Watermelon for Exercise Recovery

Research suggests that watermelon juice offers at most modest benefits for exercise recovery, with the overall evidence base being limited and mixed. A 2020 experimental study found no meaningful differences between watermelon juice and control beverages for heart rate recovery, blood lactate clearance, or muscle soreness, though it noted a possible sex-specific effect on post-exercise blood pressure in female participants that warrants further study. A 2025 systematic review of natural juices similarly positioned watermelon as providing only modest recovery support compared to better-evidenced options like cherry or pomegranate juice, while a separate review of citrulline — watermelon's primary bioactive compound — found that although supplementation reliably raises relevant biomarkers, the translation into meaningful performance or recovery benefits remains inconsistent and mechanistically unclear. Taken together, the available studies, which include a small crossover trial and two reviews, do not yet provide strong or consistent support for watermelon juice as a recovery aid, and researchers emphasize that factors like dosage, timing, and individual variation continue to complicate conclusions.