Science
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The Swedish company Maurten's hydrogel drink has taken the endurance world by storm over the last two years. Now scientists are testing their claims.
Over the past decade, athletes, coaches, and researchers have been seduced by the performance-boosting promises of brain stimulation. On a ride-and-zap-your-brain-like-the-pros tour through the Alps, Alex Hutchinson wonders whether it really works—and whether we want it to.
Cody Townsend thought his project, the Fifty, would be a mission to descend the 50 best lines in North America. But then climate change started to melt the snow right out from under his skis.
Multimillionaire Victor Vescovo committed himself to one of the world’s craziest remaining adventure quests: to reach the deepest points in every ocean. What does it take to get there? A radically high-tech, $30 million Triton submersible, a team of crack engineers and scientists, and one very gonzo explorer.
Plants as criminal evidence and penguin sex lead the way in the latest batch of good reading material
The two-hour barrier and the women’s marathon world record both fell this weekend. The history makers, Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei, have one obvious thing in common.
Nutrition science isn't perfect. Here's why.
Outdoor athletes have plenty of influence on Instagram. Protect Our Winters wants to wield it in the halls of Congress.
A new study quantifies the time gained and lost from the geography of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge course, and suggests that you don’t need to sweat the curves
Blood glucose monitoring for performance is becoming more common. Here's what you need to know.
Crunching the data suggests that distance runners at this year’s track world champs paced more aggressively than ever
Maybe not in our hearts, but certainly in our brains. Plus, they can make you love the indoors far too much—which is why there’s now a full-fledged, woodsy rehab center for joystick addicts who need a soothing pathway back to a normal life.
Delayed gratification gets harder when you’re overtrained, according to a new brain-scanning study
For years, the Oregon Project coach pushed the boundaries of what was allowed. Now, it has finally caught up to him.
New evidence bolsters the claim that adapting to hot weather gives an all-around fitness advantage—but not right away.
Reconstructing the history of civilization through beer labels
Some key takeaways on hydration, power meters, recovery, and menstrual period tracking
In her new book, ‘On Fire,’ Naomi Klein sparks a blaze for the next generation
Behind the headlines about the return of great whites to Cape Cod is a story about how we're learning to live alongside a terrifying predator
When your love for the outdoors meets chronic pain, you grieve—and then you adapt
Caffeine is old news on the supplement scene. These next-gen coffee products aim for additional benefits.
Staff members of Marie Stopes International navigate wild bulls, treacherous singletrack, and rushing rivers to make long-term birth control accessible to some of the hardest-to-access places in Nepal
The quality of your habits determines the quality of your life. Here's your step-by-step guide.
Two new studies on beet juice and VO2max highlight the limitations of sports science research that excludes female athletes
Figuring out how long, how often, and when to train in the mountains remains an art for endurance athletes
A new meta-study, which followed 267,000 people, sheds a few answers
Here's how to tell if you're getting enough of this essential, overlooked nutrient
Believers in Mass Timber say smaller trees are the ultimate renewable construction material, but only if we learn to be smarter farmers and builders
A good diet is a balance of nutrition, flexibility, and giving your body what it needs
The physiological and psychological responses to different types of interval workout depend on the details
Science says you should eat a popsicle
A historical analysis of world-record pacing suggests that beating your own best time can be complicated
Geologists have captured the low, deep hum of Castleton Tower near Moab
Hint: it's about introducing just the right amount of chaos
More than 75 years ago, ancient remains of hundreds of people were found in a Himalayan lake. Scientists recently revealed more clues about where the people came from and how they could have died.
A study that assigns different workout plans to each leg shows just how much (or little) the details matter
Scientists debate the physiological benefits of ramping up your training intensity or your training volume
The changes are threefold. It will now be harder to add species to the list, protections for threatened animals will be revoked, and economic concerns must be formally evaluated during the listing process.
You have to work hard to build strength, but that doesn’t necessarily mean collapsing to the floor after each set
The Canadian almost-astronaut is making a name for herself as a new kind of space-nerd-of-all-trades
A pair of presentations explore the biomechanics of the controversial shoe, and whether it wards off marathon-induced muscle damage
Alt meat isn't going to stay alt for long, and cattle are looking more and more like stranded assets
Is this the end of her career as an 800-meter runner?
The theory makes sense, but actually showing that “hyperoxic training” makes you faster remains a challenge
Journalist Rowan Jacobsen discusses his controversial feature suggesting we need to reconsider our relationship with the sun and sunscreen
A new study finds that your “critical speed” threshold drops in the last third of a marathon, which may explain why the distance produces so many blow-ups
New research suggests that the emotion has a singular ability to lower stress and improve our overall well-being. So how do we get more of it?
Are you going to paddle in to shore, find a bathroom, strip down to your ankles, use the toilet, suit back up, and risk missing waves?
'Golden' spotlights eagle biologist Caitlin Davis in her natural habitat—at the top of a cliff face strapped into a harness
A simple self-test zeroes in on the most efficient stride rate for your running style
A new study looks at the effect of subtle wording changes on the performance-boosting power of motivational self-talk
Nine athletes share the phrases they tell themselves to reach peak performance
Experts from the Wilderness Medical Society have combed through the evidence to assess what works and what doesn’t
Staying healthy is crucial to athletic performance, and a new analysis from the 2018 Olympics suggests some surprising defensive tactics.
The cliff diver competes against athletes half his age
Can a grassroots movement of physicians convince big health care that free medicine is the way of the future?
After years of empty promises, hydration-tracking wearables are finally close to hitting the market
A lactate-munching microbe found in the poop of Boston marathoners is interesting, but that doesn’t mean you should (ahem) swallow it just yet
The country's main weather-modeling system is getting a boost
A mysterious syndrome is leaving elite athletes lethargic, depressed, and unable to get out of bed
Analyzing your training distribution can reveal the right balance between hard and easy workouts
A public condemnation of the SHIFT Festival's attempts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion is indicative of broader issues in the outdoor industry
A newly published scientific case report documents the rise (and fall) of cycling phenom Oskar Svendsen
New research shows just how much global warming is eating away at the glaciers on the world’s highest peaks
The mental side of soreness, the downside of ice baths, and the genetics of tendon injuries were hot topics at this year’s ACSM conference
What does it mean to be a well-read outdoorsperson in 2019? We have 54 new ideas. Yes, we still love Cheryl Strayed and John McPhee, but here's an updated class of noteworthy additions.
The breakfast staple has had a rough go of it in the last few decades. So are they good for you or not?
This festival cut of the full documentary, 'Project Y' looks at why humans pursue type-two fun
More and more evidence suggests that nature does something essential for our mental health
Hydrogels, electrolytes, and drink frequency top the list at this year’s ACSM conference
For decades, herpetologist William Brown has studied a thriving population of timber rattlers in upstate New York. And somehow he's convinced locals that having venomous neighbors underfoot can be a glorious thing.
Insights from this year’s ACSM conference on how to lift, what to eat, and how that affects endurance athletes
A new study of transcontinental racers pegs the digestive tract as the limiting factor in extreme feats of sustained endurance
Switzerland’s supreme court has suspended the IAAF’s testosterone regulations
Slow travel is popular in Europe and catching on in the U.S. It's not a bad way to ease your climate (and possibly flight) anxiety.
Why we name, talk to, and occasionally kiss our gear