Fitness extra

Speed

* Plyometric workouts (in which you train your muscles to develop explosive speed) are a great way to build power, but they can also leave you sore. Fortunately, a new Ohio State study says there may be a way to make plyometrics less of a pain. In trials, researchers found that people who performed plyometrics in swimming pools made the same strength gains as people performing the exercises on dry land, but with significantly less muscle pain. In addition to boosting leg and knee strength, plyometric drills, such as jumping on and off an underwater platform, may increase sprinting speed as well.

* Most guys don't get enough vitamin C (see page 36 for more). Besides putting you at risk for, of all things, scurvy, there may be another reason to up your C intake: According to a study conducted in Turkey, taking vitamin C may improve your performance in the gym. When researchers gave varying doses of vitamin C to lab animals, they found that animals given higher quantities of C were able to "exercise" longer before reaching exhaustion. Although decades-old research had suggested C doesn't improve workout quality, this study appears to call those findings into question.

* Think twice before popping a handful of pills to ease out-of-control muscle pain. According to new data presented by the American Gastroenterological Association, 44% of people take larger doses of over-the-counter pain pills than they should. Besides increasing the likelihood of an overdose, large doses of pain medications can boost the risk of conditions like stomach bleeding and ulcers.

* Warm up that deep-sea-fishing boat: A new study published in the Journal of Exercise Physiology suggests yet another reason to make sure you eat more fish. After studying a group of active men in their 20s, University of Missouri researchers found that you burn more of your body's fat reserves while working out if you eat a meal high in omega-3s a few hours beforehand.

Rehab

* Scientists at Northeastern University in Boston have developed a new technique that could make physical therapy much more effective for repairing damaged muscles. The technology relies on something called electrorheological fluids--substances that can change from liquid to solid form when exposed to an electric current. The idea? To develop braces that change resistance as a muscle regains its strength.

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