Tag: Cardio or Weights

THANK YOU FOR VISITING SWEATSCIENCE.COM!

My new Sweat Science columns are being published at www.outsideonline.com/sweatscience. Also check out my new book, THE EXPLORER'S GENE: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, published in March 2025.

- Alex Hutchinson (@sweatscience)

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‘Tis the season, so a few quick thoughts:

• Top choice: Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? A wonderful page-turner crammed with no-nonsense summaries of the latest scientific research on 111 common (and uncommon) questions about fitness, training, health and nutrition… Why yes, I did happen to write it. But seriously, for readers who are new to Sweat Science: the book came out at the end of May, and aims to cover in greater depth and detail the kinds of topics discussed here on the blog. Read reviews here, check out the table of contents (which lists all 111 questions addressed in the book) in the sneak preview on Amazon, and find links to order here.
• Blogger friends: Brian Martin of Running Technique Tips has a new e-book out called (surprise) Running Technique, which explores the theory and practice of developing good running form, along with plenty of suggested exercises and training methods. Brian is a thoughtful, balanced voice in the raging debate on what constitutes good form, so his thoughts are worth checking out. Also Jimson Lee of SpeedEndurance has a new book — well, actually, a new/old book: a revised edition of Bud Winter’s 1964 classic The Rocket Sprint Start on 1960 Olympic 100-metre champ Armin Hary’s legendary start, with Lee offering updates and comparison to the starts of the current crop of Jamaican sprinters.
• Totally unrelated non-fiction: While I’m at it, two of the best non-fiction books I read this year. Charlotte Gill‘s first-hand look at the culture of tree-planting in Canada, Eating Dirt, has been garnering award nominations left, right and centre (most recently the $40,000 B.C. Prize; also the Globe 100 best-of-the-year, and the Weston Prize). The nominations are well-deserved: captivating topic, beautifully written. And Andrew Westoll‘s new book, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, was a total surprise to me: not a topic that I expected to grab me, but it did. Pick up a copy of either of these books, and you (or your giftee!) won’t be disappointed.
• Looking ahead: Okay, these books won’t be available this Christmas. But I was excited to hear recently that Pete Larson of Runblogger and Yoni Freedhoff of Weighty Matters have inked book deals. Among the sanest and wisest voices in the blogosphere — can’t wait to read the books.
• And lastly: Did I mention Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?

THANK YOU FOR VISITING SWEATSCIENCE.COM!

My new Sweat Science columns are being published at www.outsideonline.com/sweatscience. Also check out my new book, THE EXPLORER'S GENE: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, published in March 2025.

- Alex Hutchinson (@sweatscience)

***

Today’s the day that my new book, Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise, finally hits stores. It’s my attempt to bring together what we know (not what we think!) about how the body responds to various types of exercise, training, nutrition and recovery protocols, divided in 12 chapters and 111 Q&As. You can read the full Table of Contents here, and there are links to the many places you can order from here.

The initial reactions have been encouraging. Amby Burfoot at Runner’s World gave it a really nice review (and did a brief author Q&A with me); Kirkus Reviews called it “factual, information and empowering.” There will — hopefully — be plenty more reviews and interviews over the next few weeks. [UPDATE: Here’s a review from Jimson Lee at SpeedEndurance, and a Q&A with Jonathan Goodman of the Personal Trainer Development Center.]

There are also a few upcoming events I’d like to highlight:

• I’ll be at the Ottawa Marathon fitness expo from Thursday, May 26 to Saturday, May 28, answering questions and signing copies of the book in the Canadian Running magazine booth.
• On Friday, June 3, at 7 p.m., I’ll be giving a free talk on the Science of Running at Boutique Endurance in Montreal.
• On Monday, June 6, I’ll be giving a free talk on the Science of Marathon Training at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Launch Night at the Downtown Marriott in Toronto. This one’s also free, but you need to RSVP at this page. [UPDATE: this one’s now sold out.]

Thanks to everyone who has read and supported the blog over the years!

THANK YOU FOR VISITING SWEATSCIENCE.COM!

My new Sweat Science columns are being published at www.outsideonline.com/sweatscience. Also check out my new book, THE EXPLORER'S GENE: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, published in March 2025.

- Alex Hutchinson (@sweatscience)

***

[UDPATE 2, May 20, 12:45 p.m. The winners of the three Champion Canada packages are Wendy, Morris and Amby Sony. Congratulations! The prizes were chosen by using Random.org to generate three random integers between 1 and 18, corresponding to the comment numbers. The input screenshot is here, and the winning numbers screenshot is here. If any of the winners are found to be ineligible (i.e. didn’t order the book!), a replacement will be drawn using the same method.]

[UPDATE: The contest is now closed. Many thanks to all who entered, and to Champion Canada!]

It’s exciting times here at Sweat Science: we’re now just a week away from the launch of my new book on the science of fitness and training, Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? To celebrate, Champion Canada is offering $500 worth of prizes to readers of the blog. There will be three winners, each of whom will receive the following three items:

1. Ultimate 1/4 zip jacket with Double Dry technology
2. Double Dry short-sleeve tee 3. 4-way stretch woven pant

How to win:

The rules are pretty simple:

1. You have to pre-order a copy of Cardio or Weights? (links to various online pre-order options are available here) before Friday, May 20, 2011 at noon Eastern time.

2. Leave a comment below this post telling me whether you start with cardio or weights when you work out, and why. There will be a bonus prize (a signed copy of the book) for the best response.

Many thanks to the fine folks at Champion Canada for providing the prizes. You can become a fan of Champion Canada on Facebook, see more of their apparel at their website, or check out the videos on their YouTube channel.

The fine print:

• You must be a Canadian resident to enter (sorry!).
• Prizes will be drawn randomly on Friday, May 20, and the winners will be contacted by e-mail.
• If you win, you’ll have to show me some evidence that you pre-ordered the book before the deadline — no retroactive ordering once you win!
• If you’ve already ordered the book (or picked up an advance copy directly from me at a speaking event), you’re a wonderful person and you’re more than welcome to enter.
• Prize packs will be mailed to you directly from Champion Canada once you’ve provided gender and sizing information.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING SWEATSCIENCE.COM!

My new Sweat Science columns are being published at www.outsideonline.com/sweatscience. Also check out my new book, THE EXPLORER'S GENE: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, published in March 2025.

- Alex Hutchinson (@sweatscience)

***

Just over a month until the release of Cardio or Weights, and plans are starting to come together for some talks and appearances. First order of business: Vancouver people, please spread the word! I’ll be giving a free Science of Running talk on Saturday, April 30 at 12 p.m. at the BMO Vancouver Marathon’s Brita Sports Expo (at Concord Place). The talk will be about 30 minutes, focusing on practical tips for runners based on recent research, followed by plenty of time for Q&As.

While I’m in Vancouver, I’ll also be speaking at the Forerunners clinic on Wednesday evening, and I’ll be hanging around the Canadian Running magazine booth at the marathon expo on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Please drop by to say hello when you pick up your number, and feel free to hit me up with any sports science questions (or tell me why I’m wrong or crazy or both!). If all goes well, I’ll also have some advance copies of Cardio or Weights with me (they should be back from the printers any day now).

One other note: I’ve set up a Sweat Science Facebook page (there’s also a link at the top right of this page). For simplicity, I’m going to keep the updated list of upcoming events on that page, under the Events tab. That’s also where I’ll post news about upcoming interviews and other book-related stuff, to avoid cluttering this blog up too much. For instance, I’ve posted a short video Q&A I just did with my publisher. Please check out the Facebook page (and perhaps even click “Like!”) if you have a chance — thanks!

THANK YOU FOR VISITING SWEATSCIENCE.COM!

My new Sweat Science columns are being published at www.outsideonline.com/sweatscience. Also check out my new book, THE EXPLORER'S GENE: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, published in March 2025.

- Alex Hutchinson (@sweatscience)

***

Some exciting news to announce: the book I’ve been working on for the past three years, on the science of fitness, exercise and performance, will arrive in stores on May 24 of this year! The title is Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise. Yeah, it’s a mouthful…

It’ll be published in Canada (pre-order from Amazon here) by McClelland & Stewart, and in the U.S. (pre-order from Amazon here) by HarperCollins. Japanese and Korean editions are in the works, and hopefully other international editions will follow. Note that if you click on the Canadian links, they still have old title listed, which was “Sweat Science” instead of “Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?” It’s the same book — the marketing people determined that having a question in the title would cunningly lure people into picking up the book in search of an answer.

Anyway, there will be lots more about the book in the months to come — plus details about promotions, speaking engagements, and even some giveaways! — but for starters I just wanted to get everyone to mark May 24 in the calendar. 🙂