How, in the name of Heaven, can anti-bacterial agents in soap lead to antibiotic resistant bugs? Either these bacteria are a LOT smarter (i.e PhD level in biochemistry) than we think or possibly someone is adding antibiotics to the dishsoap.

re: J.G on
I think you missed it. It was clear:

Stretch routine (non-static) just prior to work out (essential for preparing the body for the trauma it is about to receive)

then

"Static Stretch" just after work out (essential for the beginning of the bodies recovery from the trauma it just received)

The article was more of a PPT format and generally gives quick tips. It is NOT MEANT for complete guidance, on or at, any level.

Anyone in any type of workout routine should understand how this info is intended to be used.....

nothing more then a quick-tip

You should always do a warm-up and stretch before a vigorous workout. However it is possible to overstretch which is why it is important to only hold the stretch fo 30 seconds or until you feel the muscle relax. If they are gong to be giving people advice on such important matters then they should really do more reasearch and explain things more clearly.

EVERYBODY NEEDS to read the 3rd piece of advice... The important need to rest. I have learned this the hard and painful way of joint and muscle injuries. Not only does it lead to 5-10X more time off, away from training and physical activities; it also leads to injuries that never ever heal and comstantly nag and nag, meaning years of 50% training as opposed to 100% training. As for not stretching before training. A lion does not just jump off the ground from sleeping and start chasing after prey at full speed. They give out a big "cat-stretch" and go catch their dinner.

Having recently taken up Nordic Walking.
I do a few limbering exercises prior to a Walk. Midway through the walk when thoroughly warmed up we do the stretching exercises than at the end we do some cool down exercises. Works well and no one in our group has been injured

Light exercise before stretching and before physical exercise is the best way to prevent injury. This is not rocket science. For all those who think otherwise; your ligaments, tendons, and muscles, sitting idle, are much the same as a rubber band that has been place in the refrigerator. When cold, the molecules in the rubber band (much the same as in your body) slow and become closer together. In this state if you stretch the rubber band it will, in all likelihood, crack or become strained in places, possibly even tare. If, however, you apply warmth to the rubber band then the molecules speed up and become further apart, this allows the rubber band to be stretched without damage.

It is important to remember that this holds true for stretching and physical exercise; before doing either be sure that you gradually warm yourself up with light exercies.

I've been running competively for 30 years; weight training for almost the same. I always spend time stretching prior to and after my workouts and have NEVER been injured. I agree however that "more exercise" isn't always good. I don't run 52 weeks a year. I take a few weeks off training in the winter and again in the summer. I also don't run junk miles like so many runners do and thats why I've never been injured and so many of them have. TRAIN SMART!

Anyone disclaiming the point on stretching is clearly being influenced by years of conventional 'wisdom'. Dozens of studies have recently come out comparing the effect of stretching on injury prevention, and the results...no correlation. In fact, some show that pre-exercise stretching can in fact increase your risk of injury. So, while it has been assumed for many years that stretching is good for you, recent published studies suggest otherwise. Remember, these are published studies in peer-reviewed journals, its not some quack coming out trying to propose the newest fad.

As for those debating the point about breakfast, everyone should know by now that it is in no way beneficial for your body. Our bodies are programed to conserve as much energy as possible. When you have not ingested food for 8+ hours (depending on when you ate the night before), your body goes into a starvation state, sensing food sources may be limited. It therefore does its best to 'hang on' to its energy stores. What happens there is your basal metabolic rate (BMR) slows down, meaning your body is burning less energy throughout the day. Eating breakfast in fact speeds up your BMR so you will burn more energy (calories). So, the net effect of skipping breakfast is for your body to conserve calories while eating breakfast lets your body know food is available so it will burn more calories.

This article is 100% correct. Static stretching before a workout is not a good idea. The article isn't saying don't warm up and prepare your body for exercise, it's saying the long thought idea of static stretching is bad. Static stretching is when you lengthen a muscle to an elongated position (to the point of discomfort) and hold it. This will weaken your muscle and not properly warm you up. You should instead look at dynamic stretching where you stretch the muscle through movement while also loosening up your joints. This coupled with pre exercise muscle activation exercises which are probably most important, should be what your pre workout ritual should be. Before you dismiss this article do some research about it. Just because people have been doing it for years and thats what you have always been told doesn't mean it's still a good thing. Times change and we learn more about the human body all the time.

This study on aspertame is silly - you compare someone that Averages 3 cans of diet pop a day to someone that doesn't use sweeteners at all? The whole idea of diet pop with aspertame is to substitute Sugar in standard pop drinks with an artificial sweetener for those people that still want that type of drink but want to cut down their sugar intake. If this study said that people who drank 21 cans/week with aspertame had twice the risk of obesity over people who drank 21 cans of regular pop then you'd be stating something ground breaking.

Someone that drinks 21 cans of any kind of pop/week over someone who uses no sweeteners at all is obviously not leading as healthy a lifestyle to begin with.

This article is like saying someone that smokes 21 packs of cigarettes/ month, are 100% more likely to die of lung cancer than someone that doesn't smoke at all. DuH!

No Streching - How ridiculous, common sense alone says this article would be harmful to people.

This is actually true. Coming from a person trainer. Your muscles need to be WARM before you strech. NO you should not go right into weights and rigorous excercise without warming up. NOR should you go into streching without the muscles being warm. Warm up can include a fast paced walk with trying to move the muscles you will be using or jogging to get warmed up. THEN streching is healthy to take place. followed then by the rest of your work out . If you strech while muscles are cold you are more likely to suffer tears and strains. as well have sprains of tendons or ligaments

I just stopped reading after seeing this.

Dear readers, thanks for your feedback. Best Health of course is a strong advocate of warming up before any physical activity, whether it be running, lifting weights or even gardening or shovelling snow. But a lot of recent research points out that static stretching before exercise is not beneficial and may even be harmful. If you have sources that say otherwise we'd love to see them. Thanks!

this is COMPLETELY false... pro athletes, doctors, trainers will all tell you to stretch. and they're the best. this is the dumbest thing i've ever read.

There we go, trainers and their advises. How can stretch after a warm up before a workout be bad, if you are preparing your muscles for a rigorous work out!?

The article fails to point at a difference between Static versus Dynamic stretch, which one does what. Instead now, readers will come to the gym and think its ok to go lie down on a bench and do your routine, as it is everyone wants a quickfix.

So here it is fellas, dont prepare your body before you take on weights. But if you do! You may as well prepare yourself for a tear, or, a pinch.

Skipping Breakfast, only to end up eating more calories later!!!!? WTF? a Preemptive strike?? What if, one skips breakfast, eats snack moderately and healthy, and end up having a sensible low caloric supper, drinks a lot of water during the day, and goes to sleep without loading on carbs?

This column failed very badly in my opinion, simply because it failed to address the concerns of choices. You need to stretch before a workout, the only thing is that, one needs to understand physical exercise and what to do and how to do. That comes from a trainer, who knows what they are talking about, instead of anything and everything goes, according to new school!!!