Could eating watermelon ease muscle soreness? That’s what Spanish researchers recently discovered. Well, sort of.
In the study, fit men performed an exhausting cycling workout. Then they drank about 17 ounces of unpasteurized watermelon juice, which was made by liquefying fresh watermelon in a blender. It was enough juice to provide 1.17 grams of citrulline, an amino acid that’s found naturally in watermelon—but which is “almost absent from [all other] natural foods,” according to the scientists.
The result: The watermelon juice guzzlers experienced significantly less muscle soreness 24 hours later than when they did the same workout, but drank a fruit juice cocktail that didn’t contain citrulline. (Consuming greater amounts of citrulline after a workout didn’t offer greater benefits.)
A couple of problems: There were only seven men in the study, and their level of soreness was self-reported. So it’s hard to draw any real conclusions from the findings.
If you’re tempted to try a self-test, you’ll need to pulverize one-third of a watermelon—no rind, of course—to match the serving size used in the study.
Or you could just do some calisthenics: Australian researchers found that men who lifted light weights the day after a hard workout reported a 40 percent decrease in muscle soreness compared with those who didn’t exercise. By increasing bloodflow to damaged muscle tissue, light exercise may help speed recovery, reducing soreness.
There’s no need to spend more time at the gym; train at home. Do two sets of 20 pushups the day after a grueling bench-press routine, or the same number of bodyweight squats following an intense leg session.
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