Carrying This Very Surprising Item Can Improve Your Workouts!

I have a list of things I must keep on my person when I work out--especially when I run. Do you? Keys, ID, baseball cap, phone (plus, you know, the obvious things like clothes and shoes). But according to research from the Stanford University School of Medicine, there might be another great item to tote along...

...a cold bottle. Keying off earlier studies, which found that athletes who wore cooling vests were less tired and performed better, the Stanford researchers recruited women who qualified as "obese" to walk on treadmills and perform other exercise, like lunges. Some of the women held special cooling devices in their hands. The women outfitted with the devices had better attendance rates for the exercise sessions--and had significantly better workouts, going faster and longer on the treadmills. They also noticed more improvements in blood pressure, heart rate and waist size than women without the devices.
To get the same effect, the researchers say, freeze a bottle of water and carry it with you while you exercise. Couldn't hurt, right? I'm thinking the bonus would be that the ice would melt enough by the end of your workout to give you a supercold drink--refreshing!