Health
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Why even the healthiest athletes stock their carts with Lucky Charms and Ben & Jerry’s—and how to beat the junk-food craving once and for all.
Feed your competitive appetite—sometimes without even leaving the house.
As sensor technology improves and becomes more practical, so does the ability of coaches and athletes to collect—and react to—more nuanced data.
Performance wear that makes you the canvas
Guess what? The latest trend food has been at aid stations for decades, and for good reason. Broth is packed with muscle-boosting minerals and sodium for post-race recovery. Here's why, and when, to drink up.
You know your weight-training regimen? It's breaking you down. Build yourself up for endurance success—and prevent injury—with these five improved alternatives.
Is it possible to train your body to decrease the amount of rest it needs?
A recently declassified report shows that stressing your mind is the secret to training your body.
Want to undo the damage of your desk job in 10 minutes? Crawl like a kid and start spinning like a Sufi monk.
I just had surgery after a skiing accident, and my wrist is in a cast for several weeks. What can I do to avoid losing strength while I can't move it?
Breakthrough therapies are helping athletes recover from injuries previously thought untreatable. But many doctors remain unaware of the advancements.
Six surprising reasons to sweat that go far beyond vanity.
Sitting is the new smoking—but the cure isn’t just more standing
Cue: A sleep deficit, a Saturday morning. Reward: Fun dreams, self-awareness, less stress.
Specializing in one sport will take you only so far. To really break through, you'll need to branch out.
Surprise! You'll lose weight and end up with less screen time.
My buddy and I have a bet going. He says snowboarding burns more calories, I say downhill skiing does. Who's right?
It’s not just for elite athlete. Training alone—in the right dose—will make you a faster and more resilient athlete.
Cue: Your iPod dock set up by the door. Reward: Serenity, more intuitive pacing.
Make those nebulous resolutions last by turning them into habits. The key? The right reward.
Take a random day off—it’ll work wonders for your happiness and health
Your bowl of oatmeal may get boring, but it’s the key to better meal choices throughout the day
Something about messing up has us tiptoeing around mistakes, but embarrassment can help us get ahead by making risk-taking seem a little less risky
Nothing in this world is certain, except death, taxes, and traffic on the morning commute
Because even a great pair of socks can make getting fit more doable
Sign up for a midnight fun run on New Year's Eve—and kick ass. Here's how.
How a man wrongly convicted for murder spent nearly a decade in prison—and emerged as a fitness guru.
Sitting all day can have a serious effect on the body. In Part 4 of the Natural Born Heroes series, Christopher McDougall finds out how to correct all of that damage in just a few minutes a day.
When longtime triathlete T.J. Murphy took on a Kokoro camp – a beyond-extreme fitness challenge modeled on the Navy’s Hell Week for SEAL candidates – his first question was purely about the pain: Can I survive this? The second was more metaphysical: Should I even want to? …
When a longtime triathlete took on a Kokoro camp—a beyond-extreme fitness challenge modeled on the Navy's Hell Week for SEAL candidates—his first question was purely about the pain: Can I survive this? The second was more metaphysical: Should I even want to?
Restaurants make us impulsive, which means it can be hard to turn down the cheesecake no matter how big a label it comes with.
Turns out the spin bike is the key to getting—and staying—fast
Strength is useless if you don't hone your agility—the skill of translating power into meaningful movement. And it all starts with mastering the "Kong vault."
More than 76 years ago, a visionary Australian coach had an epiphany that forged a generation of super-athletes: true fitness is all about translating fear into raw power.
One of the most surprising heroes of World War II was a pint-sized shepherd nicknamed The Clown—and his fitness wisdom can change your life.
Ill-chosen goals put you at risk of injury and burnout. Here's how to avoid that fate in seven easy steps.
What can you learn by chucking tempered steel blades into a target? Performing to potential is all about trusting your instincts.
Environmental concerns thrust the Mediterranean diet back into the spotlight. But will it zap your athletic potential?
For years, it seemed like drug testers would never get ahead of cheaters. The Russian bribery scandal raises an even scarier possibility: the testers are dirty too.
The two-time Olympian will lead the women’s national squad to the 2015 World Cup—and share her secrets to unleashing athletic potential.
I'm a runner coming off my competitive season, and I've been super vigilant about watching my weight. Is there anything wrong with gaining a few pounds over the holidays?
In Part 2 of the Natural Born Heroes series, Christopher McDougall learns how to throw knives with force and accuracy from knifemaster Patrick Brewster. …
Parkour is all about functional fitness. In Part 3 of the Natural Born Heroes series, Christopher McDougall learns the basics from a master.
More pain quest than workout, misogi is the secret, punishing ritual that has revolutionized Atlanta Hawks supershooter Kyle Korver's game. You have time for this—if it doesn't kill you first.
How to tell the impostors from the real, health-boosting, extra virgin variety.
The Ancient Greeks believed anyone could unlock superhuman potential by mastering the three pillars of heroism: skill, strength and compassion. In this exclusive series based on research uncovered for his upcoming book, Natural Born Heroes, Christopher McDougall tracks down the high priests of the lost fitness arts. …
My heart feels like it skips a beat every once in a while, especially during exercise. Is this something I should get checked out?
Yes, they're great for reducing soreness, but they could also be masking more serious muscular imbalances.
There’s a new competition raging among elite runners: the beer mile, in which you do four laps around a standard track, chugging a 12-ounce brew at the start of each loop. If you can do it in under five minutes—without hurling or passing out—you’re not just fast. You’re a hero.
I'm training for an upcoming marathon, and my company's giving out influenza vaccines the week of my race. Will the shot impact my performance?
5 brain hacks that will make you fitter and faster right now
I'm planning to spend a lot of time at the gym this winter. How do I know that mine gets a clean bill of health?
The day of the gel has come and gone. Elite athletes are ditching the sugar-laden junk for natural on-bike nutrition, and pro cyclist Ally Stacher is leading the charge with her new sweet potato bars.
Advanced screening can reduce the likelihood of sudden cardiac arrest, the most common cause of death among athletes. So why is it so controversial?
We always preach the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling. But new research suggests that the brain buckets aren't keeping us much safer—and one Olympian argues we should do away with them altogether. So what can we do to keep cyclists safe?
It's time to dump the rankings and review the facts
I know that proper form while I'm working out is important, but what about my posture the rest of the day—does that really impact my fitness level?
Pro ski mountaineer Meredith Edwards dishes on her five favorite feeds
This ergonomist has a mission: to design an office that's scientifically proven to boost your fitness, mental health, and productivity.
Or is another mysterious condition to blame for deaths during the swim leg? A new report unveils a long-misunderstood killer.
My house is filled with sweets this time of year. Can I use them instead of sport gels and gummies for long runs and bike rides?
After a five-year hiatus, Primal Quest, the most storied event in adventure racing will be open for registration this November. In an excerpt from "Rusch to Glory," Rebecca Rusch gives a detailed account of the sport's darkest day and the allure of adventure racing.
Olympian Nick Symmonds wants to change the way athletes consume pre-race caffeine.
We don't know if the biohacking craze is full of snake-oil salesmen or prophets. Probably a little of both.
I've always heard that exercise is good for the brain, but does it actually have a real-world impact?
We're siding with the functional fitness junkies on this one. CrossFit and ultrarunning are far from disturbing, ridiculously extreme—or worth writing off.
Don't shorten your routine just yet.
I hear the whole stunt-man thing is a great workout. Is it worth incorporating into my routine?
Improve your life in five minutes or less.
Renowned physical therapist Kelly Starrett lays out movement standards for runners. Meet them, and you'll stay out of his office. Don't meet them, and you shouldn't be running.