Sports & Fitness: Performance Training, Rules & Recovery

Elite athletic performance and general fitness are sustained through structured hypertrophy strategies, sport-specific conditioning, and rigorous adherence to injury prevention protocols.

Over the shoulder view of two male boxers getting ready to box in the boxing ring in Beijing, China

Boxing and Knuckle Pain

Knuckle pain can be especially detrimental to a boxer's success. A professional fighter earns a living with his fists. When his hands are injured, he may be out of business. Hand injuries are normal for a boxer. However, knuckle pain is often caused by simple mistakes unseasoned fighters make during training.

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Baseball

Should You Lift Weights Before or After Baseball Practice?

Weight training is a key component to baseball player development. Players at the higher end of the sport train year-round to build and maintain their sport-specific strength. But players must carefully manage their weightlifting regimen during the season.

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Beautiful muscular fit woman

How Often Should I Do Dumbbell Side Bends?

Dumbbell side bends work the muscles of the trunk, particularly the deep spine muscles, explains Len Kravitz, PhD, Program Coordinator of Exercise Science and researcher at the University of New Mexico.

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Is Indoor Cycling Better Than Running?

When you're fighting fat, high-intensity exercise gives you more calories burned per minute, making more efficient use of your time. Indoor cycling is often offered through group classes.

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Strong fitness girl lifting weights in modern gym

What Is the Difference Between a Straight Bar & Curl Bar?

The main differences between a straight bar and curl bar are in their weight, shape and the hand positioning you can utilize when using them for different exercises. These are two of the most common pieces of exercise equipment you will find in a gym that has a resistance training section.

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How Do I Know If I'm Losing Muscle Mass Vs. Fat?

Your weight might be decreasing, according to your scale, but you want to know if you are losing body fat or muscle mass. Your scale reading doesn’t always give you the confidence you need about your weight-loss success. You can take an educated guess on how well you are doing on your new weight-loss program.

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Beautiful mixed race sporty woman with slim stomach

Do Muscle Stimulators Tone Up Your Body?

Muscle stimulators use electronic muscle stimulation technology to produce results. To operate, you place the muscle stimulator belt around the area of the body that you wish to tone. Once power is turned on, electrical currents are sent through the skin to cause the muscles to contract.

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Karate Black Belt on White Uniform

Time Dedicated to Earning a Black Belt in Kung Fu

Kung fu is a traditional Chinese fighting art that combines unarmed offensive and defensive techniques with weapons. Like wushu, the term "kung fu" is used broadly to describe any type of traditional martial art developed in China.

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working out in the fitness studio

How Much Do I Have to Weigh for Flat Abs?

Performing regular sessions of abdominal exercises may not be enough to obtain flat abs. You also need to maintain a healthy, balanced diet and perform regular sessions of cardiovascular exercise. Lowering your body fat and avoiding excess fat and calories will help you achieve flat abs.

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Muscular Man Doing Heavy Weight Exercise For Biceps

How to Get a Body Like a Football Player

Football players, depending on their position, may be both muscular and also lean, fast and agile. The sport is very physical and features intense contact on every play.

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Weight training

Can You Still Work Out & Get Muscle When Your Arm Is Sore?

Arm muscle soreness can occur for a number of reasons. Whether you can gain muscle while your muscles are still sore is largely dependent on why your muscles are sore. Understanding how your muscles grow is important to making your gym time as effective as possible.

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Fashion Model Being Photographed in a Studio

Workout Routine for a Model

Taking care of your body is one of the most important elements of modeling. Models have to do a stringent workout routine as their job depends upon the way that they look.

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Man Working Out in the Gym

Pectoral Pain

Pain in the pectoral muscles can be a jarring experience, particularly if you initially think the chest pain is due to heart problems. But like other muscles, your pecs are prone to strains, sprains and overuse injuries. Injuries to nearby muscles also can cause pain and tension in your pectoral muscles.

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Young woman practices yoga and doing forward bend

What Is the Major Difference Between Static & Dynamic Stretching?

You might think that stretching is only for athletes, but everyone can benefit from stretching exercises. Stretching is an important component of physical fitness, according to the American Council on Exercise -- and without it, your joints can stiffen and your risk of injury increases.

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body buiding man isolated

What Is Considered Buff in Bodybuilding?

You may be considered buff if you have more than 2 lbs. of body weight per inch of your height, but champion bodybuilders tend to weigh more than 3 lbs. per inch, according to a February 2007 article by Ellington Darden, Ph.D. The circumference of your individual muscle groups helps determine how buff you are.

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Close-up of a young woman lifting a dumbbell

Superset Bicep Workout

The biceps brachii muscle is the muscle flexed most often to demonstrate one’s strength and dedication to the weight room. In order to get the biceps to grow, it is important to stimulate the muscle using a variety of different exercises and training techniques such as including supersets in your biceps workouts.

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