The First 20 Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds

Takeaways from The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter and Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds.

• "In the past decade, a growing number of studies gave shown that static stretching not only does not prepare muscles for activity; it almost certainly does the reverse. ... For runners and other endurance athletes, the utility of being limber at all is in question. "
• "To a large degree, flexibility is genetic, ... you've been born stretchy or not."
• A "warm-up should be a prelude to exertion, not the exertion itself."
• "Plenty of people still believe that eight glasses (of water) a day nonsense...The lesson is to drink what you need but no more and no less....If you're thirsty, drink. If you're not, you probably are hydrated."
• For the most bang from your workout, in terms of weight loss, intensity is the way to go."
• To better approximate running over ground, set your treadmill to a !% grade.
• Weight training may be more effective against diabetes than endurance exercise. Weight trainers had better sugar control.
• Weight training appears to be the best remedy against loss of joint flexibility; more effective than stretching.
• Pickle juice is effective against cramping.
• Exercise speeds the brain's production of serotonin. Abnormally low levels of serotonin have been associated with anxiety and depression.
• Exercise at the molecular level has a strong anti-aging effect.