1. Hit the Sauna Postrun You’re sweaty enough postworkout, what’s another half hour of schvitzing? When study participants followed their easy or long runs with 30 minutes in the sauna three times a week, they improved their time to exhaustion by 12 percent on average, research published in 2020 in European Journal of Applied Physiology determined. “The performance benefits are linked to the thermoregulatory stress of the sauna heat,” explains Micah Zuhl, Ph.D., a professor in the School of...

Jump to: What Your VO2 Max Number Means How to Determine VO2 Max 3 Ways to Test Your VO2 Max at Home What to Do With Your VO2 Max Stats If you’re part of the online running community, you’ve probably seen runners flexing their VO2 max numbers. If you wear a running watch, you’ve probably also aware of your own VO2 max—maybe you’ve been proud (some devices equate a higher VO2 max with a lower fitness age!) or maybe you’ve just been confused as to what this number even means. VO2 max has long...

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Why Trust Us? Running workouts are never really supposed to feel easy—the point of a long run or a speed session is to elicit adaptations that will help you push your limits. But what if you could convince yourself you’re not working quite as hard as your screaming muscles and gasping lungs might imply? Science says you can. From priming your brain prerun to dropping a well-time expletive, researchers have...

“Pain is inevitable…Advil keeps me going,” reads the text on screen of a recent Instagram Reel for hybrid athlete MaKayla Bassi (more than 90,000 followers) while she’s running on a track. “[Advil] works in under 30 minutes, helping me power through and have a good workout,” running influencer Mica Wood (107,000 followers) shared in a similar video, saying Advil allows her to do workouts despite menstrual cramps. “Wanna know my secret weapon as I train for my next race?” strength and running...