Welcome to the Get Fit Guys, quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up, in which we're going to talk about whether you should quit exercising.

My name is Ben Greenfield. I'm the Get Fit Guy, and we've actually reached a milestone. This is episode number 200.

So I figured why not celebrate this momentous occasion

by telling you to stop exercising?

At least, that's what I was tempted to do.

Why?

Well, in the past week, I've been randomly exposed to snippets of research

showing how bad exercise can be for you.

First, I read this new study that found that female triathletes are at risk of pelvic floor disorders,

like urinary or bowel incontinence, as well as female athlete triad syndrome,

the symptoms of which include reduced energy as a result of poor eating patterns,

menstrual problems, and abnormal bone density. Yikes. Next, a report this week on a cluster of

studies on osteoarthritis show that there seems to be a high prevalence of excessive

joint breakdown and arthritis, especially in the lower limbs,

among former elite athletes from team and individual sports, compared to people from the general

population and other occupational sectors. And finally, the icing on the cake occurred while

I was, ironically, driving to a Spartan race. I was listening to a TED Talks

presentation by Dr. James O'Keeve entitled, Run for Your Life, at a comfortable pace and not

too far. It's a very interesting presentation, and I'll actually put a link to it in the show

notes over at quick and dirty tips.com for this episode, episode 200.

In the presentation, which I actually talked about before in the episode, is running bad for you,

Dr. Akeef points out some pretty compelling research that shows that many of us may really be

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