Training & Performance
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Convince the computer you're clean and you get the Clean Protocol program's seal of approval. Any takers?
Face it, most of us aren't complete athletes. We lack the strength to make us fit, and we follow cultlike exercise programs. But there is a cure: Listen to renegade coach Mark Rippetoe, grab a barbell, and get back to basics.
Health-and-fitness publications often takes liberties (gasp!) with scientific studies. Here's why you shouldn't believe everything you read—and how to separate the facts from the slough.
A handful of years ago Rachel Brathen was a cigarette-smoking, rebellious teen in Sweden. Then she moved to Costa Rica, found yoga, booted up Instagram, and became a yoga celebrity—if there is such a thing.
Will leaping fiery hay bales amount to nothing more than an adrenaline-fueled fad? Or could it one day become an Olympic sport? That all depends on what comes next.
Or is the test they give me at the shoe store good enough?
Throw away your ice packs and ibuprofen if you want to recover right.
After a skydiving accident in October 2013 left Squaw Valley Ski Holdings CEO Andy Wirth without a right arm, he didn't quit charging. Now, Wirth lives a life of Ironman racing and adventure. As told to Gordy Megroz.
Long flights and car trips wreak havoc on my body. How can I reduce the stress of travel and keep up with my current exercise routine?
I want to see if my smartphone can make my workout better, but there are so many choices. What are some tried and true apps that I won't just delete a week in?
Don't just sit there. Get the most from your training by recovering right.
The case of Andrus Veerpalu, an Olympic gold medal winning Estonian cross country skier who was accused in 2011 of doping with human growth hormone, raises serious questions about WADA's credibility.
The 33-year-old triathlete is American's best hope to reclaim Ironman Kona.
Numbers. Rankings. Results. The data-driven mindset is preventing us from enjoying the outdoors.
The best tool for building strength is the sandbag—so long as you're prepared to suffer.
For one 41-year-old Australian triathlon champion, retiring just meant taking a break.
I hate exercising early in the morning, and I always have obligations at night. How can I squeeze in an effective midday workout?
Rule One: Don't confine your training to the gym. Movement needs to be a lifestyle. Rule Two: Don't just move. You need a goal. And you need to train.
Challenge your friends to a grueling drill-based challenge, then whoop their butts.
Sure, running five minutes a day will help you live longer, but it's not going to get you in shape—or even scrape the surface of your potential.
Should I be concerned about Vibrio vulnificus cases reported in Florida and Maryland?
Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a really hard workout, it tastes like I'm sucking on metal. Here's why.
7 hot tips from the show’s ultimate competitor, Kacy Catanzaro
There’s a reason more and more amateur athletes are turning to professional trainers to retool their workouts: it’s the best way to improve performance.
The (unlawful) wins might not be worth what comes after.
The last time I ran a marathon, I got sick a month before the race. Is there a connection—and if so, how can I prevent that from happening again?
After an Ironman or an ultramarathon, is it better to take days (or weeks) off of strenuous exercise, or to get right back out there?
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.
You'll never get close to the ultrarunner's 90-plus podium finishes, but his rules will help you run your best race.
In The Art of Competition, Ironman-turned-author Mark Allen gives insight into the thoughts that helped him race his fastest while living to the fullest.
When my wife and I go on long runs together, she always manages to finish strong while I fall behind. Am I just out of shape, or do women have an advantage in endurance sports?
Featuring two of the most effective but underrated fitness tools: a medicine ball and gravity.
Two brothers and a sister—whose parents are endurance athletes—attempted to swim the English Channel together this month. Does the family factor add any advantage?
When CrossFit denied our request to cover the 2014 CrossFit Games, we decided to look into the organization's long history of bullying anyone who dares to ask the hard questions—or look too closely.
Cycling is known for being low-impact. But does that mean it's bad for your bones?
The most dangerous threat you'll face while working out this summer? The heat. Here's how to beat it.
Having hiked more than 10,000 miles on epic long-distance trails, Liz Thomas is a true expert when it comes to battling blisters.
1,800 CrossFit gyms already offer programs for kids. Should they?
There's more to life than chasing definition in certain muscle groups. Maintaining a healthy weight, for instance.
The "eight-percent rule" ignores the power exercise has to counter time spent on your butt.
You don't need the gym. In less than an hour and with minimal equipment, you can have an intense workout that delivers full-body fitness, without the monthly dues.
You need nothing but a cooling pool for a core-burning, heart-rate-raising fitness session.
Over the last five years, a lot has changed in the fitness world. But these four trends will continue to define the way you train.
They want to rethink the way we work out, build our gyms, fuel, and collect data. And they're coming for you next.
Serious careers? Check. Committed to their families? Check. Able to beat the pros at their own game? You know it. Five hard-charging desk jocks who manage to do it all share the secrets of their success.
How should I schedule giving blood around my training schedule?
Sometimes you have to take your own advice—or suck it up and eat crow.
It may not be coincidence that led host country Brazil to the World Cup’s semi-final round for the first time in 12 years. But if Brazil really did have a home-field advantage, what do we make of the team’s tournament-ending, humiliating loss to Germany Tuesday? While a large…
Our genetic profile only tells one piece of the story, but that hasn't prevented scientists from making some bold assumptions about human performance.
New research and recovery techniques suggest we have more time to restore cognitive abilities after a traumatic brain injury than doctors previously thought.
Ordinary items to get you extraordinarily fit.
Bet you didn’t think this would come up in your fitness regimen, but your esophagus needs love during training, too. Intense exercise can contribute to heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), and there’s a good chance that ramping up your routine may be causing your symptoms, says…
How do we put this nicely? If you’re anything like the participants in a recent Canadian study, you’re probably wrong about your workout intensity. (And yes, you probably are like them, considering that the group contained both men and women of different ages, ethnicities, and BMI classes.)…
Endurance coach and author Ben Greenfield guarantees your brain, guts, and groin will thank you
What’s one thing college kids and health nuts apparently have in common? Butt chugging. And a total lack of common sense.
Think of those tough spots as badges of honor! “Callus formation is a natural response to friction and pressure,” says podiatrist Megan Leahy of the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute. “Because runners obviously take more steps than non-runners, calluses may occur more readily.” Calluses can be harmless,…
Studies and experts suggest that nasal strips like Breathe Right don’t improve athletic performance in adults in any measure—no improved VO2 max, ventilation, maximal work rate, lactate threshold, or lowered ratings of perceived exertion. And it appears the same goes for horses. “Equine nasal…
After 100 races he just keeps going and going
Climbers typically have little understanding of basic training principles. And changing that will unleash a whole new breed of alpine expert.
This may not be the answer you’re looking for, but it’s the truth: The most effective way to get back into shape (and stay that way) isn’t by just doing one magic move over and over. The good news? You may not have to work out more than or…
The multisport athlete wins at the GoPro Mountain Games for the eighth consecutive year
When Matthew Inman shared his running motivation with the Internet, the creator of popular webcomic The Oatmeal started a fitness sensation.
Why Clint Dempsey is the perfect player to shoulder Team USA's daunting World Cup campaign
On a sprawling farm in Vermont, Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena runs a business and a fitness crusade. He'll train anyone who shows up, with one major caveat: You must submit to his every cruel and unusual whim.
Depending on the school of thought you’re following, meditation can be practiced in a number of ways—sitting cross-legged in a dark room, while on a long run, or even on a crowded bus with the help of a smartphone app and a pair of headphones. In general, though,…
A "#fitness" selfie now qualifies as a training tool. Go ahead and be vain. (You probably think this story's about you, don't you?)
Vitamin B12 shots have been around for years, and they’re often marketed as a miracle cure for everything from fatigue to depression to those stubborn extra pounds you can’t shake. And while it’s true that a B12 deficiency can contribute to those things, there is…
In an age of whiz-bang techno-training, it’s way too easy to lose track of what made us fit in the first place: quality movement, good food, and high-intensity common sense.