Even if you truly love working out, I'm going to bet that you don't love the muscle soreness that comes afterward. I mean, there's something kind of rewarding about a little soreness the next day, but the kind of pain that makes it hard to walk like a normal person? I'll pass on that, thanks.

I recently read about a product called The Stick on one of the running blogs I follow. It promises to "prevent and predict muscle injuries, dramatically improve strength, flexibility and endurance, rapidly prepare muscles for physical activity, disperse the effects of lactic acid following activity, and accelerate muscle recovery." I don't know about you, but those are all things I could use some help with.

Lots of professional sports teams use it, including the New York Knicks, Miami Dolphins, and Baltimore Orioles, but it can also be used by non-athletes who are just looking for the best way to massage and warm up muscles.

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Do you warm up before you exercise? You should. Do you cool down afterwards? You should. Here's why.

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Exercise is one of the greatest gifts you can give your body -- as long as you do it right. Check out these three fitness mistakes, guaranteed to up your risk for strain, soreness, and injury.

• Forgetting to warm up and cool down Warming up reduces the risk of injury, and stretching after a workout prevents soreness. Be sure to stretch right, though -- improper stretching can be just as dangerous as not stretching at all. A basic rule: Don't bounce. It will cause tears in your muscles.
• Not cross-training You've got to mix it up, because doing the same thing over and over again results in overused and strained muscles. Get a well-rounded workout by practicing a variety of cardio and strength training activities.
• Engaging in improper form Don't rush through your workout. Pay attention to quality, not quantity, so you don't strain your muscles. Ever blast through a set of crunches and feel all sorts of pulling on your neck? Bad form, indeed.

Are you committing any of these fitness crimes? I am -- I rarely stretch and I mostly run for my cardio. Time for some behavior modification. And you?

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Before starting a resistance training workout, you should always perform a few warm up sets. This is for two reasons, really: 1) It will prepare your muscles for the workload that is about to be placed on them, and 2) It raises your core body temperature, helping to get the blood flowing.

To warm up properly, use a much lighter weight than you normally would to perform a specific exercise. For example, if you are doing the bench press, and you usually lift 185 pounds for sets, warm up with a set of ten reps at 135 pounds. Then, you may also want to perform a second warm up set, only this time using a somewhat heavier weight than the first warm up set (maybe add an additional 10-pound plate to each side of the bar). Once finished with that set, you should be sufficiently warmed up and ready to jump into your first real set.

In addition to warm up sets, it's a good idea to perform at least a 5-minute cardio warm-up on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical machine. This, too, will help get your body loose and ready for your resistance training workout.

Weight Loss Dude recently asked the question Do Microwave Ovens Make You Fat? and I think he has a valid point. After all, what do we use microwaves for? Popcorn, frozen pizzas and other convenience foods that aren't good for us. But there's more to it than that -- there are several theories out there that using a microwave on your food destroys the nutrients in your food, and this could perhaps cause your body to store your microwaved food as fat.

I don't know how true this is but I think we all need to practice safe microwaving techniques; the microwave should never replace healthy home-cooking. Reheating healthy left-overs is fine, but make sure to avoid using the microwave for non-nutritious food.

What do you think?

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I sprained my ankle about a year ago and one of the hardest things to get used to (besides using crutches) was taking a break from my workout routine. Most people would welcome the imposed laziness but I was really into going to the gym and when I'm tin the mindframe to go to the gym, I don't want to mess with that -- fore soon, I'll be a full-blown couch potato if I don't keep up with my workouts.

My sprain was a result of my overwhelming clumsiness, but it's surprisingly easy to injure yourself while working out. Don't let an injury sideline you -- here are some tips for avoiding injuries:

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Stretching is one of those basic things we all know we should do but all too often end up skipping, or worse yet, doing incorrectly. So number one don't skip it! And if you think you might be doing it incorrectly here's a few general guidelines to make sure you're doing it right:

• Spend at least 5 to 10 minutes stretching before any exercise.
• Keep muscles relaxed, move slowly, and never bounce.
• Stretch until you feel tension in the muscles, but not so far that it hurts.
• While breathing slowly and deeply (don't hold your breath!) hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds.
• Relax, and then stretch for another few seconds before moving on.
• Repeat each stretch several times.

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It's always good to remember the basics, especially when it comes to your fitness and exercise routine. And thanks to our friends over at FitSugar we have this handy reminder of 5 things all good workouts should include:

• Warm-Up. If you're excited to get started it's easy to jump right in to your routine, but skipping this step could result reduced calorie-burning or worse, injury.
• Cardio. It has great benefits not only for weight loss and weight management, but also for your heart and cardiovascular system, reducing your risk of disease and health problems.
  
• Flexibility training. Stretching and keeping flexible is good for preventing injury, reducing muscle soreness, and getting/keeping healthy joints.
• Strength training. Also a major player in weight loss and weight management, resistance training also enhances strength and posture, reduces the risk of back injury, and has been shown to help with bone health.
• Cool-down. It's never good to start anything physical and/or quit abruptly, so a cool-down is necessary to get the most health benefits from any workout. Cooling down helps the heart rate slow down more naturally, can help prevent blood from pooling, and reduces the chances of dizziness or fainting.

Does your workout have all these pieces? Honestly, I don't always do cardio and strength training in the same session, but I'm thinking that's okay. I hope so anyway!

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