Building muscle and strength doesn't require a gym membership, or even weights, according to a new study from the University of Texas-El Paso. In a new test of manual resistance exercises, where a training partner provided the resistance, researchers found the strength training to be just as effective as using weights. During a 14-week period, the scientists monitored 84 college students who were assigned to either a traditional program of weights-based exercises, or manual resistance … [Read more...]

Better workouts and race results could all be in your head, according to a new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. A team of scientists from Aberystwyth University in England looked at the effects of motivational and instructional self-talk on physical exertion and found that both provided a small, but significant, effect on performance. The researchers enlisted 12 men and 12 women for the study. After warming up, each subject performed four vertical jumps on … [Read more...]