Topline<\/p>\n
Briefly inhaling the scent of dark chocolate before and during a workout could meaningfully improve a gymgoer\u2019s performance\u2014and even suppress hunger\u2014according to a new peer-reviewed study. <\/p>\n
Karlos May Nasar of performs a snatch during the Olympic Games Paris 2024. <\/p>\n
Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
The report<\/a> in Frontiers in Physiology found that exposing someone working out to chocolate smells immediately before and between weightlifting sets significantly increased the number of repetitions they could do without the participants feeling they were putting forth any greater effort.<\/p>\n The trial\u2019s 23 participants\u2014all male, and averaging 23 years old\u2014had all fasted for at least 10 hours before exercising, and inhaled the smell of chocolate from a jar for 30 seconds between each set of leg extensions at 80% of their max weight. <\/p>\n Dark chocolate was found to be more impactful than milk chocolate, with men who inhaled a 90% cocoa variety able to do about 18 more leg extensions than those using a placebo. <\/p>\n Those who smelled a 60% cocoa milk chocolate scent added about 9 repetitions, according to the study.<\/p>\n Smelling dark chocolate was also found to suppress appetite in trial participants by reducing hunger and increasing feelings of fullness before exercise, while milk chocolate had no impact on appetite (but those studied said it smelled better). <\/p>\n CRUCIAL QUOTE<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing a substantial increase in repetitions without the athletes feeling like they were exerting themselves any harder is a fascinating psychobiological outcome,” Mohamed Nashrudin bin Naharudin, the study\u2019s senior author and an assistant professor of sports science at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n WHAT WE DON\u2019T KNOW<\/p>\n What other smells may boost performance in the gym. The study’s authors said they don’t think chocolate is the only food with an odor that may help, but said it is pretty universally loved and recognized as a reward. \u201cA person likely needs to find the odor familiar and appealing\u2014 or at least not repulsive\u2014to trigger the psychological shift in appetite that\u2019s needed to see a performance boost,\u201d Nashrudin Naharudin said. <\/p>\n further readingForbesExercise Recovery Is The Next Big Thing In Fitness, Wellness And TravelBy Larry Olmsted<\/a>ForbesWorkout \u2018Weekend Warriors\u2019 Just As Healthy As Those Who Exercise Daily, New Study ShowsBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs<\/a>ForbesShort Bursts Of Exercise May Be As Beneficial As Regular Workouts In Extending LifeBy Bruce Y. Lee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Briefly inhaling the scent of dark chocolate before and during a workout could meaningfully improve a gymgoer\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[278],"tags":[31707,247216,18,247217,525,135,112263,19,17,41752],"class_list":["post-581590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-chocolate","tag-chocolate-exercise","tag-eire","tag-exercise-study","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-health-study","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-weightlifting"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116906224184364972","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}