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Cheaters can't be stopped. Testing costs a fortune. It's shockingly easy to beat the system. The drug cops are perpetually playing catch-up. Says who? Drug-testing expert Don Catlin, that's who. He's the doping detective who helped break the BALCO scandal wide open—and the man who's about to launch a radical new campaign to finally solve the problem.
FOR CENTURIES, Eastern mystics have prescribed meditation as one-stop shopping for all that ails you. And Western researchers have been proving them right, showing that it can boost memory, concentration, and even athletic performance. Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute, in Boston, has shown that just two…
WHEN TONY KANAAN lines up for the Indianapolis 500 on May 29, chances are he’ll have one of the slowest heartbeats on the grid—and not because of overconfidence. The 30-year-old Brazilian uses triathlon training to prep for the rigors of his 200-mile-per-hour workdays. And it’s paying off. Kanaan won the…
Embrace the summer sun with an intelligent skin-protection strategy
I want to get a six pack within a week and keep it there. Is it possible? If so then how?
Got the whole make-fitness-fun thing? Now let's talk about that mortal coil of yours. You think you know it, but you don't know Jack.
ADDED SUGARS—the myriad sweeteners that sneak into everything from ice cream to salad dressing—pile up in the diet of the average American to the tune of more than 95 pounds a year. And that’s not counting the naturally occurring sugars in things like fruit and milk. Without taking sides in…
Fit should be synonymous with fun. So stop working out and start acting like a kid again. With help from fitness experts, pro athletes, and groundbreaking coaches, we'll show you how playing your favorite games leads to a lifetime of high-energy health.
How does lap swimming compare with other aerobic workouts? Does a mile of swimming equate at all with a mile of running?
The insurance industry amps up with specialized policies for thrill seekers
Dr. Claudio Stampi teaches endurance sailors how to perform better on minimal sleep. The secret, he says, is learning how to power-nap.
What's the fastest way to bring power and stamina to your sport? Start moving very, very slowly. (No, even slower than that.)
Sore and suffering after a long day? Flush away the pain and restore your mojo with these eight feel-better tools.
For regular guys, slam-dunking seems like an impossible dream. But the quest to soar is a fitness jackpot.
I'm soft and want to get ripped fast. What's the best way?
It turns out those stoned huckers aren’t the only radicals you have to guard against on the mountain. A recent Hungarian study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine reports that when you spend time at altitude, you increase the formation of free radicals, naturally occurring molecules in your…
It's simple, it's beautiful—just lose ten pounds of fat and you'll fly
Want to dunk a basketball? No? How about maximizing your performance in every sport you do? We thought you'd be interested in that. The following training program was followed by writer Josh McHugh, who writes about his quest to dunk a basketball in the March issue of Outside. Adhere to it the way Josh did, and you may remake yourself into a bone-a-fide
If you lived here, you'd be fit now! Our three high-style gyms will take you there.
Svelte swimmer and Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin knows that good food and great performance are inextricably linked. She's also a foodie who loves to cook and has penned an informal cookbook of energy-packed recipes for her teammates on the UC Berkeley swim team. Some of her mouth-watering and engine-firing results are below.
THIS STRENGTH REGIMEN—designed by Los Angeles–based coach Steve Ilg, author of Total Body Transformation (Hyperion)—was built to match the groove of the Zen room. » YOU CAN ACHIEVE what Ilg calls Wholistic Fitness with this routine, which utilizes yoga blocks to create strength, balance, endurance, and flexibility. » STRUCTURE RULES:…
Conflicting advice, fad diets, dire warnings about obesity and disease—it’s a nutritional wilderness out there. What your active lifestyle needs is the real meal deal, straight talk about food, health, and wellness that can power your adventures and fuel your dreams. What you need is a balanced plan for lifelong…
Fitness guru Dave Scott is intent on telling us when to eat. Why? Because ultimate performance is all about perfect nutritional timing.
Los Angeles-based coach and author Steve Ilg (Total Body Transformation, Hyperion 2004) has spent the last 20 years honing a workout program that combines the best of strength, focus, balance, endurance, and flexibility for athletes
Whether your goal is more energy, a happier bod, or a competitive edge for work and play, our seven steps will change the way you think about food.
In the January issue of Outside magazine personal trainer and elite triathlete Karen Merrill put together a strength program that only requires a set of weights and an adjustable bench. Here we'll give you her program again with step-by-step instructions to every exercise.
As if all the hype about “natural male enhancement” weren’t enough of a challenge to men’s self-confidence, a recent study at the University of Central Florida found that ads featuring muscle-bound male models can distort men’s body images the same way rail-thin swimsuit models do women’s. Look, guys: “Fit” doesn’t…
Despite new reports about dangerous mercury levels in seafood and ongoing concerns about overfishing, dietitian Susan Kleiner, author of Power Eating and food guru for the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics, still recommends five fish meals a week to her clients. Why? Because there’s high-octane goodness in every bite. Fish delivers a…
Urban pollution can undo your fitness plans. To avoid the big wheeze, check out our guide to finding the freshest outdoor oxygen in cities across the country.
For an injury-free season on the slopes, limber up before you go
You train almost every other part of your body, so why not your eyes? Sharpen your vision with these techniques; we guarantee your athletic performance will improve.
Do you lie awake at night worrying that everything you know is wrong? You need what this guy is selling!
A new test for bike saddles promises to protect you from getting numb or falling limp. Go nuts!
Nothing caps a righteous day like a proper toast. But hauling vino into the wild has always been as practical as hiking in loafers—until now. Quality boxed wines—seriously—have arrived. These cardboard carriers deliver three liters in tough plastic wineskins. And the taste? We invited Mark Miller, godfather of modern southwestern…
Is no cut at all. The latest surgery-free solutions to sports injuries may help you bypass the O.R., and put you back at the top of your game.
IN CHRIS CARMICHAEL’S NEW BOOK on nutrition, Food for Fitness (Penguin, $26), due out in late July, Lance Armstrong’s coach puts the smack down on the high-protein, low-carb diet frenzy. According to Carmichael, the barbarian diet is disastrous for active types—much better to get back on the pasta-and-potato train. Since…
Smart trend or exercise fad? We sorted out the tired and the wired to find 2004's fitness winners.
Week of January 30-February 5, 1997 Through-hiking the Appalachian Trail Hiking and rafting in Northern California Late-season skiing at Colorado resorts Making the most of five days in the Adirondacks…
You’ve done other books, right? Q: Warren, I really don’t think your new book is your first. It seems that I have a book about ski-bumming in Sun Valley that I…
Week of April 3-9, 1997 Hiking and biking in North Carolina Schlepping a surfboard to Costa Rica? Planning an adventure trip with a toddler Rock-climbing schools in New Hampshire…
Week of August 29-September 4, 1996 Roughing it (sort of) on St. John Aspen action, minus the snow Outside the Beltway, into Virginia Camping in Hoosier National Forest…
Think of this as your adventure tool box: We’ve got the strength moves you need for peak performance, from core training to flexibility building to explosive power drills. Ramp up your fitness plan with these six workouts, guaranteed to get you buff—and ready to play outside.
Outside Magazine, February 1995 Fitness Machines Worth Coming Home To Investing in club quality–without the club By Bob Howells Purchasing a bargain-basement home-fitness machine is usually a lesson in false economy: Cheap gym equipment seldom serves its ostensible purpose for more than…
Outside Magazine, November 1994 Regimens: Positive Apres-Effects By Dana Sullivan You wouldn’t think of interrupting a mountain-bike ride or a trail run for a cocktail, but alpine skiing is different. It’s worthy exercise, sure–but it’s a party, too. If you’re interested in actually skiing,…
Outside magazine, October 1994 Skills: Ride Out the Revolutions By Dana Sullivan Titanium pedals are fine if you have the money, but there’s a more basic way to improve your cycling stroke. According to Jeff Broker, a biomechanics expert with the U.S. Olympic Committee, most recreational…
Bodywork, March 1999 It Pays to Be Flexible A few new moves to get you out of that stretching rut The best way to choose a type of stretching that suits your style is, of course, to try them all. But whether you…
Outside magazine, June 1994 You Could Use Some Helping Hands You’re only as good as your grasp, so before you pick up the pace this summer, pick up the silly putty By John Brant During my freshman year in college, a…
Outside magazine, January 1996 Strategies: The Orthotics Option By Dana Sullivan Close might be good enough in horseshoes, but a difference of as little as a quarter of an inch in leg length can set you up for a bad case of iliotibial band…
Outside magazine, July 1996 Medicine: Pills for Pain–Not Performance By Gretchen Reynolds “Vitamin I, vitamin K, vitamin N: that’s ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen. They all have little pet names,” says Jenny Stone, a certified athletic trainer in charge of clinical programs for sports medicine at…
Bodywork, April 1997 Regiments: The Painful Truth is Intervals Are Good By Ken McAlpine “The name of the game is who can hold off the lactic-acid onslaught,” says Matt Giusto, 30, who last year coached himself to the season’s fastest American road…
Outside magazine, October 1996 Intake: How to Dodge the Wall This Fall By Lisa Twyman Bessone With the big-city double-header of marathoning coming up–Chicago on October 20 and New York two weeks later–many runners are boosting their mileage. But in concentrating so intently…
Outside magazine, May 1995 Endurance: From Our Search for All Things Woolly… By Todd Balf John Stamstad is the acknowledged master of wilderness endurance races, so it surprised nobody that last February in Alaska he overcame the woolliest Iditasport Human Powered Ultra Marathon in…
Outside magazine, July 1999 The Twisting Somersault The Diving Dig | The Cartwheel | The Figure Four | Take the Stairs | The Crossover Dribble…
Outside magazine, August 1995 Curl When They Least Expect It Just when your muscles are getting the hang of a weight-lifting regimen, it’s time to shake things up By Ken McAlpine Three days a week for a year now, I’ve ducked into…
Bodywork, March 1997 Regiments: Options for the Discriminating Stretcher By Scott Sutherland When choosing from the stretching smorgasbord, think of creating a well-balanced meal. “Learning more than one method allows you to stretch more effectively,” says Bob Anderson, author of Stretching. So…
Outside magazine, June 1994 The Perfect Summer: Crank the AC, Man the VCR Summer viewing for the discriminating sloth By Alex Heard Cut the self-delusional “I’m active. I won’t rent movies this summer.” Yes, you will. And when the urge…
Outside magazine, October 1994 Strategies: Slow Down and Release the Insulin By Mark Jannot Insomnia is the thinking man’s disease: “Anything that causes you to reflect or act while you’re in bed,” says Wilse B. Webb, author of Sleep, the Gentle Tyrant, the definitive text…
Outside magazine, April 1995 The Indestructible Cowboy By Larry Burke We are, it is safe to say, a nation of cowboy fanatics. Whether it’s Eastwood or Autry, the Virginian or the Marlboro Man, no hero has a firmer purchase on the American imagination than…
Bodywork, May 1997 Be a Thigh Master And you’ll prep the rest of your leg muscles for a summer of fun By Jim Harmon Not that you need a reminder, but the time has come to leave the gym behind.
Outside magazine, June 1994 The Perfect Summer: Shed Those Pesky Pounds Advice on lightening your backcountry load By Michael McRae In outdoor product design, the grail of going light is forever being resurrected. In the sixties Gerry Mountaineering introduced a 13-pound…
Outside magazine, February 1999 Finishing Strong You’re leaner, harder, wiser. Now comes the fun part: putting it to use. The grand finale of the Outside Fitness Plan shows you how to clean the competition’s clock, no…
Outside magazine, August 1999 Easy Strider Finding the perfect-fitting running shoe is a simple matter of one, two, or three By Andrew Tilin CUSHIONING | STABILITY…
Bodywork, April 1997 Routines: Get Shipshape in Five Weeks By Lolly Merrell “Most paddlers concentrate on building up their big arm muscles over the winter,” says two-time World Cup champion kayaker Scott Shipley. “Trouble is, they don’t realize that the neck, shoulders,…
Fitness for the Outside Athlete, December 1996 Intake: The Shakedown on Weight-Gain Powders By Cory Johnson You can laugh at the gym-bound troglodytes whose primary life mission is to become bulgy. But being a 98-pound weakling–aerobically fit or not–won’t boost your performance. “Whether…
Outside magazine, September 1996 Prescriptions: The Pollen Factor By Jim Rosenthal Ah, autumn: a time for active allergy sufferers to breathe a sigh of relief. In certain parts of the country, though, you might not want to breathe too deep. If you’re among the…
Bodywork, July 1998 Pulling It All Together To boost your upper-body strength, go with a classic By Lolly Merrell In setting the world record for crossing the English Channel in 1978, Penny Lee Dean faced a lot of…
Outside magazine, August 1995 Regimens: Building Your Muscles by Surprise By Ken McAlpine With a nod to Nietzsche, that which wastes you makes you stronger. And the best way to thoroughly exhaust your muscles isn’t to do the same regimen over and over, but…
If any lesson stuck during physical education class, it was probably “stretch but don't bounce!” Bouncing, we were darkly warned, would lead to certain injury, from muscular microtears to flayed hamstrings. But, hey, what did Coach know? That well-worn admonition no longer rings true. Bouncing has had a 1990s image…
Bodywork, May 1997 In-line Skating By Jim Harmon If you’re in search of powerful, walnut-cracking thighs, strap on those in-line skates. “Some people describe well-developed skaters as T-rexes on wheels: huge legs, small arms,” says Mark Greenwald, a former U.S. Olympic speed…
Outside magazine, November 1995 Intake: Water on the Mountain By Suzanne Schlosberg You wouldn’t think of going on a three-hour bike ride without a water bottle or two. But get on the ski slope, where your equipment doesn’t boast handily mounted water-bottle cages, and…
Outside magazine, April 1995 This is Spinal Fact By Dana Sullivan I’m barely 30 years old. Exercise every day. Have decent posture and never lean over to pick up anything heavier than a PowerBar without bending my knees and flexing my hips. Still, every…
Outside magazine, June 1994 The Perfect Summer: Call Me Mr. Ribs The last word on barbecue By Brad Wetzler If God is in the details, it’s a holy man who finger-massages his spareribs before laying them over the coals. I know.
Outside magazine, April 1996 Strategies: Running Right By Mark Jannot While Stu Mittleman is mostly known for preaching slow going, that’s only half his equation: He’s just as likely to take you to task for your form. “Any time your body isn’t aligned,…