People Who Exercise in Groups Get More Health Benefits
Any kind of exercise is good for you, but working out in groups may give you a little extra boost. Do you like to hit the gym, road, or trail by yourself? Or do you thrive in a crowded group fitness class with everyone breathing, moving, and toning in sync? No matter what kind of […]
Mental Stress and Sporting Performance
Unless you are a professional athlete looked after by a support team, training is rarely the largest source of stress in your life. Mental stressors like work, family and lifestyle demands may actually be the key factors in determining how well you recover and perform. How does mental stress impair your performance? A 2010 study in […]
Managing Injury Setbacks
It is perhaps the most frustrating moment in sports: you have trained well for a solid period of time and then suddenly an injury occurs, often when we least expect it. Your world turns from a place filled with promises of PBs to a dark, foreboding place where your dreams slowly slip away as everyone […]
What’s better for your brain: 15 minutes of jogging or 15 minutes of relaxation?
A new study compared cognitive boosts from running versus relaxing. Researchers compared jogging versus relaxing for 15 minutes. Jogging provided clear cognitive and mood benefits. The relaxing group had much less energy. If you wanted a quick boost for your mind, what’s the best activity to engage in? Scientists looked at whether a brief […]
How to Train and Race in Hot Conditions
We have all been there. It’s the middle of the race and the sun is beating down — you look at your watch and wonder why your heart is beating out of your chest at such a slow pace. You may think: “Did I overestimate my fitness?” Suddenly, the internal dialogue ceases as you look […]
How Running Reduces Stress
We already know that running can help us to lose weight and can help to prevent diseases, but it can also serve as a healthy way to manage stress. With each run, our bodies release feel-good endorphins, improving our mood, and boosting our self-confidence. It also distracts our mind from negative thoughts, allowing us to […]
Benefits of Cross-Training
Many runners get sucked into the path of running and only running (mileage is king). Cross-training is widely accepted however as a very useful addition and diversity to your training; here’s some reasons why: Injury Prevention Overuse injuries are the curse of the running life, a never-ending epidemic among pavement (and trail) pounders everywhere. […]
7 Reasons Why Running Is Good for Your Soul
1. Running keeps you humble. During one race, I was running well ahead of my predicted pace and felt really good about myself. I was passing lots of people, zigzagging my way through the slower runners to claim a spot far ahead of where I would normally run. It was a crowded stretch so I […]
