Drink This Juice for Better Energy

For easier workouts that leave you with energy to spare, pour yourself a glass of this popular breakfast beverage: orange juice.

In a small study, regularly drinking the juice seemed to diminish muscle fatigue and boost exercise endurance in a group of sedentary, overweight women who took up exercise.

Glass Half Full
In the study, both the OJ drinkers and a control group enjoyed improvements in fitness thanks to their new workout routines. But the improvement was smaller in the women who didn't drink orange juice. Specifically, the juice drinkers enjoyed a dramatic 27 percent dip in their blood levels of lactic acid -- the stuff that builds up quickly in unfit muscles and makes them feel tired. But the women who didn't drink OJ? Their blood lactate levels dipped only 17 percent during the study period. (Related: Here's another juice that also makes exercise feel easier.)

Motivation for All
The most remarkable thing about these findings? Most of the women were obese, not just overweight. And before the study, they got very little exercise. All characteristics that might make starting a 3-month exercise regimen -- and sticking to it -- particularly tough. Researchers think that something in OJ -- the flavonoids, the vitamin C, the potassium, or the folate -- helped make exercise feel easier. The women drinking OJ also had more energy and lowered their cholesterol to boot! (Related: Here's more on how OJ helps control blood fats.)

Try these other tricks for making workouts feel easier:

• Rest your mind first. Discover why a tired brain means a tired body during exercise.
• Fall in love. Use this simple trick to start your new love affair -- with exercise.
• Don't sweat it. Discover why just a little exercise may be all you need.

Orange juice makes a great addition to marinades and dressings. Toss your next bowl of greens with this EatingWell salad dressing: Orange-Walnut Vinaigrette.