Broccoli Sprout Shots: What Almgren’s Approach Means for Hybrid Athletes

A broccoli-based drink has found its way into Andreas Almgren’s training routine. The question for hybrid athletes is whether the evidence behind it is as compelling as the runner using it.

In its feature ahead of his New York marathon debut, Athletics Weekly examines Almgren’s use of Nomio. The Swede’s season included a European 10,000m title in Birmingham, clocking a championship record of 27:23.44, and a world half marathon title in Copenhagen in a European record of 58:06.

Those results provide context, not proof that the drink works. Even Nomio’s leadership puts the credit firmly with Almgren and his training.

What are broccoli sprout shots meant to do?

Nomio is a refrigerated drink containing roughly 60 grams of broccoli sprouts per bottle, blended with lemon and sugar. Sprouts make up about 80% of the shot, which is registered as a food rather than presented by the company as a conventional supplement.

The Swedish business was co-founded by chief executive Oskar Holmblad, chief commercial officer Emil Sjölander and researcher Filip Larsen. Larsen’s research underpins the product.

Its proposed mechanism involves isothiocyanates, or ITCs. These compounds form when glucosinolates in the sprouts interact with an enzyme called myrosinase. ITCs stimulate Nrf2, a protein involved in regulating the body’s response to stress.

Nomio’s argument is that this could help athletes tolerate demanding training. That remains a claim to examine, rather than permission to push beyond a manageable workload.

What did the research actually find?

Athletics Weekly describes a 2023 study led by Larsen in which volunteers received Nomio or a placebo during a week of daily hard interval sessions.

The Nomio group showed less oxidative stress, lower lactate during exercise and better blood glucose regulation. Their time to exhaustion during a VO2 max test was also around 12% longer, although VO2 max itself did not increase.

That distinction matters. Lasting longer in an exercise test is not the same as raising VO2 max, and neither establishes a corresponding improvement in race time. The report does not describe a HYROX trial or demonstrate benefits across hybrid racing’s individual demands.

The researcher’s connection to the company is also relevant context. The findings offer a reason for interest, but Almgren’s results and company testimonials cannot establish how much benefit another athlete should expect.

What should HYROX athletes take from this?

• Look at the training context. The study involved repeated hard intervals, not a hybrid race or a test of individual stations.
• Treat timing as company guidance. Holmblad suggests a shot around three hours before a hard session; the report does not establish a HYROX-specific protocol.
• Do not turn product testing into a harder workout. For running intervals, reduce pace or repetitions if the planned effort becomes unsustainable, rather than pushing on to prove a benefit.
• Keep normal stop conditions. Stop running for pain that changes your stride, dizziness or unusual breathlessness. These are general training safeguards, not findings from the Nomio study; concerning symptoms need clinical review.

Almgren’s involvement centres on training consistency. According to Nomio, he began working with the company at prototype stage after the Paris Olympics and became convinced of its usefulness for his double-threshold programme in 2024.

The company sees sustained efforts and heavy training loads as its strongest potential applications. For hybrid athletes, that makes workload tolerance the interesting question—not whether a shot can reproduce an elite runner’s results.

The sensible conclusion is measured curiosity. The reported study offers encouraging findings under demanding training conditions, but it does not establish a benefit for HYROX, injury prevention or a licence to add more hard sessions.

This feature draws on Jason Henderson’s reporting, company interviews and research summary for Athletics Weekly.

This story is based on reporting from the original source.