Beruflich Dokumente
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MARCH 2019
03
MARCH 2019 £4.30
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FIGHT
FAT& Muscle-
Building
WIN!
Hacks For
TRUE GRIT: MASTERING THE SCIENCE OF WILLPOWER P66
Very Busy
Men
Hotwire Your CHRIS
Metabolism p72 HEMSWORTH
THE HUMBLEST
Burn Calories SUPERHERO YOU’RE
LIKELY TO MEET
& Build Brawn
Gutbusting Kit
Tried &Tested p104
33
TREND ON TRIAL
THE
100%
MEAT
BEST NEW FITNESS
CLASSES IN THE UK DIET
Does It Have Legs?
BOOST BRAIN
POWER
With Beer.Yes,That’s Correct
03/2019 THE WEIGHT-LOSS ISSUE
P37 CARVE OUT NEW STAMINA P19 SPREAD YOURSELF THINNER P52 WORDS OF WISDOM
An innovative piece of cardio kit is bringing For fast fat loss, peanut butter and jam are Why “self-talk” is the secret to elite cardio
the slopes to your gym. Pack a bobble hat the best things between sliced bread endurance. It’s a trick worth shouting about
P94 KING OF THE SWINGERS P27 DIETS ARE OVERRATED P66 THE WILL TO SUCCEED
Master the American kettlebell swing to Clean eating isn’t enough if you’re hungry for Grit and determination are not character
blast your fat-burning workouts skyward a slimmer physique. There’s a better way… traits but skills you can hone. This is how
P110 REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST P28 MAXIMUM WATTAGE P60 PLEASURES OF THE FLESH
The decade that fashion forgot is being NFL powerhouse JJ Watt on how pushing Can eating nothing but meat revitalise your
reimagined. Which is your 1970s style tribe? his body to the limit saw him through injury health? MH meets the human carnivores
6 MEN’S HEALTH
ON THE COVER
P91 MUSCLE-BUILDING HACKS
Don’t let an unforgiving schedule
IN THIS ISSUE
stifle your ambitions. Use our PT THE MOVES TO MAKE YOUR GOALS SUBMIT
special to sculpt muscle – fast
TOBY WISEMAN
DEPUTY EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR STYLE DIRECTOR
DAVID MORTON DECLAN FAHY ERIC DOWN
HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH OUR TEAM OF SPECIALISTS PHOTO DIRECTOR EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER FEATURES EDITOR
VICI CAVE RACHAEL CLARK SCARLETT WRENCH
ART EDITOR ART DIRECTOR PICTURE EDITOR
JESSICA WEBB WILLIAM JACK FRANKIE HILL
COMMISSIONING EDITOR CHIEF DEPUTY STYLE
(PRINT AND DIGITAL) SUBEDITOR EDITOR
TED LANE YO ZUSHI SHANE C KURUP
STYLE ASSISTANT SUBEDITOR JUNIOR FITNESS EDITOR
RICCARDO CHIUDIONI LEAH CRAIG MICHAEL JENNINGS
DEPUTY DIGITAL EDITOR DIGITAL EDITOR JUNIOR DIGITAL WRITER
ED COOPER ROBERT HICKS DANIEL DAVIES
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AGENCY DIVISION
GROUP AGENCY DIRECTOR CHIEF AGENCY OFFICER REGIONAL AGENCY DIRECTOR
JONI MORRISS JANE WOLFSON CLARE CROOKES
DIRECTOR, CLIENT DIRECT HEAD OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AGENCY DIRECTOR, PRINT
MATT HAYES LUCY PORTER CHLOE BARRINGTON
BUSINESS MANAGER HEAD OF CLASSIFIED
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Success can be a matter Could you survive – even Crunch your abs into a COMMUNICATIONS
of holding your resolve. flourish – on meat alone? six-pack with the V-up HEAD OF PR HEAD OF PR AND
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DEPUTY HEAD OF PR
AND COMMUNICATIONS
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Unleash your inner athlete Spector separates the and press. Let LA-based EFFIE KANYUA BEN BOLTON
with Foxley’s simple dietary myths from the Bruno give you a hard- PR MANAGER PR AND COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE
CLARE FENNY GEORGIA BLACK
mindset reboot p71 established science p60 core upgrade p21
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8 MEN’S HEALTH
EDITOR’S LETTER
82
PAGE
LASTING SUCCESS BEGINS WITH SELF-BELIEF
60
In the Utah desert, freeriders
hurtle down cliffs in search of
glory. MH chases the bikers
who conquered their fears
PAGE
Rejecting the warnings
of science, followers of
the latest diet trend
are abandoning all but
meat. Could it work?
We flesh out the facts
54 76
PAGE
PAGE
72 66
PAGE
PAGE
Maximise your weight If self-control is the key
loss with our metabolism- to progress, can it be
spiking tricks, from new trained? Three men
workout hacks to easy reveal how they became
nutritional upgrades masters of their will
91
PAGE
the New Year, New You trap. Despite being
an arbitrary invention, we are inexorably
Short on time but seduced by the calendar and the idea
I
long on fat-burning that we’re in annual need of resurrection,
t might seem odd – antiquated even – aspiration? Beat the along with all the guilt and anxiety and
demands of your
that at a time when everyone in self-flagellation that goes with it.
schedule with our
possession of a smartphone has the quick-fire strategies Over the past month or so, my favourite
ability to publish content at the push of mental salve has been the Twitter feed of
a button, we monthly magazine types are Men’s Health contributor and all-round
still beholden to lead times, future gazing sage Matt Haig: “You are not an iPhone.
and holding tight while the ink dries. And plagues the spirit in the post-festive, You don’t need replacing every year.” Or:
yet, I tell myself, that’s the price you pay midwinter months. That’s why I’m writing “Just be kind to yourself. Get to know the
for proper editorial craft and the tactile this in as close to real time as I can, with old you. Don’t throw yourself away like
luxury of holding something that has been the hand of 2019 firmly upon me and a another piece of plastic.” And: “My New
painstakingly cultivated with your readers production editor’s gun to my head: so Year’s resolution is to resolve not to
in mind. Unfortunately, it’s also why I ended I can empathise more sincerely with the resolve. To stop seeing myself as a Russian
up writing the last March issue’s Ed’s Letter mindset that accompanies February, doll with endless better versions inside.”
on Christmas Eve, with Slade playing in the the ancient month of purification. Right now, this feels like a far more
background and a mulled wine on the go. This is the Weight-Loss Issue, and apposite recipe for Lent happiness.
This time around, I determined to be at least that much I appear to have got It speaks of durability, vitality and
different. No matter how many Yuletides right – after a Christmas spent pickling equanimity. Perhaps most importantly,
one has experienced or Get Back in Shape my organs in Suffolk cask ale and a it smacks of belief. I’ll drink to that.
specials worked on, nothing can quite subsequent few weeks feebly battling
prepare you for that peculiar strain of persistent flu, my torso doesn’t need TOBY WISEMAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
melancholy and existential angst that tightening so much as recasting. But from
a mental point of view, I can’t help but feel
resentful for having fallen so readily into
MEN’S HEALTH 11
ASK MH
QUENCHING YOUR THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
Q
DRY JANUARY IS OVER.
IS YOUR BELLY
A HEART THREAT?
To determine your risk,
here’s how to calculate
your waist-hip ratio
tend to weigh less than teetotallers. Storey-Gordon, without exceeding of your glutes.
Still, weight isn’t everything. your calorie allowance.
According to researchers at the Mayo Finally, fill up on fibre, aiming for
Clinic, extra fat around your middle, 30g per day. This creates a healthy
synonymous with beer drinkers, microbiome in your gut, reducing
makes you up to four times more inflammation and your likelihood of
likely to develop metabolic disorders obesity. We’ll raise a jar to that. iii/ SUM TOTAL
than leaner types. That’s the real risk Divide waist by hips.
If it’s 0.9 or higher, it’s
you run by returning to booze. time to take action.
MEN’S HEALTH 13
ASK MH
LEARN TO FOLLOW YOUR GUT INSTINCT
TEXT
A PT
AVOIDING THE USUAL
Hi. I’ve cramped up on my run, SUSPECTS CAN DO MORE
and I’m still a few miles from HARM THAN GOOD
home. What are my options?
14 MEN’S HEALTH
EDITED BY TED LANE
03 GIVE YOUR
ABS A LIFT
PAGE 21
04 UPPER
CRUST FUEL
PAGE 22
22
5 AT- LO SS
F ORT CUTS
SH
11 SMARTER
PAGE 31
DRINKING
06
PUNCH
FAT IN
THE GUT
PAGE 25
ARCH 2019
M
13
SALUTE
YOUR NEW 07
PHYSIQUE
PAGE 33 CRUSH
YOUR
FIRE UP YOUR GOALS
TOAST EXCESS ENDURANCE
CALORIES PAGE 27
01 PAGE 19 PAGE 25
MEN’S HEALTH 17
01
DOUBLE
FAT LOSS
02
IN RARE
FORM A
WEIGHT LOSS
NEWSFEED
SPREAD 03/19
YOURSELF
THINNER
For upper-crust fat
loss, peanut butter
and jam are the best
things between sliced
bread. Bring napkins
LEANER LOAF
That’s breakfast sorted.
T
Now fuel all-day fat loss
he worthy with our recipe for the
fat-burning ultimate steak sarnie
breakfast
options that RYE
are championed by A Swedish
fitness influencers study found
are almost uniformly that rye is more satiating
joyless and time- and less fattening than
consuming. Another cold an average wheat loaf.
Tupperware of overnight This dense bread packs
oats does little to excite four times the fibre and
the taste buds, and 20% fewer calories.
knocking up a superfood
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP | FOOD STYLIST: NICO GHIRLANDO
MEN’S HEALTH 19
03
GIVE IT
THE V A
THE BEST 01
EXERCISE
WHY 2019 IS YOU’RE
SITTING
COMFORTABLY
I
t’s all too easy to fall back
on the classic moves when
desperately trying to rework
your abs. But relying on sit-ups
earns you only half the benefits.
For a truly ripped middle – which,
02
FLYING V
let’s be honest, is your ultimate Balancing on your
aim after weeks of clean eating to glutes, lean your
shed your winter coat – you need to torso back and raise
target your entire core, not just the your feet off the
abdominals that sit at the front. ground, extending
“The hollow body position your legs up and out
forces you to engage your in front of you under
obliques,” says Los Angeles- control. Find your
based celebrity trainer balance – this is the
Ben Bruno. “The key is to starting position.
keep a steady torso and try
to avoid twisting or falling.” It’s the
instability that targets your deeper
core for a functional strength 03 04
MODEL: CHRISTOPHER WHITLOW AT ANDI PETERS MODELS | TRACKPANTS EU.PUMA.COM, TRAINERS ASICS.COM
WHAT
YOU’LL
GAIN POPPING
ABS
CORE
CONTROL
BOULDER
SHOULDERS
GYMNAST
BALANCE
MEN’S HEALTH 21
THE HEALTH SNOB’S GUIDE TO
PROPER PIES
For too long, this definitive British comfort
food has been unjustly neglected by
gourmands and gym-goers alike. Here, we
celebrate its upper-crust nutritional cred
02
MAKE YOUR CASE
01
Puff pastry and potato toppings require
PUT A LID ON IT little explanation, while hot water crusts
are rare. So we’ll focus on shortcrust
Once a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, the humble pie has slipped
– an essential part of any man’s culinary
into the doldrums of Wetherspoon’s pub grub and reheated
armoury. “This delicate pastry is perfect
football-stadium tuck. But Tristan Welch, head chef at Cambridge
for pies, because it soaks up the sauce and
brasserie Parker’s Tavern, wants to reverse this own goal. Done
takes on its flavour,” says Welch. Start by
right, pies are a nutritious, macro-laden payload presented
sifting 225g of flour into a bowl that has a
inside a deliciously buttery parcel. They’re a crust above, in
silicone base (£20 lakeland.co.uk) – this
other words. This is how to get a slice of the action.
will keep it steady when you’re mixing later.
Slice 100g of butter into small pieces over
the flour; use two knives rather than your
A CHICKEN TIKKA fingers to keep the butter cool. Mix together
The combination of muscle-building and, once a fine crumb forms, add two egg
protein – an impressive 23g per 100g yolks and a splash of cool water, gradually
– and the metabolism-enhancing
stirring until the mixture has evenly
spice of tikka marinade makes this
upgrade of football’s iconic balti pie combined. Use the flat of the knife to
a true game changer when you’re fold it into a dough, then shape it into
aiming for a lean, strong physique. a disc with your hands. Roll out your pastry,
occasionally rotating the dough 90 degrees.
A smart rolling pin (£20 johnlewis.com)
B SARDINES
The ultimate oily fish, sardines with attachments on both ends will help you
are full to the gills with omega-3 to achieve an even thickness. Wrap in cling
fatty acids. Their anti-inflammatory film and chill for 20 minutes. Then, trim to
properties help to prevent heart
fit, brush with an egg and start preparing
disease, reducing your risk of
life-threatening blood clots and your application for next
lowering your blood pressure. year’s Bake Off.
D SAUSAGE MEAT
That sausages make you happy is
obvious. But allow us to present
some scientific evidence. As a
source of choline, the porcine filling
plays a role in the formation of
SAM-e, a feel-good hormone that
helps to relieve depression.
22 MEN’S HEALTH
04
READY
TO ROLL
05
HOME
ADVANTAGE A
03
FILL YOUR
PIE HOLE
From a bite-sized
Melton Mowbray to a
massive masala, pies
can sate all appetites.
Falcon’s pie set (£55
falconenamelware.
com) covers all bases:
its enamel finish
transfers heat evenly
for a perfectly cooked
filling, and no chance
of a disappointingly A B
soggy bottom. Once MUSCLE-UP TIKKA MASALA PIE TAKE HEART STARGAZY PIE
you’ve updated SERVES 8 METHOD SERVES 4 METHOD
your kitchenware, A chicken, whole Marinate the chicken overnight in the Sardines, 4 Reduce the stock by half and whisk in
A jar of tikka marinade fridge, then roast at 190°C for an hour. Fish stock, 250ml the crème fraîche, mustard and vinegar.
follow Welch’s expert
An onion, finely chopped Rest, then debone. For the sauce, fry Crème fraîche, 125g Trim the pastry into a rectangle and
recipes to make Garlic, 3 cloves, crushed the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in English mustard, 25g cut out six golf-ball-sized holes around
your cooking time Ginger, 6cm, c hopped butter. Blend the tomatoes and cashew White wine vinegar, 1tbsp the edge. Brush with the yolk, then
as easy as, well, pie. Chilli powder, 1tsp nuts, then add to the pan. Cook for 20 All-butter puff pastry, bake for 20 minutes. Fillet the sardines
Tinned tomatoes, 400g minutes, pour in the cream, bring to a 250g and grill alongside the heads and tails.
Cashew nuts, 4tbsp boil, add the chicken, then fill a pie dish. An egg yolk Chop and fry the bacon and onions and
Double cream, 300ml Mix the flour and butter until crumbs Streaky bacon, poach the eggs. Arrange the sardine
Plain flour, 150g form. Stir in two yolks and cold water to 150g, unsliced fillets, bacon, onions and eggs in the
Butter, 100g, cubed bind the dough. Roll it, wrap in film and Baby onions, 16, halved dish and pour in the sauce. Cover with
Eggs, 3 chill for 20 minutes. Brush with egg and Quail’s eggs, 16 the pastry, poking the fish heads and
Cold water, 3tbsp bake at 180°C for 30 minutes. Dig in. tails through the holes, and serve.
PATRIOT
GAINS
Science suggests
the best of British
is often the best
for your health, too
FISH AND
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY I FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS | TEA TOWELS COURTESY OF DEXAM
CHIPS
Go heavy on
the vinegar. Research
WITH THANKS TO PARKER’S TAVERN, CAMBRIDGE, PARKERSTAVERN.COM | *NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY
SUNDAY
ROAST C D
The rosemary
with your lamb and AGE-DEFYING SHEPHERD’S PIE ALL SMILES FIDGET PIE
roasted veg can give SERVES 4 SERVES 8
METHOD METHOD
you a cognitive boost Lamb neck chops, 8, Pork sausage meat, 700g Combine the butter, flour and lard in
Roast the potatoes at 140°C. Flour the
and 15% improvement in on the bone Butter, 55g, cubed a paddle mixer, adding the water to form
lamb and brown in a casserole dish.
short-term memory*. Maris Piper potatoes, Plain flour, 265g, plus the dough of your hot water crust. Set
Remove the chops and add the onion,
600g carrots and celery. Add the butter and extra for dusting aside to cool. Roll and layer inside a pie
An onion, sliced flour, mix and add the stock. Simmer, put Strong white bread tin, then freeze. Remove and crimp the
FULL into rings the chops back in and cook. Scoop the flour, 55g rim. Mix the mustard seeds, meat and
ENGLISH Carrots, 8, peeled potatoes into a bowl and combine with Lard, 65g half of the bacon, diced, and form into
Be generous Celery, 2 sticks milk and butter to create the mash. After Water, 135ml, boiling a patty. Wrap in a lattice of the remaining
when you’re ladling on Butter, 150g, diced two hours, remove the lamb and add the Mustard seeds, 4tsp bacon and drop into the pastry. Bake at
your side of baked beans. Plain flour, ½tbsp peas. Divide the mix into four dishes, add Streaky bacon, 600g 180°C until the centre is 74°C. Reduce
The high fibre content Lamb stock, 350ml two chops each, crossing the bones at Pork stock for gelatin the stock and pour in. Caramelise the
and the antioxidant Milk, 100ml the top. Pipe the mash over and bake for Red apples, 6, sliced apples and layer on top before glazing
lycopene will take a bite Frozen peas, 4tbsp another hour at 160°C. It’s worth the wait. Apricot jam, 2tbsp with heated apricot jam. Now, pig out.
out of your cancer risk.
MEN’S HEALTH 23
WHAT
HAPPENS
06
GOING
PRO A
WHEN…
…I TAKE PROBIOTICS?
With the “good bacteria” industry predicted to be worth
£36bn by 2022, we put probiotics under the microscope
to see if the purported health panacea really has the guts
REBALANCE YOUR
HEALTH FROM
INSIDE OUT
02 01
01
INSIDE TRACTS
The idea that your overall
wellbeing begins in your gut is
increasingly gaining credence.
Safeguard your “good bacteria”,
the thinking goes, and you’ll
set up both body and mind for
a healthier outlook. But don’t
reach for those yogurt shots
just yet. Your best bet is to take
your probiotics in an acid-
resistant capsule that protects
them from stomach acid until
they reach your intestines. For
maximum payload, pop a supp
02 30 minutes before breakfast.
BUGS OF WAR
The effects of your first dose
WORDS: TOM WARD | ILLUSTRATION: PETER GRUNDY | *BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION | **EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION
COMBAT
MOISTURE
AND HEAT
YOU SET
YOUR GOALS
LEADING SPORTS CLOTHING BRAND JOMA IS HELPING YOU RECLAIM YOUR LOVE OF SPORT WITH A RANGE THAT
PRIORITISES YOUR EXERCISE EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU’RE IN SEARCH OF GOAL-SMASHING SUCCESS
W
hen you’re deciding what kit to
wear for your sporting pursuits, THE TECH LOW-DOWN
don’t leave it to guesswork. As one Joma believes that now is the time to
of the world’s leading sportswear play sports simply for the sake of it – for
STAY COOL From base layers to
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brands, endorsed by professional sports teams pure enjoyment. This is the message the kit is crafted with sweaty-sessions in mind.
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ago – can be relied on to assist you with not design today. Joma recognises that you’re design ensures you’ll look the
just reaching, but surpassing your goals. always on the lookout for new sports and part while performing your best.
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we’re constantly being told the best way to enable you to obtain the results you sporting necessities for better results,
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THE DEVIL’S
07
CRASHING
DOWNS
08
DIETARY
VICES A
ADVOCATE
> DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
TRAINING MATTERS RELYING ON CLEAN 1 WORTH THE WEIGHT
W
e’ve all been guilty of it:
3 HUMBLE PIE
Dieters who rate their self-
smugly swallowing a control highly often fail first,
mouthful of greens before because they make less of
regurgitating platitudes an effort to avoid temptation.
such as, “Abs are made in the kitchen,” or,
equally misguidedly, “It’s 90% diet.” We’ve
been fed the same message for
years – changing what you eat
is the surest route to getting
in shape for the long term.
However, no matter how
you serve it, it’s nonsense.
Without rebooting both your
training and your diet
together, you’ll never tip
the scales in your favour.
Researchers at the
Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE | *INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY | **CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF KOREA
MEN’S HEALTH 27
HOW I
BUILT MY
BODY
HIT THE
GROUND
RUNNING
Follow NFL All-Pro
JJ Watt’s path back
to the top and regain
your peak, no matter
your starting point
T
hanks to a herniated
disc, the Houston
Texans defensive end
JJ Watt played in only
three games in 2016. Then he
fractured his shinbone in just
the fifth week of the following
season. However, after a gruelling
off-season regimen, Watt, a three-
time defensive player of the year, Watt also tracked everything
entered the next campaign in he ate for a year, which he credits
the best shape of his career. with allowing him to tune into
The strategies he used to come his body. Now, he says he
back stronger than ever weren’t doesn’t need to count
complicated. Even before Watt’s calories: instead, he eats
major back injury, he had long when he’s hungry and
prioritised his core training, focuses only on portion
and now he emphasises it even sizes. He also weighs
more. His 20-minute programme himself daily to ensure
changes daily but involves plenty he stays on track.
of planks (single leg, single arm, Watt finds it helpful
with a 20kg plate strapped to to evaluate his
his back and his feet elevated achievements on
six inches) and the surprisingly a day-to-day basis.
gruelling dead bugs. Recovery is a marathon,
During rehab, Watt utilised a not a sprint. Breaking his
range of single-leg exercises and leg was devastating, he
drills, too. “They build balanced says: “I’d worked so hard
strength and agility,” he says. to return from my back
He still performs plenty of lunge surgery the year before.”
variations, as well as single-leg Although the physical pain
Romanian deadlifts and Bulgarian was challenging, Watt found
split squats. And he is smart in the mental aspect of rehab
6’4”
the way he divides his week of was even harder. “Some days,
training. He does one heavy legs you progress rapidly; on others,
day to provide the strength and you stumble and may even go
power required to make an backwards. But you keep trying to
impact in every play, and one move forward,” he says. Now, as
volume leg day for the match-long you can see, Watt is moving at full
HEIGHT
endurance his muscles need. tilt to reclaim his place at the top
of his sport. We suggest you follow
his lead – or get out of his way.
28 MEN’S HEALTH
09
MEGA
WATT
10
FEED THE
BEAST A
131kg ALL-PRO EATING PLAN
Follow JJ Watt’s simple route
to fuelling an athlete’s physique
THE DIET
Watt’s nutrition plan revolves
WEIGHT
around “clean eating”. He keeps
things simple, focusing meals THIS WAY UP
around whole foods and lean proteins.
THE STAPLES
His healthy-eating staples are
eggs (eight per day), oatmeal,
chicken and brown rice. This
gives him a balance of macronutrients.
CAREER SACKS
THE CHEATS
88
This regimen requires discipline,
but to add some much-needed
joy, Watt schedules two cheat
meals per week – usually pizza.
LOWER-BODY
WORDS: BEN COURT | PHOTOGRAPHY: TURE LILLEGRAVEN
GROOMING: VICTORIA CALLAWAY | CLOTHING BY REEBOK
A A
BLITZ B A
B
Get to the gains B
line by fusing
Watt’s goals of
unilateral strength
and core stability 01/ SINGLE-LEG RDL 02/ DUMBBELL LUNGE 03/ WEIGHTED PLANK
in this three- 5 sets of 3 reps each side 3 sets of 12 reps each side 3 sets of 45 seconds
move workout Hold the barbell to your thighs (A) Stand tall with two dumbbells by your With a weight on your back, assume
and hinge your hips forward, back sides (A). Lunge forward with your a press-up position, legs extended
flat, to lower the weight. With one leg left leg until your right knee brushes (A). Lower into a plank, elbows
straight, extend the other behind you the floor (B). Push back up on your supporting your weight (B). Contract
(B). Return to the start under control. left heel. Repeat with the other leg. your glutes, grit your teeth and hold.
MEN’S HEALTH 29
11
POST-WORK
POWER UP
12
DRINK TO
SUCCESS A
MIND
NEWSFEED
03/19
A DOCTOR’S
DEMENTIA WITH A
BRAIN-AIDING PINT
I
system will be better able to sift decline, US researchers found.
f someone told you that alcohol out the sticky protein plaque
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES | RETOUCHING: COLIN BEAGLEY
could preserve your memory, associated with Alzheimer’s, SAM ADAMS LIGHT
you’d be forgiven for believing known as beta-amyloid. A low calorie count
they’d had one too many. But, Unsurprisingly, scientists are keen isn’t usually enough
according to research published to trot out the well-worn trope that to gain our backing, but this
in Scientific Reports, a pint a day you should enjoy “everything in beer manages to retain its
keeps dementia away. Scientists moderation”, as too much alcohol robust flavour at only 119kcal.
have observed that teetotallers disrupts the glymphatic system and
have a higher risk of developing has a seriously detrimental effect on BREWDOG PUNK IPA
the degenerative disease than your body’s restorative powers. Sage The silicon content
moderate drinkers; in one BMJ advice, given our propensity for of IPAs is good for
study, abstinence in middle-aged turning one pint into six. But at a time strengthening your bones,
people was associated with a 45% when millennials are turning their according to the American
higher risk of Alzheimer’s, compared backs on the local and, as of 2015, Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
with those who consumed up to 29% of those aged between 16 and 24
14 units of alcohol per week – the class themselves as non-drinkers, LEFT HAND GOOD JUJU
standard guideline amount. it’s worth remembering that raising The University of
This happy news comes courtesy a toast to your good health is no Georgia found that
of your glymphatic system, the bad thing. Cheers to that. ginger – of which there’s plenty
network of super-thin tubes in this ale – can reduce muscle
surrounding your brain’s blood soreness after your workout.
MEN’S HEALTH 31
MH VERSUS
13
POSE AND
CONS
14
FIGHTING
CHANTS A
YOGA VS
MEDITATION
YOGA MEDITATION
VS
£74 £195
WORDS: BEN WELCH | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP | *FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE | †JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION | ** MAHARISHI UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT
billion
Since it began
million
The new age of anxiety has
trending in seen self-help start-ups, such
the 1980s, the as meditation app Headspace,
ancient practice has become a grow to become tech giants
multibillion-pound industry valued in the millions
3 1
STRESS KILLERS
Stick at yoga and your levels of brain-derived An Experimental Biology study found a clear
neurotrophic factor – a biomarker that’s reduction in anxiety after just one hour of
lower in those with depression – will triple, guided meditation. This positive impact on
bolstering your mood in the long term* MONTHS HOUR stress levels lasted for as long as one week
FAT CHANCES
A course of restorative yoga is proven to help Mindfulness is the perfect addition to your
you lose more than 2.5 times the amount of
subcutaneous fat than standard stretching,
according to the National Institutes of Health
2.5x 7x weight-loss plan. The University of North
Carolina found that those who meditated lost
seven times as much as those who didn’t
ALL-ROUNDERS
Finish your morning run with downward dogs HEART CENTRE Proven to release nitric oxide, which opens up
and US researchers found you’ll enjoy twice
the drop in blood pressure, which slashes
vascular stress to cut your heart disease risk
2x 30% your blood vessels and lowers blood pressure,
mindfulness can cut your risk of dying from
heart attack or stroke by almost a third†
MUSCLE STRETCH
23% 5MIN
Daily sun salutations may feel purely spiritual, Short, daily meditation has been linked to
but Indian scientists revealed they increase spikes in testosterone and human growth
your bench press strength by 23%. It’s the hormone, which increase protein synthesis
most wholesome route to mirror muscles and support the growth of new muscle cells**
MEN’S HEALTH 33
SCALE UP FOR
GUARANTEED
WEIGHT LOSS
Track your body mass and
composition with pinpoint
accuracy using our expert-
approved scales. Step on it
B
attling the scales is the most
tired of weight-loss tropes.
They are erroneously seen
as something to fear, but
just as every bleep and vibration
from the tech strapped to our wrists
provide helpful feedback, the new,
connected smart scales can be allies
in the fight for lifelong fitness.
Researchers at the University
of Pennsylvania found that those
who weighed in every day over
two years achieved a far superior
drop in both BMI and body fat
compared to data shunners, even
when not on a specific weight-loss
kick. According to the experts,
regularly weighing yourself will
motivate you to engage in healthy
eating and exercise behaviours, PRECISION MADE 90/100 DOCTOR’S OWN 75/100
because it provides daily confirmation Withings Body+ Tanita RD545
that your newly acquired taste for £90 withings.com £407 tanita.eu
cauliflower steaks and CrossFit is
indeed paying dividends.
Performance •••••••••• Performance ••••••••••
This month’s MH Lab experts,
Design •••••••••• Design ••••••••••
the exercise physiologists at Harley
Ease of use •••••••••• Ease of use ••••••••••
Street’s Centre for Health and Human THE WHOLE PICTURE The trend THE SUM OF ITS PARTS The hand
Performance, reviewed five different screen shows you your previous eight sensor allows segmental analysis,
smart scales, putting each to the weigh-ins, so your willpower won’t which provides results for your torso
test against their clinically graded wobble after one bad day. Meanwhile, and each of your arms and legs. This
InBody machine to see which the nutrition-tracking app helps you is the only scale that offered an all-
produced the most accurate results to set goals and achieve them. important visceral fat reading, too.
for body mass and body composition. EXPERT VERDICT After an easy EXPERT VERDICT The segmental
Digest their results, then invest set-up, this scale worked immediately, analysis, which works in a similar
in your future wellness. giving one of the most accurate way to a clinically graded InBody
readings for body mass (but the least device, is a persuasive selling point,
accurate for body fat percentage). but the feature was let down in our
Still, across most metrics, this was the tests. Inaccurate measurements
most precise, giving consistent results and inconsistency make the price
at an impressive price point. point seem unduly high.
34 MEN’S HEALTH
15
MADE TO
MEASURE
16
CRITICAL
MASS A
MH
WINNER
NUMBER
GAMES
The CHHP experts
used the following
criteria to find the
best tech for your
weight-loss goals
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY, STUDIO 33, MICHAEL HEDGE, DAN MATTHEWS, LOUISA PARRY
SET-UP
The ability to
connect to the
app and progress
quickly is key.
The kit should
be easy to use.
ACCURACY
SIGNAL FAILURE 69/100 FAMILY MAN 88/100 The MH Lab tested LIGHT IDEAS 93/100
Garmin Index Fitbit Aria 2 the scales to see QardioBase 2
£150 garmin.com how closely their £130 getqardio.com
£120 argos.co.uk results compared
Performance •••••••••• Performance •••••••••• to the InBody Performance ••••••••••
Design •••••••••• Design •••••••••• results used with Design ••••••••••
Ease of use •••••••••• Ease of use •••••••••• elite athletes.
Ease of use ••••••••••
GROUP ON The Garmin Index goes JOINED-UP THINKING Already on the BASIC INSTINCT This US device offers
further than most scales, measuring tracking bandwagon? This scale the same data as the Fitbit but also,
weight, BMI, body fat, bone mass, works well with Fitbit watches and helpfully, readings for bone mineral
water percentage and skeletal muscle wristbands to show how your activity CONSISTENCY density and body water. Qardio claims
The scales were
mass. As many as 16 people can be impacts your weight and map your checked multiple it’s the most accurate smart scale,
“recognised” by the smart scale. progress in easy-to-read charts. times, to make but we’ll be the judge of that.
EXPERT VERDICT The scale couldn’t EXPERT VERDICT Though fairly sure the data is WEIGHT IN GOLD Simple instructions
consistent and can
fully connect with our network, simple to set up through the app, be implemented
made the set-up easy, but this device
making it difficult to take advantage this scale only gave us basic results practically. gives results to the nearest whole
of the full suite of Garmin’s benefits – body mass, BMI, lean mass and number, so they weren’t as precise.
– comments on forums suggest body fat. It was deemed the most However, in our experiment, it lived
that this problem is not uncommon. accurate overall, but keep an eye up to its hype, measuring body fat
With this incomplete set-up, we could out for outlier results, as it was percentage as closely as possible to
only obtain data on body mass. prone to occasional inconsistency. our clinical-grade InBody readings.
MEN’S HEALTH 35
MH GAME
CHANGERS
WOODWAY
CARVER
PEAK
17
EFFORT
18
ALTITUDE
FITNESS A
TAKE YOUR CARDIO TO NEW HEIGHTS
The Woodway Carver brings an avalanche of stamina-boosting and fat-burning
benefits from the slopes to your gym. MH slaloms through the numbers
E
ven the most ardent iii_
cardiophile will, at
times, experience 7,000
treadmill tedium, In order to perfect
WORDS: BEN WELCH | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | STYLIST: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT | MODEL: CHRISTOPHER WHITLOW AT ANDI PETERS MODELS | TOP CASTORE.COM, SHORTS, TIGHTS AND TRAINERS ALL ADIDAS.CO.UK
v_
i_
12
8
In his suburban garage,
ii_
800KCAL
By challenging your large,
Challenge yourself to
workouts across 12
different runs from three
Dudgeon created this lower-body muscles, a
60-minute Carver workout
well-known ski resorts:
many prototypes of his can burn around 50kcal Zermatt in Switzerland,
invention before taking more than a mind-numbing Whistler in Canada and
it into hi-tech production hour on the rower.
with Woodway.
Mount Fuji in Japan.
INTO THIN AIR IMPROVED MOOD FASTER FITNESS ACCELERATED FAT BURN INJURY REHAB
Intermittent hypoxic
Your levels of the feel- Studies suggest that you Hypoxic exercise has also Taxing your cardiovascular
training inside an altitude
good chemicals dopamine can improve anaerobic been shown to supercharge system at a low intensity
chamber has high-
and serotonin quickly performance by 40%, and lipid and glucose metabolism, rebuilds injured muscles
flying health benefits
increase in your brain. aerobic increases by 20%. as well as control appetite. without sacrificing stamina.
MEN’S HEALTH 37
THE BEST
GYMS IN
THE WORLD
KEEP YOUR FITNESS
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
If you’re bored of barbells and want to shake
up your training, look to the Onnit Academy START
for a brand new twist on building strength AT MACE RIGHT
Wolf often begins an
VALUE hour-long session with
If your gym doesn’t have 20 minutes of joint
I
maces, improvise by mobility exercises: effective
n one corner of a gym in Austin, placing a 5kg weight but not always practical. If
Texas, coach Cristian Plascencia on one side of a barbell. you only have five minutes,
has a client crawling on the turf. Bodyweight moves can he advises rolling around
In another, a broad-shouldered also challenge your body on the floor. Yes, really.
man in his thirties wobbles on a rotationally. In a plank Crawling, crouching and
balance board. Near a SkiErg machine, position, lift your arms off rolling are all important to
an NFL free agent pushes through the ground alternately, our natural functioning.
a series of light kettlebell lunges. keeping your hips still.
Down the hallway, a CrossFit athlete
executes flawless handstands.
The gospel according to Onnit
preaches that you shouldn’t always
lift heavy, and that training with more
than just barbells and dumbbells
will deliver tangible results. Here,
you’ll use maces, clubs and battle
ropes – treated as gimmicks elsewhere
– as training staples, and you’ll feel
and function all the better for it.
Since opening four years ago, Onnit
has established itself as a haven for
innovative training ideas, many of
which are worth integrating into your
own workouts. The key here is rotation:
forget the ups and downs of reps, or the
back-and-forward movements of
sprints. To truly progress, you need
to twist. Unlike the dumbbells and
barbells you typically use, maces and
clubs are heavier on one side, creating
an “offset load”. Fighting to keep them
steady adds rotation to every exercise.
Analysing how you manage this
imbalance reveals your weaknesses.
“We’re looking at these asymmetrical
patterns, asymmetrical loads, and
using them to identify what may
be deficient,” says Onnit’s chief fitness
officer, John Wolf. “If we address
your weakest link, your whole system
will benefit.” Deploy this rotation
philosophy on home soil to become
a complete athlete in weeks.
38 MEN’S HEALTH
19
ROTATION
POLICY
20
STRONG
POINTS A
TRAINING
PARTNERS
BETTER AT It may be in an industrial REST AND
A STROKE park 10 minutes from RESET
A common misconception downtown Austin, but Build in recovery time
is that rowing is an upper- this gym counts NHL after a tough conditioning
body workout. Press away stars Jonathan Toews session to dial down
from the footboard and and Duncan Keith, work stress. It stimulates
contract your quads, Philadelphia Phillies ace your parasympathetic
hamstrings and glutes. Jake Arrieta, and Seattle nervous system to relax
Focus on the push-off in Seahawks safety Earl muscles and lower your
the closing rounds of the Thomas as clients. You’ll heart rate, which can be
class and you’ll cruise learn from the best. chronically high in today’s
across the finish line. always-on office culture.
WORDS: EBENEZER SAMUEL | PHOTOGRAPHY: RIVER JORDAN | DAVID GRENADA/ONNIT GYM
GYM
ONNIT ACADEMY
LOCATION
AUSTIN, TEXAS
WEBSITE
ONNIT.COM
MEN’S HEALTH 39
21
BET ON
RED
22
GO T
TOTAL A
emotional states. When pictured
wearing red, the men were
consistently perceived as more TIME FOR T
MAKE RED-HOT dominant than those in blue or grey.
They were also rated as appearing
Make gains around the clock
with our testosterone spikers
MUSCLE GAINS
“angry” more often than the others.
As a result, scientists believe that 08.00
seeing yourself in red can trigger Swap pre-workout
Maximise your New Year gains similar mental connections, causing coffee with a green
a natural spike in your testosterone. tea. High levels of
with an overhaul of your gym Pull on a rouge top and you’ll enjoy caffeine can spike cortisol,
wardrobe. CrossFitters, take an injection of man’s ultimate which inhibits T release*.
anabolic hormone before leaving
note: red is the new black the gym changing room. 13.45
Even a short-term testosterone Brave a cryotherapy
chamber after an
Y
boost is associated with improved
ou only have to do a lap of physical performance, muscle explosive lunchtime
the gym floor to see that power, aerobic endurance and faster workout to boost T synthesis†.
all-black everything is the recovery times, which explains A cold shower will work, too.
training apparel trend of why research shows that sports 18.00
the moment. But here at Men’s teams wearing red are more likely Reapply your
Health, we prefer to set the agenda, to win. (Except for Jose’s United, aftershave before
rather than to follow it. Besides, obviously.) Inject some colour dinner. A Japanese
those black sheep are missing into your sporting wardrobe and study found floral scents up T
out on a sartorial performance score the results you want, faster. levels, aiding muscle recovery.
enhancer. Be bold and opt for red
gymwear, and research suggests 22.00
it’s your arms and abs that will Most T is produced
truly stand out from the crowd. during sleep, so make
In a study in Biology Letters, it an early night. A
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE | PLATE FROM BULLDOGGEAR.EU, ZIP FROM UNDERARMOUR | *PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE
BUILD HEAVYWEIGHT
MUSCLE WITH A RED-
HOT HORMONE BOOST
†JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH
MUSCLE
NEWSFEED
03/19
MEN’S HEALTH 41
GUTTER CREDIT
Cover Model Muscle
Chris Hemsworth
me, “Hang on, you guys used to have wouldn’t dare Hollywood movie, the phone didn’t ring
fights with ninja stars, chasing each other
around with saws?” And, um, yeah – but
“I thought I’d pull one another
down because,
for eight months. How did you deal with
the pressure and uncertainty?
who didn’t? It was becoming a cliché. My have to go to trust me, you do I was about to quit. I always wanted to
dad said that we were making it sound like
we grew up in the Dark Ages. Australia and enough of that
yourself, you
act, and one of the first things I wanted
to do when I got any money was to pay
So, yes, we’re competitive people, but
ask Home and know? Self- my parents’ house off. I’d once asked Dad
SHORTS BILLABONG, TRAINERS NIKE
no more so with each other than with bashing. I do, when he thought he’d pay it off and he
anyone else. I watch my kids now down Away for a gig” anyway. And I said, “Honestly? Probably never.” Most
at their primary school, and it’s a case know that Liam people are in that boat and, for whatever
of “Who can jump higher?” or “Who can and [eldest brother] Luke do, as well. A reason, I’d set my mind on changing that.
run faster?” It’s in our nature. In some lot of artists suffer from that. So, they’ve So, I was super-active with auditions.
ways more than in others, absolutely. only ever been supportive. This was the Then, during that eight-month period,
process with Thor: I auditioned but I
didn’t get it at first; Liam was auditioning,
44 MEN’S HEALTH
Cover Model Muscle
HEMSWORTH Favourite
exercise?
do them, I use very
light weights. And Last book you
PLAYBOOK Bear crawls on
a Tabata protocol.
distance running:
I find steady-state
recommended?
Some poetry by
You get movement cardio work mind- Charles Bukowski: Most men would relate to that.
in all your joints, numbingly boring. it’s heavy and dark, But we all still need to be reminded of
which you don’t but it can make me it. I still need reminding. My wife will
get from running laugh because it’s probably read this and say, “Hang on!
or lifting weights. so in your face. That wasn’t you yesterday!” [Laughs.]
The advantage is That was kind of the genesis of this app…
Workout
the mobility. It’s a The Centr wellness app that you’ve
anthem?
core exercise, and created with your wife, Elsa Pataky?
It really depends
your heart rate is Yeah, absolutely. The whole thing was
on my mood. Cheat meal?
elevated. You’re about not becoming stagnant. That’s
I often have Pizza: ham and
working your legs, when your emotional and physical
mellow music on pineapple or
shoulders, arms problems occur, I think. Initially, when
when I’m training. pepperoni.
– they’re all the app idea came up, I didn’t want to
It’s almost like
incorporated. And do anything that had been done before.
meditation. The
there’s no impact. I wanted to create something that
Teskey Brothers
Anyone between embodied the three main elements of
– they’re my All-time hero?
five and 80 can healthy living – movement, nutrition and
favourite band Growing up, I would
do it: there’s no mindfulness. That’s a first, I think. For
of all time. They constantly watch
pressure at all. If me to do a great job on screen and not to
are locals from Kelly Slater’s surf
I pick up injuries, implode from the anxiety or the pressure,
Melbourne. Their movies. But he’s
I’ll do this a lot. I’ve got to find that centre. So I thought
mother was the a mate now, so he
about it, talked to my wife, and I was, like,
midwife at my can’t be my hero:
“We could put together a team of people
brother Liam’s that’d be creepy.
in about five minutes!” It actually ended
birth. I can’t get
Least favourite up being a two-year journey, but very
sick of their music.
exercise? quickly I could point to people within
Deadlifts. They’re my reach who’d taught me so much. I’m
hard on my back. Life motto? always getting asked: what’s the secret
I wish I could do “Do stuff, be nice, formula? The truth is that there’s no
them more easily, have fun.” My mum single answer. It’s about staying open to
because there’s and some mates advice, learning and constantly growing.
something very have it tattooed. Do you think the app will help men
Good, isn’t it? become more active?
I hope so. I remember this quote by Mark
Manson [author of The Subtle Art of
Not Giving a F*ck]: “Movement creates
motivation.” Rather than sitting around,
waiting for motivation to occur, take the
first step, take that initiative. Get involved
in something, and there’s a snowball
effect. You’ll find motivation. Once I’m
in the midst of training and staying
healthy in mind and body, it becomes an
I became more and more anxious, to the released in 2012]. I got the job, and from addiction. But that first step is the hardest.
point where I couldn’t harness or use that there I got Red Dawn. Then I got Thor. Get up, move, then it will follow.
energy. It was all to my detriment. I was So, shifting the focus away from yourself Many men struggle to find the time to
trying to convince myself I wasn’t nervous was the key to moving forward? work out as much as they’d like. Does
before auditions, rather than just grabbing Yeah. It was about looking a little deeper Centr help with that?
hold of the part. I was at the stage where and asking, “What is this fear based We’re all terrible at time management.
I was thinking, “I’m going to go back to on? What is it trying to tell me?” And People always ask me, “How do you find
Australia. I’m going to knock on Home and analysing that. Getting away from the the time?” Well, calculate how many
Away’s door and ask them for a gig.” “Poor me!” scenario, which is massively minutes of the day you spend scrolling
Then, my mentality changed. It was unhealthy. Beating yourself up after the on your phone. Hours, right? So, are you
right before Christmas. I had one more event because you screwed up [doesn’t telling me you can’t find 20-30 minutes a
audition, and I just thought: “Do this for work]. You can’t control that. When day to work out? You’re lying to yourself.
Dad’s house. Think about reasons other the fear comes, it’s easy to think that You just chose to watch TV instead.
than yourself.” When you’re constantly everything depends on a single moment. You clearly don’t struggle much when it
self-analysing, it’s ultimately a selfish But nothing does. No single moment comes to packing on muscle for certain
endeavour. That audition was for The ever defines your journey. I’ve found
Cabin in the Woods [filmed in 2009 but it comforting to let go a bit and think,
“I’ll do my portion of it, but maybe life
or nature has a plan.”
MEN’S HEALTH 45
Cover Model Muscle
Chris Hemsworth
FORM AND
roles. If you know you have to bulk FUNCTION
up, what do you focus on, in terms
“In the past year, Chris has
of training and eating?
focused on functional moves
I did struggle the first time around.
with bodyweight and weighted
Before Thor, I was always much
exercises,” says Luke Zocchi,
leaner. A lot of my training was
Hemsworth’s trainer and
cardio-based – surfing, flexibility
friend. “And he has reduced
work. So, the first eight months or so
his gym time by cutting out
were brutal. Now, I feel like I could
rest periods. It’s surprising
do it in eight weeks. It’s just down
how challenging functional
to muscle memory and smarter
exercises can be, even without
training. The knowledge
heavy weights. He now moves
you acquire is so important. TRUE WELLBEING, SAYS
HEMSWORTH, STARTS better in everyday life and has
I was doing it completely
WITH SELF-MOTIVATION improved his core strength.”
wrong at first. Back then, I
Employ Hemsworth’s workout
just ate huge steaks, chicken breasts
for a mobility overhaul worthy
and broccoli – and I didn’t feel great.
of an Asgardian thunder god.
These days, I eat a lot more plant-
based foods, and I feel much better.
I’m also more aware of listening
to my body and resting. Stress is
a huge issue. If I’m travelling too
much or my head is busy, my body 01\ BEAR CRAWL
doesn’t change shape or respond to 20SEC ON, 10SEC OFF FOR 2MIN
what I’m trying to get it to do.
You’re 35 now, but with the likes
of Jason Statham, Hugh Jackman
and the Rock still punching hard,
the window for male action heroes 02\ SIT-THROUGH
seems to be staying open for much 10 REPS EACH SIDE
longer. Are their careers something
you hope to emulate?
On certain days, when I’ve had a few
injuries – and I had quite a few during
Thor – it can start to become a drag, 03\ L-SIT PULL-UP
10 REPS
you know? But over the past year or so,
I changed up a lot of my training and
nutrition programme, and I feel the
best I’ve ever felt. So, if you’d asked
me that 12 months ago, I would have
said that I’m already over it, but I feel
04\ BODYWEIGHT SQUAT
20 REPS
great at the moment. With films, it’s
about whether the story interests me,
to be totally honest. You work hard
on a movie; there are so many people
involved, so many hours, so many
05\ DUMBBELL REVERSE
years of work. And so, when it comes
LUNGE AND CURL
and goes and doesn’t work, I’d be lying 10 REPS EACH SIDE
if I said it wasn’t disappointing.
Do you miss your twenties, in terms
of your physical ability?
I used to be able to get up and sprint.
But I’ve found that, after lifting 06\ DUMBBELL PUSH-UP
weights for so long and not getting in AND ROW
touch with my fast-twitch fibres, the 10 REPS EACH SIDE
snappiness that my body had [has
gone]. In the dads’ race at my kid’s
school last year, I hadn’t sprinted in
MEN’S HEALTH 47
Cover Model Muscle
Chris Hemsworth
about five years – then, boom, you go and To what extent do you feel pressure
do a 100m sprint at full pelt. My back was to maintain the body that made you
cranked for weeks. [Incidentally, he won.] famous? And how does that influence myself. [When I figured that out] that’s
There are ways around it: training your relationship with exercise? when things started to change. I felt
differently, reminding your body to do It’s not so much about being famous. happier, and my work got better. It’s an
those things, basic maintenance. But when It’s more that the roles I’ve taken on interesting one: if you try to emulate
you’re in your twenties, you’re constantly have shaped my physique. It just goes the people who inspire you, you’re not
moving. At school, you’re hand in hand with the parts being true to yourself. You can allow for
kicking the footy at
lunchtime; after school, “I’ve learned to I play. But occasionally, I’ll see
paparazzi poking out of the
inspiration on step one, I guess. But the
real work comes with asking, “Who am I?”
you’re playing sport. I have stop thinking bushes and I’m, like, “How’s As toxic as it can be to think about yourself
about who I
two state medals for hurdles, my rig look? Am I on point, constantly and analyse all this stuff, it
silver and bronze. I made or have I slacked off lately?” forced me to wonder, “Maybe there’s not
state a couple of times in the
200m and I loved it. But I
have to be, and [Laughs.] Also, I maintain
my fitness simply because it
enough truth here. Am I denying part
of myself here?” I really think there’s a
tried to sprint recently and to be myself” makes me feel better. lightness to the way I approach things
my mate was like, “You kind Finally, in the decade or now. I certainly have less angst. I’m more
of look awkward. What are you doing?” I so since you landed in Hollywood, comfortable and more confident in saying
need to do some more sprint work, I guess. how would you say you’ve grown, as no. It used to be a case of, “This could
It just hurts. Running is painful. I don’t do an actor and as a man? be my last chance!” Now, I kind of go,
a lot of running for that reason. I’d rather I’ve become more comfortable in my “I think it’s going to be alright.”
have mobility in my body from surfing skin. And I’ve stopped trying to think Hemsworth’s app Centr is accessible via iOS
and get that fluidity that I enjoy. about who I have to be, or what kind of app, Apple watch and online at centr.com
personality I need to have to succeed
in this business. I’ve learned to truly be
MEN’S HEALTH 49
TIME
WORDS BY TED LANE / PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOBE LAWRENSON
03
SECONDS TO SNIFF
OUT THE CURE FOR A
RECEDING HAIRLINE
A
s many as 45% of men physiological responses, including
experience male pattern the promotion of follicle growth.
baldness before the age of Scientists at the University When the researchers submerged
35. Sure, some men – such as of Manchester found that hair hair follicle cells in a synthetic
a certain Mr Statham – can pull off growth is promoted by the smell sandalwood odorant, they found
a grade one but, for others, it results of sandalwood, which imbues a 25-30% increase in the secretion
in a severe confidence knock that a lingering, rich base to Oriental of growth hormone, enough to
can even lead to body dysmorphia. fragrances. Because of its high stimulate a hirsute response. To
Yet there’s an alternative to the concentration of olfactory beat your top-line recession, keep
£10,000 “full-Rooney” transplant. receptors, the nose is, of course, a new bottle of Aesop’s Marrakech
While you now rely on unguents the region of the body that is Intense (£60 aesop.com) in your
and creative styling, new research most closely associated with desk drawer and take a few seconds
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES
suggests that a simple tweak to scent, but similar receptors are to freshen up before work drinks.
your grooming routine could found in the skin around your hair Two sprays will do it. But remember,
breathe new life into your hairline. follicles. Here, cells produce an for everyone’s sake, less is more.
olfactory receptor called OR2AT4,
which plays a vital role in many
50 MEN’S HEALTH
BREATHE SOME
NEW LIFE INTO YOUR
WEIGHT TRAINING
15
MINUTES TO RAISE
HGH AND ACHIEVE
atmosphere with 21%
oxygen, then again in a
far thinner atmosphere with just
13% oxygen concentration –
equivalent to
an altitude of 3.7km. Subjects
PEAK MUSCLE GAIN completed five sets of 14 reps of
bench presses and leg presses
E
at 50% of their one-rep max,
xpect to see hypoxic resting 60 seconds between sets.
chambers in your gym soon, While the subjects reported no
as they cross over from difference in fatigue – which,
the professional to the crucially, means they can train at
recreational athlete. They work by the same intensity and complete
simulating the lower oxygen levels the same volume of work – levels
of high altitudes, promising to of HGH in their blood sky-rocketed
elevate your endurance and shift when they trained in hypoxia.
your calorie burn up a gear. Now, Once released, HGH stimulates
new research suggests that they your liver to make IGF-1, which
can give your strength gains a lift, triggers the growth and repair of
too: reducing your supply of O2 muscle tissue. So, take a barbell
could be the fastest way to spike into the chamber and spend 15
your levels of growth hormone, minutes working through big
which means it’s well worth out- compound lifts such as deadlifts
muscling the lean long-distance and squats for the maximum
athletes hogging the valuable real benefit. You’ll return to sea level
estate inside the chamber. with new heights of strength.
Sports scientists asked test
subjects to complete the same
workout twice – once in a “normal”
MEN’S HEALTH 51
I
n the 1990s, researchers
confirmed what many already
45
believed: an athlete’s strength phrases its members could use to
and endurance rise with encourage themselves, alongside
encouragement. It’s why training the protocols for using them. The
with a partner increases your other group was taught nothing.
likelihood of lifting a PB. It’s also When they repeated the test,
why the camaraderie of a workout members of the self-talk group
class can keep you running on improved by an average of 15%
fumes. When you’re pounding on their previous times.
the pavement at dawn, however, There seems to be no right or
encouragement can be hard to wrong thing to say, but in much the
come by – and it’s precisely at this same way as former Mr Olympia
moment that science says you Ronnie Coleman shouts, “Light
MINUTES TO TALK need a good talking to.
Bangor University researchers
weight!” before pressing 100kg
overhead, the self-talk focused on
YOUR WAY TO A 15% sounded out a simple solution by
taking two groups of test subjects
perceived exertion and persuading
your brain that the exercise was
ENDURANCE BOOST and measuring the length of time
for which they were able to exercise
entirely manageable. So, remind
yourself that this morning’s run is
at 80% of their max power output. easier than last week’s, before
Over the following two weeks, one taunting the hill at kilometre six as
group was taught a number of “Easy work!” You’ll edge ever closer
to the hallowed 40-minute 10K,
no extra morning runs required.
52 MEN’S HEALTH
TIME
OUT-THINK WEIGHT
GAIN WITH OLD-
SCHOOL TRAINING
06
WEEKS TO DROP SOME
BELLY FAT AND RELIVE
YOUR 1ST XV PRIME
M
aintaining an overhaul of though the two groups had exerted
both your exercise and themselves to the same degree,
your eating plans is no better able to fend off any wobbles the exercise set consumed 124%
mean feat. Go all in on a in your willpower. Researchers at more calories than those who
new gym routine and your ensuing Cornell University discovered that thought they had walked for fun.
hunger will know no bounds – a exercising for fun – for sporting The exercise group had somehow
problem when you’re training for glory, say, rather than performing developed a larger perceived
weight loss. Science, however, monotonous dumbbell reps – can energy-expenditure debt, which
suggests a solution: it’s time to counter-intuitively make you far they quickly sought to balance.
dust off your old rugby boots. less prone to overeating. Even if your rugger renaissance
By embracing the spirit of the The scientists led volunteers on only lasts for the weeks of the
Six Nations and spending your a 1.4-mile walk, telling half of the tournament, that’s enough time to
Sundays on the pitch (and in subjects that the purpose was tackle your weight-loss goals and
the clubhouse bar afterwards, exercise, while selling it to the reboot your resolve to stick to any
watching the games), you’ll be rest as a scenic stroll. After the eating plan for months to come.
excursion, they were all offered a Think of it as the crash-ball diet.
selection of snacks. Intriguingly,
MEN’S HEALTH 53
THE
33
BEST
FITNESS
CLASSES
It’s an age-old problem:
a training plan that
seemed so exciting in
January already feels
boring four weeks
later. But don’t throw
FOR
in the sweat towel –
WORDS BY MEN’S HEALTH EDITORS
instead, keep both
your body and mind
signed up to year-
long fitness using our
prospectus of the UK’s
2019
smartest, toughest
and most enjoyable
group workouts. Don’t
be late for class, now
GUTTER CREDIT
54 MEN’S HEALTH
01
DIVE STRAIGHT IN
Open Water Swimming, Tuesdays at 5.30pm with Paul
Outdoor swimming in Yorkshire isn’t for
the faint of heart, but it’ll certainly burn off
a layer or two of extra padding – or freeze off,
rather. Fortunately, wetsuits are provided.
The Scaling Dam club was recently accredited
by Sh2out – affiliates of British Triathlon –
but you don’t need Brownlee-level skills to
take part. Classes cater to everyone from
GUTTER CREDIT
MEN’S HEALTH 55
08STRETCH
YOURSELF
05THE OG Power Flow, Thursdays
Full-Body, Saturdays at at 6pm with Fi
8.45am with Faisal Come for the dynamic,
Barry’s Bootcamp is the true fitness-focused yoga. Stay for
pioneer of the often replicated the spine-tingling playlists and
“cardio intervals plus floor cinematic visuals. Sessions are
work” formula. But this is no developed to lift your strength
run-of-the-treadmill class. and mobility, not merely your
A session with top trainer serenity – and the mountain
Faisal is the ultimate weekend ranges, dense forests and
energiser, certain to leave you crashing swells certainly help.
pumped up, not burned out. Fly LDN, London, flyldn.co.uk
Barry’s Bootcamp, London
West, barrysbootcamp.com
10
dwfitnessfirst.com
07GUT PUNCH Free weekend? Rock up to
the largest indoor climbing
03PLAY TIME HIIT 45, Mondays at 7.15am
with Jamie
facility in Europe to hone your
technique with two sessions
Adult Parkour, Wednesdays
at 7pm with Craig and Frazer
Come out swinging with
a viciously effective combo
each lasting two hours. The
first part runs through the RUN FOR
THE HILLS
Parkour is now recognised as that will keep you burning basics and corrects your
a sport, though this is a workout calories and building muscle: existing bad habits. Then, your
for your inner child as much as strength movements and coach arms you with smart
your muscles. In this class, you’ll punchbag work. Jamie is energy-saving tactics. You’ll Parkrun, Saturdays at 9am,
run, jump and crawl in an indoor a martial arts supremo, so leave fully equipped for both with various volunteers
playground made of scaffolding, you will get a powerful hit the walls and the wilds.
springboards and foam pits. of technique to boot, while Edinburgh International
Fluidity Freerun
Academy, Cardiff,
pummelling away some of
that Monday morning angst.
Climbing Arena,
edinburghleisure.co.uk 11BIKE AND BUZZ
fluidityfreerunacademy.co.uk Another Space Bank, London, Cycling Club, Sundays
anotherspace.london at 9.30am with various
04TRIPLE EFFECT Meet for a swift espresso at
Proper’s café-cum-bike shop
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, GRAHAM MORRIS, SEBASTIAN
56 MEN’S HEALTH
33 BEST FITNESS CLASSES
MEN’S HEALTH 57
33 BEST FITNESS CLASSES
19WILD WAYS
Wild Training HIIT, Sundays
at 10am with Simon
Enter the pain cave… or,
as they call it, the “Muscle
27FLY THE FLAG
Tunnel”: the gym’s outdoor Calisthenics, Mondays
training area, furnished at 6pm with Alex
with a calisthenics rig, lifting Dispensing with heavy
logs and kegs. By challenging weights doesn’t mean you’ll be
your body with unfamiliar easing up. During your time on
movements, it’ll deliver a the rig, you’ll learn to master
far bigger fat burn. your bodyweight while working
Wild Training, High Wycombe, towards moves such as
wildtraining.co.uk muscle-ups, levers and
planches, under the tutelage
of “chief monkey” Alex Quinn.
20NINJA THIS A defined six-pack is one likely
Burn It, Fridays at 9am side effect – but the real
with Tyler reward is how smug you’ll
Big Friday planned? Launch feel with your results.
a pre-emptive strike on fat with Starks Fitness, Temple Quay,
a brief but ruthlessly effective Bristol, starksfitness.co.uk
session from Tyler “the One-
Legged Ninja” Saunders, a
former wheelchair basketball 23HEAVYWEIGHT
player. His half-hour HIIT class
works on full-body strength,
MUSCLE BUILDER
while torching ample calories. Lower Body, Wednesdays
PureGym, Borehamwood, at 5.45pm with Ollie
Hertfordshire, puregym.com That the setting is as far from
a spit’n’sawdust boxing gym
as you can get doesn’t come
21GET ON TRACK at the expense of knockout
Track Life, Mondays at coaching at Kobox. Here,
6.30pm with Rory and Omar you’ll drill the fundamentals of
Spearheading a new trend boxing with the “1-6” punching
system, before you switch to
for high-tempo track running,
the coaches fuse palpable your wall station to undergo 25RING WORK 28MIDDAY REBOOT
enthusiasm and expertise to a series of heart-pumping False Grip, Mondays at Lunch Break Yoga,
improve your technique with exercises. That’s round one. 6.15pm with Mark Wednesdays at
pro-grade drills, before pushing You’ll do three more… For the strong, ultra-cut 12.30pm with J
your engine into new gears Kobox Marylebone, physique of a GB gymnast, By cutting class time to 45
with runs ranging between koboxlondon.com develop your performance minutes and designing a flow
100m and a full mile. on the Olympic rings. Moves that recharges the mind and
Track Life LDN, Battersea,
London, tracklifeldn.com 24THE FULL 45 such as rows and press-ups
will ensure that you build
reinvigorates the body, this is
a perfect lunch-hour antidote
Hollywood, Fridays at an unshakeable core. to any stressful morning.
22TOP START 6.30am with Adam
The Australian group-
Gymbox, Cannon Street,
gymbox.com
Gym & Juice, Manchester,
gymandjuiceuk.com
Olympic Weightlifting Club, training powerhouse has
Saturdays at 1.30pm with Jon
The progression from
become a major player in
the UK. And now, it has an 26STRONG STUFF 29TRI HARDER
squatting excellence to snatch unlikely but mighty ally, with WIT Strength Club, Develop Front Crawl,
proficiency is one of training’s England rugby’s James Saturdays 1pm with Rob Thursdays at 8.30pm
quantum leaps. Thankfully, Haskell opening its latest WIT calls this class a blend with Cedric
FSI has created a lifting facility in Bath city centre. of “compound movements and Expert triathlon coaches
programme for beginners. Expect an exhausting but accessory work for improved take you through an eight-
Take your first steps and reps hugely effective blend of strength and stabilisation” – week programme that will help
here and progress in weeks. strength, agility and HIIT, for but we call it the elite way to you master the front crawl,
Functional Strength Institute, a session that will burn more get a supreme (yet functional) honing your technique for
North Shields, Tyne and Wear, calories than any average weekend pump. Let’s hope it’s improved speed and economy
GUTTER CREDIT
fsigym.com spin class – and is much T-shirt weather soon. on race day. Swim it to win.
more enjoyable, too. WIT Training, London, Nuffield Health, Shoreditch,
F45, Bath, f45training.co.uk wit-training.com London, swimfortri.co.uk
58 MEN’S HEALTH
30 31OLYMPIC
SUCCESS
ESCAPE TO Olympic Lifting, Saturdays
THE COUNTRY
at 9am with Chris and Adam
If you want to iron out
chinks in your barbell game,
Burn, Saturdays at 9.30am stop in at ISC. Classes focus
with Tom and Andrew solely on Olympic lifts: the
snatch and the clean and jerk.
Farm Fitness is no We’ll see you on the platform.
ordinary bootcamp. Ipswich Strength &
In the bucolic Essex Conditioning, Suffolk,
iscgym.co.uk
countryside, Tom Kemp
has transformed his
family farm into a lifter’s 32ROWING
paradise. Over an hour- STRONGER
Grow Signature, Wednesdays
long session, you’ll work at 7am with Ben
in small teams to push The WaterRowers at Grow
each other through a are both therapeutic (due
to the sound of real water)
fun, efficient full-body and devilish (well… it’s still a
workout – think pressing rower). Between sprints, you’ll
logs overhead, flipping score boatloads of muscle
definition with resistance
tyres and deadlifting moves. Unique and effective.
quad bikes. There are Grow, London,
free weights, too, but growfitness.co.uk
who needs those?
Farm Fitness, Essex, farmfitness.co.uk
33FLIP YOUR
TRAINING
Freestyle Gymnastics,
Thursdays at 8.30pm with
various coaches
It’s hard not to feel inspired
at the home of Team GB’s
most successful gymnast
ever, Max Whitlock. Here,
you’re given free rein to use the
elite-level facilities, whether
you’re attempting your first ring
muscle-up or somersaulting
your way to Tokyo 2020.
South Essex Gymnastics Club,
GUTTER CREDIT
Basildon, southessexgym.co.uk
MEN’S HEALTH 59
Pleasures
Of
The
Flesh The 100% carnivorous,
veg-be-damned diet is the apex of new extreme-
eating trends. Its followers claim that weeding out
plant foods can rebalance our appetites, restore
vitality and even reverse chronic illnesses – while
its detractors say it’s deleterious.
But could it work for you?
WORDS BY RICHARD GODWIN – PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASMIN SCHULLER
60 MEN’S HEALTH
GUTTER CREDIT
MEN’S HEALTH 61
T
500g
The weekly limit of red
meat advised by the NHS.
Carnivores eat closer
to 800g a day
62 MEN’S HEALTH
Pleasures
Of
The
Flesh
C h ew i n g t h e Fa t
Ryan, 29 (who asked that we change
his name), a researcher at Liverpool
University, had a similar experience.
“Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of
money, so we’d mostly eat plain pasta, or
tinned food,” he says. Many of his family
are obese. Food was “entertainment” in
his household: “If something
CONSULT THE EXPERTS
good happened, we’d celebrate
BEFORE YOU GRAB A SLICE
OF THE CARNIVORE ACTION with ice cream. If something
bad happened, we’d cheer
ourselves up with a nice meal.” He had
been plagued by poor digestion and
weight issues throughout his life but,
after turning carnivore in July, he finally
has a functional relationship with food.
Like many carnivores, he made the
transition in stages, gradually dropping
his carbohydrate intake and then trying
the ketogenic diet. “Keto” is a very low-
carb, high-fat diet that was originally
designed to help prevent fits in children
FLESHING OUT THE FACTS with epilepsy. More recently, it has
gained a cult following among factions
The Diet Omnivore Ketogenic Carnivore
of the fitness community. When deprived
Your Macro 30% protein, 20% protein, 40% protein, of carbohydrates, your body switches
Targets 20% fat, 50% carbs 75% fat, 5% carbs 60% fat, 0% carbs its energy supply from glucose to
ketones, which are derived from your
Example Grilled chicken Almond-crusted Rib-eye steak and
breast, sweet salmon with chicken livers, fat reserves. Many people lose weight
Meal
potato and baked sautéed kale and seasoned with salt on the keto diet, and its advocates claim
vine tomatoes mozzarella and pepper that it eases the symptoms of a suite
430kcal, 40g of 570kcal, 45g of 540kcal, 55g of of conditions including Alzheimer’s
protein, 8g of fat, 50g protein, 38g of fat, 12g protein, 35g of fat, 0g
of carbs, 7g of fibre of carbs, 4g of fibre of carbs, 0g of fibre and type 2 diabetes. But it also comes
with significant risks, particularly
Supposed Easy to follow and Basing your meals More muscle-building to kidney and liver function, and is
Benefits uncontroversial; also, around fats trains protein than keto;
notoriously hard to maintain.
the established your body to burn anecdotally said to
thinking is that carbs its own fat for fuel; stabilise energy and At first, Ryan says, the idea of eating
are delicious cheese is included cure chronic illness all of that butter, cream and meat made
him feel ill. However, he found his
tastes changed over time. “Not everyone
In a typical day, he eats a dozen eggs, a while, and it made me feel much worse. benefits to the same degree, but I
a packet of bacon, three packets of I don’t have normal, healthy digestion, experienced pretty much everything
beef mince, plus some liver or kidney. so I can’t say it’s bad for everyone, you could ask for: improved skin, energy,
“I like a bit of pork shoulder and lamb but I’m sceptical of the idea that it’s mood – to the point of feeling euphoric
shoulder, too. I have chicken occasionally, right for everyone, too.” sometimes,” he tells me. It wasn’t much
but it makes me lethargic.” He gets most He seems as surprised as anyone that of a leap to drop the leafy greens. “I did
of his meat from local smallholdings, carnivory is working. “I tried lots of a bit more research and came to the
where he knows the farmers personally. different diets and I realised that when conclusion that it wasn’t something
“I really care about animal welfare,” I ate fewer vegetables, I felt better,” he I needed. They were an extra hassle
he stresses. And he isn’t out to convert says. “One day, I was on Reddit and I came to cook, anyway.” He says he only eats
anyone. “Vegans become incredibly across the r/zerocarbs group. I thought when he’s hungry and often ends up
angry at carnivores, but many carnivores I’d try it. Within a couple of days, my “unintentionally” fasting for hours.
have tried vegan diets,” he says. “I did for IBS went away.” He experienced a little
discomfort transitioning – “really loose
stools” – but nothing worse than what
MEN’S HEALTH 63
Pleasures
Of
The An obvious objection concerns vitamin
Flesh C. The carnivores argue there’s enough
of it in fresh meat – particularly raw
or offal meats – and that, anyway, the
body adapts to reduce its base needs.
“The body knows how to regulate itself. Another is the lack of fibre. “There’s no
We’re just sending it confusing signals by absolute physiological requirement for
upping our blood sugar a few times a day.” fibre,” Baker argues. “Why do we think
Objections to carnivory generally fall it’s necessary? The traditional argument
into the broad categories of nutrition, is that it lowers cholesterol, which is
ethics and lifestyle. Carnivores claim true, but you don’t need low cholesterol
they don’t really miss the pleasures of to survive. People also say it mitigates
baking, or snacking, or even applying a blood-glucose spikes. If you drink a glass
little Béarnaise to their steaks. “The less I of apple juice, you’ll experience a much
had, the less I wanted,” says Ryan. “Now, larger spike in blood sugar than if you ate
if I’m preparing dinner just for myself, I’ll an apple. But if you’re not taking in any
start eating some of the steaks while I’m glucose, that’s a moot point.”
cooking the rest and start cleaning up in So, he reasons, fibre is necessary if
between. That may sound sad to some you’re eating plenty of toast and biscuits,
people, but it’s been very freeing for me. I but not if you’re eating lots of steak. His
don’t have to consider things as much.” stool, he is proud to report, is excellent.
As for the nutritional concerns, well, it “The vast majority of people on the
seems fairly clear from my conversation carnivore diet will tell you that, after a
with Ryan that he is alive, so it’s possible transition period – maybe a couple of
to survive on just meat. He also claims to weeks – bowel habits become normal.”
feel great. “Even if it were conclusively Spector remains deeply sceptical. “To
proven that this diet would shorten my support a healthy gut microbiome, you
life by 10 years, I would take it, as the
quality of my life is that much better,”
he says. But people who like to lunch at
McDonald’s and smoke 40 a day often HUNTING OR GATHERING?
claim to feel great, too. There are placebo
effects and confirmation biases. Anecdote Plants may offer more vitamins per
is not data. And it may take years for, say, calorie, but that doesn’t mean your
colon cancer, to make itself apparent. meat is devoid of goodness
Nevertheless, dietary science is VITAMIN C
30% 110%
notoriously complex and poorly
understood. That there are 3.8 million
people with diabetes in the UK is not
a ringing endorsement of the way in 100g of lamb in one kiwi
we currently do things. British adult pancreas fruit
obesity has almost quadrupled in the MAGNESIUM
past 25 years. And there’s a growing
body of evidence that the standard
advice regarding fats (which we’re told
to limit) and carbs (which are seen
15% 20%
in one wild in 100g of spinach
as necessary) is back to front. salmon fillet (a small bag) need to eat fibre,” he says. He concedes
that some gut complaints (such as types
VITAMIN A
Pl a n t vs B e a s t of IBS) can be exacerbated by certain
Still, there’s a chasm between low-carb
and nothing but meat. I consult Timothy
Spector, genetic epidemiologist at King’s
290% 205%
in 100g of in a medium-
plants in the short term. But when
it comes to the general population?
“Doubling our fibre intakes would help
College London, and author of The Diet chicken liver sized carrot the vast majority of people,” he says.
Myth. “Humans can exist on a wide The distilled advice of Spector’s book
variety of diets,” he says. “Some have FOLATE is that you should eat as wide a spectrum
25% 25%
adapted to eat high-meat diets, such as of foods as possible, because that’s what
the Inuit, Masai or Mongolian people, keeps your gut bacteria happy. He argues
but most don’t tolerate it. There may be that our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate
in 100g of per medium-
rare people in the West who can, but it’s an enormous variety of foods: about 600
beef kidney sized beetroot
dangerous to recommend it as a long- types, far more than are found in our
term solution.” Spector cautions that the CALCIUM modern diets. Baker argues, however, that
excess protein is likely to lead to problems given the choice between killing a nutrient-
such as gout and heart disease. “Most
40% 35% and calorie-rich mammoth that would
GUTTER CREDIT
64 MEN’S HEALTH
2-5
The average
may as well just pick out the parts that
number of days
suit you and ignore the rest.
it takes for
around for nuts and berries that might But perhaps the most fundamental
your body to
easily have proved poisonous, an Ice Age objection to carnivory is the evolutionary
enter a state
hunter-gatherer would invariably have one. It challenges the whole idea of
of ketosis
chosen the mammoth. That may be, but what it is to be human. It suggests that,
(burning fat
not all hunter-gatherers had access to meat, perhaps, our species took a wrong turn
for fuel)
let alone mammoths, and mammoths are with the development of agriculture.
after cutting
extinct because early humans killed them If you’ve been listening to your Jordan
out carbs
all (which should be a lesson in itself). Peterson podcasts, you might hear an
And the best evidence we have is that early echo of this in the “Fall of Man” story in
humans thrived by adapting to different Genesis. When God casts Adam and Eve
food sources. Around two billion people eat out of the Garden of Eden, he condemns
no meat today. So, how Baker’s principle Adam to a miserable life of toiling in the
applies in the 21st century is debatable. field. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou
eat bread...” At a time of great ecological
Gut Instincts and political uncertainty, the idea that we
Then there’s the environment. If cattle- should have stuck to a hunter-gatherer
rearing is destroying existence – or, as the
the planet, a lack
of vitamin C
“Anecdote isn’t data carnivores would
have it, just the
may well prove – and many medical hunting – has
to be the least of
our concerns.
conditions can take a certain appeal.
Ever since
A much-cited years to emerge” Peterson came out
report published as a carnivore, many
in the journal Nature claims that we complain that a certain “madness” has
greedy Westerners must cut our beef descended on what was once a quirky,
consumption by 90% in order to reverse little community. Many of the more bizarre
dangerous climate change. posts link to a YouTuber named Sv3rige,
But again, the carnivores contest who makes videos about his experiments
this. Robert (not his real name) is a with feasting on raw meat and drinking
British academic in his forties who has pig’s blood. Sv3rige’s channel also
been on a meat-only diet for the past abounds in flat-earth conspiracies.
four years. “For me, as a biologist, this Some of the carnivores I speak to even
[environmental argument] is the craziest suspect that the movement has been
part,” he says. “Is there anything more infiltrated by Russian disinformation
natural than a herd of ruminants grazing bots. The idea that many of the more
on marginal farmland? Should we turn extreme carnivory posts are “fake” isn’t
this land over to intensive agriculture – so far-fetched: Russian trolls were
pesticides, fertilisers and machines?” discovered to have been spreading anti-
Ryan is similarly sceptical. “With vaccination theories in the lead-up to the
modern agriculture, you’re destroying 2016 US presidential election. The wider
millions of lives to plough one field. aim seems to have been to undermine
You’re destroying the topsoil, and faith in experts and to foster division.
you’re losing carbon capture because One recent Reddit discussion centred
you’re not giving those long roots time on these doubts. Even if, anecdotally,
to bed in before the crops many carnivores feel better, shouldn’t
STEAKHOLDERS DISMISS get pulled up.” In an ideal the reality that their diet contradicts
THE NEED FOR A VARIED
world, we would “re-wild” all of the established advice not give
DIET – DESPITE THE SCIENCE
our landscapes and use you pause? “I think doubts are a sign of
them for pasture-raised animals. But, healthy scepticism,” came one reply. “This
of course, we don’t live in an ideal world. goes entirely against what is currently
We live instead in a world of battery considered healthy by the vast majority
farms and chlorinated chicken. of people... That said, my doubts are very
“I’m not out to change the world,” small. When I was eating what my doctor
continues Robert. “My wife is a vegetarian, told me to, I felt terrible: gut pain, bloating,
as are our daughters. Everyone should low energy, brain fog, heartburn and high
make their own decisions. My fervent blood pressure. Now I’m eating exactly the
wish, however, is for state nutritional opposite, and I feel incredible… I’ll never
policy to be scrutinised more deeply.” go back to eating how I used to.” In times
That doesn’t seem so extreme, even if of uncertainty, it seems that people are
GUTTER CREDIT
the message that many seem to have ever more willing to trust their gut.
taken from the profusion of contradictory
advice is: if you can’t trust any of it, you
MEN’S HEALTH 65
SCIENCE REVEALS HOW TO GET
YOUR BRAIN IN GEAR AND
ENHANCE SELF-DISCIPLINE
GUTTER CREDIT
66 MEN’S HEALTH
TRUE
GRIT
Two competing forces
govern your willpower:
one is impulsive and hungry,
while the other is resilient and
goal-focused. To master the skill
of self-control, you need to keep
them in balance. MH spoke to
the men who know how
WORDS BY JAMIE MILLAR – PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROWAN FEE
GUTTER CREDIT
MEN’S HEALTH 67
The children were left alone
in a room with a bell that 01
they could ring if temptation
proved irresistible.
I can resist everything Some kids rang with almost
except temptation,” goes indecent haste; others waited THE RESILIENT CHEF
the famous Wildean quip. Jesus,
on the other hand, resisted
Satan’s promises of food and
and took the treats home. Their
ability to delay gratification
correlated with how they fared
FACING
power after fasting in the
wilderness for 40 days and
nights. Meanwhile, Eve buckled
in later life. As teens, those who
could wait were more likely
to achieve better scores on
TEMPTATION
At 6ft 3in and 114kg, chef Tom Kerridge
to the serpent’s suggestion university admission exams. As has always been “a big lad”. But he
that she should eat an apple adults, they tended to exhibit stretched that description when he left
from the tree of knowledge, a lower body mass index. school and gave up playing rugby to work
putting lack of self-restraint Brain-imaging scans later in a kitchen. In 2005, he opened the Hand
at the core of Christianity’s showed that “high delayers” had and Flowers in Marlow, which became the
creation myth. The lapse of more activity in their prefrontal UK’s only pub with two Michelin stars. He
resolve is man’s original sin. cortex, linked to problem found release from the pressure of running a
Yet willpower is “the greatest solving and impulse control. business in booze – he would start sessions
human strength”, according to “Low delayers” displayed more with a pint of negroni – and eating cheese
a book co-written by much- activity lower down in the ventral on toast at 2am before sleeping for four
cited social psychologist Roy striatum, a hotbed of desire hours. By the time the TV show Great British
F Baumeister. At least, if it stays and addiction. In particular, the Menu brought his gourmand’s pub
strong: that 80% of New Year’s amygdala, in the medial temporal grub to a wider audience, he was LAPSES ARE INEVITABLE,
SO LEARN TO BOUNCE
resolutions reportedly fail by lobe, compels us to act now and tipping the scales at 190kg. As
BACK, SAYS KERRIDGE
February suggests it often worry later. This would have he approached his 40th birthday
doesn’t. In the mid-1990s, – “halfway to death”, as a friend
been helpful when early man morbidly put it – he thought, “I might not
Professor Baumeister and his was competing for scarce make it to 50 if I keep going like this.”
colleagues at Case Western resources, but it’s less so in Banning butter wasn’t a menu option
Reserve University in 2019, when temptation is all for a chef known for his indulgent cuisine.
Ohio demonstrated around. By contrast, the Instead, Kerridge cut out carbohydrates,
that willpower, like a prefrontal cortex helps which he now describes as “dull flavour
muscle, can fatigue. us to pursue goals: to vehicles”. “Nobody goes out for a curry and
In a groundbreaking forgo one marshmallow says, ‘I had amazing pilau rice,’” he says.
experiment, subjects in favour of two later. Refreshingly for a purveyor of cookbooks
in a room containing The amygdala is fully – he recently published Fresh Start, a
freshly baked cookies functioning from birth, practical guide to home cooking – Kerridge
were given a puzzle to cueing babies to cry doesn’t claim that his regimen has any
solve – one designed to because of hunger, while magical qualities. After all, most diets work,
be impossible to complete. the prefrontal cortex and all involve some form of sacrifice. But
Those asked to resist the develops into our early by focusing on what he could eat, not what
treats made far fewer twenties. But while the he couldn’t, he made that sacrifice more
attempts than subjects diverging responses on the palatable. “So many people give stuff up,
who were allowed to snack; marshmallow test suggest then spend their lives thinking, ‘I wish I
already depleted, their that self-control is pre-wired could have a burger,’ rather than, ‘I’m
self-control crumbled. to an extent, it’s also hugely really enjoying this,’” he explains.
You don’t have to be shaped by our environment. When he gave up smoking on the cusp
religious to believe that of turning 30, Kerridge extinguished his
As research into “brain
PROP STYLIST: JAINA MINTON I PORTRAITS: JULIAN BENJAMIN
68 MEN’S HEALTH
TRUE GRIT
RADIATE
SELF-CONTROL
Adjust your “temptation
thermostat” to make smart
decisions appealing and cool
off your lust for excess
HOT
Future-Proof Yourself
Visualise your future self
and your choices will be
motivated by ambition,
not just cool logic. In one
study, subjects who did this
found it easier to make
ethical decisions.
MEN’S HEALTH 69
02 SHEER DETERMINATION
TOOK MCAVOY FROM BEHIND
STEEL BARS TO IRONMAN
70 MEN’S HEALTH
TRUE GRIT
YOUR OUTLOOK
arrest among under-35s, the keen you manage 9.9kg or less
footballer and cricketer distanced himself – you can enjoy the
from anything that would raise his heart instant gratification of being the kind of
rate, turning instead to his PlayStation. He person who’ll get up and try: “When you
became an introvert. He stopped trying at think of it like that, ironically, you achieve
school and was bullied. After 18 months the things that you want to quicker.”
or so, the doctors were no wiser about
his condition but figured he’d be fine to
MEN’S HEALTH 71
GUTTER CREDIT
21Ways To
Wake Up
Your
HACK YOUR BIOLOGY
TO CLOCK UP FAST,
TANGIBLE RESULTS
Metabolism
Your hour in the gym is merely
a piece of the weight-loss puzzle.
A crucial one, sure, but there are
still another 23 hours in the day.
That’s why we’ve compiled this
guide to amplifying your fat burn
from wake-up to wind-down, no
extra effort expended. You’ll torch
through kilos in record time
Words by Louee Dessent-Jackson / Photography by Rowan Fee
GUTTER CREDIT
01 08
Form in a Teacup Order from
Cold brews and colourful the Amazon
lattes may be trending right As well as boosting immunity,
now, but a classic cup of vitamin C is crucial to your
builder’s has benefits that metabolism, offsetting the
they can’t match. Tea is oxidative stress that slows
a rich source of prebiotics, our bodies down as we age,
which feed micro-organisms according to the University of
in your gut; meanwhile, black Colorado at Boulder. But you
tea, in particular, increases needn’t resort to Berocca. The
your levels of fat-burning rainforest fruit camu camu
pseudobutyrivibrio bacteria. 04 (Organic Camu Camu Powder
Seven minutes’ brewing Breakfast calories throughout the £10 greensorganic.co.uk)
time is optimal if you don’t Means Breakfast day. A separate study in the contains five times your RDA
want watered-down results. Forget fasted cardio. Your International Journal of Obesity per teaspoon of powder and,
morning meal activates genes found that eating a high-fat according to Gut journal, can
involved in fat metabolism, meal upon waking primes temper weight gain caused
02 reports the Journal of your system to burn body fat by overeating. It’s a smart
Branch Out Physiology. So, simply by instead of glucose. Upgrade addition to your next shake.
Far more than eating it, you can encourage your bowl of Shreddies to
just a bar snack your body to burn more shred even more.
or a Martini
garnish, olives offer
major benefits to your 05 07
metabolism, thanks to their Top of the Pops Spin It to Win
high copper and CLA fat Dosing up on pre-workout Stop what you’re curling. While
content. But you might be supps before training may have heavy lifting can improve your
missing out on the best bit of you buzzing for the gym, but metabolic rate, for the best
the plant: researchers at King there are other ways to enjoy results, superset it with
Saud University found that a similar boost without feeling a session on the bikes. A
oil made from olive leaves like a kid on a sugar binge. University of Copenhagen
increases the production of A study in Scientific Reports study comparing spinners
metabolism-boosting thyroid found that rats that had with lifters found that the
hormones; in lab rats, levels been fed grape polyphenols former group had higher levels
more than doubled. Add a (Swanson Grapeseed 380mg of metabolism-boosting
drizzle to your bruschetta. £7.40 swansonvitamins.com) hormone FGF21 after training.
before being let loose on This was attributed to either
treadmills displayed higher the high intensity or the
03 09
*BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE | IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES,
levels of AMPK, an enzyme increased lower-body muscle
Divide and Conquer linked to fat burning. Add recruitment. Cap off your Burn More
To earn extra burn from your a bunch to your stack. session with an AirBike finisher. with Water
workouts, don’t train more – A diet of steak and protein
train differently. Instead of bars may have benefits for
grinding it out for an hour, split 06 your biceps, but it comes with
your exercise in two. One study* Learn to Batch Cook a metabolic downside. In a
found you could burn almost If your al desko lunch University of Connecticut
double the calories via a process consists of a rush-job study, athletes on a high-
called “excess post-exercise sandwich and you protein diet showed signs
oxygen consumption”. Try half hungrily devour your of metabolism-stalling
DAN MATTHEWS, MICHAEL HEDGE, LOUISA PARRY, PHILIP HAYNES, STUDIO 33
an hour of sprints in the park main meal once the dehydration, even though
before work and a bodyweight working day is done, they didn’t feel any thirstier
circuit at lunch. You’ll be culling you should consider than usual. Don’t wait to feel
calories for 48 hours. reversing that trend. parched – just 500ml of water
According to can elevate your metabolism
researchers at UT by 30% within the next hour,
Southwestern Medical reports the Journal of Clinical
Center, eating the bulk Endocrinology & Metabolism.
of your calories earlier in the
day keeps your circadian
GET ON YOUR BIKE
rhythm in sync, ensuring that AND FREEWHEEL
TO PROGRESS
your body burns off more of
what you put in. You’re going
to need bigger Tupperware.
74 MEN’S HEALTH
Wake Up Your Metabolism
BIGGER IS BETTER:
SERVE YOURSELF TWO
SUPERSIZED MEALS
15
Mint Conditioning
Sugary sports drinks might be 18
indispensable mid-marathon, Throw Some Shade
but during a swift 10K, avoid We know that browsing emails
the extra carbs. Instead, add a after dark can disrupt your
few drops of peppermint oil to sleep – but it’s equally stressful
your water. According to the for your metabolism, too.
University of Mohaghegh Research by Northwestern
Ardabili, it improves oxygen use University linked exposure
instantly, increasing the amount to screen light to insulin
of fat your body can burn, while resistance, which harms your
the Beijing University of Chinese ability to process carbs. On
Medicine found the scent those evenings when powering
alone can relieve fatigue. down isn’t an option, take a
lutein supp to protect your
eyes from blue light. It’s less
daft than resorting to wearing
amber-tinted glasses.
10
It’s Hip to
Eat Squares 19
“Eat little and often” is a myth Sweet Option
so ubiquitous that it’s rarely 13 Not all body fat is
questioned. But a study in Salt Your Wounds created equal. While
the journal Plos One noted Iodine is essential for helping “white” fat stores calories,
a slight increase in calorie your thyroid to produce the active “brown” fat helps
burn among men who ate hormones that keep your you burn them off. Cold-
larger meals less frequently, metabolism in good working weather exercise boosts your
while research by the US order – yet the UK is among the levels of the brown kind – but if
National Institute on Aging world’s 10 most iodine-deficient pounding freezing pavements
showed that mice that nations. Sea vegetables such as doesn’t appeal, research‡ shows
consumed one supersized wakame are excellent sources, that eating melatonin-rich
daily meal were healthier than best served in miso for easier foods has a similar effect. Grab
constant grazers. It’ll also cut nutrient absorption. But if you’re a handful of goji berries.
back on the washing up. more of a seafood traditionalist,
add iodised salt to your chips.
16 20
11 Hone Your Bones Embrace the
Save It for Later A stronger skeleton will do more Daily Grind
Delaying your weights than reduce your odds of being You may be “over” pimped-up
session until after work will carried off your next OCR breakfast bowls, but at least
reignite your metabolism just attempt – it’ll also prop up your one of social media’s
as it’s easing off (while also fat-burning. A Canadian study favourite porridge toppings
helping you to escape the found the “bone hormone” has legitimate fat-burning
**UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI | †PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE | ‡UNIVERSITY OF GRANADA
allure of “a quick half”). In osteocalcin improves the way benefits. A study in the
a US study**, subjects who you metabolise sugar and fat. journal Metabolism found
trained after 6pm torched more Trade standing squats for that cinnamon flips the switch
fat than those who worked out 14 plyometrics, such as jumping that triggers fat cells to torch
in the morning. The extra lie-ins Top Up Your T lunges and V-tucks. Effect calories. Spoon it into your
won’t go amiss, either. Endless back squats aren’t the change from the inside. post-gym shake to wring even
only way to elevate your levels more rewards from your efforts.
of testosterone, a natural fat
12 burner. A University of Bath 17
Just Think About It study found that performing 10 It’s Your Round 21
Boosting your metabolism sprints of 30 seconds elevates Your weight-loss goals don’t live Set a Curfew
may require little more than an your T levels for the following or die in the gym. A study by the Forget what you know: those
attitude adjustment. According hour, while improving the Mayo Clinic found “non-exercise eight hours of sleep are of
to one study†, subjects who body’s ability to metabolise activity” such as pacing and limited benefit after midnight.
were encouraged to interpret sugar. To optimise your results, fidgeting significantly affects The body experiences a surge
their daily activities as exercise keep your work-rest ratio at 1:3 your body shape and size. in hormones that control fat and
burned more calories and lost – fail to recover and you won’t A brief stroll after eating carbohydrate metabolism at
extra body fat without any put in peak effort. Good gains has a more positive effect on 11pm – but only if you’re asleep.
change to their routines. It’s come to those who wait. metabolism than longer walks Weight flies off early birds.
strenuous work updating those at other moments, so time your
spreadsheets… right? coffee run accordingly.
MEN’S HEALTH 75
The Gentle
Art Of
GUTTER CREDIT
76 MEN’S HEALTH
BELOVED OF A GROWING TRIBE OF A-LIST ACTORS, ATHLETES AND TOP TRAINERS,
BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU HAS THE FITNESS COMMUNITY IN ITS STRANGLEHOLD.
GRAPPLING TO SEE THE APPEAL? OUR WRITER DONNED HIS WHITE BELT TO
Choking
DISCOVER WHETHER THIS INTIMATE MARTIAL ART IS A FIGHT CLUB WORTH JOINING
WORDS BY JAMIE MILLAR – PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID ELLIS
LET’S ROLL
GUTTER CREDIT
MEN’S HEALTH 77
wrestler. (Royce’s half-brother, Rickson
Gracie, also choked out Chuck Norris on
another occasion.) After meeting Canha at
Japan, before being exported to Brazil on a a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in Sweden,
wave of Japanese immigration around the Roach sold his house to fund Fightzone
turn of the 20th century. Jiu-jitsu roughly and now lives in the gym in a space he’s
translates as “the gentle art”, which, to the converted upstairs. His girlfriend often
uninitiated, might seem inappropriate. works on the front desk, while Canha’s
An alternative interpretation might be children attend the kids’ classes.
“yielding”, the idea being to redirect your Brazilian jiu-jitsu has many passionate,
opponent’s force, rather than to meet it often high-profile adherents, some of
head-on. It’s about taking your opponent whom I’ve interviewed for this magazine:
down to the ground, where you can oblige Jason Statham (who rolled with Guy
them to submit with limb locks or chokes. Ritchie while on the press tour for Lock,
ave, whom I’ve only known for a few “Jiu-jitsu is learning how to control Stock…), Henry Cavill and Kelly Slater.
minutes, is kneeling between my thighs as another person,” says Fightzone co-founder More recent converts include Justin
I lie with my back on the floor, his hands on James Roach. “It’s not aggressive. There’s Bieber, conscious, perhaps, of how many
my hips. This might seem compromising, no anger. It’s not like boxing, where you’re people want to strangle him, and Russell
but in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, this is “the guard”: trading punches, toe to toe. In a lot of ways, Brand, who interviewed Ryron and Rener
an ostensibly defensive position that, it’s worse than that. It’s like being attacked Gracie for his Under the Skin podcast. It’s
in reality, presents an array of offensive by a snake, and the snake is slowly moving a club in which the first two rules (“You do
options. It is also – as my first lesson at up your leg, going up your torso, working not talk about Fight Club”) are regularly
martial arts gym Fightzone in east London its way towards your neck...” flouted. But, while celebrity endorsements
is teaching me – a great icebreaker. may get members through the door,
From here, I can dislodge one of Dave’s Best of the Best something else is locking them in.
hands and tug on the lapel of his gi while Roach greeted me with a warm smile
bringing him forward with my hips, so when I finally girded myself and entered Origin Stories
that his weight traps his arm against my Fightzone. But that doesn’t make rolling While, in most martial arts, there’s a
chest. I can then reach around to grab his with the 6ft 2in, 88kg brown belt – one natural hierarchy – stronger, fitter men
back, while getting hold of his trouser leg below black – in my second lesson any tend to fare better – Brazilian jiu-jitsu
on the same side. From here, I can lift my less intimidating. I’m 5ft 10in, 80kg and is a great leveller. As Roach puts it:
own leg up as a lever and “sweep” him, currently beltless because Fightzone has “There’s no fat or thin, rich or poor.
so that I’m on top (“the mount”). Then run out of the white novice ones; my lack Everyone’s the same on the mat. Everyone
I can grip his other lapel and, bringing of a waistband feels emblematic of my wears the same £60 gi.” That many of
my hands together like a pair of scissors, ability. Roach manipulates me at will, the men I roll with are a good few kilos
cut off his air supply. That is, if I can like a child playing with an action figure. heavier than me would matter far less,
remember the sequence of moves that He sportingly lets me out of his guard, too, if I had even a modicum of technique,
was demonstrated to our class moments before pulling me back in with his hands because Brazilian jiu-jitsu was devised
before, never mind execute them. and dexterous feet. Though I know I’m to counteract just such imbalances.
“It’s like chess,” says Dave, a 26-year- doomed, there is something compelling, Carlos Gracie is often regarded as
old computer programmer who’s shorter even fun, about trying to delay the the father of the martial art, having
and slighter than I am, but sweeps me inevitable. It’s founded the first
with surprising ease. We’re not sparring like a Rubik’s
“Unlike boxing, academy in Rio
jiu-jitsu is about
or “rolling”; we’re just practising moves. Cube of limbs. de Janeiro in the
He encourages me to choke him harder by In 2012, Roach 1920s, but his
pushing my wrist bone into his throat.
To paraphrase Tyler Durden, even if
opened Fightzone
with Marco Canha, control: there’s younger brother
Hélio should at
this is your first day at Fightzone, you
have to fight. As we slap hands to signal
a Rio de Janeiro-
born black belt no anger, no least be considered
its uncle. A frail
that we’re ready, I’m apprehensive, even
though Brazilian jiu-jitsu doesn’t involve
much punching or kicking. I needn’t have
and former British
Open champion,
running 34 classes
aggression” child who was
often excused
from school
worried. Dave and I spend most of our time a week. They’ve since expanded that to 120. on health grounds, Hélio adapted
locked in stalemate, barely moving but Boasting “the busiest martial arts schedule the techniques he had learned to
sweating buckets. The class tires me out in Europe”, Fightzone also teaches MMA, compensate for his weakness, leveraging,
in a way that even my twice-weekly five- Muay Thai, wrestling and boxing. But well, leverage instead of strength.
a-side can’t match. It’s clearly a crushing Brazilian jiu-jitsu has always dominated, The Gracie brothers earned renown
workout. But that doesn’t explain why and its classes are the best attended. in their native land with a series of “vale
people are so fixated on being asphyxiated. Ten years ago, Roach was working as a tudo” (“anything goes”) challenges.
So what else is getting them so gassed? surveyor on building sites and staying up One of Hélio’s sons, Rorion, opened the
Brazilian jiu-jitsu descends from a with his mates to watch UFC. The first-ever first American Gracie Academy in LA,
martial art originally developed in feudal event was won by Royce Gracie – a scion of where – as the legend goes – he offered
a legendary dynasty that developed, then $100,000 to anyone who could beat him
popularised, Brazilian jiu-jitsu – settling or his brothers. Recognising the first-ever
GUTTER CREDIT
the debate about who’d win in a bracket- UFC as a major marketing opportunity,
style, single-elimination tournament out of
a boxer, a kick-boxer, a karateka and a sumo
78 MEN’S HEALTH
GRAB AND GO
WITH MOVES STRUNG
THE NEW
TOGETHER IN NEAR-
LIMITLESS COMBOS,
FIGHT CLUB
IT’S A WORKOUT FOR
BOTH MIND AND BODY
JIU-JITSU’S
WHO’S WHO
Five high-rollers
with formidable
yet largely
unacknowledged
grappling skills
01
Ed O’Neill
The Modern Family
paterfamilias
considers his black
belt awarded by
Rorion Grace in
2007 his greatest
achievement in
life – apart from his
kids, of course.
02
Ashton Kutcher
A purple belt under
Rigan Machado, who
teaches no-sparring
jiu-jitsu to risk-averse
celebs. But given that
the actor was also
a college wrestler,
we won’t mess.
03
Guy Ritchie
Directed by Roger
and Renzo Gracie, the
black-belt film-maker
started out with the
Stath and reportedly
gets mats out on set,
so he can roll before
the cameras do.
04
Vince Vaughn
At 46, the funnyman
swapped Average
Joe’s Gym for the
Gracie Academy
(home to Ryron and
Rener) in Torrance,
California. Two years
on, he’s a blue belt.
05
Anthony
Bourdain
The late gastronaut
won the blue-belt
masters middleweight
division at the 2016
IBJJF Open in New
York, where he
trained at the Renzo
Gracie Academy.
GUTTER CREDIT
MEN’S HEALTH 79
FLOOR TIME
ONCE SEEN AS A
NICHE DISCIPLINE,
JIU-JITSU IS
NOW CONSIDERED
Rorion cannily put forward not himself or INDISPENSABLE BY
his brother Rickson, who resembled a bald MMA FIGHTERS
Marlon Brando on steroids, but his smaller
sibling Royce, dressed in white to look
innocent. Rorion knew that Royce’s victory
against bigger men would highlight
Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s supremacy.
Today, MMA fighters consider Brazilian
jiu-jitsu to be indispensable. “For me,
it’s everything,” says Mackenzie Dern, a
former world champion with a Phelpsian
haul of golds. Dern made the switch
to MMA when she was 21, after being
encouraged to do so by the people at her
academy with whom she regularly rolled.
She joined the UFC in 2016, and her record
stands at seven fights, seven wins. Striking
isn’t easy, she hastens to add, but you
only have so many punches and kicks
to master: after that, it’s simply about
refining your technique. “But jiu-jitsu is
chess,” continues Dern, echoing Dave.
“You make one move, and there are about
10 different options after that.” And
those options are always evolving with
the addition of new techniques.
Arizona-born Dern started training
when she was three. Her father is Brazilian
martial artist Wellington Dias, who was
taught by Hélio Gracie’s son Royler. Only
later did she realise that not all the other
kids did Brazilian jiu-jitsu after school,
as they did in her dad’s homeland. But
over the years, she’s witnessed the sport
explode in popularity in the US. “Now, it’s
crazy,” she says. “I see kids with sponsors.”
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is not something you
do purely for money, however. Even after
more than 20 years, Dern – whose parents
once grounded her from training when she
lied about going to a party while in high
school – still hates to skip a session. “It’s so
fun: getting choked out by friends, choking
them out,” she says cheerily. “It’s definitely
relaxing. It takes your mind off stress.”
80 MEN’S HEALTH
THE NEW
fide fight. “It’s a mortal struggle with no FIGHT CLUB
consequences,” says Sam.
Rich, who runs an art gallery, joined The master offers his head to his students
Fightzone at the same time as Sam, and so they can tighten up their choke games.
they’ve become friends. He heard about As he invites, then evades, their takedown
Brazilian jiu-jitsu through The Joe Rogan attempts, he grins like a 6ft 4in schoolboy.
Experience, the podcast of the comedian, “Jiu-jitsu is play-fighting,” he says. “You
UFC colour commentator and black have fun. At the same time, you learn to
belt. “I knew it would be a bit scary to fight.” Like Roach and Dern, he speaks
be in a fight, and I wanted to battle that of how wanting to do better in training
frightened part of me,” says Rich. The engenders positive lifestyle changes: eating
low-impact nature of Brazilian jiu-jitsu better, sleeping more, drinking less. I hear
makes it accessible even for older men. Edward Norton’s narrator in my head:
(Chuck Norris became a third-degree “Fight Club became the reason to cut your
black belt at 75.) When Rich was forced to hair short or trim your fingernails.”
take six months off because of a freak neck The explanation for Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s
injury, his “happiness rating” dropped growing popularity, in Gracie’s view,
significantly. “I’m uplifted when I’m doing beyond the fact that you can be any size,
this,” he says. “It gets all the aggression shape or age, is that it allows you to engage
out. It’s fun, too. Trying to strangle your in a full-blown fight – but without the blows
mates, giving them a hug afterwards.” and head trauma. “You still try to win, to
This is, perhaps, control your partner,” he
where Brazilian jiu-
jitsu has a real hold “It’s a friendly says. “But you don’t have
that aggression.” You can
over other, less tactile
active pursuits. As community: go all out, 100%, and if
it becomes too much to
uncomfortable as
we beat each handle, you can tap out
make the mistake of leaning forward too of the mat. The humid air fills with the day one. I’ve tapped a thousand times in
much, allowing him to choke me. I’m not sound of slaps, grunts… and laughter. my life.” Whether sparring or training,
prepared for this but, to my surprise, I Some of the laughter is emanating from Brazilian jiu-jitsu forces even the most
don’t panic and somehow wriggle out. Roger Gracie himself, a 14-time Brazilian rampant ego to occasionally submit, and
When my wife messages me later to jiu-jitsu world champion, the chairman not hang self-esteem on the outcome.
ask how my day’s going, I reply, “A guy of the UK Jiu-Jitsu Federation and widely Some days, you’re on top; some days, a guy
tried to choke me. But I handled it.” For held to be the sport’s greatest of all time. called Khaled kicks your ass. You learn
modulating a chronically overactive fight- how to win, but more importantly, you
or-flight response, it’s hard to beat a bona learn how to lose – and keep rolling.
MEN’S HEALTH 81
DROP
AND GO
01\ The Canadian
freerider Jordie Lunn
hurls himself down
a near-vertical cliff
side in the 2018 Red
Bull Rampage
GUTTER CREDIT
01
82 MEN’S HEALTH
Leaps
Of Faith
In the arid wilds of Utah, elite riders clear 20m
canyon gaps and fly down sheer cliff sides. But what
drives them to tread such a precarious line between
glory and disaster? MH dropped into the world’s most
dangerous mountain-biking competition to find out
GUTTER CREDIT
MEN’S HEALTH 83
Near the top of a
prehistoric mesa
in Zion National
Park, Utah, is a
sand-coloured
boulder the size
of a small truck.
It clings precariously to the side of the can showcase their skills. (The location,
mountain, poised to plummet to the desert incidentally, was first recommended
floor below. And it has a fitting name: to Barber by his friend Josh Bender, a
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson. The Rock Virgin native and rider who had attracted
was christened by Brendan Fairclough, a attention in the sport after attempting a
30-year-old freerider from Surrey, who is 17m drop – and ending up in hospital.)
planning to ride his bike off the top of it. Accidents are not uncommon but, as
Once he’s done that, Fairclough explains Fairclough, who has ridden at Rampage six
to MH, pointing up at the vertiginous times, puts it, “Normality is distorted out
mountain in front of us, he’ll race down here. You’re scared, but everyone is scared.” 02
its ridges, sail over its canyons and roll He shrugs. “And it’s kind of normal.”
across the finish line, a 237m near-vertical
drop below the start gate. These are not DIGGING FOR VICTORY
the kinds of runs that bikes are designed to From top to bottom, the average run
handle – nor humans designed to survive. is over within the space of a couple of
The Red Bull Rampage is a mountain minutes. But that doesn’t tell the full
bike competition unlike any other. story. In reality, success is hard won over a
Competitors must be invited to take part period of around eight days, as riders and
by a committee of veteran riders, and their two-man dig teams toil in the desert
only the best merit a spot. It’s not a race to carve out and then practise their routes.
to the bottom, though points are awarded That’s another thing that makes Red Bull
for speed. Riders are judged on a number Rampage unique: no two riders will run
of criteria, including airtime and tricks, the same line. And finding – or, rather,
as well as more virtuoso factors such as building – a creative path within the site
fluidity and style. To put it bluntly, they boundaries is crucial to their final score.
are rewarded for taking risks: riders score If you want a sense of how complicated
points for their willingness to tread the this process is, watch an online video called
narrow line between victory and injury. Risk vs Reward at Red Bull Rampage. In it,
Rampage was founded in 2001 by Todd Californian rider Cam McCaul explains a
Barber, who took his inspiration from “blind take-off”: a drop in which the first
big-mountain skiing and snowboarding time the rider catches sight of the landing,
competitions. The first event attracted a it’s too late to adjust speed or trajectory.
motley crew of dirt jumpers, slopestylers “Two miles per hour too fast and the rider
and downhill racers. It was, in a sense, will land halfway down and explode upon
the UFC of mountain-biking: a mixed- impact,” says McCaul, matter of factly.
discipline event, at which competitors “[Going] two miles per hour too slow will
pitted their skills against riders from a put the rider before the landing – and 03
broad spectrum of backgrounds, with no cause them to get catapulted off the bike.”
guarantee as to who would come out on top. Tensions run high in the days leading
The 13th event is held on the outskirts of up to competition. The teams are typically
the small town of Virgin, where Mars-like up on the site before sunrise, enduring
canyons, mesas and monoliths provide an the bitterly cold desert winds in the hours
GUTTER CREDIT
awe-inspiring stage on which the riders before daylight hits the mountain. After
that, the temperature quickly rises to
40°C, and the rest of the day is hot, dry
84 MEN’S HEALTH
Leaps Of Faith
and dehydrating. “It’s hard to keep
up morale, so it’s important to have
people you trust and can relate to,” says that’s going to impress the most… That’s
Fairclough, whose dig team comprises the thing that marks you out.”
his childhood friend and fellow pro-rider As a result, the stakes get higher every
Olly Wilkins, plus friend and former Royal year, as the riders battle to outdo their
Marine Ben Deakin. “At the end of these previous performances, as well as each
tough 10 days, you’ve got this intensely other. “It’s advancing quickly,” Atherton
physical and mentally demanding task. says. “Lines that guys built for final runs a
On that day, you can’t be at your lowest couple of years ago would be used to warm
point. You’ve got to be ready to go.” up on now. Every year, it gets bigger, and
Carving the perfect line is very much the drops and gaps get a little bit longer.
an art, not a science. “The judges have set And every year, you think: maybe this
criteria, but it’s also about the overall feel,” is the peak, maybe this is as big as it can
explains Gee Atherton, a downhill racer get. Then, inevitably, everyone pushes it
from Wiltshire, who placed second at a little bit further. It gets a little bit crazier.”
Rampage in 2004 and 2010. “You can’t be
too clinical about it. Your run has to have DANGEROUS GAMES
some life to it. It’s that soul, it’s that fire, In 2015, a rider named Paul Basagoitia
from Nevada crashed on a step-down and
04
DESERT
STORM
02\ Brendan
Fairclough, the only
British rider in
competition, darts
along a narrow ridge
03\ A rider makes his
ascent to the start
gate – a 40-minute
climb that affords
plenty of time to
question yourself
04\ Poland’s Szymon
GUTTER CREDIT
Godziek in mid-flight,
as he practises for
a run that will earn
him eighth place
MEN’S HEALTH 85
Leaps Of Faith
FLYING
WHEELS
05\ Spain’s Andreu
Lacondeguy prepares
for a nerve-racking
descent. From start
to finish, there’s a
vertical drop of 237m
06\ The US rider DJ
Brandt was called up
on a wildcard for the
invitation-only event
07\ French rider Vincent
Tupin soars above the
red Utah desert
08\ American Ethan
Nell celebrates coming
third place for the
second year running
05
PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN PONDELLA, PARIS GORE, GARTH MILAN, BARTEK WOLINSKI, PETER MORNING
“It’s all calculated,” says Fairclough. “You
don’t go jumping off something without
knowing exactly what you’re jumping off.”
Evaluative skills are just one tool in a
rider’s arsenal. Physical training includes
weights-based strength and conditioning
work, as well as practising tricks and
developing endurance on the bike. Core
and upper-body stability is as important
as quads of steel when manoeuvring
down narrow, bumpy terrain.
Atherton isn’t a fan of the “adrenalin
junkie” label. “It’s not like I’ll do anything
just to give myself a buzz,” he says. “I’ve
been in this sport for a long time, and you
have to know when to push harder and
when to draw back.” Still, he concedes that
Red Bull Rampage “does attract people
THANKS TO RED BULL
07
86 MEN’S HEALTH
“For one rider,
the psychological
side of recovery
after a crash
proved harder than
the physical”
06
MEN’S HEALTH 87
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Our hectic modern lives mean maximising our training
time has never been so important. From a one-move
calorie-scorcher (page 94) and meals that burn fat for
you (pages 93 and 103) to gym-free lunchtime
circuits (page 98), our guide will help you to
PT build lean muscle on an unforgiving schedule
SPECIAL!
ILLUSTRATION: ALCONIC AT SYNERGY ART
03 19 HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN FAST PROTEIN FIX
GREEN
GIANT 0
1
THE B VITAMINS IN YOUR
2
PEPPERS AND BEANS
3
5
4
HELP TO METABOLISE
YOU WILL TIME TO PROTEIN, CARBS 0-1MIN
NEED... MAKE AND FAT This lean chicken curry from
hicken
C
breast pieces,
7MIN the Fitness Chef, Graeme
Tomlinson, couldn’t be simpler.
100g, cooked PROTEIN
In a bowl, mix the chicken,
Light coconut
milk, 100ml
31G coconut milk, garlic powder,
beans, pepper and curry paste.
Garlic powder, CALORIES
450
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | RECIPE: @THEFITNESSCHEF_ | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP I FOOD STYLIST: NICO GHIRLANDO | IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY
1tsp 0
Green beans,
1
CARBS
2
handful,
56G
3
5
chopped
4
Green pepper,
½, chopped FAT 1-5MIN
Green curry
paste, 1tbsp
10G Pop the bowl in the microwave
for four minutes and prep the
Microwave side salad. The medium-chain
basmati rice, fatty acids in your coconut milk
125g are a fast energy source and
less likely to be stored as fat.
0
7
1
6
2
3
5
5-7MIN
Now remove the bowl and
microwave the basmati rice
in its packet for two minutes.
Spoon the rice onto a plate and
pour over the Thai curry for
a reviving al desko dish.
MEN’S HEALTH 93
03 19
A
FORM MASTERCLASS #08
GO ABOVE
A
AND BEYOND
IN THE GYM
Elevate your fat-burning
B
B
GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT | MODEL: LUIS YOUNG AT W MODELS | SHORTS CASTORE AT MRPORTER.COM, TRAINERS NIKE.COM
of generating the power by B
thrusting your hips. First,
practise the movement, then
strengthen the muscles you’ll
call on, and you’ll capitalise
on the calorie-burning B
benefits of the real thing
03
KETTLEBELL Z PRESS
04
RUSSIAN KETTLEBELL SWING
2 SETS OF 10 REPS 2 SETS OF 12 REPS`
Now enhance your overhead strength Practise the Russian swing before going
and build the stability you need to control overhead with the American version.
the weight above you. Sit in an upright This will help you hone the movement
YOUR TRAINER Tom Bliss position with your legs outstretched, with pattern you’ll need later. Holding the
KNOWLEDGE: PT Bliss is strict a pair of kettlebells on your shoulders kettlebell between your legs, initiate the
on lifting technique. He’ll in the front rack position (A). Press movement by swinging the weight back
take you from apprentice to them overhead together (B). Once (A), before driving your hips forward to
athlete level in four steps. your elbows are locked out, return lift the kettlebell to shoulder height (B).
CONTACT @tomblissfit the kettlebells to your shoulders. Let the momentum bring you back.
94 MEN’S HEALTH
HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN METABOLIC BOOSTER SWING
PHASE 2
IT’S ALL IN THE HIPS
WE HAVE To bring the weight forward,
LIFT-OFF you need to drive your
movement from your hips,
With new strength secured, not your arms. So, thrust
follow the form guide below your hips forward just as
and grip the kettlebell handle you did in the glute bridge,
with confidence. You’re now keeping your back straight
ready to tackle all the reps and squeezing your glutes
of our workout without as the kettlebell passes
pausing, for maximum calorie- through your legs and up
burning effect. Take a swing to shoulder height.
PHASE 1
HINGE, DON’T SQUAT
Hold the top of the kettlebell
with both hands between your
knees. Swing back to start the
movement by hingeing from
your hips. With a slight bend
in your knees, drive your hips
back, as if opening a door with PHASE 3
your glutes. Keep your OVER AND OUT
chest above the kettlebell This is where the US
and your back flat. version differs from the
Russian swing. Finish by
continuing the movement
overhead, until the bottom of
the weight is facing upward.
Breathe, then control it
back down between your
knees to go straight into
your next rep. Find a
smooth rhythm and you’ll
fly through your set.
THE WORKOUT
20
AMERICAN
KB SWINGS
10
BURPEES OVER
KETTLEBELL
5ROUNDS AS FAST
AS POSSIBLE
POST YOUR SCORE
AND TAG US
@MENSHEALTHUK
MEN’S HEALTH 95
03 19 HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN ONE-KIT WORKOUTS
NO WEIGHTS? BENEFITS
Bodyweight training
has more to offer than
NO PROBLEM
mere practicality. We
unpack the science
to prove its worth
FIRM
Light, portable and simple to set FOUNDATIONS
up, the TRX is the best investment The instability
of suspension training
that a time-poor man can make. HANG TIGHT AND TAKE works the ligaments around
your major joints and
Grab yourself a smart bodyweight YOUR DEFINITION
TO A HIGHER LEVEL strengthens the surrounding
workout any time, anywhere tissues. It can also increase
neuromuscular activation.
MULTI-PLANE
MASTERY
As the TRX works
CHANGE IT UP
from a single anchor point,
it forces your body to recruit
muscles across all three
Learn these variations to ensure there’s no sticking point planes – the sagittal, frontal
and transverse – for a
in your movement and deliver smooth reps every time well-balanced physique.
03
3 SETS OF 15-20 REPS SIX-PACK
Now raise your metabolism. With your feet STRENGTH
The TRX tests
offset, hold the handles with straight arms your abs and smaller
and lean back. Lift up towards the anchor stabilising muscles as your
by pulling down, your core tense. End body fights against the
with arms straight by your sides. suspended base. Muscles
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TRX TRAINING, VISIT TRXTRAINING.CO.UK
MEN’S HEALTH 97
03 19
01A
02B
02A
01B
LEAN IN 01 02
18 MINUTES
To help you land the most
TALL KNEELING HAMMER
CURL TO FRONT RAISE
FLAT-BENCH CHEST
FLY TO PULLOVER
potent attack on your body’s fat 3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC 3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES
stores while armed with only a In the first two weeks of your plan, The perfect pairing to sculpt your
STYLIST: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT
pair of dumbbells, we’ve made perform this workout on Mondays chest and back. Lie on a bench
all of the moves in this workout and Fridays; in your second two with your arms fully extended
a combination of two exercises. weeks, on Wednesdays. Kneel above your chest, holding the
You’ll perform each super-move down holding two dumbbells at dumbbells. Keep your arms as
pairing for 60 seconds, taking your sides. Curl both up (A), straight as possible as you lower
a 30-second break in between. squeezing your biceps, before the weights down wide to stretch
Complete three rounds in lowering them back down to your your chest (A). Pull them back to
total, for 18 minutes of calorie- hips. Without letting go, bring both the start position. With a slight
torching intensity that leaves arms up in front of you (B), before bend in your elbows, lower both
no muscle unworked in your lowering again to work your abs, arms behind your head (B), then
quest for a leaner physique biceps and shoulders hard. bring them back over your chest.
98 MEN’S HEALTH
HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN QUICK-FIRE FAT-BURNING
THE SPEC
MUSCLES
TARGETED
WORKOUT
18
MIN
RESULTS IN
4
WEEKS
LEVEL
HARD
04B
03A
03B
04A
03
RENEGADE ROW
04
GOOD MORNING TO
TO BEAR CRAWL BENT-OVER ROW
3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC 3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
MRPORTER.COM, TIGHTS NIKE.COM, TRAINERS EU.PUMA.COM
MODEL: LUIS YOUNG AT W MODELS | SHORTS LULULEMON AT
MEN’S HEALTH 99
03 19
02A
01B
02B
NON-STOP 01 02
INTENSITY
With its one-minute intervals
SIDE BEND TO
LATERAL LUNGE
BULGARIAN HIP HINGE
TO REVERSE FLY
SHORTS NIKE AT MRPORTER.COM, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK
THE SPEC
MUSCLES
TARGETED
04B
WORKOUT
18
MIN
03A
RESULTS IN
4
WEEKS
LEVEL
MED
04A
03B
03
BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUAT
04
FRONT SQUAT TO
TO LATERAL RAISE ARNOLD PRESS
3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC 3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
Now, switch to your quads. Start Standing with the dumbbells in
in the finish position of the last front of your shoulders, palms
move to perform a one-legged towards you, drop into a squat
squat, dropping your opposite (A). Return to standing, press
knee to the floor (A). Before you the dumbbells above, twisting
come back up to the starting your elbows out (B). Lower the
position, lift both dumbbells out weights, reversing the move so
to your sides (B), squeezing your your palms return to face your
shoulders at the top. Control shoulders. After a minute, rest
the weights back down, then for 30 seconds. You’ve got two
press back up through your heel. more rounds to create the
After 30 seconds, switch legs. biggest calorie-burn possible.
MEAL PREP HERO #10 CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH HOUMOUS AND PITTA
STICK IT TO FAT
Prep five for a working week’s worth of easy fat-torching lunches
need to put new muscle in its place 8/ Vegetable oil, 1tsp Step 2 Preheat a grill to a
9/ Cherry tomatoes, 200g
10/ Chicken breasts,
27g medium-high heat. In a bowl,
mix the vegetable oil, tomatoes,
Carbs
5, chunked chicken chunks, granulated
11/ Granulated garlic, ½tsp garlic, paprika and oregano,
12/ Paprika, pinch plus two large pinches each
STRESS BUSTER CALORIE KICK 13/ Oregano, pinch 35g of salt and pepper. On wooden
The tryptophan, vitamin Garlic is thermogenic, 14/ Pine nuts, handful Protein skewers, alternate between
B5 and magnesium in which means your 15/ Feta cheese, chicken and tomatoes.
your chicken breasts will body produces heat and 2 blocks, crumbled
help to lower your levels of energy when it’s eaten, 16/ Wholemeal pitta bread, 5 Step 3 Grill your skewers for
cortisol, a stress hormone burning through calories four to five minutes on each
that is closely linked with in the process. The cloves side, until the chicken is cooked
weight gain. Their protein and granules in this dish through. Assemble your dish
will protect your muscles will give your metabolism in the office with a spoonful
during a calorie deficit, too. a helpful boost. of houmous, pine nuts and
feta, then serve with either
a hot or cold pitta.
01 02
HUNGER CONTROL
When you’re overweight,
your body can become
07 08 resistant to leptin, the
hormone that signals your
brain to stop eating. The
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33, LOUISA PARRY, DAN MATTHEWS, GETTY IMAGES
09 11 13 15 16
10 12 14
FAT-SHIFTING
that can withstand the sweat
and toil of weight-loss circuits.
Hexagonal ends with heavy-
duty, rubber-covered heads
POWER TOOLS
minimise noise and protect both
your weights and your flooring
at home from damage, so you
THE TIME IS NOW can focus on those final reps.
To burn through the largest
Bodymax Hex dumbbells
number of calories in your
20kg £70 for a set of two
dumbbell workouts and HIIT
Now that you’ve armed yourself sessions, it’s crucial that you
powerhouse-fitness.co.uk
109
Rave On
Relive your 1990s heyday with
the Madchester-style bucket hat
130
110 Good Jeans
The Levi’s head of
Retro Revival design reveals the
Four 1970s fashion tribes are back hassle-free style
– this time with better taste essentials that
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
make him tick
115
Rain Man
Fend off the spring deluge with
SS19’s reworked trench coats
126
Under Your Skin
Why dropping acid might be
the smartest trend in grooming
128
Lighter Load
SS19’s man bags prove good 118
things come in small packages Doubling Up
Forget the pinstriped bankers: the double-
116
03/19
breasted jacket has a fresh new look
Military Time
For their rugged charm, army
watches are your strongest allies
Your
the 1990s – the refrain being depends on which side of the literal a reference to the
that we should look back, headgear fence you sit on. 1990s. But a fitted knit and a
only this time in nostalgia, Pulling on a beanie when the long, smart coat will give it an
not anger. Aside from a surfeit mercury drops might be as entirely different direction.”
of neon and stonewash, this far as you’ll go, while others Think beyond the bucket
mood was largely down to are happy to experiment with hat’s stylistically dubious
the abundance of bucket baker boy caps or raffish heyday and it can be a
Melon
hats on the runways. fedoras. Certainly, the bucket surprisingly versatile addition
“As is so often the case, we hat falls into this more to your look. “Whether
have Miuccia Prada to thank flamboyant category and, dressed down with luxe jog
for this trend,” says Dean as such, is a style that must pants or up with tailoring,
Cook, menswear buying be approached with caution. it will always have a more
manager at Browns. “What “Liam Gallagher may have playful character than the
she kicked off with her AW18 made it iconic, but as with all ubiquitous watch cap,” says
Fashion designers have gone mad show, others have carried into comebacks, you don’t want Cook. In short, it’s a case of
the new year. And with Fendi, to look like a carbon copy of being less “as you were” and
for Madchester-style bucket hats Kent & Curwen and River more “as you want to be”.
that, until recently, were considered Island all in on the act, you
beyond the pale. So, why are they
tipping their brim to this retro hit?
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
02
01
The New
Old School
“Keep it current
with a form-fitting
zip-through knit”
– Dean Cook,
Browns
04
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01-K-WAY
£50
02-BURTON
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03-PRINGLE OF
03 SCOTLAND £125
04-RIVER
ISLAND £15
Fashion
apparently forgot has
been remembered with
renewed fondness as
a riot of corduroys and
shearling, orange and
brown, hits the rails.
But from AM radio
rockers to Boogie Nights
lotharios, which style
tribe do you most dig?
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
BLAZER £520
AND TROUSERS £230
BOTH SANDRO AT
MRPORTER.COM
CARDIGAN £115
BROOKS BROTHERS
SHIRT £290
CERRUTI 1881
SHOES £150
GH BASS & CO
HAT £395
LOCK & CO HATTERS
GLASSES £285
CUTLER AND GROSS
TIE £240
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
WATCH £1,100
BAMFORD GMT
Retro Revisit
“To keep things
current, team one
1970s piece with your
day-to-day wardrobe”
– Jake Turner,
Rokit Vintage
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
JACKET £895 OFF-WHITE
AT MRPORTER.COM
ROLL-NECK £155
JOHN SMEDLEY
SHIRT £185 FRAME
JEANS £85 LEVI’S
BOOTS £695 JIMMY CHOO
BASEBALL CAP £65
LUCKY SEVEN
SUNGLASSES £170
SHERIFF & CHERRY
WATCH £1,300 TAG HEUER
Cleaning Up
“Use unscented
baby shampoo to
remove dirt from
vintage leather”
– Danielle Kendry,
Absolute Vintage
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
JACKET £409 SCHOTT
PERFECTO
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PRADA.COM, SANDRO AT MRPORTER.COM, SCHOTT PERFECTO AT SELFRIDGES.COM, SHERIFFANDCHERRY.COM, TAGHEUER.CO.UK, THEKOOPLES.CO.UK, VERSACE AT HARVEYNICHOLS.COM
Revolution
but the inherent functionality of a
trench still makes it your strongest,
most stylish ally in the face of
a Great British deluge
The rise of swamping outerwear,
better suited to the icy summit
of Kilimanjaro than Kilburn, has
resulted in an irritating profusion Clean Lines
of Puffa ensembles crowding the If your trench is
bar. Which is why the renaissance in dire need of a
of the trench coat – as seen at
wash, pop it in a mesh
Dior, Canali and Louis Vuitton –
is a welcome development. bag to protect your
The trench is an urbane solution buttons, straps
to cold-weather dressing: less and buckles
GROOMING: OSCAR ALEXANDER USING CLINIQUE AND FUDGE | MODEL: LOUIS GRIFFITHS AT SELECT MODEL MANAGEMENT | STOCKISTS: BRUNELLOCUCINELLI.COM,
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
lighter, waterproof alternative to
the military greatcoat, which later
CANALI.IT, CHRISTIANLOUBOUTIN.COM, GUCCI AT MRPORTER.COM, HANRO.CO.UK, REISS.COM | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY
To Arms
for? Well, watchmaking, Koons coaxes a young Butch
from his TV cartoons by
actually. The superb presenting him with a gold
legibility and durability watch that had belonged to
of an unashamedly generations of Coolidge
military men – a legacy Koons
rugged military-issue had promised Butch’s father
timepiece make it an he’d help to uphold. “The way
your daddy looked at it, that
essential component of watch was your birthright,”
your sartorial arsenal says Koons. “So he hid it in the
one place he knew he could
hide something: his ass.”
Other than hoping that the
captain had given it a thorough
clean and service, watch nerds
will have noted that Quentin
Tarantino’s prop master had
done well. The gifted item is
a genuine First World War
“trench” watch, complete with
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
02
Officer Class
01 Timex Allied
40mm £80
If you think that
the Timex Allied’s
24-hour dial markings
– picked out in a
canary yellow as
plucky as a feather
in an officer’s beret –
feel strangely familiar,
you’d be right. This
01
Absolute Power
Ulysse Nardin Marine 03
Torpilleur £6,800 Elite Squad
With its 60-hour power Luminox Navy SEAL
reserve and in-house 3502 Series £395
movement, Ulysse The US navy’s elite
Nardin’s Marine SEAL unit doesn’t just
Torpilleur is as 03 license out that dial
luxurious a “mil-spec” marking – it relies on
as the battlefield would Luminox’s tough-as-
permit. Though most old-flippers diving
top-end watchmakers watches. As well as
would showcase such tritium gas tubes that
mechanics using a glow for 25 years,
crystal caseback, this black-ops agent
Nardin celebrates its comes equipped
maritime heritage with a unique form of
with an engraving of armour: lightweight,
the watch’s torpedo chemical-resistant
GUTTER CREDIT
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
Just 145,000 1940s forebear.
were issued to
Allied forces by the
likes of Omega,
Longines and
05
04
Field Weapon
Victorinox INOX
Professional Diver
04
Titanium £649
Jokes about the
need for corkscrews
aside, the ubiquity
of Victorinox’s
Swiss army knife
06
“out in the field”,
from footlockers
to the International
Space Station, more
than qualifies its
tool watches as
battle-worthy. This
one adds a sturdy,
200m-water-resistant
titanium case, camo
dial and a strap made
Photography
GUTTER CREDIT
Take
This season’s collections have reclaimed
the double-breasted jacket from Messrs
Gekko and Rees-Mogg by recutting it in
a leisurely style that’s rakish and relaxed
in equal measure. Here’s how to double
down – and ease up while you’re at it
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
SUIT £695
SHIRT £219
BOTH BOSS
VEST £33 HANRO
SHOES £795
CHRISTIAN
GUTTER CREDIT
LOUBOUTIN
BLAZER £940
ZIP-THROUGH
£555
BOTH STELLA
MCCARTNEY
TROUSERS £790
PRADA
GUTTER CREDIT
GLASSES £235
GREY ANT
BAG £1,630
CORNELIANI
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
Opening Gambit
“Wearing a double-breasted
jacket unbuttoned, with
SUIT £2,000
SHIRT £420 an open-neck shirt or
BOTH GIORGIO a sporty, high-neck zip-
ARMANI
SHOES £650 through, instantly makes
MANOLO
BLAHNIK the look feel current”
– Scott Schuman,
The Sartorialist
Hang Loose
“The modern double-breasted
jacket is more comfortable than
its starchy predecessor, as it is
looser, has a fuller drape and
feels more natural when your
hands are in your pockets”
– Robert J Spangle,
Thousand Yard Style
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
SUIT £885
RICHARD JAMES
T-SHIRT £180
GUTTER CREDIT
ETRO
SHIRT (ON COUCH)
£135 RICHARD
JAMES
BLAZER £900
TROUSERS £540
BOTH PAUL
SMITH
T-SHIRT £165
BAG £1,220
BOTH PRADA
CREDIT
SHOES £765
GUTTER POT
CHRISTIAN
LOUBOUTIN
COFFEE
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
Wide Boy
“Playing with your proportions
is a strong statement. A soft,
wide-leg trouser looks cool and
is comfortable for a bigger
physique. The fluidity also
gives ease to the formality”
– Jonathan Daniel Pryce,
GarconJon
JACKET £2,200
TROUSERS £690
BOTH DIOR
SHIRT £133
MASSIMO ALBA
AT MATCHES
FASHION
SHOES £515
PRADA
GLASSES £260
GREY ANT
Sessions
sugary sources such as
grapes and pineapples – is
pretty sweet for your skin.
This low-pH wonder peel
sloughs off dead skin to leave
your face lighter, brighter
and bathed in moisture
Balancing Act
Avoid mixing acids
such as glycolic
and vitamin C – this
can alter pH levels,
making them
less effectivef
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
01
For sun damage
DCL Skin Renewal Complex SPF30
Because glycolic acid thins your skin by
removing dead cells, it’s doubly important
to cover up with an SPF. This moisturiser
includes SPF30 alongside glycolic
and hyaluronic acids, so your newly
smoothened skin is UV-protected.
£117 spacenk.com
02 For razor burn and redness 03 For oily skin 04 For dull skin
Anthony Glycolic Facial Cleanser Malin+Goetz AHA Treatment Solution REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask
Glycolic acid strips dead skin cells, but high Men have more sebaceous glands than women, If your skin is looking grey, it’s probably coated
concentrations can leave skin raw. At 4.9%, so our skin gets greasy quickly. M+G’s solution in a layer of dead cells. Smear this mask on, enjoy
Anthony’s is strong enough to exfoliate and pairs glycolic and lactic acids, which mop up oil the tingly feeling for 10 minutes (this indicates
soften the coarsest sailor’s beard, but gentle but hydrate the cells, to leave your face matte the acid is exfoliating them all off), then wash
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
enough to use daily. Perfect for swashbucklers. but moisturised. Derek Zoolander-worthy. away to reveal skin that glows like a newborn’s.
£26 thegroomingclinic.com £36 malinandgoetz.co.uk £36 spacenk.com
Strength
in Numbers Alkaline Acid
Pick the wrong potency
and you could get
burned. Here’s how to
find your ideal pH 5% 7% 10% 20%+
Sensitive Glycolic Oily or acid- Professional
skin acid virgins tolerant skin chemical peels
Baggage Not long ago, man bags
were seen as epicene
Reclaim
affectations. But in
these more enlightened
times, we’re beginning
to realise that small
isn’t just beautiful –
it’s a whole lot more
practical, too
OO £ 75 0
Y CH
JI M M
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
60
S £1
M AIN
495
ER RY £
M UL B
£350
RT NEY
LA M CCA
S T EL
50
£1,3
DIO R
THE EDIT: MAN BAGS
Neat Solution
“Unlike backpacks,
these light, stylish
bags won’t crease and
distort your jacket”
– Gene Ricketts,
opumo.com
£ 27
PA K
E AST
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GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
110
ECT ION £
COLL
IGER
HILF
50
H £2
C OAC
18
ND £
R I SL A
R IVE
0
O £3
U M BR
Cheung
on the right foot is vital. A clean diet,
fastidious exercise routine and a
considered wardrobe provide the tools
he needs to be as resilient as his denim
06
6.25am LEVI’S 501
5.45am One of my most prized JEANS £65
After my alarm goes off, watches is my Sinn
I have a quick stretch. I EZM1 (8), a minimalist
don’t eat breakfast during chronograph without
the week: human beings subdials, made of titanium.
have evolved to be There’s something Dieter
mentally sharper when 02 Rams-ish about it.
VICTORINOX PIONEER
we’re hungry. Instead, ALOX KNIFE £47
I just have some coffee. 6.28am
Trucker and Sherpa
5.55am jackets are my outerwear
I don’t shower the first go-tos. I often wear
thing in the morning – vintage styles: they just
I leave it until after I’ve get better with age, as the
worked out in the evening. material becomes more
I was a small, skinny kid lived-in and seasoned.
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 19
WORDS: SHANE C KURUP | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK | WAHL.CO.UK, VICTORINOX.COM, KIEHLS.CO.UK, GETQUIP.COM, LEVI.COM, ADIDAS.CO.UK, SINN AT JURAWATCHES.CO.UK
great for building stamina. 6.02am 6.45am
I use a Swiss army knife (2) I walk my schnauzer, Suzy,
5.56am to deal with my stray hairs every morning. Walking is
I’ve been buzz-cutting my and nails – a great example active meditation, when
hair for years, since a girl of how good design can your subconscious and
convinced me to get rid of address our needs. I have conscious minds join the
my Liam Gallagher/Bruce one in nearly every room: a dots. It’s a crucial part of
Lee mop. I have Wahl hair white one in my bathroom, Jonathan the creative process.
trimmers (1), which I also to match my tiles.
Cheung
use on my face: it’s more In a 25-year
robust than other shavers. 6.03am 7.15am
career spanning I have a beautiful commute
After washing my face, I six countries, across the Golden Gate
6.01am apply Kiehl’s Oil Eliminator Cheung has Bridge. I listen to a
Every now and then, moisturiser (3), which worked with podcast or a book
I check out my body doesn’t leave your face Giorgio Armani, summary on blinkist.com
composition on my greasy. I also use Mother Franco Moschino as I drive. It’s important
Fitbit scales. Because Dirt’s probiotic spray, and Marc Jacobs
LEVI’S T-SHIRT £25 to maximise your time.
of my intermittent which clears, controls
fasting and clean diet, and tightens my skin.
staying below 8% body 08
6.14am
fat is fairly effortless. 6.07am The classic 501 (6) is my
I clean my teeth with a everyday pair. The design
03 Quip electric toothbrush is still so popular as it
(4) – it has a clever, pen- evolved from a practical
like design, with a cap need (originally, the jeans
that makes it stick to were worn by gold miners
tiles or a mirror, so it over their trousers).
doesn’t leave a sticky
residue on your sink.
6.18am
6.12am Trainers are my main bag.
The perfect T-shirt is like I only wear classic designs,
a unicorn. It’s very hard such as Adidas Stan Smith
to define. I go for brands 01 (7) or Vans Pro Skate. I’m
WAHL AQUA BLADE a bit older now, so I’d feel
like J Crew and, of course, BEARD AND STUBBLE SINN
Levi’s (5). I prefer a closer TRIMMER £90 a bit too try-hard in the EZM1 WATCH ADIDAS ORIGINALS
fit, as it streamlines your latest Yeezy Boosts. £4,800 07 STAN SMITH £75
KIEHL’S OIL
frame and prevents you
from looking shorter.
ELIMINATOR £33
Jonathan’s Heavy-Duty Style Advice
04 01/ Jean Splicing 02/ Effortless Cool 03/ Dark Matters
Make sure you own two White trainers have the Having a base palette
decent pairs of jeans: a sort of easy charm that of “masculine” colours
black pair and a light-blue Hardy Amies often – dark indigo, black,
wash. They’re a solid bedrock cited. They’ll even make your grey and olive – is a risk-free
QUIP SLATE
METAL ELECTRIC on which to build your look. suit look more contemporary. way to wear bolder shades.
TOOTHBRUSH £40