Beats has announced two new sets of headphones, including a new line called the Solo Buds, which are the smallest and most affordable in-ear Beats headphones. You’ll have to wait until summer to get your hands on the Solo Buds, which will be available on June 6, but the Solo 4 on-ear headphones go on sale from May 2.

The Beats Solo 4 headphones are the latest generation of the popular wireless on-ear line and offer upgrades in sound quality and battery life, with the latter now being 50 hours. They don’t offer active noise cancellation though, a feature you get on the Beats Studio Pro. The price has stayed the same at $199.99 in the US and £199.99 in the UK, and the Solo 4 headphones come in three colors: matte black, slate blue and cloud pink.

An update to the Solo line is exciting, though a new addition is even more so, and the Solo Buds look like an excellent new option for those who want more affordable in-ear headphones. They cost $79.99/£79.99, which is cheaper even than the Beats Studio Buds. Beats promises no compromises have been made on sound quality.

Along with being cheaper than other Beats headphones, the Solo Buds are also smaller and have the smallest case of any of the brand’s headphones. This comes at a cost, however, in that the case doesn’t contain a battery to charge the buds. The good news there is that the buds themselves last 18 hours on a charge, which is impressive given their small size. You can charge the buds in their case by plugging it into a phone or laptop, and five minutes of charging provides an hour of playback.

The Solo Buds are available in four colors—matte black, storm gray, arctic purple and transparent red. The Solo Buds and the Solo 4 headphones don’t have an IPX water resistance rating, but will be suitable for sports as well as lifestyle use.

The London Marathon is one of the highlights of the running calendar and whether you’re keen to follow the elite race or track friends and family making their way around the London Marathon route, it’s a great event to watch live.

This year the women’s elite race looks particularly unmissable, with 10 athletes who have run sub 2hr 20min in the field including world record holder Tigist Assefa. Two-time London Marathon winner Brigid Kosgei and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir are other notable names, as is Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who won the London Marathon in 2022.

On the men’s side the biggest name is Kenenisa Bekele, who is competing in his seventh London Marathon and aiming to win it for the first time, although at 41 he is perhaps more likely to set a masters record than win overall. The fastest men in the field based on recent results are Mosinet Geremew, Alexander Mutiso Munyao and Tamirat Tola, and last year’s runner-up Geoffrey Kamworor will also have eyes on the win.

The top Brits in the field include Becky Briggs, Alice Wright and Anya Culling in the women’s race, and Emile Cairess, Marc Scott and Callum Hawkins in the men’s. Cairess and Hawkins are both in the top five for fastest marathons by British runners ever, while Marc Scott is a debutant at the distance with impressive pedigree from shorter road and track events.

London Marathon Live Streams And TV Broadcasts

How To Watch The London Marathon In The UK

The BBC has been the broadcaster of the race since its first edition in 1981 and is offering extensive coverage of both the elite race and mass-participation event. Live coverage starts at 8.30am BST on BBC One and runs until 2pm, when it switches to BBC Two before finishing at 3pm. You can also watch the race online on iPlayer, with live streams running until 6pm. There are highlights from the race on BBC Two at 6pm.

If you’re tuning in to catch sight of someone you know, train your eyes on the live stream of the finish line, which last year was available via the red button and on iPlayer. Download the London Marathon tracker app to access predicted finish times for every runner, searchable by name or bib number.

How To Watch The London Marathon In The US, Canada And Australia

Live coverage of the London Marathon is available via FloTrack, with the broadcast starting at 4.10am ET. You can watch online and the FloTrack app, which is available on the App Store, Google Play, plus Roku and the Amazon Fire Stick. A FloTrack subscription costs USD$29.99 a month or USD$149.99 a year.

How To Watch The London Marathon From Outside Your Country Of Residence

The team at Coach stablemate TechRadar have tested VPNs extensively and recommend NordVPN, which is easy to set up and reliable. NordVPN also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it before committing to a longer plan.

London Marathon Details

The CrossFit Quarterfinals 2024 workouts have been revealed, and they’re a notable step-up from the Open tests before them. 

The four workouts were announced to athletes via email on Wednesday, April 17. Combined, they aim to test the strength, gymnastic skill and stamina of those tackling them. 

The top 25% of male and female CrossFit Open finishers have been invited to participate in this year's CrossFit Quarterfinals. This is up from the top 10% in previous years, meaning the 2024 Quarterfinals are set to be bigger than ever before. 

Here’s everything you need to know if you’re taking part. 

What Are The CrossFit Quarterfinals 2024 Workouts?

Workout One

Four rounds for max repetitions of:

• One minute of barbell snatches (135lb/61kg barbell for men, 85lb/38kg barbell for women)
• One minute of rowing (for calories)
• One minute of dumbbell box step-ups (50lb/22.5kg dumbbells for men, 35lb/15kg dumbbells for women, both use a 20in box)
• One minute of rest

Set a running clock. In the first minute complete as many snatches as you can, in the second minute rack up as many rowing calories as you can, in the third minute perform as many double dumbbell box step-ups as you can, then rest in the fourth minute.

Repeat this for three rounds. Your score is the total number of reps you are able to complete.

Revealing the workouts via an Instagram Live, CrossFit’s competition director Adrian Bozman says this first test is an “homage to Fight Gone Bad”—a classic CrossFit workout that follows a similar “max-reps in a minute” format.

“The best [athletes] are probably going to have pretty even reps across each those movements, and the rest of us are going to have one that really plays to our strength and some others that don't,” says Bozman.

Workout Two

Three rounds for time (20-minute time cap): 

• Wall ball x50 (20lb/9kg ball to a 10-foot target for men, 14lb/6kg ball to a 9-foot target for women)
• Lateral burpee box jump-over x50 (24in box for men, 20in box for women)

There’s not much to explain here. Perform 50 wall balls then 50 lateral burpee box jump-overs, and repeat this for three total rounds as fast as possible.

Your score is the time it takes you to finish all 300 reps, or the total number of reps you've completed if you hit the 20-minute time cap before reaching the finish line.

“It’s a straight-up grinder,” says Bozman. He says that, after featuring smaller chunks of burpees in the Open, the programming team wanted to “add reps, so [the sets] are more aggressive, and see who could hang on.”

Workout Three

For time (15-minute time cap):

• Handstand push-up x10
• Toes-to-bar x20
• Handstand push-up x10
• Toes-to-bar x20
• Handstand push-up x10
• Toes-to-bar x20
• Strict handstand push-up x10
• Rope climb x5 (15ft)
• Strict handstand push-up x10
• Rope climb x5 (15ft)
• Chest-to-wall handstand push-up x10
• Muscle-up x20

This is a gymnastic test, with the exercises ascending in difficulty as you progress through the workout.

There are three pairs of exercises, with the first pair (handstand push-ups and toes-to bar) performed for three rounds, the second pair (strict handstand push-ups and rope climbs) performed for two rounds, and the final pair (chest-to-wall handstand push-ups and muscle-ups) performed for one round.

Your score is the time it takes you to complete the workout, or the number of reps you complete if you don't finish it within the time cap.

“This is going to be a big separator for a lot of people,” says Bozman. “It’s a lot of gymnastic movements, so let’s see who can bust them out. [This is a] personal favorite of the set for me.”

Workout Four

As many reps as possible (AMRAP) in 10 minutes of:

• Clean and jerks x10 (135lb/61kg for men, 85lb/38kg for women)
• Rest for one minute
• Clean and jerk x10 (185lb/83kg for men, 125lb/56kg for women)
• Rest for one minute 
• Clean and jerk x10 (225lb/102kg for men, 155lb/70kg for women)
• Rest for one minute
• Max-reps of clean and jerks in remaining time (245lb/111kg for men, 165lb/75kg for women). 

For this final workout, start a rolling clock and get to work.

Begin with 10 clean and jerks at the first (and lightest) weight. Once you’ve finished these, you’ll take a mandatory one-minute rest before moving on to 10 clean and jerks at the second weight.

Take another mandatory minute of rest once these are completed, then work through 10 clean and jerks at the third weight before sitting back for another mandatory 60-second breather.

In whatever time remains of the 10 minutes after this, complete as many clean and jerks as you can at the fourth and heaviest weight (245lb/111kg for men, 165lb/75kg for women).

Your score is the number of clean and jerks you’ve completed when the clock hits 10 minutes.

“Finally, we have a strength endurance test,” says Bozman. “For those among us that are in that bottom percentile [in the CrossFit Open leaderboard] that just snuck in [to the CrossFit Quarterfinals], it’s going to be about how many you can get at that final bar.

“For the best [athletes] we’re going to see some amazing numbers there—there are going to be some real shootouts happening.”

When Are The CrossFit Quarterfinals 2024 Score Submission Deadlines?

There are two submission deadlines to remember for the 2024 CrossFit Quarterfinals. 

The scores for the first two workouts are due by 5pm PDT on Saturday, April 20 (1am BST on Sunday, April 21). 

Then the submission deadline for workouts three and four is 5pm PDT on Monday, April 22 (1am BST on Tuesday, April 23). 

The submitted scores will be reviewed before Monday, April 29, and the CrossFit Games team will publicly announce the results once the leaderboard has been finalized. 

How To Submit CrossFit Quarterfinals Scores

Scores can be submitted on the CrossFit Games website or app, as with the CrossFit Open. Workouts can be completed in any order so long as the scores are submitted before their respective deadlines. 

In an email sent to those who have qualified for the event, CrossFit encourages athletes to use a judge who has completed its 2024 Judges Course. 

The company also says that “the top 60 male and female athletes will be required to submit video recordings of all workouts should they wish to proceed to Semifinals”. 

On top of this, people who edit their submitted video “in any way risk disqualification”, and all scores must be uploaded before the submission deadlines listed above to be valid. 

What Is The CrossFit Quarterfinals?

The CrossFit Quarterfinals is the second stage of the competitive CrossFit season, after the CrossFit Open.

More than 343,500 people took part in this year’s CrossFit Open—an online fitness competition in which people across the world tackle three workouts over three weeks and submit their scores to a worldwide leaderboard. 

The top 25% of male and female athletes from the CrossFit Open earn the right to compete in the Quarterfinals, which is a second online stage taking place the following month. 

The top 40 men and women from each region (North America West, North America East, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and South America) are then invited to the CrossFit Semifinals. 

These are a series of in-person competitions spanning mid-May to early June, designed to decide which 40 men and women will compete at the CrossFit Games (the pinnacle of the sport) in Fort Worth, Texas, this August. 

If you’ve ever run any of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, you likely know that they tend to start much later than most other well-known marathons. It’s a boon for spectators and runners in that neither have to wake up as early, but it can also throw up difficulties for runners who can face quite a bit of downtime before their individual start time. 

To help, I’ve included information about when to wake up, when to head to the start village and how to adjust your fueling plans to accommodate the later Boston Marathon start time, based on my experience of running the Boston Marathon last year.

How To Fuel And Hydrate For A Late Race Start

Since I was in Wave 3 for my first Boston Marathon last year, I didn’t start the race until 10.50am, which is practically lunchtime for someone who is accustomed to running earlier in the day. Being from Houston, Texas, I am used to starting most long runs by 6am and most long-distance races by 7am.

I actually got a taste of similar logistics to the Boston Marathon the summer before I raced it, when I traveled to Ventura, California to run the Mountains2Beach Half Marathon. I didn’t give much thought to the two hours in between when I left my hotel to board a bus to the start and when the race actually started, eating my typical oatmeal breakfast before I left and not packing anything else other than my mid-race energy gels. The race start also ended up being delayed by half an hour, and I was feeling hungry again by the time the gun went off. This was not ideal, and I paid the price for improper pre-race fueling, bonking hard by the halfway point of the race.

Luckily, even though that was “only” a half marathon, it was a reality check for what to expect in Boston, and I knew to pack snacks like graham crackers, stroopwafels and granola bars for the bus ride and start village wait. If you’re on Instagram, I recommend following registered sports dietitians like Starla Garcia and Meghann Featherstun, who will post race-morning fueling and hydration suggestions based on your Boston start time, also noting when you should plan to stop eating and hydrating before your start time.

For help picking, consult this guide to the best running gels.

Taking place in springtime in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the Paris Marathon is one of the world’s best marathons with a route that takes runners past many recognizable sights including the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Palais Garnier, the Château de Vincennes and the Eiffel Tower. The race starts and finishes close to the Arc de Triomphe and sets off on the magnificent Avenue des Champs Elysées. It also takes runners through the two huge parks at the east and west extremities of the city, and along the north bank of the river Seine. 

One of the best things about the Paris Marathon is that there is no ballot and there are lots of places. Around 54,000 runners started the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon in 2024 and similar numbers are expected in 2025. But it’s worth securing your place sooner rather than later as the race tends to sell out well before the closing date and you’ll pay less if you register early. 

It’s a great first marathon (it was my first, in 2010)—usually around a third of the runners are first-timers—and one worth traveling to—around a third are international entrants. As well as the incredible atmosphere and stunning architecture rolling past, my Paris Marathon highlights included firefighters spraying hoses over the sweaty runners, the adrenaline rush of thundering through tunnels, the cool tranquil stretches in the Bois de Vincennes and the enthusiastic crowds shouting “Allez Camilla!” just when I needed it most. I still regret not going for the wine and cheese on offer around the 35km marker, though.

No one really wants to hear this, but running shoes are terrible for the environment. One of the biggest reasons why is that they’re difficult—and therefore uneconomical—to recycle, so they’re either sent to landfill or incinerated.

A few brands have made strides to improve this situation and one of the main players is Asics, which began to print the carbon footprint of its shoes on insoles last summer.

Today, Asics announces the Asics Nimbus Mirai, a performance running shoe designed to be returned and recycled. It goes on sale on April 12 in limited quantities in limited markets, to better manage the untested process of taking the shoes back to be recycled. The shoes cost $180 in the US, £180 in the UK and €200 in France and the Netherlands, making it more expensive in the US (and as expensive in the UK) than the popular Asics Nimbus 26 cushioned shoe.

What Makes This Shoe Different?

The development that enhances the ability of the shoe to be recycled is a new one-piece upper and glue that melts away at high temperatures, leaving the material of the upper unaffected and able to be recycled. 

In 2021, Coach spoke to Dr Mark Sumner—a lecturer at the University of Leeds School of Design who specializes in sustainability—about recycling running shoes and he highlighted the elements of running shoes that are particularly problematic. “What makes it hard to recycle shoes is you've typically got a complex mixture of different materials,” he says, and that’s before you get to the bonding methods. “This makes it difficult to deconstruct, to extract those individual materials to try and work out how you can recycle them.”

Asics’ tests show that 87% of the upper can be turned into usable polyester material. It intends to collect returned Mirais then share with its recycling partner TerraCycle, which acts as a broker, moving them on to recycling centers.

It’s a first step, but Rohan van der Zwet, senior product marketing manager for Asics EMEA, said that the aim is to be able to say, “all our shoes can or should return because we can repurpose most parts”. While he couldn’t say when Asics would achieve that, his horizon was a few years.

What’s It Like To Run In?

Asics isn’t the first brand to launch a more recyclable shoe, or one that is designed to be returned, but we haven’t tested a more sustainable shoe that can match the performance of the best running shoes—that’s been the upshot of our testing of the On CloudNeo and AllBirds Tree Dasher 2.

That looks to be the case again here, although Asics is confident enough of its performance that it’s placed the Mirai in its popular Nimbus line of cushioned shoes. 

“In terms of pure shock absorption technology, the current Nimbus [26] would win,” says Van der Zwet, “but this is still up there. That’s why we were able to give it the Nimbus name because it’s still a comfortable shoe to run in.”

Where Can You Buy The Asics Nimbus Mirai?

In the US, the Mirai will be available in Asics stores, online from Asics as well as in the following specialty stores:

• A Runner's Mind, CA 
• Athletic Annex, IN 
• Big Red Running, CO 
• Charm City Run, MD 
• Farley Enterprises, VA 
• Fleet Feet Rochester, NY 
• Gazelle Sports, MI 
• Mill City Running, MN 
• Naperville Running Co, IL 
• Palmetto Running Company, SC 
• Playmakers, MI 
• Potomac River Running, VA 
• Road Runner Sports Shop, NJ 
• Running Logistics LLC 
• Skinny Raven Sports, AK 
• Sope Creek Enterprises, GA 
• The Exchange Running, TN 
• Three Amigos Running Co.

In Europe the shoe will only be available in three Asics stores and won’t be sold online.

• Paris, France 
• Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• London (Oxford Street), UK

It’s a big day for Nike Pegasus fans. Along with the announcement of the latest version of the regular shoe, the Nike Pegasus 41, the Nike Pegasus Premium has been revealed. This is an all-new addition to the Pegasus line with a different midsole set-up to the Pegasus 41 that will be available in spring 2025.

The most eye-catching part of that midsole is the full-length, visible Air Zoom layer. Nike has used Air Zoom units in many versions of the standard Pegasus, including the Pegasus 41, but these have been small, flat pods concealed in the midsole. New tech has allowed the brand to create the sculpted Air Zoom layer in the Pegasus Premium, which curves in line with the foot.

There’s also a layer of Nike’s best foam in the midsole, the springy ZoomX used in the Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly racing shoes, plus some ReactX foam at the heel. The combination of the Air Zoom layer and two foams in the midsole should create a bouncy ride.

In comparison, the new Nike Pegasus 41 has a full ReactX foam midsole that contains a couple of Air Zoom pods, one under the heel and one under the forefoot. There’s no ZoomX foam in the Pegasus 41, and the Pegasus Premium will probably be the lighter shoe, too.

The Nike Pegasus Premium is not to be confused with the Premium version of the current Pegasus, which is very similar to the standard Nike Pegasus 40, just with exclusive upper designs that cost a little more.

The combination of materials and inclusion of ZoomX will have some, including myself, hoping that the Pegasus Premium might act as a long-awaited successor to the popular Nike Pegasus Turbo, which was surprisingly discontinued after just two generations. 

Nike did release the Pegasus Turbo Next Nature two years ago, but this used recycled ZoomX and didn’t match the ride of the original, which was one of the most versatile and enjoyable daily trainers at the time. If the Pegasus Premium can reproduce that, it could be one of the best running shoes available.

The upgrades in the midsole of the Pegasus Premium lead me to believe that it will cost more than the Pegasus 41, but Nike is yet to give the price for either of the new shoes, nor an exact release date. The Nike Pegasus Premium is set to launch in spring 2025, while the Pegasus 41 will come out in June.

The Nike Pegasus 41 is coming this June, and it looks to be one of the most significant updates to the popular shoe line in years, with a completely redesigned midsole. Nike is also launching a new version of the shoe—the Nike Pegasus Premium—to give runners more options than ever within the Pegasus franchise.

Nike has used its React foam as the main material in the midsole for the last few versions of the Pegasus, but is updating this to ReactX with the Pegasus 41. ReactX is softer and delivers 13% more energy return than standard React, and is also more environmentally friendly, reducing the carbon footprint of a pair of midsoles by 41%.

The Nike InfinityRN 4 was the first shoe to use ReactX foam in its midsole when it came out last year and while I found the new foam softer and bouncier, the InfinityRN 4 was a heavy shoe and I wasn’t a big fan overall. 

I’m hoping that the ReactX foam is integrated into the Pegasus without making the 41 substantially heavier than the Nike Pegasus 40. Along with the ReactX foam the Pegasus 41 has two Air Zoom units in the midsole, one under the heel and one under the forefoot, which should help keep the weight down and add more pop to the ride. 

Nike has also updated the upper on the Pegasus 41, which is designed to be lighter, more breathable and more comfortable than the one of the Pegasus 40, with an internal band wrapping around the midfoot to ensure a secure fit.

There is also an EasyOn version of the Pegasus 41, and a winter version that has a waterproof upper with a Gore-Tex liner. Nike is also launching the Pegasus Trail 5, and the Pegasus Premium, which uses a mix of Air Zoom, ReactX and ZoomX materials in its midsole.

The price of the Nike Pegasus 41 is still to be confirmed, along with an exact release date beyond the month of June.

The Nike Alphafly is one of the best carbon plate running shoes and probably the hardest one to get hold of. It has previously been available on two different occasions in the UK so far, but in limited quantities that sold out in hours.

If you missed out, or just fancy picking up another pair, this is your pre-spring marathon chance. The yellow Volt colorway went on sale again at 8am BST on Thursday April 11 on the Nike UK website.

It’s not going to be a cheap purchase—the Alphafly 3 is one of the most expensive racing shoes ever, costing £284.99, but it does deliver a high level of performance. I’ve run 125km in the shoe now and rate it as the best Alphafly yet, with a bouncy, fast ride that’s great for any distance. My Nike Alphafly 3 review goes into more detail. This is also likely to be your last chance to buy the Alphafly 3 before the London Marathon, if you’re hoping to have it on your feet for that.

The Alphafly 3 is certainly great, but it’s not actually my favorite carbon racing shoe right now. I’ve tested pretty much all of the racers released by major brands in recent years and my top pick is the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris—it costs £220 and is in stock in most sizes on the Asics website. 

Having run more than 100km in both the Alphafly 3 and Metaspeed Sky Paris, it’s the latter I’m planning on lacing up for the London Marathon. If you don’t want to wait for Thursday, or miss out again on the Alphafly 3, the Asics super-shoe is a strong alternative.

As you gain training experience, it’s only natural to experiment with more advanced muscle-building techniques and challenging variations. But recently performance coach Bobby Rich, who trains David and Victoria Beckham, posted a reminder that even those at the top of their game aren’t above a straightforward dumbbell session.

“I had twenty minutes max for a simple little press and pull upper body”, his Instagram Reel reads. 

So he picked three strength-boosting staples. The raw ingredients are the dumbbell bench press, seated dumbbell shoulder press and one-arm dumbbell row. He performed each dumbbell exercise for four sets of 10 reps, resting for 60 seconds between each set, then hit the showers. 

With just three moves, Rich recruits the entire upper body and covers three of the body’s fundamental movement patterns, building functional strength.

He plumps for a pushing movement in the bench press, a pulling movement in the dumbbell row and a pressing exercise in the shoulder press.

The bench press will work your chest muscles, front delt and triceps, the row hits the back muscles as well as your biceps, and the shoulder press targets the medial delt (one of the three delt muscles in your shoulder) while also engaging the front delt, upper pec and triceps.

The sum of these parts is a time-savvy session that delivers a comprehensive pump for your top half, as well as the strength and muscle gains you’d expect from a spot of weight training.

So next time you’re in a rush, grab a couple of dumbbells and get to work. Got a little more time to play with? Try this seven-move dumbbell upper-body workout.

The Paris Marathon is big. With ​​52,078 starters in 2023 it was bigger than the London Marathon and Chicago Marathon. If you’re turning up to cheer on a friend or loved one from the sidelines, it helps to know when they’re approaching the area where you’re standing, or if you’ve missed them and need to hightail it to the next viewing spot.

To do that, your best bet is to use live tracking feature of the Paris Marathon app, which is available to download on iOS and Android. It’s also useful for people cheering on from afar, who want to see how their runner is progressing. 

Here’s everything you need to know to successfully track a runner at the Paris Marathon.

 The Nike Alphafly 3 originally launched in early January when a white ‘proto’ colorway of the shoe sold out in rapid fashion. It’s since been made available in a yellow Volt colorway in other parts of the world, where it promptly sold out in hours again, so you’ll need to move fast to grab the shoe when the Volt color goes on sale in the US today.

It’s no surprise that the shoe is selling out so fast, despite its $285 price. It’s one of the best carbon plate running shoes and was used by Kelvin Kiptum to set the marathon world record last year at the Chicago Marathon. If you’re lining up a PR attempt at the upcoming Boston Marathon or London Marathon, this might well be your last chance to get the shoe in time.

To do so you’ll need to be a Nike member—it’s free and easy to sign up—and then be ready to hit buy when the shoe goes on sale. The Nike website says this will be at 3pm GMT+1 (UTC), which is quite a confusing way to give the time on the US site, so here’s the time the shoe will be on sale in each US time zone:

• GMT+1 (UTC): 3pm
• ET: 10am
• CT: 9am
• MT: 8am
• PT: 7am
• AKDT: 6am
• HST: 4am

Good luck getting hold of the shoe, but if you miss out then don’t despair, I’ve tested almost all of the best carbon plate racers available and right now there is one I prefer to the Alphafly 3, which is the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris. There are no time concerns with the Asics either, it’s on sale right now and cheaper than the Alphafly 3 at $250. 

David Beckham has shared a look at how he trains his abs with an Instagram video which shows him working through a set of hanging knee raises, under strict instruction from trainer Bobby Rich.

The exercise’s name doubles as a form guide: hang from a pull-up bar, then use your core muscles to raise both knees so your thighs pass beyond parallel with the floor. 

In the video, Rich can be heard giving the technique cue “knees up to your chest”, although Becks’ caption suggests he had more pressing matters on his mind—namely, the state of his headline-grabbing ’do. If I had hair that nice that would be my primary concern, too.

Benefits Of Hanging Abs Exercises 

Performing abs exercises on a pull-up bar is great for breaking away from the monotony core training can entail—planks, crunch variations, you know the drill. Your mid-body muscles are in for a real test too.

“You’re definitely focused on your rectus abdominis because you’re going into a flexion, but instead of flexion from the top like with a crunch you’re flexing from the bottom,” says Wendy Batts, regional master trainer for the National Academy of Sports Medicine. 

However, she warns this move isn’t for beginners. Not only do you have to be able to control your body through spinal flexion, but it also requires you to hold your bodyweight. And that’s not all.

To hit the intended range of motion, you need to be able to hang with a neutral spine. If your lower back arches (an anterior pelvic tilt), you have to move your spine to neutral before moving to flexion, and that extra movement is called compensation.

“If you can do it without compensation then I tell people it’s a great exercise,” she explains. 

“But you really need to make sure you have good lat extensibility, because if you don’t and you’re hanging you’re going to be in an anterior tilt. 

“The lower back will arch, and during this exercise you’re trying to have it do the opposite. This means you’re really not going to get full activation [of the muscles] because you have to go through a compensation first.”

If you struggle with this exercise, try starting with a knee-up, or a reverse crunch to knee-up as demonstrated below (rotation optional). 

However, if you have the strength and stability needed to do this exercise properly, Batts says it can be a great tool for developing core strength. 

“There are a lot of different variations to make it harder; sometimes one knee up at a time so you have to hang longer, or there are different rotational movements while doing it. 

“I have our athletes do it where they’ll raise their knees, kick their legs out, hold this position, and then come down. 

“There are a lot of variations to this one exercise that you can progress someone to. You just want to make sure they’re doing it correctly first, then you can have a ton of fun with it.”

Garmin has rolled out a free software update to many of its watches, including the Garmin Fenix 7 and Epix 2.

The headline new feature is automatic transitions during multisport activities such as triathlons and duathlons. When using these modes, compatible Garmins will sense when you transition between swimming, cycling and running, and automatically record the transition and switch your data screen to the correct sport mode.

This is a feature that is already available on Wahoo and Apple sports watches, and it means you won’t have to remember to hit any buttons during your transition. If you’re worried that the watch might transition incorrectly, there are methods to undo it, like long-pressing the lap button, and you can also turn the feature off and manually transition.

Another feature in the update is a new database of over 10,000 running tracks being added to watches, which will be used when you select track mode for your runs. The database means you won’t have to calibrate the watch by running a few laps to get accurate distance data during your run—the watch will already know you’re at a track. 

I use track mode regularly on my Garmin and the highly-accurate distance data makes it easier to pace long reps. Not having to calibrate a new track will be a small but useful quality-of-life improvement.

As will another new feature—Lap Undo. If you hit the lap button by mistake during an activity you have eight seconds to undo it by pressing the down button (bottom left). This only works for manual laps for now, you can’t undo automatic laps or use the feature when following a structured workout on the watch.

Other new features included in the update are a jump rope activity mode, and Garmin’s sleep coach, which recommends the amount of sleep you need that day based on sleep history and your activity levels. The watch will only recommend between seven and nine hours of sleep, so it’s not going to suggest wild changes to your routine, but it might be a useful prompt to sleep more when training a lot.

Which Garmin Devices Receive This Update?

The following devices receive all of the new software features detailed above:

• Garmin Fenix 7
• Garmin Fenix 7 Pro
• Garmin Epix 2
• Garmin Epix Pro
• Garmin Enduro 2
• Garmin Forerunner 255, 265, 955 and 965
• Garmin Tactix 7
• Garmin Tactix 7 AMOLED
• Garmin Marq 2
• Garmin Quatix 7
• Garmin Quatix 7 Pro
• Garmin D2 Mach 1
• Garmin D2 Mach 1 Pro

The Garmin Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5 already have the sleep coach feature, and gains the jump rope activity. 

The Garmin Lily 2 has the jump rope activity added. 

The new Garmin Forerunner 165 will soon receive all the updates, bar the multisport automatic transition feature.

How To Download The New Software 

These features have been available as part of Garmin’s public beta testing program, but will now be rolling out across all compatible watches automatically. 

Software updates automatically when your device connects to the Garmin Connect app, but this may not happen immediately. The Garmin website states that it may take a few days.

The On Cloudmonster Hyper has arrived and it looks like a shoe to get excited about, with a dual-density midsole that contains a thick wedge of On’s Peba-based Helion HF foam as well as the brand’s signature CloudTec pods.

On has billed it as the ultimate daily trainer, combining a high level of comfort and protection for your legs during high mileage weeks, while also having enough pop for faster runs thanks to the bouncy Helion HF in the midsole.

I wasn’t all that enamored of the On Cloudmonster 2, but the Cloudmonster Hyper has already impressed me more after just one run, and its versatility will make it one of the best On running shoes for those seeking cushioning and a bit of speed.

The price is very high though, with the Cloudmonster Hyper costing $219.99 in the US and £210 in the UK. That’s very expensive for a daily trainer, and a high price even for a super-trainer that uses the foam from On’s carbon plate running shoe, the On Cloudboom Echo 3.

For my first run in the On Cloudmonster Hyper I took it out for an easy hour the day after a half marathon race, so I was on tired legs. The shoe did feel comfortable and I was surprised at the pace I was running at for an easy effort level and low heart rate, and the midsole certainly has more bounce than On’s other cushioned shoes, like the Cloudeclipse and Cloudmonster 2.

I’m not sure the layer of Cloudtec pods on the bottom add much though. They’re heavier than the Helion HF foam and firmer, and the way the pods and the rubber on the bottom of them hit the ground creates a ‘slappy’ feel at times.

This firmer layer will help make the shoe more stable, which is needed with Peba-based foams, especially as the Cloudmonster Hyper doesn’t have the carbon plate of the Cloudboom Echo 3 to stabilize it. Removing this stiff plate makes it more comfortable and suitable for daily training, although you lose the propulsive boost of a plate.

I picked up the pace for short periods on my run in the shoe and you do get more bounce from the midsole when you do so, but I’m not convinced it will be a great option for faster training sessions, partly because it’s pretty heavy at 9.5oz/270g. I’ll do some fast runs in it for our full review to check on that though.

My first impressions of the shoe are that it should be a great daily trainer for high mileage runners, who also have a faster shoe in their running shoe rotation for sessions. The price is prohibitively high, however, especially when there are excellent options available for less, like the Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 if you are happy to train in a nylon-plated shoe, or the Hoka Mach 6 and New Balance Rebel v4 if you’d rather go plateless. 

Even the Asics Superblast is cheaper, and it's lighter and that has so far set the gold standard for high-stack super-trainers without a plate. The On Cloudmonster Hyper will have to really impress over further testing to convince me it’s worth the money.

Most of the best carbon plate running shoes stick to a similar design, so when one bucks the trend it’s always an interesting development. The Altra Vanish Carbon 2 launches on March 27, 2024 and offers runners who prefer a zero-drop shoe a high-performance option for race day.

The same was true of the Altra Vanish Carbon, but I didn’t find that it delivered the propulsive speed required from a top super-shoe. Altra has made significant updates to the Vanish Carbon 2 to improve its performance, while retaining the key features of a more naturally foot-shaped toe box and a zero-drop stack height that’s the same at the heel and forefoot.

The Vanish Carbon 2 has a full-length carbon plate, rather than just the half plate used in the original. The new shoe also has more foam in the midsole, with the stack height being increased from 33mm to 36mm to create a more comfortable and bouncy ride.

The foam used has also been updated. It’s still called EGO PRO, but it’s now lighter and more pliable, according to Altra. I found the original shoe lacked bounce compared with others, so hopefully the midsole updates deliver that springy feel you want on race day.

As with the Vanish Carbon, the new shoe has a long forefoot rocker, which I found made it feel like a low-drop rather than a zero-drop shoe because of the way it rolls you onto your toes. The Vanish Carbon 2 has a wider upper that allows your toes to splay on the run, as opposed to the more tapered toe boxes you get with most running shoes that cause some runners discomfort.

One thing yet to be confirmed about the new shoe is whether Altra has changed the outsole material. The hardened EVA used on the original wore down quickly and compromised its durability, so hopefully a more hardy outsole rubber is in place with the Vanish Carbon 2.

It should come as no surprise that elite athletes run a lot of miles when marathon training. Even so, actually hearing about what they do is still pretty mind-boggling, both in terms of the distance run and the amount of hard running they log each week.

Earlier this year I attended the launch of the Under Armour Infinite Elite running shoe, where the 2022 New York City Marathon winner Sharon Lokedi spoke about her training. Lokedi is currently preparing for the Boston Marathon, and based on the below it’s fair to say that she is putting the work in to succeed at Boston.

Lokedi said she typically runs 200-220km (124-137 miles) a week, doing doubles (two runs a day) on most days. If that amount wasn’t impressive enough by itself, Lokedi is doing most of her running at altitude in Kaptagat, Kenya or Flagstaff, Arizona, and logging several hard workouts each week as part of her training.

Here’s what a typical training week looks like for Lokedi. There are some runs where Lokedi just described them as a double, so presumably they’re a relatively short and easy run in the afternoon, after a harder or longer morning run.

Monday: Hill training—either reps or a hilly route (20-24km). Double in the afternoon (10-14km)

Tuesday: Track session (12-15km). Double in the afternoon.

Wednesday: Recovery run (20-24km). Double in the afternoon.

Thursday: Long run (alternating 35-40km one week, 30km the week after). 

Friday: Recovery run (20-24km). Double in the afternoon.

Saturday: Tempo or Fartlek sessions (20km). Double in the afternoon.

Sunday: Rest day or 25-30km.

It’s obviously very important to remember when looking at a packed schedule like this that Lokedi is an elite athlete with plenty of time to rest around her running, and a full team on hand to help her with her recovery and nutrition, plus other runners to do her sessions with. This is not something amateurs enjoy, and no-one is suggesting you go and try and copy Lokedi’s training for Boston (although you should pay heed to her coach’s Boston Marathon training tip). 

Lokedi says her nutrition strategy involves protein and carbs in every meal, and lots of snacks. There aren’t any real restrictions to her diet—if the body feels it needs it then just eat it. Or as her coach Stephen Haas put it: “there are no cheat meals when you’re running that much.”

Hugh Jackman has been preparing to resume his role of clawed crusader Wolverine for Deadpool 3 and his gym sessions were no joke.

The Australian actor recently shared a snippet of his training, showing him tackling what looks like a biceps curl mechanical drop set, all while receiving barked orders from his trainer’s dog Andy.

In the clip, Jackman hits a set of standing EZ-bar curls before leaning over and immediately getting to work on a series of bent-over EZ-bar curls using the same weight. 

But what does this achieve? By getting him to switch his body position, Jackman’s trainer Beth Lewis changes the point of the movement at which his biceps are under the most load.

A standard biceps curl will feel most difficult as your forearms pass the point of being parallel with the ground, whereas a bent-over biceps curl is most challenging at the top of the rep. This shifts the stimulus of the move by hitting the biceps from a different angle, delivering a colossal pump.

And the results are on display for all to see: Jackman’s arms look huge. 

Deadpool 3 is released on July 26 this year and it will be Jackman’s first outing as Wolverine since 2017’s Logan. 

Fans are also excited to see him star alongside a similarly-jacked Ryan Reynolds, with the duo having stoked a fake feud for the last 15 years. 

Despite being friends, the pair have taken light-hearted pot-shots at one another since meeting on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009. Now they’re set to reconvene in the MCU, audiences are expecting big things (and they’re not talking about Jackman’s biceps). 

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr paced her way through CrossFit Open workout 24.3 to progress to the next stage of the CrossFit Games season.

The six-time champ pulled out of the 24.3 live announcement showdown with America’s fittest woman Arielle Loewen on Thursday, March 14, because of a wrist injury. But she was able to post a score before the submission deadline the following Monday to qualify for the quarterfinals next month. 

She completed the workout alongside popular CrossFit YouTuber Craig Richey, who posted a video of the pair throwing down on his channel. 

“Recently she [Toomey-Orr] has been dealing with a wrist injury and didn’t want to make it any worse,” says Richey. 

“So she made the executive decision with Shane [Orr, her husband and coach] for this workout to only get two rounds of the bar muscle-ups, make sure she’s safely in the top 25% and call it a day.”

Toomey-Orr raced through the first five rounds in approximately three minutes, then looked casual as she completed two rounds of seven thrusters and seven bar muscle-ups. 

While the CrossFit Open leaderboard is yet to be confirmed, Toomey-Orr’s 24.3 score of 128 reps currently puts her in 11,188th for the workout. 

This follows coming in 61st place for the 24.1 workout test one and 10th place for workout 24.2, resulting in a 2,607th placed finish in the CrossFit Open overall.

The top 25% of individual athletes in each region will be invited to compete in the quarterfinals, up from the top 10% in recent years. Toomey-Orr’s result puts her in the 98th percentile (or top 2%) of athletes worldwide, easily securing her spot. 

The quarterfinals are the second stage of the CrossFit Games season. Like the Open, it’s an online competition, but this time it’s to decide which athletes will compete in the semifinals, the first in-person stage of the season. The top 40 male and the top 40 female performers will proceed to the finals. 

While the workouts are yet to be revealed, quarterfinal registration begins on April 1, so if you finished in the top 25% in the Open you shouldn’t have long to wait for an invite to drop into your inbox. 

The quarterfinals take place between April 17 and April 22, with athletes facing five workouts in prior years. 

It doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars to create an excellent home spinning setup, especially if you pick up a bargain like this deal on the Echelon Smart Connect Bike, which has been reduced by more than 50% in the Amazon Big Spring Sale.

That brings the price of the bike down from $500 to just $239.99, and while you do have to factor in the cost of an ongoing subscription to the Echelon app to unlock guided spinning classes ($39.99 a month, or $399.99 a year), it’s still a great value option compared with the likes of Peloton.

The Echelon Smart Connect Bike doesn’t have a built-in screen, but you can use the app to watch classes on your own smartphone or tablet using the mount on the handlebars. It’s a compact bike that runs quietly, so will work for small spaces, and impressively sturdy and stable for a cheaper option.

While it doesn’t match the user experience of the best spin bikes which cost north of $1,000, the Echelon Smart Connect Bike is a great home training option and this is a major saving that’s worth grabbing if you’re keen to get fit at home.

And while we haven’t reviewed this model, we’ve tested two other exercise bikes and three other home cardio machines from Echelon so can vouch for the brand.

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has arrived and it features some great Garmin deals on the best sports watches. I’ve been testing and reviewing Garmins for several years and have tried all of the watches on sale, and the standout pick for me is the Garmin Forerunner 255.

There are two sizes of the watch and two models—one with music and one without—and all of them are discounted in the US. The top model in the range is the Garmin Forerunner 255 Music (or smaller 255S Music), which has music storage as an extra feature that will be worth having for anyone who owns wireless headphones but doesn’t like to run with their phone.

Although an older watch, the Garmin Forerunner 255 Music remains one of the best value options available, especially at the reduced price of $299.99 (or $249.99, if you don’t need the music feature). It’s a full multisport watch for runners and triathletes with accurate dual-band GPS tracking, and offers useful training insights to help you improve.

The newer Garmin Forerunner 265 has an AMOLED screen plus Garmin’s training readiness feature, but it’s a lot more expensive (you can read more about the differences in my Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Garmin Forerunner 255 comparison). The recently-released Garmin Forerunner 165 is around the same price as the Forerunner 255 and has an AMOLED screen, but doesn’t have a multisport mode or dual-band GPS tracking.

The Polar Grit X2 Pro has been unveiled, and the updates Polar has made should see it compete with the best sports watches on the market. The AMOLED watch has a durable design tested to military standards and is packed full of the best features Polar has to offer.

These features include topographical maps with turn-by-turn directions from Komoot (the ability to sync with Strava routes is also on the way), dual-band GPS tracking with a new signal-boosting antenna under the watch’s bezel, and a handy built-in flashlight.

Many of these features were introduced on the Polar Vantage V3, which came out in late 2023, but the Grit X2 Pro sets itself apart with some unique features such as vertical speed and average ascent speed—useful stats for those running and hiking in the mountains.

The Grit X2 Pro comes preloaded with maps for Europe and the US, with other regions available to download for free, and it will show a breadcrumb trail of your route during activities, a useful feature for retracing your steps that has been strangely absent since Polar first launched maps on the Vantage V3.

The 1.39in AMOLED touchscreen is the same dimensions as the display on the Vantage V3, while using sapphire crystal to be more durable than the Vantage’s gorilla glass display. It will be a major upgrade for the Grit X2 Pro and the battery life on the watch is still strong despite the new display. The Grit X2 Pro will last up to 10 days in watch mode and offers 43 hours of activity tracking in its performance mode using dual-band GPS, with an eco training mode extending the battery life to 140 hours.

There is also a built-in compass on the watch and an array of sensors to track things like your heart rate and blood oxygen saturation. The Grit X2 Pro can also take an ECG (though it’s not medically certified) and measure your skin temperature.

The Polar Grit X2 Pro will be available to pre-order on the Polar US and Polar UK websites from today until Tuesday, April 2, with the watch then going on general sale on Wednesday, April 3. 

The standard steel version of the watch comes in black or gray and costs $749.90/£649, while the titanium Polar Grit X2 Pro Titan is $869.90/£749. 

CrossFit Open workout 24.3 is upon us, and thrusters are making a dreaded, if expected, comeback for the competition’s final week. The workout was revealed by Jocko Willink, a retired Navy SEAL turned author, podcaster and entrepreneur, during an announcement show on the CrossFit Games YouTube channel. 

After the unveiling, CrossFit Games athletes Arielle Loewen, Roman Khrennikov, Jay Crouch and Sydney Wells became among the first to tackle the third CrossFit Open test. Aside from Loewen, all of the contenders were drafted in at the last minute after Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr’s withdrawal due to a wrist injury. The six-time champ still plans to complete the workout over the weekend and compete in the 2024 CrossFit season. 

Read on to find out how to do CrossFit Open workout 24.3, and how to get a great score with top tips and tricks from PZL Programming head CrossFit coach Alex Conroy. 

What is CrossFit Open workout 24.3?

Five rounds for time of: 

• Thruster x 10 (95lb/43kg for men, 65lb/29kg for women)
• Chest-to-bar pull-up x 10

One minute of rest, then five rounds for time of: 

• Thruster x 7 (135lb/61kg for men, 95lb/43kg for women) 
• Bar muscle-up x 7

Compared with the rest of the 2024 CrossFit Open, this workout is far from accessible. You will tackle five rounds of 10 thrusters and 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups, take a mandatory minute of rest, then move on to five rounds of seven thrusters at a heavier weight and seven bar muscle-ups. 

There is a 15-minute time cap. The time it takes you to complete the first section will be used as your tie-break score if you don't finish the workout and reach the same number of reps as another athlete.

How to do CrossFit Open workout 24.3 scaled

Five rounds for time of: 

• Thruster x 10 (65lb/29kg for men, 45lb/20kg for women)
• Jumping chest-to-bar pull-up x 10

One minute of rest, then five rounds for time of: 

• Thruster x 7 (95lb/43kg for men, 65lb/29kg for women)
• Chin-over-bar pull-up x 7

The scaled version of CrossFit Open workout 24.3 uses the same format as the RX version. The only differences are that you will use lighter barbell weights for the thrusters, swap chest-to-bar pull-ups for jumping chest-to-bar pull-ups, and substitute bar muscle-ups for chin-over-bar pull-ups. 

For the foundations version of the workout, everyone will perform the first round of thrusters with a stick. Men will then use a 45lb/20kg barbell for the second round, and women will use a 35lb/15kg barbell. The chest-to-bar pull-ups are substituted for a bent-over row using a barbell weighing 45lb/20kg for men and 35lb/15kg for women. Then, the bar muscle-ups are exchanged for push-ups. 

For all weights in the foundations division, CrossFit states: "The load is a suggested starting point. If you are completing all the tests in the foundations division, you are free to decrease or increase the load as your skill level allows."

CrossFit Open workout 24.3 movement standards

This is a challenging workout—don’t make it more difficult by racking up costly no-reps. After all, no one needs more thrusters in their life. Take a look at CrossFit’s movement standards below to make sure you’re doing each exercise correctly, across the RX and scaled divisions. Then you can walk away from 24.3 with a happy judge and, more importantly, your best possible score. 

Thruster

• The crease of your hip must pass below the top of your knee in the bottom of the squat position. 
• Your hips, knees and arms must be fully extended at the top of the rep. This is the point where the rep is credited. 
• Each round must start with the barbell on the floor. You are allowed to squat clean the first rep to save time, but this is not a requirement. 
• You cannot re-bend the knee between the squat and press part of the movement. In practice, this means you can’t perform a front squat followed by any type of jerk or push press. 

Chest-to-bar pull-up

• All grip types are allowed. 
• You must start each rep with your arms fully extended and your feet not touching the floor. 
• Your chest must make contact with the bar “at or below the collarbone” for a rep to count.
• You can use strict, kipping or butterfly pull-up variations. 

Bar muscle-up

• Each rep must begin with your arms fully extended and your feet off the floor. 
• Your feet must not rise above the pull-up bar during the kipping portion of the movement.
• Any part of your arm other than your hands touching the pull-up bar will result in a no-rep. You are also not allowed to remove your hands and rest on your torso at the top of the rep.
• The rep is credited when you lock out your arms and your shoulders are directly over, or slightly in front of, the pull-up bar. 

Jumping chest-to-bar pull-up

• The pull-up bar needs to be at least six inches above the top of your head when you are standing upright. 
• Weight plates, boxes and other stable surfaces may be used to get closer to the pull-up bar where needed, as long as the top of your head remains more than six inches away when standing upright on the surface. 
• Both arms must be fully extended at the bottom of each rep. 
• The rep will count when your chest touches the pull-up bar at or below the collarbone.

Chin-over-bar pull-up

• Start with your arms fully extended and your feet off the floor. 
• A rep is credited when your chin is above the pull-up bar. 
• No-reps may be awarded for starting a rep with bent arms or “not breaking the horizontal plane of the pull-up bar with the chin”.

How to get a great score according to a CrossFit coach

To help you get the best possible score in CrossFit Open workout 24.3, we asked PZL Programming head coach Alex Conroy for his top tips on tackling this test.  He says there are two types of people who will attempt the RX version of this workout: those comfortable with the gymnastic elements and those not so comfortable with the gymnastics elements— and each type should take a different approach.

Type One: Comfortable With Gymnastics

• Try to keep the first round of thrusters unbroken. Either go for speed and pull that bar down if you know you can, or pause at the top, take a breath, then go again.
• Once you get to the rig, go for unbroken chest-to-bar pull-ups if these are a strength for you. But remember, there are a lot of bar muscle-ups to come later on, so break these up if that means your muscle-ups will hold together better.
• There is nothing wrong with pacing the first section—it's definitely a trap and you can easily get sucked into racing it before falling apart in the second section.
• Once you get to the minute of rest, chalk-up, stand tall and get your lungs open to try and settle your breathing.
• Approach the second round of thrusters with respect, breaking them into smaller sets if needed.
• The jump up to the rig for the bar muscle-ups isn't going to feel great—your quads will be pumped and your grip is going to be toast. Focus on being efficient and using your hips. Don’t go to failure here.

Type Two: Not So Comfortable With Gymnastics

• This is a detour away from the accessibility of weeks one and two. Focus on the workout as a whole to maximize what you can achieve. If this means breaking the thrusters into two or three smaller sets (of a six and a four, or a four and two sets of three), do it.
• Approach the gymnastics in a way that suits you. You can chip away at the chest-to-bar pull-ups in singles, just keep focusing on your next rep as each one will move you up the leaderboard. 
• If you get through part one of this workout, you’ve excelled. Then you can just chip through the heavier thrusters and, who knows, maybe the magic of the Open will get you that first bar muscle-up!

How To Warm Up For CrossFit Open Workout 24.3

As one of my old schoolteachers used to tell me on a weekly basis: “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” That rings true for Open workouts, and the final part of your prep should always involve a comprehensive warm-up. Luckily, the team at mobility app Pliability has put together a few moves to help prime your body for 24.3.

1 PVC external rotation

• Stand upright holding a PVC pipe at one end in your right hand.
• Lift your right elbow so your upper arm is parallel to the ground, allowing the pipe to hang down outside your left arm.
• Grip the bottom of the pipe in your left hand and gently pull it across your body, causing your right forearm to rotate to your right-hand side. 
• Hold this position and breathe into it for 30 seconds. 
• Repeat on the other side. Do this for two rounds on each arm. 

2 90/90 hip rotations

• Start sitting on the floor with one leg in front of you, one leg out to your side, and both knees at a rough right angle, as pictured above. This is called the 90/90 position. 
• Lift both knees so they are pointing upwards, then allow them to fall down to the opposite side. As you do this, twist your torso so you are facing the leg that was out to your side. You should feel this stretch in your hips and lower back. 
• You can place your hands on the floor behind you as you do this for stability. 
• Continue to slowly move between sides for 90 seconds. 

3 Kang squat

• From a standing position, push your hips back and reach down to grip your toes while keeping a flat back. 
• From here, push your knees outward and pull your hips down into a full squat position. Your torso should now be upright.
• To return to standing, lift your hips first to feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings, then straighten your knees. Your back should remain flat during this phase, too. 
• Repeat this sequence for 90 seconds, aiming to sink deeper into the squat with each repetition. 

4 Wall Y with thoracic extension

• Stand facing a wall with your forearms raised, upright, and flush against a wall. 
• Hold a band in both hands so it’s taught at chest height, with your hands beyond shoulder-width apart. 
• Pull your shoulder blades back and down, then slowly slide your forearms up the wall until your arms are locked out overhead, forming a Y-shape. 
• Slowly lower your arms back to the starting position, then repeat this sequence for 90 seconds. 

When is the CrossFit Open workout 24.3 score submission deadline?

You have until 5pm PDT on Monday March 18 (12am GMT on Tuesday March 19) to submit your score for CrossFit Open workout 24.3. 

How do you submit your CrossFit Open score?

To register a score for the 2024 CrossFit Open you will need to set up an account on the CrossFit Games app or website then register for the competition, which costs $20. 

Once you’ve done this, you can submit your score for 24.3 via your personal dashboard, which can again be found on the CrossFit Games app or website, any time before the submission deadline at 5pm PDT on Monday March 18 (12am GMT on Tuesday March 19).

If you complete the workout at a CrossFit-affiliated gym, you can submit your score along with the name of the person who acted as your judge. 

If you do the workout anywhere other than a CrossFit-affiliated gym, you need to video yourself completing the test and submit this alongside your score. To do this, upload the video to a hosting site like YouTube or Vimeo, then you will be asked to share the link to the video while entering your score on the CrossFit Games app or website. 

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr has issued a statement explaining why she won’t be taking part in the live announcement of CrossFit Open workout 24.3. 

The six-time CrossFit Games champ was set to join the current third-fittest woman on earth, Arielle Loewen in a head-to-head workout during the CrossFit Open announcement show. But on Wednesday she withdrew from the competition due to injury. 

“Unfortunately I will no longer be participating in this week’s Open announcement due to my wrist injury that I have sustained over the last two months,” Toomey-Orr says in a video posted to the PRVN Fitness Instagram account. 

Loewen will now tackle the final test of the 2024 CrossFit Open alongside fellow Games athletes Roman Khrennikov, Jay Crouch and Sydney Wells. 

Despite her withdrawal from the live announcement, this doesn’t spell the end of Toomey-Orr’s 2024 CrossFit season. 

“I am so sorry for disappointing anyone out there that was looking forward to seeing me participate in it,” she says. “I know I am very disappointed in it, but it’s the best move for me moving forward and looking long-term in the season.”

Watch The CrossFit Open 24.3 Announcement Live Stream

The push-up is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, and possibly the most well-known exercise of all. However, there’s a difference between knowing an exercise and knowing how to execute it perfectly to get the most from the movement, and if you take the time to nail your technique with the push-up you’ll increase its effectiveness.

One of the most important things to pay attention to when performing push-ups is your elbow position, because how much you flare your elbows during the exercise will change the muscles you’re predominantly targeting during the move.

I spoke to Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer and tutor at The Fitness Group, which provides personal training courses, to get his advice on how to do a push-up and his top tip for elbows position was to think about forming an arrowhead with your upper body.

“You want to make sure that the direction in which the elbows are traveling is right,” says Nicoll. “You don't want them traveling out to the side because that’s going to put unnecessary stress through the shoulder.

“If we were to look over the top of the person, we’d want to see an arrow shape from the head down to both elbows. They should be angling back at pretty much a 45° angle. That would be optimal for prioritizing the chest, and will also help to get a full range of motion through the chest.”

You’ll find more of Nicoll’s tips in our push-up form guide. And once you’ve nailed your technique, dive headfirst into this 30-day push-up challenge and build up to doing 100 push-ups in one go.

Dave Castro has kept up his annual tradition of providing weekly clues ahead of each of the 2024 CrossFit Open workout announcements. And, as tradition dictates, the clues have been head-scratchers. 

His 24.3 clue is a video of a dog tearing into a chicken leg, filmed from below. 

Within an hour of going up on Instagram, the video had more than 1,000 comments, with many simply poking fun at the seemingly random clip. But among these, there were a few people genuinely trying to decipher Dave’s latest post. 

A repeat of a two-part Open workout from 2021—21.3 and 21.4—is proving to be one of the more popular choices.

CrossFit Open workout 21.3 sees you tackle three rounds of 15 front squats, 30 reps of a gymnastic movement and 15 thrusters for time, with a mandatory minute of rest after the first two. 

Each round, the gymnastic movement increases in difficulty. In round one it’s toes-to-bar, in round two it’s chest-to-bar pull-ups and in round three it’s bar muscle-ups. There is a 15-minute time cap.

Immediately after the 15 minutes is up, you'll launch into 21.4. Here, you have seven minutes to hit a complex of one deadlift, one clean, one hang clean and one jerk using the heaviest weight possible. 

Other commenters have gone for a more linear approach to guessing—”Time to let the big dogs eat! Bring on the heavy barbell.”—while several suggested the inclusion of a chicken leg meant our lower bodies are in for a battering. 

Current third-fittest woman on earth Arielle Loewen also chipped in, writing: “Chicken wing = bar muscle-ups. Dog = You gotta have that dog in you to do good in this workout.”

The final workout of the 2024 CrossFit Open will be revealed this Thursday during a live announcement show. This will be streamed on the CrossFit Games website and YouTube channel, with the show starting at 11.30am PST (7.30pm GMT) and the workout being unveiled about 30 minutes in. 

Arielle Loewen will then go head-to-head with six-time CrossFit Games champ Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr as the pair become the first people to face the workout. 

CrossFit Open workout 24.2 has landed, and it’s worlds apart from week one’s lethal pairing of single-arm snatches and burpees. 

The workout was revealed by current WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins during 2024’s second CrossFit Open live announcement. The wrestler has competed in the CrossFit Open for the last 12 years, and stepped in for Dave Castro to share the second test: a 20-minute AMRAP of rowing, deadlifts and double-unders. 

Two-time fittest man on earth Justin Medeiros and fan favorite Colten Mertens were the first to face the test in Medeiros’s home gym, with their efforts live-streamed on the CrossFit Games website and YouTube channel. 

Scroll down to discover how to do CrossFit Open workout 24.2, and find out how to get your best score with tips from experienced CrossFit coach and head of PZL Programming Alex Conroy. 

How To Do CrossFit Open Workout 24.2

As many reps as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of:

• Row x 300m
• Deadlift x 10 (185lb/83kg for men and 125lb/56kg for women)
• Double-under x 50

Count up your reps (every 10 meters on the rower is worth one rep) and that’s your score.

One complete round is 90 reps. 

How To Do CrossFit Open Workout 24.2 Scaled

As many reps as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of:

• Row x 300m
• Deadlift x 10 (135lb/61kg for men and 95lb/43kg for women)
• Single-under x 50

The scaled version of CrossFit Open workout 24.2 is similar to the RX one. It's still a 20-minute AMRAP, and you'll still face rowing, deadlifts and skipping. 

The only changes are that the barbells you use are lighter (135lb/61kg for men and 95lb/43kg for women) and you'll perform single-unders rather than double-unders. 

The workout changes slightly for the foundations version of the test. Perform a 20-minute AMRAP of 30 strokes on the rower, 10 deadlifts and 50 single-unders or jumping jacks. The listed weights for the deadlift is 75lb/34kg for men and 55lb/25kg for women. 

However, the CrossFit Games website states that this load is a “suggested starting point” and any athlete completing the workout in the foundations division is “free to decrease or increase the load as your skill level allows”.

CrossFit Open Workout 24.2 Standards

In prior Opens, CrossFit has issued floor plans for each workout, detailing how far each piece of equipment used in the workout needs to be. There are no such stipulations at the Open stage of the competition this year, so arrange the rowing machine, barbell and skipping rope as desired.

However, there are still form standards that must be met when completing 24.2. 

Rowing standards: The monitor on your Concept2 RowErg must be set to zero at the start of each stint—you can ask your judge to do this for you. You must also remain seated on the rower until the monitor shows 300m, so no relying on carry-over meters. 

Deadlift standards: Sumo deadlifts are outlawed—your arms must be outside of your knees—and the rep only counts when your hips and knees reach full extension, and your head and shoulders are behind the bar when viewed from the side. 

Double-under standards: If you trip on your tenth rep then you’ll only be credited with nine—attempts don’t count. In the 24.2 scorecard, CrossFit also specifies that “spinning the rope backward” will be a no-rep, just in case anyone is considering going a little wild with this one. 

How To Get A Good Score On CrossFit Open Workout 24.2

By CrossFit Open standards, this is a long workout. You won’t be able to go flat out for the full 20 minutes, so it pays to approach this test with a plan of action. To help you with this, I asked PZL Programming’s head CrossFit coach Alex Conroy for his advice on how to get your best possible score. 

• “This workout isn't about winning the first round, it’s about finding a pace that's a little uncomfortable, but one you can sustain—remember, 20 minutes is a long time!”
• “Try to keep your pace consistent. Don’t fall into the trap of going too hard then sitting with your hands on your knees, as before you know it you’ll have lost 45 seconds. Instead, try to save your big push for the end."
• “There are a lot of transitions, so keep these smooth to save yourself valuable seconds. Lay your rope out neatly after each set of double-unders, and keep the foot straps tidy on your rowing machine. Don’t stress about getting them really tight at the start of each round, you’ll lose time if you're messing around with this.”
• “The rowing machine is where you’re going to spend the majority of your time during this workout. Remember that, over 300m, holding a 1min 35sec/500m split rather than a 1min 55sec/500m split isn’t going to earn you a huge amount of time, but it sure will spike your heart rate and fatigue you for the rest of the workout. 
• “Aiming to row at a 500m split pace that’s a couple of seconds slower than your 2km pace was my immediate instinct after seeing this workout."
• “Relax your grip on the row during the recovery phase of each stroke.”
• “The deadlift loading isn’t too heavy or too light. You could be doing a lot of reps and, when coupled with the row, this will be a lot of work for the muscles in your posterior chain. [To limit fatigue] make sure you warm up thoroughly and focus on moving well throughout.”
• “Don’t get to a point where you fall apart on either the deadlifts or the double-unders. Instead, if you need to, plan to break these moves up early—and do so on your own terms.” 
• “Manage your breathing throughout; be purposeful and take a breath or two as you get off the rower to move to the barbell, and do the same before the rope."

The first recorded scores for CrossFit Open workout 24.2 are 930 reps for Justin Medeiros and 922 reps for Colten Mertens, according to the CrossFit Open leaderboard at the time of writing.

"Both athletes completed over 10 rounds, with Medeiros’ first round taking 1min 46sec and his second round being done by the 3min 35sec mark," says PZL Programming head coach Alex Conroy.

However, unless you have eyes on a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, this summer for the CrossFit Games, you might want to set your sights a little lower. 

“For us mere mortals, a solid score will be five to seven rounds," says Conroy. "And for those looking to push into that previous quarter-final target, finishing in the top 10% of their division [the cut-off was raised to 25% for the 2024 season], I'd anticipate that you'll need to be looking at eight-plus rounds.”

CrossFit Open Workout 24.2 Winning Scores

The winners of CrossFit Open workout 24.2 have been confirmed. 

The CrossFit Games Instagram account posted a video stating that Finnish athlete Henrik Haapalainen and Swedish athlete Emily Claw recorded the top scores in the male and female divisions respectively.

Haapalainen finished the workout with 997 reps (11 rounds and seven reps) and Claw recorded a score of 926 reps (10 rounds and 26 reps).

Tudor Magda had previously held the lead in the men’s division as the only athlete able to pass the 1,000-rep mark. 

However, according to a statement shared by the Morning Chalk Up, CrossFit dealt him with a “20% major penalty for consistent lack of hip extension in the deadlift”. This took his score down to 800 reps. 

Haapalainen was also penalized, although he lost just one rep for “performing only 49 double-unders in round seven”. This was not enough to knock him off the top spot, and as such he will receive the $2,024 awarded to the winner of each CrossFit Open workout this year. 

However, Claw will not receive this reward as she performed her workout at a CrossFit-affiliate gym and did not submit a video with it. Though performing an Open workout at a CrossFit gym is enough to validate your score, CrossFit says that “no video is available so Claw is not eligible to receive prize money.” 

CrossFit Open Workout 24.2 Submission Deadline

You have until 5pm PST on Monday, March 11 (1am GMT on Tuesday, March 12) to submit your scores for CrossFit Open workout 24.2. Before this time, you can redo the workout and resubmit your score as many times as you like. 

To enter the annual online fitness competition you first need to register for the Open, which costs $20. You can then submit your score to the online leaderboard. 

If you do the workout at a CrossFit-affiliate gym, submitting your score is simple. You just need to add it to the leaderboard via the CrossFit Games app or website, then have it validated by the affiliate manager at the site where you completed it. 

If you’re not doing the workout at a CrossFit-affiliate gym, you'll also have to film yourself completing it. The video needs to be uploaded to a common hosting site like YouTube or Vimeo, then there will be a prompt to input the link as you add your score on the CrossFit Games app or website. 

Your video may be assessed by the CrossFit internal review team, who can accept, modify or invalidate your score based on whether you meet the set standards for the workout. The Wodproof app is the easiest way to film your workouts as it comes with a template for each CrossFit Open test including an on-screen timer. 

Dave Castro has released his second CrossFit Open hint ahead of the 24.2 live announcement on Thursday and it’s as cryptic as ever. 

The former CrossFit Games director shared a video of a chess piece (a pawn to be exact) being knocked out of shot by what the internet has agreed is a shuffleboard puck. 

This has set the CrossFit community guessing what the next test could be. Although, given how vague his 24.1 clue was, many have lost hope of drawing an accurate prediction from the post.

Before CrossFit Open workout 24.1, he shared a picture of a mushroom, which supposedly related to the top-heavy nature of the workout; a variation of CrossFit’s popular 21-15-9 format featuring single-arm dumbbell snatches and burpees. 

Now, for 24.2, we have a pawn being pushed aside by a shuffleboard piece, which feels just as difficult to decipher. 

The most feasible prediction I’ve seen is from the current third fittest woman on earth, Arielle Loewen. 

She writes: “[A] pawn can move two spaces. Increasing rep scheme by two each round, with shuttle runs. [An] AMRAP: 2-4-6-8-10 etc.”

But for the most part, people have been having a bit of fun in the comments section. Among them were the Concept2 team, who suggested a “42,195m [marathon] row”, like the one athletes tackled at the 2018 CrossFit Games.

Personally, my glutes would be happier with a slightly shorter workout than that, but the test that awaits us later this week remains anyone’s guess. 

The Tokyo Marathon 2024 is the first World Marathon Major of the year, and it’s set to be a fantastic race with the elite fields headed by two of the greatest runners of all time with Eliud Kipchoge in the men’s race and Sifan Hassan in the women’s.

Kipchoge will be aiming to break his own course record from 2022, when he ran 2hr 2min 40sec, with competition coming from Vincent Kipkemoi and Timothy Kiplagat this year. Hasan will be looking to add a third marathon major win to her resume, having won both the London Marathon and Chicago Marathon last year. She’ll have to beat last year’s Tokyo Marathon winner Rosemary Wanjiru to do so.

It’s sure to be a great watch and no doubt some focus will be on the shoes on display, with Nike athletes Kipchoge and Hasan both odds on to run in the Nike Alphafly 3, my pick of the best carbon plate running shoes.

Tokyo Marathon 2024 Live Streams

How To Watch The Tokyo Marathon For Free 

There are two live streams available, with TBS showing the race in Japan and RTVE Play showing it in Spain (you need to sign up for a free account to watch the race on RTVE).

How To Watch The Tokyo Marathon In The USA And Canada

If you’re based in the US or Canada you can watch the Tokyo Marathon on FloTrack, which costs $29.99 a month or $149.99 a year in the US. It might be worth the annual pass if you’re a big marathon fan, with the Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon and Chicago Marathon all streamed on FloTrack in 2024.

How To Watch The Tokyo Marathon In The UK

In the UK you can watch the Tokyo Marathon on Eurosport and it’s also streaming on Discovery Plus, which costs £6.99 a month for a standard plan that includes Eurosport.

How To Watch The Tokyo Marathon From Outside Your Country Of Residence

If you’re traveling and outside your country of residence you can access your usual services by using a VPN. Our sister site TechRadar has tested the top VPN services available and its top pick is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is quick and easy to set up and you can watch on several devices at once. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test the service risk-free.

Tokyo Marathon Details

After weeks of guessing, we finally know what CrossFit Open workout 24.1 is. 

Dave Castro revealed the details of this basic but brutal test today during the first of three CrossFit Open 2024 announcements. 

Current CrossFit Games champ Jeffrey Adler, two-time podium athlete Brent Fikoswki, fifth-fittest woman on earth Alex Gazan and 2023 sixth-place finisher Alexis Raptis were the first to tackle the workout, with their efforts streamed live on the CrossFit Games website and YouTube channel. 

Read on to find out how to do CrossFit Open workout 24.1, and how to get a good score courtesy of some top tips from APX Fitness CrossFit coach Devon Jewsbury,  ForestFlow CrossFit owner Oakley Hardwick and TIO CrossFit owner Jamie Boston. 

How To Do CrossFit Open Workout 24.1

• Single-arm dumbbell snatch x 21 
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x 21
• Single-arm dumbbell snatch x21
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x21
• Single-arm dumbbell snatch x 15
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x15
• Single-arm dumbbell snatch x15
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x15
• Single-arm dumbbell snatch x9
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x9
• Single-arm dumbbell snatch x9
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x9

Buckle up, this one's going to take some explaining. There are only two exercises—dumbbell snatches and burpees—but the format is something we've never seen before in the CrossFit Open. 

It's a twist on CrossFit's popular 21-15-9 rep scheme. You'll perform 21 dumbbell snatches, all on one arm, then 21 lateral burpees over the dumbbell. After this, do 21 dumbbell snatches on the other arm followed by 21 more lateral burpees over the dumbbell. 

Repeat this for the rounds of 15 and nine to finish the workout. There's a 15-minute time cap.

To make it clear: in each set you will complete all reps of the dumbbell snatches on one arm, and change the arm you use after each set. You can start with either arm. 

The men's RX dumbbell weight is 50lb/22.5kg, and the women's RX dumbbell weight is 35lb/15kg.

How To Do CrossFit Open Workout 24.1 Scaled 

Doing CrossFit Open workout 24.1 scaled is incredibly similar to doing the RX version. It contains the same movements, follows the same rep scheme and has the same 15-minute time-cap.

The only difference is you use a lighter dumbbell; 35lb/15kg for men, 20lb/10 kg for women. 

If you want to compete in the foundations division, men will use a 25lb/12.5kg dumbbell and women will use a 15lb/7.5kg dumbbell for the snatches. You will also perform standard burpees rather than lateral burpees over dumbbell. 

How To Get A Good Score On CrossFit Open Workout 24.1  

Sure, you could just go “full send” on this workout, and all power to you. But if you want to shave a few extra seconds off your time and shoot up the CrossFit Open leaderboard, it can pay to pace yourself and approach the test with a strategy. 

That’s why it’s handy to have these top tips and tricks from APX Fitness coach Devon Jewsbury n your back pocket, as well as advice from ForestFlow CrossFit owner Oakley Hardwick and TIO CrossFit owner Jamie Boston, both speaking to Coach through R.A.D. 

APX Fitness coach Devon Jewsbury

• “This one is all about holding on to that dumbbell. If you want a top time, you can’t afford to drop it and step away. You need to hold on and rip it.”
• “Make sure you aren't flying out of the gate and rushing—you don't want any costly no-reps. Instead, make sure you’re fully locking out overhead at the top of each snatch, and hitting both heads of the dumbbell on the floor at the bottom of each rep.”
• “Start your first set of snatches on your weaker arm. When you’re tired later in the workout, you don’t want to be using your weaker arm and failing reps. Your best bet is to start with it so you can finish each set on your stronger side.”
• “For the burpees, stay smooth and maintain your pace throughout the sets of 21. As you get down to the sets of 15, it’s all about ripping and going dark, then the sets of nine are all about sending it. Do. Not. Slow. Down.”

ForestFlow CrossFit owner Oakley Hardwick, speaking to Coach through R.A.D

• “Some people will be pulling the pin from the start here, but that won’t be a clever tactic for everyone. Identify your limits and realistic potential—this will help you recognize how to attack this workout.” 
• “Take a little time to figure out if the burpees or dumbbell snatch will be your breather. On your stronger movement, you can choose whether to take that one a tad slower to breathe when you need to.”
• Pick a round that you are going to choose to push on.”
• Burpees and dumbbell snatches are both prime movements to fire up your lower back. Ensure you take the dumbbell to the floor without straight legs [to save your lower back as much as possible].”
• “Play around with a step up into the burpee rather than a jump, if you need to, but ensure to switch legs when stepping up to prevent getting a lower back pump.”

Jamie Boston, TIO CrossFit owner and CrossFit level three coach with more than a decade of experience, speaking to Coach through R.A.D

• “A controlled effort is required here, rather than thinking this is a quick workout. Doing 90 reps of each movement will add up. For most people, 10 minutes seems like a realistic time frame to aim for.
• “Step up from your burpees. Stepping up takes a little bit of effort out of the movement, saving it for when you get really tired. It’s not much slower but feels a lot nicer.”
• “Breathe on the dumbbell snatches. Taking a second at the top to relax is much better than being hunched over and not able to breathe at all.”
• “Try to keep the same technique throughout—the one you normally use for both the movements. This is not the time to try anything new, save that for training and not competing.”
• “Lastly, enjoy yourself. This is supposed to be fun and your score isn’t the be-all and end-all. Going in a group will be the way to get a fast time.”

How To Warm-Up For CrossFit Open Workout 24.1  

You might have heard the saying: “The shorter the workout, the longer the warm-up.” 

CrossFit Open workout 24.1 is a fast-paced race to the finish, so you’re going to want to make sure your body is primed and ready to go. Luckily, APX Fitness coach Devon Jewsbury has programmed a warm-up to stand you in good stead. 

General warm-up

Complete three rounds of:

• Bike for 1min at 70%
• Walk-out x5
• Squat to stand x10
• Resistance band strict press x15

Then complete two rounds of:  

• Yoga push-up x7
• Down-up x7

 Specific Warm Up

• Light dumbbell snatch on your left arm x10 
• Light dumbbell snatch on your right arm x10
• Burpee x5

Rest for 30 seconds, then complete two rounds of: 

• Dumbbell snatch on your left arm at working weight x10
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x5
• Dumbbell snatch on your right arm at working weight x10
• Lateral burpee over dumbbell x5
• Rest 60 seconds

CrossFit Open Scores for Workout 24.1  

Though CrossFit Open workout 24.1 isn’t yet 24 hours old at the time of writing (5.10am PT), the online leaderboard is already filling up with scores. 

And, while many are awaiting validation from CrossFit, there are a few familiar faces near the top of the tree.

Jeffrey Adler’s time of 6min 13sec currently puts him in fourth and is so far the highest of any existing Games athlete. Bronislaw Olenkowicz is just behind him with 6min 22sec, Royce Dunne’s score of 6min 39sec sits in 11th, Brent Fikoswki is in 12th with 6min 43sec, and Lazar Dukic’s time of 6min 47sec is 19th. 

On the women’s side, eight-time CrossFit Games athlete Kristin Holte has the top time of any contender so far, finishing her final burpee at the 6min 2sec mark. 

Emma Lawson is in second with 6min 16sec, and Kara Saunders is third with 6min 21sec. 

And if, like myself, you’re not a professional CrossFit athlete but you do train regularly and are looking to submit your best possible score, experienced CrossFit coach and TIO CrossFit owner Jamie Boston recommends aiming to wrap things up in less than 10 minutes. 

The original Nasty Girls video is the reason many people started CrossFit, inspired by the sight of athletes grinding through their final few ring muscle-ups to finish a grueling workout.

It features a trio of CrossFit’s OGs—Nicole Carroll, Annie Sakamoto and Eva Twardokens—completing three rounds of 50 squats, seven ring muscle-ups and 10 hang power cleans. 

More than a decade on, CrossFit has revisited this workout as part of its new Rogue Fitness Golden Barbell competition, which sees four top-level athletes go head-to-head in three workouts, the third of which will be the first CrossFit Open workout of 2024. 

The cream of CrossFit’s current crop, fittest man on earth Jeffrey Adler, alongside Brent Fikowski, Alexis Raptis and Alex Gazan, all blitzed through the workout in less than six-and-a-half minutes, with Gazan recording the fastest time of five minutes 22 seconds. 

Watch them duke it out below. 

CrossFit pays homage to the original by recreating the conditions the athletes faced in 2005. That means the gymnastic rings are set low—very low—forcing athletes like 6ft 2in Brent Fikowski to complete them strict from an awkward bent-knee starting position.

The only thing missing from the 2024 edition was the need to touch a medicine ball with your butt at the bottom of each squat, as perennial CrossFit Games podium athlete Pat Vellner pointed out on the company’s Instagram post. 

Watch the original video below, or scroll on to find out how you can try the Nasty Girl CrossFit workout for yourself. 

How To Do The Nasty Girl CrossFit Workout  

Three rounds for time:

• Air squat x 50
• Ring muscle-up x 7
• Power clean x 10 (135lb/60kg for men, 95lb/43kg for women)

The CrossFit Open is one day away and the only thing the CrossFit community wants to know is what they’ll face during the three-week event. But, for now, all they can do is pick over Dave Castro’s 24.1 hint and wait for the CrossFit Open 24.1 announcement.

So, when I had the chance to chat to six-time CrossFit Games champ Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, I couldn’t resist asking for her predictions.

“It’s safe to say that you should be prepared for anything and everything, right? It’s CrossFit. And if you’re not, I think you missed the memo,” Toomey-Orr tells me.

However, this year CrossFit announced the top 25% of athletes in each division will qualify for the online quarterfinals—up from 10%—and Toomey-Orr suggests this shift could mean higher-skill exercises like muscle-ups and heavy Olympic lifts will be reserved for later stages of the season like the quarterfinals and semifinals. 

In other words, make sure you’ve brushed up on the basics. 

“I think they’ll focus on the general population in the Open. So things that are going to be very manageable for the affiliate to run within the facility, and things that allow people to feel accomplished when walking away—the classics like burpee box jumps.

“I definitely think we will see rowing in there, and probably some toes-to-bar, pull-ups or even muscle-ups.”

The most important thing for Toomey-Orr is that we see three Open workouts which, when combined, provide a comprehensive test of fitness.

“We need to make sure we’re capturing the right people who can really do strength; people who can do a lot of bodyweight movements well. Variety—in order to get to the next section—is going to be really important to set the scene for the whole season,” says Toomey-Orr. 

Toomey-Orr and her programming business PRVN will be hosting the CrossFit Open at their newly opened affiliate in East Nashville: PRVN HQ. This will also be the site of the third and final CrossFit Open 2024 announcement, where she will face the current third-fittest woman on earth Arielle Loewen in a head-to-head showdown.

This leads Toomey-Orr on to the other element she wants to prioritize in this year’s Open: enjoyment. 

“It’s meant to be a really fun time for the community to get together and see each other on the leaderboard,” says Toomey-Orr. “just have fun with it.”

“We will be doing the Open every week at PRVN HQ, and I know I will be doing my own workouts there. So if people are going to be in town and they need a gym, we will definitely be open for it. It’s going to be a very fun year because it’s the first year for us.”

The Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris and Metaspeed Edge Paris will be available to buy from Monday March 4, with both shoes priced at $250/£220, which is the same price as the Asics Metaspeed Sky+ and Metaspeed Edge+ in the US and an unexpected £5 drop in the UK.

It’s been almost two years since Asics launched the previous versions of the Metaspeed Sky and Edge, and though both are still competitive with the best carbon plate running shoes, the changes made to Metaspeed Paris shoes will hopefully help them challenge for the top spots.

The main update to both shoes is a new foam in the midsole, which is now made from Asics’s FF Blast Turbo Plus foam, a lighter and bouncier material than the FF Blast Turbo used in the Sky+ and Edge+ shoes.

Asics has also made the new shoes lighter by around 0.8oz/22g, which should make them the lightest carbon plate running shoes on the market, aside from the barely-available Adidas Adizero Pro Evo 1. Along with the new midsole foam, a lighter and more breathable Motion Wrap 2.0 contributes to the drop in weight. Asics has also adjusted the carbon plates in the shoes in a bid to improve performance.

As with previous generations of Metaspeed shoes, the differences between the Metaspeed Sky Paris and Metaspeed Edge Paris relate to the type of runner they are aimed at. The Sky shoes are designed for bounding runners who mostly speed up in races by lengthening their stride, while the Edge shoes are for those who mainly increase their cadence in races. 

The geometry of the shoes are tailored to each running style. The carbon plates are positioned differently within the midsole foams, though the drop of both the Sky Paris and Edge Paris is now the same at 5mm, whereas in the past the Sky shoes had a lower drop.

I am definitely a cadence runner, but have always enjoyed using the Metaspeed Sky more than the Edge, and I set both my 10K and half marathon PRs in the Sky shoes, so I wouldn’t say the stride and cadence labels should completely determine your choice. However it’s certainly an interesting idea and some other brands now have two carbon shoes that seemed tailored to different running gaits.

The Asics Metaspeed Paris shoes are cheaper than many other carbon options, and if they can improve upon the performance of the excellent Metaspeed Sky+ and Edge+ they will be an exciting new option for runners seeking PRs to consider.

Find out more about each shoe on the Asics UK website.

The pull-up is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, but it’s also one of the hardest. Even getting to the stage of being able to pull yourself up once is cause for celebration, and once you can reel off a few pull-ups in a row there are always ways you can go about improving your form.

To help you out on that front, I spoke to Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer and tutor at PT-course provider The Fitness Group, for his advice on how to perfect your pull-up technique once you were able to perform a few reps of the move unassisted.

It’s fair to say Nicoll’s top tip was a surprise because it’s to not think about pulling yourself up during the movement.

“Instead of thinking about pulling yourself up, I suggest people think about driving their elbows down into their hips,” says Nicoll. “What’s going to happen is your lat muscles and your upper-back muscles, like the rhomboids and traps, take over.”

When you think about pulling yourself up, Nicoll says, you put more strain on your biceps, but placing the emphasis on your back muscles means you get the intended stimulus from the exercise. “You’re also going to find that you have much more control of the movement,” says Nicoll

You can find more of Nicoll’s tips for the move, plus advice on how to build up to a pull-up if you’re not yet able to do one unaided, in our pull-up form guide. 

Our beginner pull-up plan will also help you build up to doing a full set of proper pull-ups by the end of a 28-day training plan.

Explore our top-rated picks in our guide to the best pull-up bars.

As we dive into the final week of the CrossFit Open, one question remains: What is CrossFit Open workout 24.3? 

The last test of the 2024 event will be unveiled on Thursday, March 14, and there are plenty of guesses flying around as to what it could be after Dave Castro’s 24.3 clue. 

Many think Games creator Dave Castro and his team will hit us with a heavy barbell movement and some more complex gymnastics, both of which are yet to make an appearance in this year’s Open. Others think we’re destined for thrusters, which have appeared in 13 of the 14 Opens to date. 

All we know is that you can find out who’s right by watching the 24.3 live announcement show on March 14. To make sure you don’t miss it, I’ve gathered all the times, dates and information you might need below, and embedded the YouTube Live video so you can watch the announcement right here. 

Watch 24.3 Live Announcement

CrossFit Open Workout 24.1 Announcement

The opening workout of the 2024 CrossFit Open was unveiled on February 29 during a live announcement show streamed on the CrossFit Games website and YouTube channel. 

Former CrossFit Games director Dave Castro and his customary blackboard were back to talk us through the test—a couplet of dumbbell snatches and lateral burpees over dumbbell. And the workout took some getting your head around, with a never-before-seen twist on the 21-15-9 format.

Rather than alternating dumbbell snatches, you performed 21 on one arm followed by 21 lateral burpees, then 21 snatches on the other arm, followed by another 21 lateral burpees. The sequence then repeats with 15 and 9 reps.

After the workout was unmasked, the current fittest man on earth Jeffrey Adler faced off against Brent Fikowski, Alexis Raptis and Alex Gazan—all top-six finishers in the 2023 Games—in a live showdown.  

The champ posted the top time of 6min 13sec, with the other athletes hot on his heels, all coming in beneath the seven-minute mark.

CrossFit Open Workout 24.2 Announcement

CrossFit Open Workout 24.3 Announcement

Read more about this tried-and-tested selection in my guide to the best CrossFit shoes.

The 2024 CrossFit Open is just days away and Dave Castro is up to his old tricks again, sharing an obscure hint on his Instagram page.

The former Games director posted a picture of a red mushroom and the caption “24.1”, sparking wild speculation as to what it could mean. 

Teasing the hint on his YouTube channel earlier this week, Castro said he was worried it would be “too obvious”, but there doesn’t seem to be much risk of that. 

Several commenters, including 10-time Games athlete Scott Panchik, thought the mushroom (if poisonous) could hint at a “death by” format. This would see athletes set a running clock then tackle an increasing amount of work each minute until they couldn’t continue—check out this death by burpees workout as an example. 

One popular suggestion for this format was a combination of burpees and rowing, courtesy of CrossFit podcast Coffee Pods & Wods. 

Other CrossFit fans linked the red mushroom to the Super Mario video games, suggesting we could be faced with box jumps because the mustachioed plumber has made a career out of jumping on boxes. 

In the March edition of the CrossFit Games newsletter, The Hopper, Castro gave further, albeit vague, clues as to what to expect from the workout.

“Programming this year is unique, effective and simply beautiful in the classic CrossFit style,” he writes.

My guess? Fran. Maybe not for the first workout, but I have a hunch we might see this CrossFit benchmark test sometime in the next month.  

When Is The CrossFit Open?

The CrossFit Open kicks off on Thursday, February 29, and concludes on Monday, March 18. It’s an annual mass participation event that sees hundreds of thousands of people tackle a workout challenge every weekend for three weekends to test their fitness. For the sport’s top athletes, it’s also the first step to qualifying for the CrossFit Games.

The first weekend’s workout will be revealed on Thursday evening in a live-streamed event, where elite CrossFit athletes go head-to-head as they become the first to officially take the test.

The first live announcement for CrossFit Open workout 24.1 will pit the current fittest man on earth Jeffrey Adler against perennial podium contender Brent Fikowski in an all-Canadian showdown.

Female athletes Alex Gazan and Alexis Raptis (the current fifth and sixth fittest women on earth, respectively) will also face off.

After the release of the workout on Thursday, participants will then have until the following Monday to complete the workout and register their scores on the online leaderboard. 

You can catch the action on the CrossFit Games website or the CrossFit Games YouTube channel. The live show starts at 11am PT (7pm GMT). 

You can still register for the CrossFit Open 2024 to take part. 

Wall Pilates is one of the biggest trends of 2024—it’s everywhere. It takes traditional mat Pilates exercises and uses a wall for extra stability or increased resistance, depending on the exercise.

Wall Pilates videos abound on TikTok and fitness influencers have been making all kinds of claims that wall Pilates can help you get lean fast and “snatch your waist”. It’s also been a divisive topic, with many Pilates instructors criticizing the trend, saying it’s not real Pilates and isn’t an effective way to exercise.

Rachel, of popular YouTube channel Rachel’s Fit Pilates, is a STOTT-certified Pilates instructor (STOTT is one of the most well-established branches of Pilates) and occupational therapist with an exercise science degree. She released a free 28-day Wall Pilates Challenge in summer 2023 that went viral—it has been viewed 2.3 million times. In her recent video, she addressed the hotly debated issues about wall Pilates.

So while wall Pilates is not, strictly speaking, Pilates in the classical tradition, and it’s not going to offer a miracle shortcut to your fitness or weight loss goals, it can be useful for the right person, when following a program that challenges them and helps them progress. If you enjoy it, go right ahead and continue with wall Pilates.

Want to give wall Pilates a go? Try this 20-minute full-body wall Pilates workout from Rachel’s Fit Pilates.

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr is the most decorated individual athlete in CrossFit Games history, winning the competition six times between 2017 and 2022. 

This streak followed two second-place finishes in 2015 and 2016. So what changed to transform her from title contender to the most dominant force the sport has ever seen?

A segment in her new book, The Heart is the Strongest Muscle: How to Get from Great to Unstoppable, suggests the answer lies not in her physical training, but in an overhaul of her mindset. 

If you watch the CrossFit Games documentaries, you’ll notice the difference in demeanor. In 2016’s edition, when a fan asks her for a photo ahead of the final day of competition Toomey-Orr replies, “you’ll probably want to delete that after today.” 

Now compare that to what she told the documentary crew in 2022.

“I believe in everything I do, what I can do and what I’m capable of. I know and have full confidence that no matter what happens, I will stand up on top of that podium, no matter who I’m going up against.”

After earning a second consecutive silver at the 2016 Games, Toomey-Orr realized it was her mindset that was holding her back. So she made some wholesale changes with her husband and coach Shane Orr. 

“We restructured our training program from head to toe,” Toomey-Orr writes. “We changed everything from our coach-athlete communication (such as more positive reinforcement), workout program (less volume but more intensity), and schedules (no more overcommitting). It was a full-throttled strategy for obtaining what I missed out on that year—first place.”

Part of this shift in mindset was Toomey-Orr’s adoption of the “American” way of winning after relocating to the States in 2018.

She says Americans are more vocal about winning, in a way her fellow Australians might perceive as arrogance and shut down with sarcasm. But Toomey-Orr found value in this attitude. 

“I have definitely earned it now,” she writes. “And I think a piece of me has tried to adopt the ‘American’ way after all the years I have been immersed in its culture. Why? Because I have come to appreciate their approach to winning. There is no need to be apologetic for your talent or drive.”

It used to be that gym-goers gave weights machines a wide berth in the gym, with the functional fitness crowd preferring free-weight exercises instead. However, a gym’s weights machines can be very useful when you want to challenge large muscle groups, like those in your legs, with lots of weight, and they can also effectively isolate muscles. That’s why you’ll find machines used in many of the best leg workouts, including this one from Krissy Cela. 

It’s the week one leg session from the new program on Cela’s EvolveYou fitness app for women. It combines compound exercises—including the Romanian deadlift and leg press—as well as leg extension and leg curl isolation exercises that target individual muscles.

Take a look at Cela's Instagram Reel to see the workout.

Cela recommends doing four sets of 10 reps of each exercise, apart from the Bulgarian split squat where it’s three sets of eight reps.

The first move in this routine is the Romanian deadlift, a variation of the conventional deadlift where the movement begins with the barbell off the floor. In our guide to Romanian deadlift form, strength coach Jeff Hoobler explains that the key to perfecting this move is in the hips: “The hips need to unlock before the knees. This means sending the hips backward first, then unlocking [or slightly softening] the knees as you lower the weight.”

Weights machines can vary, so make sure to check the written instructions printed on the machines you’re using for the next three moves.

The Bulgarian split squat is a tricky move that challenges your balance. If you haven’t attempted it before, starting with the split squat, where your rear foot stays on the floor, may be wise. To get the correct set-up for the Bulgarian split squat, sit on the platform with your rear foot under your glutes, then extend your other leg forward, locking your knee and placing your heel on the floor. Stand and rock your foot forward so it’s flat on the floor and adjust the placement of your rear foot. There are more tips in our Bulgarian split squat form guide. 

We have more Krissy Cela workouts for you to try too. If you don’t have access to a gym, you can try this glutes workout at home, or for a gym workout with lighter weights, start with Krissy Cela’s bum workout.

One of the best carbon plate running shoes is about to get an update, with the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 due to launch in the US on February 29, while those in the UK can already order the shoe on Saucony’s UK website.

Saucony opted not to update a successor to the Endorphin Pro 3 in 2023, instead launching a new carbon shoe called the Saucony Endorphin Elite, which now sits above the Endorphin Pro in the brand’s range.

While I found the Endorphin Elite a great racing shoe for shorter distances (and picked it as the best racer in my selection of the best Saucony running shoes), the new PWRRUN HG foam used in the midsole gives it a harsher and more aggressive ride than the Pro 3. As a result the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 remained a popular pick as a cheaper shoe with a more natural and accommodating ride that many runners preferred, especially for longer events like marathons.

Saucony has also launched the Endorphin Speed 4 training partner shoe, which costs $170/£180 and is the successor to the excellent Saucony Endorphin Speed 3, which I rate as the best all-round shoe I’ve tested.

The CrossFit Open 2024 is rapidly approaching, and as is tradition for this open-to-all fitness competition, the workouts are being kept under wraps. It’s a savvy rule because it sends any committed CrossFitter into a frenzy of speculation. 

A great place to start if you’re looking for clues is the Workout of the Day (WOD) on CrossFit.com, commonly referred to as main site workouts. 

As CrossFit Games podium athlete Lindsey Valenzuela said in the 2015 Fittest On Earth documentary: “If you’re an athlete and you’re not looking at main site workouts, you’re not intelligent, because a lot of those movements appear either at the Open, regionals or Games.”

At the time of writing, the latest WOD is the hero workout Erin, which includes the dumbbell split clean, a move never-before seen at the Open. The exercise involves moving two dumbbells from the floor to your shoulders and catching them with your feet in a staggered stance as you would with a split jerk.

To pour a little extra fuel onto this fire of speculation, the CrossFit Games Instagram account also recently posted a video of “the first time we saw dumbbells in the Open”— it was 17.1, the first workout of the 2017 CrossFit Open, for those wondering. 

How To Do CrossFit Hero Workout Erin

Five rounds for time:

1. Dumbbell split clean x 15 (40lb for men, 30lb for women)
2. Pull-up x 21

What Other New Movements Could Feature In The 2024 CrossFit Open?

CrossFit competition director Adrian Bozman is responsible for programming the CrossFit Open, quarterfinals, semifinals and Games. Since taking the reins for the 2022 Games, he’s not been shy about introducing new movements. 

In the 2023 Open we were hit with shuttle runs for the first time, while Boz’s first Games saw a slew of new exercises including double-under crossovers, wall-facing deficit handstand push-ups and dips with parallel bar traverses. 

However, last month he told the CrossFit Games podcast that while CrossFit was “not going to do an equipment list this year” it is “very committed to using an equipment profile that’s, you know, pretty vanilla”.

It doesn’t get much more vanilla than dumbbells, and other new faces that have recently made an appearance on the main site and which don’t require unusual equipment include wall-facing handstand push-ups and squat clean thrusters (otherwise known as clusters). 

Hoka was one of the first brands to release a carbon plate racing shoe, with the original Carbon X coming out not long after the original Nike Vaporfly debuted at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. However, the three Carbon X models to date, along with the first Rocket X, didn’t make it into my selection of the best carbon plate running shoes, lacking the bounce and propulsion of the top racers.

Last year the Hoka Rocket X 2 came out and, for me, was the brand’s first proper super-shoe, with a lightweight and bouncy Peba-based midsole foam. Today sees the launch of the Hoka Cielo X1, which has a bolder, more innovative design than the Rocket X 2, and could well be Hoka’s best racing shoe yet.

The Cielo X1 has a 39mm stack height and a 7mm drop. Its midsole is made from two layers of Peba-based foams that sandwich a winged carbon plate. The shoe is bigger and heavier than the Rocket X 2, but designed to deliver a more propulsive ride to offset that weight gain.

There are cutouts in the midsole that reduce the weight of the shoe, which has a lightweight knit upper and minimal rubber on the outsole. The shoe has a pronounced rocker design, which is another key difference with the Hoka Rocket X 2.

In many ways, the Hoka Cielo X1 looks to be the Nike Alphafly 3 equivalent in the Hoka range, while the Rocket X 2 is more akin to the Nike Vaporfly 3. The Cielo X1 is the bouncier, more propulsive shoe and might be better suited to the marathon, while the Rocket X 2 is lighter and more agile, giving it an edge in shorter events. I’m speculating for now because I’ve yet to run in the Cielo X1, though my review sample is arriving soon.

The Hoka Cielo X1 is Hoka’s most expensive carbon shoe to date, costing $275 in the US and £250 in the UK, which is $25/£30 more than the Rocket X 2. It will be exciting to test the shoe and see if it can live up to a price that makes it one of the more expensive carbon shoes—though it’s still cheaper than the Nike Alphafly 3.

The ballot for the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2024 is now open, and you have until 5pm on Friday February 9 to get your name into the hat for a spot in the race, which takes place on Sunday October 13.

It’s free to enter the ballot, but you can increase your odds by paying for your place up front, which means you then enter a second-chance ballot if you’re unsuccessful in the first draw. If you miss out again your entry fee will be donated to the Royal Parks charity.

In 2023, organizers told us there was a one-in-seven chance of being successful, and with 16,000 set to run the course again the odds should be similar. 

The results of the main ballot will be announced on Wednesday February 14 and if successful you then have to register your place by Thursday February 29. The results of the second-chance ballot will be announced on Wednesday March 6 and you have Monday March 11 to claim your place. That gives you plenty of time to plan your training. Choose one of our 16-week half marathon training plans, for example, and you’ll start on June 24. 

There are, of course, other ways to secure a spot. There are plenty of charities offering places in the Royal Parks Half Marathon in return for fundraising, with the official list being confirmed in February. Even if you do get a place through the ballot, it is well worth raising any funds you can for charity. 

The Royal Parks Half is one of the UK’s best half marathons and one of London’s most scenic. While the London Landmarks Half Marathon in the spring also runs through central London and takes in sights such as Trafalgar Square, only the Royal Parks takes runners through Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.

While the route narrows somewhat through the parks, making it less attractive to PB hunters who may find themselves held up in congested stretches, the atmosphere and support make it an event every distance runner should have on their bucket list.

Enter the ballot | Free to enter, race place £62, plus £4.95 admin fee

If you’re in the mood to enter half marathons, the Great North Run ballot is open until February 12.

There was a time when you could ID a CrossFit fan by the Reebok Nanos on their feet. However, in recent years it feels like some of the magic has gone for the “official shoe of fitness” and it has lost ground on rivals such as Nike and, more recently, R.A.D and TYR. 

That’s set to change with the release of the Reebok Nano X4. Having worn this shoe for two full training days, I’m going to stick my neck out and say this is the best Nano I’ve tried in years—particularly for lifting. A spot on my roundup of the best CrossFit shoes awaits. 

I ticked off a fair few CrossFit staples in those two days, using the shoe for strength work, metcons and accessories comprising heavy clean and jerks, rope climbs, biking, sled pushes, split squats, pistol squats, wall balls, wall walks and skipping. The shoe impressed me throughout.

The lift-and-run chassis—designed to provide stability for lifting and cushioning for explosive exercises—which debuted on the X3 remains, but it’s been improved. I found the X3 didn’t feel as stable or supportive around the heel as the Nike Metcon 9 or the TYR CXT-1 when Olympic lifting. Yet, wearing the X4 for heavy clean and jerks, my foot felt more secure in the catch. 

This is partly down to the upgraded chassis, but the shoe’s redesigned upper helps too. There’s a reworked TPU heel clip, added padding around the heel for a more locked-in fit and firmer panels on either side of the midfoot. 

Though my tape measure shows the dimensions of the two shoes as near-identical, the X4 feels marginally more roomy, without giving up the solid heel lock I liked in the X3. My toes were able to spread slightly more freely for balance when lifting, and I enjoyed a better ground feel. 

I was impressed by how well the added textured elements on the side of the shoe locked on during rope climbs, despite the absence of a rope guard system—something Reebok’s teaser social post describes as a feature “nobody asked for, but we’re told is vital for the elite CrossFit experience” in a thinly veiled dig at Nike’s Metcon range. 

The only area where I felt slightly let down was the grip during sled pushes, where my toes slipped a couple of times. At this early point, I'll give the shoe the benefit of the doubt since the gym floor wasn’t perfectly dry after a group class during a period of especially wet weather. 

I’ll keep a close eye on this while I wear the Reebok Nano X4 for all my CrossFit training for the next few weeks ahead of a full review. Though it’s still early days, the initial signs are promising. 

I wear a chest strap heart rate monitor when running year round, because the native optical tracking on even the best sports watches is often unreliable. The wrist is a tough place to get an accurate reading during workouts, so the best heart rate monitors are all chest straps like the Polar H10.

The accuracy of optical sensors only gets worse in cold weather, so if you’ve noticed that the readings from your running watch has become increasingly erratic of late, that may be why.

To get a reading, optical sensors measure the pulse under your skin, as Polar research center director Jyrki Schroderus explained to us when we asked him how the sensors work.

“It uses LED lights and a sensor,” says Schroderus. “Light penetrates into your skin and when it’s under your skin, your blood pulse changes the power of the light which comes back to the sensor.”

The blood vessels on the peripheries of your body get narrower in cold weather, a process known as vasoconstriction. It means there is less blood flowing through the wrist near the skin and it’s harder for optical sensors to get a reading.

Often I find optical heart rate monitors lock onto my running cadence instead of my pulse. Cadence is the number of steps you take per minute while running, which is usually 180-plus for me, a number that’s higher than my max heart rate.

This means if I rely on the optical sensor I end up with readings that suggest every run I do is a maximum effort, which then skews the training analysis on the watch. 

A chest strap heart rate sensor is a far more accurate option, especially in the winter. These don’t have to be expensive—most of the best cheap heart rate monitors are chest straps—and they use electrical signals directly from the heart to measure heart rate, making them much more accurate.

That said, chest straps do also find it a bit harder to read heart rate in cold, dry conditions than when it’s warm. That’s because when you sweat more it’s easier for the electrical signals to travel into the sensor on the strap. 

Fortunately, there’s a simple and quick solution to this, which is to wet the chest strap before wearing it. You can run it under a tap, lick it, or use special electrode gel for the most reliable fix.

If you’re serious about building muscle and training your upper body more than once a week, you may want to add push and pull days to your routine. 

In Coach's guide to push/pull workouts, training and nutrition specialist David Wiener explains that push and pull are “two fundamental movements”. Push exercises work your chest, triceps and shoulders, while pull exercises train your back and biceps.

By including both, you can increase your training volume for maximum muscle gain. Targeting certain muscle groups in one session also means your training can be more focused for greater intensity. 

For your next push day, try this workout recently shared by trainer Christian Poulous on Instagram. It promises to maximize hypertrophy (building muscle mass), with smarter exercise selection.

Take a look at Poulos’ Instagram Reel where he runs you through his ideal push day, as well as exercises he avoids and what he does instead.

Poulos shares lots of tips in his video. He recommends tucking your elbows close to your chest during the incline bench press for maximum upper-chest gains and no matter which type of cable triceps extension you choose, Pulis advises that the cable and your upper arm are pointing in the same direction. He also adds that consistency and adequate nutrition are key to increasing muscle mass.

With this workout, you'll be working at a low to medium rep range, so make sure you choose challenging weights, depending on the exercise. Your chosen weight shouldn’t compromise your form but make sure the last rep or two feel tough. If you can easily finish the reps you probably need to up the weight to experience muscle growth.

Add this workout to your routine, gradually increasing the weight used when you repeat workout to see results. And make sure you’re eating enough protein to support muscle recovery and growth. Take a look at our seven-day meal plan for muscle growth for help keeping your protein intake high.

When a push/pull split doesn’t cut it anymore, move on to this four-workouts-a-week upper-body workout plan.

Find out more about these tried-and-tested picks in our guide to the best protein powder.

The best home treadmills are amazing machines. You can get them with high top speeds and inclines, and even declines, as well as huge screens on the console to show guided workouts, scenic runs, or Netflix.

However, as a keen runner who has tested many great treadmills, I’ve yet to find one that captures the feeling of running outdoors. The new Wahoo Kickr Run is designed to change that. Wahoo’s first treadmill looks set to be one of the most innovative and its aim is to create a realistic outdoor running experience for indoor runners. 

Central to this is the RunFree Mode, which allows you to change speed without touching a button or dial. The treadmill reacts to where you land on the belt, so striding out and landing further forward on the belt will see it speed up in a way that feels more natural. There are also “nudgeable” panels you can use to adjust speed quickly, if you prefer.

Another innovative feature on the Kickr Run treadmill is its ability to tilt laterally to create a more road-like feel. Presumably it won’t tilt so much that you’re thrown off to the side, but anything that can recreate the camber that seems to be on every sidewalk near me is going to feel more realistic, and it will change the angle of contact on your run so it’s slightly less repetitive when using the treadmill.

Wahoo also says the belt on the machine has a surface that mimics the energy return of outdoor running and it has a top speed of 4min 0sec/mile or 15mph. Most treadmills I’ve come across only go up to around 12mph, even expensive ones, so this extra capacity will be a plus for fast runners.

The treadmill has an integrated shelf to hold a laptop or tablet and connects directly to third-party apps like Zwift, and Wahoo’s SYSTM training platform. Apps can control the treadmill's speed and incline automatically to make running in virtual worlds or following workouts easier to do without having to fiddle with dials.

Wahoo’s indoor cycling products like the Kickr V6 smart trainer and Kickr V2 Bike are among the best available and the Kickr turbo is particularly popular, so it will be interesting to see if the Kickr Run can pull off the same trick with runners.

The Wahoo Kickr Run treadmill will launch in the US in summer 2024, with the price yet to be confirmed. It will be available globally in 2025.

The Nike Alphafly 3 originally launched on January 4 in a white “proto” colorway in limited quantities that sold out in hours, leaving a lot of runners who were hoping to get their hands on the shoe disappointed. Nike has announced when the next colorway of the shoe is to go on sale, and it’s great news for UK runners in particular.

That’s because they have the chance to buy the Nike Alphafly 3 from March 7 at 8am GMT, according to the Nike app. Meanwhile, those in the US have to wait until April 4 at 3pm GMT+1. Wherever you are in the world, you’ll need to be a Nike member to buy the shoe when it initially goes on sale (it’s free to sign up, you just need to hand over your email).

The Nike Alphafly 3 is undoubtedly one of the best carbon plate running shoes, and I rate it as the best available after my testing. It’s the lightest version of the Alphafly and combines the bounce of the Alphafly line with the aggressive transition from heel to toe of the Nike Vaporfly.

After the relatively subdued white-and-orange proto colorway, Nike has gone for a more distinctive look for the full launch of the shoe. The Volt upper is a bright yellow/green, with the same color on the front half of the midsole, which then fades into blue at the back. 

Since this is the first proper colorway of the shoe, I hope it will be available in greater quantities than the proto shoe, so anyone willing to spend $285/£285 on the Nike Alphafly 3 is able to get hold of it. The good news for all is that the shoe comes out before spring marathon season kicks into gear. The Boston Marathon is on April 15 and the London Marathon is on April 21, so you should just about have a chance to get the shoes and do a trial run or two in them before race day. 

My usual advice is to do at least one good long run in a shoe before racing a marathon in it, but if you have used Nike’s other super-shoes in the past I’d say you’ll probably be familiar enough with the Alphafly 3 to use it on the big day without much prior testing.

Nike Alphafly 3 Release Notes

Nike has made several major changes to the Alphafly 3 compared with the Alphafly 2, and the new shoe is notably lighter and sleeker. The Alphafly 3 weighs 7.7oz/220g in my UK size 9, compared with 8.7oz/247g for the Alphafly 2. It’s also lighter than the original Alphafly.

The midsole now has a continuous bottom, instead of the large cutout separating the ZoomX foam at the heel and the Air Zoom pods at the forefoot in the first two generations. The new design is meant to create a smoother transition for runners of all levels—no matter where your foot initially lands during your stride.

Under the forefoot are two Air Zoom units, which are the main feature that distinguishes the Alphafly from the Nike Vaporfly 3, which has a full ZoomX foam midsole. The Air Zoom pods deliver even more energy return than the foam alone. Nike says the updates made to the Alphafly 3 mean the pods will be better engaged.

The carbon fiber Flyplate runs the length of the shoe and has been widened on the medial side (the inside of your foot) to create greater stability. The Atomknit upper has also been tweaked, with new integrated stays for the laces to achieve a more comfortable fit.

There is not a lot of rubber coverage on the outsole of the shoe, and there are substantial cutouts there to reduce weight. The Fast Shot outsole is designed to (mainly) deliver grip under the forefoot, with two small sections of rubber at the heel, too.

Nike has also made a point of saying that the Alphafly 3 should be quite durable, having been used for a minimum of 200 miles by its testers. This is a note that is, perhaps, directed at Adidas and the Adios Pro Evo 1, which is, apparently, only at its best for one marathon, though I’ve not tested the shoe yet myself.

Nike Alphafly 3 In Brief

Recently I asked five personal trainers and coaches from the WithU and Mvmnt fitness apps to share their best beginner exercises, and two of them picked the air squat. That’s not a big surprise because the squat is undoubtedly one of the best bodyweight exercises for people of all fitness levels and a great move for beginners to get to grips with.

More of a surprise was the top tip Rory Knight, director of fitness at WithU, gave to help beginners improve their squat.

“My game-changing tip is to remove your footwear and perform the exercise barefoot,” says Knight. “You have thousands of nerve endings in your feet that enhance the recruitment of your muscle fibers. To create more engagement, think of each foot as a tripod and look to grip the floor equally with your big toes, little toes and heels. By doing this, you should feel stronger, more balanced and connected when you squat.”

The squat is an exercise that you can work on no matter how experienced you are in the gym. Even if you regularly squat using heavy barbells it’s worth doing some barefoot air squats to regain that connection to the ground and ensure the foundations of your technique are sound.

If you are starting from scratch, Knight also recommends using something for support while you learn the movement.

“Use a chair for stability as you gain confidence with the move, before moving on to an unsupported squat,” says Knight.

If you’re keen to improve your form, then our 30-day squat challenge is a good way to stay motivated and give yourself a short-term goal while you practice good squat technique. The challenge builds up each day so that by the end you can do 250 unweighted squats—no mean feat—whether you’re doing them barefoot or not.

If there’s one man who knows a thing or two about how to behave in the gym, it’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Now the bodybuilding icon has shared his three rules of gym etiquette, to help old and new lifters get along. Not curling in the squat rack isn’t one of them, sadly, but that’s probably not top three.

1. Don’t Take Over Equipment

We’ve all had this problem—waiting for a squat rack while someone stands in front of the bar scrolling on their phone. That’s a no in Schwarzenegger’s book. 

“You should never make your phone calls and do your social media while you’re sitting at a machine,” he says, especially if this leads to a backlog of people waiting to use the equipment you’re hogging. 

That’s not to say you can’t go on your phone at the gym, Schwarzenegger adds. 

“To be considerate, he will get off the machine, complete all his social media stuff and phone calls and FaceTiming if he needs to do that in the gym, but let other people come in and train.”

2. Put Your Weights Away

Schwarzenegger’s next rule is to always put your weights away, although his reason might surprise you.

Yes, this will contribute to a cleaner gym, but Schwarzenegger stresses how it will also help your fellow gym-goers complete their workout without interruption. 

“It’s very important [to put your weights away] because there will be someone else working down the rack, using 5lb and 10lb, and obviously they will miss the 10lb weights,” he says. That could refer to someone performing drop sets, or perhaps a run-the-rack workout.

3. Share

I can’t imagine anyone has ever said no to Schwarzenegger asking to work in with them, but the Austrian Oak says this approach is for everyone, allowing more people to access the equipment they need for their workout without having to wait for others to finish.

He also gives a quick example of how to do it politely. He starts by asking if it’s OK to work in, then pushing his newfound lifting partner to squeeze out a few extra reps on a lat pull-down machine and paying them a quick compliment before settling down for his own set.