Sports Science

Most of us probably have a notion of what athleticism is—or we can at least identify an activity or sport that requires a lot of athleticism for success—but actually defining athleticism can be challenging.  Coming up with a succinct athleticism definition isn’t necessarily difficult—we can use the dictionary to come up with the denotation of … Read more

There are many potential benefits of using a massage gun, such as increasing circulation, improving flexibility, and decreasing muscle soreness and stiffness. For these reasons, massage guns have become an increasingly popular workout recovery modality for recreational to competitive and elite athletes alike. If you are an avid runner, cyclist, weightlifter, or another type of athlete, … Read more

No one likes to be in pain. Whether you have an acute injury or you are dealing with the discomfort of a vigorous workout, if you have a high pain tolerance, you will be able to endure the painful experience with more ease. But, what exactly is pain tolerance? Do women have a higher pain … Read more

A heart rate-related metric that can be useful for runners and athletes of any other sport is heart rate variability or HRV. If you wear a fitness tracker, Garmin running watch, or sleep tracker like Oura ring, you have most likely seen data for your heart rate variability. But what exactly is HRV, and what … Read more

In the summer of 2021, I moved from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Colorado Springs, Colorado. In doing so, I went from living and training at 1,000 feet of elevation to 6,500 feet of elevation. Over the next few weeks and months, I spent much time researching and figuring out how to acclimate to altitude properly. … Read more

Almost everyone has experienced a situation where they have to step away from their workout routine for one reason or another. Perhaps it’s due to an injury or illness or a life circumstance like a new job, relocation, or new baby, making it impossible to get to the gym with your usual consistency or intensity. … Read more

During any type of cardio workout, your heart rate increases above resting levels. Indeed, the whole purpose of aerobic exercise is to elevate your heart rate in order to strengthen your heart and lungs and improve the efficiency of the cardiovascular system. But, how long should you have an elevated heart rate after exercise? What … Read more

There are many concepts of training that endurance athletes have to become familiar with. A common example is VO2 max. Another important physiological metric for runners, cyclists, triathletes, and other endurance athletes is the anaerobic threshold.  So, what is anaerobic threshold? How do you increase your anaerobic threshold, and why does it matter? In this … Read more

Depending on your familiarity with anatomy, you probably are well-versed in your knowledge of bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, all of which are important components of the musculoskeletal system. However, there are other types of tissue that surround your muscles and joints, such as cartilage and fascia. Although most athletes have a vague understanding … Read more

Most people have experienced a muscle knot at one time or another. Muscle knots can occur in virtually any muscle or fascia tissue in the body but are particularly common in the calves, the trapezius in the upper back, lower back muscles, and shoulders. But what is a muscle knot? What causes muscle knots? And … Read more

Many runners are familiar with endorphins, which are the feel-good, pain-relieving natural compounds thought to be chiefly responsible for the elusive runner’s high. Other athletic or thrilling events are said to elicit an endorphin rush.  For example, you might experience an endorphin rush re-racking your loaded barbell after smashing your previous 1RM weight, or you … Read more

Every single function and movement of the body requires energy. The energy currency of the body (and all living organisms) is an energy-carrying molecule known as adenosine triphosphate or ATP for short. Although some people may recall hearing about ATP from their days in high school biology class, the specifics of how ATP functions and … Read more