If you’re tired of pounding the pavement and ready to refresh your running routine, maybe the answer isn’t chasing faster paces and higher mileage—maybe a change of scenery is what you need. Maybe it’s time to consider trail running.

The benefits of CrossFit are under-researched in a long-term capacity, however, a number of studies have determined the potential benefits of this type of high-intensity functional power training on aerobic capacity and body composition. High-intensity interval training is desirable to many individuals looking to improve fitness levels with minimal time commitment to training.

Running economy is not an innate ability but must be developed through coordination skills and then refined by more advanced training. Over time, a functional coordination pattern replaces the generalized one, the number of muscles activated decreases to only the necessities, and energy cost reduces. Beginner endurance athletes initially have a steep adaptation curve as they acquire general fitness just by putting in miles, often regardless of how those miles are structured. When a non-athlete first begins a training program, significant neuromuscular adaptations occur to create basic coordination which lays the foundation for biomechanical efficiency (running economy).

Intense physical exercise creates an inflammatory stress reaction within the body, which can produce both adaptive and maladaptive physiologic responses. Disturbances in homeostatic balance can affect the function of other systems as well, such as metabolic, neuroendocrinological, oxidative, physiological, psychological, and immunologic. Both antioxidants and branched-chain amino acids can help combat the effects of exercise-induced oxidative stress.

There is a fine line between a healthy habit and an addictive obsession. The phrase ‘healthy obsession’ is really an oxymoron, since obsession is arguably a pathological, diseased state of the mind, and therefore not healthy. Definitions for obsession range from ‘compelling motivation’ to ‘compulsive preoccupation’. However you want to label it, obsession relates to an altered state of consciousness in which the need or compulsion to do a certain act overpowers all else, becoming a priority over all other needs and obligations in a person’s life.

There has been a long-standing debate on whether or not higher volumes of endurance training equate to elite caliber athletic performances. While it is true that many elite athletes train with much higher volume and intensity than the recreational athlete, it certainly hasn’t been shown to be a necessary requirement in order to compete on this level. With increasing volume of training comes a heightened risk of injury, a potentially weakened immunity, and a greater chance of overtraining and burnout.

Athletes’ motivation is believed to play a fundamental role in both performance and perceived ability. Motivation comes from both internal external sources, so both nature and nurture contribute to the whole drive of the athlete. In many ways, the coach plays a pivotal “nurturing” role, responding to the emotional and physical needs of the athlete. The surrounding climate dictated by the coach, whether it be criticizing or motivational, will nevertheless affect the psychosocial well-being of the athlete.

The debate between manipulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism for various weight loss and performance outcomes has gone back and forth by researchers for several decades, with no conclusive evidence supporting the extreme elimination diets we see so heavily marketed today. In the 1990s, high-carbohydrate nutrition was favored by the sports nutrition guidelines, recommending that at least 55% of energy come from carbohydrates in a given day. For endurance athletes, this number was recommended at greater than 60%; however, the research failed to support ‘why’ athletes needed this sort of macronutrient ratio for training. The evidence came after the millennium when it was found that higher carbohydrate intake could reduce (though not completely prevent) overreaching stress symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, hormone disruption, and sub-par performance.

Force application to the ground is extremely important in cross-country running, as it directly generates power for covering the greatest horizontal distance possible with optimal efficiency. Plyometric training, especially in the single-leg modality is highly specific to the single-leg force application that occurs in a runner’s stride. Plyometric exercises with a greater horizontal component are even more specific to running, such as multiple reactive single-leg hops moving forward.

The topic of nature versus nurture presents itself in the world of elite sporting events as a sustained debate. Are world-class athletes born or bred? Is there a certain amount of practice that can turn the average athlete into an elite? There are two main theories that aim to explain both arguments in the spectrum of the debate: the genetic influence model and the deliberate practice model.

One of these once elusive power ingredients, nitrate, is a natural constituent of the beetroot plant. Beet root juice, beet powder, beet pill supplements, and the raw vegetable itself have all been disappearing off the supermarket shelves since the research on their many health benefits have gone viral. This article aims to unveil the physiologic mechanisms behind beet’s powerful effects in the human body and why they should become a health food staple in every diet.