Comprehensive Sports Guide: Rules, Conditioning & Equipment

Athletic mastery depends on understanding official gameplay rules, optimizing equipment technology, and implementing sport-specific conditioning drills.

Close-up of soccer players feet and ball

How to Keep From Getting Blisters While Playing Soccer

Soccer entails a combination of jogs, sprints, stops and pivots. When cleats aren't correctly sized or properly broken in, painful blisters can result, especially on the backs of heels and the soles of the feet. The best way to avoid blisters is to prevent the common causes of them.

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Football player in white kicking

My Toes Get Bruised When Playing Soccer

Bruised toes aren't pretty, but they are common among soccer players. They can happen when other players step on their feet, or if there's too much pressure on the toes. If your goal is to avoid the bruised toe dilemma, your first step is a basic precautionary move involving your footgear.

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children's bicycle

Bicycle Bearing Grease Types

To keep your bike in top shape and maximize the life of its components, you must perform regular maintenance, which includes greasing the bearings.

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Woman mountain biking

The Best Mountain Bike Seats for Avoiding Sore Saddles

Saddle sores are the arch nemesis of any bicyclist. Body positioning on a bike requires balancing most of your weight on a small surface area which is in direct contact with the seat. Coupled with chaffing, discomfort in surface area pressure points can create saddle sore misery.

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Man cyclist repairing a bike  against blue sky

How to Disassemble a Bike

If you're doing something like traveling with your bike, either by plane or having it shipped somewhere, you'll have to disassemble it before boxing it up. While you could pay a professional at your local bike shop to do this, it's fairly easy to do on your own.

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bicycle seat

The Best Bike Seat for Women

There isn't a more surefire way of ruining an awesome bike ride than by spending it in an ill-fitting saddle. Most female cyclists can attest to the pain that bike saddles can mercilessly inflict.

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Male cyclist

How to Bike With Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids, caused by swollen or inflamed veins around the anus or rectum, can be unpleasant and painful. If you're a cyclist, riding can exacerbate existing hemorrhoids by restricting blood flow to the anus or causing pressure and chaffing against the damaged tissues. However, cycling does not cause hemorrhoids.

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bicycle seat

The Best Bicycle Seat for Overweight People

Bicycle saddles can be uncomfortable for even the most petite, lightweight people. That's because riding a bike requires you to balance the majority of your body weight on two tiny "sit bones" for an extended period of time.

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Man on bike

The Best Bicycle for Tall Men

Tall men may have a bit of a challenge in finding a comfortable, well-fitted bike. No matter what type of bike you're in the market for, whether a road, mountain, touring or cyclocross bike, most manufacturers cater to the most common heights of men, from around 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet. Although there is no single "

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Close-up of bicycle gears

How to Use 21 Speeds on a Bike

Most bicycles come equipped with gears to help riders tackle various terrains. Common gearing on bikes include 10, 18 and 21 speeds. The number of gears a bike has is figured by multiplying the number of front chainrings by the number of gears in the rear cassette.

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Tandem disability racers with Pilot in front and man with Down Syndrome

What Causes Hamstring Pain When Cycling?

As you spend more time in the saddle, little aches and pains are bound to crop up. Comfort and injury-prevention while cycling can take some trial and error as you get your bike properly dialed in and discover the best saddle, shoes, cleats and other gear for your body.

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Men riding bicycles on city street

Bicycling Hip Pain

As with any sport, there's a degree of risk for injury involved with cycling. Endurance sports, such as cycling and running, require repetitive motions over a long period. This can lead to overuse injuries if body alignment or movement is even slightly off.

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