Training Science
What the research says about building endurance and getting faster.
Same Effort, Further Distance: What a New Study Says About Exercising in the Woods
A 2026 trial of 47 adults found forest running covered about 4.6% more distance at the same effort, with much higher enjoyment and motivation to keep going. Here is what it means for your easy days.
Taper Before Your Race: Why Doing Less Can Make You Faster
Doing less before race day can make you faster. Learn what a taper is, what the research found, and see a week-by-week example.
What Zone 2 Actually Means (and Why Your Zone 2 Is Not Your Friend's)
Your watch says Zone 2 is 150, but your body may disagree. Here is what the research says about finding your real easy-running zone, how much of your training should be easy, and how Fit PA can help you apply it.
Sore After Hills, Squats, or Jump Squats? What a New Review Says Actually Helps
A 2026 review explains why soreness peaks 24 to 72 hours after hills, lifting, and jumps, which recovery tools help, and how to ease into each by level. See how Fit PA plans around it.
Eat for the Effort Ahead, and the One You Just Finished
Your body doesn't treat each day on its own, and your nutrition targets shouldn't either. Learn what the research says about carb loading, fueling up before key sessions and recovering after big efforts, and how Fit PA builds it into your daily targets.
How to Run Faster: What the Science Says for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Runners
A science-backed guide to running faster for beginners through advanced runners. Learn how speed is built, how to lift and fuel for it, what differs for women, and how to lower your injury risk.
Strength Training for Ultrarunners: The Research, the Sex Differences, and How to Program It
The research on strength training for ultrarunners and running economy, 'durability,' sex differences, and how to actually periodize it without wrecking your running.
Why Your Watch Still Doesn't Understand Run-Walk Training
Your watch blends running and walking into one 'cadence' number, two totally different movements averaged together. A runner asked Garmin to fix this over a decade ago. Their reply: count your own steps. It's still not fixed.
Why Most 'AI Training Coaches' Are Just Rule-Based Apps (And What Real AI Coaching Looks Like)
Most AI fitness apps are rule-based templates in disguise. See how a real AI training coach reads your data, adapts your plan, and protects you.
You Peak at 35. Here's What the Science Actually Says Happens Next.
Physical decline starts around 35, but how fast it progresses depends more on consistency than age. Science-backed takeaways for every fitness level.
The Double Threshold Tactical Advantage: Why Your Long Sessions Might Be Sabotaging Your Ceiling
Double threshold training splits a high-volume day in two, but does it cost you anything? The research shows splitting lowers next-day fatigue and doesn't change molecular adaptation, while a single long threshold session builds a distinct kind of durability the split day can't.
Breaking the Ultra Rule: Does Splitting Your Long Run Kill Your Gains?
Endurance culture treats the single, unbroken long run as sacred, but the research tells a more layered story. Splitting a session creates less acute stress, yet produces the same measurable adaptation, until you reach ultramarathon distances, where sustained duration becomes the real training tool.
Beating the Heat: How to Training Through Extreme Temperatures
Heatwaves are hitting record numbers on both sides of the Atlantic, with heat index values topping 108°F across parts of the US this week. Here's what the research actually says about spotting heat illness early, how much electrolyte replacement really helps, and how to train through extreme heat.
Stop Guessing Your Training Load: The 3 Models Every Athlete Must Know
Most athletes train on one high-intensity model and plateau. Real gains come from rotating three: Metabolic Base, Functional Strength and High-Threshold Power.