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.

Fitness - kettlebell crossfit woman

What Is the Fastest Way to Build Muscle Naturally?

Anyone can gain muscle fast without using steroids, but it requires a serious commitment to training and nutrition. If you're not achieving your muscle-building goals, you must change your training, diet, lifestyle or all of these.

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Man riding mountain bike

What Muscles Does Cycling Build?

Familiarize yourself with the muscles cycling builds, integrate exercises for them into your workouts, and you will become stronger during your rides. Cycling burns calories and builds muscular and aerobic endurance, contributing to improvements in body composition and physical capability.

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Girl kicking soccer ball toward goal

What Muscles Are Used When Kicking a Ball?

Whether in soccer, in rugby or for football punts, kicking a ball primarily engages the muscles of the upper leg -- the quadriceps and hamstrings -- as well as the glutes. In addition, your core, hip and foot muscles, as well as the shoulders, see action in your kick preparation, contact and follow-through.

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Amazing legs

Top 5 Calf Exercises Without Weights

Two major muscles, called the gastrocnemius and the soleus, run down the back of the lower leg. The soleus is a long, wide muscle that sits below the smaller, more bulbous gastrocnemius. These two primary muscles, along with several smaller, secondary muscles, form your calves.

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fitness, sport, technology and people concept - man and woman with smartphone doing plank exercise on mat in gym

The Best Core Workout Routine

The best core workouts engage as many muscles as possible, while utilizing your body weight for resistance to minimize your chance of an injury.

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Female trainer assisting senior woman lifting weights

Stability Ball Exercises for Seniors

According to the American Association of Retired Persons, seniors who perform muscle-building exercises can achieve muscles resembling those of people in their 20s and 30s. However, many seniors do not engage in the strength training necessary to build muscles.

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Athletic young woman running on track

Equipment for Running Sprints

Running typically does not require much equipment. A good pair of running shoes can usually get you through a jog in the park while you get in shape. However, if you are a track and field athlete, you may need additional equipment when running sprints.

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Rehabilitation with Thera Bands

Resistance Band Calf Exercises

As resistance bands are stretched, the tension on them increases, which in turn provides resistance that your muscles have to overcome. You can use a band to strengthen your two major calf muscles, which include your gastrocnemius and soleus.

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Fitness - sports under water in or spa

Ab Exercises for the Pool

Exercising in the water is a great way to get a good workout in without excessive impact on your limbs and joints, not to mention that it’s a lot of fun. Using the water to work your abdominal muscles can give you a greater variety of exercises than doing so on land.

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Hispanic senior couple jogging

How to Get Rid of Fat Around the Neck

Excess fat around the neck is not only unsightly but also can be an early sign of obesity. Because of its proximity to the face, fat in the neck area can lead to problems with self-esteem. There's no way to target the neck, or any other area of the body, to remove fat specifically from that area.

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Doctor Examining Male Patient With Shoulder Pain

The Best Ways to Relax a Tight Trapezius Muscle

Your trapezius muscle has three functional regions: superior, intermediate and inferior. The superior region, which supports the weight of your arm and is called your "upper" trapezius, typically is the portion of your trapezius muscle that becomes tight and needs to be relaxed.

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Woman with a plastic hoop toy

What Are the Benefits of Using a Weighted Hula Hoop?

Hula hoops have evolved quite a bit since their original popularity in the 1950s. Once considered a toy for children, hula hoops have made their way into the fitness market and are used as props for toning your abdominal muscles and burning calories.

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Portrait of a young woman smiling exercising with dumbbells

What Are the Causes of Flabby Arms?

Flabby arms often seem to come out of nowhere, but their cause is likely due to changes occurring in the body throughout adulthood. There are ways to combat and tighten flabby arms, however, including incorporating both regular strength training sessions and cardio workouts.

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Female pelvis/front view

Hip External Rotation Exercises

External hip rotation occurs when your thigh bone turns away from the midline, turning your knee out. The muscles involved in external hip rotation include the quadratus femorus, piriformis, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus, as well as several smaller muscles.

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Physical injury, leg ankle pain

How Do I Work Out With Tendinitis?

Tendons are the binders, like cords, that hold muscles and bones together to allow you to move normally. When a tendon becomes inflamed, the condition is called tendinitis.

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Fitness group in gym doing crunches for sport

How to Build Tight, Lean, Strong Muscle

To get tight, lean muscle, you need to exercise your body. Strength-training exercises are most effective for getting those muscle gains you're after. However, without proper nutrition you're not going to see your tight, lean and strong muscles.

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Basketball players during game action

Basketball Rules for Traveling

Traveling is one of the most common -- and misunderstood -- rules in all of basketball. The travel rule is intended to prevent players from gaining an advantage by moving with the ball without dribbling.

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Woman swimming in outdoor pool, elevated view

What Are the Benefits of Swimming for Women?

A body of water provides multiples avenues for exercise. Swimming, walking, aerobics and resistance training are all examples of water routines that build strength and burn calories while providing women with an effective workout.

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Goalie diving on a field to save the ball

Rules of Scoring a Soccer Game

Rules for soccer scoring seem simple -- when the ball crosses the goal line, a point is scored. In some situation, though, getting the ball into the goal does not count as a point. The referee is responsible for making the call as to whether a goal is scored, and he records the goals in a notebook.

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