3 Foam rolling isn’t the only way to ease soreness. Check out these other implements that get the job done, too
WAYS TO SPEED UP RECOVERY AFTER A
HARD WORKOUT
BY BJ GADDOUR Thursday, January 28, 2016,
F
oam rolling is a great way to speed recovery. Kneading your muscles after a hard workout can help ease soreness by breaking up adhesions (tight knots of connective tissue) and enhancing bloodflow. But a foam roller is just one of many tools you can use before, after, or between workouts to boost your mobility and fast-track your recovery. Here are three other options you’ve probably never considered. Barbell Use this to loosen up your calves and Achilles tendons, especially after a tough run or pickup hoops game. Place your lower legs on the bar (or even one leg at a time on the handle of a dumbbell or kettlebell) and move them from side to side to break up adhesions. MEN’S HEALTH RECOMMENDS
Training
Resistance Band Secure a thick, looped resistance band to an anchor point--a squat cage is perfect. Then step inside the free end so it sits above your ankle. Facing away from the anchor, walk forward a few steps to put tension in the band. Now drive your knee past your toes several times. Repeat with your other leg. Physical therapists call this “band distraction.” The benefit is better ankle mobility. Softball Your targets: glutes and chest. The payoff: improved hip mobility and upperbody range of motion. Sit on a softball (or a lacrosse ball if you can handle it) and dig into your glute muscles, which can become knotted and tight from prolonged sitting. Repeat with the ball sandwiched between your chest and a wall.
WHY VIAGRA WON’T FIX YOUR
SEX LIFE Unfortunately, the little blue tablet isn’t a magic pill
BY CHRISTA SGOBBASunday, February 28, 2016.
P
opping a pill might not be the answer to all your bedroom woes: Guys who take certain meds for their erectile dysfunction (ED) still report problems with their sex lives, finds research from the U.K. Even though a whopping 80 percent of men over 50 who use PDE5 inhibitors—a class of ED drugs that includes Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra— say the meds have a positive or very positive effect on getting busy, they still experience some snags. MEN’S HEALTH RECOMMENDS In the study, these men reported more difficulty reaching orgasm and higher levels of concern with their
sexual activity, function, and relationships than guys without ED. Studies have shown that PDE5 inhibitors are effective in helping men achieve and maintain an erection good enough for sexual activity, says study author David Lee, Ph.D. But a man’s overall perception of his sex life depends on more than just simple restoration of erectile function, Lee says. Some of the issues the guys reported in the study—for example, fewer erections in the morning—may have to do with the fact the meds are only effective for a short time after you take them, explains Lee. And the pills can also diminish sexual spontaneity, which can affect satisfaction.
Sex
So even though drugs like Viagra can help you rise to the occasion, they won’t erase all lingering concerns you might have about your member. The best thing you can do is maintain honest expectations when you take the medication—and engage in a back-and-forth with your doctor about what’s realistic and what’s not. (Sadly, all the little blue pills
Problems
in the world won’t bring back your teenage libido. If only!) Plus, ED may not just be a physical thing—psychological causes also come into play, especially in younger guys, Lee says. And since PDE5 inhibitors won’t do squat for those kinds of issues, working through the with a sex therapist can be important, too.
THE NEW RULES OF ONE-NIGHT STANDS Women are seeking no-strings-attached sex more than ever before. Here, from her perspective, is how you can pull off the perfect 12-hour relationship BY AMY GRIERTuesday, March 22, 2016
Casual hookups are the supersized fries of dating. They’re not nourishing, they don’t satisfy for long, they’re not great for your heart, and they usually come with a small packet of regret. But oh boy, sometimes nothing else will hit the spot. And these days, we’re serving them up more often than you’d think, with researchers reporting that more women than ever before are seeking no-strings casual sex—or are at least open to the
idea. In a 1989 study, not one woman said she’d agree to casual sex with an attractive man who propositioned her, even though seven out of 10 men would do so if the tables were turned. These days more women are on board. Last year, nearly half of women in a Match.com poll reported having had a one-night stand.
Sex
Pack on the muscle you want by busting the myth of the hard gainer
Next Page
I
’ve been called a pencil, a string bean, skin and bones. I’ve heard the three words no man who cares about his physique ever wants to hear: “You work out?” Trainers refer to us as ectomorphs—which sounds like something from Ghostbusters—to distinguish us from
some of us are good at endurance sports. Then I had my Charles Atlas moment. But it wasn’t a sand-kicking bully who made me want to become bigger and stronger. It was a former girlfriend who wanted to hire movers to carry her furniture into a new apartment
.
MYTH 1: An ectomorph can’t gain muscle
I almost puked during a test of my maximum
mesomorphs, the guys who always look like they work out even when they don’t. My fellow ectomorphs and I prefer to call ourselves “hard gainers.” We brush off the insults, chalk up our physiques to high metabolism, and take solace in the fact that
because she was afraid I’d hurt myself if I tried to help. I knew it was time to build strength and muscle. But before I could, I had to demolish five of the myths that hold skinny guys back
bench press. Martin Rooney, C.S.C.S., director of the Parisi Speed School in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, explains why: “Lifting weights is a stimulus. It attacks your body—everything from your muscles to your nervous system,”
Training
he says.“That was your body being challenged in a way it’s never been before. It isn’t used to that kind of stress. Now your muscles will rebuild and prepare for the next attack.
I’d need it: That first workout was humbling. At 6 feet tall and 146 pounds, I could deadlift just 105 pounds and bench press 95 pounds only three times. I could do 11 chinups, which isn’t
bad, and my 11.5 percent body fat would be the envy of many mesomorphs if they weren’t already laughing at my 12-inch upper-arm girth or my wimpy 20-inch vertical jump. Rooney assured me that building up from this shaky platform would be difficult but not
impossible, as long as I was willing to push myself. “Your body is an incredibly adaptive organism,” he says. “That’s why every time you lift, you have to challenge yourself to provide a greater and greater jolt to shock your muscles into another round of rebuilding.”
MYTH 2: No matter how much he eats, a hard gainer can’t put on weight If you think you eat enough to build muscle, try this experiment, courtesy of Alan Aragon, M.S., a nutritionist and Men’s Health advisor
from Thousand Oaks, California. Pick a recent day that represents how you typically eat. Try to remember everything you consumed and run it all through a calorie calculator, like the one at nutritiondata.self. com. If you’re like me, you’ll see a problem. I
estimated that I ate about 2,000 calories a day, but it was really more like 1,700— nowhere near what I needed to maintain my existing muscle mass, let alone add to it. “Underweight people tend to overestimate their daily calorie intake,” Aragon says. “Then they incorrectly attribute their low weight to a high metabolism.” So calories matter. But so do the sources of those calories, Aragon says. More food means higher levels of glucose circulating in your blood. That creates metabolic stress, leading to inflammation, and inflammation can lead to a whole host of problems, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. So trying to build a more muscular body with junk food is like trying to build a log cabin with wood drenched in lighter fluid. Aragon directed me toward whole grains, which provide fiber that may help regulate blood glucose, and foods rich in antioxidants and omega-3fatty acids to fight inflammation. But I still dreaded the answer to my next question: How much will I have to eat?
MYTH 3: He has to eat till he bursts Aragon’s nutrition plan called for 2,500 calories on workout days, including 213 grams of protein. That much protein amounts to almost 2 1/2 pounds of raw sirloin, or 34 large eggs! I had trouble stuffing it all down at first. It took me a half hour to finish breakfast, and my lunches in the company cafeteria horrified my coworkers. Soon I realized I couldn’t consume all my calories in three giant meals. So I adapted: I kept a jug of almonds and a bunch of bananas at my desk for snacks. I stored a block of cheese and a gallon of chocolate milk in the office fridge. “Your body will tell you how it best processes calories,” Aragon says. “For some people it’s large meals. For others it’s around-the-clock eating. If you time it right, you should rarely feel as if you’re force-feeding yourself.” (Read up before you chow down. MYTH 4: He must live in the gym Each week I worked out 4 or 5 days, training for up to 6 hours total. (See this month’s poster.) But if I felt physically or mentally drained, I skipped a workout or two. “If your body’s sore, it’s telling you it needs more time to recover,” Rooney says. I’m convinced that the extra rest time enhanced my results, giving my body the time it needed to recover and to come back stronger.
MYTH 5: Results will be minor I won’t lie: This plan is tough, especially in the first few weeks. Some days I was so sore I wanted to avoid walking up a flight of stairs. And the results are unpredictable. You may gain a few pounds right away, or you may lose a pound or two because of the radical change in your routine. But once you’re past the shock stage, you should see steady growth. “Beginning lifters can expect about 2 pounds of muscle growth a month,” Aragon says. Key point: Each time you hit the gym, give your best effort. “You may think it’s just 1 rep you’re missing, but that last rep is when your muscles are working hardest,” Rooney says. “The question isn’t whether you’re a hard gainer, but are you a hard trainer?” Rooney retested me about 4 1/2 months after my first visit. I deadlifted 250, and my 3-rep max on the bench press jumped to 165 pounds. I cranked out 20 chinups, and my vertical leap soared to 26 1/2 inches. That’s in addition to the 14 pounds I gained. And it may not sound like much, but I added 2 inches to my biceps. My waist was still 32 inches, and my body fat actually decreased to 9.8 percent. But the sweetest reward wasn’t measured with a barbell or tape measure. A friend mentioned that she was moving to a new apartment and asked if I could help with the furniture. “No problem,” I said. And it wasn’t.
Why You Should Bring Coffee to the Beach BY K. ALEISHA FETTERSThursday, July 5, 2012.
Good news for the highly caffeinated: Drinking coffee can reduce your risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, according to a new study published in Cancer Research. The study analyzed the lifestyle habits of
more than 100,000 people over 20 years. Male participants who drank three or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 10 percent lower risk of developing basal cell carcinoma than those who drank less than one cup a month, found researchers.
Health
Skip the decaf, though—decaffeinated brew didn’t have the same benefit. “The more caffeine, the lower your risk,” says study author Jiali Han, Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health. Caffeine from other sources like tea, chocolate, and cola was also associated with a decreased risk of basal cell carcinoma, reports the study. So why is caffeine a potential cancer crusher? Ultraviolet light from the sun can damage skin cells that may grow into tumors. But researchers believe caffeine may eliminate these sun-damaged cells, explains Han. (Get more life-saving health tips sent straight to your inbox by signing up for our free Daily Dose newsletter.)
If you’re already a java fan, this is just another reason to enjoy your cup of morning Joe. Recent research has found coffee may also reduce your risk of heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease. However, Han doesn’t recommend a cup of coffee taking the place of daily sunscreen. That’s because caffeine doesn’t reduce the risk of developing two other types of skin cancer—squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Sometimes it’s extremely difficult to tell if your bump, blemish, or mole is the big C. Be proactive, and check out What Skin Cancer Looks Like. Good news for the highly caffeinated: Drinking coffee can reduce your risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, according to a new study published in Cancer Research. The study analyzed the lifestyle habits of
more than 100,000 people over 20 years. Male participants who drank three or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 10 percent lower risk of developing basal cell carcinoma than those who drank less than one cup a month, found researchers. Skip the decaf, though—decaffeinated brew didn’t have the same benefit. “The more caffeine, the lower your risk,”
says study author Jiali Han, Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health. Caffeine from other sources like tea, chocolate, and cola was also associated with a decreased risk of basal cell carcinoma, reports the study. So why is caffeine a potential cancer crusher? Ultraviolet light from the sun
can damage skin cells that may grow into tumors. But researchers believe caffeine may eliminate these sun-damaged cells, explains Han. (Get more life-saving health tips sent straight to your inbox by signing up for our free Daily Dose newsletter.) If you’re already a java fan, this is just another reason to enjoy your cup of morning Joe. Recent research has found coffee may also reduce your risk of heart failure
and Alzheimer’s disease. However, Han doesn’t recommend a cup of coffee taking the place of daily sunscreen. That’s because caffeine doesn’t reduce the risk of developing two other types of skin cancer—squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Sometimes it’s extremely difficult to tell if your bump, blemish, or mole is the big C. Be proactive, and check out What Skin Cancer Looks Like.