Training & Performance
ArchiveYour urgent inquiries about the world. Answered.
In 2007, molecular biologist Ron Evans flipped a genetic switch on test mice and turned them into super-athletes. Headlines ensued, as did nervous references to human applications and "exercise in a pill." Evans is still toiling away in the lab, and guess what? The day is coming.
Can being super flexible make runners more prone to injury? The Editors Santa Fe, NM
I tore my MCL playing football. Unfortunately, the only working out I can do is upper body strength training. Please help me out with some sort of aerobic workout not using my lower body. My whole life is outdoors and I want to get back to it as quick as possible. The Editors Santa Fe, NM
What are the best exercises to get in shape for backcountry skiing?
A new study shows that exercising in the morning before eating keeps the pounds off more effectively than exercising after breakfast, the New York Times reports. Australian scientists put a group of 28 men on a high-fat, high-calorie diet. Then they…
This year's Ironman triathlon world champion, Chris “Macca” McCormack, is currently gracing Wheaties and Wheaties FUEL boxes across the country. The 37-year-old won his second Ironman world champion title this past October, covering the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile…
Can a self-professed "closed-door person" become more gregarious?
Soccer's hardest-working man has spent a lifetime developing the endurance, speed, and smarts needed to close the deal when it counts.
Will caveman calisthenics be the next big thing for adventure athletes?
What's the best exercise to increase my vertical? The Editors Santa Fe, NM
Introducing our 2011 READER OF THE YEAR, Ryan Levinson, an athlete who competes like a champ while fighting a savage form of muscular dystrophy. PLUS: SIX HONORABLE-MENTION HEROES
Are your workouts working against you? Why one addictive kind of training might be sabotaging your game.
Professional triathlete Aaron Scheidies was born with a hereditary condition has left the 28-year old with only 10 percent of his vision. In 2007, he became the only disabled athlete to break two hours in an international distance triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike,…
Photo courtesy of Flickr. Engineers have developed a microchip muscle stimulator that can be implanted into the spinal canal, allowing paraplegics to exercise paralyzed muscles, ScienceDaily reports. The implant, which is the size of a child's…
Tony Hawk went from skateboarder to mogul. How did that happen?
聽聽 Tchicaya Missamou, once a child soldier in the Republic of Congo, is now helping hundreds of Americans shape up in his Warrior Fitness Camp in California, CNN reports. As a child in the Republic of Congo, Missamou was taught brutality and forced to participate in…
Chrissie Wellington unexpectedly withdrew from Ironman Kona this year, citing an illness she couldn't shake on race day. It broke a winning streak that had lasted three consecutive years for the Brit.
Not that you need to be thinking about this before your holiday party stretch, but the American College of Sports Medicine has released The Top 20 Fitness Trends of 2011. What's hot? Strength training…
Chrissie Wellington decided not to compete in Ironman Kona this year due to illness. The night before, “I woke up several times literally drenched in sweat, my head pounding and feeling like my throat was closing,”…
In case you missed 'em, here are the top 10 posts from last month. We dare you not to click on number 5: “Woman Saves Choking Bear”. Number 10: Chrissie Wellington: Riding the Himalayas Number 9: Ironman Champ Chrissie Wellington's…
How can I improve hamstring flexibility? The Editors Santa Fe, NM
With only a few days left until the World Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii, the excitement and pressure is mounting. But this pressure is only as much of a burden as you let it be. I try to see everything as a positive, and knowing that I am…
Building mountain-ready knees is all about listening to what they're trying to tell you.
When British triathlete Chrissie Wellington lines up at the Ironman World Championship, in Kona, Hawaii, October 9, she'll be going for a fourth-straight title.
Maxing out on the weights isn't just for muscleheads. It's the best way to tap into strength you didn't know you had.
聽 We're always excited for the weekend to come because we can spend all day in the great outdoors. Each Friday we post our plans on Facebook and ask our friends to do the same. But what happens if you want to tag along…
New technologies take your fitness to the next level—by making the most of your downtime.
Photo courtesy of Flickr. Pulses of light may one day give fully restored muscle activity to people with cerebral palsy or paralyzed limbs, New Scientist reports. Researchers at Stanford University are using light-activated proteins from photosynthetic…
A recent study shows that massage isn't a frivolous indulgence, but a potential medical necessity, the New York Times reports.聽 Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited a group of 53…
CNN.com's Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, gathered some (potentially) useful info so you know what to do if you loose a finger, a tooth, or (almost) pop out an eyeball. Here's what we learned: Problem: You…
Chrissie Wellington stunned the world of triathlon, and maybe even herself, by breaking the Ironman world record for women in Roth, Germany, in July. The time she beat was her own, clocking in at 8:19:13, 12…
Three essentials for your first cold-water triathlon.
There's no better way to get in shape than to prepare for a triathlon. Here's your guide to the ultimate first-time experience.
According to a new study, static stretching before running does nothing to prevent injury, the New York Times reports. USA Track and Field enlisted 1,400 runners in the study, telling one group to do static stretches before…
On August 26, Aaron 鈥淲heelz鈥 Fotheringham became the first person in a wheelchair to land a double backflip. The 18-year old, who was born with Spina Bifida, had been dreaming about the double since he landed his first…
Listening up-tempo music during a workout will make you push harder, even if the effort hurts more, the New York Times reports. In a British study published…
What exercises will help improve my reaction time as a lacrosse goalie? Lax Asheville, NC
We saw this Amazing Planet parkour video today and thought back to when our own Lab Rat went in for a Parkour workout. These guys take it a step further.
A new study says that every year, about 10,000 US high school athletes suffer from heat-related illnesses that require medical attention, CNN reports. The…
I want to get in shape for sand volleyball. Any advice? The Editors Santa Fe, NM
The secret to performing in hot weather? Have a really cold one.
Your transition speed can make the difference between podium glory and going home empty handed. Consider this scenario: You swam and biked about the same as your rival, Dom, at an Olympic distance race. But you ran six-minute miles and he ran seven. You should cross the finish line six…
A TRX Suspension Trainer workout to fine-tune the core muscles your body calls upon late in a race.
A Texas woman is in critical condition after a car struck her from behind while she was riding her bike, Examiner.com reports. Plano resident and Ironman triathlete, Debbie McGregor, 41, was riding her bike uphill around 8 p.m. when…
Hi, I compete in triathlons and I was wondering what you would suggest for a backpack. Even better, a backpack that could also also used for snowboarding and camping. — John Fargo, ND
The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that they have no problem with BP's sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics, the AP reports. BP signed on as a sponsor in July, 2008, in a…
Courtesy of bobbymond on Flickr. Thierry Henry, the highly lauded French striker, has signed with the New York Red Bulls, the New York Times reports. He is expected to make his debut…
OnThursday, British rower and two-time Olympic gold medalist, James Cracknell, willbegin an attempt to swim, bike, row and run 3,600 miles across America鈥攊n 18days. “I'm lucky to have the chance to do this,” 38-year old…
Over in Germany, water sliding is serious sport. Hiking up their Speedos, athletes of all shapes have learned how to top 50 miles per hour with only the occasional bloody nose and forehead stitches. This I had to try.
Wednesday will be a big day for soccer in America. After Team USA faces off with Algeria at 10 a.m. EST with聽a chance to advance out of the first round, New York City will play host to the most star-studded pickup game all year, the third annual…
Welcome to our definitive list of the players who have the best chance to make a name for themselves in the 2010 World Cup. (We did a similar list months ago, but injuries and…
Nick Heil, 国产吃瓜黑料's Lab Rat, shows you five exercises to get in shape. All you need is ten minutes. Check it out on our…
The sports hernia — a nasty tear in the muscles of the lower abdomen — can debilitate athletes for months. But a new, minimally invasive surgery could get you back in the game in as little as a third of the time of traditional treatment.聽 A…
You survive a plane crash in the Amazon? Who cares! What's far more likely to go wrong during an international journey is injuries and illnesses that would be easy to manage close to home but are much trickier on the far side of paradise. Here are seven frequent scenarios and how to handle them.
In the near future, going out for a sports team may require more than just a basic physical exam, especially for young people with a family history of cardiovascular abnormalities. In response to growing concern involving sudden cardiac death in young athletes, a study conducted by the Massachusetts General…
Gene manipulation to enhance athletic performance is now scientifically possible, and it may become the next doping trend, CNN reports. Researchers point to “Marathon Mouse,” who gained the ability to run twice as far as normal mice with a modified protein gene. While gene…
It seems counterintuitive: Shouldn't Vancouver's relatively low altitude and thicker air help athletes perform better at this year's Olympics? Not always, says Robert Chapman, an expert in altitude training and exercise physiologist at Indiana University. In the special Winter Olympics issue of the journal Experimental Physiology, Chapman argues that…
An Oklahoma veterinary scientist named Mike Davis says there's no doubt about it: The world's greatest athletes, of any species, are the canines who pull sleds at the Iditarod. Now, in a project funded by the Pentagon's research arm, he's coming up with ways to make us more like them.
Going 26.2 miles is a great way to prove your grit鈥攁nd there's no greater showcase than the world's biggest. Presenting a simple plan to get anyone off the couch and across the finish line.
The videos and pictures showed everything. Search and rescue teams digging through rubble. Haitians praying, then hushing, in hopes of the sound…
K-Swiss and Trek announced today they would sponsor possibly the world's most accomplished triathlon team. Trifuel has the full story. The team is made up of multiple Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champions, including three-time champion Chris Lieto.
Female athletes are far more prone to certain injuries – like to their shoulders and knees – than men, reports Science Daily. But, it doesn't have to be that way. The study, completed by the University of…
Linsey Corbin, who came in second at the Ironman Arizona 2009, offered some helpful swim tips for triathletes over at Trifuel. We often focus a lot on strategies for running, so it was interesting to see ways to…
Due to injuries and exclusions, we've revised this list. Check out the new and improved list of The Top 10 Breakout Players to Watch in the World Cup. Every four years the 32 best teams…
A simple test for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma鈥攑reviously performed on elite athletes鈥攎ay now be ready for diagnosing the condition in the general public, according to a study done by the Ohio State Medical Center. The test involves forcing a patient to hyperventilate in…
The Togo national soccer team has been officially disqualified from the Africa Nations Cup for failing to show up for a scheduled game, reports Reuters. The team had been ordered back to its country by the government following a deadly attack…
A quick daily routine to maintain essential muscles for any sport.
A solid way to asses your fitness level is to calculate your VO2max, which is your maximum oxygen consumption during an exercise that gradually increases in intensity, New Scientist reports. The higher your number, the fitter you are. A VO2max test is usually done…
(photo by Jens Mortensen) Thinking of running a triathlon this year? Trifuel has 10 Ways to Enhance Your Sprint Triathlon…
Turns out moderate drinking might not be preventive medicine after all. But that doesn't mean it's not good for you.
