Top 10 ways to tune up your body
1. [Lift weights to increase your flexibility.] By performing weight-training exercises through your full range of motion, you can build strength and extensibility in your muscles and connective tissues all at once, says Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., an Indianapolis-based strength coach. "Exercises such as lunges, chinups, squats, and Romanian deadlifts improve your performance in the gym and on the sports field better than static stretching," he says. (Note: Hartman does recommend static stretching for injury prevention-see The Rehab Clinic on page 134 for an example.) 2. [Drink milk.] There's been a backlash against the stuff in recent years due to the fat and high calorie content. But switch to skim and you've got one of the cheapest, simplest, and most effective post-workout shakes available. "Twenty ounces provides an ample serving of carbs and both whey and casein protein, two kinds that are absorbed at different rates," says Hartman. "The comb...