Hahahaha by Dosnaosya22

The

Issue

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING 101 /HAFTHOR BJORNSSON UNLEASHED /AGE-PROOF MUSCLE

LOSE YOUR

GUT Gym-Free Abs In Just 28 Days Burn Fat 24/7 Crank Up Your Metabolism

WAYS TO BOOST YOUR MENTAL * TOUGHNESS *WITHOUT BEING TOLD TO MAN UP

31 Podcasts That’ll Change Your Life! Meet The New Voice Coaches

OF THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN WELLNESS SPECIAL REPORT

Black Death

The Year Racism Became A Public Health Issue BRADLEY SIMMONDS, 26, PERSONAL TRAINER, MAN OF INFLUENCE

10 9 771356 743163

OCTOBER 2020 £4.50

10/2020 THE STRENGTH ISSUE

FITNESS

WEIGHT LOSS

MUSCLE

P19 ARM YOURSELF

P39 KNOCKOUT TIPS

P16 A SEA CHANGE FOR GROWTH

Build stronger biceps and healthier shoulders with this clever combo

A new lean-eating plan can play havoc with your sleep. Our advice will help you rest easier and drop kilos more quickly

Research shows that wakame, the Japanese seaweed, is a post-workout ingredient that is certainly worth its salt

P54 GYM-FREE FAT BURN

P23 EASY DOES IT

Master seven new bodyweight moves to cull extra calories all month long

The scientific facts on why a rest day is the best way to build size in a hurry

P113 THE BEST OF THE WORST

P49 PILL-GOTTEN GAINS

Our geek’s guide to the move you love to hate will ensure every burpee counts

Dose up on everything you need to know about creatine in a single shot

P28 TRACK ’EM UP We’ve done the leg work to find the best GPS watches for your cardio

P123 GO OUT WITH A BANG A killer move that fuses a rolling squat and a burpee. Plus, the ladder workout that will end every session on a high

MIND

HEALTH

NUTRITION

P41 PROVE YOUR WORTH

P31 WE’D DOUBLE-TAP THAT

P20 DOUGH SELECTOR

Post-COVID, it’s clearer than ever that there’s much more to providing for your family than bread-winning

Not every trend on Insta delivers on the “wellness” it promises. Here’s one we like

Sourdough has risen above bread’s bad rep to reclaim its place in healthy diets. Here’s how to bake it – and eat it

P38 CLEAR BRAIN FOG

From pioneering scientists to tech innovators, these 26 men are changing your life – whether you know it or not

P27 PAILS IN COMPARISON

Hold the morning Americano. These pep pills will kick-start your cognitive powers

P45 OUTMUSCLE ANXIETY

P138 SHUCK OFF THE BLUES

P72 A SALAD FOR ALL SESSIONS

How using your core to reset your posture can straighten out your mental health

Harbouring mood-improving nutrients, this seafood treat is worth shelling out for

Far from bland rabbit fodder, a well-made salad can be heavyweight lifting fuel

8 MEN’S HEALTH

P63 THE MH INFLUENCER LIST 2020

Plant-based milks are more popular than ever, but which is best for your body?

IN THIS ISSUE

18 Ways To Build Mental Strength P86

YOUR MONTHLY FIX OF BRAINS AND BRAWN

ON THE COVER P114 FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

P24 AGE-PROOF MUSCLE

P50 RACISM AND HEALTH

Become stronger, fitter and more agile in a month with our three-part plan. Gym optional

Strengthen your core, reboot your posture and stay loose with our time-reversing tips

The real reason COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on the BAME population

P108 HAFÞÓR BJÖRNSSON

P32 TRAIN LIKE BRADLEY SIMMONDS

P80 MH PODCAST AWARDS

Having KO’d the deadlift world record, the strongman has a new challenge in his sights

The influential PT is inspiring his followers to reach higher, whatever their starting point. Get ready to test your limits

Our audit of the shows that will transform the way you train and think. Hit subscribe

COVER CREDITS PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID VENNI MODEL BRADLEY SIMMONDS STYLING GEORGIE GRAY USING UNDER ARMOUR GROOMING NAT SCHMITT

MEN’S HEALTH 9

THE EXPERT PANEL

EDITOR IN CHIEF

TOBY WISEMAN

TAKE STRENGTH IN THE ADVICE OF THESE AUTHORITIES DEPUTY EDITOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DAVID MORTON

WILLIAM JACK

SCARLETT WRENCH

ART EDITOR

PICTURE EDITOR

COMMISSIONING EDITOR (PRINT AND DIGITAL)

SARAH ANDERSON

CHIEF SUBEDITOR

By disrupting our work lives, lockdown has redefined the role of the “provider”. Heritage unpacks the baggage of male careerism p41

Record-smashing strongman and GoT icon Hafþór Björnsson explains why technique is crucial to raising the bar on your goals p108

Mental resilience is key to an easier life, but first you need to understand your emotions. Morin and others offer their insight and advice p86

AUTHOR

STRONGMAN

PSYCHOTHERAPIST

TED LANE

FITNESS EDITOR

DIGITAL EDITOR

YO ZUSHI

ANDREW TRACEY

DEPUTY DIGITAL EDITOR

SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONTENT MANAGER

ED COOPER

AMY MORIN

FEATURES EDITOR

VICI CAVE

JESSICA WEBB

THE MOUNTAIN

RACHAEL CLARK

ART DIRECTOR

PHOTO DIRECTOR

STUART HERITAGE

EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER

DECLAN FAHY

ROBERT HICKS DIGITAL WRITER

JOY EJARIA

DANIEL DAVIES

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: CONTACT@MENSHEALTH.CO.UK CHIEF INTERNATIONAL BRAND OFFICER MATT HAYES

GROUP BRAND DIRECTOR STEVEN MILES

HEARST SOLUTIONS CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER JANE WOLFSON

HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS MARK MCCAFFERTY

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HEAD OF CLIENTS OLLIE LLOYD BRANDED CONTENT DIRECTOR ALI GRAY

CLIENT DIRECTOR, WELLNESS NATASHA BAILEY

CLIENT DIRECTOR, BEAUTY LEE BAILEY

CLIENT DIRECTOR, FASHION EMMA BARNES

CLIENT DIRECTOR, MOTORS JIM CHAUDRY

CLIENT DIRECTOR, FINANCE PETE CAMMIDGE

CLIENT DIRECTOR, TRAVEL DENISE DEGROOT

CLIENT DIRECTOR, WATCHES AND JEWELLERY ANNA O’SULLIVAN

HEAD OF CLASSIFIED AND INDEPENDENTS LEE RIMMER

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: 020 3640 2220 CONSUMER SALES AND MARKETING HEAD OF SUBSCRIPTIONS, MARKETING AND CIRCULATION JUSTINE BOUCHER

CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS DIRECTOR JAMES HILL

MD, CONSUMER REVENUES AND MARKETING REID HOLLAND

DIGITAL MARKETING AND CRM DIRECTOR SEEMA KUMARI COMMUNICATIONS

WINSTON MORGAN

DREW PRICE NUTRITIONIST

ROBIN CARHARTHARRIS

Why is COVID-19 more lethal to BAME men than their white peers? Morgan makes the case that systemic racism, not biology, is to blame p50

More than just a green garnish, salads can be adapted for any training goal. Price shows how to toss up some matchless fitness fuel p72

In our rundown of the most influential men in health, Carhart-Harris explains the science of psychedelics p63

TOXICOLOGIST

DIRECTOR OF PR AND COMMUNICATIONS EFFIE KANYUA INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND PR EXECUTIVE OLIVIA BONNER

NEUROSCIENTIST

SHOWS AND EVENTS HEAD OF EVENTS AND CLIENT SERVICE, HEARST LIVE NIKKI CLARE

MANAGING DIRECTOR, EVENTS AND SPONSORSHIP, HEARST LIVE VICTORIA ARCHBOLD

PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR, HEARST LIVE SHIRIN NAZEMZADEH

SPONSORSHIP EXECUTIVE, HEARST LIVE ALICE MATTHEWS

EVENT ENQUIRIES: 07749 387715 PRODUCTION

THIS ISSUE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY… 9 ELITE TRAINERS

2 SPORTS SCIENTISTS

6 NUTRITION CONSULTANTS

2 MASTER CHEFS

5 UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS

1 CLINICAL BIOCHEMIST

4 LEADING AUTHORS

1 BRAIN RESEARCHER

3 MEN’S STYLE INSIDERS

1 PRO MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST

3 TOP-FLIGHT RESTAURATEURS

1 ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST

3 PSYCHOTHERAPISTS

AND 1 ALMIGHTY MAN MOUNTAIN

TOTAL

42 EXPERTS

10 MEN’S HEALTH

SENIOR AD PRODUCTION CONTROLLER PAUL LOCKETT

PRODUCTION MANAGER ROGER BILSLAND

HEARST MAGAZINES UK CEO, HEARST UK | PRESIDENT, HEARST EUROPE

JAMES WILDMAN

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHELLEY MEEKS

GENERAL ENQUIRIES: 020 7439 5000 MEN’S HEALTH IS PUBLISHED IN THE UK BY HEARST UK, A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF THE HEARST CORPORATION. HOUSE OF HEARST AT LSQ, 30 PANTON STREET, LONDON SW1Y 4AJ, TEL: 020 7312 3800. FAX: 020 7339 4444. COPYRIGHT © 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ISSN 1356-7438. MEN’S HEALTH IS PRINTED AND BOUND BY WALSTEAD ROCHE, VICTORIA BUSINESS PARK, ROCHE, ST AUSTELL, CORNWALL PL26 8LX. DISTRIBUTION BY COMAG. PUBLISHED 11 TIMES A YEAR. CONDITIONS APPLY. CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM AT HEARSTMAGAZINES.CO.UK/CONTACT-US OR CALL US ON 01858 438851. LINES OPEN WEEKDAYS, 8AM9.30PM; SATURDAYS, 8AM-4PM. OR YOU CAN POST YOUR QUERIES TO: MEN’S HEALTH, HEARST MAGAZINES UK, TOWER HOUSE, SOVEREIGN PARK, LATHKILL STREET, MARKET HARBOROUGH, LEICS LE16 9EF

EDITOR’S LETTER STAY POSITIVE AND FOCUSED IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

Over my 20-odd years in magazine journalism, never has the concept of a long-lead title felt so anachronistic. I’m writing this on a scorching evening in late July. You’ll be reading it in the last weeks of September, possibly in early October. I have an ice-cold cider on the go, following a sweaty, shirtless run. Meanwhile, there’s a good chance that you’re wearing a jumper. This much was ever thus. We’re used to writing about Christmas in autumn and summer in spring. It’s not usually too much of a stretch. We have a fair idea that, in the build-up to sunnier months, you’d like to shift some timber. Come January, we know that you’ll be looking for ways to reboot your mind, body and soul. But right now, I couldn’t tell you with any certainty what’s going to happen tomorrow. Yesterday, I ventured into the office. It was my third time since March. There was no special reason to do so other than that working from home has gradually morphed into living at work – I wanted a change of scenery. The desks were spaced a good 3m apart and largely unoccupied, but still, the return felt like a step towards normality. At lunchtime, I paid my first visit to the gym since being introduced to that dastardly phrase, “social distancing”. It was revelatory. The machines, the towels, the air conditioning, the posh shower gel – living room workouts are great; carpet burns, less so. Back home and buoyed by Instagram pictures of friends enjoying last-minute holidays, my wife and I discussed whether we could go away after all. This morning took on a different complexion, however. Swaths of northern England are heading back into lockdown. During a ramshackle press conference, Boris Johnson announced that it was time to “squeeze the brake pedal”. Coronavirus is resurgent across the continent. On the breakfast news, we learned that the number of new cases in France had risen by 54% in just a week. This is not the kind of wave I had envisaged surfing just 12 hours ago.

Whether any of the above will have intensified or dissipated by the time you read this letter is impossible to know. And it would be foolhardy to predict whether the intervening two months will see more events as seismic as a global race reckoning or the collapse of industries. All of which makes pulling together a magazine that feels vital and germane to life in 2020 fairly difficult. Hopefully, we pass muster. Our Guest Speaker columnist this month is Dr Winston Morgan, an academic in toxicology. On page 50, he makes a compelling case for social inequalities being the real reason why black men are three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white men. Elsewhere, we rate the 26 Most Influential Men in Health & Fitness. At a time when good leadership is in short supply, our list of scientific game-changers, fitness pioneers and healthy voices of reason is a welcome reminder that we do still have benevolent power at the wheel. Another good man with not insignificant influence is this month’s cover star, Bradley Simmonds. I happened to be in New York with Brad on a promotional trip the week before lockdown was called. “Come on, what have I got to do to get on your cover?” he asked. “It’s a big ambition of mine.” I told him I’d think about it. Then, over the course of the past four months, it became apparent that few in the training world had worked harder to help others stay in shape while Rome burned. His simple but effective Instagram Live workout sessions were a godsend to incarcerated gym-goers. The body you see on this cover is testament to his approach: Brad’s preparations for our shoot were conducted entirely within the confines of his garden, using little more than his own bodyweight and the odd dumbbell. Whether we’re back in lockdown with a second wave raging by the time you read this, or your local club simply doesn’t stock toiletries as posh as mine, the bodyweight focus in this issue will see you right. TOBY WISEMAN, EDITOR IN CHIEF MEN’S HEALTH 13

EDITED BY TED LANE

23 LESS STRESS, MORE GAINS PAGE 45

USE YOUR LOAF PAGE 20

17 MAKE VICTORY A SHOE-IN PAGE 37

13 28-DAY ABS PLAN PAGE 32

SEA POWER

FEASTS FROM THE EAST

MUSCLE NEWSFEED 10/20

FOR MARINE MUSCLE, YOU NEED TO GO DEEP If you want a strength-building

Research Institute studied the effect of wakame on mice over eight weeks, they observed a powerful range of benefits. The distance the animals could run improved by about 15%, as did the size and health of their muscles. Blood flow to their muscles increased, and the mitochondria in their muscle cells (the central powerhouses that convert nutrients into energy) had grown substantially. What’s more, the gains recorded by the researchers were largely in the category of “fast-twitch” muscle fibres – the kind involved in short, powerful movements, such as those needed for your next deadlift PB. That’s more than enough reason to take the plunge and grab some dried wakame from your local health food shop. Serve with pink shrimp and crunchy cucumber and start making waves after your next big session.

ingredient worth its salt, research shows that wakame can turn the tide on slow training progress

he Japanese have grown and eaten wakame seaweed for centuries, but it has yet to drift into the UK mainstream. Our loss: studies show that the marine algae is swimming with nutrients that could help you gain strength and shed fat, fast. Wakame, which you’ve already tried if you’ve ever slurped down a hot bowl of miso soup, deserves to be a staple outside the sushi bar. According to a study in Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, it contains fucoxanthin, a carotenoid that promotes fat oxidation. It’s also a source of hesperetin, a ﬂavonoid that stimulates the formation of muscle tissue and provides a boost to bone health as you age. It’s little surprise then, that when scientists at the Korea Food

EASTERN DELIGHTS These Asian superfoods are perfect for anyone hungry for better health and fitness 16 MEN’S HEALTH

01/ Sashimi Raw fish contains more omega-3, for a cardiovascular health boost.

02/ Pak Choi This is a source of sulforaphane, with anti-cancer properties.

03/ Wood Ear Mushrooms Packed with stamina-boosting polysaccharides.

04/ Ramen Contains dissolved collagen, to slow skin ageing.

05/ Miso Fermented soya beans are full of probiotics, for gut health.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON I PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE I ORGANIC WAKAME SEAWEED SOUSCHEF.CO.UK I ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY, MICHAEL HEDGE, STUDIO 33

TOTAL-BODY TENSION

BULK UP YOUR BIG ARMS WORKOUT

01 STAND TALL Start with your feet at shoulder width, your knees soft and a kettlebell in each hand at shoulder height. Press the weight in your left hand.

The KETTLEBELL TWO-HANDS ANYHOW combines curls and a shoulder burn with deep-squat mobility. You’ve got it all to gain

WORDS: MATT EVANS I PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES I MODEL: EMMANUEL ALLI AT W MODEL I STYLING: ABENA OFEI GROOMING: NAT SCHMITT USING CLARINS SKINCARE I SHORTS MRMARVIS.CO.UK, SHOES NEWBALANCE.CO.UK

es, lockdown was meant to be the excuse you needed to stay at home and focus on yourself. But we’d bet that, like most of us, despite your early enthusiasm, stocking your home gym and tuning into Instagram Live workouts, you’re still not quite the Adonis you hoped to be. Fear not – the “kettlebell two-hands anyhow” fuses a biceps curl with the functional deep squats that you need to ensure that mobility and totalbody strength are not sacriﬁced on the altar of T-shirt muscle. “With the anyhow, everything works through the whole range of motion,” explains Men’s Health ﬁtness editor Andrew Tracey. “Your shoulders, back, legs, biceps – your entire body has to maintain tension throughout the rep. “Think of each cycle as an individual rep,” he continues. “Aim for quality: I do six or seven reps in 10 minutes, for example.” Each cycle should last for 30-40 seconds. Try three savage, 10-minute sets of this a week and you can expect measurable muscle gain in a month. This is your big ticket.

A WHAT YOU’LL GAIN

BOULDER SHOULDERS

02 SINKING

TODDLER MOBILITY

FEELING Keep your eye on the kettlebell above you and sink into a deep squat, slowly. Watching the weight helps to bring your body down in an upright position.

BLOW-UP BICEPS

THE BEST EXERCISE YOU’RE NOT DOING

03 ARM YOURSELF Stay in a squat, your feet flat on the floor. With your left hand still extended, lower the kettlebell in your right, then curl it back up to your shoulder.

04 ROUND AGAIN Stand up, keeping your hand extended overhead. Lower it slowly, press up with your right and repeat on the opposite side for your first cycle.

MEN’S HEALTH 19

THE HEALTH SNOB’S GUIDE TO

SOURDOUGH Whether you began baking

during lockdown or you’re a crust connoisseur, our how-to will give this loaf a rise in health credentials and ﬂavour alike

01 GUT FEEDINGS Among (several) other things, 2020 will be remembered as the year of sourdough. Stuck at home, many of us tried our hand at baking the notoriously tricky loaf. Whatever the outcome, it’s worth persevering, says Matthew Jones, founder of breadahead.com. While supermarket loaves are likely to lack probiotic effects, home-baked sourdough preserves the benefits of the good bacteria in the starter. To earn your crust, first you need to get that dough.

A WHEAT It’s no secret that wholewheat wins out in the health stakes, but there’s far more to brown bread than its high fibre content. According to one British Medical Journal review, three daily servings of wholegrains can lower your risk of heart disease by 22%.

B RYE About as Scandi as stripped-back interior design, rye keeps your calorie count on the minimalist side, too. According to research conducted in (you guessed it) Sweden, volunteers who ate rye bread for breakfast felt less hungry throughout the day.

C SPELT There’s a reason this ancient variety of wholewheat has stuck around. Spelt has a number of benefits to your cholesterol levels, having been found to both lower “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and increase “good” HDL cholesterol production.

D DURUM Most commonly ground into extra-fine semolina, durum wheat supplies you with myriad vitamins and minerals that you won’t find in any basic loaf: every 100g contains 144mg of sleepenhancing magnesium and 34mg of bone-strengthening calcium.

20 MEN’S HEALTH

STARTER’S ORDERS Sourdough begins with an all-star starter – and it’ll entail a week of work before you even turn the oven on. “You’re incubating a yeast culture, which becomes the basis for your loaf,” says Jones. He recommends mixing 50g of flour and 50g of tepid water in a glass jar (two for £14.90 amazon.co.uk) and leaving this partially uncovered for 24 hours. Repeat, feeding the starter with the extra mix for four days straight, ideally keeping it around 22-24°C. Once it’s bubbly, you can store it in the fridge and feed weekly. Then, to make Jones’s “no knead” loaf, mix half a kilo of your chosen flour, 250g of water, 10g of salt and 100g of your starter, and leave to prove for two hours. Chill in a banneton basket (£14.50 boroughkitchen.com) overnight, covered in a shower cap, to “retard” the dough. Preheat a Dutch oven (£185 souschef.co.uk), add your dough – scoring the top for style – and bake for 40 minutes, taking the lid off halfway through to let it rise and crust.

YOUR FINEST SOUR

STACKED LUNCH

SLICES OF THE ACTION There’s less sugar in sourdough, thanks to its fermentation process, so you don’t have to stress so much about burning it. Crank up your oven for a crispy crust. That slash in the top is important, too: “You want to encourage the bread to crack where you want it to,” says Jones. Layer on the health beneﬁts with these sandwiches from Bread Ahead.

PLAY YOUR ACE CARBS Bread isn’t the only carb in need of some rehabiliation. Try these

A HEARTY WHOLEWHEAT PLOUGHMAN’S LUNCH MAKES ONE SANDWICH Wholewheat sourdough, 2 slices Montgomery cheddar, 60g Branston Pickle, 2tbsp Salted butter, 1tbsp Salad leaves, a small handful Gherkins, to taste

METHOD If you’re making your own sourdough with quality British wheat, you’ll want some quality British ingredients. Jones recommends Montgomery cheddar, and emphasises not skimping on the Branston’s – allow a “generous” helping, “so it oozes out the sides”. Spread thickly sliced bread with salted butter, load with the main ingredients and finish with some salad leaves and gherkins to give it bite.

B CRAVINGS-SLAYING SCANDI SALMON AND RYE MAKES ONE SANDWICH Rye sourdough, 2 slices Cream cheese, 1tbsp Capers, 1tsp Smoked salmon, 70g Mustard dressing, 1-2tbsp Dill, 1 pinch Lemon, 1 squeeze

METHOD To do your rye justice, pack it with as many Scandinavian flavours as you can. You’ll also want to slice it a little thinner, as it tends to be a denser bread. Once cut, spread the bottom slice with a good dollop of cream cheese. Top with capers, smoked salmon and lashings of mustard dressing, then finish with dill, a squeeze of lemon, plus a pinch of salt and black pepper for good measure.

POTATO The humble jacket may have been usurped by its sweeter cousin, but white potatoes are actually richer in muscle-bolstering potassium.

WORDS: BOBBY PALMER I PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY I FOOD STYLING: TAMARA VOS

PASTA There’s a reason it’s the marathon runner’s midnight snack. Pasta’s glucose content and complex carbs make it perfect for slow-release energy.

WHITE RICE Brown may contain more nutrients, but folic acid in white rice can be useful to fight Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions.

C VEGAN SPELT AND RED PEPPER FEAST MAKES ONE SANDWICH Spelt sourdough, 2 slices Houmous, 2tbsp Jarred roasted red peppers, 1-2 sliced Olive oil, 1tbsp Microherbs, to garnish

METHOD Noting spelt’s popularity among “the vegan, plant-based crowd”, Jones advises pairing freshly baked spelt sourdough with a one-two punch of B-vitamin-rich houmous and roasted red peppers, which are packed with vitamin C. Spread thickly sliced bread with olive oil, then top with houmous and roasted red peppers in oil to add some acidity. Garnish with microherbs: alfalfa and/or basil should do the trick.

D STRONG BONES ITALIAN DURUM INDULGENCE MAKES ONE SANDWICH Durum wheat sourdough, 2 slices Mortadella, 100g, thinly-sliced Baby artichoke hearts, to taste Olive oil, 1tbsp

METHOD Durum is an Italian wheat, so it lends itself to Italian flavours. Stack yours with protein-packed mortadella and chopped baby artichoke hearts, then brush the bread with antioxidant-rich olive oil. The golden rule here? Don’t skimp on the meat. “Sandwiches are about indulgence,” says Jones. “If you’re going to do a sandwich, do it properly – and eat it when you’re hungry.” We can get behind that.

MEN’S HEALTH 21

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN…

…I HAVE A REST DAY? Slinging tin every day isn’t big

and it isn’t clever. Allow just 24 hours of respite and earn the easiest boost to your physical and mental strength around

WORDS: TOM WARD I ILLUSTRATION: PETER GRUNDY

SHAKE ON IT First, a clarification: this is a rest day, not a cheat day, and the next 24 hours will be geared towards recovery, not indulgence. So, upon waking after eight hours without food, you need to fuel your body with all the building blocks it’ll need to make gains (or losses) after a strong week. A breakfast shake with protein powder, nut butter, spinach leaves, berries and a banana will cover all your macro and micro needs. It tastes great, too.

GET MOVING A power yoga flow might be a stretch too far right now, but morning movement is crucial. Most of us sleep in the foetal position, which can be just as damaging as bad desk posture and lead to muscle shortening, exacerbating DOMS. Ten minutes of mobility – including thoracic extensions using a foam roller, hip flexor stretches to loosen the pelvis and lower back, and some hip mobility work – will be plenty. Then lunge towards the sofa.

STOCK CHANGE Keep a water bottle handy. Water acts as a lubricant for muscles and joints on rest days, helping athletes to avoid cramps and soreness. Meanwhile, go for high-protein, high-fibre meals to rebuild muscle and curb the hunger that can put you at the mercy of a scroll through Deliveroo. And pile in some good carbs in the evening: you need to restock muscle glycogen before tomorrow’s triumphant return to the dumbbells.

LESS IS MORE If you feel the itch for your lunchtime workout, just remember: exercise sends your cortisol levels skyrocketing, affecting your muscles, nerves and brain. Without respite, this causes your growth hormone levels to slump, flatlines your metabolism and disrupts sleep – all vital for recovery. Giving your muscles 24 hours off won’t halt your progress, but it will stop physical burnout and keep you moving closer to your long-term goals.

MIND GAINS With a busy work week and family commitments, you need to unwind mentally. Training may feel like your escape, but go at it too hard and it can blunt your neurotransmitters, reducing your ability to harness the happiness and motivation hormones dopamine and serotonin, sinking your mood. An evening in front of the TV rebalances you, helping you dig deeper when you do return to your weights. Switch on, switch off. MEN’S HEALTH 23

UNLOCK THE KEY TO GENERATION GAINS

hen age starts to catch up with you, shifting into the slow lane is the best way to ensure lifelong forward progress. Your hips, core and glutes are your seat of power, and this targeted workout will both maintain and strengthen them. Deploy it as your warm-up, or as a low-intensity session, depending on your ﬁtness levels. Work through each move methodically and lay the foundations for gains so good that they’ll never get old.

No matter how many candles on your cake, strengthening your core, waking up your glutes and unlocking your hips are the keys to lifelong muscle and ﬁtness

GLUTE BRIDGE

RKC PLANK

Lie with your feet at hip width and close to your glutes (A). Push through your heels to raise your hips until your knees, hips and shoulders are aligned, keeping your back straight (B). Squeeze your glutes for two seconds, then lower. Repeat – lots.

Assume a plank on your elbows, your palms on the floor (A). Ramp up core tension by making fists, driving down your elbows and toes and tensing your glutes (B). Hold for 20 seconds, ensuring your lower back doesn’t arch.

CAT-COW

SIDE PLANK

2 SETS OF 10 REPS, 60SEC REST

3 SETS OF 30SEC PER SIDE, NO REST

Start on all fours. Round your back by tucking in your hips, crunching your abs, pushing your collar to your hips and lowering your chin (A). Tense hard, then arch your back by tilting your tailbone up, pushing down your chest and gazing straight ahead (B). Tense. That’s one rep.

Lie on your side with your legs straight, your upper body resting on an elbow and your top hand on your hip (A). Drive up your hips, so there’s a straight line from shoulder to toe (B). Hold for 30 seconds. Once you’ve collapsed, switch sides.

24 MEN’S HEALTH

WORDS: BOBBY PALMER | PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID VENNI I MODEL: ANTON NILLSON AT SELECT MODEL I GROOMING: NAT SCHMITT ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES I MODEL: EMMANUEL ALLI AT W MODEL I GROOMING: NAT SCHMITT USING CLARINS SKINCARE

3 SETS OF 20SEC, 60SEC REST

3 SETS OF 15 REPS, 60SEC REST

TIMELESS POWER

FITNESS FIX AGE-PROOF MUSCLE YOUR TRAINER Mobility coach and celebrity PT Jack Hanrahan can keep you moving well and looking good. @jack hanrahanfitness

KEEP AGEING AT BAY BY FOCUSING ON CORE PRINCIPLES

HIP FLEXOR STRETCH 1 SET OF 90SEC PER SIDE, NO REST

In a half-kneel, place your hands on your front knee. Tuck your tailbone beneath you. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to keep your spine stable (A). Push forward and hold for 90 seconds (B).

90/90 HIP STRETCH

STYLING: ABENA OFEI I CLOTHING: SPORTSDIRECT.COM; ADIDAS.CO.UK

1 SET OF 90SEC PER SIDE, NO REST Sit with one thigh in front and the other to the side, your hands down for support (A). Push your shoulders forward, keeping your back straight, until your belly button is hovering over your front shin (B). Hold for 90 seconds, then switch sides.

MEN’S HEALTH 25

MH VERSUS OAT MILK VS ALMOND MILK

CEREAL NUMBERS

SEED YOUR GROWTH

PAILS IN COMPARISON Can on-trend oat milk skim almond milk’s rep as the

cream of the nutritional crop? We pour over the details

OAT

£36m

2,500%

The rise in Google searches for “almond milk” since 2010.

The amount that UK shoppers spend on oat milk each year.

46 6.6g 1g 1.5g KCAL

CARBS

PROTEIN

Though it guzzles eight times less water to produce than almond, oat milk production leads to 29% more carbon emissions and requires almost double the land. WORDS: THOMAS LING I PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL HEDGE, DAN MATTHEWS, GETTY

HEART HERO

25% MACROS

FAT

22 2.4g 0.4g 1.1g KCAL

SUSTAINABILITY

PINTS

130 PINTS

GYM AID

A single glass oozes micros, from energising phosphorus to recovery-aiding potassium. And it’s also often fortiﬁed with vitamin B12, which bolsters muscular strength.

You won’t ﬁnd heart-healthy vitamin E in dairy milk, but a glass of this contains 100% of your RDA. Drink daily to slash your risk of death from cardiac disease by a quarter.

CARBS

PROTEIN

FAT

Per 100ml

A glass of oat milk is crammed with betaglucans, ﬁbres that cut your cholesterol: 750ml a day will reduce levels by 6% in ﬁve weeks, according to the University of Lund.

Almonds deserve their bad rap: it takes 130 pints of water to produce one glass of milk. Worse still, 80% of almonds come from drought-plagued California. A pint contains your entire RDA of calcium, essential for strong muscle contractions. According to Selçuk University, this spikes testosterone levels post-workout, too.

MILK THE BENEFITS

Long shelf life

High in vitamin B12

Creamy taste

No nut allergens

Low in sugar

High in vitamin D

Low calorie

Gluten free

THE MH VERDICT: ALMOND WINS! The young pretender falls short. Almond’s lower calorie count and potent micronutrients make it the ideal protein shaker for those who want to cut back on dairy. Though it’s right to question almond’s eco credentials, oat’s surprising stats prove it’s not clear cut. So crack on. MEN’S HEALTH 27

01 POWER OF SIX

STRAP ON FOR AN ADVENTURE

(93/100)

Garmin Fenix 6S Pro Solar Edition £740 garmin.com Performance Design Ease of Use

We sweat-test the GPS watches that can plot your route out of home gym boredom. Clock up stamina gains in no time

PRO PLAYER Training for a trail marathon, an assault on Mont Blanc, or an Ironman? If you can stomach the price tag, this is the

28 MEN’S HEALTH

MH WINNER 01

02 GO APEX (83/100)

Coros Apex Pro £450 coros.com Performance Design Ease of Use LIGHT TOUCH The Apex Pro is basically a Fenix 6 but lighter, at 59g – and lighter on features, with fitness tools that don’t quite match Garmin’s top-end tracker. Thankfully, it’s gentler on the wallet, too. It packs an impressive 40-hour GPS battery that extends up to

100, estimates how much stamina you’re burning, and has 200 pre-loaded strength workouts to follow. EXPERT VERDICT A solid option for those new to adventure, it’s equipped with a useful suite of sensors (including a pulse oximeter, a barometer and a compass), and it simplifies a range of stats with lively, easy-todecipher displays. But you don’t get the breadth of fitness and recovery insights that some of the other watches offer, and the wrist heart rate is sketchy.

WORDS: KIERAN ALGER I PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE I ILLUSTRATIONS: HARVEY SYMONS

fter months spent perfecting your home and garden workouts, it’s only natural that you’re hungry for adventure. But before you embark on your solo expedition in search of greater fitness, we suggest you take this opportunity to hit pause and take stock of your training tech. Today’s trackers clock much more than how far and fast you move. With hundreds of calibrated sport modes, heart rate monitoring, motion sensors, barometers, compasses and even blood oxygen sensors, they are effectively mini-performance labs on your wrist. These next-generation GPS sport watches don’t just keep pace when your quest for extra stamina goes off-road – they can help you hit the right training intensity and provide feedback that ensures your workouts are truly benefiting your fitness, too. They even reveal if your sleeping patterns are undermining your efforts, plus which workout to choose next, based on how well you’ve recovered overnight. That’s a lot of tech to get to grips with. So the MH Lab experts strapped on the best coaching watches money can buy and put them through rigorous testing on the roads, trails and pandemicinduced backyard boot camps. Now we can reveal the tech that really pushes you to make progress. Try to keep up.

complete multisport watch for you. It boasts style, accuracy and, in saver mode with solar help, up to 59 days of battery life. There’s also offline Spotify, colour maps and some everyday smarts, such as contactless payments. EXPERT VERDICT It’s a little chunky, but this offers more fitness insights than any other watch on test, from training impact and excellent navigation to decent rep counting.

HELPING HANDS

04 GRIT OUTDOORS

(90/100)

Polar Grit X £379 polar.com 04

Performance Design Ease of Use TRAIL MIX The trail and endurance-friendly Grit X combines GPS, heart rate and a 40-hour battery life (extendable to 100 hours), with turn-by-turn navigation and smart fuelling tips for staying energised and

avoiding “the wall” when you’re going long. It suggests guided workouts based on your overnight recovery and has a fitness test that you can literally do lying down. EXPERT VERDICT It lacks the full adventure features of the Fenix 6 Pro but it’s a very capable watch for the price. Excellent battery life, decent navigation, and you won’t find its innovative fuelling feature anywhere else. The heart rate accuracy is hit and miss, but you also get the best sleep and recovery insights going.

TESTS OF TIME Here’s how the MH Lab rats put these powerful training partners through their paces

05 LONG HAULER (70/100)

01 HIT THE BEAT Heart rate readings were tested against an ECG chest strap, and GPS link-up speeds against a foot pod.

Suunto 9 Baro £539 suunto.com

03 TRI HARD (80/100)

Garmin Forerunner 945 £470 garmin.com Performance Design Ease of Use WORK HORSE Designed for serious runners and triathletes who stay on the beaten track, the Garmin Forerunner covers every training detail you’ll need on the road and in the gym, pool and open water. It’s waterproof to 50m, has a battery life of 36 hours and

Performance Design Ease of Use monitors your VO2 max. EXPERT VERDICT Training insights rely on an accurate measurement of your heart rate, and this watch’s sensor is among the most precise. Its battery holds up well, too, offering at least a week’s training per charge. A crisp, clear screen, music, maps, excellent customisation and smart notifications finish off a brilliant swim-bike-run tool.

GO THE DISTANCE This Suunto packs 80 sport modes, but the headline is a battery that extends to 120 hours. It also offers reminders for when you need to switch settings and features such as route discovery and waypoint navigation. EXPERT VERDICT This 81g tank could probably survive a meteor strike. It combines motion sensor data and GPS for excellent accuracy, but it’s let down by a fussy interface, limited apps and a screen that’s harder to read than the other trackers here.

02 TRAINING BENEFITS We sized up post-workout insights, recovery recs and all the features that help you optimise your training.

03 STAYING POWER Finally, we pushed the watches to their limits to identify those with the best long-haul battery life.

MEN’S HEALTH 29

COOL BEANS

CLAIM CHECK

HEALTH NEWSFEED 10/20

WHIP UP NEW HEART HEALTH

TRENDS ON TRIAL Which viral food’s health claims measure up? GOOD

Bulletproofs and ﬂat whites may no longer be hot on Insta, but adopting the latest coﬀee craze could give your longevity a buzz

UBE ICE CREAM The yam that this is made from is high in nutrients like vitamin C, potassium and hearthealthy antioxidants.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON I PHOTOGRAPHY: @HUMMINGBIRDHIGH I ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: ELLIS PARRINDER, LOUISA PARRY

BAD

iral food and drink trends usually turn out to be high in flavour and fat and low in pretty much everything else. The cronut and duffin (a doughnut muffin) may do plenty for your Instagram kudos, but they’ll do nothing for your health. The iced dalgona coffee, however, is both an artfully whipped brew designed to court double taps and, according to new research into the benefits of coffee, a delicious ally in reducing your risk of disease. Previous studies have linked coffee with a raft of health benefits, including sharper memory, improved liver function and protection against dementia. But, so far, no one has identified precisely how those benefits are conferred. Recently, a team of Dutch scientists focused their research on epigenetic changes – that is, environmental

KOMBUCHA BEER

influences on DNA – to ascertain if coffee was able to mitigate our risks of disease by altering “gene expression”. In other words, they wanted to know if coffee hits the off switch in genes associated with certain diseases and disorders. After filtering out other possible factors that could influence results, their review of 15 studies concluded that compounds in coffee do lead to beneficial modifications, through a process called “DNA methylation”. Specifically, they noticed key epigenetic markers associated with a decreased risk of heart disease, man’s biggest killer. So, if you want to drink to your long-term health, then give this trend the beans.

GIVE YOUR GENES A PICK-ME-UP TO BREW EXTRA LONGEVITY

The gut-health-boosting probiotics used to make alcoholic kombucha are either killed or removed before they’re packaged.

GOOD

CBD CHOCOLATE It won’t get you high, but cannabidiol – cannabis plant extract – has been touted for its potential to alleviate pain and anxiety.

BAD

MEAT-FREE BURGER While a beef patty has about 4.2g of saturated fat, a Beyond burger has 6g, and an Impossible burger contains 8g.

MEN’S HEALTH 31

BEAT THE ODDS AND GET IT DONE

When his career goalposts were shifted, Bradley Simmonds didn’t just adapt – he thrived. Now, he is leading a growing cohort of followers to achieve their own success, no matter their starting point

BODY FAT

his was never the plan. Since signing for Chelsea at the age of seven, Bradley Simmonds’s goal was to become an elitelevel footballer. Yet his body let him down. When he was 16, Simmonds tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and spent a year on the sidelines. After a period of rehabilitation, he moved to Iceland, playing with David James in the Europa League. Then he broke his ankle in three places. The dream was over. “I could have come back again and risen up to play in League One, but that wasn’t my ambition. My ambition was to reach the top,” he says. Undeterred, Simmonds turned the disappointment of injury into an opportunity, starting over to chase success in a different field. “Coming back from my ACL injury, I learned about strength and conditioning,” he says. “I spent a year sponging information from the coaches. Rather than just smashing chest day like other guys my age, I was learning the importance of glute strength, hamstrings and training your core.” He used this time as a hungry teen on the sidelines to get his personal training qualification and UEFA B coaching badge. Simmonds thought that a career in football conditioning coaching was the obvious choice – that is, until his Instagram blew up. “I’m very businessminded and saw an opportunity,” he says. “You get that way when the mates you’re playing football with are earning 400 grand a week!” Of course, he was

32 MEN’S HEALTH

416K FOLLOWERS

GET IT DONE Inspired by Simmonds’s story? Rebuild your own physique with his comprehensive YouTube workout series. See page 35. Then follow him @bradleysimmonds

also motivated by a more wholesome aspiration. “I recognised that Instagram gave me the opportunity not just to train one client at a time, but to beneﬁt thousands of people together.” His mantra – “Get it done” – may be prosaic, but that’s the point. “You’ve got to understand that the mass audience needs help and education in the very basics,” he says. “The majority of people don’t know what a calorie deﬁcit is, why they need one and how to get it. They’re the ones I’m trying to help.”

That egalitarian desire to provide a leg-up to training novices is reflected in his workouts. They’re no nonsense; often performed just using bodyweight and dumbbells. They are, however, also influenced by his time as an athlete. “I was one of the first trainers in my gym to get out the ladders, for example, and have people working through plyometrics,” he says. His is a style of training that’s based on boosting

INJURY-TIME GOAL

HOW I BUILT MY BODY

HELL’S BELLS

THE POWER OF THREE: SIMMONDS DEMONSTRATES THE DEVIL’S PRESS

DEVIL’S DETAIL 02

01/ Steel yourself for the devil’s press, a move that combines a burpee, swing and press for a hellish calorie burn.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID VENNI I STYLING GEORGIE GRAY USING UNDER ARMOUR I GROOMING NAT SCHMITT

02/ The burpee phase works your legs, glutes, core and chest. That fires up a lot of muscle fibres and boosts metabolism. 03/ The swing and press target your back, shoulders and arms, making each rep a full-body powerhouse. Do a 12-minute EMOM, eight reps a minute.

MEN’S HEALTH 33

WEAPONISE YOUR BALANCE TO BUILD A ROCK-SOLID CORE

FORWARD PLAN 01/ The smartest way to turn your squat into a six-pack builder is to lift the weights from your sides into the front rack position. 02/ With the weights in front of you, it’ll switch on your core to stop you falling forward. Tuck in your pelvis to fire up your glutes, too. 03/ Sit your hips back and squat until your knees are at 90°. Keep your chest up – it’s guaranteed to light up your core.

fitness first and knowing that the other benefits – fat loss, muscle gain and stress relief – will follow. Thirty-minute HIIT sessions are his comfort zone, but the baseline fitness they afford is also an excellent platform for new challenges. He has completed a marathon, for example, grinding through the initial slog of training to eventually find in running a new and useful opportunity to clear his head and boost his mental strength. His toughest test by far was tackling L’Etape du Tour, a 175km cycle with an elevation gain of 3.6km. “It was the first time I’d been on a road bike. All my training was on a Wattbike, doing a lot of

34 MEN’S HEALTH

strength training and a lot of mobility, because those hip flexors really can tighten up, as well as my lower back,” he says. “I introduced 15 minutes of mobility before and after my session: cobras, needle-throughs, hip flexors and lumbar twists.” Conveniently, in this time of pandemic, Simmonds’s style proved to be one that could roll with the punches of lockdown. In fact, his followers pushed him to be fitter than ever during his comprehensive Live schedule. “I know what my followers want. They love high-intensity in the morning and strength in the evening,” he says. “I was burning through 600kcal in the morning and grabbing a set of 15kg

SQUAT TO SIX-PACK

TACTICAL PLANNING

TOTAL-BODY FITNESS PLAN WITH BRADLEY SIMMONDS

Head to menshealth.com/uk/bradley-simmonds to get free access to his YouTube workouts

THE RIGHT FUEL Perfect your nutrition and you will score. Simmonds aims for a macro split of 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fats, relying on healthful ingredients that pack big flavours BREAKFAST Scrambled eggs, red chilli, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and half a bagel Micro goal Mushrooms = vitamin D LUNCH Barbecued chicken with peri-peri, brown rice and broccoli Micro goal Broccoli = vitamin K DINNER Seabass with lemon and garlic, sweet potato fries and mixed leaf salad Micro goal Lemon = vitamin C

dumbbells in the evening, keeping it simple, sticking to 10 reps and working through supersets and tri-sets.” That’s a serious workload and, to keep up, he was eating 3,000kcal a day, with plenty of protein to fuel his recovery. Most recently, he tweaked his training for this month’s cover shoot. “I’ve moved up to the 30kg dumbbells and I’ve brought my rep range down to six, to focus on building strength and increasing muscle mass,” says Simmonds. “I’m doing a lot more core training, too.” Normally, that occupies a quick 10 minutes after his HIIT, but now he dedicates 30 minutes to plank variations and deadbugs, using dumbbells to mix things up, before ﬁnishing with crunches. The results speak for themselves. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best. I know that the body positive movement is incredibly important, but if your goal is to have a six-pack, that’s OK,” he says. “As long as you’re eating well and doing it from a positive space mentally, then don’t be scared to go after it.” Follow Simmonds’s lead and you’ll certainly get it done.

Monday Tabata

Tuesday Lower body + core

Wednesday AMRAP

Thursday Upper body + core

Friday 4km run

Friday 5km run

Friday 7km run

Friday 10km run

Saturday 10,000 steps

Saturday 12,000 steps

Saturday 15,000 steps

Sunday Rest day

Sunday Rest day MEN’S HEALTH 35

THINK ON YOUR FEET

MH GAME CHANGERS UNDER ARMOUR HOVR SONIC 3

PIMP YOUR RUN

TRACK TO THE FUTURE Step your cardio performance up a gear with Under Armour’s real-time run-coaching and phone-free smart shoes

rom the moment Marty McFly slipped on those self-lacing shoes in Back to the Future Part II, the smart shoes race was on. But while Marty’s fancy Nikes only boosted street cred, the futuristic footwear of today is all about improving performance. The sensor-packed Under Armour HOVR Sonic 3 is part of a range of connected running shoes that monitor your every move and coach you to run better in real time. They look – and perform – like regular running shoes, but motion sensors in the soles track running stats, including distance and pace. There are detailed metrics such as cadence, contact time, strike angle (where your foot hits the floor at the front, mid or heel) and stride length. All your data is then fired by Bluetooth to the MapMyRun app, where you get virtual coaching tips on how to improve your technique and hopefully stave off injury. MH laced up the Sonics to test their fitness-enhancing potential.

iii_

The number of different connected shoe styles, from the versatile Sonic 3 and the speed-chasing Machina to the Guardian 2 stability shoe. Under Armour is the first brand to make all of its running shoes smart.

iv_

How much the sensors add to the weight of your shoes, with the lightest kicks – the Velociti 2 – coming in at 255g overall.

v_ ii_

300-500

WORDS: KIERAN ALGER

Shoe-wearers who plug into the Form Coaching insights run faster and an average of 9% further than users of the regular MapMyRun app.

HOVR SONIC 3 FROM £105 UNDERARMOUR. CO.UK

The tracking lifetime in hours of your connected shoes. All that tech on board is built to last as long as your footwear, and it never needs charging.

400+

The number of data points that the smart shoes track every second, to generate the running mechanics and efficiency insights that inform the real-time coaching as you run.

TECH SUPPORT Take full advantage of the latest cardio tech and unleash your inner athlete with these add-ons

STRYD POWER METER

ARION INSOLES

POLAR STRIDE SENSOR

COROS POD

A precision training tool that tracks running power and GPS accuracy. £199 stryd.com

These pressure-sensing insoles power a virtual running coach app. €249 arion.run

Fine-tunes your run technique, tracking speed, distance and more. £59.50 polar.com

A belt-worn clip-on, this pod tracks running power and other metrics. £65 coros.com

MEN’S HEALTH 37

ASK MEN’S HEALTH GROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT 10/20 I’M STICKING WITH THE

QUARANTINE BUZZ CUT. HOW CAN I MASTER IT?

Grant, Swansea

If the corona cut has grown on you in lockdown, preserve the trim with our hassle-free how-to

TEXT A NUTRITIONIST

I HATE WASTING FOOD. HOW FLEXIBLE ARE “USE-BY” DATES?

Wally, Winchester

EMERGENCY: My partner wants to bin my lunch. But it smells fine and it’s only two days out of date.

Step Two

Step Three

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

BACK AND FORTH

EAR TO EAR

Denis Robinson, the creative director of Ruffians, recommends Wahl’s Super Taper (£34 wahl.co.uk). “With a smaller motor, but using the same blades as kit costing £200, these clippers will offer a quality cut.”

Wash and dry your locks. Cut against the grain, from back to front, using a 13mm clipper guard. Hold the clippers firm: “Applying pressure won’t affect length, but it’ll give you a clean finish,” says Robinson.

Now, clip from side to side. For a tight finish, use a short clipper guard: “If you have dense hair, take it up to number one to avoid patches.” Push up the taper lever to give your sides a closer cut. Repeat every fortnight.

WHAT SUPP?

I NEED A MORNING HIT BUT DON’T LIKE COFFEE. DO NOOTROPICS WORK? Michael, Ipswich Forgoing coffee in favour of brainboosting (and legal) pills needn’t be a headache. Try our one-stop guide

38 MEN’S HEALTH

L-THEANINE

BACOPA MONNIERI

£13 for 120 justvitamins.co.uk

£12.20 for 60 capsules cytoplan.co.uk

Best for: Creative flair Researchers found that just one capsule of this amino acid, originally found in tea, can increase your brain’s alpha waves and enhance creativity. In other words, it optimises your problem-solving.

Best for: Processing power Stuffed with mind-maxing bacoside compounds, this speeds up your reaction time and your ability to process information, plus prevents stress-causing chemical imbalances.

CREATINE MONOHYDRATE

CHOLINE BITARTRATE

£8 for 500g myprotein.com

£19.40 for 360 capsules pipingrock.com

Best for: Intelligent refuelling Widely taken to build biceps like Arnie’s, creatine also strengthens your powers of total recall. Just 5g per day can significantly improve your memory.

One to avoid Though shown to improve liver function, this nutrient does little to boost your brainpower. Multiple studies suggest that it has no significant impact on memory in healthy adults.

OK, in the rubbish it goes. What about the chicken that I froze two days after the “use by”? That, too. Frozen out-of-date food is still out of date. Just cold. What about “best before”? My old Rice Krispies look good to me… You’ll live. Snap, Crackle and Pop can survive a few extra days. What about “sell by” and “display until”? Are they the same? Those are used by shops when they’re swapping around stock. “Use by” is the one that matters. Any other tips? Well, it never hurts to plan: set your phone to alert you when perishables need eating. And if Deliveroo ruins these plans? Stay cool. Wrap. Label. Freeze.

Easy! Thanks!

Laura Tilt, registered dietitian and founder of tiltnutrition.com

WORDS: THOMAS LING I PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE I ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33, I ARTWORK: PETER CROWTHER AT DEBUT ART I ILLUSTRATIONS: NICK HARDCASTLE

Step One

Bin it! Rule number one: if the packet says “use by”, it really means “use by”. Salmonella may be lurking, even if it passes a sniff test. Don’t chance it.

MIND CONTROL

LEAN DREAMS

BLOOD-SUGAR CRASHES CAN RUIN YOUR SNOOZING

THE BIG QUESTION

MY WEIGHT-LOSS EFFORTS ARE MESSING WITH MY SLEEP. ANY KNOCKOUT TIPS? Andrew, Glasgow

t’s a nightmarish scenario: you stave off cravings from dawn to dusk, only to be rewarded with a night of broken sleep. Not only will you struggle to recover properly from yesterday’s workout, but your sleep deprivation causes the hunger hormone ghrelin to surge, making another day of sticking to the meal plan all the more difficult. If you want to put this problem to bed for good, you need to wake up to your diet’s deficiencies. As nutritionist and weight-loss consultant Kim Pearson explains: “If you suddenly slash your daily calorie count too far, your blood sugar levels will plummet at night. And to stop it from dropping further, your body releases stress hormone cortisol. That’s what jolts you awake at 3am.” Sadly, indiscriminately scoffing more calories isn’t the remedy for blissful slumber – a Pot Noodle free pass, this ain’t. While your body will burn through

a plate of starchy food and max your blood sugar concentrations mid-sleep, an evening meal of protein, healthy fats and fibre offers a slow-energy release, says Pearson. Plus, upping your intake of steadily digestible fibre promotes the release of your sleep hormone melatonin, knocking you out 20 minutes faster, according to the Journal of Sleep Medicine. Don’t worry if this upsets your overall calorie tally, as extra time between the sheets can power up your diet’s fat-burning potential. As a University of Chicago study found, increasing your sleep time from five to eight hours supercharges your metabolism, helping you shift 55% more body fat over a period of two weeks. It’s a weight-loss plan so easy that you can do it with your eyes closed.

MEN’S HEALTH 39

DO YOUR HOME WORK

BREADWINNING IS HALF-BAKED With the virus redeﬁning

MAN OF THE MOMENT GENDER ROLES

gender roles, there’s far more to “providing” than a pay cheque, argues Stuart Heritage

EARNING A CRUST ISN’T ALL THERE IS TO A MAN’S LIFE

PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON I DIGITAL MANIPULATION: SCRATCHINPOST.CO.UK I PROP STYLIST: MANDY MAKER

lobal crises have a habit of changing things. During the Second World War, with most working-age men consigned to the military, women rushed to fill the jobs that were suddenly left open. Being able to work gave them a taste of economic freedom and a purpose that stretched beyond homemaking. When the war ended, they were reluctant to give up their new lives. I wonder if we’re on STUART HERITAGE Columnist and author the cusp of something of Don’t Be a Dick, similar today. For Pete, a memoir about better or for worse, sons, fatherhood and sibling relationships. lockdown has been transformational for couples. On the one hand, men who have habitually shunned household chores – women do 10 more hours of housework than men each week, on average – are finally experiencing the slog of keeping a home. On the other, the financial hit caused by the virus has been indiscriminate. People are losing their jobs in droves, regardless of gender. As a result, in some cases, the scales are starting to tip. I know couples where men – burly, old-fashioned, cartoonishly alpha men – have been made redundant and their wives have not. In the past, this would have been a huge psychological blow to the men, because their entire identities were wrapped up in what they did for

a living and the thought of a female breadwinner unsettled them (despite a third of European households having one). They took pride in their role: it was how they provided for their families, by working long hours and barely seeing their children. However, most seem to have fallen into their new roles with barely a complaint. Dads have been homeschooling their kids and cooking dinners. Men have taken on what used to be considered feminine roles and, though it probably shouldn’t have taken a catastrophic global health crisis to get them there, they’re finding worth in them. More than that: one in three men describe themselves as “permanently stressed” about their jobs, compared to one in five women. In the case of my friends, taking their feet off the accelerator has shown them another, better, way to live.

“Men’s identities were once entirely wrapped up in what they did for a living”

Things have been slightly different in my house. Both my wife and I are freelance writers who work from home, so we’ve always divided the day down the middle. One of us worked while the other looked after our two kids; then we swapped at lunch. But we had to readjust. In the before-times, we were each able to work 40-hour weeks. Under lockdown, that went down to 25. This adjustment was horrible at first, especially since it meant that I had to turn down work for the first time in my life. But working less has given me a glimpse of the other side, where I am financially worse off but not stuck on the hamster wheel of my career. I’m spending more time with my kids. I’m keeping on top of housework. I don’t feel as much stress. It’s a smaller life, but I think I might prefer it like this. I’m still the breadwinner. I earn more, so I pay the mortgage and the bulk of the bills. I’m the “provider”. Lockdown has made me question whether that’s a role I even want any more. But maybe I am still looking at it through the wrong lens. If this time has taught us anything, I hope it’s that the traditional masculine view of what constitutes “providing” is massively out of date. Providing can mean anything. Sure, it might mean earning all the money, but it also means looking after the kids. It means doing the laundry. It’s cooking dinners and vacuuming. It’s making sure that everyone in the house feels safe and happy and looked after. Male or female, financially or otherwise, it’s all part of the same job. I hope that’s the lesson that sticks when we come out of this mess.

MEN’S HEALTH 41

TIME TRAVEL AT A GLANCE

WRIST ASSESSMENT GMT WATCHES

Smartphones can make us smart-arses. But for sheer ease, speed and, yes, looks, nothing beats a GMT watch for time

42 MEN’S HEALTH

a misjudged joke in 2020, but we can only hope that the possibility of venturing across the seas once more isn’t too far away. (Are you ever going to complain about taking your shoes off at security again?) And, well, it pays to be prepared. In the meantime – pun firmly intended – the GMT offers plenty for the stay-at-home watch buyer, too. You may appreciate the sartorial flourish of the split-colour bezel, or, as you will see from our edit of the most interesting examples on the market, the alternative ways in which adding a second time zone has invigorated the watch’s design. From time to time, you might still find its intended function helpful, even if it’s only to remind you that, yes, this is an antisocial time to be emailing your American colleagues. Plus, if the need should arise, you can use a GMT watch with the customary additional central hour hand to locate north or south in the wild. Be sure to remember that the next time someone tells you that a mechanical watch is impractical. Chris Hall is Mr Porter’s senior watch editor

WORDS: CHRIS HALL I PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN MCALISTER DIGITAL MANIPULATION: SCRATCHINPOST.CO.UK

hat’s the most useful function that you’ll ﬁnd on a mechanical watch, besides telling the time? If you immediately thought of the chronograph, we can hardly blame you. Such is the popularity of chronographs that the very best – the Carrera, say, or perhaps the Speedmaster, or Navitimer – transcend their parent brands and have identities of their own. But in the present age, there are only so many eggs, rare steaks and school sports day races that a man can time. Instead, a more persuasive case might be made for the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) as the most pragmatic watch complication. Born of pure necessity – Pan Am pilots wanted to have immediate, at-a-glance visibility of two time zones at once – it is so simple in both its concept and its visual execution that it stands apart from much of watchmaking in its purity of purpose. Once set, your jet-lagged brain won’t accidentally phone your CEO at 5am, whether you’ve landed in Mexico, Melbourne or Moscow. Waxing lyrical about the eﬃciencies that a GMT can bring to global travel might seem like

IN THE ZONE

01 Rolex GMT-Master II £11,850 The original and best has undergone a number of upgrades, including an increase to its power reserve (up to 70 hours), coinciding with the launch of this steel and rose-gold model. ROLEX.COM

02 Montblanc Geosphere £5,000

This has a level of functionality somewhere between a GMT and a full world timer. The two displays each have a day and night 24-hour scale around them, so you can check the time anywhere in the world. MONTBLANC.COM

03 Oris Aquis Carysfort Ltd Ed £2,100 Oris delivers a lot for a little, with a GMT diver that can track three time zones at once. The day-night coloration is subtler than most, letting the turquoise-blue dial and orange accents do the talking. ORIS.CH

04 Bremont Project Possible £4,995 Honouring the mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja, this leans hard on the GMT’s credentials as a watch of adventure, with its titanium case and 500m water resistance. BREMONT.COM

05 Bamford GMT £1,100

Compass Mentis To locate north, hold the watch ﬂat and point the hour hand at the sun. The GMT hand will show you the way

The first Bamford watch with a Swiss automatic movement, the GMT is as unpretentious as they come: bright and breezy colours with a blocky, late-70s-esque dial design. BAMFORDLONDON.COM

06 TAG Heuer Aquaracer GMT £2,500 Equipping an already practical 300m dive watch with a GMT bezel feels like it ought to score double on the “sensible watchmaking ideas” chart. Will go straight from airport lounge to poolside lounger. TAGHEUER.COM

MEN’S HEALTH 43

THINKING STRAIGHT

MUSCLE OUT YOUR ANXIETY

THE MIDDLE GROUND

CORE PRINCIPLES To achieve stability in both your posture and your mental health, take charge of your midsection with Worthington’s foundational moves

Building a strong core will do more than earn you abs. Follow our advice and it’ll correct your posture and bolster your defences against stress

f you want to crush your stress levels and build a cobblestone core, sit up and take note. No, not like that. In fact, that’s part of the problem, says elite movement coach Luke Worthington. Adopting “correct posture” usually means pulling your shoulders back and pushing your chest out, creating an arch in your lower back. But this position – in which the ribcage and pelvis are pulled in opposite directions – is bad for both body and mind. “It decreases breathing efficiency, reducing air flow to the bottom part of your lungs, where the majority of blood vessels are situated,” says Worthington. This doesn’t just reduce your training capacity. Extending the spine by arching your lower back also stimulates the sympathetic ganglion, the part of your neurological system responsible for the “fight or flight” response. The combination of restricted breathing and heightened stress creates a damaging cycle that can result in anxiety and fatigue. The fix is to shift the focus of your workouts to your core. Strength at your centre will draw your ribcage downward, stacking it on top of the pelvis. Here, with a neutral spine, you’ll be set up to breathe deeply into the diaphragm, sparing your nerves of everyday stressors and pumping up your workouts, too. And the side benefit of a six-pack? That’s a welcome bonus.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON I PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY

MIND NEWSFEED 10/20

01/ DEAD BUG Lie flat on your back with your arms held above you. Bring your legs up, so your knees are bent at 90° (A). Slowly lower your right arm and left leg, exhaling, keeping your back pushed into the ground (B). Switch sides and repeat. A

WANT TO GET YOUR HEAD STRAIGHT? PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT

02/ SHORT SIDE PLANK Lie on your side with your knees bent at 90°. Rise up on one elbow (A) and lift your hips, supporting your weight on your elbow and knee. Create a straight line between your head, torso, hips and thighs, when viewed from above or in front (B). Hold still. A

03/ LEG WHIP Lie down with your knees bent. Lift your hips, then your right leg (A). Using your core and glutes to keep stable, lower your right leg, stopping any rotation in your torso (B). Use the muscles on the inside of your right thigh to pull the leg back to the start.

MEN’S HEALTH 45

BOOST YOUR FACE VALUE

Grooming has become unnecessarily complicated. Strip your routine back to the basics with our foolproof guide to men’s skincare

FIRST OFF, WHY SHOULD MEN MOISTURISE?

Male skin is 25% thicker than women’s and contains more collagen and elastin. Though the signs of ageing may appear more slowly than on women, male skin tends to be rougher and more oily. A good moisturiser will prevent skin from getting dry and dull and keep it looking healthy. Your razor can also cause irritatation or aggravation, so it is especially important to condition your skin after shaving. It’s why many moisturisers for men contain soothing ingredients, such as aloe vera, to reduce itching and redness.

46 MEN’S HEALTH

CRAFT YOUR SKIN INTO AN AGELESS WORK OF ART

SKIN IN THE GAME

GROOM SERVICE MOISTURISERS

SO, WHAT DO I LOOK OUT FOR?

WORDS: SUNAYAH ARSHAD I PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY

ARE WOMEN’S PRODUCTS DIFFERENT?

Beyond the obvious differences in design and the range of fragrances on offer, men’s products often contain a higher concentration of active ingredients. That’s because they are specially designed for thicker skin with more oilproducing pores, which means that they can address male-specific skin issues more effectively.

It depends on your skin type. For normal skin, choose water-based moisturisers that offer hydration without leaving you feeling too heavy. Dry skin requires thicker, oil-based creams with nourishing emollients, such as shea butter. Oily skin is best served by matte-finish moisturisers that contain ingredients designed to tackle excess sebum. Those with sensitive skin should seek out calming creams containing chamomile or aloe. Mature skin benefits from anti-ageing ingredients, such as retinol. Choose wisely.

ANY EXTRA TIPS? If you have sensitive skin, choose a scent-free cream, because fragrances can often cause irritation. Plus, any cream that has built-in SPF is a bonus. If yours doesn’t have any, make sure you add protection regularly. Sunlight is the leading cause of skin ageing.

WORTH A SQUIRT

05 OUR CREAMS OF THE CROP We tested 25 men’s moisturisers to identify the very best. These three will leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated all day long HOLISTIC HEALING Wellman’s cream hydrates and protects your skin for 12 hours and treats dry patches, leaving them soft. It contains nourishing antioxidants, as well as arginine and niacinamide to smooth and strengthen. The formula also includes aloe vera, which soothes irritation, and ingredients that help to regulate excess sebum (that’s oil) production. Wellman Ultra Hydrating Daily Moisturiser £10 boots.com

POST-SHAVE RESCUE This smart offering from Shiseido works to hydrate and repair dry, irritated skin, maintaining its moisture levels through the day. It’s a recovery cream that will benefit those who experience stinging, burning or redness after shaving. It left testers’ faces feeling softer and well hydrated. Shiseido Men Moisturising Recovery Cream £41 lookfantastic.com

STRAIGHT SHOOTER Developed specifically for male skin, Bulldog’s no-nonsense moisturiser won’t leave your face and hands greasy. Use it twice daily, in the morning and evening, and the high vitamin E content – along with other antioxidants it contains, from rosemary and echinacea – will ensure that it slows the appearance of wrinkles. Bulldog Age Defence Moisturiser £8.50 boots.com MEN’S HEALTH 47

THE RED PILL

THE TARGET CREATINE 04_

HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO EAT? 01_

WHY CREATINE MATTERS “Creatine serves as a fuel source for short-duration, high-burst activities,” says Jose Antonio, an associate professor of exercise and sports science at Nova Southeastern University. In other words, if you sprint, lift or do HIIT, the compound can help you take it up a level. 02_

HOW MUCH DO DOCTORS RECOMMEND? They don’t, but that’s only because creatine isn’t an essential nutrient – you don’t have to consume any at all to live healthily.

WORDS:MEN’S HEALTH US I PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANK BEAN/GETTY IMAGES

03_

WHAT WE RECOMMEND About 5,000mg per day over the course of a month, to aid your long-term performance goals. This amount will increase the levels of phosphocreatine inside your muscles and allow for optimal energy production, according to Chad Kerksick, director of the Exercise and Performance Nutrition Laboratory at Lindenwood University. DON’T HAVE A COW, MAN – SIMPLY POP A SUPPLEMENT

You would have to eat an “ungodly amount of meat” to reach that number, says Antonio – more than a kilo of beef or salmon a day, which would lumber you with eight times the recommended daily amount of protein. (Please don’t eat a kilo of meat in a day.) 05_

SO HOW DO YOU HIT YOUR TARGET? Pop a supp, but make it the right kind. “No well-controlled clinical trials have shown that any other form of creatine works better than creatine monohydrate, and usually the other kinds are more expensive,” says Kerksick. Seek out a product with credentials, such as the “Certified for Sport” label. Brands we like: Motion Nutrition, MyProtein and Maximuscle. 06_

IS THE CREATINE -LOADING PHASE SAFE? Taking a superdose of 20,000mg of creatine for four or ﬁve days is safe but unnecessary, says nutrition adviser Chris Mohr. Research suggests that your strength gains will catch up after 30 days. For a consistent strength boost, go steady. MEN’S HEALTH 49

Guest Speaker

Dr Winston Morgan

WhyRacism IsaPublic HealthIssue At the height of the pandemic, black men were three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white men. But this disparity has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with societal inequalities, argues this month’s guest speaker, Dr Winston Morgan. Race is a cultural concept, not a scientiﬁc one. The question is what we can do about it Illustrations by Paul Blow

arly on in the COVID-19 pandemic, it emerged that certain factors – particularly older age, male sex and geographical area – correlated with greater infection and death rates. But it was the suggestion that race or ethnicity could aﬀect your chances of being infected that really exercised the media. As the pandemic developed, some used race as the principal explanation for the coronavirus’s disproportionate impact on society. Such was the focus on this that other factors – like having a compromised immune system and various co-morbidities, including diabetes and obesity – were almost seen as trivial by comparison. Increasingly, susceptibility to COVID-19 was being used to redeﬁne what we understand as

50 MEN’S HEALTH

Dr Winston Morgan is a reader in toxicology and clinical biochemistry at the University of East London. He splits his work between bioscience research and investigating outcomes for BAME students and staff in higher education.

“race”, effectively giving the concept a new scientific credibility. What’s more, the frantic efforts to find scientific explanations linking race to the medical outcomes of COVID-19 were suffocating any substantive discussions around the possibility that structural racism could be a more likely explanation for what we were observing. As the pandemic took hold, people “racialised” as black were being forced to accept the extra burden of death from COVID-19 as a consequence of something inherent in them: the burden of genetics. At one point, it appeared as if it was only a matter of time before scientists discovered a single COVID-19 susceptibility gene, one that was found

THE PANDEMIC HAS ONLY ADDED TO THE BURDEN OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Guest Speaker

Dr Winston Morgan

The Race Fallacy exclusively in black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) populations. Among the unforeseen consequences of the speculation around race is that susceptibility to the virus could be used as a cover for both direct and indirect racial discrimination. For example, if it was accepted that certain groups are more susceptible to viruses, then employers could use it as a pretext to restrict what these people can do in the workplace. This is not hypothetical. Such is the power of race and ethnicity in our society today that, at the height of the pandemic, some NHS managers were seriously contemplating removing BAME staff from certain roles. In the end, the government launched a review of the evidence that the virus was disproportionately affecting BAME communities. The review concluded that people from certain groups (black and Bangladeshi) were most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 and consequently die from the virus. Unsurprisingly, it also found that among many BAME groups, especially in poor areas, there are higher incidences of chronic diseases and multiple long-term conditions occurring at younger ages. These co-morbidities and other factors contributed to the increased risk from the virus. The review avoided the potentially controversial topic of genetic factors and barely mentioned race, preferring to use the term “ethnicity”. It defined ethnicity as a shared culture, with distinctive traditions that are maintained between generations, fostering a sense of shared identity. The reluctance of the review to discuss race and genetics is in contrast to the widespread speculation in the media, which is what prompted the call for a review in the first place.

Identity Crisis In multiracial and multi-ethnic societies, we are frequently identified by race, or are required to identify ourselves in such terms. In many cases, both those demanding the information and those providing it have little understanding of what the different racial identifiers actually mean, or the history behind them. The result is that, today, we view the world through the prism of race, and society looks back at us through the same prism.

52 MEN’S HEALTH

The racial categories we know now were constructed many years ago and have never had any scientific foundations. The idea of separating humans into distinct groups or races was primarily popularised to justify colonialism. Today, the most ardent advocates of theories about racial differences tend to be those with a white supremacist agenda. Despite these questionable origins, a person’s race is largely treated with unquestioning social and medical certainty. Race is used alongside age, gender and social class to describe most societal outcomes, from employment to criminal justice, and even to inform medical decision-making processes. This acceptance of race as a reliable descriptor can also be seen on government-sponsored medical websites, where certain racialised groups are described as being more susceptible to conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. This creeping acceptance of race as a scientific category with medical relevance has generally not been interrogated. This may be because of the wide acceptance of the role that genetics plays in so many aspects of our lives. The dramatic and devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic might represent the moment when we, as a society, were forced openly to examine the role that race and ethnicity play in medical and societal outcomes. For the first time, government data was suggesting that a person’s race was the key determinant of their chances of surviving a pandemic – or, at least, that was how it was portrayed in the media. More worrying was the fact that neither the scientists nor the medical professionals were able to provide any alternative explanations. But how accurate are claims that it is your race that decides whether you are more likely to die from COVID-19? And if race is merely a social construct with no scientific basis, why are BAME populations worse affected?

To understand how structural racism drives health inequalities – and ultimately deaths from COVID-19 – we must remember that race comes out of racism, and not the other way around. Without racism, race has no significance and cannot exist in any meaningful way. The artificiality of race and ethnicity, particularly as they apply to biological outcomes, often leads to confusion and contradictions. Race is defined by a limited number of physical characteristics, primarily skin colour, hair texture and facial features. Ethnicity can be linked to language, culture and religion. To complicate matters, many of these determinants transcend race and ethnicity. For example, groups who are categorised as Asian possess the full range of human skin colours; they also belong to the historical racial category of Caucasians, which includes white Europeans. Similarly, language, culture and religion may be observed across different ethnic and racial groups. In the UK, the picture is further confused by data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) of England and Wales. It categorises death rates from COVID-19 using a combination of race, religion and ethnicity, and this reveals differences that undermine the notion that infection rates are dependent on genetic factors linked to race. For example, people identified as being Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi – who are normally all categorised under the same racial “group” – have very different outcomes from COVID-19. Look at the ONS data for males, who are more affected by the virus for reasons we do not yet fully understand, and you will see that those categorised as black are over 4.5 times more likely to die than their white counterparts, followed by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis (4.03), with Chinese and Indian males just over 2.5 times more likely to die. Even when the data is controlled for age, a range of socioeconomic factors and health, black males are still around 1.9 times more likely to die, with Pakistanis and Bangladeshis 1.8 times more likely.

“If race is a social construct, why are BAME people suﬀering more from COVID-19?”

An Unequal Playing Field It is now widely accepted that those with conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease are more likely to suffer adverse effects and even death following infection. There is also strong evidence that these conditions are found at higher levels in some black and Asian groups, contributing to the fact that they are disproportionately affected. Though there is a genetic element to all of these conditions, the majority of the genes responsible are found in most human groups, and are not linked

Taking Responsibility

THE VIRUS AND ITS FALLOUT HAVE EXPOSED THE RACISM INFECTING OUR SOCIETY

to the socially constructed characteristics of a person’s race. In the absence of any genetic rationale, then, we are left with the more diﬃcult-to-accept reality that these groups must be suﬀering more from the coronavirus because of how our society is organised. The COVID-19 review makes numerous references to the importance of racism. The central tenet of racism is the belief that certain human phenotypic characteristics (in other words, observable genetic traits) allow us to place individuals in distinct groups or races, whose members have similar abilities and qualities. Such groups are then considered either “superior” or “inferior” to other groups and are treated accordingly. Racism can be evidenced by poorer societal outcomes for those racialised as “inferior”.

Such groups are also less likely to have signiﬁcant economic or political power. Racism can be seen at the individual, organisational or societal and structural level. Evidence for structural racism is everywhere, from poorer educational outcomes in children to criminal justice, housing and employment in adults. It drives conditions such as type 2 diabetes in several ways: cheaper foods tend to contain higher levels of fast-releasing carbohydrates and be more caloriedense, which, over a long period, are contributors to the condition. Structural racism is also a major cause of stress, which leads to a greater and more prolonged release of hormones such as epinephrine (adrenalin) and cortisol, adversely aﬀecting blood sugar levels.

The overwhelming message from the COVID-19 review was the need to address the cumulative effects of racism on BAME groups. The review made several recommendations that could be interpreted as follows: that there should be better data collection at all stages of health and social care based on individuals’ race and ethnicity, and that this data should be publicly available. That there should be better participatory research, so more BAME researchers can be involved in the process of data collection and analysis. That in order to improve outcomes for BAME patients, we need to increase the presence of BAME staff at all levels of the health and social-care systems. It also advised that risk assessments be conducted with greater cultural competency. Public health messaging, too, should be crafted with improved cultural awareness. Any post-COVID-19 recovery strategies must be aimed at specifically reducing racial and ethnic inequalities and should be sustainable, with adequate funding. The inequalities that this pandemic has laid bare in places like the UK and the US are revealing particularly because these are multiracial, multi-ethnic societies and also putative liberal democracies, with everyone having collective responsibility for how all in society are treated. Such societies rely heavily on institutions such as the NHS to ensure fairness, and generally ignore the fact that such institutions have failed to prevent inequalities linked to race and ethnicity. With these inequalities exposed, society needs credible explanations. However, our instinctive response has been to persuade ourselves that the inequalities are themselves the result of a natural phenomenon, and therefore outside the remit of our democracy and the control of our institutions. Rather than accept that racism is driving these inequalities, which would leave society at fault, we search for inherent deficits, including in the genes of those suffering. But there is overwhelming evidence that conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are rife in disadvantaged communities not because of any inherent genetic predispositions, but as a result of structural racism. And for that, we are culpable.

MEN’S HEALTH 53

KICK-START YOUR BODYWEIGHT TRAINING ON YOUR OWN TERMS

GYM-FREE MUSCLE

Of all the questions we were asked during lockdown, the most common was: “How can I maintain strength and muscle while the gyms are closed?” But the answer was standing there in the mirror all along. Any man who thinks “bodyweight” is shorthand for “lightweight” has clearly never tried a pistol squat. Heavy lifting certainly has its benefits, but it can also stress your joints and muscles and requires longer recovery times. By contrast, bodyweight training fine-tunes your movement and maximises your mobility – it should be a staple of any routine, not just a fallback option for when you can’t make it to the squat rack. On these pages, you’ll find seven challenges. Pick a different one each day of the week and expect to have nailed them all within a month. That you can perform them within metres of your back door is just an added incentive.

FOCUS ON FORM TO ELEVATE THE POTENTIAL OF THE CLASSIC BODYWEIGHT MOVE

56 MEN’S HEALTH

01 LIFT YOUR PRESS-UP GAME Few moves are as versatile or as accessible as the hands-elevated press-up, which you can perform on anything from outdoor railings and park benches to your kitchen work surface. It’s easier than a standard press-up, which means you can use it to home in on the details. Focus on your form and it will make your standard press-ups stronger, while testing your triceps more than you’d imagine in the process.

Complete four sets of 15 reps, applying these elite trade secrets to sharpen your performance 01 PERFECT YOUR PLANK “A press-up is a plank,” says Marvel’s go-to trainer, Don Saladino. “Make sure that you’re squeezing your glutes and abs.” Often, as people lower, they drop their hips or sag through their abs. Fight it, forming a line from your feet to your shoulders.

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

02 BE A BOTTOM DWELLER Let your chest come within an inch of the ground, but don’t rush up. “Too many people don’t appreciate that bottom position,” says Saladino. “Let your body face that tension.” Doing so will ensure that this position challenges your entire body.

03 GRIP THE EARTH As you press up, “screw” your hands into the ground. Twist your palms towards each other, rotating them outward. This will engage your lats, which will make you stronger. You’ll contract your chest much harder as you press up, too.

SEND YOUR HEART HEALTH SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS

Start with 15 incline press-ups (hands elevated). Rest for 14 seconds, then do 14 reps. Rest for another 13 seconds and do 13 reps. Ladder down until you’ve done one rep with a second’s rest. That’s 120 press-ups and yes, you’ll feel the burn.

02 JUMP-START YOUR FITNESS

Deadlifts and kettlebell swings are proven glute and hamstring developers, but neither tests your explosive power like the broad jump, attacking the same muscles while also getting your heart pumping. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent and glutes back. Throw your hands back, then forward as you leap ahead. Do three sets of three leaps HOW DO YOU STACK UP? Measure your best broad jump, calculating the distance from your starting line to where your heels land (you must stick the landing). Improve over a month. ELITE More than 8ft

SOLID Less than 6ft

FEET

SPECTACULAR 6-8ft

Add an explosive element to your total-body circuits. Warm up, then do three broad jumps, a 30-second plank and 10 press-ups. Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat for four rounds.

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

03 TAKE IT ON THE CHIN

There are pull-ups and chin-ups – and then there’s the hollow-body chin-up. To hear Equinox trainer David Otey tell it, this is the gold-standard bodyweight back move. Pull-ups attack your lats, sure, but the chin-up challenges both your lats and biceps, adding serious size. “I’m a chin-up guy,” says Otey. “It uses more muscle.” To achieve the core-testing hollow-body position, straighten your legs and squeeze them together, tightening your abs and glutes. Aim to do three sets of six to eight. Or mix things up with the variations below Beginner: Chin-Up Hold Pull your chin above the bar, maintaining a tight hollow-body position. Pause and hold for 10 seconds, or as long as you can. Do three reps. Advanced: Halfway-Pause Chin-Up Pull your chin above the bar, then lower. Pause when your upper arms are parallel to the ground, then lower all the way. Do three sets of four to six reps.

RAISE THE BAR ON YOUR BACK AND BICEPS TRAINING

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

04 FLIP STRENGTH WORK ON ITS BACK

Far more than a mere mobility exercise, the crab walk stretches your chest and works your abs, glutes, quads and hamstrings. The toe touch requires a surprising amount of balance and focus. But how cleanly can you execute it? That’s the bigger challenge. Our tips will help you perfect your form. Sitting, plant your hands behind your glutes. Lift your glutes and tighten your core. Raise your left arm and straighten your right leg; touch hand to toe. Return and switch sides. Work back and forth for 30 seconds; rest 30. Do three sets

58 MEN’S HEALTH

Perform four to six chin-ups, then release your hands from the bar and do a 10-second hollow hold on the grass/gym mat. Do five sets. As well as mastering your chin-up form, you’ll build the abs and biceps you deserve.

01 HIPS TO BE SQUARE Try not to tilt or bounce. Tighten your core and glutes, keeping your hips completely level on each touch. 02 KEEP YOUR BACK UP Don’t let your back round. Keep your abs tight throughout – otherwise, you’re just cheating yourself. 03 CAN YOU PAUSE? Try to hold for one second in the toe-touch position, the ultimate test of crab-position body control.

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

Do 30 seconds of crab toe touches, then 30 seconds of bodyweight squats. Complete four rounds without rest for four minutes of conditioning. You always have time to fit that in before work.

GYM-FREE MUSCLE

TAP INTO A NEW SOURCE OF STRENGTH

GYM-FREE MUSCLE

WORK YOUR PECS FROM THE GROUND UP, ONE SIDE AT A TIME

05 TAKE AIM AT YOUR CHEST

Few exercises target as many upper-body muscles as the archer press-up. By focusing on just one side of your chest at a time, it increases the load. Set up in the press-up position, with your hands slightly wider than normal and your fingers facing out. Keep your right arm straight as you bend your left elbow, shifting your torso towards the left arm. Keep looking at your right arm and let your torso turn that way. Repeat on the other side. You’ll challenge your chest and triceps, building not only strength but full-body control.

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

Take on this sequence: do six alternating archer press-ups. Then do 10 Superman holds: lie on your belly, hands and legs outstretched. Raise your arms and legs off the ground. Hold for two seconds, then release. Do three sets.

Your end goal is three sets of six to eight reps. It won’t come easily, so take it step by step using the progression plan below. Do two sets of each press-up variation, then move on to the next. When you reach a step that’s difficult, do two extra sets of it. Stop there and aim to progress more the next time you tackle this challenge 01 STANDARD PRESS-UP You’ve done this before. Shoot for 10 reps with your hands elevated (see page 56), then on the floor when you’re ready.

02 WIDE PRESS-UP Set up in press-up position, then move each of your hands an extra hand-width outward. Turn your palms out. Do 10 reps in this manner, squeezing your shoulder blades as you lower each time. 03 SEESAW WIDE PRESS-UP Set up in wide press-up position. Lower your chest to the ground, shifting your body slightly to the right. Push back up to the start. Do another press-up, shifting your body slightly to the left. That’s a rep; do five in this new style.

06LUNGE AHEAD OF THE PACK The knee drive is the forgotten part of a strong running stride. Driving forward with your knees helps to lengthen your stride, propelling you onward and helping you break that 10K time. The best way to train it? With the sprinter lunge.

Step into a reverse lunge with your left leg, your knee not quite touching the ground. Stand back up explosively, driving your left knee forward and jumping off the ground. Land softly. Do three sets of six to eight powerful reps per side. Hone your explosiveness with the cues below 01 KNEE HEIGHT Elevate your knee as much as possible. It should be higher than your hips at the top of every rep. 02 ARM SWING Whichever knee is driving forward, the opposite arm should drive up. It’ll quickly become natural. 03 DORSIFLEX Flex your elevated foot hard and lift your toe, as if this were a running stride. Tune up those mechanics.

STYLING: TED STAFFORD | GROOMING: JEN NAVARO/CREATIVE MANAGEMENT | PRODUCTION: HG PRODUCERS

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

Find an empty space outdoors, then tap into your inner Usain Bolt: do one set of four sprinter lunges per side, then sprint for 15 seconds. Rest for two minutes. Repeat four times.

WORK UP A CORE THAT CAN HANDLE ANY OF LIFE’S CHALLENGES

07 HANG ON FOR ABS

The hanging L-sit is a gymnastics-style move that calls on your abs to hold your legs straight. Think of it as a harder version of a leg lift or a toes-to-bar. It’ll work your core for unwavering stability and a better performance in pretty much every other movement that real life can throw at you.

PERFECT YOUR FORM TO RUN UP BIGGER CARDIO GAINS

Hang from a bar, with light tension in your shoulder blades, then kick your legs out in front of you. Push them together and flex your feet. Your abs will be on fire. Hold for 5-10 seconds; do three reps. Once you have mastered it, try these three variations 01 L-SIT FLUTTER KICK Start in the L-sit position, then flutter

READY FOR A WORKOUT?

your legs up and down alternately. Continue doing this for 10 seconds. 02 L-SIT IN-OUT From the same position, tuck your knees towards your chest. Extend back to the L-sit position. Do three reps. 03 L-SIT TOES-TO-BAR From the L-sit position, raise your straight legs to touch the bar. Return to the L-sit position. Aim for two reps.

Pair L-sit holds with V-ups for the ultimate abs burn. Do a five-second L-sit, then let go of the bar and lie on your back. Tighten your core, raising your arms and straight legs, aiming to touch your hands to your toes. Do five reps. Rest for 30 seconds. Do five sets.

MEN’S HEALTH 61

TheFitList

The26 Most Influential Men InHealth & Fitness True influence cannot be measured in likes and followers. It’s worth more than #ads and double taps. That’s why this list is different: you’ll find true change-makers, from life-saving scientists to tech innovators. These are the people making a difference to your life right now, whether you realise it or not ILLUSTRATIONS BY NOMA BAR & PADDY MILLS

HEALTH & FITNESS INFLUENCERS 2020

The Fit List 02.

James Clear Best-selling self-help author, forger of good habits

01. Kamal Patel

Director of examine.com, opposer of nutritional “fake news”

nalysing research papers might not be many people’s idea of a hobby. But it’s Kamal Patel’s – as well as his profession. Patel and his examine.com co-founder, Sol Orwell, met after discovering that they were both sufferers of the same rare and painful joint condition, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and were searching for ways to manage it. At the time, Patel was researching vitamin D at the US Institute of Medicine. “I was also a wannabe powerlifter,” he says, “so I was tweaking my diet a lot.” Both men were dismayed by the lack of a comprehensive source of unbiased nutritional information. Given the thousands of game-changing studies published each year – and the haphazard way in which they’re reported by the media – how could the average person keep up? They created a solution. (And bought the domain name for $41,000.) Today, examine.com attracts millions of visitors each month. “We

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don’t pump out click bait, we don’t accept third-party ads, and we don’t sell supplements,” says Patel. Instead, they assist hospitals in crafting research tools for their physicians and sell targeted content packages. Taking the path less trodden is a slog. “After all, we’re not a mega-corporation,” he says. “We’re just a team of research nerds.” The area of research on which Patel is currently most frequently nerding out is gut health. “There used to be this concept that when you eat something, it’s just integrated into your body,” he explains. “But now, we know that everybody’s gut is different and reacts very differently to foods. That’s why people sometimes say a certain diet didn’t work for them.” But more important than what he does know is his willingness to recognise what he doesn’t: “We know that we’re fallible. We make mistakes. So, if anyone catches anything, please let us know.”

James Clear’s Atomic Habits has sold more than a million copies, and the odds are that you’ll find one at your workplace or gym. Ten million visitors browse his website each year, and more than 650,000 people subscribe to his weekly “3-2-1” newsletter – among them Ryan Holiday, another author whose titles can be found in NFL, NBA and MLB locker rooms. Clear has also had speaking gigs at Lululemon, LinkedIn and Intel. His popularity is down to his lucid style and focus on the only real “one weird trick”: how to do things consistently enough to get results.

JUST THE FACTS: EXAMINE.COM DEBUNKS PERNICIOUS MYTHS ABOUT NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE

03.

Adrian Hill Vaccine maker at Oxford University, COVID-19 combatant Under more normal circumstances – in “precedented” times, if you like – it takes 15 years for a vaccine to go from idea to licensing. Hill’s team has been tasked with turning one around within months. A pioneer in vaccines for diseases such as malaria and Ebola, Hill, at the time of writing, is “80% confident” that the coronavirus vaccine that he and his team at Oxford are developing will work. If it proves effective, the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has committed to producing two billion doses – of which at least 100 million are earmarked for the UK.

KNIGHT IS PUTTING GUT BACTERIA UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

05.

Mark Twight Founder of cult ﬁtness facility Gym Jones, anti-inﬂuencer

WORDS: SCARLETT WRENCH, JAMIE MILLAR, TED LANE AND DAVID MORTON I PHOTOGRAPHY: GREG FUNNELL, AGATA PEC, ALAMY, NBCUNIVERSAL/GETTY

04.

Rob Knight Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation, guthealth guru If your shopping basket has been full of kefir, pickles and kombucha in recent years, you have one man to credit. When New Zealander Rob Knight was invited to collaborate on a project investigating the link between gut bacteria and bodyweight, he was initially sceptical. His work has since tied our microbiomes to everything from obesity and immune health to anxiety. (It’s a good thing he didn’t go with his gut…) In the near future, he hopes we’ll be able to “read” our bacteria like copy fed through Google Translate and use that info to build personalised medicines and diet plans.

When director Zack Snyder first hired Mark Twight as a mountain safety expert for 4x4 ads in 2001, the former alpinist was best known in climbing circles for his death-defying feats. Later, in the words of Vanity Fair, Twight proceeded to set “a new standard for male physiques in Hollywood action films” with the cast of Snyder’s 2006 movie 300 – not to mention most of the Justice League. Moving on from the cult of his former training facility Gym Jones (a name riffing on Twight’s charisma and hardcore methods), he has more recently reinvented himself as a mind transformation specialist and teaches his “philosophy of effort” to followers via his Project Mayhem-like NonProphet Media.

TRUE TO ITS NAME, WILKS’S FILM RE-ESTABLISHED VEGANISM AMONG THE FITNESS ELITE

06. James Wilks

Pro MMA ﬁghter, producer of The Game Changers, maker of vegans

eganism used to have an image problem. Or, more specifically, vegan men, who have often been unfairly characterised as oversensitive and underfed. With his documentary The Game Changers – which was executiveproduced by James Cameron, among others – Wilks ripped this idea up at its roots, arguing not only that meat is expendable in the quest for strength, but that a plant-based diet is actually superior for athletes of all disciplines. “The response has been incredible,” says Wilks. “Within a week of the film hitting Netflix, the interest in plant-based eating more than tripled worldwide, according to Google Trends metrics.” Among those said to have switched up their diets after watching the film are actor Dolph Lundgren, strongman Hafþór Björnsson and the CEO of sausage roll purveyor Greggs, Roger

Whiteside. “We have also had hundreds of very elite athletes reach out to us,” says Wilks. He won’t name names but reveals: “Soccer is one of the big ones.” Some of the film’s admittedly more hubristic claims have been met with scepticism, including by this magazine. Wilks is accepting of this fact, though he feels that the backlash has often been more emotional than analytical: “People are very attached to their meateating. It’s behavioural psychology.” He would know. A former mixed martial artist, with black belts in tae kwon do, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, there was a time when Wilks believed that eating animal protein at every meal was integral to his health and performance. “That’s backwards thinking,” he says now. “If you really think you need meat to build muscle… that’s just so old-fashioned.”

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08.

Chris Whitty 07.

Dwayne Johnson Actor, producer, wrestler and polymath, the Rock When polls showed that the wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson would beat Donald Trump (with a People’s Elbow, MH votes), it was inevitable that the most statesmanlike geological specimen since Mount Rushmore would announce his campaign for 2020. That 2017 Saturday Night Live skit seems less like a joke now with Johnson calling impassionedly for real leadership to his 189-millionstrong Instagram base, while Joe Rogan pleads: “C’mon, man – we need you.” Until this generation’s Arnie goes the full Reagan, he leads by example: training hard, opening up about his experience of depression and being a role-model dad.

Chief medical oﬃcer for England, voice of reason With the UK suffering more coronavirus deaths than any other European country (second only to the United States as we write this), the government has been criticised for its confused and oblique messaging (“Don’t go outside! But do go to work…”). England’s cautious and plain-speaking chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, has proved a reassuring presence at Downing Street press briefings. Whitty and his colleagues have frequently opposed plans to lower the UK’s threat level and defended care home staff. At least someone’s alert.

John Berardi Author, founder of Precision Nutrition, no-nonsense educator

10.

WHITTY’S EXPERIENCE HAS HELPED TO STEER A NATION IN CRISIS

A BORN LEADER, THE ROCK INSPIRES MILLIONS WITH HIS SELF-DISCIPLINE

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09.

Robin CarhartHarris Brain researcher, scientiﬁc psychonaut

“John has literally revolutionised the way most of us think about nutrition,” wrote bodybuilding website T-Nation in 2002 – the year before the “Large Professor” co-founded the hugely respected online coaching company Precision Nutrition. With clients from Nike to Equinox, Olympic gold medallists to UFC champ Georges St-Pierre, Precision Nutrition has helped more than 100,000 people eat their goals, and qualified almost as many coaches to give scientifically sound food advice. Having taught at recognised learning institutions, Berardi has established the Change Maker Academy to turn coaches into, well, him.

“Obtaining magic mushrooms on the NHS is a realistic goal, and it could be coming sooner than we think,” Robin Carhart-Harris told MH in 2018. We might not be there yet, but the doc’s predictions have proved incisive. The years since have seen the opening of Imperial College London’s multimillion-pound Centre for Psychedelic Research, headed by Carhart-Harris, where studies comparing psilocybin to traditional antidepressants show potentially gamechanging results. He has also researched LSD and MDMA. Even Gwyneth Paltrow is on board – though don’t let that put you off. CARHART-HARRIS IS TURNING TRADITIONAL MEDICINE ON TO THE POTENTIAL OF PSYCHEDELICS

HEALTH & FITNESS INFLUENCERS 2020

The Fit List 13.

Johann de Bono Regius Professor of Cancer Research, life-extender

11. Tony Bignell

Nike’s VP of footwear innovation, creator of the world’s fastest trainer

he top-three marathon men at the 2016 Rio Olympics were all Nike Zoom Vaporfly guys. In 2017, Eliud Kipchoge ran two-and-a-half minutes faster than the men’s world record of 2:02:57 in the Vaporfly Elite, albeit unofficially. In 2018, he officially smashed the record by 78 seconds in the Vaporfly 4% – that figure being its scarcely believable improvement to the wearer’s running economy. And in 2019, Kipchoge finally (unofficially) broke two hours by 20 seconds in… What are those? Are they legal? Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year women’s marathon world record (Brigid Kosgei), the nine-year men’s 10K road world record (Joshua Cheptegei), and the men’s 5K road world record (Cheptegei again) were also smashed by Vaporfly runners. Some have demanded stiffer regulations, even a retrospective ban for “technical doping”. “On one hand, it’s a vote of confidence that people are talking about it because

we feel like we’re making a difference and that’s what we’re trying to do,” says Bignell. “But on the other hand, it is a little bit limiting.” World Athletics’ tighter footwear restrictions in January ostensibly took aim at Kipchoge’s sub-two platform moon boots, with their alien forefoot foam pods. But the Alphafly Next%, launched to the rest of us in June, complies with the sole thickness limit of 40mm. It contains the one permitted carbon plate, not the rumoured three. It’s not “spring-loaded”. The confusion, Bignell says, is partly because Nike files countless patents for lots of prototypes. Other manufacturers boast similar technologies. But it’s Bignell and his team who, with “hundreds and hundreds” of tweaks and feedback from Kipchoge and co, have nailed the blend. Running shoes typically lose 30-40% of the wearer’s energy. If they returned more than 100%, that would be cheating to Bignell: “We’re just making them more efficient.”

12.

Andy Puddicombe Founder of meditation app Headspace, purveyor of peace of mind After a personal tragedy, the voice of Headspace spent a decade as a monk meditating for up to 16 hours a day, during which time he learned to focus less on himself and more on bringing happiness to others. Among the first people he helped was an anxious ad man called Rich Pierson, who became his business partner. The “Google of mindfulness” (the searchengine giant is one of its corporate clients), Headspace is now a household name, with 54 million users. With evidence of its effectiveness mounting, Puddicombe will soon reach his nirvana of doctors dispensing it.

Prostate cancer now kills 32 men in the UK every day, even more than women lost to breast cancer. De Bono – based at London’s Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden – is on a mission to reduce that statistic. He has been dubbed one of the world’s most influential scientific minds by Reuters, having developed more than 100 cancer drugs, including olaparib, which is due to become the first genetargeted precision medicine for prostate cancer. All you need to know is that he has improved both patients’ longevity and quality of life. “I know men today who would be dead if I hadn’t done this work,” he says.

DE BONO’S WORK IS BRINGING A CANCER CURE CLOSER TO REALITY

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HEALTH & FITNESS INFLUENCERS 2020

The Fit List 14.

Stephen Manderson

16. Cory Wharton-Malcolm

AKA rapper Professor Green, suicide-prevention campaigner In 2011, long before male mental health became a major media talking point, Stephen Manderson released a song addressing his father’s death by suicide, “Read All About It”, in which he proclaimed, “Pretending everything is all right when it ain’t, really isn’t working.” It’s a statement that he has stood by – and acted on. Alongside his role as the patron of the leading mental health charity Calm, he has made BBC documentaries on subjects such as suicide, poverty and homelessness, and was an early supporter of Men’s Health’s campaign, #MendTheGap.

PROFESSOR GREEN WAS AMONG THE FIRST PUBLIC FIGURES TO BREAK THE SILENCE ON MALE MENTAL HEALTH

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15.

Paul Sinton Hewitt Founder of Parkrun, transformer of Saturday mornings Sacked from his marketing job and injured, the Parkrun founder – a CBE for services to grass-roots sport – kept his spirits up by organising a weekly timed 5K in Teddington, London for 13 or so friends in 2004. “The Bushy Park Time Trial” has since grown into a movement of more than 350,000 runners and volunteers from the seven million registered, turning out every weekend across 2,000 locations in 20 countries. Bringing fitness to marginalised groups, deprived areas and prisons as part of its mission to create a “happier, healthier planet”, the charity remains “free, for everyone, forever”.

Track Maﬁa founder and Nike coach, champion of inclusive ﬁtness

rack Mafia isn’t a running club – it’s a community. “People don’t just come for the exercise. They come for friendship,” says founder Cory Wharton-Malcolm, “Beefy” to his friends and followers. “At Track Mafia, you’ll meet chefs, illustrators, hospital workers, CEOs, TfL workers... Everyone has a common purpose.” On Thursday nights at Paddington Rec’s athletics track, there is no hierarchy. It’s free, and novices train alongside pros. Groups such as Track Mafia and Run Dem Crew, for which WhartonMalcolm has also worked, have changed the face of recreational running. It’s been said that the sport attracts a narrow demographic – slim, middle class, white. These crews are the antidote: a home for those who don’t fit the profile, but take their running no less seriously. When Wharton-Malcolm took up running in preparation for joining the 2007 London Marathon, he

could barely jog to the bottom of his road without gassing out. “My friends laughed and said, ‘You’re fat, you smoke, you eat kebabs. How do you plan to do this?’” They’re probably not laughing now. Today, as well as fronting Track Mafia, Wharton-Malcolm is a head coach (and voice) for the Nike Run Club app, which during lockdown became the fourth most popular app in the UK. He has acted as a speaker in parliament and Buckingham Palace, talking about how sports can be used to engage young people, strengthen communities and reduce antisocial behaviour. Championing inclusivity remains his MO, including opening up new pathways into top-tier jobs. “I think a lot of organisations feel, ‘If this person wasn’t taught the way I was taught, then they’re not for us. We’ll have to spend too much time showing them how to do things our way.’ But don’t you want to learn how to do things their way, too?”

17.

Dorian Yates Six-time Mr Olympia, unlikely icon of holistic health

18.

David Weir Paralympic hero, proof that “disability” is just a word

WEIR HAS WON NO FEWER THAN SIX GOLD MEDALS

The former pro bodybuilder and original “mass monster” dominated his discipline in the 1990s, supersizing it permanently. But “the Shadow” shunned the limelight outside of contests, instead going to dark places in his dungeon-like Temple Gym in Birmingham with his unmatchably high-intensity training: one “all-out”, soul-microtearing set per exercise. Following injuries, retirement and depression, Yates swapped steroids and growth hormone for marijuana and ayahuasca. Into meditation and yoga in a big way, he’s become an unlikely advocate for developing spirituality as well as muscularity.

David Weir is, by anyone’s standards, an exceptionally gifted athlete. Not only has he collected six Paralympic gold medals – along with an MBE and CBE – he has won his category in the London Marathon a record eight times. This April would have marked his 21st consecutive attempt at the top spot. Instead, he powered through 26.2 miles in and around his home to raise money for the Weir Archer Academy, which he founded to provide other wheelchair users with sports coaching. He’s not so much breaking barriers as smashing through them.

19. Justin “JC” Coghlan Co-founder of Movember, the man who made fundraising fun

ike many of the best ideas, the concept for Movember was dreamed up in a pub. Inspired by the work they had seen women doing to raise funds for breast cancer, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery felt that men should be taking similar action on behalf of their own well-being. So, they challenged 30 of their mates to grow a (sponsored) moustache. The following year, they registered as a company and gave Justin “JC” Coghlan a role as campaign manager. Their first big campaign was titled Give Prostate Cancer a Kick in the Arse. “We were young men,” says JC. “We got hit hard by the media at the start. We had straight-laced cancer organisations saying, ‘Cancer’s not fun.’ We knew that. But to cut through the stigma, we had to get men having fun together.” The risk paid off – generously. Today, Movember has raised more than £598m for men’s health causes. Cancer remains a focus, but in

recent years, suicide prevention has proved itself more urgent. “It’s what keeps me awake at night,” says JC. Movember is not a crisis-point charity, and JC’s approach has been to target men and boys whose mental health is average to poor, and ensure it tends towards the former. “That middle area is the game changer,” he says. Many of his initiatives have focused on providing support to marginalised communities, where young men are in desperate need of mentorship or healthy outlets for their energies. Most recently, he helped to launch Movember Conversations, a tool designed to coach people on broaching difficult topics. “I’m as guilty of getting it wrong as anyone else,” he says. “I hear a problem, and I want to solve it. But people aren’t looking for a solution. They’re looking for support.”

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21.

Damien Bailey Concussion researcher, “extreme scientist”

20.

Louie Simmons Founder of Westside Barbell, weightlifting mover and shaker If you’ve tried any trick to lift a heavier barbell, you’ve benefited from Simmons’s trailblazing. Attaching resistance bands or hanging chains was his idea. Doing partial reps, benching to wooden blocks on your chest and deadlifting from pins in a power cage was his, too. He and his gym, Westside Barbell in Ohio, have pushed the extremes of powerlifting with staggering results. Now 72, he hit a 420kg squat, 270kg bench press and 327kg deadlift after hitting 50: proof that the pursuit of strength can be a lifelong endeavour.

SIMMONS HAS RAISED THE BAR OF STRENGTH TRAINING

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Former footballer and endurance athlete Damien Bailey has been at the cutting edge of research into the brain’s relationship with oxygen for more than 20 years. Most important is his research into concussion. His findings prove that repeated blows to the head in rugby reduce the brain’s ability to use oxygen and increases the risk of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Crucially, people are listening: his impact is now global. Last year’s World Cup was the first to feature the High Tackle Sanction Framework, and the overall concussion incidence decreased by 28%.

THE UK’S FASTEST-GROWING FASHION LABEL IS UNAFRAID TO TELL IT LIKE IT IS

22. Ben Francis

Founder of activewear brand Gymshark, pioneer of inﬂuencer marketing

“

Fuck standing on the sideline. Fuck injustice. Fuck racism.” Where some brands virtue-signalled vaguely in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Gymshark spoke out, donating $125,000 to Black Lives Matter and committing to driving change via its channels. A “red thread” of community runs through the UK sportswear company, says founder Ben Francis, fresh of face at 28. “We’re superinclusive, super-caring, supertransparent.” And unlike the older, clunkier competitors that it’s circling, the spandex predator is “extremely agile”. At the start of lockdown, it deftly changed its social media handles to “Homeshark” to remind its fam that: “This ain’t no joke.” That nimbleness is despite Britain’s fastest-growing fashion label swelling into a £500m

megalodon based in Solihull in just eight years. The 500-plus staff also has outposts in Denver, Hong Kong and Mauritius. With no high-street stores, traditional advertising or outside investment, social media has turbo-charged the expansion of Gymshark, which Francis started in his parents’ garage when he was 19, while studying business and management at Aston University by day and working at Pizza Hut by night. “I wish I could tell you that it was this master plan,” says Francis. As a 16-year-old, he was inspired to join a gym by fitness YouTubers. So, when he and friends began hand-sewing and screen-printing their own clothing, more tapered than traditional bodybuilder apparel, sending samples to their online idols seemed only fitting. Francis has a big vision, too: “I want us to create the greatest community, and I want us to be the greatest fitness brand on the planet.”

HEALTH & FITNESS INFLUENCERS 2020

The Fit List 25.

Chris Mosier Mould-breaking sprint duathlete, Olympics reformer

23.

Will Ahmed CEO of Whoop, health metric front-runner Ahmed came up with the idea for Whoop – a wearable that monitors a range of metrics to give people usable feedback on their exercise recovery – while studying at Harvard in 2011. A year later, he and two friends launched the company, which went quickly from tests with LeBron James and Michael Phelps to becoming the tracker of choice for CrossFitters and nine-to-five athletes. Whoop pivoted quickly after the spread of coronavirus, providing users with respiratory rate readings to reliably chart a more critical kind of recovery.

AHMED DREAMED UP WHOOP, THE LAST WORD IN TRACKING DEVICES

Chris Mosier holds a lot of “firsts”. He was the first transgender athlete to represent the US in international competition, the first to appear in ESPN’s iconic “Body Issue” and, this year, he became the first to qualify for the Olympic trials in the gender category with which he identifies. Activism wasn’t his intention, but with guidelines for transgender people in sport still politically charged, he has picked up the baton and run/cycled with it. His website, transathlete.com, tracks and opposes discriminatory policies. MOSIER’S SITE IS A KEY RESOURCE FOR TRANS INCLUSION IN SPORTS

24.

Dana White UFC president, pandemic-era sports visionary The ink was dry on the success story of the UFC: a freak show, bought by White and the Fertitta brothers for $2m, that grew into a global force sold to Endeavor Group Holdings for $4bn. Then a certain pandemic cancelled sport. White reacted quickly, with spectator-free fight cards making the UFC the first major North-American pro sport to resume. His next move is “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, which will operate as a COVID-19 safe zone for fighters and their coaches to live, train and compete. The sport-starved world will be watching.

THE FIGHT CONTINUES ON A COVID-FREE ISLAND

26.

Adam Kay Comedian and best-selling author, defender of the NHS

There’s nothing more influential in health than our NHS. We have known for years that this giant, life-saving machine is in peril; Kay’s genius has been in humanising it. His memoir, This Is Going to Hurt, shifted our focus to the overworked, underpaid people propping it up. It ignited a conversation that exploded in response to COVID-19 and resulted in 400,000 people signing up to the NHS “volunteer army” in 48 hours. His latest book, Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You, is a continuation of this story and seeds hope that, in his words, “The NHS will never again be taken for granted. Not by the British public, not by the media and, most importantly, not by the politicians.”

KAY’S MISSIVES FROM THE NHS HAVE INSPIRED THE NATION

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A Salad For

Insubstantial? Leaf off! A well-constructed salad provides matchless ﬁtness fuel, piled high with all the macros and micros that you need to lift heavier, run faster and hit peak performance. It just takes a little know-how. Make your lunch ﬁt for every purpose WORDS BY SCARLETT WRENCH – PHOTOGRAPHY BY GARETH SAMBRIDGE – FOOD STYLING BY PETA O’BRIEN

Meal Prep Hero SOFT-BOILED EGGS Come for the essential amino acids; stay for the antioxidants, healthy fats and testosteronebuilding vitamin D. Eggs are an underappreciated lunch addition. They make a tasty topping for Thai noodle salads or a crunchy tuna niçoise. Boil them in bulk.

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All Sessions

If you want to know why salad has a rep for being boring, you can start by looking at the Latin phrase from which it derives its name: herba salata, or “salted greens”. Not exactly the stuff of gains-filled dreams. Thousands of years later, salad still struggles to shake off this image, albeit with those greens now dressed in vinaigrette rather than dredged in Maldon. Salads are the preserve of ladies who lunch, not men who lift.

Such prejudices are flawed, and they’ll only hold you back. “Salads may be characterised as a diet food, but they can be adapted for any number of training goals,” says London-based nutrition consultant Drew Price, who has worked with elite-level athletes. Beyond your staple cos and cucumber, a salad bowl is simply a vessel for whatever you wish to toss into it: fluffy wholegrains, umami-rich cheese, preserved veg, or even seared steak. Crucially, salad’s thrown-together nature means it’s easy to balance and rebalance your

ratios of carbs and proteins according to your current regimen. Plus, if you’re prepping in bulk and eating on the go, a lunch that won’t go soggy, get squashed, fall apart or require reheating is an easy win. Of course, function is nothing without flavour. These four recipes were built to order by Miles Kirby, co-founder of Caravan, who specialises in food as delicious as it is salubrious. You won’t leave hungry.

01 Get ripped with this easy egg salad (recipe overleaf)

01 Get Ripped with Spiced Potato and Egg Putting on muscle mass requires more than a diet of chicken breast dusted with whey powder. “While it’s true that protein is the bricks and mortar of muscle tissue, you need energy to stimulate growth,” says Price. “Here, carbohydrates are your friend.” This recipe provides a mix of slow- and fastrelease carbs, which is ideal after training. “It reduces the production of cortisol, a hormone involved in the breakdown of muscle tissue,” he explains. In other words, it’ll stop your body from eating through your biceps for energy and could even support increased testosterone production.

Meal Prep Hero ANCIENT GRAINS Quinoa is neither the only nor best option. Spelt, barley and teff are underrated salad bases, serving up phosphorus, selenium and thiamine, respectively. Most can be found in microwaveable packs, for when time’s at a premium.

METHOD

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 1) • SWEET POTATO, LARGE • ALEPPO CHILLI FLAKES, 2TSP • BLACK RICE, 100G (COOKED WEIGHT) • BABY SPINACH, A HANDFUL • CASHEWS, A HANDFUL • EGGS, 2, SOFT-BOILED

Peel and dice your potato. As well as energy-boosting carbs, it’s a good source of manganese, an antiinflammatory, and potassium, which supports muscle function. Rub with olive oil and toss with salt, pepper and the chilli flakes. Coat, then place on a roasting tray at 180°C for 30-45 minutes. When cooked, combine with the black rice, spinach

and magnesium-rich cashews. Roughly combine it all by hand, then dress with lemon juice and just a dash of olive oil. The spinach should start to wilt a little from the heat of the potato wedges. Soft-boil your eggs, halve them and top your salad with an extra 13g of protein. Dig in within an hour or two of hitting the showers.

SUPER BOWLS

Recover Stronger with Mediterranean Lamb While you don’t need red meat for prime performance, it has its benefits during a tough lifting programme. “Athletes, especially strength athletes, require extra protein,” says Price. “Lamb provides taurine, an amino acid involved in muscle cell hydration and recovery, carnosine, a compound that buffers the effect of intense exercise and reduces muscle fatigue, and creatine, which helps muscles to generate power.” Combine this with high-fibre carbs, probiotic yogurt and vitamin C-rich lemon and you have what amounts to a sports massage in a bowl. After all, there’s no point leaving it all on the gym floor if you’re left sofa-bound for the rest of the week.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 1) • GRASS-FED LAMB CHUMP, 70G • A LARGE TOMATO, ROASTED AND CHOPPED • A WHOLEMEAL PITTA BREAD • SPELT, 120G (COOKED WEIGHT) • CUCUMBER, ¼, DICED • MINT LEAVES, A SMALL HANDFUL • PRESERVED LEMON, 1TSP, CHOPPED • GROUND SUMAC, 1TBSP • GREEK YOGURT, 1TBSP

METHOD

Begin by slicing up your lamb chump (a chop from the rump) into four or five pieces. You don’t need to be clever with it. Season with salt and pepper, place on a tray and grill until cooked but still pink in the middle. You can roast the tomato at the same time. Meanwhile, toast the pitta, then tear it into pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the spelt, tomato, cucumber, mint, preserved

lemon and sumac to the bowl and mix well. Sumac has an antioxidant effect, supporting repair and immunity when your body is taking a battering. Finally, gently stir in the yogurt and a glug of olive oil. Season again with salt, pepper and a bit of lemon juice and serve with the hot, grilled lamb. You’ll be feeling far less of a chump by the time you’ve finished.

SUPER BOWLS

Meal Prep Hero ROOT VEGETABLES The best salads aren’t built on raw veg alone. Roots such as carrots, kohlrabi, red onion and fennel are packed with vitamins, minerals and guthealth-friendly prebiotics, which have been shown to aid weight loss. Roast a quartered fennel with oil and a squeeze of honey until it caramelises.

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Reboot Your Stamina with Honeyed Beets Few foods are as effective as a performance enhancer as beetroot. Its nitrate compounds – a sort of cardio super serum – improve oxygen efficiency, kicking your endurance up a gear almost instantly. “Tour de France cyclists swear by it,” says Price. “It’s pretty astounding.” Don’t sweat about the sugar in this salad, either: ahead of endurance exercise, honey provides performancesupporting carbs in the form of glucose and fructose, ensuring you don’t gas out at the midway mark. Best of all, this recipe is light, because the last thing you want on a 10-mile training run is a belly full of minced beef and bread. You can always eat that when you cross the finish line.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 1) • PURPLE BEETROOT, 2 • GOLDEN BEETROOT, 2 • WHITE WINE VINEGAR, 50ML • CASTER SUGAR, 50G • MANUKA HONEY, 2TSP • SHERRY VINEGAR, 30ML • AVOCADO OIL • FETA CHEESE, 60G • AVOCADO, ½, SLICED • A CANDY BEETROOT

METHOD

Peel the purple beetroots, slice into wedges and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Roast on a low heat until soft. Beets serve up your folate RDA, helping to convert carbs into useable energy. While they cook, slice and boil the golden beets. Drain. In a separate pan, combine the white wine vinegar and sugar with 50ml of water. Boil and pour over the golden

beets, letting them steep for a couple of hours. Mix the honey – a source of carbs – with the sherry vinegar and avocado oil. To serve, layer the beetroot and pour on the dressing. Crumble the feta on top, then crown with the quarters of avocado. Take your candied beet, shave it and arrange the crunchy slices on top.

Trim the Fat with Black Rice, Beans and Cod The secret to sustained weight loss is both very simple and fairly tricky. Ultimately, all you need to do is remain in a calorie deficit – but hunger, fatigue and the rigours of a new training plan can easily upend your best-laid plans. Consider this dish your safety net. “Though low in calories, this salad is high in vitamins, minerals and quality fats, supporting health and recovery,” says Price. The cod will help you reel in leucine, the key amino acid for muscle synthesis, while the rice and broad beans boost satiety. “As well as filling you up, fibre slows the absorption of the carbs, making it ideal for enhancing recovery while supporting fat loss,” says Price.

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INGREDIENTS (SERVES 1) • GREEN CHILLI, ½, CHOPPED • OLIVE OIL, 2TBSP • MOSCATEL VINEGAR, 1TBSP • A COD FILLET, 120G, SKINNED, BONED AND COOKED BLACK RICE, 100G (COOKED • WEIGHT) • BROAD BEANS, 2TBSP, BLANCHED AND SHELLED • TOASTED PINE NUTS, 1TBSP • BASIL LEAVES, TO GARNISH

METHOD

Kick off with the marinade: crush the chilli with a pestle and mortar, then whisk with the oil and vinegar, plus salt and pepper to taste. Too many people avoid using dressings and marinades as a way to cut calories, but they can make the difference between a satisfying meal and a bland salad that will have you trotting to the fridge for snacks an hour later.

Leave the marinade to stand while you practise your knife skills. Slice the fish as thinly as possible, going against the grain, and spread it out in a wide, shallow bowl. Pour over the liquid and let it marinate for five minutes. Plate up with rice, broad beans – a source of folate, which helps to make red blood cells – and the pine nuts, topped with some torn basil and a sprinkle of salt.

SUPER BOWLS

Meal Prep Hero FROZEN BEANS For peak freshness and minimum processing, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t beat the frozen aisle. Broad beans, garden peas and podded edamame should be salad staples. The last of these serves up an impressive 5g of fibre and 12g of protein per serving, as well as the full complement of amino acids.

The number of active podcasts has passed the one million mark – and with it, given rise to perpetual listener FOMO. Well, no longer. Take a seat and grab an earbud for our celebration of this year’s finest audio talent. Each of these shows is packed with advice to keep you fitter, healthier, informed and, yes, entertained WORDS BY JAMIE MILLAR

Voice Coaches

Best Training Partner

Best Looong Interview

These standouts provide motivation – and information – on tap

These incisive shows are more than worthy of your attention span

WINNER!

Trained by Nike

WINNER!

Host and Nike’s senior director of performance Ryan Flaherty is at “the cutting edge of holistic fitness”, along with CrossFit musketeer Josh Bridges, Britain’s fastest-ever woman, Dina Asher-Smith, Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe, Stanford University behavioural scientist BJ Fogg and basketball great LeBron James. The episodes are succinct enough to last the duration of your 5K run. Or if they don’t, you’ll soon be up to speed…

The Tim Ferriss Show The author of The Four-Hour Work Week remains the reigning champion of the two-hour podcast. Ferriss is a Jedi at “deconstructing” top-level performers from the worlds of business, sport and culture to extract their tools, tactics and effective habits. And there are few who won’t grant him an audience now that the three-time Best of Apple show has surpassed half a billion downloads. But however big he gets, the “Oprah of Audio” still puts in the hours to compile comprehensive, time-saving show notes.

RUNNERS UP!

The GMB Fitness Show

RUNNERS UP!

The Rich Roll Show If you like your interviews less meaty, with a healthy self-helping of spirituality, then the groovy vegan ultra-athlete will suit your taste. His guests have to go a long way to surpass Roll’s own journey: an overweight entertainment attorney who could barely climb stairs at 40, Roll quit drink and drugs and, two years later, completed a three-day double Ironman.

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish According to the mock-redacted “About” page on his website Farnham Street – where Wall Street types gobble up his digested reads of useful books – Parrish can’t tell you anything about his background “without going to jail” (he worked in cybersecurity at a Canadian intelligence agency). He can talk about other interesting things in interviews, from leadership and risktaking to man’s search for meaning.

Best Bite-Sized Interview What It Takes The American Academy of Achievement was founded by Brian Blaine Reynolds, who rose from humble beginnings to become a photographer for Life and Sports Illustrated, and wanted to enable young people from similar backgrounds to rub shoulders with the heroes he met on assignments. For six decades, it has given students the opportunity to learn from big players in entertainment, science, public services, sports and business. The AAA’s podcast offers money-can’t-buy access to life lessons from Bill Clinton, Jeff Bezos, Johnny Cash and too many other luminaries to namedrop.

Interested in bodyweight training, callisthenics, movement, mobility or “physical autonomy”? Not interested in biceps and abs except for using them to do cool stuff with? Combining their backgrounds in martial arts, gymnastics and physical therapy into GMB’s trademark blend of accessibility, credibility and “dumb jokes”, co-hosts Ryan Hurst, Andy Fossett and Jarlo Ilano could do this standing on their heads.

WHOOP Podcast Another show that’s more than a marketing exercise, this time from the fitness (really, recovery) tracker. And again, founder, CEO and host Will Ahmed tracks down some big whoop-worthy guests, from Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman and Yale coronavirus expert Nicholas Christakis to retired Navy SEAL commander Mark Divine, Green Beret Kevin Flike, golfer Rory McIlroy and WWE wrestler Seth Rollins.

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Best in Sport

(That Is Football)

The beautiful game scores a category of its own. Here are the pundits that do more than just put in a shift

(That Isn’t Football) Some are inspiring, some simply entertaining, but each of these MVPs merits a spot on your playlist

WINNER!

The Totally Football Show

WINNER!

ESPN’s 30 For 30 Podcasts

A top, top podcast, as the kind of cliché-spouting pundits you won’t find on it would say. You will, however, find elite wordplay from host James Richardson, plus analysis and insight from a squad of journalists and ex-pros covering the Premier League, Europe and beyond. The top scorer in the sport category at the 2019 British Podcast Awards recently signed for the Athletic, “the Netflix of sportswriting”, for an undisclosed sum, but it is thankfully still free to air.

If Netflix basketball documentary The Last Dance whetted your appetite for something more substantial than the back pages, gorge on six multiaward-winning seasons from the makers of the acclaimed film series. Most episodes are weird and wonderful one-offs, but a five-part season was dedicated to former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who received a lifetime ban from the NBA for racist comments. As the tagline goes: “Too dramatic not to be real”.

RUNNERS UP!

That Peter Crouch Podcast

RUNNERS UP!

The Cycling Podcast Journalists and co-hosts Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe have been consistently ahead of the peloton: The Cycling Podcast was nominated for Best Sport yet again at the 2020 British Podcast Awards, having won bronze in 2018, as was its Féminin spin-off in 2019. Two books, cycling jerseys, cappuccino sets: it’s a veritable lifestyle brand to rival previous sponsor Rapha.

Tailenders A “tailender” is a batsman of limited ability (AKA a “bowler”), who is therefore sent into the crease last, probably for a limited innings. Thankfully, terminology like that is no boundary to enjoying this alternative take on cricket, co-hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Greg James, wicket-collecting England paceman Jimmy Anderson and erstwhile Maccabees guitarist-turnedthird man Felix White. It’ll tickle you.

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Best Under 10 Minutes Radio Headspace For the meditation app’s habitual users, just the sound of co-founder and former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe’s voice is enough to trigger a Pavlovian relaxation response. But tuning out your internal chatter and into his wisdom on “what brings us together in this shared human condition and how we can live a life that best reflects our limitless potential” also helps. Radio Headspace broadcasts daily but if you’re worried about how you’re going to fit in another podcast, the episodes last only a few minutes – assuaging anxiety about your bandwidth, too.

Good chat for a big man. Crouchy was played 12 million times in 2019, which is almost as many as he was in his peripatetic striking career. With presenters Tom Fordyce and Chris Stark, he takes a refreshingly different approach to the banterful game, whether it’s gaffer Tony Pulis on his iconic headgear or Countdown’s Susie Dent on the etymology of “shithouse”.

Zonal Marking Your every waking moment not yet filled with exhaustively reported long reads about every footballing minutiae imaginable, courtesy of the Athletic? There’s yet more premium content in the shape of this highly technical breakdown. Is that a 4-3-3 or more of a diamond? The two up top, Michael Cox and Ali Maxwell, and guests make Andy Townsend’s Tactics Truck look like a carthorse.

Voice Coaches LET POSITIVE PODCASTS NIP MISERY IN THE BUDS

Best Aural Pleasure Happiness is as much a skill as a state. We’d subscribe to that – and to our winners’ shows WINNER!

The Happiness Lab With nearly a quarter of Yale undergraduates enrolled a little over a week after registration opened in January 2018, Laurie Santos’s course Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular class in the institution’s 318-year history. If you don’t have time to take the whole course (now online and free), Santos will bring you up to date on the science of happiness. For once, you’ll want to do your homework.

Best (Very) Newcomer The Tub Hub Launched in the latter days of lockdown by Nike running coach and Track Mafia founder Cory Wharton-Malcolm, this podcast is so-named because both the host and the interviewee record in the bath (separately). The topic laid bare is appropriately vulnerable: asking for help. Guests have included coach Harry Jameson and Nike global master trainer Joslyn Thompson Rule, with topics ranging from diversity in the fitness industry to moving past perfectionism.

RUNNERS UP!

10% Happier with Dan Harris Now an enlightened anchorman, ABC News correspondent Harris once suffered an on-air panic attack before he stumbled on meditation as a means to silence the “incessant, insatiable” voice in his head. (Maybe take out the earpiece?) The podcast bearing the same name as his bestselling book and 100% app-ier meditation app is significantly more uplifting than the news headlines.

DIGITAL ARTWORK: SCRATCHINPOST.CO.UK

Happier with Gretchen Rubin Doubtless even more chuffed to be crowned People’s Voice winner in the Health & Wellness category at the 2020 Webby Awards, “the queen of the self-help memoir” is all about the little, practical things – tested by her less chipper younger sister, who co-hosts – that you can do to make happiness a habit as well as a virtue. With more than 95 million downloads, she has a lot of cheerful customers.

Best Fitness Industry Agitator The NonProphet Podcast Billing itself as “the Worst Fitness Podcast in the World”, this show sits at “the intersection of effort, art and philosophy” – and in the last section on iTunes. Coach, artist and philosopher Mark Twight, who co-hosts with colleagues Michael Blevins and Kegan Dillon, founded then quit the cult training facility Gym Jones in Salt Lake City and has trained Leonidas (AKA Gerard Butler), Superman (AKA Henry Cavill) and Aquaman (AKA Jason Momoa). But this is much more than superficial “fitness-ing”, including strong views, language and humour. Not for the faint of cardio.

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REWIRE YOUR BRAIN WITH THESE TALKING CURES

Best in Mental Health

There’s no replacement for a good therapist, but when you’d rather listen than spill, these work well WINNER!

Declassiﬁed Ex-soldier Michael Coates’s mission to tell the stories of former servicemen spawned Declassified, nominated for two British Podcast Awards in 2020. Even if you haven’t been to Helmand and back, the military community has valuable intel on strength, ability, relationships and, yes, wellness.

RUNNERS UP!

Mental Illness Happy Hour The joke is a double – triple, if you count the fact that the episodes rarely last 60 minutes. Mental illness isn’t cheery, but host and depression sufferer Paul Gilmartin is also a stand-up comic. His sessions with friends, other creatives and the occasional medical professional are less liquid therapy or doctor’s office, more “a waiting room that doesn’t suck”.

The Hilarious World of Depression “A show about clinical depression… with laughs” – at least, as many laughs as the subject allows. Again, host John Moe is a melancholic humorist and the guests are other funny people (cardcarrying or otherwise), from the bipolar Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page to body positivity campaigner Jameela Jamil. All a bit heavy? Skip to the episode that’s “Just the Funny Parts”.

Best Mindset Reboot

Want to sharpen your focus or shift your perspective? These will fix your thinking at the tap of a touchscreen WINNER!

Finding Mastery When edge-of-space-hopper Felix Baumgartner started having panic attacks during training, he fell back on the prescriptions of Michael Gervais: a highperformance psychologist whose clients include record-breaking athletes and record-making artists, MVPs and CEOs. Gervais gently prods and probes his guests – such as “Dr Sleep” Matthew Walker, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph, UFC legend Georges St-Pierre and Olympian marathoner Meb Keflezighi – to identify the mental processes that help them bring their A-game. RUNNERS UP!

Hidden Brain What goes on in your head? Journalist and author Shankar Vedantam uncovers the science behind why we unconsciously do what we do (including eating, in an episode called, brilliantly, “Hungry, Hungry Hippocampus”). Misguided notions of masculinity, hitting “the empathy gym”, how outrage hijacks our minds and how memories betray us – if you can think of it, you’ll find it here. And if you’d rather not, you’ll find out why.

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown In case you haven’t seen her TEDx talk “The Power of Vulnerability”, which has clocked up 50 million views and counting, or read one of her five New York Times bestsellers, Doc Brown is a social science rock star who has studied courage, shame and empathy – all the feels. Her Apple chart-topper “unpacks and explores the ideas, stories, experiences, books, films and music that reflect the universal experiences of being human”.

Voice Coaches

Best Career Mentor

Best Food for Thought Under the Skin with Russell Brand

Download a more fulfilling working life with podcasts engineered to make you fitter, happier and more productive

Clean, sober and spiritually and politically awakened, Russell Brand – now married with kids – is a “master of modern discourse and disputation”, as Rich Roll called his dream-intervieweethat-came-true last year: he is “a philosopher of the extreme”. Brand’s own guests range from Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari, Iceman Wim Hof and astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson to Joe Wicks, Ricky Gervais and jiu-jitsu scions Ryron and Rener Gracie. “They’ll help us to see the ulterior truth behind our constructed reality,” says Brand. “And have a laugh.”

WINNER!

Eat Sleep Work Repeat Bruce Daisley, the author of The Joy of Work, may have spent 12 years running Twitter and YouTube in Europe, but he’s also a normal bloke from a Birmingham council estate. With good company – including Frances Frei, the world’s most sought-after “culture doctor”, and former England football team psychologist Pippa Grange – he promotes a healthier, happier way of working than his show’s joyless title might suggest, backed by firm science. RUNNERS UP!

How’s Work? Try as we might, we don’t leave our emotional baggage at the office door (alas). The renowned therapist Esther Perel – who also hosts the popular couples podcast Where Should We Begin? – brings her expertise to bear on the other big pillar of our lives, helping fighter pilots-turned-business partners to negotiate a “break-up”, and a divorcing husband and wife who run a restaurant and winery to avoid sour grapes.

How I Built This If your business idea needs a kick start, seek out some real-world inspiration here. From Kickstarter’s Perry Chen and Fitbit’s James Park to Ben & Jerry’s, er, Ben and Jerry, there are almost as many über-successful founders and entrepreneurs on this show as on the FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 combined. Amid the pandemic disruption, host and TED Radio Hour personality Guy Raz pivoted with a series on “How I Built Resilience”.

Best in Brain Science The Beautiful Brain West Brom and England striker Jeff “the King” Astle scored the winner in the 1968 FA Cup final. He died in 2002 at 59, having been diagnosed with dementia five years earlier. The coroner gave a verdict of “industrial disease”: chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, caused by repeated blows to the head – in the case of Astle, who was famously good in the air, from a football. Producer-presenter Hana Walker-Brown talks movingly to his family, experts such as NFL whistleblower Dr Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith in the film Concussion) and domestic violence victims. Delicate, thoughtful, vital.

Best in Food and Thought Gastropod A nourishing fortnightly serving of “food with a side of science and history”. It’s presented by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley, who met on the food and farming journalism fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley – overseen by a certain Michael Pollan. In short, they’re well qualified to dive into issues such as the efficacy of omega-3s, menu design mind tricks, and whether Chicago deep-dish technically qualifies as pizza. It’s not so much dinner party fodder as molecular gastronomy.

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...Without Being Told To “Man Up”

YOUR BRAIN DOES ALL YOUR HEAVY LIFTING, SO GIVE IT A HELPING HAND

The key to an easier life isn’t thick skin or preternatural talent. It’s grit. But mental resilience isn’t merely a matter of suppressing your emotions. It’s about understanding them, and giving them their due. Whatever you’re up against, our experts are on hand to help you navigate life with patience and insight. Consider this a mental endurance programme – with feeling Words by Tom Ward

True Grit 01 I hate failing. Is there any way to make it sting less? Michael Jordan considers himself a failure: by his count, he’s missed more than 9,000 shots. “Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed,” he says. “I’ve failed over and over and over again.” The mentally strong harness that energy to drive them forward. “How you respond to failure is up to you,” says Elizabeth Day, creator of the How to Fail podcast and author of Failosophy. “One way of draining the emotion from failure is to think of it as data acquisition. You’re gaining valuable info about what doesn’t work. Applied correctly, it will bring you closer to the thing that does.”

03 I’m doing an ultra-marathon. Is it true they’re mind over muscle?

02 I can’t shake my “imposter syndrome”. I should just fake it till I make it, right? Not all platitudes are useful. “True self-confidence means trusting in yourself, which is not something you can fake,” explains environmental psychologist Lee Chambers. Think less about your current status and more about your ambitions, then focus on keeping your actions in line with your wished-for future identity. “Having a clear goal and a sense of purpose will propel you to take action, then give you the resilience to keep going when things get tough.”

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DON’T LET YOUR THOUGHTS GET TANGLED MID-RACE

Your head will give up long before your lungs do. “Ultra-events are tough, but success is all down to mindset,” says Duncan Slater, who became the first double amputee to race to the South Pole and has competed in the brutal Marathon des Sables. “Ultimately, you need to want to do it, and you need to know why, so you can remind yourself when you’re at breaking point.” Visualisation techniques can help, too. Learn the route inside-out: know where the aid stations are, when you’ll eat or rest, what the temperature will feel like at different times of day. Then break it up in your head, a technique that applies to any tough races: “I just need to make it to the eight-mile marker”; “I just need to reach the next aid station.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: SCARLETT WRENCH I PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33, JOBE LAWRENSON, PIOTR GREGORCZYK I ARTWORK: PETER CROWTHER AT DEBUT ART I IMAGE RETOUCHING: PHIL LUPTON AT PRE MEDIA

I’m a hopeless procrastinator. How do I work up more getup-and-go? Let go of the concept of creative inspiration, or having to be “in the zone”. There will never be a right time to get the work done, and if you’re waiting for the mood to strike, you’ll be waiting a long while. James Clear, author of the bestseller Atomic Habits, advocates committing to a schedule, rather than a deadline. Be specific about when you intend to carry out the task you’re delaying. If life gets in the way, cut it down to size – spend 10 minutes practising the guitar you bought in lockdown, say, rather than the intended 30 minutes. Just don’t give yourself the option to skip it.

06 I don’t have the patience for meditation. Can I help lower my stress levels another way? Yes. Try embracing your stress: that jittery, heart-pumping feeling you get when you’re faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem is your body’s arousal response, and it’s triggered by fear or excitement. What allows us to differentiate anxiety from exhilaration is context. So, interpret your shredded nerves as the latter, and your focus and performance can actually increase in line with your levels of stress hormones. (A side note: meditation really is worth persevering with, so stick with it.) WAX LYRICAL ABOUT YOUR ANXIETIES TO SNUFF THEM OUT

Can I make progress in the gym without leaving my comfort zone?

I’m a new dad and haven’t slept in weeks. How can I keep it together?

Are cold showers really a way to build resilience?

“Progress” is the operative word here. You can maintain good health and fitness with a daily plod around the park and a few dumbbell squats, but you won’t get off that plateau. “Exposing yourself to the temporary discomfort of new stimuli is the only way to see continual improvements,” says Tom Foxley, who overcame a heart condition to become a CrossFit coach and founder of Mindset Rx’d. The good news is that you only have to put yourself in that uncomfortable place for two or three hours a week.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s very common for new fathers to struggle with their mental health. “It’s challenging,” sympathises psychotherapist Hendrix Hammond. He advises having a system in place with your partner, so you’re not debating whose turn it is to get up: “This works well if one of you is an early bird and the other a night owl.” Make time for exercise, too. You won’t always keep it together but, trust us, it’ll get easier.

I need a career change, but I’m worried I’ll regret it. How can I suppress these fears? Don’t suppress them – look them squarely in the eye. “I find it helpful to imagine the worst-case scenarios: ‘I’ll never work again, I’ll have no money, my partner will leave me,’” says Day. Write them down. Studies show that seeing your worries in black and white lessens their power. “Now, let your logical brain analyse how much of what you fear is likely to happen,” suggests Day. “You may realise that you have relatively little to fear from making that leap.”

Cold therapy isn’t about pain endurance, but it offers a chance to practise breath control – crucial to keeping your cool. Breathwork coach Artur Paulins suggests you finish your shower with a 30-second cold blast for a week, then alternate a minute of lukewarm water with 30 seconds of cold water the next week. “Inhale through your nose; exhale through the mouth.” If you can keep your cool in an icy onslaught, you’ll be less likely to melt when life gets tough.

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14 I’m enmeshed in an impossible work project. How do I keep my resolve?

THERE’S STRENGTH IN KNOWING YOUR LIMITS AT WORK

10 My workload is ridiculous. Can I avoid burnout without quitting?

Learning to deploy the word “no” comes naturally to some of us, but slowly to others. Many people fear using it, because they fear that they’ll risk losing opportunities in the future, or be seen as unwilling by employers or clients. In reality, the opposite can be true. “My experience has been that when I say ‘no’, my value increases,” says Day. “When you respect yourself, others respect you more, too.” At any rate, “I can’t handle another project,” is an easier conversation to have than: “I can’t handle this job any more.”

How do I disagree with my boss without fearing blowback?

I want to open up to my partner. Any tips?

Can I let go of jealousy without writing a bloody “gratitude list”?

Before you take them to task, be clear about exactly why your boss has made the decisions they have. “Then express your thoughts in a way that’s objective and factual, and avoid labelling any decisions as ‘negative’,” says Chambers. You also need to be willing to offer a solution. And if they respond with hostility? A study from Ohio State University found that bafflement and confusion are the most disarming responses.

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Confiding in a partner can be one of the most difficult but rewarding decisions that we make. Amy Morin, psychotherapist and the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, says that if words such as “depression” feel too heavy at first, you might find it easier to centre the conversation around stress. “Say you’re feeling more stressed than usual, or that you aren’t handling your stress as well as you’d want to. You might even ask if your partner has ever felt similarly. This can open the door to a bigger conversation.”

Being grateful isn’t about passively accepting your circumstances. A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people who consider themselves grateful have healthier immune systems and get better sleep. Besides, as Morin writes, people who enjoy watching others succeed are more likely to attract successful people with whom they can collaborate. If you won’t do it for the Zen benefits, do it strategically.

Honestly? Perhaps you shouldn’t. The “sunk cost” fallacy wrongly infers that just because you’ve invested time in something, that makes it worth persevering – even if it’s a bit so-so (say, Ozark). “In reality, there are times when continuing a project is counterproductive, and quitting is the intelligent decision,” explains Chambers. Reflection is key: ask whether your true motivation is to avoid temporary discomfort, or whether you believe that the outcomes are not worth the cost. If you lean towards the latter, jack it in.

15 I’m struggling with the loss of a loved one, but I need to be strong for my family. What can I do? “Being strong isn’t about refusing to cry, or pretending that your grief isn’t affecting you,” says Morin. She lost her mother and her husband while still in her twenties, so her advice is forged by experience as much as professional expertise. “A great display of strength is showing your family how to grieve in a healthy way. Allow yourself to feel sad, or angry, and deal with all of the emotions that come with loss.” By doing so, you’re also providing your family members with the space to process their feelings – openly, not just privately.

True Grit

16 Reading the news always makes me angry. How do I stop it affecting me?

Often, it’s not the news that causes you stress but the sense of helplessness that it evokes. The solution is to align yourself with people whose actions you admire, whether in person, or by supporting and following an online campaign. In other words, trade passive news consumption for active participation. Taking the Black Lives Matter movement as an example, Eugene Ellis, director of the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network, points to the mental health benefits of seeking solidarity. “It is not just a political act,” he says. “It’s an antidote to the feelings of powerlessness that many of us experience. When you start to engage, you discover that below the hopelessness is connection. And when you find connection, it’s easier to know what to do.”

17 Whenever I have to speak in public, I choke. How do I maintain composure? First, remember that nobody will judge you as harshly as you judge yourself. What sounds choked to you might sound perfectly well composed to others. But there are a few tricks that you can employ without resorting to off-label beta-blockers. Our mood is conveyed in our voice, so engage with something that makes you smile before the event, whether that’s by recalling a joke or looking at a photo of your kids. Anxiety can make us quieter, too, so speak ever so slightly louder than feels natural. Josephine Perry, founder of consultancy Performance Mind, advises focusing on the three Ps: preparation (do your research and know your subject), practice (speak the words out loud) and purpose (remember why you’re doing this and what you stand to gain). Now, go get ’em.

18 What should I say to someone who tells me to “man up”? Sod off?

DON’T LET GRIM HEADLINES EAT INTO YOUR THOUGHTS

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Style / Grooming / Tech / Miscellanea

01 Gucci Tennis 1977 Trainers Â£435

Seersucker Blazers 02.

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01. Oliver Spencer £360 02. Hermès £1,890 03. Emporio Armani £540 04. Officine Générale £415 05. Boss £460 06. Corneliani £910 07. Lanvin £1,350

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Retro Trainers 01. 02.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN MCALISTER

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01. Church’s £420 02. Lanvin £440 03. Golden Goose £335 04. Adidas £80 05. John Lobb £645 06. Prada £515 07. Dunhill £445 08. Common Projects £415 09. Nike £75

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Spy Novels 01.

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01. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré 02. James Bond: You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming 03. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene 04. Yesterday’s Spy by Len Deighton 05. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad 06. Your Face Tomorrow, Volume One: Fever and Spear by Javier Marías 07. Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon 08. Ashendon by W Somerset Maugham 09. Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler (All purchased second-hand from a variety of online booksellers)

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Colognes

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01. Geo F Trumper Eau De Cologne £40/50ml 02. Byredo Sunday Cologne £170/100ml 03. JP Hackett X Dr Harris & Co Vetiver with Lemon Cologne £40/100ml 04. Acqua di Parma Colonia V £350/150ml 05. Tom Daxon Cologne Absolute £155/100ml 06. Murdock Vetiver £90/100ml 07. Dior Eau Sauvage £75/100ml

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Gold Watches

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01. Vacheron Constantin 40mm Patrimony Manual £16,300 02. Cartier 39.8mm Santos de Cartier Large Automatic £30,500 03. Rolex 36mm Day-Date 36 £29,100

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04. Chopard Alpine Eagle 36mm Automatic Chronometer £26,200 05. Patek Philippe 38mm 5159J Perpetual Calendar £73,620 06. Breguet 38mm Classique 5177BA/29/9V6 £18,800 07. Omega 39mm Constellation Co-Axial Master Chronometer £26,785

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Graters

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05. 06.

07.

01. Microplane Master Series Extra Coarse £35 02. Alessi Boga VS06 (for Ginger) £24 03. Two-Sided with Container (for Cheese) £13 04. OXO Good Grips Box with Container £12 05. Mollyzillah Stainless Steel (for Garlic/Ginger) £11 06. Stainless Steel Rotary (for Cheese) £26 07. Microplane Premium (for Spices) £14

100 MEN’S HEALTH

Towels

02.

01. 03.

05. 04.

08.

06. 07.

01. Dolce & Gabbana £435 02. Frescobol Carioca £95 03. Orlebar Brown £75 04. Vilebrequin £70 05. Ted Baker £40 06. Finisterre £30 07. Fendi £390 08. Pendleton £65

MEN’S HEALTH 101

Knitted Ties

01.

02.

03.

04.

05.

06.

07.

08.

09.

01. Reiss £65 02. Richard James £95 03. Paul Smith £100 04. Brunello Cucinelli £210 05. Drake’s £125 06. Boss £110 07. Turnbull & Asser £115 08. Giorgio Armani £140 09. Gucci £225

102 MEN’S HEALTH

Soft Drinks

01. 02.

05. 03.

04.

06.

07.

08.

09.

01. La Mortuacienne Pink Lemonade £1.30/330ml 02. Remedy Kombucha Original £3/330ml 03. Bottle Green Sparkling Pressé Crisp Apple £1.25/275ml 04. Coca-Cola Original £1.50/250ml 05. San Pellegrino Limonata £1/200ml 06. Square Root London Ginger Beer £2/275ml 07. Lemonaid Passion Fruit £1.65/330ml 08. Calypso Cucumber Limeade £2/590ml 09. Fentimans Dandelion & Burdock £1.30/275ml

MEN’S HEALTH 103

MH PROMOTION FOR COOLSCULPTING CRYOLIPOLYSIS CAN FREEZE AWAY BODY FAT IN TARGETED AREAS

FREEZE FRAME COLD EXPOSURE IS ALREADY A POPULAR APPROACH TOWARDS TREATING MUSCLE RECOVERY, PAIN RELIEF AND BOOSTING TESTOSTERONE. NOW, IT’S EVEN BEING USED TO HELP SHIFT STUBBORN POCKETS OF BODY FAT

104 MEN’S HEALTH

realised that this phenomenon would come in handy if only you could bottle it, and fat freezing was born.” If you’re looking to target that persistent area of fat around your belly, under your chin or around your pectorals, CoolSculpting is one option to consider. It uses a non-surgical technique known as cryolipolysis – fat freezing – on problem zones. “Treatment involves ‘controlled cooling’, which selectively freezes fat cells in the chosen zone,” says Dr Quinn. “Research has shown a reduction in fat cells of up to 27% in the abdomen area after one treatment. Results are generally seen between eight to 12 weeks.” Urso-Baiarda explains how it works.

“The tissue is cooled to a temperature at which the fat cells freeze, but other cells remain intact. The fat cells form frozen crystals, causing them to die, and are then removed naturally from the body, which can take up to 12 weeks. Those fat cells that have been removed are gone for good.” So, if you’re considering how to deal with stubborn body fat, putting it on ice – in conjunction with that all-important healthy diet and exercise routine – could help you achieve a more defined physique.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO PLUNGE INTO AN ICY RIVER TO BENEFIT FROM COLD THERAPY”

To discover more about CoolSculpting and to find your nearest practitioner, visit coolsculpting.co.uk

WORDS: TOM WARD I ILLUSTRATION: PETER CROWTHER I UK-CSC-2050065 I DATE OF PREPARATION: JULY 2020

old is cool in 2020. Employed alongside a healthy diet and exercise regime, a whole roster of subzero treatments is now being used to alleviate muscle pain, speed recovery and boost testosterone levels. One proponent of cold therapy is “The Iceman” Wim Hof, who claims to be able to control his immune system and blitz fat through exposure to freezing temperatures. But you don’t need to plunge into an icy river in just your shorts to tackle hard-to-shift body fat. “The distribution of fat cells in our bodies is set during childhood and adolescence,” says Dr John Quinn, founder of Quinn Clinics. “For some, this leads to pockets of fat in adulthood that are more difficult to eliminate, no matter how much we diet or exercise.” This is where cold therapy comes in. “Fat freezing as a cosmetic treatment was discovered by accident,” says plastic surgeon Fulvio Urso-Baiarda of the Eterno 360° clinic. “People going horse riding on cold winter mornings would develop indentations in their outer thighs from fat loss. Scientists

THOR ON SMASHING RECORDS P/ 108

LEVEL UP YOUR HOME WORKOUTS P/ 120

ABS ON A PLATE P/ 106

HIT THE PERFECT BURPEE P/ 113

FINISH FAT FOR GOOD P/ 123

MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH 105

PT - 10/20

SCALE UP YOUR SALMON GRILL

You need to net 30g of protein and 10g of ﬁbre at every meal to help build muscle while staying lean. For protein, get your hooks into this wild sockeye salmon – then hit up these tasty sides for the ﬁbre

THE PROTEIN Sockeye salmon ﬂesh is orange because its diet includes krill, a potent source of omega-3s. An 85g serving has 800mg of these for only 133kcal. The same amount also provides 23g of protein.

BUY IT Ask the person at the seafood counter to poke the fish. No, really. “If it’s fresh, this won’t leave finger indentations,” says Doug Adams, chefowner of Bullard in Portland, Oregon. “Or worse, allow a finger to push through.”

WHAT IS 30/10? THESE ARE THE TARGET GRAMS OF PROTEIN AND FIBRE THAT YOU NEED AT EACH MEAL TO BOOST MUSCLE GROWTH AND BANISH HUNGER WORDS: PAUL KITA | PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKE GARTEN | FOOD & PROP STYLING: ROSCOE BETSILL ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL HEDGE, DAN MATTHEWS, LOUISA PARRY, STUDIO 33 & GETTY

30/10

REEL IN YOUR MACROS

THE FIBRE

COOK IT CITRUS AND HERB SOCKEYE SALMON

Pick one of the below to hit your 10g ﬁbre goal for the whole meal

This takes a grilling technique and moves it indoors. “The ﬁsh smokes and steams under the bed of aromatics,” says Adams INGREDIENTS SERVES 8

253 Kcal

• Cedar planks, 3 (enough to support the salmon fillet) • Olive oil, for brushing • Brown sugar, 800g • An orange, zested and sliced • A lemon, zested and sliced • Sockeye salmon, a large fillet, skin-on • Dill, a bunch • Basil, a bunch • An onion, sliced

10g Fat

Carbs

32g

Protein

Fibre

Step 1 Preheat your oven to 190°C. Brush one side of each cedar plank with olive oil. Arrange the planks, oil-side up, on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. Step 2 In a small bowl, mix a few large pinches of salt, the brown sugar and the citrus zest. Rub this all over the flesh side of the fish. Step 3 Carefully remove the baking sheet. Arrange the citrus slices on the planks, place the fillet on top, and cover it with the herbs and the onion. Bake for around 30 minutes, until the inside of the fish is slightly pink. Step 4 Remove the baking sheet and toppings. Slice the fish into palm-sized portions. Drizzle with oil, top with salt and serve – with extra lemon, if you want extra sharpness.

01/ APPLE, BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUT SALAD Mix 180g of rocket, two diced apples, 40g of chickpeas and generous glugs of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Scatter over some crumbled blue cheese and chopped walnuts. Serves two. Per serving: 8g fibre, 8g protein, 314kcal, 36g carbs, 18g fat

UPGRADE IT If you have the time, invest it in making your seafood feast swim with even more ﬂavour. These ideas will suit any time schedule IF YOU HAVE...

05 MIN

See that onion, orange, lemon, dill and basil left over from baking the fish? Round it all up, give it a rough chop and throw it into a bowl with a little olive oil. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Serve as a simple salad next to the salmon.

20 MIN

Scatter a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and roughly chopped, on a baking sheet and toss with a glug of olive oil, salt and pepper and the zest from a lemon. Slide the sheet into the oven 15 minutes before the salmon has finished roasting, then serve.

01 HOUR

Make a herbed butter to serve with the salmon. Mix 55g of softened butter with two tablespoons of minced herbs (basil, dill, chives, etc). Shape it into a log and refrigerate till firm – about 45 minutes. Slice off a thumb-sized amount to melt on the hot fish.

02/ DIJON ROASTED RED-POTATO SALAD Roast 450g of chopped baby red potatoes until browned. Toss with two tablespoons each of Dijon, vinegar and olive oil, two stalks of celery, diced, and some sunflower seeds and chives. Serves two. Per serving: 8g fibre, 11g protein, 515kcal, 53g carbs, 30g fat

MEN’S HEALTH 107

PT - 10/20

NEW! GYM CHAT

SCALING THE MOUNTAIN

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is the embodiment of peak strength. Now on a path to become a boxer, he’s still striving to reach the top

hor is one of those rare athletes who transcend their sport. The 6ft 9in Icelander not only conquered strongman but, following his star turn in Game of Thrones, he has lifted it to new peaks of popularity. And he has no trouble carrying this weight of expectation on his impossibly broad shoulders. He is enjoying the spotlight and wants more. Björnsson’s latest feat – a record-breaking 501kg deadlift that, remarkably, looked rather comfortable – cemented his place in strongman history and saw him usurp Britain’s Eddie Hall to take his place on the Iron Throne of deadlifting. The GOAT’s next challenge? “The World’s Strongest Fight”: a boxing match with Hall, a former World’s Strongest Man rival and current IN LEGENDARY FORM AS THE MOUNTAIN YouTube adversary, in late 2021. As Björnsson explained to Men’s Health, this tectonic shift in training styles has presented more than a few challenges, but he’s confident of summiting them all. Men’s Health: How did the 501kg deadlift actually feel? Hafþór Björnsson: I was very positive going into that lift. I believed in myself

108 MEN’S HEALTH

but, of course, when you’re about to break a world record, you’re always a little bit nervous. Especially when the whole world is watching. MH: And afterwards? HB: After the lift, I was over the moon. Especially with how well I felt. After Eddie Hall did his 500kg, he almost died. He didn’t look good. He was bleeding in his nose, eyes and ears. He fell down and I saw that and I thought, “Is this going to be worth it?” But I pulled the weight and I felt great. When you do these lifts, you can block the pain away. You don’t really feel it at the time. Then it hits you afterwards, when your body starts to ache and you’re, like, “Wow, I’m sore.” It’s similar to any sport – when you’re competing in the moment, you’re not thinking about how tired you are. If your body gives up, then you fall down. My body was not close to giving up. I felt very strong going into that lift. MH: Could you have gone heavier? HB: I strongly believe that I could have pulled 510kg on that day. Possibly more. It’s hard to say – every kilo on that bar is a lot. MH: Did you use any mental tricks ahead of the lift? HB: I like to visualise. A few weeks before, I saw myself lifting that weight. I saw it in my head over and over again. I told myself that I was able to do it and that, basically, I believed in myself. I saw the people not believing [in me] and saying that it’s not possible and the guy that did 500kg almost died and he’s supposed to be the best ever in deadlifting – but I believed. I worked hard and then I pulled 501kg without almost dying. MH: What lessons did you learn that can help a normal guy improve his deadlift? HB: Work on your technique. Make sure you have the right training programme to follow. Technique is everything, guys. You can get injured right away if you do

501kg DEADLIFT

THE FIGHT STUFF

6’ 09” HEIGHT

MEN’S HEALTH 109

PT - 10/20

190kg WEIGHT

110 MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH

THE FIGHT STUFF

WORDS: ED COOPER I HAFÞÓR BJÖRNSSON IS AN AMBASSADOR FOR REIGN TOTAL BODY FUEL I PHOTOGRAPHY: CARLOS SERRAO I STYLIST ABENA OFEI I MAKE-UP: GUDBJORG HULDIS I DRESSER: ERNA BERGMANN PRODUCER ICELAND: ADA BENJAMINSDOTTIR AT REPUBLIK FILM PRODUCTION I PRODUCTION ASSISTANT ICELAND: YR INGOLFSDOTTIR I ADDITIONAL PHOTOGARAPHY: HBO/LMKMEDIA

BJÖRNSSON BREAKS THE DEADLIFT RECORD

it wrong. If you work on your technique and you have the right programming with the right diet and enough sleep, you’re good to go. MH: Any tips for grip strength? HB: When I was training my grip for World’s Ultimate Strongman or the Arnold Classic, I liked to hold the bar behind my back and hold it for as long as possible, or for 30 seconds, three times. I did that three or four times, once a week, for a maximum of a minute. I did that, and some farmer’s walks on the same day. The behind-the-bar hold worked very well for me – holding for as long as you can, increasing the time slightly every week. I was holding 100kg behind my back and then changed it to 105kg the week after. Then 111kg, then 115kg. My grip just kept getting better and better. MH: We live in a time when it’s pretty common for top athletes to take to YouTube and give insights into their lives and process. Do you like to share training tips, or are they top secret? HB: I’m always willing to help guys out. Anyone who has reached out is always welcome to come to Iceland to train with me. Top athletes in our sports have come here, including Martins Licis and the Stoltman brothers. I’m happy to give anyone a tip if they want it. I’m not the kind of guy

of the fight, compared to what you ate before the deadlift? HB: It’s similar, just with fewer carbs. I still eat carbs – just less in each meal. I used to have six eggs [for breakfast] with rice and spinach but, this morning, I only had five eggs and just spinach. I skipped the rice. I’m trying to lose weight for the fight. It’s working well: I’ve already lost 16kg. For the deadlift, I weighed 206kg. Today, I weigh 190kg. It feels great – I have much more energy. Being this big isn’t easy, to be honest with you. It takes a lot of energy. You’re constantly tired. It’s difficult. I’m excited for the coming weeks, months and year to have this different goal to work towards, and I feel better in general. I already feel better and I’ve already lost 16kg. It’s a lot, but for a guy who has weighed 206kg, a lot of water has gone and, of course, I’ll lose muscle. But I’ll try to keep it and get rid of the fat. MH: What would you say is the hardest part of learning to box? HB: The hardest part, right now, is to learn the game. This is all new to me. I’m working really hard every day and doing a lot of new movements every single day. After this talk, I’m going to be doing some boxing for the second time today. It’s very different – a lot of cardio, a lot SPARRING (IN JEANS) of technique work and footwork. WITH CONOR MCGREGOR MH: Have you always done your training twice a day? who holds anything back. I want HB: No. I used to lift in the gym, working to win against the guys who are at on strength, four to five times a week. their very best ability. But I’m always in the gym stretching or MH: In your opinion, what doing 10 minutes on the bike here and role do genetics play, there to increase my appetite. It’s a compared to hard work? whole different ball game. You train HB: I believe that, of totally differently. It’s not the same sport. course, some people have MH: You’ve trained with everyone better athletic abilities from elite CrossFit athletes to Conor than others. Some people McGregor and even Dan Bilzerian. are also better with books Which training partner has surprised and other things in life. you the most? I believe that I’m gifted with my athletic HB: Probably Dan Bilzerian. He’s quite abilities. I learned that first, when it a humble guy. People will see something comes to my body, genetics do help on the internet and automatically, you a lot. But that shouldn’t be a factor for know, judge, but I try not to. I’m very people who have a dream. You should neutral – he surprised me a lot. He’s never tell yourself that you can’t do a very down-to-earth guy and super something because you might not have nice. I thought he would be louder and the height, or because you’re “too big”. more of a showman. He was quite quiet Follow your passion and work hard. and very respectful. MH: How different is your diet ahead

“I WANT TO WIN AGAINST GUYS WHO ARE AT THEIR BEST”

MEN’S HEALTH 111

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FORM AND FUNCTION

PT - 10/20

GEEK TWEAKS #13

JUMP-START YOUR FITNESS You know burpees are good for you. You also know they suck. This is how to ensure every rep counts

GET UP TO SPEED

The burpee may be the single most functional movement of all time: what could be more important than the ability to get back on your feet as quickly as possible? However, imperfect reps are the surest path to dysfunction. Practise these three moves to reﬁne your form 01/ FOUR TO THE FLOOR Stand tall and take a long step backward with your left leg, keeping your torso upright. Bend at your right knee and squat until both hands hit the ground. Plant them and step back with your right leg, assuming a strong plank. Reverse to a standing position and repeat with the opposite leg. Work 60 seconds on, 60 seconds off.

WORDS: ANDREW TRACEY I ILLUSTRATION: HARVEY SYMONS

02/ FIRE UP YOUR THRUSTERS Step back and down into a strong, straight-armed plank and jump both feet forward, bringing your knees towards your chest. Explosively push the floor away with your hands, shifting your weight onto your heels, and finish at the bottom of a deep squat. Pause. Reverse back into the plank. Work 60 seconds on, 60 seconds off.

03/ ALL THE WAY UP With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat and place your hands on the floor. Jump your feet back into the top of a press-up and lower your chest to the ground. Push up and hop your feet forward to either side of your hands. Shift your weight back, transitioning into a squat, and jump into the air. Repeat until you love them.

GET YOUR BODY IN FULL FLIGHT The burpee is perhaps as misunderstood as it is ubiquitous. Swerve these common faux pas to unleash its full potential

THE QUESTION MARK Maintains straight legs, curling his way down like a stale pretzel, before sending all of that explosive energy back up through a bent back, risking injury. Try to maintain a straight torso throughout and use every inch of squat mobility.

THE BASE JUMPER Drops like a rock from the top of every rep, directly onto his hands. Wrist pain is one of the most commonly cited drawbacks of burpees. Let the squat take you all of the way to the deck before making contact to avoid strains.

THE TIGHTROPE WALKER Performs each rep like his shoelaces are tied together. A wider stance on the ascent of the burpee creates more room and minimises mobility demands. Jump your feet to the outside of your hands to reduce the risk of your posture collapsing.

GIVE YOUR BURPEE TECHNIQUE A QUANTUM LEAP

CATCH BIG AIR TAKE A LUNGFUL WHILE STANDING. AS YOU REACH THE GROUND YOU’LL RECEIVE A NATURAL “WINDING” FROM HITTING THE DECK – TAKE ADVANTAGE AND EXHALE HERE

MEN’S HEALTH 113

PT - 10/20 WORKOUT #01

FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL

THE BIG WORKOUT

01A

Stop compromising between “show” and “go” and build a body that lifts, shifts and looks the part. Commit to our new programme to earn muscle that truly matters

n times gone by, the image of the “perfect” male body was based on icons of physicality. These ancient heroes didn’t chip away in gyms to carve out an ideal physique. Their bodies were the direct result of their feats of strength: they lifted, ran, jumped, climbed and wrestled. Capped delts and granite-hard abs were a by-product – one that, over time, has become an end goal in itself. Today, the myth prevails that a gulf exists between training for aesthetics and training for performance. Many believe that one goal has to be ritually sacriﬁced to achieve

114 MEN’S HEALTH

the other. But to do so ignores those legends of antiquity who focused on neither, yet achieved both. Modern man struggles between the equally noble quests of reﬁning his physique into that of a carved Adonis and becoming a legendarily strong Hercules. But with the right programme, an eye on nutrition and a solid work ethic, you can make both odysseys at once. And it’s a journey that requires minimal kit, as you focus on the movements rather than equipment. This four-week plan will transform you into a more heroic version of yourself. Let’s start sculpting, shall we?

01B

01 BENT-OVER

DUMBBELL SNATCH 5 REPS PER SIDE Hold a dumbbell in one hand and let it hang down as you hinge forward at the hips. If necessary, hold a bench or use a wall for support. Row the weight up to your hips (A), rotate your trunk and press the dumbbell upward to lockout (B). Lower and repeat, performing five reps per side.

02A

02 DUMBBELL CRAWL 10 FORWARD AND BACK On all fours, grip a dumbbell in each hand below your shoulders. Lift one dumbbell and reach forward with that arm, advancing with your back leg on the opposite side (A). Repeat on the other side (B), then again, progressing by around 1m at a time. Move 10 total “steps” forward, then reverse for 10 reps backward.

WORDS: ANDREW TRACEY I PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES I MODEL: EMMANUEL ALLI AT W MODEL STYLING: ABENA OFEI

REAL-WORLD STRENGTH THAT SHOWS IN 4 WEEKS

The first of three workouts in your triple-pronged plan stacks on strength while chiselling away body fat. Set a timer for 40 minutes and aim for 10 reps of each move, for 10 rounds. Lower the reps if necessary to keep going. After logging 100 reps of a movement in the time frame, increase the weights.

FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH PLAN

BUILDING BLOCKS

SATAN’S RULES The Devil’s Press delivers ﬁtness, functionality and hard muscle. Master it by practising its constituent parts

04B

03A

PRESS-UP ON DUMBBELL 3 SETS OF 10 REPS (PER ARM) Holding a dumbbell in one hand, start in a plank with your wrists, elbows and shoulders stacked vertically and your arms locked. Flex at the elbows, lowering your body until your chest hits the floor. Push up. Perform 10 reps per arm.

03B 02B 04A

DUMBBELL BURPEE 3 SETS OF 10 REPS (ALTERNATE ARMS) Drop into a press-up position, holding a dumbbell. Lower your chest to the ground, before explosively pressing back up. Hop your legs forward and jump in the air, holding the dumbbell. Land and repeat with the dumbbell in your other hand.

03 FRONT RACK SQUAT GROOMING: NAT SCHMITT USING CLARINS SKINCARE TRACKPANTS UNDERARMOUR.CO.UK, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK

10 REPS Get back on your feet as quickly as possible and prepare to build strength from the ground up. Lift your dumbbells onto your shoulders under control and take a deep breath (A). Now, drive your hips back and sink into a squat, with your thighs parallel to the floor (B). Drive upward, then go again for nine more reps.

04 DEVIL’S PRESS 10 REPS Take it all the way up and back down again with this satanic soul crusher – an MH favourite. Holding your dumbbells, drop down into a press-up (A) and perform a burpee. Now, use the momentum to swing the weights between your legs, then overhead (B). Lower and repeat. Want to perfect this? See our tips (right).

HANG SNATCH 3 SETS OF 10 REPS (PER ARM) Hold a dumbbell at arms’ length between your legs. Hinge forward with soft knees. Snap up through your hips, generating momentum to lift the dumbbell towards the ceiling, finishing in full lockout. Lower to your shoulder, then down to your legs. Do 10 reps per arm.

MEN’S HEALTH 115

PT - 10/20 WORKOUT #02

BODY OF HARD WORK

01B

This will keep you honest about your ability to move your own levers. As before, set a timer for 40 minutes and work through 10 reps of each move for 10 rounds, lowering reps if necessary. Once you’ve mastered 100 reps of a movement in the time frame, add resistance.

03B 01A 02B

02A

03A

01 CHIN-UP 10 REPS Defy gravity with the OG of bodyweight movements. Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip just over shoulder-width apart. Lift your feet from the floor and hang freely, with your arms straight (A). Pull yourself up by flexing at the elbows while pinching your shoulder blades together. When your chin passes the bar (B), pause, then lower to the starting position.

116 MEN’S HEALTH

02 PARALLEL BAR DIP

03 WALKING LUNGE

10 REPS

10 FORWARD, 10 BACKWARD

Move straight on to this chest-busting bodybuilding classic. Grab two parallel bars with your palms facing inward, your arms straight and your feet off the floor (A). Slowly lower your body until your elbows are at right angles, ensuring that they don’t flare out (B). Drive yourself back up to the top and repeat.

Step one foot forward and sink into a deep lunge, with your rear knee brushing the floor (A). Explode forward into a standing position (B), then immediately step the opposite leg forward, repeating the lunge on the other side. Perform 10 forward, before reversing to doing 10 reverse lunges.

FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH PLAN MASTERY MATRIX

TRAIN TO YOUR STRENGTHS

Use this matrix to identify the optimal movements for you and keep training at the maximum intensity for your body

04B

PILGRIM

DISCIPLE

Perform bandassisted chin-ups.

Perform inverted rows with elevated feet.

Perform feet-elevated press-ups.

04A

SHORTS MRMARVIS.CO.UK, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK I ILLUSTRATION: ANDREA MANZATI AT SYNERGY ART

04 HAND-RELEASE

Parallel Bar Dip (as shown).

MONK Chinup (as shown).

Perform while wearing a weighted vest.

Perform with a controlled tempo, four seconds down, pause, then explode back up.

Perform while wearing a weighted vest.

Perform stationary reverse lunges.

Walking lunge (as shown).

Perform with very small steps, never standing up to full lockout.

Perform while holding a weight plate, dumbbells, or kettlebells throughout.

Get into a press-up position and reverse for one rep.

Perform a regular burpee, with no hand release.

Hand release burpee (as shown).

Perform while holding dumbbells, or in a weighted vest.

BURPEE 10 REPS

Finally, put your foot on the throttle to finish fast. Drop into a press-up position, then lower your chest to the ground and lift your hands from the floor (A). Place your hands back down on the floor and push away, hop your legs back in and jump into the air explosively (B). Land and repeat for a total of 10 reps.

MASTER

MEN’S HEALTH 117

PT - 10/20 WORKOUT #03

UNILATERAL THINKING By working with a single weight, your final workout will build a body as mighty as the Soviet hammer. Work for 40 minutes, moving continuously through each movement, alternating sides with each round. Once you’ve mastered 10 rounds, find a heavier kettlebell.

01A 02B

01B 03A

02A

01 OVERHEAD KB CARRY 20M Hold a kettlebell in one hand and press it directly overhead, with your arm locked out and your back straight. Take a breath and brace your core to stabilise your posture. Now, walk forward with intent (A), ensuring that you keep the kettlebell in full lockout above you as you progress (B). Don’t stop until you reach the 20m mark.

118 MEN’S HEALTH

03B

02 SINGLE ARM PRESS

03 RENEGADE ROW

10 REPS

After your carry, move straight into a press to double-down on your deltoids. Lower the kettlebell to shoulder height and hold in front of your collarbone, with your fist tucked below your chin (A). Dip at the knees, then stand back up explosively, creating momentum to help drive the bell overhead (B).

Assume a strong plank position, with one hand on your kettlebell (A). Shifting your weight onto your other hand, row the bell up towards your hip (B). Pause briefly, then lower the weight under control. Focusing on maintaining a rigid plank throughout, repeat a further nine times.

FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH PLAN

PROGRAMMING GRID

A MONTH OF FUN DAYS

Use this table to assemble a four-week programme that is customised to your schedule. No matter how you put together your plan, it’s important to follow the sessions in sequence, aiming to beat your scores on each workout every time

WEEK 1 - W02 WEEK 2 - W03 WEEK 3 - W01 WEEK 4 - W02

WEEK 1 - W02 WEEK 2 - W02 WEEK 3 - W02 WEEK 4 - W02

WEEK 1 - W02 WEEK 2 - W01 WEEK 3 - W03 WEEK 4 - W02

WEEK 1 - W02 WEEK 2 - W03 WEEK 3 - W01 WEEK 4 - W02

WEEK 1 - W02 WEEK 2 - W02 WEEK 3 - W02 WEEK 4 - W02

REST

WEEK 1 - W01 WEEK 2 - W03 WEEK 3 - W02 WEEK 4 - W01

WEEK 1 - W01 WEEK 2 - W02 WEEK 3 - W03 WEEK 4 - W01

WEEK 1 - W01 WEEK 2 - W01 WEEK 3 - W01 WEEK 4 - W01

WED

REST

WEEK 1 - W01 WEEK 2 - W01 WEEK 3 - W01 WEEK 4 - W01

REST

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SHORTS MRMARVIS.CO.UK, TRAINERS NIKE AT SPORTSDIRECT.COM

04 KB HANG SNATCH

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10 REPS Squat with a flat back and grab a kettlebell from between your feet (A). Stand up and hinge, sending the bell behind you between your legs. Extend hips and knees, pull the bell up and punch it overhead (B). Lower to your shoulder, then back into the hinge. Do 10 reps before switching hands.

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PT - 10/20

GEAR CHANGE

TOOLKIT UPGRADES

01/ NO MORE SKIPPED REPS The digital timer and revolution counter on this smart speed rope makes tracking your workouts a doddle. Multifun Skipping Rope £30 amazon.co.uk

There’s a reason why some pieces of kit have withstood the many workouts of time. But even the classics can be improved on. Here are the cornerstone tools of any gym, given a judicious upgrade

02/ THE BEAST FROM THE EAST

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03/ JUMP THROUGH SCOOPS Some days, you need an extra push to beat those PBs into submission. MyProtein’s premium supp makes use of a unique time-release technology. MyProtein: The Pre-Workout+ £40 myprotein.com

WORDS: ANDREW TRACEY I PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON

The Russian-born one-stop shop for home-made gains, a kettlebell is more space-savvy than a 7ft barbell. Time to join the swingers’ club. Bulldog Gear Box Kettlebell 24kg £70 bulldoggear.eu

BACK TO BASICS 05/ BAND AID

04/ DEFY GRAVITY

Add resistance to make light weights feel heavy, or supply assistance to raise your bodyweight rep count. Or just go all out with them. Milky Way Resistance Bands £35 for four amazon.co.uk

With 90cm of wall clearance, this design affords you a plethora of options beyond simply hoisting yourself up and down. Wolverson Wall Mounted Pull-Up Bar £200 wolversonfitness.co.uk

07/ TRAIN SMART

06/ SHAKE IT UP A shake combining a well-dosed set of evidence-backed ingredients. If there’s “no school like the old school”, then Cyclone is the headmaster. Maximuscle Cyclone All-In-One Protein Powder £30 maximuscle.com

No room for racks of iron? These spacesaving bells offer an adjustable range from 2kg to 36kg. BodyMax 36kg Selectabell 18-in-1 Dumbbell Set £798 powerhousefitness.co.uk

08/ BODYWEIGHT SIDEKICKS Parallettes are a space-efficient way to increase your repertoire of movements: dips, inverted rows and L-sits, to name a few. Gravity Fitness XL Pro Parallettes £70 gravityfitness.co.uk

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MOBILE MUSCLE

PT - 10/20

PT FINISHER #20

TEST YOUR FITNESS & MOBILITY

01 LAY IT DOWN Stand tall and take a deep breath. Push your hips back and squat – hold your arms out in front of your body and continue until you’re sitting on the floor. From here, roll

backward, lifting your feet and hips off the ground. Place your hands flat on the floor behind your head and push the ground away. Roll forward until both feet touch the ground and stand up.

If this month’s Big Workout has been a case of dumbbell overload, strip it all back with this bodyweight blast

THE FORMAT

WORDS: ANDREW TRACEY I PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES I MODEL: EMMANUEL ALLI AT W MODEL I STYLING: ABENA OFEI GROOMING: NAT SCHMITT USING CLARINS SKINCARE I CLOTHING: CASTORE.COM; NEWBALANCE.CO.UK

Two movements, one ladder. Start with a seamless rep that combines a deck squat and a burpee. After this first round, perform two deck squats, then move into two burpees. Continue adding a rep to each movement until you hit 10 of each; at which point, start to reduce the reps, climbing back down the ladder until you reach one of each again. That adds up to a grand total of 100 vertigo-inducing reps. Gulp.

02 FROM BACK TO FRONT As soon as you’ve got your balance, squat and place both hands on the ground. Jump your legs directly behind you, so you finish at the top of a press-up

position. Lower your chest to the ground before pressing back up explosively. Jump both feet back towards your chest and jump into the air, touching your hands together overhead.

03 CLIMB THE LADDER After a single rep of each movement, start a new round – this time, performing two reps of deck squats, then two burpees. From here, continue to add a rep to both movements each round until you hit 10 apiece, then reverse the count back to one. It might looks easy on paper, but in reality you’re facing a lot of reps and moving your body through a huge range of motion. So, pace yourself.

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DEPARTURES YO U R PAS S P O R T TO W E LLN E S S /

EDITED BY TED LANE

10/20

POWER TRIP

Under Milk Wood

In the end, 2020 wasn’t cancelled – but your summer holiday probably was. Escape the madding crowd clambering for last-minute sun and nourish your mind at ﬀorest in west Wales. Those who live their lives there are wholly good

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hen we started to emerge from lockdown hibernation in early July and the UK government began tentatively lifting restrictions on travel, many of us rushed to check out the prices of last-minute flights to Greek island boltholes. I know because my wife was five of them. Not me, however. I set my sights on somewhere altogether wetter and greener, a place decidedly closer to home and yet resolutely far flung. My dream destination was fforest – a magical piece of woodland in Pembrokeshire’s Cilgerran, perched on the lush River Teifi gorge, and a short trek from Cardigan on the Welsh coast. It’s a secret that I feel conflicted in sharing. How to describe fforest? There is camping, there is fire, there is al fresco dining. There is tip-toeing over damp grass to communal shower blocks. So far, so typical of the Great British open-air holiday. But there are also organically furnished crog lofts, dome tents with wood burners and adjoining camp kitchens, and a cedar barrel sauna hidden away in a green-canopied corner of the wild, 200-acre site. Food is cultivated and beer is brewed. An old slate and stone crofter’s cottage has been converted into the smallest pub in Wales, Y Bwthyn, a place of such convivial beauty and warmth that it’s enough to bring a tear to a grown man’s eye. All around are welcoming structures and elevations erected from wood and canvas: a covered firepit over which whole lambs are roasted, a giant hat tipi for hosting bands and screenings. Smoke and flame abound and are symbols of life and hospitality. To stay here is to be away

from everything and yet at the beating heart of something. Something good. Whatever you do, just don’t call it glamping. Fforest is not glam. It is special – spiritual, even. Owners James and Sian Lynch are designers and artisans by trade. Having graduated from art school in the 1980s, James began reinvigorating old warehouses in London’s Shoreditch – then a run-down and dilapidated borough – initially turning them into studios and workspaces for fellow creatives, but eventually

“Wake up to a cold, serene and transformative wild swim in the River Teiﬁ”

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developing loft apartments for the growing City yuppie scene. By the mid-1990s, when bohemia had fully transitioned into another high-price stretch of the megalopolis, the couple and their young sons set out for a new life in Wales – one that celebrated the outdoors, simplicity, community and creativity. Fforest was born.

A Soak with a View Here’s a typical day in this special place. Wake up early in your onsen dome. Onsen is the Japanese term for hot-spring baths. What this means in a ﬀorest context is that your dome tent is connected to a private, Japanese-style

Chemical Advantage Harness your hormones to turn any holiday into a power trip

COASTEERING = ADRENALIN

FIRE-STARTING = TESTOSTERONE

CANOEING = DOPAMINE

COMMUNITY = OXYTOCIN

WORDS: TOBY WISEMAN

LET GO OF LOCKDOWN STRESS UNDER A WELSH SUNSET

DEPARTURES

RECONNECT IN THE COSIEST PUB OF ALL

How to Get There Your best bet is the train to either Swansea or Aberystwyth, then a bus to Cardigan, with the last leg by cab. MH drove direct from Essex in about five hours.

Where to Stay

fruit, unless you’re lucky enough to have someone rustling up a bacon sarnie on the wood-burning stove back at your dome’s outdoor kitchen. Plans for the day ahead range from action-packed to active recovery. For those seeking exhilaration, coasteering or kayaking in the Irish Sea more than fits the bill; meanwhile, for some dopamine to temper that adrenalin hit, canoeing down the Teifi is both calming and invigorating. Cyclists will find the REWILD YOUR MIND woods, valleys and coastal roads of west AND BODY IN THE TEIFI Wales an endless source of pleasure. For a more contemplative, rootsier bath-house with shower, basin and experience, bushcraft courses, drawing sunken concrete tub, from which you classes, sausage-making tutorials and can soak in views of the surrounding indigo-dyeing lessons all take place at countryside. This needn’t concern you the many events and gatherings fforest now, however, because first you are hosts throughout the year. going for a run through the forest, along Come 6pm, it’s time for a local brew the verdant gorge, before joining fellow around the fire outside Y Bwthyn and residents for a wild swim in the Teifi. It is a chat with James – the “fforestchief” – cold, serene and transformative. and fellow guests. Dinner might be pizza Breakfast back at fforest Lodge from the wood-fired oven or barbecued consists of local bread, honey, eggs and meats and vegetables grown on site. As the night draws in and kids are diverted

At the more modest end of the accommodation are bell tents a stone’s throw from the toilets. For those who like it luxe, the crog lofts have underfloor heating.

When to Go Fforest is charming throughout the year. Meanwhile, Gran ffondo, fforest’s cycling retreat in early May, presents the lush landscape at its best.

by the movies playing in the tipi, the drink and conversation grow a little more serious, the ﬁrelight becomes more enveloping and the atmosphere more communal. There will be moments when you look around – at your friends and family, at the moonlit trees, at your hosts – and wonder whether there is any better place on Earth to be at that very moment. But then again, it’s still really quite clement in Zakynthos at this time of year. Your choice.

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DEPARTURES

_03

_06

_02

SHEFFIELD 53.3811° N 1.4701° W

_07 _05

HOLIDAY REPS

ILLUSTRATION: ANDREA MANZATI

Cardio King in the North Sheﬃeld is the Outdoor City, playing host to Britain’s best adventurous athletic pursuits. Local trainer Adam Taylor gives you the lay of the land

03 YOUR REP Adam Taylor owns Taylored Personal Training, specialising in run coaching. taylored-personaltraining.co.uk

The Trail to Blaze

One of my favourite runs takes you through Endcliffe Park, up Porter Valley and into the Peak District. For urban running, head into Sheaf Valley Park for loads of steps and superb views. endcliffepark.co.uk

02 The Shot in the Arm Bragazzis is a small coffee shop on Abbeydale Road near the antiques quarter. It has the best pre-adventure fuel in the city: go for the unique Bragazzi coffee blend. bragazzis.co.uk

The Cardio Crash

Jump in the saddle and head to Parkwood Springs for fast trails with views of the city and the Peak District. The Lady Canning’s trail is further out, but worth it for twisty routes to test your tekkers. ridesheffield.org.uk

The Green Energy

Down Sharrow Vale Road is Pom Kitchen, a vegan café by Endcliffe Park – perfect for a post-run refuel. Try the banh mi bagel of mushroom pâté, pickles, smoked tofu, spring onions and chilli jam. pomkitchen.co.uk

The Level-Up

Climbing Works is the first bouldering-only national centre certified by the British Mountaineering Council. In its humble opinion, it offers the world’s best indoor bouldering, with top facilities. climbingworks.com

06 The Liquid Refreshment The best place to sample a proper northern pint is the Broadfield pub on Abbeydale Road. It serves local ales and updates its pies each day on the menu. You’ve earned it. thebroadfield.co.uk

07 The Thoroughly Well-Earned Rest To stay central, try Queen Stay Apartments. If its eccentric decor or city hubbub puts you off, escape to the luxury, ivy-clad mansion Whitley Hall Hotel. britainsfinest.co.uk

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MH CLASSIFIED

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MISSION POSSIBLE At the Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) we want to break the stigma attached with mental health and suicide. We want you to be ready to talk to your mates. Really talk. Not sure where to start or what to say? We’ve got you covered. Our FREE training modules aim to give you the skills to reach out to a friend, loved one or even a stranger on the street. Coronavirus has had a devastating effect on many people’s mental health. Social isolation, working from home, adapting to the ‘new normal’ – we all deal with change in different ways and that’s ok. Three important facts: • Socially isolated people are 3-4 times more like to suffer depression • Men are 3 times more likely to end their life by suicide than women • Everyone everywhere can do their part to help prevent suicide • Facebook: @Zero Suicide Alliance • Twitter: @Zer0Suicide

Adam took our ZSA Suicide Awareness training, little did he know a year later he’d be using the skills learnt to help save a life… “When I came across a teenager sat on the bridge over the River Severn on my way home from a night out with friends, I remembered I should be direct, nonjudgemental and try to direct them towards help. After establishing they were in crisis, I suggested they talk to someone who could really help and rang the police, who picked them up moments later. I didn’t think I’d ever need to know what to do in such a situation but my random situation proves it could happen to anyone.” Access our free online training here www.zerosuicidealliance.com/training If you would like to become a supporter of the ZSA or think your organisation would benefit from signing up, visit our website www.zerosuicidealliance.com

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MH CLASSIFIED

THE MH DIRECTORY Look good and feel great with this selection of life-enhancing products

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POWERGRIPPER METAL SERIES Choose from seven resistance levels 50lbs – 350lbs The All-New Powergripper Metal Series wrist and grip strengtheners have reinforced stainless steel springs with a mat black anodization finish. Each weight resistance has its own beautifully coloured handle with a diamond etched matrix pattern for extra grip. Peak performance with style with resistance levels to suit all from beginners to professionals. Now available at intro price of 40% off from powerballs.com and Amazon.

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MH CLASSIFIED

UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL WITH ELIXINOL! CBD has certainly been hitting the headlines recently. But what health benefits could it offer? Healthy, not high! CBD is non-addictive and produces no psychoactive effects. This means CBD can be taken safely by anyone over the age of 18 without affecting mental capacity or creating dependence. It is especially useful to those trying to keep fit, pursuing sports or training. CBD is a supercharger for your Endocannabinoid system (ECS) The ECS is a neural network throughout your body’s central and peripheral nervous systems. It has ‘receptors’ throughout the body (the main ones are named CB1 and CB2) and is the starting point for a number of control systems that regulate many bodily functions. Elixinol is one of the most trusted and established producers in the world selling in over 54 countries worldwide. Innovation is at the core of the company, which is why the team has developed new products that are set to become gamechangers. The new blended capsule range delivers water-soluble CBD with added vitamins and minerals. The seven specific formulations are colour coded for simple selection with a single, descriptive keyword relating each blend to its suggested application.

Our top five recommendations are: Immune Booster – As the name suggests, a great way to boost your immune system. Ingredients include Vitamin C, B6 and Zinc. Turmeric – For those concerned about bone and muscular health. Ingredients include Vitamin C , Manganese, Turmeric and Black Pepper. Dreams – for those looking for a restful night and post-workout recovery. Ingredients include Thiamine, Ashwagandha and Chamomile Serene – for those looking to improve their mental performance. Ingredients include Biotin Pantothenic Acid. And finally, we have the Hemp Balm, a post-workout must. This topical CBD skin balm is soothing and can help rejuvenate your skin. Made using 98% natural origin ingredients, it is carefully formulated to offer your skin the best protection and moisturisation. While also applying to flex points and other areas can give an uplifting cooldown after a workout. Visit www.elixinol.co.uk today and use CODE MHCBD20 for 20% off your first purchase.

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THE MH DIRECTORY Look good and feel great with this selection of life-enhancing products

CREATE THE PERFECT SPORTS ROOM ...IN YOUR GARAGE! Dura is Europe’s leading garage interior company, with a wealth of experience in creating cycle rooms and home gyms. With award-winning cabinets, luxury flooring and wall-storage products, you can transform your space into the fitness room you’ve always wanted and be the envy of your friends! Dura provide everything from design and planning, to manufacturing and installation. For a FREE brochure or to arrange a home design consultation call 01280 707328 or go to www.duragarages.com/h4men.html

UNIQUE RECOVERY FORMULA

MYL BERLIN Maske 1 - A stylish mouth and nose protection scarf. The layered fabric membranes are lightweight and ergonomically fitting, making it comfortable to wear and easy to use anywhere you go. Maske 1 protects your nose and mouth securely while still being a beautiful fashion accessory. The soft filter-pocket allows you to insert different kinds of disposable protective filters (two disposable filters included). www.myl-berlin.com @myl.berlin

Freestyle Supercharged Amino Recovery combines free form amino acids, whey hydrolysate, extra BCAA’s and L-Glutamine to deliver over 3000mg of amino acids per serving. Take immediately after your workout to fully maximise the benefits. This effective muscle recovery formula heads straight for exercised muscles, banishing post-workout aches and ensures you’re fighting fit for your next training session. 1kg £21.97 www.allsports-nutrition.com

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TENT NUTRITION – MEN’S GROOMING: REIMAGINED

THE HOT TIP FOR COMBATING COLD SORES

TenT Nutrition is reimagining men’s grooming! Incorporating the finest possible ingredients, TenT’s artisan-made supplements are specifically designed to help men combat issues relating to Hair, Skin and Sleep. Combining ingredients such as Biotin, Saw palmetto, Collagen, Hyaluronic acid, L-tryptophan and Magnesium to help thicken hair, reduce the signs of ageing and help with a great nights rest. www.tentnutrition.com Use code MHTENT for 10% off your 1st order

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ONE WORD ANSWER #69 QUESTION What decadent indulgence can shuck oﬀ depression?

ANSWER

udlarks know the tides of the Thames. When the water is low, you see them hunched over on the silty banks, near London’s Tate Modern, lugging plastic bags and clunky metal detectors. The lucky among them discover historical wonders – Neolithic tools, the skull of a man who died in 3,600BC – while the rest content themselves with clay pipes or the occasional Roman coin. They’re archaeologists of our capital’s detritus, the stuff that got lost or thrown away. It’s fun because the trash tells stories – even the heaps of empty, grey shells scattered around like greasy cardboard boxes outside a chicken shop. And that’s what those shells are: fast-food containers. Though today thought of as a luxury, the oyster (or

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the “foul oyster”, as Shakespeare put it) was long viewed with suspicion. Which is, perhaps, understandable: with its HR Giger folds and snotty gloop, it resembles a facehugger’s vagina. “He was a valiant man who first adventured on eating of oysters,” King James I supposedly said. Valiant, yes, and probably broke, too, since the abundantly available and easily transportable mollusc was once largely the preserve of the poor. Those shells dumped on the banks of the Thames are the centuries-old litter of cheap meals scoffed in a hurry. Perhaps there was – and is – no better food for the stressed-out urban worker. Oysters are a potent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which a study by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

found were effective in safely curbing depressive symptoms. A plate of six oysters contains three times your recommended daily intake of omega-3s, as well as an abundance of zinc – a deficiency of which has been linked to mood disorders. These nutrients also support healthy ageing, male fertility and even brain function, while helping to temper the kinds of inflammation that contribute to almost every chronic illness, from cancer to heart disease. So, why not queue up outside your local fishmonger and treat yourself to a fresh half-dozen? Given these benefits to both your mind and your body, they’re well worth shelling out for – even at 2020 prices.

WORDS: YO ZUSHI I PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY I DIGITAL ARTWORK: SCRATCHINPOST.CO.UK

Oysters