The scientific reason smiling might make your workout more powerful

Getting through the most intense peak of your workout is hard, sometimes painful, and the seconds seem to crawl while you’re pushing through it. But the next time you’re feeling the burn, you might want to grin and bear it. Literally. According to new research, smiling might make your workout more powerful.

In the small study published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise, researchers had 24 participants of both sexes—all of whom were experienced recreational runners—smile or frown throughout their workouts without knowing why. Although frowning worked for a few people—basically because it’s a “game face” of sorts—smiling led to a superior performance as a group.

While smiling seemed to be the key to success, there’s a catch: Lead study author Noel Brick, PhD, told The New York Times once your grin becomes unnatural, it loses its touch. Natural smiles can reduce muscular tension and increase your performance, but faking it can yield opposite results, he said. That’s why it’s best to save your smile until the end of a workout, when you really need it—a trick Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge used to get his fastest race time this past May, the Times reported.

So, smile away: You might feel silly in your spin class or during the last few minutes of your run, but hey, why not give it a chance? (For sweat seshes andflu-shot efficacy, no less!)

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