Fruit gets a mixed welcome in the health-food community. Sometimes welcomed with open arms for their high vitamin, fiber and anti-oxidant content, other times rejected for fear of their high sugar content. But good news – it’s probably time to stop worrying about the sugar so long as you eat the whole food (not just the juice), and when it comes to workout recovery, the following three fruits specifically could help you feel like hitting the gym extra early again tomorrow!

Oranges

Snacking on an orange post-workout could mean less muscle fatigue during tomorrows bench-presses. A study on middle-aged women undergoing aerobic exercise training found that those who drank 2 cups of orange juice daily saw their lactic acid production drop 10% more than those who did not – indicating a better fitness level. It’s even better to eat the whole orange though if you can. Maybe try a healthy post-workout creamsicle smoothie.

Cherries

A good workout makes tiny tears in your muscles that even up to a few days later, can cause painful inflammation. Berries are great at reducing that inflammation and this study put cherries to the test. After eight days, those who drank 24oz of cherry juice daily experienced a 4% strength loss after exercise – those who drank the placebo experienced a 22% loss. Again, you’ll be even better off with the whole cherry.

Blueberries

Similarly, another study tested the effect of blueberries on post-workout muscle stress and immune strength, which you can suffer with strenuous exercise. Test subjects were given a daily allotment of blueberries for 6 weeks, and then a slightly larger portion right before a 2 ½ hour run. The results? The blueberry-eaters saw a much stronger immune level after their run and much less muscle stress than those who didn’t eat any of the berries.

So it might just be time to add fruit salad or a berry-orange smoothie to your post-workout routine – your sore muscles may thank you!