Zgzhhzsbsby by elloco16

IN THIS ISSUE

BITE-SIZED ADVICE FOR BIG RESULTS

ON THE COVER P56 ENDLESS SUMMER How Kelly Slater keeps riding the wave of supreme fitness after two decades of surfing

P66 BREAKING DOWN Seven people show us the real face of mental health to prove how psychological and physical pain are inextricably linked

P82 7 WAYS TO DROP 5KG Advice straight from the bleeding edge of fat loss

P94 50 BEST & WORST DRUGS Our annual score of the smartest pills for men and those to avoid

P100 FIT AT ANY AGE This plan will keep you stronger, leaner and better â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for life

Reclaim The Sandwich!

P112 TORCH 999 CALORIES Two lunchtime sessions that will ignite your metabolism to burn more fat than ever before

P76

PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID VENNI GROOMING NATACHA SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN HAIR TONY AT LONDON BARBERHOOD STYLING ABENA OFEI MODEL HARRY SELLERS AT W MODELS T-SHIRT BY ACNE AT MATCHESFASHION.COM TRACKPANTS BY HANRO HANRO.CO.UK

MUSCLE

WEIGHT LOSS

P23 CASH IN ON PERFORMANCE

P24 THE SCORPION KING

P32 HOT WHEELS

Buy your post-workout shake with real money and enjoy a fitness-boosting hormone hit

Can’t make the gym? Build core strength from your living room with one primal move

Step inside London’s elite cycling space to get the inside track on losing your saddlebags

P50 STRETCH YOUR STAMINA

P46 VETERAN ADVICE

P49 WHO ATE ALL THE PIES?

Add Pilates to your training regimen and you can shave minutes from your 5K PB in weeks

Britain’s strongest disabled man teaches you how to lift with military precision. Load it on

It will be you. Our upper-crust fitness fuel uses pastry to power your fat-loss workouts

P108 PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT

P119 A PRESSING MATTER

P146 SPAGHETTI FUNCTION

Undo desk-bound pain with four mobility moves designed to unwind your spine

Pump up your chest in 15 minutes with our T-shirt-filling finisher. It’s reps for pecs

Turns out everyone’s favourite carb has a delicious role to play in your nutrition plan

WORK

MIND

HEALTH

P38 BAG A PROMOTION

P30 RETHINK YOUR MOBILITY

P34 THE SHAKEDOWN

We present the best rucksacks to take you from ofice to weekend away via the gym

Our expert argues that you should approach your stretching protocol from a new direction

We grind the facts about salt and pepper to reveal the best grain for health gains

P88 HEALTH CORP

P43 MENTAL UPSIDES

P52 HIGHER GEAR

Company “wellness strategies” are on the rise. But are they looking after you or their assets?

Find out why turning your training on its head can enhance your cognitive powers

This herbal healer is the greenest trending supplement yet. Get the full hit on CBD oil

P121 LOOK THE BUSINESS

P64 NATURE BOY

P65 OUTRUN ILLNESS

The wardrobe upgrade you need to arrive dressed to impress on your next work trip

New research proves that one Sir David Attenborough can give your ego a boost

Your best defence against ofice colds is to lace up and leave bugs eating your dust

12 MEN’S HEALTH

THE EXPERT PANEL

OUR HEALTH AND FITNESS AUTHORITIES WILL SUPPLY YOU WITH THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO TRANSFORM YOUR ROUTINE

ALAN FLANAGAN

DAVID LEITH

MORRIS WEGRODZKI

NUTRITIONIST

SPORTS SCIENTIST

MASTER CHEF

Is a taste for craft ales incompatible with your fitness goals? We’d suggest taking Flanagan’s measured advice on the issue p18

You won’t build lifelong fitness with the same, tired regimen. Evolve your training with Leith’s help and achieve an ageless physique p100

Make mushrooms the meat of your meal for fresh flavour and a nutritional payload. Wegrodzki provides his plates for morel support p26

EDITOR IN CHIEF

TOBY WISEMAN DEPUTY EDITOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

STYLE DIRECTOR

DAVID MORTON

DECLAN FAHY

ERIC DOWN

PHOTO DIRECTOR

FEATURES EDITOR

WORKFLOW DIRECTOR

VICI CAVE

SCARLETT WRENCH

EMMA KING

ART EDITOR

EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER

ART DIRECTOR

JESSICA WEBB

RACHAEL CLARK

WILLIAM JACK

COMMISSIONING EDITOR (PRINT AND DIGITAL)

CHIEF SUBEDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR (STYLE)

TED LANE

YO ZUSHI

MATT HAMBLY

DEPUTY STYLE EDITOR

SUBEDITOR

PICTURE EDITOR

SHANE C KURUP

LEAH CRAIG

FRANKIE HILL

STYLE ASSISTANT

JUNIOR FITNESS EDITOR

RICCARDO CHIUDIONI

MICHAEL JENNINGS

JUNIOR DIGITAL WRITER

DIGITAL EDITOR

DEPUTY DIGITAL EDITOR

DANIEL DAVIES

ROBERT HICKS

ED COOPER

MANAGING DIRECTOR, MEN’S LIFESTYLE, HEALTH AND FITNESS

ALUN WILLIAMS EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO MANAGING DIRECTOR NATASHA MANN BRAND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR JANE SHACKLETON SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE PHILIPPA TURNER CLIENT DIVISION MANAGING DIRECTOR, BEAUTY JACQUI CAVE

MANAGING DIRECTOR, LUXURY AND FASHION JACQUELINE EUWE

DIRECTOR OF SPORT AND HEALTH ANDREA SULLIVAN

DIRECTOR OF TRAVEL DENISE DEGROOT

DIRECTOR OF MOTORS JIM CHAUDRY

CLIENT DIRECTOR, PERSONAL FINANCE JACQUIE DUCKWORTH

CLIENT DIRECT DIRECTOR, HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE NATASHA BAILEY

CLIENT DIRECT DIRECTOR, FASHION AND BEAUTY EMMA BARNES

AGENCY DIVISION

KELLY SLATER

SIR BRADLEY WIGGINS SILVANO ZANUSO

SURFING CHAMPION

OLYMPIC CYCLIST

HEALTH CONSULTANT

His decades-long success on the board is peerless. As he fixes to hang up his wetsuit, Slater reflects on a lifetime of riding success p56

How does Britain’s most decorated Olympian prepare for the day ahead? Team GB legend Wiggins gives us a morning in the life p137

Could employee wellness schemes boost productivity and, crucially, happiness? Zanuso has been hard at work on the research p88

THIS ISSUE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY… 11 PERSONAL TRAINERS

4 STYLE AFICIONADOS

10 UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS

4 HEALTH PROFESSORS

7 MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATES

2 REGISTERED PHARMACISTS

6 LEADING CHEFS

1 PRO MOUNTAIN RUNNER

5 NUTRITION SPECIALISTS

1 CHAMPION SURFER

4 CORPORATE WELLNESS STRATEGISTS

1 GOLD-WINNING OLYMPIAN

4 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

AND 1 AMPUTEE STRONGMAN

TOTAL

61 EXPERTS

14 MEN’S HEALTH

CHIEF AGENCY OFFICER JANE WOLFSON GROUP AGENCY DIRECTOR REGIONAL AGENCY DIRECTOR JONI MORRISS CLARE CROOKES HEAD OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT LUCY PORTER (0207 439 5276)

BUSINESS MANAGER GEMMA THOMPSON (0207 297 3480)

HEAD OF CLASSIFIED LEE RIMMER (0203 728 6247)

CONSUMER SALES AND MARKETING MARKETING AND CIRCULATION DIRECTOR REID HOLLAND

HEAD OF CONSUMER SALES AND MARKETING MATTHEW BLAIZE-SMITH

HEAD OF SUBSCRIPTIONS JUSTINE BOUCHER

DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR SEEMA KUMARI SHOWS AND EVENTS PRODUCTION COMMUNICATIONS HEAD OF PR DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND PRODUCTION MANAGER FAY JENNINGS SPONSORSHIP, HEARST LIVE ROGER BILSLAND VICTORIA ARCHBOLD DEPUTY HEAD OF PR AD PRODUCTION CONTROLLER EVENTS EXECUTIVE, HEARST LIVE AND COMMUNICATIONS JONATHAN STUART BEN BOLTON JENNI WHALE (0207 312 4190) (0207 439 5290) PR AND COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE JOURNALIST ENQUIRIES MEDIA@HEARST.CO.UK GEORGIA BLACK HEARST OPERATIONS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER CLAIRE BLUNT

PRESIDENT AND CEO, HEARST MAGAZINES INTERNATIONAL JAMES WILDMAN

HR DIRECTOR SURINDER SIMMONS

ACTING HEAD OF EDITORIAL OPERATIONS SOPHIE WILKINSON

CHIEF OPERATIONS DIRECTOR CLARE GORMAN

DIRECTOR, HEARST BRAND SERVICES JUDITH SECOMBE

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 © 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ISSN 1356-7438. MEN’S HEALTH IS PRINTED AND BOUND BY SOUTHERNPRINT, UNITS 15-21, FACTORY ROAD, UPTON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, POOLE, BH16 5SN. DISTRIBUTION BY COMAG. PUBLISHED 11 TIMES A YEAR. CONDITIONS APPLY. FOR ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES, PLEASE CALL OUR ENQUIRY LINE ON 0844 848 1601, INTERNATIONAL +44 (0)1858 438794. BACK ISSUES, CUSTOMER ENQUIRIES, CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND ORDERS TO: MEN’S HEALTH, HEARST MAGAZINES UK, TOWER HOUSE, SOVEREIGN PARK, LATHKILL STREET, MARKET HARBOROUGH, LEICS LE16 9EF (0844 848 5203; MONDAY TO FRIDAY, 8AM-9.30PM AND SATURDAY, 8AM-4PM. CREDIT CARD HOTLINE: 0844 848 1601).

EDITOR’S LETTER

YOUR PHYSICAL STEPS TO REAL PEACE OF MIND

PAGE

Weight loss is not a fair fight. To find out why, MH reports from the front line at the world’s leading obesity research lab

Our annual audit discerns the top gear from the murkier meds

PAGE

Could corporate health programmes help make us happier? Our writer explores the world of workplace wellness

PAGE

As part of our campaign against mental health stigma, seven people recount the toughest moments of their lives

ack in August, I appeared in a BBC Horizon documentary called Stopping Male Suicide. This stirring programme took in a thought-provoking range of case studies, including a man who had attempted to take his own life by jumping of the Golden Gate Bridge and a campaigner who had lost his teenage son to suicide. My part, for what it was worth, constituted an attempt to provide context to the disquieting statistics revealed in our survey on male mental health in last year’s #MendTheGap issue. As anyone familiar with the work Men’s Health has done in this area will know well, suicide remains the biggest killer of men under 50. Or, as presenter Dr Xand van Tulleken succinctly put it, “The most likely thing to kill me is me.” Stopping Male Suicide made for powerful, sometimes intolerable viewing – not least because it was broadcast the evening before the funeral of a dear friend and colleague of the Men’s Health

team. Ed Vanstone, MH digital director for seven years, gentle soul, sharp wit, font of knowledge and faithful comrade, made the incomprehensible, gut-wrenching decision to end his days at the beginning of the same month. He was just 33. Over the years, I had confided in Ed on all sorts of matters – professional, personal, mental. He had always been as he’d always been, which is to say kind, receptive, thoughtful and judicious. While he was attentive to and supportive of the years of work we have done to promote psychological wellbeing, Ed never gave those who worked with him any impression it was a subject that resonated with him personally. The most likely thing to kill Ed turned out to be Ed, and yet we, his witless colleagues, didn’t have the faintest of clues. Whether or not he himself knew, we’ll for ever speculate in vain. With the dust barely settled – will it, can it ever? – I find myself writing this introduction to MH’s 2018 #MendTheGap special. As part of our ongoing campaign for parity of esteem between physical and mental health issues, this year we

100

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Great news! Everything you need for a quick, wholesome meal is best served between two slices of bread

You can achieve an ageless physique. Follow our guide to become the leanest, strongest version of yourself, now

have produced Breaking Down Barriers, a portfolio of candid profiles with people who have reached the point of physical collapse as a result of mental dissolution. In representing psychological trauma as something inherently visceral, it is our continued aim to take one step closer to mending the gap in people’s collective understanding of these crucial issues. Right now, I’ll be honest with you, it is dificult to discern the pertinence of all this from the appalling irony. But what I can say is that this episode has made the deathly statistics that we report on more real and more resonant than ever before. It has made the intellectual personal. And it has strengthened our resolve to continue fighting for our cause to be given proper consideration at every level. This issue is dedicated to Ed Vanstone. Never could you hope to meet a more amiable man.

TOBY WISEMAN BSME EDITOR OF THE YEAR

MEN’S HEALTH 17

A CALIBRATED QUAFF COULD AID FLUID WEIGHT LOSS

ASK MH

MEASURED ADVICE ON STIRRING MATTERS

FIND YOUR HAPPY MEDIUM

Cutting calories should never mean bland beer BROOKLYN PILSNER At only 150kcal per bottle, this flavourful beer has a bitterness that gives it more of a kick than its 5.1% ABV would suggest.

THE BIG QUESTION

HOEGAARDEN WHITE This easy-to-find Belgian brew has a hint of coriander and orange peel and, with its 4.9% ABV, comes in at an estimated 147kcal. BREWDOG DEAD PONY PALE ALE Downing this light bottle will only cost you 114kcal. And you needn’t stop after your first, thanks to its 3.8% ABV.

WHAT’S WORSE FOR MY WAISTLINE: HIGH-ABV CRAFT ALES OR MORE SESSION BEERS? “There are two sources of calories in beer: carbs and alcohol,” says nutritionist Alan Flanagan. “This is crucial: not many people realise that alcohol is a macro, too, with around 7kcal per gram.” What’s more, brews with a high ABV (alcohol by volume) generally pack more carbs in the form of sugars that have been left over after fermentation. So, let’s do the maths. A pint of 6.5% ABV beer – a fruity, aromatic, American-style IPA, say – will set you back around 3.5 units of alcohol. 18 MEN’S HEALTH

To equal this number when quaffing an easy-going 4% bitter, you would need to put away about a pint and a half. In the first instance, you’re downing around 320kcal; in the second, it’s more like 270kcal. So, unit for unit, there’s not a lot in it. As for the argument that weak brews are more hydrating than strong ones? Once you’re past the first pint, even low-ABV

beers will dry you out, Flanagan warns. A better question, Conor, is how well do you know yourself? If you love to savour the taste of your tipple, then, by all means, pick the drink that appeals most. But if you’re always the last man standing? We would err on the side of caution.

WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON

CONOR, NEWCASTLE

TEXT A RUNNER… I’m of on my first-ever trail run this weekend. How can I avoid falling flat on my face? Take it easy. You’ll get injured if you start fast with a sixminute mile pace in mind.

ARE SMART SCALES JUST A GIMMICK, OR ARE THEY REALLY WORTH THE EXTRA CASH? BEN, LEICESTER

What about the climbs? I’m not sure the treadmill’s 4% incline has prepped me well enough… Hike the steep sections. Strong strides with your hands on your thighs can be as speedy as jogging – and you won’t be shattered when you hit the top. Do I need to change my running technique? Shorten your stride; this boosts traction to make recovery easy if you slip. And keep your eyes up to anticipate the terrain.

While it’s true that a lot of fitness tech on the market is a triumph of digitised style over substance, looking beyond your standard scales could be a wise move. They tell just one story – your weight – and using this sole metric to assess your condition is to miss the full picture. After all, the dial between your toes can shift for any number of reasons. Weight loss might simply be water loss, while weight gain may be the desired result of building muscle.

Smart scales measure factors such as your body fat, muscle mass and bone density, and many even allow you to sync this information with your phone. If you enjoy geeking out and respond well to visual prompts, this could boost your fitness motivation: in an Obesity Science & Practice study, people who used smart scales were more likely to weigh in weekly than those who relied on regular ones. Still, smart scales don’t (yet) operate with pinpoint accuracy, and variables such as your hydration levels can affect the results. The data should be seen more as a guide than fact. As PT James Daly says: “Metrics shouldn’t be of more interest to you than your performance. How your body feels is still the best measure of progress.” Not all that counts can be counted.

But I can go in my normal running shoes, right? Wrong, mate. Ditch the Nikes for a pair with a decent tread, like the Inov-8 X-Talon 230s. CAN PRICEY TECH REALLY TILT HEALTH IN YOUR FAVOUR?

Leave the headphones at home, too? You’ve got it. Enjoy the outdoors in its full glory.

@GETFITDALY | AMAZON.CO.UK, EUFYLIFE.COM, FITBIT.COM

Joseph Gray, pro mountain runner

ANCIENT SOLUTION TO A MODERN PROBLEM I bulk up first and Q Should cut second, or can I do both at the same time? Adam, Norwich

The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere. Xun Kuang, Chinese philosopher, 300 BC

SLIDING SCALES

We’ve weighed up the smarts of three popular ﬁtnesstracking scales. Pick yours and plot your progress

FOR DATA GEEKS iHealth Core, £84 Pro: Data-dense, with a linkable app that tracks blood pressure, muscle and bone mass, plus visceral and body fat. Con: Large footprint, at nearly 14 square inches.

FOR BEST VALUE Eufy BodySense Smart Scale, £40 Pro: Top quality, yet low cost, with BMI, body fat and muscle mass data. Con: The display shows weight only; for more, you’ll need its app.

FOR EASE OF USE Fitbit Aria 2, £120 Pro: Works seamlessly with your Fitbit tracker to follow your whole life, displaying your BMI and body fat. Con: Lacks key metrics such as muscle mass.

MEN’S HEALTH 19

EDITED BY TED LANE

03 UNWIND DESK-JOB DAMAGE

27 SMOKE STRESS

PAGE 24

07 DOES MOBILITY SCIENCE STACK UP? PAGE 30

PAGE 52

TOTAL HEALTH 04 HARVEST PAGE 26

01 CASH IN ON ALL-NEW MUSCLE PAGE 23

13 PUT HEART DISEASE ON ICE PAGE 37

25 STRETCH YOUR 5K POTENTIAL PAGE 50

MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH 21

CASH IN ON EXTRA MUSCLE GROWTH Drop contactless for real money and you’ll join a reward scheme of extra muscle-swelling testosterone

ith classes, gym memberships, shakes and supplements to fork out for, fitness can be a costly endeavour. But if packing on muscle is your goal, new science suggests that there’s a sizeable benefit to getting your wallet out. Research published in Personality and Individual Differences found that when men were asked to hold a wad of £20 notes, as opposed to plain paper, their levels of muscle-building testosterone skyrocketed. Although the researchers linked this hormonal response to riskier decision-making – which is why you should stick to plastic when cruising the supermarket aisles during a weight-loss

BULK BUYING

PERCENTAGE GROWTH

TEST YOURSELF regimen – a natural testosterone spike is also the perfect musclebuilding support. Testosterone plays a vital role in the release of human growth hormone and muscle protein synthesis, the process by which amino acids are used to rebuild muscle after exercise. To put it simply, the more your body has available to use, the easier it is for you to gain and maintain mass. You’ll receive a natural surge of the hormone for up to an hour after completing a heavy weights session, but flex your financial muscle and pick up your postworkout shake with cold, hard cash and you can supercharge the benefits without the need for extra reps. Though the anabolic benefits of that extra scoop of peanut butter are, as yet, unconfirmed.

Cashless? Try these alternative tricks to boost testosterone (T)

DO THE COBRA In a Human Physiology study, three minutes of post-workout stretching with this yoga pose raised T levels by 16%.

HAVE A BEER A dose of ethanol after strength training has been proven to boost T*. One pint after the gym is no bad thing.

HIT THE SHOWERS Your testicles can be sensitive to hot water. Opt for a cold shower to avoid disrupting your T production†.

SUPPLEMENT SUN Hit your vitamin D RDA while boosting muscle growth. Dosing up with 3,330 IU of D3 daily lifts T levels by 25%**.

TAKE NOTES OF THE LATEST SCIENCE TO STACK UP ON MUSCLE

MUSCLE NEWSFEED 11/18

MEN’S HEALTH 23

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

FIX THE STING OF BACK PAIN IN MINUTES

Undo desk-bound damage and build full-body strength with THE SCORPION. You'll gain freedom of movement, fast

01 GET CRACKING Sit on the floor, your knees bent and hands behind you. Lift your glutes two inches of the floor and hover in the crab position. Hold this pose for a few seconds and enjoy the stretch as it opens up your shoulders.

t’s hardly news that sitting for too much of your life is bad for your long-term health, yet few people are aware that a largely sedentary existence can cause far more immediate problems. Take the painful, rounded back that’s been keeping you off work, or the weak glutes that have seen your deadlifts plateau. But this dynamic exercise, which centres on mobilising creaky joints, will help you fix the damage from the comfort of your living room. “The Scorpion is excellent for stretching out your whole body,” says Kemo Marriott, founder of the Brotherhood Training Club. “You’ll extend your shoulders, spine and hips, which is the perfect antidote to sitting down all day.” Plus, the control needed to execute the move will build total-body strength, while the focus on coordination will boost proprioception, making your lifts more efficient. Work five minutes of this pincer exercise into your daily schedule and you’ll be able to take the venom out of your chair’s perils within a month. Though you might need to move the coffee table first.

ABOUT-TURN To rotate yourself so you’re facing the floor, move your right elbow towards your left knee and twist your torso through a full 180 degrees, so that your chest is facing down.

03 LEG OVER Now, with both hands, your right foot and your eyes on the floor, continue the twist in one fluid motion by driving your left leg up and backward so it arcs over your right leg, opening up your hips.

04 SAFE LANDING

WHAT YOU’LL GAIN

SHARP COORDINATION 24 MEN’S HEALTH

BOULDER SHOULDERS

THE BEST EXERCISE YOU’RE NOT DOING

ANIMAL MOBILITY

Raise your left hand and twist your back, lowering your left foot to the floor. As this returns you to the crab position, keep your left hand up and right leg extended. Reverse the move with the opposite leg, and try not to get too dizzy.

THE HEALTH SNOB’S GUIDE TO

MUSHROOMS Seasonal produce is the simplest way to harvest more natural ﬂavour and nutritional substance from any dish. This month, it’s time to pop a cap in your eating plan

01 SHROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Nearly 70% of the mushrooms we buy from supermarkets are white buttons. But, as it’s Britain’s peak fungi foraging season, we suggest you branch out with the help of Morris Wegrodzki, executive chef at London’s top vegetarian destination the Gate. The mushroom’s meaty texture and mineral payload make any variety a star ingredient, whether you’re a vegan, veggie or, er, normal. Add magic to your meal with the UK’s best shrooms.

A CREMINI This humble ingredient is all you need to combat one of man’s biggest killers: heart disease. Filled with the antioxidant ergothioneine, a serving will help to protect your body from harmful oxidative stress.

B OYSTER A mild-tasting option that boasts more iron than most other varieties, this mushroom will improve blood supply to your muscles to boost your gym performance. It pairs especially well with crisp white wine, too.

C SHIITAKE The shiitake’s tender cap has a woody taste that complements Asian flavours. With more than double the satiating fibre content of white buttons, consider this a tastier weight-loss supplement.

D MAITAKE Save this one for the morning after the night before. Fry up a handful and serve with a slice of buttery toast, and their naturally high levels of the antioxidant glutathione will soothe and reboot your liver.

02 FINDERS EATERS When foraging, treat the ingredients delicately to protect their ﬂavour and avoid breaking down their nutrients. “Don’t rip – cut,” advises Wegrodzki. The best tool to use is a mushroom knife-and-brush combo (£42 farrar-tanner.co.uk). Then, place your haul in a wide, shallow trug (£33 thebasketcompany.com). “This lets your mushrooms spread out and prevents them from squashing.”

Don’t wash them, either (“They’ll go slimy”) – that’s what the brush on your knife is for. Once in the kitchen, place a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add one handful of mushrooms at a time. Be careful not to crowd the pan; cooking too many at once may cause them to steam in their juices rather than sauté. Patience is key – stir occasionally and remove only when your fungi are no longer producing moisture. Field to table? You’ve got it licked.

MOREL SUPPORT

ANNUAL RETURNS

03 CAP IT ALL OFF After the number of vegans in the UK soared to 3.5 million earlier this year – and with research suggesting that a ﬂexitarian diet can improve both weight loss and heart health – Wegrodzki devised four meatless recipes that aﬀord the honest mushroom the nutritional hero status it so richly deserves.

SEASON’S EATINGS

A SERVES 4 Cremini mushrooms, 1kg Onions, 2, large, diced Garlic cloves, 3, minced Button mushrooms, 300g Vegetable stock, 1L Salt, 1tsp White potatoes, 4, large, thinly sliced Soy cream, 2tbsp Smoked paprika, 2tsp Tenderstem broccoli, 500g

B METHOD In a pan, sweat one onion and a garlic clove, then add the button mushrooms. Pour in the stock and season with salt before setting aside. Next, combine the potatoes with the cream and paprika, then layer on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes. For the filling, fry up the creminis and the remaining onions and garlic; spread on top of the cooked potato sheet. Roll it up, slice and serve with the sauce and steamed broccoli.

SERVES 4 Oyster mushrooms, 1kg, torn into strips Red onions, 2, sliced A red, yellow and green bell pepper Garlic cloves, 2, minced Smoked paprika, 2tsp Soy sauce, 1tbsp Wholemeal tortillas, 4 Guacamole, 200g Salsa, 200g

METHOD In a frying pan, sauté the onions, peppers, garlic and mushrooms until the mushrooms are soft. Sprinkle over the paprika and add the soy sauce, then allow to cook for an additional two minutes. To build your tortilla, load it with a generous serving of the mushroom and pepper mix and a dollop of guacamole and salsa, before wrapping it up and stufing it in your mouth. This could get messy.

With autumn now covered, stock up on ingredients that will maximise your health all year round

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES | FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS PLATES SUPPLIED BY HABITAT | FRYING PAN SUPPLIED LE CREUSET

CAULIFLOWER

WINTER At 92% water, this trending vegetable is low in calories but high in vitamins. A rich source of fibre, it also slows your digestion and promotes feelings of fullness.

LOBSTER

SPRING Welcome new research demonstrates that trehalose – a natural sugar found in this luxe crustacean – blocks glucose from entering and harming your liver cells.

STRAWBERRY

SUMMER Strawberries boast high levels of hearthealthy antioxidants, such as ellagic acid and flavonoids anthocyanin, catechin, quercetin and kaempferol. Plus, they help to lower your cholesterol levels.

C SERVES 4 Shiitake mushrooms, 1kg Mirin, 100ml Rice vinegar, 200ml Sugar, 40g Sushi rice, 500g, rinsed Water, 550ml Red onions, 2, diced A red chilli Teriyaki sauce, 200ml Pak choi, 500g, chopped Cashews, 200g, crushed

D METHOD In a small pot, boil up the mirin, vinegar and sugar and set aside. Combine the rice and water, simmer until the water has gone, then season with the syrup. As it cools, fry up the onions and chilli, then add the de-stemmed shiitake caps and cook until tender. Pour in the teriyaki sauce and cook for another five minutes before dropping in the pak choi and cashews, stirring for two more minutes. Serve with the sticky rice.

SERVES 4 Maitake mushrooms, 500g, thinly sliced A shallot, sliced Olive oil, 1tbsp Smoked paprika, pinch Sherry vinegar, 1tbsp Sourdough, 4 slices, toasted Capers, 1tbsp Parsley, 1tbsp, chopped

METHOD In a pan on a medium heat, fry the shallot in a splash of oil. Once it has softened, throw in your mushrooms along with a pinch of paprika. Allow the majority of the water to evaporate before pouring in the sherry vinegar to deglaze. Then, toast your sourdough slices and serve your mushrooms on top. Finish with a sprinkle of salty capers and parsley – and devour the lot while it’s still warm.

06 BUST YOUR GUT

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN…

…I GET A BEER BELLY? Beer gut, dad bod, skinny fat – whatever

you call it, weight around your waist can be deadly. Here’s how to deﬂate the danger

HEART OF THE MATTER

FAT CHANCE You may be at more risk than you realise. Around 26% of UK men are overweight and, in many cases, the excess kilos are deposited around their middles as visceral fat. Your beer belly surrounds your liver, stomach and intestines and, rather than sit flabbily inert, is biologically active, imbalancing your hormones and raising your risk of metabolic and cardiovascular complications. So far, so bad.

As your belly grows, its impact on your heart is determined by your waist-to-hip ratio. To work this out, measure both and divide waist by hips. A score of 0.9 or higher indicates central obesity, which means your cardiac risks are higher. Hit the weights: muscle limits the dangers of visceral fat** by extracting glucose from your blood, helping your liver process fatty acids and reducing inflammation.

0.9

26% WORDS: RICHARD LALIBERTE | ILLUSTRATION: PETER GRUNDY | *INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY | **MAYO CLINIC | †SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

04 01

05 IF YOU LET IT KEEP GROWING, BELLY WILL GET YOU

MIND GAINS It sneaks up on you because you’re hard-wired to store fat: in evolutionary terms, it’s part of your body’s system of stockpiling energy. Now that you’re no longer hunting or gathering, however, it’s a problem. Outsmart biology by starting your day with a high-fat breakfast of avocados and eggs (or sausages). This promotes metabolic plasticity, making you burn more belly fat for energy*.

BROWN IS THE NEW WHITE

03 GUT PUNCH A beer gut is often poor in biodiversity. Keep an eye on your toilet: in a recent study, scientists found that a hard, lumpy stool has fewer beneficial bacterial species. The fix, according to research, is a 10g increase in daily fibre, which boosts your microbiome and is also associated with a 3.7% drop in visceral fat. Add two tablespoons of psyllium husks to your cereal or shake.

Winter is coming – and you can use the cold weather to your advantage in the battle against the bulge. Not all body fat is harmful. While visceral fat is “white fat”, associated with an unhealthy metabolism, “brown fat” burns calories and helps the body to generate heat. Training in the cold “turns on” brown fat, stoking your metabolism and burning of your belly†. No leggings allowed.

MEN’S HEALTH 29

BIT OF A STRETCH

EMPTY PROMISES

MOBILITY TRAINING IS A WASTE OF EFFORT Flexibility alone is an

THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

arbitrary goal. To lift your game in the gym, you need to add metal

obility is a trend, not a science. The hashtag may have been used on Instagram 1.7 million times, alongside images of people in pigeon poses and loaded Jefferson curls, but the term “mobility” conventionally has a far simpler definition: ambulation, or moving. Its use in reference to muscle flexibility is a new thing – and just because it’s trending, it doesn’t make it right. When you’re training to become a better athlete, the laws of specificity reign supreme. What I mean is that doing any activity most directly benefits your ability to do that particular activity, but this has diminishing returns when applied to anything else. If your goal is to master a successful snatch, you need a certain openness in your upper body to achieve that position. But being flexible enough to lick your own elbow won’t translate to an increased capacity to catch a weight overhead 1 . Rolling around on padded gym floors in search of elusive stretchiness is never the best way to improve mobility. If you want an increased range of motion (ROM)

THIS MONTH’S ADVOCATE Quinn Henoch is a doctor of physical therapy and the head of rehabilitation at Clinical Athlete

30 MEN’S HEALTH

in the long term, you need to add resistance. Loading an exercise is not just about building muscle: it means stressing the tissues until they’re forced to adapt, be that by increasing bulk or elasticity. So, a weighted split squat is a more direct way to increase hip flexibility than any variety of hip flexor stretches. Stretching pre-workout will increase your ROM, but it’s short-lived. According to research in Clinical Biomechanics, a static stretching programme has no lasting effect on muscle structure 2 . Stretch under a load, however (warming up for back squats with paused goblet squats, for example), and you’ll increase your range for good. Eventually, you’ll be able to do any exercise to the correct ROM with no warm-up stretching at all. Too much flexibility can even be a hindrance. If you’re comfortable in a range

of motion without weights (when you’re in a deep squat, say) and try to replicate that position with a barbell on your back, you will cause exactly the kind of stress that can result in an injury 3 . You may have been trying to bulletproof yourself against strains, but hypermobility can make you more susceptible instead. I’ve seen athletes who could do the splits but couldn’t squat below parallel with an unloaded barbell on their back. That’s not because they lacked the mobility – it’s because they lacked the strength. Let’s not make a false dichotomy. Performance is a combination. The most eﬀective way to boost both is to use an empty bar. Many erroneously assume that this is a sign of weakness. Those using bands to open up their joints may look cooler, but don’t be fooled. Check your ego at the door and do reps using just the bar. Those 20kg are far better at creating the stretch you need to develop a ROM that works for you. If you’re at the gym just for double taps, stick to the stretching. But if you want to progress and save yourself hours of pointlessly trying to touch your nose to your knee, reassess your strategies. My advice: head straight for the weights.

“Being able to lick your own elbow won’t help you catch a weight overhead”

LOAD UP FOR REAL PROGRESS. IT’S WORTH THE WEIGHTS

> THE DEVIL’S DETAILS 1

ENERGY DRAIN

Stretching before a workout can hinder your performance*, as muscles have less power when relaxed than when tense.

JUST A FEELING

Static stretching may make you feel more flexible, but it makes no significant diference to your muscle structure**.

WORST DEFENCE

The stretching protocols used in several studies did not meaningfully reduce the risk of lower-extremity injury†.

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE | *MEDICAL SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE | **AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION | †JOURNAL OF ATHLETIC TRAINING

ASCEND TO A NEW LEVEL OF STAMINA Climb into the saddle at Athlete Lab to fuse science with community spirit and power your endurance to the head of the peloton. Look out, Geraint Thomas

lite cycling is at the forefront of fitness. It was British squad Team Sky that brought fame to the concept of marginal gains, in which minor changes add up to maximise every aspect of your performance. Here at indoor cycling gym Athlete Lab, the aspirations are no less lofty. Its industrial-sized fans and panoramic data screens create an impression of clinical excellence – a vibe that it translates into results. The London facility’s classes cover every endurance discipline, and the training is designed to mimic the road as closely as possible. “If you’re looking for straight stamina, you can grind through ergo sessions,” says head of cycling performance Tom Shanney. “The resistance is dictated by an expert coach, who will push you from 80-90% effort over the course of a workout.” The gym is also set up to imitate hill climbs. “In contrast to regular flywheel bikes, ours have Shimano gears to help you practise working against gradients,” says Shanney. “They’re as close as you’ll get to the real thing.” Athlete Lab also provides in-class coaching that’s far more effective than the barked orders of a spin instructor. “Our trainers monitor your stats from the back of the class and give individual feedback,” says Shanney. “We tell you when to push or pause and then which classes will help you to improve.” It’s this personal attention that gives the data-driven gym the human face of a more traditional cycling group. “The club feel is important to us,” says Shanney. “Our coaches know our clients by name and what they’re training for.” Whether you’re an aspiring Ironman or a hobbyist in search of a community hub, Athlete Lab will help you to pursue your goals. But, first: Lycra shopping.

32 MEN’S HEALTH

THE BEST GYMS IN THE WORLD

FTP This stands for Functional Threshold Power, which is the highest average power you can sustain for an hour, measured in watts. Athlete Lab tests this, then uses your data to guage effort levels mid-class, ensuring you get the most out of them.

MAP YOUR PROGRESS The front screen maps out the course ahead. With class names such as Ironmania (long-slog rides) and HIIT Hurt Box (intervals), the road maps are varied. You can even sync your results to fitness app Strava to practise home rides in the city.

IN THE SADDLE Enjoy a personal touch. After your first session, the trainers will save your measurements and pre-set your bike when they next see your name on the list for a session. All you have to do is walk in, find your name and jump on the bike.

BLAZING SADDLES

LAB DATA

15 HOURS There’s a roster of classes on offer five days a week, from 6:15am to 9pm, with trainers on hand to track your progress. This is not a pay-as-you-train studio – a 12-month membership (which costs £119 per month) gives you unlimited access to every workout.

GYM ATHLETE LAB

LOCATION LONDON, UK

WEBSITE

ATHLETE-LAB.CO.UK

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM WATKINS

GO TURBO These are no spin bikes. Instead, the purposebuilt frames are attached to data-sending turbo trainers, with a real bike tyre on the rear. A roller unit uses air, fluid or magnetic means to vary the bike’s resistance, which, in turn, mimics the effort of on-road cycling.

MEN’S HEALTH 33

GRAINS OF TRUTH

SWEETER CORNS

THE BIG SHAKEDOWN

MH VERSUS SALT VS PEPPER

In the battle for seasoning supremacy, MH has been grinding it out to determine which offers the greater health and fitness benefits: salt or pepper? Let’s get cracking

PEPPER

20%

It may not be as popular as salt, but pepper – considered the UK’s oldest spice – accounts for a ﬁfth of the global spice trade

Take alarmist headlines about salt’s health hazards with a pinch of, er, you know. The average Brit’s intake is only 2g higher than the 6g RDA

162% 0.2% 0.2% Muscle-building sodium

Energising iron

WEIGHT LOSS

NUMBERS GAIN

Fat-burning calcium

BEER

An Indian study revealed that the black pepper compound piperonal hinders new fat cells from forming. The results also exhibited a reduction of fat levels in the blood, halting weight gain

28% 16% 21%

Brain-boosting manganese

DYNAMIC DUOS

Energising iron

Antioxidant vitamin K

Of Your RDA†

Salty foods can cause you to consume 11% more calories*. According to the Journal of Clinical Investigation, salt sinks thirst, while increasing hunger to balloon your waist

TOMATO JUICE (+ VODKA) Alkylamides in pepper suppress cancer cells, a US study found. Whip up a bloody mary and boost the effects with tomatoes’ antioxidant lycopene

Australian scientists found that, when salt is present, beer is more hydrating than a sports drink. A post-run pint and packet of crisps, then Cutting out salt may actually escalate your risk of heart disease. While those with high blood pressure are right to avoid it, McMaster University linked low intake with early death

HEALTH HITS

Piperine – another black pepper constituent – inhibits an enzyme that breaks down “happy” neurotransmitter serotonin, suggesting a positive impact on your mental health**

HIMALAYAN PINK SEA SALT

STAR PLAYER

AFRAMOMUM MELEGUETA

This salt is particularly high in sodium, a lack of which lowers blood volume, stimulating the sympathetic nervous system to disrupt sleep††

Japan’s Tenshi College found that this African pepper blocks the accumulation of dangerous visceral fat, slashing your heart attack risk

THE MH VERDICT: PEPPER WINS! Salt may still be bae for your fries – plus it’s comforting to know that the heart health risks are overblown – but it simply can’t compete with pepper’s well-rounded nutrient proﬁle. Extra minerals and piquant weight-loss potential make it the kitchen staple to crush 34 MEN’S HEALTH

SALT

FROZEN ASSETS

MORNING GLORIES

HEALTH NEWSFEED 11/18

HEART HEALTH IS A JUICE BEST SERVED COLD The original juice is back

THE EASIEST WAY TO PUT YOUR HEART ATTACK RISK ON ICE

on the table. Ice it in the freezer to concentrate its nutritional payload

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON

t’s high time that juicing made a comeback. We’re not, of course, talking about the hypodermic kind – we mean your morning OJ. Before health campaigners called out its high sugar content, it was almost unthinkable to start your day without a thirst-quenching hit of vitamin C. Now, a study by the University of Seville in Spain has discovered that, with a simple kitchen hack, you can restore good, old-fashioned orange juice to its rightful place on your breakfast table. The health and wellness zeitgeist is cyclical, after all. The Spanish scientists found that freezing the juice before thawing it out again increases the bioaccessibility of compounds called carotenoids, making them more easily absorbed into your blood stream through your intestinal wall. According to research published in the British Journal of Nutrition, these powerful antioxidants help to prevent the breakdown of muscle and reduce oxidative stress, which

THE FIBRE WITHIN Limit OJ’s fructose spike with these three high-fibre breakfasts, each delivering at least a third of your RDA

OATMEAL (15G) has been linked to a heightened risk of cancer. Perhaps most importantly, however, carotenoids also have a protective effect against heart disease, which is responsible for more than 160,000 deaths per year in the UK alone. So, buying orange juice in bulk and keeping a ready supply in the freezer is the most convenient way to put its nutrients to better use. As for those scare stories about the juice’s high sugar content, you can offset the negatives with our high-fibre breakfast heroes (right). Squeeze more from your morning.

Microwave 50g of oats with almond milk. Top with two fresh figs, three dates and chia seeds.

TACOS (12G) Scramble two eggs, add half a tin of black beans and spring onions and wrap in wholemeal tortillas.

YOGURT (10G) Mix 50g of cooked quinoa, almonds, honey and two strawberries into 100g of Greek yogurt.

MEN’S HEALTH 37

BAGS OF REAL POTENTIAL Today, ﬁtness is a lifestyle and a bag that will take you from workplace to workout and beyond is essential. The MH Lab weighs up the best

38 MEN’S HEALTH

MH WINNER SMALL PACKAGES 83/100 OMM Phantom 12 £100 theomm.com Performance Design Ease of use

•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••

GO THE DISTANCE Designed to be used by endurance runners, this lightweight bag is just 190g, and is both waterproof and rip-resistant. The six-point strap attachment system ensures you maintain stability and comfort during your cardio. EXPERT VERDICT The Phantom is fit for purpose, and that purpose is running. It may not be the highest performer in the line-up, but it’s so light and comfortable to wear that there’s little competition for the cardio commuter. What holds it back is its 12L capacity. If you’re able to leave your clothes at work, this is your go-to.

BRIGHT AND EASY 90/100 Lomo 40L Dry Bag Rucksack £29 lomo.co.uk Performance Design Ease of use

•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••

FOR ALL SEASONS Big and bold, this is for

men who are active come rain or shine. The PVC fabric will keep your belongings dry, whether you’re caught in a storm or have capsized in a canoe. Chest and waist straps allow you to carry heavy weight with ease. EXPERT VERDICT For its cost, the quality is staggering. The 40-litre capacity is enough for active weekends, but because of its roll-top design, it’s not cumbersome on commutes. It lacks the sophisticated compartments and protective padding of other bags but, at such a low price point, we’re in a forgiving mood.

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: CHARLIE SURBEY

o one carries a briefcase any more. Meanwhile, the free gym rucksacks you might see people wearing to work are as oﬃce appropriate as the battered Asics the same commuters pair with a suit for their walk to the oﬃce. Your bag is an everyday essential that requires smart investment, but it remains something to which most of us give little thought. It’s time you bucked this trend. The 2018 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report highlights that one in seven people now has a gym membership and, according to one Total Jobs survey, around a third of all commuters spend at least part of their journeys to work either on foot or in the saddle. Add to this the fact that the wellness travel sector has grown 14% in the past two years – nearly twice as fast as overall tourism – and it’s clear that staying active has become a constant in most people’s lives. So you need a carryall that can match your ambitions – be that for your weekday training or the active weekend you have booked for next month. To help shoulder the burden and ensure that you invest correctly, our editors took to the MH Lab to run, ride, work and travel with the best bags on the market. We’ve done the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to.

CARRY ON COMPARING MH used these criteria to find the kit that really holds water

INSIDE Smart pockets, clever zips and snug padding all play a part in creating a bag that can move between business and leisure.

OUTSIDE Sure, it helps if the bag looks cool but, more importantly, it has to be all-weather and robust enough to keep pace with your plans.

HARD SELL 81/100 The North Face Access 22L Backpack £110 thenorthface.co.uk Performance Design Ease of use

•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••

THE SAFE BET This commuter bag is sleek

and smart. Its back panel padding boosts comfort while the rigid casing allows you to carry valuables assuredly. Nice touches include ejector tabs that let you remove your devices quickly when you get to work. EXPERT VERDICT The Access 22L walks the line between business and bench press successfully. Compartments keep your ofice kit protected while afording you plenty of room for your gym gear. However, while it is physically tough, this backpack falls down on its all-weather capabilities. And winter is coming.

AHEAD OF THE PACK

SACKS’ APPEAL

SIZE Size does matter. If it’s too small or too big, the bag’s use will be limited. It needs to be just right.

MEAN BUSINESS 87/100 OUTSIDE EDGE 86/100 Filson Ballistic Nylon Dufle Pack £240 filson.com Performance Design Ease of use

•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••

WEEKEND WARRIOR With its tear-resistant

ballistic nylon fabric and 46L capacity, this bag will keep pace on wild weekends. Extra padding keeps the contents secure and a smart, expandable side pocket with water-resistant lining separates wet gear. EXPERT VERDICT Outdoors brand Filson prides itself on durability and delivers with multiple straps that transform this bag from dufle to shoulder to backpack in seconds. It’s not the cheapest, or the daintiest. But for the man who packs for any eventuality, be it in the urban jungle or forest wilds, this has got your back.

Castore Dayton Backpack £95 castore.co.uk Performance Design Ease of use

•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••

A TOUCH OF CLASS Castore’s perfectly proportioned commuter backpack has enough room to pack for a short trip, with laptop space, 10 compartments and a 16L capacity. It’s covered with robust fabric and reflective detailing for good measure. EXPERT VERDICT Stylistically, it’s a winner, with a design that resembles a briefcase for the active man. Though compact, the diferent compartments can stow away more than you think and the laptop sleeve is snug, keeping your tech stable even when the bag is empty. This will take you from gym to boardroom in fine fashion.

MEN’S HEALTH 39

REVIVAL PLAN

TOP GUN

MH GAME CHANGERS THERAGUN G2PRO

WEAPON OF MASS RECONSTRUCTION A gun that heals, instead of harms? The TheraGun G2Pro is engineered to revive any burned-out body. These stats prove it’s well worth a shot

t looks like a power drill sent back in time to save John Connor and, as such, letting it loose on your aching limbs seems foolhardy. In reality, this is the smartest thing you can do after a tough session. And it won’t even hurt that much – honest. The TheraGun G2Pro is already used by NBA players and CrossFit alphas such as Mat Fraser, but now it has ﬁnally found its way into the hands of the recreational athlete. Using vibration therapy, it chips away at muscle and joint pain, relieves spasms and knots, improves mobility and even breaks up scar tissue. It takes just 15 minutes to use, and you can do it in front of the TV. Here’s how the G2Pro is taking aim at your lacklustre foam rolling.

iv_

2,500

Speed kills pain. The G2Pro fires this many times per minute to give you deep musclefibre activation and accelerated recovery.

iii_

45min

Just one charge of the TheraGun G2Pro’s LithiumTech battery will see you through a full week of post-workout massage sessions.

80lb

The pressure that each revolution applies to your aching quads is almost equivalent to the force of a hammer hitting a nail, over and over again.

MAXIMUM REFRESHMENT Follow MH’s evening recovery protocol to outmuscle DOMS

40 MEN’S HEALTH

ii_

1.6cm

To get below the surface and truly rehabilitate your muscles, each pulse jabs down further than a centimetre into areas of tightness.

THERAGUN G2PRO £549 THERAGUN.CO.UK

This number of percussions per second combine with the G2Pro’s amplitude and rotational force to block the muscle’s pain signals from reaching your brain. It may look and sound mean, but it’s far kinder than the nodules of your standard roller.

vi_

With four AmpBIT foam attachments, and the same number of angle settings, your knots have nowhere to hide from the G2Pro’s healing barrage.

SALT WOUNDS – 7PM

ROAR POWER – 8:15PM

COMPRESS ON – 8:20PM

BREAKING GOOD – 9PM

Ditch the lavender bath for a soak in Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to ease aches and speed repair.

Topical gel Tiger Balm warms and cools the skin as it soothes, cutting soreness by 72%*. Apply liberally.

Pick compression tights over joggers for the sofa. Subjects who wore them post-workout felt less pain the next day†.

Pop an HMB supp pre-bed. A metabolite of amino acid leucine, it slows muscle loss and halts protein breakdown.

WORDS: BEN WELCH | PHOTOGRAPHY: CHARLIE SURBEY | *CENTRE FOR REVIEWS AND DISSEMINATION | †UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG

STAND-OUT MOVE

CLIMB THE LADDER

GIVE YOUR MENTAL SKILLS A LEG-UP

GET A HELPING HANDSTAND AT THE OFFICE Master this gymnastic staple

OFF THE WALL Prepare for a full handstand with this PT-approved move

to boost your brainpower and push yourself forward at work

i. GET IN POSITION With your feet against the wall, drop into a straight arm plank. Make sure you can hold this for at least 60 seconds.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE | *SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | ILLUSTRATIONS: ALCONIC AT SYNERGY ART

t turns out that there’s more to handstands than showboating on Instagram. A new study* suggests that, once mastered, the gymnastic classic can give you a mental edge at the office. After 12 weeks of intense balance training, test subjects improved not only their ability to show off, but also their short-term memory. While many of the cognitive benefits of exercise relate to the long-term goal of dementia prevention, handstand training offers rewards in the here and now. Your quick thinking won’t go unnoticed in meetings, or when your boss gives you an unexpected grilling. Scientists have long known that exercise positively impacts our brains, but such benefits were largely linked to our cardiorespiratory fitness. In this case, however, neither group was training to improve their cardio endurance. The researchers speculate that the cognitive boost was related to the neural pathways connecting the vestibular system (responsible for co-ordination) with the hippocampus and parietal cortex (brain regions associated with memory and navigation). By mastering complex moves in the gym, you’ll strengthen these pathways and trigger performanceenhancing alterations in your brain. The corner office awaits. You can handstand-walk into it, if you like.

ii. START CLIMBING Move your hands backward, keeping them directly below your shoulders, and walk your feet slowly up the wall.

MIND NEWSFEED 11/18

iii. AT THE SUMMIT Once you’re almost vertical, keep your elbows locked, fingers spread and core tight. Hold for as long as you can.

iv. DOWN TO EARTH To lower safely, walk your hands out and take small steps down the wall, until you are back in the plank position.

MEN’S HEALTH 43

21 RAISE A SMILE

ENJOY SOME VERY HAPPY RETURNS Give yourself something to

RESET BUTTON

Reboot after a sleepdeprived week with a 30-minute snooze. Power naps can make you 10% happier, while also renewing your focus and creativity. University of Hertfordshire

STILL SMILING Meditation’s benefits go far beyond the woolly claims of “mindfulness”. It’s associated with an increase in the size of your brain’s precuneus, which controls your ability to feel joy. Kyoto University

FIT$E IND£X HAPPINESS UP

HIT SINGLE You needn’t punish yourself in the weights room to enjoy the endorphin hit: a study found that a single session per week is enough for a significant boost to your mood. Journal of Happiness Studies

smile about with our moodenhancing stock report

GOOD VIBRATIONS The goose bumps, or “aesthetic chills”, you feel listening to music are a bona fide moodbooster. There’s a genre devoted to inducing the feeling – search it on Spotify and listen up. PLOS One

SPENDING TIME “Buying” free time – for example, hiring a cleaner to help at home – enhances your life enjoyment more than standard retail therapy. You didn’t need those new trainers, anyway. PNAS

DOWN

ROOT OF ALL EVIL Money can buy you happiness, but life satisfaction peaks for those earning over £60,000 a year. We imagine cleaning a Jag must become tiresome. Nature Human Behaviour

HOLD

MIND THE GAP

MAN IN THE MIRROR

The happiest people dwell in areas with populations eight times lower than where the unhappiest live. Head out of the city – and Zone 6 doesn’t count. University of British Columbia

Although exercise makes you happier, obsessing over your weight-loss goals can have the opposite efect. Train for your health and fitness, not simple aesthetics. PLOS One

WORDS: MATT EVANS | ILLUSTRATION: INFOMEN

DOWN

RISERS AND FALLERS UP

HOLD

DOWN

Good vibes

Happy medium

Low moment

DOWN

#FOODPORN There’s more to life than taking photos of your plate. A study revealed you’ll enjoy experiences such as dinner with friends more when your phone is switched of. They probably will, too. University of Virginia

HOLD

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

SEASONAL SMILE

Spending more time with your mates can boost your life satisfaction to the equivalent of an £85,000 pay rise. We guess the first round’s on you, then. University of London

Hunkering down for winter too early is the fast track to seasonal afective disorder. New science suggests we’re most content at an autumnal 13.9°C, so embrace the cool outdoors this month. Osaka University

HOLD

SPIRIT LEVELS Choose your poison wisely. Spirits such as vodka and gin are 30% more likely to sink your happiness levels than a glass of wine. We’ll go for a Malbec then, please – a large one. Public Health Wales

MEN’S HEALTH 45

HOW I BUILT MY BODY

LIFT WITH MILITARY PRECISION

you’re training, you don’t feel disabled,” he says. After a year, Smith became more interested in the practical applications of strongman training. He only really faces diﬃculties on legs day: a Smith machine is essential for squats, while conventional deadlifts are a no-go. “I’m an above-knee amputee, and my prosthetic leg can’t take heavy weights,” he says. Especially not the kind of weights he’s lifting. Smith was crowned Britain’s eing wounded on active Strongest Disabled Man in 2016 and duty is unlucky. Surviving 2017 and won disabled strongman tours in Bosnia, Iraq and events at the Arnold Classic in 2017 Afghanistan, then losing and 2018. Working out was the a leg on a Canadian ﬁring range is foundation for both his physical unluckier still. Not that Mark Smith, and his mental rehabilitation. a 10-year veteran of the Grenadier Though your adversities may not Guards, is bitter. “I’ve always wanted be so severe, Smith’s lessons for to tell the lad who shot me there are reaching your goals are universal: no hard feelings,” he says. surround yourself with It was in the military positive people, don’t hospital ward that Smith sit still, keep moving refocused his ambitions. forward – and pick up “I was around blokes some heavy things, who didn’t mope,” he then put them says. “They just wanted down again. THE MOTIVATOR to walk and run again.” That’s an order. Mark Smith, former Smith spent every free lance sergeant, Grenadier Guards, moment in the gym, and and two times this led to a brief career Britain’s Strongest in bodybuilding. “When Disabled Man

Army veteran and amputee strongman Mark Smith embodies the true meaning of strength. Follow his lead

INSTAGRAM @marksmith_ disabledstrongman

46 MEN’S HEALTH

175kg BENCH

WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM WATKINS | GROOMING: LAURA DEXTER USING SKINCARE BY CLINIQUE FOR MEN AND BUMBLE AND BUMBLE | WITH THANKS TO THE FOUNDRY, VAUXHALL

ROPE IN STRENGTH

POWER DRILLS

119kg WEIGHT

BECOME A TANK Follow Smith’s plan to pull in the full benefits of strongman, no double-decker bus required B

THE OTHER RED MEAT Smith maintains muscle with alternative protein sources

WILD BOAR Protein: 22g (per 100g) High in vitamin B6, which is linked with improved cognitive function, this steak will boost both brains and brawn.

OSTRICH Protein: 26g This red-fleshed bird is lower in fat than even skinless chicken or turkey, making it perfect for building lean muscle.

01/ SEATED ROW (INSTEAD OF… TRUCK PULLS) Sit at a pulley machine, your knees slightly bent (A). With your back straight, retract your shoulder blades and pull the handle to your chest (B). Hold, release and repeat.

ZEBRA Protein: 28g Help bolster your immune system with a cut of zebra, a meat packed full of zinc.

02/ OVERHEAD PRESS (INSTEAD OF… VIKING PRESS) Standing, hold a barbell against your chest, palms facing up (A). Raise your chest as you push the bar overhead. Lock your arms out, then slowly lower (B). Don’t drop it. A

6’2” HEIGHT

03/ INCLINE PRESS (INSTEAD OF… LOG PRESS) Start with your bench at a 45-degree angle, dumbbells overhead, then lower them (A). Just before they touch your chest, power back up to the starting position (B).

MEN’S HEALTH 47

24 PUFF DADDY

A MAN, A PAN, A PLAN CHICKEN POT PIE

UPPER-CRUST MUSCLE FUEL For old-school comfort food with a cutting-edge macro split that doesn’t ﬂake out on ﬂavour, tuck into this chicken pot pie

WORDS: PAUL KITA | PHOTOGRAPHY: TRAVIS RATHBONE | FOOD STYLING: JAMIE KIMM | PROP STYLING: OLGA GRIGORENKO

MAN On rainy October days, this gym-goer craves nothing more than a warming plate of autumnal stodge – but he fears that a pie-eyed wobble in his nutrition plan would mean making up for it with steamed broccoli for the rest of the week. This needn’t be the case: armed with only a pan, he can serve up vitamin-rich vegetables and protein-packed chicken, bathed in bubbling gravy and cocooned in puﬀy carbs. Together, they deliver a wellbalanced dose of macros and micros at just 372kcal per portion. It’s a virtuous take on the rustic staple, and easy as pie to prepare.

ii/

PAN SERVES 6 • RAPESEED OIL, 2TSP • CHICKEN BREASTS, 2, CUBED • LEEKS, 2, CHOPPED AND RINSED • CARROTS, 3, DICED • FROZEN PEAS, 150G • BEER, 225ML • CHICKEN STOCK, 225ML • FLOUR, 3TBSP • FRESH ROSEMARY LEAVES, 2 SPRIGS • A SHEET OF PUFF PASTRY, THAWED

READERS DIGEST Each bite brings more to the table

CHICKEN

iii/

PLAN

MUSCLE GROWTH

i/ In a large cast-iron pan on a medium heat, warm up one teaspoon of the oil. Add the chicken and brown for 8-10 minutes. Put the meat on a plate, then preheat the oven to 175°C. ii/ In the same pan, heat the rest of the oil before adding the leeks, carrots and peas. Cook until the leeks soften and add the beer and stock. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and stir in the flour. Add the rosemary and meat and cook for about five minutes until it thickens. iii/ Lay the sheet pastry over the mixture. Cut and patch as needed – just say it’s “rustic”. Put the pan in the oven and bake for half an hour. Remove the pan using oven mitts. Cool slightly, then dig in.

PASTRY

HIGH-ENERGY CARBS

CARROTS

SATIATING FIBRE

BEER

MOREISH FLAVOUR

MEN’S HEALTH 49

STRETCH YOUR LIMIT

FAST-TRACK MOVES

STRONGER AND FASTER Strengthen your core and reach a 5K PB by making Pilates a pillar of your training plan

et’s get something straight from the off: Pilates is not fancy yoga. While the ancient Indian practice boasts body and mind benefits, Joseph Pilates’s protocol is eminently more useful when it comes to taking minutes off your splits. Grab a mat, a ring or – even better – a reformer, and you’ll secure core strength, joint mobility and, according to a new study, elite running speed. The research, published in Plos One, found that runners who took part in a 12-week Pilates programme were able to shave an impressive two minutes off their 5K times – no spiritual awakening required. Their mat sessions became progressively harder each week, starting with basic moves such as the roll-up and the hundred, then advancing to the open-leg rocker. This afforded subjects speedy gains in core stability

that helped them to stretch their speed. A weak core hampers your running potential by causing you to hunch over, preventing your lungs from expanding to full capacity. This restricts the ﬂow of oxygen to your muscles, crucial for fuelling your run. Pilates remedies this by straightening out your posture and keeping your chest open. The participants not only boosted their VO2 max, but also expended less energy, even though they were running faster. So, your new record will also be your easiest run yet. We’ll race you to the mat.

FITNESS NEWSFEED 11/18

FLOOR IT Add these classic Pilates moves to your repertoire for core strength and flexibility that will put you ahead of the pack

50 MEN’S HEALTH

i/ ROLL-UP

ii/ HUNDRED

iii/ OPEN-LEG ROCKER

On your back, with arms and legs extended, bring your arms up and “roll” your torso forward. Unroll back to the start.

Again, on your back, arms either side, raise and bend your legs at 45 degrees. Lift your shoulders and pulse your arms 100 times.

Sit with knees bent and hands on your shins. Extend your legs into a V-position. Roll back onto your shoulder blades, then up.

IN PURSUIT OF PROGRESS? HIT THE MAT

HERBAL HEALING

DOCTOR’S ORDERS

THE SCORE ON ACBDHIGHER GEAR oil users have doubled

PROVEN PANACEAS If you want a dose of something more rigorously tested, try these pills instead

in the past year. Is it legal? And is the science more than Rizla thin? We pick up for you

01_

VITAMIN A

WHAT IS IT, EXACTLY?

Anxiety sufferers often lack vitamin A, an antioxidant that has been shown to help manage the symptoms of stress. £11 revital.co.uk

It’s weed, but not as you know it. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a botanical extract taken from the hemp plant. It contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive substance that makes weed illegal). This means you won’t get high, but also that you don’t have to meet a dodgy bloke in a dark-windowed Vauxhall Corsa to acquire it.

TURMERIC You’d need to consume 1,000mg a day (more than in any latte), but the curcumin that it contains is a powerful anti-inflammatory. £25 naturesbest.co.uk

02_

WHAT DOES IT PROMISE? Preliminary studies suggest CBD is beneficial for (deep inhale) insomnia, liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, osteoporosis, PTSD, stroke, heart disease, depression, diabetes and arthritis. The most promising benefits, however, lie in the management of anxiety; timely, given the fraught state of modern mental health.

IS THIS THE NEW WAY TO WEED OUT WORK STRESS?

52 MEN’S HEALTH

TREND SECRETS CBD OIL

04_

WHERE CAN I GET IT FROM? If you’re thinking of taking it up, now is a good time. Major brands such as Holland & Barrett and Healthspan stock it, or ofer their own ranges – which is reassuring, because you can be sure that they’re sticking to strict EU guidelines regarding purity, dosage and contaminants. The same cannot be said for independent online retailers, so steer clear of their snake oil.

05_

GLUCOSAMINE

03_

WHAT DOES IT DELIVER? In one survey, almost one in 10 users reported that their chronic pain, inflammation and anxiety had been completely cured by CBD, says Jon Liebling of the United Patients Alliance. And while claims that it can cure diseases require further evidence, there’s no medical reason not to dabble while the research catches up.

As one of the building blocks of cartilage, ligaments and tendons, this repairs creaking joints. £16.50 hollandand barrett.com

MAGNESIUM Use this supplement before bed to fall into a deep sleep more easily – you will also wake up less frequently during the night. £12.20 betteryou.com

WHAT SHOULD I AVOID? Don’t get overexcited. Your body’s response to CBD dosage is bellcurved. Take too little and you won’t feel anything; too much and you risk side eﬀects such as diarrhoea, which is not exactly chill, man. Research into dosage is still hazy, so build up slowly to ﬁnd your own “Goldilocks zone”.

WORDS: TOM WARD | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES | IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY | EXPERTS CONSULTED: JON LIEBLING OF UNITED PATIENTS ALLIANCE AND DR RIZWAN KHAN OF PUSHDOCTOR.CO.UK

SLAATER REFLECTS ON A LIFFETIME OF CONQUERIN NG WAVES

Time& Tide MH Heroes

Kelly Slater

They wait for no man, except Kelly Slater. MH hit the beach with the surﬁng deity as he prepared to hang up his wetsuit after four decades on the waves, to dive into how he has remained at the crest of the sport for so long – and how he ﬁnally found calm amid the storm Words by Jamie Millar – Photography by Zak Noyle and Ryan Miller

The number of World Surf League titles that Slater has won, with 55 Championship Tour victories – both records

MH Heroes

elly Slater is arguably the greatest athlete of all time – and he is inarguably the greatest surfer, idolised by legions of fans and drawing huge crowds to the best breaks around the world. But today, he is on his own. He sits on the front row of a small plane flying from Johannesburg in northern South Africa to Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape, a black hoody pulled over his head. After disembarking, he waits to collect his luggage from the belt; when an elderly woman’s bag topples over, he nimbly drops into a half-squat, rather than just walking past, and scoops it up. He wheels a surboard-shaped silver case into the car park. There’s no hint of the entourage that typically orbits elite sportsmen. There isn’t even a driver with a sign. “I hate that shit,” he tells me the next day. We’re sitting in the back garden of a beachfront house in St Francis Bay, a short distance from Jeffreys Bay, where the Corona Open J-Bay, one of the original and best events on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour, will start tomorrow morning. Slater sometimes travels with companions – his girlfriend, swimwear designer Kalani Miller, or a photographer – but he has “sort of become a loner” over the years. “I used to travel with my group of friends, but then they all fell off tour, starting families and stuff,” he says. “Eventually, I became the only guy left.” Slater usually stays in friends’ homes when he travels. This time, however, he is basing himself in a property rented out by luxury watch brand Breitling to shoot its latest ad campaign, starring Slater alongside fellow professionals Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons – the Breitling Surfers Squad. The scale of the production dwarfs the film sets frequented by Breitling Cinema Squad members Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron,

The Endless Career Adam Driver and Daniel Wu. “I was out in the water, looking back at the beach,” says Slater, reﬂecting on the day’s proceedings. “I thought, ‘There’s actually 50 people standing on the beach right now.’”

Spirit Levels The members of the Breitling Surfers Squad don’t seem too fussed by the scale of the operation, even if Slater is the most accustomed of the trio to five-star treatment. “He is Hollywood,” says the 30-year-old Gilmore, a six-time world champion and Hall of Famer; 27-yearold Fitzgibbons is a three-time world championship runner-up. The two beach-blonde Aussies are highly respected surfers, but the 11-time champion Slater – both the youngest-ever male title holder, at 20, and the oldest, at 39 – has a degree of seniority conferred by his age, achievements and the fact that he’s, you know, Kelly Slater. Fitzgibbons has been googling videos of his past competitions at J-Bay, “to watch and learn”. Slater has been surfing there since 1994 (she was born in 1990) and has won the event a record four times. A year ago, Slater was free-surfing at the 2017 J-Bay Open ahead of his second-round heat when he came off his board, which struck his foot and broke it almost in half. “I put a new joint across the top,” he jokes. “I’m glad I’m at the tail end of my career and not the beginning, because I don’t know if they could have fixed it back when I started. At least, not in a way that would have been beneficial for me in the long term.” A potentially careerending injury for anyone, it prompted speculation that Slater might be forced to retire – for good, this time. (He retired in 1998 at 26 after winning five straight titles, but returned in 2002.) Undeterred, he is coming back to competition tomorrow. Well, probably. “I might not surf this week,” he says. “My foot is still messed up.” What is certain is that he’s coming back sooner or later, having interpreted the injury “in a spiritual realm” and not as a cosmic sign that he should throw in the towel. “I feel like every time I’ve been injured, it’s because I’m not paying attention to something in my life,” he explains. “Maybe I could have avoided that if I’d been a little more

“Though Slater doesn’t miss the pressure, he hungers for competition”

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MH charts the high-water marks on Slater’s surfing CV 1990 Turns pro; finishes 90th in world rankings; signs a sponsorship deal with Quiksilver 1991 Finishes 43rd; named one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people 1992 Becomes youngest-ever male champion at 20 with first title; plays Jimmy Slade in Baywatch 1994-98 Wins a record five consecutive titles and retires; releases an album with his band the Surfers 2002 Returns to competition; the makers of the Tony Hawk game series release Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer 2003 Comes second for the title; publishes autobiography Pipe Dreams: A Surfer’s Journey

conscious. So, it’s been a good time to be patient and learn a lot about myself.” He won’t, however, elaborate on what he was neglecting: “Just intimately personal stuﬀ that I’ll let pass without digging into.”

Nothing to Prove While “a big part” of him hasn’t missed the pressure of the big events, another part clearly hungers for competition. Slater plans to surf the tour next year. “I’m building this goal,” he says. “Get the boards together, get my body together, get my diet all worked out, come back rejuvenated, and maybe finish out my career that way.” It’s a “maybe”, but it feels like the right thing, he says. His time off gave him freedom from competition and a glimpse of a life beyond the all-encompassing mindset that it demands. But to play devil’s advocate: why even put himself through the wringer for another year? It’s not as if he has anything left to prove. “It’s not about that. I’m not trying to prove anything,” he says, then stops himself. “Well, that’s not necessarily true: as a competitor, there’s always something you want to prove. But I see announcing and doing a final year as my victory lap: saying thanks to all the fans and the people who have taken me in over the years.” He intends to spend his valedictory tour “consciously”, fully appreciating everything, everywhere and everyone along the way. “Maybe I’ll do a few events after, but it’ll be my see-ya-later thing.” First, there’s his body to get together, his diet to work out. Slater has been experimenting with veganism and, this week, has switched to a new supplement protocol with “some Chinese herbs, mushroom extracts and things like that”. What is it supposed to help with? “Oh, everything,” he says. The regime comprises nutrients for the foot, joints, brain and general health: silicone, iodine, magnesium and other supps. Some are for overall maintenance, some “to clean out heavy metals and detox the body”. He is excited about the potential benefits. “I’m super-passionate about health,” he says, before adding wryly: “Men’s health.” Slater starts each day with warm water and lemon to “flush out” his system, then a smoothie chaser that might contain spinach, broccoli, greens powder, banana,

IMAGES: RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Kelly Slater

The years between being crowned the youngest-ever world champion (1992) and the oldest (2011)

SLLATEER HAS HIS FEET ON THHE GROOUND WHEN IT COOMES TO HIS BODY

SLAATEER’SS DECCADESLON NG SUCCESS ON THE BOAARD IS PEEERLESS

How many different types of waves Slater’s game-changing machine produces at the touch of a button

raw cacao and chia seeds. (Slater is an ambassador for the Chia Co.) He likes the idea and smell of coffee but not the taste, diluting it with almond or coconut milk when he needs a caffeine hit. He has been all but dairy-free for two decades, and not just for ethical reasons: “I wasn’t superhealthy in the past, and I think there’s a correlation.” He drinks beer, but not much. “I’m a two-beer guy,” he admits. “All the fun happens in the first two.” As for his body, he has been doing Pilates, which he enjoys, and “stretching, yoga-kinda stuff”. He also undergoes a lot of physiotherapy. Other than that, Slater finds that he naturally recovers the required level of strength for surfing simply by surfing. A bit of cross-training is good, but he doesn’t like to overdo it. Flexibility, leg strength and cardio are advantageous for his purposes, but bulk is not: “Building up too much muscle could make me a little stiff.” At about 5ft 9in and 73kg, he is shorter and slighter in person than you might expect, despite an enviable

60 MEN’S HEALTH

V-shape that is all the more impressive for a dude in his late forties.

A Perfect Storm Even for younger athletes, surfing pounds particular body parts to breaking point. “At the moment, our feet,” says Fitzgibbons with a grimace. (Slater has suffered broken feet four times in his career.) Ankles and knees also take a beating. Nor does the upper body escape unscathed. “Shoulders get worn out after paddling,” says Gilmore. “Three of my best friends have bad enough lower backs right now that they can’t surf,” adds Slater. Then there are the ever-present risks of drowning and sharks – tour veteran Mick Fanning fought off a shark at J-Bay in 2015. So, what’s the secret of Slater’s protracted success? “My story is a perfect storm of a lot of things: family dynamics, socioeconomic position,” he says. His father was born

into money, but Slater’s grandfather lost it by letting people (“mostly women”) take advantage of him. Nonetheless, Slater’s father grew to become a beach guy who drank a lot of beer and didn’t have many boundaries, or a steady job for long stretches. Slater grew up in Cocoa Beach, Florida, a surfing backwater known as the “Small Wave Capital of the World”, where the family owned a bait and tackle shop. It was mostly left to his mother to keep them afloat. At one point, they came close to homelessness, losing their house with just a few payments to go. “All these things add up into who you are,” says Slater, who competed with his elder brother at everything and discovered that he had the edge in surfing, so focused on that. He began entering competitions at the age of eight. His mother once sold her banjo so Slater could go to a contest in

“Older athletes can have the advantage of skills honed over decades”

MH Heroes

Kelly Slater

since subsided. “At some point, you grow past that,” he says. “Now, I’m comfortable with what I’ve done. If I don’t compete ever again, I’d be happy. From that place, I could compete for another year without worrying about if I win or lose, and enjoy it for what it is.” Slater is still trying to beat the other surfer, but is equally intent on having a “fun, memorable time”. It’s a positive attitude that helps him to deal with his own reputation: he is now highprofile bait for hungry up-and-comers looking to make a name for themselves. Part of what has made Slater so good for so long is the “so long”. Experience and fitness are inversely proportional; as the former increases, the latter diminishes, with a sweet spot in the middle of most athletes’ careers before the inevitable physical tail-off. But if they can maintain their fitness, or better manage its decline, then, like Slater, they can augment that capability with skills and decision-making honed over decades. “It’s not a matter of ‘pick that wave’, but of how to ride it,” says Slater, who has been surfing since he was five. “What head space are you going to be in? How are you going relax, or be motivated by your situation?”

The Love of the Game

SLLATTER, GILLMORE AN ND FITTZGIBBBONS AT THE “OFFICE”

Cornwall. Eventually, he made enough money to take care of those close to him, but lost it all in his early twenties. He also had “a number of things happen relationshipwise” that broke his heart. He channelled all of his emotions into serial winning: “I never wanted it to end,” he says. The stormy sea that drove him to relentless, often joyless victories has

In his recent book Play On, US sports journalist Jeff Bercovici explores the phenomenon of high-performing older athletes such as Roger Federer and Tom Brady. (Slater doesn’t get a namecheck, despite being the biggest outlier of them all.) For all the occasionally woo-woo practices adopted by sportsmen in a bid for extra time, what’s crucial is intrinsic motivation, or the love of the game. That’s not a given: when sport is your job, play soon becomes work, never mind the daily grind of training, eating and sleeping correctly. Passion makes the constant sacrifices maintainable: as Brady says, “Other than playing football, the thing I love to do is prepare to play football.” “The motivation now is to enjoy what I’m doing, to share that with people around me,” says Slater, whose 2008 book was called For the Love. His goal starting out was to own properties in the best surfing spots; when he bought his first apartment in Australia, his flatmate equated competitions with furniture: “You’ve got to win a new couch, mate.” Slater thinks the “greatest athlete” argument is moot. “How

The Endless Career Continued 2005 Wins seventh title; becomes the first to score a perfect 20 under the two-wave system 2006 Wins eighth title 2007 Breaks Tom Curren’s record of 33 event wins (he’s now on 55) 2008 Wins ninth title; publishes second book, For the Love 2010 Wins tenth title; US Congress honours his achievements 2011 Becomes the oldest champion at 39 with 11th title 2013 Scores a second perfect 20, becoming the fourth surfer to do so 2017 Breaks his foot at the J-Bay Open; makes quarter-finals of Pipe Masters on one foot 2018 Makes his comeback at J-Bay at 46; joins the Breitling Surfers Squad

do you compare Roger Federer to cricketer Don Bradman?” he says. “It’s apples and oranges.” That didn’t stop one online outlet comparing him to darts legend Phil “the Power” Taylor – unfavourably. “He’s a much better beer drinker,” concedes Slater.

Making Waves Everybody on the Breitling set is convinced the competition won’t go ahead tomorrow: the weather forecast is unpromising. But it does and, after losing his first-round heat to Kanoa Igarashi, who wasn’t born when he won his fifth title, Slater announces his plan to retire at the end of next season. In the second round, he is eliminated through a combination of rustiness and bad waves. Slater jokes that keeping the lights on in his properties is a motivation for carrying on, but though his career earnings of $4m pale in comparison to Federer’s $116m, his other business concerns should keep him comfortable. He founded his own sustainable fashion label, Outerknown, after ending a 23-year sponsorship by Quiksilver over environmental concerns. Breitling will soon be collaboratively creating eco-conscious watch straps and packaging. Slater also has a majority stake in surboard manufacturer Firewire. Meanwhile, the World Surf League has a majority stake in the Kelly Slater Wave Company, which has converted an inland waterskiing lake in California into a “surf ranch”, using artificial wave technology that Slater has helped to develop. Given the unfavourable conditions at today’s tournament, it’s not hard to see why Slater’s biggest legacy in the sport may well be this innovation, which will open up surfing to countries not blessed with access to natural spots – not to mention make it more broadcast-friendly and attractive for sponsors. Developed by a fluid dynamicist from the University of Southern California and generated by a hydrofoil pulled through the water, it could revolutionise surfing while also challenging the sport’s philosophy: the perfect wave is no longer an elusive white whale to be chased quixotically to exotic locations, but something available on demand.A similar pool could be used when surfing becomes an Olympic sport at Tokyo 2020. (Japan isn’t blessed with the greatest breaks.) Don’t bet against the then-48year-old, who captained Team USA at the WSL Founders’ Cup in May, going for gold. The tide, if not time, is at his feet.

MEN’S HEALTH 61

TIME WORDS BY TED LANE

MAXIMISING LIFE’S GREATEST LUXURY

SECONDS TO DOUBLE YOUR TESTOSTERONE FOR ROAR POWER

hen it comes to milk, the merry-go-round of the wellness zeitgeist just keeps spinning. But while the likes of almond and oat milks are respectable, vegan-friendly alternatives, much of their benefits come from being fortified with vitamins and minerals. Dairy, however, is brimming with both and delivers more protein and healthy fats with every swig. For nutrition (and, let’s be honest,

62 MEN’S HEALTH

GIVE YOUR SHAKE AN UPDATE FOR WILD RESULTS IN THE GYM

ARTWORK: PETER CROWTHER | *BMC COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

flavour), we’ve always believed in sticking with the herd. Until now. According to a new rodent study*, tiger nuts – the latest to be turned into “milk” – could double your testosterone levels. This hormone elevates your body’s rate of protein synthesis, helping you to build muscle mass. The tiger nut’s impact may be related to its high zinc content, a mineral that boosts your production of testosterone and eases recovery after training. It’s also a good source of vitamin C, which helps you metabolise carbs for fuel, aids your absorption of iron and protects your body from exercise-induced oxidative stress. This strong nutritional profile makes it our new recovery drink mixer of choice – it’ll take you just 10 seconds to shake up a formidable fitness enhancer. Get your claws stuck into it.

MINUTES TO SLICE YOUR CANCER RISK WITH A PUMPKIN PIE

ou might be more used to carving faces into pumpkins than cooking them but, according to scientists at Sun Yat-sen University in China, a generous serving of the American autumn staple is a powerful ally in your fight to reduce your risk of cancer as you age. Pumpkins are rich in vitamin A-like phytochemicals called carotenoids, which have been shown in previous studies to protect you against prostate cancer. Oncologists have also discovered that these chemicals lower your chances of developing lethal colorectal tumours. Together, the two diseases account for almost 28,000 deaths in the UK alone each year. In the new study, scientists analysed the diets of 1,690 people,

half with colorectal cancer and half without, focusing specifically on each individual’s daily intake of carotenoids. They discovered that the more of these antioxidants the study’s subjects consumed, the lower their risk of developing colon cancer tended to be. Carrots and peppers are also rich in carotenoids, but the participants who were least likely to suffer from the disease were those whose diets contained a higher amount of betacryptoxanthin, a compound that happens to be plentiful in pumpkins. So, this year, forget Halloween: mash your pumpkin and cook it in a pie for 45 minutes to protect yourself against some of man’s most sinister killers. We’ll have a large slice with cream, thanks.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL HEDGE | FOOD STYLING: TAMARA VOS

PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM CANCER IS NOW AS EASY AS PIE

MEN’S HEALTH 63

RISE ABOVE LOW SELF-ESTEEM WITH A NATURAL HIGH

64 MEN’S HEALTH

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY | IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY | *BODY IMAGE

ead the following in your best Sir David voice: “Here we have a prime example of a human male, located just south of a mirror. He stands, tall and strong, displaying the results of his efforts in a nearby gymnasium…” But this male can’t see any results – only his flaws. One in 10 men who train in UK gyms now suffers from body dysmorphia, and far more have low self-esteem associated with their physical appearance. It’s a growing problem, but psychologists have found a surprising solution. In a recent study*, subjects were asked to complete a survey about their own appearance. They were then exposed to a series of images: half saw pictures of the natural world, while the other half viewed urban scenes. Then, they repeated the survey. Members of the nature group were more satisfied with their body the second time round, while the city group showed no uplift. The researchers concluded that images of nature – especially when they’re narrated by Attenborough, we imagine – can be a salve for this modern malaise, brought on in part by the pressures of social media and the culture of training purely for aesthetics. So, rewatch an old episode of Planet Earth and feel your self-esteem take a big step up the evolutionary ladder.

LEAVE NASTY OFFICE BUGS IN YOUR WAKE THIS WINTER

02 PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON

HOURS TO OUTRUN THE COMMON COLD AND CLOCK A NEW PB

ometimes, even scientists get it wrong. For years, the consensus has been that a relentless winter training schedule can lead to a debilitating case of man flu: run or rep yourself into the ground and your defences will crumble. But myth-busting researchers at the University of Bath have an alternative theory: they believe that endurance exercise actually boosts your immunity. Warming news, indeed. During exercise, the number of infection-fighting T-cells in the blood can increase to 10 times the normal amount. In earlier studies, scientists noted a steep decline of these lymphocytes in the hours

following a workout and assumed they were being lost or destroyed – leaving the body open to illness. However, according to the new research, published in Frontiers in Immunology, the cells are simply being relocated to areas more susceptible to infection – your lungs, for example – ready to repel invading pathogens. Working out for two hours was found to provide the optimal boost to your defences. That means getting ahead of the pack on your half-marathon plan could be the most effective way to outrun office bugs. The icy winter weather is no longer an excuse to put your training into hibernation. So, lace up, warm up and brace yourself.

MEN’S HEALTH 65

Breaking Down Barriers Mental breakdown isn’t just a surfeit of emotion: the e reality ca an be intense ely physical, ev ven debilita ating. But for th hose who haven’t ex xperienced d it, it can seem m unk knowable. Here, seven n men and d wom men de escribe the tou ughest mo oments of the eir liv ves, as partt of our ong going cam mpaig gn #Me endTheGap – which aim ms to dismanttle the stigma arou und menta al hea alth isssues and encourage oth hers to speak up PORTRAITS BY JULIAN BENJAMIN

n a 1998 piece for the New Yorker, the writer Andrew Solomon demonstrated why he is the most vivid, incisive chronicler of severe depression. “I was feeling too lacklustre to invite many people,” he recalled of a party held to celebrate the publication of his debut novel. “[I] was too tired to stand up much… When I got home, terror seized me. I lay in bed, not sleeping and hugging

66 MEN’S HEALTH

my pillow for comfort. Two weeks later – the day before my 31st birthday – I left the house once, to buy groceries; petriﬁed for no reason, I suddenly lost bowel control and soiled myself. I ran home, shaking, and went to bed, but I did not sleep, and could not get up the following day. I wanted to call people to cancel birthday plans, but I couldn’t. I lay very still and thought about speaking, trying to ﬁgure out how. I moved my tongue, but there were no sounds. I had forgotten how to

talk. Then I began to cry without tears. I was on my back. I wanted to turn over, but couldn’t remember how to do that, either. I guessed that perhaps I’d had a stroke.” Solomon’s words were the only succour I could ﬁnd during my own, equally physical, experiences of chronic depression. At my lowest ebb, it was not stereotypically dark. My depression was

MENTAL CRISIS CAN BEFALL ANYONE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; EVEN A CHAMPION BOXER LIKE FRANK BRUNO

physical nature of despair remains alien to most. This is understandable – depression is a foreign country that can’t be visualised by those who have never visited. All the more reason, then, to write postcards from the edge and elucidate its horrors. Only then will we have a chance of changing perceptions of mental health in a meaningful way. In 2016, Men’s Health launched #MendTheGap, a campaign to redress the disparity between attitudes towards aﬄictions of mind and body. This year, we are continuing the theme by showing that they are, in essence, one and the same. Mental health is intrinsically physical. Previously on these pages, Alastair Campbell has compared the force of a psychotic attack to being thrown through a windscreen and left lying at the roadside. Solomon wrote of experiencing “a physical need, of impossible urgency and discomfort, from which there was no release – as

“It’s clear that progress will not come without understanding”

though I were constantly vomiting but had no mouth”. Over the course of this feature, you will hear from a wide range of inﬂuential men and women speaking with candour about moments in their life when the psychological became corporeal with violent intensity. In doing so, we hope their honesty can help keep our initiative alive and continue reshaping attitudes. For there is still much to do. Last year, the government pledged to invest £1.3bn in mental health services, though you’d be forgiven for wondering where the beneﬁt of that has been felt. The number of hospital beds for people with acute mental health problems has fallen by 30% since 2009. Over the same period, the number of mental health nurses working in the NHS has dropped by 15%, while that of doctors in specialist psychiatry training has plummeted 19%. Whether or not ministers’ repeated vows to give physical and mental health parity of esteem amounts to more than rhetoric is not for us to say. Nonetheless, it is clear that equivalence will not come without understanding. Everyone has a part to play. This is ours. Toby Wiseman Editor in Chief, Men’s Health

The Worrld d Champion Frank Bruno, 56 The leegen nd of Briitish h boxxing foough ht th he harrdeest boutt of hiis liffe ou utsiidee of th he rin ng. Afterr beiing secttioneed, he haas work ked to get hiss mind fig ghtting fit oncee agaain “I got divorced in 2001. One minute, you’re part of a happy family, and then the family isn’t there and you’re left in the house alone. You have time to think. You’ve got to make your own breakfast and get things done: iron shirts, go shopping, go to the gym, try to get yourself motivated. I had to motivate myself to brush my teeth, to put on a suit, to go to a work event. “I was trying to train, but the enthusiasm had left me.

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BRUNO SURVIVED HIS BREAKDOWN BY GIVING HIS LIFE STRUCTURE

I’d go to the gym and have no energy, but I wouldn’t admit defeat. Like a lot of men, I didn’t want to speak up and say, ‘I’m feeling like this.’ You feel embarrassed, so you keep it to yourself. And it just got worse, and worse, and worse. “I was working too hard, burning myself out – staying up all night and sleeping in the day. I was knackered. I was

there, but I wasn’t really there. The kids intervened and called round the doctors. And I just broke down, like a kettle that boils over. I refused to go to hospital, so I was sectioned. “When I was in the hospital, I felt bullied. Hospital was like prison but worse. They lock you in and fill you up with

medication, and the side efects were horrible: your tongue swells up, you can barely go to the toilet or eat. You feel lazy and can’t get of the bed. You can’t function. “I was in hospital for 28 days. When they discharged me, they put me on lithium. I stopped taking it and started going to the gym and eating well, looking after myself. I had to use my skills to get myself together, to get myself fit. If I’d stuck to the medication and not done my press-ups, I think I’d still be in the hospital. “I’ve been medication-free for three years now. I’ve got my life back. I have some good people around me, and they’re looking after me very well. I believe that if you build structure into your life with exercise and wellbeing, then you can get through.” Bruno’s memoir, Let Me Be Frank, is out now (Mirror Books). For a signed copy, go to frankbruno.co.uk

INTERVIEWS: TOM WARD | WITH THANKS TO CHAMPNEYS TRING

painfully bright, lurid and loud. It was the panic induced by sunlight coruscating through the blinds at dawn. It was the clanging ring of a phone call from a friend I couldn’t bear to take for fear of having to explain myself. It was everyday life, only painted in unbearable, terrifying strokes. The closest I came to a comprehensive breakdown was when I travelled to the Yorkshire Dales with some good friends one New Year. We walked, drank, ate and sang. We were having fun. Then, one day, I woke up knowing I’d been struck. I couldn’t leave my bed, couldn’t open the curtains, couldn’t let anyone in, couldn’t eat. I cried. I urinated in pint glasses because I was too scared to go to the bathroom. I didn’t leave the room for three days. By the time I emerged, my friends – ﬁrst worried, then bemused, ultimately frustrated – had packed and left for London. Why am I telling you this? Hopefully, it describes just how visceral mental ill health can be. Most people now understand that depression is more profound and complex than a lull in your mood or a bad case of the blues. Still, the terrifyingly

Th he Head d Co oach h Paul Highton, 41

The form mer Walees ru ugby y prop p was almoost fatallly fllooreed by y hiss ad ddicttioons. Noow, as welfaare man nag ger forr thee Saalfoord Red Devvils, he heelps ottherrs avvoid d his misstakees “When I retired from rugby in 2009, I had a list of people I didn’t want to end up like. I’d seen players with international careers who lost their family and their house and struggled to work. So I went to university, then set up a business. “But, about 18 months later, I started to question who I was. After an operation, I was prescribed tramadol. I was going through a divorce while trying to be a father, and every time I felt down, I used the drug to fix it. I went from taking six tablets a day to taking 30. My mental health went through the floor. At home, I was starting

arguments as an excuse to leave, which I did. I got a cottage on Saddleworth Moor: it was supposed to be my safe haven, where I could get clean. But being alone made it all worse. “One night, I set everything up in the basement to kill myself, but I fell asleep after drinking a bottle of wine. That saved my life. In the morning, I realised what I’d almost done. It was like a sledgehammer to the side of my head. For the first time, I admitted to myself that I had a problem. Still, I didn’t know if it was a drug problem, a drink problem, or depression – or which to tackle first. So I emailed the Sporting Chance clinic and got a reply; as soon as I started receiving therapy, drink and drugs fell away, and I found constructive ways to deal with my emotions. It helped me see who in my network were the people I could be open and honest with. “People think breakdowns only ever happen to those in extreme situations. The truth is they can happen to anyone. We’re all struggling. It’s about being aware of your triggers, how you act when dificult situations arise, and how you can improve the next time.”

49.3%

The proportion of people who made a full recovery from mental ill health last year after NHS talking therapy

AFTER LEAVING PROFESSIONAL RUGBY, HIGHTON BECAME DEPENDENT ON PAINKILLERS

The Team Captain Tony Adams, 51 Afterr a seeven--week drin nking g biingee on thee bacck off Eurro 96,, th he foormer Englaand defeenderr finallly taackleed his loong-tterm m allcoh holissm. But prottectiing hiis menttal heaaltth prroved d to bee a daily y ch halleengee “I drank heavily for 12 years and, for most of that time, I didn’t want to give it up: I could go to prison, wake up in intensive care, or run naked down the street… But, somehow, I didn’t think that I had a problem. It was always everyone’s fault but mine.

“Suddenly, things changed. First, my wife went into [addiction] treatment and my kids were taken of me. Then I got injured and couldn’t play football, which was my release. Football saved me and killed me: if I hadn’t had football, maybe I would have learned to deal with my feelings instead of suppressing them. “I went to see a therapist, and that was what made me aware of myself. It all became unbearable – you know you shouldn’t do this stuf, but you can’t stop. I didn’t want to live, and I didn’t really want to die. You realise, ‘I can’t do this.’ “I got sober through AA and the 12 Steps. They say the greatest thing about recovery is that you get your feelings back… and the worst thing about recovery is that you

“It all became unbearable: I didn’t want to live, but I didn’t want to die”

get your feelings back. In 2016, I was coming up to my 50th birthday and 20 years of sobriety: big milestones. I’d recently had heart surgery, and I felt nearer the end than the beginning. I just thought, ‘I have such a good life today, I don’t want to die.’ It scared me. I was sobbing like a baby, just sobbing. I took no comfort in anything. I felt paralysed. I was alone in China at the time and was beset by panic attacks. “That year, I was running constantly and I lost a stone in weight. After my heart surgery, running felt like the only way I could tell that I didn’t have a problem, the only way that I could prove to myself that I was OK. “When I’m depressed, I don’t want to go out. I know that’s the illness: it wants me

alone, it doesn’t want me to talk, and it wants me to die. And I can get trapped in there. People see the football side of me – the big mask, the big character. But underneath, there’s this little boy who’s scared to death. “Back in England, my doctor asked me how I felt about antidepressants… Well, I don’t take drugs today, so initially I wasn’t keen. But I agreed. Now, I’m very aware of the depressive side of me. I’m in therapy. I do daily prayer and meditation. By staying sober, day by day, you get stronger and get to know your feelings. Once, I couldn’t get my mouth open. Now, I can’t shut up.” Tony Adams’s memoir, Sober, is published by Simon & Schuster

50%

The NHS aims to offer 24-hour mental health care in half of A&Es by 2019, a signiﬁcant increase from 10% in 2017

ADAMS BROKE FREE OF SPORTING MACHISMO AND FOUND HIS VOICE

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“I thought I was on a mission from God, and people were following me”

The Troubled Artiist Benga, 31 A sud dden n pssych hoticc epiisodee toook Lon ndon n-baased d MC C, DJ an nd prod duceer Beengaa to th he edgee of reasson. Tod day, musiic an nd th he supp port of ottherrs heelp him stay y in tune with his men ntal wellb bein ng “My first breakdown happened in September 2013. Looking back, I’d been sufering from anxiety for a while, but didn’t realise that was what it was. I was doing a lot of drugs at the time, taking ecstasy and ketamine every day. I was playing shows, doing radio and I’d just entered a relationship – I was in love for the first time. I had a lot going on. “Once, I was lying in bed with this girl. We’d done a lot

of drugs and, all of a sudden, I couldn’t move. I’ve always been religious – I was brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness – and the thing that went through my mind was, ‘God is trying to connect with me.’ We went to hospital, and the doctor told me I’d be OK. I chalked it up to a random event and left it at that. “I had a few more similar attacks, and slowly started to lose all sense of rationality. I began to miss gigs. In my head, I was on a mission from God. He told me I had to go and collect what was mine. I would walk up to people on the street and make a certain sign with my arms. I’d ask them, ‘Do you know what you took from me?’ I thought people were following me. I thought the CIA was involved. “This carried on for months. I also thought there was a hex

FOR BENGA, HAVING THE OUTLET OF MUSIC HAS LONG BEEN A LIFESAVER

on me and that I had to get rid of everything I owned by a certain date, or I would die. I gave away my possessions to random people on the street. I gave away three Rolexes and an Audemars. I gave away rings, chains, all kinds of stuf. At one point, I went into my bank, withdrew £30,000, spent it in Selfridges, then went home, poured bleach all over what I’d just bought and threw it in the bin. One night, I threw away my TV, my sofa and my bed. “After a while, my girlfriend called the police and I was sectioned. I was in hospital for about seven weeks. Being sectioned was a pretty hardcore experience. I was around a lot of other people who were ill. I would see a psychiatrist

every three to four days, but they are struggling to look after everyone, as giving every person the treatment they need would cost a lot. “Gradually, I began to realise what I had been doing. The people around me, including my girlfriend at the time, really supported me. When I got out of hospital, I went to my mum’s house, set up a studio and wrote a song called “Psychosis”. I was just writing and reflecting. This process helped me learn to deal with my mental health. I still got ill quite a few times afterwards, but music keeps me going, and it gives me something to focus on. It’s always been my lifesaver.” “Psychosis” is out now on Illuminate Music. @iambenga

MEN’S HEALTH 71

“In the end, a stranger stopped me jumping oﬀ the bridge”

The Tireeleess Advocatte Jonny Benjamin, 31 A sevveree breeakd dow wn in hiis eaarly y tweentiies leed Beenjaamin n too thee edg ge off deesp pair. He haas sincce beeen aw warrded d an MBE forr hiss work k hellping too brin ng ottherrs baack frrom m thee briink “My first major breakdown happened when I was 20, in November 2007. I was in my third year of university in Manchester. I’d been unwell for a few years but hadn’t addressed it. I’d been having suicidal thoughts, hearing a voice in my head and seeing things that weren’t there. I was also struggling with my sexuality. One day, I ended up on the streets, screaming at people. I’d lost control. It was horrible, like being in a trance. I remember thinking, ‘What the fuck am I doing?’ “I was taken to hospital. The worst part was sitting in front of a psychiatrist with my family, because it meant that I couldn’t hide it from them any more. The psychiatrist diagnosed me with schizoafective disorder. He said that I’d have to go to hospital and be placed on suicide watch. It was hell. I had an overwhelming sense of shame and confusion. There was no

72 MEN’S HEALTH

sense of relief. I didn’t want to live. It was unbearable. “In the hospital, I started having anxiety attacks, getting tight knots in my stomach whenever I left my room, or was around the other patients. After a month, I ran away because I couldn’t bear it. Suicide seemed like the only way out. I went to a bridge to jump of. In the end, I was stopped from doing it by a stranger. He was very calm and reassuring. He said to me that I didn’t have to feel embarrassed in front of him. It was amazing to hear that because I was utterly embarrassed about my condition. The key thing was that he said he thought I’d be all right, and I’d get better. That changed everything for me, and I knew, somehow, that I would get through it. “I was taken back to the hospital and sectioned. I felt like a coward, that I’d let people down. But the diference was that now I had some hope that I would get better. I still struggled for the next few years, but I started to address my mental health and talk about it. I began to feel more human again. Simply having that sense of hope made a massive diference.” Jonny Benjamin’s memoir The Stranger on the Bridge (written with Britt Pflüger) is published by Bluebird. Benjamin and Neil Laybourn – the man who talked him out of jumping – ran the London Marathon last year in aid of Heads Together. More info at: jonnybenjamin.co.uk

THE KINDNESS OF A PASSER-BY INSPIRED BENJAMIN TO CARRY ON

514K

The number of people who used the charity Mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s local services last year. The stigma is breaking down

The Great Defen nder Clarke Carlisle, 38 The form mer Queeenss Parrk Rang gerss plaayeer hass had da sttorieed careeer both h on and of f th he foootb ball pitcch. After a suiccidee atttempt in n 20114, hee coomm mitteed himsself to gu uard ding g hiss mentaal heaalth “I retired from football in 2013. As a player, you’re told when to get up, where to be, when to go to bed. But then you retire, and there’s nothing. I was working as a commentator on European football, for 36 days a year. The rest of the time, I didn’t know if it would be worth getting out of bed. “I lost my sense of self. When your identity isn’t anchored in you as a human, but in your profession… well, when that goes away, you’re bereft. I thought that I was worthless. People would ask, ‘Didn’t you used to be Clarke Carlisle?’ I’d say, ‘I still am. I just don’t play football any more.’ “I was spending a lot of time driving from work in London to North Yorkshire, where I live. Often, on the motorway late at night, I would think, ‘I could just turn the steering wheel and crash into this bridge.’ I’d turn my headlights of on dark stretches of the A1 and count as long as I could, driving in the pitch black. I could feel my eyes shutting and my brain closing down. It wasn’t fatigue. It was my brain not wanting to go on. I didn’t get it at the time, but these were obvious flags of suicidal behaviour. “This continued for two months, then I was stopped by the police one morning. I refused to give a breathalyser

74 MEN’S HEALTH

CUT ADRIFT FROM A SENSE OF PURPOSE, CARLISLE BEGAN TO HAVE SUICIDAL THOUGHTS

test because I’d been drinking the night before. They arrested me. That was the last straw. I thought to myself, ‘You’re an embarrassment to society and your family.’ I decided to kill myself, and I felt calm and focused about it. I spent two days looking at potential sites and thinking of ways to do it. “In the end, I put myself in front of a truck on the A64. I woke up 30 seconds later. I saw the blood dripping down my fingers, and my first thought was, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I couldn’t believe I’d failed again. An air ambulance arrived to take me to Leeds General Infirmary. I heard a paramedic say, ‘I think this guy is DOA.’ I thought, ‘I hope I am.’ “I had lacerations and gravel in my face, as well as large shards of windscreen. It took a couple of extensive operations to clean me up and stitch everything back together. The feeling of wanting to be dead didn’t leave me for a good two weeks, but, for the first time in my life, I was brutally honest with my family about what was going on in my head. I was put on medication and transferred to a psychiatric hospital. My thoughts became a bit more balanced. And I’d gained some perspective: I knew the shit heaps were heaps, not mountains. “Now, I manage my depression on a daily basis. I have to be vigilant about what’s coming up in my life, how that’s going to afect me on an emotional level, and what I can do to mitigate it. I’m in a more realistic place. The goal of mental health isn’t to be happy. Happiness is an emotion, and it’s transient. Sometimes you’ll feel happy, sometimes you’ll feel sad, and sometimes you’ll feel ambivalent. And that’s OK.”

“I’d turn my headlights oﬀ on dark stretches of the motorway”

16M

The number of people who experience mental illness in the UK, ranging from anxiety and addiction to depression

The Candid d Author Bryony Gordon, 38 The auth hor, joourrnalisst and caamp paig gnerr knoows thatt fixxing g yoour mind d is a coonsstantt woork in prrogreess. This is hoow she stay ys on ne sttep aheead of th he sttrug ggle “I have had six or seven breakdowns since I was 12. Going through a breakdown is hideous. It’s like being trapped in your own body. A minute feels like an hour; an hour feels like a week. It’s hard to see your way out of it. “Instead of facing my mental health head on, I’d

always take the easiest way out. I discovered alcohol and drugs in my twenties, which only led to more breakdowns. I got sober in October 2017. At that time, I felt as though I needed to have a breakdown but couldn’t: I was starting rehab, I was contractually obliged to write a book, and I’m a parent. So I ignored it, and it hit me about four weeks ago. “Now, I’ve got much better at spotting breakdowns when they’re coming. I recognise behavioural shifts, like not being able to get out of bed, my exercise dropping of, going on social media more, getting more takeaways. If I’m in that state, I treat myself like I’m a baby: sleep a lot, eat three meals a day, drink lots of water, cut out cofee. I force myself out of bed and make myself go for a run. “Imagine you have the flu. It’s the same sort of thing.

Treat it like an illness. And tell someone: let someone look after you. My other thing is to cry. If you’re feeling it, let yourself feel it. Denying it is dangerous. A breakdown is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. You have to go through it, or it’ll hit you later and it’ll be like every kind of natural disaster all at once. “You can’t distract yourself with work. That’s not much better than going out and getting smashed. The world won’t end if you don’t go into the ofice: I’ve had to tell myself that if we are to get rid of the line between mental and physical health, we have to be able to say, ‘I need a day of.’ Just keep doing the stuf that is supposed to help, because eventually it does.” Gordon’s Eat, Drink, Run: How I Got Fit Without Going Too Mad (Headline) is out now

Yourr Criisis Calll Sheeet

A mental breakdown is a medical emergency just like any other. Learn what to expect, and how to react, in dificult times Who o sh hou uld d I calll firrst? Whether you need expert advice or simply could do with a listening ear, there are several charities available. Samaritans’ free helpline (116 123) is open 24 hours a day. The Mind Infoline (0300 123 3393) provides information on a range of topics and is open from 9am to 6pm. The CALM helpline (0800 58 58 58), especially for men, is open from 5pm to midnight. It also has a web chat service, if you’re more comfortable typing (thecalmzone.net/ help/webchat). If you need advice but the situation doesn’t feel life-threatening, you can call the NHS on 111 in England or on 0845 46 47 in Wales. Alternatively,

call your GP and ask for an emergency appointment – but never be afraid to dial 999 if there’s a risk of serious harm. Is s th here e an ny way y to plan n fo or a crris sis?? You can start by visiting mind.org.uk, which oﬀers plenty of useful information about living with a mental health problem, or supporting someone who is. You can also ask your mental health-care providers about creating something called a joint crisis plan, covering everything from your ﬁrst choice of hospital to arrangements such as notifying work. You can also ask about making advance decisions, setting out

which treatments you would like to refuse should you lose your capacity to make choices. Whe en is s it app prop pria ate to o go o to o A& &E? If you ever feel unable to keep yourself or the person you’re with safe, go to A&E – even as a precautionary measure. Can n I be e trea ated at hom me in nsttead d? In some cases, local crisis teams – made up of psychiatrists, nurses and social workers – can be considered before hospitalisation. They can make regular home visits to keep an eye on your wellbeing and to oﬀer selfhelp strategies. You might be referred to a crisis team after visiting A&E or your GP, and it should be on call 24/7 – though

you might not always be able to get in touch with someone immediately. Wha at ab bou ut hosp pita alis sation?? If you’re at risk of harm and it’s not possible to support you at home, a doctor might admit you to hospital. But you have a right to be involved in your own care plan. You can also ask to be referred as a voluntary patient, but as beds are limited, they may decide to prioritise others. As for “sectioning” (the term for hospitalising someone under the Mental Health Act), this only occurs if your own safety is at risk, or to protect others. It’s not a decision that’s taken lightly, and it requires an agreement from multiple professionals. Read up at mind.org.uk. Knowledge is power

MEN’S HEALTH 75

ReclaimThe Sandwich! Give the grain bowls a break. Everything you need for a smart, nutritious meal is best served stuffed between two slices of bread WORDS BY SCARLETT WRENCH – PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUN LEE

76 MEN’S HEALTH

ritain may have little in the way of national dishes but, if you’re pressed to choose, the humble sandwich would surely come out on top, just above the roast dinner. But whereas the latter requires prep, skill and plenty of time, sandwiches are quick, functional, portable and adaptable – the most desirable succour for the time-poor yet hungry man. It seems, however, that we have fallen out of love with the time-honoured bread-ﬁlling-bread formula. A recent study* found that 70% of UK workers feel stuck in a lunchtime rut of endless ham sandwiches, with 40% admitting to feeling jealous of colleagues who opt for more inspiring options. It’s this

sentiment that’s partly to blame for the recent proliferation of takeaway grain bowls and superfood salads, which promise to liberate us from cheese-andpickle purgatory for £9.50 a pop. But there’s another, more satisfying way out of the rut. By remixing your fillings, you can upgrade your sandwich with fresh flavours and nutrients by the fistful. Layer energising carbs, lean proteins and colourful veg – and the sarnie, bap, roll or bagel can become a perfect fit for any meal plan. We tasked a team of chefs to put together their healthiest takes on the best mealtime, snack-time or anytime option since, well, sliced bread. So, leave the lentils in the Tupperware, please. And grab some napkins.

Sunday Saviour PB&J

BY MAX HALLEY AT MAX’S SANDWICH

WHAT’S INSIDE? • SOURDOUGH BREAD, 2 SLICES • CRUNCHY PEANUT BUTTER, 2TSP • SMOKED BACON, 6 SLICES • JALAPEÑOS, 1TBSP, SLICED FOR THE BACON • PORK BELLY, 2.5KG, DEBONED, SKIN ON • ROSEMARY, 2 SPRIGS • CURING SALT, 100G • CASTER SUGAR, 50G • BAY LEAVES, 3 • BLACK PEPPERCORNS, 1TBSP

1/ Broaden your choice beyond greasy spoon and chia granola. Bacon’s delicious salts and amino acids will bring you back to life. Buy it from your butcher, or prep it yourself. Blitz the curing ingredients – rosemary is a natural mental sharpener – then tip into a resealable polythene bag with the pork, squeezing the air out. 2/ And now we wait. Refrigerate your meat for five days, massaging in the spices daily and pouring out any liquid. After that, rinse, then leave to dry for three days on a hook in a cool place, such as the garage. 3/ Ready for your PB&J? Slice and fry the meat, spread your peanut butter on the bread, and layer with bacon and vitamin C-rich jalapeños for rehydrating electrolytes. Then get messy.

MEN’S HEALTH 77

Stacks Of Goodness

Lean Mutton Shawarma

BY JOEL BRAHAM AT THE GOOD EGG

WHAT’S INSIDE? • ROAST MUTTON, 150G • CRUNCHY SLAW, HANDFUL • A SEEDED BAGEL • GARLIC DIP, 2TSP FOR THE MUTTON • MUTTON, HALFSHOULDER, DE-BONED • SALT, TO TASTE • BAHARAT SPICE, 50G • POMEGRANATE MOLASSES, 100G

78 MEN’S HEALTH

FOR THE SLAW • CIDER VINEGAR, 100G • CASTER SUGAR, 50G • TABLE SALT, 20G • CORIANDER SEEDS, 1TSP, TOASTED • CARROTS, 2, SHREDDED • WHITE CABBAGE, ½, SHREDDED • RED CABBAGE, ½, SHREDDED • A GREEN CHILLI, SLICED

1/ Shawarma’s association with late-night dining is wholly undeserved. Done well, this dish is lean, light and stufed full of nutrients. Ask your butcher to de-bone the mutton – the meat is rich in the fat-burning compound CLA. Rub in

the salt and spice, then refrigerate overnight. 2/ Sear the meat on a griddle pan, then pop it in a dish and pour over the pomegranate molasses and a litre of water. Cover with foil and roast for three to four hours at 160°C. Meanwhile, whisk the vinegar, sugar and salt with 100ml water, then

combine with the veg and leave to soak. The brassica’s indole-3-carbinol will help your body to support testosterone production. 3/ Toast your bagel, spread with garlic dip (to make your own, simply mix plain yogurt with garlic, lemon and salt), then pile it high with the shredded meat and slaw.

FOOD STYLIST: LUCY-RUTH HATHAWAY AT HERS AGENCY | *STUDY BY DELIVEROO

WHAT’S INSIDE? • CARROT BHAJIS, 3 • PICKLED RED ONION • MINT AND CORIANDER, TORN • GREEK YOGURT, 1TSP • CHUTNEY, 1TSP • FRESH FOCACCIA, 2 SLICES • BOMBAY MIX, SPRINKLE FOR THE BHAJIS • SPARKLING WATER, 150ML • CHICKPEA FLOUR, 200G • MIXED SPICES, 1TBSP • SALT, 1TSP • A RED ONION, SLICED • A CARROT, GRATED • RAPESEED OIL

BounceBack Bhaji Focaccia BY MAX HALLEY AT MAX’S SANDWICH

1/ Whether you’ve been training hard or working tirelessly, consider this your recovery package, full of slow-burning carbs. To make the bhaji, whisk sparkling water into the flour, spices and salt, then add the onion and carrot for a hit of antioxidants and blood sugar-balancing biotin. Heat a pan of oil to 180°C, roll the mix into balls and deep-fry. 2/ To pickle your onions, simply slice and soak in lime juice and salt until they turn bright pink. The pleasing aesthetics aside, the extra vitamin C will work to reduce your cortisol levels. 3/ To assemble, spread the yogurt and chutney on the bread and top with the onions and herbs, before stufing in a few bhajis. Add a sprinkle of Bombay mix for extra crunch – and devour.

MEN’S HEALTH 79

Stacks Of Goodness WHAT’S INSIDE? • BROCCOLI, 4 PIECES, BATTERED • PEA AND EDAMAME HOUMOUS, 1TBSP • A BRIOCHE ROLL • LAMB’S LETTUCE, HANDFUL • SWEET CHILLI SAUCE, 1TSP • PAMA BEETROOT AND GINGER SAUERKRAUT, 1TBSP FOR THE BROCCOLI • GINGER BEER, 100ML • WHITE WINE VINEGAR, 1TSP • CORN FLOUR, 100G • CUMIN, 5G • EXTRA-LIGHT OLIVE OIL, FOR DEEP FRYING • TENDERSTEM BROCCOLI, 4 FLORETS FOR THE HOUMOUS • PEAS, 50G • EDAMAME BEANS, 25G • SESAME OIL, 1TBSP • GROUND GINGER, ½TSP

1/ There’s more to vegan sandwiches than salad greens and limp tofu. This indulgent dish is as moreish as it is nutritious. Lightly whisk the ginger beer, vinegar, flour and cumin, then heat the oil to 180°C. Submerge your broccoli into the batter, one stem at a time, then fry for two minutes. Drain on a paper towel. 2/ Make your houmous by blitzing the ingredients to a coarse consistency. Peas are rich in copper and manganese, which support fat loss and energy balance, while the edamame will punch up the protein content. 3/ Slice and toast your roll, spread it with houmous and top with the lettuce and broccoli. Drizzle with the sweet chilli sauce. Garnish with probiotic sauerkraut, then tuck in.

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Feel-Good Vegan Sub BY SHAUN PHILLIPS AT SUB CULT

WHAT’S INSIDE? • A CHICKEN THIGH, BONELESS • CARROT, ½ • CUCUMBER, ¼ • SPRING ONION, ½ • MAYONNAISE, 1TBSP • GOCHUJANG PASTE, 1TBSP • WHITE BLOOMER BREAD, 2 THICK SLICES • CRISPY ONIONS, 1TBSP

1/ Prep this for something light and piquant that will fill you up without weighing you down. Season and roast the chicken for about 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through. Let it cool, then shred the meat. 2/ Using a vegetable peeler, slice the carrot and cucumber into ribbons, leaving the seeds, and thinly slice the spring onion. The high fibre and water content will boost satiety. 3/ Begin assembling your sandwich by spreading one slice of bread with mayonnaise and the other with the Gochujang pepper paste, a natural appetite suppressant. Stuf your bread with the chicken and top with the spring onion, carrot and cucumber, garnishing crispy onions. Consider it a clean break from chicken salad.

On-the-Fly Gochujang Chicken

BY FRANK YEUNG AT MR BAO

MuscleMaking Pork Roll BY GARETH PHILLIPS AT SUB CULT WHAT’S INSIDE? • PORK SHOULDER, 120G, COOKED AND SHREDDED • SQUID RINGS, 3 • KING SCALLOPS, 3 • HERB MAYO, 1TBSP • ROCKET, SMALL HANDFUL • A BRIOCHE ROLL • PORK SCRATCHINGS, SPRINKLE FOR THE HERB MAYO • PARSLEY, 1TSP, CHOPPED • DILL, 1TSP • CAPERS, 1TSP • CORNICHONS, 1TSP, CHOPPED • A LEMON, ZEST AND JUICE • LIGHT MAYO, 1TBSP

1/ Want to incite serious food envy? Packing 40g of protein and plenty of B vitamins, this will refuel your muscles and energy levels when the gym has taken a bite out of you. Slow-cook your pork shoulder in advance, or use the leftovers from your Sunday roast. 2/ Sear the seafood, then add the pork to heat through. Squid’s selenium will help to repair aching muscle. While they cook, combine your mayo ingredients in a small bowl. 3/ Slice your roll lengthways and toast, then add your mayo, rocket, pork and seafood. Garnish with the crumbled pork scratchings. Whether you have a pint with that is up to you. MEN’S HEALTH 81

Inside The Fat Lab (Or 7 New Ways To Lose 5kg)

SPECIAL MEASURES

82 MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH

01\ A volunteer stands on a 3D body scanner, which uses the latest infrared imaging tech to calculate body fat

Weight loss is not a fair fight. While some shed kilos with apparent ease, others struggle to shift the needle at all. To find out why, Men’s Health checked into the world’s foremost obesity research lab to report from the front lines of the war on fat WORDS BY JOSEPH HOOPER PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAYMON GARDNER

01 MEN’S HEALTH 83

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very week over the past several months, a new volunteer has checked into the metabolic ward of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. Each stays for 24 days; he or she is fed meals that are meticulously measured so their calorie intake is less than what their body burns, guaranteeing weight loss. Participants begin the study by spending three days locked inside one of Pennington’s four “metabolic chambers”. Dr Eric Ravussin, the white-coated concierge of these suites, compares them to “hotel rooms, but with a glass wall and precise sensors”. Here, every inhalation and exhalation is measured to assess each volunteer’s metabolic rate. The participants then spend 17 days on a “campus” – during which time their meals and exercise are logged – before returning to the chamber for a final evaluation. The aim is to record not only how much weight the subjects lose, but

how their metabolic rates are afected by the process of cutting calories. If losing weight is hard, keeping it of is even harder. Ravussin made headlines recently with a study revealing that extreme diets can cause a significant metabolic slowdown: in other words, to stay the same weight, a man who has dropped from 110kg to 90kg would have to eat far less than a man who has always weighed 90kg. “It’s as though people who lose weight are almost doomed to regain it,” says Ravussin. There’s an old Indian parable in which blind men attempting to describe an elephant arrive at diferent conclusions, depending on whether they’re holding the trunk, tusk or tail. Obesity is similarly dificult to conceptualise in full. It results from a multitude of disparate, yet coexisting, factors – from metabolic issues and emotional problems to a lack of exercise and poor nutrition. Too often, these causes are studied in isolation. At

Pennington, however, the researchers are attempting to gauge the whole elephant. In its Ingestive Behavior, Weight Management and Health Promotion Laboratory, Dr Corby Martin analyses feeding studies investigating everything from how the pace of eating afects satiety to how group dynamics – the influence of your friends – impact upon your food choices. In another lab, Dr Owen Carmichael uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to better grasp cravings at a neurological level. But how does all this apply to you? Drawing on Pennington’s collective expertise, MH has identified seven “fat types” – seven diferent ways in which your body and brain conspire to pack on the kilos. You may be predominantly one type; more likely, you may be a combination of several. Even leaner men will see something of themselves in these findings. This is truly the cutting edge.

7 New Ways To Lose 5kg Case Study #02

The Emotional Eater

03 THE PURE SCIENCE OF FAT LOSS

02\ A volunteer undergoes detailed bioelectrical analysis to ﬁnd out his body-fat percentage. Here at Pennington, precision is key

Case Study #01

The Craver You eat because your body urges you to – but it has a hard time resisting sugary, greasy, calorie-dense foods. People who fall into this category, says Carmichael, will often tell the researchers: “I’m driving down the road and I see the Golden Arches, and it’s like the rest of the world fades away and there’s a beam of light drawing me to it.” An engineer with a doctorate in robotics, Carmichael is leading a team using fMRI machines to see which parts of the brain light up when we look at comfort foods, and which respond to vegetables. Meanwhile, Martin and his team assess subjects’ cravings with questionnaires and behavioural studies. When cravers are given the foods they desire, they are likely to override their body’s satiety cues, where others can stop after the first slice.

03\ Using visuals from fMRI scans, scientists track how test subjects’ brains respond on a physical level when presented with speciﬁc foods

The Prescription The goal isn’t to remove your cravings but to learn to withstand them. If you have a fondness for baked goods, you “can’t avoid the bakery aisle for ever”, Martin says. To build up cravers’ resistance, Martin uses “exposure with response prevention”: he might take a group of them on a trip to a local bakery and walk them past it the first time, but make them linger outside it the second. Eventually, it feels comfortable. The techniques he employs include mindful breathing, to dial down the body’s emotional responses, and visualising positive outcomes – feeling strong during your next workout, say – rather than negative ones, such as the deprivation you may feel after passing on the bread basket. Martin also advises “rehearsing” dificult situations: strategising ahead of Friday-night drinks, for instance, when adhering to your meal plan is dificult. Try setting an alarm for whenever your prime bingeing time happens to be. A study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience found that a sound interruption can snap you out of your compulsive state.

You’re compelled to eat by factors that have little to do with food. The brakes might fail after a bad day at work, or a fight with your partner, or because a social media post got your hackles up. “Some of us can handle our emotions most of the time, and then a negative event occurs and we go off,” says Tim Church, professor of preventive medicine at Pennington. “We turn to drinking, smoking, eating, or a combination.” Alcohol reduces your impulse control, so turning to the hard stuff at the end of a tough day can have cumulative negative effects on your waistline. The Prescription “Know your emotional triggers,” Church says. If they’re not obvious, he advises: “The next time you go on a bender and eat a family-sized box of nuggets, sit down afterwards and write down what’s distressing you, as specifically as possible. Unpeel the onion.” John Oldham, an IT worker from Kansas, lost 105kg on the programme that Church designed. By examining his triggers, he concluded that his dificult relationship with his ex-wife was behind much of his compulsive eating. “So, I learned to stop giving her control,” he says. Talking therapies can help you become aware of the root cause, making your behaviour feel less like a foregone conclusion. You can also train yourself to put time between the distressing event and your reaction to it. “When you’re heading for the fridge, ask yourself: can I wait 10 minutes before I do this?” Church says. Then, find something to do that activates those same reward pathways, but doesn’t involve food. Exercise is the obvious choice, but even listening to a favourite album releases dopamine, the brain’s pleasure chemical.

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INSIDE THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Case Study #03

The Sugar Seeker

04\ Meal prep in the metabolic ward’s kitchen. Everything the volunteers consume is measured for its calories and nutrition 05\ Inside one of the metabolic chambers, where machines monitor breathing and calculate the calories burned by the participants

First, let’s clear up a major misconception. The “lone gunman” theory that puts added sugar at the centre of everything that’s wrong with our diets is a fallacy. So far, the evidence that it’s worse for our waistlines than other fast-acting carbs (such as white bread) is flimsy. If you overdo it on a regular basis, however, it can quickly become a problem. In the absence of fibre, carbohydrates flood your blood with glucose and your brain with reward chemicals – creating an itch that’s hard to scratch. It’s a phenomenon that Martin, Carmichael and others are trying to map at Pennington, feeding subjects sugary drinks or sweets and then comparing their fMRI scans when they look at images of foods afterwards. The Prescription Reading food labels is only efective if you know what you’re looking for. Generally, anything ending in “-ose” (glucose, sucrose, maltose) is an added sugar, and you’re as likely to find these in pre-dressed salads and breakfast oats as you are in “treat” foods. Remember, too, that ingredients don’t exist in isolation. Fibre, proteins and fats will slow the release of glucose, cushioning the crash that leads to further cravings. Tempering this by adding healthy fats and proteins to your next plate of pasta will therefore have a greater efect than simply turning down a square of chocolate. Finally, it’s worth considering that inadequate sleep may play a part in your sweet tooth. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that those who undersleep by 50-90 minutes (that’s most of us) eat 12g more sugar per day on average. Sweet dreams.

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Case Study #04

The Night Eater For most of the day, food is barely on your radar: you might skip breakfast and eat a sandwich at lunch. But at night, you feast: your dinner plates have barely been cleared before you’re raiding the cupboards again. “This backloading of calories seems to predispose people to be overweight,” Martin says. According to Pennington researcher Courtney M Peterson, it’s more than a case of intake vs output. Late-night eating disrupts insulin sensitivity, raises blood pressure and hinders fat loss. “We think that eating later at night puts your body’s ‘clocks’ in different time zones,” she says, “leading to conflicting signals.”

The Prescription Try a compressed eating schedule. In a study conducted by Peterson, when subjects took all of their meals between 8am and 2pm, they burned more fat and felt less hungry than those eating the same amount on a normal schedule. Initially, you may find that you have little appetite during the day, but it’s worth persisting. One alumnus of the study said he dreaded feeling overfull after his last meal in the early afternoon – but, in five weeks, he lost weight, rebalanced his blood sugar and lowered his blood pressure. Altering your sleep patterns may help, too. Wake up early to train, firing up your appetite, and aim to be in bed by 10pm, which will also cut into your evening snack time. If you’re struggling to wake up with the alarm, try sleeping with the curtains open, instead. The natural light will rewire your brain.

7 New Ways To Lose 5kg

Case Study #07

The Compensator

Case Study #05

Case Study #06

The Grazer

The Regainer

At work, you’re “the guy with the snack drawer” – an endless supply of sweets and nuts that you eat throughout the day. In the evening, says Martin, you watch TV with a large bag of crisps and finish it before the first ad break. You’re driven less by cravings or your emotions than by habit.

Even the most dedicated dieters struggle to maintain their lower weight. Long-term studies show that, after around six months, almost everybody starts to pile on the pounds again. Your leaner body burns fewer calories and, thanks to lower levels of the satiety hormone leptin, you want to eat more. “It’s like you have a spring snapping you back to your original weight,” Ravussin says.

The Prescription Be more active, and not just in terms of exercise. Instead of eating passively, write down everything you eat in a week, then draw up a meal schedule that incorporates snacks. Avoid anything that is not preportioned. If you want a couple of biscuits, put two on a plate and leave the rest in the cupboard. Bryan McCullough, who lost 41kg on Church’s plan, says, “A chocolate biscuit always sounds good, but if I’ve planned to have one after lunch, I can ignore the treats that someone else brings to a morning meeting.” Mindful eating begins with an accurate assessment of your hunger. “Clients say, ‘I didn’t realise I was eating when I wasn’t hungry,’” Church says. “But if you are hungry, you should eat, or you might overcompensate at your next meal.”

The Prescription While exercise typically plays a modest role in weight loss, it’s invaluable when trying to maintain it. According to Church and Martin, your body needs physical activity to ensure your appetite matches your energy output. “The diference between maintaining a healthy weight and regaining fat can be as little as 200kcal a day,” Church says. “Burning this of in the gym makes your odds far better.” Cardio alone isn’t suficient. Incorporating strength training is more efective. The combination helps to clear sugar and fatty acids from your blood. Regularly set yourself performance goals, such as running a half-marathon. A target unrelated to your weight will strengthen your commitment and stop you throwing in the metaphorical towel every time the scale shifts the wrong way.

More isn’t always better. Church and Martin are publishing a new study that arrives at a surprising conclusion: those who exercise an average of half an hour per day on a treadmill don’t lose any more weight than those who spend 15 minutes on the same task. The team measured participants’ energy intake and expenditure and concluded that, though the more committed runners were burning more calories, they were eating more food as a “reward” for their good work. If your weight barely changes, even when you increase your training, you likely fall into this category. The Prescription Wearable activity trackers ofer a good starting point. Your body burns about 1kcal per kilogram of bodyweight per hour at rest, equating to roughly 2,160kcal per day for a 90kg man. If you run for half an hour, you might burn an extra 300kcal – a figure that sounds impressive until you realise that it’s equivalent to a slice of toast with peanut butter. Factor your post-workout refuel into the rest of your meal plan. It’s not a “treat”. Church and Martin noted that this sort of behaviour is particularly prevalent among those with high blood sugar and an impaired insulin response, who were three times more likely to overeat after a workout. They believe that the drop in blood sugar after training increases appetite. One solution is simply to ride it out: over time, a steady training programme improves insulin sensitivity, while encouraging your body to burn more fat for energy. There’s a second possible culprit: if your training leaves you so burned out that you barely move over the next two days, you’ll be lucky if your weekly calorie balance breaks even. Build low-impact activities such as walking or cycling into your rest days. A little extra sweat, we know – but it could be a game changer for your body.

MEN’S HEALTH 87

M E N ’ S H E A LT H R E P O R T 2 0 1 8

More than half of UK companies now have a “wellness strategy”, designed to keep employees ﬁt, happy and – crucially – productive. But do they have your best interests at heart? Or is this simply a smart way to stretch their human resources? MH investigates the complex world of workplace wellness Words by Jamie Millar – Photography by Rowan Fee

*PERSONAL GROUP

56%

The proportion of British workers who are unhappy in their jobs*. Could corporate wellness programmes help us ďŹ nd contentment?

IT’S MIDDAY ON A SUNNY THURSDAY IN JUNE

£1

For every pound invested in employees’ health…

In effect, the Technogym Village is a giant exhibit, a tantalising vision of a wellness Utopia. “We’re not just selling machines,” says Enrico Manaresi, Technogym’s PR director and right-hand man to the company’s founder and president, Nerio Alessandri. (The month I visit, Alessandri is on the cover of the Italian edition of business magazine Forbes, curling a branded dumbbell.) “We’re promoting wellness as a lifestyle,” he says. Technogym is also selling it to 6,000 other companies and counting: everyone from Ferrari, Mercedes and Nike to Adidas and even Coca-Cola has bought in. Manaresi won’t confirm exactly how much of what Technogym offers is now purchased by companies, rather than gyms or individuals, but he admits that this

“Workplace wellness has its roots in America. In Silicon Valley, exercise is almost a fashion statement ”

90 MEN’S HEALTH

side of the business is “signiﬁcant”, “growing” and “has huge potential”.

FITTER, HAPPIER The culture of workplace wellness has its roots in the US, where employers bear much of the cost of health care and so have embraced any measures that might reduce insurance premiums. On the west coast, where exercise is almost a fashion statement, the Silicon Valley tech giants have predictably been trendsetters. Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” Leadership Institute teaches mindfulness and “emotional intelligence” to its employees. Opened last year, Apple Park, the shiny $5bn iCampus in California, boasts a $74m ﬁtness and wellness centre spanning 100,000 square

PROP BUILD: JAINA MINTON | *HARVARD UNIVERSITY

and a few employees at the Technogym Village in Cesena, Italy, are setting out for a lunchtime run. Not that they need to step outside the 150,000-squaremetre “wellness campus” to get their daily fitness fix – the facility is widely regarded as the healthiest head office in the world. Through the main entrance and to the right is the T-Wellness Centre: the staff gym and spa. It also doubles as the design-conscious fitness equipment manufacturer’s showroom. Spread over two wood-and-glass storeys and looking out over a verdant park, the salon-cum-gym is bountifully stocked with machines, free weights and rigs. Taking advantage of the equipment – and their two-hour lunch break – employees hop on indoor bikes, treadmills and rowers to compete with colleagues, their scores broadcast on big screens. Technogym has full-time personal trainers on its books, but it encourages other staff members to become “wellness ambassadors” by fronting classes. The Village’s facility manager teaches t’ai chi. After working out, staff members eat in the T-Wellness Restaurant, where a locally sourced three-course lunch – for example, passatelli (a variety of pasta native to northern Italy) with tomato and rocket, cod fillet with parsley and lemon, and grilled courgette – costs €1. This nominal fee is imposed to dissuade employees from taking too much free food and wasting it. Outside the restaurant, workers sip espressos at standing tables, which may be less about wellness than simply traditionally Italian, but every bit of physical activity helps. In the offices, they sit on “wellness balls”; on the factory floor, they bask in natural light. Production ceases an hour early during the summer, so people have time to go to the beach.

WORKPLACE WELLNESS

GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT Even if you don’t work for a tech giant, you can still benefit from these suggestions from UKActive

£2.70

…the cost to a company in absenteeism more than halves*

Time Diference Last year, UKActive’s Flying Start campaign urged employers to push back their start time. Request clearance to clock in later once a week, and fit in a jog, before work runs away with you.

Team Players Unite your fellow workers. “A social way to spend a lunch break is getting a small group together and going for an exercise class,” says CEO Steven Ward. “Or organise a weekly run, or a game of five-a-side.”

Little Diferences You don’t need to pressure your boss to instal a bench press. Ask for “places to store bikes safely and take showers”, says Ward. Or ask your company to negotiate staf discounts at local gyms.

Agile Working To get public-sector workers on their feet, the mayor of Greater Manchester has changed dress codes to permit trainers. Ask for the same at your ofice: “Simple, zero cost, but sends a clear message.”

and wellbeing is critical to these goals.” With a third of our lives spent at work, it’s also a way to save on health service budgets.

A BALANCING ACT

feet and a yoga room covered in specially distressed stone from a quarry in Kansas. But, like most health trends, workplace wellness has crossed the pond. Currently under construction, Google’s £1bn London headquarters will house a swimming pool, sports hall and rooftop running track. According to the Rewards and Employee Beneﬁts Association, almost half of UK companies now have a “deﬁned wellbeing strategy”, up from less than a third two years ago. Of those that don’t, half plan to introduce one within a year. It’s not just the corporate behemoths: in 2017, the Federation of Small Businesses launched a campaign with Public Health England and mental health charity Mind to improve the wellbeing of the wider UK workforce. “Companies are realising the cost that ill health has on their workforce,” says Steven

Ward, CEO of non-profit group UKActive, whose office in central London has its own kettlebells, spin bikes and, thankfully, showers. “More and more businesses are taking workplace wellness seriously.” Indeed, it has become an industry in its own right: UKActive recently bestowed its Workplace Wellbeing of the Year award on Wellworking, which supplies healthy office furniture. The Global Wellness Institute values the office health market at £33bn. That figure is dwarfed by the price tag of workplace illness, which a government paper puts at £100bn a year in the UK alone. One in three working-age people have a long-term health condition that affects their work, while around a fifth have a mental health condition. Businesses are “rightly focused on growth, productivity and delivering a return on their investments”, says the paper, but: “Investing in workplace inclusivity, health

Done properly, workplace wellness can be a sound investment. The Harvard Business Review estimated that the return on “comprehensive, well-run” programmes can be as high as six to one. And the proven ability of exercise to ward off stress and depression, while boosting energy and cognitive function, should make prioritising it a no-brainer. The problem is that money allocated to boardroom yoga classes isn’t always well spent. The University of Illinois’s 2018 Workplace Wellness Study followed 5,000 of its employees who were randomly assigned to a health programme or a control group. After a year, it recorded no “significant effects” for outcomes such as absenteism and medical spending. These findings seem to contradict previous studies that showed similar programmes to work wonders, but the Illinois researchers attributed this to selfselection: employees who were already

MEN’S HEALTH 91

WORKPLACE WELLNESS leading healthier lifestyles were far more likely to sign up than those who needed the intervention most. Those who would benefit most from meditation classes or a lunchtime run are often those who consider themselves too busy to schedule it in. In the Illinois study, for example, smokers were the least likely to participate, even when tempted with financial incentives. In short, the researchers were careful to point out that this doesn’t conclusively prove that workplace wellness won’t work. “Exercise always works if you do it,” says Silvano Zanuso, director of Technogym’s medical and scientific department. A Milan University study compared Technogym employees with those of another Italian multinational company and found that absenteeism and the incidence of metabolic syndrome were lower among the former. “Why?” asks Zanuso. “Not because we are inherently better, but because we work in an environment where doing physical activity is easier.” Part of that is having a well-appointed gym a medicine ball’s throw away. The sight of colleagues going to the gym also normalises healthy lifestyles. “It’s culturally engaging,” says Zanuso, who did t’ai chi this morning and yesterday met vicepresident Pierluigi Alessandri for a 5.30am bike ride. In behavioural psychology, “social proof” – what others do – is one of the most powerful influences. Employees at the other company in the study merely received access to online information about health: not exactly fitspiring. Of course, motivating your employees is easier when your company has keeping fit at its chiselled core. Zanuso concedes it’s less difficult to make moderately active people more active than it is to make sedentary ones moderately active, even in the idyllic Village. Outside of its campus, Technogym assists its business customers not just with installation but education and facility management: “Otherwise you have a big gym with nobody using it.” Without this cultural shift, wellness programmes aren’t just a waste of money – they can even be counterproductive. Academics from the Cass Business School and Stockholm University conducted an analysis of such initiatives – published in the book The Wellness Syndrome – which found that they often had little effect beyond making employees feel guilty. They also fed into disturbing cultural prejudices: if you don’t exercise and eat

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THE WISE AND THE WEIRD Modern wellness strategies range from the practical to the performative, but what do we really want from our employers? Wise Meaningful work, respectful culture, flexible hours On-site visits from physios, doctors and dentists Discounts for local gyms and fitness equipment Morning meditation and lunchtime yoga classes Staf step-count challenges with a public leader board Slides, ping-pong tables, sleep pods and scooters Weird

clean, you must be lazy and ill-disciplined. Some initiatives risk tipping the work-life imbalance further still. There’s something quite unsettling about the idea of Google installing sleep pods at its new London HQ.

LESS IS MORE Modern productivity mania dates back to the late 19th century, when engineerturned-management consultant Frederick Winslow Taylor was hired to improve the efficiency of Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania. Among his many revolutionary ideas – having noted the superior output of some burly, financially incentivised Hungarian labourers – was for employees to shift several times more iron than they did before for the same pay. The danger is that workplace wellness becomes a euphemistic means of cranking the handle even harder. Take the voguish policy of unlimited paid leave adopted by the likes of Netflix, LinkedIn and Virgin. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, at some companies, employees can feel pressured into taking less time off than they did previously, fearing that they would miss out on promotion or they won’t have a job to come back to. It’s not so much good HR, then, as good PR. Better, perhaps, to reassure workers that it’s OK to use their full entitlement: a YouGov survey found that a third of UK workers don’t. Do wellness-espousing companies really care about their employees, or just the bottom line? And does it matter if both benefit? “At a conference, I asked an HR director in finance, ‘Why are you banking guys suddenly into wellbeing?’” says Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Alliance Manchester Business School. “He replied, ‘Two words: regrettable turnover.’” The finance company had lost 25-30% of its staff in the recession; those who remained were working longer hours and feeling less secure about their jobs. So, the wellbeing initiative was intended partly to attract new staff, but also to prevent existing ones from burning out. “The HR guy told me, ‘If we sweat the human asset, we’re dead.’” Cooper prefers to talk about workplace “wellbeing”. “Wellness tends to imply gyms and apples on your desk,” he says. “Wellbeing implies a culture where you feel valued and look forward to going into work, one that helps you work flexibly

While almost half of UK sick days are attri

ibuted to stress, just 5% of us admit it to our employers

and manage your work-life balance, and where trust and recognition of your achievements are part and parcel.” He argues that workplace wellbeing is “more psychological” than physical, although the latter aﬀects the former. Too often, we’re distracted from what’s really vital to our all-round health by the more visible or fashionable trappings. “It’s not about beanbags and ping-pong,” he says.

R E A S O N TO B E L I EV E If your employers truly care about your wellbeing, they should encourage you to spend less time working, however healthy the environment. “The evidence is if you consistently work long hours, you will get ill and it will adversely affect your private life,” says Cooper. This is another trend that we’ve imported from the US: Britons work around 42 hours a week, which is the highest in Europe. However, our output is still around a quarter behind countries such as France and Germany, meaning it takes British workers longer to produce what others achieve in less time. Presenteeism costs businesses twice as much as absenteeism, and it’s harder to spot than an empty desk. To cure the always-on disease, Volkswagen turns company emails off at night; in January 2017, a law came into effect in France that enshrines employees’ “right to disconnect” and requires companies to set times when emails are prohibited – very French and well intentioned but not necessarily helpful. “You can’t work flexibly if your emails are blocked,” says Cooper. “People are more productive if what they do fits in with their life.” Cooper has set up a national forum for health and wellbeing at work, comprising more than 35 major employers such as NHS England, BT and Rolls-Royce, which meets quarterly to formulate strategies for tackling issues such as long hours or emotionally unintelligent “command and control” line managers. “If they create a long-hours culture, send you emails on a Friday night, or don’t allow you to work

flexibly, that’s going to damage you,” he says. “The magic bullet is the line manager.” You can’t change your boss, but your company can – by training them to be more socially sensitive, or by creating an anti-presenteeism culture. Arguably as important to workplace wellbeing as lunchtime workouts is a culture in which you don’t dread the repercussions if you’re not back from your break “within 59 minutes and 59 seconds”. As UKActive’s Ward says, “It’s not uncommon to walk into our office at 12.15pm and wonder where everyone is, or how we ever get anything done.” But they do. Leading by example, Ward schedules exercise into his diary, which staff members are able to see; this shows them that it’s OK for them to do the same. Diarising – and public accountability – has also made Ward more likely to keep his gym appointments: “Unless it’s scheduled, it just wouldn’t happen.” Humans aren’t machines. We’re emotional beings who are more productive when we’re happy. Cooper stresses the role of job satisfaction in workplace wellbeing. This was demonstrated in a study by behavioural economist Dan Ariely, in which subjects built more Lego models when they knew their creations wouldn’t be dismantled immediately afterwards. Meaningful work makes you work harder at it. That is less about the type of job than how you view it: a Yale School of Management study of hospital cleaners – a role that some would regard as menial – found that they felt good about their work; they saw their role as helping patients and supporting doctors. Indeed, Zanuso believes that this is Technogym’s key strength, too – not the paradisiacal campus, but the fact that its employees buy into the company’s mission statement. Technogym has two purposes, he says: “One is making the company healthier, and the other is making people healthier.” Manaresi, an 18-year veteran of the company, puts it another way: “It gives you a sense of correttezza – of doing good.”

“In the UK, we work the longest hours in Europe – but our productivity lags behind France and Germany”

MEN’S HEALTH 93

Registered pharmacist Marshall manages NetDoctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extensive medicine database

Helen Marshall

Co-author of The Health Delusion, Goggins is a pharmacist and specialist in nutritional medicine

Aidan Goggins

Director of independent health research body examine.com, Patel has a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in public health

Kamal Patel

Maier is a psychologist, addiction researcher and member of the Global Drug Survey research team

Larissa Maier

Our experts sifted through the science to make their final selection

The MH Drugs Squad

This way up 0010_13

WORDS BY SCARLETT WRENCH

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID SYKES

From trending wellness supps and pharma panaceas to the commonplace placebos already in your cabinet, our annual audit redraws the lines between the top gear and bad trips PROP BUILD BY LOU BLACKSHAW

MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH

095

The 25 Most Righteous Highs From hard-hitting PEDs to proven nootropics, these pills and powders could prove your catalysts for a full-body reboot

Glycine In the exhaustive search for a sleep aid that actually lives up to its name, amino acid glycine is a promising contender. A 3g scoop, an hour before bed, has been shown to aid quality rest, plus boost mood the next day. It’s naturally sweet, so add it to your cofee – decaf, of course.

CLASSIFICATION

CLASS A GYM BAG STAPLE

CLASS B HEALTH HERO

CLASS C UNCLASSIFIED MEDICAL TOMORROW’S CURE MILESTONE

ILLEGAL

Psilocybin

Magnesium 05

Cannabidiol Cannabis and athletics may not be obvious companions, but cannabidiol, or CBD oil, is a non-psychoactive, fully legal extract of the plant. Studies suggest it can relieve inflammation and support muscle recovery, helping you return to the squat rack sooner. You’ll be anything but a weed.

Research suggests over half of us are deficient in this mineral, which is linked to a spectrum of health benefits. It improves sleep quality and, according to the University of Giessen, helps maintain your aerobic capacity. Look for the word “citrate” on the label: oxide and chloride varieties are harder to absorb.

Nestorone Get ready for the next phase of the sexual revolution. Scientists at LA BioMed have launched a fresh batch of studies into a gel made with testosterone and hormonal drug Nestorone, which briefly inhibits sperm production when applied to the skin. We’re calling it “son block”.

Ashwagandha If the words “powerful healing herb” trigger an eye roll, we wouldn’t blame you. But this one’s more fact than fad. In an Indian Journal of Psychiatry study, subjects saw a reduction in anxiety symptoms after six weeks. Less holistically, it’s also linked to bench press #gains.

Some scientists claim that the first person who will live to 1,000 has already been born. Whether that thrills or horrifies you, it’s a step closer to reality. When combined with plant flavonol quercetin, Dasatinib – a chemotherapy drug – appears to halt cell damage, delaying age-related decline.

10_

Dasatinib

96 MEN’S HEALTH

Inulin The alternative to yet another yogurt drink, this prebiotic powder derived from chicory root nourishes the healthy bacteria already living in your gut. Aside from supporting digestion, prebiotics have also been proven, in animal studies, to curb the physical and psychological impacts of long-term stress.

Caffeine 10

Already celebrated for its ability to pep up your power output in the gym, cafeine consumed before training has also been linked to raised testosterone. Jittery types should combine it with the amino acid theanine, which will take the edge of without compromising its potency.

Vitamin D3 The usefulness of vit supps is often contested, but if there’s one fact on which all experts agree, it’s that you need more D. Heart- and bone-protecting benefits aside, it’s also proven to boost muscle strength, with D3 about 87% stronger than D2. Get your money’s worth.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE GALLAGHER, DAN MATTHEWS, AGATA PEC, LUCKY IF SHARP, STUDIO 33, GETTY IMAGES | *PLOS ONE

Already touted as a future fix for clinical depression, this psychedelic compound – derived from magic mushrooms – is also proven to soothe social anxiety, quieting intrusive negative thoughts. Self-experimentation is, need we say it, very ill-advised.

The Best & Worst Drugs For Men 2018

Gelatin

Type II collagen 15

20 12

Aspirin Ground-breaking research has linked depression symptoms with inflammation, leading to a trial in which patients took aspirin alongside their usual medications – with success. Though scientists are still far of ousting SSRIs altogether, MH will be watching this space.

This is a form of curcumin, the potent antioxidant substance found in the spice turmeric – as seen in curries and, more recently, hipster yellow lattes. Easily absorbed, it’s proven to enhance memory and mood in older adults. Take it now to safeguard your golden years.

Erenumab 17

Sweets made from zinc and bee “resin” might sound too “wellness” for your tastes, but the former ingredient, at least, is proven to work. A Helsinki study found that zinc lozenges cut the duration of colds by 40%. Who says there’s no cure?

MitoQ This specially engineered antioxidant targets your mitochondria – the body’s energy source – reducing cell damage. Too much jargon? All you need to know is that recent studies have reported it may stall heart ageing, keeping you young on the inside.

*INTERGRATIVE MEDICINE: A CLINICIAN’S JOURNAL

Medicinal, non-psychoactive shrooms have gained notable traction, with reishi, chaga and co linked to raised immunity and cancer prevention. Further studies are needed, but an Intergrative Medicine* review concluded they are “promising for treatment”. Magic.

Migraines are “bad headaches” in the same way that panic attacks could be described as “feeling very worried”. This injectable drug, now approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and expected to hit the UK this year, halved attacks in suferers.

Tadalafil 18

Viagra The little blue pill became available over the counter for the first time this year. With erectile dysfunction (ED) on the rise among stressed-out young men, this is a smarter, safer option than any drug that pops up in your junk mail.

Certain strains of probiotics have been shown to tap into the “gut-brain axis” – an extensive comms network through which your digestive tract and central nervous system like to talk. Studies in Nutrition, among others, have found that these pills can curb stress and lift your mood.

25 22

Mushrooms

Psychobiotics 21

Zinc acetate

Assuming you’re not a trained psychopharmacologist, dabbling with ketamine in any form can have nasty side efects. However, for patients with major depressive disorder, a new esketamine nasal spray was revealed to improve mental wellbeing within 24 hours, bringing it one step closer to NHS prescription.

Unlike Viagra, this blood flowboosting ED drug can be taken daily – although it doesn’t deliver the, er, full efect on ingestion. Better still, a 5mg dose was recently found to boost testosterone by around 44% in men with metabolic syndrome. Chat to your GP.

Beetroot juice Already a favourite for purpletongued endurance athletes, beets’ high nitrate levels help to deliver oxygen around the body, like legal erythropoietin (EPO). More recently, a Wake Forest University study found that taking a shot before training resulted in better “brain connectivity”. It’s the smart pre-workout drink.

You may know it better as bicarbonate of soda. A Danish review found it was as efective for boosting stamina as many sports supps. A 20g pre-gym hit neutralises lactic acid, dousing muscle burn. But whether you take yours baked or unbaked is purely up to you.

Theracurmin 16

Esketamine

Sodium bicarbonate

Brains and brawn needn’t be built separately. Not only is it one of the most reliable PEDs, creatine also enhances thought processing and delays mental fatigue. Add a scoop to your shake to push out one more rep during a spreadsheet session.

MEN’S HEALTH 97

Creatine

Commonly associated with more aesthetic anti-ageing treatments, collagen is now being lauded for its ability to strengthen joints and ease pain – in pill form, that is, not facial jabs. If mobility work is your Achilles heel, this will loosen things up, including said heels.

The Haribo ingredient, when combined with vitamin C and taken as a pre-workout supp, helps to rebuild ligaments and tendons worn down by training. Sadly, the aforementioned sweets won’t do the same job – not even the “fruit” ones.

8 0 0 T_

ILLEGAL

R 07

The 25 Murkiest Meds Some deal stealth damage, others simply fail to justify a spot in your stash. We prescribe swotting up on the science

DNP Any chemical once used in military explosives isn’t fit for consumption in our books – and 2,4-dinitrophenol is no exception. Later sold as a fatloss drug, and subsequently made illegal, its side efects include dizziness, overheating and even death. Boom.

CLASSIFICATION

08 CLASS A RISK OF HARM

CLASS B DODGY SIDE EFFECTS

CLASS C FALSE CLAIMS

UNCLASSIFIED WASTE OF CASH

These compounds are created when your body starts burning its fat for fuel, and ketone pills have reportedly been used by le Tour cyclists looking to steal an edge. However, Frontiers in Physiology found they can hamper performance. Not ideal for climbing Alpe d’Huez.

03 01

Ketones

Xanax 05

Ibuprofen Staving of your legs-day DOMS by dosing up on anti-inflammatories comes with unexpected side efects. Swedish scientists found that gym-goers who took a standard 24-hour dose for eight weeks experienced half as much muscle growth as a control group, plus gained less strength. That’s gotta hurt.

The anti-anxiety drug is widely prescribed in the US and ever more popular on the British black market, often counterfeit or laced with painkillers. The charity Addaction has seen many cases of people overdosing, particularly when mixing it with alcohol – which will do anything but chill you out. ILLEGAL

Tribulus

ILLEGAL

Nicotine 09

We’ll spare you any lectures on the evils of social smoking – nicotine patches and gums are increasingly being used as mental sharpeners, due to their stimulant properties. But, while there’s some evidence to support this, the drug has also been shown to interfere with hormone balance.

Cocaine Before you file this one under “no shit”, allow us to explain. Heart concerns aside, studies suggest that even those who use a non-dependent 1-5g a month are more antisocial and self-centred than people who don’t partake. You’ll be more awake but far less woke.

06 04

Omega-3 10

Though commonly sold as a testosterone-booster, this plant has been shown to have no real efect in tests, according to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Not to mention there have been two reports of liver and kidney toxicity in young men taking overzealous doses. Disregard the bro scientists.

98 MEN’S HEALTH

Sibutramine Government agencies have seized millions of pounds worth of illegal fat-loss pills in the past five years, the majority of which contain this ingredient. Sibutramine reduces appetite, sure, but it has also been linked to heart attacks, strokes and constipation. That’s not a healthy compromise.

Has the supplements industry been oiling a few palms? A recent meta-review of 79 trials found that omega-3 oils ofer little benefit to cardiovascular health when taken in capsule form. It’s also not especially eco-friendly compared to eating, say, an oily fish. We’d advise keeping it real.

Activated charcoal You may have seen it pushed as a liver detoxifier; sometimes in pill form, often infused into hipster soft drinks. But, while it may exorcise the evils of the night before, it has a dark side, inhibiting the absorption of nutrients, antioxidants and even some prescription meds.

ILLEGAL

B-complex

Azithromycin Earlier this year, a British man was the first to be diagnosed with super-gonorrhoea – not exactly great trivia for his Tinder bio. New strains seem resistant to the antibiotic treatment azithromycin, casting doubt on the drug’s efectiveness. Play safe.

While popping an energising B vit after an all-nighter might function as a psychological prop, don’t make it too much of a habit. The Journal of Clinical Oncology linked long-term use to a 30% higher lung cancer risk among male smokers. We’ll stick to Berocca. ILLEGAL

13 21

Fentanyl

Monkey dust

An opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin – which is a terrifying thought in itself – fentanyl is near impossible to self-inject in safely judged doses. The National Crime Agency reported that the drug caused more than 60 deaths within an eight-month period.

Sulforaphane This post-party pill is touted as a natural liver detoxifier. The problem is instability – the nutrient’s, that is, not your own. When extracted as a supp, sulforaphane becomes inactive and inefective. Get your dose from kale, cauli and kohlrabi instead.

ILLEGAL

Calcium 18

Contrary to popular belief, dosing up on Ca pills won’t bulletproof your skeleton. A Cambridge University study found no link between calcium intake and bone loss in men. You’d be better of achieving this with plyometric moves in the gym. Jump to it.

Clenbuterol This steroid-alike was initially developed to treat asthma… in horses. Since adopted as a performance enhancer, it has led to the ban of multiple New Zealand rugby players. It’s also been linked to an enlargening of the heart. Not the kind of hypertrophy you want.

Use of this ridiculously monikered Class B drug, also known as MDPV, is on the climb among young people. A stimulant that can be swallowed or snorted, it has also been linked to violent, paranoid and – according to police – “highly unpredictable” behaviour. Don’t go bananas.

How’s this for cold comfort? The nasal decongestant found in many over-the-counter medicines is no better than a placebo, according to a Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice study – even when used at four times the usual dosage. It’s a finding not to be snifed at.

HIFs According to WADA, HIFs are essentially the new EPOs. “Hypoxia-inducible factor” drugs, sometimes referred to as “oxygen in a pill form”, have a similar function, raising your levels of red blood cells to help boost your stamina. They’re unregulated and the risks are unknown – so steer well clear.

Oral SPF 22

Paracetamol A growing body of evidence supports the fact that the placebo efect is very, very real. Which somewhat explains why we’re all still merrily popping 70 paracetamol tablets a year, despite a Cochrane review revealing the drugs don’t work. At all.

This tree bark extract is often sold as a fat-loss aid or a drug to “strengthen masculinity” and “ignite passion” (not our choice of phrasing). However, side efects include high blood pressure, anxiety and – in one odd study – alcohol cravings. You’d have to be barking.

Phenylephrine

Yohimbine

With cannabis oil edging closer to legalisation, we might soon be able chill out about weed. But beware of mistaking it for man-made alternatives. Sold under various names, synthetic cannabinoids can cause memory loss. Medicinal it ain’t.

Mary Joy

These drugs – developed to treat muscle wastage – take of the body’s brakes when it comes to adding bulk. In mice studies, side efects included brittle tendons and a higher injury risk. Needless to say, it’s on the naughty list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Myostatin inhibitors

Z-drugs A catch-all term for zaleplon, zolpidem and zopiclone – all of which, appropriately, help you catch more Zs. According to a University of East Anglia study, they significantly increase the likelihood of bone fractures, while reviews have linked them to car crashes.

The Best & Worst Drugs For Men 2018

Applying sun cream, even in the cooler months, is proven to slow skin ageing. But just because it’s tedious, it doesn’t mean you should seek out short cuts. Sunprotection pills were recently denounced by the FDA for “putting people at risk” with unproven claims. That’s throwing some shade.

MEN’S HEALTH 99

Fitness is for life

but adhering to the same, old training plan wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t guarantee an ageless physique. You need to evolve. Thankfully, we have the plans to help you sidestep Father Time. Use this guide to stay the leanest, strongest version of yourself, no matter how many miles you have on your clock

MODEL WESTON BOUCHER TRAINS SMARTER, NOT HARDER, TO STAY FIT AT 38

Your

30s

Your

30s THE UPSHOT

The end of your twenties delivers a double gut punch: not only is it more dificult to find the time to train around your work and new responsibilities, but when you do make it to the gym, it’s also tougher to see results. Your body is pumping out fewer muscle-building hormones, yet that’s no reason to ease up. “De-training occurs rapidly, and restarting a regimen from scratch is tough on your body,” says sports scientist David Leith. Instead, he advocates a more varied approach for complete fitness.

Your

40s THE UPSHOT

CASE STUDY

THE PLAN

YOUR POWER MOVE

WESTON BOUCHER

DIVERSIFY YOUR TRAINING

TRAP BAR DEADLIFT

102 MEN’S HEALTH

Leith advises against the conventional split of upper- and lower-body sessions. Instead, he recommends workouts that combine elements of strength and endurance, targeting multiple muscles at once to raise your testosterone levels higher than any chest-and-tris session. Keep in mind that cutting rest periods is a common error of the time-poor man: they are crucial to ensuring that you’re working at maximum capacity. Use the “dead time” between sets for gentle mobility work until your heart rate returns to its baseline, then finish each session with five sets of 30-second sprints on the bike or treadmill to fire up your cardio fitness. Skip the Sunday long run, if you like.

TESTOSTERONE

Age 38, 6ft 4in, 89kg For most men, battling the “dad bod” falls somewhere in the soft middle of our list of priorities. But losing form was never an option for fitness model Weston Boucher – his work wouldn’t permit it. His methodology wasn’t always as smart as it is today, however: as a teenager, he idolised Hollywood actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone and imitated their training styles, building up his muscle mass with isolation moves. “I assumed that whatever worked for them was good enough for me,” he recalls. But at 38? “It wasn’t until decades later that I learned to marry my lifting with proper nutrition and fat-burning cardio,” he says. This new strategy has resulted in a leaner, more functional physique. He still spends five days a week weight training, but he is now a devotee of HIIT and beach volleyball, too. “Volleyball improved my power and agility – and it revealed my almost comical lack of flexibility,” he says, laughing. Now, when fitness starts to feel like a grind, he mixes up his routine and includes some yoga. “It’s important to challenge yourself,” he says.

AGE

“Using a trap bar puts less stress on the lumbar spine, letting you lift heavy weights with less risk of lower-back injuries,” says Artur Zolkiewicz, PT and manager of the Workshop Gymnasium in London. “That makes it ideal for desk workers. The deadlift also activates more muscles than any other exercise, so you’ll burn a lot of fat, while increasing testosterone and growth hormone production.”

The yearly fall in testosterone after 30 – but smart training can slow its decline

Weight training in your twenties often felt like a competitive sport, but by now you should be past the point of trying to match the numbers on your neighbour’s bar. That doesn’t have to mean taking yourself out of the game, however. In your forties, you won’t bulk up as quickly as you used to, so focus instead on maintenance: staving of muscle loss and the accompanying drop in metabolism. Don’t be wary of working at high intensity – your body can still handle it. Just ensure that you give yourself a full day’s recovery time between workouts. You’re in it for the long haul.

Fit At Any Age! CASE STUDY

ZAYD SHAIKH

SHAIKH FOCUSES ON RECOVERY TO BATTLE AGEING

Age 45, 5ft 7in, 80kg Contrary to appearances, Zayd Shaikh isn’t a lifelong athlete: worn out by work stress, he took up training at the age of 40. His friends told him that it was too late to make any visible progress, but Shaikh was determined to feel better, not simply to look it. Initially, he enlisted the help of a personal trainer. “I wanted to avoid injuries, so learning proper technique felt important,” he says. “And I was cautious about finding someone who would adapt the programme to my age and schedule.” Shaikh now trains for 75 minutes a day, six times a week. His programme targets a diferent muscle group each day to allow time for recovery. He concentrates on his legs twice a week; as the largest muscles in the body, they provide the highest fat burn. He has also learned when to push himself, and what he needs to do to recuperate. “I stretch my muscles both before and after workouts,” he says. “If I feel tired, I rest.” THE PLAN

MOBILITY MATTERS Even younger men shouldn’t skip their warm-ups, but doing so now could cause you serious harm. Decades spent slumped over a desk have tightened your hips and weakened your abs, raising your risk of back strain.

“Stability and activation work are vital for postural alignment and joint mobility,” says Leith. They’ll boost your lifts, too: spend 10 minutes warming up the muscles you’re focusing on at the start of each session. Finally, schedule a weekly workout for “impact-loading activities”, such as jumping or running, which will keep your skeletal structure strong – the solid foundation you’ll need for continued growth. YOUR POWER MOVE

KETTLEBELL WINDMILL

Mobility and muscle-building aren’t mutually exclusive. Zolkiewicz advocates this move to strengthen your core, stretch your hamstrings, stabilise your shoulders and mobilise your hips and back. Hold the bell overhead, push your hips in the direction of your weighted arm and reach to the floor with the other hand. Ask an instructor for guidance until you’ve nailed it.

1/5

Your muscles burn a ﬁfth of your daily calories. Weight training will keep your metabolism high

MEN’S HEALTH 103

BY LIGHTENING HIS LOAD, VAN VEIJEREN EARNED MASSIVE RESULTS

Fit At Any Age!

THE UPSHOT

This is the age at which most people hang up their Metcons – but you’re not most people. According to tests conducted on men with an average age of 54, a regular fitness programme can stave of “age-related” declines in energy and testosterone. But your greatest imperative? Protecting your brain. A study in the British Journal of Sports Science found that raising your heart rate also improves thinking and memory. So, stop chasing PBs: high-rep training is the smartest way to keep your brain and body sharp.

Your

*BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

50s

CASE STUDY

THE PLAN

YOUR POWER MOVE

GEE VAN VEIJEREN

CHOOSE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

GOBLET SQUAT

Age 51, 5ft 9in, 85kg Gee van Veijeren is in the best shape of his life – a particularly impressive achievement for a man who has been a regular gym-goer since the age of 21. But the years of experience have armed van Veijeren with the knowledge to train intelligently. “If I’m not feeling ‘strong’ on a particular day, I’ll just work at a reduced intensity,” he says. “But I’ll still train: that’s the important thing. I always feel more energised afterwards.” Van Veijeren has shifted his strategy from training for size to training for symmetry, using lighter weights with a higher rep count. “I still work to failure, but I’m not 25 any more, so I take care to avoid injury,” he explains. His career commitments have threatened to derail him, but he has doggedly refused to let them succeed. “To me, my health is as important – if not more so – than any work event. That’s why I schedule my sessions in my diary.” As a result, he is happier with his body now than he was in his twenties. “And, of course, I love the way people respond when they realise how old I really am,” he admits.

Forget about smashing it five days a week. “Focus on performing exercises with good form and a full range of motion,” advises Leith. “And be careful not to rush.” Choose functional movements that will help you in your day-to-day life: weighted carries and lunges, for instance, rather than curls and leg extensions. If you’re having trouble with your joints, modify your exercises – lower the tempo, or swap in pool sessions – but don’t skip training altogether. Maintaining your momentum will help you in the long term. A study of older adults by Boston University School of Public Health found that strength training reduced osteoarthritic pain by 35% and increased lower-limb strength by 33%. Ensure you’re built to last.

Squats are among the best moves for maintaining muscle mass, burning fat and mobilising your hips, knees and ankles. “But not everyone is blessed with the mobility and core strength to perform a barbell back squat safely,” says Zolkiewicz. This variation, in which you hold a dumbbell or kettlebell to your chest, is easier on your back – but it carries all the same benefits.

40min

Train for this long ﬁve times a week and you can reverse cellular ageing by nine years*

MEN’S HEALTH 105

LAYER UP FOR MUSCLE FUEL P/ 110

Because ﬁt is the new rich EDITED BY MICHAEL JENNINGS

YOUR 15MIN CHEST CHISELLER P/ 119

TORCH 1,000KCAL IN YOUR LUNCH HOUR P/ 112 UNDO DESK DAMAGE P/ 108

HIGH-SPEED RECOVERY P/ 117

STACKS OF GOOD CARBS P/ 111 MEN’S HEALTH 107

PT / 11.2018

MOBILITY MATRIX

PUT YOUR BACK INTO TRAINING

Whether you’re suﬀering from a nagging pain or simply a tightness getting out of bed, unwind your spine with these quick moves that will undo the damage of a day at the desk. You’ll clear discomfort and build the base for bigger lifts. Time to get your back into action UPPER BACK

01 BANDED CAT CAMEL

Corrective exercise specialist Harvey Lawton* knows the antidotes to a sedentary lifestyle. Learn his strategies

02 TALL KNEELING

2 SETS OF 12 REPS, 60SEC REST

BANDED ROTATION 2 SETS OF 10 REPS EACH SIDE, 60SEC REST

Relieve hunched shoulders by working the muscles around your thoracic spine. On all fours, wrap a band around your back and hold it under both hands. Drop your glutes to your heels. Push your ribs away from the floor as you exhale and flex your spine (A). Inhale and raise your eyeline as you extend your back (B).

Enhance your balance and strength with rotation moves. Place a band around a pole, stand at arm’s length away and hold one end in both B hands. On your knees with your torso upright, face the pole with your torso twisted, but keep your hips forward (A). Now, rotate your torso in the opposite direction (B). Return to the start.

04 DUMBBELL

ARTICULATIONS 2 SETS OF 5 REPS EACH SIDE, 60SEC REST

2 SETS OF 6-8 REPS EACH SIDE, 60SEC REST Tightness in your lower back and hips will make you more prone to injury. Lying face down with your arms spread on each side (A), kick your right foot up towards your left hand. Hold for two seconds, pushing your knee towards the floor (B). Return your leg to the start position, before repeating on the opposite side.

PERFORMANCE

03 PRONE SCORPION

Going slow and light with a dumbbell will improve your strength and mobility in squats and deadlifts and take unnecessary pressure of your lower back. Standing tall with your legs spread wide, hold the weight between your hands overhead (A). Maintain control, and keep your hands as far away from your centre as you can as you rotate one way (B). After a full rotation, repeat in the other direction. B

LOWER BACK 108 MEN’S HEALTH

*FIND LAWTON ONLINE: @HARVEY.MOVEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | MODEL: MARK THOMSON AT W MODELS | STYLING: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT USING SKINCARE BY CLINIQUE FOR MEN AND MAC PRO | SHORTS AND TRAINERS NIKE.COM

EXPERT

MICROWAVE MUSCLE MEAL #30

LIGHTER LAYERS FOR HEAVY LIFTS

Pass on the penne and plate up this quicker, leaner lasagne. Each portion packs in four of your ﬁve a day and feeds your muscles with a hefty hit of protein

TIME TO MAKE

YOU WILL NEED...

8MIN PROTEIN 31G CALORIES 534 CARBS 62G

• Butternut lasagne sheets, 4 • Pasta sauce, 170g • Green lentils, microwave pack, 125g • Tomato puree, 1tbsp • Water, 1tbsp • Spinach leaves, handful • Parmesan cheese, 1tbsp

65%

OUR LASAGNE DELIVERS THIS MUCH OF YOUR RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE OF FIBRE 14

14 12

6 8

0-3MIN

3-7MIN

7-8MIN

Lay out your butternut sheets on a plate, cover them with cling film and microwave for three minutes. While they’re cooking, mix together the pasta sauce, lentils, tomato puree and water in a bowl and cover.

Flip each butternut sheet and heat for another two minutes. Put them to one side to rest, while you microwave the tomato mix for 90 seconds. Make the most of this downtime by using it to prep your Waldorf salad (below).

Assemble on a plate by laying down a slice of butternut squash, top with a few spinach leaves and a quarter of the sauce. Repeat this process, topping with the Parmesan. Then tuck into your tower of muscle-building fuel.

SUPER SIDE #02

WOLF DOWN AThisWALDORF fresh, fruity salad is very easy to prep and has a great balance of protein, carbs and fats to stop surges in your blood sugar levels

110 MEN’S HEALTH

In a bowl, mix 2tsp of lemon juice with 1tbsp of 0% fat Greek-style yogurt.

Mix it with half a chopped apple, a handful of crushed walnuts and 100g of green salad leaves and toss together.

Rich in vits B12 and A and plenty of iron to accompany your lunchtime lasagne.

WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL HEDGE | FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS | RECIPE (THIS PAGE) BY VICKY NEWBOLD @VICKYNUTRITION RECIPE (OPPOSITE PAGE) BY LIAM HOLMES PHNUTRITION.CO.UK

PT / 11.2018

EASY POST-GYM ENERGY

SWEET POTATO AND BANANA PANCAKES MEAL PREP HERO #08

Three a day, after your workout, is a recipe for optimal muscle recovery

INGREDIENTS

STACK A PLATE IN YOUR FAVOUR

Makes six 1/ Sweet potato, 150g (or one medium) 2/ A banana 3/ An egg, large 4/ Protein powder, 25g 5/ Ground cinnamon, 5g 6/ Greek-style yogurt, 1tbsp 7/ Mixed berries, handful

Toss the bland breakfasts. These post-gym sweet potato pancakes serve up all the slow-release carbs you need to replenish your energy and return to full strength, fast

204 Kcal

2.5g Fat

31g Carbs

16g Protein

METHOD Step one Microwave your sweet potato for eight minutes, turning it halfway through. Scoop out the flesh once it has cooled and mash with the banana. Now crack in your egg, a scoop of protein and some cinnamon, and mix together. Step two Dollop three heaped tablespoons of the mixture per pancake into your pan on a medium heat. Spread and flatten each one with a spatula, then cook for around five minutes on both sides until golden brown. Step three The pancakes freeze well, so you can either prep batches or make them again midweek. To eat, spread on a thin layer of Greek-style yogurt and scatter a handful of berries.

GO BANANAS

As well as simple carbs, your fruit contains electrolytes that help to rehydrate your body and lower the stress hormone cortisol, which spikes during your workout.

A SWEET SYNERGY Mashing in the starchy carbs of the sweet potato with the fructose from the banana increases the rate of glycogen replenishment, compared to when you have the sweet potato on its own.

STRENGTH IN SHELLS Not just there to bind your pancakes, the egg is a complete protein source, while its B vitamins support digestion. Its vitamin D will also aid muscle repair, for quicker recovery in a bite.

THE SPICE IS RIGHT MHCP, a compound found in cinnamon, mimics insulin and activates receptors that allow your muscles to store the carbs in your pancakes more efectively. Just a sprinkle can help fight body fat.

06 07

MENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH 111

PT / 11.2018 THE BIG WORKOUT

BURN 1,000KCAL ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK

Transforming your body needn’t demand hours of graft. Unlock your potential for fat loss with two brutally eﬀective sessions that make full use of every minute

01B 02B

02A

REV UP YOUR ENGINE This isn’t your average lunchtime HIIT class. The main cardio assault is sandwiched between two stamina-testing bodyweight moves to help you slash more than 500kcal and build aerobic capacity – the foundation of enhanced endurance. “It not only boosts your ﬁtness, but allows you to lift heavier, recover quicker and sustain a high intensity for longer in future sessions,” says PT Ben West. It might hurt now, but the rewards outweigh the burn

01 02 CHEST-TO-FLOOR BURPEE ROWING 50 REPS

500M, 3 ROUNDS

Pre-fatigue your muscles with this fat-loss staple. From standing, plant your hands on the floor and kick your feet back, bringing you into a high plank. Now, drop your chest to the floor (A). Jump your feet back to your hands and launch yourself up, clapping your hands above your head (B). That’s one rep. After the full 50, it’s time for the calorie-blitzing cardio section of your workout.

Head straight to the rower after your burpees. The aim is to pull through 500m as fast as you can, generating power from your legs, rather than your arms. Keep your arms straight (A) as you push back with your legs. Just before they fully extend, pull the handle hard to your sternum (B). Release, letting the momentum glide you forward. Perform one out of three rounds before jumping on the bike.

WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES MODEL: MARK THOMSON AT W MODELS | STYLING: ABENA OFEI SHORTS ADIDAS.CO.UK, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK AIRBIKE AVAILABLE FROM BULLDOGGEAR.EU

01A

QUICK-FIRE FAT LOSS

THE SPEC MUSCLES TARGETED

WORKOUT

40 MIN RESULTS IN

03A

02 WEEKS

04B

LEVEL

HARD 03B

03 ASSAULT BIKE

04 BOX JUMP

50KCAL, 3 ROUNDS

50 REPS

After one 500m row, get ready for another 50 – the number of calories you’ll burn on the assault bike. Pace yourself: go too fast and you’ll tire early, too slow and you won’t reach the metabolismspiking intensity you need. Pump your arms (A) and legs (B), your chest upright to stop your strokes getting sluggish. Once complete, return to the rower for round two. Perform three rounds in total.

When you’ve finished your three cardio rounds, finish off with 50 box jumps to max out your metabolism before heading back to work. Stand facing a box, your feet shoulder width. Drop into a small squat (A), then jump high onto the box (B), landing with your knees bent. Stand tall, before stepping off. Take a breath but keep rests short.

04A

PT / 11.2018

02B

EXPERT Ben West EXPERIENCE Co-founder of

training space 360Athletic in London, West’s workouts will help you become fitter, leaner, stronger and an all-round better athlete. CONTACT 360athletic.co.uk @benwest_360athletic

02A 01A

01B

SWAP FAT FOR MUSCLE For your second workout, you’ll perform two muscle-building moves at the start of each of the five rounds. You’ll raise your heart rate and metabolism by completing 50 reps of the third move and burning 50kcal during the fourth, reducing this target number in each round until you reach 10 in the fifth and final one. Combining weights with cardio will strip body fat to ensure impressive muscle definition. Deep breath, now…

01 SLED PUSH

02 DUMBBELL PUSH PRESS

50M, 5 ROUNDS

20 REPS, 5 ROUNDS

The first of your muscle-building moves is a 50m sled push that will supercharge the power in your legs. With both hands holding the sled, your arms extended, lower yourself to the floor by bending your knees and adopting a staggered stance (A). Now, drive your feet into the floor as you push the sled forward as fast as you can (B). Move straight on to the next exercise.

After working your legs, you’re going to build your shoulders and triceps. With feet shoulder width, hold a dumbbell in each hand to your shoulders (A). Dip your knees slightly, generating power in your shoulders to press the weights overhead (B). Return them to your shoulders. After 20 reps, take a few deep breaths before starting your wall balls. This might not be pleasant, but it will be effective.

QUICK-FIRE FAT LOSS

THE SPEC MUSCLES TARGETED

03B

04A

WORKOUT

40 MIN RESULTS IN

02 WEEKS LEVEL

GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN AND MAC PRO | SHORTS UNDER ARMOUR AT MRPORTER.COM, COMPRESSION TIGHTS 2XU.COM, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK DOG SLED AND WALL BALL AVAILABLE FROM BULLDOGGEAR.EU, SKIERG AVAILABLE FROM CONCEPT2.CO.UK | BACKGROUND IMAGE SUPPLIED BY 3 ACES CROSSFIT

HARD

04B

03A

03 WALL BALL

04 SKIERG

50-40-30-20-10 REPS

50-40-30-20-10KCAL

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll perform 50 reps in your first round, then 40 in the next, and so on. Hold a 9kg wall ball to your chest, stand in front of a wall and initiate the move by dropping into a squat (A). As you launch upward, throw the ball as high as you can against the wall (B), then, in one smooth motion, catch it and drop into your second rep. This is a full-body burn that will ensure you strip fat fast.

Now, pull 50kcal on the SkiErg to finish the first round of this strength endurance session. Avoid exhausting your arms with short, erratic strokes and instead perform long, powerful pulls, reaching high (A) and engaging your larger back muscles. Without bending your arms too early, hinge your hips to pull the handles down (B). After burning 50kcal, start round two of sled pushes.

PT / 11.2018

MAXIMISE YOUR DOWNTIME STRETCH AND DE-STRESS

GEAR CHANGE #28

Poor range of motion in the gym is an early warning sign that your movement needs a fresh approach. Whether you do it first thing, before bed or after training, follow the habits of top athletes by performing daily stretching routines that take only 20 minutes. ROMWOD Athlete Plan £10 per month romwod.com

THE BEST FOR YOUR REST You spend longer outside the gym than in it. Here is your recovery package to power up your timeout SHOULDER SALVATION Tight shoulder muscles are inevitable in the modern world, but they’re not incurable. The unique banded movement that this system utilises both increases your mobility before workouts and strengthens injury-prone areas, such as your rotator cuffs and scapulas. Crossover Symmetry Individual Package £149 uk.crossoversymmetry.com

CARB FIX A post-workout serving of this macro blend will set you up for faster recovery and increased energy levels for the rest of the day. It contains natural sources of nutrition, from honey to sweet potato powder, and gives your muscles all they need to repair and grow. Progenex Build Ignition Blend £64 progenexeurope.com

WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: LUCKY IF SHARP

DESK MAINTENANCE A day at the office is no excuse to neglect your body work. Compact and convenient, rolling this underfoot while answering your emails will increase circulation and combat stress, thanks to the way your foot controls the alignment of the rest of your body. Trigger Point Nano Foot Roller £23 wiggle.co.uk

DAMAGE LIMITATION These are not your average leggings. Reduce exercise-induced inflammation with compression tights that live up to the name. Constricting your muscles limits the soreness felt hours after training by helping to remove the ache-causing enzyme released by a strenuous workout. A great excuse to stay in workout gear. 2XU Power Recovery Compression Tights £110 2xu.com

MEN’S HEALTH 117

PT / 11.2018

15-MINUTE CHEST PUMP

01 SLOW TO START

THE MH FINISHER #07

REPS FOR BIG PECS

Set up on a bench at a 45-degree incline and hold the weights above your chest, with your arms extended. Focus on your tempo by lowering the weights for five seconds, pause, then explode up, squeezing your pecs hard at the top. Get your rest in before the minute is up. You’ll need it.

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | STYLING: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT USING SKINCARE BY CLINIQUE FOR MEN AND MAC PRO | MODEL: MARK THOMSON AT W MODELS | TRACKPANTS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK, TRAINERS EU.PUMA.COM | *MORE WORKOUTS FROM TRACEY AT: YOUARENOTYOURGYMMEMBERSHIP.COM

Pump up your chest in minutes with our T-shirt-ﬁlling ﬁnisher, aptly named A PRESSING MATTER. Your upper body won’t know what’s hit it THE FORMAT: This EMOM (every minute, on the minute) session will work you hard for 15 minutes. At the start of the first minute, perform five incline dumbbell presses; in the second, do 10 dumbbell floor presses; in minute three, perform 15 bench dips. Complete this sequence five times.

02 FLOOR IT Take the same weights from your incline press and lie flat with your elbows on the ground and your upper arms at 90 degrees to your torso. Press the dumbbells up as fast as you can and lower for three seconds. The shorter range of motion allows you to keep pushing when you start to tire towards the end of the workout.

Challenge MH Smashed through the reps? Up the weights next time and tag us @MensHealthUK #MHFinisher

03 PUSHING ON Return to the bench to build your triceps and further target your chest. It’s 15 reps, so you’ll need to work faster, but break the reps into chunks. With your hands on the bench

and body outstretched, lock your arms out, then bend at your elbow to lower your upper arms until they’re parallel with the floor. Now, go back to the incline press. Keep on pumping.

THE TASKMASTER Name: Andrew Tracey Trainer tip: “Work for no more than 45 seconds in the minute, so you always have at least 15 seconds to rest and prepare for the next move,” says Tracey*. Contact: @theandrew.tracey

MEN’S HEALTH 119

EDITED BY ERIC DOWN & SHANE C KURUP

NOVEMBER 2018

HOLDALL BENNETTWINCH.COM, BLAZER £325, SHIRT £55 AND TIE £50 ALL REISS.COM | *TRAVEL TIP: BRITISH AIRWAYS SENIOR FIRST OFFICER KAT WOODRUFFE

SC HOLDALL £650 BENNETT WINCH

INSTANT UPGRADE

Falling With A Style A welcome departure from crumpled excess baggage, Bennett Winch’s suit-carrier holdall takes all the wrinkles out of travelling with tailoring PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTOSH SERGIEW WORDS BY JAMIE MILLAR

nyone who has hauled a suit carrier and case through a heaving terminal, waited in line to check in, then endured their flight without even a travel-size issue of MH for entertainment will grasp the usefulness of Bennett Winch’s SC holdall. As will anyone who has stuffed their tailoring into a case, only for it to emerge more puckered than Keith Richards’s kisser. “I was frustrated that no suit carrier could really hold anything more substantial than tailoring and shirts, meaning I always had to carry two bags,” says Simon Crompton, menswear author and founder

fastenings, while a waterproof, durable canvas material kept things lightweight. Usable without the suit carrier – and fitted with a removable internal bag to separate grimy shoes or sweaty gym kit from the rest of your clothing TIME SHIFT – the SC holdall is as TO COMBAT JET LAG, handy for a workday SLEEP WITH OPEN of website as it is for a business CURTAINS. NATURAL Permanent Style, trip or a weekend break. LIGHT HELPS REBOOT who collaborated on Just ask satisfied YOUR CIRCADIAN the two-in-one holdall customer Felix von RHYTHM* with the handmadeHurter, head of international in-England brand. business development at After the initial brainwave distillery Sipsmith, who travels of wrapping a suit carrier for a living and took a plane, around a holdall – which two boats and a cab to his eliminates folds and therefore wedding in Greece. “I didn’t creases – what came next was even need to press my suit the task of working out how when I arrived,” he says. That’s to attach one to the other the sort of convenience you and keep the weight low. should grasp with both hands. The solution to the former problem was a combination of magnets, straps and leather

MEN’S HEALTH 121

WRIST ASSESSMENT

Double Time A mechanical timepiece might seem outdated, but a GMT watch with a second time zone remains useful for frequent flyers. And, judging by 2018’s crop, watchmakers expect a lot of air time

e all have our own ways of dealing with jet lag – and, like Bill Murray’s character in Lost in Translation, they can involve as many midnight trips to the hotel’s gym as to the bar. But what if neither lulls you into a slumber? Maybe it’s time to get some work done. A glance at your GMT watch tells you it’s midnight here in Hong Kong, but your colleague John is on deadline at the London ofice and could do with a hand at 6pm. This was the point of GMT watches – with the rise of the jet age in the 1950s, a device was needed to let pilots keep tabs on the clock at both their origin and destination. Though our instantly syncing smart devices have called time on the original function of the GMT indicator, this year’s boom in watches with dual-time capability proves that it’s still a popular tool. Not only do you have the novelty of your own miniature observatory strapped to your wrist, but the variety of creative, colourful ways to display that second time zone has resulted in a world of diferent looks. And with us clocking up more air miles than ever and 37 time zones to negotiate, it’s all the more reason to invest.

122 MEN’S HEALTH

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8

01° Oris ProDiver GMT £2,520 For all their engineering, diving watches rarely go deeper than the gym pool, but it’s their strapping looks that make them shine. Oris has upped that aesthetic appeal further with the addition of a GMT complication. With its burly case, you’ll not be lacking in wrist presence – in or out of the water.

02° Hamilton Jazzmaster Traveler GMT Auto £860

TUDORWATCH.COM, CERTINA AT JURAWATCHES.CO.UK

An eminently affordable Swiss GMT mechanical, your bang for your buck here is almost deafening. Not only does it have dual-time GMT capabilities, read from the 24-hour numerals, but its handsome mid-century styling will never go out of fashion.

03° Ball Watch Company Magnate GMT £2,730 This brawny Ball’s green GMT hand makes it bang on-trend. Its Swiss chronometer movement, shock-proof crown and tritium-gas numerals (which glow vibrantly without the need to be charged by a light source) make it a wise choice for the intrepid traveller.

STOCKISTS: ORIS.CH, HAMILTONWATCH.COM, BALLWATCH.COM, TAGHEUER.COM,

04° TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02 Chronograph GMT £4,900 You’re guaranteed a rock-solid timepiece with Heuer, and this GMT chrono is one of the brand’s finest iterations of its iconic Carrera to date. Boasting a 75-hour power reserve and a skeletonised dial, it will mesmerise the mechanically minded for hours.

05° Tudor Black Bay GMT £2,790 Tudor’s Black Bay line continues to grow and this year’s GMT model has got pulses racing. The Pepsi colour configuration is a nod to the watches worn by Pan Am pilots in the 1950s. The bezel rotates, so you can use the big-arrowed 24-hour hand to track a third time zone.

06° DS Action GMT Certina Powermatic 80 £765 The green-accented DS Action has a novel, colour-coordinated Super-LumiNova GMT hand and a power reserve that will keep it ticking for 80 hours on down days. This sporty piece is ready for anything – and won’t leave your wallet undernourished.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL ZAK | WORDS BY ALEX DOAK

MEN’S HEALTH 123

STYLE - 11 /18 WARDROBE CLASSIC

King Of The Flock

FLOUR POWER TO REMOVE AN OILY STAIN ON SHEARLING, SPRINKLE CORN STARCH ON IT. LEAVE OVERNIGHT, THEN BRUSH IT OFF

MODEL: JOBAIR AT ESTABLISHED MODELS | GROOMING: KEVIN FORD USING DERMALOGICA | FASHION ASSISTANT: RICCARDO CHIUDIONI | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: REX FEATURES, ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES | STOCKISTS: REISS.COM, FARAH.CO.UK

For some, it says flying ace; to others, it’s John Motson on a damp day. Either way, shearling is this winter’s hottest outerwear trend

his season, dedicated followers of fashion are like sheep – or, at least, you’ll find them in sheep’s clothing. On the autumn and winter catwalks, a flock of designers – from Armani and AMI to Hermès – showed plenty of shearling. It’s unusual, though, that the must-have hide isn’t seen in the style capitals of Milan and Paris. There, shearling is seldom out of style, untainted by its long taste detour via the Only Fools and Horses set in the 1980s. “Utilitarian pieces don’t disappear so easily,” explains stylist Grace Gilfeather, whose clients have included James Norton, Anthony Joshua, Burberry and Louis Vuitton. “A shearling lining provides warmth, softness and a touch of luxury.” But if you don’t want to resemble a muppet dressed as a lamb, shear yourself on the shorter side. “On the whole, cropped versions, which evoke the jackets used by the RAF, are

more flattering than full-length coats,” says Gilfeather. She warns, however: “While they are a wonderful statement piece, you need height to avoid doing a Del Boy.” Your shepherds are Robert Redford in the 1969 movie Downhill Racer and Marlon Brando in 1954’s On the Waterfront, though it’s wise not to stray too far into retro territory. “If you wear a shearling jacket over a white T-shirt, jeans and chunky boots, à la Steve McQueen, you’re in the right area,” says Gilfeather. Or, for a more up-to-date reference, check out the of-screen swag of Tom Hardy – Bane’s woolly mammoth is too big a look. Being a wolf in sheep’s clothing takes altitude, attitude and latitude: “You also need good shoulders to pull of such a dense fabric,” adds Gilfeather. But if you have pelt-worthy delts (turn to our PT section if not), shearling is a hardy perennial.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM JACKSON STYLING BY ERIC DOWN WORDS BY JAMIE MILLAR

The Ones Who Wore It Well

JACKET £895 REISS JOGGERS £70 FARAH

Robert Redford 1969 Though it was taken in the late 1960s, this photograph still feels current. To look as timelessly suave, layer a denim shirt beneath a sweatshirt.

Alain Delon 1965 France’s answer to James Dean shows us how to pull of a classic biker shearling – with heavy-duty boots, a utility shirt and a good helping of attitude.

Kanye West 2017 This is a masterclass in how to wear shearling today. West’s intarsia jumper and navy sweats hit the sartorial nail firmly on the head.

THE PORTFOLIO

Not only is quality outerwear your sartorial armour when the mercury takes a nosedive, but it’s also the simplest tool to transform a look with minimal effort. MH style director Eric Down reveals how to get the most out of AW18’s heavyweights PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEO CACKETT STYLING BY ERIC DOWN

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8

01 Retro Redux Berluti has long been known for its expertise in leather craft – and it shows with this louche, butter-soft coat. With a piece this luxe, you’ll want to steer clear of try-hard territory, so pair it with a relaxed Fair Isle knit. Shearling trims, cord trousers and suede boots create a plush, textural medley redolent of the 1970s – which is bang on trend for AW18 – and will make for a wellinsulated outfit when the cold weather bites. COAT £7,800 BERLUTI SWEATER £325 KENT & CURWEN AT MRPORTER.COM TROUSERS £290 CANALI BOOTS £425 TRICKER’S

THE PORTFOLIO

02 Military Cinch This immaculately tailored great coat by Neil Barrett is a modern salute to sharp military tailoring, proving it never loses its relevance. The belt is a smart tool for defining to your torso, too, while the punchy graphic print gives it a contemporary edge. Coupled with a finewale corduroy two-piece, this look is a million miles from the fusty, misshapen cord-and-tweed ensemble so favoured by your grandad. What does remain, however, is the comfort factor and an outfit slick enough to see you through a full day’s work and play. COAT £1,605 NEIL BARRETT SUIT £3,390 BRUNELLO CUCINELLI SHIRT £170 ACNE STUDIOS AT MRPORTER.COM BOOTS £425 TRICKER’S BAG £1,845 CORNELIANI

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8

03 Doubling Up A double-breasted coat has two distinct advantages over its single-breasted counterpart. Not only does the overlapping fastening create a dual layer of fabric – meaning better heat retention – but it also looks a touch more raffish. When a garment is as well cut as this green checked overcoat by Daks, nothing can spoil it more quickly than overstuffed pockets. A sleek, leather cross-body bag provides the perfect place to stash your daily essentials and will ensure that your silhouette – and style cred – stay intact. COAT £995 DAKS SUIT £1,400 AND BOOTS £450 BOTH EMPORIO ARMANI SWEATER £280 AMI BAG £625 MULBERRY

MEN’S HEALTH 129

THE PORTFOLIO

Dressing for AW18 is all about mixing your genres – casual, sporty, formal. This Christopher Raeburn x Finisterre quilted coat layered over mismatched tailoring is a prime example of just that. If you’re concerned about clashing, the key is to make the contrast between pattern sizes obvious. A fine herringbone check juxtaposes well with the bold houndstooth, resulting in a cohesive look that’s more modern urbanite than mundane rambler. COAT £295 CHRISTOPHER RAEBURN X FINISTERRE BLAZER £540 AND TROUSERS £175 BOTH MICHAEL KORS BAG £1,150 MULBERRY

130 MEN’S HEALTH

ACNE STUDIOS, INIS MEÁIN AND KENT & CURWEN AT MRPORTER.COM, AMIPARIS.COM, BERLUTI.COM, BOSS.COM, BRUNELLOCUCINELLI.COM, CANALI.COM, CHRISTOPHERRAEBURN.CO.UK, CORNELIANI.COM, DAKS.COM, EMPORIO ARMANI AT ARMANI.COM, MASSIMODUTTI.COM, MICHAELKORS.CO.UK, MULBERRY.COM, NEIL BARRETT AT HARRODS.COM, TRICKERS.COM, VALENTINO.COM

04 Style Amalgam

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8

05 Yarns of Substance Chunky knitwear is a staple on bracing winter days, and layering with a longline coat – such as this wool check number by Ami – will streamline your proportions to ensure you look more trim, less Michelin man. You want something to show for all those lunchtime HIIT sessions, after all. Tailored sweatpants, chunky trainers and a leather backpack offset the coat’s formality just enough to hit that elusive sporty-elegant sweet spot. COAT £1,130 AMI ROLLNECK £260 INIS MEÁIN AT MRPORTER.COM TROUSERS £249 BOSS TRAINERS £655 VALENTINO GARAVANI RUCKSACK £229 MASSIMO DUTTI

GROOMING

Urban Renewal

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8

Because skin absorbs pollution particles, a day in the city can leave even a green-juice-swilling gym fiend with a less-than-wholesome face. These products are your epidermal flak jackets

STOCKISTS: DR BARBARA STURM FROM MOLECULAR-COSMETICS.COM, OSKIASKINCARE.COM, CLINIQUE.CO.UK, SUSANNE KAUFMANN FROM LIBERTYLONDON.COM, LISAFRANKLIN.LONDON, GROWN ALCHEMIST FROM THESHOPATBLUEBIRD.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BARRY MAKARIOU

WORDS BY TOM BANHAM

01 The Skin Barrier Dr Barbara Sturm Anti-Pollution Drops

02 The Eye Protector Oskia City Life I-Zone Balm

03 The Cleanser Clinique for Men Charcoal Face Wash

Sturm’s skin-protect complex counters the efects of rush hour by shielding your face from airborne grime. It also fights screen-induced skin damage, inevitable after a long day at your desk. £105

The thin skin around your eyes is an easy entry point for nasties. Instal extra security with this balm, which contains astaxanthin – an antioxidant 6,000 times more potent than vitamin E. £55

Slough of the particulate matter that breaks down your skin’s defences for a purer visage. This face wash scours it of and sucks it out of pores without damaging your protective lipid cells. £19

04 The Detoxifier Susanne Kaufmann Defence System

05 The Multitasker Lisa Franklin Pollution Defence Cream

The Antioxidant Booster 06 Grown Alchemist Detox Serum

The best way to beat pollution is to have begun protecting yourself a decade ago. Short of a time machine? This triple attack of vitamin C, ectoin and Q10 undoes years of damage in 15 days. £218

It’s not just your gut that benefits from good bacteria: your skin does, too. Containing prebiotics to bolster your skin’s natural shields, this cream protects against electromagnetic radiation and hydrates. £80

This Aussie serum strengthens your skin against oxygen-, carbon- and nitrogen-based free radicals. So, even after a long day darting through grimy trafic, you’ll still be looking fresh. £43

Eat Yourself Handsome Fight smog with nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert’s skinhappy smorgasbord

01/ Omega-3 Why: This fatty acid benefits you inside and out, reducing inflammation and making skin less sensitive to sun damage. Where: Oily fish, walnuts, flaxseed oil.

02/ Vitamins C & E Why: These neutralise the free radicals created by particulates before they can do you damage. Vitamin C also boosts collagen. Where: Citrus fruit, peppers, kale, avocado, almonds.

03/ Resveratrol Why: This polyphenol defends against skin damage, but it also helps to repair areas that have already taken a battering. Where: Red wine, cocoa, pistachios, blueberries.

MEN’S HEALTH 133

THE EDIT

Style Reboot

The chukka is one of those elusive styles that effortlessly bestrides smart-casual, allowing you to step seamlessly from boardroom to bar. Start the season on the right foot with our edit of AW18’s best

£7

£2

OF CE

£1

RAIN CHECK STUFF WET CHUKKAS WITH NEWSPAPER TO MAINTAIN THEIR SHAPE, THEN ALLOW THEM TO DRY NATURALLY

£1

£3

BE RT IE LO ND ON

’S

£3

NE S £6 MA NO LO

S R’

£1

£3

WORDS: SHANE C KURUP | BERTIE AT DUNELONDON.COM, CHURCH-FOOTWEAR.COM, CROCKETTANDJONES.COM, KURTGEIGER.COM, LOAKE.CO.UK, MANOLOBLAHNIK.COM, OFFICE.CO.UK, RUSSELLANDBROMLEY.CO.UK, TRICKERS.COM

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROWAN FEE STYLING BY ERIC DOWN

S T Y L E - 1 1/ 1 8 HOW I GET DRESSED

Sir Bradley Wiggins Britain’s most decorated Olympian has a reputation for sharp style, in and out of the saddle. Here, he shares his no-nonsense approach to fashion PHOTOGRAPHY BY LUCKY IF SHARP | 02

9.38am 8am I live on a farm, so I don’t usually “dress up” after waking. But I go to London quite often and, when I do, I stay at the Soho Hotel. If you’re somewhere like that, you make more of an effort.

STOCKISTS: HAIR CREAM FROM BOOTS.COM, FREDPERRY.COM, SUNGLASSES FROM SUNGLASSHUT.COM, MULBERRY.COM, TOMFORD.CO.UK, LECOL.CC, WATCH FROM PATEK.COM, ADIDAS.CO.UK

9.15am I keep my grooming regimen fairly simple. I get what I need from Boots and use Lynx You Anthony Joshua Shower Gel. I also use Babyliss clippers and Brylcreem (1) to keep my hair in check.

WORDS BY SHANE C KURUP

I rate Topman jeans. I’m tall, but they have a decent amount of stretch and fit perfectly. You don’t always have to spend a fortune to get decent clothes.

FRED PERRY X MILES KANE TRACKPANTS £80

9.42am I always wear Oakley sunglasses (3). They’ve stood the test of time and are still the best for cycling, as the lenses provide glare-free vision when you’re on the road.

OAKLEY JAWBREAKER£175

03 05 12pm

LE COL BY WIGGINS PRO GOLD STRIPE JERSEY £125

If I’m heading somewhere smart, I always wear a suit by Mark Powell. He’s an amazing Soho tailor and a local legend. My favourite is a three-piece navy mohair suit. It has a Victorian dandy feel.

01 12.31pm TOM FORD OUD WOOD £162 FOR 50ML

I have a Mulberry wallet (7), which I use all the time now. For years, I had a wallet that had “Bad Motherfucker” scrawled on it – like the one in Pulp Fiction.

9.48am

BRYLCREEM ORIGINAL £5.40

9.20am I’m a fan of white T-shirts: if I find a kind I like, I buy 10 at a time. Orlebar Brown’s are my favourite. They fit and wear well, and the quality is great – they won’t disintegrate when they go in the wash.

I love Stone Island jackets, partly because they remind me of the football culture of my youth. You can’t beat a parka: it works with everything, from a suit to a tee.

9.50am Tom Ford aftershave (4) is well worth the investment, and Oud Wood is my favourite. Despite its complexity, it’s fairly light and has an unexpected subtlety.

Sir Bradley Wiggins

9.30am I’ve got a lot of the Fred Perry x Miles Kane stuff (2). The collection has a retro vibe, and the pieces are distinctive but easy to wear. Luckily for me, vintage-style threads seem to be the thing.

10.00am I go cycling three times a week when I’m at home. My new range with Le Col – including our jersey – is designed with comfort and style in mind (5).

Wiggins still holds the world record for the longest distance ever cycled in an hour – 33.88 miles, which he set in 2015

PATEK PHILIPPE NAUTILUS WATCH £22,820

10.30am I have a few watches, but my favourite is a blue-faced Patek Philippe Nautilus (6). As a kid, I always wanted to own one, and a piece that’s as classic as this will never go out of style.

12.33pm

MULBERRY RUSHLEY WALLET £195

Adidas Spezials (8) are my go-to trainers. Like Stone Island jackets, they remind me of the terrace footwear of my teenage years. The aesthetic of my teens is summed up well by This Is England ’90.

Wiggo’s Rules for Style That Goes the Distance

ADIDAS WILSY SPZL TRAINERS £90

01/ Palette Master Be brave with colour: don’t just rely on blues and greys. Break up muted shades with something zesty and bright, like a lime green or yellow.

02/ Staples of Substance Invest in some knitted polos from a brand such as John Smedley. If you wear them with jeans and a blazer in the evening, you’ll still look smart.

03/ Good Jeans Don’t be distracted by big names when buying denim – a high-street label might offer a better fit. Find a brand with a cut that works for you.

MEN’S HEALTH 137

MH PROMOTION

YOUR FINAL PUSH

“THE FINAL WEEKS OF TRAINING, WHEN INTENSITY AND VOLUME PEAK, CAN BE MAKE OR BREAK”

AS RACE DAY LOOMS AND YOUR TRAINING LOAD PEAKS, KEEP INJURIES AT BAY WITH THE SIMPLYHEALTH ACTIVE PLAN

SUPPORT FROM START TO FINISH

Whether you’re a beginner training for your first run or a seasoned pro with many marathons under your belt, the Simplyhealth Active Plan will ensure you stay in the best shape possible. From gait analysis to sports massage, we can help pay towards treatment costs, giving you access to expert assistance every step of the way.

SPORTS MASSAGE Don’t let aches hold you back. Tension and toxins in your muscles can cause you pain. A professional sports massage can tackle muscle tightness and accelerate your recovery.

GAIT ANALYSIS Running in the wrong trainers could cause lower-limb and foot problems. A podiatrist can assess your running style and provide tailor-made insoles, helping you stay injury-free.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIMPLYHEALTH ACTIVE PLAN, VISIT SIMPLYHEALTH.CO.UK/ACTIVE. WHETHER YOU’RE TRAINING FOR YOUR FIRST RUNNING EVENT OR YOU’RE AIMING FOR A MARATHON PB, SIMPLYHEALTH WILL BE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. #MYEVERYSTEP GET ONE MONTH FREE IF YOU SIGN UP TO A SIMPLYHEALTH ACTIVE PLAN BEFORE 31 OCTOBER 2018*.

BODY MOT Stay in peak condition for your run with a health assessment from a medical professional. A range of examinations and tests will give you an overview of your current health.

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ou’ve set your sights on a race one or two months down the line – perhaps the Simplyhealth Great South Run (21 October), or another event in the Simplyhealth Great Run series. You’ve entered the final weeks of training, when volume and intensity peak. It’s make or break. As you push yourself harder in preparation for the rigours of run day, slight niggles and discomfort are to be expected. Fortunately, with the Simplyhealth Active Plan, you can access a wide range of injury-prevention services: from running-related sports massage and gait analysis to everyday health-related treatments such as acupuncture and dentistry. You’ll also find all the motivation you need to keep running at your best, as well as practical advice and training plans, at simplyhealth.co.uk/great-run-partnership. And, as you close in on your target run, #MyEveryStep will connect you to a countrywide community of runners with whom you can share your progress.

EDITED BY LEAH CRAIG

MH QUIZ FATHERS NO.44

Are You On Track To Hit Your #DadGoals? It’s the job that everyone is underqualified for. But whether you’re a practised parent or an aspiring father, MH is here to test your paternal potential MEN’S HEALTH 139

NOVEMBER 2018

\ Q1 Men can’t be afected by postnatal depression. A

True

Q4\ Which of the following morning refreshers is the smartest fertility booster?

False B

Chocolate shake

B Depression in new fathers is common but it often goes unreported due to stigma, according to Lund University. Your first step is to speak to a professional, but making time to weight train can also lighten the load. One study* found that going heavy markedly lifts your mood.

Q2\ A

Lemon water C

Almonds

Black coffee

Chocolate Salami stick

A When it comes to the crunch, choose nuts. Spanish researchers found that two handfuls of almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts per day will not only improve your sperm count, but also boost your sperm’s speed and the distance it can travel. Processed meats and sugars, on the other hand, have been shown to have the reverse efect. Nuts for nuts, then.

\ Q3 Wearing briefs kills of your odds of conception.

A Sadly, chocolate shakes are not the new health panacea. Sipping hot water and lemon has been linked to a better hormone balance, supporting the liver as it removes oestrogen. But too much cafeine – that’s four or more mugs a day – can harm fertility in some men. Delay your first of the day until mid-morning, as knocking one back on waking raises cortisol levels.

Q5\ It’s your round. What are you having?

Q6\ You’re more likely to father a boy genius at what age? A

25-34 A

Hit

Myth

B Unless your budgie smugglers are turning your legs blue, they won’t cause any lasting problems. The National Institutes of Health found that any impact they might have on your semen quality isn’t enough to afect your ability to conceive. Unless she disapproves of them, of course…

140 MEN’S HEALTH

B A

Water. We’re One pint trying… won’t hurt

C I’m already three down

B Rather than sink your fertility prospects, a Friday night pint could boost your chances, reports Andrology. Men who consume a modest four to seven units a week boast a higher sperm count than teetotallers. Cheers to that.

35-44 C

45+ B Good things come to those who wait to produce a prodigy. Sons of older parents are more likely to have higher IQs, King’s College London found, attributed to older fathers having fully established their careers.

WORDS: AARON TOUMAZOU | PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY, DAN MATTHEWS, ANDREW JOHN SIMPSON, SUN LEE, JOBE LAWRENSON, STUDIO 33 & GETTY IMAGES | *SPORTS MEDICINE

Which of these desk-drawer snacks will pick up your chances of conception?

MH QUIZ: FATHERHOOD

\ Q7 Missed _____ could be threatening your odds of conception.

Q8\ Which of these training methods can help you lose your dad gut?

\ Q10 Becoming a parent causes your body mass index to increase by ___%. A

A A

Meals

Deadlines

Sleep

C Enjoy those extra hours while you still can. Inadequate rest is linked to poor semen quality. Boston University found that clocking at least six hours saves you from a 42% decrease in your conception chances. Ditch Netflix for an early night.

HIIT

LISS B

1.5%

A Not only is HIIT easier to fit into your squeezed schedule, it also boosts the production of proteins that elevate your metabolism during rest and burns fat, Cell Metabolism found. It’s not all about aesthetics: it’s worth playing the long game once a week. An Obesity study rated endurance sessions as the best way to cut life-shortening, hidden visceral fat.

Q9\

2.6% C The “dad bod” is no myth – but it’s far from inevitable. Northwestern University found that first-time fathers gain 2kg on average. Combat the kilos with exercise that you can share with your children: regular swimming not only ofers a fullbody workout, but adds years to your life*.

Hot or cold showers?

\ Q11 Only women gain weight during pregnancy. A

True

*UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA | †FITNESS FIRST | **BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION

Not A

Hot

False

B You may not be eating for two, but a third of men pile on the pounds over the nine months due to being influenced by their partner’s cravings†. Hankering after carbs? Swap your lunchtime sub for a barley kernel roll, shown to balance your appetite**. Extra gherkins, please.

\ Q12 Which of these trademark dad moves will keep you young? A

Wearing Birkenstocks B

Terrible jokes C

Awkward dancing

B Though it might have a libido-limiting reputation, taking a chilly shower has been found to raise testosterone levels, an indicator of male virility. Meanwhile, a University of California study found that 45% of men who sufered from fertility problems saw their sperm count soar by an impressive 491% after giving up hot baths. Brace yourselves, here comes the cold water.

C We’d draw the line at flossing, but being first in line for “YMCA” has its benefits. A Frontiers in Human Neuroscience study revealed the physical and mental exercise involved in dancing can reverse signs of ageing in your brain. That’s certainly something to twist and shout about. MEN’S HEALTH 141

NOVEMBER 2018

MH QUIZ: FATHERHOOD

Q16\

Q13\

Your odds of having no sperm in your ejaculate rise by __% if you are overweight.

Which parent misses out on the most sleep?

\ Q17 Which of these breakfasts provides the best fuel for your swimmers? A

Smashed avo

Croissant

0% C

C B

Fruit smoothie

39%

C In the pursuit of parenthood, it may be fruitful to shed your excess belly fat. According to a Harvard study, overweight men have an 11% higher chance of having a low sperm count, and are 39% more likely to have no sperm in their ejaculate at all. For fast and intense fat burn as well as muscle growth, add kettlebell swings to your workouts.

Mum

Dad

B Don’t mention this one to your partner. A Developmental Psychobiology study following new parents discovered that fathers obtained less sleep than mothers in the initial postpartum period. Recharge your batteries with a box-set binge. Yes, you read that correctly: the University of Bufalo discovered that, far from being a brain drain, watching reruns reboots your energy and willpower.

\ Q14 Optimum health comes as a result

\ Q15 Which seeming disadvantages can

of fathering how many children?

actually make you a better father?

A Bonus points if it comes on a seeded loaf. Human Reproduction revealed that the folate in avocado cuts abnormal sperm levels by 20-30%, while zinc-rich pumpkin seeds ofer a fertility boost. Not all wellness hashtags are without their merits, it seems.

Q18\ Your earning potential decreases once you become a father.

True A

B Parenthood has been linked to a reduced risk of several conditions, from heart disease to cancer, with parents of twosomes faring best, according to the Social Science & Medicine Journal. Try musing on that next time they run you ragged…

How did you score?

142 MEN’S HEALTH

False

A Lower testosterone

Increased belly fat

Less free time

A This post-parenthood drop enhances your parenting*, as high levels block men’s ability to assess their decisions correctly – such as sticking on Tarantino’s latest film in the name of education.

B Parenthood pays, it turns out. A study† revealed that men with children earn around 6% more than those without, while Cornell found that job applicants who mentioned being part of a parent-teacher body were more likely to get an interview.

0-5 DADDY COOL

6-11 FAMILY GUY

12+ DAD GOALS

Considering adding to your family? Start by looking out for number one. Research published in Cell Metabolism revealed that high blood sugar – caused by stress – could be passed on by fathers to their sons. Rest easy dads, you’ll be fine.

Those sleepless nights may grate on you now, but being a father will boost your health in the long run. Men with kids not only enjoy significantly lower blood pressure than those without, but also crush their cardiovascular disease risk by 17%**.

Impart some of that paternal wisdom to your newborn. Fathers who interact more with their child in their first months have more impact on their cognitive growth than less-engaged dads††. Better sing the praises of your football club early, then.

*PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE | †UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS | **BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, STANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE | ††THE INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL

18%

MH CLASSIFIED

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ONE WORD ANSWER #50 QUESTION

asta has been on the British menu since at least the 14th century, when King Richard II’s chefs included the recipe for a macaroni-lasagne hybrid in the royal cookbook. But when, in the late 1950s, the BBC aired an April Fool’s Day report showing a family harvesting spaghetti from trees, viewers inundated the broadcaster with letters asking where they could buy their own pasta plant. Six decades later, a less innocuous myth surrounds spaghetti. It has widely been blamed – lumped alongside other refined foods such as white bread and white sugar – for today’s diabetes, obesity and heart disease epidemics.

Is pasta a fat-piling “poison”, as tennis player Pat Cash recently claimed? And if so, how did it become the world’s most popular dish?* Science is on your spag bol’s side. In a study published in the journal BMJ Open, Canadian researchers analysed how pasta afects bodyweight and BMI. They found that test subjects who ate spaghetti instead of other carbs actually lost a small amount of weight. This was attributed to its negligible fat and cholesterol content, and the fact that it’s an excellent source of low-glycaemic carbohydrates: it releases its glucose slowly into the bloodstream, making

you feel full for longer. These findings support an earlier report published in Nutrition and Diabetes, in which Italian scientists (perhaps predictably) argued that pasta consumption decreases your chances of obesity. The problem with spaghetti, then, isn’t that it’s inherently bad for us – it’s that it’s so good, so satisfying, that we’re tempted to fork it down in unhealthy quantities. “We serve… immense portions,” sighed Fred Plotkin, author of The Authentic Pasta Book,

back in 1997. Yet even after two decades of wellness culture and carbophobia, we continue to overload our plates. A bolognese in Bologna typically contains 100g of pasta. It’s likely to contain double that here**. Italians have traditionally lived by what they call “l’arte di arrangiarsi”, or the art of getting by on what you have. This credo manifests on the plate as the celebrated, no-nonsense Mediterranean diet, with a sensible portion of pasta as its centrepiece. So, whether you’re in Rome or Romford, do as the Romans do – and resist the urge to have too much of a good thing.

ANSWER

Spaghetti

WORDS: YO ZUSHI | PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON | *OXFAM | **EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION

What muchmaligned carb staple could actually help you lose weight?