Sniffing chocolate lets lifters squeeze out more reps, study finds
At the University of Malaya, 23 healthy, moderately trained men in their early to mid-20s tested how chocolate smells affected leg extension training after fasting at least 10 hours. Sniffing dark chocolate, 90% cocoa, cut hunger, desire and intention to eat, and left the men feeling fuller. They also managed more repetitions per set. "Exposing moderately trained men to chocolate odors right before and between sets of resistance exercise significantly increased their overall training volume without increasing their perceived exertion," said senior author Dr Mohamed Nashrudin bin Naharudin, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science at the university. Sniffing milk chocolate, 60% cocoa, did not boost reps the same way but made the workout more pleasant. A water sample served as the control.
For people training on an empty stomach, a chocolate smell before and between sets may let them push out extra reps without feeling like the workout got harder.
Source: Sniffing chocolate could make your leg day workout easier, even on an empty stomach (frontiersin.org).
Written by the HappyGood desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Every story links its source. Corrections: [email protected].
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