Forget training. The latest way to boost your aerobic fitness is to drink beetlejuice (oops, beetroot juice). At least, that’s the finding of a new study, conducted at Exeter University. The researchers found that when study participants (men, aged 19-38) drank 500ml of organic beetroot juice for six days, they performed better in a battery of aerobic fitness tests carried out on the 7th day, compared to a week when they drank the same volume of blackcurrant cordial. For example, they cycled for 16 per cent longer in a ride to exhaustion. The researchers believe that the high level of nitrates in beetroot juice somehow allow the body to reduce the ‘oxygen cost’ of exercise, thereby delaying fatigue. I plan to give it a go - I’ll report back.