Simply holding a bottle of water when you go for a run can help you make the exercise easier. But you need to make sure there’s some ice in the water, because room-temperature water will not work.
A new study at Stanford University in the US made the astonishing discovery by examining overweight women who had problems overheating during exercise. Researchers discovered that holding a bottle of cold water helped them to maintain a low core temperature, increasing their endurance. Eventually, this meant that they ran faster – and burned more fat – than subjects who didn’t get the cold bottles to hold. As high core temperature is a important factor for reducing endurance in all athletes, there is no reason why you can’t use this easy trick to counteract it. Its effects will be particularly obvious on hot summer days.