With everyone sharing equipment, breathing heavily, and dripping sweat, it's easy for a novel respiratory virus like COVID-19 to spread quickly in places like gyms and fitness centers. So once social distancing guidelines were put into place, they were some of the first businesses to close their doors—and rightfully so. But while it might feel like fitness gains are being forced to take a backseat, it's imperative to get the right amount of exercise when your immune system is in the hot seat. ...

In the world of personalized nutrition, it’s well accepted that there is no "one size fits all" diet. But recently, the concept of individualized diets have been taken to the next level thanks to a slew of genetic testing products promising DNA-based nutrition plans. So that begs the question: how much does DNA actually influence your diet? While the potential seems very high, unfortunately, the science isn’t quite there yet. Here's why you should be wary of any DNA test that promises a perfect ...

When we think of supplements for strength and muscle building, modern options like creatine monohydrate, whey protein, or BCAAs likely come to mind. But research continuously shows that ashwagandha, an herbal supplement with ancient roots, deserves equal attention from today's performance and strength building communities. 

Performance athletes are always looking for the next best thing to boost recovery and edge out the competition. But sometimes, therapies with ancient roots prove to be tried and true. Two such therapies—sauna bathing and cryotherapy—have become increasingly popular in the modern age for athletes and the everyday man alike. But while there's lots of research about the effects of temp therapy on health, some evidence still remains hot and cold.

We’ve heard it before: couples who train together, stay together. And that is no exception for functional fitness athletes Alison Scudds and Raphael Durand. These InsideTracker users and power couple sat down with us to chat about how they eat, train, recover and use blood tracking to optimize their performance in and out of the gym. Here's what a typical day looks like for them, how they use InsideTracker as a training tool, and how important health tracking is for both the elite athlete and ...

  The world of sports performance is becoming increasingly scientific. Wearable technology, sleep tracking, and cutting-edge recovery techniques have made training programs more data-driven than ever. And while it's easy to blindly apply these new resources to the masses, a marker of a great strength and conditioning coach is the ability to personalize and individualize their approach to each of their athletes. Of course, doing so can be challenging – it's hard to know exactly what each athlete ...

“I don’t want to lift weights, it will make me bulk up!” This is a common mindset in women wary of starting a new training routine. Even a quick Google search will reveal that it's an incredibly popular area of interest on bodybuilding blogs and fitness forums. Women enter the gym to improve a healthy inside and outside, and, sometimes, building a bulky exterior doesn’t align with their goals. The truth is, merely taking the next step in your gym routine won’t automatically result in bigger ...

We've all weighed the costs and benefits of working out when sick: "My throat hurts, so I'll stick to weights and avoid heavy breathing." Or, "maybe a good sweat will break this fever." Often times, it just boils down to, "yeah I feel like crap, but I have a plan I have to stick to." So we compromise and try to push through our workouts, even though we’re suffering (more than normal, that is). After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Well, while forcing a workout when you’re ...