Advanced gait analysis has moved far beyond a coach watching someone run on a treadmill. Today, a gait assessment may use high-speed cameras, pressure-sensitive walkways, force plates, wearable sensors, 3D motion capture, markerless artificial intelligence or a combination of several technologies. That increased sophistication creates an obvious question for athletes, clinics and sports-performance professionals: How…
Hiring a running coach can be one of the biggest upgrades a runner makes to their training—but it can also be confusing. Some coaches charge less than a monthly gym membership. Others charge several hundred dollars per month. Some send a training plan and check in occasionally, while higher-touch coaches review workouts, adjust the schedule…
For runners and athletes, nutrition decisions are often built around estimates. Fitness watches estimate calories burned, online calculators estimate daily energy needs, and apps use formulas based on age, height, weight and activity level. Those estimates can be useful, but they are still estimates. A resting metabolic rate test, usually called an RMR test, takes…
For runners and athletes, body weight alone tells very little about what is actually changing inside the body. Two athletes can weigh exactly the same while having very different amounts of muscle, fat and bone mass. That is one reason DEXA body composition testing has become popular in sports performance, fitness and weight-management settings. A…
For endurance runners, cyclists and serious recreational athletes, lactate threshold testing can be one of the most practical performance assessments available. Unlike a simple fitness score, a lactate test is designed to show how your body responds as exercise intensity rises and when blood lactate begins increasing more rapidly. That information can help define training…
VO2 max has become one of the most talked-about numbers in running, cycling and endurance training. Smartwatches estimate it, fitness apps display it, and performance labs measure it directly while an athlete runs or cycles wearing a breathing mask. That naturally leads to another question: how much does a VO2 max test cost in 2026,…
Running looks simple from the outside: put one foot in front of the other and move faster. In reality, every runner has a slightly different combination of posture, cadence, joint motion, foot strike, strength, mobility and timing. That is why two people can run at the same pace while looking completely different. A running gait…