They may be coming. Scientists are working to develop pills that will either mimic the effects of exercising or, at least, build muscle faster and increase exercise benefits for people who take them.
Exercise Pills May Be In Our Future, But Are Workouts Over?
So-called “exercise pills” are made from compounds that have been shown—mostly in studies done in animals—to mimic one or more of the effects of exercise, like developing new blood vessels, forming new mitochondria in cells or increasing the body’s capacity for exercise. “They’ll let you get muscles that are stronger and faster and reach your exercise goals much quicker,” Laher says.
But no single pill can reproduce every benefit exercise has on the body. Popping an exercise pill won’t flood you with endorphins, for instance, while also making your bones stronger. speeding up the blood flow through your arteries and making your heart beat faster, Laher says. “It’s a very small slice of the pie.”
What exercise pills can do is largely localized to muscles, the new review finds. “You’re increasing efficiency of ATP, the currency by which every cell goes about its daily life,” Laher says.
Exercise Pills May Be In Our Future, But Are Workouts Over?