervention | Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) microdosing |
| Dose | one set of 6 NHE repetitions per week |
| Duration | 5-week preseason program; assessments at baseline, end of preseason, and after 5 and 10 weeks of the in-season period |
| Topics | Microdosing |
| Key findings | Preseason Nordic hamstring training increased eccentric hamstring strength by a mean of 9.5%, but strength fell back to baseline after 5 in-season weeks in both the microdose and control groups. One set of 6 Nordic hamstring repetitions per week did not retain the preseason strength gains, with no significant differences between groups. |
Abstract
Exercise microdosing has been adopted in sports to maintain physical capacities throughout the competitive season. This study aimed to determine whether in-season Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) microdosing could retain eccentric hamstring strength after a preseason NHE program. Thirty-four athletes completed a 5-week preseason program including a typical-volume NHE protocol (up to 60 repetitions per week). Athletes were then randomized to either a control group, which performed no NHE during the in-season period, or a microdose group, which performed one set of 6 NHE repetitions per week. Eccentric hamstring strength was assessed at baseline, immediately after preseason, and after 5 and 10 weeks of the in-season period. From baseline to the end of preseason, athletes experienced a mean increase of 9.5% (95% CI, 5.3 to 14.3%) in eccentric hamstring strength (microdose: 317±82 N to 346±82 N; control: 292±82 N to 321±82 N). After 5 weeks of the in-season period, strength values returned to baseline levels (microdose: 324±83 N; control: 289±83 N) and remained stable through the 10th in-season week (microdose: 330±83 N; control: 290±84 N). No significant between-group differences were observed. In conclusion, this microdose strategy was insufficient to retain eccentric hamstring strength after the preseason training period.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on microdosing, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of microdosing to predict pharmacokinetics at the therapeutic dose: Experience with 5 drugs Volunteers | 2006 | Crossover study | |
| Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing. Participants who microdose psychedelics | 2021 | Self-blinding citizen science initiative with placebo control | n = 191 |
| Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study Individuals starting to microdose with psilocybin mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis) | 2022 | Double-blind placebo-controlled experimental design | n = 34 |
| Preliminary Report on the Effects of a Low Dose of LSD on Resting-State Amygdala Functional Connectivity. Healthy young adults, 18 to 35 years old | 2019 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 20 |
| Acute Mood-Elevating Properties of Microdosed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Volunteers: A Home-Administered Randomized Controlled Trial. Healthy male volunteers | 2023 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 80 |