That's Fit

I've been swimming every day. I'm doing laps, jumping jacks, push-ups, dips, bunny hops, and a little running too. Like I usually get with exercise, I'm starting to become a bit addicted to my new sport. It's because the water feels great on hot Florida days, I feel so many of my muscles at work, and I feel an ever-so-slight soreness the day after I swim. It's a good sore, a WOW-that-really-worked sore.

Water workouts have long been considered a good form of exercise. They're good for muscle tension and soreness too, says a recent European study suggesting that working out in warm water for three hours a week for eight months may help easy fibromyalgia -- a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points. All exercise can help this condition, but swimming takes away the pain and fatigue land workouts often impose. Water therapy is less stressful on the body, there's no need to support the weight of your body since the water does it for you, and heated water can actually relax muscles.

Nowadays, I swear by swimming. Give it a try and see if you do too.

Think stretching helps prevent soreness after exercise? Not so, says a recent review of 10 stretching-related studies.

Stretching, either before or after exercise, seems to have little or no effect on muscle soreness, say the results of this review that are really pretty convincing -- for healthy, young adults, anyway. Further studies on other groups are necessary.

Stretching is still good -- it improves flexibility, helps prevent injuries, enhances sports performance, and promotes a sense of relaxation and well-being. Preventing post-workout soreness just isn't one of its benefits.

If there's one downside to resistance training, it's the soreness typically experienced a day or two after the most recent workout. Fortunately, our bodies becomes more and more adjusted to the workload over time and soreness becomes less and less of a problem. Still, those days after starting a new workout can be brutal. That's why some new research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research may be the physical reprieve some newbies are looking for.

Women's Health magazine highlights this study in their current issue, citing the discovery that performing quick bursts of cardio between strength training sets reduces post-workout soreness. Because cardio pushes more blood to muscles when done at elevated intensity, the quick delivery helps prevent further muscle damage and also begins a rapid repair. This, as stated, leaves you feeling less sore in the days to come.

For optimal results, the article suggests 30- to 45-second bursts of intense cardio between your resistance training sets. A very easy way of doing this (and a method that does not require you to occupy too many pieces of gym equipment at once -- a big no-no in some circles) is to bring a jump rope with you and get that thing spinning in overdrive in between sets!!

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

If every person who joined your local gym actually went, it would be near impossible to get in and out of the place in less than three hours. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), research shows that around 60 percent of people who start an exercise program throw in the towel within the first six weeks. While there are many reasons for this precipitious rate of attrition, one stands out as the most widely reported: Pain.

Be it soreness or injury, many people discontinue their workout program soon after starting because they experience physical discomfort. Normal delayed-onset muscle soreness is what you feel the day (or the day after that) following a day of intense exercise. Your muscles are not accustomed to such stress, so they feel very taxed by the new workload. This is, as stated before, normal. Does it being normal make it suck any less? Not really, but if it makes you feel better, this is a sign that your muscles are becoming stronger.

What's not normal is pain caused by injury. Unlike delayed-onset sorness, injury can be felt almost immediately or within a few hours. And, unlike muscle soreness, it does not always go away within a few days. What's more, exercising while injured will almost invariably exacerbate the problem, whereas soreness can be dealt with with rest and light exercise.

Stretching is one of those things you're told to always do when you embark on a fitness routine -- but is it really necessary? A new study shows that stretching before or after a workout does not prevent soreness or stiffness. The results were consistent over several tests, and came as a surprise to many -- myself included. I've always felt that my pre-run stretch was a huge help in preventing soreness compared to runs when I didn't stretch beforehand.

That's not to say you shouldn't stretch at all -- stretching has other benefits, such a flexibility. And really, who doesn't wish they were a bit more flexible?