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AUSTRALIA

FIT IS

IS NO JOKE!

Y’S A ION AT

MENSHE ALT H.COM.AU

MAKE TRICEPS GREAT AGAIN

18 BUST YOUR GUT HOW BUSTA

RHYMES LOST 45KGS

Shred-Pool Ryan Reynolds Reports For MH

To Build Mental Strength P110

Winter Is Becoming P46

Why We Lie P36

PERFORMANCE. IT’S IN THE BLOOD. RS 5 With five-door practicality and 331 kW at your disposal, the Audi RS 5 Sportback is the epitome of form and function.

The Audi RS 5 Sportback.

audi.com.au

Overseas model with optional equipment shown.

CON T E N TS 07/ 21

30

Madison de Rozario Australia’s wheelchair-racing superstar is heading to the Paralympics in Tokyo with hopes of medalling in as many as four events. Gentle and good-natured, she is proof you can dominate in your field without feeling compelled to crush your competition.

82 Fat Lot of Good

For decades, the message on saturated fat was unequivocal: too much of it makes you a heart attack waiting to happen. Lately, the advice has been more nuanced – and more confusing. We set you straight.

22

Jumpstart Your Gains Take your fitness to a new level of insane with this devilish reimagining of the classic burpee.

More muscle and agility are just a leap away.

76

Masters of Some As versatility and agility become ever more valuable qualities in a fast-changing world, polymaths – people who are prodigiously talented in multiples areas – are looking more and more like the kings of an uncertain future. Time to add some strings to your bow.

4

MEN’S HE ALTH

COVER GUY:

JOEL CREASEY

60

PHOTOGRAPHED BY:

JASON LEE

After turning 30 and enduring a five-month COVID lockdown, comic Joel Creasey stopped finding any humour in the state of his health. May the results of his 12-week transformation inspire you.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

TACT ICS

p28 Chivalry Ain’t Dead How to be well-mannered without offending her modern sensibilities.

p90 Funny Ripped Guy Actor Rob McElhenney tells all to mate (and star interviewer) Ryan Reynolds.

MU S C L E

p68 Your Triceps, Reloaded Everything you need to know about the fastest route to winning the arms race.

p117 Speed Demon Build a sprinter’s quads and glutes with 100-m sensation Rohan Browning.

NUTRITION

p11 Bean Me Up An unlikely (canned) hero has emerged in your campaign to live to 100.

p129 The Big Macro Meal Complement your gym toil with this optimal post-workout refuel.

H E A LTH

p98 Self Medication Depressed? The line between therapy and illicit high is blurring.

p104 Action Figures Tracksuit by Versace from davidjones.com, Sneakers by Bally, Necklace by Dear Letterman.

Targets like 10,000 steps a day tend to be arbitrary. Get the lowdown.

MIND

p26 The Brain Expert A neuroscientist reveals the everyday keys to maximising your grey matter.

p36 Why We Lie And how small acts of dishonesty can bring your life crashing down.

JULY 2021

5

EDITOR’S LETTER

menshealth.com.au

Men's Health Australia

@MensHealthAU

@MensHealthAU

AUSTRALIAN

TRANSFORMERS There’s a reason our transformation issues are among the most popular we produce. Despite what popular culture may have us believe, we, as Aussie men, enjoy seeing others succeed and we admire hard work and commitment. We do want to lift each other up, to see each other grow and to share that knowledge to help each other. Let’s call it Small Poppy Syndrome.

Incredible transformations command a certain level of respect. It takes courage to embark on a transformation, physical or otherwise. The decision to transform, in itself, involves awkward, often confronting inward reflection. ‘What about No Joke: Creasey and myself needs improvement?’ The process is no picnic, either, the crew at his involving months of commitment, sacrifice, sweat and more transformation shoot. often than not, tears.

I’ve recently commenced my own transformation based on some quite brutal self-reflection. While the result will provide content for a future issue of Men’s Health, the reason behind the decision to change has meant this challenge has become one of the more mentally taxing undertakings I’ve committed to in the name of journalism. I’ve been able to draw inspiration, however, from a number of transformations found within this issue. From comedians Rob McElhenney (p90) and cover star Joel Creasey (p60), to singers Guy Sebastian (p16) and Busta Rhymes (p38), stories of transformation and selfimprovement are not in short supply this month.

Back in 2018, when Rob McElhenney initially shed over 30kg in the name of comedy, he famously took to social media saying “it’s not that hard”.

McElhenney joked that all you need for a full-body overhaul is to “lift weights six days a week, stop drinking alcohol, don’t eat anything after 7pm, don’t eat any carbs or sugar at all, in fact just don’t eat anything you like, get the personal trainer from Magic Mike, sleep nine hours a night, run three miles a day, and have a studio pay for the whole thing over a six to seven month span”.

Three years on McElhenney sings a different tune. The idea of rapid weight loss may have provided fodder for jokes in the beginning, but what he’s discovered since is that sustainable routines and habits are the key to maintaining a healthy body and mind. The same can be said for former cover man Guy Sebastian, who completed his own MH transformation for a 2017 cover. Having remained in cover-man shape, Australia’s original ‘Idol’ credits the knowledge he acquired during his transformation period to his ability to maintain his healthy physique. Knowledge he’s now passing on to another generation of Sebastians.

For proof that a dramatic transformation can be achieved without Hollywood studio budgets and hours of free time, you need only look to Australia’s own funnyman, Joel Creasey. Yes, even a man juggling three highpressure jobs, as Creasey does, can turn his life around with the right mindset.

All you need is a solid ‘why’. For Joel, the brutal Melbourne lockdown, a 30th birthday and some lingering self-confidence issues ignited the spark for change.

While the effects of embarking on a metamorphosis such as Joel’s are outwardly evident, as is the case with all our transformation tales, the biggest evolution occurs within. Right where it starts.

SCOTT HENDERSON

Editor BEN JHOTY

Deputy Editor DANIEL WILLIAMS

Associate Editor JASON LEE

Creative Director CHRISTOPHER RILEY

Contributing Editor NIKOLINA SKORIC

Digital Editor JESSICA CAMPBELL

Digital Content Writer HANNAH CHAPMAN

Contributing Designer

IAN BROOKS

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Executive Director LEE MCLACHLAN

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President, Hearst Magazines

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Scott Henderson scott@menshealth.com.au

6

MEN’S HE ALTH

Published and Distributed by Paragon DCN Pty Ltd by Permission of Hearst Magazines, Inc., New York, New York, United States of America. Printed and retail distribution by Ovato Limited. Published 12 times a year. All rights reserved. Title and trademark Men’s Health © Hearst Magazines International. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. Men’s Health is a registered trademark and the unauthorised use of this trademark is strictly prohibited. issn 13293079. © 2021 Paragon DCN.

NEW FRE ELA NCER

RW1212 SKELETON www.raymond-weil.com 02 9363 1088

ASK MH THE BIG QUESTION

I’m 40. Are my fat-loss ambitions now over the hill? - HT Don’t let yourself be discouraged by that little groan you make when you get out of bed – there’s no reason why you can’t outmuscle fat in middle age.

But to tip the scales in your favour, you need to know what you’re up against.

When you hit your thirties, your body starts to self-sabotage: testosterone, progesterone and human growth hormone (HGH) begin their slow decline, causing a reduction in muscle mass that makes your metabolism stutter. By the time you reach 40, your T-levels are deteriorating at a rate of 1 per cent each year, making muscle gain more difficult. Meanwhile, an enzyme in fatty tissue converts lingering testosterone into oestrogen, causing

your waistline to expand, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol begin to rise. High cortisol levels stimulate muscle breakdown and cause fat to accumulate around your middle. In short: the middle-aged spread.

“Cortisol levels are inversely related to testosterone, too,” explains sports scientist Harry Aitken. “The higher your stress, the lower your T.” But there’s no need to resign yourself to a life of slippers and elasticated waistbands just yet. To get your hormones working for you again, start by revamping your diet.

Diminishing testosterone slows down your basal metabolic rate – your daily kilojoule burn – so stoke your fatburning by eating at regular times,

rather than erratically or late at night.

Prioritise protein at each meal “to maximise muscle retention”, Aitken advises; meanwhile, leafy veg is a must to root out excess oestrogen.

The youthful bro split of chest day and legs day will no longer be optimal – and neither will the treadmill.

Instead, prioritise functional full-body workouts, which activate “fast-twitch” muscle fibres, adding mass in all the right places. “Consider circuit-based exercise, which mixes heart rateescalating, full-body cardio with strength training,” suggests PT George Palmer. This provides a spike to your T-levels and boosts your metabolism.

You’ll be torching fat long after The Living Room is over.

WORDS: ANNIE HAYES; PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE

A leaner, fitter life can still begin at 40.

8

MEN’S HE ALTH

v ASK THE GIRLS IN THE OFFICE ANCIENT SOLUTION TO A MODERN PROBLEM Q I keep getting burnt by online relationships. Why not just give up and be single and free?

A Every heart sings a song incomplete until another heart whispers back.

– Plato; b. 428 BC

TEXT A PHYSIO MY KNEE HURTS. CAN I RUN THROUGH IT? - GW

Today 6:14am I’ve just about made this new running habit stick, but now my knee hurts. Should I grit my teeth and keep going?

Not so fast. It depends on the pain and whether you have any other symptoms. If it’s a dull ache, you could try a short run. If it’s a sharp, severe pain, you need to rest.

It’s an ache that started just after I bought new trainers... Could they be to blame?

Trainers alter your gait – the way you walk and run – by slightly changing the force distribution in your legs. Using a new pair without breaking them in can cause problems, as the biomechanics of your legs haven’t adapted.

Oops. I wore them fresh out of the box. What can I do to ease the pain and get going?

Ask the MH girls the questions you can’t ask anyone else. They’re three women who speak their mind, so don’t expect sugar-coated answers

The fuss around consent has me spooked. How should I go about initiating intimacy in the early stages of a relationship? -TM Becky: I don’t love the word “fuss”. I don’t think people who want more clarity around consent are fussing. But the fact you’re asking the question suggests you’re thinking about it and cautious about it – which means you’re probably halfway there already.

Lizza: Why does it spook you, TM? Are you worried about some past actions?

It’s a bit worrying.

Nikolina: I think this all comes down to open communication. I think if you’ve reached a point in your relationship where you feel sex might be close, then it’s probably something you should talk about.

Lizza: Yeah. And read the body language, right? If you’re going in for a kiss and she’s backing away, that’s a no. A definite no.

Becky: In the very early stages, don’t be afraid to over-communicate.

Don’t be afraid to stop along the way, to ask questions and to check how she’s feeling.

Nikolina: That’s right.

Assume nothing.

Becky: Some guys are going to be thinking that if they keep stopping every ten seconds to ask permission, they’re killing the mood. But once you’re really comfortable with each other, you won’t have to.

You won’t have to say, “Stop the clock! Can I do this?”

Nikolina: Checking up along the way doesn’t have to be a super-long conversation. It can be just a few really quick – and breathless – questions like, “Is this all okay?”

Lizza: And the communication doesn’t have to be verbal, right?

You’ve got to be able to read those non-verbal cues. We probably don’t want to hear, “Hey, can I take off your shoes?”

Nikolina: Oh, my gosh!

Absolutely not.

Lizza: In saying that, we women have to be obvious with our communication, verbal or otherwise. Ideally, though, we shouldn’t have to get to the point of saying, “No, no, no”.

You need to watch and listen. You need to be able to read the signs.

Becky: So, communication. Verbal at first, then gradually more subtle as the relationship develops.

Got a query? DM us via Instagram @menshealthau

The change might have tightened your quads. Standing, grab your foot and gently pull it towards your glutes, holding for 30 seconds. Repeat three times per side.

Then try a run at 50 per cent intensity.

Sweet. Lacing up now . . .

LIZZA

Go carefully. If the stretch helps, repeat it this week and work back up to full speed.

If your knee becomes hot, red or swollen, book an appointment with your GP.

NIKOL INA BECKY

Tim Allardyce, physiotherapist

JULY 2021

9

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MAKE GAINS UNDER THE WINTER SUN

Combining rays and reps is your path to peak body.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENTJACKSON; PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33; SCRATCHINPOST.CO.UK; ILLLUSTRATIONS: ANDREA MANZATI AT SYNERGY ART

With the blazing heat well behind us, it’s time to relocate your training to the great outdoors. Pump up your health with vitamin D IT SEEMS THAT trendy indoor boot camps – even with their strobe lights and thumping house music – are no match for simple workouts in the local park. Of course, we support a post-COVID return to the gyms. But if the steep asking price of a boutique class feels like an expensive hurdle to your long-term goals, simply bring your training plan into the light.

That’s because, in the colder months, your health could probably use some extra vitamin D. The sunshine vitamin isn’t just crucial for maintaining healthy skin and bones.

It’s also a natural ally in your quest for better body composition. When scientists at Kyung Hee University in South Korea studied the effects of a circuit training program with and without vitamin D supplementation, they noticed that the pills led to improvements on every metric.

Vitamin D helped the study’s participants to lose more fat while building more muscle. Most impressively, the supplemented regimen led to a 9 per cent drop in visceral fat – the kind that builds up around your vital organs and can increase your risk of life-threatening

disease. That’s surely news to brighten the mood.

The researchers observed that vitamin D significantly increases insulin sensitivity. That allows the body to use its energy stores more effectively – delivering the fuel that your muscles need to work harder – instead of letting glucose build up as sugar in the bloodstream.

So, harness the fat-melting combination of the sunshine vitamin and a HIIT circuit in the park to maximise the gains of every rep. Post-pandemic, it’s definitely time you got out more.

LIGHTEN THE LOAD Sunlight delivers a host of health and fitness benefits all through the day. Here’s how to soak them up

7AM

Draw your curtains. Light signals to your body to stop producing melatonin and spikes cortisol.

8AM

Cycle to work. This extra dose of sun will regulate your body clock and wake up your metabolism.

3PM

Step outside for a break. This afternoon fix of sun will boost your mood and improve your creativity.

10PM

Now relax. The more natural light you’ve been exposed to, the easier you’ll find it to nod off.

JULY 2021

11

THE FEED

07 2 1

GOOD FOR YOUR HEART

The more you eat, the more you . . . will live a long and healthy life?

In praise of the most underrated part of your big brekkie

12

MEN’S HE ALTH

An old-school way to stay full of beans for longer.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS Hit your protein goals and top up on your five-a-day 1

2

4

1/ BACON

3

Stick to a single grilled rasher of lean back bacon for a dose of B vitamins for only 200kJ.

2/ EGGS

Add poached eggs. They’re rich in choline, crucial for brain function, memory and fending off premature cognitive decline.

3/ MUSHROOMS

Button mushrooms promote your immune function by increasing antiviral proteins, staving off colds and flu.

4/ TOMATOES

These contain lycopene, an antioxidant that improves heart health and protects against prostate cancer.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENTJACKSON; PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE; ILLUSTRATIONS: ANDREA MANZATI AT SYNERGY ART

THE SUPERFOODS aisle at a health shop might seem like your safest bet if you’re hoping to eat your way to a longer life.

Yet you’ll find the most effective life extender at your local corner shop. According to epidemiologists working for the World Health Organisation, bean intake is the best predictor of longevity, beating fruit, veg and wholegrain cereals.

For every 20g of beans that the subjects in their study ate per day, their chances of dying from any cause fell by 8 per cent.

The study focused on four countries well known for having long-lived inhabitants: Japan, Sweden, Greece and Australia. The first three of these are committed bean-eating cultures. Legumes are present in Japanese cuisine in soya, tofu, natto and miso; they also feature heavily in the Scandi and Mediterranean diets. The baked beans you had in your big breakfast - typically navy beans – are nutrient powerhouses, too. But to maximise your chances of a longer life, make a habit of eating kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils, as well.

Seafood also works hard to keep you going: for every 20g that the study’s participants consumed per day, their mortality risk sank by 6 per cent. So, try combining butter beans with fish in a stew, or add a tin of cannellini to your spaghetti marinara. Use your beans – you can thank us when you’re an old fart.

THE FEED

07 2 1

PUMP UP YOUR BICEPS WITH PRUNES

Far from a mere – ahem – aid to your digestion, dried plums can have muscle-buiding anabolic effects. Give your fat-arm finishers a boost DESPITE THEIR UNGLAMOROUS association with kick-starting your daily motion, prunes deserve a regular role in your muscle-building plan. Pre-workout shakes are often hit or miss: either they’ll make you feel ready to run through walls, or the face tingles and palpitations they cause will make surviving the next hour your chief concern. Fortunately, researchers at Oklahoma State University have identified prunes as a healthier alternative that’ll help you unlock new

gains more fruitfully. While studying the effects of prunes on bone density, they noticed that a daily portion of the dried fruit boosted concentrations of IGF-1 in their test subjects by 17 per cent. This protein regulates the effects of growth hormone, encouraging development in your bones and muscle tissue – in other words, it’ll help you pump up your arms.

That’s why bodybuilders use it in its synthetic form to add mass, lose fat and improve their endurance.

Admittedly, prunes contain a carbohydrate called sorbitol, which is known to help things flow freely. But stick to a small portion – about six – before a session – and you’ll spare yourself the need for mid-workout comfort breaks. Much more helpful are the fruit’s high levels of iron and potassium, which support healthy blood flow, and its fibre, which steadies the release of energy. Try these snacks before your workout: you’ll be chewing through your next workout.

HIGH & DRY Looking for a performance boost on the go? Keep these dried fruits in your kit bag BEST FOR /

14

MEN’S HE ALTH

BEST FOR /

BEST FOR /

YOUR SATURDAY GAME

LONG CYCLE RIDES

POST-WORKOUT

Scientists found that raisins were as good as sports gels for sustaining performance.

Students cycled for longer after eating dried apricots than after a jam sandwich.

With a protein shake, dates can stimulate the anabolic phase of muscle repair.

WORDS: LOUEE DESSENTJACKSON; PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON; ILLUSTRATIONS: ANDREA MANZATI AT

Prunes can give your muscles an extra lift.

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SONG SUNG BLUE: INCREASINGLY, SEBASTIAN’S LYRICS ARE AN OUTSTRETCHED HAND.

16

MEN’S HE ALTH

ADVANTAGE S TAY A H E A D O F T H E GA M E

NEVER IDLE. FOREVER IDOL Guy Sebastian became a household name almost 20 years ago. Since then he’s become one of our most successful music acts, an omnipresent fixture at the top of the charts. Not one to rest on his laurels, Sebastian’s career is set to kick into overdrive in 2021 as he re-enters the studio, returns to coaching duties on The Voice and continues building the Sebastian Foundation, all while trying to reduce his golf handicap. It’s all par for the course for Australia’s brightest idol as he proves that one of the secrets to success is as simple as being a nice Guy BY

SCOTT HENDERSON

PHOTOGRAPHY

RYAN PIERSE

JULY 2021

17

CAST YOUR MIND back to 2003. Finding Nemo reigned supreme at the box office; JK Rowling was only up to Harry Potter volume 5; John Howard still had four years left in office; Apple launched iTunes; and Lance Armstrong was still in the saddle, notching up his fifth Tour de France win.

It was also the year Australia first became intrigued by a 21-year-old talent-show contestant called Guy Sebastian. It’s a scary realisation that it has been 18 years since Sebastian was crowned Australia’s pop-star elect on the first season of Australian Idol. Yet as he approaches his third decade as a recording artist, with nine albums under his belt, there is perhaps no one more surprised about Sebastian’s career trajectory than the man himself.

“It’s definitely a bit of disbelief,” Sebastian tells MH, reflecting on his accomplishments since Idol. “It’s pretty hard to process because I just never knew what was to come. I never thought I’d be sitting where I am right now.”

Because it happened at a time when streaming services didn’t exist and smartphones were an emerging technology, many of us can remember where we were when Sebastian edged out Shannon Noll for the title of OG Aussie Idol. And what has followed has been nothing short of astonishing, with Sebastian achieving levels of success few Australian acts have been able to get near. He has sold nearly four million albums, and is the only Australian artist to boast six No. 1 singles. Add to that three No.1 albums, including last year’s T.R.U.T.H. And, of course, a 2017 MH cover.

How’s he done it? Sebastian would like to think it has something to do with the humility and selflessness he’s renowned for, combined with artistic talents befitting an Idol. The combination of the two has allowed him to establish a career longevity most singers can only dream about.

Sebastian is also a committed advocate for mental health – and no johnny-come-lately. Long before he composed the self-revelatory songs of T.R.U.T.H., long before the pandemic rattled the confidence of people the world over, greater awareness of mental illness in its many guises was a passion for Sebastian and his wife, Jules, with the pair forming the Sebastian Foundation in 2013.

“Recently it has felt like everyone around me has directly or indirectly been touched by mental health issues,” Sebastian says. “We have shifted 18

MEN’S HE ALTH

what we do with The Sebastian Foundation [as a result of the pandemic] to try and help young people who are going through mental health issues.” Their work now centres on earlyintervention programs designed to equip teenagers with the tools they need to manage their most challenging issues, including bullying, depression, addiction, racism and abuse.

“We want to get in there at a young age instead of joining the many wonderful programs that are focused on helping people who are already going through it,” Sebastian says.

“We really want to get involved in the space of early intervention, recognising all the early warning signs, while also preparing kids to tackle the issues that they’re going to face today.”

These are themes that also resonate with Sebastian musically. The onset of COVID-19 coincided with the creative process behind his latest album, resulting in a body of work that is extraordinarily poignant, as Sebastian’s songwriting talents eloquently capture the emotional gamut of a frightened world.

“I was feeling very anxious about everything that was happening – as was everybody else,” he says. “However, on the way to my session I read a post by my cousin detailing his battle with depression, and it reminded me that beyond this pandemic, people were already fighting their own mental health battles.”

The result, T.R.U.T.H., is Sebastian at the top of his game as a songwriter and vocalist.

“There’s definitely a sense of freedom,” he says, reflecting on the project that sprouted from adversity. “I think throughout my life I will always look back on this album cover and remember exactly what I was feeling at the time, even decades from now.”

Perhaps in much the same way that we, his fans, will look back on the moment we crowned Sebastian our Idol all those years ago.

MH It’s been 18 years since Idol and you’re

about to re-join The Voice for a third season as a judge. What do you think when you look back on 2003 and the journey you’ve been on since you won?

GS I do honestly look back at that morning when I sort of made the decision to try out for Idol. It was pretty freezing and I was a bit crook.

Jules was with me when I tried out and she tried out as well. And I said to her on a number of occasions, “What am I doing here? This is not for me. There’s no way I’ll do well in this. Look at them! Look how well they can dance! Look how good-looking that person is! This isn’t me. I shouldn’t do this”. I was trying to talk myself out of it. And I’m so glad that Jules talked me back into it.

I get asked a lot, what’s the secret to your longevity? Or, what do you think has fuelled you?

And if I’m really going to be honest, I think it’s the way I entered the industry. It’s a way that might be kind of hard to relate to. But imagine you love something so much and you’ve quit everything because you think, I have to do this. I have to give it a crack, at least. I live once – gotta give it a go.

And then you end up being on something

where people actually pay money, like 55 cents or something each text to vote for you so that you can do what you love. It’s a pretty strange headspace. You just feel like you owe everybody for the rest of your life and that you’ve been given this amazing, beautiful gift as an act of kindness.

I think that’s been one of the biggest things that has fuelled me to really not screw it up and work my bum off to make sure that their investment paid off. That, coupled with the realisation that music is a really powerful medium that can move people and heal people.

MH Few artists who have come from a

reality-TV background have been able to

TACT I C S

mirror your success. Obviously the music plays a huge part in that, but do you think staying humble and grateful has helped secure your longevity in the industry?

GS I don’t think it’s hurt. I think the opposite hurts you. So many of us can have success and we can get in positions of authority. But I think the minute you start to actually believe the hype and believe that you’re better than somebody just because you can do something, it’s a bit rich.

Just because I can sing songs, just because I’ve got a voice, that doesn’t mean I’m better than anyone in my life or people that I meet.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve just realised that for whatever reason, whether it be upbringing or just

nature, people can, [on the basis] of qualities that are in-built, get a superiority complex and feel like they’re worth more than another human being or something.

You definitely also have to have the work ethic. I’ve worked really hard. And I won’t be arrogant about a lot of things, but I’ll definitely admit that I’ve been pretty diligent and pretty hard-working, especially for the first 10 years.

I mean, it’s been 17 years now and I’ve got a little bit more of a healthy balance now. I sort of balance my health both physically and mentally but that persistence has contributed to the longevity.

Thirdly, you need the art. You need a song. I tell

everyone it doesn’t matter whether you’re on Idol, The Voice, Triple J Unearthed, Battle of the Bands or whether you were signed in a bar … none of that matters. The only currency that you have as an artist is your art. That’s literally all that matters. That’s what gives you a legacy. We’ve seen heaps of assholes have incredible careers, people who are absolutely socially impaired, who don’t know how to speak to people. If their art is incredible, they get respect. And it’s just, I think it’s an added bonus when people are nice and it’s something that you’d like to expect. But sometimes you just want to say, “Just don’t be a dick”.

MH There’s a real thread of positivity and

“Just because I’ve got a voice, that doesn’t make me better than anyone”

JULY 2021

19

THIS IMAGE SUPPLIED BY CHANNEL 7

“People aren’t alone. Even if they feel it, they’re not alone in their battle”

20

MEN’S HE ALTH

TACT I C S

compassion throughout your work, from your recent album to your work as a mentor on The Voice, with a particular emphasis on mental health. Was that always the intention, or did it come about as the past year unfolded?

GS I think it was shaped by a few different things, because most of the album was written before COVID. And so some of it was shaped through loss, going through that at the time, but also we’ve experienced loss in our family and friends. We’ve had suicides and Jules’ brother unfortunately lost his battle with mental health about five days after we got married. And we were on our honeymoon and had to rush back.

And I know for Jules, it’s been something that she’s really struggled talking about up until recently, when she’s been a little bit more open with it and ready to kind of concentrate on that with regards to our foundation and youth mental health. But yeah, I think that subject matter kind of grew on top of Choir [the lead single from T.R.U.T.H.].

I had [a] real close family [member] going through depression and that inspired Standing With You. And it was him and the pandemic and isolation that kind of really inspired me to write something that would help people through that time. The most important message was just that people aren’t alone. Even if they feel it, they’re not alone in their battle. There’s people standing with them, and just a reminder for us all to look out for each other.

With The Voice, I think the culture feels really different so far. [Previously], it’s sort of ended up relying, a little bit too heavily, I think, on the drama, while the talent took a backseat.

And that’s sort of my worst nightmare. In that position, I always want to focus on the talent and the people.

I’ve been in that position, and I remember how awkward it was when the judges or coaches were sort of having a big tiff in front of you and you’re just standing on stage. And I was guilty of that [as a judge] and it wasn’t anyone else’s fault, really, but my own. And I sort of had to just really think about whether I wanted to put myself in that position again. But Channel 7, they were adamant they wanted to get it back to grassroots discovery. You know, people that you just would never imagine have this talent, and they just don’t know how to get it out there.

There’s so much of the alternative – and I’m absolutely guilty of being a huge fan of the drama. I’m not screwing up my nose at that sort of thing. Jules and I sit down and watch certain shows and I think we all end up walking away from each episode actually feeling great about ourselves and that we’re kind of normal. But I do feel like The Voice has a certain magic to it when it is feel-good and when kids tune in and they see, you know, that we’re so anti-bullying and so anti saying nasty things.

MH The anti-bullying message has become

a theme in your pursuits, especially in your work with the Sebastian Foundation.

GS You know, this world has changed so much in the last 10 or 15 years, with social media and

bullying and everything else, that it’s tearing kids down. They aren’t equipped to deal with public humiliation, like having something filmed and shared across Snapchat and their whole peer group knows about something within seconds.

And suddenly they feel like their whole world is caving in – we didn’t face that level of scrutiny.

It’s about restoring a foundation our kids can build on and gain strength. It’s an online learning program with kids, who can actually talk about their own mental health issues, ranging from depression and anxiety to even things like consent. And so they’re hearing me talk about it, and then in the classroom, any teacher can facilitate a question time afterwards. It’s in an open parachute, in an open setting.

[The Sebastian Foundation] has also partnered with the Real Insurance Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k, with $20 from each entry going to fund these programs. I think I’ll do the 5km. I’ve actually never run 10 kilometres.

MH You famously transformed your body in 2017 and landed on the cover of Men’s Health. Have you kept up the workouts and the strict eating regime?

GS Definitely not to that level, but I’m in good shape, I reckon. My whole thing is just to be within a month of being able to be in a shape that I’m really happy with. I’ve had to get used to the fact that life comes in waves and that in a lot of those waves I’m time-poor. I don’t live a normal life in the sense that I don’t know what’s [happening] next week, for example. And so I can’t say to myself, All right, I’m going to do five sessions next week. I’ve just learned that I’ve got to have a bit of balance. That time was awesome because I was at home, I was recording and I had this real stability, so I was able to work out six, seven times a week and I was so disciplined, like ridiculously disciplined.

It was so valuable to me because it taught me how my body reacts to food, how my body reacts to training, and it literally healed my body of all of these injuries. I played a lot of cricket and a lot of AFL and I’ve got a bit of a hip condition called FAI [Femoroacetabular impingement] and it got really bad. And I was told by like three different osteos and physios that I needed surgery. And then I did the Men’s Health thing and it literally cured me. Now, when I stop doing certain workouts, all of those conditions start niggling away at me again. And then I start, I get strong and get my core strong and all of that stuff goes away.

It’s been a really useful thing for me just to keep me in a zone that I’m comfortable in. I hit this one point [during lockdown] where I was like, Dude, you’re drinking way too much, you are not healthy and you’re making seriously bad choices. It continued through Christmas and I was so unhealthy. I went to Adelaide and we had a massive reunion with all the Sebastians and it was just constant eating and I was fine with it. It was like a time to just let loose and be with all my brothers and cousins and nieces and nephews and stuff.

But it got to January 5th, then I came home and I had ballooned out to almost 80 kilos. That

for me is really not great. If I’m about 72, I’m in very, very good shape, I’ve got very little body fat.

And I went from 80 kilos down to 73 in about six weeks. And I’m telling you, I wasn’t doing HIIT training, I wasn’t doing any of that. I was playing golf and going on the occasional run. I know golf doesn’t sound like a big fitness thing, but I love it.

I’ll end up [walking] between 12 and 13 kays, and sometimes more because my ball doesn’t go straight. But I’ll never ever get a cart. I’ll always push my [buggy] and run up to my ball.

I also ordered ready-to-eat meals and kept all the meals under 20 grams of carbs. It was so good for me being in the studio, being able to have a prepared meal that was ready in a minute and 40 seconds. I could just come down, make myself a coffee, chuck this thing in the microwave. I was eating way more variety and eating low-carb. And I ended up getting into ketosis without even trying. It was really good because The Voice was on and I wanted to look like a decent version of myself.

MH You’re turning 40 later in the year. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned during your thirties?

GS I keep rubbing it in now because I’m still 39 and Jules is two years and 19 days older than me. So for 19 days, she seems quite a lot older than me, especially when she was 40 and I was 37 for those 19 days. It’s a whole other decade!

But I haven’t actually sat down to think about that until you said it just now. I don’t think I’ll feel different. Maybe it would be different if I was in an unhappy place, but I’m in the best place I’ve ever been in my life. I’m in the sweet spot. My kids are so much fun, they’re eight and six. Even last night after work, I took them to the cricket nets and we just threw balls at each other for hours. And I ran around with the dog. And then I came home and recorded. That’s my life at the moment. It’s just so fun, mixed with really fun family moments. And my career: I’ve never been more inspired and I’ve never loved music as much as I do now. So I don’t think I’ll feel different.

I am loving life.

You can support the Sebastian Foundation by registering now for the Real Insurance Sydney Harbour 10k and 5k, happening Sunday July 25, at sydneyharbour10k.com.au JULY 2021

21

22

QUICKER WEIGHT LOSS

WORDS: MATT EVANS; PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES

EXPLOSIVE POWER

SUPER STRONG LEGS

YOU’RE NOT DOING

EXERCISE

BEST

THE

so much from your body,” says elite PT Scott Laidler. Demanding more of the larger muscles in your legs fires up more muscle fibres for a greater metabolism boost.

“And by propelling yourself forward with such power, you will improve your core strength.”

When you’re ready for a massive challenge, burpee four lengths of your training space, rest, then repeat at max effort for 10 minutes. Your fat-burning will hit new heights in no time.

4 HANG TIME

As you fly, contract your glutes and stick the landing. Make a smooth transition to your next rep and pack in as many as you can in 10 minutes.

As your chest lifts, leapfrog your legs forward.

Stand to a half-squat and swing your arms back for momentum. Now, leap as far as you can, releasing your arms forward.

3 COILED SPRING

THIS WAY UP

What You’ll Gain

Stand with your feet at shoulder width. Squat down, plant your hands and fire your legs behind you to create the top of a high plank.

1 STANDING START

2 DECK IT

With your legs fully extended, lower your chest to the floor. Lift your hands briefly off the ground, then put them back down and push upwards powerfully.

Improve by leaps and bounds with the TRAVELLING BURPEE. Blast kilojoules and your core with every rep

YOUR GAINS

JUMP START

THE EQUATION FOR a successful fat-loss workout is simple: sky-high intensity plus maximum muscle fibres equals lots of melted kilojoules. And you can accomplish this with a single exercise. But simple doesn’t mean easy. It takes a twisted mind to look at a burpee and think, “Let’s make it harder,” but the results you’ll earn with the travelling burpee are worth the extra effort.

Instead of doing a small, vertical jump during your burpee, launch into a big, horizontal broad jump. “It’s a potent fat burner because you’re asking

MUS C LE

SHOP NOW AT PUMA.COM @PUMAAU

BUST OUT THE CHOPS! A mighty bone-in pork chop has all the substance of a rib eye – and more than 30 grams of muscle-building protein — but is waaaay more versatile. Try one with cherries (yes, cherries!) and two plant-based sides to deliver 10 grams of gut-filling fibre BY

24

GREGORY GOURDET AND PAUL KITA

MEN’S HE ALTH

NU TR I T I ON

10g

30g

THE PROTEIN

THE FIBRE

Choose either of these sides to go with the pork chops and you’ll hit that stomach-filling 10 gram fibre threshold

One 220-gram pork chop has a hefty 44 grams of protein for 1510 kilojoules and 19 grams of fat. Like a beef rib eye steak, good pork chops cook up juicy and tender, and they’re deeply flavourful BUY IT There are a few different kinds of pork chops at the meat counter. The “rib chop”, like the one in the photo, has a large bone and no tenderloin meat, and the bone-in “centre-cut chop” has tenderloin and loin. Both are great for grilling or searing. A “blade” cut, by comparison, comes from the tougher shoulder of the animal and is best used for recipes that involve slow cooking (so not this one).

Pork Chops with Cherries and Oregano WHAT YOU’LL NEED • 4 bone-in pork-loin chops (about 4cm thick and 280g each) • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil • 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced • 7cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped • 680g fresh or frozen cherries, stemmed, halved and pitted (about 4½ cups) • 1 large dried chipotle chilli, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, drained, stemmed and finely chopped • ¼ cup honey • 2 Tbsp lime juice • ¼ cup ground coriander • ¼ cup ground cumin • Small handful mixed small coriander sprigs and thinly-sliced and trimmed spring onions • 2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves

METHOD 1 Heat half of the olive oil in a large pan over medium low. Add the garlic, ginger and 1 tsp salt. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cherries and chipotle, raise the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced to a glaze, 8-10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the honey and lime juice, and then return to the heat for 30 seconds to meld the flavours. Cover on warm.

2

Preheat the oven to 180°C. On a large plate, mix the coriander, cumin, 2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper and 1 Tbsp salt. Dredge the pork chops in the spices, turning to coat them all over. Transfer to a plate.

3

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large pan over medium. Cook 2 of the chops, flipping once and using tongs to stand them on their fatty edge for a minute till well seared, about 6 minutes total. Transfer the chops to a sheet pan lined with a wire rack, wipe the skillet clean and repeat with the remaining oil and chops.

4

Roast the chops until a thermometer inserted into the centre of each chop registers 55°C-57°C, about 12 minutes. Let the chops rest for at least 10 minutes.

Divide them among 4 plates, spoon on the cherries, and sprinkle on the coriander, spring onions and oregano. Feeds 4

Pan Roasted Sweet Plantains with Onion and Thyme In a large pan over medium, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add 3 very ripe large plantains (peeled and sliced into 2-cm-thick pieces), flat sides down.

Cook until deep golden brown, 4-5 minutes per side. Flip the pieces onto their edges and cook, rolling them, until browned all over and soft, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the pan, plus 1 medium yellow onion (cut into small half moons). Cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium low, add 3 garlic cloves (sliced), and cook till golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in ½ tsp kosher salt, the plantains and 1 Tbsp thyme leaves. Cook until the flavours meld, about 2 minutes. Feeds 4 Nutrition per serving: 1280kJ, 2g protein, 46g carbs (4g fibre), 15g fat

Nutrition per serving: 3210kJ, 62g protein, 52g carbs (8g fibre), 35g fat

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHELSEA KYLE

C

tC d Green Leaves

In a large pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil. Stir in 3 garlic cloves (thinly sliced), 2cm of ginger (peeled and minced), and 1 tsp kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns golden, 1-2 minutes. Pour in 1 (400ml) can of unsweetened coconut milk and 2 Tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer until the liquid has reduced to the texture of melted ice cream, about 12 minutes.

Stir in 10 cups lightly packed kale and baby spinach (stemmed and torn), increase the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring frequently, until just wilted. Serve hot. Feeds 4 Nutrition per serving: 1010kJ, 4g protein, 11g carbs (4g fibre), 21g fat

JULY 2021

25

HE ALTH

A NEUROSCIENTIST’S

Even before COVID-19 exacerbated brain fog – that feeling of not being able to think or focus as well as usual – most of us weren’t tapping into our brain’s full potential, says Dr P. Murali Doraiswamy. His lab is studying nextlevel ways to squeeze more from the brain, but until all that can be applied to everyday life, here’s what he does to keep his brain focused and fired up

DIAL IT IN Smartphones and smartwatches are going to be the mental trainers of the future. Smartphones carry more than 100 signatures of our behaviour, and these will be used to personalise mental fitness in a way we could never have imagined 20 years ago. My lab is researching apps that could detect clinical depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Soon, doctors may prescribe phones or digital interventions that help nudge our behaviours in healthy directions.

POUR THIS The anxiety and isolation of the pandemic are making people drink more. Two or three glasses of wine a week are probably healthy for the brain, but binge drinking for months or years can cause brain shrinkage and short-term-memory problems. Chronic heavy drinking depletes thiamine (vitamin B1) and can lead to permanent neurological damage. To drink without the harmful effects, I make spritzers in a 1-to-4 wine-to-sparkling-water ratio – just enough wine that I don’t get teased by my friends.

GO OFFLINE I am a big proponent of holidays, because they instantly rejuvenate your mind and your brain. Within 24 hours, my patients have seen improvement in their stress, mood, sleep, immune function and memory. Idle time and daydreaming also activate the brain’s default network, which is thought to enhance creativity and make that “aha” moment more likely.

26

MEN’S HE ALTH

EAT STRATEGICALLY I try to fast for 16 hours a couple of days a week and avoid carbs one day a week. These strategies force the body to burn fats – what we call metabolic switching – which may promote brain longevity. The data isn’t yet conclusive, but I feel sharper and more energetic when I do this.

In addition to an hour of exercise a day, I set an alarm to leave my desk for five-to-10 minutes every 60-90 minutes; this helps me avoid screen fatigue and protect my concentration. If you’re not concentrating, you’re not putting information into the brain’s memory centre, so it’s not there when you go to find it. Ideally, you want to go out in nature to recalibrate your mind. But just getting up for coffee, stretching or closing your eyes and listening to rain or ocean sounds can be almost as helpful.

AS TOLD TO ROZALYNN S. FRAZIER

TAKE TIME OUT TO FOCUS

+Contains on average 10g protein per serve and less than 4g sugar per serve, excluding milk.

CHIVALRY AIN’T DEAD At least, not totally. Here’s how to reconcile old-fashioned manners with modern-day expectations

BY SABLE YONG

Fair Maiden

What is up, milady?

WHENEVER I FEEL a kiss coming at the end of a good first date, I give the guy The Look – you know, the one that says “embrasse-moi” in the sultry French accent I don’t have. But despite my attempts to say yes with my eyes, I often see him hesitate before making a move, as if he’s doing a calculus equation in his head.

This solved w “Can I k really c clunky confirm which of me either some or els bein to ki ress you resses me out.

Sweeping a woman off her fee ge co Tik al is a A a w permission and the remaining 10 percent was dropping a couple of “fair maidens” here and some “miladys” there – you know, back when you got a lot of mileage out of milady.

GE T W IT H IT

nm, u?

But chivalry met its demise as humankind evolved over the centuries. We got more woke.

And the things our society craved – equality, egalitarianism, freedom of expression – couldn’t seem to coexist with such a traditional concept. Still, I have to admit that every time I go on a date, I subconsciously tick off boxes for “gentlemanly” behaviour: opening doors, picking up the tab, checking that I got home safely. There’s a “playing house” taboo in the ceremony of chivalry – in letting a man really lay it on thick when it comes to old-fashioned courtship. It makes me think chivalry can still be sexy, even though it’s got one foot in the past. You just have to do it right.

Starting with how you initiate

R E L ATI O N S HIP S

the date. The difference between “Would you want to go out sometime?” and “I’d really like to take you out sometime. Would you be into that?” is massive. There’s nothing technically wrong with the former, but it’s slightly passive and could easily garner an equally passive response – much less enticing than the idea of going out with a man who’s already signalled that he is into me and that I’m in for a wooing. Of course, the idea of putting yourself out there to potentially get rejected is scary, but trust me when I tell you there’s nothing hotter than a man who makes it clear he wants you, and then goes out and gets you (respectfully and with your permission). You gotta throw down to get down, so to speak.

Now, if you’ve asked someone to spend time with you, it’s the classy move to treat them to it.

When the bill arrives, it does so with an opportunity to show your date one of two broad strokes: that you’re a gracious gent who’s happy to invest in her having a nice evening . . . or that you’re really good at doing simple maths in your head.

There is nothing wrong with being good at maths – it’s a useful skill – but in the case of courtship, generosity goes much further than number crunching. I’ve never taken issue with going Dutch, but I’ll admit that if a date opted to split the bill, especially if he had originally asked me out, I might not exactly take him as seriously as guys who gladly pick up the tab.

At the end of the night, offer to

give your date a ride home or walk her to the train station or bus stop. If she’s not comfortable with you doing that, you can text her to make sure she got where she’s going safely. Navigating public spaces as a woman can be dicey in ways that men never have to think about, and it’s nice to know that you have thought of that. I’ve had a handful of first dates where I’ve appreciated the guy asking if I’d prefer him to walk me home or not – and he always followed up with a text to ask if I made it there safely even if he did walk me home, which was sweet.

FIRS T A MONG EQUA L S Now, hold up a second: if men and women are to be treated equally, why should men put in most of the effort and capital to pursue women, you ask?

I’m not suggesting you do these gentlemanly things because women deserve different treatment.

Do them because it’s a cruel and lonely world out there, and basic gestures of kindness are the easiest ways to foster human connection.

Do them for the same reason you’d go out of your way to do anything nice for anyone. (The same applies no matter your partner’s gender.)

Chivalry is, after all, a code of conduct. It’s not about what you think someone deserves but rather how you choose to conduct yourself. If you find the idea of broaching a first kiss uncomfortable, imagine how it feels being kissed by somebody who doesn’t mind helping themselves to your lips

I TELL YOU THERE IS NOTHING HOTTER THAN A MAN WHO MAKES IT CLEAR HE WANTS YOU without express permission. And by all means, open the door, but I’m not about to tolerate a man making any kind of decision that affects my quality of life, like how I should dress, how much makeup I should wear, or what I should be doing for a living.

Cherry-picking which parts of chivalry are acceptable (paying for dinner) and not acceptable (assuming sole ownership of our joint finances) isn’t really all that complicated. I just want to be politely courted and treated as a precious person while retaining full social, physical and sexual autonomy over my own body and mind, you know?

T HE NE W P L AY B OOK In chivalry’s golden age (18 whole centuries ago), courtship involved actual courts, its rules were clearly defined, and everyone got married around the same age, which feels

irresponsibly young today if not illegal. Luckily, we have plenty of time to practise now that we’re all getting married later in life, which leaves many years to date casually, seriously and all the kinds of dating in between.

Taking the time to figure out who the hell we are as individuals and what we truly need in a partner (swipe smarter, not faster), and then figuring out how to be our best selves for that person, is the real chivalry 2.0 glow-up. In finding ourselves as individuals, we’re gaining a clearer sense of what we want as opposed to what society has always told us to want, which includes how much of the past’s values we deem worthy to accompany us into the future. You cannot buy love the same way you cannot buy time, but at a pinch, chivalry can definitely boost your prospects.

THE HEAT INDEX

ACTUALLY GOOD ROM-COMS T HIS W IL L GU T YOU

HIL A RIOUS

A LWAYS B E M Y M AY B E Comedians Randall Park and Ali Wong will make you do that weird thing where you laugh so hard you start weeping.

T H E L OV E BIR DS

EASY A

2 DAYS IN PA R IS

T H E A PA R T M E N T

Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae go on the run after witnessing a murder. Strange, yes, but awesomely so.

Come for Emma Stone spinning lies about her sex life; stay for Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her hilarious parents.

A dialogue-heavy rabbit-hole descent into ghosts of relationships past. Fun, though!

It’s a wild and brutally honest romantic satire from 1960 that’s free of schlock.

JULY 2021

29

MADISON DE ROZARIO Already wheelchair-racing royalty at 27, de Rozario is primed to show the world the extent of her powers in Tokyo. Here, she spills on what drives her and the secret to moving forward, no matter what BY

DANIEL WILLIAMS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

STEVE BACCON

IN THE FLESH SHE RADIATES a quiet joy, her default expression an ebullient smile. There is no hint of wariness or cynicism – or killer instinct for that matter.

Madison de Rozario does things her way. And the sport of wheelchair racing is the more compelling for her ethereal presence.

Born and raised in Perth, she politely deflects a clarificatory question about the inflammatory condition that damaged her spinal cord in her preschool years.

No need to go over all that again, she says gently.

Better to focus on the now: on her preparations for the Summer Paralympics, beginning August 24; on what motivates her and what doesn’t.

De Rozario, who’s an ambassador for Under Armour, has a full program in Tokyo. She’ll line up in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and the marathon. Due to the pandemic she’ll be less race-hardened than most of her northernhemisphere rivals, she says, but she still believes she can achieve podium-finishes in all four events.

“Doing that in the span of a week is an enormous ask,” she says. “And even though I’ve done everything I can, it’s so hard to know where the rest of the world is.

I haven’t seen anybody in 18 months.”

30

MEN’S HE ALTH

Men’s Health: Can you trace your drive to win? de Rozario: This is an interesting one for me. Because while I’ve always loved sport and racing and how they make me feel, I’m not necessarily competitive. I struggle to switch it on and be that person most people think of when they imagine an athlete. I made it through two Paralympics not knowing what drives me. In 2012, I came close to stepping away from the sport because I didn’t think I had what it took. It required a lot of conversations with my coach and a lot of self-reflection to realise that beating people is not what drives me. My approach is intrinsic. I know that if I bring everything that I have to the track or to the road on a given day, I have the potential to be the best in the world. And if you don’t win then it’s not a poor reflection on you. It’s just a credit to whoever did win. Someone was better.

That’s how sport works.

MH Of all your races, which says the most about you?

MD At the Games in Rio in 2016, I raced the 5000m for only the second time on a world stage and

W O ME N

I N

S PO RT

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MADISON DE ROZARIO came fourth. Part of me was heartbroken. But I quite quickly came to accept that, tactically, I had run the smartest race I could have, and it was just that, physically, I didn’t have what it took on the day. And I remember learning so much about how to put the pieces together for next time. Twelve months later we had the World Championships in London, 5000m again, same field, and I won it. My mum had come from Paris on the train with all her bags to watch the race, but I wasn’t sure she’d made it. The first time I saw her face was at the track when I’d won.

Then I saw my coach and she was crying.

MH Your coach is Louise Sauvage, the nine-time Paralympic gold-medallist, who’s worked with you since you were 14. What impact has she had on your approach to racing?

MD As athletes, Louise and I couldn’t be more different. She is so competitive and so fiery. She won because she wanted it more than anyone else, whereas I’ve never been able to get into that mindset. But Lou has this amazing ability to be what a person needs her to be, without giving way on her own values.

MH Did you frustrate her at first?

MD I still do. Every now and then

she’ll be like, ‘We’ve got to beat these people!’ And if I say I’m in awe of another athlete, she’ll say, ‘Yeah, yeah – we’ll beat ’em’. And I’m like, ‘Can’t I just be in awe for a second?’

love the opportunity it gives me every day to push myself in such a black-and-white way for a tangible result. There’s this concept in sport of burying yourself, which is as miserable as it sounds. It’s the idea that you can push your body further than you think it’s capable of going.

That you can hit the wall and keep going. It’s not something I can do in every session or even every race, but the idea is always there.

MH What would you say to guys

who feel life has dealt them a bad hand and they’re descending into self-pity?

MD I’d say maybe you have been dealt a tough hand – but it doesn’t matter. Every moment is a new starting point. All that matters is what you do from here.

MH What quality do you value

MH Is training something you

love or just something you have to do?

MD I love it. You can fall into a rhythm when you’re training and you feel strong, powerful and in control. I also

highest in a partner?

MD A strong sense of self. A selfassuredness in your abilities and where you fit in the world. It’s not an absence of self-doubt. It’s knowing who you are and running with that even when you’re under pressure.

“Tough hand? It doesn’t matter. All that matters is what you do from here“ JULY 2021

31

MUS C LE

FORCES TO BE RECKONED WITH ost exercises can be grouped as eithe ets the spotlight (chest day, anyone?)

PUSH

PULL

VS

501 KG

the cipal Will

The most pul 24 hours. A Brandon T previous r

Barotti in June 2020.

A US study measured muscle-fibre activation in the triceps in popular exercises. Diamond push-ups scored full marks. It’s your big-arms move.

Targeting your pecs, deltoids, abs, triceps and more, the humble push-up burns through 1.2 more calories per minute than sit-ups. They’re perfect for circuits.

G ARMS

100%

97% CALORIE BURN

8.56

9.95

per min

per min

The concentration cu too, for biceps growth. But as they’re smaller muscles, focusing on them will take you longer to fill out your T-shirt.

Pull-ups work several major back muscles (including the latissimus dorsi, in your upper back), burning more energy than either push-ups or lunges.

BIG MOVERS

Triceps

Quads

Shoulders

HEART HEALTH

If you can perform 40 push-ups, you’re 96 per cent less likely to have a heart attack in the next decade, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

US research found a session at the squat rack (at 80 per cent of your 1RM) can raise your levels of growth hormone by more than1200 per cent.

Biceps

Hamstrings

30%

A set of deadlifts can elevate your testosterone by 30 per cent, reports the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research – a fifth more than squats.

THE MH VERDICT: PULL WINS! When push comes to shove, pull movements triumph in this tug of war. Though pushing targets your ego-boosting mirror muscles, the reverse activates the larger muscles of your posterior chain for faster, more impressive gains. Start pulling your weight.

32

MEN’S HE ALTH

Glutes

The larger your biceps, the likelier it is that you’ll survive any heart disease, says American Journal of Cardiology research. Curls will maximise the benefit.

LEGS DAY

1200%

Back

WORDS: THOMAS LING I ILLUSTRATION: BEN MOUNSEYWOOD

Chest

e n' tuna c i R

a

eat, sleep, lift, repeat. s e t u n i m

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With a range of delicious gluten-free, vegan friendly flavours, they’re the perfect post-workout fuel up.

Available now at Woolworths.

elevate your plate @tildariceau

HE ALTH

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN

…I LAUGH OUT LOUD? After a year and a bit of COVID, what else can you do?

Thankfully, the health benefits of ROFL are no joke

HEALTH BENEFITS THAT ARE WORTH SMILING ABOUT.

GET CR ACK ING

As well as releasing so-called happy hormones to help with winter SAD, laughing “oxygenates the brain, which boosts cognitive ability and increases short-term memory”, says Gemma Hampson, health practitioner at GearHungry.

“So, if you’re cramming for an interview, take a break and watch something funny for 20 minutes.”

Warning: Step Brothers is not an interview how-to.

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GET IN THE ZONE

Prolonged laughter can even shift your brain into the gamma state, reports a 2014 study. The highest of the five known brain frequencies, gamma waves are associated with what artists and athletes call the zone. “This frequency represents the highest level of cognitive processing,” says study author Lee S. Berk. Make Dave Chappelle your warm-up act before a big presentation.

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LIF TING SPIRITS

“Laughing till it hurts” is a real thing. The dull pain is caused by the emptying of your lungs and tired abs.

A good belly laugh packs pre-workout power, too: in an Oxford University study, those who watched a funny video for 15 minutes raised their pain thresholds by 10 per cent. Good ’ol slapstick comedy yielded the best results, followed by sitcoms and stand-up.

So, Monty Python beats Dave Hughes.

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ABS FA B

For giggles from beyond the comedy circuit, try “laughter yoga”. “Put a group of people together and get them to imitate the sound of laughter. Pretty soon, it will spontaneously turn into the real thing,” explains Lesley Lyle from the Hypnotherapy Directory.

It even counts as a workout: a 2014 study in Germany found that belly laughs can have a greater impact on your core than sit-ups. Bring it on.

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FUNN Y HOW?

Despite decades of research, gelotology, the study of laughter, is no closer to explaining how humour works. But we do know that regular chuckles can protect your memory.

They reduce the production of stress hormone cortisol, high levels of which can “cause damage to your hippocampus”, the area of the brain that deals with recall, says Gurinder Bains of Loma Linda University.

Don’t forget that punchline.

WORDS: TOM WARD; I ILLUSTRATIONS: PETER GRUNDY

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@KAIJUBEER

And what we lose every time we let the truth get away from us BY

JOSHUA DAVID STEIN

I NEVER MEANT to be a liar. But once you run out on truth, you tend to keep running.

Truth, I learned, is a line, the lie is a sinker, and you are the fisherman. Your thumb on the reel lets the line go. Once the sinker drops, it’s hard to reel in, and so the water gets darker and the sinker goes down.

A decade ago, when I said, “I do”, I wasn’t looking for conflict avoidance, but I didn’t know what lay under the surface.

When questions came up – Did we want a bucolic life or to stay in the city? Were our finances better kept apart or together?

– I turned away or stayed silent. I started to lie so as not to cause problems. I said what I thought she wanted while quietly continuing to do just as I pleased. I started to lie more and more. First the lie, and then the lie that I was not a liar. Then lies rippled out as from a fly on the water.

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I racked up black holes of credit-card debt on the sly. I nodded along with her reverie for a place in the country, knowing I’d never move out of the city. With every conversation unhad, every charge unaccounted for, the bonds of our union frayed. “Lies make intimacy impossible,” says Dr Charles Ford, a professor who wrote perhaps the most important work in the liar’s canon, Lies! Lies! Lies! (It’s about lies.)

Once you start ghosting truth, the compensatory lies can’t help but ripple outward. That’s what Neil Garrett, a cognitive neuroscientist at Oxford, calls the slippery slope. In a study, he found that the amygdala, which is active when one initially lies, responds less and less with every passing prevarication. “What begins with small acts of dishonesty can

escalate,” says Garrett, leading him to think that “the brain generates less of an emotional response each time we lie, and that enables more dishonesty”.

When the reckoning came, all the line had been let out, and it snapped. There was nothing to do but think and be still, sad and sorry. I have a different relationship with honesty these days.

I keep the line taut and hew to the truth.

And yet the memory – and consequence — of dishonesty lingers, in custody calendars and self-flagellation. There’s a part of me still lost. Do all liars fare as I did? These three men, each in his own way, have wrestled with truth, found themselves adrift, and had to find home. The answer, they discovered and I continue to discover, is that to be honest is hard.

WHEN YOUR LIES START STACKING UP, YOUR BRAIN POWERS DOWN.

MI ND

I DIDN’T WANT TO BE BOTH RUINED AND A RAT The year after Floyd Landis was declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, he was stripped of his title, having tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

He contested the results but in 2010 0 finally admitted to doping, implicating his teammate Lance Armstrong

I HAD TO LIE FOR A LIVING

For two years starting in 2001, special agent Jay “Jaybird” Dobyns infiltrated the Hells Angels in Arizona. His work resulted in numerous convictions for members of the gang

I lied to make a living, and I became very good at it. My lie was that I was Jaybird Davis, a gun-running, debt-collecting hit man. My truth was that I was Jay Dobyns, a federal agent.

I was lying to some of the most dangerous cats on the planet. With every lie I told them that they believed, I gained a little more trust and loyalty.

In some cases, I gained love. I had no doubt these violent, intimidating people would have stood in between me and a bullet. But if the people I was deceiving learned that they were being lied to, they were going to put a baseball bat at the back of my head or a razor on my throat.

The downside was that I put a huge amount of battle damage on my family. I became addicted to lying. I lied to everyone about everything. I became so consumed with being a liar that it turned into who I was instead of what I did. Every time I told a lie and it was successful, it empowered me to lie more. I was not a good father. I was not a good husband. I don’t take any pride in that.

It’s humiliating and embarrassing for me to speak about. My justification was that I was doing what I needed to do in order to stay alive.

Seven years ago, I retired. It took me a while to transition out of that lifestyle. I didn’t stop lying cold turkey.

But I began to write my stories down. I found it was easier to be honest, since the page doesn’t judge me. When I knew that these stories would become a book, a book with my real name attached, I realised it couldn’t be counterfeit. And so the process of finding Jay and letting go of Bird really began. I have made a million mistakes, but between God and my wife and my kids, I have been given a million and one second chances.

I think of myself as always having been an honest person. When I started using PEDs in cycling, no one was paying attention. I was just some guy who helped other people win. But in 2006, I won the Tour de France and everything changed. That’s the thing: when you start lying, you don’t think about the thousands of ways events will develop, pulling you deeper and deeper into the lie. What’s more – and this isn’t a justification – is that I was surrounded by people all doing the same thing, telling the same story that they didn’t use PEDs, when we all knew they did.

When the test results were positive, I knew I was fucked. I couldn’t say yes, I did use PEDs, and it would be fine. So instead I chose to keep the code of silence. I was ruined, but I didn’t want to be both ruined and a rat. I kept lying, and that weighed on me for years, every time I lied to friends, fans and my family. Finally, in 2010, when it became clear I would never cycle professionally again, I came clean.

As soon as I started telling the truth about doping, it was a tremendous relief.

Of course, the feeling of relief was tempered by the foreknowledge – accurate, as it turned out – that Lance and the rest of the cyclists who wanted the story to die would go after me. I realised that the community for which I had fallen on my sword didn’t have my back at all.

I know that to most people my name will forever be associated with cheating. All of my achievements will have an asterisk; all those years grinding it out against incredible pain, alone on the road, are wiped out. There was a time when I felt a sense of unfairness about all that. If you are consumed by the idea of unfairness, it’s everywhere you look. You drive a car, get a flat tyre, have an accident and break your spine. Well, the rest of the car worked fine . . . except the tyre.

These days, my relationship with honesty has evolved. I am diligent about both being precise and telling the truth.

I COULDN’T LIE, AND IT COST ME

In 2017, Maxim Lapunov was arrested and tortured for being gay. Unlike many of the other men and women in Chechnya’s Anti-Gay Purge, Lapunov went public with his story, suing the Russian government in a case now before the European Court of Human Rights. His is one of the stories chronicled in the documentary Welcome to Chechnya. Today, he and his boyfriend live in hiding The question of honesty is complicated for me. I am a very religious person and have always believed in honesty and justice. But I have, and my family has, suffered greatly for this honesty. I came out with my boyfriend to my family seven years ago in Russia. Our mothers took it okay. Our siblings less so. What brought us together was physical labour. We have dacha gardens where we’d work together side by side. Gradually, they grew to accept us.

I was picked up by Chechen police four years ago in the middle of the Anti-Gay Purge. Hundreds of queer folk were arrested and tortured — I was for 12 days — and some killed. I signed a blank

confession and promised to remain silent.

But I couldn’t. I worked with Russian lawyers to prove that I was an honest man and that what I said happened to me had happened. But the Russian law was dishonest with me. My name appeared on a hit list with a reward for my death.

Ideally I want those responsible, who are still in power, to be called to account for their crimes. But even if they’re not, it was worth it to be honest. Since the film came out, I’ve heard from many queer friends in Russia who have said how proud they are of me. This is important, for it means they are no longer scared of being who they truly are.

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115kg 182cm WEIGHT

HOW I BUILT MY BODY

BUST A GUT IN YOUR FORTIES Busta Rhymes, 49, has lost 45kg since 2019 and is now stronger than ever.

Follow his lead to get your fitness all in check “IF THIS GOES smooth, I can get to the gym and get another workout in,” says Busta Rhymes, rubbing his hands together, each finger adorned with a large ring. The hip-hop legend is as energetic at 49 as he was starting out in the early 1990s.

When Men’s Health speaks to Rhymes – born Trevor Smith Jr – he is basking in the acclaim for his 10th album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. It took him 11 years to complete. Rhymes began making it in 2009; at the time, he was in good shape. But two tragedies struck. In 2012, his friend and manager Chris Lighty died.

Two years later, Rhymes’s father passed. “Those were the two most important male figures in my entire life,” he says.

Shaken by the deaths, Rhymes allowed his diet to slip, and his workout routine came to a halt.

Then, during a hospital appointment, the doctor found polyps restricting 90 per cent of his breathing. “The doctor told me that if I caught a cold or slept wrong, I could die. I had to steer things in a different direction,” he says. “I was too young to be on all of these blood-pressure and acid-reflux medications.”

That day, professional bodybuilder Dexter Jackson tagged him in a video. Rhymes took it as a sign. “I hit him in the DMs, told him I

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RHYMES WASTED NO TIME WHEN HE REALISED HE NEEDED TO GET IN SHAPE.

HEIGHT

M US C L E

Hit ’em high with BUSTA Try these two supersets for an old-school pump from his trainer Victor Munoz

Perform back to back. Rest for 30 seconds between supersets. Do three sets of 12 for each superset.

B

A

SUPERSET 1

A1/ HAMMER CURL Hinge at the elbow and curl the bells upwards, keeping your palms facing each other. Pause, then lower.

A

“RHYMES HAD TO TURN HIS FITNESS AROUND – AND WAS WILLING TO DO ANYTHING”

B

A2/ TRI PRESS-DOWN Grip a bar or rope attachment at chest height. Straighten your arms, driving the attachment downward.

A

B

FOR RHYMES, GETTING BACK INTO SHAPE HAS BEEN A GAME CHANGER.

B1/ BENCH PRESS Lie on a bench, holding a loaded barbell with a close grip. Lower the weight. Press back up.

SUPERSET 2

needed his help and gave him my number. He hit me back right away.”

Rhymes explained to Jackson that he urgently needed to turn his fitness around, and that he was willing to do anything. Jackson countered with a demand: Rhymes would have to move to Jacksonville for 30 days and truly commit. So, Rhymes rented a home for himself, his chef and his security guards. He and Jackson trained three times a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and two times a day on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Rhymes signed up to a strict nutrition schedule: every two and a half hours, he would eat meals such as 12 egg whites and oatmeal, follow it up with a workout, then have a 280g steak. Initially, his weight increased from 130kg to 155kg, but he was gaining muscle and kick-starting his metabolism.

When the 30 days were up, he went back to New York and trained five days a week with his coach, Victor Munoz, at PROEdge gym.

Rhymes is still watching what he eats: oatmeal and eggs at breakfast, salad for lunch and fish or steak with vegetables for dinner.

Today, at the weight of 115kg, he is sleeping and moving better – and, he says, he is in a better position to support and protect the people closest to him.

A

B

B2/ SPIDER CURL Lie with your chest on a bench set to 45°, holding a dumbbell in one hand.

Curl it up, squeezing your biceps.

Switch arms.

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LIFE IN THE FAST LANE The exhilaration of a high-speed track session was a joy unknown to our writer until he took a seat inside Audi’s latest RS models and put his foot down BY

JAMES JENNINGS

THERE ARE TWO TYPES of people in this world: those who get ridiculously excited about racing cars around a track really fast, and those who would get ridiculously excited about it but just don’t know it yet.

Before attending the Audi Driving Experience, a track day held across the nation at various locations throughout the year to showcase the latest Audi performance vehicles to customers, I firmly belonged in the latter camp of ignorance.

Sure, it all sounded vaguely enticing, but honestly, how fun could driving cars fast around a wonky oval over and over again really be?

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As it turns out, very. But we’ll get to that.

First, let’s talk nerves jittering like loose M&Ms on the dashboard of a souped-up V8, as mine are on approach to the world-famous and notoriously fast Phillip Island Circuit in Victoria on a grey, drizzly day on which rain has added a worrying sheen of slickness to the already intimidating track.

As images of rolling ludicrously expensive sports cars onto their roofs like expensive turtles fill my brain, Audi’s chief driving instructor, Steve Pizzati, and his team lead us to our first task: the skid pan, aka fanging your car sideways on a

conspicuously soaked and slippery concrete surface.

Forget cheap thrills, because this is the opposite. The enjoyment gleaned from sliding an Audi RS6 produces pure champagne thrills, even if I only manage to correct the car properly after coming out of a lurid spin on two out of four attempts.

Next we are off to track-test drive Audi’s latest RS models: the TT RS, RS5, RS6, RS Q8 and the crown jewel of the Audi stable and the fastest car it has ever built: the R8 supercar.

As it transpires, my first time on the track will

M H

GA R AGE

WHEN YOU’RE ENSCONCED IN AN AUDI SPEED MACHINE AND TAKING ON THE PHILLIP ISLAND CIRCUIT, LIFE GOES BY IN A BLUR.

BEFORE HITTING WARP SPEEDS, TIPS FROM AUDI’S TEAM OF DRIVING INSTRUCTORS ARE A MUST.

“Once I clock 220km/h, it’s enough to have my adrenaline all but leaking out of my ears” be semi-solo: COVID precautions mean the day’s set-up involves following an instructor in a separate lead car while adhering to his calmly issued instructions via an in-car walkie talkie.

I’m told to brake and accelerate smoothly rather than like a panicked L driver (a challenge when you’re negotiating tight hairpin turns at high speed), to be aware of my entry and exit points on corner apexes and always to look up and watch ahead for what’s coming next.

After cycling through several models it is my turn to drive the Audi R8 performance car, a rocket on wheels capable of going from zero to

100km/h in 3.7 seconds on the way to a top speed of 324km/h, and also something that looks like it’s escaped from a sci-fi movie starring Will Smith (check out its debut in 2004’s I, Robot).

The 5.2-litre V10 engine’s mega-rapid delivery of its 540Nm of torque and 397kW means achieving that smoothness of acceleration and braking is all the more challenging, but once I clock 220km/h on the straight – enough to have my adrenaline all but leaking out of my ears and eyes simultaneously – I’m thoroughly enamoured with the R8 and

questioning why I don’t always drive this fast (to avoid jail time, probably).

By the time we wind down for the day, I’m thoroughly convinced I have what it takes to join the professional racing circuit.

But first, baby steps: work on the ace driving tips that I’d just been given, and avoid a speeding ticket on the way home – which is a strong possibility, in light of my current racing high.

Trust me, if you haven’t driven extremely fast around a wonky oval, you don’t know what you’re missing.

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ONE IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGE. ONE WEEK TO TRAIN. GO

LIVING THE VIDA LUCHA HIGHFLYING ACROBATICS, BRUISED BODIES, COMPLEX MANOEUVRES . . .

OH, AND SEQUINED MASKS. THIS IS THE WORLD OF LUCHA LIBRE. WE GAVE OUR MAN A WEEK TO LEARN THE ROPES OF WRESTLING, THE MEXICAN WAY

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BY BOBBY PALMER PHOTOGR APHY BY TOM

WATKINS

The adventuris t practises a th row on Burridge.

There’s nothing fake about the endurance you can unlock in the ring.

ALL I SEE IS a crowd of jeering demon faces. There are horned devils, court jesters, Street Fighter villains and, in the corner of my eye, Bane himself. What’s more, they’re all upside down. I’m suspended in mid-air, mid-suplex, being held aloft over the shoulders of a much stronger man with far more tattoos than I have. My feet touch the sky; my head fills with blood. In a matter of seconds, gravity will take over. I’ll hit the floor of the ring – hard. I am, you see, a luchador.

A luchador is a Mexican wrestler – or, at least, a Mexican-inspired wrestler. As far as I can tell, there aren’t any actual Mexicans in the London Lucha League. But the people involved have embraced the ethos of Latin America’s answer to the WWE in all its sequined glory.

The man holding me aloft is Englishman Greg Burridge; he was the top domestic wrestler in the UK in the mid-2000s and has been throwing his weight around the ring for two decades. In short, he’s just the sort of guy you don’t want slamming you to the ground.

Burridge runs the London School of Lucha Libre alongside Garry Vanderhorne, another wrestling legend. The school, which sits in the Resistance Gallery, under the railway arches of London’s Bethnal Green, counts the renowned Rey Mysterio as a fan, world-famous wrestler Will Ospreay among its alumni, and former British Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo as one of its trainees. They’re the perfect mentors for my journey to the big time. The problem is that I have only seven days to get there.

I arrive through a rusted metal door and immediately trip over two topless men grappling on the floor.

Behind them, there’s a bar replete with empty tequila bottles and sparkling masks. The air is thick with the smell of sweat. At first, I’m sure the barman is barking, but it turns out he’s just holding a pug. The clientele come in all shapes and sizes, united only by wide smiles and a desire to learn the ways of the luchador. “When we set up the school, I wanted to make it inviting for people you wouldn’t assume were welcome in wrestling,” Burridge explains. “We’re an LGBT-friendly venue, and we’re not prejudiced or biased against anyone. If you’ve got a dream to become a pro wrestler, JULY 2021

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Behind all the cosplay is some serious training.

HEROES IN TRAINING While Burridge hops into the ring to train with the big boys, a man called Cameron takes the lead in my training. He’s one of the school’s breakout stars: a lithe, dreadlocked warrior who doesn’t exactly fit the bullish wrestler stereotype. After showing me how to fall, he instructs me on how to do a wrist lock. He teaches me how to execute the forward roll, the backward roll, even the tiger roll – not, it turns out, a type of sushi. As my learning progresses, everything happening in the ring starts to click into place. Wrestling is more like dancing than fighting, a series of acrobatic movements and countermovements that flow together to create the illusion of a no-holds-barred battle. “You have 44

MEN’S HE ALTH

El Rey Anansi traps our man on the canvas.

to imagine that each move is an individual Lego brick,” Burridge explains, “and you’re trying to build a pretty solid wall.”

My wall currently resembles three or four mismatching bits of Duplo. That’s why I enlist Burridge for a one-on-one training session the following day. He teaches me how to bounce off the ropes, how to “push” and “turn”, how to make a ring that is only three strides wide feel a hell of a lot wider, and how to master a series of pin combinations (useful for more than ATMs). In a particularly terrifying ordeal, I’m ordered to jump from the bottom rope, to the middle, then to the top, where I teeter above the corner of the ring. It’s basically a squat jump onto a tightrope, and I’ve never been happier than when Burridge allows me to get down.

By the end of my second session, I already feel as though I’ve had a folding chair broken across my back. Burridge is used to this; he tells me it’s a wellknown trope that wrestlers have spines like crocodiles. I, on the

“Bounce against the ropes at and I might snap my neck” other hand, have the spine of a tree frog, and I’m no closer to settling upon my fearsome luchador persona. At the school, students are encouraged to “cut promos”: that is, step into the ring and improvise new characters in front of their fellow wrestlers.

Burridge is Metallico, King of the Scrapheap, while Cameron portrays the sleek Spider-Manesque demigod El Rey Anansi.

The school boasts a toothsome El Piranha, a fierce Crimson Bear and a gravity-defying Lechuza (it’s Spanish for “owl”). I ask Burridge if having a character is entirely necessary. He cuts me no slack.

“If you go out there as yourself, you’re fucked,” he says. “No one wants to see their next-door neighbour wrestle, unless their next-door neighbour is Hulk Hogan.”

Come Monday night, I’m gearing up for my third and final bout in the Lucha Britannia ring.

The students have been asked to don their costumes, and I gawk at the normal people I met the previous week, who have all transformed into glittering superheroes, ferocious animals and, in one case, an adult baby in unicorn slippers. In the ring and under the spotlight, I’m conspicuously costume-less. I’ve never felt more exposed. This could be because my first opponent is El Rey Anansi. Since I was last here, Cameron has won the Lucha Britannia championship title. He did so after breaking out of a brainwashing spell put on him by the devious vegan plant creature Triffidos. (I told you theatrics were important.) With a grin, Anansi shows me the championship

P PHOT OGRA PH HY: TOM WATKINS T

we’ll help you make it happen.”

Wrestling isn’t ‘real’. I’m currently being told how to fall over convincingly, something I’m pretty sure they don’t do in MMA. Yet I’m being taught this technique because if I land badly, I could break both of my elbows.

Bounce against the ropes at the wrong angle, I’m told, and I might snap my neck. The students at the school talk about concussions as if they were medals they’re collecting, and everyone wears knee pads except me – an oversight that my swollen shins make me regret by the end of the night. The piledriver, banned by the WWE, is perfectly acceptable here.

Burridge even tells me with pride that someone at the school was once body-slammed so hard that they shat themselves. All of which suggests to me that wrestling is, in fact, real.

Learning to fall safely is paramount.

belt he’s been working towards for years. Then he puts me in a particularly vicious wrist lock.

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING I take on tag-team champion Lechuza, too. The Owl is also particularly good at pinning his opponents down, as I learn with my face on the floor. And when I take on Metallico – gym master Burridge – I’m powerless to fight back. He puts me in a Mexican stretch, before knocking the wind

MUCHO EASIER To be a high-flyer, you need to learn how to get slammed without being hurt – and also to look as though you’re in pain when you’re not. This is how to wrestle through your first session

KNEE PADS

LOWER BACK

HAM IT UP

Almost everyone Bobby trained with wore them. You’ll be jumping from heights over and over again, which means your knees will take the majority of the impact of many falls.

Don’t be a hero.

When you fall, you should be thrusting your hips upward, and taking the impact on your upper back and arms. This reduces your chances of spine injury. Also, keep your head up to avoid a concussion.

Mexican wrestling is an oddly low-contact sport. You’re never in a truly incapacitating wrist lock, for example.

So, you have to distort your face and claw at your trapped limbs, or the charade won’t work.

out of me with a European uppercut. Then, it’s time for his finisher: the stalling suplex.

Hanging vertically in the air, I gird myself for a pair of broken elbows. Mercifully, he drops me onto my knees instead. I immediately jump into a celebratory forward roll and pull a muscle in my glute. It’s better than shitting myself, I suppose.

Nursing a sore cheek and some wounded pride, I slide out of the ring and walk smack into Anthony Ogogo, who has been standing at the side, gleefully watching me get a thorough beating. I ask what brings a guy like him to a place like this, besides a potential career in the WWE. “I’ve been in the Olympic Games, and I’ve travelled the world as a professional athlete, but this is by far the most fun I’ve ever had training,” he says.

“I don’t get any preferential treatment, nor would I want to.

In here, we’re all equals.”

It’s Ogogo’s third session, too, though he has taken to it a little more naturally than me. But his answer rings true. There’s no shaming, no one-upmanship, no unhealthy competition. As a luchador, a world-class boxer can go toe to toe with someone who has never set foot in a gym before, and both will come out smiling.

I’m mulling over how to write a charming conclusion about inclusiveness and good sportsmanship, when I feel Greg’s hand on my shoulder.

It seems that Metallico has one final trick up his sleeve tattoo.

Before I can protest, the music starts, and I’m being pushed into the ring to promo my character in front of 50-odd aspiring pro wrestlers. My heart is hammering but, as I look from mask to mask, I realise that this is a truly judgement-free zone. It’s a rare place that invites you to unleash your inner self, even if that inner self is a Mexican muscle head with a penchant for Marvel cosplay.

Without thinking, I go for it.

The crowd cheers. I open my mouth. “El Journalistico” is born.

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WINTER IS BECOMING DRESSING FOR THE AUSTRALIAN WINTER REQUIRES A FLEXIBLE WARDROBE, WITH CLOTHES THAT CAN TAKE YOU FROM THE GYM, TO THE CAFE, TO THE PUB, HANDLING EVERY CHANGE IN WEATHER ALONG THE WAY. HERE, WE DEMONSTRATE HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WINTER WEEKEND, WITHOUT SACRIFICING ANY OF YOUR SENSE OF STYLE PHOTOGR APH Y

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CHRIS MOHEN ST Y LING L AUR A BR ACKEN GROOMING MICHAEL BRENNAN

STYL E

WINTER SWOLDIER Cold weather shouldn’t be an excuse to skip your morning workout. Whether a bushwalk or a gym session is your thing, a puffer vest on top with shorts below will help regulate your body temperature as you warm up.

LEFT Coat ($499) and T-shirt ($95) both by Jac and Jack; shirt ($129) by Politix; pants ($149.95) by Guess; shoes ($139.99) by Vans; watch ($4350) by Tag Heuer.

RIGHT Sweater ($129.95) and shorts ($99.95) both by MJ Bale; vest ($300) by The North Face; sneakers ($260) by Puma; watch ($26,300) by Hublot.

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STY L E

BOUJEE BRUNCH You’ve exercised, now it’s time to hit the cafe.

Don’t be that guy who arrives still dripping in sweat – instead, keep it casual with plenty of layers and the mandatory tote bag for picking up those weekend essentials.

LEFT Shirt ($795) and bag ($845) both by Song for the Mute; long-sleeved T-shirt ($110) by Jac and Jack; pants ($150) by Venroy; shoes ($119.95) by Guess.

RIGHT Jacket (POA) by Ermenegildo Zegna; hoodie ($109.95) by Ellesse; pants ($99.95) by Abrand Jeans; ring ($180) and bracelet ($350) both by Heart of Bone.

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AFTERNOON DELIGHT Now the real fun begins. Whether it’s at the footy, rugged up in the corner of the pub or on a day out with friends, your winter ensemble is an opportunity to flex some personality. A hoodie/blazer combination is as cool as it is practical.

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DATE KNIGHT Winter nights out mean one thing: a statement jacket. Keeping you warm, and fresh, they’re the sun around which your winter fashion orbits, so make sure you choose wisely.

LEFT Jacket ($1895) by Song for the Mute; turtleneck ($1810) and backpack ($2300) both by Prada; pants ($139) and shoes ($595)

by RM Williams; watch ($4350) by Tag Heuer.

RIGHT Jumper ($99.95) by Ellesse; shorts ($900) by Moncler; socks, stylist’s own; footwear ($69.99)

by Crocs; chain, model’s own.

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MEN’S HE ALTH

STYL E

ZZZ COLD COMFORT Okay, the hard work is out of the way, now you can relax. Winter Sundays are an excuse to retire under a comfy sweater and some boardies. Crocs not essential – but encouraged.

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STY L E

WEEKEND WARRIOR Unfortunately, there are those Sundays when you are forced to vacate the couch and run some errands. For these moments, nothing more than a hoodie and sweatpants is needed, with a side bag to keep things practical.

LEFT Hoodie ($129.95)

by Ellesse; pants ($180) by Ksubi; shoes ($130) by Reebok; bag ($129)

by Tommy Hilfiger.

RIGHT Blazer ($449) and shoes ($595) both

by RM Williams; shirt ($159) by Polo Ralph Lauren; pants ($99.95) and scarf ($99.95) both by Country Road; bag (POA) by Bally.

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OFFICE STAPLES Now, back to reality.

Office attire during the colder months means opting for thicker materials like moleskin that will keep you insulated. A scarf will help you stay warm while adding some character to your #workfit.

Talent: Jake O’Brien.

To read about Jake’s incredible story check out menshealth.com.au

JULY 2021

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GR OO M I NG

ALL HANDS

Chapped, cracked, chafed, and scraped – your mitts have taken a beating since the pandemic began. Here’s how to fix your four biggest problems BY

Handyman: look after your mitts to make a knockout first impression.

GARRE T T MUNCE

THE PROBLEM:

THE PROBLEM:

BRUTAL DRYNESS

GNARLY CALLUSES

WHY IT HAPPENS: Frequent use of hand sanitiser and washing with harsh soaps strip away the natural oils that protect the top layer of your skin. But if your hands have always felt dehydrated, chronic dryness can also be a symptom of eczema, says New York–based dermatologist Dr Ryan Turner.

THE FIX: Wash with hand soap that contains a moisturising ingredient, such as aloe vera or coconut butter. At least once a day, apply a hand lotion made with hyaluronic acid or skin-barrier-boosting ceramides, both of which help your hands retain moisture.

TRY THIS: Dove Foaming Aloe & Eucalyptus Hand Wash, $4; Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hand Gel Cream, $7

WHY IT HAPPENS: “It’s the body’s way of creating a protective response to repetitive trauma,” says Turner. Yes, they’re a lifter’s badge of honour, but they can open and irritate over time (especially if you pick at them).

THE FIX: Soften calluses with a lotion that contains a strong exfoliant, like urea or lactic acid. If that doesn’t work, see a dermatologist to figure out if it’s a wart (it could be!), which can be frozen off. For prevention, wear workout gloves.

TRY THIS: Eucerin Dry Skin Intensive Urea Treatment Lotion, $22; AmLactin Rapid Relief Restoring Lotion, $15

THE SIX-STEP NAIL FIX

Nail care is easy. Here’s a DIY routine to help improve the state of your nails, with advice from manicurist Deborah Lippmann 1

2

3

THE PROBLEM: THE PROBLEM:

CRACKS AND CUTS WHY IT HAPPENS: It’s the next stage after brutal dryness: the skin splits, which is dangerous. “Certain bacteria can get into the hands through cracks, and they can even be a portal of entry for fungus,” says Turner.

THE FIX: Deploy a thicker, more protective ointment all over your hands. For added effect, you can apply it before bed. Don cotton gloves as needed and let the salve do its work overnight. For deep cracks and cuts (like those that appear red or inflamed), Turner recommends a liquid bandage, which helps seal and protect the cut so it can better heal.

TRY THIS: Aquaphor Healing Ointment, $10; New Skin Liquid Bandage, $8

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$@%! HANGNAILS WHY IT HAPPENS: A piece of skin

can “hang” off your cuticle because it’s one of the few places on your body where your skin actually ends. This also makes dry or cracked cuticles an easy entry point for bacteria and fungus, which can cause infection.

THE FIX: Pay special attention to your cuticles when moisturising your hands, and use a cuticle oil around your nails for extra protection. If a hangnail is causing you pain, always cut it off with scissors instead of pulling or biting it, which can make it worse.

TRY THIS: Deborah Lippmann Hydrating Cuticle Oil Pen, $24; Tweezerman Gear Essential Grooming Kit, $32

4

5

6

Always use a nail clipper to cut your nails, especially on the sides close to the skin.

File your nails with a nail file. Move the file in one direction. Going back and forth can cause nails to peel.

Apply a cuticle remover around the edges of your nail where it meets the skin, then use a cuticle pusher to push the dead skin off your nail (which means less risk of hangnails). Finish by applying cuticle oil to keep your nails moisturised.

Use a hand scrub to remove dead skin from your hands and help them stay moisturised longer.

If you have weak nails, apply a clear coat of protective polish, which can help build up brittle nails. (MH recommends Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Clear Hardener, $3.50.)

Finish up with hand lotion.

Massage it into your entire hand, front and back and between your fingers.

TAG Heuer Autavia ($5550)

Play the long game with a watch that develops more character over time BY

LUKE BENEDICTUS

WHETHER ON THE OLYMPIC PODIUM or indeed in life, bronze tends to get a bad rap, forever overshadowed by its fancier siblings, silver and gold. But in the watch world, bronze is enjoying a growing resurgence as a case material, proving that it’s certainly not third-rate.

Visually, this metal alloy comprised of copper and tin offers definite appeal.

Stainless-steel watch cases may still dominate our wrists, but the warm tones and soft lustre of bronze give it added interest that can be particularly effective at highlighting a coloured dial. At the same time, it’s less gaudy than gold and, more importantly, a fraction of the price.

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Bronze is also a rugged material with long-standing nautical connotations. The reason that old-school deep-sea divers’ helmets were typically made of bronze is that it laughs off the corrosive effects of saltwater. This resilience made it the metal of choice for boat fittings for centuries, used to make anything from ship propellers to row-locks.

The reason bronze is so hardy comes down to chemistry. When the copper in the alloy is exposed to water, oxygen or carbon dioxide, it gradually starts to develop a thin, protective coating known as patina that protects it from corrosion or weathering.

Aesthetically, this lived-in look gives bronze

a special, worn-in character. It ages gracefully like a beloved pair of old jeans or a vintage leather satchel. The colour of bronze may darken or take on a gentle mottled effect in a way that will make your watch unique.

Watch forums on the internet are full of ways in which this patinating effect can be accelerated. One technique: boil an egg, mash it, then stick it in a sealed bag with your bronze watch case to coax a deeper hue from the reddish gold. You can always reverse the effect by wiping the case with a soft, vinegar-soaked cloth. Our advice: let your bronze watch age naturally to appreciate the evolution of this living colour.

WATCH E S

IWC MR PORTER Limited Edition Pilot Automatic Chronograph ($10,090)

Bremont Project Possible Limited Edition ($8500)

RAYMOND WEIL Freelancer Skeleton ($4795)

Rado Captain Cook ($4150)

Omega Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold ($$17,675)

Z i h Pil T 20 ($10,700)

Longines Legend Diver ($4475)

Tudor Black Bay Bronze ($5650)

Seiko SPB170J ($1495) JULY 2021

57

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FINISH Weight: 72kg Waist: 78.5cm Hip: 94cm Chest: 96cm Biceps: 31.5cm

Crochet T-shirt and d leather pant byy Bally.

START Weight: 79.9kg Waist: 84cm Hip: 96cm Chest: 100cm Biceps: 30.5cm

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Comedian Joel Creasey is accustomed to a challenge.

The refreshingly honest comic has performed in front of stadium-sized crowds as an opening act for the late Joan Rivers, hosted a string of successful TV shows and is currently at the helm of a successful live radio show.

But after turning 30 and enduring a brutal five-month Melbourne lockdown, Creasey realised that perhaps his biggest joke was his health.

His latest challenge – trading wit for fit – has been his most confronting yet. Approached with good humour, Creasey’s 12-week overhaul could provide the set-up for a transformation punchline of your very own BY

SCOT T HENDERSON

JA SON LEE ST YLING BY DA LE McKIE PHOTOGR APHY BY

JULY 2021

61

HIS IS GENUINELY the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done and that includes I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

When I did the first season of that show, I had no idea what I was doing. I was flown to Africa and my phone was taken off me.

In my mind that has always been the scariest thing I’ve experienced. This has topped it.

At first I didn’t realise I had weight to lose. I just always assumed that I was sweet in that department.

I also held weight in places that people didn’t realise. I held a bit in my face and I was also holding it around my stomach and no one had any idea.

I turned 30 during lockdown and spent five months inside in Melbourne eating junk. I knew I wasn’t the healthiest person in the world. And I thought, ‘What a fun, great challenge’.

To begin with, it was the whole, ‘Can I even do this?

What am I doing?’ I already have terrible anxiety. I get anxious over everything. I own a weighted blanket. I’m one of those people who needs to be under a weighted blanket for an hour, once a day. I’m definitely going to have anxiety about this issue coming out.

I was a state swimmer in high school and then I gave up competing because I didn’t want to go shirtless. I went to an all-boys school and I stopped participating in school swimming carnivals because the thought of taking my shirt off, even in grade nine in front of other boys, was terrifying. I was the last boy to grow armpit hair. I was very self-conscious about that. I stopped going to PE classes because I was embarrassed about my body. In allboys schools, it’s that very blokey environment, like in school camp where you’re expected to play shirts versus skins tag, I would just not compete. Mum would write me a letter so I wouldn’t have to go on school camp.

[My parents met] on the set of Star Wars and they were both in Hi-de-Hi!, the UK sit-com. My mum did quite a bit of modelling. My dad was also a successful model, so he did a lot of shirtless stuff. It was always in the back of my mind that my dad was a rugby-playing, Star Wars Rebel Alliance member, not to mention the Solo man in the 1980s commercials. So, there’s a little bit of pressure there, but he’s never not made me feel fine about who I am.

I’m still very body conscious. Every day now on Twitter, I get someone making a comment about me: “He’s got a huge forehead” or “He looks like a paperclip wearing skin”.

I’ve had all those sorts of comments before, so I’ve just always stayed covered up.

In the gay male community, there are some really unhealthy body stereotypes. It’s as though we’ve all got to be these ripped, butch guys with a six-pack to be welcome at some clubs. I remember three months out from Mardi Gras, a guy I followed on Instagram had a picture of a donut with a cross through it saying “shredding for Mardi Gras”. This was three months prior. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s perpetuating such a terrible, terrible stereotype of our community’. It was before Christmas.

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What’s the point in living if you can’t enjoy a donut in December!

Mardi Gras is about celebrating the community and I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a six-pack at Mardi Gras.

In fact, go for it. I love seeing all the six-packs at Mardi Gras, but you don’t need that to be welcome. Everyone’s welcome. And that’s kind of the point of our community.

Sometimes that message gets a bit blurred. That’s what has always made me a little nervous. Sometimes you feel the pressure like, ‘Oh my God, everyone’s got their shirt off on the dance floor. I might go home. Call it a night’.

My partner, Jack, is a professional model and he’s a little bit younger than me. So, we have the same diet but he’s also a personal trainer. He’s not gotten involved in any of my personal training, because that would be weird, but I thought I could just eat the same as he does. But we live very different lives. I’m not as active as him, I don’t go to the gym as much as him and I’m not his age. We invested in stable tables during lockdown and we were eating bowls of pasta with garlic bread. We’d share a margarita and two big slabs of tiramisu. That would be dinner one night.

We also were doing Uber Eats twice a day. So, I just didn’t notice how disgusting my diet had become and wondered why I felt so lethargic all the time.

When it comes to training, I need someone to yell at me. I’m one of those people. Otherwise I’ll just sit in the gym, scrolling Instagram, scrolling Twitter.

I trained with Jono Castano in Sydney and Waz [Warren Pattulock] in Melbourne. I was going to Rise classes and swimming in both Sydney and Melbourne. I also jog as an excuse to listen to music and pretend I’m on stage at Madison Square Garden.

I’d started training with Waz in Melbourne during lockdown. At first it was just a lot of sessions in the park with bands and then he had to start bringing weights. And then I moved up here to Sydney and that’s when things kicked into another gear with Jono.

The first time I walked into his gym [Acero], I was absolutely terrified because I had seen pictures on Instagram. I had heard it was the gym to go to in Sydney.

The first thing I did on my way to a session is screenshot the homepage of their Instagram and send it to my friends. I went, “Lol, look where I’m off to”, trying to laugh it off. But deep down, I was absolutely terrified.

But they could not have been kinder and really looked after me, including on the first day, when I couldn’t walk down the stairs afterwards because I was so ruined from training. I guess it just shows that I had some preconceived ideas that were incorrect. They genuinely cared about making me feel and look better.

I have had to approach training like a job. The sessions were in my diary – they couldn’t just be moved like a hair or dentist appointment. You have to

MH COVE R G UY

Leather Jacket by BOSS and Pant

by BOSS x Russell Athletic.

JULY 2021

63

RAPID FIRE Workout Anthem John Farnham or Destiny’s Child. I also don’t mind jogging to show tunes.

Favourite Exercise Oh, I love a bench press.

I love a skull crusher. I like anything where there’s risk involved. Like if I drop this on my head, I’m going to break my nose.

Least Favourite Exercise Lat pull-down.

Go-to Cheat Meal Spaghetti Bolognese, on garlic bread, done like bruschetta . . . with parmesan on top, under the grill.

Hero Harry Styles is my style hero. He’s awesome.

Joan Rivers is my comedy hero.

Fitness Icon I used to really want to look like your noughties Zac Efron.

Like just after High School Musical.

Favourite Quote A job’s not worth doing if there isn’t a party at the end.

Short by Versace from davidjones. com, Knit Jumper by Bally, Necklace, Ring and Bracelet by Dear Letterman.

“T the stairs because I was so ruined from training”

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MH COVE R G UY

make time to go to the gym otherwise you’re not going to reach your goal.

I was working out for two hours a day. I would do the PT session and then leave to do a jog or a swim. It took me a while to be comfortable enough even to put on Speedos again and go to the pool.

The first six weeks was just a lot of working out in the gym. And then for the last six weeks I cut out alcohol and started slowly eliminating things until I got down to the final two weeks where we were really finessing things. I was slowly taking things out, so I wasn’t going cold turkey.

Mardi Gras [March 2021] was the last time I had a drink, so that was my last little hurrah.

I was back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne three or four times a week. Some days, I’d fly into Sydney, take my suitcase to training or I’d do a class in Melbourne in the morning, fly to Sydney, train, go to work in my gym gear, do the radio show and go home.

When I was doing those long days, I was quite tired by the time it came to 3pm. On the afternoon show on Nova I didn’t have a lot to say. But about three weeks into the hardcore training, my energy began to pick up until it just felt like part of my daily routine. Tim and Kate, my colleagues, were really supportive. In fact, Kate made me some healthy tahini balls, because she knew I couldn’t snack on the bad shit. Chrissy Swan, who’s another really good friend of mine – she does breakfast radio in Melbourne – she’s been giving me lots of low-carb recipes. Everyone’s been really invested and lovely.

Satin Shirt by Les Brons, Green Pant by Tom Ford from mrporter. com and Rings + Necklace + Cuff

by Dear Letterman, Loafers by Christian Louboutin.

I’ve got scoliosis and I’ve got arthritis, so I’ve always had a lot of issues with my back. It’s another reason why I’ve always been embarrassed to take my shirt off. When I quit swimming at school, I took up tennis and that was a terrible thing. The worst sport you can play for scoliosis is tennis. I got so self-conscious about everything I wore.

Certain T-shirts didn’t fit right on me because my shoulder would stick out.

But through this training, I can’t believe how much my body has balanced out. Looking at myself in the mirror previously, I looked completely crooked and wonky. But my body has really balanced itself. My back feels a lot better, my neck’s not out . . . all the little things that come with having scoliosis and arthritis, like ripped necks and pinched nerves, are occurring so much less than they were before.

I’ve balanced training with lots of chiro, physio and massage. It’s a good excuse. All the money I’ve been saving on booze and buying dinners with friends and all that shit has been going into treating myself. I’m on a first-name basis with every therapist in Sydney and Melbourne.

JULY 2021

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MH COVE R G U Y

“It’s shown me, I don’t have to be out every weekend, writing myself off, to still live a pretty fulfilling life”

Jacket by Gucci from Mrporter.com, Shorts by Hugo BOSS x Russell Athletic, Trainer by Christian Louboutin, Ring by Dear Letterman.

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I’ve just turned 30. I fucking loved a party in my 20s but you know, the past 12 weeks have been so good for my mental health, my clarity. It’s just shown me that I don’t have to be out every weekend, writing myself off, to still live a pretty fulfilling life. The change in diet, the change in the amount I’m drinking, all the exercise have 100 per cent made me a much more chilled person.

I don’t know if this is a little narcissism coming through, but I would always freak out when I went to parties that if I were to leave, the party would fall apart. But the world doesn’t end if Joel Creasey leaves a party. You can go out and have a few drinks and go home. I guess before I suffered from FOMO and I would worry that if I don’t go out, what am I missing out on?

It doesn’t matter. Who cares? Just go home.

The most irritating part for me as a stand-up comic is that I’ve never felt better. Like I genuinely feel incredible. I’ve never been more productive in my life. I think it’s killing my manager because she wakes up to a hundred emails from me. I’m so organised. Every bill is paid.

My diary is spotless.

I’ve also been so much nicer. I’ll be interested to see what my comedy colleagues make of this cover, because I don’t know if any comics have ever done this before. I’ll also be interested to see if it changes my comedy. I don’t think it will, although it’ll probably mean I’ll be on stage for longer because I’ll have more energy. So it’s win-win for the audience.

All up, I dropped 12kg of body fat and put on about 4kg of muscle. My advice to anyone wanting to undergo their own transformation is that you can totally do it. Just don’t go cold turkey.

Don’t do it all at once. Start with a bit of training and then slowly implement different things. It all sounds so wanky, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but your body will actually tell you what you’re capable of.

If you put in the work, you are going to see the results. I can’t believe I’m saying that. As a stand-up comic, it sort of goes against everything I believe in, but it’s true. I genuinely did not believe I could achieve these sorts of results 12 weeks ago.

I’ll continue going to train, jog and swim and I’ll continue going to Rise. It probably won’t be at the level I am now because that’s just not practical, and I was having to approach it like a job.

But I think the bulk of it will stay.

The eating will absolutely stay healthy. Again not quite at the same intensity, because I’m still only eating 1200 calories [5000 kJ] a day. But just all the little tweaks I’ve made and the new habits that I’ve formed, like swapping to a long black coffee and not eating right before bed, all those little things will definitely be staying.

What won’t stay? I won’t be going to the gym on a Sunday morning at 7am, that’s for sure. I probably won’t get a spray tan ever again. Probably.”

Creasey trained with MH Transformation Coach Jono Acero to strip fat and add muscle to his slim frame. Do this routine three times a week to build a body that’s no joke

WARM UP 5 mins on any cardio equipment, 2 mins slow and 3 mins moderate

DB SUPINATED CURL (12 reps) With DBs at sides, palms forward, lift weight on your right arm, then lower. Repeat on left.

A1

A2

DB HAMMER (12 reps)

With DBs at side, palms in, lift weight on your right arm, then lower.

Repeat on left.

5 Sets, 45 Sec Rest

B1

SING

(12 Grab a ca shoulder.

2

BAR

(12 reps)

Grip Forcefully under con 5 Sets, 45 Sec Rest

C1

ROPE TRICEPS PU

C2

SINGLE ARM SUPINATED PUSH-DOWN CABLE(12 reps)

(12 reps) Grip rope with both hands and push down. Return weight under control.

ILLUSTRATION: JUSTINAS ALISAUKAS

Pant + Singlet + Jacket +Belt + Shoes by Emporio Armani, Rings + Necklace + Cuff by Dear Letterman.

Grip cable with right arm at 45° arm until straight. Repeat on left.

r

5 Sets, 45 Sec Rest

D1

CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UP (12 reps)

D2

DB SKULL CRUSHER

Get into a push-up position. Slowly lower body to the ground, then press back up. eps) at 45° s until

arms are straight, then lower.

D3

DIP (12 reps) ower h

back up to the starting position.

4 Sets, 45 Sec Rest

JULY 2021

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MU SC LE

READER ADVISORY Following the advice on these pages may put serious strain on your T-shirt sleeves.

MH takes no responsibility for any items of clothing that need upsizing.

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MUS CL E

MAKE TRICEPS GREAT AGAIN! In the push for bigger arms, biceps have long been considered the driving force: they’re the stars of gymmirror selfies, the providers of the pump. The catch?

Your biceps aren’t your arms’ biggest muscles. To make a truly sizeable impact, you need to focus on your tris. Our guide will show you how. This winter is gonna be huge BY

SCA RLE T T WRENCH

JULY 2021

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THE POWER OF

TEXT A GYM BRO

I have a trusty bis and tris routine, but recently my gains have plateaued. How do I get things fired up again?

Your triceps have three “heads”, and working each of them is the key to building bigger, stronger and more defined arms. Here, strength coach David Otey breaks it down

An inside look at how to train for maximum definition.

“THE TRICEPS’ three heads – medial, long and lateral – attach to your elbow and the back of your upper arm bone. The long head connects to your shoulder blade, too. The medial and lateral heads are what make up the coveted ‘horseshoe’ look. When you do a triceps push-down, you’re mostly attacking these two. Once your upper arm starts moving overhead, you’ll start hitting that long head.

“Not only do the tris make up more of the muscle mass in your upper arms, they’re also more involved in your day-to-day life than your biceps. You spend more time pushing your arm away from your body than you do pulling.

“Your triceps are a secondary mover in almost every upperbody pushing movement, because they’re responsible for straightening your arm.

Most of the time, in my experience, your triceps are the reason you can’t progress past a certain weight on the bench.”

Well, you’ve heard Einstein’s definition of insanity, right? It’s repeating the same process over and over again but expecting different results. Fortunately, you don’t need a physicist to figure out this problem.

Ha, ha. Alright, genius, I’m listening…

Your muscles are lacking an “adaptive stress stimulus” – that is, sufficient stress to force them to grow larger and stronger.

Really? I already feel like I’m working near my max.

Then what you need to do is increase volume using drop sets.

Does that have anything to do with throwing my weights to the ground after the final rep?

Sadly, no. When you reach failure point during a set, don’t take your rest straight away. Pick a weight that’s 20 per cent lighter than the one you’re using and crank out a few extra reps, stopping when you lose form.

That should add enough stress to get things growing. Good luck!

FITNESS MODEL AND TRAINER SHAUN STAFFORD IS THE FOUNDER OF CITY ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE CENTRES.

Does It W

APPROVED

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Rather tha wrists, try t two heavy d for 60 secon – which a J

Fascial Stretching

study found can increase growth.

MUS CL E

Tris-curious?

Round out your arms with targeted moves.

THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB No bench? No bar? No problem. Whatever you’ve got access to, we have your go-to move, courtesy of Ben Gotting, co-founder of the Foundry gyms and a strongman specialist

1

2

3

4

5

Dumbbells Triceps Extension

Kettlebells Single-Arm Press

Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

Resistance Band Overhead Extension

Olympic Rings Triceps Dip

“This isolates the triceps, working the long head,” says Gotting. Lie on a bench and hold the dumbbells above your chest, with your arms extended in a bench press position.

Bend at the elbows to lower the weights behind your head, then tense your tris to return to the start.

ll fi i your tris, this one will give your core a gut punch, too. Stand with a bell in each hand in a front rack position, with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders. Press one overhead, locking out your arm at the top, then lower under control. Switch arms with every rep.

Switching to the h bar allows you to load your arms with a heavier weight, giving you more muscle-building bang for your buck, while the closer grip forces your triceps to take more of the strain.

With arms above your shoulders, slowly lower the bar to your chest, then push up explosively.

If a bands, you can still give your triceps a beasting.

Loop it behind you and grip the ends, with your feet in a split stance.

Start with your elbows bent, then pull the band until your arms are straight overhead.

Maintain tension in the band throughout the move.

Grab the rings and suspend your body with your arms straight.

Lower slowly with your elbows at your sides, then push back up. The more you’re upright, the more emphasis is placed on your tris.

“Use the dip station if you’re struggling,” says Gotting.

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Killer guns require a double-barrelled approach.

GET OVER “ARMS DAY” For a truly impressive upper body, a good set of tris alone won’t cut it, argues Hendrick Famutimi, PT and powerlifting champion

“The shoulders are the most important body part that gym-goers habitually neglect. But training them has multiple benefits, both in terms of strength and, of course, aesthetics. If you’re aiming to build that coveted ‘V-shape’ for the beach, disproportionately bulky arms and narrow shoulders just won’t cut it.

“Your shoulders are involved in pretty much every movement you do, from biceps curls to overhead triceps extensions, bent-over rows and pull-ups. The stronger they are, the better you’ll perform in all upper-body movements.

“They’re also prone to injury. This is mainly because they are left underworked, then are suddenly asked to lift more than they’ve been built to handle.

It’s not just the bits you see in the mirror (the deltoids), either. Small muscle groups such as the rotator cuffs add notable value to your lifts and play a major role in shoulder mobility.

“So, avoid obsessing over the ‘big guns’ look at the expense of all else. If you want a balanced aesthetic and better performance in any discipline, then it’s all about the shoulders.”

Does It Work? Bloodflow Restriction

INCONCLUSIV E 72

EN’S HE ALTH

The practice of strapping on a tourniquet to reduce bloodflow during lifts aims to create an oxygen demand equivalent to using much heavier weights.

Science is sceptical of its efficacy in boosting muscle mass, but the European Journal of Applied Physiology suggests that it might have benefits for your VO2 max, a key marker of stamina. Useful whatever your goal.

MUS CL E

THE MUSCLE MATRIX Working your tris needn’t be a solitary affair. Switch up your isolation exercises with these full-body moves, from the Foundry’s Gotting, to tailor your arm work to your wider fitness goals

UPPE

1

2

Straight-Arm Band Pull-down This power-player of a move pumps up your lats, pecs and delts, and chisels the serratus on the sides of your ribs (google “Bruce Lee” for reference) – while ensuring that your triceps don’t go unpunished. With your core braced, grip the handles (A) and pull the band down, making sure that you keep your arms straight throughout (B). Use a resistance grade that challenges you over 45-75 seconds.

Bodyweight Push-Up For an upper-body pump with stamina-boosting benefits, you can’t beat the push-up. While a close-grip push zeroes in on your tris, the regular push-up is sufficient to hit them hard, along with your pecs, shoulders and core. Once in position, lower until your chest reaches the floor (A), then push back up (B). Keep working for 75 seconds, or 20 good reps. Work with your hands on an elevated bar if you find it too hard, or pop a weight plate on your back if it’s too easy.

A

A

B

3 Barbell Thruster If lower-body muscle mass is your goal, aim for controlled reps with a challenging weight. The target is across your collarbones, palms up and elbows forward, sink low (A).

Exhale as you power up, locking out your arms overhead at the top (B).

S g

ANCE

SIZE

B

4 Shot r hands at your chest (A) y ur thigh yo g s are parallel to the ground (B), then push tum to throw the wall. Catch it and xt squat. Go for 75 e fu fullll-bbod odyy eff effor ort,t, , glutes, calves, chest, triceps and, weell… ell everything everything.

B

A

A

B

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ALL GUNS BLAZING This tried-and-tested workout, from Gotting and his team, might just be the last arms sesh you ever need. An example of “functional hypertrophy”, you’ll strengthen your muscles, rather than simply pumping them up – though it will do that, too

1A/ CHIIN UP 4 sets of 4-6, 10sec rest Start with your biceps. Grasp the bar with a shoulder-width grip, with your palms facing behind you. Retract your shoulder blades to pull up over a one-second count (A), pause for a beat, then lower over a count of four (B). Do one set, take a 10-second breather, then move on.

1D/

D EXTENSION 4 sets of 8-10 reps, 2min rest With a band or cable attached behind you, grip the ends and set up in a split stance, with your hands behind your head and your elbows high (A). Engage your triceps to pull the band tight until your arms are straight (B), then lower over three seconds. Done? Return to 1A for yo y ur second set.

1B/ INCLINE DB CURL 4 sets of 8-10 reps, 2min rest Set the bench to a 45° angle and start with your arms hanging straight. Raise both dumbbells together, rotating your forearm so your palms face towards you, lifting until the weights reach your shoulders (A). Lower over a count of yy all the rreps are done.

2A/ HAM 2A AMM M 3 sets of 10-12 reps, 45sec rest Once you’ve completed all four sets of round one, move on to round two. Grab two dumbbells and hold them at your sides (A). With y facing inw ( ).) This wil (B you

Does It W

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Do you even our muscles of Jyväskylä lowering pa cent to your

Negative Reps

1C/ BARBELL BENCH PRE 4 sets of 4-6 reps, 10sec rest Time to really wake up those triceps. Load up the bar with a challenging weight and lie back on a bench, holding it with your arms extended in a shoulder-width grip (A). Slowly lower the bar to your chest over a count of five (B) – yes, it’s supposed to burn – then push back up, explosively.

2B/

VERHEAD PRE 3 sets of 8-10 reps, 45sec rest Your final move. Hold two dumbbells at your shoulders with your palms facing forward (A).

Press to the top, then lower the weights a quarter of the way down before pushing up to lock out your arms at the top (B). Lower to the start over a count of three. Do your reps, rest 45 seconds, then return to 2A.

MUS CL E

Does It Work? Synthol

REJECTED

This oil-based substance is sometimes used by unscrupulous bodybuilders to engorge the muscles and artificially pump up their volume. It’s typically injected directly into the triceps, biceps and delts. However, the drawbacks can include nerve damage, heart attacks, strokes and infections, none of which will be good for your gains. The results also look very . . . weird.

Hell’s bells: hit bis and tris with a dumbbell blitz.

MARGINAL GAINS Even small tweaks to your muscle-building regimen can yield major results. But which of the following deliver measurable benefits?

1

2

3

MORNING VS EVENING If you have trouble sleeping, early-morning workouts can support a healthy circadian rhythm.

Otherwise, the 6am alarm call isn’t really necessary.

HIGH REPS VS MAXING OUT You can add as much bulk lifting at 60 per cent of your 1RM with a higher rep count as you can chasing new PBs under a bending barbell.

Lower slowly for more time under tension.

HEATING VS COOLING Abs may be made in the kitchen, but total-body muscle is cooked up in the sauna.

Korea University found that post-training heat exposure delivers faster gains.

Shooting for a max lift once or twice a week can deliver a big boost of human growth hormone – but it’s not the easiest way to pick up gains.

Athletes subjected to ice-bath levels of cold experience a spike in testosterone, reports Swansea University. Do it the day after training for maximum impact.

A University of Southern Mississippi study found that young athletes who trained at 6pm gained more muscle than those who worked out at 10am. Later is greater.

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Being a human Swiss army knife could give you the tools to succeed.

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TACT IC S

Masters of

Some AS MODERN SOCIETY BECOMES INCREASINGLY COMPLEX, VERSATILITY SHAPES AS A KEY ASSET IN YOUR ABILITY TO WORK, PROSPER AND EVEN SURVIVE. HERE, WE PROFILE SOME MODERN-DAY POLYMATHS AND LOOK AT WHY IT COULD BE IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS TO BECOME A MASTER OF MANY DOMAINS BY

BEN JHOT Y

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OU’RE PROBABLY familiar with the saying, ‘Jack of all trades’. Perhaps you’ve even been referred to as such. The phrase is often used as a compliment to describe someone who possesses a wide range of skills.

Frequently, the next part, ‘master of none’ is added, either disparagingly by a (snarky) observer or self-effacingly by a modest gent, to indicate that they haven’t attained expertise in any one field.

What you might not know, because it rarely gets uttered, is that there’s a third part to the saying. The complete phrase, revealed to me by Waqas Ahmed, author of The Polymath: Unlocking The Power of Human Versatility is this: “Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than a master of one”.

That the third part has been culturally erased is telling of the prestige we accord specialisation, says Ahmed. Different cultures have their own variations. For example, the Chinese (always good with proverbs), say ‘Equipped with knives all over, yet none is sharp’. Here’s the slightly less lyrical truth: being a human Swiss army knife is perhaps your best chance at forging a diverse and stimulating career path, achieving excellence in one or more fields and living a rich life.

So, what is a polymath? The term itself derives from Ancient Greek to mean a person with “many learnings”. How many? Ahmed puts the number at three or more and defines a polymath as someone who possesses high levels of openness and curiosity, which gives them the versatility to excel in multiple fields. While he’s either too modest or too stringent to admit it, Ahmed is something of a renaissance man himself. Currently artistic director at The Khalili Collections, one of the most highly regarded private art collections in the world, he’s also an established painter in his own right. Previously, he’s worked as a journalist, completed postgraduate studies in neuroscience, holds a Master’s degree in the History of International Relations, is a qualified PT and trained with an elite division of the British Armed Forces.

Somehow, he’s married with a one-year-old child. Perhaps the most staggering part? He’s only 37.

Ahmed, who is also founder of the multidisciplinary thinktank The DaVinci Network, makes a distinction between those who merely pursue multiple interests and those who are leaders or even pioneers in their chosen fields. “There’s a higher form of polymath who’s able to integrate the 78

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knowledge and experience they have obtained from the different fields in order to innovate and make serious contributions to each of them.” What distinguishes these people, he says, is their ability to make useful, often vital connections between their fields.

Among them you can count some of history’s greatest minds, people whose discoveries and breakthroughs expanded our understanding of the world: Newton, Galileo, Aristotle, Darwin and, of course, arguably the greatest polymath of them all, da Vinci, who once said: “Study the science of art.

Study the art of science. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else”.

The polymath legacy of achievement iversity winning kely to sing, poetry and nd ientist. he polymath d believes, dge and tackle gles. “Creativity nature, require mething th neew,” w, pen from a set forward in a certain point a plateau, fresh sh ins insigh ight. t. rom outside of most likely from a different field.” approach will ovation, in ed argues, it ve in tackling Many of the will face likely to be have multiple m,” he says, ed d beasts such e and nd AI. “And espond d to to these essentially be our gy. And what trait is ival in such a scenario ty? ? The T ability to move etween di different forms of adapting effe f cti ctivel vely y and w contributions wherever ght. ht The polymathic ht. s needed ded now more than e.” sounds overwhelming, restt you ou don’t have to save the world just

yet. But you can help yourself today. The benefits of a rich, multifaceted life extend all the way down to the hobby or side-hustle level. “We, as human beings, were never meant to live linear, specialised, siloed lives,” Ahmed says. “Especially as most people find themselves in jobs or fields that are far from their dream or their passion.”

So, whether you want to reclaim a dream, pursue an interest you’ve always been curious about or make a career change, the onus is on you to open up new dimensions of your being.

Like the high-achieving men that follow, you’ll give yourself a greater chance at finding personal fulfilment, be better placed to make a tangible contribution to society, and, not insignificantly, be better company at dinner parties.

Waqas q Ahm hmed,, founder of The DaVinci Network.

TACT IC S

Dr Do-Much Dr Chris Brown, 42, is a vet, TV presenter and an accomplished wildlife photographer who works as an ambassador for Canon.

As Brown has found, skills in one field can set you up for success in another “I GREW UP with my dad being the local vet and my mum being a physio, so that interest in animals and the way the body and the world works has always been there. I probably used to annoy the hell out of Dad by bringing home just about every animal that appeared in the schoolyard.

I’ve always had a curious mind. I also don’t like to settle.

I find ind it ver thing. I co o who has a things an n varying d I’m i the we e anima a make e chan n natu u pho o bea ea an n th h Mum’s quite arty. She always h was an object of fascination for me as a kid. I used to borrow it and just go on these little photo sprees from the age of five or six.

I’ve done a bit of work for Canon where I’ve been sent to photograph whales in the Azores, to Japan to photograph shooting stars. That’s enabled me to make it a bit more than a hobby. I sell

prints and the money from those goes to different animal charities.

I love it because it really distracts me. You go out and shoot a nice sunset or try to find a particular animal to capture on film and it’s almost like meditation.

I think photography gives me a little bit of creative stimulation that the science and the precision of being a vet doesn’t. It enables me to colour outside the lines if you like. And to appreciate something that doesn’t necessarily play by the rules. At the same time, when you’re trying to photograph wildlife, your animal knowledge becomes incredibly useful. You can pick the body language of what an animal’s about to do. Like, when an eagle’s about to fly or whether a leopard is hunting or not. You can also understand whether they’re sick or not. I’ve been on veterinary cases where you’re out tracking a lion or a rhino and

sometimes a photo with a really long lens gives you a great piece of information around how you’re going to treat that animal. So, the two fields can cross over and be complementary.

TV was an unexpected bonus.

From a veterinary perspective, it means you’re exposed to some really fascinating cases and animals you otherwise wouldn’t get in your normal suburban vet hospital. But there are moments doing live TV where there’s a lot of pressure. I think the vet background really helps because when you’ve dealt with emergency animal cases where you have to think quickly and calmly, it’s really not that different to live TV. My background helps contextualise things, too. You can be doing a finale of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, but it’s not as stressful as trying to put a dog back together after it’s been hit by a car.

I do wonder whether the idea of getting bored in one field has made me seek out all these other things. I don’t handle repetition well. I always like to be challenged with different things.

The downside is you can be so caught up in all these exciting opportunities that important elements of life can pass you by.

Of my group of mates, I’m one of the few who hasn’t had kids yet.

I took up guitar during COVID because suddenly I had this time at home. It’s one of my favourite things to do because it forces you, again, not to be too precise, not to be too scientific. Anything I learn is a bonus. I don’t feel a need to master it because it’s never been part of my makeup.

I still consider myself a vet first because that’s at the heart of who I am. All the other interests provide a bit of balance and intrigue during the week. It makes it a hell of a lot of fun.”

SPREAD YOURSELF THICK

Use Ahmed’s tips to cultivate proficiency in multiple areas

OPEN SEASON

IMPLEMENT A FRAMEWORK

APPORTION YOUR TIME

“Have a mindset of rigorous openness where you remain open to ideas and contacts,” advises Ahmed.

“Whenever you meet new people, try to understand how what they’re doing might apply to you and what you’re doing.”

Avoid information overload by imposing a framework with specific goals. If something doesn’t apply to your goals, ditch it. “It will keep you sane, more than anything else,” Ahmed says.

“A lot of people erroneously feel that the amount of time spent on something is proportionate to the level of accomplishment,” warns Ahmed. “Identify aspects of a project that are important to your goals and then spend the proportionate amount of time on them.”

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Quack Magic Dr Vyom Sharma, 34, is a Melbourne GP and an awardwinning magician who’s performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was a grand finalist on Australia’s Got Talent. He’s also a health commentator and writer. While his fields are distinct, his skills often overlap “I WAS BORN in India and came to Australia when I was eight years old. I grew up in a fairly standard, middle-class Indian family that was very career- and education-focused.

As a kid it I didn’t have one fixed dream, but I was always dreaming. I was like, ‘I wonder what it would be like to be an astronaut, be in space, or to be a magician, or to be a doctor’.

In terms of getting into magic, there were two key moments.

The first was when I was six years old in India and I was watching a TV show and this guy was just making playing cards appear and fly and bounce. It was just incredible. Then at medical school, this fellow student did these incredible pieces of sleight-of-hand magic. I wanted to find out how the trick was done. I went to magic shops but

the books are so expensive and they’re incredibly rare. One day I was walking past the State Library of Victoria and decided to go in and see if they had the book I needed. It turns out the State Library has the world’s largest collection of magic books, called the Alma Conjuring Collection.

There began this parallel education. I was doing medical school on one hand, magic on the other. It started off as something that I just liked. I didn’t have any particular ambition. But it was such a powerful force to be completely obsessed with something because the amount of improvement and knowledge you can get is remarkable.

I think the trope is you tell your parents, ‘Mum and Dad, I want to be a magician’, and there’s a look of horror on their faces. Sometimes we romanticise that dichotomy of, ‘You’re at a crossroads, you’ve got to pick one or the other’.

Oddly enough, I never saw it that way and I just couldn’t see any reason why I had to pick one or the other. I think a lot of the time that dichotomy is an illusion.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a trade-off when you’re trying to do multiple things at once. But the point is that’s a trade-off that’s your choice and these are not permanent decisions. I think it’s really important to let things happen first and then decide.

The thing that’s helped me in both fields is what I’ve learned about communicating and relating to people, and one’s helped in the other. Having to communicate professionally

about quite sensitive things in medicine has really given me an advantage when it comes to performing on stage, in terms of being able to communicate effectively and creating a rapport very rapidly. And vice versa, the performance aspect of magic has helped to quickly create rapport with people in general practice, where you’re seeing 30 patients a day. As a GP, so much of the decision-making just comes down to, does the patient trust you? There are ways you can convey that very authentically that you learn from performing on stage.

Last year this third path opened up for me, as I began doing a lot of health commentating. It requires a very special skillset and yet it’s a perfect overlap of the other two things I do. Speaking accurately and truthfully about medical things is obviously important, but the key from performing on stage is making it accessible, being able to pull people in.

People ask me how I balance it all. A lot of us are very busy.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re short on time. Sometimes when you’re working on things that you’re highly engaged in, it’s incredibly energising and it’s amazing how much you can get done in a short amount of time.

I’m at my best when I’m doing both things in parallel. It lets you bounce between the two, and sometimes, when you’re having difficulty with one discipline, that doesn’t need to become your whole world. You know there are other experiences you can have.

It’s a very freeing thought.”

THE POLYMATHS HALL OF FAME

ARISTOTLE Philosopher with work spanning physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, poetry, politics, meteorology and geology, among others

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LEONARDO DA VINCI Painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, architect

CHARLES DARWIN Naturalist, geologist and biologist

ISAAC NEWTON Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, author

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Writer, printer, politician, scientist, inventor, activist, statesman, diplomat

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE Writer, botanist, physicist

TACT IC S

Future Proofer Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom, 48, holds academic qualifications that span mathematics, mathematical logic, artificial intelligence, physics and computational neuroscience. He is founder of the multidisciplinary Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) at the University of Oxford, which investigates big-picture questions about humanity and existential risk. He has dabbled in stand-up comedy and is an occasional poet

I

“

T WAS ONLY when I became a teenager that I started to take my education seriously. I thought, ‘I don’t really know what the meaning of life is, but I could start by trying to put myself in a better position to find out’. I was just interested in questions that didn’t fall within any one particular discipline and I kind of pursued those questions, wherever they led. What would be the relevant things to study if that is your goal? Philosophy, physics, psychology, artificial intelligence. So, that’s what I tried to do, building up general cognitive tools that might be useful for a wide range of different applications.

The FHI, which focuses on big-picture questions for humanity, is intrinsically a very multidisciplinary area where it’s very valuable to have a broad background. I think

MARIE CURIE Physicist, chemist

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE Nurse, statistician, theologian

there is some advantage to studying two fields, with one major focus, but then know something about another area where you might then draw inspiration. You get a little bit more perspective on what your main focus is because you have something to compare it with and you can more easily see what’s not working.

Also, different questions arise if you’re not too narrowly shaped by one particular academic program. Take the COVID-19 pandemic. When it first erupted a lot of people in my circles had a relatively more informed view of it than even people who are supposedly experts in public health, through having a broader ability to understand and evaluate science and compare what’s important and what’s not. It’s hard to get that perspective if you’re too immersed in one particular sub-discipline.

The other thing with specialising is that sometimes what you discover after you start working on a problem is that it just might not be possible to make progress. That happens all the time. Also, what can happen is that you realise that maybe progress on a particular problem would not actually be desirable or advantageous for humanity. So, by being multifaceted you have the ability to abandon various research directions that are too full of information hazards. In that case, if you have three other equally interesting research directions to fall back on, you don’t have to give up your academic career.

I think a lot of the big challenges that face humanity involve many different aspects that somehow need to be integrated. The modern world is hyper-specialised. That’s a big part of how we’ve made progress as a civilisation. But I see multidisciplinary scholarship almost as the next step of that specialisation process.

We can now have people who specialise in being generalists, doing this more synthesising or integrating type of work.

For me, there is always so much more to learn within each field. You always feel like you’re falling behind. Maybe you read up on the latest in one particular subfield, then at

STEVE JOBS Businessman, industrial designer, investor, media proprietor

ELON MUSK Businessman, industrial designer, engineer

the same time you’re falling behind in all the others. In a sense it’s kind of a hopeless proposition. So, what you have to do is to keep some general level of familiarity and follow your curiosity. And then when you’re working on a particular project, make a focused effort to find the most relevant literature and make sure you’re familiar with it.

These days, anybody with an internet connection has access to information. It’s all there. So, it’s a matter of cultivating your curiosity and then allowing it to crisscross and roam and to be asking questions and be asking yourself questions. Then find a community of other people who have sufficiently similar interests to bounce ideas off and challenge you.

I never wanted to become a poet or a stand-up comedian as a career. The stand-up comedy was more a way of adding some equipment to my repertoire, like communication skills, performance skills.

Poetry is something I’m almost trying not to do, but every once in a while, like an alcoholic who sees a bottle and can’t help themselves, I fall back into it. I don’t think the world’s biggest problem is a deficit of poems.”

Tools of the trades: the polymath’s diverse skillset is driven by curiosity and openness.

TONY STARK Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist

THE ROCK Actor, wrestler, footballer, producer, businessman

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Can a meat-heavy diet keep the doctor away?

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NUT RI T ION

LOT OF More than 70 years since saturated fat was first cast as public health enemy number one, scientists are still struggling to agree on whether meat and dairy are unfairly maligned whole foods, packed with essential nutrients and vitamins – or a heart attack waiting to happen. With the publication of some surprising new research, the dispute is heating up BY

MICH A EL E A S TER PHOTOGR APHY BY SCA RLE T T WRENCH

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LBI SKENDERI is speaking to Men’s Health from his studio apartment in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. A road bike leans on a wall, and a punch bag hangs in a corner. Beneath it are a yoga mat, a medicine ball and a few dumbbells.

He’s wearing a Henley shirt that accentuates his build: 182 cm tall and a muscular 82kg.

The Meatpacking District is an aptly named neighbourhood for Skenderi to live in. “I switched to a carnivore diet a couple of months ago,” says Skenderi, who is 33 and works in finance. “One of my colleagues was heating up steak in the microwave at 8am. I was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’”

His colleague, who had heard about the diet on an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, replied, “Meat is all I’ve been eating for the last few weeks. I have so much energy and my body feels fantastic right now”.

Until then, Skenderi had exclusively been eating vegetables.

“I’d become plant-based after watching The Game Changers,” he says, referring to the movie that catalogues the alleged perils of animal foods. “I felt good. But this guy made me wonder: am I doing this all wrong?

I listened to a podcast and read The Carnivore Code by Paul Saladino.

Then I went to Whole Foods and bought some steaks.”

This dietary U-turn may strike you as baffling. But even more confusing is the fact that scientists can’t tell us for sure which approach to eating is healthier. At the heart of the debate is saturated fat, which is most commonly associated with animal proteins – and whether or not eating too much of it is dangerous.

It shouldn’t be surprising that books, podcasts and documentaries can draw on countless research papers about meat and saturated fat but come to opposite conclusions. Nutritional science is less absolute than you might imagine, and warring camps are exploiting this uncertainty to promote polar-opposite agendas.

In Australia, the most recent dietary guidelines – Eat For Health: 84

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1

WAGYU STEAK

The best approach to red meat is to eat it less often, while indulging in higher-quality produce. M Restaurants are experts in wagyu beef, from the world’s most prestigious Japanese breeds, which also happens to be rich in flavourful, beneficial fats

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

(Serves 1) Wagyu sirloin, 200g Unsalted butter, 30g A pickling onion, halved Thyme sprig Parsnip purée, 75ml

The secret is in the breeding, says chef Mike Reid, author of M: A 24-Hour Cookbook. It predisposes wagyu to impressive marbling in the muscle tissue. While this is partly made up of saturated fat, much of it is nutritious oleic acid, the kind of fat you find in olive oil. It’s also rich in zinc, which supports your immunity. But first, the parsnips: in a pot, heat the milk and butter with 100ml of water and a pinch of salt.

Add the parsnips and cook until tender. Transfer the parsnips to a blender and blitz, adding some of the cooking liquid until smooth.

Reid favours Blackmore wagyu.

FOR THE PURÉE Parsnips, 200g, peeled and chopped Whole milk, 100ml Butter, 50g

NUT RI T ION

Australian Dietary Guidelines, released in 2013, recommend limiting foods high in saturated fat, such as biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, processed meats, commercial burgers, pizza, fried foods, potato chips, crisps and other savoury snacks. It also recommends replacing foods predominantly comprised of saturated fat, such as butter, cream, cooking margarine, coconut and palm oil with foods that contain predominantly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as oils, spreads, nut butters/pastes and avocado. Importantly, our guidelines emphasise a wholefood approach to eating and recommend consuming lean meat and low-fat dairy. Still, some argue that even these relatively nuanced recommendations don’t go far enough. The pressure is mounting on scientists and health-care professionals either to absolve or to decry animal fats, once and for all. But who makes the strongest case?

Setting the Rules Until the 1940s, few men worried about whether certain foods would expand their waistlines or clog up their arteries, says Adrienne Bitar, a food historian and the author of Diet and the Disease of Civilisation. Dietary advice primarily focused on eating more to avoid malnutrition, rather than eating less to avoid illnesses of excess.

Then, in the 1950s, Ancel Keys, a physiologist at the University of Minnesota, noticed a paradox. Rich men were well fed but suffered

from a higher rate of heart disease than those with more restricted diets.

Keys believed that saturated fat was to blame. He concluded that if people ate less of it, they would reduce their blood cholesterol levels and, therefore, their risk of heart disease.

In 1955, the then US president, Dwight Eisenhower, had a heart attack. “That’s when public attention cohered around the idea that heart disease was an epidemic,” says Bitar.

Eisenhower adopted a low-fat diet.

Not long afterwards, the federal government started raising concerns about the levels of fat in the average American diet.

During the 1970s, a new theory emerged: that it was sugar, not ribeye steak and brie, that was largely responsible for the Western world’s worsening health. This theory was pioneered by scientists in the south of England, including physiologist John Yudkin, whose anti-sugar gospel Pure, White and Deadly was published in

1972, and surgeon Thomas Cleave, who wrote The Saccharine Disease.

A paper in the British medical journal The Lancet asked that the cure “not be worse than the disease” – that the animal fats that were then the daily staples not be replaced with what they perceived to be unhealthier, lowfat alternatives.

Nevertheless, Keys’ original findings eventually became the foundation on which nutritional lore was built. In 1980, the Australian government issued its first set of national dietary guidelines. Like the American guidelines, these were underpinned by the idea that reducing saturated fat intake would lower incidences of coronary heart disease and save lives. It’s an idea some are beginning to question.

“The pressure is mounting on scientists to absolve or decry animal fats, once and for all”

F 60% OSAT YOURDI PER FAT R TION POR

It’s “full-blood” – which means it’s not diluted by other breeds. Make sure your steak is at room temperature for at least half an hour before cooking. Heat your pan over a medium heat, add half of the butter, then add your steak and season with salt. Add the onion and thyme with the last of your butter.

As the steak cooks, baste it with the butter from the pan. Reid recommends medium rare: four minutes on one side on a medium-to-low heat, then two and a half minutes on the other. Warm the puréed parsnips and plate up.

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F 37% OSAT YOURDI PER FAT R SP OF 2TB ROW MAR

2

ROAST BONE MARROW

St John’s celebrated marrow dish is a veritable superfood, providing collagen for healthy skin and adiponectin, which boosts insulin sensitivity.

Second helpings encouraged

The Battle Ground Nina Teicholz, 56, was “something of a vegetarian for 25 years”. She was constantly trying to lose weight and always “felt tired and depressed”. Then, around 2005, she began researching and writing The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet. And when she started eating more animal products, she says, her health improved.

“Saturated fat has been the ratelimiting factor in the consumption of animal foods,” says Teicholz. “Meat and dairy are principally foods that we depend on for essential nutrients and vitamins for human health. They’re the most calorically efficient way to get the vitamins and nutrients you need.”

Teicholz says there is evidence that 86

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INGREDIENTS

METHOD

(Serves 4) Calf marrowbone 12 x 7-8cm pieces Flat-leaf parsley, a bunch, picked from stems Shallots, 2, peeled and thinly sliced Capers, a modest handful Lemon dressing (2:1 extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice, salt & pepper) A good supply of toast

Anthony Bourdain described bone marrow as “the butter of the gods”.

For this recipe from the book Nose to Tail Eating, ask your butcher to set aside some calf’s leg bones for you. Put them in an ovenproof frying pan in a hot oven, hole side down. Roast for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bones.

While they cook, lightly chop the parsley and mix it with the

these foods are healthy even at twice the current recommendations.

Suggesting that people avoid saturated fats altogether, she argues, steers people away from whole foods such as red meat.

Teicholz is now the executive director of the Nutrition Coalition, an American non-profit group that is supported by donations and grants.

The coalition’s principal goal, she says, is to advocate for an outside review of the process for setting the American dietary guidelines. In the US, such guidelines are assessed every five years, with the latest update published in December last year.

The Nutrition Coalition argues that recommendations to avoid saturated fats are based on weak scientific evidence. “In order to continue the

shallots and capers; dress the salad just before serving. Check on your bone marrow: it should be loose but not melting away – it will do so if left for too long.

Scrape the marrow from the bone onto the toast and season with coarse sea salt. Bone marrow is a good source of glycine, which has been linked to improved sleep quality. Top with a pinch of parsley and eat.

limits on saturated fat, health officials must show ample and consistent evidence that these fats damage health,” the coalition has stated.

It points to some 20 review studies showing inconsistent links between saturated fat and heart disease.

What’s more, the coalition has accused members of the US Department of Agriculture’s 202025 guidelines committee of having potential conflicts of interest.

Three members of the most recent committee, it claims, have previously received funding from nut commissions or the potato industry, or were affiliated with Nestlé or Dannon.

It’s worth noting that the accusations fire both ways. Dr David L Katz is the founding director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention

NUT RI T ION

Research Center. He believes that the Nutrition Coalition is essentially “lobbying” for the meat industry.

(There’s no evidence of suspect funding, though the coalition has supported the work of scientists who conduct research paid for by the dairy industry.) Critics of the Nutrition Coalition also lob another grenade: the lack of credentials. Many of those in prominent positions at the coalition have “no formal training in nutrition”, says Katz; likewise, many on its board have no previous experience in the health sector, Teicholz included.

So, some scientists within the field have written Teicholz off. However, others in nutrition are becoming sympathetic to the idea that animal products aren’t as bad as science has made them seem.

“Meat and dairy are the most calorically efficient way to get the vitamins and nutrients you need”

3

LA GRAN CARBONARA

Don’t squander your daily sat-fat allowance on sub-par processed snacks. This dish, from retro Italian trattoria Gloria, is rich in healthpromoting minerals such as calcium and selenium INGREDIENTS (Serves 4) Eggs, 3 Egg yolks, 6 Pecorino, 90g, grated Parmesan, 90g, grated Spaghetti, 400g Guanciale, 8 thin slices

METHOD

Bones of Contention In September 2019, a group of researchers published a series of six papers in the Annals of Internal Medicine, one of the most influential nutrition journals, reviewing the science on red and processed meats.

The team found that study participants who ate about four to seven servings of red and processed meats per week had approximately the same risk of cancer, heart attack or death from any cause as those who ate one to four servings. The difference between the two groups meant that for every 1000 people who reduce their meat intake, only two would benefit from a lower mortality risk.

Based on these findings, the group published its own dietary guidelines: you enjoy beef and bacon, so continue eating it.

It was controversial, to say the least.

When pre-released copies of the Annals papers landed on the desks of Katz and his colleagues, they “started calling one another and saying, in effect, ‘Holy shit, this is not for print’,” he says. “If

72% O YOUR F FAT R SAT DI PE PLATE R

As every good chef knows, real carbonara is made without cream – but is no less indulgent for it. In a bowl, mix the eggs and yolks with the cheese and a teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Boil a large pan of salted water and cook the spaghetti al dente. Save the cooking water.

Heat a dry frying pan and sear the guanciale – Italian cured pork cheek – for five minutes, or until crispy. Add a teaspoon of the pasta water, then the spaghetti.

Remove from the heat, add the egg and cheese mix and stir.

Serve in a bowl.

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they’d just published the [data] and not the guidelines, it would have been a yawn from us. But to devise guidelines directly at odds with your own findings and pretend like that’s business as usual . . . this is a provocation.”

There’s yet another complicating factor to all of this: though the saturated fat debate centres primarily on red meat, the nutrient is found in many other foods. “It’s not possible to eat saturated fat in isolation.

Therefore, you have to question the nce of studies that study d fat, as opposed to the foods ain it,” says Dr Marion Nestle, d nutrition researcher at New versity. aps the strongest statement ng a rethink on our attitude saturated fat was published in the BMJ in 2019. Nineteen scientists d that established guidelines ake into account considerable that the health effects vary ent saturated fatty acids the composition of the hich they are found is important”. m of Norwegian scientists sentiment a step further ry this year, noting that d fats occur naturally in a wide f foods, and concluding that a lack of a logical biological utionary explanation” for why uld then make us ill. ping together all sources of d fats, some scientists now may steer the food-marketing towards advertising foods ow in fa f t, yes, but also nately high in i refined d starch r. This is often the effect oad d reeco c mmendations are seed upon single nutrients, vorr Kas K hey, a fo f rmer cancer er who now ow o ns Trevor Nutrition. n (Au ( stralia’s most uidelines sought g to t avoid this asising a whole food approach ). stance, it’s happened n in the ast: the recommendation to fibre is i meaant to encourage eat that nutrient from od sources such as fruits tables. “But then,” Kashey keries started making ffins.”

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So Is It Bad or Not? It’s estimated that less than a third of the saturated fat we eat comes from proteins and dairy. The majority of it comes from multi-ingredient foods, including pastries, pies and desserts – the type Australia’s guidelines recommend limiting. Nestle posits that if people eat mostly whole foods and exercise, saturated fat becomes practically irrelevant.

While it’s unlikely that we’ll ever have an infallible set of guidelines, the majority of the scientists and dietitians interviewed for this article suggested limiting yourself to four weekly servings of red meat.

But the experts also agreed that the

“If people eat mostly whole foods and exercise, saturated fat becomes practically irrelevant” best diet isn’t nutrient focused – it’s food focused. The best diet takes into account food preference, variety and enjoyment. It’s the sum of its parts.

And the best diet, they all agreed, isn’t carnivore. It isn’t vegan, either.

It’s where the warring sides of nutrition’s infighting can’t often meet: somewhere in the middle.

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MINCE ON DRIPPING TOAST

This iconic dish from the Quality Chop House uses top-grade, dry-aged beef mince, delivering spoonfuls of B vitamins, iron and zinc. It’s also far lower in saturated fat than you might think

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

(Serves 6) Beef dripping, 25g Dry-aged quality beef mince, 1kg 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 onion, peeled and diced Dried thyme, 1tsp Tomato purée, 1Tbsp Dark chicken stock, 300ml Dark beef stock, 300ml Red wine, 200ml Pinch of Maldon salt Sourdough, thick slice Watercress, handful Mustard dressing, 1Tbsp

This recipe is from The Quality Chop House by Searley, with Dan Morgenthau and William Lander. Heat a teaspoon of dripping in a saucepan and brown the mince in batches. drain off the fat but keep the pan and cooking fats.

Over a medium heat, gently fry the carrot and onion, along with the thyme, in the pan you used for the mince for 15 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent it catching. Add the tomato purée and cook for 10 minutes. Return the mince to the pan

and pour in the stocks, wine and salt. Simmer over a low heat for about an hour, or until thickened. Take off the heat and rest for 20 minutes.

Heat the remaining dripping in a frying pan, then place the sourdough in the hot fat. Turn the bread after 45 seconds; when it’s a rich brown on both sides, place on a piece of kitchen paper to soak up the excess fat. Toss the watercress in the mustard dressing and give the mince a quick stir to make sure it’s still hot. Top the toast with a ladle of mince. Add the watercress and serve.

23% O YOUR F FAT R SAT PORT DA PER IO MINC N OF E

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Flex Appeal: McElhenney’s proved that fit guys can be funny, too.

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Rob McElhenney, star of hit show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and a creative force behind Apple TV+’s hot comedy Mythic Quest, talks about building muscle, creating hit shows, and the funny business of growing up INTERVIE W BY

RYA N RE YNOLDS

Yes, the star of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. (Oh, and Deadpool and a million other things, including the upcoming Free Guy.) They’re friends and business partners – except they’ve never actually been in the same room.

PHOTOGR APHY BY

BE AU GRE A LY

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he world first noticed Rob McElhenney 16 years ago as an above-average-looking guy on a quirky cable comedy, but no one really saw him until what became known as ‘The Dance’ episode. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia had been on for 13 seasons at that point – this was 2018 – and viewers had come to expect the odd and unexpected from “the gang”. But nobody expected the sight of a shirtless McElhenney leading a partner in a four-and-a-half-minute rain-soaked, extremely dramatic pas de deux – a scene best described, to quote one viewer at length, “as pure art . . . one of the most beautiful [four and a half] minutes I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t think I can recall a dance sequence that ever left me in tears. What’s interesting about perception is how we really don’t know each other. When I say ‘each other,’ I mean everyone on this great green spinning shit-wheel. Everyone has a secret or a talent or something that is inside of them that needs to come out. That was the first time I really looked at [McElhenney] in a way that was much different”.

The viewer wasn’ t the only one. McElhenney wasn’t just another above-average-looking guy who’d recently transformed his body – losing 30 kg and getting shredded into eight-pack shape – but a man of hidden depths and boundless ambition. As Sunny costar Danny DeVito whispers toward the end of ‘The Dance’, “Oh my God . . . I get it”.

McElhenney, now 44 and a father of two, has been busy working through those depths and ambitions ever since. Sunny, which he cocreated and stars on with wife Kaitlin Olson, will enter its 15th season (thus officially beating The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet for the longest-running live-action TV comedy in history) when it returns (hopefully) later this year. He also cocreated and stars on Mythic Quest, the Apple TV+ sitcom that answers the question “What would happen if you crossed League of Legends with The Office?” Somehow he managed to find time to buy Wrexham AFC, a fifth-tier soccer team in Wales, with Ryan Reynolds (that’s right, the Deadpool actor and Aviation Gin co-owner), who also happens to be the teary-eyed Sunny stan quoted earlier. The two guys became pandemic friends, and since they both know a little about physical transformations and life as a modern man, we thought it might be fun if Reynolds, also 44, interviewed McElhenney via Zoom, with Men’s Health riding shotgun. Reynolds kindly agreed, though he had to start with a confession.

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Ryan Reynolds: We’ve never met, which is the weirdest thing, because we Zoom and text every day. We’re kinda like work spouses – everything we’ve done has happened during the pandemic.

Rob [Reynolds tells MH] was somebody I had always admired, because he’s an engine of creativity. Then I saw The Dance, and I couldn’t not reach out. Like a classic fanboy, I DM’d him just to say how much I admire him, and I sent him a case of Aviation Gin, because I’m nothing if not a pusher.

Rob McElhenney: I was in Mexico and I had posted a photograph of my wife and me drinking tequila. I remember getting a DM from Ryan, and he was like, “Stop drinking that shit. I’m going to send you a case of Aviation Gin”.

And I was like, “Oh, okay, that

sounds good. I’ll drink anything”.

Then he said, “Oh, by the way, I’m a big fan of yours”. And I said, “Obviously I’m a big fan of yours”.

And we just became text buddies.

RR I have very limited experience

interviewing anyone, but one thing that I’m genuinely curious about is Rob’s wild-body transformation.

This is what Rob wrote about his transformation: “Look, it’s not that hard. All you need to do is lift weights six days a week, stop drinking alcohol, don’t eat anything after 7pm, don’t eat any carbs or sugar at all. In fact just don’t eat anything you like. Get the personal trainer from Magic Mike, sleep nine hours a night, run three miles a day, and have a studio pay for the whole thing over a six-to-seven-month span. I don’t know why everyone’s

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Raising The Bar: McElhenney has set a new benchmark for celeb transformations.

not doing this. It’s a super-realistic lifestyle and an appropriate body image to compare oneself to. #hollywood”.

RM So, that was when I got into really, really good shape. I’m fascinated with the presentation of the human body, and the way it’s been presented for the last 30 or so years, and what’s considered attractive versus what is considered realistic. For Sunny, I spend a lot of time in writers’ rooms with comedy writers, and our job is to tear each other apart and to tear the culture apart – what’s going on in the cultural conversation, and how can we satirise that in a way that nobody else is really doing? I just thought: Well, I want to try to build a body that’s absolutely ridiculous and truly impossible to keep up unless you devoted your entire life

to it. So when people ask, “How did you get that ripped?”, everything I named in that post is exactly what I did, and it’s a completely unsustainable lifestyle.

RR It seems like you’re still in

pretty good shape. Rather than just dwell on the superficial aspect, one thing that strikes me is you must really like acting. When I see Christian Bale lose 929,000 pounds for one role, I think that guy right there was literally born to act. I do not like acting enough to become my own shadow.

Sometimes working out to be that ripped is not healthy. I just feel like if I did end up in that position, I would not trust myself to not actually eat my children. I wouldn’t blink. I’d go home and I’d bite one of their heads off. I’d deal with the prison

sentence and the media fallout as it came. I think it’s a very interesting line to walk, you know?

RM Without a doubt. I had gotten to the point with Sunny – because we had been doing it for so long – that I used it as an opportunity to keep challenging myself and to learn new things. People might think it’s ridiculous that I would spend the better part of four months training, and learning how to dance, for a [four-and-a-half] minute sequence. And to me, it has nothing to do with the sequence and everything to do with the four months that led up to it, because it was just such a fun challenge for me and something I had always wanted to do. But it’s interesting: I’ve been doing [Sunny] for a long time, and now I’ve got [Mythic Quest], and we’ve got the football

thing going on, but by far, the thing that people ask me about more than anything else is body transformation.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this, too, but the people who were most fascinated by my body when I was in great shape were dudes.

Women couldn’t give two shits. In fact, my wife really was displeased with the way I looked, because she felt like I was trying too hard, and I was. I was! There’s this fascination that men want to look like that and men want to be that aesthetically pleasing to other men. I’m actually talking about straight men as much as men in the gay community. It’s interesting that it’s not based in sexuality or sex appeal and more about this body image that we’ve sort of grown accustomed to. It’s the thing people find fascinating, JULY 2021

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because it relates to their lives. So much of it is wrapped up in health, but also aesthetics and sex and all sorts of things that make us human, and it’s something we’re all grappling with in different ways every day.

I consider myself a very disciplined person. I eat really clean.

I work out hard. I go to work really hard. I spend a lot of time with my family. I take my kids to school every day. I try to stay as regimented as possible. But if I don’t have whatever that thing is for people – that cookie, that pizza or that manhattan I like to drink every single night – I will be miserable.

And I know that about myself. So that’s actually a sustainable lifestyle for me. Like, I see The Rock or Kumail [Nanjiani] or whoever it might be who’s in crazy good shape; they say, “Oh, I have a cheat meal every Friday”. Great for them.

I’m glad that works for them. I have a cheat meal every single day, because that’s sustainable for me. I think that is why Kaitlin probably enjoyed me being heavier than she did me being really ripped – it’s a more fun lifestyle. When I’m in crazy good shape, I don’t think that’s healthy looking.

RR That dovetails into my next

question, which is: what are the expectations of men in Hollywood besides not being knuckledragging poo-throwers of antiquated power structures?

RM I don’t know. I don’t want to cry foul too much, because women have been held to a very difficult and specific standard for so long and continue to be, and men have had the benefit of not being held to such a stringent standard, aesthetically at least. However, I will say – and I hear this from a lot of men, and I think it’s a little bit less taboo to talk about – that men, too, are held to a standard of masculinity that’s impossible to live up to or is probably essentially unethical to live up to: that sort of quiet, masculine tough guy who’s both jacked and ready to throw down at any moment but also sensitive – but not too sensitive.

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stuff hasn’t helped. We now have this ideal of being the biggest dude or the most ripped guy in the room.

Brad Pitt, for example, in Fight Club – that’s the body type that I hear more men talk about than anything else. But Brad Pitt in Fight Club is probably 150 pounds (68 kg) soaking wet – he’s just all sinewy muscle – and I bet if you stood next to him back in 1999, or whenever that movie was, he would seem frail, because the ideal body type now is fucking jacked. So I don’t know. Do you?

RR No, I don’t know. I don’t know

if there are a lot of rules now.

MEN’S HEALTH, butting in:

Speaking of ideal body types, Rob’s trainer told us Rob wanted to look like a fire hydrant.

RR So you want to be pissed on all day?

RM [Laughs.] Yeah, so we were in the middle of COVID and I was like, “I don’t have anything to get in shape for, but I have all this pent-up energy and anxiety just from being locked in the house, and I’m looking to work out for the sake of just alleviating that”. Then as a joke, I said I wanted to look like a fire hydrant or like a bulldog. It was really just a function of “Hey, what is the heaviest weight I can lift?”

RR I can’t do the heavy-heavy

thing anymore – my body just sounds like a symphony of muscles snapping.

RM Well, I think for me it’s probably a midlife-crisis situation.

I’d never been athletic my entire life.

I was always too small or too slow or just not athletic enough, so now I’m saying, “What’s the next physical challenge?”

RR Mailbox. You should go for

a mailbox.

RM Dump truck. [Laughs.] No. I just played golf with our mutual friend Jason Bateman again yesterday. Jason will play golf four times a week now. So whenever he calls me, I’m like, “Okay, I will go play with you”. This is the stereotypical old-man thing, but I want to get really good at golf.

Maybe just because it’s a challenge

and I’m not good at it. It’s the complete opposite of lifting heavy.

You have to become less muscular and more flexible. So I’m going to start doing a lot more yoga, a lot more Pilates, so I can beat the shit out of Bateman.

RR Why don’t you fuck off with the

golf and learn some football? We need to know football. We own a football team. For our readers in Australia and NZ, we’re speaking about soccer.

MEN’S HEALTH, butting in (again): Wait – so you guys went

from total strangers to Instagram friends to buying a pro sports team together in the span of, what, a year?

RM We literally would just text back and forth for a while if we thought something was funny, and I always thought, Oh, he seems like a great person. I think we would be great friends, but I think that he would also be a great person to work with.

RR I would say the same thing of

you. One thing I heard about Rob, which I found to be really attractive in a business partner, is character.

This is a strong moral and ethical character. But also the work ethic. I could be a moron and still see the work ethic. Talent can wax and wane, but work ethic, man, and discipline – you can out-discipline people. Rob is kind of an island unto himself, and I have great respect for that.

RM I remember saying to Kaitlin, “Do you think it’s a good idea if I ask Ryan if he wants to be a partner?”

And she said, “Well, that depends on whether or not your ego can take sharing space with Ryan Reynolds”. And the truth is, my first thought was, Ooh, you’re right. But that’s the kind of partnership we have: recognising what my strengths are and my stretches are, and vice versa.

RR We don’t know anything about

running a football club. The best leaders I know and get to work with often say, “I don’t know”. I do it all the time. I make sure I’m working with people who can help me grow

and help me learn, too. I’m very comfortable sharing power and sharing money. I’m very comfortable stepping aside when needed and when there’s a dearth of equity, both inside and outside the industry. I never would have guessed this in my early 20s, but those kinds of things are the most freeing things. I see those qualities in Rob, and it’s a really nice partnership in that context. I feel like I see him, and he sees me, and I feel like I can be vulnerable with him, and I feel like he can be vulnerable with me. To me, masculinity in 2021 is so much about allowing yourself to acknowledge your deficits, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, allowing yourself to just be who and what you are instead of this other thing that maybe our dads conditioned us to believe in.

There’s an ancient Chinese proverb – I’m not in the business of spouting Chinese proverbs, but this one sticks with me: who knows what’s good or bad? I live a little bit by that, which is that you don’t know in the moment what’s good or bad. When I look back at my life and the things that really hurt me, they’re all things that became incredibly precious and important assets later on. That leads to my next question: What is your vulnerability? Not physical vulnerability but the one when you close your eyes, you find yourself dwelling on it.

RM That’s a good question. Um . . .

RR Like for some people, it’s I’m

not good enough. For some people, it’s shame.

RM I think I would be remiss or even untruthful if I didn’t recognise that there is a certain amount of need for me to please people and to want their approval. Whose, I don’t really know. But it’s definitely external. I don’t know if that’s something that drives me on a conscious level, but there’s a reason I chose my profession, seeking that level of validation.

RR Most people in showbiz, to a

greater or lesser extent, have a greater thirst for validation. That’s

“Brad Pitt in Fight Club is the body type that I hear more men talk about than anything else”

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“Men are held to a standard of masculinity that’s impossible to live up to or is probably essentially unethical to live up to”

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also the drive. I know from my experience that what I love about what I do happens between “Action!” and “Cut!” In between “Action!” and “Cut!” I don’t feel any physical pain, I don’t feel any emotional pain, unless it’s required in the scene. I feel present. It’s one of the few places outside of looking at my children that I feel completely settled in the here and now. In other places in my life, I have to cultivate that.

RM Do you experience that working out?

going back, aren’t you?” He said yes. Part of it is, sure, the aesthetic pleasure. But really it’s because he feels so good, like this is the way he’s supposed to feel walking around. It’s also the meditative process of the working out. It’s finding yourself in that zone. It’s painful and it sucks sometimes, but even if I was in pain for that hour or 10 seconds, that’s when I didn’t feel anything other than the moment itself. That itself becomes a drug, where you want to chase that, because it feels like it’s when you’re truly living.

RR Yes. Working out to me is a

meditation. I’m counting. For the next 20 reps, all I’m going to do is count. And if I lose count, I’m going to stop and I’m going to start again.

And to me, that’s meditation.

RM I think that is such a big part of the appeal. It’s funny, I was just talking to Kumail, who’s a good friend and who got in fucking insane shape for this Marvel movie, and I keep seeing him on Instagram and he’s not really going back to normal Kumail. I was like, “You’re going to have a tough time

RR Yeah, when our lives feel so

out of control, I think there’s real control in that. It’s also that idea that there’s nothing – your body, a movie, a novel, whatever it is that you’re working on – you don’t ever really finish. You abandon it at some point. These are never-ending projects. You don’t just get into the best shape of your life and then you just stay there. Our bodies age, they oxidise, they break down. We have to continue to figure out new and inventive ways to carry on, and I

find that really interesting.

In particular, as you get a little bit older, the greatest secret that has been the most liberating thing to me was as soon as I stopped trying to be right all the time, everything clicked. Everything. When I stopped trying to be right and instead to be loving, or instead to learn something, everything else, all that insecurity, fell away. That artifice and bravado vanished. I really found projects and life fulfilling in ways that I hadn’t before, which is part of what our Wrexham journey is about. I don’t want to be right; I want to learn.

RM One hundred per cent.

And there are so many different manifestations of that, if you’re aware of it. For example, my size – I’m five-foot-nine. I joke about it a lot, but am I actually insecure about it? No. Am I going to spend the rest of my life lamenting that? Or am I going to go, “Well, this is who I am, and if you can’t get on board with that, then there’s nothing I can do”?

Not only does that liberate me, but you also realise that nobody gives a shit except me. Nobody!

RR That’s the most sage advice,

by the way: nobody gives a shit. I remember talking to other actors, who’d ask me, “Oh, should I be on social media? I feel like people think I’m selling out”. I’m always like, “It’s okay. Nobody gives a shit, so do whatever you like. They’re not going to give a shit either way. Do whatever makes you happy. Find your North Star. Go. Fly”.

RM That is such a great lesson, and to bring it back to golf, because that’s what I’m doing now. I have this golf instructor, and we’re playing a round and I hit some shot, and I turn to him and say, “Ah, I just shanked it”. And he goes, “I’m sorry, I don’t care”.

And I go, “Oh”. Then he just kept walking away.

RR Well, that’s just insensitive!

RM No! It’s great. Because it was

a part of the lesson. If you get so wrapped up in why you made a mistake and then you turn to somebody to look for some level of validation, you’re looking in the wrong direction. The only way to look is inward.

THE ROB McELHENNEY

AB BLAST

Do this routine from McElhenney’s trainer, Arin Babaian, three times per week as a four-round circuit.

ILLUSTRATION: BEN MOUNSEYWOOD

Do not rest between rounds or moves. Finish with a two-minute plank. By Ebenezer Samuel

HANGING KNEE-TOELBOW RAISE Hang from a pull-up bar, shoulder blades and abs tight. Without swinging, contract your abs, pulling your knees to your elbows. Pause, then lower. That’s 1 rep; do 10.

CABLE CRUNCH With your palms holding a cable at the back of your head, tighten your abs and curl your torso downward, aiming to touch elbows to knees.

Slowly return to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 20.

STABILITY-BALL CABLE ROTATION Grasp a cable handle. Without moving your pelvis, rotate your torso to the right as far as you can, keeping your arms straight. Return to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 15, then switch sides and repeat.

STABILITY-BALL ROLLOUT Place your wrists on a stability ball, hands clasped together. Roll the ball forward as far as you can, extending your arms as you do.

Tighten your abs and glutes and roll back. That’s 1 rep; do 20.

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Self Medication More than 30 years since the arrival of Prozac, the medical community is still at war over how to treat depression.

Now, a drug derived from ketamine will soon be available on prescription in Australia. But is the difference between medical marvel and illicit high any more than set and setting?

As the debate continues to rage in the UK, author Will Self decided to investigate by revisiting his own medicated past PHOTOGR APHY BY DA N

BURNFORTI AND ROWA N FEE

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commendably to-the-point article in The Guardian last December put it like this: “A radical ketamine-like drug has been licensed for use in the UK [the drug was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia in March this year] for severe depression, a decision that offers hope to the millions of patients for whom conventional treatments have failed. Esketamine, taken as a nasal spray [Spravato], is one of the first rapid-acting drugs for depression and the first in decades that is thought to work in a fundamentally different way in the brain. However, psychiatrists are divided on the benefits, with some hailing esketamine as a game changer and others raising fears about the potential for addiction and abuse.”

There’s only one word out of these that I’d quibble with, and that’s the ugly, made-up adjective “ketamine-like”. If you believe the drug’s supporters – the ones hailing it as a game changer – esketamine has significant chemical differences to ketamine. These mean that it’s metabolised faster, while, unlike its prefix-free parent, it doesn’t bind to sigma receptors in the brain. As for those raising fears about the new treatment’s potential for addiction and abuse, many are inclined to see the difference between the two drugs in terms of profit margins.

Ketamine has been around for so long that its original synthesisers have lost their patent – it has become what is known in the drug world as “generic”. Having been used as an anaesthetic since the 1970s, recent tests have shown that it may be effective as an antidepressant. But no company will spend millions doing the necessary trials to make it a drug commonly prescribed for this malady, because it wouldn’t make any money out of it. Instead – these naysayers argue – Janssen, the pharmaceutical company behind the drug, has simply tweaked the molecules enough to make it possible to patent esketamine. Besides, what does it mean for the variant drug not to bind to sigma receptors? Nobody really knows – any more than they understand exactly what these receptors are for.

The analogy here might be with Spice.

Yup, Spice: the synthetic cannabis some homeless people mong out on. Spice was introduced as a so-called legal high, before the UK government tightened up legislation to make tweaking illegal intoxicants to render them technically legal, um, illegal [synthetic cannabis is illegal in Australia]. I’m sure 100 MEN’S HE ALTH

Janssen, the company pushing esketamine, won’t thank me for the comparison, because one of the biggest PR problems it faces is that its potential money-spinner sounds very much like a recreational drug currently popular among ‘yoof’. A drug of which it’s said, when people take too much, “Ooh, he’s in a K-hole”. How can this down-and-dirty description be squared with the shiny, happy world of marketing Big Pharma?

Medicating Melancholy I suppose I should declare an interest here.

Unlike the ‘experts’ quoted regarding (es) ketamine, I can at least admit to having used the drug, albeit only once. It’s a shame, in a way, that this article isn’t about psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – being repurposed as an antidepressant, because I’ve taken shedloads of the stuff. Of course, for the experts in psychopharmacology, this would probably disbar my opinion from being seriously considered. But from where I’m sitting, looking at the gently undulating computer screen, the experiences of people who’ve actually used these psychoactive compounds are the ones I’d trust most.

It was in a bar in New York’s Greenwich Village called Marylou’s – a fairly louche place, frequented by an upper-bohemian crowd of writers, artists and filmmakers, together with a fair sprinkling of higher-level criminals, or mafiosi, as they’re known. I was offered a line of white powder in the toilets by a man with a New Jersey accent and fewer fingers than he should have had. Assuming it was cocaine, I honked lustily. And, as the powder hit my mucous membranes, my fingers began to elongate, while the poky stall became as airy and overarching as the ticket hall at Grand Central.

This was the famous dissociation that ketamine imparts – and far from making me less unhappy, or more happy, for that matter, it seemed to me a very ominous feeling. I never took the drug again. Though I considered having some in order to reassess its effects – after all, it’s been a quarter of a century and, if truth be told, I’d already had a fair few dry Martinis and quite a lot of coke on that long-ago evening – I dismissed the idea.

Why? Well, I suppose that having admitted to being in a K-trench (if not an actual hole), I should declare another interest when it comes to rather more conventional antidepressants: I’ve taken quite a lot of them as well, beginning with the so-called tricyclic, amitriptyline. I was diagnosed with depression and prescribed these pills when I was 20; I took them on and off for the next six

ANTIDEPRESSANT USE HAS DOUBLED IN A DECADE

years. I can’t say I ever noticed any effect. I simply necked antidepressants like Smarties because I’d been told to by a doctor.

Then, in my late thirties, following my admission to the Charter clinic in London for depression, I was prescribed Seroxat, an SSRI (see box). Three days later, I made a suicide attempt. When I returned to the psychiatrist who’d given me the drug, he dispensed three further psychiatric drugs (a sedative, a hypnotic and a tranquiliser) to, as he put it, “buffer the effects”. When I was passed the hefty bag of state-sanctioned, mood-altering drugs across the pharmacy counter, I had an equally hefty epiphany: the happiest I’d ever been in my life was when I’d been taking no drugs at all.

I returned the bag to the pharmacist and

H EALT H

“AS THE K HIT MY SYSTEM, I FELT MY FINGERS BEGIN TO ELONGATE” asked her to dispose of them. From that day hence, for the past 20 years, I haven’t taken any such nostrums, unless prescribed by myself.

When the Drugs Don’t Work In 2013, I made a documentary for the BBC to mark the 25th anniversary of the synthesis of Prozac by research chemists at the drug company Eli Lilly. In a series of interviews with those prescribing and prescribed, an uncomfortable reality emerged. Sure, SSRIs “worked”, but no one really knew the precise mechanism of its action. Meanwhile, metastudies of the double-blind trials conducted comparing these drugs to other possible treatments for depression revealed that they were, at best, marginally more effective in

improving the mood of unhappy people than the following: having a heartfelt talk with a dear friend, a placebo, or taking a brisk country walk. (Exercise, in particular, does well against antidepressants. Indeed, given that the obesity pandemic seems to correlate with the rise in reported depression, I wonder if the two might by any chance be related?)

Worse still, studies have shown that SSRIs do rather worse at reducing depressive symptoms in patients – at least in the short term – than opiates such as heroin. So, you can see from this alone why the psychiatric profession and behind it Big Pharma are so keen to draw a line, even if it’s only a molecule thick, between their marvellous life-saving products and the Stygian depths of dreadful drug abuse.

I raise the subject of Prozac because its inception and dissemination was marked by the same sort of boosterism as now surrounds esketamine. If you’ll recall, the earlier drug had paeans written to it in book form, with titles such as Listening to Prozac, wherein those ensorcelled spoke of their creativity being liberated and their relationships enhanced. As for their mood, unlike Freud’s psychotherapy, which only promised to replace “hysterical misery” with “common unhappiness”, this was a final and pharmacological solution to the perennial problem of human melancholy.

But then came the news of failed suicides such as my own (and, worse yet, successes), much talk of problems with withdrawal from the drugs, plus the aforementioned studies of JULY 2021 101

“ITS CRITICS WARN OF ITS DEPENDENCY RISKS, AND COMPARE IT TO STREET DRUGS” the drug trials that had convinced regulators to allow SSRIs to become the pre-eminent psychological drug on the market.

By 2017-18, it was estimated that more than 7 million Britons had received prescriptions for these antidepressants in that year alone [In Australia in 2018 the figure was 3 million or one in eight people].

That’s a lot of addictive drugs being legally dispensed – or should I say “dealt” – by GPs and psychiatrists, not that they’d appreciate the metaphor.

The Politics of Prescription Psychiatrists who are vocal supporters of esketamine, such as Professor Allan Young of King’s College London, would strongly resist the idea that there’s any equivalence between continuing to take a psychiatric drug because of the possibility of experiencing withdrawal symptoms and the compulsion to take other drugs because they get you high. I emailed Professor Young, then spoke to him briefly on the phone regarding esketamine. This was just after NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), the British organisation responsible for the cost-benefit analysis of new NHS treatments, had ruled against esketamine being prescribed in the UK, thus going against both the US regulatory authority, the Food and Drug Administration [and Australia’s TGA].

“I believe it hinges on the cost,” Professor Young bellowed into his mobile. “Also, there weren’t any psychiatrists on the panel that made the decision, so the people who were made unwarranted assumptions that drive up costs, such as how long you continue with treatment in those who do respond well.”

We talked for a while about the trials’ parameters, then briefly about Professor Young’s research into psilocybin as a possible treatment for both depression and PTSD. I put it to him that having a couple of drinks when you arrive at a party is really a form of self-medicating. He denied any equivalence between this and the former club drug he’s now promoting as an antidepressant, though he conceded this much: “When we do experiments with alcohol, we do have to administer it in the right sort of setting.

There’s no point in sitting subjects down in a white-tile environment. It’s all about setting”.

“All about setting”. These words stayed with me. His flight had been called; he was in Switzerland, I believe, en route back to 102 MEN’S HE ALTH

London, where he was only stopping for a day before jetting on to the US. I would have liked to ask him about his own rapid changes of setting, given that his research has benefited from funding by, you guessed it, Janssen. But I also would have liked to challenge him over his use of “setting” to imply that the effect of a psychoactive drug is as much a function of the context it’s administered in, and the mindset of the person it’s administered to, as any baseline “chemical” action. This idea was pioneered not by any contemporary, Big Pharma-funded shrink but by the original, LSD-powered psychonaut and one-time Harvard professor, Timothy Leary.

It is John Read, a professor of psychology at the University of East London, who drew my attention to Young’s involvement with Janssen – his sighs over the phone were almost as loud as the jet-howl in the background when I was talking to his opponent. “People like Allan Young genuinely don’t see their drug company involvement as a problem, or anything that biases their view,” he tells me. “They believe simply declaring the conflict of interest is sufficient, in some way, to obviate it.” By contrast, Read is one of those campaigning for a “Sunshine Act” in the UK, whereby all drug researchers in receipt of money from Big Pharma would be required to register any such interest.

Mind or Matter?

In a way, as with Prozac and other SSRIs – and in respect of what we might think of as far heavier psychiatric drugs, such as the antipsychotics and tranquilisers used to quiet the captious voices of the psychotic – the battle over esketamine is one long fought in the realms of the psyche, between what we might call the physicalists and the mentalists.

Professor Young, Janssen and all the boosters who have hailed esketamine as a solution to the seemingly epidemic levels of misery in our society seem to believe that the brain is all but synonymous with the mind, and a chemically healthy one means a happier person. They point to a physical hypothesis about the chemical action of esketamine to prove their contention, and a series of double-blind trials. They dispute the idea that SSRIs have “stopped working”, let alone that the underlying chemical theory of depression is unproven.

Their mentalist critics – such as Read

OF PATIENTS RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO ESKETAMINE TREATMENT IN TRIALS

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– attack on several fronts at once. In the case of esketamine, they say that the trials haven’t been large or long enough, or offered sufficiently definitive results to justify the NHS ponying up £10,000 ($18,000) per patient for a single course of treatment with the new wonder drug. But more than this, they challenge the underlying philosophy of their opponents, cleaving to a view of psychopathology that sees mental illness as a function of what we might call set and setting: the affective disposition of the sufferer and the sociocultural setting in which he lives.

It’s these aspects of mentalism – as I think of it – that would incline you to expect its adherents to be rather more latitudinarian when it comes to the distinction between the K-hole and the giddy heights of esketaminealleviated depression. Yet Read, and the other experts who wrote a letter to the UK’s Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority last October, objecting to the possible licensing of the drug, cited the dangers of dependency and made an explicit comparison between esketamine and street drugs. “The short-term apparent benefits of using esketamine are unsurprising, given its similarities to drugs of abuse, and no basis for approving a drug,” it read. “One could achieve similar results . . . with various other street drugs. We are as shocked by this recent development as we would be had es-cocaine been submitted for approval.”

At the time of writing, the stand-off between the two sides continues. Of course, if the NICE decision is reversed on appeal, you don’t need to be a cynic to wonder at the fact that Janssen is already the drug company

that sells the most products into the NHS, and also provides the most training to NHS staff. But nor do you need to be a cynic to find something a little iffy about the mentalists as well.

Psychologists, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts often object to the doubleblind trials that are the gold standard for approving new drugs because they can’t use the therapies they themselves offer as a comparator. After all, how can you make a direct equivalence between one person’s relationship with a given therapist as against another’s with another? Moreover, the talking therapies are notoriously long-lasting affairs – hard to swallow without many glasses of water over many months, if not years. From the physicalist perspective, these couch pushers are simply spinning out their depressed clients’ woes, while being subject to no methodological – let alone scientific – rigour at all. So, who are the true exploiters here, and who the true healers?

Turf Warfare In my view, the right theorist to reach for to solve this conundrum isn’t mentalist Sigmund Freud or physicalist Alexander Luria (the founding father of modern neurology), but a sociologist, Max Weber. His concept of closure has much to tell us about the behaviour of all these professionals. For Weber, social groups constitute themselves – and preserve their integrity – by seeking to exclude all others. In the case of cultural, religious or ethnic groups, this may be done with a ritual or a shibboleth; with the professions, it tends to be by cause of qualifications, membership of associations, and the rights thereby derived. Put simply,

TALKING CURES

Esketamine

Sold as an intranasal spray, under the brand name Spravato.

How it works: Boosts the connections in your brain, which has an antidepressant effect.

Status: Approved by the TGA for treatment of resistant depression in adults. To be taken in conjunction with a newly initiated oral antidepressant.

MIND ALTERING MEDS WOR

SSRIs

Including sertraline, paroxetine (Seroxat) and fluoxetine (Prozac).

How they work: These block the reabsorptionof serotonin, boosting its availability, which is thought to improve mood.

Status: Currently the most commonly prescribed form of antidepressant in Australia.

Opioidds

Heroin, plus the painkillerss df How they work: Opioids block pain signals. They can make you feel good – but are considered addictive.

Status: Heroin is illegal in Australia, but opioids are prescribed for acute pain after surgery.

what we’re seeing with esketamine is a turf war between different kinds of shrinks over their resource base. And what is their resource base? Why, the depressed patient, of course.

You might think that, given all the statistics bandied about thus far, these pissed-off punters can’t be in short supply. But think on this: up until the Second World War, there were scarcely any psychiatrists or psychotherapists, whereas now there are vast legions of them, all searching for more depression to treat.

As for their competitors, I’d argue that they aren’t each other at all, but those things that did almost as well as psychopharmacology (and probably psychotherapy, too) when it came to alleviating depression: exercise, intimacy and the sort of drugs you buy from men with writing on their tracksuit trousers, not letters after their name. After all, what’s more depressing than living in a world in which all these experts are required to stop us growing more and more miserable in greater and greater numbers? One in which the drugs work – if at all – because they’re doled out by medical authority figures, and we have to pay someone to sit there and listen to our problems?

No, I think my intimation in that Greenwich Village toilet stall a quarter of a century ago was the right one. But it isn’t ketamine that makes this world of ours seem simultaneously so big, and so small, and so threatening: it’s our social reality that’s so twisted.

ON THE BRAIN IN SUBTLY DIFFERENT WAYS

SNRIs

Including duloxetine and venlafaxine.

How they work: Serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors boost levels of norepinephrine, related to adrenaline, as well as serotonin.

Status: Sometimes used to treat depression and chronic pain together.

Psiil il ilocybin

The active component of magic mushrooms.

How it works: Shown to lift depression with controlled use.

Status: Illegal – the TGA is currently evaluating use of psilocybin and MDMA to treat mental illness within the framework of scheduled medicines.

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Facts and figures: discover the numbers that work for you.

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5

3

ACTI0N F1GURE5 Staying fit is a numbers game, but with the news cycle constantly churning out new ones, it’s hard to know which of them count. Our experts have interrogated some of the most commonly cited – and often unquestioned – figures to see how they hold up against the science.

Here’s all you need to know to look out for number one

by SCARLETT WRENCH

photography by JOBE L AWRENSON

8

8 1 JULY 2021 105

#1

Clock 10,000 Steps a Day

According to Harvard Medical School professor Dr I-Min Lee, the origins of this prevalent figure can be traced back to a Japanese company, whose pedometer is named Manpo-kei, or “10,000-steps-meter”

Can you count on it?

It’s the default setting on many popular activity trackers, but research suggests that this is an imperfect prescription. Dr Lee’s studies suggest that while mortality rates progressively improve as we get in more steps, they level off at

#2

7500 per day. A separate study by the University of Texas at Austin, which examined metabolic responses to exercise, concluded that 5000 steps are too few, but about 8000 are likely sufficient.

It’s difficult to separate out the benefits of walking compared to exercise in general. A better goal might be to shorten the unbroken periods of time you spend sitting down. “Public health recommendations have typically focused on exercise, rather than how little time we should be spending being sedentary,” says

exercise physiologist Tom Cowan (@thomasjcowan). He points to a recent study, which found that the average adult is sedentary for more than half of the time that they are awake. Taking hourly breaks from sitting – to stand, stretch or pace up and down the stairs – can “improve glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels, which are linked to a reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease”.

Breaking up our movement target has benefits: one research project by Robert Copeland from Sheffield Hallam University

The half-hour after training is

growth. However, experts continue to chew over the prescription.

First, let’s look at timing. According to a review in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, your muscles are primed for protein for longer than you think. The study concludes that, as long as your pre- and post-exercise meals are

often referred to as “the anabolic window”: a period in which you can optimise your gains through targeted nutrition. Just how to

Eat 3 f Pr After Train 106 MEN’S HE ALTH

refuel has been cause for debate, both in research papers and on bodybuilding forums

Can you count on it?

Refuelling after exercise is important. Strength training causes micro-tears in your muscles, which protein helps to repair, resulting in

concluded that scheduling three brisk, 10-minute walks per day was more beneficial to fitness than aiming for 10,000 steps.

The expert update Try to fit in at least five minutes of activity every hour. If you’re working, that might mean taking a call on the move, or standing up to stretch while reading emails.

This is sometimes called exercise “snacking”.

F IT NE S S

#3 Drink 2L of Water doub W impo start we s sligh “It m your it’s p exam mara 2L o frequ that all 4 prob can off h whic to pe

r an een unt ion levels and prevent the ss of focus that result from insufficient water

? the only truly effective means of d we od: nding on your diet,” says Dr Adam low d head of nutrition at Form Nutrition. Fruit and veg, for example, have a high water cent. t will likely need to drink more.) as hat at ffect, ns fset this – “Unless you only drink

resso,” says Collins.

The expert update Thirst is a good indicator.

It sounds simplistic, but tuning into your body’s signals can help you tailor your water intake according to your diet, environment and activity levels. In other words, don’t sweat it.

not separated by more than four hours, your muscles will be adequately fuelled. So, if you eat your mid-morning snack at 11am, then hit the gym at lunch, you don’t need to return to the fridge until 3pm.

As well as an “anabolic window”, the house of gains is also said to have a “protein intake ceiling”: the maximum amount of protein that your body can absorb

at one time – hence the 30g rule.

But this is also inaccurate. A review by the research group examine.com concluded: “Your small intestines are able to absorb and store a large amount of amino acids, ready to be used when your body needs them” – with full-body sessions benefiting from higher doses than arms, chest or legs day.

The expert update There’s no magic formula, but a review by body composition experts Brad Schoenfeld and Alan Aragon in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition concluded that, to maximise muscle, a good protein goal is 0.4-0.55g per kilo of your bodyweight, per meal, four times a day.

JULY 2021 107

#4 your BMI under 25 The body mass index was invented by a Belgian statistician in the 1800s as a way to determine whether a person could be deemed “overweight”.

Your score is calculated by dividing your weight in kilos by your height in metres, squared

Can you count on it?

The BMI was not conceived as a device for assessing individuals’ health. It was designed for the purpose of gathering statistics about populations. It doesn’t take into account your muscle mass, frame, age, ethnicity or gender – all of which can affect the weight range within which you might be deemed “healthy”. For example, taller people carrying a lot of muscle are liable to be mislabelled as obese. According to physiologist Cowan: “While having a BMI in the ‘normal’ range is associated with reduced risk of cardiometabolic disease, not all individuals of the

#5

same BMI have a similar risk, and it varies substantially”.

The popularity of the BMI has a lot to do with its simplicity.

Unfortunately, taking a truer measure of your metabolic health is not very easy. Cowan recommends assessing your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol balance, every five years. Some gyms now offer “segmental lean analysis”,

which identifies your levels of harmful visceral fat, separate from the less-worrying subcutaneous fat. But for a simple home test, Cowan advises measuring around your middle. “An elevated waist circumference means excess fat is stored abdominally, so there’s likely more fat around your organs, and a higher diabetes risk,” he says.

The idea that we should divide our

RHR all night, persisting into the day.

“Having consistent waking and sleeping times is crucial,” says Dr Conor Heneghan, director of research and algorithms at Fitbit, who has collected data on more than 10.5 billion nights of sleep.

His research shows consistency correlating with quality, which means more time spent in the “deep” and “REM” stages, associated with repair and memory consolidation.

A study in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that people

days into “eight hours’ labour, eight hours’ recreation and eight hours’ rest” dates back to the 19th

Sleep for 8 Hours

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century. It might be neatly divisible, but it’s contestable

Can you count on it?

Most sleep scientists consider seven hours the benchmark for better health. But it’s not just about how much you sleep, but when. A recent study used Fitbit data to measure the impact of sleep times on resting heart rates (RHR), a marker of overall fitness.

Going to sleep 30 minutes later than usual was linked to a higher

The expert update Wrap a tape around your middle, halfway between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips.

Breathe out, relax and pull so it’s taut but comfortable.

A measurement over 102 cm is a sign to speak to your GP.

with more than 90 minutes of variation in sleep timings are also likely to have higher body fat than those with less than 60.

pdate Set a 30-minute window for your sleeping/waking tim an mi a b

F IT NE S S

THE NEW TENETS OF TRAINING Artur Zolkiewicz, a level-3 PT and functional movement specialist with celebrity clients, shares the numbers that he trains by.

Use them as your guide

4+2+1

“I do four weight sessions per week and two cardio sessions; I take one recovery day. This helps me hit the goals I set for my training program, while ensuring that I don’t overtrain.”

9:1

“That’s nine weeks of training at my regular intensity and one ‘de-load’ week, in which I reduce my effort to around 60-70 per cent. It’s a ratio that has worked well for me and my clients.”

#6 3-4

“Weeks for which I stay on a program. Your body adapts quickly – that means you need to make tweaks in order to progress, though these don’t have to be major.”

Eat Your 5-a-Day Launched back in 2003, the UK

PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN MATTHEWS, ROWAN FEE, DAVID ABRAHAMS

government’s five-a-day campaign was designed to simplify the World Health Organisation’s daily prescription

80%

“If you stick to your training and nutrition plan for 80 per cent of the time, don’t sweat too much about the remaining 20 per cent. Building good habits is fundamental. Don’t rely on your willpower alone.”

of 400g iof healthy fruit and veg

Can you count on it?

Its intention is good. An analysis of 16 studies in the British Medical Journal suggests that every serving of fruit or veg that you eat in one day lowers your risk of lifeshortening illness by five per cent, with five portions representing the

levelling-off point. What is problematic, however, is the way in which food marketers have seized on this directive. Since its announcement, all kinds of items have purported to contribute to your daily quota: the sauce in your tinned spaghetti, the freeze-dried fruit in your pre-workout energy bar, the tokenistic toppings on your frozen supermarket pizza.

These highly processed foods “generally aren’t supportive of optimal health outcomes”, says Ryan Andrews, the principal nutritionist at Precision Nutrition. A better slogan, he suggests, would be: “Eat a wide range of minimally processed foods.”

What is also clear is that people

can thrive on a wide variety of dietary patterns. While many of us will benefit from eating more plant foods, “Some might also benefit from eating more pastured meat, eggs, wild-caught fish, nuts, grains and cultured dairy,” says Andrews.

The expert update Keep it real. If the bulk of your diet (four out of five meals) is based around nutrient-rich whole foods – which include pulses, grains and high-quality animal proteins – you don’t need to obsess about the numbers.

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M IND

Your brain does all your heavy lifting, so give it a helping hand.

The key to an easier life isn’t thick skin or preternatural talent. It’s grit. But mental resilience isn’t merely a matter of suppressing your emotions. It’s about understanding them, and giving them their due.

Whatever you’re up against, our experts are on hand to help you navigate life with patience and insight. Consider this a mental endurance program – with feeling BY PHOTOGR APHY BY

TOM WA RD

S TUDIO 33 , JOBE L AWRENSON AND PIOTR GREGORCZ YK

JULY 2021 111

01

I hate failing. Is there it sting less?

Michael Jordan considers himself a failure: by his count, he missed more than 9000 shots. “Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed,” he says. “I’ve failed over and over and over again.” The mentally strong harness that energy to drive them forward. “How you respond to failure is up to you,” says Elizabeth Day, creator of the How to Fail podcast and author of Failosophy.

“One way of draining the emotion from failure is to think of it as data acquisition. You’re gaining valuable info about what doesn’t work.

Applied correctly, it will bring you closer to the thing that does.”

I’m doing an ultra-marathon.

Is it true they’re mind over muscle?

02

I can’t shake my “imposter syndrome”. I should just fake it till I make it, right?

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

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Don’t let your thoughts get tangled mid-race.

Your head will give up long before your lungs do. “Ultra-events are tough, but success is all down to mindset,” says Duncan Slater, who became the first double amputee to race to the South Pole and has competed in the brutal Marathon des Sables. “Ultimately, you need to want to do it, and you need to know why, so you can remind yourself when you’re at breaking point.”

Visualisation techniques can help, too.

Learn the route inside-out: know where the aid stations are, when you’ll eat or rest, what the temperature will feel like at different times of day. Then break it up in your head, a technique that applies to any tough race: “I just need to make it to the eight-mile marker”; “I just need to reach the next aid station”.

M IND

04

I’m a hopeless procrastinator. How get-up-and-go?

Let go of the concept of creative inspiration, or having to be “in the zone”. There will never be a right time to get the work done, and if you’re waiting for the mood to strike, you’ll be waiting a long while.

James Clear, author of the bestseller Atomic Habits, advocates committing to a schedule, rather adline. Be specific about intend to the task aying. If n the way, n spend 10 practising you lockdown, r than the intended es. Just yourself n to skip it.

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

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

I don’t have the patience for meditation. Can I help lower my s a

Wax lyrical about your anxieties to snuff them out.

Ye Ye jitt ji ge se pr pr re re o or di ex in n a as p pe in hormones. (A side note: meditation is worth persevering with, so stick with it.)

07

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

Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s very common for new fathers to struggle with their mental health.

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

08

09

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

to practise breath control – crucial to keeping your cool. Breathwork coach Artur Paulins suggests finishing a shower with a 30-second cold blast for a week, then alternate a minute of warm water with 30 seconds of cold the next week. “Inhale through your nose; exhale through the mouth.” If you can withstand an icy onslaught, you’ll be less likely to melt when life gets tough.

I need a career Are cold showers change, but I’m worried I’ll regret build resilience? it. How can I suppress Cold therapy isn’t about pain endurance, but it offers a chance these fears?

JULY 2021 113

MI N D

11

I’m enmeshed in an impossible work keep my resolve?

There’s strength in knowing your limits at work.

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

12

How do I disagree with my boss without fearing blowback?

Before you take them to task, be clear about exactly why your boss has made the decisions they have.

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

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Many people fear deploying the word “no”, because they’re scared they’ll lose opportunities in the future, or be seen as unwilling by employers or clients. In reality, the opposite can be true. “My experience has been that when I say ‘no’, my value increases,” says Day. “When you respect yourself, others respect you more, too.”

At any rate, “I can’t handle another project”, is an easier conversation to have than: “I can’t handle this job any more”.

13

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

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

14

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

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

Honestly? Perhaps you shouldn’t.

The “sunk cost” fallacy wrongly implies that just because you’ve invested time in something, that makes it worth persevering – even if it’s a bit so-so (say, Westworld).

“In reality, there are times when continuing a project is counterproductive, and quitting is the intelligent decision,” explains Chambers. Reflection is key: ask whether your true motivation is to avoid temporary discomfort, or whether you believe that the outcomes are not worth the cost. If you lean towards the latter, jack it in.

15 the loss of a loved one, but I need to be strong for my family.

What can I do?

“Being strong isn’t about refusing to cry, or pretending your grief isn’t affecting you,” says Morin, who lost her mother and her husband while still in her twenties. “A great display of strength is showing your family how to grieve in a healthy way.

Allow yourself to feel sad, or angry, and deal with all the emotions that come with loss.” By doing so, you’re also providing your family members with the space to process their feelings – openly, not just privately.

Reading the news always makes me angry.

How do I stop it affecting me?

Don’t let grim headlines eat into your thoughts.

Often, it’s not the news that causes you stress but the sense of helplessness that it evokes. The solution is to align yourself with people whose actions you admire, whether in person or by supporting and following an online campaign.

In other words, trade passive news consumption for active participation. Taking the Black Lives Matter movement as an example, Eugene Ellis, director of the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network, points to the mental health benefits of seeking solidarity. “It is not just a political act,” he says. “It’s an antidote to the feelings of powerlessness that many of us experience. When you start to engage, you discover that below the hopelessness is connection. And when you find connection, it’s easier to know what to do.”

17

Whenever I have to speak in public, I choke. How do I maintain composure?

First, remember that nobody will judge you as harshly as you judge yourself. What sounds choked to you might sound perfectly well composed to others. But there are a few tricks that you can employ without resorting to off-label beta-blockers. Our mood is conveyed in our voice, so engage with something that makes you smile before the event, whether that’s by recalling a joke or looking at a photo of your kids. Anxiety can make us quieter, too, so speak ever so slightly louder than feels natural.

Josephine Perry, founder of consultancy Performance Mind, advises focusing on the three Ps: preparation (do your research and know your subject), practice (speak the words out loud) and purpose (remember why you’re doing this and what you stand to gain). Now, go get ’em.

18

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

Piss off.

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120 YOUR STRENGTH AND MOBILITY MASTERCLASS

126 BETTER TRAIN LIKE SAUL

B E C A U S E

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F I T

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129 REFUEL LIKE YOU MEAN IT

R I C H

SPEED DEMON

On the eve of the Tokyo Olympics, Rohan Browning looks like Australia’s most exciting sprint prospect in a generation. Learn his secrets to running like the wind

BY DANIEL

WILLIAMS

PHOTOGR APHY BY JASON

LEE

JULY 2021 117

CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN Speedster Rohan Browning reveals how he transformed from a moderately promising schoolboy sprinter into a world-class pace ace

IN THE MASTERPIECE Chariots of Fire, athletics coach Sam Mussabini tells an ambitious young flyer: “You can’t put in what God left out”. Translation: speed is a gift you’re born with and no amount of tuition can turn a good sprinter into a champion.

But in the case of Rohan Browning, this observation seems only half true.

At school athletics carnivals he was untouchable. “But I could never perform at state,” Browning recalls. Recently, his mum sent him a photo from way back when he ran last in a 200m final. “All those guys who finished ahead of me, I don’t think they’re even running anymore,” he says.

Browning’s story is a lesson in patience and dedication. That teenager who ate the dust of his rivals is now 23 and Australia’s fastest man. In Tokyo, he’ll line up in the sport’s purest event: the

118 MEN’S HE ALTH

100m dash. He’s feeling pretty good, having set some eye-catching times recently. In January in Wollongong, he clocked a wind-assisted 9:96 seconds. In March in Brisbane, he ran a legal 10:05, the fastest time by an Australian on home soil.

It also made him the third-swiftest Australian of all time behind Patrick Johnson (9:93) and Matt Shirvington (10:03).

To be clear-eyed about this, even in the post-Usain Bolt era 10:05 is unlikely to get you on the podium in Tokyo. But Browning is certain he has more speed to be unlocked. With him as your guide, you too can break through what might appear to be the limits of your athletic potential. It all starts with a plan.

FAST LEARNER Let’s revisit Rohan Browning’s schooldays because even if you weren’t the fastest kid in school you

Browning in race mode in 2018. His plan for Tokyo: make the final, run like hell.

wished you were, right?

Win the 100 at the athletics carnival and you’re set. In school there exists what Browning calls a “social hierarchy” – and “as the fast kid I’d like to think I was somewhere near the top”.

But Browning the boy preferred rugby to sprinting.

He did just one year of Little Athletics and “hated it”. In 2012 he cut his foot while walking barefoot and developed a staph infection that put him in hospital.

Bedside, his mum noticed a newspaper ad inviting applications for scholarships at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney’s inner-west.

Browning applied, successfully, and started there in Year 9.

Trinity’s director of track and field was Andrew Murphy, the triple jumper who competed at three Olympics. “And I was just this kid desperate to impress the Olympian,” recalls Browning, who’s

relaxing on a sofa outside the gym at the NSW Institute of Sport. “In school you want to be the best athlete. I wanted to be the strongest, the most muscular and the fastest.

But when I got to Trinity there were these guys who were athletic freaks, and I thought I was never going to be able to compete with them. With hindsight, they were probably just early developers.”

As Browning tells it, Murphy (who remains his coach to this day) took him on as a 14-year-old whose PB was an “unremarkable” 13.1. The coach preached patience. He also targeted technique: high knees and upturned toes.

“There’s nothing glamorous about practising the fundamentals,” says Browning. “Murph’s got a really good technical eye.

Over time, I had the technical model over other athletes, so once I got

stronger and technically more proficient, that’s when I started to come good.”

At the beginning of Year 11 he had a PB of 11.13.

Frustrated at being unable to crack Trinity’s First XV, he focused more intently on his running and his times went into freefall, culminating in a 10:18 at the Australian All Schools Championships in Adelaide.

In the space of nine months he’d shaved a second off his PB. He considered pursuing a college scholarship in the US, but when he was accepted into law at the University of Sydney he figured he’d stick with the coach he’d trust with his life.

BUILT FOR SPEED When Men’s Health spoke with Browning in May he’d just begun a six-week training block in Sydney with a plan to up sticks to North Queensland when winter set in. He aims to race three times between

now and the Games and if he can go under 10 seconds in any of those outings then look out. “I know I’ve got the engine to compete with the best guys in the world. I just need to build the race model around that.”

On the track and in the gym, “the principle that underpins how we train is quality,” Browning says. “My coach is not the type to say, ‘You’ve got 30 seconds’ rest left – if you’re not ready to go, I don’t care’. If I need more time, I get more time.

We’re always trying to run faster or lift heavier.”

On a strength day, Browning will squat with up to 250kg on his back. But they’re quarter-squats, he explains, not arse to grass.

Why? “Specificity,” he says. “I would never hit that joint angle in a race, not even out of the blocks, so I just don’t need to be strong there. So why waste effort, why risk injury, when I can just max out at a quarter? If anyone saw me training in a public gym, they’d probably think I was that guy who loaded up the bar and then just did little quarter-squats.

But there’s purpose to it.”

For the sprinter, powerful glutes and hamstrings are paramount.

Browning’s training is heavy on deadlifts and deadlift variations, as well as eccentric hamstring work.

“Nordic curls are king, but I only ever do them down to the ground, never back up,” he says.

Through history, many of the best sprinters have rocked ripped upper bodies, but that’s for show, Browning explains.

“It’s a big part of your body – you want to develop it – but ultimately sprinting is about power-to-weight

ratio. Your engine is your glutes and hamstrings.

There’s a place for upper-body training but my coach doesn’t want me to get too hypertrophied or too heavy . But I try to sneak it in on the side.”

For visuals?

“Completely. And because I enjoy it and training is supposed to be fun as well.”

For Browning, any given track session is focused on one or another of acceleration, top speed or speed endurance. A go-to top-speed session would be 6x60m sprints with 6-15 minutes’ rest between efforts. And if Browning produces a PB, “we’ll treat it with respect,” he says.

“We’ll probably stop the session. You don’t want to double down.”

The quest for speed endurance produces the ugliest hitouts. Browning might do 6x40sec sprints separated by three minutes’ rest. “That’s finger-downthroat sort of stuff.”

Flexibility? What about it? “I can barely touch my toes,” Browning says. “I’m useless at yoga. And my Pilates instructor is constantly yelling at me because I can’t do the things her 12-year-old rhythmic gymnasts can do.

I’m just not built like that. I’m blocked up. I’ve got to carry a bit of muscle. And you probably wouldn’t catch me spending a minute of my day doing static stretching.

But dynamic flexibility is important and you want to be mobile through your joints.”

//

Sprinting is about power to weight. Your engine is your glutes and hamstrings//

TRAIN LIKE A FLYER

To propel his 179-cm, 78-kg frame at speeds of up to 12 metres per second, Browning needs legs and glutes for the ages. Here’s one workout he uses to build them

WARM-UP Skip 30sec on, 30sec off for 10min

Glute Band Walk Forwards, backwards and laterally for 3min total

1/ Quarter Squat (heavy) 5 sets of 5 reps; descend slowly, explode up.

with his law studies, so a combination of matey living and fatigue can put more than a little pressure on his dietary choices.

“I’m not perfect but I’m good 99 per cent of the time,” he says. “I’m an obsessive personality, but I’ve learnt not to beat myself up over what are minor indiscretions, like the occasional pub meal.”

You wonder what, deep down, Browning thinks is

possible in Tokyo. Because the 100 metres at the Olympics . . . it’s just so damn hard. Maybe making the semis would be an amazing result?

“No,” says Browning firmly, “that wouldn’t be amazing. I want to be in the final. Top eight in the world.

Because once you’re in the final, three out of eight guys are going to win medals.

And, you know, anybody can jag it on the day.”

2/ Single-leg Deadlift (heavy) 3 sets of 5 reps

3/ Hip Thrust (heavy) 3 sets of 5 reps

4/C alf Raise (Smith Machine or barbell; heavy) 1-3 sets of 20 reps

Legs Day: for safety and efficiency, the sprinter avoids full squats. But quad development is not an issue.

METRE EATER Browning manages his nutrition as one of four buddies in a share house in inner-city Surry Hills. He also juggles his training

JULY 2021 119

WORKOUT #1

GET LEAN FOR LIFE

During the past year, through restrictions and WFH, you’ve likely done more sitting and a lot less walking. Consider this workout from Andrew Tracey an antidote to your sedentary existence. Its simple moves are designed to get you moving, and to build a body that’s strong, mobile and fit to handle the rigours of everyday life. Perform 10 rounds of this circuit as quickly as you can, resting only as necessary. Between rounds, complete a 100-200m run, or do 100-150 skips with a rope.

THE ROAD MAP TO YOUR BEST BODY EVER

1A

Of all the years to train yourself leaner, stronger and fitter for public outings, 2021 is surely the one. Whatever your goal, our three-part workout has you covered. This is how to hit your workouts when you truly mean business

120 MEN’S HE ALTH

rest of your life. That may be one of the biggest positives of what has otherwise been a gruelling year.

With this in mind, whether you’ll be found throwing down at your local box, chasing the pump in your favourite Fitness First or racking up the burpees on the patio, we have devised a workout for any occasion: a strength and mobility masterclass designed to combat the pitfalls of desk bondage; a soul-snatching WOD from leading CrossFitter Zack George; and a single-dumbbell drill that acts as an all-inclusive body-builder for the work-from-home warriors among us.

You’re on the comeback trail to building the physique of a lifetime.

Allow us to help point the way.

1B

2B

2A

P T PH PHO TOG OGRA RAP R AP A PHY HY: Y: JU Y J LI LIA L I N

FOR SOME PEOPLE, the past 12 months or so have presented an opportune time to focus on their fitness. For others, the exact opposite has proven true.

Wherever you land on the spectrum, over the next few months, most of us will be deciding whether or not we’ll be looking to rejoin the rank and file in commercial gyms, or opting to continue honing our workout-fromhome habits.

The smartest option, however, is to strike a balance between the two, leveraging the best of both worlds to optimise not just your pursuit of gains, but your work-workout-life balance to boot.

Just as many companies are transforming their corporate culture, so, too, can we curate a training regimen that fits around the

3B 4A

3A

4B

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES

1

2

Single-arm Iso Floor Press

Push-up

(5 reps per arm) Start with a shoulder-burning variation of a classic move. Lie on your back with your knees bent, holding a dumbbell in each hand above your chest (A). Lower the right dumbbell until your elbow touches the ground (B). Press back up explosively and perform five reps.

Keep the opposite dumbbell in the air throughout, before repeating on the other side.

(10 reps) With your chest and shoulder sufficiently warmed up, build some bodyweight pressing power.

Assume a long-arm plank position, with your core braced and your hands stacked below your shoulders (A). Bend your elbows, lowering your chest to the floor (B).

Keep your elbows close to your body as you push back up with explosive force.

3

4 Split Squat Jump

Walking Lunge (15 reps) Switch from your upper body to lower to increase the intensity and coax your heart into overdrive. Press a single dumbbell overhead and lunge forward until your back knee touches the ground (A). Stand up explosively, moving forward directly into a lunge with the opposite leg (B). Repeat for 15 reps in total. Swap arms with each round.

(20 reps) Return to bodyweight for an explosive finale. Step one foot backwards and sink into a deep lunge, with your rear knee lightly touching the floor (A).

Explode upwards, switching legs in mid-air (B). Land in a lunge position with the opposite leg forward. Repeat, alternating legs with each rep. After your final jump, shake off the jelly legs and launch into your run or skipping.

Then start your next round.

JULY 2021 121

WORKOUT #2

UNLEASH A WFH ATHLETE

There are days when you want to push yourself but even more bodyweight HIIT isn’t going to cut it. Requiring a single dumbbell, this session from Tracey is smart enough to build new muscle wherever you may be. You can even do it in the gym.

Work in max-effort bouts of 40 seconds; rest for 20 seconds, then move to the next move.

2A 1A

2B

1B

1

2

3

4

Push-up Over Dumbbell

Two-handed Hang Clean and Press

Alternating Forward Lunge

Dumbbell Plank Pull-through

Begin with a locomotive twist on a staple move. Set up with one hand on a dumbbell and the other on the ground. Perform a single push-up (A). At the top of the rep, move laterally and quickly switch hands. Perform another push-up (B). That’s two reps. Repeat, switching sides dynamically with each rep.

Stand up, and get ready for a lungblasting shoulder-builder. Hold your dumbbell with both hands at hip height. Bend at the knees and with a slight hinge at the hips (A), then stand up explosively, using the momentum from your legs to help you power the dumbbell up on to your chest, before immediately pressing it overhead (B). Lower to your hips under control and repeat.

Drop your dumbbell and stand tall, ready to hit those legs hard.

Keeping your chest up at all times, take a long step forward with one leg, bending your front knee until the back knee almost touches the ground (A). Stand up explosively, pause and repeat with the other leg (B). Perform clean reps, but keep your foot on the gas.

Finally, head back to the floor for some core-crunching. Assume a strong plank position with your dumbbell to the right of your body.

Focusing on maintaining tension, while preventing your hips from rotating, reach under your body (A) and “drag” the bell through to your left-hand side (B). Mirror with your other hand, returning the dumbbell to its original position, and repeat.

122 MEN’S HE ALTH

BUILDING BLOCKS

HEAD RUSH

Prepare for the next workout’s muscle-building bodyweight showstopper, the handstand push-up, by mastering these progressive moves

B 3A

A

1/ HANDRELEASE PUSHUP 3B

Assume a plank position (A) and slowly lower your chest to the ground. Lift your hands (B), then place them back down, explosively pushing up. Pause at the top and repeat.

A B

2/ PIKE PUSHUP

4A

From a plank, walk your feet forward, lifting your hips until you create an inverted “V” (A). Bend at the elbows, lowering your head (B). Pause, then push back up. Repeat.

B

A

3/ EELEVATED PIKE PUSHUP 4B

Return to your plank, this time with your feet on a box. Walk your hands towards it (A). With your legs straight and elbows bent, lower your head to the floor (B). Push up, pause and repeat.

JULY 2021 123

WORKOUT #3

ADD FUNCTIONAL Zack George knows how to maximise your fitness using minimal kit. This two-part session starts with a sprint, then moves into a 10-round test of your grit. Perform the first two moves back to back; start at 15 reps of each, then 12 and 6. Rest for 3sec before tackling the second two moves as a circuit for a full 10 rounds, with the emphasis on speed.

2A-B

1B B

B

2AAA

1A-A

IB-A

1A

1B

2A

2B

Squat clean

Burpee

Dumbbell Thruster

Handstand Push-up

(15, 12, 6 reps) Kick off the proceedings with a fullbody blast. With your back flat, hinge down to grasp your dumbbells (A). Stand up explosively, using the momentum to pull them up onto your shoulders as you drop down into a squat (B). Stand back up purposefully, then return the dumbbells to the floor to begin your next rep. Focus on nailing the form perfectly every time.

(15, 12, 6 reps) Now, move straight on to burpees. Drop your dumbbells and squat down, placing your hands on the floor. Jump your feet back into the top of a push-up position, and lower your chest (A). Straighten your arms and hop your feet forward, before leaping into the air, touching your hands to your head (B). When your reps are done, rest for three minutes.

(10 reps) Start the second half strong.

Holding a pair of dumbbells on your shoulders, squat down, keeping your back straight and your chest up, until your thighs are beyond parallel to the ground (A). Stand back up explosively and, in one motion, press both of the dumbbells overhead to full lockout (B).

Reverse the movement and repeat until you hit 10 reps.

(10 reps) Time to get inverted to build those Death Star delts. Place your hands on the floor a foot away from a wall, and kick up into a handstand (A).

With your feet together and body rigid, bend at your elbows and lower your head to the ground under control (B). Press the floor away explosively, using your legs for momentum if necessary, all the way to full lockout.

124 MEN’S HE ALTH

MASTERY MATRIX

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HONED

THE KEY TO PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT IS TO GO AT YOUR OWN PACE  DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. USE THIS MATRIX TO IDENTIFY YOUR OPTIMAL MOVEMENTS

PILGRIM

DISCIPLE

1A

Perform bodyweight squats

Lift a single dumbbell with both hands, followed by a goblet squat

1B

o the ition, k up to g

Perform “down-ups”, avoiding lowering your chest to the floor and jumping at the top

2BBA

2BBB

2A

Perform jumping squats, reaching above your head

2B

m ated s

Perform with a single dumbbell, held lengthwise in both hands

Perform hand-release push-ups

MONK

MASTER

Perform with a single dumbbell in , ides und

As prescribed

As

As prescribed, but jump laterally over your dumbbells with each rep

Perform with a single dumbbell in one hand, alternating sides with each round

As

pre

Perfo pu bloc

pr

As prescribed head

JULY 2021 125

6AM WITH BOB ODENKIRK

The Better Call Saul star’s quest to prove he could kick arse in the movie Nobody has turned into a sweat habit he won’t quit

BY MILO

F. BRYANT

PHOTOGR APHY BY GL

THE BRANCH, if you can call it that, extends about 30 centimetres from the tree in Bob Odenkirk’s backyard in Los Angeles, and a few years ago the 58-year-old actor paid no attention to it. But on a sunny autumn morning, he’s staring it down, a wry smile on his face. It’s pull-up time, and this barely grippable chunk of wood is his bar.

Odenkirk reaches up, grabs the branch firmly with both hands, tucks his knees

126 MEN’S HE ALTH

ASKE W

to his chest (yes, he’s got core strength, too), and cruises through five reps.

“Pull-ups are one of the hardest exercises,” he says, “but if you can – and I’ve become able to – they’re fun to do.”

You’d never expect such bragging from the mild-mannered Odenkirk.

He’s played a variety of roles throughout his career, getting his start as a 1990s alt-comedy writer and performer and evolving into a serious actor on shows

like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, in a series of parts that required zero physicality. For much of the past decade, he’s embodied Saul Goodman, a physically unimposing defence attorney who does not kick any arse.

But in Nobody, the recent action thriller, Odenkirk plays an unassuming father whose lethal skill set – think Liam Neeson in the Taken trilogy – emerges after a home robbery. “Nobody ever

thought I could do it,” he says. He describes the film as “unironic, extremely bloody and gratuitously violent”. It was the ultimate test of the muscle he didn’t have – and it required three years of training.

Odenkirk started by pouring his energies into the gym. He decided to go to 87Eleven, the famed Los Angeles action-design company that sculpted Charlize Theron into Atomic Blonde shape and moulded Keanu Reeves

into John Wick. And yes, Odenkirk felt instantly out of place. “They were probably thinking I’d last a month, or that I’ll do the minimum and then let a stunt guy come in and take my place in fight sequences,” he says.

Thing is, the workouts felt good. Odenkirk connected with veteran action-stunt actor Daniel Bernhardt, who taught him the fundamentals of onscreen fighting, which include moves borrowed from the martial arts.

BETWEEN SETS //

You need renewed energy as you get older. Working out is where you can generate that energy//

Odenkirk’s two-hour sessions include everything from fightingfundamentals work with trainer Daniel Bernhardt (above right) to boxing for cardio (left) to tree pull-ups.

He also helped Odenkirk understand that cardio workouts made up of short bike rides and jogging weren’t worth his time and energy. He gave the actor basic home circuit workouts, teaching him exercises like jump squats, push-ups, pull-ups and bench step-ups.

The more intense training awakened Odenkirk’s body. After a few months, he was doing fewer but longer and more challenging bike rides up a

winding local hill. He’d follow up with Bernhardt’s mobility and upper-body exercises in his backyard.

“You need renewed energy as you get older,” he says.

“Working out is where you can generate that energy.”

And where you can dream of whipping Liam Neeson in Taken 4, too. “I’m going to take that guy down the next time I see him,” Odenkirk says. “So long as there is someone there to yell ‘Cut!’ so neither one of us gets hurt.”

First song on your playlist?

“Rolling Stones — something from Exile on Main St. — or the Strokes. One of those two would come up.”

Favourite cheat food?

“I eat ice cream every day. But a small tub of ice cream lasts me three weeks. I just don’t like the idea of ‘I’m gonna quit this thing I love completely’. ”

Athletic role models?

“As a little kid, I did love sports figures: Bobby Hull of the Blackhawks, Ernie Banks of the Cubs.

And the Chicago Bears: even before they won the Super Bowl, we’d watch the Bears a lot, and Dick Butkus.”

JULY 2021 127

A s we restock ll as i n g y ou with pr o contain tein , chicken s a n a m i n t r y p toph a n , oa helps to cid that b oost s e r o ton in levels in y ou r b r ain

2425 kJ

Refuel after training the smart way with the nutritional nous of John Chapman – one half of the Lean Machines – and arm yourself with the knowledge you need for lifelong growth

19G Fat

60G Carbs

42G

Protein

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL HEDGE; JULIAN BENJAMIN

o do here om me solid lo ow for your ained my favourite, ko out meals. ll be talking ro onutrient bo ohydrates and protein.

The first thing you’ll want to add to your post-workout meal is a high-quality protein source. The International Society for Sports Nutrition suggests a daily requirement of 1.4-2g per kilogram of bodyweight per day for athletes. So, we can say that an 80kg man needs around 160g of protein per day. This should be divided between your meals and snacks, with each meal containing at least 20g of protein, but ideally 30g.

Consuming carbs after a workout is a great way to

replenish all of the energy you’ve just used, and it will help to refill your glycogen stores – the fuel you put away for later – ready for your next session. How much depends on your daily kilojoule targets, which are completely individual.

A l f th b k your post-workout meal the most carbohydrate-heavy of the day.

I like to set fat at 20-35 per cent of my total daily kilojoules. That’s about 75g for an 80kg guy. There’s a balancing act with carbs and fats, and it can impact your protein choice. If you tend to have a fat-heavy breakfast, make this stir-fry with chicken as described.

Got some fat to spare?

Then sub in some salmon.

Train hard, eat well – and you’ll be set for whatever new challenges the day brings you.

To the kitchen!

6G

Fibre

CHICKEN H STIR-FRY BOWL INGREDIENTS

METHOD

(SERVES1)

Fry the garlic ginger and red onion in the oil in a large pan on a high heat until they start to brown and smell delicious.

Throw in the chicken chunks, add the chilli powder and honey, and give it all a good stir to coat the meat in the mixture.

Keep moving everything to brown off the chicken – it’s called “stir-fry” for a reason. Add the dash of soy sauce, then the red capsicum and broccoli for the last few minutes – you want them to keep their crunch.

Cut into one piece of the chicken to check if it’s nearly done. Now, microwave the rice as per the pack instructions. It’s not laz m w th st w

• A garlic clove • Ginger, 7g, shredded • Red onion, ½ • Olive oil, 1tsp • Chicken breast, 150g, diced • Chilli powder, ½tsp • Honey, ½tbsp • Soy sauce, reduced salt, ½tbsp • A red capsicum, sliced • Tenderstem broccoli, 100g • Jasmine rice, microwaveable, 150g (cooked weight; 50g uncooked weight)

JULY 2021 129

25 October, 2007, 7:30am NAME: MARK WALES FEAT: SAS commander Mark Wales thinks he is about to die in a gunfight in Afghanistan

130 MEN’S HE ALTH

feel better once I began doing the things that I’ve been trained to do. Once I was talking to the people next to me, moving and shooting, that’s when I was like, Okay, we’ve done this before, we know what to do. One great thing about the SAS is they put you in training situations that are even worse than combat in some ways, so by the time you experience it, you’ve already been exposed to incredible pressure.

We were stuck in that cornfield for probably 90 minutes and then it took us the rest of the day to fight our way out of the valley. It was full-on.

But that first taste of combat was a moment after which I knew I was never going to return to being the old me. I just knew things were going to be different after that day. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. I knew this was the

beginning of a period that was going to define me.

I went back and forth to Afghanistan for four more years after that. The experience gave me a whole new level of appreciation for all those things we take for granted in the West, like being alive and living in a safe society. It makes you appreciate that if you live in Australia, nothing’s ever really that bad. But it’s kind of a curse, too, because sometimes you think, I’ll never go back to something as meaningful and exciting as that experience.

“AFTER MY FIRST TASTE OF COMBAT, I KNEW I WAS NEVER GOING TO RETURN TO THE OLD ME”

Survivor: Life in the SAS by Mark Wales is out now

PHOTOGRAPHY: SUPPLIED

DATE:

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE of combat was confronting. I was a 24-year-old troop commander leading about 26 SAS soldiers in enemy territory in Afghanistan’s Chora Valley.

One morning at the first light, we moved into a cornfield.

Normally there’s what you call a “pattern of life”, kids playing or men shepherding goats. But instead there was this eerie quiet. Then, on the other side of the cornfield, I saw this woman running, holding the hand of her tiny child. Why is this woman fleeing? I wondered. That’s when the machine guns opened fire.

The Taliban were waiting in the cornfield in chest-deep trenches, fingers on the triggers of their belt-fed machine guns. They’d waited until we were real close, probably just 30 metres away.

So close that artillery could not support us. That’s when they started shooting. In that opening burst of gunfire, one of my patrol commands was shot and killed.

The first thing I did was turn right and run about five steps into a low irrigation duct. My team and I took cover in this knee-deep channel of water.

For the first 30 seconds, I was very much in survival mode. It was like: Holy shit! All of a sudden, life just existed in these two or three second increments. It was like, Okay, now I’ve got to crawl to that ditch. Now I’ve got to duck.

Now I’ve got to figure out where that fire is coming from. Nothing else mattered except for me and my mates.

All your senses are firing because of the adrenaline. So I started to slow my breathing down and take forceful deep breaths to try and restore my rational thinking.

I managed to jump on the radio and issue my first command.

I only started to

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