It's a busy weekday afternoon in East London. The sounds and smells of a nearby food market flood the street as businessmen dressed to the nines barge past me on their way to the closest tube station.

I slip through the crowds and make my way onto an innocuous side road, where an equally innocuous sign sticks out from a grey building and reads: 'The Altitude Centre'. You'd be forgiven for mistaking it for a travel agent, or walking past without a second thought, but here, among beeping taxis and jam-packed streets, lies a vital port of call for the endurance athletes and high-altitude mountaineers of Britain.

What is the altitude centre?

Self-identifying as the UK's 'number one altitude training specialist' in its promotional material, the Altitude Centre in Aldgate, London, is a popular spot for mountaineers who want to get into shape before they take on the world's toughest climbs. The multi-purpose gym mimics high-altitude conditions and offers scientifically-tailored training sessions designed to get athletes peak-fit before they head up Everest, Kilimanjaro, or any other daunting ascent.

The centre has been used by many high-profile climbers and mountaineers, including record-setting Everest summiteer Kenton Cool, as well as other athletes (such as double Olympic champion triathlete Alistair Brownlee) who want to unlock the benefits of alpine training.

So I can get a real feel for how it works, I've been invited down for a taster, during which the experts at the Altitude Centre will put me through my paces with an intense workout in a tough, reduced-oxygen environment.

To get specific, the workout consists of 45 minutes of hard, interval-style running, with an exuberant instructor barking instructions from the front. It's not dissimilar from the sort of running class you're likely to find in any good gym, but with one major difference: the oxygen levels in the air I'm gulping are lower.

How does it work?

Altitude training is a common tactic for climbers looking to acclimatize to conditions in the mountains, or endurance athletes who want to get an edge over their opponents. It usually consists of cardiovascular or strength training in a chamber or pressurized room that contains less breathable oxygen than the (non-alpine) outside world.

The air at sea level contains 20.9% accessible oxygen, a number that drops dramatically the higher you get. At Everest Base Camp, it falls to around 10.4%. On the summit, of the planet's tallest peak levels are down to a third of the accessible oxygen quotient most people are used to breathing.

Pressurized environments like those at the Altitude Centre use high-tech generators to replace oxygen in the air with nitrogen, which replicates the challenging conditions in the mountains.

Exercising in these conditions forces your kidneys to release a hormone called erythropoietin (EPO), which prompts your body to produce more red blood cells. With more red blood cells, you can transport and utilize more oxygen, which has two main benefits.

Firstly, it means you're better acclimatized for the conditions you can expect to face in the high mountains. Creating more capacity to store and transport oxygen (via the extra red blood cells) prepares your body for the dangerous and demanding conditions experienced at serious altitude by minimizing the weakening effect oxygen depletion can cause, and reducing other risks of altitude sickness, allowing you to climb at full strength.

Climbers often practice simulated altitude training along with other methods, like sleeping in low-oxygen hypoxic tents to prepare themselves before heading up seriously high mountains like Everest. It's important to clarify that altitude training won't fully prepare your body for a high-altitude expedition, and time spent in the mountains, at real altitude, is also essential.

The second benefit of altitude training can be experienced at sea level. Exercising in low-oxygen conditions, whether it's simulated or not, can enhance your aerobic capability, allowing you to run, cycle, or play for longer without getting tired.

The Altitude Centre, although it's built for climbers, caters to all sorts of athletes hoping to reap the rewards of training in low-oxygen. James Barber, the centre's lead performance specialist, is kind enough to offer more information.

"Most of what we do is around high-altitude climbing," says James.

"There are usually 15 to 20 British permits for Everest. We'll usually work with all but one or two of them before they go out. Then, hundreds of people a year come [to train] for Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, and things in South America that are around 5,000 meters (16,404.2ft).

"The majority [of what we do] is around that, and then the rest is around sports performance, so marathon runners, triathletes, and people like that who want to use the altitude for that fitness boost."

The experts at the Altitude Centre often bring their super-smart altitude tech off-site to work with elite athletes who can't get to the centre.

"A huge amount of our client base off-site is with elite performance," explains James. "We've worked with Olympic marathon runners, swimmers, rowers, triathletes - in the London 2012 Olympics, we would've come eighth in the medal table."

James is also kind enough to show me around some of the climbing-specific chambers at the altitude centre. One is filled with treadmills and masks that deliver air with reduced levels of oxygen, so trekkers can simulate the tiresome effects of uphill walking while they acclimatize.

"If we can get people training to walk uphill at altitude, let's get the training to look as much like the event as we possibly can, so they're literally walking uphill at altitude, or box stepping up and down with the mask on," explains James.

"As people acclimatize, we're building the altitude up from the 4,000-meter (13,123.4ft) mark to 6,500 meters (21,325.5ft), and making it very specific with walking boots on and rucksacks – we can put as much as 15 kilos (33lb) in."

During workouts, the experts at the altitude centre monitor athletes' health stats, like their blood oxygen saturation and heart rate, to understand how their bodies react to the training and how quickly they're acclimatizing.

How I got on

Surprising as it may be, I'm not in contention for a medal at the next Olympics, nor am I preparing to climb Mount Everest. So, I'm not shocked to find myself dead on my feet after only a few minutes of my training session.

The generator inside the chamber has reduced the oxygen levels to those found around 15,092ft (4,600m). As the instructor explains, it's akin to running at the summit of Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in the European Alps.

I experience all the usual symptoms of a long, hard workout; my legs ache, I'm out of breath, and there's plenty of sweat. The major difference is just how quickly my body tires. I'm used to feeling like this after a tough run, but I'm surprised to look up and see that I've only actually been moving for around 30 minutes, and covered little more than 4 miles (6.4km).

Put simply, I'm shattered, and I feel even worse after the full 45-minute session.

As I've now experienced first hand, running (or doing any exercise) at altitude is far tougher than it is at sea-level. With less oxygen available, your body has to work harder to transport the oxygen it does get to your muscles. This causes your heart rate to quicken, your muscles to tire, and everything to get generally harder.

One session isn't enough to cause any noticeable cardiovascular improvements, but consistent workouts at the same intensity certainly would, as my body gradually acclimatized to low oxygen levels at simulated altitude.

Learn more

Along with altitude training, the centre offers other handy services like acclimatization testing, which predicts how your body will handle conditions in the mountains.

If you'd like to give altitude training a go or learn more about any of the other services, you can check out the Altitude Centre website.

• The best climbing shoes: get a grip both indoors and out
• The best hiking boots and shoes for wide feet: stride out with confidence in well-fitting footwear

In a year that will go down in Everest history, Ukrainian-American climber Andrew Ushakov became the fastest person to reach the top of the world's tallest mountain from sea-level, completing the mega-ascent in just three days, 23 hours and 7 minutes.

While all eyes were on a team of four British ex-special forces climbers who had drummed up publicity with their charity bid using Xenon gas, Ushakov quietly completed the ascent just after them, beating their time. What's more, he did it using only supplemental oxygen.

Even more impressive than the fact he completed the expedition while recovering from a broken hand, the time-poor father and engineer did it without acclimatization rotations in the mountains.

We caught up with him to find out the key to his success and his thoughts on the advantages and risks of 'accelerated ascents'.

Congratulations on your incredible Everest summit! How are you feeling?

Thank you, I’m good now! The expedition wasn’t as long as traditional 45 to 50-day ones, so I recovered pretty quickly.

You attempted a record-breaking summit in 2024 but were forced to turn back just 300m from the top when you lost your vision. How does it feel in 2025 to have finally succeeded?

I’m thrilled to have achieved what many people in the mountaineering world said was impossible, especially after my 2024 attempt.

I hope it shows that you don’t have to be a professional athlete or a full-time adventurer to do something extraordinary. You can hold down a job, raise a family and still accomplish something that pushes the limits of what you thought was possible.

It’s true, I did it despite having a broken arm – I broke it seven places during a recent avalanche. However, I had been signed off by doctors.

When did you first consider attempting to break the record for fastest sea-level to summit ascent?

It was in July, 2023. After climbing Denali, which took 20 days including the commute from New York where I live, I realized that to be absent from my family and work for 50 days for Everest would be too much.

I started to research and found a story about Roxanne Vogel from California, who did the round trip in 14 days. So I started to work with Dr Irina Zelenkova [a sports medical doctor based in Barcelona] on how to ascend Everest faster than 50 days.

Her initial idea was to do it in three to four weeks, she wasn’t sure if it was possible to do it faster. Roxanne’s accounts say that she used an altitude chamber for preparation on top of a hypoxic tent and mask.

I suggested we should test the methods with a lower mountain – Aconcagua in Argentina, which is 22,841ft (6,962m) in January 2024. I thought that if I could climb it way faster than usual, we would try to attempt the sea-to-summit Everest in 12 days.

So, we started to train, and I climbed Aconcagua in just four days (including the commute from New York). After that, I got a green light from Irina.

The Nepal Department of Tourism is investigating the ascent before verifying it as a record. Are you confident it will be verified?

Yes, I am confident they will be able to verify it as I am able to provide all proof.

You’ve spoken about the advantages of training using a hypoxic tent. We’d love to know more about your experience

Dr Irina Zelenkova helped me along the way. This year, I spent approximately 400 hours in the tent, mostly sleeping in there and working out on a treadmill and StairMaster.

These were my methods:

Sleeping: I put a thick mattress inside the tent, so it was quite comfortable to sleep there.

Working out: To climb a high mountain, you need to do workouts anyway, the only difference with a usual workout was that I wore a mask connected to a generator. I wore the mask at the same time as doing my seven to nine workouts a week. All it takes is just an extra 10 minutes to set things up.

I would compare it with techno-diving [a more challenging form of scuba diving in which you can explore greater depths]: you need some experience prior to diving, but then you can dive way deeper and longer than with a traditional diving approach. It's the same here – a little work prior to climbing, but way faster and safer on the mountain.

What other training did you do?

As well as sleeping in a hypoxic tent and doing workouts on a treadmill, StairMaster and muscular endurance exercise with a mask to simulate altitude, I focused on regular things like diet, sleep, water, fresh air, vitamins.

What would you say to those who are skeptical of training using hypoxic tents, who say they don’t work or that they pose health risks?

Hypoxic tents work – the main goal with this project for me was to show other climbers, that if I, a non-athlete with a broken arm and a shoulder, was able to climb Everest in less than four days, including travelling all the way from New York, other people could climb similar mountains in 10 to 15 days instead of 40 to 50 days.

Regarding health risks, I would say it does the opposite. Rather than posing a risk, sleeping in a tent before going to the mountain is a great health check. If you have hidden health issues, you can discover them at home and can deal with them before you are on the mountain. You can decide to cancel the expedition, instead of risking your life up the mountain.

What’s your response to critics who say your achievement is setting a dangerous example for climbers, or that exploiting the science takes away from the sporting achievement?

I 100% agree, it could be dangerous for other climbers if they want to achieve the same results without putting in the same efforts as I did. I climbed Everest in under four days to demonstrate that this is possible – mostly to myself. In my mind, the safe zone is 10 to 20 days, with six to eight weeks of preparation.

What I have done is to demonstrate that it is possible to avoid spending 40 to 50 days on the mountain, thereby staying away from family and work, by pre-acclimatizing at home.

Why did you choose Elite Exped as your expedition company?

This was my first time with Elite Exped and I highly recommend the company. I am delighted with them. Nimsdai Purja inspired my project with his Project Possible – the quest to summit all 14 peaks over 8,000m (26,247ft) in seven months. He showed that it was possible – the previous record before him was seven years. My project is first of all about showing the way, not setting the record. I climbed without Nimsdai, but with another guide from his team, TJ.

On your return trip you were stopped and arrested at Tribhuvan International Airport for carrying a large amount of undeclared US currency. Can you tell us more about this incident?

I can’t say too much about this. However, I am cooperating fully with all authorities and hope it will be resolved soon.

What's next for you?

Nothing major for now – I need to recover and reflect on what happened first. Probably K2 in 2026. You can follow me on social media and through my website, www.everestseatosummit.com.

Altitude simulation training systems

Andrew Ushakov revealed after his summit that he'd used altitude training technology from specialist company Hypoxico. He said that “the ability to acclimatize at home allowed me to attempt and complete this climb in a fraction of the traditional time.”

We spoke to Hypoxico CEO Brian Oestrike on the realities of training in simulated altitude.

Did you have expectations that such an incredible feat such as Andrew Ushakov's could be achieved using altitude training systems?

We were not aware Andrew was attempting to break a record like this, but we had an inkling based on the protocol and usage questions he was asking that he was working towards something significant. We definitely had the expectation this would happen, the limiting component is how fast you can get to the mountain logistically.

When it comes to preparation, how long before an expedition should a climber start using a hypoxic tent?

This really depends on what the goal is, how high and how long an expedition. It's pretty standard to train and sleep with our systems for about six weeks before a climb, but for taller mountains like Everest it makes sense to go longer. Many of our clients and athletes use our equipment for endurance training. We have olympic level athletes that sleep in our tents around 9,000ft (2,740m) and they do this as long as it's practical, which for many of them, is years. For those training for something like Everest, we usually recommend eight to ten weeks.

Are there negative side effects?

Side effects are pretty similar to real altitude sickness, so if you sleep too high too quickly you basically won't sleep and can even get mild headaches or dehydration.

When did mountaineers first start using hypoxic tents for acclimatization training?

When I was at basecamp in 2008, no one at the time was using hypoxic tents. Everyone was acclimatizing on the mountain. We really didn't see this take off until Adrian Ballinger pioneered the use of the technology to pursue rapid ascents beginning around 2012.

You say there are probably up to 250 clients climbing Everest this season who have trained using hypoxic systems – is this more than ever?

It may be more than 250. The growth in usage has been extensive in the past decade and this is likely the highest rate we've seen on Everest, but the numbers continue to climb.

How will this growth the scene on Everest and other great peaks?

We will see more hypoxic tents in the future and my suspicion is this trend towards shorter expeditions will continue.

• Train indoors or out with the best climbing shoes
• Take your hike to new heights with the best approach shoes

Footballers, golfers, stand-up comedians, TedTalkers and even darts players do it these days. Putting yourself through a warm-up session before training, performing or competing is de rigueur across most sports disciplines and beyond these days.

And yet, when heading out for a run – especially over potentially rugged terrain – it’s something many of us barely give a thought to. We all know it’s a bad idea not to do a warm-up at all, but many of us don’t really know exactly how much attention we should pay to our pre-run routines. “I’ll warm up those muscles as I run, anyway,” has been the approach to a warm-up for many trail runners down the years. Me included.

“A warm-up traditionally for runners is normally running the first part of their run a little slower before going in to the main ‘work out’. Or for trail runners, running until the first hill comes upon them,” says James Cruikshank, who works with trail runners at the SPEAR Physiotherapy clinic in Aberdeen. “I try to incorporate a lot more footwork into a structured warm-up prior to hitting the trails.”

And research suggests that taking just a few moments out of your run time to tune up both body and mind can provide a wealth of benefits in the short and longer term. A review published in Frontiers in Physiology in 2021 found that a single bout of stretching can improve run performance, based on parameters like time to exhaustion and VO2 max.

Further studies, published in the Journal of Human Kinetics, found that runners who incorporated a warmup into their training sessions reported the lowest recorded post-run muscle ache.

While a light jog might be enough to get the blood – and the bigger leg muscles – moving, doing some dynamic stretches of the hamstrings and quadriceps, glutes and calves can improve your sharpness and reaction to uneven ground.

Exercise specialists insist that a simple warm-up will not only help prime the body for exercise by raising your heart rate, but it’ll also help reduce your risk of injury and stave off those feelings of sluggishness and stiffness mid-run. “It’ll also better prepare you for the demands of those aforementioned hills,” adds Cruickshank.

The best warm-up for running the trails

Cruickshank advises trail runners to perform a five- to seven-minute warmup based around a RAIL structure, an acronym that should be simple enough for trail runners to remember. Cruickshank explains what each letter stands for:

• R (1-2 mins) – “Focuses on specific Release, normally targeted to the outside of the hip or outside of the quadriceps.”
• A (1 min each drill) – “Activate focusses on two drills – called foot ‘Torqs’ and pronation lunges – where the runner explores the ankle and foot range of motion while transferring their body weight from their outside heel to the big toe (pivotal in runners).”
• I (1min each leg) – “Integration is linking the hip to the foot through a single-leg hinge pattern, integrating the foot with the powerful hips. A runner’s leg is is like a fishing rod; the hook is the foot and the spool is the glute – you need both to be optimal to be successful.”
• L – “The warm-up rounds off with Load – that’s your run.”

“Just like a warm cuddle, a proper warm-up routine will embrace your muscles and joints, preparing them for the intense running ahead,” says Cruickshank.

“As a sensible cool down the above sequence is repeated in reverse: LIAR – quite apt, as every client says they do one, but the jury is out,” Cruickshank jokes.

Doing dynamic stretches and gentle exercises with a gradual increase in intensity doesn’t just help your body adapt to the upcoming challenge. Another study, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found that when runners performed a dynamic stretching routine before a workout, they were better able to sustain a harder effort for longer than those who didn’t.

Getting in the zone

Warming up for a workout or a trail race won’t just ready your body for a run – it can help your mental focus too.

“For runners who suffer with pre-race anxiety, going through a warm-up ritual can steady the nerves and help a runner enjoy the moment,” suggests sports psychologist David Charlton.

“In the build-up to a race I recommend athletes even use journaling as part of a warmup routine. Writing down worries or doubts about your performance can help rationalize thoughts and refocus on achievable expectations.

“Writing and rehearsing affirmations like, ‘I’m going to start or finish strong,’ rather than solely outcome-based goals can warmup the mind for a race. Practising guided visualization helps too – imagine the race, including potential challenges and how to overcome them. Envision yourself warming up, maintaining confidence and finishing successfully. Tailor this to your personality – you may prefer calm, motivation-based audios, or energizing music.”

Injury prevention

Emma Kirk-Odunubi is Run Coach and Gait Educator with OOFOS active recovery shoes, and she agrees with James Cruickshank that the most effective drills for warming up for trail running involves movements that increase ankle and foot reactivity but also help with hip stability.

“When running on trails our balance and stability is challenged constantly, so making sure our hips are firing and our ankles are primed is key,” she says.

“A trail runner should look to spend 10-15 minutes warming up. This can incorporate a light hike pre-run and then flushing through the hamstrings, ankles, calves and core within the warm-up.”

For variety on the dynamic warmup Kirk-Odunubi suggests runners grab a resistance band and perform the following moves:

“Firstly, double-footed pogo jumps. Lock the ankles together and, keeping the legs stiff, jump 10 times forward and back – small jumps. Then 10 pogo jumps side to side. This can be repeated single leg to wake up the reaction of the muscles and tendons in the lower limbs.”

Secondly, it’s banded glute marches (see below). “Begin by lying down, knees bent feet on the floor. Elevate the hips and then with the small band around the feet for resistance, alternate marching the knees towards the chest while keeping the hips still and elevated. Do 8-10 reps in total.”

Kirk-Odunubi also suggests that runners don’t solely do a warm-up on a cold day. “In warmer conditions you maybe not need as long, but deceptively the body will still need warming up for the act of running – certain drills and movement patterns will be essential.”

“For icy and colder conditions, consider doing your warm-up indoors – mobilizing and doing drills on the spot – before heading out the door.” But key to preparing for trails, in Kirk-Odunubi’s book, is proprioception.

“It’s essential for trail runners more than most. A simple exercise is the single leg balance. This can be incorporated to daily life – balancing on one leg when brushing your teeth morning and evening is a simple way to build it in.” You can add difficulty by standing on a screwed-up towel also to make harder.

• Six common running pains you shouldn’t ignore
• Best warm-up for trail runners: an easy 8-minute routine

Kirk-Odunubi also recommends plyometric work within a warm-up. “Single leg hops including lateral single leg bounds (skaters) will help wake up the stabilization muscles in the ankles.”

To do these, stand with your hips flexed and your knees slightly bent. Generate force with your arms, and bound to one side by extending the ankle, knee and hip of one leg. Land softly on your lead leg and pause until balanced, then bound in the opposite direction off your opposite leg.

Combine both mind and body warm-ups and you’ll hopefully reap the rewards on every run you do.

Want to stay off-grid? The latest Garmin watch has stealth modes fit for James Bond and an option to wipe your data at a moment's notice.

After months of anticipation, the Garmin Instinct 3 - Tactical Edition is finally here, along with multiple tactical enhancements.

Among them is a discreet Stealth mode, which disables all wireless communication and makes you invisible to GPS tracking. Your health and distance-traveled data will still be recorded, but any location information will not. The Kill Switch mode is also handy for security purposes, wiping all your user data at a moment's notice.

While new to the Instinct 3 line, these modes are available on previous Tactical editions, including those in the discontinued Tactix range.

If you're out after dark, the Night Vision Goggles mode dims the display to a level that the primary user can see (even while wearing night vision devices), but is barely visible to anyone else. There's also a green-light flashlight option to help you see with discretion once the sun sets.

For an additional fee, hunting users can unlock the Applied Ballistics solver, which provides elevation and wind information to calculate bullet trajectory and manage a firearm's profile.

It's not just hunters and military personnel who'll get something out of this new survival watch.

The Instinct 3 - Tactical Edition also has multiple modes and functions built for heavy-duty use and multi-day treks .

The new Rucking activity mode allows you to input pack weight so your watch can better understand your physical exertion while carrying a heavy load.

The Jumpman navigation mode is also new and well-suited to long-distance hiking and backpacking. It simultaneously displays two sets of coordinates on a single screen to help you track progress and get where you want to go without confusion.

Design-wise, the new model adds a tough metal-reinforced bezel and fiber-reinforced case to protect its bright AMOLED or solar-charging MIP display. Its rough and ready outer is tested to military standards for thermal and shock resistance, and water-rated down to 328ft (100m).

The solar-powered Instinct 3 - Tactical Edition is available in 45mm and 50mm sizes, along with a 50mm AMOLED display version.

Garmin claims that its latest solar tech is far more efficient than previous models, harnessing the power of the sun to receive five times the battery life in GPS mode while solar charging.

"The Instinct series has proven itself time and again as the ultimate choice for individuals who need an advanced smartwatch they can depend on in any situation," says Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing Susan Lyman.

"With incredible battery life, an innovative rugged design and dedicated features for your tactical lifestyle, the Instinct 3 – Tactical Edition answers the call and dares to be more.”

The solar-powered Instinct 3 - Tactical Edition watches start at $499.99 (£429.99), while the 50mm AMOLED version retails for $599.99 (£499.99) on the Garmin website.

• The best running watches: tech to help you outpace your PB
• The best GPS watches: feature-packed timepieces to keep you on course

Whoops! Garmin may have just accidentally confirmed the latest sports watch in their beloved Forerunner range - and it's not the model you might be expecting.

On Tuesday, the eagle-eyed Garmin fanatics at Garmin Rumours spotted the Forerunner 970 listed in an Extended Warranty Campaign Application page on Garmin’s Taiwanese website.

The page, which was swiftly deleted, was designed to help Taiwanese Garmin lovers apply for an extended warranty with the supposedly incoming watch.

The leak doesn't officially confirm anything, but as noted by our sister site TechRadar: "the Forerunner 970 shows up as a brand, so there's no chance this is some kind of machine learning-induced translation of, say, the Forerunner 965."

This latest leak might come as something of a surprise to Garmin lovers, after months of rumours about a new Forerunner 975 watch.

In March, we reported on a newly registered device that had the potential to be the Forerunner 975, but ultimately wasn't.

If it's on the way, as this leak suggests, the Forerunner 970 would break from tradition to become the first '70' Forerunner watch. This clouds any prediction about new features, although it would likely include a similarly extensive range of health trackers and sports modes as the Forerunner 955.

It could also be the first Forerunner watch to feature Garmin's ECG heart monitoring app, after the American brand introduced its Elevate Gen5 optical HR sensor tech to Enduro, Fenix, and Venu watches in the UK and Switzerland earlier this month.

The ECG app uses sensors in your Garmin watch to track and record your heart's electrical activity, including its rate and rhythm. This creates an electrocardiogram (ECG) which can recognise dangerous heart problems like atrial fibrillation.

• The best Garmin watches: make the right choice for the sport you love
• The best GPS watches: feature-packed timepieces to keep you on course

Strava has drawn some inspiration from Garmin and Coros and unveiled a new tool that gives you an estimate of how long it will take you to run your next race. Performance Predictions, which officially launched yesterday, is available to 150 million Strava subscribers and uses AI to take some of the guesswork out of your training plan.

Analyzing your recent run activity, the machine-powered learning tool draws on over 100 data points from your performance and uses insights into how similar runners on Strava perform to give you a prediction for how long it will take you to run your next 5k, 10k, half or full marathon.

This feature already exists on the Coros and Garmin Connect apps, but this tool means you can access it with any GPS watch linked to Strava. The predictions update automatically after every run and adjust during rest periods, so they always reflect your current fitness level. If you are training for a race, or even just working on your own running challenge or PB, the tool gives you target paces that you can adopt in your training using your sports watch.

In a press release, Strava says the tool furnishes you with a smarter and more responsive training experience.

"Runners can assess whether their training supports their goal pace, make informed adjustments, and track their evolving potential."

You can find your Performance Predictions now in the Progress tab within the Strava app. This news comes just one day after we reported that Strava had acquired Runna, a coaching app for runners. In 2024 alone, nearly one billion runs were recorded on Strava.

• The best cheap GPS watches: log your adventures without depleting your savings
• The best running watches: tech to help you outpace your PB

When Devon-based company Dryrobe seized on the concept of a wearable towel and transformed it into a multifunctional garment, a whole new category was born, and now there are plenty of great changing robes around for wild swimmers and paddlers to choose from, including the Heatwave, a big, bold offering from Bluefin, a brand best known for their stand-up paddle boards (SUPs).

Experienced outdoor types well know the multifaceted value of a good camping towel, but full-on robes such as the Heatwave, which looks at first glance to be a cloak so substantial it could protect you against anything up to (and possibly including) a nuclear winter, have proved themselves so practical and popular that many people wear them while wandering around well away from the waterside, as wind-stopping, chill-beating onesies at the end of running events, in campsites and even at festivals.

I took delivery of this one in mid January and although I do need to point out (lest the images look a little odd) that I ended up with a size too large (our admin error, not Bluefin’s fault) I have been enjoying it’s voluminous and cozy embrace ever since.

Fit, design and materials

I have been testing an XL version of the Heatwave, whereas I would probably opt for a large in normal circumstances. That said, at 6’ 2” I do sometimes wear XL gear, and this robe still felt absolutely enormous, so bear this in mind if you too are on the cusp of a couple of sizes. Err on the small side, as this is a huge piece of kit which extends to well below your knees.

It might be massive, but impressively, the Heatwave is made with mostly recycled material. The windproof outer is entirely constructed with recycled nylon and the warm fluffy inner is comprised from 60% recycled ‘Sherpa’ fleece.

The most innovative feature of the Heatwave is the fact that the robe, which is primarily designed for use in colder temperatures, has detachable arms. The forearms can be unzipped and removed from the main body of the garment turning it into a short-sleeved robe, albeit one with a massively warm lining.

All the zips on this change robe are top quality, and the main one has a large pull loop on the zipper, so you can get it done up and undone even when your hands are shivering (or while you are wearing gloves).

The comprehensive and cozy hood on this robe can be adjusted with pull cords and toggles, while the cuffs (when you have the long arms on) can be tightened with large Velcro flaps. There are two deep hand pockets in the front of this robe (without zips), plus a zipped chest pocket and an inside pocket for phones (and other valuables/don’t want to loseables) that also has a zip, plus an outlet for a pair of headphones.

• Check out the best water shoes for aquatic adventures in all seasons
• Explore the best hiking sandals on the market

Sadly, the robe does not come with a stuff sack, which would be a good addition given its tendency to take over half your vehicle when packed loose. You can, of course, just employ a good-quality dry bag as a stuff sack. Bear in mind, though, that you’ll need a large one.

On the coast and in the field

As mentioned, my Heatwave robe was a bit on the generous side, but I certainly didn’t mind the extra coverage it supplied during the colder months, and I really can’t fault the protection it offered me after emerging from icy water, and also while I was wandering around in campsites in the chill of spring evenings and the mist of early mornings. The cut of the main garment is longer than most robes, which means you can keep your knees warm and safely get changed out of wet swimming/paddling gear in public without anyone calling the police.

I really love the soft-feel fleece-lined hand pockets, and I prefer the fact that they don’t feature zips, because they’re so much more comfortable and less abrasive without a row of metal teeth. For more important and looser items than your hands, the zipped inside pocket offers a secure storage place. This inner pouch easily accommodates a smart phone, and there is an outlet for headphones, for when you want to stroll along the windswept foreshore listening to some tunes.

The adjustable hood is excellent – you can properly pull it tight in windy conditions, and it protects your ears, neck and head from the elements. Likewise, the closure system on the cuffs reliably keeps drafts out and enables you to warm up nice and quickly after a bracing immersion.

The detachable arms are an interesting and innovative feature, and they do allow you dump some excess heat once you have stopped shivering. With its comprehensive and utterly weatherproof outer, and super chunky fleecy inner, however, the Heatwave is every bit as warm as the name promises it will be, and the robe remains a very toasty garment whether you have the wings on or not.

We’re still a long way from mid-summer here, but except after very early morning swims, I’m not sure I’ll be able to bear wearing this robe for too long when the outside temperature starts to rise – it feels like it will cook me pretty quick. Of course, this all depends on where you are and how much you feel the chill.

My main issue with the Bluefin Heatwave is with its immense weight; it feels like a robe that has been designed for SUPers, surfers, paddlers, van campers and other vehicle-based adventures, because that’s exactly what it is. Nothing wrong with that, but you do need to be aware of it if you’re a wild swimmer who likes to hike in to your bathing spots (you could of course wear it for the walk-in, but unless it’s a decidedly chilly day, you may well overheat). It’s also a very large garment to store when you’re not using it, and I would have liked to see a decent stuff sack included (even if it pushed the price up a bit), because it’s a big presence to have lying around.

Also Consider

Garmin lovers in the United Kingdom and Switzerland will be able to track their heart's electrical activity as Garmin’s ECG heart monitoring app is rolled out to certain models.

The ECG function has been a common feature of the best Garmin watches in the United States, the EU, and elsewhere for several years. In the coming weeks, it will become available to UK and Swiss Enduro 3, Fenix 8, and Venu 3 users.

These are the only compatible watches as they all feature Garmin's high-tech Elevate Gen5 optical HR sensor.

What is an ECG?

The ECG app uses sensors in your Garmin watch to track and record your heart's electrical activity, including its rate and rhythm. This creates an electrocardiogram (ECG).

ECGs are a vital tool for detecting and monitoring heart problems like atrial fibrillation; an irregular heart rhythm that can increase your chances of a stroke and other heart problems.

How to access the ECG app

Providing you've got the right watch, the ECG app can be set up simply and easily with the assistance of Garmin Connect.

• Open the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone
• Select your device image at the top of the screen
• Select Finish Setup
• Select Set Up ECG App
• Follow any further on-screen instructions

How to record an ECG

Once you've downloaded the ECG app, you can record an ECG by following these quick and easy steps.

• Wear your Garmin watch just above your wristbone
• Open the ECG app on your watch and follow the on-screen instructions
• Rest your wrist on a flat surface and keep it still
• Start a recording by putting your thumb and index finger on the metal ring around the watch face
• Remain still for 30 seconds while the reading is taken

Once you've taken a recording, you'll be able to view it in the Garmin Connect companion app.

The Venu 3, Fenix 8, and Enduro 3 watches are three top-of-the-range Garmin sports watches. Alongside ECG capabilities, they each feature multiple sports modes and other health trackers like stress tracking, pulse oxygen tracking, and sleep coaching.

These stats are all visible in the Connect app, which displays your health data in handy graphs and charts.

• The best running watches: tech to help you outpace your PB
• The best GPS watches: feature-packed timepieces to keep you on course

Are you looking to get into shape in 2025? Take a leaf out of Jonny Huntington’s book. The 38-year-old para-athlete is attempting to become the first disabled person to cross all 566 miles from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole, using the Nordic skiing technique.

After a stroke at the age of 28 left him with lifelong mental and physical injuries, the former soldier lost all control over his left foot. Jonny leaned into the change, taking on extreme challenges in support of the charities that have helped him.

“This is about proving that disability doesn't mean inability,” he told Advnture just before he left for Antarctica.

Currently skiing about 14 miles / 22.5km per day in bone-chilling temperatures below -40°F / -40°C, Huntington needed a huge amount of training to get into sufficient shape.

“My program has been specifically put together to be as sports-specific as possible,” says Jonny, who also boasts a Masters degree in Sports and Health Sciences.

Speaking to Advnture before he set off, he added, “I’m fit and strong enough, but I'm also really well conditioned from a ligament, tendon, joint perspective to be physically resilient to what it's going to do to me.”

More than a decade has now passed since Jonny’s life-changing stroke, but he’s still feeling the effects. Alongside losing control of his left foot, the Devon local continues to battle several neurological and physical effects.

To overcome his various impairments, and prepare for the unique task ahead, Jonny looked outside the box. Aiming to replicate his Antarctic adventure, he tied large rubber tires to a harness and set out for long hikes along local beaches.

“I'm super fortunate where I live in South Devon, there's miles and miles of coast path around here. Once you've got two reasonably heavy tires, you know you can be pretty sure that you're training hard,” Jonny explains.

“Part of my injury creates additional tension in the rear of my leg. It's called additional tone, and basically, it just means that the back of my leg gets really tight. So doing activities like tire dragging just helps to really put your body through the same stresses and positioning. It's like dragging a sledge-wheel.”

Determined to complete his mammoth Journey without any support or assistance, Jonny is dragging 242lbs / 110kg of equipment behind him in a ‘pulk’, a small, sled-like contraption used to pull heavy items through the snow. Among his luggage, Jonny is dragging a tent, clothes, and enough food to last the 40 to 45 days he’ll be in the wilderness.

Alongside South Pole-specific training, Jonny’s been hitting both the gym and the trails hard, following a tailored program to improve his strength and cardiovascular fitness.

“The personal training staff at the gym that I go to are extremely highly qualified and have really taken the time to understand what it is I'm going to be doing,” Jonny explains.

“I've worked with Jess my PT to put together a strength and conditioning program which really maximizes both strength and power endurance.”

Jonny’s also sticking to an extreme diet, consuming exactly 6,150 calories per day in an effort to remain nourished on the ice. Despite eating this mammoth amount each day, Jonny will still be burning fat, losing roughly a kilo of body fat every three days.

“The anticipated daily calorie loss is going to be roughly 9,000 a day, which is significant,” Jonny said, describing any attempt to consume that much in a day as ‘impractical’.

“Every calorie you take down there weighs something. So, not only not only would you not be getting anywhere because you’d be eating all the time, but also, your [sled] would be so heavy at that stage.

“It definitely requires some thought.”

With more than two years of intensive training behind him and a precise diet, Jonny left for Antarctica well-prepared to take on the elements.

“It's that sort of classic military adage of train hard fight easy,” said the former British Army Officer, who’s now just a few weeks away from becoming the first para-athlete to reach the South Pole unassisted.

For more on Jonny’s incredible story, check out our profile.

• The best freeze-dried meals 2024: lightweight food for backpacking
• The best winter hiking boots 2024: for unbeatable performance in the cold

If like me, you love to lace up your trail running shoes or hiking boots and hit the trail regularly, you might find that your hamstrings are feeling a little tight these days – especially if you’re not great about stretching regularly.

Running and hiking place load your hamstrings – a collective term used for the three muscles that run down the back of your thigh from your sitting bones to the back of your knee – and that’s not a bad thing. Adding load to muscles helps make them stronger, and strong leg muscles assist with balance as well as your ability to perform everyday functions like standing. Until it doesn’t.

Overloading your hamstrings, whose job it is to bend your knee, doesn’t make the muscles shorter – it just feels that way. What it can do, however, is inhibit the ability of your hamstrings to move through their full range of motion – by nature, hiking and running move your knees and hips through a fairly short range of motion and when you do these movements on repeat, it can mean you feel pretty stiff when you go to put your shoes on in the morning.

Why does it matter if I have tight hamstrings?

I’ve been teaching yoga for 15 years, mostly to athletic populations, and unyielding hamstrings are something I see a lot of. You don’t need to have any aspirations to get your leg behind your head for tight hamstrings to be an issue – because your hamstrings originate at your pelvis, when they grow tight they can hold your pelvis in a posterior tilt, and that has knock-on effects. Research shows this can lead to postural issues, lower back pain and problems with balance. 

Furthermore, your hamstrings share tissue with your calves, and tightness in one often signals tightness in the other, which can leave you prone to running injuries like Achilles tendonitis, strains and shin splints. But that’s all worst-case scenario.

In reality, some tightness in your leg muscles is a normal part of hiking and running, and it can actually help you if you’re a sprinter. It’s not an issue unless it’s causing you pain or affecting your ability to perform daily activities. That’s why doing some mobility exercises such as those provided by yoga can be helpful.

Half Splits for runners and hikers

You might not reasonably expect to be able to do the splits as a runner, nor is there any functional reason to do so, but one of my favorite poses to offset the tightness I feel in my own hamstrings after running and hiking is a pose called Half Splits. 

Much as it sounds, Half Splits is a variation on splits that’s much more accessible and can easily be incorporated into any stretching sequence, such as my yoga stretches for runners.

But there’s a caveat. Without a little guidance, it’s easy to do Half Splits in a way that basically does almost nothing for your hamstrings. Check out this picture of me doing Half Splits the way I usually see people doing it:

In this picture, you can see my back is rounded so I can bring my hands to the floor. But why does that matter? After all, I’m doing Half Splits to stretch my hamstrings, so why does it matter what my spine is doing? The answer lies in the origin and insertion points of my hamstrings. 

Because these amazing muscles originate on my sitting bone and insert just below the back of my knee, if I round my back like this I’m further posteriorly tilting my pelvis. That actually means I’m moving the two ends of my hamstrings closer together. Not helpful when I’m trying to stretch them, right? 

Read on for what to do instead.

How to do Half Splits properly

After you’ve been out on a run or hike, unroll your yoga mat for a few minutes of stretching. For Half Splits, you’ll want to step one foot back and bring your back knee down. If that hurts your knee, place a folded towel under it then do the following:

• Forget about bringing your hands to the floor. Grab two yoga blocks (large books will do if you’re stuck) and place one under each hand on the tallest setting.
• Straighten your front leg as much as you comfortably can. You may need to slide your heel forward a little to avoid sitting back on your heel.
• Move the blocks if you need to so that your hands can stay comfortably under your shoulders and lift your chest, lengthening your spine rather than folding over your leg.
• Make a small bend in your knee, then see if you can tilt your sitting bones back so you’re moving the origin of your hamstrings away from the insertion.
• If you can do so without strain, slowly begin to straighten your knee again without letting your sitting bone roll under.
• Dorsiflex your ankle to draw your toes towards you to also stretch your calves.

 Now your Half Splits should look more like this:

At first, the muscle spindle stretch receptors (cells within the muscle that detect changes in tension and length) will start telling your nervous system to contract the muscle to avoid injury, but stay here for a few breaths and that firing will stop. 

When it does, you can take things a step further by contracting your quadriceps to actively straighten your knee, then contract your hamstrings and press your heel into the ground. Hold this for a few breaths, essentially strengthening your hamstrings in a lengthened position, then release again and you’ll probably notice a difference straight away. 

If Half Splits is not appropriate for you, grab a yoga strap or a belt instead, lie down on your back and stretch your hamstrings with this posture:

• How to choose a travel yoga mat for active adventures

Meet the reviewer

Yogamatters Eco Travel Yoga Mat: first impressions 

At first glance, we thought this yoga travel mat was one of the best we've tested, largely because it's actually light, very thin and super packable. Weighing in at just over 700 grams, it's wafer-thin and easy to roll up or fold and pack away in a carry on bag when you're taking an active trip.

Made using biodegradable and recyclable rubber, the Yogamatters Eco Travel Yoga Mat has a grippy, textured surface that helps you stay in place in downward facing dog, though if you sweat a lot you might want to bring a towel. Because it's so thin, you'll get a good feel for the ground beneath your hands and feet but of course, virtually no cushioning under your knees. Its impressively light weight also means that if you're using it outside, a breeze can cause it to flap around and potentially blow away.

There are some downsides to using rubber – this mat has a strong smell when new and leaves an unpleasant taste on your hands so wash them after use, but this does wear off quickly. It's also not the most durable material, and given how thin this mat is, we do have some doubts about its longevity.

It's well-priced and blows away the competition in terms of weight and packability, which really does make it a good choice for eco-conscious travelers, but we can see it needing to be replaced sooner than the competition if you plan to use it regularly.

Yogamatters Eco Travel Yoga Mat: in the field

I've been practicing yoga for 30 years and with so much travel as an outdoors writer, it's become really important to me to have a good travel yoga mat. I've spent the past six months trying to find the perfect base for my practice so I can stretch out after a long day on a plane or climbing a mountain.

I was thrilled when the Yogamatters Eco Travel Yoga Mat arrived in time for a recent vacation to the Greek island of Corfu, where I was not only having a relaxing holiday but going on daily trail runs in a nearby forest and wanted to stay limber.

Here’s how it performed:

Weight and packability

This is easily the lightest and most packable travel yoga mat I've tested so far. At just over 700 grams, it was an easy choice to tuck it into my duffel bag which was going under my seat in front of me for the flight, and it can either be rolled up like a regular mat, or folded into a square which makes it really easy to pack.

Once I arrived at my destination, it was light enough that I was happy to bring it along in my daypack any time I thought I might want to have a stretch down by the water.

Performance

This mat has the grippy, textured surface you'd expect from rubber which means that I stuck to it really well. That said, I don't have the sweatiest palms in the world and one day when I did have wet hands from swimming, I noticed it was a bit more slippery. If you're traveling somewhere hot and you sweat a lot, you might want to also bring a micro towel.

Obviously, the 1 mm thickness (or thinness) makes it excellent for portability, but it also means you can't expect any padding under your knees and might want a folded towel. The upside of that is that I could feel the ground beneath my hands and feet, which I really like for connection and stability – kind of like barefoot shoes but for yoga.

I personally don't mind the lack of padding, but one day on our trip we did experience some gusty winds and the mat is so light and thin that it was nearly blowing away when I took it down to the dock, so definitely use something to weight it down if you're outdoors in the breeze.

One other point about this mat is that when it's new, it has a really strong rubbery smell. I actually don't hate this smell, but I did make the mistake of eating after using it without washing my hands, and that's when I learned that rubber really doesn't taste nice. This all wears off quickly, however, and it's my own fault for not washing my hands.

Sustainability and value

We yogis care about our impact on the planet and not all yoga mats are great for Mother Earth. This one, however, boasts excellent eco creds. It's made using sustainably harvested natural tree rubber which means it's recyclable and biodegradable, plus it's free from toxic chemicals and dyes. The rubber material does mean it might not last as long as other mats, and I think it being so thin might speed up its shelf life, but we'll see what time brings.

As for value, I think it's a good price compared to competitors, and especially given how portable it really is.

Yogamatters Eco Travel Yoga Mat: the bottom line

If your priorities for your yoga mat when you're traveling are that it is super light, easy to pack and grippy, you won't find a better deal than this mat. However, if you're seeking something with a bit more weight, thickness and durability, and don't mind added weight, check out the foldable Mikkoa Travel Yoga Mat.

• How Advnture tests products

There will be very few runners who have not faced an injury at some point in their lives. From muscle strains and pulls, to ligament tears and broken bones, there are many issues that can stop a runner in their tracks. Depending on the length of time of the running injury, it can be very tough for runners to be facing the obstacle of time out from their favourite fitness activity.

We bring you a guide to what you can do to stay positive when you’re injured and can’t train like normal. 

1. Focus on you

Running can be very time consuming and it’s often the case that if you have been doing too much running, an injury will occur. Instead of getting low because you can’t run, now is the time to think about how enjoy a range of other activities.

Perhaps you have a book you have been meaning to read – maybe one of these best running books –  finances and personal admin that need to be sorted; a visit to see a friend elsewhere in the country; or any of the other things that runners tend to ignore because running is their main focus.

2. Stretching and strength training 

If you can’t run due to an injury, it’s the perfect time to start the stretching and strength training routine you have long been planning but never quite got around to. 

Why not take the chance to find a yoga class or book a one-to-one Pilates session? 

While stretching might help with your injury recovery, strength training can help with future-proofing you body so that when you do get back to running, you a physically more robust.

3. Try something new

You can’t run, but this doesn’t mean you have to avoid all sports. Try to find an activity that you can do without exacerbating the niggles that can occur for runners.  

How about cycling instead of running, or spin sessions, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, swimming (especially wild swimming) or simply heading to the gym?

4. Do low impact exercise

Running is a high-impact sport and that has benefits, such as keeping bones strong, but when you are injured it is usually better to choose low-impact activities. This might be swimming, yoga, walking, or even a walking meditation, as examples.

Being able to exercise, even if it’s not running, can help you to stay positive. 

5. See a physio

A physiotherapist will be able to assess your injury, or injuries, and guide you towards the best road to recovery. Making a plan of action for recovery and strengthening can help maintain positivity.

6. Find the root cause of the injury

Whether you enlist the help of a physio or another expert, such as a podiatrist, osteopath, chiropractor, massage therapist or menopause specialist, it's important to find the root cause of your running injury. Once this has been identified you can start to build a plan that will aim to return you to running.

7. Get a running gait analysis

It might be that your running gait is causing your injury and, if so, you may need new running footwear or orthotics. Seeking the advice of an expert in gait analysis – perhaps at a local running shop – or seeing a podiatrist can help you to stay positive even when you need to take a break from running. 

8. Don’t forget your running friends

You might not be joining your friends for regular runs, but make an effort to stay in touch and meet up in other ways. Could you meet for a walk or a bike ride instead, or just chat via WhatsApp? You could offer to support running friends in a race or on an adventure they have planned to keep the team spirit alive. Just because you re injured, it’s important not to give up on the enjoyment of socializing.

9. Log off Strava 

Strava – and other forms of social media – can lead to FOMO (fear of missing out). You will obviously be missing out on running activities because you are injured but it can lead to a lot of negativity for some runners if they continue to keep track of what everyone else is still doing. Try to take a break from Strava if you know it will trigger negative thoughts.

10. Plan a future running event

Use your injury recovery time wisely, perhaps to plan a race, adventure or holiday. Having something to look forward to will give you a more positive outlook. 

11. Try a little retail therapy

Assess your running clothing, footwear and equipment to see if there is anything new you might need or something that should be replaced, for example a GPS watch or running pack. A spot of retail therapy can do wonders for positivity when you are injured and can't run (though of course, only if there's something you really need).

• The best cheap running shoes: tried and tested options for all budgets

Do you experience changes in mood, energy levels or coordination during your period? If so, you might also struggle with reduced motivation to keep training and find yourself in a constant cycle of starting over after a monthly break. Many of us were raised to believe that taking a break during our periods is required to accommodate lower energy levels, but for athletes, that can be disruptive to training. And according to one research expert in the field, you may not need to.

“There’s a conversation where you actually back off doing any exercise because you’re going to feel weak,” explains Dr Natalie Brown at a recent lecture at the Arc’teryx Climb Academy.

“Actually, you can still feel super strong and achieve the same adaptations from trainin,g but we just need to be a bit proactive in terms of what we do.”

Brown is a research associate at Swansea University and Sport in Wales, working for the Welsh Institute of Performance Science and the founder of Optimal Period. She’s also a climber, runner, biker and surfer and as someone whose job it is to read the research on menstruation and sport, she thinks she’s cracked the case when it comes to keeping female athletes active. 

I consider myself a fairly fortunate period-haver and don’t tend to experience extreme pain or fatigue, but I am familiar with the dips in energy she’s talking about; in fact, before this workshop, I pulled on my trail running shoes for a 10k run and found myself needing to take a few breaks. Perhaps like you, I’ve always just concluded that we get the hand we’re dealt when it comes to our periods, and there’s not much you can do about it besides take some painkillers.

According to Brown, however, many symptoms that we associate with menstruation are actually caused by inflammation, and if you can get a handle on inflammatory behaviors (and foods), you can reduce your symptoms – and keep training.

If you’re struggling with staying active through your menstrual cycle, Brown advises you start using a diary to track your stress, sleep and diet and see if you can find a correlation between your behaviors and your symptoms. 

“Feeling like you could do stuff last week but not this week is stressful,” acknowledges Brown.

“So check in and start identifying what factors might be affecting you.”

If you do note a link between your diet and your symptoms – for example, on the months you give into cravings for fatty processed foods, your cramps and mood are worse – Brown outlines the following strategies to keep you moving.

1. Be proactive

Brown explains that a lot of symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle are caused by inflammation in the body, and one of the best methods to offset this is to curb your intake of pro-inflammatory foods (that largely means processed foods) and focus instead on anti-inflammatory foods (you guessed it, that means fruit and vegetables).

This is especially important during the week before your period because decreasing hormone levels increase inflammation, and that’s what makes your symptoms worse, so don’t wait until your period starts to start chopping veggies.

“Starting to think about this the day you start your period, when you’ve got really bad menstrual cramps, you’re too late then” warns Brown.

Instead, be proactive. While the days leading up to and during your period are often the ones where you can’t be bothered cooking and taking care of yourself, earlier in your cycle, you can take advantage of your higher energy and better mood to prepare future you for the days ahead.

“Batch cook meals. Then when you can’t be bothered to cook, just grab a meal out of the freezer and you don’t need to do anything, but you’ve got those anti-inflammatory foods.”

2. Switch up your fuel sources throughout your cycle

I’m aware that carbs like those we find in running gels give us quick-release energy during a marathon, while fat sources help sustain us during Zone two training, but what I didn’t realize until now is that as a female, I experience a monthly shift in terms of what energy I use as my main fuel source.

As Brown explains, during the first half of the menstrual cycle, known as the follicular phase, our bodies rely on glycogen for fuel during exercise, meaning quick-releasing energy that helps us do lots of exercise and lift heavy weights.

When we shift into the latter half of our cycle, known as the luteal phase, our bodies start relying on fat sources, which is great for long endurance workouts, but not speed workouts and high-intensity intervals.

“If you want to do anything punchy and fast and explosive, you’re probably going to feel more lethargic.”

During that phase, Brown says, give your body an immediate fuel source of (ideally non-processed) carbs. Brown's prescription during this time is to have a carb-based meal like rice or pasta four hours before exercise and a carb snack such as a banana or cereal two hours before, then another like fruit or yogurt within 30 minutes of finishing. If you’re doing a high-intensity workout lasting longer than 45 minutes or a long workout of more than 75 minutes, take a carb snack during your workout.

If that sounds like a lot of carbs, Brown suggests liquid versions like gels, a milkshake or a homemade sports drink with salt and sugar to help you consume more carbs and reduce lethargy.

3. Increase protein intake closer to your period 

We’ve all heard that getting enough protein is vital for athletes, and as Brown explains, this is especially true for females because while estrogen builds muscle during the middle of your cycle, rising progesterone as you get closer to your period actually breaks it down.

“I tend to say just have a protein intake with every snack and meal,” recommends Brown, who says that once again, it’s better to build this habit when your progesterone levels are high than to wait until your period when you’re craving fatty carbs.

Brown’s recommendation is to take 10 grams of carbs in every snack – that’s half a pint of milk, a tablespoon of hummus or cottage cheese or a small yogurt – and 20 grams with each meal, such as a chicken breast, fish fillet, three eggs or half a can of beans. You can also check out our recipe for DIY protein chickpea bars for a healthy homemade snack.

Finally, she says, your recovery will be affected during the week before your period, so make sure you have some protein about 30 minutes before bed.

“A milky drink can be good before bed, especially if you’ve done a lot of exercise during the day because that helps aid recovery.”

4. Practice moderation

You might not have to change your training schedule, but you probably have to change your behavior and Brown encourages moderation when it comes to those comfort foods we often reach for when it’s that time of the month – namely, caffeine, alcohol and chocolate.

“I never like to say to anyone, don’t have anything,” says Brown.

“Even chocolate is pro-inflammatory. Having a small amount is okay; having a whole big bar will increase inflammation.”

Caffeine and alcohol also make bloating worse and increase inflammation, making symptoms worse, so take them in small amounts and, particularly when it comes to caffeine, timing is key.

Brown recommends avoiding caffeine after midday so that it doesn’t disrupt your sleep cycle, and if you feel that you must have caffeine to kickstart your workout, she suggests taking it in a more controlled form, like a caffeine chewing gum 15 minutes before a workout that doesn’t stay in your system for as long as a cup of coffee.

5. Sleep reigns supreme

For offsetting low energy levels and fatigue, Brown says, sleep is better than caffeine as lack of quality sleep also contributes to inflammation. It might be tempting to hole up in bed with Netflix streaming on your iPad, but that isn’t a good idea if you want your pineal gland to start producing that lovely, slumber-inducing hormone melatonin.

“Being on a phone, watching TV, having the lights on in the house before bed – that’s all going to wake you up.”

If the sleep tracker on your Garmin watch shows a lot of peaks and troughs, it’s good practice to shut down electronics and dim the lights an hour before bedtime. Practice good sleep hygiene by maintaining consistent sleeping and waking times, ensuring your room is dark and quiet (or using earplugs and an eye mask) and investing in a comfortable bed and pillow.

Do all this, Brown says, and you don’t need to avoid any type of activity during or before menstruation.

“If you can make sure to prep and support your body, you should be able to do any type of exercise – but you need to make sure that you’re providing what you need to achieve that.”

And if you’re trying all of the above and still finding it hard to do your workout? Give yourself a break, Brown advises, and don’t beat yourself up about it.

• How to go camping on your period

If your vacations look a lot more like hitting the trails at dawn than lounging on the beach till sunset, there’s a good chance you want to stretch it out from time to time to balance all that time in your trail running shoes or hiking boots.

Yoga for runners and hikers is a great way to keep an active body mobile and pain-free, especially when you’re traveling, which can also involve hours spent cramped on a plane and nights sleeping in uncomfortable hotel beds.

I travel a lot and I’ve been teaching yoga for 15 years so my practice comes with me everywhere I go. While I’ve done it directly on carpeted hotel room floors more times than I care to count, there’s a lot to be said for being ready to flow anywhere you go with a travel yoga mat. 

The right mat means slippery hotel floors and gross carpets are no problem, and it can also mean you can easily hop in on that beach yoga class or drop into any yoga studio without using a stinky mat when you’re traveling. These days, there are tons of travel yoga mats out there, and choosing the wrong one can mean you end up more annoyed than zen. In this article, I’ll walk you how to choose a travel yoga mat based on your needs.

Types of travel yoga mat 

When you’re shopping for travel yoga mats, you’ll soon discover that there are various types available. Some look pretty much like a standard studio mat made from PVC foam, only thinner and are designed to be rolled up and carried over your shoulder with a strap. However, you can also find foldable foam mats and towel designs, which have a microfiber surface and sometimes a grippy underneath usually made from rubber. 

Which type you choose depends on your personal preference as well as your travel needs. Do you mind carrying your mat rolled up as a separate item from your carry-on? Do you want it to fold up and fit inside a suitcase? Or are you backpacking between huts and hostels and need something that can fit rolled up in the side pocket of your backpack?

To help you narrow down your choices, there are five main areas to consider:

1. Weight 

Unless you’re traveling everywhere by vehicle, if you’re going to bring your mat with you on planes and trains, the first factor you’ll want to consider is how heavy it is. All yoga mats meant for travel should be lighter than their regular counterparts, but you should know that weight is all relative. For example, my Liforme Classic Travel Yoga mat is roughly half the weight of the brand’s regular mat, but it still weighs a healthy 2.7 lbs, which might surprise you when you first pick it up.

In truth, the lightest yoga mats are either yoga towels with no rubber grip, which provide little padding and don’t always grip to the surface they’re on, or are made from PVC foam. 

The foam ones tend to be less packable because they’re thicker and don’t fold as easily, but we did find some foldable ones as light as 2lbs, such as this Gaiam Yoga Mat on Amazon. Most of the really good travel yoga mats are within the 2 - 4 lb range, and lighter ones may not offer the same quality, so you’ll need to weigh up whether shedding pounds is the most important criterion, or if you want a better experience during your practice. 

2. Thickness 

Hand in hand with the weight of your mat is how thick it is. Needless to say, travel yoga mats are thinner than regular mats and with that, you should expect to sacrifice a bit of padding under your knees.

Not every yoga practitioner experiences discomfort when using a thin mat, but a thin mat on a soft wooden yoga studio floor may be different to using one on a hard tiled floor in a hotel room. If you’re planning to take your practice outside onto grassy lookouts, hiking trails and beaches, a thicker mat might provide more protection from rocks and pinecones, and may even provide more stability.

For most travel yoga mats, you’re looking at something in the realm of 1.5 - 2.5 mm of thickness, which isn’t a ton, but remember that you can always use a towel or folded fleece jacket for extra padding under any bony parts. 

Sticky mats will always be thicker than towel-style versions and if you really want a thicker mat, something like the Amazon Basics mat delivers a half inch of padding for only 2 lbs of weight, while the Lululemon Lightweight Mat gives you 5mm for 3.3 lbs. These mats are not particularly portable, but they are light so may work in some travel scenarios.

3. Packability 

Next up, a good travel yoga mat should be easy to carry. A more traditional approach is a mat that simply rolls up can be carried with a strap or bag, which ideally comes included. Many airlines allow you to bring this on board in addition to your carry-on without an extra charge, but you should certainly check before you fly. 

If you’re traveling with a suitcase, mats like the Lifeorme will fit rolled up inside larger suitcases, but can also be unrolled and folded to carry in smaller cases – just unroll it when you arrive so it doesn’t get creased.

The most packable options, however, are the towel-style yoga mats like my Mikkoa Travel Yoga Mat. This mat offers many of the benefits of a regular mat, with good grip and stability, but folds up so you can carry it in a suitcase or backpack.

A thinner and lighter option still would be a yoga towel such as this one by Gaiam on Amazon, which is actually designed to go on top of your regular mat. You can use it on it’s own, though it will be thin, a little stretchy and some models have grippy dots that can be a little painful on your knees. It’s not ideal, but it is your most packable option, and might even double as a micro towel for wild swimming. 

4. Grip 

Nobody likes slipping and sliding around on a yoga mat, and when you’re traveling, you may well encounter sweatier conditions with heat and humidity combined with sunscreen and insect repellent, all of which can make staying put a real challenge.

However, choosing a mat based on grip is a surprisingly personal experience. We’ve found both the Liforme and Mikkoa mats to be great for grip, but others might feel their hands sliding forward on them in Downward Dog. Cheaper foam mats are often the most slippery options out there, and many mats work better if you spray them – or your hands and feet – with water before using them. 

Another factor to consider is how well your mat grips to the surface you’re practicing on. Anything with a rubber underside should grip to both carpet and hard floors, while foam also does an okay job, but a straight yoga towel with no grippy underside is likely to work best for mellow stretching only.

5. Maintenance 

Finally, a mat that’s coming on the road with you is more likely to see sand, salt, sunscreen and grass, and for that reason it might need extra washing. Your mat should come with instructions on how to care for it, and these should be followed to prolong the life span on your mat. 

However, some instructions are more complicated than others. Are you willing to spend time mixing up a non-toxic cleanser solution to spray and wipe down your mat after each use or do you want a towel-style mat that you can chuck in the washing machine when you get home?

If you don’t want to put a lot of time and effort into keeping your mat fresh, read the care instructions before you buy.

• The yoga of trail running – how ancient philosophy can make you a better runner
  

Meet the reviewer

Mikkoa Travel Yoga Mat: first impressions 

If you're in the market for a travel yoga mat, you're most likely seeking something that can fold away in your backpack or suitcase when you're on the move, but still offers good grip when you're moving through your sun salutations. This travel yoga mat from Mikkoa delivers on both fronts, folding up like a towel but with a rubber underside that sticks to hotel room floors and grassy campsites.

The top of this yoga mat is made from microfiber, which gets stickier the sweatier your palms get, making this a good option for hot yoga classes and practicing in tropical environments. Best of all, you can throw it in the washing machine to freshen it up after a sweaty adventure.

At 1.5mm thick, you may want a little more padding under your knees if you're practicing on a hard floor, but it means that you can also use it as a top mat if you're using a public mat at a yoga studio and concerned about hygiene. It's slightly longer than a regular mat too, so you get plenty of space to stretch out in Savasana at the end of practice.

Foldable mats like these aren't the most stable when placed on sand or grass, but we were really impressed by how well this grips to natural surfaces and found it far better than other similar designs. It's a little heavier than it looks, but well within the standard for a travel yoga mat and while rubber isn't the most durable of materials, it's biodegradable (though the surface material probably isn't) and the price is right. Best of all, we love that it's made using vegan materials and Mikkoa plants a tree with every purchase.

Mikkoa Travel Yoga Mat: in the field

I've been practicing yoga for decades and now that I'm doing so much active travel for my job with Advnture, it's become really important to me to have a good travel yoga mat. That way I can stretch out after a long day on a plane or climbing a mountain.

Lately, I've been testing out the Mikkoa yoga travel mat. I recently took it on a camping trip to South Downs National Park, a forest bathing expedition in the Lake District where I snuck off for a sunrise flow by myself, and a hotel room flow in London in between those two trips.

Here’s how it performed:

Weight and packability

Because this is a foldable mat, I honestly expected it to feel a bit lighter than it does, but the rubber base means it's a little weightier. That said, it's quite a bit lighter than my other travel mat, and it's in line with most travel yoga mats out there. Obviously, weight doesn't matter much when I'm checking a bag, but since I usually travel with a backpack, I do like to save on pounds wherever possible.

That said, grams on the scale aren't the whole story, and this mat is a dream when it comes to packability. Much like a towel, it folds up or rolls up, so it's really easy to fit into a 30-liter backpack for a few days away and obviously no problem with a suitcase. It's not quite small enough to roll up and squeeze into the side pocket of my pack, but its portability easily makes up for the weight.

Performance

If you've tried a towel yoga mat before, you'll know that they're not the most stable and they can wrinkle up more easily under you than a regular roll-up sticky mat, especially on surfaces like grass and sand. That said, I tried this out on a couple of grassy patches and was really impressed by its staying power. The rubber underside really does grab onto whatever surface it's on. I had a few moments where I was hopping forward from downward dog and it felt like it was going to shift, but it didn't.

It obviously won't sit flush to the ground if the ground isn't flat, and on a hotel room floor you might want an extra towel under your knees for padding, but it's more supportive than you might think. I also love that the entire bottom is rubber, rather than those yoga towels with the microdots underneath that hurt my knees.

On the top side, the microfiber is sweat-absorbant. I don't have particularly sweaty palms and sometimes I find these types of mats a bit slippy as a result, but I had no such problems with this one. If you do, just wet your hands and feet before you use it.

Sustainability and value

We yogis care about our impact on the planet and not all yoga mats are great for Mother Earth. Fortunately, this one seems to have decent eco creds. It's made using rubber which is naturally biodegradable, but the vegan-friendly microfiber surface is probably synthetic, which I'm assuming isn't biodegradable. However, the company does pledge to plant a tree for every purchase.

For a high-quality and high-performing yoga mat, this one comes in at a decent price point, especially considering how versatile it is. Rubber isn't the most durable of materials and if you're machine washing this regularly, it won't last forever, but hanging it out to dry before rolling it up should improve its life span.

Mikkoa Travel Yoga Mat: the bottom line

If you're looking for a foldable yoga mat that gives you more performance than your average yoga towel, you'll find lots to love about this mat. It's portable, easy to clean and grips to every surface we've tried it on. That said, if you really want the stability of a proper mat, check out the Liforme Classic Travel Yoga mat.

• How Advnture tests products

Meet the reviewer

Liforme Classic Travel Yoga Mat: first impressions 

For those who are committed to staying anchored in their yoga practice no matter where they are in the world, the Liforme Classical Travel Yoga Mat is a dream come true. Whether you're doing yoga stretches for runners after a day on the trail or attending classes at the beach during your rest days, this travel yoga mat has you covered. It is the lighter, thinner version of Liforme's highly popular mat and delivers the same super-grip as the thicker version. We tested it on the beach in Corsica and found we never slipped, no matter how much sweat and sunscreen was on our skin.

It also features Liforme's intelligent alignment markers, which look like an aesthetically pleasing pattern but actually serve a really practical function by helping you know where to place your hands and feet, which can come in extra handy when you're practicing in a new environment and feeling a little out of sorts.

At 2mm thick, it provides a little padding under your knees if you're practicing on a tiled hotel room floor or balcony, but it's significantly less wieldy than the thicker version. Coming with a zip up over-the-shoulder carry bag, you can comfortably tote it around town or bring it as a carry-on for your next flight. If you want to pop it in your suitcase and check it, it may be a little long to go in a medium-sized or smaller case rolled up, but you can easily unroll it and fold it for the journey.

That said, it's not necessarily the lightest or most packable mat on the market, but for a little more weight and bulk, you do get an otherwise five-star mat. We love that it comes with cleaning instructions, and it's planet-friendly to boot. The mat biodegrades in five years in normal landfill conditions and is PVC-free and colored with eco-friendly ink. It comes in six colors and Liforme also donates three percent of sales of the purple mat to Friends of the Earth.

Its biodegradability does mean that it won't last forever, but it's robust enough to hold up against regular use, travel and even sandy beaches for a couple of years before losing its stickiness. That said, as long as you clean it regularly and allow it to dry completely before rolling it up and packing it away, you'll be happy with the quality, and performance and can feel good about your impact on the planet.

Liforme Classic Travel Yoga Mat: in the field

As a longtime yoga practitioner, I spent years trying to find the perfect travel mat before giving up and just practicing directly on hotel room floors. Now that I'm involved in so much active travel for my role at Advnture, I've realized I want a bit more padding when I'm stretching out after hours folded up on a plane and long days on the trail.

I'm a little late to the game with Liforme, having only recently discovered them because the yoga studio I like to go to in Glasgow gives them out as rentals. I rode my bike there one day in the rain and decided to rent a mat rather than bring my own, and was instantly enamored with the performance. That said, they're heavy and bulky, so I was excited to discover there's a travel version available. I've been using the travel mat for the last month and recently took it to Corsica where I was mountain biking, doing a via ferrata and testing the new line of gear from the North Face.

Here’s how it performed:

Weight and packability

If you're in the market for a travel yoga mat, you're obviously going to be looking for something that's light and packable, and I'll be honest, this isn't the lightest or most packable mat out there. At 3.7 lbs, it's no problem to sling over your shoulder for a yoga class or to head down to the beach for some stretching, but it isn't exactly featherlight. 

That said, it comes with a really good quality carry bag, which has a two-way zip and padded shoulder strap, making it easy to travel with, even with a backpack.

I flew to Corsica with it as a carry-on, in addition to my small backpack, and the airline didn't seem to mind me bringing it as a personal item (it squeezes into even the most overloaded overhead lockers). On the way back, I decided to check it and it was too long to fit in my suitcase rolled up, but no problem, I just unrolled it and folded it in a rectangle. For the future, this is how I'd travel with it.

Performance

What you want from a yoga mat might come down a bit to personal preference. For example, some people want lots of padding above all else, while I'm quite happy with less. That said, I always want grip (slipping is so annoying and can even be dangerous) and stability and this mat really excels at both.

Like any travel mat, it has less in the way of padding so very sensitive knees may be unhappy on a hard surface (though I've had two knee surgeries and have no problems with the thickness). However, you can't really get better grip than this mat provides without practicing on sand paper. I tend not to have sweaty palms in normal circumstances and that means that I actually slip on very smooth mats in downward dog, but I stick to this one like glue. In Corsica, I had sunscreen on my palms and got sweaty and I still didn't budge. With my knee being less-than-perfect, this all means I'm really confident my back foot isn't going to slip in Warrior 2.

It's also really stable, thanks to not being too thick and the rubber material, so balance is no issue. I brought mine down to the beach for a group class on my last day in Corsica, which is about the most challenging surface you can imagine, and barely wobbled.

Another feature that really puts this mat above the rest is the alignment markings, which give you a handy guide for where to put your hands and feet. I don't believe that yoga poses have universal alignment, but I find knowing where the center of my mat and what shoulder width distance is are helpful for moving without overthinking and I absolutely love this feature. Of course, if it doesn't work for your dimensions, you can just ignore them.

Sustainability

As yogis, we need to be paying attention to our impact on the planet and not all yoga mats are great for Mother Earth. Fortunately, this one seems to have good eco creds, made using rubber which is naturally biodegradable with a PVC-free coating and non-toxic dye. If you buy that mat in purple, they'll donate three percent of the proceeds to Friends of the Earth which actually tallies out to $3.45 per mat, so I know what color I'm ordering next time.

There is one aspect that isn't especially environmentally friendly, and that's that every time you buy a new mat, it seems to come with a carry bag. If you're just replacing the mat over the years, as I intend to, you don't want a new bag every time so hopefully this becomes optional.

Value

I won't beat around the bush; this is an expensive yoga mat. However, you get the best performance for your money. But, it's also not going to last forever. Though mine shows zero signs of wear and tear, the fact that it's made using natural materials means it won't last forever. But do we really want our purchases to last forever? I'd argue not. 

There are mats that will last longer than this one, but there's a reason why and it's probably because they're made using toxic materials. You are getting a good quality mat here, and if you take care of it, clean it and don't roll it up wet, I think you can expect at least a couple of years of regular service, and more if you save it only for travel.

Liforme Classic Travel Yoga Mat: the bottom line

You can find lighter and more packable travel yoga mats than this one, but you're unlikely to find one that rivals its performance between the no-slip treatment, stability and alignment markings. That said, when you tally up the cost, I'd say this is a great purchase for people who are really serious about yoga and want to invest in taking their practice wherever they go. There are more affordable mats out there if you're just looking for occasional use.

• How Advnture tests products

If you own a Garmin watch, you'll have a passing familiarity with the Body Battery score – a number out of 100 that roughly corresponds with how much energy you have for the rest of the day, declining throughout the day and rising at night. But what exactly does it mean, how it is calculated, and how can you give it a boost?

How is Body Battery calculated?

Body Battery is calculated using a combination of biometric readings collected by your watch throughout the day, and at night. These include your daily activities (incidental exercise like walking, as well as tracked workouts), your Sleep Score, and periods of rest (indicated by a low heart rate) and stress (calculated using heart rate and heart rate variability).

All this is done through the Firstbeat Analytics engine, which is Garmin's system for taking raw data and converting it into meaningful information that you can understand and use.

What does Body Battery mean?

The score gives you an indication of how much energy you have to tackle the day ahead. A high score means you should be able to handle an intense workout or a take on a stressful day without feeling burnt out at the end. If your Body Battery is still high by bedtime, consider doing more next time. It's fine to take it easy sometimes and we all need days to rest, but using energy while you have it will help your fitness and resilience in the long term.

If you wake up with a low score, however, you should take things a bit easier. Exercise is still important, but manage your expectations of yourself and try not to let your energy bottom out. These aren't days for setting new personal bests and achieving your full potential.

Your Body Battery reading will recharge overnight, but not necessarily all the way to 100. Things like insufficient sleep, poor sleep quality (too many interruptions, for example), alcohol, and illness can all prevent you from starting the day fully rested and recovered. Your body battery may also stay lower if you're recovering from a tough workout.

Sometimes your Body Battery may be low for reasons that are personal to you. If you are naturally introverted, you may find big social gatherings stressful enough to have an impact, or you may be worn out by driving.

How can you boost your Body Battery?

If you find your Body Battery is often low, adjusting your daily habits can help you improve things. For example, you might be pushing yourself too hard with frequent, intense workouts and not allowing yourself sufficient time to recover.

You might also be working too hard, or overdoing socializing situations that you find stressful. Finding your own ways to cut down on these stressful scenarios will boost your body battery.

Drinking alcohol can also suppress your Body Battery while your body handles the stress of metabolizing it. Drinking may affect your sleep as well, and poor quality sleep over a sustained period will mean your score never rises to its maximum.

The single best way to boost your Body Battery is to get a good night's sleep. What qualifies as a 'good night's sleep' depends on your body and lifestyle, but as a general rule, most adults need seven to nine hours per night.

To give your score a boost in the short term, you can try taking some time out to relax (your watch has some simple breathing exercises that can help bring down an elevated heart rate), or take a nap of about 30 minutes, provided it's not too close to your usual bedtime.

You can make your Body Battery more resilient by using energy while you have it, and getting sufficient rest afterwards. This will let you work harder in the future, with less drain on your reserves.

• The best running watches: our top recommendations tested and rated
• The best GPS watches: feature-packed timepieces to keep you on course

Exercise is good for your physical health, everyone knows that. And it can have positive effects on mental health too, that’s well documented (have you tried running for stress relief?). But the two may be even more interconnected than previously thought, as a new study suggests that the keeping your mind healthy through can lead to a healthier heart too, and the people who can benefit most are those with a history of depression.

It all hinges on exercise’s ability to lower stress levels in the brain, a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston revealed in a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

“Physical activity was roughly twice as effective in lowering cardiovascular disease risk among those with depression,” says study lead author Dr Ahmed Tawakol, an investigator and cardiologist in the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at MGH.

Tawakol’s team made use of 10 years of data on more than 50,000 people enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Biobank database. All of the participants kept records of their physical activity.

Additionally, 774 of those studied also agreed to brain scans and other tests to measure their stress-linked brain activity (they didn’t just rely on their Garmin watches giving them stress warnings).

Almost 13% of the participants went on to develop heart disease. However, those who met standard recommendations for physical activity were found to be 23% less likely to suffer heart-related health issues. These same people on the study also tended to have less stress-associated activity in their prefrontal cortex, the brain’s decision-making center.

The fact that exercise seemed to especially help those with a history of depression reinforces the connection between stress and the physical state of your heart.

So exercise has a double whammy effect on heart health; there’s a direct physiological correlation, plus it de-stresses you which also improves your old ticker. It’s something we probably all assumed anyway, but it’s good to hear scientists say there’s real evidence, and Tawakol believes that doctors should mention the brain-heart connection whenever they give patients advice about the benefits of exercise.

In other words that old adage saying, “Healthy mind, healthy body,” is more true than you might have realized, and nothing combines de-stressing and exercise better than hiking or trail running (barring avalanches, broken bones and arguments with MTB riders about who has the right to the trail, of course).

• The best cheap running shoes 2024: for roads and trails

It’s Monday night and I’m holding a plank in yoga class. A single bead of sweat rolls down my arm thanks to the temperature in the room which is heated to a welcoming 89°F. This winter, which has seemed interminably long and unusually cold here in Scotland, I’ve quietly fallen back in love with hot yoga. Once a week or so, usually the day after a long run, I come here to stretch it out and warm my bones.

Over the years, I’ve formed a love/hate relationship with hot yoga, having discovered it when I lived in New York where it was all the rage in the early noughties. When I moved to Colorado and learned that hot yoga there seemed to be synonymous with super fast-paced flows, I found it didn’t provide the recovery I needed when I spent so much time on the Rocky Mountain trails and my single visit to a Bikram Studio in San Francisco a decade ago was plenty for me to rule that out forever. But these days, so long as it’s not too hot or fast, I’m finding once again that it provides a nice balance to the time I spend in my hiking boots, trail running shoes and climbing shoes.

In my 15 years of teaching yoga, I’ve seen people flock to hot yoga in droves, packing out studios to the point where the unsuspecting yogi might get kicked in the face or worse, sweated upon by a stranger. Among them, many athletes in particular seem drawn to this particular style of of yoga, perhaps because they like their exercise to feel hard, or maybe because most of us feel like we can find more flexibility in the heat – but is there any real benefit to practicing yoga in a heated room? And is hot yoga good for athletes?

What is hot yoga?

Though the terms “hot yoga” and “Bikram yoga” are often used interchangeably, they’re not necessarily the same the same thing. Hot yoga can be any style of yoga (usually Vinyasa or Power Yoga) taught in a warm room that’s typically upwards of 85°F (29°C). 

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures taught in a room heated to 105°F (40°C) room that was trademarked by the highly questionable Bikram Choudhury and has a cult-like following. 

For the purposes of this article, I’m writing about any yoga done in a hot room. If you want to know more about Bikram Yoga specifically, I suggest you start with the 2019 Netflix documentary Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator.

What are the benefits of hot yoga?

According to the most recent Yoga in America study, conducted in 2016 by Yoga Alliance, 36 million Americans practice some type of yoga, and based on the proliferation of hot studios across the country, it’s safe to say a good chunk of these like the thermostat cranked up while they flow. 

Of those people, nearly 80 percent engage in other forms of exercise like running and cycling, while some of the top reasons people cite for practicing yoga are that they believe it increases flexibility and strength and enhances athletic performance. But what does the science say?

For starters, it may have mental health benefits. A 2023 randomized controlled trial by researchers at Harvard Medical School concluded that symptoms of depression eased by 50 percent or more for about 60 percent of those practicing hot yoga twice a week for eight weeks. As a stand-alone mental health intervention then, hot yoga seems to have potential – which may explain why I’ve been drawn to it during Scotland’s long, dark winter – but the trial didn’t look at whether hot yoga was more effective than room temperature yoga, so it’s hard to say if the heat was the key here.

A small 2020 study published in the International Journal of Exercise Science looked the effects of doing the Bikram sequence in a heated room versus doing it at room temperature. Researchers examined changes in range of motion, oxygen consumption, caloric expenditure and biomarkers of acute stress and inflammation. Though hot yoga can definitely feel much harder, their study concluded that a heated environment does not significantly increase the aerobic energy cost. It may, however, acutely increase the content of fat used as an energy source as well as improving hip flexion and abduction. 

However, if you’re familiar with the Bikram sequence, you’ll know that compared to practices like Vinyasa, it’s not particularly dynamic, so it’s possible that comparing it to room temperature Vinyasa would produce different results, though I’m just speculating here based on my professional experience.

In another study on the Bikram method, carried out in 2013 and published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, a small group of young and relatively sedentary people were assigned to a hot yoga regimen and assessed for changes to isometric deadlift strength, handgrip strength, lower back, hamstring and shoulder flexibility, resting heart rate, blood pressure, VO2 max and lean and fat mass. Compared to the control group, the test subjects displayed increased deadlift strength, substantially increased lower back and hamstring flexibility, increased shoulder flexibility and modestly decreased body fat compared with the control group. 

This seems like a win for hot yoga, but the study isn’t clear about what the control group did over the eight weeks. If they didn’t undergo any training regime, which we can reasonably assume, then it wouldn’t be surprising that the group that started exercising three times a week would see some physical gains in comparison. 

If you’ve taken a hot yoga class, you might be surprised to learn that researchers haven’t seen it produce any significant aerobic gains. After all, you’ll be familiar with that feeling of your heart pounding 30 minutes into class because it’s so hot you feel like you’re going to pass out, but a 2016 study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise had subjects swallow a Core Body Sensor to compare their core boy temperature and heart rate in a 92°F practice versus room temperature. Though they observed the subjects sweating profusely, they didn’t find in real difference in core temperature or heart rate and suggested that it’s largely the Perceived Rate of Exertion that is higher among those of us practicing hot yoga.

This one pulled me up short as I’ve always felt that hot yoga is more strenuous, and looking back at the yoga sessions I've recorded on my GPS watch, I can see a clear increase in my heart rate in a hot class versus my home practice, to the tune of about 34 extra heart beats per minute. Then again, I have to concede that I probably don’t push myself as hard as a teacher does. 

There’s one other interesting piece of research on the potential benefits of hot yoga that I want to mention. In the lead up to the 2016 Olympics, a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University performed a six-day study to try to determine whether hot yoga could be an effective form of heat training. As I’ve previously reported, heat training involves training at slightly higher temperatures than usual to get your body to produce more plasma, lower the temperature at which you start to sweat and produce more sodium, which gives you a competitive advantage on race day. 

Interestingly, the study found that after hot yoga (not Bikram), the subjects didn’t exhibit increased plasma as expected – they were, unsurprisingly, dehydrated, meaning their plasma levels had decreased. However, when the time came to simulate competition, a massive increase in plasma volume was noted, which researchers posit would produce performance improvements. They concluded that hot yoga could indeed be an alternative heat training technique that puts minimal stress on the subject and can help preserve maximal cardiovascular performance during rest weeks.

Is hot yoga good for athletes?

The evidence here does suggest that hot yoga may hold some value for some athletes, but of course it all depends on your sport, and the yoga. If you’re a rock climber, increased shoulder flexibility and improved hip mobility could be really helpful, and that’s no doubt why so many of my yoga students have been competitive climbers over the years. But for a runner, those benefits aren’t likely to do you much good and if you’re a sprinter, you want to avoid stretching out those fast-twitch muscle fibers in your glutes as much as you can to improve your power.

Any athlete can benefit from the mental health implications of hot yoga obviously, though there’s no evidence to suggest you wouldn’t get the same benefits from room temperature yoga. Hot yoga will dehydrate you, so it’s probably not the best thing to do the day before you run a marathon, but it’s also not likely to dehydrate you any more than a long run, so it just needs to be timed correctly to give you time to hydrate before competition.

For me, the research on heat training is the most compelling argument for hot yoga, particularly for endurance athletes, and ultimately it seems like it could be an effective tool to preserve your cardiovascular performance without placing added strain on your soft tissues or cardiovascular system.

Ultimately, if you’re curious about hot yoga as an athlete, your best option is to try it – just not immediately before a big performance. If you enjoy it, and you feel it benefits you, then it’s probably good for you.

• Yoga stretches for runners: a sequence to help you recover

When you’re training for a running race, you might be trying to win, set a personal best, a Fastest Known Time or even just trying to make the cutoff. What you’re definitely not aiming for is a DNF.

DNF stands for Did Not Finish and it’s what you’ll see next to your name on the race report if your race day doesn’t go to plan. Races can consume a runner’s life for many months as they sacrifice time with friends and family to put in hundreds of hours of training and burn through pricey trail running shoes and not finishing can be devastating. However, it’s also a pretty common event if you’re a competitive runner and you might be wondering what you can do to reduce your chances of a DNF. Why do people not finish a race anyway? Understanding this at the offset can be a good way to give yourself an advantage on race day.

Luckily for us, in 2022 the American Trail Running Association surveyed nearly 1,200 runners to get some answers. Out of the participants, a whopping 59.5 percent said they had posted a DNF at some point in their career, with 28 percent reporting one DNF and 32 percent having more than one DNF. The majority of DNFs occur once runners reach the half marathon level and instances increase with distance. The following are some of the main reasons reported for a DNF, plus what you might be able to do, if anything, to sidestep these pitfalls on race day.

1. Injury – 27%

It will probably come as no surprise to you that nearly one third of DNFs – in fact, the majority of them –  arise due to injury. Any time you embark on a repetitive, high impact sport like running, you run the risk of developing an injury and add to that the possibility of uneven ground in a trail running race and the chances increase. 

A 2002 analysis of running injuries examined two years worth of data and found that some of the most common running injuries include runner's knee, IT band syndrome, plantar fasciitis, meniscus injuries and shin splints. No surprises there.

Here’s the thing: running injuries can just happen. You can do everything right in the lead up to and during a race and still develop a stress fracture or sprain your ankle on the downhill. That said, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of injury, such as giving yourself a lot of lead time to train and slowly increase your distance at a rate to which your body adapts, strength training and choosing your running shoes wisely. Learn more in our article on trail running injuries and how to avoid them.

2. Didn’t make cutoff time – 24%

Nearly a quarter of DNFs were the result of runners just being too slow. Most races will have a cutoff time after which you cannot qualify as a finisher and, even if you make it to the finish a few moments later, your race will be officially considered a DNF. Bummer. For the London marathon, you have eight hours to finish, the Leadville 100 gives you 30 hours and the UTMB cutoff is 33 hours.

Obviously, the main strategy to work on here is your pacing. Part of your training plan will need to involve figuring out your average pace as well as what your race pace needs to be to finish comfortably before the cutoff time and making sure you train at race pace one or two times a week.

A common mistake in a race is to start too fast, so remember to adhere to the wisdom of start slow, finish fast (otherwise known as running a negative split) and have a game plan for the big day. Learn more in our article on setting a good running pace, and how to get faster.

3. Fell ill – 20%

A bit like injuries, falling ill on race day often comes down to pure bad luck, though it’s always a good idea to take extra care of your health in the week leading up to your race to avoid getting run down (and yes, we understand this is impossible if you have young children). Get as much sleep as you can, eat nutritious food and minimize stress.

There is one “illness” that strikes during a race that you might be able to avoid, however, and that’s runner’s diarrhea. Though it might not be bad enough to make you DNF,  sometimes it is, and it’s important to avoid triggering foods like too much fiber, caffeine, fatty foods and sweeteners before your race. If this is an ongoing problem for you, read our article on dealing with the runners trots for some advice from a nutritionist and make sure you eat familiar food on the day before and morning of your race.

4. Pain in feet or legs – 15%

In a long race, a bit of pain in your feet or legs would be no great surprise, but it can be bad enough that it curtails your competition. If you experience bad pain during a race, it is a good reason to pull out – we recently spoke to James Nobles about his DNF at the Montane Winter Spine race and his foot pain turned out to be a stress fracture, which isn’t something you want to keep running on.

Sadly, this is another occurrence that may be impossible to avoid on the day, but needless to say that giving yourself plenty of lead time in training will help, as stress fractures and soft tissue injuries can often be the result of too much load too soon, or not giving your body time to adapt to increasing demands.

5. Weather – 12%

This one all comes down to what you mean by weather. Was it icy and you hadn’t brought running crampons? Or was it dangerously hot? Extreme weather conditions can make race day unsafe – runners often suffer from heat related illness during summer races and one tragic ultramarathon in China in 2021 saw 21 runners die due to freezing rain, high winds and hail. The conditions really can be the problem, and you can’t control the weather, but there are a few things you can do. 

First, if you know you’re likely to be running in hot weather, try doing heat training to increase your resistance to heat and, of course, tackle hydration like it’s your job. Check the weather forecast before your race and make sure you have appropriate clothing, such as a running jacket, tights and running gloves for colder weather. Finally, only sign up for well-organized and managed races where you know the organizer will cancel if weather conditions are likely to be unsafe.

6. Didn’t feel like running any more – 11%

Honestly, we can’t really argue with this one. No matter if you’re running a marathon or a 100k, it’s just a lot of time to think about whether you actually want to be doing what you’re doing and if you decide the answer is “no,” walking off the course seems a reasonable response. Perhaps you can buy a bike and take some weight off your legs or get a pair of hiking boots, slow down and smell the roses instead.

That said, if it’s mostly a case of your mind saying “I don’t want to do this because it’s hard and I am not worthy” then it could be worth trying practices like meditation and visualization to help yourself get in a more performance-enhancing mindset before you start.

7. Got lost – 6%

Getting lost on a race is much more likely to happen in an ultramarathon than a regular road race and it can be a devastatingly disappointing way to lose time and not finish. On the other end of the spectrum, ultra runner Renee McGregor has ranked highly in some pretty rugged races, from Snowdonia to the Himalayas, and she’s described making the podium in a gnarly race where the majority of participants took a wrong turn. Her advantage? She checked out the race course ahead of time. Always recce your route thoroughly and carry navigational tools like a map and compass to help you stay on route.

8. Course was harder than expected – 5%

A small but not insignificant number of runners drop out because the race is harder than they expected, and this of course can be a hazard of doing a so-called destination race where you’re unable to properly train in the conditions you’re going to be racing in. If you want to finish, it’s a good idea to choose a race that’s on terrain and in weather you can train in. It is possible to train elsewhere and succeed – again you could try heat training for warmer races while training at high altitude may give you an advantage for a low elevation race. 

You may also be able to head to your race destination a few weeks early, though even this may not be enough time to properly train and adapt. All of that said, you can’t plan for every eventuality and people frequently race in unfamiliar conditions and win, but this is another one that calls for recce-ing your route in advance and making a plan so that you’re training for the unique demands of the course, whether that’s vertical feet, cold weather or high altitude.

9. Ran out of water or food – 5%

Running out of food or water isn’t just a silly rookie mistake; it can be dangerous. It’s not always your fault – when ultra runner Katie Knight was attempting to set a new FKT on the 70-mile Backbone trail, she discovered her crew chief had not planned proper drop spots for water, and she found herself tackling 12-mile sections in the middle of the day in the heat without any water. 

Dehydration is a serious condition for runners and you should plan your fuel with your support team as carefully as you plot your racing strategy. Know exactly what you need to carry in terms of running gels and salt tablets, stop at every aid station for hydration and again only join reputable, well-organized races to ensure you have enough support.

• The best hydration packs: on the go re-fueling for runners

Whether you're seeking summits in your hiking boots, racing across country in your trail running shoes, lifting weights at the gym or sending it at the climbing wall, we all know that exercise is good for us, but new research suggests that women benefit from regular movement even more than men.

The newly published findings supported by the National Institutes of Health involve an observational study which examined two decades worth of data on the link between exercise and reduced risk of death. Researchers looked at studies on 400,000 US adults ages 27 - 61 which revealed that over 20 years, women who exercised were 24 percent less likely to experience death from any cause than those who do not exercise. Meanwhile, while men were just 15 percent less likely to reduce their risk of death. 

The study finds that women reduced their risk of a fatal heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event by 36 percent through regular exercise, while men reduced theirs by 14 percent. 

“We hope this study will help everyone, especially women, understand they are poised to gain tremendous benefits from exercise,” says cardiologist Susan Cheng, M.D. in the report.

The study shows that these health benefits exist regardless of what type of exercise you're doing, be it brisk walking, taking a spin class or resistance training, however when it comes to duration of exercise, there is a point where you no longer reap increasing gains. While the World Health Organization recommends all adults get a minimum of 150 minutes a week, the authors of the study noted that at 300 minutes per week, the benefits plateau. Doing too much can also result in overtraining syndrome, which then negates the benefits.

If you find it hard to fit exercise in with your busy schedule, there's some good news for women, who can achieve the same benefits of exercise as men but in less time. A woman who is undertaking moderate aerobic exercise can reportedly reduce their risk of death by 18 percent in just 140 minutes per week – something you can achieve with light jogging four days a week – compared to 300 minutes for men. 

If women pick up the pace and take vigorous exercise, like interval training, aerobics and racquet sports, they can reduce their risk by the same amount in just 57 minutes a week, while men need 110 minutes. However, the study also notes that just 33 percent of women and 43 percent of men meet the weekly recommendations for exercise.

According to the authors of the study, the stark differences may be explained in part by physiological and anatomical differences; men have greater lung capacity, larger hearts and more lean body mass than women, and therefore women may require greater respiratory, metabolic and strength function to perform the same movements.

• How to start trail running: a beginner's guide

If you’re an athlete, you’ve probably heard at some point that yoga is good for you and chances are, the person promoting it to you was applauding its mobility benefits. You know, you rack up the miles in your trail running shoes and all that repetitive movement leaves you with stiff hamstrings, ergo you need to stretch.

Well, maybe. But as I’ve previously written, scientists don’t actually fully understand what’s happening to your muscles when you stretch, and it’s not always the best choice for athletes. If you’re training for an marathon, the principle of specificity tells you that to sharpen that competitive edge, you want to focus on speed and power, and stretching out your muscle fibers might counteract the work you’re putting in on the trail. Then again, if like me you’re just someone who loves to run on trails for the mental and physical health benefits of green exercise, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of stretching if it feels good. 

I’m a yoga teacher and as you can see, I don’t push stretching on everyone as a catch-all remedy for whatever ails you. And for all I know, you’re one of the unlucky many who’s had a bad experience in yoga and perhaps got injured and overstretched. But don’t give up on yoga. There is a specific type of yoga that involves zero stretching that I think just might be a super tonic for athletes, and that’s Yoga Nidra.

What is Yoga Nidra? 

Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep and that pretty much sums it up. In this practice, you lie down on your yoga mat, cover yourself with a blanket and a teacher guides you through a series of visualizations designed to help you surf that space between waking and dreaming otherwise known as the Theta Brain Wave state. Theta waves are slow-frequency and where you might find yourself when you’re daydreaming or deeply relaxed, but not actually  asleep. 

That’s right, you’ll be very relaxed, but the teacher’s voice should keep you from slipping off into sleep. At minimum, a Yoga Nidra practice can be as short as 15 minutes but as long as an hour, and during that time, you won’t be asked to move or change position. You’ll just lie there. It’s bliss.

Though the word “nidra” makes an appearance in early yogic texts such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which describes the exploration of a dreamlike state as a gateway to enlightenment, the practice today known as Yoga Nidra was developed by an Indian teacher named Swami Satyananda Saraswati in the mid-20th century, so like many modern yoga practices, it’s a living and evolving tradition. Most Yoga Nidra practices follow a systematic format and will visit certain principles, such as setting an intention and moving your awareness throughout your body. 

Can Yoga Nidra improve your performance? 

When your primary focus is your athletic performance, it’s easy to think all the answers lie in the gym and the kitchen, but we all know there’s a more subtle component to athletic success that tends to separate the best from the rest. If training and nutrition isn’t quite getting you where you want to be, it could be that you'll benefit from Yoga Nidra, at least according to research on the practice.

Yoga Nidra is surprisingly well studied, as compared to other styles of yoga. A 2020 article in Current Psychology noted that participants who practiced an 11-minute Yoga Nidra for 30 days showed lower stress, higher well-being and improved sleep quality as compared to the control group, and these benefits alone may be persuasive to you as an athlete, particularly if you’re struggling with anxiety, self-esteem or recovery.

And there’s more. A 2022 review titled The Origin and Clinical Relevance of Yoga Nidra cites dozens of studies on the practice that are compelling, including a 2006 study that shows it increases Alpha brain waves, which some think are the key to unlocking peak performance via relaxation and creative thinking – something that can help you think outside the box when it comes to both training and performance. 

A 2016 study that found it reduced pain in participants with lumbar spondylitis, which is one of several studies citing it in pain reduction. The same year, a study on wrestlers showed Yoga Nidra produced significant improvements in reaction times. The list goes on.

Whether you think unlocking your athletic potential might come down to being able to think around obstacles differently, respond to challenges faster, reduce stress, recover better or help you manage pain, it seems that Yoga Nidra could be the key you’ve been searching for. Best of all, in my opinion, Yoga Nidra is enormously accessible. You don’t need to own any special apparatus, buy new leggings or have to be able to touch your toes; all you need to do is lie down.

How to get started with Yoga Nidra 

If there are Yoga Nidra classes available at your local yoga studio or gym, you might really enjoy being guided by a teacher, however that might could more time or expense than you’re willing to put in.

Worry not; there are loads of great online Yoga Nidra practices. My personal favorites are guided by Jennifer Piercy on Insight Timer which I often use in lieu of an afternoon sleep or before bed. Once you’ve found a recording you like, and that fits with your schedule, find a place to lie down that’s ideally quiet. That can be in your bed, on your yoga mat or even on the trail if you’re taking a break during a long run and have your headphones with you. Cover yourself up, close your eyes and get ready to drift away to the distant shores of your consciousness. 

• Why is Restorative Yoga perfect for athletes?

Lots of studies have emerged in recent years detailing the benefits of exercise in combatting depression, with green exercise touted as an important boost for mental health. Now, new research has finally zeroed in on exactly which types of exercise are best – and it's good news for almost everyone, regardless of income or lifestyle. 

According to official estimates, major depression affects more that eight percent of Americans each year and a systematic review of randomized controlled trials published last month in the British Medical Journal identifies walking, running and yoga as the three top forms of exercise for battling the blues. The authors of the research suggest that these activities be considered as "core treatments" for depression, alongside standard interventions.

To come to these conclusions, researchers reviewed 218 studies with a combined total of over 14,000 participants with depression and concluded that the effects of exercise were comparable to psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in treating depression. Also noted as effective were strength training, mixed aerobic exercise and Tai Chi. The research shows that exercise is effective regardless of other health conditions and severity of depression.

Furthermore, they found that exercise works better the more intense it is, so it may be worthwhile switching out your hiking boots for trail running shoes once in a while, trying out some steeper trails or picking up the pace. However, frequency and duration of workouts didn't seem to make a difference, so don't feel that you have to sign up for an ultra marathon to see the benefits.

The authors note that while their research suggests correlation between exercise and depression, it doesn't prove causation. However they note that despite some social barriers, activities like walking and jogging carry relatively few costs, side effects or time commitments. Of course, they can also be combined with other activities, such as running to work or walking while you take virtual meetings.

Getting motivated

As encouraging as this new research is for the millions across the world who suffer from depression, we all know that loss of motivation is a common symptom, so what can you do if you're struggling to get going?

For starters, you might start small and set realistic goals. Remember, duration doesn't seem to affect the effectiveness of a workout, so consider so-called exercise snacking and do it in small bouts instead. Joining a running or hiking group or recruiting a workout buddy is another way to get and stay motivated – research shows that you’ll be up to 76 percent more likely to succeed if you get yourself an accountability buddy. 

Finally, you might consider investing in wearable tech, such as a GPS watch, to track your fitness, something that a 2019 study confirms can help increase your physical activity. Finally, check out some of out beginner guides to help you find your way on the trail, or the yoga mat:

• How to start hiking: 10 things you need to know before you go
• How to start trail running: a beginner's guide
• 6 tips for doing yoga outside

When you’ve just finished a run, the old adage goes that before you kick off your trail running shoes and hit the shower, you should perform a cool down routine with walking and stretching. The same goes for a strength session at the gym or even a game of squash. 

The all-important cool down is a vital part of your workout routine, allowing your heart rate to return to normal levels slowly and to prevent your muscles from freezing up. Or so we’re told. But do we really need to cool down after exercise? And what happens if we don’t?

I recently found myself discussing this topic with a friend while we were out on a trail run. She habitually walks the last 5 - 10 minutes of any route, then performs a few cool down stretches after her run. I usually slow to a walk when I can see my car or house and plop right down at my laptop to start work when I get home, rather than worry about my calf muscles.

Now in fairness, I’m a yoga teacher with a regular practice, so the chances are high that I’ll be on my mat stretching at some point later in the day, so it’s not that I skip that aspect of my routine entirely – I just don’t usually do it immediately following a run.

In chatting, we both realized that we’ve been well-indoctrinated with the idea that every workout should involve a warm up and cool down (only she’s better at following guidelines than me apparently) but neither of us knows the science behind it, despite the fact that we’re both well-trained in anatomy and movement. So I decided to investigate what happens if you skip the cool down, and whether there are any science-backed benefits.

The cool down claim

A cool down – usually walking and stretching, or light spinning if you’re on a bike followed by some stretching – is considered a fundamental part of any workout routine. The American Heart Association says this is important because if you allow your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly, you may become lightheaded. Not something I've ever experienced, but it sounds like something to be avoided. It's certainly something that's recommended as a way to cool down after exercise during a heatwave.

Penn Medicine elaborates on this idea, explaining that if you stop running abruptly and stand still, say to check your phone, your muscles stop pumping blood. It pools in your extremities, a condition known as Exercise Associated Collapse, and you could pass out. Consequently, they recommend a prolonged three-phase cool down that involves slowing down, dynamic exercises then stretching. This certainly makes an abrupt stop sound like it’s a bad idea, but I started to wonder – what happens when I stop at the traffic lights on a run? Runners do this every day; are we really in danger?

It turns out that EAC is a condition that can and does affect ultra runners during endurance races like ultra marathons and marathons. This phenomenon isn’t entirely understood, though the blood pooling effect is one theory to explain it, and a five-year retrospective study on Gothenburg's Marathon concluded that it affects 1.53 runners per 1000 runners.

So basically, EAC is real, but the reason you don’t see runners collapsing at every red light is because it’s recognized as a specific type of medical event that affects a specific type of athlete during competition and not something you probably need to worry about if you’re just out on a mellow 10k trail run like me.

Do you really need to cool down after exercise?

So if you’re not in imminent danger of fainting when you don’t cool down, do you need to do it? Does it have any benefit? A 2018 scientific review on this topic found that many people regularly perform between five and 15 minutes of low-to-moderate intensity exercise within an hour of their workout, otherwise known as an active cool down, in an attempt to facilitate recovery. The studies reviewed show that active cool downs are largely ineffective: they do not appear to prevent injuries, improve long-term adaptation to load, or significantly reduce muscle soreness or stiffness the next day. 

A cool down may accelerate the recovery of lactic acid in your blood, but not necessarily in muscle tissue, which is where you might want it. It also may partially prevent immune system depression and promote faster recovery of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, but it remains unknown whether this reduces the likelihood of post-exercise illnesses. The authors conclude that a cool down is most likely unsuccessful at improving performance during the following days, though some beneficial effects have been observed.

Further, a 2007 randomized controlled trial of 52 healthy adults examined the effects of both a pre-workout warmup and a post-workout cool down concluded that a warmup performed immediately prior to unaccustomed eccentric exercise does produce small reductions in Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, but a cool down does not.

Based on the available science, warming up seems to be a smart idea, but the science on cool down exercises is lacking. That said, there may be one really good reason to incorporate a cool down into your workout routine, according to Matt Hensley, a Colorado-based running coach and founder of Boulder Underground, and that's to increase the amount of time they spend on the trail. 

"While it may be up for debate if cool-downs reduce muscle soreness or help with recovery, I do think they allow athletes to add volume to their aerobic activity in a week," says Hensley, who typically prescribes 10 - 20 minutes for warm up and cool down. 

"If an athlete is doing two workouts in a week, they're adding 40 - 80 minutes in additional aerobic volume in a week with minimal additional fatigue."

Ultimately, there’s nothing to say that skipping an active cool down can be dangerous or increase your risk of injury. But as my friend and I slowed to a five minute walk, did a few of my favorite yoga stretches for runners, then grabbed a cool drink and enjoyed the view, I had to admit it was an enjoyable part of the whole trail run.

The moral of the story? Don’t be gripped by fear if you miss the cool down, but if it’s a ritual of your session that you enjoy, it’s probably good for you, and it can be a great way to increase your distance.

• Best GPS watches

It has long been recommended that ice is good for injuries, but do you know why? Icing is usually recommended for injuries that cause soft tissue inflammation or swelling. It is also suggested we ice as soon as possible after an injury happens. So, if you twist your ankle, pull a muscle or bump your knee during a fall while running or hiking, the aim is to use a cold compress or ice pack as quickly as you can. Ice is also part of the treatment known as RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation).

Icing a hiking or running injury is also known as cold therapy or cryotherapy. To explain medically, cryotherapy reduces the temperature of tissue surfaces to minimise hypoxic cell death, as well as edema accumulation. 

However, a closer look at the scientific and academic evidence for the efficacy of icing for soft tissue injuries casts doubt on the treatment. We take a look at this evidence and also consider alternative treatments for injuries, such as an ankle sprain or muscle pull. 

Why do we ice an injury?

Many people, including medics and sports doctors, suggest that we ice an injury for a number of reasons. Cold therapy can help to numb the pain of an injury and, it's suggested, reduce the inflammation caused by the injury. The theory goes that cold and ice on tissue inflammation constricts blood vessels and decreases circulation to the area, which can help speed up the recovery process of the damage.

If ice or a cold compress is applied quickly enough, it's suggested it should decrease the long-term swelling and potentially reduce recovery time.

How to ice an injury

It is recommended that you ice a running or hiking injury that has caused inflammation as soon as you can and for 20 minutes. You can continue to ice after a minimum 20-minute break. Some medics suggest icing every two to three hours for 20 minutes at a time. 

There is no defined length of time for the icing treatment.  It is usually recommended to ice as part of the RICE method of treatment.  

To ice an injury you can use a specialised ice pack, or you could utilise a bag of ice or frozen peas, or similar. Other suggested methods includes submersion of the affected area in cold water.

But does ice on an injury really work?

There appears to be very limited evidence to show that ice actually works to aid recovery of a soft tissue injury, such as a sprained ankle.

Indeed, a systematic review of a number of studies that assessed the use of ice in the treatment of acute soft-tissue injury concluded there was little evidence to suggest it had any significant effect, although this was restricted to treatment of hospital inpatients.

Indeed, one study concluded that traditional cold therapy may not be helpful but rather act as a barrier to recovery process because the cold reduces the blood flow and may actually hinder the injury repair. In this study, an alternative treatment, hyperbaric gaseous cryotherapy, was shown to be a better way to help with recovery. Other treatments include heat therapy, which is  the opposite of cold therapy.

What seems to be emerging as a recommended method for enhanced recovery is rest and then movement, so long as there is no pain. 

So what should we do for an injury?

Reading more widely, two scientific sports researchers have come up with an updated acronym for treatment, RICERR. This stands for:

Reduce load and then reload – rest from strenuous activities if the injury is painful then start to build up movement. 

Ice – use ice to reduce pain but only for five minutes at a time. 

Compression – wear a compression sock or Tubigrip (available for $10 from Amazon) over swollen area.

Elevation – keep your injured limb above heart height whenever possible in the first two to three days. 

Referral – if the swelling and pain continues, seek medical advice, such as a physiotherapist, to rule out other more serious injuries like a fracture, ligament damage or muscle tear.

Rehabilitation – seek physiotherapist advice for a strategy to rehabilitate the injury.

In conclusion, while scientific evidence is contrary to medical advice, icing is still a popular method for soft tissue injuries, such as a sprained ankle sustained by a runner. However, it is now being suggested that movement, compression and elevation are more important for injury recovery and ice should be used in a more limited way for pain relief.

• The best first aid kits: compact emergency kits for hiking and camping

If you're an athlete of any kind – pro, novice, runner, racquet sports – healthy breathing is as essential to your performance as having the right trail running shoes or understanding nutrition and recovery methods. And yet, many of us struggle with it.

I’ve been teaching yoga for 15 years and when I first started, I was surprised by how many athletes found it difficult to breathe deeply when they got on the mat; after all, when I think of runners and swimmers, I think of deep breathing. As I’ve learned over the years however, both from teaching and examining my own breathing patterns in sport, a lot of us athletes have become experts at bracing our abdominals and diaphragm and breathing only into the upper chest. 

This conscious abdominal tension can make a lot of sense when you’re careening down a steep scree slope and trying to reduce the impact on your spine or preparing to do a deadlift, but it becomes an issue when you get so used to contracting your abs and breathing into your upper lungs that you forget how to soften and breathe deeply. 

In order to breathe deeply, you need to soften your diaphragm, which you can’t do if you’re constantly contracting your abdominals. Adding to this toxic mix, of course, is the visual messaging that we’ve all been inundated with for decades telling  us that having flat stomachs is more appealing. 

What are the benefits of deep breathing? 

When shallow breathing becomes the rule, not the exception, it might be leading you to feel anxious, at least according to Harvard Health. Though from a research standpoint, studies performed on respiration and mood tend to focus on the benefits of deep breathing, and therefore draw conclusions about the effects of shallow breathing, there is a general consensus among researchers and health experts that suggest it can induce stress and anxiety.

Basically, the theory is that embodying the patterns we exhibit when we are stressed or anxious, such as shallow breathing, can make us feel that way. Research seems to back this idea up, with a 2023 study by University of Auckland researchers suggesting that something as simple as slouching can make you feel more depressed. 

Basically, as I often tell my students, when you’re stressed you don’t breathe properly, and when you don’t breathe properly, you’re stressed. As an athlete, you might be unintentionally reinforcing this cycle in a bid to support your spine, lift weights or pivot quickly without sustaining an injury.

As a result, you might be experiencing muscular tension and mental stress, and may have identified that deep breathing can help you, and the research would suggest you are correct. A 2018 review of research on the topic found that deep, slow breathing (less than 10 breaths per minute) is associated with parasympathetic activity, that part of your nervous system that governs your rest and digest response. A 2017 study which examined participants after an eight-week course of diaphragmatic breathing saw significant reductions in levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Deep breathing has even been cited in pain reduction following a 2020 study which applied painful heat stimuli on participants.

As an athlete, you might already be prone to stress, and deep breathing could be the perfect antidote. What I sometimes find with students in this predicament, however, is that it’s not as simple as just sitting down and breathing deeply. In fact, because many athletes are, by nature, rather on the “Type A” end of the spectrum, they tend to breathe as if they’re mad at the air, if you will. If you think you might fall into this camp, don’t worry – keep reading for an easy practice to learn how to deepen your breath.

How to practice deep breathing

Even though scientific understanding of deep breathing is just beginning, yoga practitioners have been using breathing techniques to regulate their nervous systems for centuries. There are countless breathing techniques in yoga, but simple diaphragmatic breathing is one of my favorites to teach as it is very safe, simple and effective if done properly. 

Your diaphragm – a parachute-shaped muscle at the bottom of your rib cage – is the primary muscle used in respiration, however many of us don’t use it much at all, breathing a shallow breath into the upper chest instead. Rather than try to start practicing deep breathing while you’re out on the trail, carve out five minutes in your day, perhaps as soon as you wake up or right before bed, and try this deep breathing exercise, often called Diaphragmatic Breathing: 

1.  Lie down 

First and foremost, if you’re struggling to breathe deeply, don’t try to do it in a seated position, even though this is what all the yoga magazines suggest is a serene repose. For many of us, and especially athletes with tight hips from running, biking and hiking, sitting upright requires a great degree of muscular effort, and you want a lot of those muscles to be relaxed so you can breathe. Instead, lie down on a yoga or exercise mat. If it’s cold, wear some warm socks and cover yourself up with a blanket.

2. Breathe into your abdomen

Place your hands on your abdomen. For a minute or two, breathe normally here and focus on relaxing your abdominal muscles as well as your neck and shoulders.

When you feel that you’re no longer clenching anywhere, begin to breathe slowly and softly (through your nose if possible) so that your abdomen expands, causing your hands to rise and fall – do this without strain, almost as if you are sipping your breath. Repeat this for about 10 breaths or until it feels comfortable.

3. Breathe into your bottom ribs

Move your hands so that they rest on your bottom ribs, just where your diaphragm is. Continue breathing into your abdomen, but allow these ribs to also broaden and expand with each inhale, and soften with each exhale. Repeat this for about 10 breaths or until it feels comfortable.

4. Breathe into your chest

Finally, move your hands up to your chest. Let your breath fill your abdomen, then your bottom ribs, and lastly feel your chest expand with breath, as if your lungs were filling from the bottom up. As you exhale, feel your chest relax first, then your bottom ribs, then your belly – like emptying from the top down. Repeat this for about 10 breaths or until it feels comfortable, then relax for a minute or two and breathe normally.

As a final tip, if you find it difficult to regulate your breathing, some of my students have had success setting up a short interval session on their GPS watch, so that it alerts you every five or 10 seconds that it’s time to inhale or exhale.

• Tips for breathing while running

It’s a Sunday night and I’m wincing in pain and grunting in displeasure as I roll out my IT band on the bedroom floor. The sensation, as you might know, is somewhere between intolerable excruciation and vague nausea, but I’ve been experiencing pain in my outer knee on my runs lately. It might be due to the new road running shoes I’ve been testing or it could be thanks to the metal screw in my outer knee following an ACL reconstruction seven years ago. Whatever the cause, it’s been painful enough for me to dig my foam roller out from underneath a mountain of camping equipment in my closet, dust it off, and try some self-torture.

I lived in Vail, Colorado when foam rolling first became “a thing” and in a town where everyone seems to be an elite athlete, recovery tools tend to catch on fast. Over the last 15 years, I’ve gradually been indoctrinated to the idea that, as a hiker, runner and skier, it’s something I really should be doing to offset muscle tightness caused by my chosen activities. Further, along the way I’ve definitely picked up the widely touted idea that, because the IT band is a strip of fascia that runs from hip to knee, and not a muscle, there’s not much point in stretching it, but you can roll it when it feels tight.

That said, I rarely do it, because as I’ve already mentioned, it feels horrific. Like sticking pins and needles into my thigh. Instead, I own a foam roller because I feel I should, but only use it about once every three years and rely on yoga and massage instead. Much nicer.

I sheepishly admit all this to my new physical therapist the following Wednesday. I’ve come in for some advice on my knee and I expect her to gently reprimand me on being more consistent with my rolling.

“Your IT band is just connective tissue anyway, so foam rolling it doesn’t really do anything. I wish people would stop doing it” she responds.

I’m instantly intrigued.

You mean to tell me that these infrequent agony sessions are pointless? We chat a bit more and she elaborates that there just isn’t any science to suggest that foam rolling your IT band is useful. Being who I am, I immediately go home and start looking up studies. After all, if I can arm myself with research to justify not doing things I find uncomfortable, all the better!

What does the science say about rolling your IT band? 

It turns out that a lot of our assumptions about foam rolling simply aren’t backed by science – yet anyway. You’ve probably heard that foam rolling makes a great recovery tool for athletes like runners, but a 2019 meta-analysis of 21 studies on foam rolling published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology actually concluded that the evidence “seems to justify the widespread use of foam rolling as a warm-up activity rather than a recovery tool,” producing small improvements on sprint performance and flexibility. So it might be useful before you hit the trail, but not necessarily afterwards. 

Regarding IT band rolling specifically, a small 2021 study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that a single session of foam rolling – in other words, what I’ve been doing – does not affect short-term IT band stiffness (it also hasn’t been found effective in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome). It is of course possible that regular, long term use would provide different results, but such a study hasn’t yet been published and that’s enough for me.

If you’re reading this and also kicking yourself for spending so much time in self-inflicted torment, all is not totally lost. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Athletic Training suggests that it can be effective in reducing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, so if you ran downhill yesterday, it might be worth rolling, but probably better to focus on your quads rather than your IT band.  

“If it helps, it helps” 

Now even this cursory glance at the science, or lack of it, begs the question – how has foam rolling become so popular? According to Business Research Insights, the global foam roller market size was in excess of $320 million in 2022 and is projected to more than double by 2031. Broadly speaking, most of my immediate friends have a foam roller kicking around somewhere at home and we all just generally agree that it’s a good thing without much questioning.

The popularity of IT band rolling is no doubt being driven by a fleet of trainers and physios who endorse it, leading to the ubiquity of foam rollers in public gyms, signalling to all of us that we should be using them. Compared to recovery tools like sports massage, it’s a relatively inexpensive tool. A basic foam roller like this one on Amazon runs less than $15, and since rolling can be done at home and only takes a few minutes, it doesn’t require a major time commitment. If you believe the rewards are as great as your trainer says they are, there’s almost no reason not to give it a go.

Finally, before you throw out your foam roller with your New Year’s resolutions, don’t forget these parting words from my physio: “if it helps you then it helps you, does it?” 

In other words, foam rolling your IT band might actually work for some people, no matter what the studies say.

And if, like me, you can’t stand foam rolling your IT band and aren’t seeing any benefit from it, well good news – you’re free.

• The best gentle recovery sessions for runners

So you've just finished a run and you're scrolling through the stats on your Garmin watch. Distance, pace, heart rate, stamina – wait, what's this? Recovery time 48 hours? How can that be right? 

Don't worry, you don't need to toss your training plan out the window. Well, probably not. Despite the way it might sound, Garmin's recovery time metric isn't an estimate of how long you should wait before your next training session in order to reduce the risk of injury, but how long it'll take before your body is ready for another session at the same intensity.

So if you've just completed your long run for the week, you can still do a recovery run or base training on the following days. Just don't go hell for leather two days in a row.

How is recovery time calculated?

Depending on your recent workload, general fitness, and the intensity of your workout recovery time forecast will vary from a few hours to four days. It's calculated using the training effect of your activity, how much time was already on your recovery clock when you started, and a wealth of data from the Firstbeat Algorithm, including heart rate variability and training load.

Newer watches (like the Garmin Venu 3) will also factor in stress levels, quality of sleep, and daily activity levels to give a more accurate figure. Seeing something different on your phone from your watch? Don't worry, the Garmin Connect app will update once your device syncs.

It's only a suggestion, but recovery time is a tool that can potentially help you avoid overtraining, understand the type of training that would benefit you right now (are you ready for an intense session or a gentle jog?) and generally train smarter.

• We're rounding up this year's best Black Friday Garmin deals

You could say that July 1, 2019 just wasn’t Sarah True’s day. Though the two-time Olympian had been holding her lead in the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt, the ferocious heat got the better of her in the final mile. Instead of crossing the finish line to take top spot on the podium, the two-time Olympian collapsed from heatstroke and was carried off the course. 

It’s a heartbreaking end for any athlete, but while watching the event, Wulf Glatz had an idea  –  maybe, with the right tools, it could have been True's day. A mechanical engineer by education, Glatz was familiar with a tiny chip called the heat flux sensor which measures energy transfer. It had previously been used to calibrate lasers, and there had been a failed attempt to use it to charge a battery using human body heat, but had failed in that endeavor. It dawned on Glatz while he was watching the Frankfurt coverage that the heat flux sensor could be used to prevent what happened to True from happening to other athletes.

In just four short years since, Glatz developed a wearable device called the CORE sensor which allows athletes to realize when they are overheating and adjust their approach before things reach the point of no return. So-called heat training has been adopted by Tom Evans, winner of the 2023 Western States 100, Norwegians Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, both early champions who have used the technique to win Ironman championships in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and the majority of the peloton.

I’ve heard plenty about altitude training for elite athletes hoping to secure an advantage in mountain races – and in my years living in Vail, Colorado grew used to pro athletes coming to town to train – but heat training is totally new to me. I recently spoke to CORE’s expert endurance coach Brian Maiorano from his base in Zurich, who trains coaches on using the device with athletes, to get my head around what it all means and how you can use it.

What is heat training?

When I first heard about heat training, earlier this summer, I was skeptical. After all, I came up as a yoga teacher in a time where yoga wasn’t yoga if you weren’t sweating it out in a 95-degree room with 30 other sports bra-clad people dripping all over you. So I’ll admit that my first thought was that it’s just another fad, but Maiorano explains that the literature about heat training and the benefits that come from it is very well established.

“It was always done in a laboratory setting because the tools to do it by a general athlete just didn't exist,” Maiorano says, explaining that previously you’d have to use invasive ways to measure core body temperature such as a swallowable pill costing 50 dollars each time.

“Some top-level athletes were doing heat training, but they'd be told by their coach ‘well go out and cook yourself but don't overcook yourself’ – ok, what does that mean?”

I assumed this meant lugging your treadmill into a sauna, but Maiorano assures me that isn’t the case. Heat training is a lot like heart rate zone training and in practice it can be as simple as pulling on your trail running shoes, an extra layer of clothing, and going running in a slightly warmer part of the day than you might usually to help your body adapt to the heat.

During these workouts, you’ll wear the CORE sensor on your torso, just like a heart rate monitor strap. It measures your core body temperature (the temperature of your internal organs) and reports that to you in real time via your GPS watch. Over time, you’ll learn what your heat training zone is, then you’ll train in that zone two or three times a week, which will cause your body to adapt in a few different ways:

• Your body makes more blood plasma, which allows you to cool down more efficiently.
• Your body lowers the temperature at which you start to sweat.
• You lose less sodium through your sweat.

What this allows you to do is to adapt for a hot race or warm weather training, and if done for a long enough period – about five weeks – your body reacts to that addition in plasma by building more hemoglobin. 

“More hemoglobin means that you're getting more oxygen to your muscles which is the same effect that altitude training has,” explains Maiorano.

Many pro athletes who have the means will relocate to high altitude zones for training purposes in order to gain a competitive advantage, and though you might assume that’s to avoid altitude sickness on race day, that’s something that could usually be achieved by just arriving a few days early for the race. Training at altitude over time, however, builds red blood cells to deliver more oxygen to your muscles – and so does long-term heat training.

So if you can already achieve this advantage by going up into the mountains, why bother with heat training, which just sounds uncomfortable and potentially dangerous? Well for starters, for those of us who don’t already live in a ski town or have the ability to up sticks and move, it’s more accessible.

“With altitude training, you obviously need to go somewhere where you're about 2,000 meters. With heat training, you can do it in your own garage no matter what the temperature is. If it's winter, you just overdress,” says Maiorano, who adds that because the training keeps you below threshold, it’s not dangerous if done properly.

Another argument for heat training over altitude training is that the gains in hemoglobin you make last longer. It takes you about the same number of weeks to accumulate that extra hemoglobin, whether you’re training at altitude or using heat zone training, but with altitude training, you totally lose it within about three weeks after coming back down to sea level – something I’ve personally experienced having gone from a high altitude resident to a flatlander three years ago. This means that with altitude training, you need to time your training so that it coincides with your race.

“With heat training, once you've gained that hemoglobin, you can maintain it with simply two to three heat sessions per week so what the pro athletes are doing is in the late winter, they will do this two-week block of heat training and then they will just maintain it for two to three sessions throughout the season and that keeps their hemoglobin up for the entire season.”

Heat training is more accessible, making it appealing to a lot of athletes, but Maiorano warns that if you’re going to be racing at altitude, it’s not a replacement for altitude training. The race-day mechanisms are different, and you can't do both types of training concurrently because it's too much stress on your body.

“What I would be doing is the season-long heat training early on, and then the five weeks before your race, go high and do your altitude training.”

And finally, what does science say about all of this? Well, as always, the studies are mixed, but most are in favor of heat training. A 2015 consensus in the British Medical Journal recommended heat training for sporting events that take place in warm ambient conditions. A 2019 study in Exercise Physiology didn’t find heat training to be superior for aerobic performance compared to training in cool conditions, but a 2021 study published in Experimental Physiology confirms the approach increases hemoglobin in elite cyclists and is one of many that support the theory.

Is heat training for you?

It occurs to me instantly that, in a warming world, heat training is going to become essential for athletes who compete outdoors. Already this year, I traveled to Chamonix for the UTMB where participants were racing in the upper 70s in September, while Russian tennis champ Daniil Medvedev warned “one player is going to die” after playing in 95-degree heat in this year’s US Open. But if you, like me, live in a cool or temperate climate, I can understand if you’re thinking that heat training is really just for folks in Arizona. 

As it turns out though, when it comes to endurance sports, it’s not necessarily outdoor temperature that’s the problem.

“The thing that most people don’t understand is that when your internal core temperature rises, it’s not inherently because of the outdoor temperature – it's because of the power we are generating in our muscles.”

Basically, he explains, the human body is very inefficient.

“When we burn calories to convert caloric energy into muscle power, only 20 percent of those calories are turned into power that makes it to the ground in the form of muscular power. The other 80 percent is created as heat energy, so 80 percent of the calories we burn are turned into heat inside of our body. Our body needs to get rid of that heat but before it can, the core heats up.”

An analogy he uses is the power meter that you might be familiar with if you’ve ever worked out on a stationary bike. If that meter says you're generating 200 watts at the pedals, that means you are generating 800 watts as heat energy inside your legs. 

“It's literally like having miniature space heaters inside your legs.”

How your body gets rid of that heat is by sending blood to your muscles which then pump it back up to your heart and then that blood is spread out to your skin and it's from your skin that heat is lost. This whole process raises your core temperature which only increases the problem.

Now, if you’re racing in the low 70s, it is relatively easy for your body to cool itself because you have cool air temperature around you, but your body is still diverting blood from your muscles to your skin to be cooled.

“If you want the same amount of oxygen going to the muscles, you need to increase your heart rate and this means performance decline, because if you're racing, your heart rate is already at a maxed-out level. You can't raise it any higher, so what happens is your heart rate stays the same and the amount of oxygen going to your muscles declines.”

But when you’ve been doing heat training, the extra blood plasma you’ve created means your body doesn't need to divert as much blood away from the muscles to send it to the skin.

What are the benefits of heat training? 

Theoretically speaking, had True been doing heat training in the months leading up to that fateful 2019 race, she would have set off that morning in Frankfurt with more blood plasma. Then, during the race, she’d have been able to monitor her core temperature, knowing what her threshold was (like heart rate zones, this varies from person to person, but it’s typically around 38.5 degrees). 

When she started to feel warm, but before her performance started to decline, she would have started to lower her body temperature by doing things like putting ice inside her running top, pouring water over her head and of course drinking more. 

If those measures still weren’t enough and she continued to overheat, she’d need to slow down – something she’d likely have been reluctant to do in order to maintain her seven-minute lead that day.

“That's a really really hard thing for a professional who is winning a race to do, but even professionals are realizing that if they pace themselves properly, especially on a really hot day, their competition might be melting down. If they can keep their core temperature under control, they can be going just a little bit slower and they will keep going at that pace when their competition totally crashes.” 

Heat training might arguably have helped True walk away with that gold medal she wanted so much, but you don’t have to be an Olympian to try this approach.

“In general, we say it's for anybody who trains with a purpose,” remarks Maiorano, who recalls suffering with the humid summers during his first few years living in Switzerland. In those early years, he would go out first thing in the morning before the sun came up to get his workouts in, but now, having done heat training this spring, he found he was able to ride in the middle of the day.

“It just improved my comfort level in the heat at all levels and that was without a whole lot of change to my regular training.”

• Best hydration packs: drink up

Running is already hard, but we runners just love to find ways to make it harder. If your adventures usually take place in road running shoes on tarmac, maybe you’re slowly inching up the mileage week after week. Then again, if you love to hit the soft stuff in trail running shoes, perhaps you’re seeking steeper slopes to climb. 

But when it comes to improving your performance, should you be increasing your incline, or your distance, or both? Most of us will naturally gravitate towards one or the other, but both uphill running and long runs have benefits that may help you meet certain running goals.

Let’s look at the benefits of running uphill vs long runs to find out which one you need to be doing more of.

The benefits of running uphill 

If you’re always running on the flat and wondering why you’ve plateaued, you’re definitely going to want to give the hills a try. When you’re running uphill, you have practically zero momentum to rely on, which means that your leg muscles like your calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads and hip flexors have to do much more work than usual to power you forward. 

Running uphill is great for strengthening your leg muscles with less impact than running downhill or even on the flat, which can serve you when it’s time to sprint to the finish and may also reduce your risk of injury, though you’ll want to take care when running downhill again. As we explain in our article on the benefits of hill running, the form required can also help to strengthen your arm and core muscles.

In addition, as soon as you start running on an incline, you’ll notice that your heart rate increases much more than when you’re running on the flat. It turns out that running uphill is amazing training for your cardiovascular system and for increasing aerobic endurance too, and if you make it part of your regular training program, you may find that it makes you a faster runner and improves your endurance. If you try to keep up your pace on uphill stretches rather than slowing down, it can make for an effective form of interval training and help to improve your VO2 max. Plus, you’ve got the added bonus that when you get back to level ground, everything suddenly seems easier.

When picking a slope to test out your legs on, obviously a gentler incline will be easier than a steep one, and may reap fewer of these benefits, but interestingly, researchers from CU Boulder did discover that there’s a fairly large range of inclines that require the same amount of energy expenditure – anything between 20 and 35 degrees is considered the “goldilocks plateau.” If you're going up really steep slopes, you'll want to consider using running poles to help you.

The benefits of long runs 

While an incline is an incline, making it easier to study the benefits of uphill running, what exactly constitutes a long run is much more subjective. 

If you’re gearing up for a marathon, your longest training run will ideally be 21 miles, whereas if you’re working your way up to your first 5k, your long run will be going for 30 minutes without stopping. This makes endurance running harder to research, however there are some obvious benefits.  

Increasing distance helps you to build both physical and mental stamina and endurance. Physically, it teaches your body to become more efficient, relying on fat rather than glycogen for energy stores, according to a paper published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. Mentally, it’s good training for spending hours on the trail if you’re planning on an endurance race, and arguably that kind of prolonged suffering could help you to tackle all sorts of obstacles in life.

If you’re increasing your distances, it’s not recommended that you add more than 10 percent each week, to give your body time to adapt, so it's a good idea to use a GPS watch to track your progress so you don't overdo it.

What's better training for runners? 

The best training, of course, depends on what you’re preparing yourself for. If your goal is to go for long distances, such as a marathon, then of course longer distances need to be part of your training regime to help you build endurance. 

If you want to get better at sprinting or are planning on doing more trail running, then you’ll want to practice running uphill, even if it means you end up walking the uphills a lot of the time, since running on flat terrain doesn’t really train your muscles in the right way for this.

If you want to improve your overall fitness and become a better runner all round, or be able to tackle more types of terrain, then obviously making sure your routine includes both hills and long runs is the best course of action. And finally, take care – it’s easy to overdo either form of training and the last thing you want is to have to sit on the bench this season.

• Best running backpacks: light and comfortable

Do you have to psych yourself up before every run? Once you're out there, do you keep fantasizing about the whole thing being over? When you've finished, do you just want to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of the day?

I totally understand, but as a run leader I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be that way. The fact that you're pushing yourself to run despite not really enjoying it is admirable, but it shouldn't be a sufferfest. Well, not most of the time anyway.

The problem many runners have is always running at the same pace – too fast for regular steady training runs, and too slow for speed sessions.

The exact pace will vary between people, but in my experience many people who don't really like running tend to do all their training in heart rate zone three – around  70 - 80% of your maximum heart rate (check out our guide to heart rate zones if you're not sure what I mean). It might be a bit uncomfortable and it's the kind of speed you might aim for if you're running a 10k race, but it's not the best pace for your everyday evening runs.

For building a good endurance base, most of your regular runs should actually be in heart rate zone two. This is the kind of pace that you can keep up comfortably for a good long time, and leaves you able to hold a conversation.

It might seem counterintuitive to finish a workout still feeling relatively fresh, but regular runs in zone two will do more for your fitness than sporadic faster efforts. By contrast, your hard training sessions should be genuinely hard. Brief intervals of running in zone four, followed by recovery in zone two, for example. If you want to start training in a structured way, Nike Run Club has free plans available to download for distances from 5k to full marathon.

Why does it happen?

So why do so many runners wind up stuck in zone three? There are a few psychological reasons. It's easy to get stuck on the idea that because you can run faster, you should. That's just not true, and you'll wind up burned out if you push yourself to exhaustion every single time.

Some runners also feel embarrassed about going relatively slowly and being overtaken by other people out training, which is understandable but really shouldn't worry you. Strangers tend to pay a lot less attention to us than we might think, and are very unlikely to give your running speed a second thought.

If you run with a friend, you might feel obliged to step on the gas to avoid slowing them down, but if you both have the same goal, they might benefit from more zone two work as well. Have a chat about your aims. You might find that they're doing exactly the same thing!

Whatever the cause, please don't beat yourself up. You shouldn't feel guilty or embarrassed for dialling back the speed, and you don't have to prove yourself to anyone. You'll reap the benefits later on.

• The best road running shoes: tested and rated

When you spend your days scaling mountains on belay and hurtling down them on skis, you’re bound to experience a few bumps and bruises along the way. My first serious outdoors injury occurred not long after I moved to Colorado in 2009. I was racing my bike down a steep, winding road in the Rockies when I hit some gravel and then next thing I knew I was on the ground.

Spurred by adrenaline, I leapt up and got myself and my bike onto the side of the road in case a car came along. As I did so, I could tell something wasn’t right with my right arm. My collarbone was sticking out at a funny angle and while I waited for my friend to come and pick me up, I became convinced I’d broken it. As a yoga teacher and rock climber, this was bad news.

I headed for the ER where a quick examination revealed my instinct was wrong. I’d actually separated my shoulder joint. The doctor explained I had torn the ligaments connecting my collarbone to my shoulder blade, an injury also known as an AC separation, shorthand for acromioclavicular joint separation. Shoulder separations can range from mild (spraining the ligaments) to severe (also involving joint dislocation), and they're common injuries among active folk as a result of falling. 

At the time, the diagnosis felt devastating, in part because I was only 27 and had never had a big injury before, and also because I had just moved to the Rockies from the concrete jungle of Manhattan and was pretty enthusiastic about getting outdoors as much as possible. If you’ve just experienced the same injury, you might be feeling pretty blue, but 15 years on, I’m got back to full strength and learned a lot along the way.

1. You probably won’t need surgery

I separated my shoulder in Vail, Colorado, which is practically the world capital of joint surgeries. Blow your knee out on the hill and you might have your ACL repaired the very next day at Vail Health, which is conveniently situated at the bottom of the ski slopes. 

Surprisingly, however, there wasn’t an army of scalpel-wielding shoulder surgeons lining up to reattach my ligaments. Though very extreme shoulder separations with complications may be treated with surgery, it’s actually not that common to have your AC joint operated on, unless you’re a professional hockey player. Chances are, you’ll get sent home with a sling and a prescription for several days of icing.

2. Don’t get too dependent on your sling

The traditional approach to healing from a soft tissue injury is the RICE protocol, which entails briefly resting your shoulder, and you’re not likely to want to go bouldering tomorrow anyway. You’ll be given a sling to wear for a week or so, and if you’re a bit scared, you might get overly dependent on it like I did.

However, the sling just helps you with the pain for the first few days, since the weight of your arm hanging down is uncomfortable. Long term immobilization of the joint probably isn’t conducive to healing, as studies show patients tend to heal faster with joint mobilization instead. 

I was really scared to hurt my shoulder again, so I wore my sling for a bit too long until my PT noticed that it was forcing me to hunch over and told me to stop before I ended up throwing my back out too. Unless otherwise instructed by a medical professional, just use your sling for just the first week or so and then get used to life without it before your posture is affected.

3. It won't look that bad forever

Because I had also suffered quite a bit of road rash, I was all bandaged up for a few days, and when I first took the dressing off, I was absolutely horrified at how bad my shoulder looked. I can pretty vividly remember my 27-year-old self seeing a veritable Quasimodo in the mirror and fretting about never being able to wear a dress in public again.

These days, if you look very closely, you might notice that my right shoulder is a little lower than my left, but basically it looks completely normal and I wear dresses all the time.

4. It’s good to get back out there (on foot)

My confidence took a serious knock after my crash and it was another couple of years before I got back on a bike, but getting back out there is key to healing. You won’t be able to go rock climbing or do yoga straight away, of course, and you’ll be a bit nervous of falling again, so you might want to avoid faster-paced sports like cycling and skiing, while running is a little difficult until the pain and swelling go away.

That said, as far as soft tissue injuries go, a shoulder separation isn’t the worst one you can have. Pretty quickly, I got bored of feeling sorry for myself, pulled my hiking boots on and hit the trail, and getting out in nature was really therapeutic for me, as well as a way to maintain my fitness. Stick to well-maintained trails at first to reduce your chances of falling, and make sure you know how to adjust your backpack properly, so that your hips and legs are taking all the weight.

By 2013, I was back on the bike training for my first triathlon, which I completed without any crashes, and these days I ride my bike any time I can.

5. You might need help

Unless you paint ceilings for a living, a separated shoulder isn’t super debilitating, especially once the initial pain and swelling goes down. After the first week or so, you’ll get rid of the sling and be able to perform basic household tasks. That said, I definitely struggled with certain movements for quite a few months, such as stuffing my sleeping bag into its compression sack when I went camping. Make sure you’ve got a patient adventure buddy that can help you with these pushing/pulling actions for a little while.

6. You might get stronger

Separating your shoulder will definitely affect your strength, but if you’re anything like me, you might find that in the long term, your injured shoulder is stronger.

If you don’t do anything to strengthen your upper body, this won’t be the case, but if you lift weights, or like me do activities like bouldering and yoga, you’ll soon discover that because the ligaments are missing, the muscles surrounding your separated shoulder have to work harder. 

In fact, these days when I’m hauling myself up the wall or doing yoga postures like side plank, I notice that my right shoulder is significantly stronger than my left.

7. Do your physio

This basically goes for any injury, but it’s worth seeing a PT a few days after your injury and following their protocols. Assuming you don’t have any complications, you probably won’t need more than one or two visits. The exercises will be simple, such as tying a resistance band around a doorknob and pulling your hand across your body, but they really work.

For quite a few months, I was unable to adduct my right shoulder, so when I held out my arms in front of me with my elbows bent, I couldn’t bring my two forearms together. This was mostly challenging for yoga and then climbing, but if left unattended to, it could affect everyday actions like getting dressed or unlocking a door. 

By faithfully doing my exercises each day, however, I soon regained full mobility of my right shoulder and these days, it actually has a greater range of motion than my left shoulder.

8.  You’ll (probably) forget all about it one day

Separating your shoulder sucks, but if it’s the worst injury you ever have, you might actually be pretty lucky. Having torn my ACL skiing since then, I look back at my shoulder separation and wonder why I was so upset. It’s definitely true that some people do still have pain 10 years later, according to one study, and arthritis is a possibility, but it’s also common to make a complete recovery.

In the grand scheme of things, it was a minor setback for me and these days I’m basically either standing on my hands or hanging off a climbing wall most days, and I honestly never even think about my shoulder anymore.

• Best first aid kits: be prepared with emergency supplies

Rest, ice, compression, elevation. If you’ve ever suffered a sports injury, you’ve probably heard these four words, better known as the RICE protocol. As the recipient of one separated shoulder joint, two knee surgeries and the odd sprained ankle here and there, I hate to think about all the time (and money) I’ve spent on ice machines and compression sleeves.

The RICE protocol has been widely used in the medical profession for over 40 years and it centers around what most of us probably think of when we imagine healing from an injury. Your trail running shoes or hiking boots get tidied away and you sit with your feet up and go through several bags of frozen peas, allowing that sprained ankle or knee to heal by not using it. Simple.

In recent years, however, the approach has started to fall out of favor. I first became aware of this when I picked my ex-boyfriend up from the hospital after having major hip surgery. Instead of getting sent home with a prescription for Netflix and bowls of ice cream, he was wheeled downstairs to the physical therapy unit and immediately put on a stationary bike and told to start pedaling, all while holding a sick bowl under his chin to clear up any side effects from an allergic reaction to the anesthetic. 

A few years later, following my first knee surgery, I found myself subject to the same treatment and, because we had to talk about something during the countless hours I spent on tables having my knee manipulated, talked to a lot of different PTs about the pros and cons of the RICE protocol. If you’re recovering from an injury, your first stop should always be a medical professional, but if you’re curious about research on the RICE method and more current lines of treatment, read on for what we know so far.

What is the RICE protocol?

The RICE protocol has for a long time been the standard operating procedure when it comes to treating soft tissue injuries such as a sprained ankle or ACL and even for healing after surgery. The coin was termed by Dr Gabe Mirkin in The Sportsmedicine Book in 1978 and it’s a protocol to produce pain and inflammation and promote healing.

The four elements of the RICE protocol include:

• Rest: Immobilize or avoid using the affected area.
• Ice: Apply ice to the affected area to help reduce pain and swelling.
• Compression: Use a compression sleeve or bandage to reduce swelling.
• Elevation: Elevate the affected area elevated to decrease swelling.

If you’re unlucky enough to sprain your ankle on a hike, this would mean that you’d avoid weight bearing as much as possible while your ankle is still swollen and use an ankle support brace to immobilize it. You’d apply an ice pack to it for 20 minutes at a time, wear a compression bandage and prop it up on a pillow while sitting up in bed or on the couch, so that it’s higher than your hip.

Does RICE work?

When you’ve become the recent recipient of a joint injury like a sprained ankle, nothing sounds better than sitting with your foot up and holding  a cold ice pack on it, but does the RICE protocol work?

While no one would recommend you run a 10k with a freshly sprained ankle, the response from the medical community seems to be largely a resounding ‘no’ to complete rest these days. A 2001 randomized controlled trial found that among patients with ankle sprains, those that received manual therapy techniques to mobilize their ankle achieved full pain-free dorsiflexion faster than those who followed a protocol of complete rest. So much for sitting on the couch watching Netflix, then.

While you might not get as much rest while healing from your injury as you’d hoped, there is some evidence for icing an injured joint, otherwise known as cryotherapy, but just whacking an ice pack on it twice a day for a month probably isn’t helpful, and may even hamper your healing process. 

Years ago, I went to see my acupuncturist immediately after icing my knee. Many months had passed since I’d had surgery, but I still had a lot of swelling and pain, so I was icing it every day. She was startled to feel how cold my knee was and when I explained I was still icing regularly, she suggested that to bring life back into the joint, I wanted to be encouraging circulation, not reducing it with cold therapy. Cryotherapy, she explained, was best for acute injuries, in the days immediately following the injury. I stopped icing my knee and it soon started feeling better.

Anyway, if you’re thinking to yourself, ‘what does an acupuncturist know?’ the answer is quite a lot as it turns out. Though ice applied immediately to an acute injury does help to reduce initial swelling, it also reduces blood flow to the affected area, and that may hinder the healing process if you continue to ice for weeks or months, according to at least one research article published in 2021. 

So there is some argument for ice in certain situations, but the waters around compression are quite a bit more muddy. Compression is used, in theory, to reduce swelling as well as the chances of hemorrhaging. For a minor injury, this might take the form of tightly wrapping the area in a compression bandage, but these days there are also intermittent pneumatic compression machines that look like a giant boot, which alternate between short bouts of inflated compression and deflation – a bit like the blood pressure sleeve you put on at the doctor’s when you go in for a checkup. 

However, as recently as 2015, researchers noted that definitive conclusions on compression have not been reached, due to the poor quality of evidence available and the variety of treatments used.

Finally, what about elevation? This protocol is a pretty easy one to administer, because it basically involves putting your leg up on a cushion. Since gravity moves things downward, keeping your foot below your body may encourage the build up of fluid post-injury, which can put more pressure on the joint, while elevating it against gravity can help reduce that build up. 

For this step in the RICE protocol, there is some supporting evidence – in a 2006 study, researchers measured ankle girth pre- and post-elevation and found that elevation significantly reduced swelling, with 60 degrees of elevation being the optimal height. So you can put your foot up post injury, but you’ll probably want to alternate elevation with movement to speed along your recovery.

So, does the RICE protocol work? 

"I would say that the R.I.C.E. method is only applicable for acute injuries like sprains. Not as good for other flare ups from chronic conditions," advises Carrie Eckenhoff, PT.

As you can see it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Movement certainly seems to be a better approach than total rest, while ice can be effective in the days immediately following your injury but not long term. There’s no conclusive research on compression, but elevation does seem to be of benefit, and this is the one piece that many physical therapists continue to recommend today. 

That said, it all depends on the severity of your injury and your approach – how long and frequently you’re icing for and what angle of elevation you’re using might make a difference.

Is RICE outdated?

You could argue, given research, that the RICE protocol is now a little outdated, but remember that medical science is always evolving and there are elements of RICE that can be effective, in certain situations.

Another approach that has arisen in response to the lack of supporting evidence for RICE is the so-called MEAT method:

• Movement: Gentle movement that doesn’t exacerbate pain levels.
• Exercise: Gradual progression of prescribed exercises once pain and swelling are reduced.
• Analgesics: Natural, over-the-counter or prescription painkillers to help manage pain.
• Treatment: Working with a trained professional to establish a treatment program.

Using this approach, medical practitioners will have you begin with very gentle movement of the joint as soon as possible that doesn’t exceed your pain tolerance. This might look like gently flexing your ankle or moving your knee between a few degrees of flexion and extension. Movement circulation in the joint, which feeds the cells with oxygen and encourages the healing process.

Once swelling has gone down and your pain is reduced, the next step is to begin a gentle exercise routine as prescribed by a physical therapist. This is designed to place gentle load on the muscles and ligaments to encourage them to strengthen.

Analgesics refer to painkillers used to help you manage pain initially so that you can proceed with the first few stages, however it’s important to note that you should consult with your doctor before proceeding with any painkillers, as some may be contraindicated with your healing process.

Finally, treatment refers to working with a professional to create a plan for healing and this may or may not be necessary depending on the severity of your injury. Obviously, treatment includes the previous steps, but it may also include manual manipulation, sports massage, dry needling and other techniques that can be offered by a trained professional such as a physical therapist.

As you can see, there is more research to be done on the best approach to treatment when you’re healing from injury, but all the evidence so far points toward movement over rest, which is good news for those of you itching to get back out on the trail. That said, don’t get out there too quickly or you might end up back on the couch after all.

• Return to running program: how to get back after injury

When it comes to athletic training, wisdom has long dictated that if you want to get better at something, you should do more of it. Want to run an ultra marathon? Spend more time in your trail running shoes. Want to finally nail that 5.11 at the crag? Get your harness on and climb.

In recent years, however, the focus for some has shifted from quantity to quality in training, and most athletic coaches are impressing on athletes the importance of cross training. I don’t know about you, but I have my preferred activities – hiking and trail running – and for years I was loath to lose any time doing anything else. But as I’ve gotten a little older, suffered lots of injuries and learned more about training methods and exercise science, I’ve realized how important cross training is for my health and performance. 

If you’ve heard about cross training but are unsure what it is, whether it’s for you and how to get started, read on to find out what’s so great about cross training.

What is cross training and why is it beneficial?

Put simply, cross training is implementing other exercises and activities beyond your primary sport to take a more well-rounded approach to training. Though any exercise is generally considered to be good for you, all sports by nature fundamentally imbalance your body. If you’re a runner for example, you’re likely to have strong legs and lungs, but you may not have such a robust upper body, while rock climbers often demonstrate full body strength but may not have the cardiovascular conditioning of a runner.

For that reason, true cross training isn’t just doing anything different from your regular sport, but it should strengthen or mobilize areas that your sport typically doesn’t, so that your general fitness is improved. Furthermore, challenging your body in different ways encourages your body and brain to adapt to new challenges, which is something you might be able to draw on when you’re in competition.

The benefits of cross training, like anything, depend on what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, but one of the main potential benefits of cross training is to allow you to continue with higher volume training without becoming prone to repetitive strain and injury. If the cross training you’re doing improves mobility in joints that are otherwise only being used in one pattern (as in your hips in cycling) or strengthens muscles around joints that otherwise take a lot of impact (say your knees in running) then it could further decrease your chances of becoming injured.

Furthermore, cross training can be a great way to reduce boredom and keep you feeling motivated and inspired. Now that I’ve incorporated other activities into my weekly routine, I find that I’m much more excited about hitting the trails for a run than I used to be.

What is an example of cross training?

Cross training can take a lot of different forms. If you’re a runner, for example, you might incorporate regular swim workouts to further your cardiovascular strength while giving your joints a break from your typical high impact activity levels, but you could also try weight training and resistance training to help with bone density and avoid stress fractures.

If you’re a cyclist, it’s important to cross train using some form of resistance training, since your sport isn’t a weight bearing sport. Meanwhile, if you’re a rock climber, swimming and running could be great to support your cardiovascular fitness while yoga can be good to improve your overall mobility.

Personally, I tend to focus on hiking, trail running and yoga, so I consider my time spent bouldering three times a week to be a form of cross training, as well as a fun hobby, because it’s a great way for me to work on my upper body strength without lifting weights. I also make sure to swim once a week because the non weight-bearing motion feels really soothing for my joints.

How do I start cross training?

Getting started with cross training is really as simple as looking at what you regularly do, and figuring out where your weaknesses lie. If you only do cardio, consider adding strength training and vice versa. If your sport involves a lot of repetitive movement, like running and cycling, seek out activities that move your joints in other ways, such as crabwalks with resistance bands to strengthen your outer hips.

Once you’ve figured out what your cross training activity or activities will be, integrate them into your training schedule anywhere from one to three times a week. If it’s a lower intensity session like yoga, pilates or swimming, you might do it more than you would if you’re incorporating running into your cycling or climbing routine.

If you are in training for competitive events, it’s a good idea to work with a trainer to figure out the right cross training plan, and if you’re just seeking a more well-rounded approach to fitness, you could really mix up your workouts throughout the week with different activities on each day.

What are the disadvantages of cross training in fitness?

One arguable disadvantage of cross training is that you could ultimately spend less time focusing on your sport. However, if you’re smart about your approach and have a good training plan, your cross training sessions could become active recovery and you might even be able to double up your workouts, for example scheduling an upper body resistance workout the same day as you have a base run.

If you’re doing something different every day, it could be argued that you don’t see as much improvement in any one area as you might if you went a little deeper into one activity, but truly if your goal isn’t to improve in a particular sport and you just want to live a long and healthy life, that really isn’t a problem.

There’s also the possibility that the cross training you choose is the wrong type, and that can create problems. For example, my friend Sarah was a Nordic ski racer for the University of Minnesota, where coach had her lifting a lot of weights. She discovered that under the right conditions, she was able to gain a lot of muscle in her legs quickly which made it difficult for her to ski, so in that case, her cross training was either wrong type or intensity.

Finally, if you pick a new activity like weight lifting or running and you don’t ease in carefully, you could end up getting injured, which could be really frustrating if it then prevents you from participating in your chosen sport. I got a little too excited when I got back to bouldering and tweaked my knee. It didn’t stop me from running but I could feel it for the next week and it was a good reminder to be ultra careful.

Should I do cross training everyday?

Regardless of whether you’re doing cross training to supplement something like your running regime, or just trying to maintain overall fitness, you shouldn’t do it every day. If your aim is to support your existing training, one to three times a week is enough and even if you’re just mixing up your workouts for general fitness, it’s important to schedule in at least one rest day each week to give your body ample time to recover.

• Cross training for runners: how to add cycling, swimming, walking and strength sessions to your workouts

Summer sunshine is certainly more motivating than wet, windy winters, but when your hot weather workout comes to a end, it can be difficult to cool back down. This is especially the case in humid conditions, when the air is already so saturated that even your body's attempts to cool itself down by sweating won't help.

We've all been there after a run or a gym session, sweating onto our fresh clothes, even after having taken a shower, long after our workout ended. It's not ideal, particularly if you've got things to be getting on with. Luckily for you, we're here with our experts tips for cooling down after a heatwave workout.

Ready, set, sweat!

How to cool down after exercise during a heatwave

Our nine tips for cooling down after exercise in a heatwave are:

• Choose the right time for your workouts
• Get cool before you go
• Do your stretches
• Try a hot-and-cold shower
• Strip down
• Try ice (but not too much)
• Cool your skin
• Have a drink
• Fan yourself

Meet the experts

Today's best deals

1 Choose the right time for your workouts

It makes sense to avoid working out during the hottest part of the day when the sun is at its height. Aim for the cooler morning or evenings before starting your exercise session. If you do need to fit in a workout in the hotter part of the day, choose places that offer more shade. It's a great time to lace up your best trail running shoes and go exploring the woods, or head indoors to an air-conditioned gym.

It may be that you are specifically seeking warm weather to do a little heat training to prepare for a race that could be scorching hot. Studies suggest that strategic heat training is beneficial. Your body will slowly adapt, lowering the temperature at which you start to sweat and making more blood plasma, which allows you to cool down for effectively. However, be aware that there are risks of running in a heatwave, so it's important to prepare properly. The last thing you want is heatstroke.

2 Get cool before you go

If you are already feeling hot before you exercise then your body may struggle to cope, so it's a good idea to start out cool. Cooling down before a run or workout will help to slow the rate at which your body temperature rises while you exercise. A 2012 literature review suggested that pre-cooling may also lead to better performance (though past studies on the topic have been small).

For the best effects, aim to hydrate with cold drinks for a couple of hours before you exercise, take a cold shower or use ice packs to cool your temperature a bit. Staying hydrated is also our number 1 tip for exercising outdoors during a heatwave, as well as before and after.

3 Time for a stretch

Stretching after exercise has benefits for your muscles and joints, but it also allows your heart rate to slow and your body to start to come back to a cooler temperature. 

The best way to cool down after a run or similar, especially if you have been working hard, is to slow your pace to a walk. Once you feel your heart rate has settled – you can check your sports watch for this – you should then spend some 10 minutes stretching muscles. 

In addition, taking time to stretch will delay your desire to jump straight into a cold shower. A cold shower when you are hot will leave you even sweatier than before. Try it if you don’t believe us!

4 Try a hot-and-cold shower

A shower is a great way to cool your body after exercise and stretching, but if you stand in a cold shower immediately, you might find you sweat even more.

Take a shower after you've cooled down and make sure it’s not cold the entire time. A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that athletes who alternated soaking in hot and cold water after exercising experienced a significant reduction in their heart rate and blood lactate levels.

5 Strip down

Lying or sitting somewhere cool and without clothes on can help your body to cool
quicker. A spot of naked rest and recovery after a shower could be the best solution for a speedier post-workout cool down.

6 Try ice

A towel soaked in cold water, a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, or a towel that has been in the fridge or freezer can be useful for placing on pulse points to provide all-over-body cooling. Use the cool fabric on places such as wrists, ankles, inside the elbows and at the back of your knees.

7 Cool your skin

Some skin lotions and ointments, such as those including ingredients like menthol or peppermint, can help you to feel cooler. You can also use after-sun, even if you've not  Try not to use heavy moisturisers as this may end up blocking pores, which will reduce effective sweating. You can looking for a light moisturiser with cooling ingredients.  

8 Have a drink

Most people reach for an iced drink to try to cool down after exercise, but a hot drink can also help you to cool off. It might seem strange but research backs up this idea and shows that in dry, hot climates, reaching for your hiking flask and having a hot drink can have cooling results.

It’s suggested that the heat from the drink in your mug triggers a sweating response. The reason why this doesn’t work in humid conditions, as your sweat won't evaporate as well and you won't cool down as much. Therefore, in hot and humid conditions, choose a cold drink. 

For even greater cooling powers, try peppermint tea, hot or cold, or add fresh mint leaves to your drink.

9 Fan yourself

Physically cooling your skin with a fan, whether it’s a hand-operated fan or an electric fan, will help with the cooling process post-workout.

Whatever your chosen exercise, whether walking, running, cycling or going to the gym, the chances are you favour morning or evening sessions. For some people, the choice of time will depend on other commitments to family and work. But, for others, you might be interested to know there ar pros and cons of  exercising in the morning and evening.

Pros of morning exercise

Good use of time

The obvious advantage of a morning walk or run is that it can be done before you need to start anything else. Going for a work out before breakfast and before other people are up, makes good use of time.

Cooler time of day 

Other pros include getting your exercise at the cooler part of the day, especially in summer.

Great for cortisol 

Many people also report that they feel more alert during a morning work out (once they have got themselves out of bed that is!). Sports nutrition experts at Bulk explains why early morning exercise could be a good idea for you. A spokesperson says: “While you may feel exhausted as you drag yourself to the gym or you chosen training session, your body produces a hormone called cortisol that’s at its peak level at around 8am. 

“Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, helps you keep awake and alert. This hormone will only cause you problems if there is too much or too little of it. 

“Therefore, if you have a healthy circadian rhythm – the 24-hour cycle that includes physiological and behavioural rhythms like sleeping – your body will be more primed to exercise early in the morning.”  

Boost your body clock  

A study in 2019 published by the Journal of Physiology found that exercising at 7am can move your body clock back. The benefit of this is that it will improve how alert you are in the morning but can also prime you to fall asleep easier and earlier that evening, allowing you to get enough rest to wake up and repeat the same routine again the following day.  

 Weight loss

It’s claimed that morning exercise can be god for encouraging weight loss.  For example, a study of people with obesity concluded that constant morning exercise is beneficial, while other research found morning exercise reduces abdominal fat and blood pressure in women.

It’s worth noting that the same research also showed that evening exercise increases muscular performance in women and lowers blood pressure in men.  

How does the time of day affect weight loss? A Bulk nutrition expert says: “Elevated cortisol levels and growth hormone in the morning are both associated with metabolism.

“Therefore, taking high intensity exercise in the morning can help to boost the metabolism and burn more body fat, drawing more of your energy from your fat reserves.” 

Cons of morning exercise

Less time to warm up  

If you are squeezing in exercise in the morning, it’s likely you’ll want to get up and go. This usually means that people forget about a warm up. 

If you do not have time for a warm up, it means you are more susceptible to injuries. 

Lose sleep 

Getting up early, if you have not got to bed in good time the night before, may well leave you without enough sleep overall.

In addition, many people find that when they need to be up early, they do not enjoy such a good night’s sleep. The anxiety of knowing you need to be up can leave you restless during the night.

Appetite suppressant

Morning exercise on an empty stomach could be key to reducing your appetite throughout the day. Research shows that 45 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise in the morning actually reduces a person’s motivation for food.

 Metabolic effects 

While an early morning workout is claimed to boost your metabolism early in the day, what then happens is your metabolic rate generally slows down again in the evening.  

In contrast, an afternoon or evening run, walk or bike ride should boost your metabolism later in the day, which is more beneficial if your evening meal is your main meal of the day. 

How about evening exercise?

Doing a work out after 7.30pm has pros and cons. We take a closer look. 

Pros of evening exercise

Higher energy levels 

A study from the University of Birmingham revealed that people can exercise up to 20% longer in the evening and at a higher intensity.  

The Bulk expert says: “Therefore, doing workouts at a longer, faster, stronger rate will demonstrate results a lot quicker.” 

 Muscle toner

Muscle strength and function generally peaks in the evening, which means our fluctuating hormones can make workouts later in the day more effective.  

This is example by high levels of cortisol in the morning, which can prevent muscle growth, however higher levels of testosterone in the evening can boost muscles.

What about sleep? 

It has long been suggested that exercising later in the day can affect your quality of sleep because of the “buzz" from post-exercise endorphins. However, a study in Sleep Medicine found that only 2% of people who performed vigorous exercisers found this affected their sleep, while 30% actually slept better.

Stress reliever  

After a long day, whether at the office or in general life, exercise can be a great method for unwinding. The reason for this is that physical activity produces endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers.  

Studies show that among those who exercise, 33% of high-stress adults said they feel less stressed after exercising, compared with 18% of low-stress adults.  

Cons of evening exercise

I’ll just leave it for tomorrow 

If you leave your exercise until later in the day, it’s much easier to give into the idea you’re too tired, or you can’t be bothered. 

Many people then find they end up not exercising because they tell themselves they will do it tomorrow instead.

Too late to eat  

Eating after exercise is important for the best recovery. It’s recommended you eat protein and carbohydrates after a run, walk, bike ride or gym session. 

However, if you are completing a workout in the evening, you may not feel like eating afterwards because your appetite can wane late at night.

No stretching

Like exercise in the morning, an evening session might be squeezed in around other commitments, such as your family. In this way, it can be tempting to exercise, then sit down without doing a post-exercise cool down.

In the longer term this might negatively affect your performance due to an increase risk of injuries from fatigued muscles.

I was recently on a train home from Liverpool after attending an outdoor trade show and got chatting to a woman who works at a law firm while raising her five-year-old daughter alone. She’d love to be able to return to her previous running regime, but as she explained, her days consist of dropping her daughter off at school, taking the train to work, leaving work early to pick up her daughter from school and then going back to work from home after her daughter’s bedtime. Her family lives in Greece so she has no one to lean on when she needs time for herself. When on earth would she have time to go for a run (or go on a date, or take a yoga class), she lamented. When indeed?

As we talked, I recalled some studies I’d read last year on an approach called “exercise snacking,” which I thought might be a method that even she, with her overburdened schedule, could potentially have success with. This being a modern world, and us both being curious people, we soon looked it up on our phones and by the time we parted ways at a small station in northern England, she’d resolved to give it a go and we’d exchanged numbers so she could keep me posted on her progress.

Even if you don’t have quite such a packed schedule and lack of support as my new friend, you might have found that it’s difficult for you to fit in a long run around work, studies, kids and other obligations. For a lot of us, when we can’t make the time for what we consider to be a more satisfying workout, we often abandon the idea altogether, our trail running shoes sit gathering dust, and we end up missing out on doing any physical activity whatsoever. If this sounds like you, you might want to consider exercise snacking yourself, to help offset the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and support your fitness and training goals.

What is exercise snacking?

Sadly, exercise snacking doesn’t involve any running gels or eating whatsoever. Rather, it entails exercising in small, bite-sized bouts rather than over prolonged periods of time. This doesn’t mean running for only 20 minutes instead of two hours, however. We’re talking about exercising for really short sessions, say 20 to 60 seconds, or as long as it might take you to mindlessly munch on a chocolate chip cookie. 

Exercise snacking probably sounds a lot like interval training, and it definitely grew out of that approach, but it’s not exactly the same. Instead of doing, say, 10 one-minute high intensity bursts with two minutes of recovery in between each for a total of 28 minutes, with exercise snacking you spread out multiple spurts over the day, leaving up to four hours in between the snacks.

As an example, you might sprint around the block at 8 a.m. before you start work, again on your lunch break and once more at the end of your work day. Other people might take “snacks” of stair climbing or jumping jacks for as little as 20 seconds at a time spread out at three-hour intervals. The end result is that you’ve spent less than five minutes a day engaged in exercise.

What are the benefits of exercise snacking?

If exercise for you typically means a 5k run, a hike or 30 minutes in the gym , you’d be forgiven for thinking that there can’t be too many advantages to getting what amounts to a few minutes of movement, but early research suggests it might be more beneficial that it seems.

A 2019 pilot study on older adults employed two exercise snacks a day of 60-second sit-to-stand sessions and their results revealed a six percent increase in leg muscle power in just 28 days. Obviously, if you’re not doing lower body strength training as your exercise snack, you won’t replicate these exact results, but it does give some indication as to how much gain you can expect to see within just two minutes a day. If you’re runner, it also suggests that improving leg strength really might not require long (and boring) weights sessions at the gym.

Perhaps more relevant to runners, another study performed in 2019 compared exercise snacking with traditional HIIT training among young adults. Both groups performed three 20-second cycling sprints over 18 sessions, but while one group performed these interval-style with only three-minute recovery periods, the snacking group enjoyed rest periods of between one and four hours. At the end of the six weeks, the snacking group saw greater improvements in both their VO2 max (+6% compared to 4%) and time trial performance (+13% compared to 9%) than their traditional interval counterparts.

Like any training method, your results will depend on what you do during your snacks, and what you do should be chosen according to your goals, but it’s safe to say that if you can find five minutes to spare for exercise, you definitely shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking that such a short period of time is pointless. And while it definitely can’t replace sustained exercise and long runs, it’s definitely more beneficial than skipping exercise altogether and may even support your training goals.

Another obvious benefit to exercise snacking is that you can fit it into literally any day or schedule. My friend on the train can squeeze in her short runs between school and work and the train station, or even do some squats on the station platform if she’s not feeling too self-conscious. Even if you’re home all day with young children, you can get away with 20 seconds of squats while you’re making the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – have them join you or do it with the baby in a sling.

Finally, even if you’re going for 60 seconds of all-out sprinting, you’re not likely to get particularly sweaty, so exercise snacks during your work day won’t leave you looking like a frizzy-haired, red-faced mess when your 10 a.m. meeting rolls around. There’s no need for a shower or major cool down after exercise snacking.

So the benefits seem persuasive, but one question remains – is exercise snacking more effective than just exercising for three minutes a day uninterrupted? No studies have been done yet that compare the two, but certainly if your day otherwise involves a lot of sitting down, exercise snacking that gets you up several times might be better for your health.

Are there any risks with exercise snacking?

Like any exercise, there’s always a risk of doing too much too soon, and this risk could be somewhat increased because you’re exercising for such a short period of time and might be more motivated to really go hard. If you’re already active, you can probably give it all you’ve got right out of the gate, but if you’ve been sedentary for a period of time or are returning to running after injury or pregnancy, it’s important to consult a medical professional and ease in when it comes to duration, frequency and intensity of your snacks. You might be able to do a lot of good in 20 seconds but you could also do some harm.

Exercise snacking: tips for getting started

Getting started with exercise snacking is pretty simple. If you’re short on time, all you really need to do is find three to five 20-60 second breaks in your day when you can get moving, even if it’s on your way to the bathroom or the water cooler at work. 

According to the studies, your snacks should be spread out by resting periods of between one and four hours and you don’t have to do the same exercise in each one. What type of exercises you do depends on your goals – if you’re trying to run faster or improve your stamina, you might do sprints, but to improve your strength you’ll do some type of resistance training and for overall fitness you can do whatever you like. Here are some ideas of what you can do for exercise snacks:

• Run or walk briskly around the block
• Climb stairs
• Stationary bike exercises
• Sit-to-stand exercises
• Squats
• Lunges
• Pushups
• Pullups
• Jumping jacks

As you can see, exercise snacking doesn’t have to be complicated, but the key to success is remembering to do it. Use a sports watch so you can set an alarm to remind you when it’s time for your next snack and set a timer for the snack itself. If you’re doing your exercise snacks from the office, dress in clothes you can move in and bring or wear your road running shoes if you’re planning on getting out for a sprint around the block.

Injuries. They’re not exactly an inevitable part of outdoor adventure, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that the two often go hand-in-hand. Take me, for example. I’ve been outdoorsy going all the way back to my adolescence, and nearly 30 years of hiking, skiing, biking and rock climbing has earned me two knee surgeries, one separated shoulder and countless tweaky backs, hamstrings and hips that took weeks or months to resolve. So let’s just say I’m no stranger to musculoskeletal therapies like physical therapy and chiropractic.

In fact, I shiver to think about the hours I’ve tallied up on a physio or chiropractor’s bed getting worked on, never mind the dollars. But I thank my lucky stars that such health practitioners exist, or I don’t think I’d have spent a whole lot of time in my hiking boots or my trail running shoes in recent years. If you’ve recently acquired an achy back, strained muscle, ligament or tendon, or even just a phantom pain that you can’t totally describe, there’s a good chance you’re considering a visit to your local physical therapist or chiropractor. But how do you know which to go to? Do you just head to your friend Helen’s favorite therapist that she swears fixed her sciatica? Should you shell out for a pricey MRI first to find out exactly what’s going on? 

The difference between physical therapy vs chiropractor can be a bit mysterious to a lot of active folks, and it can be important to know what you need to get to the bottom of things quickly, so I recently spoke to a professional from each field to help you get to the bottom of the differences and similarities between the two.

What is the difference between a physical therapist and a chiropractor?

Physical therapy and chiropractic are two forms of complementary and alternative healthcare that focus on the musculoskeletal system. Both a physical therapist and a chiropractor are trained to help you manage pain and stiffness using non-surgical techniques. 

My dozens of hours working with PTs have incurred a really wide variety of treatments and approaches. After an initial assessment, you might find that a PT performs manual manipulations, which could feel a lot like sports massage, or you might spend an hour learning how to do exercises to help improve your mobility and relieve pain symptoms. Some PTs also perform more specialty techniques, such as dry needling, where acupuncture needles are inserted into trigger points in your muscle and, if you’re anything like me, electric impulses may be sent through them to try to wake up the muscle (ouch).

My visits to the chiropractor have always involved the physical manipulation that you probably think of when you think of a chiropractor – they’re called adjustments – where manual pressure is applied along various spots on the spine to produce a cracking or popping sound (known as “cavitation”) that relieves pressure and pain. However, this treatment was usually performed in conjunction with other modalities, such as sports massage and cupping. So already, the line seems a little blurry, doesn’t it? Carrie Eckenhoff of Altius Physical Therapy and Wellness in Vail, CO is a fellowship-trained and board-certified orthopedic specialist who is quick to reassure me that my confusion is warranted.

“There’s a lot of overlap,” says Eckenhoff, adding, “I don't want to generalize too much because not not all chiropractors aren’t the same just like not all PTs are the same, but one of the big differences seems to be that a physical therapist addresses issues with the whole musculoskeletal system versus a chiropractor, who seems to deal more with issues related to the spine with a specific toolbox.”

That toolbox largely amounts to those adjustments that chiropractors perform, and they often have a wider array of them than a PT. And though she’s quick to qualify (and I’ve had first hand experience of this) that some chiropractors will perform adjustments elsewhere in the body, they traditionally focus on the spine. Meanwhile, she explains, PTs can perform some joint manipulations, but tend to do so all over the body. 

So the area of the body that the therapist is focusing on is one potential difference between the two disciplines, but is there anything else to distinguish the two?

According to Dr Sarah Kucera, a Kansas City-based chiropractor, who also concedes that the “lines are blurred these days,” another difference that you’re likely to encounter is active versus passive care.

“Most chiropractors are doing something to you, whereas PTs ask you to do the work,” she explains. So in addition to a focus on the spine, a chiropractor is likely to perform their technique on you while you relax as much as you can, whereas in a visit to the PT’s office, you might find that you’re the one doing all the work. 

“In general physical therapists tend to skew more towards prescribing exercise and take a more active approach and that might be one bigger difference,” agrees Eckenhoff.

So the differences can be roughly distilled down to area of the body and active versus passive treatment, but beyond that, you might see a lot of overlap between physical therapy and chiropractic treatment.

“Though each PT and chiropractor works in a different way and has different focus, the joint and soft tissue manipulation complements the corrective exercises that a PT uses. There is crossover, in that many chiropractors secondarily incorporate and educate on exercises and posture, and some PTs do manipulation,” says Kucera, adding, “I think it’s important to note that the two modalities complement one another quite well.”

Is it best to see a physio or chiropractor for back pain?

To answer this question, it’s really important to acknowledge that not all back pain is created equally. However, because of chiropractic’s focus on the spine, there’s a good chance you’re reading this article because you yourself have been experiencing back pain, and in this instance, both therapists I spoke to concur that if you’re experiencing acute pain, you might respond better to manual manipulation.

“You’ll want some passive care initially so you can move, then the guidance to move in a way that supports health,” explains Kucera. In other words, if you’re experiencing a specific set of characteristics – which Eckenhoff explains include recent onset acute low back pain and stiffness without lower extremity pain – you might want to see someone who can give you a manual adjustment first to relieve the pain and get moving again, then see a PT to help you avoid a recurrence through better movement patterns.

That said, there are occasions when Eckenhoff might steer a patient with back pain away from anyone focusing on manual manipulations, which are not always appropriate, so it’s important to her that she knows the chiropractor in question before referring a patient.

“An example of when I wouldn't want someone to see a chiropractor who I didn't know would be someone who's having someone who's having radiating pain down their down their legs in addition to their back pain, because I wouldn't want that person to have an adjustment without a careful workup of what's going.”

Similarly, she’s extremely cautious with manual manipulations for neck pain.

“Neck pain can come from a lot of things, so one example is a cervical artery problem where you can get headaches and neck pain but a manipulation can be really dangerous if that's the underlying cause.”

In such a scenario, it’s a good idea to visit your doctor for a referral, and make sure you trust the therapist you’re seeing.

Physical therapy vs. chiropractor: who should I see?

A good chiropractor or PT would of course need to assess you first before coming to any conclusions about treatment, but in deciding where to go, one of the biggest questions to answer for yourself is whether your pain is acute or chronic.

“I think of chiropractors as treating acute pain more proficiently, whereas PTs will be very efficient in helping problems from coming back, or assisting in the recovery from a condition,” advises Kucera, adding that, again, the area of your body where you’re experiencing the pain will be another deciding factor.

“I would seek out a chiropractor for an initial assessment regarding back and neck issues (acute especially), then work with a PT to keep the issue from recurring.”

From Eckenhoff’s point of view, if you find yourself working with both a PT and a chiropractor, she advises you to make sure that they are working together.

“I had a patient recently who had an issue that I wasn't sure if there was a something underlying going on and she was also seeing a chiropractor. He was careful with her and didn't do any manipulation to her neck and we worked together with this patient treating different things, so I think there's a lot of opportunity for collaboration as well.”

When the alarm sounds at 5:30 a.m. at this time of year, the morning light is already creeping through the chink in the curtains  and it’s easier to throw the covers off. Ten minutes later I’m lacing up my trail running shoes and before 7 a.m. I’m on the trail as the sun streaks red across the mountains in the distance. Running in the dawn light with the morning chorus of the birds while the world sleeps is my favorite way to start the day (though I'll admit, it’s far easier during the long days of spring and summer in Scotland) and always leaves me more energized and optimistic for the day ahead.

I recently wrote about the benefits of evening exercise, but what about those of us that prefer to (or need to) get moving in the morning? We’ve probably all heard that it’s the best time to exercise, but we were also all told that breakfast was the most important day of the meals and now we know that’s not necessarily true. Then you’ve got the fact that health experts insist that any exercise at just about any time of day is good. So do we really need to be waking up before the crack of dawn to get the most benefit out of our workouts, or can you hit snooze and leave it for your lunch break or after work?

Curious, I recently took a look at the research to see if there’s any persuasive scientific evidence that morning exercise yields results that are different from exercising at other times of day – or does it just feel better? The news, I’m happy to say, is quite good for those of us who are morning larks, though not so great for night owls. Read on for the science on morning exercise, and why you might want to set your alarm earlier at least a few times a week. 

1. It reduces abdominal fat and lowers blood pressure

These two benefits appear to apply to women only, but if you’re exercising for weight management and to help control your blood pressure, a 2022 study examined 27 women over a 12-week period and concluded that those who exercised in the morning saw reduced abdominal fat and blood pressure compared to those who exercised at other times of day. These findings may be independent of micronutrient intake, so if you’re working to lower your blood pressure or reduce belly fat and feel like you’re doing all the right things in the kitchen and at the gym to no avail, the key could just come down to setting that alarm earlier.

2. It burns more fat and improves insulin sensitivity

A 2019 study in the The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism looked at how exercise timing affected overweight or obese men and discovered that moderate intensity cycling before breakfast burned twice the amount of fat as after breakfast, and helped improve insulin sensitivity, which is a marker for type two diabetes. Simply moving your workout forward by an hour could mean you reap far more immediate benefits for the same amount of effort, while the long term implications for your health could be life-changing.

3. It improves cognitive function

So what about those who aren’t trying to lose weight – is there any scientific benefit to getting moving with the birds? According to a 2019 study performed in Australia, morning movement may avail your mind as well as your body. The study, which looked at older subjects, found that those who employed moderate intensity exercise in the morning along with intermittent bouts of walking exhibited better short term memory than those who didn’t. Better short-term memory is vital for cognitive function at any age, and helps you with daily function as well as processing information.

4. It can fight inflammation and aging – if you get outdoors 

All of the above are probably sound pretty good, and might compel you to wake earlier at least a few days a week and hit the gym, but if you are heading for the treadmill or a spin class, you’ll miss out on one other scientific benefit for morning exercise, and that’s getting the exposure to morning light. As I previously wrote about, we finally know why morning light is so crucial to your health, and that’s because it resets your Circadian Rhythm, which governs all kinds of hormonal processes, while exposure to red light helps boost your body’s anti-inflammatory response and may even support cellular regeneration to reverse the damaging effects of aging on your cells. So whether you’re hitting the trail or just walking to the gym, make sure your morning workout involves time outdoors to reap the best health benefits.

Like you, I definitely want to be a person who completes their morning run or hike by 9am, and sometimes – more often in the summer months – I am. But probably just as often, that early alarm doesn’t even get set, never mind snoozed, what with work and family obligations, and I’m not pulling my trail running shoes on until 5pm instead.

Though I definitely don’t start the day with the energy boost I get from a morning’s session on the trail, I have to admit that there are a lot of things I really love about an evening run or hike. Now the days are getting longer again, it feels great to shake off the tension of the day and getting out there once it has warmed up a little means I don’t have to wear my running jacket all the time, not to mention the lovely soft evening light. 

But is it as good to workout in the evening as it is in the morning? After all, a 2020 study implicated consistent morning exercise in more effective weight management among people with obesity, and it’s not the only one to do so. So do we lose these benefits if our exercise doesn’t take place until dusk, or are there different health indications, I wonder? I decided to take a look at some studies to get a scientific answer and the news, my evening trail comrades, is good. 

Is it good to exercise in the evening?

If you’ve researched the topic of exercise timing, you’ll no doubt have come across the statement that exercise at any time is good, and as a wellness practitioner myself, I assume this is in response to an increasingly sedentary society and doctors trying to get people to simply to do any exercise at any time instead of nothing. Instead, I’m certain that consistently exercising at 2am when your body is meant to be in its deepest sleep phase would in fact incur more damage to your health than benefit. 

But while scientists don’t fully understand yet why different times of day influence how we exercise, they generally do agree that due to your body’s 24-hour clock, known as the circadian rhythm, exercising at different times of day will yield different benefits. Assuming your circadian rhythm is functioning optimally, meaning you’re not working overnight shifts or staying up half the night on screens, you should be experiencing your highest blood pressure around 6:30pm and high body temperature shortly after that, around 7pm. This and other factors may contribute to some of the following benefits of evening exercise.

1. Increased endurance 

It often seems as though you’re going to be too wiped out after a long day at work to accomplish anything worthwhile on the trail, but have you ever been surprised by how much further you’re able to go in the evening? Though different studies have produced different results, a 2010 study found that participants had a greater work capacity when performing aerobic exercise in the evening versus the morning. The study found that blood pressure increased after the first minute and the athletes were able to persevere for longer. So if you find it difficult to pick up the pace at dawn or you’re looking to be able to run, ride or hike for longer, you might time your session for just before dinner.

2. Improved muscle power

Exercising in the evening may also help you run faster, jump higher or climb that steep slope with more vigor. Several studies have cited evening exercise with increased muscular strength and power. A 2013 study published in Chronobiology International measured muscle force production and power output in multiple sites around the body (hand, leg, back) and found them to be higher in the evening. Better muscular power doesn’t just mean you’ll move faster on the trail – it can also reduce your chance of injury by better absorbing impact at your joints and supporting your ankles, knees and hips better when you’re moving over rough ground.

3. Reduced fatigue

Do you ever find yourself psyched to hit the trail at 6am, only to end up pooped 30 minutes later? It can feel disheartening, and it’s certainly good to look at other factors, such as length and quality of sleep and nutrition, but another reason might simply be that muscle fatigue is higher in the morning than the evening. According to a group of Scandinavian scientists, muscle fatigue among cyclists was lower at 6pm than 6am – if you’re less fatigued, you’ll be able to train longer and harder and reach those training goals more easily than at sunrise.

4. Better muscle synthesis

Cortisol is often known as the stress hormone, but it’s probably better to think about it as a waking up hormone that is naturally higher in the morning when it’s time to get out of bed. In men, cortisol inhibits testosterone production, and testosterone production supports muscle protein synthesis, otherwise known as the process of producing new muscle protein.

Because cortisol is naturally lower in the evening, scientists who performed a 2004 study on weight-training men asserted that evening workouts were best for anabolism, or in this case building muscle. Even if you’re not weight training, you may find that evening exercise is better for building muscle.

Now all of this might have you wondering, should you skip the morning workout altogether, lounge in bed and not even look at your hiking boots until 5pm? Not at all. There are loads of benefits to exercising in the morning – a 2022 study found that morning exercise is great for reducing abdominal fat and lowering blood pressure in women, which is a great incentive to set your alarm early. Then you’ve got the fact that early morning light is crucial for your health, resetting your body’s clock, balancing hormone production and boosting your body’s anti-inflammatory responses. So there’s always a case for getting out and moving in the morning, even if it’s just a short, brisk walk.

But based on the research on evening exercise, it actually seems as though if your goal is to increase your performance and get stronger, go faster or for longer, there’s a good case for delaying your workout, at least some days of the week. However, it’s important not to time a really strenuous session close to when you plan to go bed, or you may not be able to sleep. So for runners, save your long runs and interval training for the mornings and do your recovery and short runs before dinner.

And finally, if you are getting out on the trail in the evening, be prepared with a headlamp in case you miss-time things, and carry water and a warm layer like a down jacket for emergencies. If you're recreating in bear and mountain lion country, these animals are most active at dawn and dusk, so regardless of whether you’re exploring in the morning or evening, carry bear spray and keep your ears free of headphones.

• Best road running shoes: tested by Advnture's experts

It’s no secret that when you’re a runner, not every run is a good run. For most runners, a good run is usually one where you sustain a faster pace for longer and feel pretty good doing it. It’s no wonder – being able to run faster for longer makes you feel as though you’re making gains, whereas the days when every step seems like you have lead weights attached to your trail running shoes make it feel like you’re regressing. But increasingly, the science is showing that forced slower-paced runs – the ones that fall in the zone 2 training category – actually benefit you more in the long run, if you’ll excuse the pun.

Now, I’ve already publicly confessed to being a slow runner, so you might think I’m biased towards a slower pace, and that’s because I am. I discovered zone two training by accident. I hadn’t ever run with any particular training goal in mind, I'd only once worn a heart rate monitor, and I'd never splashed out on a GPS watch. I’d just get out there when the trails were too muddy for hiking and try to run as fast as I could for at least 30 minutes. It was never particularly enjoyable, and as soon as hiking season resumed in the Rockies, I’d stop doing it. 

When I returned to Scotland, I started to spy some pretty accessible-looking trails I fancied running that weren’t located two miles above sea level. To go for a longer distance and see the sights I wanted to see, I knew I’d have to slow down. So I did just that, and was amazing at how quickly my fitness and endurance increased. After doing a little research, I learned that what I was doing was zone two training, and research shows that it can be more effective than your threshold runs, high intensity or high volume training.

What is zone 2 training?

Zone 2 training is training in one of the five heart rate zones, which refer to different levels of activity and are all based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate (MHR). Zone two training entails light, easy activity that keeps you at 60-70% of your MHR.

When you’re just walking along a flat trail, you’re usually in zone 1, but pick up the pace a little to a light jog, and you’ll soon move into heart rate zone 2, which is still light and easy and should be sustainable for a long period of time. If you’re running with a partner, you’ll still be able to hold a conversation, though you might not be able to speak for more than a couple of sentences at a time. 

Zone 2 training lands squarely in the aerobic category, so you’re still burning a decent amount of fat and, over time, increasing your cardiovascular fitness and endurance. 

What are the benefits of zone 2 training?

There are at least three main benefits to zone 2 training. First, it’s an important zone to train in for general fitness as well as if you want to start running longer distances. A 2019 study in the International Journal of Exercise Science found that triathletes who did more than 20% of their training in zone two saw the most significant gains in their VO2 max. 

If you’re seeking to improve your fitness and endurance, the best approach might be to spend the majority of your training in zone 2 along with shorter bouts of high intensity training, known as polarized training, and cut out the medium intensity training altogether, according to a 2014 research paper and our article on junk miles.

Second, if you’re running to maintain your cardiovascular health and not training for a marathon, a 14-year study published in 2015 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that slower runners had the lowest risk of premature mortality of all groups, while a 2018 study conducted by the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences in the Netherlands found that high volume, high intensity and long term running actually produced cardiovascular damage.

And third, no matter whether you’re training for a half marathon or just trying to keep your body in motion as you age, no one wants to deal with injury. A 2013 clinical commentary published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that there may be a correlation between faster pace, especially rapidly increasing your pace, and increased incidence of running injuries like plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinopathy and gastrocnemius injuries. If you’re pushing yourself faster than your muscles, tendons and ligaments can adapt, you’re probably exposing yourself to more likelihood of injury.

Running at a slower pace might sound like your idea of hell, but by spending more time in zone 2 training, you can improve your endurance, increase your lifespan, and lower your risk of injury which improves your quality of life as you age. Sold? Read on to find out how to calculate your zone two, and how much time you need to spend here.

How to calculate your zone 2

Before you can do zone 2 training, you have to know what your zone 2 is. Remember, it’s based on your MHR and if you want a really accurate number, the best way to figure this out is by using a fitness tracker, heart rate monitor, or GPS watch.

If you don’t own any of those, there are a few different methods for calculating your zone 2 heart rate. First, you need to figure out your MHR. You can do this by getting on a treadmill and increasing the speed every two minutes until you cannot run any further. Take your heart rate as soon as you stop and that’s your MHR.

If you don’t want to do that, you can guesstimate your MHR by subtracting your age from 220. This won’t be as accurate, but may be safer, and having done both, I think it’s close enough for my purposes. There are a few other formulas that are slightly more precise, but will still leave you with the same ballpark figure.

Once you know your MHR, calculate both 60 percent and 70 percent of that number. The range between these two numbers is your target for zone 2 training. As an example, my MHR is 179, so to be in zone 2, I need to stay between 107 and 125 beats per minute when I’m running. For me, this means I run at a pace of about six miles per hour. You may be able to go a little faster and stay in zone two, especially if you’re fitter and younger than me to begin with.

If numbers aren’t really your thing, you can just get on the trail and figure it out using your senses. Remember that in zone two, you’ll be able to hold a conversation, though you’ll be a little more breathy than if you were resting, so you can always use that as a guide. If it feels really easy, like you could deliver a graduation speech, pick up the pace a little, and if it feels hard and you’re winded, slow down.

How often should I train in zone two?

How much time you need to spend in zone two really depends on your training goals, and it’s a good idea to consult a running coach and get the big picture view. That said, given the proven benefits of low intensity training and the potential health hazards of overdoing high intensity and high volume training, many researchers and coaches are leaning towards zone two training taking up the bulk of your training. 

As far back as 1985, a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that a group of cyclists who spent 80% of their training time at low intensity made the most gains, while a lot of coaches these days err towards 70%. Two thirds of your training spent running slowly might sound like torture to you – if you’re running six days a week that would mean four of those runs are slow – but remember that your recovery runs, easy runs and your long runs can all be in zone two, which really only leaves a small amount of time to hit the high intensity stuff. You can also mix in high intensity bursts within your zone two training, otherwise known as the Fartlek Method.  You can also hike more vigorously to get your zone two hours in, which comes in handy if you're mountain running.

If you’re a runner or a hiker, chances are you at least think about stretching when you get home from a long day on the trail, and you can probably feel in your body what needs stretched – but did you know that there are different ways to go about stretching that may produce different results? 

I’ve been teaching yoga for 15 years so stretching is a practice I swear by, even if scientists don’t yet totally understand how it works. Whether it’s the 15-minute interlude between kicking my trail running shoes off and getting on the couch, or an hour long session on my rest days, I really rely on it to keep me pain-free and moving functionally, but a few years ago, I changed my approach to it when I discovered isometric stretching.

What is isometric stretching?

You can roughly divide all types of stretching into two broad categories: dynamic and static. Dynamic stretching involves motion, for example swinging your leg forward and backward, and static stretches don’t (these ones look like what we all generally associate with stretching). The theory is that dynamic stretches improve your mobility in motion, whereas static stretches improve your mobility in a static position, though this may translate into greater mobility in motion, too.

Isometric stretching is a type of static stretching. In an isometric stretch, you add tension to the muscles by contracting them while they are being stretched.

The best way to understand it is to try it. Grab a yoga strap or a scarf and lie down on your back, wrapping the strap around your right foot. Extend your right leg straight up in the air, holding the strap in both hands, and extend your left leg straight out on the floor. Now what you’d probably normally do here is relax your right hamstrings and use your arms to create the stretch – if so, that is termed passive stretching. To make this stretch an isometric stretch, contract your hamstrings like you’re trying to bend your knee (but don’t) and press your leg away from you while resisting it with your arms. Now it’s an isometric stretch.

What are the benefits of isometric stretching?

It's important to note here that there hasn't been a lot of useful research on stretching, but isometric stretching adds resistance, so in addition to temporarily lengthening the muscle fibers, it strengthens your muscles within a range of motion that’s probably outside of your typical daily movements, and at least in practice, I’ve found that it can often produce noticeable results to mobility quite quickly. One exercise I use to show this is to have someone lie down and perform the stretch I described above passively, so we can see what their range of motion in their hamstrings and hips is. 

Next, I’ll take over from the yoga strap and place my hand against their calf, instructing them to press their leg against me while I resist their efforts. We’ll hold this for 15 seconds, and when I release, they can unusually find a lot more range of motion in their leg and hip.

Passive stretching isn’t always recommended for athletes who require explosive movement, like sprinters and basketball players, because it may actually hinder their performance. A 2021 review of studies on the topic found that passive stretching before running demonstrates a negative effect on sprint performance and jump height, which is why we’ve shifted away from doing it before running. It was, however, found to decrease injury risk, so it may hold value after a race or during your off season, and it has no effect on running economy. 

On the other hand, isometric holds before running demonstrate no significant effect on sprint performance or jump height, and lead to decreases in soreness levels, so if you’re actively in training, or wanting to stretch before you run or workout, isometric stretching seems to be better, whereas passive stretching may be beneficial after a workout.

How to do isometric stretching

You can do many of your existing stretches isometrically simply by contracting the muscles you’re lengthening to create your own resistance. For example, if you’re reaching back to hold your foot for a simple quad stretch, you can resist your own efforts by kicking your foot back into your hand while you pull it towards you. Another of my favorites is in the yoga pose half splits, pictured above, when you can press your heel into the ground and engage your hamstrings as though you were trying to drag your foot back towards you.

However, it’s good to follow these simple steps:

• Begin the stretch passively, holding it for a few seconds without resistance.
• After a few seconds, contract the extended (antagonist) muscles and hold for 15 seconds.
• Release the contraction and finish with a few more seconds of passive stretching.
• Repeat one or two more times.

Note that isometric stretching is not recommended for children and adolescents whose bones are still growing and it is always suggested to work with a trainer or physical therapist before beginning a new regime.

Stretching is one of those practices that we’ve all had drilled into us is a good idea for everybody. The general consensus is that activities like running make your muscles tight and short, so when you kick off your road running shoes after a long spell on the tarmac, you should get on your yoga mat and lengthen out your hamstrings and quads. Even as a yoga teacher, I long believed this to be true, until 2015, when new articles and research started emerging that totally challenged how I thought about flexibility and stretching. 

As a younger yoga teacher, I’d either been taught that “tight” muscles are short and stretching “lengthens” them, or I’d assumed it to be true and no one had ever corrected me. But then a student of mine sent me an article that contradicted this common assumption: your muscles don’t get any longer when you stretch them because they’re attached, via tendons, to bones. You can move the two ends of a muscle apart to feel a stretch, which is why you might feel a stretch sensation in your hamstrings right now if you bend forward and touch your toes with straight legs and tilt your sitting bones up. But when you stand back up, the length of those muscles hasn’t actually changed.

The science of stretching

So what's actually happening to your muscles when you stretch? The truth is that scientists don’t exactly know, according to a 2014 article in Live Science that kicked off this whole line of inquiry for me. But according to Jules Mitchell, author of the book Yoga Biomechanics: Redefining Stretching, the answer may lie more in your neurology than your muscles.

“Tight is a sensation, but it doesn’t have a biological expression,” says Mitchell.

Take my story, for example. Today, if I really want to (and I seldom do), I can put my leg behind my head. But 20 years ago, I couldn’t touch my toes. How did I get from one place to the other? Well I stretched a lot. I went to loads and loads of yoga classes and as a result, I became more flexible and for a while thought my muscles were longer or more supple. But in 2017, I attended a yoga teacher training with Mitchell in Boulder, where I learned that it’s probably because back when I felt unable to touch my toes, it was down to the presence of a lot of stretch sensation, which had me backing off. Because I felt a lot of sensation, I always assumed my hamstrings were short, which they weren’t, or tight, which they certainly felt, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything anatomically.

Mitchell explains that what we’ve collectively termed as “long” and “short” in muscular anatomy is actually more like strong or weak. It can be true that if you spend a lot of time on the trail or in the gym that your muscles are very strong and therefore feel tight, but a lack of flexibility could likewise be down to weakness in the muscles hampering their ability to move bones. So my hamstrings could have been strong back then – I did run and swim a fair bit – or they could have been weak due to underuse or limited use. Basically, flexibility and strength don’t directly correlate one way or the other.

“You can be strong and inflexible, but you can also be strong and flexible,” says Mitchell.

Regardless of why I was feeling it, that sensation that prevented me from going further in a stretch was most likely my nervous system doing its job and detecting unfamiliar ranges of motion and bracing against perceived danger – in this case, an injury such as a muscle tear. But because I kept persevering, my nervous system probably started to detect that sensation as familiar after a while, which in my body anyway has allowed for a great deal more range of motion.

Now just because this was true for me, doesn’t mean that you can start doing yoga seven days a week and expect to throw your leg behind your head next year. There’s a genetic component to flexibility according to a 2022 article in The Times, so perhaps my mobility was intrinsic in my genes, not earned, and something that I was simply able to expose by doing certain movements. 

The mechanics of mobility 

Then you’ve got the matter of flexibility also not being what we necessarily think. Muscles move joints, so their “tightness” may inhibit certain movements – something I see a lot as a yoga teacher is gym goers with overdeveloped lats from doing pull ups who can’t easily raise their arms overhead. So muscles can inhibit movement, but there’s more than just muscles involved in movement. 

In fact, what we call “flexibility” is actually more accurately termed mobility, and it describes the different aspects that contribute to range of motion, including joint structure, which is genetic and can’t be changed, and motor control. So my evolution from a Tin Man to pretzel wasn’t just down to my hamstrings – the movements I repeatedly did helped to improve my hip mobility (probably by strengthening the muscles around my hips, not stretching them) and helped to refine my sense of proprioception.

Should everyone be stretching?

So, stretching doesn’t work exactly the way we think it does, but it can have an impact on your mobility – and yet still there remains an important question: should all athletes be stretching? Well, it really depends on whether being more mobile helps you in your chosen sport. We used to think that stretching before a run or workout was essential to avoid injury, but that myth got debunked years ago and now it’s generally agreed that stretching is a good idea after a workout. It certainly feels great and seems to aid recovery, even if we don’t totally understand why, but Mitchell warns stretching may not be in every athlete’s best interests. 

“If an athlete wants to improve at a certain athletic skill, the principle of specificity tells us she needs to practice that skill. Athletes adapt to the demands of the sport to give them a competitive edge, so reversing those demands might not be the best practice.”

In other words, for a sprinter like Marcell Jacobs to retain his competitive edge at the next Olympics, he probably needs to keep sprinting, and not start stretching.

That said, if you’re just looking to offset activities like hiking and non-competitive running and biking, all of which explore short, repetitive movements, stretching may still hold value because if nothing else, it will move your joints in bigger and more dynamic ranges of motion than you get on the trail, reminding your nervous system that those movements are safe and natural. Like anything, if you're unused to stretching, it’s best to work with a personal trainer or yoga teacher to approach it safely.

• Yoga stretches for runners: a sequence to help you recover

In my 15 years of teaching yoga, I’ve observed an interesting phenomenon. The people who could really benefit the most from the relaxation and stress-reducing benefits of yoga tend to instead seek out the most sweaty, rigorous classes on the schedule. I taught for many years in Vail, Colorado, where every other person who walked in the door of the studio was an elite athlete of some kind, and time after time I saw the same thing. Folk who’d just kicked off their trail running shoes after a 20-miler, biked 100 miles at high altitude or skied all day would come to a briskly-paced yoga class to recover. What they’d actually do was spend an hour wincing and groaning their way through lunges and downward dogs, coming out of every pose early to rest and leave class more exhausted and miserable.

After a few years of seeing athletes further depleting themselves on the yoga mat, I decided something needed to change. So I started teaching Restorative Yoga, a practice entirely devoid of standing postures and planks, where the students have the opportunity to really recover. Though lots of people assume Restorative Yoga is only for pregnant woman and old people, I found that once athletes tried Restorative Yoga, most of them realized pretty quickly that it was exactly what they needed. After a while, I had the entire US men’s rafting team showing up three times a week, one Olympic skier and more ultra runners than you can shake a trekking pole at.

In a world where a lot of people sit down a lot of the time, there’s certainly a need for dynamic yoga, and it’s easy to see why athletes seek out practices like Vinyasa Yoga that move their joints through a greater range of motion than their chosen sport and focus on deep stretching of overworked muscles. But if you’re actually seeking true recovery, I’ve become more and more convinced that Restorative Yoga is the best choice for athletes.

What is Restorative Yoga? 

Restorative Yoga is a practice of deep relaxation, where you spend sustained periods of up to 30 minutes at a time in reclining poses, supported by props like bolsters and blankets. Your teacher will often use visualization techniques, guided meditations and gentle breathing exercises to help you combat the effects of stress. It’s not an ancient practice; it was devised in the 1970s by Judith Hansen Lasater, author of the book Relax and Renew. Because of its gentle nature and the use of props, anyone can do Restorative Yoga regardless of age, mobility or experience.

All of my Restorative Yoga classes begin with at least 20 minutes spent lying down with a pillow under your knees. After that, we’ll do some gentle reclining twists, side bends and back bends where your body is propped up on a bolster. Don’t expect to stand up or get out of breath in this practice. You probably won’t feel any of that deep stretch sensation you might expect from yoga, or seek out after a long run – after all, that sensation is your nervous system bracing itself against an unfamiliar movement, and we want to leave the bracing for the trail.

While it may not hold the same aesthetic or calorie-busting appeal as more vigorous forms of yoga, Restorative Yoga may offer athletes some serious benefits and it’s growing in popularity for this reason – a  2021 study revealed it to now be the third most popular style of yoga. 

What are the benefits of Restorative Yoga for athletes? 

As I explain in my book Restorative Yoga for Beginners, there is very little in the way of research into Restorative Yoga specifically, and what studies there are on yoga generally are small and don’t often explain what type of yoga they’re studying. Basically, yoga is widely open to interpretation and variation and therefore a difficult subject to study in a controlled environment. 

That said, a 2018 study in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy showed that the rate of adequate attendance was higher for cancer survivors who practiced Restorative Yoga over other types – perhaps because it’s more accessible, maybe because they found it to be more effective than other styles, or probably, both. We all know that proper recovery is vital to peak performance and because Restorative Yoga is, effectively, a relaxation technique, we can find a lot of scientific research that points to its effectiveness. 

1. Reduces stress 

Relaxation has been shown to reduce stress hormones, which can be an unfortunate side effect of competitive athletics, or even just being a competitive person. According to the Mayo Clinic relaxation techniques like Restorative Yoga lower your heart rate and blood pressure and improve your mood.  Further, relaxation techniques activate the alpha and theta brain wave states, which are indicated with lowering stress and decreasing anxiety. 

2. Helps performance 

The Mayo clinic further suggests that relaxation techniques improve your ability to concentrate and boost your problem-solving ability, which can be really beneficial on a technical trail run, and further improve your mood and sleep quality to reduce fatigue and aid recovery. Alpha brain wave activity has been shown to improve athletic performance due to its association with deep concentration. According to a 2019 article in Psychology Today, alpha brainwaves may facilitate creative breakthroughs which you can harness to set new times or alter your approach. 

3. Lets your muscles recover

Few would argue that stretching isn't important, but deep stretching places stress on your muscle fibers that you might not actually want after a long run or ride. Restorative Yoga poses support your body in such a way that your muscles can truly relax, then adds a very small amount of traction to rehydrate the muscles without causing any further fatigue or even the tearing that eccentric contractions incur.

4. Improves respiration 

Learning how to breathe properly is fundamental to athletic performance. Shallow breathing is common these days, even amongst hikers and runners, because we spend so much time sitting in chairs and hunched over screens. A2016 study by the University of Auckland shows poor posture can provoke anxiety, back pain, brain fog and poor digestion. The book Breath in Action asserts that simply paying more attention to your breath can help. In Restorative Yoga, we soften the respiration muscles through reclining in supported postures, then bring awareness to the breath to deepen it without strain. 

5. Aids digestion  

When a stressful event triggers the “fight or flight” response, your sympathetic nervous system interferes with the enteric nervous system’s ability to digest food, which can be further impaired by race day nerves and replacing proper nutrition with running gels and other active nutrition options. Deep relaxation stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as the “rest and digest” function. A 2019 article in Harvard Health associates techniques used in Restorative Yoga like progressive muscle relaxation and visualization with gastrointestinal relief. 

6. Helps relieve pain 

Even beyond the obvious reasons for pain amongst athletes, such as shin splints, plantar fasciitis and sprained ankles, causes of chronic pain include stress, poor posture, inadequate breathing and inflammation. A 2010 review cites at least short term reduction in chronic and acute pain when relaxation techniques were applied. 

We’ve already written about lots of great benefits of exercising with other people as opposed to solo, from hiking with friends to finding the perfect running partner. But what about working out with your actual partner? As in, the one that you share a bed with? It’s not uncommon for romantic partners to hit the trail in coordinating hiking boots, match each others’ pace on long runs or belay each other at the crag – but is it a good idea, or a recipe for tearful breakup before you even get back to the trailhead?

As an outdoorsy person, it’s difficult for me to imagine not working out with my other half, and being physically active and interested in nature is something I look for in a partner. Over the years, some of my best ski days, hikes, wild swims and bike rides have been with someone I was dating, but there are have been a few fails too – getting lost on a backpacking trip, bushwhacking for miles, falling over, getting a sharp stick in my eye and then narrowly missing crossing paths with a bear because my vision was blurry (I’ll be honest, that’s still one of my favorite adventures but it was a test to our relationship at the time).  

Obviously lots of couples make it work, but there does seem to be a lot of opportunity for tandem workouts to heighten tensions, increase stress and end in tears. So is working out with your partner a good idea? Here we discuss some of the scientifically-proven benefits of tag-teaming your workouts, share a few disaster stories, and offer some tips for doing it without tanking your home life. 

Benefits of working out with your partner 

Of course, exercising regularly keeps both parties healthier, and that contributes to a longer and happier life, which we can’t help but think will improve any relationship. It turns out that there is some scientific research suggesting that there’s real benefit to hitting the trails or the gym together, and it’s not just physical. 

1. It improves your mood 

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found that couples who exercise with a romantic partner experienced improved mood both during exercise, and during the day, compared to days when they exercised alone or without their partner. Being in a better mood means you’re less likely to pick at each other over who left that dirty mug in the sink instead of loading the dishwasher and more able to see the positive in each other, even at your worst. 

2. Increases relationship satisfaction 

It doesn’t seem that surprising that enjoying a successful hike, run or weights session together could help make you feel all glowy about the relationship itself, as well as the workout. Maybe it’s the dopamine or the endorphins, but whatever it is, the same 2021 study found that couples who workout together report better relationship satisfaction. If you’re happier with the relationship, you’re more likely to tend to it and want to invest in it. Further, as we discussed in our article on how hiking improves your relationships, exercising outdoors in a natural setting is shown to further improve your bond, increasing empathy, trust and mutual support, so there’s a good argument for taking your workout out into the hills. 

3. It motivates you 

A 2015 study concluded that when one partner integrates healthier behaviors, the other is more likely to follow, while in 2016, researchers at the University of Aberdeen concluded that having an exercise companion increases the amount of exercise you’re likely to do, and that motivation was further increased when the partner was emotionally supportive. 

Maybe it’s just because working out together forces you to schedule your sessions in advance, or because there’s always someone to answer to if you don’t want to go on that run – it could even be a subconsciousness competitiveness that’s awakened in you – but whatever it is, if you do it together, you're more likely to get more exercise. That in turn increases the benefits such as cardiovascular conditioning and improved self-esteem. Win. 

Downsides to working out with your partner

Look, I won't lie, there’s definitely room for error here. I had one super fit boyfriend who would always leave me in the dust on steep climbs on the bike, which got a little discouraging, but the next guy I dated would always lag behind on hikes and complain constantly, which got tedious. My sister-in-law feels frustrated because her climbing workouts with my brother never seem to yield the weight loss she wants, while he seems to get svelter with every send. My friend Robbie feels a bit inferior because his wife is a far better runner than he is. An old colleague Gareth can’t do yoga with his wife because he wants to paw at her the entire time, so she locks him out of the room. Then there’s my old colleague buddy Dustin whose wife left him for someone else at the CrossFit gym. Ouch. So, yeah, things can go wrong with this plan.

How well it all goes depends on a lot of factors, from the health of your relationship to begin with to differing goals and fitness levels. If one of you is more committed than the other, the less committed one might prove a distraction for the other. Or if you really value the alone time that you get from solo workouts, inviting your partner along might actually increase your own stress levels and result in your feeling a bit resentful, which basically defeats the entire purpose. You might end up criticizing each other, or one of you could feel left behind if the other just so happens to be a natural at your chosen sport. 

Then you’ve got the fact that, when you’re taking your workouts outside, there’s a greater potential for things to go wrong – getting lost, spraining your ankle and even forgetting the sandwiches can all place undue strain on your relationship (or strengthen your capacity to work together).

Tips for working out with your partner 

If you still want to give working out with your partner a go, here are some tips to help you approach your adventures in a way that fosters mutual respect and appreciation, rather than tearing you apart. 

1. Don’t overdo it 

Some couples really do seem able to workout together all the time, and though I can’t say I fully understand that, I’ve noticed that it’s often couples who are pretty competitive, and have similar fitness levels and goals. If you don’t share those qualities, perhaps it’s a good idea not to try to make every bike ride a tandem one. Once a week might be just what the doctor ordered to help keep the spark alive, then enjoy your other workouts solo.

2. Be supportive 

Remember that the benefits are greater when your partner is emotionally supportive, so try not to be critical of each other’s performance. Look for small wins and complement each other on shaving a few seconds off your pace, taking fewer rest breaks or sending that dyno move. If your partner gets better than you at your chosen activity, be happy for their success and use them as an inspiration. 

3. Try new things 

If you and your partner really aren’t athletically compatible, i.e. you’re a runner and he’s a weightlifter, all is not lost. Look for something you can do together that neither of you has ever done before, like yoga, rock climbing or cross country skiing. 

4. Consider team sports 

When you’re running a 10k together, it can be hard not to turn it into a race, so if you’re finding that one or both of you is too competitive, you may be able to take the pressure off by signing up for a team sport instead, like softball, ultimate frisbee or five-a-side football. These activities are super social and might be a good way to meet other like minded couples too. 

5. Make it a date 

Some things in a relationship, like cleaning the toilet and folding laundry, are just chores. A workout can certainly feel like a chore, but it can also make a really lovely date. Aim to finish your run at your favorite local brunch spot, bring a picnic on your day hike or even bring the two-person tent and make an overnight of it. Exercise, especially in nature, can really make for some excellent quality time. 

• The best two-person tents: for an adventure with a camping buddy

It’s a Tuesday morning and I’m running on one of my favorite trails, part of the Dumgoyne hill loop near Glasgow that offers rolling terrain on a mettle road and spectacular views of Loch Lomond, Ben Lomond and the Trossachs. Many days, I get my running headphones on and just get in the slow zone, my trail running shoes hitting the ground with a steady cadence until I reach a gate at the 6km mark, then I turn back. Today, though, I’m trying a different approach. About 100 meters up ahead of me, the track crosses a bridge and takes a tight left hand turn, so I pick up the pace to a faster clip until I reach the bend, then jog slowly down the hill that follows, recovering. Soon, I cross through a farm gate and a little further ahead lies another water feature, part of the pipeline that carries water from Loch Katrine down to Glasgow. I speed up again until I reach it, then resume my easy pace for a short uphill.

I’ve been incorporating the fartlek training method into my running routine for the past year, after reading a 2020 study that found it improved endurance among cross country runners, which basically means that those runners can run for longer and their muscles can better withstand injury and recover faster. I’m not training for a marathon or trying to get faster really, but I like the idea of being able to go longer and feel better afterwards, particularly as I started to feel the odd tweak in my hip and knee upon nearing 40. Since beginning the fartlek method, I’ve noticed that I’m now able to sustain a better pace on longer runs, pain-free and it’s a great option for those of us who aren’t really interested in structured interval training and sprint workouts.

What is the fartlek method?

The word fartlek is a Swedish word that translates to “speed game” or “speed play” and in fartlek training, you essentially play with your speed while you’re running over long distances. Unlike the structured format of sprints, where you might run as fast as you can for a specific number of short bursts with rest or near-rest sessions in between, fartlek training involves picking up the pace for short distances within a workout that is usually at least 45 minutes long. That could mean that you’re on a walk and you increase your pace to a jog between two landmarks, such as two trees or telephone poles, or you’re on a run and pick up the speed to race pace or sprinting. 

The faster-paced segments of your workout don’t have to happen at regular intervals, nor do they have to be specific lengths. Basically, you just mix up your pace as you go, using landmarks to help you, then resume your normal pace until you feel recovered, then go again. Some of my “sprints” are probably not much more than 100 meters, while others might be closer to three times that.

Fartlek training is usually associated with running, but it could be applied in other disciplines such as swimming, too. It can be approached in a more structured way, if you have a specific goal in mind such as running a half marathon at a competitive pace, but the basic principle remains that you work the intervals into a longer distance workout.

What are the advantages of the fartlek method?

In addition to the previously mentioned study correlating fartlek training with increased endurance, a 2014 research paper indicated it with improved VO2 max and resting heart heart, so at least in controlled environments, there seem to be some arguments for implementing fartleks for performance. Essentially, what the approach seems to do is teach your body how to handle, and adapt to, different paces over a longer period of time, rather than just teaching it to sprint short distances and run slowly over long distances. In a race setting, this could allow you to outrun your opponents without running out of steam, while in any trail run, it can give you the stamina to adapt your pace to the lay of the land, speeding up on flat or downhill sections to cover more terrain, faster.

In addition to helping to improve your fitness and stamina, fartlek has a couple of other, more practical advantages in my opinion. First, you can still get your long runs in. Whether, like me, you simply don’t really want to do sprint workouts, or you don’t have a lot of time in your schedule, this allows you to vary your training without having to add in more runs per week.

Second, because you're using visual landmarks to plan your fast running, and slowing down until you feel like your heart rate has returned to baseline, you don’t have to rely on a GPS watch to do the training properly, though you might like having it for other reasons such as tracking your overall distance or calories.

Finally, if you’re tired, you can still do a fartlek session, but you just don’t have to run as fast, as long, or as often to get the benefits. But ultimately, you shouldn't take it from me  –  why not mix things up next time you’re on the trail and see if you can get ahead?

Resistance bands. It’s virtually impossible to visit a trainer or physical therapist these days without returning home clutching one or two. When I separated my shoulder years ago in a bike crash, I strapped one around the door handle and spent hours using it to regain my shoulder adduction. When I tore my acl skiing, I hooked one around a table leg and my own leg to help restore my quad strength by pulling against it as I straightened my leg. When I briefly courted the idea of being able to do a pullup, I used resistance bands thrown over the pullup bar to mimic the pulling down action.

They come in all shapes and sizes these days and they’ve gone from being an old people workout tool to a pretty well-respected means of training. But do resistance band workouts really work? It’s a common question, and one that we can answer with a look at research into the subject. Read on for the benefits of resistance band training, and some tips for getting started.

Do resistance band workouts really work? 

Because we tend to associate workouts with pumping huge amounts of iron, deadlifting your own body weight and swinging kettlebells around, if you haven’t tried working out with resistance bands, they can look a bit, well, meek in comparison. But a 2019 review of studies on resistance band training found that doing so produces similar results to other resistance training.

Resistance training is what we generally term 'weight lifting', and applies to any training where you perform a lift, push or pull against resistance. That resistance can be created by adding load, via a heavy dumbbell or an elastic band. So according to the research, resistance band workouts can be on a par with working out with dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells or any other bells you might find at the gym, assuming you’re approaching your training in the right way. If you're looking for a new means of cross training for the days when you're giving your running shoes a rest, or an alternative to weight lifting, you might want to consider resistance band workouts.

Can you build muscle with resistance bands only? 

Since studies show that resistance band workouts produce similar results to other weightlifting routines, you can expect to build some muscle using only resistance bands, as long as you’re using them effectively. Resistance bands can come in different types, from flat therapy bands to tubular bands with handles, and there are almost unlimited ways you can use them to build muscle.

For example, to build up your biceps, you can stand on a tubular band and bend your elbows to pull the handles up to your chest. To strengthen your outer hips (adductors), which almost all of us need to do, you can tie a therapy band around your thighs and crab walk around the house. 

How much muscle you can build will depend on other factors, primarily genetics and hormones, but if building muscle is your goal, the key probably lies in working with a trainer to figure out which exercises and how many reps you need to be doing. To see progress, you’ll need to gradually increase the resistance, either through a stronger band or shortening the band, as your body adapts to the load.

It’s also important to note that, while resistance band workouts can help you build muscle, what they’re really effective at is helping you increase the active range of motion in your joints, which helps to keep your joints healthy and keep you mobile as you age.

Can you lose weight with resistance band workouts?

Though we tend to associate weight loss with cardiovascular workouts such as running and cycling, a 2022 review of 15 studies and 18 trials found that resistance band training decreased body fat in overweight or obese people better than other resistance training types. The review notes that resistance band training improves body composition overall, because it also increases lean muscle mass rather than reducing it in the way that running and other aerobic exercise can.

Of course, weight loss always depends on other factors, including diet, but if taken in conjunction with a healthy diet, resistance band workouts may help you to lose weight. 

What are the advantages of resistance bands? 

There are four really standout advantages to using resistance bands over other forms of resistance training:

• Portability: Resistance bands weigh almost nothing and can easily be packed into the pocket of your running jacket or backpack. That means you can take them with you on the road or to the office and work out anywhere.
• Cost: Resistance bands can cost anywhere from a couple of bucks up to about $25, but they’re never expensive. The flimsier ones don’t last forever of course, but compared to a gym membership or kitting out your garage with a full weight rack, they’re a drop in the bucket.
• Versatility: You can work practically every muscle with resistance bands, and you can find ways to increase the resistance as you get stronger, so they are incredibly adaptable to your needs.
• Joint-friendly: Compared to, say, loading up a barbell for a shoulder press, which places a lot of pressure on your spine and shoulders, a resistance band alternative such as standing on the band and pressing your hands up is much kinder on your joints.

Tips for using resistance bands 

If you’re planning to start working out with resistance bands, here are a few tips to get you started:

• Work with a trainer to create a routine that meets your needs and goals.
• Examine your bands regularly for signs of wear and tear.
• When using a door to hold a resistance band, make sure it’s secure before pulling on it.
• Wear shoes when standing on resistance bands to help with grip and securing the band.
• Pay attention to your form, and make your movements slow and smooth. Leave the swinging for your kettlebells.

In a world obsessed with FKTs and personal bests, the idea of low intensity training might cause some athletes to wrinkle their nose. Why bother splashing out on a pair of the best trail running shoes and a Garmin watch to track your increasingly impressive metrics if you’re just going to go for a jog, you might wonder? And yet, the science shows that if you’re seeking to improve performance, you’d do well to shift down into low gear on a regular basis. Doing so can improve your stamina and ultimately place less strain on your joints and soft tissue. Read on to learn more about what low intensity training looks like and why it’s a good idea. 

What is a low intensity workout? 

When it comes to exercise, intensity might seem to be rather a subjective quantifier – for me, any run longer than 10k seems pretty intense, but for my friend Tara, an ultrarunner, that’s practically a recovery run. So “intensity” might be a bit of an individual experience, based on your current level of fitness and what activity you’re doing, but there are actually three defining characteristics that make a workout low intensity no matter who is doing it:

• You maintain a steady heart rate (so, no intervals then)
• You workout at about 50% of your VO2 max
• You workout for a sustained period of at least 30 minutes

Obviously, this could apply to lots of different activities then, from a long, slow jog to a dynamic yoga practice, but the following are some typical low intensity workouts:

• Brisk walking
• Moderate hiking
• Slow jogging
• Lap swimming
• Cycling through flat or rolling terrain
• Dynamic yoga such as Vinyasa
• Rowing
• Elliptical workouts
• Slow weight lifting or resistance training

In any of these activities, you could use a heart rate monitor to keep an eye on your performance, but there are other ways to keep yourself from switching into high gear. You should in theory be able to hold a conversation, so you won’t be breathing extremely hard or necessarily sweating profusely (though we all sweat in different quantities). Keeping these markers in mind, you’ll be able to choose appropriate hiking and running trails that aren’t too steep, or look for sections of flatter long distance hikes or road rides rather than always going for the hill climb. As time goes by, your fitness will improve, and you will need to up the intensity of your workouts by choosing more challenging terrain or picking up the pace a little in order to reach 50% of your VO2 max. 

What are the benefits of low intensity training? 

High intensity training, such as HIIT workouts and ultramarathons, are hard on your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. That’s why you don’t want to do HIIT workouts more than a couple of times a week, and why you need to rest for at least a week after an ultra event, to offset the health risks. Low intensity training puts much less stress on your body, and a long term study by Fukuoka University published in 1992 found that 60 minutes of low intensity training 3 - 5 times a week actually improved VO2 max, improved HDL cholesterol levels and lowered blood pressure, all without modifying diet.

Of course, those latter two benefits are compelling for anyone looking to improve their health, but for athletes, the improvement to VO2 max is the most seductive benefit, because that means that low intensity training will ultimately allow you to go further, for longer. The fact that you can build stamina while placing less strain on your joints is naturally going to be another appealing argument for turning down the dial on the regular – if you can improve your fitness without increasing your risk of injury, you’ll improve your longevity as an athlete, too.

Now it’s true that a lot of the studies on low intensity training have been performed using elderly subjects or those with chronic health conditions rather than on athletes, but regardless of the research, there remains the simple fact that, for most of us, a low intensity workout is simply easier to commit to. The HIIT workout, half marathon or fastpacking your way over three 14ers in a single day all require a certain degree of mental commitment and usually take quite a bit out of you. But a 45-minute jog or three-mile walk can usually be accomplished even when you’re a bit tired, making you more likely to lace up those hiking boots in the first place and be able to commit to several low intensity days a week. In fact, these workouts can actually be used as active rest days between high intensity workouts, though after a big race or workout, total rest is often the best medicine.

Can you build muscle with low intensity training? 

It’s well known that in order to increase muscle mass you need to place stress on your muscles, so if that’s your goal, you might be wondering if low intensity training places enough demand on your muscles to make a difference? Of course whether and how much muscle you build really depends on what you’re doing, but a 2012 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology did find that participants saw an increase in muscle mass when they implemented low intensity resistance training, so yes, it’s possible. 

Do low intensity workouts burn fat? 

As we explain in our article on heart rate zones, low intensity exercise does indeed burn fat. According to the Cleveland Clinic, though you’re burning fewer calories at this lower intensity level, most of the calories you’re burning are from fat, whereas during high intensity training your body relies on carbs for energy. That said, per minute of training, you’ll still burn more fat during high intensity training than low intensity training, so you’ll want to do low intensity work for longer periods of time, and interspersed with high intensity days, if burning fat is your goal.  

How often should you do low intensity workouts? 

If you’re starting from scratch, two or three days a week is a good place to begin, whereas if you’re already active, the low intensity nature of these workouts means that you can’t very easily overdo things, though anything is possible. You’re much more likely to overdo high intensity training, or rely too much on high intensity training with total rest days in between. If you want to improve your performance then, and you’re already doing high intensity workouts, try to balance those high intensity days with one or two low intensity days in between. This helps you to keep improving your fitness while you’re recovering. 

• Best hiking boots: tested for grip and comfort on tough terrain

Each January, people flood to the gym to get the new year off to a healthy start, but for many people the great outdoors is just as good for working out – if not better.

Gyms certainly have advantages. They're warm for one thing, which is always appealing in winter, you can easily book a personal trainer to help you out, and all the equipment is right there (provided the new members haven't snatched everything up). However, there are some things about the outdoors that are just impossible to beat – and we're not just talking about the lack of a monthly fee.

If you've been thinking about joining a gym, don't sign up before you've considered all the advantages of getting your exercise outside instead. Here are 11 good reasons to give it a try...

1. Fresh air

It’s easy to see that advantages of exercising outdoors in the fresh air, especially if you have access to green spaces, woodland or the countryside, compared to the hot, stale and sweaty air created in the indoor environment of a gym.

With viruses such as Covid-19, flu and colds very much on many people’s minds, it’s also worth thinking about how much more susceptible you are to germs indoors than outdoors. 

2. Mental health

There are numerous studies that reveal the mental health benefits of taking regular exercise outdoors. For example, a 2018 study published by the Environmental Design and Research Association found that walking in nature measurably improved mood and decreased stress.

Another piece of research published in Landscape and Urban Planning found that Londoners who live, and spend time near trees, typically have better mental health, and a study at the University of Glasgow found that neighbourhood blue space – areas of water and waterways – have a positive effect on the mental health of older adults.

Immersing yourself in water, especially cold water, is thought to have even more positive advantages for mental well-being, including boosting dopamine levels and increasing the release of endorphins, which make us feel happier. 

It is especially important to spend time outdoors in winter when daylight is more limited and the effects of darkness can have negative effects on mood. Indeed, it’s believed one of the key ways to overcoming issues such as SAD – seasonal affective disorder, or “winter blues” – is to increase the time you spend in daylight, so as to ward off a drop in serotonin.

3. Lots of variety

Unless it's a particularly small venue there are probably plenty of classes and workout options at your gym, but there's also heaps to enjoy outdoors. Yes, you can go hiking, but there's also trail running, mountain biking, climbing, skiing, skating, bouldering, kayaking, canoeing, rowing, wild swimming, and many more activities that will work different parts of your body, and improve different aspects of your overall fitness.

Many people complain that working out at the gym becomes boring and samey, but this is very rarely the case when taking part in sports and workouts outdoors.

4. Beautiful scenery

At the gym you will most likely be staring at a wall or maybe a mirror. Perhaps your gym has TVs, especially in front of treadmills and spin bikes. But there is no substitute for the huge variety of different views to enjoy outdoors.

Even if you're running in urban environments, there is a constantly changing view and scenes and when you take your activities to the countryside, you will rarely see the same view twice. 

5. Balanced, varied workouts

Gym workouts have many physical benefits but it is possible to argue they do not have as many as being outdoors. A treadmill, for example, is a constant platform that has adjustment only in speed and gradient. A spin bike stays static, too, apart from gear changing. 

When running or cycling outdoors you need to make non-stop micro adjustments to the terrain and the conditions, especially if you take your sport on to the trails. For example, the physical benefits of running off-road include boosted muscle and ligament strength, improved balance and better mental health well-being.

6. Social opportunities (if you want them)

Unless you have found a time at the gym when there are few other people, the chances are your immediate space around your workout will include other people. You might enjoy the social interaction of this, but what if you fancy some me-time? You don’t really have that choice in the gym.

However, the option to spend time with other people going for  run, bike ride or an open water swim is entirely yours in the outdoors. You could set a time to meet a friend, attend a club session, or simply get up, go out your door and run, cycle or swim solo.

There are benefits of spending time with other people, as well as advantages of switching off and enjoying time to yourself. 

7. Seeing new places

Your gym membership might give you access to different areas at your centre, such as the gym, gym hall, swimming pool and tennis courts. But when you walk, run, cycle, ski or enjoy any kind of outdoors sport, you will be seeing new places simply because you are moving. 

There are many possibilities for discovering new locations and visiting new areas when you exercise outdoors.

8. No travel necessary

Unless you live next door to a gym, you'll need to get yourself there. This might be by car, bike or on foot, but still you need to travel to exercise.

If you choose to do an outdoors sport, the likelihood is you will be able to take part right from your door. Perhaps not all your sessions and activities will start from your home, but it's likely that some of them can be and this will save time.

Plus it's easier to motivate yourself simply to  go out of your front door, rather than go out the door, travel to the gym and then do the session at the allotted time.

9. Anytime, anywhere

Whether you are at home, away from home with work, on holiday or staying with a friend, the outdoors is always there. You are not tied to one place – such as with a gym membership – and so you can enjoy your favourite outdoor sport, but simply in a different location.

10. Cheaper

There are costs associated with outdoors sports but once you have the clothes, such as trail running shoes, waterproof jacket and a vest pack, you do not need to pay for anything else. 

Going to the gym requires you to buy comfortable and suitable kit, but you also need to pay for a membership, too. 

11. Get in touch with nature

One of the biggest arguments fro choosing the gym over the outdoors is the weather. We are not going to deny the advantages of an indoors fitness session when it's wet, cold or snowy outside.

But we also want to suggest that there are some very uplifting benefits to being outdoors whatever the conditions. Running, walking and even cycling and wild swimming in different weather can make you feel alive.

Try running or swimming in the rain, jumping into puddles as you walk, or cycling through a snowy landscape (of course, you need to take care that you are safe if there is snow and ice on the ground). 

So long as you are dressed for the weather and do not get too cold or wet, the chances are that exercising outdoors will give you a mental boost.

And you will enjoy the dry and sunny days of outdoors exercise all the more, simply because of the contrast.

Conclusion

While gym sessions are good for keeping fit, especially for strength and conditioning training, many people reap greater and more varied benefits of participating in sports outdoors.

• Best road running shoes: lace up and head out

If you like traveling on trails, a strong core achieves things that even the best trail running shoes and hiking boots can’t. It helps you maintain good posture and pelvic stability, which in turn can prevent strain on your hips, knees and ankles. There are loads of great core exercises out there, some using weights and bands while others rely on body positioning and gravity, but there is one exercise to beat them all, and that is the unassuming but powerful plank.

Compared to a good old fashioned ab curl, plank may not seem like the most obvious choice for strengthening muscles like your abdominals, but the science shows that it really does beat out the competition, literally hands down. In a 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers at Penn State stuck electrodes on participants and had them do different core strengthening exercises such as plank and crunches. They concluded that so-called “integration exercises” such as plank, that require activation of the both distal trunk muscles (deltoids and glutes) and proximal trunk muscles (abdominals and lumbar muscles) were best in terms of maximizing strength, improving endurance, enhancing stability, reducing injury, and maintaining mobility. 

But that’s only if you’re doing it right.

When I first encountered planks in yoga classes many years ago, I was a bit mystified myself. Probably due to the name, I just tried to make myself as straight as possible, never seemed to know what to do with my shoulder blades (or why there was such an emphasis on them) and after a while, my wrists would get tired and I’d give up and do a Child’s Pose instead. Once I learned more about anatomy in graduate school and started training yoga teachers myself, I figured out exactly how to do a plank for those optimal results the Penn State researchers noted, and now I love plank. In fact, I teach it so much that my yoga students hate me.

What is a plank?

If you don’t already know, a plank is a core strengthening exercise that looks like you’re at the top of a pushup if you’re doing it on your hands, and has many variations such as on forearms, lifting a leg and “side plank” on one hand or elbow. Planks are a form of isometric exercise, where there is no movement at any joint while the muscles fire (as opposed to crunches, which move you through concentric and eccentric contractions), and are performed with your spine in axial extension.

What muscles does plank strengthen?

What muscles a plank strengthens depends on how you do it. If you’re not at the office or a coffee shop when you’re reading this and you want to see for yourself, drop down and try a plank with your abdominals relaxed and even let your hips sag slightly. You don’t need to (or want to) hold it for very long to realize that it’s not going to strengthen very much at all, barring maybe your arms a little. Worse still, it probably doesn’t feel very sustainable for your wrists or your low back.

But done properly, planks can be incredibly strengthening for a lot of muscles. As bipeds, our bodies are designed to resist the downward flow of gravity while we’re upright. When you’re walking around, there’s not much surface area for gravity to grab onto and your back and leg muscles are working subtly all the time to keep you from collapsing. When you move into a plank position, however, that gravity suddenly has a whole lot more surface area to tug on, and if you’re not going to just sag down onto the floor in surrender, you need to start recruiting some muscles, fast. 

This is what makes plank so hard. If you don’t know which muscles to engage, you just end up coming out after a few seconds or, worse, hurting your back. But with just a little finesse, plank will strengthen all of your abdominals, your lumbar muscles, glutes and quads, never mind your triceps, lats and shoulder muscles. 

How to do a plank

Planks are free and require no special apparatus. On their own, they don’t exactly make a full body workout, but they can easily be incorporated into any existing workout or weight lifting routine as well as your regular pilates or yoga practice. Once you know how to do a plank properly, you can make every one count to support your efficiency on the trail or at the climbing wall.

You can do a plank on the floor or on an exercise mat – just make sure the mat is not too thick or if it is thick, it should be very firm.

1. Start on your hands and knees with your hands a little wider than your shoulders (lower to your elbows if you’re performing forearm plank and bring the palms of your hands together in a prayer position).
2. Push your hands (or forearms) down into the floor and feel the space between your shoulder blades pressing up toward the ceiling. Imagine you’re pressing your hands against a stuck door trying to open it, and the rebound action helps take the weight out of your wrists and up into your chest and shoulders.
3. Next, step back your feet one at a time to lift your knees and straighten your legs. Straight away, activate your quadriceps muscles to recruit your legs.
4. Move into a posterior pelvic tilt by drawing your public bone up towards your navel without lifting your hips. You’ll feel your abdominal muscles waking up.
5. Keep pressing your hands or elbows down and, without losing the upward tilt of your pelvis, press your heels back and the crown of your head forward to create one long line of energy in your spine and legs.
6. Finally, without losing that length, start to drag your hands (or elbows) towards your toes and your toes towards your hands – they won’t actually move position, but the whole front of your body will light up.
7. Relax your jaw, remember to breathe – if you're not shaking by now, you're not doing all of the steps outlines above!
8. Try to hold your plank for 15-30 seconds at a time. Lie down on your belly to take a break, then do another.

No matter what variations you’re implementing, try to keep these basic movements of hands pushing down, public bone drawing up, and pressing forward and backwards through your crown and heels and dragging hands and toes towards each other.

Common mistakes

The main “errors” when doing a plank are allowing any part of your body to droop with gravity, which only makes it more difficult and within seconds, the whole thing starts to crumble. Watch out for these common mistakes:

• Forgetting to activate your legs for support.
• Dropping your hips down.
• Raising your hips up to try to bypass the need for a posterior pelvic tilt.
• Sinking in between your shoulder blades and allowing your weight to drop into your wrists.
• Dropping your head down.
• Holding your breath.

• Best trail running shoes: for speed, agility, comfort, and grip