56 articles
A day before the start the organisers removed the swim leg: the concentration of cyanobacteria in the lake turned out to be significantly above the threshold recommended by the UK health agency. The race became a duathlon. Here is what blooms, why it is dangerous and how to assess the water yourself.
The maker of AG1 funded a study on 16 people and showed that the vitamins from the powder really do reach the bloodstream. That is true — and it is not the same thing as “it works”. The arithmetic of a serving explains why the plant part of the formula is almost inevitably underdosed.
Semaglutide and tirzepatide have reached the running group chats. A survey of recreational athletes shows who takes them and why, and STEP-1 data show how much of the lost weight is muscle. WADA has added the drugs to its 2026 monitoring list.
That stabbing pain under the ribs is not the liver and not a spleen that cannot keep up. A Sports Medicine review collected every hypothesis and showed that irritation of the peritoneum fits the features of ETAP best. Plus the data on who is at risk and what stops an attack.
Six wristbands were tested in a sleep lab against PSG: sleeping epochs are recognised over 90% of the time, wakefulness only 29–52%. WHOOP overstates sleep time by 24 minutes, Apple Watch by 20. Here is what follows for your training.
Greek runners shut down blood flow in their legs before every interval session. The average kilometre in a 5 × 1000 m test got 11 seconds faster against 5 in the control group — but the winner here looks like plasma volume, not haemoglobin.
372 runners, six months of follow-up, shoes that looked identical: the motion-control pair cut injury risk by 45%, and by 66% in runners with pronated feet. Why that still isn't a reason to trust the video analysis at the shop.
A 2025 meta-analysis pulled together everything known about golden root in endurance sport. The VO₂max gain is there and surprisingly consistent, the drop in creatine kinase is sizeable — but a fortyfold spread in doses makes it impossible to name a protocol.
The peptide ultrarunners inject to avoid surgery. A 2025 systematic review found 35 animal studies and a single retrospective case series of 12 patients. Here is what is actually known and what it puts at risk.
The critical heat limit a person can tolerate moved only after nine days of adaptation — after five there was no shift at all. Plus one more finding: you need a gap between the block and race day.
Six weeks of leucine supplementation in cross-country skiers improved maximal oxygen uptake and strength. Here is how a single amino acid differs from «just eat more protein» — and who might actually benefit.
In cyclists with knee flexion greater than 40°, pain scored 4.4 on a ten-point scale; in the rest, 0.9. After the saddle was set to 25–30°, pain fell to 1.4 within two weeks. A look at the study and at what to do with the formulas.
In a study at +32 °C and 60% humidity, taurine extended time to exhaustion: 6 grams worked in men, 4 in women. Here is why that difference is almost certainly not about sex at all.
Flying across time zones costs roughly one day of adaptation per zone travelling east — and half that going west. We unpack where the asymmetry comes from and how to plan your arrival around it.
An ordinary optical sensor on the wrist cannot measure glucose — not because the algorithms are bad, but because it never collects the signal in the first place. We unpack the physics, a fresh re-analysis of the data, the FDA position, and what actually works.
A new guide, co-designed with 503 runners, proposes four stages and progression by symptoms rather than by the calendar. We unpack what has changed in the recommendations and which signals mean “see a clinician, not go for a run.”
108 elite athletes kept a diary across 554 cycles. It turned out that retrospective questionnaires systematically exaggerate symptoms, and that not everything in training suffers — in football, high-speed work dropped off, while in cycling power did not change at all.
A meta-analysis of 10 studies found a moderate advantage for plant-based diets in aerobic measures and no loss in strength. But the overall performance figure came out at zero — we look at why that happened.
Aerobic work drives glucose down, while intervals can push it up — and that changes the entire tactic. We break down target ranges, insulin adjustments and the 90-minute rule you should be discussing with your doctor.
A meta-analysis of 23 studies found a significant link with performance for just one pollutant — ozone. PM2.5 particles and the overall air quality index showed no reliable effect. Here is what that changes in practice.
In endurance athletes, airway narrowing during exercise is many times more common than in the general population, and diagnosis “by feel” barely works. Here is who it affects and why an objective test is needed.
Snus and “tobacco-free” pouches have moved from team sports into endurance. In a controlled experiment they did not improve a one-hour cycling time trial at all, and the sense of focus in dependent users is simply withdrawal relief.
A review of 30 studies found there is no single marker of overtraining, and the diagnosis is made by exclusion. Here is what is actually worth tracking, and when it is time to see a doctor rather than a coach.
In a crossover RCT participants slept 55 minutes longer — and the next morning covered almost 10 metres more in a shuttle test with half the drop-off in speed. Here is what is genuinely proven and what is being read into it.
Endurance-sport enthusiasts get atrial fibrillation 2–5× more often, but the relationship is U-shaped: moderate training protects the heart, while chronic mega-volumes may raise the risk. We break down the data and the signs that it's time to see a doctor.
An ice vest, cold water, and ice slurry before the start create a heat reserve and push back overheating. We break down the 2024 meta-analysis and what an amateur can actually apply at a hot start.
We break down how alcohol after a workout hits muscle protein synthesis, sleep, and rehydration — and how to drink so you lose less. No moralizing: just data and practice.
Sleep problems, exhaustion and joint pain are the most common companions of menopause among female runners, swimmers and cyclists. A new PLOS One study shows how hard the symptoms hit training — and what to do about it.
Almost everyone takes a painkiller before the start, yet it does nothing for performance. Here is what the research says about kidneys, sodium and recovery — and what to do about pain instead of reaching for a pill.
Two thirds of college athletes are short on vitamin D, and every 5 ng/mL drop raises the odds of injury by 13%. Here is who is at risk and what runners and triathletes should do about it.
Mental fatigue raises your perceived effort and makes you quit sooner — at the same heart rate. Let's unpack how to train your “brain endurance” without burning out.
Endurance athletes have a distinctive set of gut bacteria, and Veillonella turns exercise lactate into fuel for the muscles. We break down what probiotics really deliver and why “any probiotic = a boost” is a myth.
Fish oil is no “magic boost” to your results, but 2–4 g of EPA+DHA a day noticeably dampens inflammation, muscle damage and soreness. And it works strongest precisely in recreational athletes.
Breaking down LHTL without the myths: how long you really need to live up high, why it won't work without iron, and what an amateur — not an elite marathoner — can realistically do.
A fresh review in Sports Medicine (2025) rethinks protein for runners and triathletes: it's not about muscle mass but about recovery, mitochondria, and immunity. We break down what that means in servings of chicken, cottage cheese, and fish.
The diaphragm tires too and “steals” blood from your legs. We unpack how a handheld resistance trainer cuts breathlessness and perceived effort — and why it isn’t about a VO2max record, but about finishing without that “not enough air” feeling.
A chronic calorie shortfall hits hormones and bones and raises the risk of stress fractures. We break down the latest 2026 studies and the signs of RED-S that are important not to miss.
Your morning RMSSD reflects how well you have recovered. Let’s look at what research says about training “by readiness” and how to measure HRV without fooling yourself.
Five weeks of post-run hot baths raised maximal oxygen uptake in trained runners by roughly 4,4%. We unpack how heat triggers the same blood and heart adaptations as altitude — and how to use it without the risk.
Scientists gathered 340 runners from 24 countries, each with a hundred marathons behind them. Their aerobic power declines with age noticeably slower than the norm. We break down what it means and where the catch is.
Averaged “train strictly by phase” schemes are overrated. We break down what recent field studies show and why a personal approach and symptom tracking matter more than a universal mapping of training loads to cycle phases.
Ferritin is low but hemoglobin is fine — and endurance still drops by 3–4%. Here is what to test, how to eat, and when supplements make sense.
Why an endurance athlete needs calcium beyond strong bones, how much is required, and how to avoid a stress fracture out on the course.
Magnesium powers energy, muscle and nerve function. Let's work out how much an athlete actually needs, where to get it from food, and when capsules are truly worth it — versus when they're just wasted money and diarrhea.
The U.S. National Academies revised the reference intakes for sodium and potassium and, for the first time, introduced a category aimed at reducing disease risk. Let's break down how to read these numbers if you train for hours.
The electrolyte theory of cramps sounds convincing, but the evidence tells a different story. Let's unpack what actually cramps your muscles and what to do right there on the course.
The position stand of German sports nutritionists in plain terms: the working drink formula, fluid volumes, and why the advice 'drink before you're thirsty' is outdated.
Why sodium helps you absorb water, why you should mix glucose with fructose, and where stomach trouble on a long race comes from — a breakdown of the physiology of absorption.
A fresh 2025 review explains why at marathons and ultras people end up in intensive care more often because of too much water, not dehydration — and how to avoid it.
In a marathon or an ultra, drinking too much can sometimes be more dangerous than drinking too little. Let's unpack what hyponatremia is, why endurance sport is a risk zone, and how to drink wisely.
There is no universal water requirement. We break down why you shouldn't lose more than 2% of your body weight, how to calculate your own sweat rate, and when to drink to thirst versus by plan.
The WHO advises eating less than 5 g of salt a day, but during a multi-hour race in the heat that rule works in reverse. Let's figure out how to reconcile both approaches without harming your heart or cramping up on the course.
Why, for an endurance athlete, sodium isn't just the salt in a gel but a control system for fluid, nerves, and muscles. We break down the mechanics of balance and what to do about it during long efforts.
Potassium is the main intracellular electrolyte — one we think about less often than sodium and magnesium. We break down how much you need, its role in blood pressure and recovery, and why food is almost always better than supplements.
We break down what electrolytes are, how the kidneys keep them balanced, and why on a long course it matters not only to drink water but also to replace salts.
Hydration is one of those topics where it's easy to mess up in both directions. Drink too little — you suffer. Drink too much — you suffer even more. Here's how to tell if something's off.