Pomegranate Juice Boosts Strength

If you're looking for a tasty new way to supercharge your post-workout shake, a study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research offers a worthwhile suggestion. To test the effect that pomegranate juice had on strength and soreness after resistance training, scientists recruited 17 experienced weight lifters and had them drink the juice or a placebo after performing 6 sets of 10 reps on the knee extension machine along with 3 sets of 20 elbow flexions.

Soreness and strength for both upper and lower body muscle groups were assessed at 2, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 168 hours post-workout. Although drinking pomegranate juice didn't do much if anything for lower body recovery, it did help reduce weakness and soreness in the arms of these volunteers.

True Strength Moment: Just one cup of pomegranate juice provides 33 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates which can help replenish the glycogen burned up during an intense training session. Combine that with your favorite whey protein shake and you have a nicely balanced protein smoothie offering plenty of nutritional support for post-workout recovery. Recipes can be found at: OptimumSmoothie.com