Endurance Training
Archive
What separates the best endurance athletes from everyone else isn’t their amazing lab test data or power values—it’s how well they maintain those values after a few hours of exhausting exercise
Champion endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch figured her quest for enlightenment on the Iditarod Trail would hurt. She was right.
The newly revamped TrainerRoad cycling app uses an advanced algorithm to create training programs custom-tailored to the user. Our writer gave it a go.
Running alone against the clock is very different from trying to beat other runners, but untangling how our minds process the challenge is “like knitting with spaghetti”
A new review assesses what it takes to maintain endurance and strength when circumstances interfere with your usual training
Staying in hiking shape during the off-season is a serious challenge, but it’s not impossible
Changing hormone levels affect your tendons, ligaments, and muscles, and evidence is mounting that this can influence your chances of injury
Mental fatigue has become a hot topic for sports science researchers, but its effects remain controversial
At the 2019 World Championships, researchers gave marathoners and racewalkers swallowable thermometer pills and used thermal cameras to assess the effectiveness of hydration and cooling techniques in the heat of competition
Detailed power data from sprinter Marcel Kittel and climber Tom Dumoulin highlight the contrasting physiological demands faced by different riders
Tallying which articles are most frequently cited in later studies reveals the biggest trends in sports science—and some oversights
Unlike heat training, repeated exposure to cold doesn't necessarily help you handle winter weather better
Pronation is out of favor, comfort is too vague, but maybe measuring your "habitual motion path" will guide you to a shoe that minimizes your injury risk
Top trail runners mix running and walking on steep terrain, but even scientists aren't sure how we choose which is better
A leading company redefines what it's actually measuring, and explains why that's what we really wanted all along
Swap your protein shakes for these cozy beverages packed with protein and electrolytes
A new study explores the links between exercise and pain perception, and how easily they can be manipulated
After half a century of confusion, researchers have a new perspective on the transition from "aerobic" to "anaerobic" exercise
When you stop breathing, oxygen flowing to your brain actually increases—at least for a while
A basic principle of training says you get better at the things you do most. So why does cross-training work?
You don’t need an elaborate workout plan to get the most out of your resistance workout; you just need to tune into how you feel
Biology suggests that decades of running should invariably blow out your knees. Scientists are trying to understand why that doesn’t happen.
Even compared to athletes from other sports, endurance athletes have a unique relationship with discomfort
A new study asked coaches to rank the most economical runners after watching video footage. It didn't go well.
A new analysis casts doubt on the idea that people are born as "responders" or "non-responders" for training in thin air
A new study suggests that strength training is more important than electrolytes for preventing cramps
Should all your training be hard? Do you need to stretch? We've got answers.
I've tried to carry water in every way imaginable. I think this piece of gear works best.
Updated guidelines write a prescription for exercise that may be just as important as traditional cancer treatments for maintaining—and regaining—your health
When the going gets tough, which sensation actually slows you down?
The ability to sustain a high rate of energy burn for a prolonged period of time may help ward off cancer
Learn how to kick-start the habit of daily movement with our free ten-day email course
Sweaty workouts do enhance your endurance, according to a new theory, but it may take longer and function differently than previously thought
A new study uses the training data you upload to sites like Strava to estimate the "critical speed" that determines your race performance
To figure out how your body will respond in hot conditions, consider your “physiological equivalent temperature”
The cycling world has turned its eye toward an obscure challenge called Everesting
A new study of female athletes sees big strength gains from twice-a-week lifting
Researchers put the four main running power devices through a series of tests and picked a clear winner
The Leadville 100 is an iconic mountain-bike event that puts racers through a course covering 100 miles and 12,000 feet of elevation change
There are hundreds of options and a wide range of prices. Here's how to narrow it down.
One day, Michael Shattuck started to run. He liked it, so he ran longer, sometimes for as many as 65 hours each week. He never wanted to stop. What was he running from?
The military's toughest training challenges have a lot in common with outdoor sufferfests like the Barkley Marathons and the Leadville Trail 100: you have to be fit and motivated to make the starting line, but your mind and spirit are what carry you to the end. A Ranger graduate breaks down an ordeal that shapes some of the nation's finest soldiers.
New research on mental fatigue suggests that even elite runners perform worse after a 45-minute computer task
A handful of classic reads whose titles might capture some of your feelings of these past few weeks
New research suggests that the lactate produced by hard interval workouts alters the hormones that determine your appetite
But you still need to avoid others as best as you can
'Dave Goes West' follows Dave Cook as he runs 260 miles from Dingle to Croagh Patrick on the west coast of Ireland
Some sports scientists believe that a measure called the "acute-to-chronic workload ratio" can predict your risk of injury. But critics aren't so sure.
For endurance athletes, new research suggests that different pre-race rituals, or even no warm-up at all, give pretty much the same results
Nobody gets a free pass to sit all day, but new research on how sitting affects your arteries offers some encouraging news for cyclists
New technology is striving to make it happen
Pretty much every elite endurance athlete trains in mountain air or the altitude-tent equivalent. But a few scientists think they're wasting their time and money.
There's at least a theoretical basis for believing in the power of CBD topicals
A new study finds unexpected benefits from super-short intervals with even shorter recoveries
When Rebecca Mehra tried to unplug a broken oven, she almost ended her track season—or worse
Heat training has been hyped as a powerful workout enhancer, but new research sounds a note of caution
The empathetic host and vegan ultra-athlete shares his long personal journey and many hard lessons learned
To better push your limits, try swearing off some of your most familiar crutches now and then
He overcame addiction and workaholism to become an elite endurance athlete and star podcast host. As he sees it, it's never too late to start over on the path to a more balanced life.
Improving your max aerobic power may come at the cost of worse efficiency, a study finds
To train athletes to truly push their limits, it helps to draw inspiration from the French social theorist Michel Foucault. Seriously.
There's no silver bullet, but these useful practices will help you keep training
'Standing Man' chronicles cyclist Payson McElveen's attempt to set a new fastest known time on a loop of White Rim in Utah's Canyonlands.
All-out sprint speed may seem irrelevant in longer events, but new science is making the case for having a “speed reserve”
Get started. Keep going. Stop.
Delayed gratification gets harder when you’re overtrained, according to a new brain-scanning study
A handful of new products are claiming they can. The jury's still out on whether they deliver enough of an edge to justify the agony.
Whether you’re striving for peak performance or coming back from injury, psychological techniques can help
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
In his new book, Range, author David Epstein makes a strong case against specialization in sports and life
7 exercises to improve strength, stability, and resilience for the trail
Scientists debate the physiological benefits of ramping up your training intensity or your training volume
When Mirna Valerio first began running ultramarathons, she immediately got a lot of attention—but not for the reasons you might expect
Experts from the Wilderness Medical Society have combed through the evidence to assess what works and what doesn’t
Walmsley just bested his own time by an impressive 20 minutes
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