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.

Woman boxing at gym

Compare Calories of Cardio Boxing to Running

Cardio boxing classes provide a fun, calorie-burning alternative to monotonous activities like running. Cardio boxing uses boxing moves to provide an aerobic workout. Gyms and private studios offer different types of cardio boxing classes for group exercise.

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Women riding bicycles through mud pond

What Is Mechanical Efficiency During Exercise?

Mechanical efficiency is an exercise term that describes the ratio of work output to work input during physical activity. The more efficiently you move with the least amount of effort expended, the greater your mechanical efficiency.

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Rehab after leg injury

Do Ankle Weights Help Tone Your Thighs?

Lifting more weight than you are able to can strain the thigh muscles. Pain, tenderness, bruising and bleeding may occur from a strain. Exercising the thighs with ankle weights reduces the chance of muscle strains, because the weights are as light as 0.5 lb.

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People doing neck exercise in fitness club

Can Exercises Lengthen the Neck?

The human head weighs 10 to 12 lb., a weight that places a lot of strain on the neck muscles to hold it in place. Moving your head forward out of proper alignment to look at a computer screen or to better see a book adds an additional 30 lb. of pull on the neck.

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Doctor applying stabilizer

Stretches for Forearm Pain

Forearm pain is common because of how much time people spend on a computer. Keeping your wrists bent back to type can lead to tension and pain. It is even possible to develop tendinitis in the forearm or carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Close-up of a young woman stretching her arms

Stretches for a Sore Arm

Sore arms are likely the cause of overusing the muscles without first warming up and stretching. Proper stretching is the best way to prevent injuries, including overuse injuries, before physical activity such as sports.

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Woman getting thai stretching massage

PNF Style Stretches for the Quads & Hip Flexor

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching is the most effective way to increase range of motion. Instead of merely letting your muscles stretch passively, you first contract the muscles and hold them tight before relaxation.

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a young caucasian mother holds and admires her new baby girl

Exercises for SPD After Birth

Although symphysis pubis dysfunction, or SPD, affects 1-in-4 pregnant women, 7 percent continue to have pain after childbirth. A small amount of pain in the pubic area is relatively common during pregnancy, but severe pain and SPD are not.

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Physical therapist working with a senior woman at rehab

Foam Roller Exercises for the Sciatic Nerve

An inflamed piriformis muscle is often the cause of sciatica pain. But a herniated disc in the lower back may also be a cause. Sciatica refers to the symptom of pain from compression on the sciatic nerve, but it does not designate the cause of the compression.

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Exercises to Gain Waist Curves

Many women think that if their mother did not have a slim, curvy waist then they are also doomed no matter what they do. This is not true. A woman's basic shape cannot be changed but excess fat around the waist is not genetic. Eating more calories than you burn causes fat.

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Boxing, Women, Kickboxing

Fighting Techniques to Practice in Your Home

Improving your fighting techniques at home can be difficult without a training partner, equipment such as exercise mats and enough space for large movements such as sweeps. But short-range movements such as strikes and kicks while standing in place are fighting techniques you can practice at home with minimal space.

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Sport

Bodyweight Exercises to Get Bigger Arms & Chest

You can get big pecs, biceps and triceps without purchasing a weight set or machines. You already have a large amount of weight at your disposal -- your body. Exercises that make your arm and chest muscles lift your body against gravity exercise these areas to build strength and bulk.

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athletic guy bodybuilder , execute exercise with dumbbells, in dark gym

The Reverse Fly Back in Bodybuilding

Reverse flys, also spelled flyes or flies, target the muscles on the back of the shoulders. The posterior deltoids are the main muscles on the back of the shoulders. Reverse flys also work the muscles of the upper and middle back, particularly the rhomboids and traps.

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Physiotherapist massaging her patients hand

Wrist Ganglion Exercise

A wrist ganglion cyst is a fluid-filled sac under the skin that can compress the nerves in the wrist to cause pain. The cause of ganglions is unknown, but women get them more frequently than men according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

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Handsome man doing push ups on the gym ball

Pushups With Feet Elevated

Pushups target your chest, arms and shoulders, toning the muscles in these areas. If you find a standard pushup is no longer challenging, take pushups to the next level by elevating your feet, called a decline pushup.

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How to Fold NordicTrack Treadmills

NordicTrack makes all kinds of exercise machines, including folding treadmills. Folding treadmills are great for apartments, home gyms, dorm rooms and anywhere that space is at a premium. With a foldable NordicTrack treadmill you can store your treadmill in a closet or other discreet location.

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How to Train With a Total Gym

The Total Gym home fitness system is a weight-training machine, sold most prominently through infomercials. You can use the Total Gym to train your arms, shoulders, chest, back, abs and legs. The Total Gym has more than 100 exercises to choose from.

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