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You don't need a gym membership to be ready for race season
A growing list of apps and tracking units allows you to challenge riding buddies and strangers alike.
Finally, more events are offering child-care options for active parents.
What kind of race is right for you?
Gyms are great for building strength and avoiding injury, but you don’t have to throw down $100 a month for that. Instead, do a series of body-weight-resistance exercises that target nearly every muscle, like the following four moves from certified strength and conditioning specialist Paul Hiniker.
Gyms are great for building strength and avoiding injury, but you don’t have to throw down $100 a month for that. Instead, do a series of body-weight-resistance exercises that target nearly every muscle, like the following four moves from certified strength and conditioning specialist Paul Hiniker.
Gyms are great for building strength and avoiding injury, but you don’t have to throw down $100 a month for that. Instead, do a series of body-weight-resistance exercises that target nearly every muscle, like the following four moves from certified strength and conditioning specialist Paul Hiniker.
They help you break falls and climb walls. Here's how to keep them strong.
Dogs are great adventure buddies, but they need to get in shape, just like you.
Can you sense the weather in your joints? Here's why that happens.
Behind the scenes at Big Air practice for the 2014 X Games. Follow and filming by Beau-James Wells.
Ski Jump champion Sarah Hendrickson finds a new way to improve her flying technique inside a wind tunnel as she prepares for the biggest season of her life.
Some researchers believe that significant increases in resting heart rate (RHR) are a sign that you’re over-stressed, though the physiological mechanism behind the increase is not well understood. While scientists are currently uncertain that RHR is an ideal gauge of training readiness, some believe it can be…
We can only assume you’re wondering whether the Denver Broncos or the Seattle Seahawks will have an advantage in New Jersey at Super Bowl XLVIII. Don’t make any bets until you read this! Just kidding. (No, really.) We posed your question to Rod Connolly, an exercise physiologist,…
Yes, it’s true that the volume of muscle mass activated during exercise is directly linked to the testosterone response. But it’s not the only factor involved. “Absolute workload (volume and intensity) of the session is also thought to be linked with the testosterone response,” Dr. Amy Vivien Tanner wrote…
“There are a lot of reasons why your body changes as you get older,” says Dr. Patrick Siparsky, an orthopedist at the University of Toledo, and lead author of a recently published paper on sarcopenia, the age-related decrease in lean body mass. “You don’t get as much…
Cleanses, specifically store-bought ones, are almost always bunk. No weeklong celebrity cayenne pepper diet or colonic lemonade spritz can rid your body of the gunk you’ve been exposed to—from alcohol and nicotine to pesticides and air pollution—says Mark Moyad, a urologist at the University of Michigan. Luckily, you’re already equipped…
The original energy bar is back with Epic, Omnibar, and Tanka Bar
When the urine collector came knocking, I didn't have a choice—start whizzing in front of him, or hang up my bike.
Douglass Lawder, owner of Buddha Fitness Club in Santa Fe, NM, walks through a quick workout that will keep you fit through the holidays.
The short answer: nope. “It really doesn’t do much to alter meal frequency,” says Dr. Michelle Kulovitz Alencar, an exercise scientist at CSU San Bernardino who is investigating the impact of meal frequency on body mass. Weight loss “has more to do with the amount of calories consumed throughout the…
In the wake of a controversial death, OCR hopes to better manage risk with the help of a new sanctioning body.
We posed your question to Dr. Kevin Laudner, a kinesiologist at Illinois State University who specializes in shoulders. “There are 20 to 30 muscles around the shoulder,” Laudner says. “I’m guessing there are quite a few that are causing the tightness, and there’s no one stretch that’s gonna get everything.”…
Researchers have fingered several things as sources of sweet cravings. Stress, caffeine, and lack of sleep can all over stimulate your HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, the body’s stress response system. Researchers believe chronic overstimulation of that HPA axis can impair its function, leading to poor immune activity, memory, and metabolism. Calorie-dense…
Time to chuck the ab-blaster and sell the ellipti-trainer. All you need for your ultimate home fitness center are these key essentials.
Unfortunately, there is no accurate way to predict how fast you’ll gain weight or how many pounds you’ll put on if you eat more calories than your body needs to maintain its current mass. The media has preached for decades that a pound of fat is 3,500 calories, so eating…
Slacklining isn’t just for show-offs anymore. It just might be the key to your winter-sports breakthrough.
Belly bulge afflicts even the most active people around the holidays, but there's a proven way to defeat it.
You and everyone else, buddy! Luckily Dr. David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, decided this drinker’s dilemma is worth his time. More accurately, Nutt is interested in reproducing the pleasurable feeling of drunkenness without the negative side effects, including aggression, memory impairment, and…
Researchers are showing everyday athletes how to train their brains to perform like the pros
Did somebody say "probiotics?" (Oh, everyone did.)
It’s possible sports victories trigger local baby booms. In fact, a study published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal claims just that. On May 6, 2009, Spanish researchers wrote, Football Club Barcelona’s Andrés Iniesta scored a last minute goal against Chelsea FC, earning Barça…
The answer: it’s both physiological and mental. “It’s a natural defensive posture,” says family practice and sports medicine specialist, Dr. Bob Adams. “When we have bad news, pain, or something’s really stressful, we hunch up. It probably goes back to when we were in the uterus,” where we were safe…
The New Year's defining tech, fashion, and fads
Douglass Lawder, owner of Buddha Fitness Club in Santa Fe, NM, walks through a quick workout that will keep you fit through the holidays. …
Gyms are great for building strength and avoiding injury, but you don’t have to throw down $100 a month for that. Instead, do a series of body-weight-resistance exercises that target nearly every muscle, like the following four moves from certified strength and conditioning specialist Paul Hiniker.
Athlete and personal trainer Caroyln Parker shares her secret exercises for staying in shape this ski season.
When we published "Is CrossFit Killing Us?" fans of the workout went berserk, attempting to discredit the story, the research, and Outside. But the risk of injury is quite real—and it's the last thing CrossFit wants you to know.
We posed your question to several social psychologists who refused to answer it, even when we told them they could disagree with your observation. (Perhaps they are afraid of retribution from defensive dieters?) But we did find one man willing to take on the topic: author and Outside contributor, Matt…
Assuming both parts belong to the same person, we discussed your hypothetical ball problem with Dr. Peter Schlegel, a urologist and professor at Cornell University. “For the scrotum to freeze to the thigh, the thigh skin would have to be at a freezing temperature,” Schlegel says. That…
The next installment of Cookin’ it Backcountry. Everybody needs a little dessert on the trail.
Can you really ski race on a torn ACL? What damage are you doing?
Do I have a higher chance of dropping dead from a heart attack if I exercise in the morning?
I’m racing the California International Marathon this weekend. The temperature will be in the 30s to start. How should I warm up?
Exercising consistently is the best thing you can do for your brain
When I get fat and out of shape, my first run back is always a super-itchy experience. My thighs itch, my abdomen itches, it drives me crazy. Why is that?
Your winter conditioning isn’t complete until you’ve built both power and endurance in the body parts that matter
See the full recipe here! Whether you’re climbing, paddling, or hiking, one thing is fairly certain: You probably have trail mix in your pack. And that’s a good thing. Nuts, seeds, and dried fruit pack a lot of calories, making gorp perfect for keeping you fueled without weight you…
Athlete and personal trainer Caroyln Parker shares her secret exercises for staying in shape this ski season.
Why you shouldn’t train with gadgets… and why you should
It’s not glamorous, but that’s part of the fun. Next time you’re in the backcountry, try this one pot holiday meal! …
What rules do pros follow for exercising when they’re sick?
The bird takes all the blame for Thanksgiving sleepiness—but does it deserve the bad rap?
Even the pros indulge. Take a plate off of their tables, and learn how to prepare the ultimate fruitarian, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free holiday meals.
Disguise it as a stuffing for holiday emergencies
Traveling and time-crunched? Sneak in these 30-minute workouts to maintain your cardiovascular fitness, strength, and sanity this holiday season.
Butter? No. French-fried onions? Nah. Potatoes? We're gonna say...you can do better.
Cherish the silence of your sleeping time. Nocturnal noises negatively affect endurance and lead to health complications.
Everybody always says eating slowly is "better." And I can hardly get the food in my mouth with chopsticks. So does that make them healthier than the usual utensils?
What’s a better shortcut for last-minute ski-season training, strength or cardio?
Wipe that mustache off your face. With milk blamed for a growing list of health issues, we put the leading alternatives to the test.
Finally, all the performance enhancing nutrition items you need, delivered
Is it a sign that I’m getting fitter, or that I’m out of shape if I’m sore three days after a workout?
High Five Foundation’s touching piece on Danny Toumarkine’s recovery and traumatic brain injury suffered snowboarding in 2011. #HelmetsAreCool…
Sally Francklyn is a ski patroller with 10 years experience, as well as a recognized expert on social media, public relations, and online editing for major ski industry clients. After taking an 850 foot fall on “Once is Enough” in the Jackson backcountry. Sally found her life had changed radically.
I have a few "target areas" I’ve been working on for about a month, including my abs, but I’ve seen no improvement. What’s going on?
There’s a number that controls your fitness destiny. And odds are you’re not doing enough to improve it.
Can I get the same nutrients from fruit juice as I can from eating fruit?