One of the best things about any athletic activity is seeing progress. Whatever level of ability you have you can always get better.

Often times progress is not straight-line: your progress varies from a little bit one week, to a whole lot the next week.

On the surface, rugby union and rugby league appear similar. Same field, same length of time, same core skills, same mode of scoring. All identical.

Yet you get a completely different viewing experience.

One of the best measures of athletic performance is power output. Measured in watts, it’s exactly equivalent to the power that lights a bulb or moves a car. Tour de France cyclists run at about 500 watts for hours on end, and can hit output of 1500 watts in short bursts.

There is one good reason why Aucklanders don’t commute by rail. It’s slow. But just how slow is it? To find out, I decided to run against a commuter train over a 7 km distance to see who was fastest.

The motto for the Olympic Games is faster, higher, stronger. To really measure abilities of athletes, we should include a new term: better breather.

Eavesdrop on the conversations of endurance athletes and the discussion will be all about VO2 max.

What is VO2 max?

Which is the fastest way to lose body fat: doing cardio training or weight training? 

In the past I have always chosen my running shoes purely on looks. I know, it’s kind of ridiculous. But I just didn’t buy into the whole concept of having to completely cushion your feet.

There are two types of people in this world: those who run on treadmills, and those who run outside. I’m 32 and I have never run on a treadmill until a month ago when I did a fundraising run with a group of others at my gym.

I have never run on a motorway before. Probably because it’s illegal. And dangerous. But a few weeks back I saw a section of motorway that was absolutely perfect for running a 1km sprint.
 

Do you sometimes question the motives of people who choose to run through the central city rather than in the ‘burbs or around the park? Why would choose to run through an area crowded by people and traffic?