Alex Hutchinson is a National Magazine Award-winning journalist and Outside’s Sweat Science columnist, covering the latest research on endurance and outdoor sports.
His most recent book is the New York Times bestseller Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Before becoming a journalist, he completed a PhD in physics at the University of Cambridge and worked as a researcher in the National Security Agency’s Quantum Computing group. He also competed for the Canadian national team in track, cross-country, road, and mountain running. He lives (and runs) in Toronto.
Published
The counterintuitive theory has pervaded books, studies, and Reddit threads and is something of a rally cry for LCHF converts. But while there may be some benefit to monitoring insulin levels, there's no need to cut out all carbs quite yet.
The human body is awash with microbes, inside and out. And scientists are now discovering just how important that is for athletes.
A new study on BMX bikers tests this theory
Used to be you had to live at altitude to adapt to it. But new research suggests that by training your respiratory muscles, you can teach yourself to perform better with less oxygen.
Long shunned by endurance athletes looking to stay lean, the enemy is having a moment
To create the next wave of super-athletes, Red Bull has turned to a novel new treatment: trickling a small electric current through the brain's motor cortex. Just don't call it electroshock therapy.
Researchers are showing everyday athletes how to train their brains to perform like the pros
There's scant evidence for the effectiveness of most supplements. But here are a few to consider—and a few to shy away from.
The debate is on: just useless, or truly dangerous?
Fitness tech to measure your effort, keep you motivated, and let you know when to go hard and when to back off.
New technology has made it easier than ever to keep real-time tabs on an endless array of fitness metrics. Don't drown in the data stream.
Fact: Exercising in polluted air can increase your risk of asthma, stroke, and heart failure. But is it better than the alternative—avoiding a workout altogether?
From paddling to biking to hiking, here are the top spots from Nova Scotia to the Northwest Territories
A cardio and resistance trainer inspired by surfing motions
In our obsession with minimizing exercise damage, we may have lost sight of the reason we exercise in the first place: to force our bodies to adapt and get stronger
