Hbnjuj by Primaveradea3

“Minds are like parachutes, they function better when open” —Tommy Dewar

QUENCH YOUR CURIOSITY AT DEWARS.COM & DI SCOVER OUR RANGE OF FINE WHI SKIES

Miles Teller photographed by Beau Grealy exclusively for Men’s Health. Styling by Ted Stafford. Grooming by Lucy Halperin for the Wall Group. On the cover: T-shirt by Jungmaven; pants by Dockers; necklace by David Yurman. This page: Tank and shorts by Rhone; sneakers by Nike.

“Be comfortable in your own skin, and don’t compare yourself to other people. Honestly, who gives a shit what other people think about you?” FEATURES

—MILES TELLER, P. 74

74 MILES TELLER ON THE VERGE

On the cusp of superstardom, the actor watched as his next big project, Top Gun: Maverick, was delayed . . . and then delayed again. But playing the waiting game has never broken him down. BY STEPHEN RODRICK

PHOTOGRAPH BY BEAU GREALY

82 REBUILD. REFOCUS. RESTART.

Busta Rhymes, Action Bronson, and more real-guy transformations! Together, these ten men have reached new physical peaks and lost more than 400 pounds in the process. BY HANIF ABDURRAQIB, SPENCER DUKOFF, SARAH GEARHART, AND GERRICK KENNEDY

92 HEALTHY OR HEART ATTACK?

Inside the war scientists are fighting over the nutritional benefits of eating fat, in which billions of dollars—and your health—are at stake. BY MICHAEL EASTER

98 A YEAR WITHOUT FEAR We talked to top experts to better understand all the

MEN’S HEALTH

fears that are holding you back—and new ways to vanquish them. FEATURING MICHAEL ARCENEAUX, C. J. CHIVERS, AND OTHERS

106 REINVENTING THE BOX Can CrossFit’s new CEO, Eric Roza, and its exercise guru, Dave Castro, lead the fitness giant to a healthier future? BY MICHAEL EASTER | JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

CONTENTS

PLUS! THE 2021

MEN’S HEALTH HOME GYM AWARDS

Digital dumbbells! Smart machines! Streaming workouts! Lift harder and run faster with the best homegym gear of 2021. p. 68

ROAST ’EM! There are two secrets to incredible ribs: the right rub and your oven. (See page 46.)

LIFE 39 The MH Guide to

Giving Back: Sharing— your time or money—is the key to happiness.

46 30/10: A rack of ribs to stack on muscle.

48 There’s one right way to make guacamole. 50 Five delicious,

ready-to-drink canned cocktails—yes, canned—chosen by a bartender.

52 Here’s how four

guys who lost weight or gained muscle in 2020 adapted their style.

59 Avoid bumpy shaves and cracked skin with these DIY grooming upgrades. 60 Cool Dad: Guess

who wins when ESPN host Stephen A. Smith argues with his daughters?

MIND 63 The five-day

MH WORLD

BODY

9 Your deepest fears,

17 Crush your virtual

your greatest #goals for 2021, and—finally— a fix for dry winter skin, according to a dermatologist.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

marathon with these IRL tips and tricks. 20 Five moves + three rounds = one total-body workout for massive strength gains. 22 6 A.M.: Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown on how the gym stokes his creativity. 24 Your new less-meat, more-muscle meal plan.

| MEN’S HEALTH

26 Does your home health kit need an update? Take our quiz to check your medicine-cabinet IQ. 30 How Anthony

Fauci, M.D., keeps his immune system in shape.

34 Black Americans and hypertension: What one “scientific” theory reveals about systemic racism in medicine.

66 “Radical acceptance” might be your secret weapon for overcoming obstacles.

67 How I Keep It Together: ABC News’s T. J. Holmes on fueling his day with meditation, running, and Twizzlers.

112 Metrogrades:

America’s Booziest Cities

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAOLA + MURRAY

Food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich/Edge Reps. Prop styling: Paige Hicks.

optimism boot camp you need now.

ALL IN ON KICKS

ALL IN ON THRILLS

TEAM

MEET THE Richard Dorment

Jack Essig

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SVP/PUBLISHING DIRECTOR

Jamie Prokell Creative Director

Chris Peel Executive Director, Hearst Men’s Group

EDITORIAL Ben Court, Mike Darling Executive Editors Ben Paynter Features Editor Nojan Aminosharei Entertainment Director Jordyn Taylor, Spencer Dukoff Deputy Editors Marty Munson Health Director Paul Kita, Josh Ocampo Senior Editors Ebenezer Samuel Fitness Director Brett Williams Associate Fitness Editor Evan Romano Associate Editor Joshua St. Clair Editorial Assistant

ADVERTISING SALES NEW YORK (212) 649-2000 Caryn Kesler Executive Director, Luxury Goods John Wattiker Executive Director, Fashion & Retail Doug Zimmerman Senior Grooming Director Kim Buonassisi Advertising Sales Director Kyle Taylor East Coast Automotive Sales Director John Cipolla Integrated Account Director Brad Gettelfinger Sales Manager, Hearst Direct Media CHICAGO (312) 964-4900 Autumn Jenks, Justin Harris Midwest Sales Directors LOS ANGELES (310) 664-2801 Patti Lange Western Ad Director Anne Rethmeyer Group Sales Director, Auto SAN FRANCISCO (510) 508-9252 Andrew Kramer Kramer Media DETROIT (248) 614-6120 Marisa Stutz Detroit Automotive Director DALLAS (972) 533-8665 Patty Rudolph PR 4.0 Media

ART Lisa Lok Acting Art Director Eric Rosati Designer Jason Speakman Associate Digital Visual Editor Matthew Montesano Digital Imaging Specialist HEARST VISUAL GROUP Alix Campbell Chief Visual Content Director Fabienne Le Roux Executive Visual Director Sally Berman Visual Director Justin O’Neill Contributing Visual Director Amy Wong Senior Visual Editor Giancarlos Kunhardt Visual Assistant FASHION Ted Stafford Fashion Director Adam Mansuroglu Senior Style & Gear Editor COPY Janna Ojeda Assistant Managing Editor John Kenney Managing Copy Editor Alisa Cohen Barney Senior Copy Editor Connor Sears, David Fairhurst Assistant Copy Editors RESEARCH Jennifer Messimer Research Chief Nick Pachelli Assistant Research Editor CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Easter, Philip Ellis, Garrett Munce, Zachary Zane OTHER CONTRIBUTORS Liz Chan Contributing Art Director Rashad Minnick Contributing Fashion Associate Vanessa Powell Contributing E-commerce Editor Marina Shoger Contributing Visual Editor VIDEO Dorenna Newton Executive Producer Tony Xie, Elyssa Aquino Video Producers Mariah Oxley Social Video Producer Ericka Paparella Associate Producer HEARST MEN’S FASHION GROUP Nick Sullivan Fashion Director Alfonso Fernández Navas Market Editor MEN’S HEALTH INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS Australia, China, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Middle East, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, UK

Samantha Irwin General Manager, Hearst Men’s Group Karen Ferber Business Manager Paul Baumeister Research Director Alison Papalia Executive Director, Consumer Marketing Chris Hertwig Production Manager Aurelia Duke Finance Director Everette Hampton Executive Assistant Zoe Fritz, Toni Starrs, Erica Miller, Yvonne Villareal, Samantha Wolf, Olivia Zurawin Sales Assistants PUBLIC RELATIONS Nathan Christopher Executive Director, Public Relations Lauren Doyle Associate Director, Public Relations MARKETING SERVICES Cameron Connors Executive Director, Head of Brand Strategy and Marketing Stephanie Block Integrated Marketing Director Jaclyn D’Andrea Marketing Coordinator Alison Brown Special Events Director Jana Nesbitt Gale Executive Creative Director Michael B. Sarpy Art Director CIRCULATION Rick Day VP, Strategy and Business Management PUBLISHED BY HEARST Steven R. Swartz President & Chief Executive Officer William R. Hearst III Chairman Frank A. Bennack, Jr. Executive Vice Chairman Mark E. Aldam Chief Operating Officer HEARST MAGAZINES, INC. Debi Chirichella President, Hearst Magazines Group, and Treasurer Kate Lewis Chief Content Officer Kristen M. O’Hara Chief Business Officer Catherine A. Bostron Secretary Gilbert C. Maurer, Mark F. Miller Publishing Consultants Simon Horne SVP, General Manager & Managing Director, Asia & Russia Kim St. Clair Bodden SVP/Editorial & Brand Director Chloe O’Brien Deputy Brands Director Shelley Meeks Executive Director, Content Services

HOW TO REACH US: Customer Service: To change your address, pay a bill, renew your subscription, and more, go online to menshealth.com/customer-service, email mhlcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com, or write Men’s Health Customer Service, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593-1500. Editorial offices: 300 W. 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. Feedback: mhletters@hearst.com. Licensing & Reprints: Contact Wyndell Hamilton, Wright’s Media, hearst@wrightsmedia.com. Absolute satisfaction guaranteed. Scent-free subscription available on request. From time to time we make our subscriber list available to companies that sell goods and services by mail that we believe would interest our readers. If you would rather not receive such mailings by postal mail, please send your current mailing label or exact copy to: Men’s Health, Mail Preference Center, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593-0128.

Men’s Health carries the latest health, fitness, and nutrition reporting to provide you with useful information about your health. But every body is different; individual diagnoses and treatments can come only from a health-care practitioner. Printed in USA.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

Men’s Health is a registered trademark of Hearst Magazines Group, Inc.

MEN’S HEALTH

A DV I S O RY PA N E L

We know a lot about health and fitness, but we don’t know as much as the doctors, scientists, and trainers who keep us honest and up-to-date. BRAIN HEALTH:

P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D. David Perlmutter, M.D.

CARDIOLOGY:

John Elefteriades, M.D. David Wolinsky, M.D.

DERMATOLOGY:

Brian Capell, M.D., Ph.D. Corey L. Hartman, M.D. Adnan Nasir, M.D., Ph.D.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE:

Jedidiah Ballard, D.O. Robert Glatter, M.D. Travis Stork, M.D.

ENDOCRINOLOGY:

Sandeep Dhindsa, M.D.

EXERCISE SCIENCE:

Martin Gibala, Ph.D. Mark Peterson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.*D Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.

GASTROENTEROLOGY:

Felice Schnoll-Sussman, M.D.

INTEGRATIVE HEALTH:

Brenda Powell, M.D.

INTERNAL MEDICINE:

Keith Roach, M.D.

MENTAL HEALTH:

Gregory Scott Brown, M.D. Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. Avi Klein, L.C.S.W. Drew Ramsey, M.D.

NUTRITION:

Chris Mohr, Ph.D., R.D. Mike Roussell, Ph.D. Brian St. Pierre, R.D., C.S.C.S.

PAIN MEDICINE:

Paul Christo, M.D., M.B.A.

SEX & RELATIONSHIPS:

Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., M.P.H. Shamyra Howard, L.C.S.W. Justin Lehmiller, Ph.D.

SLEEP MEDICINE:

W. Christopher Winter, M.D.

SPORTS MEDICINE:

Michael Fredericson, M.D. Dan Giordano, D.P.T., C.S.C.S. Bill Hartman, P.T.

TRAINING:

Lee Boyce, C.P.T. Mike Boyle, M.Ed., A.T.C. Ben Bruno, C.F.S.C. Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.*D David Jack Mubarak Malik David Otey, C.S.C.S. Don Saladino, NASM

UROLOGY:

Elizabeth Kavaler, M.D. Larry Lipshultz, M.D.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT:

David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., FACPM, FACP Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., M.P.H., M.P.A., FAAP, FACP, FAHA, FTOS

Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D.

By becoming transcendent and leaving this flesh vessel. Don’t ask how tho, still a work in progress.

Gain financial freedom. @mrhoffman08

@_rightsaid_red

Start a parkour club.

I’m moving from PA to AZ in March! I plan to stop drinking and smoking, [start] working out.

@Me89512316

@AndrewBurson39

Grow my personaltraining business.

I am already under transformation. Why the hell wait till next year?

@a1_tube

@MatthewChinnock

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

EDITOR’S LETTER

Q+A WITH THE E.I.C.

HOW DO YOU APPROACH GOAL SETTING FOR THE COMING YEAR WHEN 2021 IS

RIFE WITH UNCERTAINTY?

—@mikedferrante

AH, GOAL SETTING. Remember that? It’s been a while since most of us tried to set a long-term goal or make a firm plan for ourselves, what with the whole world spinning out of control. At one point in the fall, I made the mistake of trying to go on a last-minute three-day silent-meditation retreat (that was my idea of a good time, which tells you what my fall was like), but I had to bail at the very last minute because of a COVID scare at my kids’ school. For most of the past year, none of us could plan on doing anything beyond staying home or stocking up on toilet paper, and as Jacqueline Detwiler-George describes on page 98, living in a constant state of uncertainty leads to anxiety, fear, and plenty of other feelings we don’t need any more of. Part of me wishes I could be more like my friend Jess, who runs all things Cosmo here at Hearst Magazines and swears by horoscopes as an all-purpose life-planning tool. Want to know when to switch jobs or move cross-country? A good astrologer (or a Cosmo horoscope!) can give you a heads-up months or even years in advance, since horoscopes

are based on the movement of planets, and nothing is more predictable than that. Except, maybe, for the certainty of change, and over the past 12 months, so much of our lives changed in so many ways that not even the best astrologer could’ve seen most of it coming. (Yes, I’m a horoscope skeptic. Typical Aries, right?) From a once-in-a-century pandemic and economic calamity to broader, deeper reckonings with systemic racism and a doozy of an election season, we careened through the year without knowing what our lives would look like from one day to the next. Still, as I’m writing this in mid-November, we know a little more now than we did when we started producing this issue a few weeks ago. We know who the president of the United States will be for the next four years, which is a not-insignificant piece of data. We know that there are at least two COVID-19 vaccines showing tremendous promise that should be widely available as early as the spring. And we also know that until they are, things are gonna be tough. Like: April 2020 tough. And a big part of our goal when making this issue was to help all of you get through it—by mastering the sweaty fun of at-home virtual racing; by supercharging your immunity with a little help from Dr. Anthony Fauci; by upgrading your home gym with our top equipment picks; by making the world’s best guacamole, because you deserve delicious guacamole. Eventually, things will change again. If enough vaccines prove effective enough, and if enough of us get vaccinated and send this awful virus into the history books, things will slowly start to resemble the way they were in the before times. Maybe it’ll be late spring or summer. Maybe it’ll be fall. But it won’t be like this forever. So, until then, my big plans and ambitious goals for 2021 are pretty simple: I’m not making any big plans or setting any ambitious goals, and I’m giving myself permission to not have everything, or even anything, figured out until at least the early summer. The next six months are about taking care of yourself and your people, and if you can commit to that, you’ll be making long-term goals again before you know it.

My skin Q. is really dry this winter. Is there a certain moisturizer I should be using? —RODNEY, Ann Arbor, MI

but let’s back A. Yes, up. Moisturizer

is really a treatment. Preventing dry skin is also important. Taking frequent long, hot showers removes beneficial oils from your skin and can worsen skin conditions like eczema. Try shorter showers with warm water and then moisturize after you towel off. Regardless of your skin type, pick a thicker moisturizer (the ones that come in tubs), like CeraVe, Eucerin, or Aveeno, which is often more effective than a water-based one (the ones that come in pump bottles).

—BRIAN CAPELL, M.D., PH.D., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF DERMATOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Have a question for Rich? Tweet us at @MensHealthMag with the hashtag #AskMHRich and ask away.

Richard Dorment, Editor-in-Chief

WHERE TO FIND US We’re on all your favorite platforms.

ASK MEN’S HEALTH

Follow, tweet, comment, like, respond, and tag us. You could be featured in MH World. Instagram & Twitter @menshealthmag

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YouTube & Pinterest /menshealthmag

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On the web menshealth.com

And send us your feedback at MHletters@hearst .com. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Mike Garten

WORLD

Nurture their loving hearts with IAMS™ Large Breed

#GOALS

MEET THE FUTURE

FACES OF FITNESS

Fitness is for everyone. That’s long been among our core principles at MH, and it’s the backbone of our Strength in Diversity Initiative, a program that equips trainers from marginalized communities with mentoring and in-depth fitness knowledge. These

JAMES DALE 30, Ohio

RENATO CRISPINO 44, Florida

ZACHARY BROOKS 29, Canada

JUAN GUADARRAMA 30, California

Dale, who now owns his own gym, fell in love with fitness while serving a four-year prison term.

A gay personal trainer, Crispino has a goal: offer a safe space for gay men in fitness.

Brooks’s body started breaking down early after a youth of hard training. He wants to share his lessons as a mentor to young men.

A first-generation Mexican American, Guadarrama aims to reach people in diverse, Spanish-speaking communities.

TYRIEK TAYLOR 31, New York

BARI GLASSMAN 30, Pennsylvania

TAMMECA ROCHESTER 39, New York

SADIYAH AHMAD 32, England

Taylor dealt with eating disorders and depression before discovering fitness. He hopes to help his clients in New York City do the same.

A transgender athlete and bodybuilder, Glassman studies sports nutrition, health, and fitness intently.

Owner and founder of the spin studio Harlem Cycle, Rochester spent four years building the brand locally before taking it online.

Ahmad’s goal is to motivate Asian women. “It’s amazing to see how I can inspire 50-year-old ladies to deadlift or sprint on a treadmill.”

THE KING OF

SMOOTHIES

T H E M E N ’ S H E A LT H T W I T T E R P O L L

THIS MONTH, ON PAGE 98, WE EXPLORE THE NEW SCIENCE ON THE DEEP RECESSES OF FEAR . WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?

Smoothie King is, ahem, shaking things up. SK’s new High Intensity Workout smoothies have a healthful split of carbs, fats, and protein—a combination that’s good for muscle building and workout recovery. Plus, there’s no added sugar. Our must-try: Chocolate Cinnamon.

FAILURE

41.4% PRESENTED BY

PUBLIC SPEAKING

19.6% 12

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

4.4%

Getty Images (falling man, microphones, tombstone, plane). @oneclickproductions (Dale). Nitin Madhav (Crispino). @themiikec Mike Cummings (Guadarrama). Create the Remarkable (Rochester). Courtesy subjects (Brooks, Ahmad, Taylor, Glassman).

WORLD

NOT NOT WE PROMISE. WHOLE FRUITS & ORGANIC VEGGIES GO IN. SYRUPS, ARTIFICIAL COLORS, FLAVORS AND PRESERVATIVES NEVER WILL.

WORLD

FUN WITH POLLING

THIS MONTH IN THINGS YOU’RE

PSYCHED ABOUT... WHICH CLASSIC ’80S MARTIAL-ARTS MOVIE IS YOUR FAVORITE? R A LP H

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME’S BLOODSPORT

’S M AC C HIO

JACKI EC POLIC HAN’S E STOR Y

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GO RET RDON 36T URN LIU’S H C TO T HA H E MB ER

3.9% 3.1%

Y O U C A N L E A R N T H E B E S T WAY T O M A K E G U A C A M O L E O N PA G E 4 8 .

ESPN ICON STEPHEN A. SMITH DELIVERS A

TA K E O N PA R E N T I N G O N PA G E 6 0 .

WHERE’S THE FIRST PLACE YOU HEAD FOR SPORTS NEWS?

BU T W H AT A R E YOU DR INK ING W I T H I T C OME GAME TIME? TEQUILA

22.6%

ABSTAIN

8.3%

HARD SELTZER

4.1% Based on 2,047 responses to @MensHealthMag. Based on @2,361 responses to @MensHealthMag.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

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53.7%

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V I TA L I T Y S TA R T S H E R E

HOLDEN COMEAU, a former pro triathlete, is working hard in third place in the Zwift National Championship race, with about 600 meters to go. He sees the two cyclists ahead of him start to pull away but patiently waits until the 100-meter mark to make his move. When it’s in sight, he stands up to hammer and deliver max sprinting power—1,353 watts—into his pedals. It’s just enough to edge past the two leaders—and maintain his lead against the 750 other competitors—to win the race and make him Zwift’s number-one-ranked rider at the time, in 2019. Comeau sits up, pumps his fists, and screams with joy.

ILLUSTRATION BY EDDIE GUY

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

BODY

VIRTUAL RACING

“I’ve never screamed so loud,” recalls the 42-year-old cofounder of a digital analytics company. Moments after his win, he got off his bike; turned off his fans, air conditioners, and TV; and headed upstairs, wondering how much of all that celebrating the neighbors heard. This is racing on Zwift, a virtualriding and -racing platform for cyclists and runners that’s seen a threefold increase in uploaded rides in the past year, and maybe a fewfold increase in shouting neighbors. It’s e-sports meets real racing. Your legs power your avatar through a course that looks fresh out of a digital game, complete with weather and nature, and you can message other riders as you go. Before the pandemic, the peak number of people racing on Zwift or just riding at the same time on a given day was about 16,000. It’s past 35,000 now. (And in the virtual world, that’s all good: A giant pack of lightning-fast cyclists aren’t going to Your pedals power your avatar through real scenery when you race on take anybody—or one another—out.) Rouvy (above) or through creative, When workouts and everything else digitally rendered scenery on Zwift. moved indoors last spring, the IRL races everyone had been training for vanished. Luckily, technology, race Michael Capiraso, the CEO and president directors, and the competitive spirit of NYRR. That means someone from stepped in to fill that void. Roanoke and someone from Rome could For instance, New York Road Runners run the same race and both appear on (NYRR) put on 18 virtual races in 2020— the finisher chart. They can even “do” including the New York City Marathon— the race together on FaceTime or Zoom. and has no plans to abandon virtual racing in 2021. USA Triathlon sanctioned Virtual races are also staying on athletes’ rosters so they can save on travel costs, roughly 100 virtual events in 2020—up compete frequently, and test strategies from essentially zero in 2019. And back that let them crush it when their desired in 2019, many athletes doing Spartan events come back in person. obstacle races traveled to events every Spartan race competitor Tim Frame, weekend. In 2020, some raced from home 55, hit a fitness peak thanks to virtualmost every day. als. He’d been a regular at in-person Even as in-person races start to pop events, traveling on weekends to meet back up here and there—albeit in altered and compete. “I was in this mindset of formats—organizers are keeping virtu‘Let’s party with the crowd and do a fun als in the mix. That means that this year, run,’ ” he says. On his own, however, there’s no need to let a global pandemic he tuned into his performance metrics put your bucket-list fitness goals on hold. and found motivation there. The fact Virtual races might even tap you into that he could do a virtual race from a community that motivates you. NYRR, home nearly every day—and it earned for example, hosted a few as early as 2018 to expand access for nonlocal athletes. “It him points on a leaderboard—drove him to complete 95 Spartan races since gives people the opportunity to connect COVID-19 hit. “It changed how I comand engage from around the world,” says 18

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

peted against myself—I’m in the best shape of my life.” It can be a drag that you won’t get the crowds or the cheers or a high five from your family at the finish line, but race organizers are making an effort to give virtual events energy by gamifying the experience or by using tech like apps that let you see where others are on a course. In the Wings for Life World Run, for instance, you run as far as you can until a catcher car reaches you. Racers around the world all start at the same time—for Red Bull ultrarunner Dylan Bowman, that was 4:00 A.M.—and receive periodic alerts. “There was one voice that was encouraging, telling you when you’d hit a certain distance. And there were updates from the catcher car that were still good-natured but a little more ominous. It had character and made it easy to stay motivated. I was impressed at how technically advanced it was.” Some of the fun comes from what you put into it, too. Use our tips to make it great.

7 VIRTUAL RACES TO TRAIN FOR NOW USA DUATHLON VIRTUAL RUN-BIKE-RUN

USA Triathlon hosts Sprint (run 5K, bike 20K, run 2.5K) and Olympic Distance (run 10K, bike 40K, run 5K) events. Optional $35 for a donation to the Triathlon Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund and a medal; teamusa.org

SPARTAN RACES

With Spartan virtuals, “obstacles” are burpees, tuck jumps, and the like, but just as tough. Various lengths include the Beast, a half marathon with 30 obstacles. Free, with option to upgrade for race swag that features a medal and T-shirts; spartan.com

ROUVY

You cycle with avatars of your friends through videos of real roads. Regular races test your mettle on famous courses. From $12 per month; rouvy.com

ZWIFT

Daily cycling competitions range from sprints under ten miles to races of 50-plus, on different courses with different terrain. $15 per month; zwift.com

The platform is virtual but the competition is real in (from top) the USA Duathlon Virtual RunBike-Run, Spartan races, and the Wings for Life World Run.

Steve Wallace/Creative Concepts Photography (USA Duathlon). Michael Der (Spartan). Ian Witlen (Wings for Life World Run).

WINGS FOR LIFE WORLD RUN

MAKE A VIRTUAL RACE MORE “REAL”

If you’re picky about the races you do, you’ll be inspired to train and do your best. Trust us. We’ve done it the meh way and the “I’d do it again” way. Here’s how to make it more fun. FIND A LEGIT LEADERBOARD Races based on honestysystem reporting always feel anticlimactic. Instead, choose an event with an interface that uploads stats from your tracker (Garmin, Strava, Fitbit, etc.) and then declares a winner.

CHECK OUT THE SWAG If a medal or a T-shirt motivates you, there are plenty of races that hand those out. If raising money for a cause helps you go out there and do your best, then there are tons of opportunities for that, too.

ENLIST A FRIEND “Do” the race with somebody. Start at the same time in different locations. Put some money down on it, if you’re into that. Or break up a marathon into parts and see if everyone on your team can run their leg with a personal best.

SET THE STAGE Comeau put his bike in a spot in his basement where his head wouldn’t hit his low ceiling, and he set up two air conditioners, two industrial blower fans, two other fans, a dehumidifier (“because I sweat so much”), and a green screen. You don’t have to go all out; just think about what you need to stay comfortable for the duration of the race. And let your housemates know what your setup is. Pro triathlete Mirinda Carfrae was knocked out of second place in a virtual pro race last spring when her husband kicked the plug to her bike trainer out of the socket . . . while putting out trophies to inspire her.

You run as far as you can until a catcher car nabs you, whether that’s after three miles or 20. May 9, entry fees support the Wings for Life charity, devoted to spinal-cord-injury research; wingsforlifeworldrun.com

VIRTUAL365

You pick your distance—5K to marathon—and the app tells you where you and your competitors are on the course. January 30 and 31 and February 27 and 28, $20; virtual365.org

PREMIER ROWING LEAGUE RACES

Each week features a different time and distance, like 200 meters all out or 3x1 minute. You join a virtual league; points earned by top athletes in each region count toward that league’s standing as it works toward the championships. The next 12-week race series starts in February; premierrowingleague.com

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

BODY

WORKOUT

POWER UP TO 2021

Master these five power moves to fast-track strength gains and prep your body for any challenge this year. BY EBENEZER SAMUEL, C.S.C.S.

WORKOUT DIRECTIONS: Do this as a 3-round circuit. Rest 30 seconds between each exercise. Rest 1 minute between each round.

THE WORKOUT

LATERAL LUNGE

THE WARMUP

Why: Builds the hamstring and glute strength you need to walk tall.

CAT-COW TO BEAR PLANK

Start standing (a). Step your left leg a few feet to the left. Push your butt back and bend your left knee, lowering until your left thigh is parallel to the floor (b). Stand explosively. That’s 1 rep; do 12 per side.

Why: Loosens your lower back so you can move better throughout your day. Start on all fours, hands below shoulders, knees below hips (a). Arch your back and look toward the ceiling. Round your back and look toward your knees (b). Tighten your core and lift your knees an inch (c). Hold for 2 seconds. Return to the start. Repeat this pattern for 2 minutes.

(b)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(a)

ELEVATED PLANK ROW

Why: Blasts back and abs, and builds healthy shoulders, too! Set up in plank position, left elbow on a bench, a medium-weight dumbbell in your right hand, arm hanging naturally (a). Keeping your hips and shoulders square, row the weight to your rib cage (b). Pause, then lower. That’s 1 rep; do 10, then do 10 reps on the other side. 20

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KAT WIRSING

T H I S M O N T H ’S T R A I N E R E B E N E Z E R S A M U E L , C.S.C.S., Men’s Health fitness director, has

MOVE MAESTRO D A R R E L L Y O U N G is the founder

worked with several pro athletes during his ten-year training career and has given presentations to the National Strength and Conditioning Association. His new muscle-building program, All Out Arms, is available now on All Out Studio.

and CEO of Get Right Workouts & Movement LLC and a strength and life coach.

TWO-STEP CLOSE-GRIP PUSHUP

Why: Attacks triceps and teaches body control. Set up in pushup position, hands slightly narrower than shoulders. Keeping your elbows tight to your body, lower your chest to the floor (a). Pause. Press back up, stopping when your shoulders are just above your elbows (b). Pause. Press up until your arms are straight (c). Immediately lower to the floor and explosively press up until your arms are straight. That’s 1 rep; do 6 to 8.

(c)

(b) (a)

FRONT-RACK MARCH

Why: Every step builds abs and glutes and pushes you to stand up straight.

4 Kyle Hilton (Samuel)

PLANK SHOULDER TAP

Why: Builds shoulder strength and perfects your posture. Set up in pushup position, feet wide, hands directly below your shoulders, core tight. Without moving your hips, lift your left hand and touch your right shoulder. Hold for 2 seconds. Return to the start and repeat on the other side. Alternate reps for 30 seconds.

Stand holding dumbbells at your shoulders, core tight and glutes squeezed. Tighten your lats and abs and aim to keep your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Keeping your core tight and working to keep your hips and shoulders square, lift your left foot off the floor, driving your knee high. Return it to the floor. Lift your right foot. Work back and forth for 30 seconds. SHORTS ($78) BY RHONE; SNEAKERS ($90) BY PUMA; SOCKS BY BOMBAS.

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

BODY

6 A.M. WITH:

THE PLANT-BASED

PIONEER

Working out every morning gives ETHAN BROWN, the CEO of Beyond Meat, the sharpness and stamina to run the $9 billion empire that’s changing how we eat. BY ALEX BHATTACHARJI 22

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| MEN’S HEALTH

EACH TIME ETHAN BROWN uncoils his sixfoot-five frame and snaps the rowingmachine handle to his chest, the Concept2 rower jumps back a couple inches. This action would seem more violent if Brown, 49, the founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, weren’t so consistent and methodical, slowly propelling the rower across the warehouse he converted into an unofficial socially distanced employee gym at the HQ in El Segundo, California. He keeps up an aggressive 2:15/500-meter pace for 30 minutes. His cadence never relents, though he switches between an overhand and an underhand grip on alternating strokes. “It hits the arm muscles from a different angle,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll add side pulls to hit the obliques. But the real reason is boredom. I play around just to liven it up.” By the time Brown is done rowing, he’s close to his daily active calorie-burn goal. (The same is true on days he substitutes a half hour of swimming in his home pool.) But he’s just getting warmed up. Next, he tackles a 30-minute resistance workout crafted by his trainer, Cam Collins. The selection and sequence of exercises vary by design, alternating between “push” and “pull” days that target opposing muscle groups, as Collins wants to keep Brown’s mind and muscles guessing. In each five-move circuit, Collins mixes in familiar moves modified with a twist (like a reverse lunge with a single kettlebell in the high-rack position) and staples like dumbbell curls and bench presses. He has Brown do one minute per station and run through four rounds at a brutal clip, with no more than 60 seconds of rest between sets. The physical exhaustion has a mental benefit: clarity. “Your focus, your brain, is sharpened,” Brown says. “Better, more creative ideas come when you’re working out.” Brown founded Beyond Meat in 2009, and the company now has more than 400 employees and is valued at $9 billion. He’s chronically short on time—each day is packed with both push and pull. If he’s not attending marketing meetings, he’s discussing expansion domestically (Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC) or internationally (capitalizing on the pork shortage in China), or he’s sitting in on R&D trials and taste tests. Later, after his workout, a company chef brings him a sample of the new lower-fat and lower-calorie Beyond Burger that will be in stores in early 2021. PHOTOGRAPHS BY G L ASKEW

BETWEEN SETS Brown’s postworkout shake is 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 banana, 1½ cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and 1 scoop Vega Sport vanilla protein powder.

FAVORITE EXERCISE?

THE BEYOND BURNER

“Bench press is the most cathartic thing. You lift a huge weight off your chest. It’s also fun because there’s an element of not being sure you can do it.”

BROWN DOES THIS KIND OF CIRCUIT 6 DAYS A WEEK.

30 MINUTES: CARDIO

30 MINUTES: STRENGTH

DO 1 MINUTE PER EXERCISE, WITH 1 MINUTE BETWEEN SETS; DO 4 OR 5 ROUNDS.

Row, run, or swim at the fastest pace you can maintain.

Full body, split routine, alternating days between push and pull movements.

DAY 1—PUSH

DAY 2—PULL

Glute thrust, bench press, pushup, DB squat to thruster, and lunge.

Dip-bar leg raise, deadlift, bent-over row, pullup, and DB curl.

Brown needs a different sort of fitness now, because his days are so intense. “Before, it was about being competitive athletically,” Brown explains. “Once I got into graduate school, I started to realize how important exercise was both for mental acuity and also mental endurance. I multitask all the time. I realized I have to work out to be as productive as I want to be.” He grew up in Washington, D. C., and College Park, Maryland, and played high school football, lacrosse, and basketball. At Connecticut College, Brown focused on hoops, a passion that brought him joy and pain. “I had five knee surgeries when I was in my 20s,” he says. He has adapted his training to his problematic joints, but he hasn’t given up the game. Brown still laces up with his son, JB, a sharp-shooting guard on his high school team. The previous day—

Sunday, ostensibly his rest day—Brown played seven games of one-on-one against a six-foot-six Division I prospect who’s on his son’s team. He’s showing no ill effects this morning as he runs the gauntlet Collins set: weighted situps, battle ropes, reverse lunges, and bench presses. For Brown, the best approach to fighting inflammation is to avoid it in the first place. Although his reasons for going vegan 20 years ago were predominantly ethical and climate related, he says, it doesn’t hurt that his diet helps him bounce back from high-impact hoops. He also always has a strawberrybanana-and-almond-milk protein shake after working out. “It was hard, but I had no swelling and I wasn’t sore,” Brown says. “So I’m able to play seven games at 49 and then go hard again in the morning.” MEN’S HEALTH

MOST HATED EXERCISE?

“I f*cking hate planks and burpees.”

WORKOUT TUNES?

“A lot of Stones, Springsteen, and Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. Some old-school hip-hop, like early Jay-Z. And because I’m a D. C. guy, lots of go-go bands like Rare Essence.”

DREAM WORKOUT PARTNER?

“I’ve ticked some off the list, because Kevin Hart, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Hopkins are Beyond Meat ambassadors. But it’d have to be LeBron James.”

CHEAT MEAL?

“Pizza. Vegan-sausage pizza from the Slice & Pint in El Segundo. It’s ridiculous. Friday night, I’ll go to town.”

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

BODY

YOUR

LESS-MEAT, MORE-MUSCLE

MEAL PLAN You can still eat meat on a plant-based diet—and doing so will help you gain strength, lose weight, and even live longer. BY PAUL KITA

THE CURRENT DEFINITIONS for the term plant-

based are hazy. So food-manufacturing companies can slap a “plant-based” label on anything and collect a health halo. That’s why in creating our new book, Men’s Health Plant-Based Eating (The Diet That Can Include Meat), we built our own definition with the help of experts. And here’s the thing: Not one of them said that eating plant-based means eating only plants. “A plant-based diet should be an inclusionary diet of plants rather than an exclusionary diet of animal products,” says Eric Helms, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., a steroid-free bodybuilder and a nutrition and exercise researcher who has been eating a high-protein plantbased diet for almost ten years. David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, uses the term plant-predominant. Abby Langer, R.D., a Toronto-based nutrition expert, says that plantforward offers more clarity. Brian St. Pierre, R.D., C.S.C.S., the director of nutrition at Precision Nutrition, spells it out this way: “Ultimately, a well-done plant-based diet is one that includes lots of plant foods rather than one that decidedly excludes animal foods.” And really, eating plant-based requires only a small shift in how you view food. “You should build your meals around plants,” says Langer. “That doesn’t mean plants have to be the only thing on the plate. That just means thinking about plants first.” Instead of having a big bone-in pork chop for dinner and then tacking on a side salad, make a big salad with mixed greens, one cup of protein-rich chickpeas, and two ounces of thinly sliced pork tenderloin on top. You’ll still hit the 30 grams of protein you need to build muscle and you’ll enjoy the flavors of the pork. It’s animal protein as condiment. It’s also easier—and way more delicious—than you’d expect. These three meals prove it. 24

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

PR0TEIN BOOST BREAKFAST

HIGH-PROTEIN BLUEBERRY-BANANA PANCAKES These fluffy flapjacks are loaded with fruit and topped with nuts. The batter mix delivers the protein. Birch Benders and Kodiak both offer a plant-based product using pea protein, which is dairy-free. Other mixes typically use whey protein, which isn’t. Up to you.

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D : 1 C U P H I G H - P R O T E I N PA N C A K E O R WA F F L E M I X ½ C U P F R OZ E N B L U E B E R R I E S O L I V E O I L , FO R B R U S H I N G ½ C U P C H O P P E D WA L N U T S 1 BANANA, SLICED

Add a bowl of plain yogurt topped with berries. Greek yogurt has 15 to 20 grams of protein per serving; regular yogurt has eight to nine.

1. In a large bowl, whisk the pancake or waffle mix with 1 cup cold water until combined. (Try not to overblend.) Then stir in the frozen blueberries. 2. Brush a large nonstick skillet with oil and heat over medium. Working in batches, add ¼ cup batter per pancake to the pan. Cook until bubbles appear, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the undersides are golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. 3. Serve immediately with walnuts and banana. Makes six 4-inch pancakes. Feeds 2 Per serving: 463 calories, 17g protein, 56g carbs (9g fiber), 22g fat

PR0TEIN BOOST Bean-based chips contain decent protein. Two good bags: Beanitos and Beanfields. Each has about five grams of the nutrient per serving.

BUY THE BOOK, REINVENT YOUR DIET

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D : ¼ 1 2 2 2 2 4

LUNCH

RATATOUILLE ROYALE Deli meat does not a sandwich make. Meal-prep this formidable stacker by batch-grilling the vegetables and slicing the mozzarella. Assemble the morning of and feast come noon (or 11:30 A.M., because you can’t wait).

C U P O L I V E TA P E N A D E ONION ROLL, TOASTED OZ M OZ Z A R E L L A , S L I C E D S L I C E S G R I L L E D EG G P L A N T SLICES GRILLED SQUASH SLICES GRILLED ZUCCHINI T O M AT O S L I C E S FRESH BASIL

Spread half the olive tapenade on the bottom half of the onion roll, then layer half the mozzarella, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, tomato, and basil. Repeat the layers. Feeds 1 Per serving: 600 calories, 21g protein, 41g carbs (9g fiber), 40g fat

For 100-plus more plantforward, still-meaty recipes, buy Men’s Health PlantBased Eating, on sale now wherever books are sold.

THE TOP PLANT-BASED PROTEINS If you’re worried about eating enough of the muscle-building nutrient on a plant-based diet, don’t be. Here are 15 reasons why.

LEGUMES (PROTEIN PER ½ CUP)

PEANUTS

19g

CHICKPEAS

LENTILS

SOY-BASED (PER ½ CUP)

TEMPEH

14g

FIRM TOFU

11g

EDAMAME

SEEDS (PER 3 TBSP) DINNER

Ted Cavanaugh (pancakes). Jamie Chung (ratatouille). Mike Garten (scallops).

SEARED SCALLOPS AND LENTIL SALAD Lentils are a nutrition powerhouse. Just a half cup of cooked lentils contains eight grams of protein and seven grams of fiber.

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D : 1¼ CUPS GREEN LENTILS 1 B U N C H K A L E , T H I N LY S L I C E D 2½ C U P S S H R E D D E D C A R R O T S ¼ C U P B A L S A M I C V I N EG A R 1 T B S P D I J O N M U S TA R D 2 TBSP CANOLA OIL 1 2 S E A S C A L LO P S, PAT T E D D R Y CHOPPED FRESH CHIVES

HEMP

CHIA

SESAME

NUTS (PER ¼ CUP) 1. Cook the lentils according to package instructions. Drain. While the lentils are hot, toss with the kale, carrots, vinegar, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 2. In a large skillet, heat the canola oil on medium high. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper, then cook them until well browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat. Serve the scallops over the lentil salad and top with chives. Feeds 4 Per serving: 360 calories, 31g protein, 51g carbs (11g fiber), 5g fat

ALMONDS

PISTACHIOS

WALNUTS

GRAINS (PER ½ CUP COOKED)

MEN’S HEALTH

SPELT

QUINOA

OATS

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

BODY

QUIZ

WINTERIZE YOUR WELLNESS

OPTIMIZE YOUR HOME

HEALTH TOOL KIT

We’ve gone from not even knowing what a pulse oximeter or a UV-light sanitizer is to Googling the best prices. What other products and meds do you need (or, uh, not need) in your 2021 health tool kit? Take this quiz and see if your knowledge—or what you’re using—needs an update. BY ALICE OGLETHORPE

DO YOU KNOW YOUR MEDS? 1. UH-OH. THE

2. YOU NEED YOUR

THERMOMETER SAYS COUGH/HACK/ YOU’RE IN FEVER TURF. COUGH/REPEAT TO BETTER REACH FOR: STOP. LIKE, NOW. GET: Acetaminophen (Tylenol) Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) C. Nothing. The fever needs to run its course.

ANSWER: A A fever’s job is to make your body inhospitable to the germs invading it, but you don’t need to let a temperature run rampant. Studies have shown that a fever reducer won’t delay recovery but can reduce misery. Acetaminophen edges out ibuprofen, says Crystal Zhou, Pharm.D., an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of California San Francisco, who says it’s safer to take. If your fever tops 103°F, call a doc.

A cough suppressant An expectorant C. Antibiotics

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

ANSWER: B “An expectorant loosens up the phlegm so it’s easier to cough up,” says Zhou. Look for products with guaifenesin, such as Mucinex SE. Suppressants (dextromethorphan) just remove the itch that makes you want to cough. Together, these ingredients work against each other, says Zhou. So you’ll want to skip the combo products such as Robitussin Honey Cough + Chest Congestion DM. And don’t be tempted by antibiotics: They don’t kill viruses, which cause colds and COVID-19.

3. WHICH IS BETTER

4. YOU DID LEGS FOR

FOR A RUNNY NOSE?

A. B.

Nose drops Decongestants you take by mouth

ANSWER: B Oral decongestants effectively constrict the blood vessels in your nose, relieving the runniness and also stuffiness. Nose drops (aka “nasal sprays”) do that, too, but can cause rebound congestion if you use them for more than three days in a row, sometimes making your nose feel stuffier than before, explains Ada Stewart, M.D., president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. The spray/ stuffiness/spray routine can become a vicious cycle that’s hard to break. Nose drops made of just saline, such as Ocean, won’t do that—but they don’t work for everyone.

THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS. OUCH. AN IBUPROFEN MIGHT (CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY): Let you walk comfortably Reduce your gains C. Take down your risk of injury

A. B.

ANSWER: A AND B “If you’re sore after one workout and take an Advil, it’s fine and can potentially help your muscles be less sore,” says Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., at CUNY Lehman College. But hitting repeat on anti-inflammatory pills (also naproxen or aspirin) too often can stop you from reaping strength gains. The acute inflammatory response that happens after training signals your body to repair and strengthen the muscle. Chronically using these meds blunts that.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY EDMON DE HARO

© 2020 Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds LLC. All Rights Reserved. WONDERFUL, THE ORIGINAL PLANT-BASED PROTEIN, Ì i >VV «> Þ } } Ã] > ` ÌÀ>ì `ÀiÃÃ >Ài ÌÀ>ì >À Ã v 7 ìÀvÕ * ÃÌ>V Ã E č `Ã À ÌÃ >vw >ÌiÃ° 7*Óä£äÓÓ ££

THE ORIGINAL PLANT-BASED PROTEIN ™

The best protein is grown, not bred. With six grams in every serving, W∂ nderful Pistachios is a tasty, healthy snack—and your plant-based protein powerhouse.

BODY

QUIZ

WINTERIZE YOUR WELLNESS

CHECK YOUR GERM IQ 5. THE ABSOLUTE BEST,

MICROBIOLOGIST-APPROVED WAY TO CLEAN YOUR HANDS IS WITH: Soap Hand sanitizer C. Both

A. B.

ANSWER: C If you wash your hands for 20 seconds with regular soap, that’s all you need. Thing is, nobody really does that. Not even now. “Most people only wash their hands for about 11 seconds,” says Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. “That’s why it’s better to wash your hands, then follow it up with some hand sanitizer that’s at least 70 percent alcohol just to be safe.” Products with less alcohol may not kill all the germs.

6. THE BEST WAY TO KEEP THE

GERMS ON YOUR DOORKNOBS FROM INFECTING YOU IS WITH:

A home UV sanitizing wand Any basic cleaning product C. An antibacterial or disinfecting cleaning product A. B.

ANSWER: C While UV light works well for hospital disinfection, home UV wands aren’t as effective nor are they typically regulated, says Gerba. And regular spray cleaner “doesn’t do anything to viruses or bacteria,” he adds. Products with the words antibacterial or disinfecting will actually kill them. But for these products to really work, you have to leave them on the surface for about ten minutes, which you, as a busy person, do not really have time for. You can use antibacterial wipes and let the residue dry on its own.

ASSESS YOUR HEALTH-MONITOR IQ

7. IF YOUR

WEARABLE SHOWS A HEART RATE THAT’S HIGHER THAN USUAL IN THE MORNING, IT MIGHT MEAN (CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY): You’re having a heart attack B. You’re about to get sick C. You should kick your workout back today

ANSWER: B OR C The stress of a hard workout or fighting off illness may cause your heart rate to go up. “And fevers may increase heart rate up to 20 beats per minute for every degree of temperature above normal,” says Ilan Kedan, M.D., of the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. A heart attack wouldn’t be likely to show up on a heart-rate monitor. If you suspect you’re having one, you need to be diagnosed by a doctor, not a smartwatch.

8. YOUR BLOOD

PRESSURE IS ALL OVER THE PLACE BECAUSE YOU CHECKED IT (CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY):

After working out After drinking coffee C. With your arm on a low surface D. While scrolling Twitter

9. YOU SHOULD BE

MONITORING YOUR BLOOD-OXYGEN SATURATION ON A PULSE OXIMETER : Daily If you are having COVID-19 symptoms C. Never

A. B.

ANSWER: A, B, C, OR D “A lot of factors can contribute to blood pressure going up and down, and doing just one thing ‘wrong’ can affect readings,” says Naomi Fisher, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. To avoid the mistakes above and get a better read, wait 30 minutes after a workout or coffee; sit still with your arm at heart height (and back supported, feet flat on the floor); and take a break from stressful scrolling.

ANSWER: C When news came out that some people with COVID-19 had low oxygen-saturation levels even if they didn’t have a hard time breathing, there was a run on pulse oximeters. But oxygen sats aren’t magic numbers—some people with low levels are pretty healthy, while others need to be hospitalized. And sometimes a dip is due to how you’re wearing the device. A better way to know if you need a hospital: Go if you’re having trouble breathing, says Paul Pottinger, M.D., of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

BONUS ROUND!

TRUE OR FALSE: AFTER EXPOSURE TO SOMEONE WITH COVID-19, GARGLING WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE OR PUTTING HAND SANITIZER UNDER YOUR NOSE CAN HELP YOU AVOID GETTING SICK.

FALSE. “You have to be preventive with COVID-19, rather than reactive,” says Iahn Gonsenhauser, M.D., of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “A 1 percent hydrogen peroxide gargle can help reduce viral burden in the mouth, making dental work safer for dentists, but it won’t help you after you’ve been exposed.” And applying hand sanitizer under your nose may just put more germs on your face.

Daily consumption of unsweetened Lipton brewed tea, as par t of a diet consistent with American Hear t Association dietar y guidelines,

can help support a healthy heart.*

BODY

FRONT LINE

THE IMMUNOLOGIST’S GUIDE TO

IMMUNITY

How Anthony Fauci, M.D., the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, keeps his immune system in shape. BY MARTY MUNSON

WHEN THE NUMBER of COVID-19 cases exploded last year, so did the number of products and services promising to bolster your immunity. You couldn’t get away from talk of IV vitamin infusions, mushroom extracts, and drinkable immune-boosting “shots.” You also couldn’t get away from Dr. Fauci, who became a household name after four decades of trying to make sure Americans don’t get sick. Ever the straight shooter, he explains that you can’t buy a good immune system. “If you don’t smoke, you only drink in moderation, you get a good night’s sleep, have a healthy diet, you exercise, and you do something to reduce stress, that’s going to keep your immune system healthy, not any of these dietary supplements and herbs and other things.” How he takes his own advice:

“I can’t alleviate stress during the day, because my day is one big stress period from morning to evening,” Dr. Fauci says. “So when I get home in the evening, I do a power walk for about three and a half to four miles, and that generally decompresses my stress. The other day, I was walking along Massachusetts Avenue, and son of a gun, I saw a fox run out of somebody’s yard into the woods.”

START WITH A

GOOD BREAKFAST While no specific foods boost your immunity, Dr. Fauci says, an overall balanced diet can help you stay healthy. He aims for balance but sometimes errs “in the timing”; he can forget to eat dinner unless his wife reminds him. So he gets the day off to a good start with “a pretty consistent healthy breakfast— usually pomegranate juice and egg whites on an English muffin.” Lunch is light; busy nights can mean a takeout salad or salmon burger.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

KNOW THE EXCEPTION TO THE “VITAMINS WON’T HELP” REFRAIN When Dr. Fauci mentioned in September that he takes vitamin D and that low levels of that vitamin affect your susceptibility to infection, people heard “I take D” as “you should take D.” Not how it goes. “If you are deficient in D, then taking vitamin D supplements is important. If you have normal levels, it doesn’t make any difference,” he says. A doc can check your levels via a blood test.

SLEEP—OR AT LEAST NAP We’re gonna give the doctor a bit of a pass on his own advice here, since his sleep took a hit to lower the disease hit for the rest of us. When COVID-19 first spiked, “I was getting a ridiculous amount of sleep, like three or four hours a night. Now I get anywhere between five and six, which is not bad,” he says, but “it’s not optimal.” On the occasion he has a half hour between appointments, “I’ll lie on my couch in my office and take a power nap.”

KEEP

COVID-19 AWAY Dr. Fauci wears a mask, washes his hands all the time, and “compulsively” sanitizes them. If you’re getting tired of being cautious, “you have to realize the seriousness of the situation,” he says. At press time, the U. S. had more than 250,000 deaths, “and the end is not in sight. That’s enough incentive to be diligent, I think.” But he knows it’s hard. “Don’t be discouraged. I think you should realize that it will end. Hang in there.”

Frankie Alduino

DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. THEN DE-STRESS.

HEALTH

FIGHT YOUR PAIN WITH CBD Everyone feels the hurt as you age, but CBD can help you deal with it.

ife really does fly by. Before I knew it, my 40s had arrived, and with them came some new gifts from dear ol’ Mother Nature—frequent knee pain, stress, low energy and sleeplessness. Now, I’m a realist about these things, I knew I wasn’t going to be young and resilient forever. But still, with “middle-age” nearly on my doorstep, I couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened. That is until I found my own secret weapon. Another gift from Mother Nature. It began a few months back when I was complaining about my aches and pains to my marathon-running buddy, Ben, who is my same age. He casually mentioned how he uses CBD oil to help with his joint pain. He said that CBD has given him more focus and clarity throughout the day and that his lingering muscle and joint discomfort no longer bothered him. He even felt comfortable signing up for back-to-back marathons two weekends in a row this year. That made even this self-proclaimed skeptic take notice. But I still had some concerns. According to one study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 70% of CBD products didn’t contain the amount of CBD stated on their labels. And, as a consumer, that’s terrifying! If I was going to do this, I needed to trust the source through and through. My two-fold research process naturally led me to Zebra CBD. First, I did a quick online poll—and by that, I mean I posed the CBD question on my Facebook page. Call me old fashioned but I

wanted to know if there were people whom I trusted (more than anonymous testimonials) who’ve had success using CBD besides my buddy. That is how I found out that Zebra CBD has a label accuracy guarantee which assures customers like me what is stated on the label is in the product. Secondly, I wanted cold hard facts. Diving deep into the world of CBD research and clinical studies, I came across Emily Gray M.D., a physician at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Medical School and Zebra CBD medical advisor who is researching the effects of CBD. Dr. Gray wrote “early results with CBD have been promising and we have a lot of research underway now. I’ve had several patients using CBD with good success. It’s important that you know your source of CBD and how to use it properly.” After hearing it from the doctor’s mouth, I returned to my online poll and was amazed by the number of close friends and family who were already on the CBD train. Apparently, I was the only one without a clue! And funny enough, a couple of friends who commented were using the same brand as my buddy—Zebra CBD. There was no consensus as to why they were using CBD, but the top reasons given were for muscle & joint discomfort, mood support, sleep support, stress and headaches, as well as supporting overall health & wellness. Eventually, even the most skeptical of the bunch can be won over. With a trusted CBD source in mind, I decided to try it.

When I viewed Zebra CBD’s selection online, I was impressed by its array of products, including CBD oils called tinctures, topicals, chewable tablets, mints and gummies. After reading on their website that all their products are made with organically-grown hemp, I ordered... and it arrived within 2 days! The first product I tried was the rub. Now this stuff was strong. Immediately after rubbing it on my knee, the soothing effects kicked in. It had that familiar menthol cooling effect, which I personally find very relieving. And the best part is, after two weeks of using it, my knee pain no longer affected my daily mobility. The Zebra Mint Oil, on the other hand, had a different but equally positive effect on my body. To take it, the instructions suggest holding the oil in your mouth for about 30 seconds. This was simple enough, and the mint taste was, well, minty. After about 15 minutes, a sense of calm came over my body. It's hard to describe exactly; it's definitely not a "high" feeling. It's more like an overall sense of relaxation—a chill factor. Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed the oil. While it hasn’t been a catch-all fix to every one of my health issues, it has eased the level and frequency of my aches. And it sure doesn’t seem like a coincidence how much calmer and more focused I am. All-in-all, CBD is one of those things that you have to try for yourself. Although I was skeptical at first, I can say that I’m now a Zebra CBD fan and that I highly recommend their products. My 40s are looking up! Also, I managed to speak with a company spokesperson willing to provide an exclusive offer to Men’s Health readers. If you order this month, you’ll receive $10 off your first order by using promo code “MEN10” at checkout. Plus, the company offers a 100% No-Hassle, MoneyBack Guarantee. You can try it yourself and order Zebra CBD at ZebraCBD.com.

BODY

SPECI A L REPORT

YOU WOULD NEVER THINK THAT

HOW MEDICAL RESEARCH IS

FAILING BLACK PEOPLE

African Americans are at a higher risk for hypertension. One so-called scientific theory as to why is making matters even worse—and shining a light on systemic racism in medicine. BY ROZALYNN S. FRAZIER 34

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

a 1988 American Heart Association (AHA) conference would set the stage for decades of debate around—of all things— sodium and race. But that’s where Clarence Grim, M.D., seeded a theory about Black health that has been difficult to uproot ever since. Dr. Grim, then the director of the hypertension research center at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, hypothesized that high rates of hypertension among African Americans were due to the horrors of slavery, including the Middle Passage, the mass transport of slaves from West Africa to North America from roughly 1600 to 1800. These brutal experiences forced a genetic shift, Dr. Grim argued, that allowed those who were genetically predisposed to retain more sodium in their blood (the definition of hypertension) to survive. Descendants of the hypertensive slaves, he said, perpetuated the gene. According to headlines at the time (“Black Hypertension Theory Criticized, Doctor Says Slavery Conditions May Be Behind Problem,” read one from the Orlando Sentinel), the AHA, along with medical doctors and scientists, denounced the idea. Dr. Grim’s theory, critics said, was based not on scientific data and evidence but on historical accounts of slavery. Mariell Jessup, M.D., chief science and medical officer at the AHA, says that the organization recently revisited the findings. “We consulted with two internationally renowned hypertension experts who volunteer for the AHA on this issue, and both agreed that the evidence to support the Dr. Grim theory was poor. The theory was not in any way promoted by the AHA. We can find no evidence whatsoever that the slave-gene theory lives on within the AHA.” And yet despite all this criticism, gene theory as it applies to sodium and the health of Black people settled into and persisted within certain sectors—and still rears its head. When in 2007 Mehmet Oz, M.D., asked Oprah on The Oprah Winfrey Show, “Do you know why African Americans have high blood pressure?” Winfrey responded that Africans who survived the slave trade’s Middle Passage “were those who could hold more salt in their bodies.” Dr. Oz replied, ILLUSTRATION BY MARK HARRIS

“Perfect.” Medical textbooks still carry information about salt-sensitivity theory—and its greater, though vaguer, cousin, gene theory. The websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the AHA, not to mention health websites such as WebMD and Medscape, contain references to gene theory and hypertension. On the “High Blood Pressure and African Americans” page, the AHA states that “researchers have also found that there may be a gene that makes African Americans much more salt sensitive.” The truth: There’s no gene. “There is no reason to assume that major genetic discontinuities exist between different continents or ‘races,’ ” a 2004 study published in Genome Research concluded. A 2012 Harvard study found no connection between genetics and hypertension. The salt-sensitivity-gene myth persists largely because there’s a dearth of medical studies involving Black people. It persists because it’s a systemic problem that goes well beyond sodium, one that arises via generalizations within the medical community, as well as resistance from Black people to signing on as study participants due to past mistreatment. And it persists because it’s easier to blame genetics than it is to make big, system-wide changes to public-health policy. “We’ve been looking for this saltretention gene for decades instead of looking at the things that we know make people sicker and die younger, like environmental injustices, like inaccessibility of health care,” says anthropologist Khiara M. Bridges, Ph.D., a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law. “If we had preventative health care, we would have better outcomes.”

WHY SALT MATTERS (AND DOESN’T)

Black people do suffer from hypertension disproportionately. In fact, the prevalence of high blood pressure in African Americans in the United States is among the highest in the world. More than 40 percent of non-Hispanic African American men and women have the condition, and roughly 42 percent of Black men age 20 and older have high blood pressure. The

CARDIA study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association also revealed that by age 55, 76 percent of Black people had developed high blood pressure, compared with 55 percent of white men and 40 percent of white women. Sodium intake has, for decades, been a primary target for better heart health, but that doesn’t mean sodium is inherently evil. While sodium and salt are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Sodium is a component found in salt. Salt is a mixture of sodium and chloride, with sodium constituting 40 percent of this combination. And sodium itself isn’t a bad thing. “Sodium is an essential electrolyte that helps maintain the balance of water in and around your cells,” says Rachel M. Bond, M.D., a cardiologist at Dignity Health in Arizona. The nutrient is necessary for muscle and organ function, as well as for maintaining stable blood-pressure levels.

Gene theory as it applies to sodium and the health of Black people settled into and persisted within certain sectors—and still rears its head. “There are persistent disparities in the management of high blood pressure, including potential lack of access to care, health insurance, education,

THE BEST FOODS FOR MEN

Three low-sodium products you should always buy. Less for your health (sodium is just one of many factors contributing to hypertension) and more for your cooking. Because you can always add salt; you can’t take it away.

KIKKOMAN LOWSODIUM SOY SAUCE

Still plenty salty and chock-full of umami goodness.

That said, “excess amounts of sodium in your blood can affect the kidneys’ ability to release water and lead to higher blood pressures,” says Dr. Bond. Hypertension can lead to heart disease, heart failure, and stroke, but scientists know now that sodium is one of many factors that may increase your risk. There’s an overemphasis placed on sodium and not as much focus on how it fits into diet, lifestyle, and family history, says Raymond Benza, M.D., the director of cardiovascular medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This is particularly true as it pertains to challenges in the Black community.

PACIFIC FOODS ORGANIC LOW SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

GLORY FOODS SIMPLY SEASONED COLLARD GREENS

Cook your rice in it for even more flavor.

Or any low-sodium canned vegetable, for that matter.

and healthy food,” says Dr. Jessup. “There is also emerging science about the impact of persistent economic stress, systemic racism, and negative health outcomes in historically marginalized populations.” So hypertension is more complex than sodium intake, and Black hypertension is far more complex than gene theory. Yet even Dr. Benza, a funded investigator for the AHA, says that ethnic differences in sodium sensitivity have a lot to do with heredity and natural selection. “In those of African descent, the need to retain salt in the environment they operated or lived in was a necessity, MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

BODY

SPECI A L REPORT

because salt was a rarity in these areas. So the body built adaptations to retain salt in those climates,â&#x20AC;? he says. The idea survives implicitly, if not always explicitlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and in order to excise it, some experts believe the medical community needs to bring a broader understanding of Black health to light. ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOT JUST SALT

Genome mapping in the 2000s showed that there are no genetic differences among races. Perpetuating a saltsensitivity-gene theory, many doctors argue, is racialized medical code. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Black health from the perspective of stereotypical conjecture and assumption rather than sound, defensible data and research. Sanul Corrielus, M.D., a cardiologist and the CEO of Corrielus Cardiology in Philadelphia, says that â&#x20AC;&#x153;when you have

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still consulting, researching, and writing, and he says he stands by his theory. “It has nothing to do with race,” he says. “It has to do with the physiology of the individual that is salt sensitive.” He’s a proponent of the DASH Diet, a sodiumand-potassium-conscious eating plan developed with the support of the National Institutes of Health. “I concur that sodium and potassium are not the only cause of high blood pressure,” Dr. Grim says. “Psychological stress, economic disadvantage, living conditions, racism—these factors are known to influence blood pressure in all populations. The difference is that individuals can change exposure to excess sodium and low potassium in the diet very easily. I’ve been called a racist because they thought I was suggesting a theory based on race, but the theory is based on selective survival under unique conditions.”

Bridges, the UC Berkeley School of Law professor, says this is still faulty thinking. “Researchers are not looking for genetic causes that might predispose white folks to death. They are just looking at Black people, which is bad science all around.” She adds that doctors wrongly assume race is a biological factor and look for data that supports that conclusion. “Race is real not because it is a biological entity. Race is real not because there is genetic homogeneity within racial groups. Race is real because it is politically and socially real,” she says. Gene theory and sodium-reduction prescriptions also overlook one major factor in high blood pressure: stress. “It is stressful to be a person of color and live in a racist society,” Bridges says. Dr. Bond agrees: “Stress absolutely plays a role in our body’s

ability to level out our blood-pressure readings. We, as an African American community, are more prone to a large amount of stress with systemic racism at the core, along with other social determinants of health that factor in. It’s not unreasonable for us to see why they may have higher susceptibility to higher rates of blood pressure as well.” Then there’s the added stress of feeling that, as a Black person, with “Black genes,” you’re starting at a distinct and perhaps fated disadvantage in being able to turn your poor heart health around, says Dr. Bond, and it’s problematic to continue to just point to genetics. “We know that in medicine we cannot just blame everything on genetics—even with heart disease,” she says. “Although important, genetics is not something we can modify.”

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Trunk Archive

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

Doing good can make you feel great. It’s also great for your health. And there are lots of ways to give without opening your wallet. BY KC IFEANYI

SOME CALL it the “helper’s high”; others, “warm-glow giving.” Whatever name you attach to the sensation, a growing body of evidence indicates that doing good for others can actually make you feel better—and that’s just the start of how your perspective may begin to change. The helper’s high is linked to a flood of mood-enhancing chemicals released in your brain during the act of kindness. While the novelty of simple pleasures like food and sex is shown to wear off quickly, this rush seems to be endlessly on tap. There’s even evidence that altruistic behavior may boost your tolerance of minor and chronic pains. MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

LIFE

GIVE MORE, LIVE MORE

Perhaps that’s because we’re hardwired to recognize that community building is one of the cornerstones of modern civilization. Donating your time, experience, or even cold hard cash can bring joy to others, be a release, build bonds with more people, and—especially as you see the change in others’ lives—fill your own life with a broader purpose. “It is a happiness that lasts, partly because it creates meaning in your life,” says Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., a director at Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Over time, that may result in health gains, too. Researchers in the UK found that people who volunteered at least once a month reported better mental health than those who gave less. And a recent Harvard study showed that adults over 50 who volunteered at least 100 hours per year— that’s less than two hours each week— had a reduced risk of mortality, greater physical activity, and fewer depressive symptoms compared with their peers. Even if you’re short on money, time, or attention, there are still plenty of ways to pay it forward in 2021. Here are five methods of making a difference that feels personally uplifting.

Give Skills Armen Henderson, M.D., 35 Physician/Homeless Advocate Miami, Florida

EVERYBODY SAYS they go into medicine to help people. I’m in the hospital seven nights a week, then I have seven days off, but outside the hospital is where I feel like a doctor the most. We have a disaster-relief coalition made up of several nonprofits, including one I started in 2018 called Dade County Street Response. Miami goes through a crisis every year with hurricane season, and the government does not respond [well] to vulnerable communities like our unsheltered popula-

tion. When the pandemic hit, we started giving out tents, food, and toiletries. We were treating wounds and doing COVID-19 tests. We set up a full-service bathroom site so people could use the toilet and take a shower. These are life extenders, sometimes on the order of 15 years, if people have access. I think I suffer from a mild case of depression. Doing the work that I do in my community is like therapy. This is a way to get physicians into the community, where I think things really matter. TAKE ACTION Reach out to a volunteer network like TaprootFoundation .org or Catchafire.org. They match your skills to nonprofits that need help in everything from finance and web design to marketing and strategy.

Give Time Josef Centeno, 46

A WEEK into the pandemic, we decided to close all the restaurants and furlough or lay off employees so they could get a jump start with unemployment before shit hit the fan. Despite my being distraught about everything that was happening, my friend introduced me to Lola Glaudini, who cofounded a nonprofit called Dine11 with her close friend Chris Sey. They began by donating meals to hospitals all over L. A., especially to those with less funding. So for over two months, I would cook two or three days a week, providing more than 1,000 meals. Being able to do this gave me purpose, and I was glad I was able to help in any small way that I could. So I found prepping and cooking in solitude calming for me in very uncertain times. Something that’s lacking a lot right now is common decency, just trying to take care of people in any way that you can. TAKE ACTION Local food banks and soup kitchens often need support, especially now. VolunteerMatch .org lets you search by city or even ZIP code for groups seeking different kinds of assistance. There are various ways to help virtually and in person.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

Wonho Frank Lee (Centeno). AP Images/Lynne Sladky (Henderson).

Chef & Restaurateur/Free-Meal Maker Los Angeles, California

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LIFE

GIVE MORE, LIVE MORE

AND YUP, YOU CAN GIVE MONEY Donating 2 percent or more of your income can result in a significant boost in life satisfaction, according to researchers at Indiana University. Spend smart by keeping these tactics in mind.

Give Guidance Gerald Oda, 52 Insurance Investigator/Little League Coach Honolulu, Hawaii

MY OLDER brother started coaching Little League after he graduated from the University of Hawaii, where he also played baseball. He asked if I wanted to join him, and I’ve been coaching now for more than 25 years (and my team won the 2018 Little League World Series). I work from home, so that gives me flexibility. Practices are up to two and a half hours long, three or four times a week. It gives me something to look forward to at the end of my day. It’s like I always stress to my kids: It’s not about you—it’s about we. The great thing about coaching is when you see these kids improve. You can tell that they just feel better about themselves. That alone is priceless.

Give Energy Joe Houston Jr., 27

TAKE ACTION Coaching your kid’s team is the gateway, but also check with your local rec department for opportunities. You may need to do a CPR course and online training. Not sporty? Mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

CHECK UP FIRST: The online charity evaluator Charity Navigator grades groups using a four-star system for accountability and transparency and for financial health. You can view best-of lists by cause category. Is a local group not listed? It might be new or small. Dive deeper on Guidestar.org. CROWDSOURCE IT: GoFundMe lets you give to people personally appealing for help with everything from unexpected medical costs to expenses for sports teams. Unsure who needs it most? Find a cause “hub” that pools donations to split evenly. MAXIMIZE RETURNS: Some employers match donations so that wherever you’re giving, you’ll double the impact. Or get creative and start a donor lottery with friends. Everyone antes up monthly, then draws straws. Whoever wins should be ready to share where the pot will go and why.

Fitness Coach/Community Advocate Washington, D. C.

TAKE ACTION Start a walking, running, or exercise group that’s inclusive. Pay for a trainer or earn your own qualification via the National Academy of Sports Medicine or the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

Give Service Jayson Uribe, 21 Pro Motorcycle Racer & Electrician/ Volunteer Firefighter Napa, California

IN 2017, the Tubbs Fire in northern California was less than five miles away from where I call home. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. So I became a volunteer firefighter with the Napa County Fire Department. With motorcycle racing, I’m thankful I’ve had success, but it’s always been about me. But with firefighting, it’s the complete opposite. The team environment and being able to support a community that I’ve grown up in is really what attracts me to it. The 2020 Glass Fire started a quarter mile away from our fire station. Being able to drive up and down the road and see the buildings we did save makes me really happy. Fear doesn’t really set in. It’s more like you’re doing a job. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I help as much as I can.

TAKE ACTION Local fire departments help you find where to get training, and the American Red Cross organizes disasterresponse teams in times of need. If you’re civic-minded, you can join a trash pickup, plant trees, or build trails in your community.

Courtesy subjects (Oda, Uribe). Patrick Alsobrook (Houston).

MY MOTHER died when I was 13, and I always say the street life was my father. I was incarcerated on a gun charge, and during my sentence I got involved in fitness and working out. When I came home at 21 years old, I knew my purpose: to empower people through wellness. When COVID-19 hit, my neighborhood, Ward 8, didn’t have the most cases in D. C., but we had the most deaths. There’s only one grocery store and no gym. So in June, I started #WeFitDC, an initiative that aims to close the health and wellness gap in our district. I give free workout sessions to the community. We have food drives with only nutritional options. During a back-to-school event, we gave out 600 book bags. We had an event that focused on anxiety and depression. When I was being released from prison, one of the correctional officers said, “You’ll be back.” That got to me. I just want to empower my community and lead by example.

Weight Loss

FIGHT BACK YOUR FAT 1HHG WR GURS VRPH SRXQGV" 7DNH LW R ZLWK D PRUQLQJ VKDNH By Chris Hansen

eing a trainer, bodybuilder, and nutrition expert means that companies frequently send me their products and ask for my stamp of approval. Most of the time I dive into research, test the product out, and send the company honest feedback. Sometimes, however, I refuse to give the product a try, because frankly, the ingredients inside aren’t real food. And I’d rather drink diesel fuel than torture my body with a chemical concoction. Like my father always said, “What you put inside your body always shows up on the outside.” One protein shake that I received, that will remain nameless, was touted as ‘the next big shake’ but really had a list of gut destroying ingredients. Everywhere I read I saw harmful artificial ingredients, added sugars, synthetic dyes, preservatives and cheap proteins; the kind of proteins that keep you fat no matter how hard you hit the gym, sap your energy and do nothing for your muscles. Disappointed after reviewing this “new”

shake, I hit the gym and bumped into my favorite bodybuilding coach. This guy is pushing 50, has the energy of a college kid, and is ripped. So are his clients. While I firmly believe that the gym is a notalk focus zone, I had to ask, “Hey Zee, what protein shake are you recommending to your clients these days?” Zee looked at me, and shook his head. “Protein shakes are old news and loaded with junk. I don’t recommend protein shakes, I tell my clients to drink INVIGOR8 Superfood Shake because it’s the only all natural meal replacement that works and has a taste so good that it’s addicting.” Being skeptical of what Zee told me, I decided to investigate this superfood shake called INVIGOR8. Turns out INVIGOR8 Superfood Shake has a near 5-star rating on Amazon. The creators are actual scientists and personal trainers who set out to create a complete meal replacement shake chocked full of superfoods that—get this—actually accelerate how quickly and

easily you lose belly fat and builds even more lean, calorie burning muscle. We all know that the more muscle you build, the more calories you burn. The more fat you melt away the more definition you get in your arms, pecs and abs. The makers of INVIGOR8 were determined to make the first complete, natural, non-GMO superfood shake that helps you lose fat and build lean muscle. The result is a shake that contains 100% grass-fed whey that has a superior nutrient profile to the grain-fed whey found in most shakes, metabolism boosting raw coconut oil, hormone free colostrum to promote a healthy immune system, Omega 3, 6, 9-rich chia and flaxseeds, superfood greens like kale, spinach, broccoli, alfalfa, and chlorella, and clinically tested cognitive enhancers for improved mood and brain function. The company even went a step further by including a balance of pre and probiotics for regularity in optimal digestive health, and digestive enzymes so your body absorbs the high-caliber nutrition you get from INVIGOR8. While there are over 1000 testimonials on Amazon about how INVIGOR8 “gave me more energy and stamina” and “melts away abdominal fat like butter on a hot sidewalk”, what really impressed me was how many customers raved about the taste. So I had to give it a try. When it arrived I gave it the sniff test. Unlike most meal replacement shakes it smelled like whole food, not a chemical factory. So far so good. Still INVIGOR8 had to pass the most important test, the taste test. And INVIGOR8 was good. Better than good. I could see what Zee meant when he said his clients found the taste addicting. I also wanted to see if Invigor8 would help me burn that body fat I’d tried to shave off for years to achieve total definition. Just a few weeks later I’m pleased to say, shaving that last abdominal fat from my midsection wasn’t just easy. It was delicious. Considering all the shakes I’ve tried I can honestly say that the results I’ve experienced from INVIGOR8 are nothing short of astonishing. A company spokesperson confirmed an exclusive offer for Men’s Health readers: if you order INVIGOR8 this month, you’ll receive $10 off your first order by using promo code “MEN10” at checkout. If you’re in a rush to burn fat, restore lean muscle and boost your stamina and energy you can order INVIGOR8 today at www.drinkInvigor8.com or by calling 1-800-958-3392.

LIFE

30/10

OVEN-ROAST GAMEDAY

RIBS OF GLORY

You don’t need to sugarcoat a rib rack to make it taste amazing. And you also don’t need to toil for hours over a smoker. Let a healthy spice rub and your oven lead you to delicious, tender perfection. The 30 grams of muscle-building protein from the ribs, plus a side with 10 grams of fiber, will help you stay full long after the final play. BY MARC FORGIONE AND PAUL KITA

THE PROTEIN

30g

If you go without a sugary rub or barbecue sauce, five plain ribs deliver 34 grams of protein and zero carbs for 435 calories.

B U Y I T This recipe calls for baby back ribs, which tend to be the smallest of the rib varieties; each rack weighs about 1½ to 2 lb. They’re richer than countrystyle ribs but have more meat than spare ribs— though you can use either of those here if you have a preference. Most grocery stores carry all three.

COOK IT

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D : 6 TBSP CHILI POWDER ¼ CUP KOSHER SALT 1 TBSP FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER 1 TBSP GARLIC POWDER 3 TSP DRIED OREGANO 1

TSP GROUND CAYENNE 3 LB BABY BACK RIBS (2 RACKS) EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL Nutrition per serving: 575 calories, 34g protein, 22g carbs (1g fiber), 39g fat

30g 10g

1. In a medium bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients. On a baking sheet, rub the ribs with this mixture and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight. 2. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Wrap the ribs in foil, place them on a clean baking sheet, and roast 45 minutes. Remove the ribs from the oven and allow them to sit in the foil until tender, about 45 minutes more. 3. Unwrap the ribs, brush the tops with olive oil, and broil on both sides until slightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Feeds 4

WHY 30/10? It’s the protein-to-fiber ratio you need to build muscle and stay full. MensHealth.com/30-10 has more.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

M A R C F O R G I O N E is the chef and owner of Peasant PA U L K I TA is the

THE FIBER

10g

The beans will get you to 10 grams of fiber. Consider the slaw extra

Food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich/Edge Reps. Prop styling: Paige Hicks.

Soak 1 lb dried beans (cranberry, cannellini, white) in a big bowl of water overnight. In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium. Add ½ small onion (minced) and 2 medium carrots (diced). Cook till softened, about 3 minutes. Add 1 garlic clove (minced) and 1 strip thick-cut bacon. Cook until the bacon fat renders, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups kale (thinly sliced) and the

4 golden beets (grated), 2 small carrots (grated), ½ yellow bell pepper (thinly sliced), ¼ cup red onion (thinly sliced), ¼ cup half-sour pickles (chopped), and 2 Tbsp parsley (chopped). In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup apple-cider vinegar, 3 Tbsp whole-grain mustard, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Fold this mixture into the vegetables. Feeds 4 Per serving: 122 cal, 3g protein, 29g carbs (6g fiber), 1g fat PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAOLA + MURRAY

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

LIFE

T H E E X P E R T : C H E F C R I S T I N A M A R T I N E Z , of South Philly Barbacoa, is from

Capulhuac, Mexico, and has appeared on Netflix’s Chef’s Table and Ugly Delicious.

T H E R E’S ON LY ON E R IGH T WAY T O...

MAKE GUACAMOLE! 1

TWEAK THE TEXTURE. Too-thick guacamole happens, even with ripe avocados. Prevent eventual tortilla-chip breakage by thinning the guacamole with a quick slug of good olive oil, which adds flavor and creaminess.

THINK BEYOND CHIPS AND DIP. Serve your incredible guacamole with chicharróns instead of tortilla chips for more flavor. Or skip the dipping, thin the guacamole with a little sour cream, and serve it as a condiment to grilled meats and fish. It’s also amazing dropped atop deviled eggs. —As told to Joseph Hernandez 48

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| MEN’S HEALTH

HOLY SH!T KITCHEN TRICK!

To take the bite out of diced onion, rinse it under cold water and pat it dry with a paper towel. You’ll still have the onion taste, just less strong (and stinky).

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAOLA + MURRAY

Food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich/Edge Reps. Prop styling: Paige Hicks. Steve Sanford (illustrations).

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LIFE

T H E E X P E R T : G N C H A N is a New York City bartender and

founder of the bar Double Chicken Please in Manhattan.

I DRINK A CAN,

I DRINK A CAN

UN-CANNY COCKTAILS Yes, you’re supposed to drink canned cocktails from the can. But they also make great bases for simple “homemade” concoctions.

The world of canned bubbly booze has now expanded to include high-quality cocktails that can elevate happy hour at home. I, a bartender, sipped (and sometimes winced) through 40 varieties to find the five best. BY GN CHAN

FOR THE BACARDÍ:

Bacardí Limon & Lemonade

Social Hour Pacific Spritz

Think of it as a fizzy, rum-based limoncello. It carries a pop of citrus flavor. It has body without being too sugary. And at 5.9 percent ABV, it’s super easy to drink, with no weird aftertastes. (It’s also way more affordable than something similar you’d order at a bar.) Have one when you’re in desperate need of a taste of summer.

This 8 percent ABV aperitivo-style cocktail (basically a cocktail you’d drink before a meal) is clean tasting and refreshing but definitely not boring. Its base is rosé wine, but there’s passion fruit and grapefruit and this wild herbaceous finish that will make you take sip after sip after . . .

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| MEN’S HEALTH

Southern Tier Distilling Co. Vodka Madras This New York craft brewery also produces an excellent madras, which is a fancy term for a juice and vodka. They throw in some cardamom and chamomile, which sounds strange, but those two ingredients balance out the sweetness of this 8 percent Friday 4:00 P.M. unwinder.

Greenhook Ginsmiths Gin & Tonic

Reyes y Cobardes Margarita

Greenhook makes a dry American gin, distilled from organic wheat, that has a juniper punch but also nine other botanicals, so there’s a garden party going on in this can. It has some citrus flavors, too, so it matches well with seafood and spicy dishes. Fair warning: It’s 12 percent ABV.

This bubbly margarita blew my mind. At 8 percent ABV, it’s something you’ll want to have with a few tacos, but that doesn’t mean it’s all booze. There’s a backbone of fresh lime and just the right amount of fizz. The tequila within comes from the San Felipe hacienda, which has been around since the late 16th century.

FOR THE SOUTHERN TIER: Mix it 1:1 with your favorite brand of hard lemonade. Suggested name: The Juicy Palmer

FOR THE GREENHOOK: Muddle a slice or two of cucumber with two or three leaves of fresh mint. Add this mix to the cocktail. Suggested name: Tipsy Spa Water

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAOLA + MURRAY

Food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich/Edge Reps. Prop styling: Paige Hicks.

Serve it on the rocks with a splash of semidry red wine. Suggested name: You’re Blushing

Build Muscle with Plants! Supercharge your health and your workouts

How to eat plant-based in five easy steps

All the protein you need at every meal!

Available wherever books are sold or go to

menshealth.com/plantbasedcookbook

LIFE

STYLE

THE

ULTIMATE UPGRADE

We found four real guys who went through powerful body transformations in 2020. Some slimmed down. Some bulked up. Some got healthy. And they all needed some new clothes to match their stronger, healthier bodies.

The Style Upgrade Bonano says he tends to be a suit-and-tie kinda guy, but he also wants to show off his hard-fought weight loss. This contrast polo by Eleventy creates the bridge. Made from a super-soft and comfortable cotton, the shirt pairs well with a suit or can stand on its own. Plus, it’s fitted through the chest, sides, and arms for maximum gun-show reveal. Polo shirt ($295) by Eleventy, nordstrom.com; pants ($130) by Armani Exchange; Star Wars Stormtrooper watch ($325) by Citizen.

THE SLIM DOWN

BEFORE Every morning at 5:00, before he checks his email, property manager Oscar Bonano, 32, walks 23 flights of stairs inside his apartment building. Then, after taking a short break, he turns around and does it all over again. For an entire year, he committed to this ritual, up and down the stairs as often as ten times a day. That simple act resulted in a massive 55-pound weight loss. Now he’s looking forward to signing up for his first physique competition. “Before, I felt like I was dragging [myself] around,” he says. “I feel so much lighter and stronger now.”

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| MEN’S HEALTH

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TIMOTHY SMITH

In paid partnership with Head & Shoulders

The best part about the new year? All the new ways to show up as your best self. Coming out of 2020, we know you’re ready to venture out, get back to a routine, and start the year off right by making a strong first impression. Check out these simple ways to own 2021 from the jump.

RESET your scalp A great new year starts with a winning first impression, but that’s hard to do when winter brings on an itchy, dry scalp. Don’t sweat it—dandruff affects more than half of the adult population, but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with it. Optimize your grooming routine with the new Head & Shoulders 2-in-1 Complete Scalp Care. Available at Costco in a 40 oz. bottle, it’ll last all winter. It is clinically proven to provide up to 100% dandruff protection* so you can show up to impress.

This lightweight 2-in-1 shampoo packs a punch as it moisturizes and cleanses, and contains almond oil and

aloe. Plus, its dandruff-fighting power helps your scalp restore its natural moisture.

2 3

Complete Scalp Care gives moisture to every strand while soothing the scalp for healthy hair after every use. Head & Shoulders is not only the #1 dermatologistrecommended brand, it’s also gentle enough on

hair for daily use and it reduces flakes, itch, and dryness related to dandruff from the very frst wash. Score.

TO PURCHASE, VISIT COSTCO.COM

*visible flakes, with regular use

CHALLENGE yourself to a new workout routine

FLEX your newfound quarantine skills

Start the year off right by upping your workout schedule with a new routine that gives you a regular endorphin rush. No need to bundle up— there are plenty of ways to challenge yourself with indoor workouts designed to burn calories, build muscle, and transform your body.

2020 was the year of trying new things at home. Make your 2021 first impression all about the skills you mastered along the way. Whether you took up cooking, learned to woodwork, or finally read all those books on your list, find ways to keep that personal growth going in the new year.

Hit the stationary bike. Indoor cycling

is the low-impact, highcardio workout that your quads and calves will thank you for.

Go for a roll. Thinking about trying Brazilian

Jiu Jitsu? Stop thinking and start training. Just a 5-minute roll will put your endurance to the test

Reach new heights. Elevate your heart

rate and burn up to 10 calories per minute by pushing yourself through a rock climbing workout.

Get organized. Put those handyman

skills to use by building shelves and creating intentional storage to stay organized all year long.

Spruce up your living space and get

a head start on outdoor entertaining. Whether you want to build a

Cook like a master chef. Put your

quarantine culinary skills to work by bringing healthier

fire pit or a deck, start planning and sourcing

dishes (like high-protein pancakes) into your

materials now.

diet this year.

LIFE

STYLE

THE BULK UP The Style Upgrade

BEFORE When the pandemic hit New York City in full force last spring, Rolando Garcia III, 47, was furloughed for two months from his job as a regional manager for a popular gym chain. Using a set of kettlebells, he turned to home workouts to keep busy, training three times a day, seven days a week. He gained 34 pounds in 12 weeks. “I feel like a wrecking ball,” he says. “I’m ready for anything.”

THE BALANCING ACT

BEFORE Eight years ago, Jake Odmark, 35, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, which his doctors treated with heavy doses of steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs. He set out on a mission to not only beat the illness but also build muscle and stave off unintended weight loss. He was in the best shape of his life, but then 2020 happened. Without weights or access to a gym, he lost about ten pounds of muscle, he says, so he adjusted his perspective to find new balance in his life. “My goal now is just to stay healthy, stay away from COVID, and keep treading water long enough to stay within reach of my original fitness goals,” he explains. “I think that once it’s safe, I’ll be right back on the horse and things will be just fine.”

The Style Upgrade Odmark is a Broadway actor, so for him, comfort is crucial, whether he’s heading to an audition or (when performances resume) back to the theater for his second show of the day. The benefit of a track jacket, like this one by Todd Snyder + Champion, is that it doesn’t hug your body too closely, ideal for those of us who gained the quarantine 15. The soft merino-wool sweater by Mr Porter is also perfect for layering over a collared shirt or even a tee. It’s lightweight and machine washable, too. Track jacket ($198) by Todd Snyder + Champion; sweater ($175) by Mr P.; Flex Pro joggers ($128) by Good Man Brand; 997 sneakers ($170) by New Balance.

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The critical step for a brawny frame is finding clothes that stretch. This Banana Republic zip-up (and chambray shirt underneath) provides room to breathe and looks put-together as well. The sweater is made from recycled wool and features a waffle knit for extra comfort. “The fabrics are classic,” Garcia says. “I could even lift weights in them, too.” Zip-front sweater ($149) and shirt ($70) by Banana Republic; fleece pants ($135) by Naadam; Grandrally quartz watch ($495) by Zodiac.

THE HEALTH KICK

BEFORE

Styling: Ted Stafford. Set design: Todd Wiggins. Grooming: Melissa Dezarte/the Wall Group. Tailoring: Carol Ai.

Last January, Guyviaud Joseph learned that his mother had a lifethreatening ulcer. “She told us, ‘Look, I’m proud of you, I want you to keep going, don’t give up,’ ” he says. “And that drove me and fueled me to be successful, happy, and [more] physically fit.” A former junk-food eater now in his 30s, he adopted a plant-based diet, learned to swim, and began jogging. He lost more than 25 pounds in the process. “I just wanted to get to a place where I could go for a quick jog and not sweat so intensely,” he says. “My goal for 2021 is to do a backflip.”

The Style Upgrade As a producer and actor, Joseph prioritizes versatile clothes that can keep up with his lifestyle. The beauty of this wool-and-nylon-blend Bonobos coat, lined at the sleeves and upper neck, is that you can layer it with just about anything in your closet. “My fashion sense is zero to none,” he says. “But now if I need to run out quickly to the store or somewhere else, it all works together. I love it.” Coat ($448) by Bonobos, nordstrom.com; Habitat puffer vest ($148) by Mack Weldon; sweater ($80) by Banana Republic; stretch jeans ($178) by AG; boots ($169) by Moral Code; socks ($19) by Falke.

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

Give the Gift of Style

LEFT TO RIGHT: Red Tiger Eye Bead Bracelet in 14k Gold-Plated Sterling Silver, $375; Heavy Serpentine Link Bracelet in 14k Gold-Plated Silver, $800; 22” Chain Necklace in 14k Gold-Plated Sterling Silver (one of 2-pc set), $650; Tiger’s Eye Ring in Sterling Silver & 14k Gold, $975

GROOMING

LEVEL UP YOUR

THE CASE FOR COLOGNE AT HOME

GROOMING GAME

You’ve buzzed your own hair. You’ve even shaped your shelter-in-place mustache. So onward, amateur self-stylist, and elevate your personal care with upgrades that won’t break the bank (or your stay-at-home streak). BY GARRETT MUNCE

THE PROBLEM:

BUMPY SHAVES

Multiblade razors deliver a close shave, but they can cause razor bumps and ingrown hairs. That’s because multiblades cut so close to the skin—sometimes even below it—that skin growth can trap hairs. THE DIY FIX: Get a barbershop-quality shave at home by using straight blades, like the King C. Gillette Double Edge Safety Razor ($30; walgreens.com). The head is closed, which helps prevent nicks. Go slow until you get the hang of it.

ILLUSTRATION BY QUICKHONEY

THE PROBLEM:

TIRED FACE

A.M. video calls are

tough as it is. Thankfully, a top-notch exfoliator can help eliminate dead skin cells and leave your skin looking brighter and fresher before your first (or second) coffee of the day. THE DIY FIX: After you wash your face, swipe Bevel Exfoliating Toner ($13; getbevel.com) across it with a cotton pad. The toner contains glycolic acid, which helps rid your face of dead skin cells, so you look more refreshed.

THE PROBLEM:

If you go heavy on hair gel for virtual happy hours without showering it off, your scalp accumulates product, which can lead to problems like hair loss itself. Hitting your scalp with a scrub will promote hair growth, says Corey Hartman, M.D., a Birmingham-based dermatologist. A scrub will also curb dandruff and hair-product buildup. THE DIY FIX: Once a week, before you shampoo, use Kevin.Murphy Scalp.Spa Scrub ($38; jentrykelley.com), which has tiny beads that remove any buildup.

At colder temps, your skin gets drier and more easily irritated. You might even have a condition known as keratosis pilaris, “which occurs due to lack of oil production on the upper arms and thighs and leads to dryness and the retention of dead skin cells,” says Dr. Hartman. It can worsen during the winter. THE DIY FIX: Dr. Hartman recommends a mesh sponge to help remove dead cells. Try a PMD Clean Body scrubber ($159; pmdbeauty .com) for smooth skin year-round.

DAMAGED HAIR

CRACKED SKIN

MEN’S HEALTH

LIFE

Smelling good is never a bad thing. Plus, you never know who might pop by for a little socially distanced get-together. If you’re tired of your old scent, go for what’s called a “flanker”; it’s a tweak to a base scent you already like. Polo Ralph Lauren’s Polo Red Eau de Parfum ($99; ralphlauren .com) has spicywoody-warm notes reminiscent of sitting by the fire in a log cabin.

THE PROBLEM:

HOBBIT FEET

Calluses helped Frodo scale Mount Doom, but they’re likely bothering you— especially because walking around your house without shoes can intensify them. THE DIY FIX: Look for Baby Foot Exfoliation Foot Peel ($25; babyfoot.com). Wear the disposable socks for an hour and your feet will look as good as new in one to two weeks.

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

LIFE

COOL DAD

T H I S M O N T H ’S C O O L D A D : S T E P H E N A . S M I T H is a cohost of ESPN’s First Take. He has a voice-acting role in Rumble, out later this year.

POWERLESSNESS IS A FATHER’S SUPERPOWER

My two daughters wear me down. Unless, that is, I refuse to put up a fight. BY STEPHEN A. SMITH

I LOVE a lot of things in life but two things in particular: being in control and being able to exercise it at my discretion. That word—control—is a pivotal point to bring up because, as a dad of two preteen daughters, to think I can obtain control quickly plummets me into the land of the stupid. For instance, a couple years ago, Samantha and Nyla were determined to keep me awake. So much so that they insisted on lying in the bed with me. 60

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| MEN’S HEALTH

When I refused to allow them to do so, Samantha, relentless in her pursuit to stay in the room with me, kept pleading her case to justify her desire. Your room is bigger. Your bed is bigger. Your television is bigger and better. I could (largely) ignore this, but then Nyla would pull her sister into their bedroom and huddle like she was Tom Brady about to call a play. Then Nyla would deliver the bomb: “Okay, Daddy. We won’t bug you any longer. We’ll just

grab some chips to eat and lie down right here on your beautiful white couch.” Then they just stood there, smiling, staring at me, waiting for my inevitable response: “Y’all can come into my room and watch the damn TV.” This is just one example of many. I tell them to go to bed. They negotiate the terms. I make a stand. They chip away at my position. I try to be a firm father. They use their youthful enthusiasm to soften my edge and then get their way. Worse still: Sometimes my daughters pretend to capitulate while actually being bold enough to tell others the truth. As Nyla and Samantha said to my sister, their aunt Carmen: “It’s really not that complicated. All we have to do is behave and do what we’re told for a few hours and Daddy will give us aaaaaaannnnnnnyyyyyyyyything we want.” Daughters leave dads powerless. To me, the only thing potentially more enjoyable than seeing my children safe, healthy, and happy is knowing that I’ve helped make them that way. And when I fulfill those needs and desires, at no other time does my chest protrude so much with pride and joy. But here’s the problem: It shrinks me to a puny status the second I realize that they’ve wrapped me around their proverbial little fingers. My Samantha makes sure to bat her eyes at me and tell me how much she loves me before informing me that she wants something. Then she says: “Daddy, face it. You feel great seeing me happy. So stop fighting it.” And she’s right. The less I fight, the less everyone fights. My life is complicated and tiresome. I argue for a living. How big a problem, really, is staying up an extra 30 minutes (okay, 90 minutes) with them in bed? How crucial is it that they listen to my every word? My daughters will soon grow into women, and I know that they’ll require more from me to excel, live long, and prosper. There will be far greater battles and challenges, I’m sure, but at least for now I realize that checking my ego at the door when I come home, knowing they are waiting just to run into my arms and simply say, “Hi, Daddy,” is the best thing I can do for myself and my family. I may be powerless. But damn, I’m also so proud. ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS VISIONS

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W H E R E S T R E N G T H M AT T E R S M O S T

THE GLASS IS...?

Healthy, half-full thinking can be learned. Even now.

YOUR 5-DAY

OPTIMISM TRAINING PLAN

Javier Jaén

The pessimist thinks pushups make him tired. The optimist thinks they make him stronger. Here’s how to change your attitude—and your life. BY LYNYA FLOYD OPTIMISM IS a performance-enhancing drug: Olympians know this. In fact, when researchers interviewed former Olympians, they discovered one of the traits that separated those who exceeded expectations from those who fell short: a high level of optimism.

“Optimists tend to take a posture of confidence and persistence, while pessimists are doubtful and hesitant,” says that study’s coauthor Kristen Dieffenbach, Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Science at West Virginia University. “Optimists MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

HOW TO DO IT

FIRST, YOU HAVE TO EXPAND YOUR CONCEPT OF “OPTIMISM.” It’s not just about thinking nice thoughts. “Optimists look at adversity as temporary, external, and not entirely their fault,” explains Jack Singer, Ph.D., a sports psychologist who has helped Olympians and businesspeople apply peak-performance principles to their work. “Pessimists view adversity as unchangeable, pervasive, and personal. When you’re negative,” says Singer, “your brain goes into fight-or-flight, thinking there could be an emergency, and that slows down everything from creativity to your immune system.” Reversing course takes regular action. Here’s how.

WHAT TO DO EVERY DAY:

for opportunities, not problems. And even when they see problems, they’re able to identify solutions.” This superpower extends beyond the world of sports. Optimism—“the fundamental belief that things are going to work out even when they’re not going according to plan,” as performance psychologist Michael Gervais, Ph.D., puts it—is a core asset for elite military operatives, corporate leaders, and average guys who are in way-aboveaverage health. And research shows that, when compared with pessimists, optimists live 11 to 15 percent longer, sleep better, and are more likely to have better cardiovascular health. If you’re not a natural optimist (which is classic pessimistic thinking, by the way), or if the past year has done a number on your usual positive outlook, you’re not out of the game. Optimism can be trained, but it takes some effort to build. “Most people haven’t formally trained their mind,” says Gervais, a cofounder of Compete to Create, which has worked with Fortune 100 CEOs, military personnel, and the Seattle Seahawks. “The mind can be a junkyard of ideas, as opposed to a center of clarity where you can apply the science of thinking about the future with an optimistic lens.” You can get your mind and your outlook in a healthier, more helpful place when you spend a week or more really paying attention to it. Here are your strategies to clean up the junk—and start building.

1. Start out each day the same way: with the Morning Mindset Warmup. 2. Practice a different Optimism Exercise on days 1 through 5 (at right). 3. Always finish with the End-of-the-Day Mental “Cooldown.”

MORNING MINDSET WARMUP “AS YOUR BODY’S WAKING UP, YOU ALSO WANT TO WAKE UP YOUR MIND,” SAYS GERVAIS. LIE IN BED FOR A FEW MINUTES AND FOLLOW THESE STEPS: BREATHE. Take a deep breath for five seconds and let it out for ten. “Giving yourself the luxury of a long exhale signals to your brain that you’re safe,” Gervais adds. 2. BE GRATEFUL. Think of one thing you’re thankful for and feel that gratitude. Make it different each day. Some experts say it can take around 14 reps (or two weeks) of doing this before the benefits—including mental strength, resilience, and, of course, optimism—start to kick in, because by then you’ve gone beyond the easy answers and found what you’re deeply appreciative of. 3. DECIDE. Define a single, clear intention for your day. This isn’t about what you’re going to check off your to-do list. It’s about how you want to be today. For example, you might choose to feel unflappable or generous. “You’re telling yourself that there are good things happening in the world and deciding how you want to show up in that world,” says Gervais. 4. MEDITATE. “People who practice meditation tend to be more optimistic,” says Gervais, who recommends doing it a minimum of eight minutes a day and concentrating on one breath at a time. 1.

END-OF-THE-DAY MENTAL “COOLDOWN” CREATE A QUIET WINDOW LATE IN THE DAY AND SPEND FIVE MINUTES ASKING YOURSELF ONE OR MORE OF THESE QUESTIONS: 1.

“IS THERE ANOTHER WAY TO THINK ABOUT THE THING THAT WENT WRONG TODAY?”

No day goes perfectly. But “optimists are tremendous reframers,” says Afton Hassett, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist at the University of Michigan. To be like them, try to catch yourself in negative thinking and flip to positive. Maybe today’s slipup will protect you from making a bigger mistake later. “The more you practice reframing, the faster you get at it.” 2.

“WHAT WERE MY BIG WINS FOR THE DAY?”

Focus on and reflect upon your strengths. What thinking did you flip or what negative spiral did you avoid? 3.

“WHAT WAS TODAY’S KRYPTONITE?”

What were the actions, thoughts, or interactions that sapped your energy? “Living in regret, the past, fear, frustration—all of it cripples us,” says Kimberley S. Reed, a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert and the author of the book Optimists Always Win! “Look at the people, behaviors, or objects that might be draining and recognize how they may be blocking your optimism. Then figure out how to avoid or change them.” 64

ILLUSTRATION BY RAFAEL ALVAREZ

THE EXERCISES EACH DAY, EXPLORE THE PRESCRIBED PILLAR OF OPTIMISM FOR THAT DAY.

DAY

PRACTICE POSITIVE PERFECTIONISM

BECOME A RESEARCHER OF THE AMAZING

VISUALIZE THE OUTCOME YOU WANT

CULTIVATE SPONTANEITY

REWIRE YOUR BRAIN FOR HAPPINESS

WHY IT WORKS

Positive perfectionism is a focus on how you can do your best, knowing that mistakes will happen and you can figure out how to correct them when they do. “With negative perfectionism, you’re never good enough,” says West Virginia University’s Dieffenbach. “You focus on what you didn’t get done or times when you weren’t enough. There’s nothing wrong with striving to do your best. It only becomes a problem when the only outcome is the best one.”

Your mind naturally has a negative bias, because it has learned to search for danger. “To train your brain for optimism, you have to scan your world and find things that are amazing,” says Gervais of Compete to Create. Like the size of the web a spider built on your deck last night, or how every traffic light was green on your way to get milk. “Finding the amazing sends a signal to your brain that you can relax in this environment because there are good things out here.”

Sports figures use visualization all the time to see themselves recovering from a bad play or making that threepoint shot. Instead of dwelling on what went wrong, they keep their mind’s eye on what they truly want to happen. You can do the same, whether you’re stressed about the call you need to make or about going on a socially distanced date.

It’s about getting out of that pessimistic, “things are unchangeable” mindset. For instance, in a meeting, when you throw out ideas that you haven’t thought through, explains sports psychologist and consultant Singer, “some of those will be tremendous ideas we didn’t allow ourselves to think of before.” Spontaneity is about newness and change and pleasurable experiences, which again erase negative bias.

“When we’re exposed to something traumatic, there’s a rush of neurochemicals that sear that memory into our brain so that we’re always aware not to repeat that bad thing,” explains the University of Michigan’s Hassett. “This doesn’t really happen with positive emotions, so we need to put an emphasis on them to lock them in.”

HOW TO DO IT

Take time at different points in the day to identify moments when you might have been beating yourself up for things that didn’t work out the way you wanted them to. Make a conscious effort to go from brutal criticism (“Oh, you screwed up there!”) to constructive feedback (“Really nice effort. Next time, try x.”).

Overcome that negative bias by becoming the Indiana Jones of searching for things to celebrate. Note those any way you want; Gervais recommends using the Three Good Things app, which reminds you to notice remarkable stuff every day and keeps a record of it.

Before you start your day, think about tasks or encounters that cause you some anxiety and visualize what the best possible outcome looks like. Even better is visualizing how you’ll recover from a fumble, since optimists see adversity as nonpermanent and surmountable.

It might sound odd to plan to be spontaneous, but the more you practice incorporating spontaneity into your life, the more effortless it will become. Let the person at the wineshop pick the bottle you buy. Sign up for the next virtual 5K race whose ad comes into your in-box and see where it takes you.

Hassett recommends freeze-framing your peak happy moments— sprinting the last few yards of a race, reaping thanks at work for going the extra mile—and taking stock of what you love about them. What are you feeling, smelling, seeing? This imprints them in your mind and makes them easier to recall.

EXERCISES

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

MIND

T H E E X P E R T : G R E G O R Y S C O T T B R O W N , M . D. , is a

psychiatrist, a Men’s Health advisor, and the founder and director of the Center for Green Psychiatry in Austin.

SHIT HAPPENS.

CHANGE WHAT YOU CAN.

ACCEPT THE REST. (GULP.)

Guys often give me pushback when I suggest the radical art of radical acceptance—until they try it. BY GREGORY SCOTT BROWN, M.D.

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

| MEN’S HEALTH

All the time. To everybody. No, you don’t deserve it. No, it “shouldn’t be that way.” When I hear from guys who are upto-here frustrated with things that are happening to them, I suggest something that goes against the grain. I suggest that they accept it. What I say is: Commit to acceptance. Go all in and totally acknowledge things as they are. It’s not just acceptance. It’s radical acceptance. And it works. If they come to me complaining that they’re standing knee deep in moose dung, everything changes when—instead of railing about how they got there or how impossible it is to get out—they learn to simply say, “I’m standing knee deep in moose dung.” When I first mention radical acceptance, men think I’m telling them to ignore their problems or that it’s okay to keep things the way they are. They think I’m telling them to give up. But radical acceptance isn’t about giving up control. It’s what helps you gain control, and it’s the key to escaping the misery of fighting the same losing battles over and over again.

What Acceptance Looks Like

I had a patient, whom I’ll call Rob, who had never seen eye to eye with a son who was struggling with addiction. Acceptance meant that Rob had to admit he could not change his son, and that was hard, because he felt that his duty as a parent was to protect him. But when he stopped pushing his son to change, he discovered that they were arguing less and actually talking more. Far from being about admitting defeat, acceptance was an active way for Rob to help his son feel comfortable enough to open up about his struggles. After a year, their relationship improved. His son also showed an interest in going to rehab. Radical acceptance is difficult, because our tendency is to fight. Who would think that acknowledging that you’re in deep—moose dung, marital discord, family strife—would help you get out of it? It’s

extreme, but it’s effective. Making peace with reality keeps your emotions from taking over and allows you to think rationally. Focusing on your end goal can help you do this—especially if you want to change a situation that’s making you frustrated, tired, or angry. For instance, the first time I met with a patient in his early 20s I’ll call Trey, he was having a tough time getting over a breakup with his longtime girlfriend. “The relationship wasn’t great, but we have the same friends, and even though it’s been over a year, I’m afraid I’ll run into her,” he told me. Trey had to accept that completely avoiding his ex was unrealistic and that feeling discomfort was part of reaching his goal of moving on. Rather than fighting the discomfort, which was stressful and exhausting, he learned to accept it. Only then could he turn to developing strategies for making the inevitable interactions with his ex more tolerable.

The Voorhes. Jason Raish (illustration).

What’s Radical About It?

You have to be all in on the decision you’ve made to accept the situation. Tepid acceptance is unstable and probably won’t hold up when you endure challenges. For instance, Rob could have said, “I’ll accept that I can’t change him, but if he relapses one more time, I’m cutting him off.” That would show some acceptance, but he wouldn’t be all in. It’s not easy to fully commit to the acceptance, but it can really get you somewhere. I learned about radical acceptance the hard way. I used to play pickup basketball at my gym after work. On one side of the court, guys were bigger, stronger, taller, and half my age. On the other, guys were a little older but still fiercely competitive. For years, I nursed my ego by playing with the bigger guys, but I kept getting hurt. Eventually a severe ankle sprain and an eye injury taught me a tough lesson. I didn’t have to give up basketball, but I had to accept that if I wanted to compete without getting hurt, I’d need to train more. Until I did that, I could always enjoy a good game on the other side. It was an adjustment, but I began winning more games and I wasn’t limping into work the next day. And playing was a lot more fun. I didn’t give up on the game, but by accepting that I wasn’t on the side of the court I needed to be on, I found a way to get there.

T. J. HOLMES WHETHER HE’S TALKING on television or cooking dinner with his family, here’s how the coanchor of ABC News’s GMA3: What You Need to Know and father of three ensures he’s on when he needs to be on. —BEN COURT

3:50 A.M.

SET YOUR MOOD T. J. Holmes, 43, sets his alarm for ten minutes before he needs to wake up and begins every day with ten minutes of meditation. “I started using the Insight Timer app,” he says. “It helps me start off in a good headspace. It’s the mindset of gratitude and being aware of where you are in the moment.”

6:20 A.M.

RELEASE EMOTION On the morning after George Floyd’s funeral, Holmes did the opening segment on GMA. “I was in tears because I’m sitting there thinking I need to get this right, and not just the facts but the right perspective.” He was able to compose himself by doing the breathing exercises he uses for meditation and leaning into the support of colleagues. He later began talking to a therapist and says that really helped.

7:30 A.M.

FIND YOUR FUEL Holmes practices intermittent fasting and says not eating a meal actually keeps him energized during the show. He drinks lots of tea and snacks on gummy bears,

Twizzlers, and Mike and Ikes.

10:15 A.M.

GOOD CAN BE GREAT Holmes’s college news director gave him some excellent advice: Don’t let perfect get in the way of good. “Recognizing in the moment that it’s okay to not be perfect and to make a mistake has helped me,” he says, whether it concerns a television segment, a relationship matter, or a parenting situation.

1:15 P.M.

RUN TO REBOOT After finishing the show, Holmes often goes for a three- or fourmile run to recharge. “I dread running, but I do it because it’s necessary,” he says. “At the end of the run, I always feel better because I know I’m taking care of myself.”

4:30 P.M.

BE 100% PRESENT Most afternoons, Holmes works from home in New York City, but he blocks off time to pick up his eight-year-old daughter from school. They also started a hair-styling ritual on Friday afternoons. “You can be with your kid but distracted by a text, or a call, or

cooking,” he says. “This is uninterrupted daddy-daughter time, and we’re both 100 percent focused.”

6:30 P.M.

EAT CLEANER Growing up in West Memphis, Arkansas, Holmes ate lots of salty, fatty foods, and various family members have had diet-related health problems, so he’s mindful (but not militant) about what he eats. For the past few years, he’s been phasing out meat, and he’s learning to cook more vegetarian dishes and says he feels better mentally and physically. “My dad is picking up on what I make, and that’s influencing how he eats,” he says.

10:30 P.M.

ZONE OUT WITH TV After dinner, Holmes typically does more work and then often unwinds by watching sports on television. He frequently sleeps for only four hours. “It absolutely takes its toll, but this is what I signed up for,” he says. Because his workweek is so busy, weekends are sacred time for his family. “We plan to do things together, whether it’s grilling or sitting out by the water.”

THE 2021

HOME GYM AWARDS WHEN THE pandemic shut down gyms around the country, Jared Padalecki, 38, found himself relying solely on a home gym that needed some upgrades and improvements. And when you spend your days fighting demons and monsters on the CW’s Supernatural, a subpar gym won’t cut it. “You can’t pick somebody up and throw them into a table when your legs are exhausted,” he says. So Padalecki reimagined part of a garage at his Austin home, where he lives with his wife, Genevieve, and their three children, as a kick-ass dedicated strength-training space. He pondered the gym conundrums you’ve probably noodled about, too: How much do you really want to lean into newer tech when old-school weights work just fine? (Or, vice versa, what badass tech are you missing out on by sticking with old-fashioned weights?) And in a year that saw gym-equipment manufacturers flood the market with home gear, how much of the new stuff is actually any good? In the end, he loaded up on a mix of hightech fitness gear and classic strength tools. Build around these tips from Padalecki and the fitness team at Men’s Health and you’ll have a home-gym paradise, no matter how big (or small) your space and budget.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARTURO OLMOS

YOUR GARAGE-GYM ESSENTIALS Forget the Shake Weights. Padalecki knows gimmicky gear doesn’t work: Years ago he sprang for a cheap treadmill—and his knees, ankles, and lower back weren’t happy. “It was like running on a roller coaster,” he says. He eventually demoted it to clothing-rack status. Avoid that fate by investing in quality fitness equipment, even if you have to purchase just one piece at a time.

BEST MULTIPURPOSE FITNESS TOOL Hoist Fitness Mi7Smith Functional Training System The perfect anchor to your garage gym, with a spot to do

flies, triceps pressdowns, and Smith machine that allows for

WEIGHT BAR Bowflex SelectTech 2080 Barbell with Curl Bar

BEST BEGINNER KETTLEBELL

Get an easy-on-the-wrists EZ curl bar, a small-spaces straight bar, and 80 pounds of weight in a convenient package that fits in the corner of any gym. And no fiddling with weight plates here: A quick dial flip is all you need to add load. $549; bowflex.com

Kettlebell Kings

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BUILD YOUR ULTIMATE CARDIO THEATER Padalecki often studies his scripts while doing cardio. Even a treadmill slog can be fun in the right home-gym setting. Here’s how you create it.

FIND THE ADJUSTABLE DUMBBELLS YOU NEED

BEST ALL-AROUND CARDIO DEVICE Rogue Assault AirBike

Every home gym starts with adjustable dumbbells. Get the right pair and you can instantly do lightweight exercises like lateral raises and heavyweight total-body crushers like farmer’s carries, a Padalecki favorite. The best part: One perfect set of adjustable bells replaces an entire rack of free weights. And there’s a pair for just about everyone.

Redline your heart rate in minutes, thanks to a brand of variable resistance that gets stronger

BEST FOR BEGINNERS BEST TREADMILL Assault Fitness AssaultRunner The ideal treadmill for interval workouts, it relies on your own foot power (and zero electricity), challenging your hamstrings and glutes. $3,699; assaultfitness.com

NordicTrack Select-A-Weight NordicTrack dumbbells feature a multisided shape that’s exactly what you need for renegade rows and dumbbell burpees, as well as a plastic clip for fast weight adjustments. $599; nordictrack.com

BEST IN-GYM ENTERTAINMENT Samsung

$3,500; samsung.com

BEST GYM TUNES JBL PartyBox 310 This 240-watt box of bass was built for block parties, and it’s ready to fill your gym (and house) with the thump of your favorite workout jams. $500; jbl.com

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Grooming: Billy Mercer. Special thanks to Zyigan Montoya.

Outdoor QLED 4K UHD HDR Smart TV

PUT THE FUN INTO YOUR FITNESS Avoid workout boredom by playing with more than dumbbells and kettlebells. Padalecki learned the importance of fun and variety early on. “Ten or 15 years ago, I used to go to the gym [and] do a half hour of presses,” he says. “Now I’ll finish with some box jumps, some battle ropes. That’s just dessert.” Indulge your workout sweet tooth by adding three or four extra pieces of equipment to your gym.

MOST VERSATILE BAND TOOL Kayezen Vector 60 Attach this cable-machine replacement almost anywhere and adjust tension with a swift dial twist. $495; kayezen.com

BEST BODYWEIGHTTRAINING TOOL Lebert Fitness Equalizer The downside of bodyweight training: It’s hard to build back muscle. These long, sturdy bars solve that problem, creating opportunities for you to do such exercises as rows and seated pullups. $110; lebertfitness.com

MOST DURABLE PowerBlock Pro Series The square design of these dumbbells has a hidden advantage: The heavier they get, the sturdier they become. And yes, the extra-thick handles will build forearm strength, too. From $439; powerblock.com

Courtesy brands (all products)

BEST BLUETOOTH DUMBBELL JaxJox DumbbellConnect JaxJox’s first-ever dumbbell grabs your attention with a digital display and push-button weight swapping. These are well weighted, with an extra-grippy feel that’s tailor-made for indoor workouts. $449; jaxjox.com MEN’S HEALTH

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STOCKPILE QUALITY GEAR YOU CAN USE ANYWHERE Not every workout can happen in a badass home gym (especially if you live in a tiny city apartment). Even Padalecki sometimes needs a quick sweat without gym access. So stockpile some extra-versatile gear for those times you’re tight on time or space.

BEST WEIGHT VEST Hyper Vest Elite This tight, breathable weight vest is built to take the rigors of all your training, whether you’re running outdoors, crushing pullups, or tackling a tough CrossFit interval session. From $220; hyperwear.com

BEST RESISTANCE BAND Perform Better Superband This durable looped resistance band adds instant challenge to basic moves like squats and pushups. Opt for the 1⅛-inch version. $25; performbetter.com 72

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STREAM YOUR WAY TO MUSCLE You don’t need much space to take on today’s streaming-media workouts. Power up a phone or tablet and you can instantly sweat it out with your favorite app or Instagram trainer.

BEST BUDGET STREAMING CENTER

BEST GO-ANYWHERE MASSAGE GUN

Fire HD 10 Tablet You get lush 1080p video, USB-C charging, and support for most major fitness apps. And with 12 hours of battery life, it’s ready for any sweat session. $150; amazon.com

Hyperice Hypervolt Go Forget oversize massage guns and opt for Hyperice’s travel-ready device, which has three pressure settings yet is still small enough to fit in your backpack. $199; hyperice.com

BEST ALL-AROUND WORKOUT APP All Out Studio Yes, we sort of own it. But it’s good! All Out delivers training variety, filled with hardcore muscle sessions (like All Out Arms), conditioning, and recovery workouts. $14.99/month; alloutstudio.com

notch tunes in every sesh. $9.99/month; apple.com

BEST CARDIO Peloton The company that made spin cool keeps you sweating on your own bike or treadmill (or with free weights). $12.99/month; onepeloton.com

BEST BUDGET SOUND SOLUTION Soundcore Flare Mini Designed for outdoor parties (it’s IPX7 waterproof), the Soundcore Flare Mini delivers 360 degree sound with enough bass pop to get you excited about everything from spinning to lifting weights. $43; soundcore.com

BEST WELLNESS Centr Chris Hemsworth’s app does more than build muscle; it centers (get it?) your mind with meditation and provides recipes. $10/month for one year; centr.com MEN’S HEALTH

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The pandemic forced many of us to hit pause on big plans and reimagine everything from work to relationships to fun. For Miles Teller, star of Top Gun: Maverick, that meant learning to be patient and waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting for takeoff. By Stephen Rodrick

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

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THE VERGE Photographs by Beau Grealy

Page 74: Shorts by Rhone. This page: T-shirt by Jungmaven; pants by Dockers; Pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Special Edition by IWC Schaffhausen.

MILES TELLER IS TRYING TO CONNECT. We’re in Pandemic World, and the star of the oft-delayed-no-I-swear-it-is-comingout-someday Top Gun: Maverick is talking via Zoom with some starstruck Navy sailors in Guam, Bahrain, and Japan. It is March 2020, and there’s still hope that the movie will be released in the summer. (Remember hope?) Teller can’t travel, so he’s doing the video meet and greets instead. It’s part promotion, part virtual USO show. The men and women, mostly in their 20s, are a bit tongue-tied, and Teller is trying to loosen them up by asking about their boyfriends and girlfriends. He makes them grin and relax a bit. Top Gun: Maverick’s flight scenes were shot on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier. A shy female service member works up the courage to ask Teller about what he saw on the flight deck. “I hear they’re the best sunsets ever.” Not that most sailors would know, but for all the perceived dash and dare of naval aviation, the hard reality is that of the 5,000 or so crew on a carrier, maybe 400 or 500 see the sun and sky on a regular basis; the rest work belowdecks in a labyrinth of tunnels, reactors, and recirculated air. The 33-yearold Teller has the droopy eyes and smile of an almost-super-famous movie star, his face faintly scarred from a car accident that nearly killed him when he was in college. (There are still rocks in his skin.) He edges up in his seat slightly. “There was an amazing one, an awesome sunset, and you’re cruising on the water on this incredible ship.” He pauses for a second and gets a little deep. “Sunsets and the stars—those have been things since the beginning of time. It reminds you there are so many people out there looking at the stars. It’s a universal connection.” A few heads on the screen nod. The moderator moves on to another servicewoman, this one in Japan; she mentions that Hiro-

shima is her favorite city, followed by Tokyo. Teller cuts her off with excitement. His head moves closer to his camera. “I was in Tokyo,” he says, “and that was the first time I used one of those Toto toilets.” Everyone looks confused. “You know what one of those is, dude? It’s a heated toilet! And it sprays you and then air-dries you. They know what they’re doing over there!” Another servicewoman mentions she has a Toto toilet. Teller fully engages. “Dude, my wife got it for me for Christmas, which was really nice of her. I put it in the downstairs bathroom so everybody could use it. And they spend so much time in there, it is ridiculous.” Now everyone is nodding. The movie star enjoys a good toilet! Common ground has been found. Miles Teller has connected.

THE GREAT THING about the toilet

story is it goes against type. Miles Teller is not seen as a funnyman but rather as serious as a tax audit. For a decade, he has been on the precipice of what can be called grim megastardom. He first got noticed in Rabbit Hole (2010), as the scared teen who runs over Nicole Kidman’s fouryear-old son with his car. Then there was The Spectacular Now (2013), in which he plays, as he told the Navy crowd, “a teenage alcoholic, good times.” Sure, he has mixed in forgettable popcorn fare like remakes of Footloose (2011) and Fantastic Four (2015), but Teller–to paraphrase Leonard Cohen–wants it darker. “I’m attracted to roles that are close to real life,” he says. There’s an intensity to his performances that makes you wonder whether Teller is going to tell you a joke or pop you in the mouth. For me, it’s best encapsulated in Thank You for Your Service, a 2017 war drama in which he stars as a chewed-upand-spat-out soldier recovering from a

harrowing Iraq tour. There’s a moment when Teller’s character, who has recently returned home, brushes his teeth with a ferocity that leaves you fearful he is going to snap the toothbrush in his mouth. Teller got the inspiration from a military pal. “I have a friend who returned from over there, and I remember him one day tying his tie with this intense thousand-yard stare,” he says when I ask him about the scene. Teller has been content to make his harsh-realm movies and avoid the kind of iconic life-shifting role where you suddenly see a version of yourself turned into an action figure at Toys“R”Us. Some of the superstar avoidance has been intentional, and some of it has been self-inflicted. In the past, his brushes with the spotlight have not always gone smoothly. There was a 2015 Esquire cover story for which he went for drinks with a writer who openly contemplates in the first sentence whether Teller is, well, a dick. “It was frustrating because my parents always told me the one thing you take to the grave is your reputation,” says the actor, who insists his attempts at humor were badly misinterpreted. There was also a 2017 arrest for public intoxication. (He was released after four hours.) He says that drama is all behind him. Teller got married in 2019 to his longtime girlfriend, Keleigh Sperry, a model and the aforementioned toilet buyer. He proposed in 2017 on a safari in South Africa, leaving a rose and a note in a tree out on the savanna. “She thought at first it was a marker where someone got killed or something,” says Teller. “Then she read the note.” It had the day they started dating and that day’s date on it. “I said, ‘That was the first day I asked you to be my girlfriend, and today is the last day.’ ” Afterward he dropped to his knees and popped the question. “I found my person,” says Teller. “I feel really lucky.” Then his luck ran out along with the rest of the world’s. 2020 was going to be his breakthrough year. Top Gun: Maverick was destined to be a summer blockbuster, with inverted pilots, wild dogfights, high-stakes shirtless sports on the beach, and jets launched into golden skies. There wouldn’t be a need for Teller’s subtext; Top Gun is all surface and interviews about what Tom Cruise is really like and $20 tickets to see it in IMAX. But that was in the Before World. As with everybody else, Teller’s next big step has been postponed due to COVID-19. Maybe you were going to take a new job. Maybe you were going to move to a new city.

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TELLER TAKES pains to let me know

he wasn’t a tortured young man and comes from a good family, by way of south Jersey and central Florida, where he sang and mugged with his two sisters and the three of them dressed up as their favorite Saturday Night Live characters for Halloween. Still, the path has not exactly been gilded. After his junior year of high school, he spent six weeks in an intensive acting course in New York, taught by someone who could, in some ways, be compared to the sadistic music teacher (J. K. Simmons, an Oscar winner for the role) who tortures his character in the critically acclaimed Whiplash. “I’m from the Northeast; it just made me stronger,” he says. He enrolled at NYU and made some friends. Then, when Teller was 20, a buddy lost control of the car they were in and the vehicle ended up flipping eight times. Teller was thrown 40 feet. “The EMT told me people in these kinds of accidents die 99.9 percent of the time,” he says. He persevered through endless laser surgeries, with casting directors thinking the scars left him as less-than-leading-man material. Teller just kept his head down. He went through firefighter training for 2017’s Only the Brave and boot camp for Thank You for Your Service. “I don’t think anything bonds people like collective suffering,” says Teller on our first Zoom call. It taught him grit and resilience, virtues that would come in handy as he tackled physically and emotionally draining roles. So there was little hesitation when it came to prepping for Top Gun: Maverick. Well, there wasn’t hesitation at doing the work, more like a pause as he considered whether he wanted to be that big a star. Tom Cruise’s 1986 original remains the U. S. Navy’s greatest promotional film. Teller wasn’t sure if that kind of scrutiny was for him, and yes, he realizes that sounds weird. “I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but there was a part of me that didn’t know if I wanted to be a part of something that JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

could bring that much attention and success to me,” he says. He Zooms from a table in a white T-shirt and baseball cap, with the afternoon glow of the L.A. sun behind him. “Everybody views success differently. For me, it didn’t necessarily mean being a part of the biggest movie.” But Thomas Cruise Mapother IV can be a persuasive man. He had the Top Gun script couriered to Teller while he and Sperry vacationed on Kauai. There was an under-the-radar trip to Florida, where Cruise (who stars as Maverick in both movies) convinced Teller that he was perfect for the role of Rooster, the son of the late, lamented Goose, Maverick’s copilot in the original film. There was another motivator. Teller comes from a family of soldiers. His grandfather was a Marine, and his uncle served in Vietnam. “He got MS toward the end of his life and he thought it was penance for what he did over there,” says Teller quietly about his uncle. Many of his boyhood friends have served, and one is deployed overseas. Based on his conversations with them and his experience filming Thank You for Your Service, Teller believes America is squandering some of what binds us all together. “You wanna give a voice to these guys,” he says. “In the wars that we fight now, our military comes from very specific parts of the country and socioeconomic classes. We’re losing that connection between civilians and military and our veterans.” So the work began. Teller torqued his equilibrium and sense of well-being for seven weeks before shooting started. He worked out with trainer Jason Walsh, adding 20 pounds of muscle to his six-foot, 180-pound frame. He sat in the back of a Cessna jet while the pilot let the plane stall and everyone hoped to hell he could start it up before they made a crater in the California desert. He endured the “dunker,” the naval torture chamber in which you are strapped to a chair, blindfolded, dropped into the drink, spun upside down, and forced to find your way out before panic and drowning overtake you. He made it through no problem. “I never puked,” he says. Teller discovered being a 21st-century Navy pilot was less about being a sky warrior and more about being an aeronautical nerd genius. The F/A-18 Super Hornet that the Top Guns pilot is a computerized flying death machine, and aviators must keep track of mission computers and missiles in equal measure. “There is none of that alpha bravado,” says Teller. “Flying these

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jets is so hard. The difference between a squadron pilot and a Top Gun pilot is how well they understand the plane.” Today, Teller faces perhaps his toughest Top Gun challenge. Because of the pandemic, he is housebound, but he must finish some key scenes. He hushes his dog, gathers a blanket and his laptop, and heads into one of the closets in his home. For most of the morning, as Rooster, he has a oneway conversation with the hard-driving Maverick and quiet moments with his fellow newbie pilots. Finally, his voice and laptop battery drained, an exhausted Teller emerges from three hours of overdubbing lines for the final edit of the film. “I think it sounded better than some looping I’ve done in studios,” he says, laughing. “And now we’ll see what happens.” This was in March. Miles Teller had no idea how long he would have to wait.

THERE’S A Jerry Garcia quote that

Teller likes that goes like this: “You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only one who does what you do.” I ask him why he likes it so much. He hems and haws for a minute. “I don’t know, man. I just think a lot of actors and styles of acting are getting very homogenized. It’s hard to stick out.” He hesitates for a moment. Teller has been accused of bouts of selfgrandiosity before, so he chooses his words carefully. “It was instilled in me at a young age by my mom just to be comfortable in your own skin, and don’t compare yourself to other people.” He lets slip a wide grin. “And honestly, who gives a shit what other people think about you?” Teller had an unlikely mentor on the be-your-own-man front. He had been a fan of Kobe Bryant’s since he was a kid, because of their shared Philly-area roots, and read that the basketball star was a fan of Whiplash, although it wasn’t clear whether he identified with Teller’s Andrew or Simmons’s Terence. Teller wrote on Twitter that Kobe liking one of his movies was basically the highlight of his life, and they began communicating via social media and talking in L. A. They had a meaningful exchange after a Lakers game shortly before Bryant retired. Teller recounts it with sadness, our conversation occurring not long after Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash: Teller: “I read about where you talked about studying animals. To learn from

Styling: Ted Stafford. Grooming: Lucy Halperin/the Wall Group.

Maybe there was that girl you’d finally worked up the courage to ask out. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re Miles Teller and you were about to star in a film that might do a billion in global box office. Now he waits and tries to make sense of it all. He is like a Top Gun pilot looking to land his plane after a long mission. But the guy with the sticks on the flight deck is waving him off. He refuels and keeps circling. He is on pause, just like the rest of us.

“I DON’T KNOW, MAN. I JUST THINK A LOT OF ACTORS AND STYLES OF ACTING ARE GETTING VERY HOMOGENIZED. IT’S HARD TO STICK OUT.”

Tank and shorts by Rhone; sneakers by Nike.

them and how they can conquer their environment and how predators work and how they adapt and overcome.” Bryant (smiling): “Miles, not just animals. Plants. Start studying plants. The world is your library.” Teller exhales a bit. “I’m going to always remember that.”

LIKE EVERYONE ELSE’S,

Teller’s world got smaller in 2020. At first, he loved it. He played long games of Call of Duty with his buddies and made Buffalo wings for his new bride. “I used to carry along this deep fryer when we first met from place to place,” says Teller. “Now I grill them. It seems like I’m always on a diet.” He insists quarantine life isn’t much different from his normal downtime between movies with Sperry. “We just hang out. She keeps me calm. It’s pretty great.” But one month stretched into two and then three. Top Gun: Maverick got pushed back twice and will now premiere on July 2, 2021, meaning it will debut two years after principal photography was completed. A nother beloved Teller project, Not Without Hope, about four football players lost at sea, went away

GET TOP GUN MUSCLE PART 1/ PUSH-PULL SUPERSET

because of scheduling issues, and Teller isn’t sure if it will come back. “That’s on pause right now,” he says glumly of the film, which Ciara and Russell Wilson planned to produce. “One of the players was from my town, so I really want to do it. We’ll just have to see what happens.” To pass the pandemic time, Teller and his wife did their Mike and Carol Brady thing, cooking steak and pasta and steering clear of the chaos that filled American cities this past summer. They did some home-improvement projects that would permanently remind them of the year the world stood still. “Keleigh and I both worked on our backyard and did some landscaping,” says Teller. “We planted a lemon tree, hydrangeas, and a rose garden.” He gives a little laugh. “Since we were staring at our backyard a whole lot more than usual, we wanted to add color.” But there is some hope. We talked again in mid-October, and Teller was packing up for an extended trip to Australia for Spiderhead, his first pandemic-era film, based on a George Saunders short story. Appropriately, it is a dystopian thriller set in a prison. He will have a long flight and then 14 days of hotel quarantine

per Australian law. Fortunately, his wife is coming along for the two-month shoot, so their daily life will essentially remain the same. “I’m with her now from when I wake up to the moment I go to bed,” says Teller. “We have a lot of friends whose relationships got put under a magnifying glass during these times, but we are really great.” He smiles with all the optimism of the freshly wed. “Once you get married and you make that ultimate commitment, life is just a lot less stressful. You just know that person is always going to be there.” Adorable! But what about the Top Gun deferral and the postponed projects? Sure, talent will win in the end, but it must be frustrating to have your breakout role on permanent delay. Right? Teller says nope. “I’m not one of those people who worry about if people don’t see me every six months,” he says. “I don’t feel like my career is dying. It’s going to happen when it happens and that’s fine.” Sounds more like Phil Jackson than Kobe Bryant, but we’ll allow it. STEPHEN RODRICK is the author of the memoir The Magical Stranger: A Son’s Journey into His Father’s Life.

To bulk up his upper body, Miles Teller partnered with Los Angeles–based action-star trainer Jason Walsh for a grueling four-day-a-week regimen. Try these moves in your routine for a taste of Teller’s grind. —EBENEZER SAMUEL, C.S.C.S.

PART 2/ SHOULDER COMPLEX Start standing, grasping a FitFighter hose—one of Walsh’s favorite fitness tools—at your hips with both hands. (If you don’t have one, use a pair of dumbbells.) Then do these exercises in order, never letting go of the hose (or your dumbbells). Do 6 to 8 sets, resting 60 seconds between each.

Grasp a pair of TRX straps, then walk your legs forward until your torso is nearly horizontal to the floor, core and glutes tight. Squeeze your shoulder blades and pull your rib cage to the handles. Lower. That’s 1 rep; do 20, then immediately do 20 pushups. Without resting, follow with 16 TRX row reps and 16 pushups, then do 12 of each move. Continue this pattern until you’ve done just 4 reps of rows and 4 reps of pushups. Do 1 to 3 sets. On the second set, put your feet on a box for your pushups and rows. On the third set, place your hands on the box during pushups. (Teller does this with a 45-pound weight vest.) JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

A) UPRIGHT ROW

B) SNATCH

C) OVERHEAD PRESS

D) BENT-OVER ROW

Stand with your core, glutes, and shoulder blades tight. Pull the weight to the bottom of your chest, keeping your shoulder blades tight. Pause, then lower it back to your hips. That’s 1 rep; do 6.

Tighten your core, push your butt back, and lean forward. Explosively rise, using your momentum to propel the weight up above your shoulders. Then punch your arms straight. Lower the weight to your shoulders, then to your hips. That’s 1 rep; do 6.

Stand with the weight at your shoulders, core tight. Straighten your arms, lifting the weight overhead. Lower it back to your shoulders. That’s 1 rep; do 6.

Stand with the weight at your hips, then push your butt back and lower your torso until your chest is at a 45 degree angle with the floor; let your arms hang. Row the weight toward your rib cage. Lower. That’s 1 rep; do 6.

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Ben Mounsey-Wood (illustrations).

TRX ROW TO PUSHUP

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“THE DOCTOR TOLD ME THAT IF I CAUGHT A COLD I COULD DIE” RAPPER BUSTA RHYMES, 48, HAS LOST ALMOST 100 POUNDS SINCE 2019 AND IS NOW STRONGER THAN EVER.

BY HANIF ABDURRAQIB

BEFORE OUR INTERVIEW BEGINS

through our respective screens, Busta Rhymes grins wide. “If this goes smooth, I can get to the gym and get another workout in,” he says, rubbing his hands together, each pinkie adorned with a large ring. Even in this setting, distanced and virtual, Busta is as energetic at 48 years old as he was in the early-to-mid ’90s, when he first emerged as a show-stealing member of the group Leaders of the New School before setting off on a successful solo career, selling more than 10 million albums. Busta’s longevity has been due, in part, to his ability to stay ever present, to adapt to the times without sacrificing himself to them. It makes sense, then, that Busta refers to all aspects of his current health change as “transformation.” I catch up with Busta, real name Trevor Smith Jr., as he’s celebrating the recent acclaim for his ninth album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. It’s his first release since 2009, and it took him 11 years to produce. On the album, he sounds sharp and focused, but its creation took place over a tormented decade for the rapper. “Believe it or not, I made the album when I was at my most unhealthy,” he tells me. “I was so focused on the music being the best that it could be, I didn’t put any time into taking care of myself.” When Busta began making the album in 2009, he says, he was still in good shape from the daily training he did

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDRE L PERRY

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during the recording of 2006’s The Big Bang. But then dual tragedies struck. First, in 2012, his friend and longtime manager Chris Lighty died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Then in early 2014, Busta’s father also passed. “Those were the two most important male figures in my entire life,” he says. “Early on, Chris Lighty was telling me that this was the best album that I ever made. He never came to my studio sessions in 22 years. And during the making of this album, he started to come. I was waiting for him to tell me that I was making something special, and then he tells me, but he dies before I could put the album out? And then my father dies before I could put the album out? I felt cheated. The two people I wanted to see me win were no longer here to see it.” It began a spiral for Busta. He locked in on his “strict obligations” to take care of his family (he has six children) and neglected his self-care. His diet slipped; his workout routines ceased. Busta recalls a turning point that came in early 2019: He fell asleep in the back of a car after a long night of partying. One of his sons, then acting as his road manager, noticed his father struggling to breathe, due to his sleep apnea. It took his son and his security team 20 minutes to wake him up and get him into the house. The next day, Busta went to a throat doctor with concerns about consistently losing his voice over three years. He had been taking prednisone to shrink 84

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the swelling in his throat. The doctor made a startling discovery: There were polyps in Busta’s throat, restricting 90 percent of his breathing. The doctor urged Busta to go straight to the UCLA Health emergency room for surgery. “That’s when I knew shit was serious,” he tells me. “The doctor told me that if I caught a cold or slept wrong that I could die. . . . It felt like this was on me now, and I had to steer things in a different direction. I was too young to be on all of these blood-pressure medications and acid-reflux medications.” After Busta’s surgery, the Internet fate machine cranked into action. On the way to the airport, he got an Instagram notification. Professional bodybuilder Dexter Jackson had tagged him in a video—

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Jackson was riding around his home base of Jacksonville, Florida, playing “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.” Busta took it as a sign. “I hit him in the DM, I told him I needed his help, and I gave him my number, and he hit me back right away.” A plan was born. Busta told Jackson he needed to get in shape, that he was impatient, wanted to see results, and was willing to do anything. Jackson countered with a demand: Busta would have to move to Jacksonville for 30 days and commit to Jackson’s training program. Less than a month later, Busta rented a home for himself, his chef, and his security guys. He and Jackson got straight to work, training three times a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and two times

BUILD BUSTA MUSCLE Busta Rhymes whipped himself into shape in old-school fashion, focusing on bodybuilding exercises from trainer Victor Munoz. Try these two supersets for a Busta-level pump. DIRECTIONS: Do the exercises back-to-back with no rest. Rest 30 seconds between supersets. Do 3 sets of 12 for each superset.

SUPERSET 1 EXERCISE 1: HAMMER CURL

Moving only at the elbow, curl the dumbbells upward, keeping your palms facing each other. Pause, then lower. EXERCISE 2: TRICEPS PRESSDOWN

Stand in front of a cable column, torso hinged forward, hands gripping a bar or rope attachment at chest height. Keeping your upper arms perpendicular to the floor, straighten your arms, driving the attachment downward. SUPERSET 2

a day on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Busta’s diet shifted dramatically—he ate every two and a half hours, meals like 12 egg whites and oatmeal followed by a workout, followed by a ten-ounce steak. Initially, Busta’s weight increased from around 290 to 340 pounds, but he was gaining muscle and kick-starting his metabolism. “Also, I stayed inside,” Busta says. “We didn’t go out. We just watched movies and recorded songs. Went to bed early, got up, and got back to work.” After the 30 days ended, Busta and Jackson went to Los Angeles, where

Busta trained as Jackson prepared for the 2019 Mr. Olympia competition. Then he transitioned back to New York and trained five days a week with his coach Victor Munoz at PROEdge in New York City. Busta’s still watching what he eats, emphasizing oatmeal and eggs at breakfast, salad for lunch, and fish or steak with vegetables for dinner. It’s a stark change for the “Pass the Courvoisier” hitmaker, but today he weighs 254 pounds. More important, he is sleeping better, moving better, and, as he says, in a better position to support and protect his people. When I bring up the summer’s uprisings and the growing tensions closing in on the country, Busta offers another motivation for his pursuit of health: staying alive. “I ain’t just getting in shape to look good with my music,” he tells me. “We are in the eye of the storm of some real shit happening. And I was raised to protect and provide for my family and my people. I don’t know how to be any other way. I have to contribute in any way I can, even if that means engaging in physicality to ensure survival. There’s no one part of survival that you leave out when you are talking about your

EXERCISE 1: CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS

Lie on a bench, holding a loaded barbell, arms straight, wrists directly above your shoulders. Lower the weight to your rib cage. Press back up. EXERCISE 2: SPIDER CURL

Lie with your chest on a bench set to a 45 degree incline, a single dumbbell in your right hand, arm hanging naturally. Keeping your upper arm perpendicular to the floor, curl the dumbbell up, squeezing your biceps. Switch arms.

family and the people you love and have to walk among if shit hits the fan.” He pauses before offering a slightly more optimistic conclusion. “I’m a strong believer that it won’t come to that. When our people are on the same accord, that’s a power that the world hasn’t seen yet. And when all people are on the same accord? That power is even more incredible. We’ve lived through a lot of bullshit. I think we’ll get to live to see that one thing.” MEN’S HEALTH

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KRISTIAN FLORES, 43, NEW YORK CITY

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“I’M PUSHING HARD TO COME BACK FROM COVID” ELIOT PEREZ, 52, HOUSTON

BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, my wife, our four kids, and I were rarely able to spend time all together during the week. As a personal trainer, I worked long hours, and my wife works long and hard, too. When quarantine hit, I lost a lot of the business I’d spent so many years building. We were all home all the time, and it was stressful for everyone. I was yelling a lot more. At my wife, at my kids. One evening, after the regular trial of trying to get the kids to bed, I had a breakdown. I just felt horrible. It was an epiphany. My dad used to be really harsh, and I didn’t want to replicate that. I talked to my wife. I said I couldn’t yell anymore, and I wanted her to stop also. Amazingly, as soon as we stopped yelling, all of our behavior changed. Pausing to think about the most constructive way to respond has allowed me to learn other ways of approaching conflicts. It has opened up a space where I can think and act instead of react. When a pebble drops and disturbs water, it’s still again right after. That is what I strive for. —As told to E. S.

I’VE BEEN A HEALTHY, active

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“I GAVE UP ALCOHOL FOR 100 DAYS‚ AND EVERYTHING CHANGED” ANDY WHITE, 41, TORONTO

I’VE ALWAYS

been an avid craft-beer fan, and although I wasn’t what I considered a heavy drinker, during the first month of COVID lockdown I started to drink every night—usually four to six beers and a few whiskeys. My first thoughts the next morning were ones of shame. I was sick of feeling like that. In late April, I decided to go alcohol-free for 30 days. I’d done

alcohol-free challenges before, but this time I was alone and knew that I was going to need some support. I started reading self-help books and looking at my beliefs and habits around alcohol. I realized that the rituals I had built around it (a can or four on the couch) were going to be harder to break than the reliance on the substance BEFORE: 2019

itself. Nonetheless, I removed the substance first, replacing it with nonalcoholic beer. Then I developed other ways to cope; I started waking up with more motivation and started running. Every part of my life has changed since giving up alcohol. I’ve lost almost 22 pounds, I’m more positive, I’ve saved money, and my relationship with my family has improved. Once I hit the 30-day milestone, 100 days was next. I felt so amazing that I’ve extended it to a year. Never say never, but I don’t plan to drink. Life is better without it. I’m better without it. —As told to E. S.

Courtesy subjects (Perez, Flores, White, Friedman). Courtesy Rhone/Mike Biggins Photography (Guadalupe).

fitness instructor for the past 20 years, but on July 1, I woke up sick and tested positive for COVID-19. I kept getting weaker and had trouble breathing, and a nurse friend convinced me to go to the ER. I didn’t have the strength to walk in on my own. I was put on oxygen and had lung, kidney, and liver failure, plus blood clots throughout my body and rhabdomyolysis (when muscle tissue gets broken down and ends up in the blood). I had trouble sleeping, because I thought I wasn’t going to wake up. But I refused to be defeated. When I was released on July 21, I’d lost 20 pounds of muscle. I couldn’t open the refrigerator and I used a walker—and I once taught four groupexercise classes a day. I use anger to push myself—I get up and say “f@$% you” to the virus and “I will not be defeated” over and over. Each week, I push a little more. In August, I could do one pushup; by late AUGUST 2020 October, I challenged myself to do rounds of walking a quarter mile and doing ten pushups until I hit 101 of them. I struggled so hard I cried. I’m not giving up. I’m learning to continue forward but also be patient and give my body time. —As told to Emily Shiffer

“I PUT MY MIND AND

BODY TO WORK. I TOOK CONTROL OF TIME.”

A DECADE IN PRISON LED HECTOR GUADALUPE, 42, TO FIND HIS CALLING: EDUCATING, CERTIFYING, AND EMPLOYING THE FORMERLY INCARCERATED AS PERSONAL TRAINERS. BY SARAH GEARHART IN THE BEGINNING, it was

“I QUIT A SERIOUS VAPING HABIT” HENRY FRIEDMAN, 30, VAN TRAVELING THE U. S.

I STARTED VAPING IN 2017,

after my social smoking habit turned into about a pack of cigarettes a week. I liked that vaping was odorless, seemed healthier than cigarettes, and was more economical. Soon I smoked four vape pods a week—that’s equal to the nicotine in four packs of cigarettes. I’d always felt shame about vaping, but when the pandemic hit, it felt like a total disregard for my own life. So in April, ten days before I turned 30, I placed my vapes on a rock and smashed them to pieces with an ax. Your body needs you to replace the nicotine habit with something else, so I created a rule that I would take a sip of water whenever I felt a craving. Driving had always been a big trigger, so I placed cinnamon-flavored toothpicks by my steering wheel. I asked my friends to hold me accountable and used the Quit Vaping app to track my progress. The first week, I was fidgety and restless, and my hands kept feeling for a vape in my front pocket. I tried to manage my cravings with new behaviors that made me feel good (taking photos), healthy (drinking more water), or simply occupied (cleaning). I knew that if I could do one week, I’d be encouraged and poised to go two. I’ve been vape-free for more than 250 days, and I feel amazing. Although the temptation may never go away, the key to my victory was breaking down this huge, seemingly impossible task into tiny, manageable ones. Fill your cup with the good changes that you’re seeing, and let it fuel you to keep going another week. —As told to E. S.

brutal. One lap was an immediate emotional release; 39 more offered an abbreviated sense of freedom from the confines of the six-by-nine cell he called home at Fort Dix, a federal prison in New Jersey. Running became his escape from reality. Hector Guadalupe grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, during the crack epidemic that swept New York City. An ill-fated youth led him to start selling drugs at age 13. He trafficked cocaine up and down the East Coast for years. When he was indicted for drug distribution at age 23 in 2003, he was immediately overcome with—of all things—relief. “I was finally able to allow my mind and soul to rest for once,” he says. Prison offered an opportunity to rebuild. A cellmate taught him meditation, which pulled him through close to 31 months in solitary confinement. He practiced yoga and worked out three hours a day, weightlifting followed by a run of up to ten miles. And as his Timberland boots repeatedly thumped on the track, he thought about how he could use his connection with wellness to “disrupt the fitness industry” after his release. In prison, Guadalupe enrolled in a correspondence program to become a certified personal trainer. He started training fellow inmates IRL, then their friends on the outside remotely. He left prison in 2012, 90 pounds lighter at a ripped 190, landing back in New York, confident and ready to put his skills to use. “I thought I’d be hired fast. I was young and in really good shape,” he says. “I was shocked that all of the health clubs in New York kept turning me down.” Eventually, he was accepted at the New York Sports Club in Manhattan’s Union Square. Guadalupe worked from 6:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. five days a week and several hours on weekends without taking a day off for four years.

He founded A Second U Foundation in 2015 with the goal of helping people just like him. It prepares formerly incarcerated men and women for careers in the wellness industry. The nonprofit takes them through a six-week curriculum about movement and physiology as well as businessdevelopment skills. The foundation has 13 employees and has certified 196 trainers. Zero have re-offended. Their personal sessions have all become virtual since the COVID-19

pandemic, which has only helped growth. “When it comes to being locked down or being limited on movement, that’s our specialty,” Guadalupe says. “The pandemic is what we flourished in. We quadrupled in business.” Guadalupe intends to expand A Second U Foundation to major cities across the U. S. and Europe. He’s optimistic about the future. “I’m trying to be the best version of what I’m here to be: a motivator, someone that inspires people and someone that’s supportive of humanity,” he says.

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“YOU’RE PLAYING QUARTERBACK WITH YOUR OWN BODY. IT’S ALL ABOUT DECISIONS.”

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HOW RAPPER ACTION BRONSON, 37, HIT THE GYM, CONQUERED HIS APPETITE, AND DROPPED 127 POUNDS.

BY SPENCER DUKOFF

OF COURSE Action Bronson brought

a kettlebell to the pizza joint. In a video shared on his Instagram, the chef-turned-rapper cranks out squats at L’Industrie Pizzeria in Brooklyn while shouting the names of Italian delicacies. “Focaccia!” Squat. “Tiramisu!” Squat. And although the short clip is lighthearted and fun—the best Action Bronson moments typically are—it offers a glimpse into the dead-serious journey of a big man taking charge of his life. At his heaviest, the MC also known as Mr. Baklava was pushing 400 pounds. Now, thanks to an ambitious fitness regimen and an overhaul of his diet, he’s down 127 pounds since March. But becoming a healthier person has been a lifelong struggle. “This journey started way long ago,” he says. “I was born heavy. I was a heavy child. This transformation was long overdue.” One reason it’s taken so long to reach this moment is Bronson’s love affair with food. Before he was putting out songs with Chance the Rapper and ASAP Rocky, Bronson, born Ariyan Arslani, was a high school dropout from Flushing, Queens, who found purpose in the

kitchen. Bronson attended culinary school, then worked as a chef around New York City. After breaking his leg in 2011 and being unable to work, he turned all his attention to making it as a rapper, releasing a series of well-received mixtapes and gaining props within the hip-hop community for his braggadocious delivery and proclivity for translating his impressive culinary vocabulary into bars. Rapping about food—“Shiraz,” “Brunch,” and “Jerk Chicken” are three tracks from his 2011 debut album— became something of an Action Bronson signature. He parlayed that notoriety into F*ck, That’s Delicious, a Vice TV show that’s like a hip-hop-infused spin on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. The combined lifestyle of a touring rap artist and stoner TV host focused on sharing decadent meals with his loyal viewers eventually caught up with Bronson. “There was a lot of shit like prediabetes, eczema, asthma, all

kinds of fucking dumb stuff that I had given myself,” he says. He struggled with portion control. “If I made something that was a big, round dish, I would eat the big, round dish. I wouldn’t just have one piece.” But a major life event finally convinced Bronson he needed to turn things around: the birth of his son in 2019. “You always want to be around for your family,” he says. “It wasn’t going to happen unless I made that decision myself, and, you know, it takes some soul-searching and some shit to really bother you. Like something that really gets under your skin to make that change. That happened to me.” The first step was completely reimagining his daily routine. Bronson wakes up at 4:00 A.M. and starts his day with a protein shake. His breakfast is consistent: two eggs, three egg whites, one piece of sprouted rye bread, and an avocado. Then he drives a half hour to Impact Zone Fitness in Norwood, New Jersey. He boxes for 45 minutes, then gets into his sweat session with trainer Dave Paladino. “I’ve already got my work in while everyone else is snoozing,” Bronson says, “putting in big gains, big protein, you know?” PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDRE L PERRY

“I PAID OFF $24K IN DEBT” HARLAND WHITE, 38, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

but he claims to be “more interested in food now than ever,” because he’s fascinated by nutrition. He says he’s eating more filling foods, emphasizing protein and complex carbohydrates, and refraining from any carbs at night. “You’re playing quarterback with your own body. It’s all about decisions,” he says. Even though he has been able to pull off a staggering physical transformation in just a few months, he’s clear-eyed about the obstacles ahead. “I’ve only managed to do it for six months, bro,” Bronson says. “I’m known to fall off the wagon.” He’s loath to talk too much about the future— “this is a day-by-day play”— but Bronson comes across as a man who’s focused on One of Bronson’s favorite circuits is this one from trainer continuing his progress. Dave Paladino that burns fat, builds muscle, and will make “If you’re blessed with abs you beg for mercy. Do 3 rounds with no rest between and 5 percent body fat, stations. Rest 2 minutes and repeat twice. you’re gonna be grinding 1. SKIERG 600 meters or AIRDYNE for 250 calories. to make that happen your 2. DUMBBELL THRUSTER 15 reps. (He uses 50-pounders.) whole life. You just have 3. MED-BALL SLAM 15 reps. (He uses a 100-pound ball.) to realize that that’s what 4. DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS 15 reps. (He uses 50-pounders.) it is. You keep your eye 5. SINGLE-ARM DUMBBELL SNATCH 10 per side. on the prize and don’t let (He uses a 40-pounder.) yourself fall down.” Bronson is a fan of HIIT workouts, preferring athletic circuits that test his entire body. He rattles off his favorites like he’s about to spit a verse. “Like 50-pound medicine-ball throws, you know, down a 50-yard track, throwing it as far as you can, all the way down the track and back.” Slams. Carries. Presses. Sled pushes. He finishes with a hundred burpees “or some sort of ridiculous thing.” Mr. Baklava also needed to redefine his relationship with food in order to achieve his health goals. “I’m kinda like a boring eater at this point,” he says with a laugh,

WHEN MY WIFE and I got married six years ago, we were living paycheck to paycheck. I was working three jobs, seven days a week, to support us and two stepkids. Over time, I racked up nearly $50K in debt, and it caused depression, anxiety, stress, and fights about money. I decided to get rid of my debt when my mom died of cancer in 2019. I felt extreme regret that I couldn’t afford to see her more often when she was sick. So in May 2020, I started using Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball Method. I arranged my debts from smallest to largest and paid them off starting with the smallest one. I paid the minimum on the larger ones and accelerated the payoffs by selling workout equipment worth more than $2,000. I committed to putting at least $1,500 a month toward my debt by cutting back on meals out, weekly golf games, and cable. In the first six months, I reduced my debt by $24,169. I still have $25,499 to go, but confronting my debt and regaining financial control has increased my confidence. I realized that I shouldn’t beat myself up or be embarrassed about debt, because I can’t change the past. All I can do is strive to do better moving forward. —As told to E. S.

Courtesy subject (White)

ACTIN’ CRAZY STRONG

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“I FOUND A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO ORGANIZE MY LIFE‚ LIVE HEALTHY‚ AND BE MORE EFFECTIVE”

ACTOR KENDRICK SAMPSON, 32, WRESTLED WITH ANXIETY BEFORE DISCOVERING THAT ADVOCATING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PROTESTING IN THE STREETS GAVE HIM A SENSE OF CALM AND PURPOSE. BY GERRICK KENNEDY

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WHEN THE nation erupted in the days after George Floyd’s death, Kendrick Sampson was among the thousands marching through the streets. No stranger to demonstrations, the actor and activist pulled out his phone when Los Angeles Police Department officers moved in on a crowd dispersing after a May 30 protest. Sampson’s cell phone, and CNN cameras, were filming as officers beat him with batons and fired seven rubber bullets into his body. He documented his injuries on Instagram and was back in the streets the next day, his bloody wounds covered with medical gauze. When we first connect over Zoom in November, Sampson’s physical wounds have long healed, but the mental trauma of a year roiled by a global pandemic and a racial reckoning still linger. “This was the most stressful year of all of our lives,” he says. We talk about the fight for liberation that fuels his activism, how he chooses to navigate Hollywood, and how he takes care of himself mentally and physically. You probably recognize Sampson from shows like The Vampire Diaries, How to Get Away with Murder, and Insecure. But in the past few years, his political activism has raised his profile beyond his work in television. In 2019, Sampson cofounded BLD PWR, a nonprofit organization working to dismantle racism in the entertainment industry as outlined in the call to action he wrote that was backed by more than 300 Black creatives and executives. Before COVID-19 upended our lives, Sampson had planned to spend a chunk of 2020 shooting the ABC drama Thirtysomething(else) in New Jersey and flying out on off days for BLD PWR. “It was an intense schedule. I was about to be shooting every day . . . and sneaking out on the weekends to go campaign,” he says. When the production was shut down due to the pandemic, he shifted completely to work on the movement. Born and raised in the Houston suburbs, Sampson moved to L. A. when he was 18. He joined the Robey Theatre Company, which focuses on staging productions centered on the Black American experience. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEXIS HUNLEY

Courtesy subject (Waters)

Working with a Black theater troupe informed Sampson’s purpose as an actor. Before he started booking gigs, he told his agent he wouldn’t consider roles that promoted negative stereotypes of Black men or fed into narratives glorifying violence against Black bodies. “To be completely honest, [too many] projects are trash,” he says. “A lot of people are not in the industry . . . to be imaginative and artistic. They’re not here to change the world. But I try to gauge the effect that I believe it will have on the culture, on liberation, and on my internal liberation journey.” What pulled Sampson toward a character like Nathan on HBO’s Insecure was series cocreator and executive producer Issa Rae’s commitment to liberation through her work. The show films in south L. A.’s historically Black communities and often features Black-owned businesses and brands, collaborates with Black artists, and employs a wealth of Black creatives behind the scenes. Though viewers met Nathan as Rae’s onscreen love interest, the character got an added layer of nuance in the most recent season when it was revealed he was struggling with bipolar disorder. Sampson’s character and his own openness about battling debilitating anxiety sparked much-needed discourse around Black men and mental illness. “I aim for [roles] to have a positive impact and be a part of liberation,” he says. “ ‘Is it quality material?’ and ‘Do you like it?’ are two different things.” Sampson talks a lot about liberation, which makes me ask what it ultimately looks like for him. “Having a peaceful love of our communities and each other,” he explains. “Everybody has proper health care. Everybody has access to a proper education and jobs that they love, where they feel they are supported, no matter what is their physical or mental ability. Another really

big thing is no more cops. We have other systems that can replace law enforcement, that actually hold people accountable, empower us to be safe, and are specialized in safety, de-escalation, and care.” His engine for liberation is BLD PWR, which he cofounded with Tia Oso and Mike de la Rocha. It works at the intersection of grassroots organizing and narrative activism and has launched several initiatives, including Hollywood 4 Black Lives—which is focused on pushing the industry to divest from anti-Black content—as well as mental-health programming and a book club. Putting your body in the line of police violence the way Sampson has (and those on the front lines of protests have) comes with its own burdens, amplified by the isolation of life under lockdown. When he was younger, Sampson coped with anxiety by numbing himself with sex before the ulcers and muscle spasms manifesting in his body from stress provided a literal gut check. He admits he spent a bulk of lockdown struggling to handle the pressure. Seeing a therapist weekly taught him to be more mindful about making time for his needs—like getting a healthy amount of sleep every night and fitting in prayer and meditation. He also exercises four or five times a week, sometimes squeezing in a workout after he’s marched through the streets for hours. “I’d rather be as effective as I possibly can be in everything I do, and do it excellently, than do a bunch of things mediocre and be stressed out by that anxiety,” he says. “I’ve really been trying my best to strategize for my health and my peace while also strategizing for liberation, my career, and my family....Funny enough, and it may sound contradictory, but through all the chaos, I found a much clearer understanding of how to organize my life, be more effective, and live healthy.”

“I LOST HALF MY BODYWEIGHT EATING VEGETABLE CURRY” KEVIN WATERS, 35, STEVENSON, WASHINGTON

I STEADILY GAINED

weight from my mid-20s on. I baked cookies and ate junk food every day. I put on 180 pounds in ten years and developed sleep apnea, bad knees, a bad back, an elevated heart rate, and high blood pressure. I knew I needed to make a change. I’d heard my mom and dad talk about how much better they felt on a plant-based diet, so I told myself to try it for a year in 2018. I eased into it by making meals 50 percent vegetable- or fruitbased. When I craved junk food, I ate fruit until I was full. I phased out meat over seven months by making vegetarian curries and loading up Japanese sweet potatoes with hummus, beans, vegetables, and salsa, or with a mountain of brown rice, black beans, and corn. I rely on hot sauces and salsa for flavoring. Meals are colorful and filling now. Within the first month, I lost 40 pounds. I felt great and was hooked. I’ve lost 220 pounds over two years and am now eating 95 percent plantbased. I no longer have sleep apnea, joint pain, or back pain. You can fall in love with food all over again, and it’ll reward you by helping you be healthier and leaner. —As told to E. S.

BEFORE: 2018

Healthy

or Heart

Attack?

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PHOTOGRAPH BY PAOLA + MURRAY

ALBI SKENDERI

Inside the squishy, confusing, and wild war scientists are fighting over the health effects of eating fat, in which billions of dollars—and your life—are at stake. By Michael Easter

is sitting on a leather love seat in his studio apartment in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. A road bike leans on a wall and a punching bag hangs in a corner. Beneath it are a yoga mat, a medicine ball, and a few dumbbells. He’s wearing a Henley shirt that accentuates his build: six feet and 180 hard, veiny pounds. The Meatpacking District is an aptly named neighborhood for Skenderi to live in. “I switched to a carnivore diet a couple months ago,” says Skenderi, who is 33 and works in finance. “One of my coworkers was heating up steak in the microwave at eight in the morning, smelling up the entire office. And I was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ ” His colleague had discovered the diet from listening to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast and replied, “Meat is all I’ve been eating for the last couple weeks. I have so much energy and my body is fantastic right now.” Until then, Skenderi had been eating all vegetables all the time. “I’d become plantbased after watching The Game Changers,” he says, referring to the movie that catalogs the alleged perils of animal foods. “And I felt good on plants. But this guy made me wonder . . . Am I doing this all wrong? I went down a rabbit hole. I listened to a podcast and read The Carnivore Code. So I went to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of steak.” Even crazier and more confusing than Skenderi’s dietary 180 is the fact that scientists can’t yet tell us for sure which approach to eating is healthier. At the heart of the debate is a nutrient most commonly associated with animal proteins—saturated fat—and whether or not eating too much of it will kill you. The fact that podcasts, books, and movies can draw on research about meat and saturated fat—and if you should consume it—and come to opposite conclusions shouldn’t be surprising. Nutritional science is less certain than you might imagine, and warring, possibly compromised camps are MEN’S HEALTH

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Healthy or

Heart Attack?

The Case for Caution

To understand the history of governmental nutrition guidelines in the U. S., you have to know nutrition research 94

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at Harvard University. To do that, you have to know Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H. Dr. Willett, 75, is slim but sturdy, with a head of silver hair and a wispy white mustache. He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School when Nixon was in office. “When I was practicing medicine, I became frustrated because my patients had conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease that I couldn’t cure,” says Dr. Willett. “I wanted to understand what was causing the conditions to prevent them in the first place.” Until the 1940s, most Americans didn’t really worry about whether food would blow up their waistlines or clog their arteries, says Adrienne Bitar, Ph.D., a food historian at Cornell University and the author of Diet and the Disease of Civilization. Food was considered medicine in the sense that eating a healthy diet moved you further away from malnutrition and disease. Then, in the 1950s, Ancel Keys, Ph.D., a physiologist at the University of Minnesota, noticed a paradox. Rich guys in America were well-fed, but they suffered from a high rate of heart disease. Middle-aged men in the U. S. had a four- to ten-times-greater risk of the disease compared with men in postwar Europe, Japan, and other countries. Keys believed diet, specifically a diet that included lots of saturated fat, was to blame. Fat made up 40 percent of the calories in the average American diet but just 20 percent in the

fessor. He developed rigorous diet questionnaires, which researchers distributed to nearly 122,000 nurses, looking for links between eating habits and health. “We set the study up to look at the type of fat because of the concern at that time,” he says of the landmark Nurses’ Health Study. Dr. Willett’s work has consistently shown that, for heart disease, saturated fats aren’t necessarily bad. But they also aren’t good. “It’s really about comparison,” he says. “If you compare saturated fat to trans fats, then saturated fat looks good.” For every 2 percent of your calories that come from trans fats (the FDA banned artificial trans fats in 2015, in part due to Dr. Willett’s work), for example, your coronary-heart-disease risk rises by 23 percent, according to a review in The New England Journal of Medicine. “But if you compare it to unsaturated fats, then saturated fat looks bad,” says Dr. Willett. But Dr. Willett, despite his academic stature and decades of expertise, has his critics.

Poking the Bear

Nina Teicholz, 55, was “something of a vegetarian for 25 years,” she says. She says she was constantly trying to lose 15 to 20 pounds and always “felt tired and depressed.” Then around 2005 she began researching and writing The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, and while she started incorporating more animal

THE WAR is growing more intense with the anticipated release of the government’s 2020–25 dietary guidelines, sending both sides into a blitzkrieg assault to either keep or kill the long-standing saturated-fat recommendations. Italian one. Keys figured that if people ate less fat, they’d reduce their blood cholesterol and, therefore, their risk of heart disease. And, he’d find, foods higher in saturated fats seemed to raise blood cholesterol. “Then in 1955, President Eisenhower had a heart attack,” says Bitar. “That’s when public attention cohered around the idea that heart disease was an epidemic. Eisenhower went on a low-fat diet.” Not long after, the federal government started raising concerns about fat in the diet. In 1980, Dr. Willett earned his doctorate from the Harvard School of Public Health and joined the epidemiology department as a pro-

| MEN’S HEALTH

products into her diet, she says her health started to improve. “Saturated fat has been the rate-limiting factor in the consumption of animal foods,” says Teicholz. “Meat and dairy, principally, are foods that we depend on for essential nutrients and vitamins for human health. They’re the most calorically efficient way to get the vitamins and nutrients you need for life.” Teicholz says there is evidence these foods are healthy even at nearly twice the current guideline recommendation. Suggesting that people limit saturated fats, she argues, steers people away from whole foods such as red meat and dairy. Teicholz

Food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich/Edge Reps. Prop styling: Paige Hicks.

exploiting that squishiness to promote polar-opposite agendas. And not just in pop culture. This war is taking place in our nation’s capital and in the halls of our most venerated academic institutions. It involves allegations of biased research funding from Big Beef and Nut Boards, a contrarian investigative journalist, and an esteemed Ivy League researcher railing against “the disinformation triangle.” It has professors and deans at Harvard and Yale slinging mud. It includes accusations of data misrepresentation, fear mongering, political hardball, and allaround general bullshitting. The war has grown more intense with the anticipated release of the federal government’s 2020–25 dietary guidelines, sending both sides into a blitzkrieg assault to either keep or kill the long-standing saturated-fat recommendations. And the fallout from this war is hitting average Americans, driving more of us to search for dietary salvation at the poles. Veganism rose nearly 1,000 percent in the U. S. between 2010 and 2019. According to Nielsen, nearly 40 percent of Americans say they’re making an effort to eat more “plant-based” products. Yet meat and dairy consumption has also ticked upward; there’s now a bevy of mailorder meat-subscription companies, and carnivore diet books are best sellers. When those new guidelines drop (which should be before the new year), most of us might be left to wonder: Who can we trust in this billion-dollar food fight? And what does all this mean for our health?

Getty Images (food items)

wrote a piece for this magazine in 2007 called “What If Bad Fat Is Actually Good for You?” and has appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience to talk about the topic. In 2014 her career shifted after John Arnold tweeted an op-ed she wrote for The Wall Street Journal about saturated fat. Arnold is a billionaire hedge-fund manager with a history of bankrolling counterintuitive nutritional ideas. For example, Arnold spent $40 million in 2012 and 2013 to launch the Nutrition Science Initiative, a project that “supports research that tests fundamental assumptions about the metabolic and hormonal causes of obesity and related disorders,” as stated on its website. According to Teicholz, she reached out to Arnold after the tweet and he invited her to meet his team at the Arnold Foundation. That meeting eventually led to the Arnold Foundation funding Teicholz to conduct an analysis of the 2015 dietary-guidelines advisory-committee report, which was an independent project, she says. “Following that, I was funded to start the Nutrition Coalition, whose main goal at that point was simply to educate policy makers about the need for an outside review of the dietary-guidelines process, since there had never been one,” she says. Teicholz is the Nutrition Coalition’s executive director, a role that, at least as of 2018, was paying her $144,000 a year. The coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, reports that its funding comes from donations and grants. In 2018, it brought in roughly half a million dollars. The Nutrition Coalition has argued that the government’s dietary guidelines are based on weak scientific evidence. “In order to continue the limits on saturated fat, health officials must show ample and consistent evidence that these fats damage health,” the coalition has stated. It points to some 20 review studies that have shown an inconsistent link between saturated fat and heart disease. What’s more, the Nutrition Coalition charges that the members of the USDA’s 2020–25 guidelines committee have damning potential conflicts of interest. Three of the 20 members of the most recent committee, the coalition highlights in a post on its website, have previously received funding from nut commissions or the potato industry, or were affiliated with Nestlé or Dannon.

But the accusations fire review of the dietary guideT H E both ways. David L. Katz, lines. The hope for this review M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., founding was to improve the transpardirector of Yale Universiency and scientific rigor of the Current USDA dietary guidelines recommend ty’s Yale-Griffin Prevention guidelines.” And she has chothat the average active Research Center, and other man get no more than 10 sen to respond to her critics. scientists believe the Nutrition Teicholz is at odds with percent of daily calories from saturated fat. Here’s Coalition is “lobbying” for the Harvard’s research, and in what that looks like. meat industry, which has been particular Dr. Willett, because influencing U. S. dietary guide“he has significant intelleclines for decades. tual and financial conflicts of Why would the beef industry interest which he almost never care about the arguments for or declares in any of his papers,” against saturated fats? Marion she says, and “the studies he 3 scrambled eggs Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., a food oversees are a significant part and nutrition researcher at of the foundation of the dietary New York University, explains guidelines.” Not to mention it this way: “The guidelines Dr. Willett is “an ideological currently tell us to eat more vegan” whose work “supports 2 slices of bacon in the context of foods but use the idea of moving towards 2.30 grams nutrients when referring to a vegetarian-slash-vegan what you should eat less of. diet,” she says. Teicholz has Nutrients are euphemisms for published a ten-page dossier foods. Saturated fat means laying out the terms of how Dr. 1 (5.3 oz) full-fat plain meat. They don’t have to say, Willett’s vegan agenda can be Greek yogurt ‘Eat less of those foods’ directly, explained by his ideological thereby saving a lot of political and financial conflicts. hell,” Nestle says. Maybe scientists could write There is no evidence that the Teicholz off (and some within Nutrition Coalition receives the field have). Except that funding from the beef or dairy more minds in nutrition are 1 pat butter industry, or any industry at becoming sympathetic to the 5.46 grams (steak) all, but its scientific board idea that perhaps animal foods does include a member with aren’t as bad as science has ties to Virta Health, a compapreviously made them seem. ny that recommends high-fat, “I kind of appreciate [what ketogenic diets to help treat she’s doing],” says Tamar insulin resistance in peoHaspel, a columnist for The 1 cup whole milk ple with diabetes. And the Washington Post who has been 4.54 grams coalition has supported the covering nutrition and the work of scientists who conduct food industry for two decades. research funded by the beef industry. “She’s poking the bear, and the bear And there’s another grenade critics of needed to be poked.” the Nutrition Coalition lob: a lack of All Hell Breaks Loose necessary experience. “The people who have positions of In the fall of 2019, a group of scientists prominence [at the Nutrition Coalition] dropped a series of six papers in the include many people with no formal Annals of Internal Medicine, one of the training in nutrition or in science,” Dr. most influential journals in the field, that Katz says. In fact, half of the coalition’s reviewed the research on red and proboard had no previous experience in the cessed meats. The papers included studies health sector—Teicholz included. She assessing the health risks of consuming has a B.A. in American studies and an those foods, ultimately questioning the M.A. in Latin American studies. validity of the health guidelines as they Despite the accusations made against pertained to saturated fat. it, the Nutrition Coalition has moved the The 49-person research team found dial. According to Teicholz, her “most that among study participants, those successful effort as an advocate was to who ate about four to seven servings plant the idea, in 2015, that Congress of red and processed meats a week had might consider an independent outside approximately the same risk of cancer,

SAT-FAT CAP

MEN’S HEALTH

| JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021

Healthy or

Heart Attack?

THE DISINFORMATION TRIANGLE Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H, of Harvard devised this chart to show how competing factors shape dietary beliefs.

TRADE GROUPS

Including Big Beef, that attempt to sway opinion through funded studies.

HOW SHADY NUTRITION ADVICE CIRCULATES ACADEMICS WHO UNDERMINE RESEARCH

SENSATIONALIST MEDIA

By tearing down good studies or promoting poor studies.

Which report on compromised research with no mention of trade groups.

heart attack, or death from any cause as those who ate one to four servings a week. The difference between the two groups meant that for every 1,000 people who eat less meat, only two would avoid the increased risk of death from any cause that comes with eating more meat. Based on these findings, this group published its own “dietary guideline recommendations” for Americans: You enjoy beef and bacon, so continue eating it. This research sent the other side, scientists who have shaped American food policy for the past four decades, scrambling into Defcon 1. Reenter Dr. Katz, who also leads True Health Initiative (THI), a group of 500-plus health experts that derives its funding from 46 different non- and for-profit groups, most of which are in the fields of health care or nutrition and many of which promote plantheavy diets or products. When prerelease copies of the Annals papers landed on the desks of Dr. Katz and others at THI, “we started calling one another and saying in effect . . . Holy shit, this is not for print,” says Dr. Katz. “We thought [it was] going to hurt a lot of people.” Dr. Katz believes the scientists who authored the Annals studies were leveraging the authority of the respected journal to issue their own set of “alternative ‘guidelines,’ ” as he put it,

without any actual legitimate authority: “If they’d just published the [data] and not the guidelines, it would have been a yawn from us. But to devise guidelines directly at odds with your own findings and pretend like that’s business as usual . . . this is a provocation,” he says. THI responded to the research by pulling together 14 leading scientists and collectively requesting that all six papers be preemptively retracted and given “due and appropriate review. . . . We do so on the basis of grave concerns about the potential for damage to public understanding and public health,” wrote Dr. Katz and his cosigners. But as THI cooked up its academic retort, the work of the independent committee tasked with reviewing nutrition and health topics that would inform the 2020–25 dietary guidelines, including possible adjustments to saturated-fat caps, was already under way.

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The Source of All This Confusion “At the core of this conflict is the value of nutritional epidemiology,” says Stephan J. Guyenet, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and obesity researcher. “So let’s say that people who eat lots of red meat have more heart attacks than people who eat less red meat,” says Guyenet. “You could see that and conclude that red meat causes heart disease. But maybe people who are eating a lot

of red meat are also smoking more cigarettes.” Teicholz says that when it comes to beef and dairy, the evidence on saturated fat is flawed. “These studies find extremely weak data associations, not causation,” she says. Richard Feinman, Ph.D., a professor at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, puts it like this: “Willett’s textbook on nutritional epidemiology is quite good in that it’s thorough, but it doesn’t let you draw the right conclusions. In a toxic tort case in a court of law, for example, these studies wouldn’t hold up as evidence,” he says. Dr. Willett believes his detractors and those who laud the supposed benefits of beef, in particular, are part of what he calls the disinformation triangle. “It’s a triangle of interests that are people not working together to guide consumers,” he says. Its three points are food-industry groups, such as Big Beef; academics who make a career bashing others’ epidemiological research and/or supporting industry research that misleads the public; and the sensationalist media, which reports on that industry-funded research. His critics, he says, are missing the larger point: His food-frequency questionnaires were never designed to be perfect. A perfect nutrition study would be unfeasible, and downright unethical— scientists would have to hold many thousands of people in a lab and feed them specific diets over the entirety of their lives. Dr. Willett says his type of studies are good enough to make rational decisions. But he isn’t off the hook. Teicholz points out that Dr. Willett and Harvard’s nutrition department have conducted studies funded by nut boards or other trade groups. Nestle, the NYU nutrition researcher, is also

F T aware of this funding and says, “I really wish they wouldn’t do that.”

The Danger of Isolationism

There’s yet another complicating factor to all this: Although the saturated-fat debate centers primarily on red meat, the nutrient is found in many other foods. “It’s not possible to eat saturated fat in isolation. Therefore you have to question the significance of studies that study saturated fat as opposed to the foods that contain it,” says Nestle. Perhaps the strongest statement suggesting a rethink on saturated-fat caps came out in The BMJ in 2019. Nineteen leading scientists (many of whom declared ties to the dairy, nut, and other industries) concluded that the established guidelines “fail to take into account considerable evidence that the health effects vary for different saturated fatty acids and that the composition of the food in which they are found is crucially important.” The saturated fats found in a square of dark chocolate or in nuts are different from those in a rib-eye steak. And they have different effects in the body, says Ronald Krauss, M.D., Ph.D., director of atherosclerosis research at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, who helped develop the American Heart Association’s dietary guidelines in 2000. “There’s not just one LDL cholesterol particle. They vary in size from large to small,” says Dr. Krauss. “The smaller LDL particles have properties that make them more likely to have adverse effects in the artery and promote [heart disease]. This is why zoning in on saturated fat as a single macronutrient category as the basis for the nutritional recommendation, to me, is a flawed approach.” Lumping together all saturated fats, some scientists now believe, may steer the food-marketing industry toward advertising foods that are low in saturated fat, yes, but also high in refined starch and sugar. This effect happens often with many broad recommendations based upon single nutrients, says Trevor Kashey, Ph.D., a former cancer researcher who now owns Trevor Kashey Nutrition. In fact, it’s happened in the recent past: The recommendation to eat more fiber is meant to encourage people to eat that nutrient from whole-food sources, says Kashey. Whole foods like grains, fruits, and vegetables. “But then,” Kashey says, “bakeries start making bran muffins.”

So: Is Saturated Fat Bad or Not?

eats comes from proteins and dairy, such as a piece of meat or glass of milk. Sixty Former U. S. secretary of health and human services Sylvia Burwell and former percent of it comes from multi-ingredient foods. “If people actually followed secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack the guidelines and stopped eating all oversaw the development of the current the bacon cheeseburgers and ice cream, nutritional guidelines. And in 2015 they’d be healthier,” says Kashey. Congress pulled the two into a hearing to Nestle takes it even one step further to ask about them. “The key here is taking say that if people eat mostly whole foods a look at the preponderance, the greater and move more, saturated fat becomes weight of the evidence, and trying to make practically irrelevant. a judgment . . . this is really In fact, 10 percent saturated about well-informed opinion. I fat in a diet of whole foods wish there were scientific facts,” isn’t all that limiting—somesaid Vilsack. And so was born a new directive for the scientific FOODS HIGH IN thing like three eggs, two slices committee: to look at the totalSATURATED FAT of bacon, a serving of full-fat Greek yogurt, and a broiled ity of the nutrition and health THAT ARE research for those facts. PRETTY GOOD six-ounce New York strip topped with a pat of butter and Five years later, the 20 scienFOR YOU washed down with a glass of tists on the advisory committee Coconut Oil whole milk in one day. whose report forms the basis One tablespoon All this said, the committee of the 2020–25 nutritional has 11 grams of satreport does not offer the equivguidelines looked at the eviurated fat. People who ate a diet rich alent of a dietary blank check. dence about saturated fat and in coconut oil for “There aren’t many true acaare recommending changfour weeks saw no demics—even the ones funded ing . . . nothing. significant change in LDL cholesterol by the beef industry—recomAnd, in all likelihood, the levels and slightly mending people eat a ton of eventual government dietary improved HDL beef,” says Haspel. guidelines will reflect that exact levels, a small 2018 study in The BMJ The scientists and dietitians recommendation: Americans Open found. interviewed in this article should consider swapping satusuggested consuming up to four rated fats with unsaturated fats Cottage Cheese weekly servings of it. “If people and limit their saturated-fat One cup has about four grams. want to eat red meat, we generintake to 10 percent or less of A 2020 analysis ally steer people toward leaner their total calories per day. in The BMJ Open cuts,” says Brian St. Pierre, But the report also stated that Diabetes Research & Care found that R.D., C.S.C.S., director of nutriit’s more important to account compared with tion at Precision Nutrition. for a person’s overall diet than people who ate “Because that makes it easier individual nutrients. “People none, people who to control intake.” Not because do not consume nutrients or consumed at least two servings of of saturated fat specifically but foods in isolation but in various whole-fat dairy calories generally. combinations over time,” the products—not lowAnd the experts also agreed scientists wrote. Instead, people fat dairy—had less risk of metabolic that the best diet isn’t nutrient should aim for “higher intake syndrome. focused—it’s food focused. The of vegetables, fruits, legumes, best diet takes into account whole grains, low- or nonfat Pork Rinds food preference, variety, and An ounce of these dairy, lean meat and poultry, fried pig skins has enjoyment. It’s the sum of its seafood, nuts, and unsaturated three grams of parts. And the best diet, they vegetable oils and low consumpsaturated fat, but agreed, isn’t carnivore—and tion of red and processed meats, the same amount also has 16 grams it isn’t vegan, either. It’s where sugar-sweetened foods and of protein and 160 the warring sides of nutrition drinks, and refined grains.” calories. While infighting can’t often meet: That part of the report is pork rinds are three times as high in somewhere in the middle. a good one, nutrition experts sat fat as typical argue. potato chips, they “We don’t eat saturated fat,” have eight times MICHAEL EASTER is a professor at says Kashey. “We eat bacon the protein. the University of Las Vegas and the cheeseburgers and ice cream.” author of The Comfort Crisis: EmJust 28 percent of the saturatbrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. ed fat the average American

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NEVER FEAR NEEDLES AGAIN! W I T H C O V I D - 1 9 , J O B I N S E C U R ITY, S O C I A L U P H E A V A L , MEGAFIRES, SUPERSTORMS, AND ALL THE GARDEN-VARIETY PHOBIAS THAT AREN’T GOING AWAY, THERE’S GOOD REASON TO BE AFRAID IN 2021. LUCKILY, RESEARCHERS (AND GRITTY PEOPLE) ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO MANAGE MODERN FEAR.

THE INCREDIBLY COMPLEX NICHOLAS CARLETON, PH.D., a professor of clinical psy-

chology at the University of Regina in Canada, published a somewhat provocative paper in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders several years ago. He began by reprinting, and altering, a passage by J. R. R. Tolkien: “One fear to rule them all, one fear to find them,” he wrote. “One fear to bring them all and in the black box bind them.” There are two important concepts to take away from this paper. The first: Scientists are huge dorks. The second: One of the biggest causes of fear and anxiety is uncertainty. Our brains, little monkey prediction engines, hate it. They behave strangely around it, like math when it nears infinity. And if you imagine an infinity of uncertainty, you couldn’t get much closer than 2020. A pandemic, a racial reckoning, a failure of institutions, storms and fires no one could predict. “America is clearly becoming a more frightened nation,” says L. Edward Day, Ph.D., a researcher at Chapman University, which does an annual fear survey. “Only one fear in 2015’s top ten scared more than 50 percent of the population. Now all ten are higher than 50 percent.” Intolerance of uncertainty is one of three major risk factors that can lead to problems with anxiety and depression, according to Nicholas Allan, Ph.D., who runs the FEAR lab at Ohio University. The other two are fear of feeling fearful and social isolation. All three are up from normal levels. Since early in the pandemic, Allan’s lab has been working on new ways to help people handle these unprecedented times. His intervention: a group session and an app that helps people “mythbust” their maladaptive thoughts, then encourages them to do behavioral experiments, such as leaving home

without double-checking that the door is locked. By the time they get home, they’ve proved to themselves that they can handle the uncertainty, and most likely their home is fine. “The takeaway is the thing you were afraid of happening isn’t probably going to happen, and a lot of times, if it does, it’s not so bad,” he says. The fear is usually a miscalculation, our cautious brains believing it’s better to see a monster than what’s actually there: a boundless statistical gray area. Why do we even feel fear? Because people who didn’t would get “Darwined” out of existence pretty quickly, Allan says. But that’s the problem with trying to beat fear, especially in a time in which some of our worst imaginings have manifested themselves in objective, observable reality: Every so often, our stupid brains are right. The key is to manage fear in a way that helps you live your most productive life. “Usually, [fear] is seen as a negative emotion,” says Mathias Clasen, Ph.D., the director of Aarhus University’s Fear Lab in Denmark. “But it’s also the engine of a range of recreational activities and really at the source of meaningful, pleasurable experiences for a lot of people.” If you’re looking to harness your fear for the power of good, the tips from experts and stories from writers over the next few pages will help.

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Defang Your Fear Memories The new science of fear extinction could kill off many phobias.

PEOPLE

with a phobia have an emotional memory that involves an association between whatever scares them (say, for arachnophobes, a spider) and a dreaded outcome (being attacked). Dutch researchers recently proved that you can override these fears by exposing a person to the source of the phobia—a tarantula, in the study—and administering a beta-blocker. What’s happening, explains Maartje Kroese, a psychologist at Kindt Clinics, which offers the treatment, is that when an arachnophobe is exposed to a spider in a certain way, it reactivates a fear memory. After exposure, the arachnophobe receives a single dose of propranolol, a widely used beta-blocker. The beta-blocker disrupts the way the memory is stored, eliminating the fear. Kroese says the approach is 80 to 90 percent successful in one session for fears to which the patient can be exposed, such as spiders, dogs, mice, needles, and confined spaces. The treatment is not available in the U. S. yet, where the conventional approach is exposure therapy. Basically, the therapist creates a fear hierarchy for the patient, starting with the least threatening exposure (for dogs, a stuffed toy) and working their way up (to a real dog), explains Reilly Kayser, M.D., a psychiatrist at Columbia University. He’s also studying ways to make this kind of fearextinction psychotherapy more effective by combining it with a drug called Nabilone (a synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol) that enhances memory formation. According to Dr. Kayser, people with fears, such as flying, PTSD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, may have problems with fear-extinction learning. Early research shows that this approach can boost that form of learning and help allevi—BEN COURT

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World of Fear

FEAR :

THE POWER LIST

Overcome the Fear of Reinjury

Across all five years, corruption among government officials ranked at the top, with 77% reporting they were “afraid” or “very afraid” in 2019.

From not even making the topten list in 2015, concerns about pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes hit the second spot in 2019 at 68%.

Worries about loved ones becoming seriously ill moved into the top ten in 2016 and appeared again in 2018 and 2019, even before the pandemic.

Pollution of drinking water first made the list in 2017, not long after the crisis in Flint, Michigan, and hit 65% in 2019.

Fear of people I love dying is a consistent fear, ranging from 38% in 2016 to 63% in 2019.

The only other fear to make the list every single year, running out of money, has perpetually eked out a mid-to-low list spot, peaking at number three in 2016.

Cyberterrorism is down five spots, from number two to number seven, since 2015.

Extinction of plants and animals scored 59% in 2019 but wasn’t a top concern in previous years.

Fears about global warming and climate change hit 57% in 2019 but by rank were a greater concern in 2017 and 2018.

Since 2015, terrorist attacks, biological warfare, identity theft, and government or corporate tracking of personal information have all fallen off the top ten.

A huge wave crushed Maya Gabeira’s body and spirit, but the surfer is riding giants again.

MOST PEOPLE, standing astride a tow-in

surfboard at the apex of a 75-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal, would have exactly one thought: I am going to die. Brazilian big-wave surfer Maya Gabeira understands this in her bones. Literally, in her right fibula, which snapped as the force of a squirrelly 80-ish-foot wave yanked her out of her board’s foot straps in 2013. A colleague on a Jet Ski dragged her to the beach, where she was given CPR and then rushed to a hospital. Yet seven years later, Gabeira has gone on to successfully ride more of these sea monsters, including the biggest ridden by a man or woman in 2020—a 73.5-foot behemoth at Nazaré. You might think Gabeira is immune to fear. Nope. “I am scared. Every time the season starts. It’s really hard for me to accept that I want to ride big waves again.” After her wipeout, Gabeira focused on her physical recovery. She ignored any mental repercussions from the accident and, because she wasn’t in shape to surf big waves, never had to confront her insecurities about being able to handle them. “When I reached peak performance, which was four years later, that’s when

I had a real big mental breakdown,” she says. “I was hospitalized and I couldn’t get out of it.” When Gabeira came back to the sport, decisions about which waves to take and what lines to ride were heavier. She takes antianxiety medication to control her panic. She learned to trust her training and believe in herself. “When attempting to come back from an injury, the most important skill is to focus on the moment, the task at hand,” says Liv Massey, a mental-performance coach at SportStrata NYC. “Many athletes recite mantras or adaptive self-talk statements during high-pressure moments. In the NFL, players will say things like ‘Playmaker, all day!,’ ‘Your time!,’ or ‘See the ball!’ ” Gabeira often chants as she’s being towed by a Jet Ski to the wave. And she leaves herself an out. The purest, most dizzying moment of terror always hits at the very top of a wave, when she angles her board down that sheer face and chooses it. If I want to pull out, I pull out, she tells herself, over and over, until the moment her tow-in partner powers the Jet Ski to safety over the back of the wave, and she lets go of the rope. —J. D. G.

Learning about statistics has helped me COPE WITH THE FEAR A LOVED ONE WILL GET SICK understand the pandemic data better. Jagdish Khubchandani, Ana Catarina

Chapman University in Orange County, California, has been surveying Americans since 2014 to find out what we’re really afraid of. We looked at all the data and created a snapshot of our nation’s greatest fears.

Ph.D., a professor of public health at New Mexico State University, shares his strategies.

While sobering, it helps me process my fear of my parents getting sick. I’m talking to them more, and their stories of enduring hardships give me wisdom.

HOW TO CRUSH

FINANCIAL FEAR Michael Arceneaux, author of I Don’t Want

to Die Poor, shares how he learned to escape the terror inside his own head.

WHEN YOU STRUGGLE financially,

words can often ring hollow. I know this because so many times I ignored the advice of others when I had difficulty paying the rent, my student loans, and my credit-card bills and, in my darkest moments, struggled to find food to eat. It’s hard to see the bright side when times are so dire. It is difficult to see the promise of tomorrow when the day-to-day weighs on you heavily. And no, good advice is not the same as money in one’s hand or bank account. Still, I beg: Don’t be like me. Don’t allow fear to swallow you whole. My pride, stubbornness, and depression—magnified by money woes—all contributed to the cloudiness in my head in the past. I try not to live with regret, but I admit that ignoring previous well-wishes, words of encouragement, and advice were expensive mistakes. All that stubbornness did was make me more depressed. I couldn’t stop being scared. I couldn’t quit feeling like I’d failed as a man. 2020 only magnified the gross inequality that has long existed for far too many of us. Societal ills are not the fault of the individual impacted by them. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds or silver spoons to share with millions. What I can offer, however, are words that are not cash but I assure you aren’t cheap: Forgive yourself for conditions not of your making.

DEAL WITH THE FEAR

OF SUCKING AS A DAD What keeps Steven Rinella, author of The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival, up at night is not something big and furry with sharp claws.

As far as your money woes go, if you can’t pay all your bills, pay the ones that you can. If you have to move back home or crash with someone as you try to get back on your feet, don’t consider it a humiliation; be grateful that you have somewhere to lay your head. If you have to let go of certain dreams, or at the very least put them on the back burner in order to do something that helps you simply survive, don’t view that as failure. Life is so much harder for some of us than it should be, but life cannot be won in fear. If there’s anything that I have learned from moving home twice, crashing on someone’s sofa for longer than I would have preferred, or the numerous hits to my credit score when the bills became too much to bear, it’s that I wish I hadn’t let it sink my soul as deeply as it did. It only delayed the focus I needed to figure out a way to forge ahead. I may be in a better place now, but I drove myself to the brink too many times trafficking in fear and doubt when really all any of us can do is our best. None of us can get better if we give in to the feelings designed to have us operating at our worst. So again, please, don’t repeat my mistakes. You can overcome, but only after faith trounces your fears.

PONDER

YOUR MORTALITY On a reporting trip to Bhutan, Michael Easter, author of The Comfort Crisis, learned to reimagine his fear of dying.

IN BHUTAN, people think of the

Buddhist concept of mitakpa, or impermanence, every day. The lama Damcho Gyeltshen explained it to me that nothing lasts and, therefore, nothing can be held on to. All things change. All things die. The lama told me to think of mitakpa three times a day, in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Pondering mitakpa can be terrifying at first. But it adds clarity and urgency to every moment. There’s no procrastinating or saying, “I’ll do x when y happens.” The practice has helped me reprioritize my life and made me calmer and more grateful and happy.

STEVEN RINELLA, 46, has been charged by a grizzly, stung by a bullet ant, and stomped by a

moose, but what hurt him the most was the size of a sesame seed: a tick. Over four decades, Rinella has developed a “practice with the outdoors,” a skill set to avoid and cope with danger in all sizes: That tick gave him Lyme disease. “It’s all about knowledge, preparation, and being aware of your surroundings,” he says. What’s scary for him is the stampede of anxiety that comes with trying to be a great dad to his three kids, ages ten, eight, and five. “Those fears are not fun to anticipate, deeply perplexing, and hard to train for,” he says. “The greatest fear is that your kids turn out to be assholes, and you know that you are the primary driver in that outcome.” To avoid that, he shares his passion for the wild through family adventures that nurture a respect for nature. “I think a lot about the values of self-sufficiency and adaptability, and spending time outdoors teaches that, whether it’s learning to pack a bag, catching your own lunch, or tweaking a plan if a storm blows in.” —B. C.

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Identify Your Hidden Fears Some fears are so ingrained that you may not realize they’re impacting your behavior, says Phillip Atiba Goff, Ph.D. Correcting that requires societal and personal change.

Scare Yourself Stronger Watching horror movies has surprising psychological benefits, according to new research.

IN THE LEAD-UP to Halloween 2020, while most of us were trying to figure out how to trick-or-treat from six feet away, University of Chicago researcher Coltan Scrivner, a Ph.D. candidate, was at an interactive haunted house in Denmark, studying people in masks choosing whether to deliver a vial of leaked contaminants to the rebels or the government. Scrivner studies morbid curiosity, a personality trait that involves turning toward images of death, illness, and violence rather than what would make psychological sense—running away. At the beginning of the pandemic, Scrivner noticed that many people were doing exactly this: The pandemic movie Contagion had shot from 270 to number 2 on the list of most-watched Warner Bros. films. He distributed online surveys to figure out why and found that the scary-movie watchers were faring better during quarantine than non-scary-movie watchers. Morbid curiosity, as a trait, seems to make people more resilient to psychological distress. Scrivner’s latest preliminary research suggests that people who have experienced trauma are more likely to engage in morbid curiosity, perhaps using it as a way to process negative thoughts or to feel prepared for other bad things that may happen in the future. “Just anecdotally, if you look on Reddit or online horror forums or talk to horror fans, a lot of them will say that they use horror to cope with traumas in their life or cope with anxiety or depression,” Scrivner says. You can try this yourself: The next time you’re feeling bad, put on a scary movie. It may help even out a depressed mood or focus your anxiety on an external source, rather than on the problems you’re ruminating about. —J. D. G.

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OUTSMART A FEAR OF NEEDLES Ben Court, Men’s Health executive editor, on how he dealt with injections.

PHILLIP ATIBA GOFF,

Ph.D., cofounder of the Center for Policing Equity at Yale University, surveyed more than 700 police officers in 2018 to better understand how bias impacts public safety. One finding seemed ironic: Police who were afraid of being seen as racist were more likely to resort to coercive tactics when dealing with community members. This, Goff explains, is a stereotype threat, a concern with being evaluated in terms of a negative stereotype about one’s group. It often leads to underperformance, and while not tied to fear, may be exacerbated by it. “When we’re in a fear state, we’re also often in a scarcity mindset,” he says. “You start hoarding resources, like information. Stereotypes are shortcuts that help us make better sense of the world.” Those shortcuts backfire for a number of reasons, but often when we perceive others stereotyping us. In the instance of those police surveyed, they resorted to coercion when their sense of legal authority failed, says Goff,

in the end affirming the stereotype they tried to avoid. The effect has serious implications; in the U. S., Black men are two and a half times as likely as white men to be killed by police. Overcoming bias is a complex personal and societal problem. Diversity in the workplace is one promising way to change stereotypes. You can take a digital implicit-association quiz at Project Implicit. (There are tests that examine you for biases related to weight, gender, age, disability, and race.) Another tactic is to remind yourself to evaluate people based on their personal characteristics rather than those affiliated with a group. Still, Goff argues, systemic change is necessary—and buzzy anti-racism training isn’t enough. “There’s this translation of anti-racism as if it’s a self-help concept,” he says. “But if we reduce resisting racism to just a thing that makes you a better person, we missed the damn point.”

—JOSH OCAMPO

Ever since I had a botched blood draw while delirious with malaria as a kid, I fainted when getting injections. Yup, embarrassing. Recently a doctor told me to tense and relax the muscles in alternating limbs—not the biceps area—and breathe deeply through my nose. It stabilizes your blood pressure, and I haven’t fainted ever again. MEN’S HEALTH

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I Am Stalked,

Asleep and Awake

When fear and hallucinations and PTSD collide, I claw my way back by anchoring myself in reality. BY C. J. CHIVERS

THE VISIONS OF violence come without

prompts I can anticipate or perceive, typically in moments of tranquility and rest. I’ll be dozing off near a woodstove on a chilly night, perhaps with my dog at my feet. Or I’ll be reclined in bed with a book under a summer moon, in the last moments before sleep, put to ease by the whir of a window fan. Then it will happen—any of a trio of recurring visual phenomena that clinicians call hypnagogic hallucinations. In one, a hand holding a brick or a grapefruit-sized stone slams down on my face. I almost feel the crunch. In another, a sharp ax strikes the back of my neck. It passes clean through. In the third, I am pelted by a stone that strikes the side of my head. I sense an angry mob closing in. Each vision is but a flash, over as soon as it begins. The effects endure. First I jolt to alertness, flushed by the chemistry of fear. My heart rate will soar, my breathing will quicken, and my muscles will tighten and twitch as if ready for a decisive act—a sprint for safety or a lunge into a fight. I will have passed from near sleep to full arousal in a blink. Then comes the climb-down. In many ways I am lucky. When the hallucinations jump-start my body into high RPM, I disassociate from my surroundings only briefly. Though I feel an instant of pain at the imagined impact of stone or blade, my lurch into overdrive is quickly followed by an awareness that there is no such threat. My mind senses, then assesses, reality. I realize I am in bed or on a chair in a quiet

room. I am not bleeding, not wounded, not dead. There is no assailant, no menacing crowd, no pressure to decide whether to fight back or escape. I take over and override whatever has overridden me. Dreaming again, I’ll mutter, with a choice word or two added, and go meta, coaching myself to process my unwanted surge. I’ll rise to pace rooms in the dark, sometimes stopping to lean against a bathroom sink and look in the mirror, confirming that I have suffered no physical harm beyond that I might be haggard with insomnia. I’ll pour and drink a glass of tap water. I might engage in a breathing exercise. Soon my heart rate settles. With time I reclaim a sense of sanctuary and calm. Then, if mind and body will agree, I try returning to rest.

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THERAPY HAS TAUGHT ME that my

hallucinations are associated with PTSD, that complex ailment for which I am supposedly primed by a life around organized violence, terrorism, and war, as well as by volatility in personal and professional relationships. Put simply, this is a condition picked up in the provinces of conflict and fear. I am a former Marine, was present at the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. I spent years alongside combatants in multiple wars, and survived near misses in many ambushes, and once, an air strike. For years I mastered the expressionless face and channeled whatever happened into preparing for, and learning how to survive, the next bad

event, into which I willingly headed. My work required proximity to extraordinary violence and the abuse of power, along with association with unsavory people and a boss or two who, in hindsight, were not qualified to lead. The history matters to me now, because after being exposed to many years of trauma and dread, with incidents beyond counting, and concurrently suffering disillusionment with authority and betrayal by a senior manager, I have learned to hesitate when pinpointing the sources of my malady. I am, however, familiar with its manifestations, which are a bundle of reactions to fears I once suppressed: a penchant for readiness and preparation, an urge to avoid crowds and the danger they may pose, a susceptibility to startling, and almost an overpowering activation when my mind perceives danger. The threats can be real or, as with the hallucinations, imagined. Either way, my symptoms are bathed in fear, an irrefutably necessary sensation (fear informs actions and judgments that are essential to our survival) that now runs amok. It feels as if fear reactions, which can be lifesavers, are stored in the brain, ready to be released viscerally and automatically when tripped. The grab bag of reactions and behaviors in my case are not atypical. In The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the author David J. Morris, a former infantry Marine officer and reporter in occupied Iraq, embraced the confusing elements of life after trauma. “PTSD, as it is understood today,” he wrote, “is a very heterogeneous disease, essentially a junk drawer of disconnected symptoms, which include a numbing of the emotions, hypervigilance, social isolation, and a variety of intrusive manifestations, such as nightmares or hallucinations.” Molly Boehm, a licensed clinical social worker in Washington, D. C., who formerly worked with wounded service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, tells clients suffering from PTSD that it is as if mind and body, once exposed to a stressful enough trauma, keep returning to a primitive mode. “When I am explaining the concept, I tell them they are almost in a time machine and brought back to that moment of past trauma,” she says. “It’s like you are seeing a saber-toothed tiger in your living room, and perceive a threat to your health, safe-

ty, and well-being.” What I describe as a “fear chemistry” that sometimes floods me Boehm interprets as “adrenaline, cortisol, and other reactions we don’t even fully understand yet, such as the inflammatory response.”

PUBLIC PERCEPTION often associ-

ates PTSD with veterans of war. On one level, attention on the relationship of combat and PTSD has value, as young combatants, like young athletes, can be prone to a sense of invincibility, and the male-dominated ethos of martial culture can discourage veterans from admitting to pain and seeking help. Public attention can reduce stigma. But on another level, the association of PTSD with veterans can be a disservice, as it risks occluding trauma’s effects on an immeasurably larger cross-section of people, including refugees, victims of sexual violence and abusive relationships, survivors of workplace or vehicular accidents or any number of other frightening experiences, like natural disasters, fires, bullying, or stalking. Almost anyone around us can quietly be suffering from PTSD, and their triggers for a full-blown reaction might seem harmless or small: a slightly raised voice, an accidentally slammed door, a car horn, the onset of night. One time, the image that sent me into high RPM was the bottom of a broken bottle discarded in a salt pond. I was walking on exposed muck at low tide, harvesting clams on a winter afternoon, scratching mud with a stainless-steel rake. When I glimpsed the circular object on the bottom in my peripheral vision, my mind mistook it for a PMN land mine, a common weapon in Afghanistan that had claimed the legs of a friend, something I had spent years scanning for as I walked. My mind leaped into its heightened state. I was awash in emotions with my fear neurocircuitry fully activated. Heart pounding, lungs swelling, my quadriceps and back muscles rippling for action, I froze. Then I reassessed. There’s no land mine here, I told myself, staring at the little disk until it assumed its harmless shape. To anyone watching from shore, I must have been an odd sight—harvesting one moment, statue-still the next. I was aware of this as I reset myself, and did not care. I was trying to return to the moment, and get on with my life as I know it can be.

ASK THE SCARY QUESTIONS Kiese Laymon, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, riffs on facing his greatest fear: being more compassionate. I’m really terrified of asking people whom I love how I can be better to them. That’s a hard thing to say. “I love you, but lemme ask: How do you think I could love you differently? Let me talk to you about what I think my capabilities are.” I’m terrified of asking myself that— like a PSA. Honestly, what can you do today to love yourself better? Or to accept love better from other people? Unless we will ourselves to ask ourselves these questions: “Can we be better at love?” And, “Do we want to be?” To me, those are two of the craziest, scariest questions in the world. I just think we have to be better. Because what we’re seeing in this country, among other things, is people aren’t really good at loving the people they say they love. We’re not really good at loving ourselves. We’re not really good at loving our partners. We’re not really good at loving the country. Not really. Not really.

Banish Your Fear of Failure Escape a negative feedback loop with these tips from clinical psychologist Ellen Hendriksen, Ph.D., author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety.

IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC FEAR

ANSWER WHAT-IFS?

Anxiety is often vague: “What if I fail?” or “What if something bad happens?” Narrowing down the fears makes them more specific and manageable.

When you start answering the worst-case-scenario questions, you start to plan how you would cope, deweaponize anxiety, and reduce stress.

TRY MENTAL CONTRASTING

FAILURE IS NOT FOREVER

When visualizing a plan to overcome failure, don’t just imagine success. Visualize the grind as well. This prepares you to better anticipate roadblocks.

Failure is an event, not an identity. Remember that failure is a temporary experience, not a destination. It doesn’t feel good, but learn something and move on.

Rewire Your Fight-or-Flight Circuitry Overcome any fear using this simple strategy, says the Iceman, Wim Hof, author of The Wim Hof Method. After Wim Hof’s wife committed suicide in 1995, the father of four was paralyzed with fear, and to regain control, he experimented by seeing how much exposure to freezing cold he could endure. By breathing deeply and focusing his mind, he was able to warm his core and skin temperature. He effectively trained his mind not to freak out when his body was sending fear signals.

TWO-MINUTE WONDER You can do the same by taking a daily cold (under60-degree) shower for two minutes. You can start with a warm shower, and then spray only your feet and legs, then gradually go to full immersion for as long as you can handle—30 seconds is a reasonable initial goal, with two minutes the target. After doing this five days a week for four weeks, your mind will start to override the fightor-flight response, and you will feel empowered in other situations when facing fear. —B. C.

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CAN CROSSFIT’S TECHY NEW CEO, ERIC ROZA ( ), AND ITS CONTROVERSIAL EXERCISE PICASSO, DAVE CASTRO ( ), TRANSFORM THE TOXIC FITNESS GIANT AND LEAD IT TOWARD A HEALTHIER, MORE INCLUSIVE, AND MORE EXPANSIVE FUTURE?

REINVENTING THE

B BY

MICHAEL EASTER

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY CORY RICHARDS (ROZA) & CODY PICKENS (CASTRO)

After 50 miles, Roza turned off Highway 101 and onto a dirt road leading to a hilly 65-acre ranch anchored by a warehouse filled with squat rigs, barbells, med balls, rowers, and more. This was the CrossFit Ranch in Aromas, California, made famous as the site of the first CrossFit Games, which have tested the bodies and minds of the world’s fittest masochists since 2007. Ruling over this sprawl was Dave Castro, 43, the director of the Games, who is widely considered the architect of the CrossFit ethos. He had built the company alongside founder Greg Glassman, creatively translating Glassman’s elegant formula for fitness—“perform constantly varied functional movements at high intensity”—into public displays in the CrossFit Games and, probably, in some CrossFit workout of the day you ripped off the Internet once. The two had been the equivalent of Jobs and Woz. Glassman the brilliant but mercurial big-idea guy, Castro the fastidious engineer and executor. And things at CrossFit were great. Then fine. Then not very good at all, which is why, at the time of Roza’s visit to the ranch, Castro was finishing up a short stint as the company’s CEO and about to have a potentially awkward conversation with his new boss and CEO. “I wasn’t sure how Dave would respond,” says Roza. (Picture a Colorado-y Jason Statham who includes “he/him” in his email signature and shops at Whole Foods.) “[Castro] is a hard-ass. He’s lived in the world of the Navy SEALs and CrossFit his entire professional career.” Castro was the type of person who was CrossFitting when CrossFit was a garage gym that had a shitty website blasting unconventional workouts and training 108 JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021 | MEN’S HEALTH

theories into the universe, a sort of fitness SETI experiment. This was all well before grandmothers and Matt Damon started doing WODs. But Castro knew that his beloved brand needed an overhaul. Its trajectory was plateauing, growing 11 percent from 2016 to 2018, versus 60 percent from 2012 to 2014. So was participation in the CrossFit Open, an elimination contest for the CrossFit Games that anyone can enter. It went from roughly half a million athletes in 2018 to about 350,000 and 240,000 in 2019 and 2020, respectively (and the Open finished months before the pandemic struck). By April 2020, COVID-19 lockdowns had closed 89 percent of affiliates worldwide. Then on June 3, Alyssa Royse, who owned Rocket CrossFit in Seattle, wrote a letter. Royse had run her CrossFit box for nine years and, due to her work counseling the brand on trans inclusion, had been dubbed by members of leadership “the conscience of CrossFit.” In her 2,700-word letter to CrossFit leadership, she conveyed that Rocket CrossFit

Andrew Hetherington/Redux Pictures

On June 27, 2020, Eric Roza masked up and flew from Boulder, Colorado, to San Jose, California, where he rented a car and began driving south. A tech entrepreneur who made his name and fortune with a data company he sold to Oracle for $1.2 billion in 2014, Roza, 53, had just spent, according to one source, $200 million buying CrossFit Inc., the largest fitness chain in the world, somewhat bigger than Dunkin’ and somewhat smaller than Domino’s. At its peak, you could have found one of the more than 15,000 CrossFit affiliates at most latitudes and longitudes around the world—in Nuuk, Greenland; in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; in Païta, New Caledonia; in Gillette, Wyoming. Roza had big ideas that he believed could radically change the brand. And despite the Starbucks-level ubiquity of CrossFit boxes and the titanic role the company has played in the functional-fitness boom of the 21st century, CrossFit needed to change—desperately.

was unlikely to renew its affiliation, since the brand’s hands-off approach to business was no longer working. The pandemic was in full swing and a social-justice movement was sweeping across the country, and through it all, CrossFit had been silent. “The absence of real leadership didn’t matter much when the world wasn’t in crisis. But it matters now, a lot,” Royse wrote. And over recent years, CrossFit had displayed, she wrote, “incoherent brand identity that is losing value, absent leadership at a time when leadership is most important, and a moral ambiguity that doesn’t jibe with the zeitgeist or our own values.” “I’d had very open dialogues [with CrossFit corporate] about pretty much everything,” she says today. “And I sent the letter in that spirit.” Glassman responded two days later. “You think you’re more virtuous than we are. It’s disgusting,” he wrote. “You’re doing your best to brand us as a racist and you know it’s bullshit. That makes you a really shitty person.” On June 5, Royse published her email and Glassman’s response. So began Glassman’s meltdown. Over the next four days, he would write an offensive tweet (belittling the pandemic and the death of George Floyd as “Floyd-19”) and BuzzFeed would publish audio from a Zoom call in which Glassman says, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd. Can you tell me why I should mourn for him? Other than that it’s the white thing to do . . . .” “When that came out, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re not supporting this at all anymore,’ ” says two-time Games competitor Elijah Muhammad, one of the sport’s most prominent Black athletes and the owner of the Iowa-based box Unorthodox Fitness, which de-affiliated immediately. Reebok, Rogue Fitness, and many other companies quickly announced they would end their partnerships or relationships with CrossFit. So did superstar athletes like Chandler Smith and Rich Froning Jr. “I was leaving money on the table, but I couldn’t ethically support CrossFit anymore,” says Smith, who is Black. Froning, who is white, announced on Instagram that he “cannot and will not stand with these comments or beliefs.” A list of nearly 500 boxes de-affiliating or considering de-affiliating circulated around the CrossFit community. Glassman stepped down as CEO on June 9. Castro replaced him and immediately issued an open letter promising to fix HQ and create programs to effect positive change. Many CrossFitters, Muhammad included, didn’t think the

brand’s issues could be solved so long as Glassman maintained full ownership. Then, on June 20, The New York Times published a story detailing how women at the company were systematically mistreated and faced “lewd assessment of their bodies.” On June 24, Roza announced that he had teamed up with an investment firm, Berkshire Partners, and bought CrossFit from Glassman. Roza had actually first eyed buying CrossFit in 2013, after getting hooked on the workouts and building a CrossFit box for employees at his tech firm. “Glassman would never sell” was the response he received. But the mistake of one rich guy led to an opportunity for another, and Roza had his shot. Immediately after the paperwork went through, Castro and Roza, who had never met in person, held a Zoom call streamed over YouTube Live to the CrossFit community. Castro opened by acknowledging the recent turmoil before introducing Roza, noting that he owned an affiliate, CrossFit Sanitas in Boulder, and had been doing CrossFit for a decade. To save the brand, Roza believed it needed to evolve and be more like Roza himself: techy, corporate, progressive, and woke. In the 27-minute stream, he talked business and let everyone know there was no ambiguity: “We are committed to being a really broadly inclusive community.” But whether those 500 or so CrossFit affiliates and famous athletes would return to Roza’s evolving CrossFit was anyone’s guess. Roza needed an ally. Someone to signal that the brand would, yeah, maybe be a bit more sensitive but would remain ruthless when it came to the training methodology. But would a hardcharging, gun-loving SEAL be the right fit for the new, more kumbaya CrossFit?

T Courtesy Auburn Media (Royse). Courtesy CrossFit (Games).

THE 2020 CROSSFIT GAMES WERE

just a couple weeks away when I, like Roza, went to the ranch to speak with Castro. We spent an hour rucking a trail that winds three miles through hills and gullies and were blurting sentences through heavy breaths as we climbed out of a ravine. Castro, who is a skinny-strong six feet tall, told me he tried CrossFit as an active-duty Navy SEAL in 2005 and immediately saw many benefits. “I had a ton of endurance hiking and was more explosive on targets.” The Navy then stationed him in Monterey, California—a 45-minute drive from both his home and Glassman’s original CrossFit gym. “I just started volunteering for stuff. I had an official role within seven months.” CrossFit was always run like Burning

Above: Alyssa Royse at the 2019 CrossFit Games, during the All Inclusive Partner Row. Below: The 2020 CrossFit Games winners. Left: Greg Glassman in New York City in 2013.

Man. Anyone could attend a $1,000 two-day certification, then pay a $3,000 annual fee to license the CrossFit name and put it over their gym. Corporate’s role was to license the name, hold trainingcertification seminars, and defend the trademark at all costs. But it offered a strong value proposition to gym owners. It takes an estimated $30,000 to open a CrossFit gym, while big-box gyms require an initial investment of $1 million to $4 million. The benefit to CrossFit members was that for anywhere from $100 to $300 a month, they’d receive professional coaching, make a bunch of new friends in group workouts, and get freakishly fit. By 2007, CrossFit had 250 affiliates. “Which is when [Glassman] came to the ranch,” says Castro. “He said, ‘We should have a Woodstock of fitness here.’ ” Castro, the military man with a creative streak, was tasked with designing and running it. The annual Games set CrossFit apart from other fitness methods, attracting new members to boxes and giving CrossFitters a reason to train harder and test their fitness. It also bred a sense of shared purpose—like a sweatier church. Researchers at the Harvard Divinity School report that CrossFit for many is replacing traditional faiths by “blending a sense of community and self-awareness in resemblance of religion.” By 2011, CrossFit had 3,000 boxes and 26,000 people competing in the Open. That year’s Games were held at a packed Home Depot Center in Carson, California, and broadcast on ESPN, and CrossFit had inked a ten-year sponsorship and athletic-wear deal with Reebok. “That’s

when I realized [CrossFit] was going to be huge,” says Castro. Glassman owned 100 percent of the company, had no board of directors, and was “a fighter by nature. He thrives on conflict and friction,” says Castro. Detractors? Tons. CrossFit was the fitness equivalent of Donald Trump, Duke basketball, or pineapple pizza. You either loved it or hated it. Glassman’s response to the haters: “There are whole communities, they just hate my fucking guts. And, you know, that’s something I’m proud of. Why? ’Cause they’re losers. They’re fucking idiots. Obvious idiots,” he told Outside in January 2020. (Glassman could not be reached for comment.) But Glassman’s bravado, until recently, only cemented CrossFit as something hard and authentic in an increasingly soft, censored world. By 2014, there were 10,000 boxes and the money was flowing in. He started spending most of his time out enjoying himself, says Justin LoFranco, founder of the Morning Chalk Up, a CrossFit news outlet. A private plane, mansions, souped-up cars, etc. Castro, meanwhile, stuck to his mission of perfecting the Games.

The CrossFit Open and Games events drew inspiration from Castro’s varied interests—classic literature, theater, firearms (a point of criticism), and more. He evolved into the public face of CrossFit corporate, gathering more than 750,000 Instagram followers for the Games. Eventually Glassman got jealous, unceremoniously fired Castro’s handpicked media and operations staff overnight in 2018, and downgraded the Games, instead focusing the company’s resources on general health. Numbers at the Open fell, and in 2019 the games lost CBS as an official broadcaster. Some of Glassman’s decisions seemed erratic and deleterious, says Andre Crews, owner of 150 Bay Fit in Jersey City MEN’S HEALTH

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CASTRO AND I WERE STILL IN OUR

workout clothes as we sat at Dona Esther’s Mexican restaurant in San Juan Batista. He was telling me about his monthlong tenure as CEO. “I was getting hit with claims that I was complicit in racism and that CrossFit headquarters had a problem with diversity,” he said. “I was surprised and, frankly, disappointed that nobody mentioned or pointed out that the new CEO of CrossFit was Mexican American. I’ve experienced racism. I was hurt by and struggled with some of the feedback from the community. And more often than not, it was white people screaming at me about the diversity thing.” He also addressed the New York Times article about the company’s treatment of women. “Greg was an asshole,” he said. “Yes, he was an asshole to women. But he was also an asshole to men.” He set his fork and knife down. “That’s from my perspective. And I understand there are individuals who had different experiences that I never saw. And that’s part of the dynamic here, too.” Castro didn’t want to say much more than that. He still seems to hold something of a conflicted soft spot for his previous boss. “Greg saved my life,” Castro had mentioned while we hiked. “When I decided to go full-time at CrossFit, I was planning to do eight more years in the SEALs, and in that time with that job I could have died four times over.” Other corporations, like Papa John’s, have made full recoveries after replacing toxic founding CEOs. Before he’ll re-affiliate, Muhammad would like to “see CrossFit make ways for gyms to be more diverse,” he says. “It takes conscious effort to improve diversity. The brand always stated that it was for everyone. Everyone. We’re not seeing everyone.” Meantime, Muhammad has started Project Onyx, which gives free memberships and CrossFit-style courses to Black community members. Castro himself has led or participated in similar programs, including one with Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, a socialservices center for underserved youth in Monterey County. Teens in the program, who were all Mexican American, regularly came to train and learn about Cross110 JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2021 | MEN’S HEALTH

Fit. Seeing the benefits of that program, Castro, in one of his first moves as CEO, started a scholarship that hosts free Level 1 trainer certifications for teens in at-risk communities. The first scholarship drew teens to CrossFit Downtown Atlanta over the second weekend of July. “We’re not just teaching them how to do CrossFit,” says Castro, who acted as an instructor at the event, something he hadn’t done in years. “We’re giving these youth an opportunity for a skill set where, down the road, they could open a gym and make a living off it.” The program, Castro thought, would also arm young people with fitness and nutrition information that may allow them to make meaningful health-care changes in their communities. Royse, the conscience of CrossFit, would like to see scholarship spots expanded to all Level 1 trainer certifications. “Affiliates can only hire CrossFitcertified coaches. When I ran my affiliate,

I was limited to hiring people with CrossFit certifications, and more often than not, those people were white,” she says. “Say, five or six spots in every single certification for BIPOC coaches. That would get more BIPOC coaches in gyms.” The brand also has offered scholarships in Portland, Oregon, and in Nashville and made its hierarchy more diverse, hiring former SoulCycle SVP Gary Gaines as new GM of international and Dilan Gomih, former project lead of Harvard Business School’s Anti-Racism Task Force, as the director of strategic initiatives. It has created a $7 million endowment for public-health programs in underserved communities, including free or low-cost CrossFit. “The knee jerk for a lot of organizations is to just come in and do,” says Trish Gerlitz, CrossFit’s vice president of culture and inclusion, a new role created by Roza. Instead, they are “listening,” opening the lines for affiliates and members to voice their opinions. The challenge is respecting the traditionally laissez-faire business model that franchise owners bought into while

also improving the culture and diversity within boxes. One of the huge strengths of CrossFit (and a reason it grew so fast and has potential to help solve the problem of fitness deserts in marginalized communities) is that starting a box is cheap. Yet it’s still unaffordable for many people. Roza says that, upon taking the job, he was surprised to learn that “there are over 300 [CrossFit] gyms in K-through-12 schools in the U. S. There has never been any market development there.” Some of the important paths to more diversity may be indirect, says Smith, who placed sixth in the 2020 Games. He hopes to see a rebuilding of the CrossFit media team. “If you’re not telling stories, then whatever the prevailing narrative is takes over,” he says. “I go to a lot of different boxes and it’s always been welcoming. I’ve met more members of the LGBTQ community, young and old, people with different views, through CrossFit.” This is also why some people argue that CrossFit’s problem hasn’t been with the fitness methodology or what happens inside the boxes. It’s been at the corporate level. Gerlitz hired a third party, Diversity Solutions, to help with its inclusivity initiatives. “And we’re launching a diversity council,” she says. “I’ve seen [diversity measures] be done badly by people who were well-meaning,” adds Roza. “We have to build inclusion into the institutional fabric of the brand. And what I’m hearing from people is ‘We want you to focus on race, but we also need to be more sensitive around people with different religions and belief systems, gender preferences and identities, body shapes, and more.’ ”

WHEN A SEAL AND A COMPUTER nerd meet, the SEAL will always have the upper hand, in coolness, toughness, life experience (even if the nerd ends up saving the SEAL later). And so it was that at their initial meeting at the ranch in June, Roza was “uh . . . reticent. I’m not usually a reticent guy, but I was, you know, throwing out new ideas,” he says via Zoom from CrossFit’s temporary HQ in Boulder. In the back of his mind, he assumed Castro was thinking, “Who the hell is this guy? What does he know? What does he know about CrossFit, the CrossFit Games, and live events in general?” Roza says. “To be fair, the answer would be zero. Zero-pointzero would be the right answer. “But,” Roza says of Castro, “he was really cool and welcoming of outside perspectives.” Perhaps Castro was just buttering his new boss up for a big request:

Courtesy CrossFit

(which de-affiliated following Glassman’s comments). After Glassman axed community-building regional events, he also abruptly shuttered the brand’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. “It turned to this radio-silent organization who was just taking money from you,” says Crews.

Above: Chandler Smith competing at the 2020 CrossFit Games. Left: The first scholarship event in Atlanta, July 2020.

“He said, ‘We’ve got to do the Games and get it right,’ ” says Roza. This was late June 2020, and major sports were starting to come back in pandemic-altered ways. Holding the Games, Castro believed, would be a first step toward reuniting the fractured community. It would show the sponsors who’d bailed that the new regime was committed to moving forward. The Games launched in late October at the ranch in a pandemic-conscious format. With Glassman gone, HQ was able to scramble to gain back sponsors like Goruck, U. S. Army, Whoop, and Rogue. “We got CBS to come along as a broadcaster,” says Roza. Roughly 400,000 people tuned into the CBS broadcast, part of the 11.5 million total who watched the Games on TV and various streaming platforms, up 31 percent from 2019. Castro believed that, under Glassman, he’d been held back from making CrossFit into one of the biggest sports in the world. Bigger than the UFC. “In our sport, we can have a majority of people who are watching the sport also going to affiliates and participating in the sport and involved in the community,” he says. Roza has an objective of his own. “In ten years, my goal is to have 100 million people doing CrossFit,” he says. The com-

petitions, already global, with the top 30 men and 30 women representing 15 countries, serve as an annual, international reminder that the WODs really work. Building the competitive side of CrossFit, the two think, can also serve as a launching pad for a longer-term goal: pulling more people from different backgrounds into the fold. “Dave and I spent a lot of time thinking about how we can make the future Games even more inclusive for more people to participate,” says Roza. For the first time, the 2021 Games will include adaptive categories for people with disabilities, like the Paralympics. But Roza will face a few business conundrums. A common experience among CrossFitters is looking for a “good” CrossFit box—a box with competent trainers, a friendly atmosphere, and an approach to the method that will push but not injure them. Which is why Royse’s letter called out CrossFit’s “incoherent brand identity.” “If you ask strangers on the street what CrossFit is, you’ll get infinitely varied answers,” Royse says. “Anybody walking down the street should be able to see a CrossFit gym and have a baseline expectation of what they will find.” High-intensity, functional-training gym chains like Orangetheory and F45, Royse says, are gaining ground on CrossFit by delivering customers a predictable experience in all of their locations. “The beauty of CrossFit is that [the affiliates]

CROSSFIT COULD BE ONE OF

Courtesy CrossFit

are all different, but there needs to be some agreed-upon standards,” she says. Roza says he understands the upsides of Glassman’s laissez-faire model. But taken to the extreme, it ignored many opportunities. He’s planning to create best practices, scalability, and robustness in the business through automation and information sharing. Affiliates will be networked so they can swap advice. (When running CrossFit Sanitas, he found that mothers bring in the most new members, whereas most CrossFit coaches try to attract amazing athletes.) He’ll also develop a consumer app, and CrossFit will “use technology to translate information, so people don’t have to speak English to be CrossFitters.” Making concerted efforts to grow CrossFit around the globe, Roza says, will add a lot of different people and could get him to 100 million. Brazil, for example, saw its number of affiliates rocket by more than 50 percent in 2018, to 1,150. But all these changes are happening in the context of a pandemic that created a massive ripple in the gym model. More people are now doing CrossFit at home and will be in the future. And any paid apps would have to offer a better product than what can be found online for free. WODwell, a free searchable database of thousands of CrossFit workouts maintained by the community, for instance, has seen more than double the traffic to its website during the pandemic. But is a religion a religion without the church?

THE BIGGEST SPORTS IN THE WORLD. BIGGER THAN THE UFC. THE GOAL IS

100 MILLION PEOPLE IN TEN YEARS.

SOON AFTER HIS TRIP TO THE

ranch, Roza called on another person. “Mutual friends connected us and said, ‘You guys should really talk,’ ” says Royse, who agreed to speak to the new CrossFit owner. The two, along with Gerlitz, spoke about Royse’s experience as an affiliate owner, her letter, the recent fallout, and what CrossFit plans to do to move forward. “They have a huge job ahead of them. A huge job,” Royse says. “I left my conversations with all of them thinking that I believe these to be good people. That’s a really positive change.” But she says she’s not immediately jumping back on as an affiliate. “I would like to come back. But not being an affiliate hasn’t hurt us at all. I can hire and have access to a more diverse collection of coaches. I’m looking for reasons to come back. But I need to see the systemic changes. They’re saying all the right things. We need to actually see it.” MICHAEL EASTER is the former fitness editor of Men’s Health.

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METROGRADES THIS MONTH

AMERICA’S BOOZIEST CITIES BOOZIEST

WE’RE ALL FOR raising a glass (or two) a day—that’s what the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services likes to call moderate drinking. But in places where the drinks really flow, there resides danger. We analyzed 100 major U. S. cities for their drinking habits, including stats on underage drinking and the percentage of alcohol-related driving deaths, plus rates of diseases indicating long-term alcohol overuse. The results of identifying the booziest cities in America: sobering (and incentive to give Dry January a try).

L E A ST B O O Z Y

1. Reno, NV

91. New York, NY

2. Denver, CO

92. Orlando, FL

3. Billings, MT

93. San Jose, CA

4. Milwaukee, WI

94. Birmingham, AL

5. Fargo, ND

95. Atlanta, GA

6. Madison, WI

96. Newark, NJ

7. Portland, ME

97. Salt Lake City, UT

8. Toledo, OH

98. Jackson, MS

9. Washington, DC

99. Miami, FL

10. Charleston, SC

100. Memphis, TN

99.

RENO,

FARGO,

MIAMI,

NEVADA

NORTH DAKOTA

FLORIDA

The Biggest Little City has a big problem. Reno had the worst “health impact” score among the booziest ten, meaning that its death rates from alcoholrelated illnesses (cirrhosis, chronic liver disease, alcohol-use disorder) were among the highest of the cities analyzed. If you’re obese or you frequently bingedrink (five or more drinks in two hours for men), you’re putting yourself at a greater risk of liver disease.

This city was among those that had the highest number of underage drinkers. Yes, it’s home to the frequently dubbed “party school” North Dakota State University, but the state is fighting the culture with the very thing students fear most: more school. As of 2018, minors charged with possession or consumption of alcohol face an eight-hour course about the health-related dangers of binge drinking, in addition to possible fines and jail time.

Despite the abundance of clubs and the infamous 5:00 A.M. last call, Miami scored well in nearly every category of our assessment. The city had a lower health-impact score and the second-lowest incidence of alcohol-related driving deaths. Florida also prohibits operating a boat while under the influence (a “BUI” and, yes, seriously). For first offenders, fines start at $500, with a max sentence of six months in prison.

METHODOLOGY E xcessive drinking (percentage of a city’s population that reports binge or heavy drinking within the past 30 days) accounts for 40 percent of our weighted rankings. Alcohol-impaired driving deaths make up 25 percent, a “health impact” score based on rates of death from alcohol-related illnesses (cirrhosis, chronic liver disease, and alcohol-use disorder) makes up 20, and underage drinking (combined rates of alcohol use and binge drinking within the last 30 days among individuals aged 12 to 20) makes up the last 15. Sources: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

To see where your city ranks on our list of 100, go to MensHealth.com/boozycities.

Men’s Health (ISSN 1054-4836) Vol. 36, No. 1 is published 10 times per year, monthly except combined issues in January/February and July/August and when future combined issues are published that count as two issues as indicated on the issue’s cover, by Hearst at 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019. Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief Executive Officer; William R. Hearst III, Chairman; Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Executive Vice Chairman; Mark E. Aldam, Chief Operating Officer. Hearst Magazines, Inc.: Debi Chirichella, President, Hearst Magazines Group, and Treasurer; Kate Lewis, Chief Content Officer; Jack A. Rohan Jr., Senior Vice President, Finance; Kristen M. O’Hara, Chief Business Officer; Catherine A. Bostron, Secretary. Copyright 2021 by Hearst Magazines, Inc. All rights reserved. Men’s Health is a registered trademark of Hearst Magazines, Inc. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address changes to Men’s Health Customer Service, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593-1500. IN CANADA: Postage paid at Gateway, Mississauga, Ontario; Canada Post International Publication Mail (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40012499. Postmaster (Canada): Send returns and address changes to Men’s Health magazine, P.O. Box 927, Stn Main, Markham ON L3P 9Z9 (GST# R122988611). Mailing Lists: From time to time we make our subscriber list available to companies that sell goods and services by mail that we believe would interest our readers. If you would rather not receive such mailings by postal mail, please send your current mailing label or exact copy to: Men’s Health, Mail Preference Center, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA, 51593. You can also visit preferences.hearstmags.com to manage your preferences and opt out of receiving marketing offers by email. Customer Service: Visit service.menshealth.com or write to Men’s Health Customer Service, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593-1500.

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