Training, Exercise and Fitness

How activity impacts your health (it’s a good thing!)
Our articles investigate current research on exercise and fitness. Topics center around endurance and strength training, and the effects of nutrition, recovery, and the environment.


Freeride Mountain Biking: Mind the Rampage

Our Red Bull Rampage article was featured on Singletracks.com! Check it out on our site (scroll down), or there – whichever you prefer! Psyche and injury are undoubtedly connected.  Throw in the stresses associated with an intense sporting event and a fine line develops between victory and a potentially deleterious disaster.  Red Bull Rampage is…

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Thermoregulation: Training in the Heat

Phoenix. It’s hot. Sometimes, it’s hot and humid thanks to the monsoon season. The summer sun strikes your skin with the warmth akin to a burning campfire – when you sit just too close and feel the hair on your legs begin to singe from the heat.  But unlike a…

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Is Aspirin an Ergogenic Aid?

Ergogenic \ˌər-gə-ˈje-nik\ adjective:  To enhance or improve physical performance and recovery, as in ergogenic aid.  Greek: ergon, to work. People are always searching a way to boost their performance.  Over the past decade, the news has been littered with stories about professional athletes’ reliance on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to get ahead, legal or…

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Lactate… The Math, The Myth, The Legend

AV Hill and Meyerhof together

Chances are, you’ve been thinking about this all wrong.  You may have first learned about lactate (or lactic acid) from a trusty high school coach, explaining why your legs burned at the end of a really hard sprint. Or, perhaps you read about it in a popular book or magazine.…

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Extra Fat Burn After Exercise? Sorry, Ladies.

I overheard a conversation about a week ago between two women discussing their weight-loss plans.  “My trainer told me that I will burn extra fat for 24 hours after I workout,” one stated confidently. It’s a common statement and belief passed around gyms, the internet, and even in educational institutions.…

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Ulnar Neuropathy and Cycling

Have you ever suffered from a loss of feeling in part of your hand after an extended bike ride? Not only is it uncomfortable, but the use of your fingers decreases the longer you continue, which can make shifting and braking difficult.  You may be suffering from a condition known…

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The History of Chest Pain – A Diagnosis of the Breast

While attending a conference for the American Heart Association in March, I had an interesting conversation with my doctoral mentor, Dr. Siddhartha Angadi. We verbally meandered to the topic of cardiovascular history, discussing something I strongly believe worth sharing (you’ll understand by the time you finish reading). In 1768, Dr.…

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We Can’t All Go to Fancy Yoga Classes

downward facing dog

Yesterday, I was pretty excited and surprised to hear that TIME picked up an article Dr. Siddhartha Angadi and I co-wrote in 2015. The original article was written for Zocalo Public Square, a non-profit, intellectual “Ideas Exchange” that blends journalism and live events. They solicited our expertise as contribution to…

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