The old saying goes that if you put the hours in then you’re going to reap the rewards, and this couldn’t be more true of an activity like going to the gym.

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Or so I thought. It turns out that a new study reckons that drinking a glass of red wine has the same effect on your body as a tough session on the treadmill. Apparently a substance found in red wine known as reservatol can improve physical performance and muscle strength, as well as helping to maintain a healthy heart.

Lead researcher from the University of Calgary, Canada, Jason Dyck said the following:

We were excited when we saw that resveratrol showed results similar to what you would see from extensive endurance exercise training.

I think resveratrol could help patient populations who want to exercise but are physically incapable. Resveratrol could mimic exercise for them or improve the benefits of the modest amount of exercise that they can do.

It is very satisfying to progress from basic research in a lab to testing in people, in a short period of time.

It’s great news, as it means I can sack off the gym membership I got for Christmas and just start drinking red wine every day instead. Shame I don’t really like red wine, but it’s probably better than going to the gym, so I’ll get into it.

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It’s also not that simple. It turns out that it’s only a glass of red wine that makes it beneficial and if you drink more than that then all the good stuff is wiped out. I suppose that works out well for me as I’m not into red wine, as said. Result. Not sure the same can be said for all of you chuggers out there though.

For more red wine, check out how drinking it can prevent the damage caused by smoking. I probably should just bite the bullet and get into it hey?