of calories. Lots of studies have confirmed this. Most recently, for example, researchers at Dunn Nutrition Laboratories in Cambridge found that overweight people burned more calories in a step test than the leaner participants. So what about your theory? Well

hard work." But massage has had some – excuse the pun – bad press recently. Last year, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that pre-event massage had no effect on running performance, while research from Queens

pizza-absolving 774kcal in an hour, compared with, say, 493kcal when cycling. And, according to a study at Yale University School of Medicine, US, running's metabolic boost means that if you run for four hours a week, you'll melt more calories than non

. They wanted to see if they could gain some clarity on the subject. In their investigation, Paton and Hopkins looked only at studies with veteran endurance athletes. That's important. "If you look at non-exercisers, it's too easy to find training programmes

in 1651 and today we drink more than 70 million cups of coffee every day.With more than 21,000 studies on coffee's stimulant, caffeine, scientists have solved pretty much every mystery associated with the popular drink, aside from the point

to transport a heavier person.) Women, alas, burn fewer calories per mile than men, since they typically weigh less.Long runs not only burn more calories, but a number of studies show that they also help boost your post-run metabolic rate, often exponentially

– to improved athletic performance, neatly packaged and easily taken in capsule or tablet form.In the mid-1990s, brilliant claims on supplement labels prompted scientists to study the promotional claims of several popular dietary supplements on the market which

England Journal of Medicine study suggest otherwise. For two years, participants followed one of four calorie-restricted diets with varying amounts of carbs, protein and fat. After 24 months, all participants had lost about the same amount of weight

in agreement, and many have centered studies on the precise role of the brain when it comes to endurance performance and fatigue. Among the first was Tim Noakes, professor of exercise and sports at the University of Cape Town and author of Lore of Running (£19

in agreement, and many have centered studies on the precise role of the brain when it comes to endurance performance and fatigue. Among the first was Tim Noakes, professor of exercise and sports at the University of Cape Town and author of Lore of Running (£19