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Lean Summer Muscle

p115

AUSTRALIAN

SUPERMAN BODY PLAN How Henry Cavill Went From Zero to Superhero

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N REGAIS S E L D N E ENERGY sh on Hit RefrreLife You

Revealed!

Your Best Protein Meal

Hacks to Age-Proof Your Brain

MAGZ_MH_1217

Smash Your Limits

by Cooper Cronk

Destroy Doubt by Mitchell Starc

Find Inner Calm

by Russell Brand

...AND, EVEN THE PRICE HAS A NICE ROAR TO IT.

The new more attainable F-TYPE features a 221kW 4-cylinder 2.0 litre turbocharged Ingenium petrol engine, the most advanced and efficient engine ever found in an F-TYPE. Experience the latest in a distinguished bloodline. jaguar.com.au/f-type

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AVAILABLE AT SELECTED WALLACE BISHOP STORES. WALLACEBISHOP.COM.AU 1800 804 040

In This Issue 12.17 On the Cover p24 DESTROY DOUBT

Ashes pace ace Mitchell Starc on using barbs to inspire your finest deeds.

p35 REGAIN ENDLESS ENERGY

The keys to being a powerhouse from sun-up to lights out.

p37 YOUR BEST PROTEIN MEAL

Which meat rules for turning your weights-room labour into lean muscle?

p68 SUPERMAN BODY PLAN

Henry Cavill on everything you need to do to become a Man of Steel.

p86 AGE-PROOF YOUR BRAIN

The simple tricks to protecting your grey matter for lifelong mental acuity.

p92 SMASH YOUR LIMITS

Rugby league perfectionist Cooper Cronk spills his secrets to overachieving.

p106 FIND INNER CALM

Russell Brand shows you how to leave torment and addiction in your wake.

p115 LEAN SUMMER MUSCLE Your golden rules for attaining the beach body of a lifetime.

p123 GYM-FREE ABS

Who needs equipment to sculpt a core that roars?

MODEL: HENRY CAVILL PHOTOGRAPHED BY HAMISH BROWN

DECEMBER 2017

Milk your gifts for all their worth, says footy champ Cooper Cronk.

Sections

p10

p13

p24

p51

p68

p115

ASK MH

USEFUL STUFF

PERSONAL BEST

MH BOSS

FEATURES

ELITE

Health

Weight Loss

Fitness

p20 HOW TO LIVE PAST 100

p11 VEGETARIANISM FOR CHEATS

p18 HOT OFF THE BENCH-PRESS

p38 ANCIENT REMEDIES REVIVED

p20 DODGE PARTY PIGOUTS

p120 STAND UP AND PUSH

p44 BANISH BACK PAIN

p32 TIGHTEN THE SQUEEZE

p127 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

Muscle

Style

Nutrition

p14 QUADS OF THE GODS

p55 SHORT STORY

p14 DODGE A FAST-FOOD BINGE

p42 PERSPIRE TO GREATNESS

p58 REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

p30 ALL BASES COVERED

p115 SIX STEPS TO LEAN MUSCLE

p60 DARK SIDE OF THE SUN

p36 TRAIN DIRTY, EAT DIRTIER

Bringing up your century could be as simple as getting these four things right. The age-old secrets to conquering a host of modern maladies.

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: JASON IERACE

Could the cure to this infernal problem really be all in your mind? Answer: yes.

Three moves to farewell your chicken legs forever. Good riddance. The dead-easy adjunct to shifting iron that delivers shirt-splitting gains. Crack trainer Andrew Pap on tweaks that will remake your physique in time for summer.

The new way of eating that shrinks your gut, boosts your health and saves the planet. How to get home from a big night out without a big, bloated belly. Meet your surprising new best friend in the battle of the bulge: fresh juice.

Tips on looking sharp and staying cool while liberating your legs this season. Venture back in time to rock yesteryear’s most iconic watch designs. Tame summer’s scariest threat with our pick of the ultimate ray blockers.

What you can learn about physique training from extremely fit women. It’s time to add the ultimate shoulder move to your gym repertoire. Bodyweight guru Tim Robards sets you on a path towards abdominal supremacy.

Kids keep dragging you into burger joints? Your game plan to beat the blowout. Pizza is back on your clean-eating menu with these twists on Italian classics. Multiply your quota of cheat meals with these canny workout adjustments. DECEMBER 2017

Ed’s Letter

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Mental Nutrition

menshealth.com.au

BEN JHOTY Deputy Editor

Luke Benedictus

Twitter: @LukeBenedictus menshealth@pacificmags.com.au

FOR MORE MUSCLE & FITNESS TIPS, DOWNLOAD THE M E N ’ S H E A LT H PERSONAL FITNESS TR AINER APP FROM THE APPLE APP STORE

DECEMBER 2017

Online

@MensHealthAU

LUKE BENEDICTUS Editor

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are,” wrote the French author and gastronome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin back in 1826. This was the origin of “you are what you eat”, a phrase that’s inspired countless #EatClean hashtags, plus that vague pang of guilt you get after a fistful of Haribo Tangfastics. The basic idea here is that your body is constructed from the nutrients you extract from every forkful you swallow. The best building blocks are predominantly derived from whole and unprocessed food – think lean protein, complex carbs and a rainbow of fruit and veg. Not surprisingly, this is an idea to which SumoSalad founder Luke Baylis subscribes. Quite apart from creating a business dedicated to healthy fast food, he can personally attest to the benefits. During his 20s, Baylis completely overhauled his diet to lose 40kg and get himself “What you back into shape. Where things get interesting mentally ingest is that Baylis extends this philosophy way beyond the shapes the chewable. Just as your food topography of changes the interior landscape of your body, he believes that what your mind” you mentally ingest shapes the topography of your mind. As a result, Baylis no longer watches TV or listens to the radio. Instead, over the last two years, he’s consumed 330 audiobooks on an esoteric range of subjects from philosophy and science to business and spirituality. Baylis combines this learning with his daily run to and from work, listening to the audiobooks at double-speed in order to mainline the content even more efficiently. “I’m very conscious of what I put into my mind,” Baylis explains on p51. “Unless I can benefit from it, I don’t consume it. It’s like a diet of the mind.” While I’m not yet sold on the speed-listening aspect, this is an intriguing idea. At a time when we’re bombarded by more content than ever, it’s easy to catch yourself mindlessly glued to Netflix or plummeting down another social-media wormhole. Baylis’ tactics have enabled him to forcibly regain control. And he’s done it with the help of an orchestra of chipmunks.

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Executive Director, Business Development and Global Licensing LAURA ONGARO

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Pacific Magazines, Media City, 8 Central Avenue, Eveleigh, NSW 2015 Phone: (02) 9394 2000 Fax: (02) 9394 2319 Subscription enquiries: 1300 668 118 Printing Bluestar Web, 83 Derby Street, Silverwater NSW 2128. Distribution Gordon & Gotch. Published 12 times a year. Registered business name Pacific Magazines Pty Ltd, (ABN) 16 097 410 896. All rights reserved. Title and trademark Men’s Health © Rodale Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. Men’s Health is a registered trademark and the unauthorised use of this trademark is strictly prohibited.

Hugh Jackman and the new TimeWalker Chronograph The new TimeWalker Chronograph is inspired by performance and the spirit of racing. montblanc.com/timewalker Crafted for New Heights.

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Ask MH LIFE QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

Q The news is freaking me out. Is it time to switch off? EW CHANCES ARE your daily homepage of choice has never been a very positive space. But if the headlines of late have been hitting too hard, you may need to reevaluate your reading habits. Opting out altogether, though nice in theory, is unlikely to work when rolling news dominates your social feeds. Psychologist Laura Thomas recommends setting limits for your browsing time instead. So stick to a quick catch-up every morning but avoid the urge to click on anything emotive or visual. A principle called the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;availability heuristicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dictates that the more readily we can bring an event to mind, the higher we rate the likelihood of the same thing happening again. Hence why car crashes feel more threatening than, say, respiratory disease.

DECEMBER 2017

ON EDGE? YOU CAN WORK IT OUT

PICK FROM THESE THREE FITNESS PROTOCOLS TO OUTPACE YOUR WORRIES

RUNNING

Leg it from your problems: aerobic exercise boosts levels of inhibitory brain chemicals, inducing a state of calm, according to Princeton University.

HIKING

Head for the hills. A Stanford study found that a 90-minute nature walk reduces neural activity in the part of the brain associated with mental distress.

YOGA

A review in the journal Frontiers in Immunology found that 15 minutes of yoga and meditation can reverse stress-induced changes in genes.

Q What are some drills I can use to improve my attention span? BH

Q I never get riled . . . except at lousy drivers. How can I defuse myself? MM

Q I’ve never been able to touch my toes. I’m still fit though, right? NS

Treat it like cardio and do some interval training. Break up an hour like this: for five minutes, focus solely on your work. Then rest for one minute, but rest wisely. Do 10 push-ups, meditate, stretch or just gaze out the window. These are experiences, not goals, and they allow your mind to refresh and restore, says neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley. (Avoid social media during these breaks. It can increase anxiety and selfjudgment. Plus, it never lasts just one minute.) Keep repeating the cycle for the hour. On successive days, increase your work time by 60 seconds. You’re building your focus chops, and you’ll find that you get more done and have missed nothing by ignoring the latest shiny thing. And if you find that routine to be too much, try eliminating any multitasking opportunities, like putting a hard limit of two on the number of software tabs you keep open.

It’s not uncommon, even for a chilled guy like you, to get a little tweaked when Grandpa over here won’t step on the freakin’ gas, or some clown cuts you off on the freeway. Hey, maybe you’re frazzled, running late or sleepdeprived. Sometimes anger passes quickly and other times it lingers, says cognitive therapist Melissa Horowitz. But there’s a crucial distinction: “If you act on it with the intent of causing physical or psychological harm, this can be categorised as aggressive driving behaviour,” she says. You could face fines, points off your license, a date in court or even worse, an accident that gets someone hurt. To quell that about-to-blow fury, Horowitz says, try this: inhale and count to three; then exhale and do the same. Or tense a specific muscle or muscle group (like your shoulders or fists) to a count of three, and then release. Ahh, how’s the serenity?

It’s not uncommon, but neither is it inevitable. Few guys have in-built inflexibility, so chances are your lack of mobility is due to too much time spent slumped over a keyboard. A chair-bound lifestyle shortens the muscles of your posterior chain, especially your hip flexors. Now, if you’re still wondering why touching your toes should be of any concern (it’s hardly a memorable party trick), consider that this reduction in your range of motion carries over to your squats and deadlifts, increasing your injury risk and inhibiting strength. Now that we have your attention, bolt this corrective stretch onto the end of each workout: kneel on your right knee with your right arm raised high. Squeeze your right glute until you feel a stretch at the front of your hip, then bend your torso to the left to intensify it. Swap sides. Your toes will be within reach in weeks.

Q Can I help my dog’s separation anxiety? BW Ah, the evidence of the heartbroken hound: pee stains on the carpet, shredded pillows, howls of “why did he leeeeave meeee?” so all the neighbours know what you did. Turning on a TV or radio may help your pet’s boredom, but it won’t ease distress, says Malena DeMartini, an expert on canine separation anxiety. Sure, there are products out there: an Adaptil Calming Collar releases a dogspecific calming pheromone (check with your vet). But what you really need to do is condition your pup to your absences. Start by leaving the house for short periods – even seconds – and increase the duration over time, says DeMartini.

Q Why is everyone in my office flexitarian now? LN As far as dietary fads go, this is one of the better ones, involving neither powdered sachet ‘meals’ nor exorbitant juicers. And it has solid backing: recent studies from Spain found that flexitarians (who eat a mostly vegetarian diet, along with just a little meat and fish) have a 43 per cent reduced chance of obesity. However, it’s worth looking at the bigger picture. These flexitarians were noted to eat more than twice as many veg as ardent carnivores – a fact that likely swung the results in their favour. If your colleagues are simply picking the sausage out of their morning McMuffin, we doubt they’re seeing similar benefits. “When people move to a plant-based diet, they sometimes eat less overall, as it requires more conscious effort,” explains nutritionist Jo Travers. So, while fitting in a few meat-free meals is an idea we subscribe to, our approach would be to focus on eating more of the good stuff – beans, nuts, greens – rather than arbitrarily slicing out your sirloins.

DECEMBER 2017

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. . . . . . .

Useful Stuff INCREASE WORK PRODUCTIVITY FROM THE BEACH

A little office rivalry, we think you’ll agree, can be healthy. Whether you’re vying for recognition with your latest pitch or simply flaunting the quality of your al desko lunches, it’s only human to want to one-up your workmates. But if there’s one contest it’s worth opting out of entirely, it’s ‘presenteeism’: refusing to take paid leave, purely for the sake of being seen to do so.

. . . . . . .

Tons of tips, tricks and strategies for life 12 /2 0 17

Besides, recent thinking suggests your martyrly peers’ unwillingness to spend time reclining in the sun could be harming their career prospects. According to research published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans in the US, employees are on average 40 per cent more productive after taking a holiday. What’s more, those who make a habit of using up their annual leave require fewer sick days and were noted to be less irritable, forgetful and less prone to symptoms of anxiety and depression. And you don’t need to spend a month ‘finding yourself’ in Bali to cash in, either. A separate study concluded that holiday happiness peaks after just eight days; those who go away for longer experience no additional benefits to mood or relaxation. Depart on Saturday, return well rested the following Sunday, and you can consider yourself on the flight path to promotion.

Want to boost your battery life? It’s time to power down.

DECEMBER 2017

QUADS OF THE GODS

Can I Foam-Roll Too Much?

DECEMBER 2017

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................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. MAN, . . . . . . .A.PLAN .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. PAN, .................. ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . .This . . . . . . . . . .uses . . . . . . . pan, . . . . . . . . . the . . . . . . . . . beef . . . . . . . .crams ............... . . . . . . . . . . recipe . . . . . . . . . .one . . . . . . . skips . . . . . . . . greasy . . . . . . . . . . and ................... . . . . . .in . . the . . . vegetables. . . . . . . . . . . .Dig . . .in! ....................................... ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . .WHAT . . . . TO . . DO .................................................... . . . . . .1/. .In. a. cast-iron . . . . . . . . on . . . . . . . high, . . . . . . WHAT . . . . .YOU’LL . . . . . NEED ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pan . . . . medium . . . . . . . . heat . . . 1the . . . . .olive ............................ . . . . . . . .oil, . . . . . and . . . . . . .3-5 . . . . . . . .Add . . . . TBSP . . . . . . .oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .garlic . . . . . . onion, . . . . . . minutes. . . . . . . . . the . 2. garlic . . . . cloves, . . . . minced ........................ . . . . . . . .tomatoes; . . . . . . . . occasionally . . . . . . . . . .thickened, ...................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . stir . . . . . . . . . . till . . . . . . . . .white . . . . . . . diced ........................ . . . . . . . .5-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¼ . . . . . onion, ............................ . . . . . . . . . . .minutes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. can . . .whole . . . .tomatoes, . . . . . .drained ................... . . . . . .2/ . . In. a. large . . . .bowl, . . . mix . . the . . .ricotta, . . . . zest . . . and ................................... . . . . . . . . herbs; . . . . season . . . . .with . . salt . . .and . . pepper. . . . . . . . 2. cups . . . .ricotta . . . .cheese ........................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zest . . . . .½. lemon ........................... . . . . . .3/ . . . . . the . . . . . to . . . . . . Spoon . . . . . . .half . . . . . of .............................. . . . . . . . .Heat . . . . . oven . . . . . 200°C. . . . . . . . . .out . . . . the . basil . . . leaves, . . . . .chopped; . . . . . . . . .more . . . . .serving .......... 6 . . . . . . . .sauce; . . . . . . aside. . . . . . . . do . . . . . .in. the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .plus . . . . . . for ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . set . . . . . . Now . . . . .layers . . . . . . . pan: . . . . . .eggplant, . . . . . . . . . sliced ................... . . . . . . . .half . . the . . .vegetables; . . . . . . .half . . the . . ricotta . . . . .mix; . . 1. small . . . . . . . . . .thinly ...................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. small . . . . . . . . . thinly ....................... . . . . . . . .repeat; . . . . the . . .rest . . of . .the . . sauce; . . . . mozzarella. . . . . . . . . . . .zucchini, . . . . . . . . .sliced ................... . . . . . . . .Bake . . . . . . .oven, . . . . .on, . . . . .tender, . . . . . . 8. oz . . fresh . . . part-skim . . . . . . mozzarella, . . . . . . . sliced .............. . . . . . . . . . . . in. .the . . . . . lid . . . . until . . . . . . . 20-30 ................................... . . . . . . . .minutes. ........................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . .4/ . . . . . . . and . . . . . . till. .the . . . . . . is ..................................... . . . . . . . . Uncover . . . . . . . .bake . . . . . . .cheese . . . . . .bubbly, ................................... . . . . . . . . another . . . . .5-10 . . .minutes. . . . . . Using . . . .oven . . . mitts, .................................... ................................................................ . . . . . . . . remove . . . . .the . . pan. . . .Cool. . . . Slice. . . . .Feeds . . . .6.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . .1315 . . . . . . . . . 21g ................................................. . . . . . . . . . kilojoules, . . . . . . . . .protein, .............................................. . . . . . .16g . . carbs . . . . (4g . . fibre), . . . .20g .............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fat ............................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MH . . . . . . .POLL ..................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TWITTER .......................... ................................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How . . . . . . . .you . . . . . . . . . to .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . do . . . . . . .react . . . . . . . your ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team . . . . . .losing . . . . . .a. big . . . .game? .......... ................................................................ ................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 .......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .% .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ .Your . . . . . . . . .risk . . . .heart . . . . . . . in. the ...............................3 ........... . . . .increased . . . . . . . . of . . . . . attack . . . . . . . .seven .............................% .......... ................................................................ .days . . .following . . . . . a. respiratory . . . . . . . infection. . . . . . . See . . a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anger . . . . . . .Sadness . . . . . . . .Illness . . . . . . . Shrug .... ................................................................ .doctor . . . . . . . if. you . . . . . .chest ................................................. . . . . .ASAP . . . . . . .have . . . . . . discomfort. .............................................. .SOURCE . . . . . . . . . .MEDICINE ..................................................... . . . . . INTERNAL . . . . . . . . . . . JOURNAL ................................................ ................................................................

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DECEMBER 2017

Symmetry

. . . . . . . . trumps ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .size, ...... . . . . . . . . . .says . . . .Paige ...... . . . . . . . . . . Hathaway. .......... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... . .it.OK . . . . a. guy . . . . . . . . . . a. . Is . . . . . for . . . . . .to. approach ........ . . . . . in. the . . .gym? ........... woman .................... I. don’t . . . think . . . .it’s. .a .bad . . thing. ....... . . . . .it’s . . . . . . place ......... Maybe . . . . . . .a.good . . . . . . .in. a. way ... . . . . . .the . . . . .of. you . . . . . . an .. because . . . . . . . . two . . . . . . .share ..... . . . . . .Just . . please . . . . .don’t ....... interest. .................... . . . . . .her .............. interrupt . . . . . . . . mid-squat. ............ All . . right . . . to . .praise . . . . her . . physique? ....... .As. long . . . as . .it’s . .not . . . . bum ....... . . . . . . . . . . . her . . . . . or .... .something . . . . . . like . . that. . . . How . . . about ..... .................... . . .shoulders? ................. her .................... . .fitness . . . . for . . . . .a .look . . . . more .... Is . . . . . . . . you . . . . . . or ...... of . . a.feeling? ................. . . be . . . . . . .when . . . . . . got ..... To . . . . honest, . . . . . . . . I.first . . . . .into .. . .it.was . . more . . . .about . . . .a .look. . . .But ... it, .................... . . .so. much . . . . . . . If. you ........ not . . . . . . . . now. . . . . . . .feel ..... . . . .you’re . . . .going . . . to . .look . . .good. .... good .Too . . many . . . people . . . . . kill . .themselves ....... .................... .for. diet . . . and . . training, . . . . . .and . . they’re ..... .................... . . .happy. ................. not .................... . . . . kind . . . . . . . . do . . . . like? .... What . . . . . . .of. bloke . . . . . .you ...... . . doesn’t . . . . . have . . . to . .be. .in. the . . gym ... He . . . .but . . . . . .be. .with ........ 24/7, . . . . . . I .can’t . . . . . . . someone ...... . . . doesn’t . . . . . . . . out ......... who . . . . . . . . work . . . . . and ....... . . . . . eat . . . . . . . .It. just ...... doesn’t . . . . . . . healthily. ............. . . . . . .make . . . sense. ........... wouldn’t .................... .................... .................... .................... ....................

. . . . . . . .

JACK THE BARMAN

Muscles Women Find Most Attractive

W A T C H

B E Y O N D

B R 0 3 - 9 2 D I V E R · VIC Bell & Ross Boutique, Melbourne, 03 9650 7421 | 8th Avenue Watch Co., Emporium Melbourne, 03 9639 6175 | 8th Avenue Watch Co., Chadstone S/C, 03 9569 7652 NSW Hardy Brothers, Sydney, 02 8262 3100 | Hardy Brothers, Chatswood, 02 8423 2800 | Wamada Jewellery, Haymarket, 02 9281 8182 | Heinemann Tax & Duty Free, Sydney Airport QLD 8th Avenue Watch Co., Pacifc Fair S/C, 07 5575 4883 | Hardy Brothers, Brisbane, 07 3625 8000 · WA Hardy Brothers, Perth, 08 6318 1000 · www.bellross.com

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................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ . Japanese . . . . . . . . .doctor . . . . . .Shigeaki . . . . . . . . Hinohara . . . . . . . . specialised . . . . . . . . . . . in . . .longevity . . . . . . . . .and . . . made . . . . .it ................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q: . . . . my . . . . .have . . . . .red ..... . . . all . . . . . . . way . . . . . . 105. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .for . . . . . . . .he . . . . . . .behind . . . . . . . . . secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doc, . . . . eyes . . . . . been . . . . .and. . . . . . . . . .the . . . . . . .to . . . . . . .Fortunately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you, . . . . . . . left . . . . . . . . . . . his . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . watery . . . . for. .days. . . What’s . . . . going . . .on? .... ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ . The . . . . . . . . . . . Hinohara . . . . . . . . .born . . . . . . . . . . . . . biscuits . . . . . . . lunch; . . . . . . . . . . .with . . . . . and ....................................... . . . .just-deceased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . was . . . . . .in. 1911, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for . . . . . . vegetables . . . . . . . . . .rice . . . . .a .little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Well, . . . . . . . .Do. you . . . . .a . . . . . . . when . . . .the . .average . . . . .Japanese . . . . . . person . . . . was . . . doing . . . .well . . . . . fish . . .for. .dinner. . . . . He . .maintained . . . . . . .a.weight . . . . of. .just . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A: . . . . it. depends. . . . . . . . . have ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . under . . . . . . . . . . . . . history . . . .of.allergies? . . . . .If .you. .do,. that’s ........ . to. .survive . . . . . . . 40. . . . . . the . . . . . . .of. a. very . . . . . . . . . . 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a. . . . . . . . . . . . past . . . . . Over . . . . . course . . . . . . . . . . long . . . . . . . . . kilograms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pretty . . . easy . . .fix:. take . . .some . . .antihistamine. ......... . life . . . .formed . . . . . . . views . . . . . . . .what . . . . . .a .man ..................................................................... . . . he . . . . . . .firm . . . . . .about . . . . . . .kept . . . . . . . . . . . .✔ . . . . . CLOCKING ........................................................ . healthy, . . . . . strong . . . . and . . .engaged. . . . . . Here’s . . . . .your . . blueprint . . . . . . . . . . . KEEP . . . . . . . . . . . . ON ................................................ . for . . bringing . . . . . up . . the . . century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Retirement . . . . . . . was . . . . . . . . . to . . . . . .the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q: . . . . . . had . . . . . . .before, ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .something . . . . . . . . avoid, . . . . . . doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I.haven’t . . . . . allergies . . . . . . . . no. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . believed, . . . . . .because . . . . . it. stripped . . . . . .a .man . . of . . purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is. there . . . anything . . . . .else . .it.could . . .be?. . . . ................................................................................................ .✔ . . MOVE . . . . .YOUR . . . .BUTT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Almost . . . . .to. the . . end . . . he . .worked . . . . .up. to . .18. .hours . . . a. day, ................................... ................................................................................................ . Hinohara . . . . . . . . . a. habit . . . . . . . . .the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .mostly . . . . . . . . . . medical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A: . . . . . .itchy? . . . . . . are . . . . you ...... . . . . . . .made . . . . . . . .of. using . . . . . . stairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . volunteer . . . . . . . . . . . work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Are. .they . . . . . If. they . . . . and ........ . –. and . . .taking . . . .them . . . two . . at . .a.time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . don’t . . .have . . allergies, . . . . .then . . you . . might . . . have ..... . Until . . . . . last . . . . . months . . . . . . . . life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STAY .................................................. . . . . the . . . . .few . . . . . . .of. his ...........................✔ . . . . . . POSITIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dry . .eyes. . . .You. .can. .solve . . that . . with . . .an. OTC ..... . he . . . . . . . . by. .taking . . . . . . . steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .saw . . . . . darker . . . . . . . .In. . . . . . . . . . . ocular . . . . . . . . Real . . . . .do. cry. ........ . . .exercised . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 . . . . . . .a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hinohara . . . . . . . . .life’s . . . . . . .side. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lubricant. . . . . . . . men ............ . day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .younger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WWII, . . . . . . treated . . . . . . . . . of ..................................... . . . .As. .a .considerably . . . . . . . . . . . . .man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . he . . . . . . .victims . . . . . .the ................................... . you . . . . . . aim . . . . . . . . . steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of. .Tokyo, . . . . . . . in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .might . . . . . .for. .10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .firebombing . . . . . . . . . . . . .while . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q: . . . . . I.wouldn’t . . . . say . . . . . .itchy. ... . Sans . . . cane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 . . . he . .was . . taken . . . . hostage . . . . . for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hmm, . . . . sort . . . . . . they’re ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .four . . days . . . when . . . . Japanese . . . . . . Red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . More . . . achy, . . . . . of.. . . . . . . . . . . ................................................................................................ .✔ . . . . . LIKE . . . . .SPARROW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . terrorists . . . . . . . . . . . a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EAT ......A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Army . . . . . . . . . hijacked .......................................... . It. won’t . . . .help . . you . . . look . . .like . . Arnie . . . .but . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . commercial . . . . . . . jet. . . . . .he . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A: . .That . .sounds . . . .like. a. viral . . .infection. ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .But . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get . . . . . . to. the . . . . . .And ......... . restricting . . . . . . kilojoules . . . . . . is. .a .proven . . . . life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . counselled . . . . . . . always . . . . to . . see . . the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .yourself . . . . . . . doctor. . . . . . .watch ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for. .styes, . . .which . . .can . .signal . . .a .bacterial ........ . extender. . . . . . . Hinohara . . . . . .had . . coffee, . . . . .milk, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . best . . . in . .people . . . . and . . .the . . beauty . . . . in . . . . . . . . . . . infection . . . . and . . might . . . need . . .to. be. drained. ........ . orange . . . . . . . .and . . . . . oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nature, . . . . . . . to . . . . . . over ...................................... . . . . . .juice . . . . . olive . . . . . for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and . . . . prevail . . . . . . . pain ................................... . breakfast; . . . . . . milk . . . and . . .a .few . . savoury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by. enjoying . . . . . .yourself. ........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ophthalmologist . . . . . . . . . . . Cockerham ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kimberly ......... ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ ................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DODGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OUT . . . . . . . .PARTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . often . . . . . . . you . . . . . . . . . . at ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PIGGING . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How . . . . . . . . .do . . . . . overeat . . . . . . . . .parties? ........... ................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Just . . like . . . your . . . golf . . .game, . . . .avoiding . . . . . .a blowout . . . . . .in. company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .is.all . .in. the . . .plan . . .of. attack. . . . . .“Decide . . . . .ahead . . . .of. time . . . .what . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 . .%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .you’ll . . . eat . . .and . . drink, . . . . says . . . behavioural . . . . . . . . health . . . . expert . . . . .J.. . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . . . %. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ryan . . . . . . . .who . . . . . . his . . . . . . .control . . . . . . . . . . . by . . . . . . . . . . . .%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fuller, . . . . . . . .helps . . . . . clients . . . . . . . . . overeating ................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .teaching . . . . . . . . . deep-breathing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Never . . . . . . . . . . . . . Half . . . . time ............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . techniques . . . . . . . . .manage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Occasionally . . . . . . . . . the . . . . . . .Always .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .negative . . . . . . . . . . . .cravings, . . . . . . . . . .and .................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . emotions, . . . . . . . . . . . . .urges . . . . . . temptations. .................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nervous . . . . . . . . . . . . .he. says, . . . . . . . . . .towards . . . . . . . . for . . . . . . . . . . . are . . . . . . reaching . . . . . . . . . . .when . . . . . . . .do? ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . partygoers, . . . . . . . . . . . . .gravitate . . . . . . . . . . . food . . . . . . . . . .What . . . . . . . you . . . . . . . . . . . for . . . . . . . you .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .comfort. . . . . . If. .you’re . . . .hungry . . . . .before . . . .you . . leave . . . . your . . . house, ............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .you . . will . . .likely . . . .gorge, . . . .so. nutritionist . . . . . . . .Carolyn . . . . . Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 . .%. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 ......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .recommends . . . . . . . . . . . . fibre . . . . . . protein . . . . . . . . . . . . Grab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .% ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a. little . . . . . . and . . . . . . . .in. advance. . . . . . . . . . a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. %. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Greek . . . .yoghurt . . . . .or. slice . . . of . . cheese . . . . before . . . . .going. . . . .Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .tip: . . talk . . .to. people . . . . .away . . . from . . . .the . .buffet. . . . . If. words . . . . .are ............................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chips . . . . . . . Party . . . . . . . . .Veggie ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .coming . . . . .out, . . food’s . . . . not . . .going . . . .in.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . &. dip . . . . . . . pies . . . . . . . . . . . . Biscuits/ ........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .platter . . . . . . . cake .......... ................................................................................................

HOW TO LIVE PAST 100

DECEMBER 2017

TEXT A DOCTOR

.......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... . . . . . . . . MH . . REVIEW ................................................................ .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... . . . . . . .The . . . latest . . . . . . .offering . . . . . . . . from . . . . . Harley . . . . . . .blends . . . . . . the . . . . past . . . . .and ...................... .......................................................................... . . . . . . .future, . . . . . . . savagery . . . . . . . . .and . . . sophistication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Climb . . . . . aboard ........................... .......................................................................... . . . . . . .By. .Drew . . .Haywood .............................................................. .......................................................................... .......................................................................... . . . . . . .Harley’s . . . . . . . . . .has . . . . . .a .blessing . . . . . . . a. . . . . . .black . . . . . . . . . . . .There’s . . . . . . . . little . . . . . to. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .heritage . . . . . . . been . . . . . . . . . .and . . . . . . . . . . . . –. everywhere. . . . . . . . . . . . . really . . . . . . .not ............. . . . . . . .curse. . . . For . . .every . . . fan . . of . .the . . brand, . . . . there’s . . . . .a .hater. . . . . . .like, . . except . . . . .the . .weird . . . gold-covered . . . . . . . . .pipes. . . . .But ........... . . . . . . .Every . . . reason . . . . .you . . like . . a. Harley . . . . is . .someone . . . . . .else’s . . . . . .generally, . . . . . .the . .pipes . . . are . . .the . .first . . thing . . . .to. go ............. . . . . . . . . .Harley’s . . . . .heritage . . . . . has . . .been . . .a.blessing . . . . . and . . .a .curse. . . . .For . .every . . . fan . . .of. the . . brand, . . . . there’s . . . . .a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .bugbear. . . . . . This . . .positions . . . . . the . . .brand . . a. Harley . .a.two. . .someone . . . . . .when . . . bugbear. . . .get . . .Harley. . . positions . . . . . . . . brand ................. . . . . . . . . .hater. . . . Every . . . . reason . . . . .you . . like . . . in . . . . is . . . . . . . .else’s . . . you . . . . .a.This . . . . . . . . the ................... . . . . . . .wheeled . .in. a. two-wheeled .limbo: . . . .keep . . . the . . old . . keep . . . the . happy . .old . .guard . . . happy . . . .Fat . .front . that . . and .dependable . .even . . .fatter . . history . rear . . .tyres, .the . . .dual ............... guard with limbo: with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . front ............. . . . . . . .that . . dependable . . . . . .was . . built . . . on; . . or . .keep . . . . .with . . .the . .Joneses . . . . . by . . . upside-down . . . . . . . latest . . . . tech . . . and . . . adjustable ............... . . . . . . . . .company . . . . . . . .history . . . . the . . company . . . . up . . was . . .built . . . . . .brakes, . . .accessing . . . . . . the . . . front . . . .forks . . .and ................. bring . . . . . . .on,. .or . keep . . . up . . with . . . the . .aJoneses . . . . . by . . accessing . . . of . . riders . . . . . .suspension . . . . . . .creating . . . sophistication . .a.new . . . . .base. .to. the . . .savagery. ............. . . . . . . .the . .thereby . . . tech . .attracting . and . . .thereby . . .younger . .attracting . . . market . . .a.younger . . . . . .and . . potentially . . in . . . . .it.needs . . . .another . . . .fan .mention, . . . . . that .............. The it’s . . . . . . . . .latest . . latest . . . . rollout . . . . is. all . .about . . . .the . .Softails, . . . . . and . . within . . .And . that . . .case . .all. about . . . . the . . Fat . . .Bob. . . .And . . . . . . LED ........... . . . . . . .market . .the . . of .best .riders . way . . and .to. describe .potentially . . . . .the . creating .2018 . . . Fat . a. Bob? .new . . . . . . headlight .Wow. . . . Just… . .is. fire. . wow. . . . You . . . are . . riding . . . .a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................................................................... . . . . . . .fan . .futuristic . . . . . bike . . . . . . . . . by . . . . . . .for. . . . . . . . . Looks . . . . aside, . . . .this . . balanced . . . and . . . and . .of.comfortable ................ . . . . . . . . .base. . . . . . . . . designed . . . . . . . .Batman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robocop. . . . . . . It’s . . fat, . . .fast . . . . .full ................... . . . . . . .The . .torque, . . . .rollout . . .it’s .is.got . .about . brutal . . the . .LED .Softails, . .headlight. . . .and . . .It’s . . . . . . .machine . . black . . . rides . –. everywhere. . amazingly . . . . . . .on. .the ................ latest all and a also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .straights, .............. In the . . . . . . .within . .There’s . that . . . it’s . .all. about . little . . .not . . toFat . .like, .Bob . except . .(from . . the . . . . . . . . . . .on . .the . gold-covered . twists . . . .and . . in. .the . .city. . .But . .short, ............... really weird pipes. . . . . . . .$27,495). . . . . . And . . . the . . best . . . way . . .to. describe . . . . . .the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .has . . created . . . . . a. heavenly . . . . . . . . . of. . . . . . . . . . . go . . . . . . . . .generally, . . . . . .the . . pipes . . . .are . .the . . first . . .thing . . . to. . . . . . . . . . .Harley . .when . . . you . . .get . . a. Harley. . . . . . . .meld .............. . . . . . . .2018 . . .Fat . . Bob? . . . Wow. . . . .Just . . .…. wow. . . . tyres, . . . are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . past . . . and . . .present. . . . . .If.this . . . . . .start ............ . . . . . . . . .Fat . . front . . . and . . .even . . .fatter . . . rear . . . You . . . .dual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . front . . . .brakes, . . . . upside-down . . . . . . is. the . . . . . .of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .riding . . . a. futuristic . . . . and . . .adjustable . . . . . . suspension . . . Batman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .new . . beginning . . . . . . for . . .to. the ............... . . . . . . . . .front . . . forks . . . . .bike . . designed . . . . . . by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .abring . . .sophistication . . . . . . . . the . . .115-year.............. . . . . . . .for. Robocop. . . . . . . .It’s . .fat, . .fast . . and . . .full . . . torque, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . old . . brand, . . . . .the . .future ................... . . . . . . . . .savagery. . . . . . .And . . in . .case . . . it. needs . . .of. another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . mention, . . . . . .that . . LED . . . . .is.looking .............. . . . . . . .and . . it’s . . got . . a. brutal . . . . LED . . .headlight. . . . . . . It’s . . also . . .jet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .very . . .exciting . . . . .indeed. ................... . . . . . . . . .headlight . . . . . .is.fire. .......................................................... . . . . . . . . .Looks . . . .aside, . . . .this . . balanced . . . . . .and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .comfortable ...................... . . . . . . . . .machine . . . . . . . . .amazingly . . . . . . . .the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .on ................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rides . . . . . . . . . .on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . straights, ...................... . . . . . . . . .the . . twists . . . .and . . in . .the . . city. . . .In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . short, . . . . Harley .................. .......................................................................... . . . . . . . . .has . . . . . . . a. heavenly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .of. past ................. . . . . . . . . . . . created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . meld ...................... . . . . . . . . .and . . present. . . . . . .If .this . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . is. the . . .start . . .of. a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... .......................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If . . . . pain-free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you . . . . . . . no ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .it’s . . . . . . . . . pooping . . . . . . . . . . have ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RANDOM . . . . QUESTION . . . . . . . . . .reason . . . . . to . .worry. . . . . . A. normal . . . . . . range . . . . .is. . .......................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .three . . . . . . . . .a .day . . . . . . . . every .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. only . . . . take . . . . . . . . . . . . times . . . . . . . . .to. .once . . . . . . . . three ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . days. . . . . Frequency . . . . . . . . .varies: . . . . . digestive ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a. dump . . . . . . every ..................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . systems . . . . . . . . . . . at . . . . . . . . .rates. ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .move . . . . . . different ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . other . . . . . .day. . . . .Is . . . . .There’s . . . . . .nothing . . . . . . special . . . . . .to. do. . . . Eating ...... .Don’t . . . . . too . . . . . . . . . . . by ......................................................... . . . . be . . . . .disheartened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . even . . . . . . . . . .exercise . . . . . . . . . .off . . . . . process. ........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .that . . . . . . . . . . .and . . . . . . . . . kick . . . . . . the . . . . . . . . . Your ..... .dry . . government . . . . . . . . directives: . . . . . . . new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . best . . . .move . . . . is . .to. heed . . . . .the . . initial .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .normal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . urge, ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .says . . . . . . . . . . .surgeon . . . . . . . . James ...... .research . . . . . .found . . . .those . . . .who . . .enjoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . colorectal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Church. . . . . . . . . . . . body’s . . . . . . . . . . .you ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You’re . . . . . . . . . . telling . . . . . . . . .it’s ... .a. drink . . . . . . . have . . . . . . . .of. the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and . . . . . .experience . . . . . . . . . . . .never ..... . . . . . a. day . . . . . . a. third . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .primed, . . . . . . . . . the . . . . . . . . . . . .will ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . be . . . . good . . . . . . at . . . . . moment. ........ .depression . . . . . . . risk . . .of. teetotallers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . as . . . . . . as . . . .that ........... .......................................................................... .SOURCE . . . . .BMC . . MEDICINE .................................................................. .......................................................................... .......................................................................... ..........................................................................

MEAN MACHINE

DECEMBER 2017

. . . . . . . .

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

Crease Lightning Ahead of the Ashes pace ace Mitchell Starc reveals why the desire to prove people wrong can help bring out your best

BY BEN JHOT Y PHOTOGR APHY BY GILES PARK ALL CLOTHING BY VAN HEUSEN

DECEMBER 2017

12/17

PERSONAL

BEST

itchell Starc is staring down the barrel of a camera in a back alley in Sydney’s grungy Alexandria. Ordered not to smile, Starc mutters to himself, “Shouldn’t be too hard”. Arms crossed, he leans against a corrugated iron fence and for a moment looks every inch the fast-bowling enforcer, the type of bloke you wouldn’t want to meet in, well, a back alley. The camera stops clicking and Starc drops the act, smiling broadly as he exchanges banter with the Pommy photographer about the upcoming Ashes. It turns out the 197cm pace spearhead is a nice guy with a quick wit and relaxed air about him. But you’d be a fool to mistake his easygoing demeanour for softness, as the great Shane Warne did a few years back (more on that later). You see, Starc has made a career out of silencing doubters and forcing everyone, from junior selectors to iconic leg-spinners, to eat their words. “Mum reminds me of a time when I got knocked back from an emerging Blues team when I was about 13,” says Starc. “Apparently I pinned the letter up on the wall

DECEMBER 2017

and vowed to proved them wrong.” He’s still a letter-pinner, figuratively at least, putting barbs in his back pocket for motivation while publicly copping it sweet. He’s also learned not to get carried away with any effusive praise that might come his way either. “You’re going to hear a lot of good stuff when you’re doing well and a lot of negative stuff when things aren’t going your way,” he says. “But I’ll always have that desire to prove people wrong. It’s what’s motivated me to get better.” You might deliver PowerPoint presentations rather than balls that climb off a good length but if you want to rise above the pack, bouquets and brickbats come with the territory; a thick skin is non-negotiable. If, like Starc underneath that heavy hide you can also summon the quiet determination and hardened resolve to improve, then you’ve got just about everything you need to reach the top.

I’LL ALWAYS HAVE THAT DESIRE TO PROVE PEOPLE WRONG. IT’S WHAT MOTIVATED ME TO GET BETTER

COP IT THEN COUNTER It was a typically sweltering afternoon at the Gabba back in 2014 and the Aussies were toiling in the field as India piled on over 300 runs on the first day. Starc was doing it tough, having left the field for treatment for heat distress before returning late in the day. Watching from the commentary box was Warne, who didn’t like what he saw from the young fast bowler, criticising Starc’s body language before labelling him “soft”. In the face of such withering criticism from a legend of the game Starc was understandably stung. “There was a lot anger,” he says, his voice betraying just how much Warne’s serve wounded him. “For someone who doesn’t know me . . . We all struggled with the heat that day. I guess I must have shown it a bit more than the others and he harped on that, which was fine. But I

don’t see it as a turning point in my career.” If it sounds like Starc is reluctant to identify the moment as the catalyst for his subsequent success or give the champion leg spinner any credit for his role in that turnaround, that’s because he is. “He’s not a fast bowling coach,” Starc says bluntly. “He didn’t even come up to me and say, ‘Hey, try this’ or give me some tips. He’s entitled to his opinion but the only thing it really did was motivate me to prove him wrong.” Someone who did work closely with him around that time was former fast- bowling star and national bowling coach Craig McDermott, who’s observed Starc’s steely determination right back from the left-armer’s formative days at Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence. “Mitchell’s got a dark side; he’s got a cranky side, don’t worry about that,” says McDermott. “He was struggling at that particular time. We needed him to stand up and improve. He worked tirelessly to do that.” It didn’t take long for the hard work to pay off. Starc played a crucial role in Australia’s 2015 World Cup victory with a tournamenthigh 22 wickets, memorably demolishing Kiwi star Brendon McCullum’s stumps in the final. Looking back now, as determined as he was to throw Warne’s words back in his face, what really changed, Starc says, was that he began to feel like he belonged in the team. The reason for that, he adds, was that he had a clear understanding of his role. “I think my white-ball stuff developed a little quicker than my Test stuff because I knew my role straight away,” he says. “It was swing the ball, bowl a bit in the middle, reverse the old ball, be aggressive, take wickets.” As anyone who starts a new job can attest, you don’t really feel comfortable until you’ve chalked up your first win, whether it’s landing a new client, making a sale or receiving positive feedback on a project. “He just needed something to go really good for him to help spur him on,” confirms McDermott. “From that point on he’s been pretty much unstoppable.” But although Starc had established himself in the one-day side he wasn’t yet the leader of the attack in the Test team. Ironically, it would take the abrupt departure of his mentor, gym buddy, fellow left-armer and most spookily, namesake, for the apprentice to become the master.

TAKE THE REINS Starc got the first hint that Mitchell Johnson might be on the verge of retirement the day before the champion left-arm quick announced it to the world. “He’s the ultimate professional but I remember he finished the day’s play in Perth, cracked open a beer and got in the ice bath. I thought, that’s really strange, he doesn’t do that, what’s going on?”

DECEMBER 2017

ILLUSTRATIONS: SONNY RAMIREZ/ILLUSTRATION ROOM

FITNESS

Starc remembers. “That was the sign.” The two bowlers had an interesting relationship. Johnson was both a mentor and idol to his fellow left-armer and, in his approach to fitness, commitment to rehab and devastating response to those who prematurely wrote him off, offered Starc the ultimate career template. “As the other lefty he was the guy I looked up to,” Starc says. “I tried to lift as much as him, bowl as fast as he did.” Long defined by their similarities, with Johnson suddenly gone, Starc effectively had to become him, assuming the Queenslander’s role as the team’s pacebowling intimidator. It helped that right alongside him was one of his best mates, Josh Hazelwood, who he’d played with since the under 17s. It also helped that once again Starc’s role was now clearly defined – to play the aggressive enforcer to Hazelwood’s line-and-length workhorse. Says McDermott: “Before Mitchell Johnson was the guy who was in batsmen’s faces and Starc was still learning that particular side of his game. Now he’s very confident and very happy to challenge batsmen and give them a bit of lip. You like to see that in a bowler. You don’t like a bowler to be too nice.” Indeed now, not only does Starc belong in the Test side, at the age of 27 he’s become one of its elder statesmen. “Josh and I went from being the two youngest bowlers to the two senior guys very quickly,” Starc says. “But I think the pressure and the extra responsibility really helped us.” As it can help anyone. The truth is no one is ever really ready for a leadership role. It’s by rising to meet the responsibility that you’re transformed. But you’d be wise to study the habits of those you look up to while they’re still around. You never know when they might decide to call time and crack open a beer in an ice bath. Having established himself as one of the team’s biggest weapons, it’s made the foot injury Starc suffered in March all the more frustrating. Previously not a keen spectator when sidelined, this time he watched closely from his lounge room as his teammates struggled on the subcontinent. “I guess that’s the hunger to be back playing,” he says. Starc used the time off to build up his body, committing to the extra strength work he normally doesn’t get time for in something resembling a footy player’s preseason. Having neither played in a home Ashes or won against the old enemy, he’s champing at the bit for that first session at the Gabba later this month. “To be part of a winning team is what’s driving us all,” he says. If there’s something familiar about all of this, just cast your mind back a few years. You’ll recall what happened the last time a bloke named Mitch returned from a lay-off in time for the Ashes, fitter, faster, stronger and with a burning desire to prove everyone wrong.

CRUSH YOUR CORE Taking his lead from Johnson, Starc likes to lift heavy, prioritising Olympic lifts, squats and cleans. “As a bowler it’s all about the base and the trunk, so it’s about having the glute, leg and core strength to keep my bowling action strong and balanced.” Do this routine 3 times a week to build a centre of excellence

Clean Pull From Blocks

x 4 sets

With a barbell positioned at knee high on blocks, engage your glutes and rise up onto the balls of your feet as you hoist the bar up to your chest, before dropping it back onto the blocks.

Front Box Squat x5

Hip Thrust x5

Stand with your feet shoulderwidth apart in front of a chairlevel box with a loaded barbell resting on the back of your shoulders. Push your hips back and bend at the knees to get into a half-squat position where your bum brushes the box before returning to the starting position.

Chin-ups x5

Grip a bar shoulder-width apart, palms down. From a dead hang pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Lower yourself until your arms are straight.

Barbell Clean Step-Up With Hip Lock x 4

In a standing position with a bar across your chest and shoulders and your palms facing up, step up onto a box with one leg then bring your other leg through and up until your thigh is parallel to the floor with your knee bent.

Begin seated on the ground with a bench directly behind you, a loaded barbell over your legs. Roll the bar so that it is directly above your hips and lean back against the bench so that your shoulder blades are near the top of it. Drive through your feet, extending your hips vertically through the bar. Extend as far as possible, then reverse the motion to return to the starting position.

DECEMBER 2017

MUSCLE + FITNESS

Bulletproof Your Six-Pack

Weak core muscles needn’t be gains kryptonite. Deploy the Superman To Pistol Squat to trigger definition in your abs and gun for full-body mobility SHOW US A MAN who trains purely for functionality and we’ll show you a liar. It’s only human to chase the kind of athleticism that carries both physical and aesthetic benefits. It is, however, superhuman to achieve both goals in one fluid movement. Master this elite exercise and not only will you target the training triumvirate that is stability, strength and mobility, you’ll have a show-off move in your arsenal capable of setting fire to your Instagram feed. “This is two exercises in one – you move from the lowering phase of the superman squat to the concentric phase of the pistol squat,” says PT Sam Wardingley. “You’re going through the full range of motion with the superman, before you go into a full-depth pistol squat.” This will not only work wonders for the stiff joints of desk-jockeys and weightlifters alike, but recruit every muscle in your lower body for strength gains, too. The balance required to stabilise yourself at the bottom of each rep will also shift the emphasis to your core for an uncomfortable, yet useful, reminder that there’s more to training your abs than planks. “All single-leg exercises will feel easier afterwards,” adds Wardingley. Do three sets of 10 on each side at the end of your workouts for three weeks.

When you get to the top, lean forward so your left leg is straight out behind you, back in the superman pose again. Repeat the full progression on the other leg.

With your weight now on your right foot extend your left foot out in front out you with your heel 3in from the floor. Now press back up into a standing position.

DECEMBER 2017

DROP IT DOWN

First, the superman. From standing, keep a slight bend in your left leg and lift your right leg straight out behind you. Slowly lower to the floor by bending your left knee.

WHAT YOU’LL GAIN UNSHAKEABLE CORE STABILITY

ROLL BACK

When your right knee hits the floor, lean back onto your right foot. Steady now – the weight transference is fairly tough. Stable? Brace yourself for the ‘pistol’ part.

TRUNK-LIKE QUADS

AGE-DEFYING MOBILITY

PUSH ON

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHIL HAYNES

THE LAST LEG

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TURN UP THE HEAT

DON’T LET A FLAKY SCALP WRECK YOUR SUMMER. SAY GOODBYE TO DANDRUFF AND HELLO TO GREAT HAIR WITH HEAD & SHOULDERS CLEAN & BALANCED SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER

AUSTRALIAN

hen you’re training hard and the mercury rises, so does the likelihood of scalp irritation. Sun, heat and sweat can all aggravate dandruff, making your scalp dry, flaky and itchy. But don’t hide indoors or cancel your gym membership just yet. Give flakes the flick, keep your scalp hydrated and your hair looking great with the clinically proven formula of Clean & Balanced head & shoulders shampoo and conditioner. When used together, head & shoulders shampoo and conditioner work 60 per cent more effectively*, versus using the shampoo alone.

GIVE FLAKES THE BRUSH Surprisingly, 79 per cent of Australians suffer from dandruff but don’t do anything about it. A recent survey** also found that 54 per cent of dandruff sufferers have restricted their social life because of a lack of confidence. Don’t be that guy, fight the flake with head & shoulders. YOUR GYM BAG ESSENTIAL When you’re heading to the office from the gym, keep head & shoulders in your gym bag for shiny, touchably soft hair that’s up to 100 per cent flake freeˆ.

3ACTION SCALP CARE - WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED! 1. CLEANSES

head & shoulders shampoo contains a gentle cleansing agent that provides a rich, deeply indulgent lather, while offering best-in-class dandruff protection.

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2. PROTECTS

Micro zinc particles deposit deep into the scalp pore and are left behind – even after rinsing – improving the scalp’s condition and enabling long-lasting dandruff protection.

*In reducing scalp issues vs using head & shoulders shampoo plus a P&G non anti-dandruff shampoo. **Conducted online among a representative sample of 1,007 respondents aged 18-64 years, distributed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. Survey conducted by Galaxy Research, commissioned by head & shoulders – Procter & Gamble. ^No visible flakes; with regular use.

3. MOISTURISES

The formula locks in moisture to improve the scalp barrier, for hydrated, strengthened and toned skin. Conditioning agents also provide smoother, softer and more manageable hair.

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All Bases Covered Need an excuse to eat pizza? These four delicious recipes will solve any dilemma you might face

THE IMMUNITY DEEP-PANACEA Salami, Rocket & Parmesan

INGREDIENTS • PIZZA DOUGH • GARLIC, 2 CLOVES • CHILLI, TO TASTE • TOMATOES, 2 CANS • MOZZARELLA, ½ BALL • SALAMI SLICES • PARMESAN & ROCKET

2427

23g

25g

68g

KILOJOULES

PROTEIN

FAT

CARBS

METHOD

1/ First up, the dough: put 110ml of cold water with 1g of yeast in a bowl, before adding 250g of strong bread flour and a pinch of salt. Form a dough, add more water, then mix for seven minutes. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours. 2/ For the tomato sauce, fry chopped garlic – it raises your infection-fighting T cells – and chilli before adding the chopped tomatoes. 3/ Heat the oven to 240°C then roll out the dough to make a 30cm base, before spreading the sauce on top. Top with torn mozzarella and salami, then bake it for five minutes. Done? Sprinkle it with parmesan and rocket; the greens’ sulforaphane is a powerful immune-booster. Grab a slice and get stuck in.

CURD YOUR ENTHUSIASM Beetroot & Cow’s Curd

INGREDIENTS • WHOLEMEAL PIZZA DOUGH • TOMATO SAUCE, 150ML • COOKED BEETROOT, 2 • SHALLOTS, HANDFUL • BRUSSELS SPROUT TOPS • COW’S CURD, 150G • FRESH MINT & MARJORAM • LEMON JUICE

2460

KILOJOULES

35g

PROTEIN

DECEMBER 2017

19g FAT

75g

CARBS

METHOD

1/ Make the pizza dough as before, so you end up with a 36cm base. This time, use wholemeal flour. The lower GI means it will drip-feed your body with carbs for longerlasting energy. 2/ Ladle on the sauce and spread it evenly over the base before heating the oven to 240°C. Slice your beetroot, shallots and sprouts, which dish out vitamins B6 and B9 for energy. 3/ Toss the beetroot (it’s rich in nitrates, which widen blood vessels) with the shallots, sprouts, cow’s curd and herbs. Season with salt, oil and lemon, top your pizza and bake for five minutes. Call it a pre-workout, if you must.

NUTRITION

THE BIG DOMS TAKEAWAY

Lamb & Red Wine-soaked Cheese INGREDIENTS • GOAT’S CHEESE, 200G • RED DESSERT WINE, 300ML • FRESH THYME, HANDFUL • PIZZA DOUGH • LAMB NECK FILLETS, 2 • OLIVE OIL • SALT, 2TSP • BLACK PEPPER, 2TSP • GROUND CUMIN, 1TSP • WATERCRESS, HANDFUL

3272

KILOJOULES

70g

PROTEIN

34g FAT

47g

CARBS

METHOD

1/ Goat’s cheese is full of body-repairing calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Soak it in wine for a couple of hours because, well . . . do you need a reason? Then add some thyme for extra flavour. 2/ Flatten your 30cm base, then bake it for five minutes. Meanwhile, season the protein-packed lamb fillets by rubbing them with oil, salt, pepper and cumin. 3/ Sear the fillets in a hot pan, about three minutes each side. Remove pizza fom oven, slice lamb into strips, then add to the base with crumbled cheese and fresh watercress. Slice, eat.

EARNING A CRUST Caprese Panizzo

INGREDIENTS • PIZZA DOUGH • A RED ONION • MOZZARELLA, ½ BALL • CHERRY TOMATOES • TOMATO SAUCE, 75ML • FRESH BASIL

1983

KILOJOULES

73g

PROTEIN

11g FAT

19g

CARBS

METHOD

1/ To pack your lunchbox full of smarter fuel, swap your usual floppy discs for something a little more desk-friendly. This time, stretch the dough into a loaf shape, flattening it slightly. 2/ Once more, heat the oven to 240°C, add the dough and bake it for about five minutes so you end up with a shape that’s similar to focaccia. Meanwhile slice the onion, mozzarella and vitamin-toting tomatoes. 3/ Finally, slice open the loaf and ladle in some of the tomato sauce before liberally adding as much of the filling ingredients as you can squeeze in. This probably isn’t the best day to wear your smartest white shirt.

DECEMBER 2017

WEIGHT LOSS

Get a grip on your fitness before your six-pack goes to seed.

Tighten The Squeeze On Weight Gain

ORANGE JUICE has long dominated in the pulped-fruit aisle. But while the benefits of its vitamin C are certainly plentiful, the early morning sugar hit won’t do much for your lean ambitions. However, practitioners of pre-breakfast cardio needn’t cut the juice habit altogether – you just need to exchange orange for red. A daily serving of pomegranate juice has been shown to drain fat stores, sinking the bad rep of your fruity nectars. Nutritionists at Queen Margaret University found a glass of the polyphenol-rich drink can reduce your levels of cortisol – a hormone which promotes fat storage – by up to a third. Pomegranate’s ability to inhibit the enzyme (deep breath now...) ‘11-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1’ roadblocks the production of cortisol,

DECEMBER 2017

and thereby reduces bodily responses known to increase blood sugar, cholesterol and insulin levels, as well as slow digestive functions. All of which is to say that curbing cortisol production is key to ensuring your morning sweat bears fruit. And with the hormone naturally highest on waking, a timely glass of PJ could be enough to tip the scales in your favour. And that’s not all. As you’re likely aware, cortisol levels are also indicative of elevated stress, so the combined alleviating effects of your morning swill and a meditative run can safeguard you from office-induced anxiety spikes. Which means that not only will you arrive at your desk leaner and fitter than when you left last night, you’ll be better equipped to deal with a bloated to-do list. We’ll raise a glass to that.

YOUR RECIPES FOR REPOSE

TURN DOWN THE PRESSURE BY ADDING THESE CORTISOLCALMING DISHES TO YOUR DAY

B R E A K FAST

SMOKED SALMON A study published by the International Society of Sports Nutrition found the omega-3 fatty acids in salmon keep cortisol levels in check. Best enjoyed with eggs on a buttery muffin.

LU N C H

PATE ON TOAST Both choline and zinc – abundantly found in beef liver pate – have been shown to reduce stress and inhibit adrenal cortisol release. Spread liberally on crusty bread.

DINNER

WHITE BEAN STEW A compound called phosphatidylserine, found in white beans, helps regulate the body’s response to chronic stress, according to the journal Lipids in Health and Disease. Be full of ’em.

WORDS BY AARON TOUMAZOU; PHOTOGRAPHY BY AGATA PEC

Adding juice to your morning workout with this simple dietary swap will take the stress out of burning fat

TACTICS

Flatten your adversaries with the power of your mind.

FOUR THINGS I LOVE NOW

WHAT I’M FINDING USEFUL THIS MONTH.

STRESS BUSTER

Peppermint Halo from Saje is used as a roll-on around your hairline for headaches. But I apply it around my neck and shoulders to ease tension from too much sitting or caffeine. $26, saje.com

PRODUCTIVITY SOUNDTRACK

Win Any Battle

I’ve been listening to Putumayo Presents: Brasileiro fairly regularly. Bossa nova is a great way to start your day after meditating. It’s upbeat yet low-key. It makes a busy morning feel like taking an exotic vacation.

Fighting words from the creator of the Tim Ferriss Show (tim.blog/podcast)

DECEMBER 2017

on an elevated mat; if you can knock your opponent off the mat three times, you win. So I redirected my training toward push kicks instead of the more common roundhouse kicks. If I could focus on my strengths and cover my weaknesses enough not to get knocked out, I figured, maybe I could actually accomplish something. It worked. Success, however you define it, is achievable if you collect the right field-tested beliefs and habits. Nearly every competitor you see is a walking flaw who has maximised one or two strengths. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. The heroes you try to emulate are no different. Everyone struggles. Take solace in that. Then focus on playing to your strengths. That is the mark of a true competitor, and it will help you surprise your rivals – and maybe yourself.

BREAKFAST HACK

Set the Dash Go Rapid Egg Cooker— and forget it! Magically, in 8-15 minutes (depending on your desired egg hardness), it shuts off automatically and the shells practically slip off the eggs. $20, amazon.com

LIFE-CHANGING QUOTE

“You can do so much in 10 minutes’ time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.” —Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA

ILLUSTRATION BY MAX TEMESCU

MUCH OF WHAT I’ve learned about competition started with wrestling. A pure and ancient sport, wrestling is about not just strength but also strategy. I was never the most technically adept wrestler, but my coaches instilled in me the belief that if you push yourself and practise smarter than the other guy, you can beat him. The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle. I learned to associate discomfort with getting better. That transcended wrestling and applied to a lot of other things in life. I used the same approach in Chinese kickboxing. When I began training, I got my head pounded for a bit but eventually earned acceptance. What I lacked in technical skill I made up for by asking smart questions, and I started thinking about the best ways to win a match. For example, fights take place

HEALTH

Power Up To Avoid The Crash

POSITIVE FORCE

Adults who engage in altruistic behaviour – think volunteering to run for charity – feel like they have more strength and energy. The Journal of Urban Health

Dodge tired slumps and recharge your stamina stores by taking stock of the energy market

MATCH FIX

Tempted to give fivea-side a miss after work? Pop an amino acid L-carnitine pill for a fast pick-me-up. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

POWER SUPP

No time to train for a race? A 20g daily dose of creatine two weeks prior to race day increases your time to exhaustion. University of Oklahoma

HOLD

WALK IT OFF Chaining yourself to a desk is self-defeating. Move for at least five minutes every hour to avoid any dips in your productivity. University of Colorado

RISERS & FALLERS UP

Cool new kickstarter

HOLD

Steady mover

DOWN

Tired idea

Exposure to short wavelength blue light from phones and laptops increases alertness. Handy when on a tight deadline. Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Clean-eating hipsters are right. Mix spirulina powder into your next smoothie and you’ll feel mentally sharper. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition

THE BIG SHORT

ALGAE ALLY

DOWN

WATER TORTURE

Research shows that overdoing it on H 2 O can cause a sodium imbalance in the bloodstream, leading to lethargy. Only drink when you’re thirsty. Monash University

DOWN

SNOOZE CONTROL

COFFEE CRASH

Researchers have specified the common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal as a dip in mental alertness and headaches. Cut out the java gradually. University of Vermont

CHAIN REACTION

HOLD

TAKEAWAY TO GO

A high-fat diet has the double downside of making you sleepier during the day but less able to nod off at night. Resist pizza to end the cycle. University of Adelaide

DOWN

HIDDEN AGENDA We shouldn’t tell you this but keeping secrets can warp your perception of mental effort, so simple tasks seem a struggle. Experimental Psychology Journal

Office workers can reduce tiredness by 65 per cent through regular, low-intensity exercise such as cycling to work, regardless of whether aerobic fitness improves. University of Georgia

Your weekend lie-ins are causing sleepless nights. Keep rest patterns regular to reduce “social jet lag”. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism

DECEMBER 2017

NUTRITION

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

Train Dirty So You Can Eat Dirtier

You can gorge on garbage and keep the six-pack, as long as you’re willing to work. Here’s how to out-train gluttony TRAINING TRUISMS tend to lean, like an unbalanced barbell, firmly towards the kitchen. As the bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda had it, physique sculpting is 80 per cent diet. And as the cobblestone-cored guy who interrupts your abs workout will tell you: “Sixpacks are made in the kitchen, bro.” As ever, the reality is a little more nuanced. If you’re the kind of guy who envies the abs of Christian Bale’s Machinist, then heed the previous advice. But the only muscles you’ll build by skipping the gym and eating cleaner than Howard Hughes’ bedroom are in your jaw. To induce growth where you actually want it, you need to train hard. Of course, you don’t need us to tell you that. What we can tell you, though, is that hard training can make kilojoule counting redundant. The truth is you can still enjoy the junk as long as you offset it by supersizing each burger with a large side of squats. The key is timing. If you’re not going to stick to the muscle-building trifecta of grilled chicken, broccoli and sweet potato, then you need to watch the clock. Your body has a few places to stow away what you feed it. Such as your liver, under your skin and in your muscles. The first two are bad. The third is why we tell you to guzzle a highprotein, high-carb shake after your workout. That’s because exercise spikes the levels of two key proteins in your muscles: GLUT4 (2) and IGF1 (3). And this pair of substances ensures

what you eat is devoured by your quads, biceps and abs, rather than diverted to your love handles. This mechanism is your body’s way of using the nutrients you feed it to get energy where it’s needed now, instead of storing it for later. A full workout is your best way to an IGF boost, but as little as 90 seconds of intense bodyweight exercise stimulates enough GLUT4 to turn some junk into muscle fuel. (4) It’s probably better to nip to the toilet cubicle for some quick bodyweight work after ordering, however, rather than banging out pushups on the floor of Oporto.

Your weights routine is holding you back. Time to break free.

SATAN’S LITTLE HELPER

Top dog at Evolution of Man fitness, Tim Walker has brought out the beast in everyone from bodybuilders to riot response officers.

Of course, the laws of thermodynamics still apply. If your lunch staple becomes loaded tortilla chips with a large cola, you’ll gain weight. But if you lift beforehand like a hombre possessed, you can gorge and still get a shirt-filling body – in the right way. Granted, it’s healthier to fashion your dream physique by eating clean. But if it’s the thought of a dull diet that’s delaying your body transformation, know that by working harder and smarter than everyone else you can have your beefcake and eat it. So off to the squat rack – even if you make a pitstop at the Drive-Thru afterwards.

DEALS WITH THE DEVIL

1/ SLIM PICKINGS

An analysis found that while kilojoule-cutting alone did shift weight, only ¾ was fat loss. The rest was hard-earned muscle tissue.

3/ PUMP IT UP

Lifting is best for an IGF1 hit. Men in a study who performed leg extensions at 40% effort had a 28% surge compared with non-exercisers.

DECEMBER 2017

2/ FIT FOR CONSUMPTION

Exercise boosts GLUT4 production, which ups glucose metabolism. Levels dropped after a week without training.

4/ GLUT INSTINCTS

Mice bred with reduced GLUT4 suffered low muscle glucose uptake, inducing diabetes, as their blood sugar couldn’t process properly.

Aim to supersize in the gym to turn that Big Mac into big gains.

NUTRITION

Meat Your Match

For the carnivorous gym-goer, red and white meat have long been in nutritional competition. But which protein steps up to the plate and which deserves the chop?

CHICKEN

STEAK

42KG

$5472

The price of the world’s most expensive steak at Parisian butcher’s shop Polmard Éleveur Boucher

The amount of chicken the average Australian consumes each year, the third highest, per capita, in the world.

VS LAB TALK

900 1G 48G Kilojoules

Saturated fat

VITAL SPOTS

Protein

On building his X-Men body: “If there is a place in hell for people who eat chickens, I’ve booked a suite bigger than anybody”

Forget tabloid scare stories. Eating red meat more than three times per week does not damage blood pressure or cholesterol levels, according to Purdue University

1460 7G 43G Kilojoules

ENDORSEMENTS

Cheaper

Gwyneth Paltrow

BUTCHER’S BILL

$ More versatile

Protein

The detox-devotee on giving in to your blood lust: “I don’t eat red meat, but sometimes a man needs a steak”

Hugh Jackman

Lower cancer risk

Saturated fat

Per 200g serving

More fact than fad, chicken broth’s antiinflammatory properties really do relieve respiratory infections, says the American College of Chest Physicians

Comes in buckets

Lend your next BBQ a delicious twist with this rotisserie attachment, and you can kick back with a cold one as your meat gets an even grill Battery operated rotisserie $29; Bunnings

Creatine hit

CHEF’S TOOLS

Healthy fats

Choice of cuts

Extra man points

Impress dinner guests with a restaurantquality medium-rare. Set the thermometer to 60°C and it bleeps when your meat is cooked Digital fork thermometer $19.95 ; Kitchen Warehouse

THE MH VERDICT: CHICKEN WINS! As a means of sating your primal urges, steak undoubtedly cuts the mustard. However, it falls fowl of chicken’s superior nutritional profile. Poultry’s lean kilojoule count and lower cost make it the best buy for muscle-builders.

DECEMBER 2017

Ancient Remedies For Modern Maladies

Scientists are digging up the secrets to good health BY RON

GER ACI

ILLUS T R AT ION BY

WESLE Y MERRIT T

Bone diggers come in many specialties – think bioarchaeology and paleopathology – and it’s not only the past that interests them. “The motto of the Paleopathology Association is mortui viventes docent, or ‘the dead teach the living,’” says paleopathologist Valentina Giuffra. Scientists can find new treatments when they explore the evolution of diseases that still afflict us. Try these tips sifted from history.

1/ PROTECT YOUR TEETH, HELP YOUR HEART Heart disease is not just a product of our modern lifestyle. It was a global problem more than 3,000 years ago, says Michaela Binder, a bioarchaeologist at the Austrian Archaeological Institute. “On CT scans, we are increasingly finding calcification in arteries of mummies,” she says. People of all social categories were affected. What’s more, research suggests that bacteria related to dental diseases are an ancient cause of heart disease – and still prevalent today. (Those germs may trigger inflammation that negatively affects arteries.) THE TAKEAWAY Do what those mummies can’t: see a dentist twice a year and pamper your teeth with the best brushes and pastes.

HISTORY’S HEALTHIEST DISCOVERIES

DECEMBER 2017

4 0 0 B.C.

Hippocrates first claims that disease is natural, not reprisal from the gods.

1796

Edward Jenner accidentally discovers a smallpox vaccine.

1850

Enter germ theory, which blames microbes for causing disease.

1897

Felix Hoffmann makes acetylsalicylic acid, better known as aspirin.

1906

Doctors find that vitamin deficiencies can cause diseases like rickets.

HEALTH

2/ NOURISH YOUR GUT WITH A CENTURIES-OLD SECRET BULLETIN

Studies on 700- to 2,500-yearold naturally mummified faecal matter suggest that ancient humans possessed a highly diverse set of gut bacteria. “Something started wiping these microbes out in humans, sometime very recently,” says Christina Warinner of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Losing these microbes makes us weak and vulnerable. Gut bugs are critical; they aid digestion, promote immunity and more. “Many of these secrete compounds that calm down our immune system,” Warinner explains.

HEALTH

Statins Reconsidered

4/ EASE BACK PAIN LIKE THE ICEMAN DID Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old mummy found in the Alps, is marked with 61 tattoos; most are short lines. Dr Walter Kean, a McMaster University rheumatologist, noticed that the tattoos on Ötzi’s spine follow the sciatic nerve, which can be extremely painful when compressed or stretched. Now Kean and others believe that these marks are from acupuncture-type treatments the Iceman had for back pain.

When healthy, very active military personnel took statins for months, they did not cut their heart-attack risk. But they did double their risk of diabetes. Ask your doctor: do I really need them?

Percentage decrease in allergybased sinus and nasal symptoms after three months of yoga Source: Indian Journal of Otolaryngology

THE TAKEAWAY Eat high-fibre plants; good bacteria feed on ’em. Root vegetables (beets, swedes, carrots) are great, says Warinner.

THE TAKEAWAY Find a certified acupuncturist at the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association (acupuncture. org.au). Don’t worry: today’s practitioners use thin needles that don’t leave scars.

Spray-on repellents are more effective than wearable devices or citronella candles at warding off mosquitoes. (Look for a product with deet or oil of lemon eucalyptus.)

3/ AVOID NAPOLEON’S CANCER Researchers think the French leader died of advanced gastric cancer, possibly due to his eating habits. “Napoleon Bonaparte was at war of lot of the time, so he consumed a lot of smoked and cured foods. We now know that these foods – as well as meat blackened from, for instance, barbecuing – contain nitrosamines and other substances that can increase the risk of gastric cancer,” says study author Dr Heather Dawson, a pathologist at the University of Bern.

Source: Journal of Insect Science

THE TAKEAWAY Severely limit your intake of processed meats.

1922

Insulin injections can now help save the lives of people with diabetes.

1928

Alexander Fleming’s fuzzy petri dish leads to the advent of penicillin.

1953

Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine saves the world from a crippling viral disease.

Don’t Be a Bug’s Meal

1953

James Watson and Francis Crick figure out the structure of DNA.

Percentage of people who risk hearing loss because they never wear ear protection during loud recreational activities (like using power tools) Source: Laryngoscope

DECEMBER 2017

MUSCLE & FITNESS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN…

I Do HIIT? Interval training may now be de rigeur for the busy fat-burner, but these proven tips will give you an even bigger bang for your burpee

Do the Work

It’s true: if you’re not going hard, you should go home. “For optimum results during your high-intensity interval training (HIIT), you need to work at 90-100 per cent effort for 15-30 seconds,” says sports therapist Barry Sigrist. “By working anaerobically (without oxygen for fuel) you produce lactic acid, which releases adrenaline, helping to move fat around the body.” With shorter work periods, you won’t fully benefit; go longer and you risk poor form – and turning embarrassingly red.

Rest Assured

To squeeze maximum benefit from your all-out efforts, you need to rest the hell out of those intervals. “The ideal ratio for a 20-minute session is 30 seconds on, 60 seconds off. Resting too long might feel like cheating, but your muscles need time to renew their oxygen and glycogen levels,” says Sigrist. “Too little rest and your body becomes catabolic, breaking down muscle tissue.” You’re not resting because you’re weak; you’re resting because you want to stay strong. So, chill.

DECEMBER 2017

To power your HIIT session, your body taps into muscle glycogen, not your fat stores. This might sound like the opposite of what you’re after, but its weightloss powers are more subtle. “HIIT triggers a release of human growth hormone and testosterone, both of which play a key role in metabolising fat,” says Sigrist. Optimise sprint intervals with a tracker like MyFit Pod ($39.95, theathletesfoot.com. au). It clips to your shoe to monitor everything from pace and cadence to stride length and foot strike.

Level Out

Of course, not everyone can hit the golden work-rest ratio on first try. As your muscles’ demand for oxygen outstrips supply, your heart rate during rest periods will increase. “You may find your timed rest intervals insufficient to get you back to a level where you can perform at full intensity,” says Sigrist. “Use a heart-rate monitor to see exactly when your body is ready to go: 65 per cent of your max heart rate is ideal.”

A New EPOC

With your workout over, you’ll leave the gym – or park – with your afterburners ignited. “Unlike steadystate cardio, the magic of HIIT takes place after your session. Your body has an ‘oxygen debt’ to repay, and this creates something called excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC),” says Sigrist. Simply put, you continue burning kilojoules for hours after you stop. You can amplify this effect by staying active, so try to train before work rather than after and then heading home to surf the sofa – tempting as it is.

WORDS: DANIEL MASOLIVER; ILLUSTRATION: PETER GRUNDY

Test Results

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WHO CARES ABOUT SKIN? YOUR SKIN, NAIL AND HAIR HEALTH IS IMPORTANT, SO ASK A GP FOR A REFERRAL TO A DERMATOLOGIST TO LEARN ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SKIN YOU’RE IN

SKIN HEALTH MATTERS You might not know it, but your skin is a big deal. It’s your body’s largest organ and includes your hair, nails, wet areas of the mouth and genitalia. So it needs looking after, and that takes more than a good moisturiser. Sun damage, skin cancers, acne and other skin problems are extremely common among Australian men, and when something’s not right, it’s good to know you can seek help from a trusted expert – your dermatologist. THE SKIN SPECIALIST If you’re concerned about a skin, hair or nail condition, ask your GP for a referral to a dermatologist. Dermatologists study for an additional four years to specialise in skin conditions and can oﬀer

you preventative advice, as well as the best treatment plan if you’re already experiencing any issues. Dermatologists combine cuttingedge science with proven medical, surgical and laser treatments to give you the best chance of treatment success. AVOIDING SUN DAMAGE Most of us don’t know it takes only 15 minutes in the sun to get burnt. Dermatologists have the skill and experience to identify and treat skin cancers, and, in partnership with the Cancer Council, they can offer you advice on how to stay safe in the sun too. Keep a close eye on your skin and head to your GP for a referral to a dermatologist if you notice anything unusual – including new or changing spots or moles.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THESE SKIN ISSUES? SKIN CANCER It’s a shocking statistic that two in every three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by 70 years of age. DNA damage from the sun builds up over the years, resulting in more than 2,000 Australian deaths from skin cancer each year.

ACNE Acne develops when the pores on your skin become clogged up with oil, dead skin and bacteria. More than eight out of 10 people aged 15 to 24 will be affected, but adults can have acne too. The good news is, it can be eﬀectively treated by a dermatologist.

FOLLOW THE AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF DERMATOLOGISTS ON FACEBOOK

ECZEMA Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a very common chronic skin issue that causes patches of red, itchy and inﬂamed skin. PSORIASIS An autoimmune disease that causes itchy, scaly and red patches over part, or the entire body and may last a lifetime.

FIND OUT MORE AT DERMCOLL.EDU.AU

FITNESS

Perspire To Greatness Down dumbbells early and make time for a post-workout sauna. Far from a luxurious ‘low-impact day’, it’s the smartest (and most relaxing) way to build more muscle

STEAM POWER FEEL THE BURN ON THE BENCH AND SOAK UP THESE SCIENCE-BACKED HEALTH BOOSTS

DECEMBER 2017

STEAMROLL YOUR TRACK COMPETITION Researchers at the University of Otago found athletes shaved 1.9 per cent off their 5K times by spending 30 minutes in the sauna after training sessions.

THE SAUNA has long been caricatured as the preserve of body-confident Scandis. But unless you’re reading this in Stockholm, it more likely has a reputation for housing slackers; the sweaty layabouts who get a kick out of crossing the gym threshold, but do little to warrant the membership fee. New science, hot off the press, has, however, sent this theory up in smoke. Abs may be made in the kitchen, but total body muscle is cooked up in the sauna. Sports scientists have been warming to the potential of heat therapy for some time and now researchers at Korea University have found that exposing muscles

to higher temperatures after resistance training results in faster gains in both strength and size. Increasing muscle temperature by just four degrees improves anabolic processes in your muscle tissue, triggering more testosterone and swifter protein synthesis. Test subjects used hightech heat blankets to achieve the desired effect, but your gym sauna provides a far more convenient alternative. Cut your session 10 minutes short for this researchapproved finisher and you’ll maximise your body’s adaptations to training. You can use the free time to truly relax. Away from the risks of awkward small talk, that is.

ON THE PULSE

MAKE A HABIT OF IT

According to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine , middle-aged men who frequent the sauna slash their chances of dying from heart conditions by around 50 per cent.

Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland (where else?) found those who used saunas 4-7 times a week cut their dementia risk by 63 per cent compared to occasional users.

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Banish Back Pain the Natural Way The pain is in your back but the fix could be in your brain. Stay active with this plan [ BY

K . ALEISHA FE T TERS

]

Nothing pisses off a back pain sufferer more than hearing someone say, “It’s all in your head.” But that’s basically what spine surgeon Dr David Hanscom has told more than 600 of his patients. And after three to six months on his plan – without any prescription medication or even exercise or weight loss – 95 per cent of them, he says, have seen significant relief. How? Although most people experience lower-back pain at some point in their life, doctors often can’t find the cause. They might prescribe painkillers or schedule surgeries with potential side effects, says Hanscom. (Take Steve Kerr, head coach of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. After back surgery, Kerr developed a new problem: leaking spinal fluid, which can cause headaches, nausea, hearing impairment and more.) Even “successful” operations to correct anatomical issues don’t always end pain. The reason? “Back pain begins as a muscular problem but gets embedded as a neurological problem,” Hanscom says. Pain is transmitted via nerves, and “those that fire together wire together,” he says. You actually become more sensitive to pain anywhere. What’s more, Northwestern University researchers studying MRI scans of people with achey backs found that brain activity related to pain switched from the brain’s pain-processing centre to its emotional centres. Just as stress, anxiety, anger or depression can trigger a headache, it can also provoke a flare-up of back pain. “You feel the same pain, but a different

DECEMBER 2017

HEALTH

neuronal driver is running the show,” says Hanscom. “It’s a cycle in which physical pain can cause mental pain and mental pain can cause physical pain,” says Dr Robert Gatchel, a psychologist who studies chronic pain. “But you can’t really tell which came first, because there is constant interaction between the two.” YOUR NINE-POINT PLAN

It wasn’t until Hanscom studied the neurobiology of chronic pain that he was able to end his own 20-year struggle with it. His “Direct Your Own Care” program takes a mind-body approach and is detailed in his book Back in Control. To beat pain, he says, you have to improve your body chemistry. Start here.

STAGE 1

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

1. Create a stress journal. Set aside five minutes twice a day to write down (or record on your smartphone) what’s irritating you. Then immediately rip it up or erase it. This helps you detach from negative feelings.

4. Let go. Researchers at McGill University suggest that anger over being wronged may make chronic pain sufferers feel more pain. Try “thought stopping.” “As soon as you start to think about how someone’s offended you, say the word ‘stop,’” says clinical psychologist Dr Janis Abrahms Spring.

6. Organise one disorganised part of your life. Mess, whether it’s in a relationship or a junk drawer, promotes stress and anger. Attack a messy part of your life, then another.

8. Make yourself feel small. Chronic back pain can feel allconsuming, so try to create circumstances that inspire awe and put things in perspective. This can be as simple as sleeping under the stars or going hiking. You are not in a world of pain; most of the world is pain-free, says Hanscom.

SHUT DOWN STRESS

2. Become a minimeditator. Periodically spend 15 seconds focusing on sensations other than pain, such as the taste, scent and temperature of your coffee. Acts of mindfulness can reduce pain responses. 3. Stop venting. Talking about the hurt activates pain pathways. When path ways aren’t used, they become less active in favour of ones used more regularly, Hanscom says.

FORGIVE AND FORGET

5. Do more things you enjoy. Take a weekend road trip. Indulging yourself elevates levels of feel-good neurotransmitters while hardwiring your nervous system for feelings other than pain, says Hanscom.

CLEAN HOUSE

7. Make new friends or reconnect with old ones. Many guys in pain become isolated, which makes the pain worse. “You have to put yourself in situations where you will see the same people over and over,” says clinical psychologist Dr Andrea Bonior. That proximity is what gets friendships off the ground.” Visit the gym, coffee shop, or dog park at the same time each week.

BE LESS YOU-CENTRIC

9. Ease others’ pain. Whether it’s at a local animal shelter or soup kitchen, seeing the hurt disappear from another’s eyes – even momentarily – can help alleviate yours, Hanscom says. Find an activity suited to your talents and interests at volunteering.com.au.

Three Spine-Saving Moves To start every workout, complete 3 sets of 6, 4 and then 2 reps of each exercise, resting 20 seconds between sets, says Back Mechanic author Dr Stuart McGill

Curl-up

Bird Dog

This helps your abs support your back. Lie on your back with a knee bent, your foot flat on the floor. Slide both hands under your lower back and raise your elbows slightly. Brace your core with your spine neutral. Squeeze your abs to raise your head and shoulders 2-5 centimetres. Hold 10 seconds; return to the start. That’s 1 rep.

For a strong back and hips, do this: kneel with your knees hip-width apart and hands beneath your shoulders. Make fists. Hollow your lower back slightly and brace your core. Lift and extend one arm and the opposite leg so they’re parallel to the floor. Hold 10 seconds; return to the start. Repeat on the other side. That’s 1 rep.

Side Bridge

This move stabilises your spine. Lie on your left side, legs stacked, supporting yourself on your left elbow/hip/knee. Your hips should be hinged and behind the rest of your torso. From here, press your hips up and forward until your body is aligned from head to knees. Hold for 10 seconds and return to the start. That’s 1 rep.

DECEMBER 2017

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Triple Your Endurance Park your bike and retire your wetsuit – the twisted minds at cult workout spot Gym Jones have given the triathlon a brutal upgrade. Think you’re up to it? OUR RUN THE GAUNTLET fitness challenges have always been about pushing your limits, providing a physical and mental crucible in which to pit yourself against equally masochistic MH readers – and, more importantly, against yourself. Here, under the guidance of the wellrespected and much-feared Gym Jones PTs, we have finally reached peak grit: the denouement of our quest for pain in the name of fitness. Spread across the pages before you is the gym-goers’ triathlon. But just because there are no lakes to traverse or mid-race clothing changes doesn’t mean it’s any less grisly. Quite the opposite, in fact. The long grind of the traditional discipline may be gone, but it is replaced by a ruthless selection of cardio machines, which combine to deliver the toughest few minutes of your life. Perform these three exercises, working against the clock, then check our scoreboard to see how you measure up. Film it. Share it. Because, while the pain is temporary, bragging rights are eternal.

1 GO STEADY

> 500m SkiErg Don’t get carried away at the start of your challenge. Think of the SkiErg as your warm-up, so stay relaxed and conserve energy by aiming for longer pulls. Focus, too, on maintaining a steady stroke rate. You’ll need those lungs for the AirDyne assault.

DECEMBER 2017

2 PUSH HARD

> 50 calorie AirDyne Climb into the saddle for the sticky part of the workout – this is where you can make or break a good time. Go hard and don’t hold back. Pump your arms and legs to spread the workload across as many muscles as possible, and gulp down as much air as you can.

MUSCLE & FITNESS

#mh

TASKMASTER

Steve Kowalenko, @virtus_strength: “This is five to eight minutes of hell,” the Gym Jones instructor warns. “Your legs will burn, your lungs will burn and you’ll be tested mentally and physically.” Cheers for that, Steve.

3 PULL THROUGH

> 500m row By this point your legs and lungs should feel like they’re on fire. Expect the row to be more mind over matter. Focus again on stroke length. As you tire, maintaining proper technique will help conserve energy. Done? Check your time and/or grab a bucket.

YOUR SCOREBOARD < 7MIN 30SEC

AVERAGE

Your endurance needs a little work. Use recovery days twice a week to hone your technique and improve your aerobic base with 20 minutes’ steady-state on each piece of kit.

p aga ure @men inst MH shealt hau

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PIT YOUR MENTAL FORTITUDE AGAINST THE CLOCK IN THIS TRIPLE-THREAT ASSAULT ON BODY AND MIND. GIVE IT YOUR ALL AND FIND OUT HOW YOU RANK AGAINST THE TOUGHEST GYM IN THE WORLD

< 6MIN 30SEC

FIT

Use th gauntle share is hashtag t check your time, t to he ou how y r Insta to se n ou me e as u

Get off the start line smarter by practising your pacing on the SkiErg with five fast rounds of 500m. The extra stamina will stop you blowing early and expand your comfort zone.

< 5MIN 0SEC

ADVANCED

Tackling the AirDyne is all about anaerobic capacity – how fast you can go at near-max capacity. Boost yours with interval sprints, aiming to burn 50 calories in under a minute.

< 4MIN 30SEC

ELITE

You’ve just earned the respect of the Gym Jones brotherhood. To beat your score, cut your transition times. Have a partner set up the machines, so you stay focused on working hard.

DECEMBER 2017

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Tip of the Iceberg

Luke Baylisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; path to the top involved almost dying from frostbite and transforming his physical health. Along the way, the SumoSalad founder built a business that generates $80 million a year Words by Luke Benedictus Photography by Kristian Taylor-Wood DECEMBER 2017

MHBOSS Marquis de salade: Luke Baylis

SPOT THE GAP

Luke Baylis is lucky to be alive. Twenty years ago, he was snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains when he got lost in sub-zero conditions. The cold was so intense that Baylis passed out in the snow. He lay there unconscious for eight hours as temperatures plummeted below -40 degrees.

DECEMBER 2017

Eventually Baylis’ half-frozen body was found just before a snowstorm was about to hit. “Half an hour later and I would have been buried for the whole season,” he says. Baylis spent the next six months in a Denver hospital undergoing hyperbaric treatment for the most severe frostbite the doctors had ever seen. Somehow he confounded medical expectations to make a full recovery without losing any of his limbs. “That experience changed me profoundly,” he says. “After that, I just wanted to live and get more out of life.” It’s fair to say that Baylis has emphatically delivered on that promise. In 2003, he opened the first SumoSalad, a store dedicated to providing fast, healthy food at an accessible price. Since then, he’s expanded the brand to more than 100 stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil. “It’s turned into a business where we’re serving more than 8 million salads a year and having a huge impact on the way Australians consume healthy food.” In the process, Baylis also managed to transform his personal health.

Baylis’ near-death experience left him with a fierce sense of urgency. “It probably shaped a lot of my extreme behaviour,” he concedes. This didn’t always manifest itself in the most positive ways. In his 20s, Baylis moved from Sydney to New York to work for a telco alongside his friend and future business partner, James Miller. “We were working 18-hour days, always drinking, burning out,” he says. “It was very volatile and unhealthy.” Predictably, this took a toll on Baylis’ health - during his four years in New York, he stacked on more than 40kg. Indeed, it was the determination to lose his excess timber that truly ignited his interest in healthy food. “It started off as a personal journey,” Baylis explains. “James and I had this great experience of healthy eating changing our lifestyle and helping us lose weight; we became reinvigorated with life through that.” Exploring New York’s wealth of healthy food options served to highlight a gap in the market back in Australia. The pair promptly decided to quit their jobs and, despite having no retail experience, committed to a bold plan to launch SumoSalad. The first store opened on Liverpool Street in Sydney’s CBD in 2003. “It was a huge change,” Baylis says. “We were two overweight blokes in IT putting our entire life savings on the line and launching a salad business that was completely unproven. “But we were so passionate about it that we just thought: ‘Bugger, we’re going to give it a go’.” Any big career transition is daunting. Yet Baylis’ advice for anyone considering a switch-up is not to allow fear to hold you back. Self-belief and bloody-minded persistence, he suggests, can make up for shortfalls in experience. “You’ve got to do what makes you happy, do what makes you fulfilled,” Baylis insists. “When we first started to pitch the concept to investors, they just laughed at us – two big, fat blokes trying to pitch salads. But we ended up proving them all wrong.”

LIFE IS ALL ABOUT TIMING. PICK THE MOMENT WHEN YOU’RE READY TO FIGHT YOUR BATTLES. FIND YOUR BALANCE

Baylis’ stint in New York revealed the perils of the work hard / play hard lifestyle. “We knew if we were in this for the long game then we needed to find a way to do things in a more sustainable and considered manner.” Today, with an international retail empire and two young children, Baylis has more on his plate than ever before. Fortunately the contents are now far more nutritious. Finding this state of balance didn’t happen by chance. Baylis reached it by taking an inventory of his life to figure out what truly mattered to him. “I realised my priorities are my family, my business and my friends, so I make sure I invest all my time into those areas.” Baylis’ time-management tactics don’t end there. Despite his frantic schedule, he dedicates two hours a day to exercise and learning. Baylis runs for 60 minutes to and from work while listening to audiobooks on an esoteric range of subjects (see right) from philosophy and business to religion. “It’s about self-growth and trying to become a whole person.” This mindset is a direct extension of Baylis’ approach to diet. Just as he scrutinises the nutritional value of his food, Baylis also polices everything he mentally ingests. Suffice to say you won’t catch him watching cat videos on YouTube. In fact, Baylis doesn’t watch TV or even listen to the radio. “I’m very conscious of what I put into my mind,” he says. “Unless I can benefit from it then I don’t consume it.” Baylis’ ultra-disciplined brand of holistic productivity isn’t for everyone. But it does prove that, however busy you are, you can potentially find more room to manoeuvre than you imagine. STAY FOCUSED

For the entrepreneur, temptation comes in different forms. Three years after opening, SumoSalad was gaining momentum and was named the fastest growing brand on the BRW Hot Franchise list. Rather than consolidate, Bayliss chose to branch out on another venture focused on Middle Eastern fast food. This was not a success.

“That mistake cost me millions of dollars,” he says. It’s a common business conundrum: the more successful you become, the more opportunities land at your feet. What Bayliss learnt is that maintaining your central focus is vital. “It’s easy to chase the flashing light. But the best lesson I could teach an entrepreneur is to persevere and look for new innovation within your business rather than chase external opportunities. A lot of people go off and do a bit of everything and nothing well.” Similarly, when it comes to expanding your business, make sure you’re truly ready to kick on. Early on, SumoSalad made an ill-fated push into the UK, before being forced to pull out. In retrospect, Baylis admits he was guilty of over-reaching before having the resources to launch a sustainable attack. “As young entrepreneurs we wanted to conquer the world, but we didn’t have the troops behind us to do that. Life is all about timing. Pick the moment when you’re ready to fight your battles.” CREATE A LEGACY

Five years ago, James Miller, the co-founder of SumoSalad, was found dead in his Elizabeth Bay apartment. Reports suggest the cause of death was an accidental overdose. He was 38. Baylis was floored by the news. “He was my best mate. We set the whole business up together. We were inseparable,” he says. “To lose him when the business was going through such a huge transformation was shattering.” When tragedy strikes, there is no correct way to grieve. There is no quick-fix to alleviate the loss or to deal with the emotional fallout. Yet Baylis ultimately found a positive way to honour his lost mate by channeling the energy from his grief back into the business that the pair built together. “There’s two ways to deal with something like that,” Baylis says. “You can lie in the corner in the foetal position or you can say: ‘Fuck it, I’m going to make this business amazing so James’ legacy lives on and make him proud of the business we started together.’ I took that second approach.”

FEED YOUR HEAD

During the past two years, Baylis has “read” over 330 books. Every day he runs to and from work while listening to audiobooks at double speed (!) in order to cram in more content. Here are some of his recent highlights.

Exponential Organisations by Salim Ismail

Why new organisations are ten times better, faster and cheaper than your own and what you must do to get with the program.

Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson

Combine the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience with ancient meditation to shape your brain for greater happiness, wisdom and love.

The Origin of the Species By Charles Darwin

Darwin’s theory of natural selection claims no one species is specially created with all of them locked in a pitiless battle against extinction.

The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn

Your telomeres are a biological indicator linked to the aging process. Learn how to protect them to live longer and healthier.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

The story of a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life and how he ultimately found purpose and peace.

Conscious Capitalism

by John Mackey & Raj Sisodia

No, it’s not an oxymoron. This treatise offers a blueprint for a more evolved system of doing business to create a more ethical future.

DECEMBER 2017

Fresh prawns with brandy aioli

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MH Life FIND YOUR TOP GEAR

SHORT STORY

Don’t let your fashion sense melt at the beach > JEFF LACK VASSI LENA GROOMING BY STEPHEN FOYLE S T Y L ING BY

P HO T OGR A P H Y BY

WAIST DISPOSAL

You don’t need a cover-model body to look good in boardies. “I think it’s nonsense to say a six-pack is a requisite to wearing swim shorts,” says Adam Brown of Orlebar Brown. “Whether a guy is big or small, tall or short, a well-cut suit will flatter him. The same applies with well-made shorts.” A drawstring waist will suit most and has some give, while “a tailored waistband will fit more precisely and look smarter”.

Oliver Peoples sunglasses $440 Orlebar Brown polo $260 Tommy Hilfiger shorts $110 Primabase x 124 trainers $399

DECEMBER 2017

Style Huffer hat $69.90 Orlebar Brown sunglasses $445 Orlebar Brown shirt $360 & Towel $120 Gant shorts $139 Victorinox watch $950

Strand Hatters hat $390 MJ Bale shirt $179 Saturdays NYC singlet $55 Mocha Salt shorts $149 Tommy Hilfiger towel $120 Victorinox watch $1100 John Hardy bracelet $925

PATTERN RECOGNITION

Colour speaks volumes of your temperament, but more crucially, it needs to pair with your complexion. “I’m naturally quite fair so tend to stick to navy, grey or a dark green to harmonise with my skin,” says Brown. “Your best advice is to look at your wardrobe, find the dominant colour, then buy trunks in it.” But if that sounds too conservative, a subtle geometric pattern is a good way of testing the water. 56

DECEMBER 2017

PRACTICE LENGTHS Leg length is as much a

question of taste as it is hard and fast rules. Too long and you risk looking like a baller, too short and you risk arrest. “As a rule of thumb, the taller you are, the longer your shorts should be,” says Brown. This is because a long leg will draw the eye down the body, making you appear shorter; conversely, a shorter leg will elongate the silhouette. The best designs hit the sweet spot between the top of your knee and your mid-thigh.

Prada sunglasses $340 Orlebar Brown shirt $295 Commune Bondi towel $119 Tommy Hilfiger shorts $110 Victorinox watch $950

Strand Hatters cap $90 Ray-Ban sunglasses $220 Saturdays NYC sweater $280 Prada sunglasses $340 Tommy Hilfiger sweater $180 Mocha Salt shorts $149 Orlebar Brown bag $675

Huffer shorts $49 Commune Bondi bag $280 Urge shoes @ The Iconic $129.95

DRESS EASY

And what to wear with your trunks? “I think that if you feel comfortable, it shows, however you’re dressed,” Brown says. “I don’t care whether you’re wearing a T-shirt, a smart linen shirt, or a classic toweling polo, it’s all about presenting yourself with confidence.” When it comes to footwear, however, he is less flexible: “Avoid lace-ups – they’re the antithesis of holiday casual. And even if you are somewhere swanky, when you wear a quality t-shirt and a good watch, you don’t need smart shoes.”

Persol sunglasses $340 The Upside striped sweater $129 The Upside floral trunks $149 Victorinox watch $950

DECEMBER 2017

Watches

REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Nostalgia, they say, is the enemy of progress.

But when retro looks as good as this, venturing back in time can be an inspirational investment. This is our pick of the most relevant reissues

MANY OF THE WINDOWS at this year’s Swiss trade fairs were bursting with Technicolor. But for those unwilling to seek out the end of the rainbow, the treasure was a selection of rose-tinted reissues lifted from the archives of the most storied watch brands. Nostalgia is clearly in the air – the latest throwbacks range from pieces commemorating the wristwatch’s post-war coming of age to its early use as a sports timer. Of course, in uncertain economic times, it’s easy to view this as comfortblanket tactics. But as with furniture and cars, horology’s mid-century period was arguably its most proficient. It’s certainly its coolest: “There’s a scent of hipster influence,” says Philipp Man, the youthful brain behind online marketplace Chronext. “That scene’s aesthetic is rooted in vintage. But there’s also a sense that we’ve seen so many design iterations that watch brands have gone too far. We have an appetite for the old stuff again, even if it isn’t as faithful as some watch snobs would like!” But slavish reproduction is not the point. Good reissues dip one toe into an illustrious past while keeping the other foot firmly forward. Blending both iconic looks and modern chops, this is our retro wishlist.

DECEMBER 2017

01 //

Making a Splash This is a direct descendent of Alpina’s ’70s diving watches and delivers a sporty retro vibe (think Bjorn Borg in a wetsuit). The creamy coloured dial adds to the sense of vintage cool, while the date window – quirkily perched somewhere between 3 and 4 o’clock – adds a pleasing unorthodox edge.

Alpina Seastrong Diver Heritage $2250

02 //

03 //

Oris Chronoris Date $2300

Omega Speedmaster 1957 Trilogy $9725

Clockwork Orange First introduced in 1970, the Chronoris was the debut ‘stop-seconds’ chronograph from Switzerland’s most democratic watchmaker. Dressed within an ovoid case with racy orange accents, it showcased a groovy design language that’s riding high again on the back of the trend for all things ’70s. Use the crown at 4 o’clock to rotate the timing ring, aligning the triangle with either hand, then read off the elapsed time.

Investment Bond In 1957 all three of Omega’s enduring ‘Master’ models were launched: the Railmaster (its movement encased in anti-magnetic iron); Bond’s current choice, the Seamaster (for the nascent Scuba community); and the ‘moonwatch’ itself, the Speedmaster. Its looks may be old-school, but the insides are high tech – a shaken cocktail of anti-magnetic alloys and self-lubricating silicon.

05 // 04 //

Classic Good Looks Rado’s HyperChrome range has become ‘hyper’ in more ways than one, embracing all manner of styles from retro to futurist to cushionshaped. This year’s 1962 reissue mixes things up further, but only in its nomenclature – in terms of looks, this represents brazen nostalgia at its best, from the deliberately patinated index batons right down to the ‘ping’ of the red date numerals.

Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook $2475

Chocks Away Riffing off a vintage pilot’s watch, this handsome devil catches the eye with its bronze bezel and crown perching on a cognacbrown leather strap. The cathedral-style hands and mellow yellow lume enhance the retro credentials. But the aesthetics are backed with functionality – the additional hour hand allows you to track a second time zone.

Mont Blanc 1858 Automatic Dual Time $7750

06 //

Partners In Time Don’t be fooled by its name: while several motifs from Tudor’s version of big-brother Rolex’s Submariner have been retained, everything else about this ‘Heritage’ is new. Most notably, the in-house automatic chronograph movement, thanks to an open exchange of tech between Tudor and Breitling. Civilised and extremely rewarding.

Tudor Heritage Black Bay Chrono $6070

DECEMBER 2017

Grooming

DARK SIDE OF THE SUN AUSTRALIA IS THE SKIN-CANCER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

BUT TAKING ONE SIMPLE ACTION COULD SAVE YOUR SKIN THIS SUMMER IT’S 8.30AM ON HAMILTON ISLAND and the sun is already bouncing off the waterfront as sailors gather around a white tent on Front Street. These are grizzled old sea dogs with heavily lined faces and deep tans blasted by the elements. It’s a lengthy queue to enter the tent, but the sailors are happy to wait their turn. They know what they’re lining up for could potentially save their lives. Throughout Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, the Beard Season Skin Check Tent is offering free consultations to anyone who turns up. The results are frankly terrifying. Over seven days, 652 people take advantage of the skin check. Out of this number, the dermatologists will find 530 suspicious lesions of which they estimate one in seven will prove to be cancerous. “It’s insane,” admits Melanie Gilbert, the project manager at Queensland Institute of Dermatology who is overseeing the set-up. “But it didn’t surprise the dermatologists. The sailors are always out on the water, always out in the sun. But many of them have never had a skin check in their life.” Admittedly, life at sea makes you particularly susceptible to the sun, but skin cancer doesn’t discriminate between the haves and the have-yachts. Your gender also raises the threat. Men are far more at risk of dying of skin cancer than women, accounting for two-thirds of all melanoma deaths. “There’s still debate if that’s a biological or behavioural problem,” says associate professor Kiarash Khosterotehrani, a clinical scientist from the University of Queensland who specialises in cancer and skin biology. “Is it that men don’t care as much? Or is it that they don’t go to the doctor until it’s too late.” 60

DECEMBER 2017

Yet the more urgent question is how do you avoid becoming another casualty? Especially when you live in the skin-cancer capital of the world… Sunscreen is, of course, crucial to avoid barbecuing your skin, but only effective if you apply it right. Picture your sunscreen as a physical barrier against the sun. “Put a finger length for every surface equivalent to the palm of your hand,” Khosterotehrani says. “When you put on your sunscreen, your skin should go white before it slowly gets sucked in.” If that sounds like a lot then remember this: when a company advertises their sunscreen as, say, 50+, the SPF is calculated on that quantity being used. “People just don’t put that much on,” Khosterotehrani says. But sunscreen alone won’t make you invincible. “It can actually give you a false sense of security,” Khosterotehrani says. “In Germany, sunscreen users have actually been shown to be more at risk because they expose themselves more.” That’s why you have to fall back on your full repertoire of “slip, slop, slap” tactics. That means bolstering your protection by wearing a hat, covering up with clothing, as well as trying to avoid the midday rays. But however conscientious you are, no one can afford to get complacent. Just ask Jimmy Niggles. As the mastermind behind the free skin checks at Race Week, Niggles is evangelical about suncare. He’s also the owner of a beard of such magnificence it makes Ned Kelly’s look like a wispy embarrassment. As it turns out, these two things are connected. In 2010, Niggles’ close friend Wes Bonny died from a melanoma that entered his blood stream and spread to his brain. He was only 26 years old. At the wake, Niggles and his mates gathered at a pub called The Beckom,

‘‘Skin cancer is a random prick of a disease that really is unpredictable” JIMMY NIGGLES

Of the 652 skin checks carried out on Hamilton Island 532 suspicious lesions were found.

DECEMBER 2017

Grooming Be Melanoma Smart in the NSW town of Artlethan. “It was a super emotional night,” he recalls. “We couldn’t believe it had happened to someone so young. We decided we had to do something.” As the funeral party nursed their schooners, they noticed two old famers sitting in the corner. “They both had these epic, wizard beards,” Niggles recalls. And so the idea for Beard Season, a national skincare initiative, was born. The idea was simple: every winter, Niggles and his mates would commit to growing their beard in memory of their old mate. Their chinstraps were designed to be conversation starters. If anyone commented on their whiskers, they’d cop an explanation on the reason behind them and a challenge to book themselves in for a skin-check. “Melanomas are one of the most deadly cancers,” Niggles explains. “But they’re also one of the most simple to treat if they’re caught early.” Seven years on, Beard Season has snowballed into a non-profit, health-promotion charity that drives awareness of this need for early detection. It’s effective, too. Every week, Niggles gets an email from someone who’s got vital treatment after being urged to get a check-up following a Beard Season chat. Given his vocation, Niggles is incredibly mindful about his sun protection. Yet on Hamilton Island, he took advantage of his own service and got a skin check. What happened next shows why you should too. An apparently innocuous spot on Niggles’ left thigh raised alarm bells for the dermatologist. Niggles subsequently ended up undergoing an excision biopsy to remove a melanoma from his skin. “If I had left it then I might be in a very different situation,” he admits. “It just reinforces that this is a random prick of a disease that really is so unpredictable.” It’s a cautionary tale with a happy ending. But it once again demonstrates how personal vigilance is no substitute for a professional skin check. “The truth is that you can never be too sure – the only people who know are the doctors,” Niggles says. “That’s why you’ve got to see the experts and get a skin check.” Follow #BeardSeason

DECEMBER 2017

Watch out for the warning signs know your A,B,C,D,E

SUMMER RUBBIN’

SUN PROTECTION YEAR-ROUND IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE. FIND YOUR SUNSCREEN MATCH AND GET SLATHERING BY

CARLI ALMAN

Best for Oily Skin: A symmetry Moles that, if divided, are not the same on both sides

La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Ultra-Light

With an incredibly light texture and non-greasy feel, you’ll barely notice this lotion working hard to protect against those UVA and UVB rays. $28.99, priceline.com.au

Best for Sensitive Skin: B order Moles with edges that are jagged like a coastline

C olour Moles gaining or losing colour, or multicoloured

Invisible Zinc Face + Body Sunscreen SPF 50

Physical protectors from the sun – like zinc oxide found in this sunscreen – not only reflect harsh rays and protect skin, they are far more gentle on sensitive skin types. From $19.99, priceline.com.au

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Combining the broad-spectrum, sweat-resistant and non-whitening benefits of sunscreen with the anti-ageing powers of antioxidants, you can fight the signs of ageing while protecting your skin. $46.95, alpha-h.com

Best for a Natural Alternative: D iameter Moles over 5mm diameter (especially if unevenly coloured)

E volution Moles that have changed size, shape, colour or have risen

Little Urchin Natural Sunscreen SPF 30

Free from nasties, preservatives, synthetic ingredients and dangerous chemicals, this zinc oxide sunscreen can protect the whole family – even those with sensitive skin. $19.95, littleurchin.com.au

Best for Swimmers: Sun Bum Signature SPF 40 Lotion

Used and trusted by lifeguards in the US, this high-performance, mineral-based sunscreen won’t bleed into your eyes, won’t feel slippery when wet, and will stay put during a swim or surf. $24.99, beautyhq.com.au

SCREEN TEST THINK YOU KNOW YOUR STUFF WHEN IT COMES TO SUNSCREEN. THINK AGAIN

1 “SPF30 is twice as good as using 15”

Best for Acne-prone Skin: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face & Body Dry Touch

If your biggest sunscreen concern is that the heavy texture will clog your pores and lead to breakouts, use this oil-free formula on high rotation. $16.99, priceline.com.au

Best for Outdoorsy Types: KLIM by Michael Klim Sports Moisturiser SPF 30

If you spend a lot of time outdoors working out or simply working, this non-greasy and nourishing moisturiser will have your suncare needs sorted. $17.95, milkandco.com.au

Best for Vitamin D Deficiency: Solar D Sunscreen Everyday Active

A dedication to sun safety can actually lead to vitamin D deficiencies, but this clever tube of sunscreen offers maximum protection while allowing some UVB rays through to promote the production of vitamin D. Problem solved. From $16.49, chemistwarehouse.com.au

Best for Beachgoers: NIVEA Sun Ultra Beach Quick Dry Sunscreen Pressurised Spray SPF50+

Offering ease of application, instant absorbency and a touch-dry finish (read: no more sand sticking to you), this sunscreen spray will become as much of a beach essential as your boardies. $17.99, priceline.com.au

True – in a way. “Basically, the SPF of your sunscreen indicates the length of time that your skin is protected from sunburn, depending on your skin type. For example, if you were to start getting sunburnt after three minutes in the sun without any sunscreen on, applying a sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 30 would protect you for three minutes x 30 (or 90 minutes) before you begin to burn. In turn, a SPF 15 product would protect you 15 times, and an SPF 50, 50 times,” says NIVEA Skincare Scientist Ken Lee.

2 “If sunscreen is water resistant for a few hours, I don’t have to reapply within that time period even if I’ve been in the water” False. “Sunscreen should always be reapplied after one to two hours irrespective of the activity. Even if a sunscreen is four hours water resistant, reapplication should occur after one to two hours as a minimum,” says Bruno Malepa from Baxter Laboratories.

3 “I only have to apply sunscreen during peak UV hours” False. “Sunscreen should be applied whenever outdoors during the day, even on cloudy days as UV rays are still present,” says Malepa.

4 “I should buy a new sunscreen every year” True. “The active ingredients or UV filters in sunscreen can become ineffective. Always check your pack to make sure it is within date before use. When sunscreen expires, you should tip the product into the garbage bin and recycle the empty containers,” says Lee.

DECEMBER 2017

Gifts for Her

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eavesden is not a name that’s conjured in the mind as readily as Hollywood when one thinks of film locations. But the English town of Watford is where movie magic – not to mention the Making of Harry Potter tour – happens on a daily basis. The 80-hectare Warner Bros studio complex is a veritable department of mysteries, each of the anonymous hangars and workshops its very own chamber of secrets. The first clue to the current function of workshop 11, the location for MH’s own shoot, is the welcome mat featuring five superheroic members of the Justice League, the comic book collective that is DC’s answer to Marvel’s Avengers. Front and centre is Superman, flanked by Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern. Justice League, the movie, is out this month and stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Ezra Miller as The

Flash. Green Lantern is unlikely to feature, after the 2011 standalone film with Ryan Reynolds failed to light up the box office. But the involvement of Henry Cavill’s Superman has also been in some doubt, following his death at the denouement of 2016’s Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. A blockbuster get-together without DC’s most iconic character (sorry Bruce) is, however, inconceivable. And given the various teasers and marketing materials that have hinted at Superman’s return – to which can be added Cavill’s presence on this shoot today – it’s fair to hazard that he’s involved in some way. “You can assume whatever you want,” grins the actor, whose very British sense of humour softens the super-earnestness that helped him bag the part in 2013’s Man of Steel. It’s not always easy to tell when he’s joking. Beyond the mat is a makeshift gym jury-rigged for the cast of Justice League. While it may only be temporary, it’s so spacious and

plentifully stocked – dumbbells, skiergs, sleds – that it would put most sweatboxes to shame. The floor of the free weights area bears a quotation from a Robert Bly poem: “I am afraid there will be a moment when / I fail you, friend; I will turn slightly / Away, our eyes will not meet, and out in the field / There will be no one”. Less literarily, the fingerboard attached to the rig has been graffitied with, “Flash, get some, love Aquaman” (another Justice League member, played by former MH cover star and Game of Thrones alumnus Jason Momoa). In the corner lies a Wonder Woman coffee table tome, positioned serendipitously next to a copy of Jane Fonda’s Workout Book. It’s easy to imagine the Justice League cast all training here together, perhaps while wearing those Under Armour Alter Ego compression tops that match their respective costumes. “It happened once,” says Cavill, casting his mind back. “No, it didn’t; Ben and Gal were off that

“I like the gym, but I’d prefer to be sweating and breathing hard while learning a new skill”

DECEMBER 2017

MUSCLE

day. But we had Superman, Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg [played by Ray Fisher] in the gym. That was fun.” Unfortunately they weren’t repping compression: “I wish we’d thought ahead and done that. If a Justice League sequel happens, maybe we will.”

Off-Set Action

Cavill has arrived with an unexpected mass of hair covering his top lip, and his handsome, dark-coated American akita called Kal-El. (Fanboys will recognise the name as Superman’s Kryptonian moniker.) “He looks scary, so people think that if they get into a scrap with me or I get pissed off, he may turn into some vicious attack dog – which he is, by the way,” deadpans Cavill. “You should see him when he’s angry: it’s something else. I’ve got these pans hanging above the stove in my kitchen and when he barks, they literally ring. With a hangover, it’s miserable. But you’re very brave,

aren’t you, bear? You keep everyone away from the house.” The security of a guard dog notwithstanding, Cavill appears more than capable of looking after himself. Warming to the shoot, he demonstrates sequences of martial arts punches and kicks for MH’s photographer which, more so than his bare arms, indicate that getting him even mildly pissed off would be unwise. The well-spoken, unfailingly polite former private schoolboy from Jersey (who was once nicknamed “Fat Cavill”) might not bark – at least not without provocation. But he can clearly bite. Directing Cavill on our shoot is Wolfgang ‘Wolfie’ Stegemann, a fight choreographer, stuntman and typically uncredited actor, who first began working with him on the sixth Mission: Impossible film. Scheduled for July 2018, the forthcoming installment of the spy franchise is also the reason for the normally clean-cut Cavill’s aforementioned facial furniture: he’s

TRAINING PARTNERS Both Cavill’s mindset and Super physique were forged by Mark Twight, founder of Gym Jones, who is responsible for sculpting

Gerard Butler

300 (2006) It wasn’t just Leonidas’s hyperreal abs that formed Twight’s first big-screen project. He also trained all the Spartans and stuntmen.

Henry Cavill

Man Of Steel (2013) For the famed origin story, Twight’s frighteningly full-on workouts helped Cavill add 6kg of muscle.

Martial arts provides the power behind Cavill’s training plan.

DECEMBER 2017

taking over as Tom Cruise’s “righthand man” from Jeremy Renner who, in some kind of weird symmetry, is tied up with Avengers: Infinity War, out April 2018. While the combos look pretty impressive to these untrained eyes, Cavill is quick to downplay his apparent proficiency. “I’ve only just started with Wolfie and we’re still trying to execute the basics of technique,” he says, assessing his form critically on the photographer’s MacBook between takes. “You’ve got to lay a foundation before you can start building a house. And we’re very much in the ‘pouring the concrete’ phase.” Cavill’s girlfriend Lucy Cork, a stuntwoman who he also met on the M:I 6 set, and who is herself a genuinely proficient martial artist, swings by the set to observe quietly in the background and keep tabs. Cavill has done what he calls “movie martial arts” before. “All you really need is to look like you can do it,” he says. “But I want to be able to actually do it. Faking it just doesn’t feel right to me anymore.” So when his (currently classified) role in M:I 6 called for at least the illusion of capability, he thought he’d fit in some extra practice after work. His motivation was partly professional, but largely personal. “It’s handy to be handy,” he says. “It’s nice to be able to protect those around you, and yourself.” And handily, martial arts training is also a kick-arse form of conditioning: “I like going to the gym, I do. But if I’m going to be sweating and breathing hard, I’d far prefer to be doing it while learning a skill, rather than just for the sake of sweating and breathing hard.” The Taekwondo-style striking he’s practising is new to Cavill, but he’s long been a keen disciple of the grappling-based discipline of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In fact, he occasionally rolls with the sport’s big dogs like Roger Gracie, 10-time world champion and scion of the South American combat sports dynasty. Cavill now lives in London, where the Gracies run a worldrenowned academy. A legit dojo sounds like the kind of place where an actor might not dare tread for fear of a bruised ego – or worse. But, thankfully, most fight clubbers are just excited to meet Superman, not try and kill him. And it’s a culture of respect that starts with the guys at the top. “The martial artists that I know are all very nice, gentle people,” says 72

DECEMBER 2017

Cavill. “There’s nothing aggressive or fast. It’s always a big hug – not a bro hug, a two-arm hug: ‘How you doing?’ It’s like, ‘Stop. Take a breath. Let’s engage with each other. We’ll get to training. And when we train, we’ll train hard.’ Everything is relaxed and I like that. It’s enormously refreshing.” Besides, peacocking is a waste of energy: “Save it for that moment just before you have to beat the crap out of someone. Because you might need it.”

Going The Distance

Cavill is into conservation, and not just in his capacity as an ambassador for Jersey Zoo. He recounts a ribald story – told by Tony in an episode of The Sopranos, possibly Buddhist in origin – about two bulls standing on a hill, looking down at a herd of cows. The younger one proposes running down the hill and copulating with a mate of their choice; the older one counsels walking down instead and inseminating them all. The parallel is woolly, admittedly, but Cavill applied a similarly pragmatic and paced approach to his prep for Justice League (that is, if he is in the film and did indeed prep for it). While he was “really rather strong” for last year’s Batman vs Superman, his emphasis shifted toward improving his movement and definition, both of which are more critical for looking good on camera than a one-rep max. In league with his longtime trainer Michael Blevins (@gritandteeth), he focused more on CrossFit-inspired workouts: less technical lifts for time, which might invite injury, and more “go really hard, non-stop, which is great for getting lean”. The change-up yielded a mixed response. On the one hand, Cavill’s sessions weren’t quite as hard as before, “because I wasn’t lugging round useless weight”. On the other hand, they were still very hard: “You have to be eager to do that kind of thing, because it can be a miserable workout, it really can.” Meanwhile, the post-exercise endorphin high – and sheer sense of relief – will only sustain you for so long when you’re putting in the hours at work and not putting much down your gullet in order to chisel off extra fat. Cavill found himself slowly ground down, physically and mentally, as if with Kryptonite sandpaper: “It wasn’t much fun,” he says plaintively.

“Faking the moves doesn’t feel right – I want to be able to actually do them”

MUSCLE

Cavill works with fight choreographer ‘Wolfie’ for Mission: Impossible 6.

DECEMBER 2017

“If I can create an aesthetic one way without destroying myself, that’s great”

DECEMBER 2017

MUSCLE

Cavill can’t punch through solid rock but he gives the pads a battering.

Moving Targets

When pizza is off limits, you get by with a little help from your superfriends. Training hard is a necessary evil for the superhero-franchise actor and colleagues tend to be there for each other – even if only in spirit. “It’s more about encouragement than anything else,” says Cavill. “Like, if you see someone having one of those tough days, it’s about giving them a quick cheer when they’re pushing that sled past you, or giving them a pat on the back and saying, ‘You’re looking great, mate.’” His on-set conversations with Affleck, however, tended to revolve more around the complicated logistics of urinating between takes while in costume: “‘Do you reckon we have time to go for a pee?’ ‘How long does it take you?’ ‘It takes me this long.’ ‘OK, cool. Do you reckon we have time?’ ‘Yeah, let’s go.’” This mixture of discipline and levity is key. Now 34, Cavill has

reached a point in his life where he understands the importance of balance. “My perspective has changed somewhat on the things that I want from life and the enjoyment I can get from it,” he says. That’s not to say that he doesn’t recognise the merits of “working hard and really smashing everything”. Neither are his standards any less high or his goals less lofty. But like the older, wiser bull in Soprano’s story, he isn’t going to beat the piss out of himself unnecessarily: “If I can create an aesthetic one way without destroying myself, then great. And if I can learn a new skill and get my cardio done that way, then I’ll do that. That’s just the way I see it now.” Outside the gym and the studio, Cavill is embracing everyday life more. When he’s not working on set or working out he’s go-karting, getting his motorbike licence or sleeping in “until my kidneys start hurting from lying on them for so long”. Last weekend, he

TRAINING PARTNERS

Gal Gadot

Wonder Woman

(2017) Twight described her pre-transformation arms as looking like “wrists that went all the way up”. But a ninemonth regimen of heavy lifting made Wonder Woman an inspirational athlete.

Jason Momoa Justice League

(2017) Now divorced from Gym Jones, Twight channeled his and Momoa’s shared love of climbing and hardcore training to add even more functional strength to Momoa’s naturally huge frame.

DECEMBER 2017

taught himself how to cook a shoulder of lamb. “It actually went really well,” he says, surprised, although he admits the gravy could have been better. “I just added chicken stock and scraped all the good stuff off the bottom, but I should have poured out more of the fat because it ended up being quite oily. Still, more water and a bit of red wine vinegar rescued it.” In roast dinners, as in training and life, Cavill has realised it’s important not to overdo things. “I think I’m kind of finding my pace now in more of a lifestyle thing,” he says. “Like, I can do this training and it’ll make me look a certain way. I’ll make sure my food is right, but I don’t feel like I’m on a diet all the time. I can have three cheat days in a row if I want – and then knuckle down, be good for a while and get back to a certain point. You know where your baseline is.” This kind of intuitive approach is more enjoyable and sustainable for a hardcharging and demanding personality like Cavill’s: “I’m very single-minded and can be extremely dedicated when given a target. And if that target is constant, I exhaust myself.”

The Next Round

Comic adaptations are constantly rolling off the Hollywood – or rather Leavesden – production line. But another Superman movie is by no means inevitable. Man of Steel grossed $668m at the global box office and was largely well received; Batman vs Superman was critically bludgeoned, with the $860m haul scant consolation. “From a financial point of view, it was successful, yes. But it should’ve been more successful,” says Cavill. It also killed Superman off when he’d only just been rebooted – and after he’d been loathed by everybody for the whole film. Justice League will doubtless resurrect him, but the fear is that there won’t be room in the crowded ensemble piece to do him, well, justice. “I think there is so much more to be told of Superman,” argues Cavill. “And especially with what’s going on in the world right now, it’s important to have that kind of outlet – that figure of hope, responsibility and good vibes.” If not, then there’s always Bond, of course – a role to which Cavill is perennially linked. He’s 20/1 at the time of writing, which seems overly generous for someone who only narrowly lost out to Daniel Craig for 2006’s Casino Royale and is a much better fit for 007’s dinner suit now than he was at 22. But, ultimately, money talks and money 76

DECEMBER 2017

“I’m very single-minded when given a target. If that target is constant, I exhaust myself” is what Warner Bros will listen to. Time will tell. There’s a knock on the door and Kal’s barking shakes the whole trailer. Cavill’s lunch is served. Before it goes cold, there’s just time to ask him about working with the ageless superhuman that is Tom Cruise. “He is extraordinary,” says Cavill. “He also does all his own stunts, as we know. [At the time of writing, filming on M:I 6 has been suspended while the 55-year-old Cruise recuperates after breaking his ankle jumping between buildings.] I’m from a family of men who have done a lot of pretty cool things. Two of my brothers are in the armed forces. I’m very hard to impress. But Tom’s done some stuff on the film where I really

have gone, ‘OK mate, yeah, that’s undeniably awesome.’” Although the uncertain nature of the film industry means that he doesn’t know what will happen next week, Cavill hopes to still be able to leap (between) tall buildings with a single bound when he’s 55 – preferably without breaking any bones in the process. “You know, if I ever have kids one day, I want to be the dad who’s running round after them,” he says. “And if I do have kids, even now, it’s starting to get quite late. But I want to be a fit and healthy dad, not hobbling round like, ‘OK, I’m just going to catch a breather.’ Yeah, I’m going to take care of my body – look good, but not smash it.”

MUSCLE This plan is

Warm-up

simple but not easy. Steel

Disclaimer: Cavill might not actually be superhuman, but his workouts are certain to test any mere mortal. Warm up with a steady 5min on the bike, then perform 10m of each of the following before starting: 01/Alternating kicks 02/High knees 03/Butt kicks 04/Bear crawl 05/Walking lunges 06/Dynamic lunges

yourself.

AMRAP 1 For this AMRAP couplet, set a 5min timer and alternate between the moves. When the alarm sounds, rest for 3min and then move on.

A Strong Week

Blevins’ sample session (right) is just one typical day’s training out of many months, but the below will give you an idea of how he programmed Cavill’s weeks DAY 1 Strength DAY 2 Power/strength endurance DAY 3 Endurance DAY 4 Strength or power/ strength endurance and endurance (double session) DAY 5 Power/strength endurance DAY 6 Endurance DAY 7 Rest

Superfood Diet

Superhero training won’t elicit ultra-high definition if you don’t also eat lean. Cavill’s meal plan was dialled in by Blevins’ wife Erin (@shutup_eat). Here’s a quick taster of his Krypton-eats BREAKFAST Protein pancake, chicken sausage and black americano PRE-WORKOUT DRINK Containing R-BHB (beta-hydroxybutyrate), 150mg caffeine and BCAAs LUNCH Chicken balti or stir-fried meat and veg with rice AFTERNOON SNACK Protein whip: two scoops of chocolate peanut butter protein whipped with non-fat yoghurt DINNER Fattier meat (such as ribeye) and veggie hash with complex carbs

(12 calories - 48kJ) So-called because afterwards you’ll feel like you’ve suffered one. Jump on the bike and pump your arms while pedalling. The harder you go, the quicker you’ll burn the kJs.

B/ Weighted Carry (30m @ 25kg) Grab a weight plate or heavy medicine ball and lift it to shoulder height (A). Keep your core tight and eyes straight ahead as you walk for 30m (B), then swap sides and stroll back to the start.

B A

Join the big league To arm Cavill for Justice League, his trainer Michael Blevins cranked up the actor’s metabolic demands with “awkward” strongman moves. The goal? To cut all that was unnecessary – fat and bulk, yes, but also sets and reps. “It’s not about going through the motions, but deciding who you are,” says Blevins. In Cavill’s case, that was “the best Superman to date”.

A/ Assault Bike

AMRAP 2 With the timer set for 4min, perform as many rounds as possible of the following pair until the alarm sounds. Then rest for 2min and move on.

A/ Power Clean

(5 reps @ 50kg) Squat down with a straight back and grab the bar overhand (A). In one swift movement, lift the bar, flipping your wrists to catch it across your shoulders (B). Lower and repeat.

B/ Weighted Carry

(30m @ 20kg) Yes, again. But remember that at least it’s only 20kg this time. As Blevins says, “The weights room is simple; the human mind is not – and that is what we are determined to master.”

A B

B A

AMRAP 3 Set the timer for 3min and… you know the drill. When the time’s up, rest for 4min and then return to AMRAP 1. Oh, didn’t we mention you had to do two circuits?

A/ Burpee

(10 reps) Drop to the floor (A) and hop your legs back into a push-up position, then jump them back in and leap up (B). Superman doesn’t cheat, so place a target about 15cm above your arms.

B/ Walking lunge

(10m) Step forward and drop your hips so that your front knee is bent 90˚ and your rear knee brushes the ground (A). Drive into the next lunge (B). Too easy? Hold 20kg dumbbells.

A B B A

Endurance

If you think that’s enough for one day, you’re sorely mistaken. On his double-session days, Cavill also ran 5.6km at a “conversational pace” in the afternoon. Which, after that session, is a true act of heroism. DECEMBER 2017

From the top of Thaneller, a pyramidal mountain in the Austrian Tyrol... the village buildings below looks like matchboxes. Surrounding them, the precipitous slopes are furred with the dark green boughs of pine trees, while rocky peaks glow a soft pink in the last of the failing sunlight. It has taken photographer Christoph Jorda, 37, and his companions Frans Lebsanft and Jakob Wisbauer, four hours to hike up this Alpine elevation, each one loaded down with 45kg of equipment. Their camp occupies a narrow plateau on the edge of a cliff face, with 10m of empty space between them and the next rocky outcrop. Connecting these two points run a stretch of 2cm-wide rope, each end fixed to the rocks with just enough strain to give it some spring underfoot. With their tents set up and evening drawing in, time is of the essence if they are to complete the task they have come here to perform before nightfall.

DECEMBER 2017

With little to no sound but the buffeting wind, Jorda takes a deep breath and steps out onto the highline. He surveys the empty space, unforgiving rocks lining its passage for hundreds of metres below. Then, without warning, he throws his weight to the side and dives into the abyss…

HEIGHT MAINTENANCE

Highlining – the traversing of mountainous crevasses, peaks and cliffs by edging one’s way slowly across a single rope – is evocative of the daredevil tightrope feats from bygone eras. Think Maria Spelterini, the Italian wire-walker who crossed Niagara Falls four times in 1876. Or Philippe Petit, who gained notoriety for his illegal – not to mention impetuous – tightrope antics between the twin towers of Manhattan’s World Trade Centre in 1974. But at its heart, highlining is

ADVENTURE

TAKING THE LEAP

Climber Simon Sirch walks the highline on the Schilthorn peak in Switzerland.

DECEMBER 2017

“YOUR HEAD IS CONSTANTLY TELLING YOU THAT THIS ISN’T NORMAL” less about showmanship and spectacle than testing one’s mental and physical fortitude. After all, on remote mountaintops, you just don’t draw the same crowds. For German extreme sports enthusiasts Jorda, Lebsanft and Wisbauer, highlining is the logical conclusion of a relationship with the mountains that has never been less than exhilarating. “Thaneller is an hour’s drive from my home,” Jorda tells MH. “Every year we set out to do something special on the mountain. In the past we’ve skied and ridden mountain bikes down it. This year we decided to become the first people to complete a highline walk on the mountain.” In terms of logistics alone, this was to be no mean feat. The simple act of accessing the mountaintop via a hiking trail – with clothing, ropes, climbing gear, photography equipment and enough food and water for three days – was “immensely challenging”. Then there’s the line itself, which needs to be bolted into the rock, with two posts on either side of the traverse. Usually, on popular mountain climbing routes, this would have been set up by those who had come before. But as the first men ever to attempt a Thaneller traverse, the team would have to drill into the rock and set these lines themselves. Before they reached the top, they were unsure whether the rock was even stable enough to hold the bolts.

DECEMBER 2017

Nor had any of them ever used the drilling equipment before. “The first hole went wrong,” Jorda laughs, unnervingly. “But the others were okay.” Despite this seemingly headlong approach to potentially lethal manoeuvres, the combined mountain experience of Jorda, Lebsanft and Wisbauer meant that they were fairly confident in their abilities. “We were totally responsible for ourselves,” says Jorda. “I’ve climbed for 20 years, so I know how it needs to look. But setting it up for the first time is nerve-racking. It also takes a lot of work – half a day or more to make it safe and to check everything.” That includes a climbing harness and safety leash. Falling, Jorda explains, isn’t a hazard so much as a certainty. “If you’re quick you can catch the slackline as you fall,” adds Wisbauer. “But sometimes you’re left hanging. Often you can see up to 200m below you. It’s fun, like bungee jumping.” On a previous highlining triumph on Switzerland’s 2970m Schilthorn peak, Jorda claims to have made three attempts on the rope before making it to the other side without falling. In Austria, it was seven. As for deliberately jumping off to hang by the safety line, Jorda believes it is essential for focusing the mind on the task ahead. It is better to immerse yourself, he argues, than to wait for the shock, a bit like diving into the

waves of a freezing sea. “Falling helps get rid of the fear,” he says. “Before I start walking, I fall on purpose, so I know what’s going to happen. But it isn’t like falling when you’re rock climbing. It’s not as comfortable. It’s a hard fall, so you don’t want to do it too often.”

BALANCE OF POWER

Before they could claim the title of the first group to complete a highline on Thaneller, the trio had to wait for favourable conditions. Wind, cold and snow are obvious impediments, but according to Wisbauer, fog is the most dangerous. “Walking out into a fog feels like stepping out over water,” he says. “There’s no point of focus for your mind, so it feels like the ground beneath you is moving. It’s incredibly difficult to keep your balance because your head thinks you are already in motion.” Wisbauer, an engineer, started slacklining a decade ago with friends in local parks. Jorda and Lebsanft came to the sport later on, and Jorda admits he and Lebsanft had practised “just a little” before tackling the mountains. But all agree that it is the core strength built through a varied, active, mountainbased lifestyle that serves them best on the highline. While park slacklining a metre above sea level helps develop the fundamentals of the sport – recalibrating your weight as the

ADVENTURE

“Highlining is evocative of the daredevil tightrope feats from bygone eras ”

DECEMBER 2017

“Your head is constantly telling you that this isn’t normal” 84

DECEMBER 2017

ADVENTURE

DARK ARTS

Wisbauer walks the highline after dark. “At night it’s harder. You have no point of focus for balance.”

rope moves, or learning how to place your feet – the best preparation, the team say, is to enjoy a range of sporting activities. “I go hiking and climbing in the mountains almost every week,” says Wisbauer. “Climbing, especially, helps get the whole body in shape. But I also do longboarding and other extreme sports. They all play into one another. Physically, with highlining, you have to have strong legs because it is exhausting work on the lower half. Your whole body is engaged the entire time in order to balance.” Jorda agrees: “To even get up the mountain in the first place you have to have a strong heart and good legs,” he says. “Then, when you’re up there, you need a lot of upper-body strength so that when you slip you can stop yourself from falling head first. When you’ve been rock climbing for most of your life, you instinctively know how to position yourself. Understanding your physical abilities and reactions is the single most essential skill

you can bring to the mountain.” That and developing balls of steel, of course. For Jorda’s team, the most challenging aspect of any highline is overcoming natural fear. “Your head is constantly telling you that this isn’t normal, that it’s crazy,” says Wisbauer. “You have to skip your head’s opinion and just go for it.” “You have to get used to the fact that there’s nothing beneath you,” adds Jorda. “If you really want to get to the other side, it’s not going to happen if you’re too stiff to move properly. The moment you decide that you don’t care if you make it, you relax and you’re able to walk back and forth. If you enjoy being out there and being exposed, then it will work.” According to Wisbauer, completing a line is a feeling unlike any other: “The biggest surprise for me was the feeling that comes after you’ve finished the walk. It is very quiet up there and your thoughts are

focused only on the relationship between you and the slackline. Sitting down on the other side, looking back at what you’ve done, is an amazing feeling. I’ve never encountered anything like it.” Meanwhile, Jorda believes that the skills learned on the mountain apply equally to everyday life. “You learn a lot from the experience,” he says. “If you take life at a more relaxed pace and don’t panic at every little thing that goes wrong, you’ll feel better about everything.” He subscribes to the idea that pushing both body and mind in the pursuit of adventure – and experiencing the situations and emotions this entails – is the only way to truly recalibrate what is important in life. “I believe the feeling of being close to death makes you enjoy life. It makes you love it more.” Whether the mountain you set out to scale tomorrow is real or metaphorical, it’s advice worth carrying with you as you step out into the void. DECEMBER 2017

WAYS TO AGE PROOF YOUR BRAIN

Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders are on the rise, but they’re not the inevitable terminus they once were. Research shows there are practical ways to boost your brainpower today and safeguard your long-term mental faculties. Stay smart, people> WO RDS BY

DECEMBER 2017

DE BBIE HAMP TON & TOM WAR D

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY

AGATA PEC

MIND

Flip everything you think you know about your mind.

DECEMBER 2017

irst thing first. Here’s something to think about: earlier this year, it was announced that more than half a million people in Australia will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. In fact, the number of people already living with the condition is twice the population of Hobart, costing the country about $14 billion a year. Those statistics needn’t weigh heavily on your mind, however. Because while some amount of cognitive decline is an inescapable truth of the ageing process, it is in no way the vertiginous slope it once was. The latest research proves that, with the right application, a few innovative and seemingly inconsequential lifestyle hacks can have a vital, beneficial effect on your cerebral functions. And you won’t have to meditate or practise a single moment of mindfulness. So, in collaboration with Debbie Hampton, author and founder of thebestbrainpossible.com, we present the most instantly actionable tools that will have a lasting impact on your brain health, protecting your neurological powers and boosting intellect, durability and memory. Have we got your attention? Then let’s begin.

HAVE SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The brain represents just 2 per cent of your bodyweight but burns through 20 per cent of its energy. If the stomach is your second brain, your first is just as hungry. Using a fifth of your total kilojoule intake per day, it is made up of 60 per cent fat, and to function properly you need to maintain that magic ratio. So it follows that what you put in your mouth makes a difference to what happens in your head. This isn’t quite a free pass to load up on Styrofoam boxes of saturated fats, however. New research published in the journal Physiology & Behavior found that when rats were fed diets high in saturated fats and sugar, harmful agents were able to enter their brain, leading to inflammation and diminished activity in the hippocampus – which translates to a decline in learning and memory. If that sounds like the post-Domino’s carb coma, there

DECEMBER 2017

is a reason. In a landmark paper, researchers Scott Kanoski and Terry Davidson suggested that this same effect in humans leads to an increased appetite for such foods, leading to a cycle of obesity and cognitive decline. Your brain’s preferred fuel is the essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in seafood such as tuna and shellfish, and nuts and oils. Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, took this further, developing the MIND diet, focused on reducing your risk of hypertension through upping your intake of hearthealthy minerals – potassium, calcium and magnesium. Morris found that those who followed that menu took a 53 per cent bite out of their Alzheimer’s risk while reversing their brain age (mental wear and tear) by up to 7.5 years. A whopper of a case for fewer takeaways, basically.

RE-WORK YOUR 9-5 PROGRAM

Routine is the enemy of invention. Worse still, it leads to physical, social and mental decline, which is probably why you tend to switch off by about Tuesday lunchtime. The subconscious mind processes around 20 million environmental stimuli, 100,000 chemical reactions and 400 billion bits of information per second, explains Dr Kate Beaven-Marks, who specialises in neural linguistic programming. Still with us? Basically, when dealing with a deluge of information, it is simpler for the brain to repeat an existing blueprint than build a new one. In short: your brain likes to stick to what it knows. Let’s put it this way: imagine a field of grass, with a gate on either side. The first time you walk across the field you expend effort, trampling the grass. It’s hard. But after a while it becomes easier to use the path you have forged than to create a new one. This is how processes are learned

in your mind, explains BeavenMarks. But by relying on the welltrodden pathways, you run the risk of stagnating mentally. Harvard psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson considered that when it comes to your fitness and career, you only get out what you put in. Their research shows that a state of relative mental comfort generates a steady level of performance. Which is so-so. To maximise output, our brain needs to experience a state of relative excitement or anxiety. Otherwise, your ability to think outside the box will exponentially decline as you age. Changing up your habits can fight this decline. Take a different route to work. Or, even better, move your heaviest training session to a Sunday. By forcing your body to go heavy on what is usually a rest day, your mental muscle will be stimulated to adapt in the same way as those you see in the mirror. And try a new pub on the way home.

MIND

03 TRAIN SMART, NOT HARD Your brain cells are in a constant state of flux, and many are destroyed just days after being formed. Though much of the growth and development of neurons occurs in the womb, we know now that neurogenesis continues in adulthood. And research in the Journal of Neuroscience shows that exercise is the single most effective way to accelerate this process. Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Bath pointed to a sedentary lifestyle and high blood glucose levels as a ‘tipping point’ for developing degenerative neurological conditions. But a study in the journal Plos One found that a tough workout encourages the growth of your hippocampus – that’s the memory bit of the brain, remember? Increase blood flow to this area of the brain and you’ll stimulate its growth while also releasing norepinephrine, a chemical known to sharpen attention, motivation and perception. And you’ll get yoked in the process. Clever, no? To achieve this, we asked PT Luke Grahame to design an adaptive barbell complex that requires full-body input to stress the nervous system while keeping your mind engaged. Perform all of the movements described here as a single flowing complex without letting go of the bar until each set is complete. There’s no time limit, but it’s advised you rest twice as long as it takes to complete each set. For the first two weeks, perform 4x8 reps of high pulls from the floor, snatches and overhead squats. In the third week, add 4x8 reps of jump squats with a bar. And for the fourth, a snatch grip military press. Complete each session twice a week for core and cognitive strength alike.

To maximise performance, our brain needs to experience a state of relative excitement

DECEMBER 2017

99% TACTICS

PERSPIRATION AS THE RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP HEATS UP,. AUSTRALIA’S CHAMPION PLAYMAKER COOPER CRONK. REVEALS HOW NEVER SETTLING FOR “GOOD ENOUGH”. CAN TAKE YOU TO THE TOP OF YOUR GAME. > BY DANIEL WILLIAMS PHOTOGR APHY BY JASON IER ACE DECEMBER 2017

It’s been just 36 hours since he played a blinder in the State of Origin decider – one of the more punishing games of an interminable season. You might therefore forgive an old stager like Cooper Cronk for seeming a little worse for wear. And yet he looks ready to lace up, bouncing about this Sydney photo studio before taking a seat in a sun-drenched corner without a trace of gingerness. “Physically, I’m okay,” he says, adjusting himself so he’s sitting straighter. “Emotionally, a little drained.” Cronk is nuggety and football smart. So on one level it doesn’t surprise that he’s emerged unscathed from 80 minutes of ferocity. Equally, if he did pull up wounded you can be sure he’ll have done everything textbook-right since to get his body healing and ready for its next examination. For the last decade or more the NRL has had no more conscientious operator in its ranks. Nor one more self-contained. Cronk is at the backend of a momentous year, professionally and personally. In October, he closed out a 14-year association with the Melbourne Storm by steering them to an emphatic grand-final triumph ahead of a move to Sydney to be closer to his fiancée, Fox Sports presenter Tara Rushton. Will he pull on the jersey of another NRL club in 2018? Or will he hang up the boots for good? At time of writing, Cronk didn’t know or wasn’t telling. And, yes, back in July he starred for Queensland, guiding them to yet another series win. “And straight afterwards it’s euphoria,” he says. “It’s grown men hugging.” For this veteran, however, the more intense satisfaction comes later – somewhere quieter, where he can reflect on the preparation that delivered victory. “For me, success is not about the end result,” says Cronk, holder of the Golden Boot award for best player

DECEMBER 2017

in the world. “We all get judged on that. But success is how you dedicate yourself during the week.” His intensity spikes. “It’s repetition, repetition, repetition. Of every skill.” Those who’ve trained and played alongside Cronk say he’s obsessive. Cronk doesn’t bother with denials, except to say that he’s less so now than he used to be. Take his pregame meal. “If you’d asked me 10 years ago I could have told you the exact meal and the exact timing,” he says. “Because if I had a banana sandwich at 2pm on game day and played well, I thought that was the reason I played well and so I’d have exactly the same thing every week until I played bad. Now I don’t get stressed out about it.” Before meeting Cronk I thought he’d want to spend most of our chat looking forward. The World Cup climaxes in Brisbane on December 2. Three days after that it’s his 34th birthday; retirement as a player is close if not imminent. So, most likely, is marriage. For Cronk, the winds of change are blowing. But while he’s happy to talk (at least vaguely) about all these things, he’s keener to illuminate his past. Which is fortuitous,

since Cronk’s example shows you how to excel in your field when someone with similar abilities might settle for mediocrity.

Raise the stakes

“Cooper has the two most important attributes for making it in life: dedication and intelligence,” says the former rugby league international, Fox Sports presenter Matthew Johns. “If you’re dedicated or persistent like Cooper is and you’re intelligent on top of that, the sky’s the limit.” The Storm scouted Cronk as a rugby union-playing schoolboy in Brisbane. Talk about needing to pinch yourself. Suddenly he was being paid to play footy while living amid the bright lights and abundant cafes of innercity Melbourne. Yes, he had responsibilities. But as a utility filling in when and where he was needed those responsibilities weren’t as onerous as they might have been. That’s the thing about Cronk: he thrives on pressure. Thus it was opportunity time when the club’s premier No.7 moved on at the end of 2005 and the Storm’s coach, the hypercompetitive Craig Bellamy,

TACTICS

cornered Cronk for one of the turning-point conversations of the player’s life. “I remember it to this day,” Cronk says. “Craig said, ‘You’ve got an opportunity to be halfback for this footy team and if you do two things I will pick you every week. If you kick well and make your tackles, I’ll pick you every week.’” Cronk appreciated the clear guidelines and went straight to work on fulfilling them. But his broader wish was to improve in every aspect of his game. Privately, Bellamy was thinking precisely the same way and enlisted Johns to assess the tyro’s potential and expedite his development. Johns’ first impression? Cronk was raw but brave, cat-like off the mark and thick through the hips – a key survival attribute for anyone mixing it midfield with the game’s Goliaths. But note what Johns didn’t detect. Stupendous natural talent. Outrageous athletic gifts. Cronk’s challenge was to make it without those assets. You may think of Matty Johns as a jokester. To Cronk he’s a footballing

mastermind who with brother Andrew formed one of the great halves pairings of the past 30 years. The key shaper of Cronk’s career? Only Bellamy would trump Johns for that accolade. “He taught me the nuances of halfback play, things I still practise today,” says Cronk, who at the time could scarcely believe someone of Johns’ stature was working with him. “I mean, to be going to a park in Sydney and doing footwork and ball skills with him.” Cronk shakes his head. “It gave me the confidence to think, ‘You know what, if he’s investing time in me, maybe I can do this’.”

Learn from greatness

Back when Johns was starting out in senior footy, a coach by the name of Allan Bell gave him videotapes that showcased some of the standout halves of the Eighties and Nineties. Now it was Johns’ turn to pass on those tapes to Cronk. Watch these champions, he urged. Watch and learn. Note their strengths and, yes, their shortcomings. Practise what you like until it seeps into your DNA. Cronk was a willing student, none too

proud to copy the masters. Who had the best short-kicking game of modern times? Allan Langer. The best long-kicking game? Ricky Stuart. The best support game? Terry Lamb. The best combination with his back-rowers? Cliff Lyons. Cronk slogged away at training and every season, under match pressure, he’d unveil some new facet to his game. But it wasn’t enough for Cronk to have his own plans about what he should be doing for his team. For several years in the lead-up to every Storm match he wrote down his goals for attack and defence and then handed his sheet of paper to Bellamy. “That way, come review time, I had accountability,” he explains. “Sure, you put a little bit of extra pressure on yourself and open yourself up for criticism, but at that stage I was just a sponge.” And a bit of a teacher’s pet. Sports psychology books, meditation, altitude training, a meticulous approach to nutrition . . . Cronk’s tried the lot. “I’d like to think that’s my strength,” he says. “It’s a thirst for knowledge. It’s wanting to get better and working hard until you see improvement occur.” It’s an approach that’s

IT’S A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE. IT’S WANTING TO GET BETTER AND WORKING HARD UNTIL YOU SEE IMPROVEMENT OCCUR

LEARN FROM A MASTER OF SQUEEZING THE LEMON DRY RISK AND REWARD “The mindset I have when a game is on the line is that you have to be okay with losing to be successful. Worry about the outcome and you’re going to lose focus on the process, and it’s the process that makes you successful.”

STEADY HAND “You can’t prevent bad days but you can narrow the gap between your best and worst through training intensity and repeat execution. The most consistent players tend to be the best trainers.”

THE EDGE “If you feel like you’re doing something that your opponent isn’t doing, it can give you an advantage. Now that might be placebo. But placebo can be powerful.”

BOUNCING BACK “Post game, I’ll analyse what I did poorly. A few bad passes? Guess what I’ll be doing next training session. We’re all creatures of habit. If you train at a high level you’ll play at a high level.”

DECEMBER 2017

TACTICS

POWER PLAY

Cronk’s training priorities are speed and tackle-busting power. Build both by doing this game-breaking workout three times a week

Bench press Lying on a flat bench, grip a loaded barbell with a wide grip, lower it to your chest and drive it up at speed, locking out your elbows at the top. Lower slowly and repeat. Do 5 sets of 3 reps.

Love of a Good Woman: the GF won, Cronk’s gaze falls on Rushton.

turned Cronk into the complete player, one mentioned frequently and justifiably in the same breath as Storm superstars Cameron Smith and Billy Slater. Of course he’s not the only reason Melbourne have just won their fourth grand final since 2007 and Queensland every Origin series bar one since 2006. But he’s surely one of them. For their part, the hapless NSW Blues have had no one to match him: a composed, clean-living, clear-thinking perfectionist who steps forward rather than fades out when the heat’s on.

Defend and serve

And so it falls to Cronk to set aside the exultation of a Storm premiership and knuckle down to the challenge of a World Cup. Co-steering Australia to victory would be a fitting way for him to take his leave should he decide he’s had enough, though he would never express it in those terms. In Cronk’s mind, this is about duty to teammates and country to play his best. The origins of Cronk’s work ethic? His dad. “He comes from blue collar Australia that just works, works, works,” says Cronk. “And when he’s asked to work more it’s never a worry and he’ll just keep doing it.” While you may regard Test football as the bread roll of a rugby league feast, Cronk sees it as the lobster. “I have never been more emotional on a football field than running out wearing the Australian jersey, singing the national anthem and standing in front of the haka,” he says. “Those three things have been the best moments I’ve ever had in sport.” His conception of his post-playing future is still taking shape, but his plan is to redirect his zeal for self-improvement towards some other field, probably business. In the shorter term, working in the rugby league media appeals, as does one-on-one coaching – the kind of thing Johns did with him. Chances are he’d be a natural. If his dad passed on a taste for hard work, his mum gave him something softer. “She has a lot of empathy and hopefully I’ve got a little bit of that,” he says. “I find that the way I work with the younger guys at all levels of the game comes from her.” This last story is from Johns. In 2016, a 96

DECEMBER 2017

Bench press into plyometric push-up

Speed squat With a heavy barbell across your shoulders, squat to parallel before driving up through your heels as fast as you can while observing the fundamentals of straight back, chest up and core locked. Do 5 sets of 3 reps. Stair sprint Between sets of squats, power up a flight of stairs at maximum speed.

Plyometric push-up It’s a standard push-up except you’re rising with such explosive force that your hands leave the ground. If you’re happy, clap them. Go to failure – it won’t take long.

promising Newcastle halfback, Jack Cogger, made his NRL debut a little before he was ready and had a rough time of things. Cronk heard about it and called Cogger, reassuring him that most rookies go through something similar and better times were ahead. Not a bad pickme-up to receive from the Australian halfback. Cogger would tell Johns: “I just got a call from Cooper Cronk! Would you believe it?” Cronk’s many admirers wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. On and off the field he’s demonstrated a thousand times that it doesn’t matter what gifts you’re given, only what you do with them.

Bent-over row into chin-up Bent-over row Holding a heavy barbell with an overhand grip, bend forward at the waist, keeping your back straight. Row the barbell with speed up to your ribs. Do 5 sets of 3 reps. Chin-up Grab the bar, this time underhand, and pull yourself up with maximum speed until your chin clears the bar before slowly lowering. Go to failure.

FOR THEIR PART, THE HAPLESS NSW BLUES HAVE HAD NO ONE TO MATCH HIM

TOP LEFT: NRL PHOTOS/GREGG PORTEOUS

Speed squat into stair sprint

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IN CROSSFIT,. NO MUSCLE. IS LEFT. UNASSAULTED..

DEVOTEES GO HEAVY. TO STRAP ON. FULL-BODY MASS..

100

DECEMBER 2017

FITNESS

ACCESSORISE THIS.

THE WOD BOTHERER 20

With two million followers, CrossFit is officially The Biggest Fitness Trend Of All TimeTM, with its high-rep combos of weights and endurance feats transforming devotees’ bodies – for better or worse. Use our tips to kneel before WOD (that’s Workout of the Day) without risking injury

Smashing out Olympic lifts may be doing wonders for your ego, but it’s also putting your range of motion in serious jeopardy. Work in these smallerscale accessory moves from Walton and not only will they prolong your performance on training days, they’ll also scale up your PBs much faster than your local Box’s big hitters. Don’t forget: big weights good, but small weights better.

1 / ELEVATED HIP BRIDGE

The average injury rate among CrossFit competitors, according to a recent survey.

4 SETS OF 12 REPS WITH 60SEC REST

Activate your glutes. Sit with shoulders against a bench and feet shoulder-width apart on the floor (A). Thrust your hips upward, hold firm at the top (B), then lower. CrossFit athletes have to A stretch, too.

2 / PALLOF PRESS

3 SETS OF 12 REPS WITH 60SEC REST

PAYING PENANCE AT. THE CROSSFIT ALTAR. SHOULDN’T BECOME. SELF-FLAGELLATION..

For the CrossFit congregation, training isn’t a pastime but a sport, the weights room a metaphysical proving ground and their gym buddies their true fitness family. Concentrating on dynamic, full-body workouts (including Olympic lifts, gymnastics and cardiovascular work), a committed daily attendance can result in “significant weightloss and muscle gain”, according to The Journal of Strength and Conditioning. But while busting out 20+ butterfly chin-ups may make you feel like Mat Fraser, it can all be perilously strenuous if you overdo it. “CrossFit and some other size-building regimes lend themselves to big loads,” says strength and conditioning coach Chris Walton of Embody Fitness. “This causes micro-trauma in the muscles, which is a stimulus for growth – if you allow your body to recover.” So far, so good. “But, if you’re chasing PBs every day, you generally don’t allow yourself time to heal. And if you continually overload on high-volume training, these micro-traumas are going to lead to big injuries.” Ever tried deadlifting with a ruptured ACL? Counter to the commitments of WOD, to make true gains you need to ease the hell off. “High-volume training produces excess levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which has been found to weaken the connective tissues – fascia, tendons and ligaments,” warns Walton. “The best way to improve your snatch is by not snatching for a while. Work on your rotator cuff muscles, hip mobility and shoulder stability instead. They are less glamorous but will keep you injury free, helping to increase strength in the long run.”

Minimum hours of sleep required in order to ensure optimum production of muscle-repairing growth hormone and testosterone (Journal of Andrology).

YOUR BODY SHOP

Big lifts require a strong core. Stand side-on to the cable machine with feet just over shoulder-width (A). Hold the handle in front of your chest and press until your arms are straight (B). Do three sets a side. A And, yes, feel free to up the weight next time.

3/ SHOULDER GLIDE

3 SETS OF 15 REPS WITH 60SEC REST

Activate your shoulder retractors by holding out a resistance band then gradually move your shoulders forward, arms straight (A). Now ‘pull’ your shoulders back, without bending your arms (B). Less impressive than a squat snatch? Maybe – but done correctly, just as tricky.

DRINK THIS

BUY THIS

Every lifter worth his chalk loves protein, but for whey better results, add antioxidant-rich blueberries to your shake. The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition says these berries accelerate muscle recovery while blocking DOMS-inducing inflammation.

A foam roller is the ultimate in simple-yet-effective gear. By easing out lactic build-up, it’ll take the pain out of recovery and boost your range of motion. >

DECEMBER 2017 101

THE PRIMAL PURIST

Top-knot, beard and leggings aside, the rampant back-to-basics training trend will build functional fitness and life-long mobility. Here’s how to break free from heavy lifts, without letting your body goals go stale

If the ancient art of calisthenics was good enough for the 300 Spartans who stood against the Persian hordes, then it’s good enough for you, right? For the most part, yes. Not only do bodyweight moves activate multiple muscle groups at once (the chin-up, for example, calls on your lats, traps, pecs, obliques and biceps) they also work to protect joint function, reports the Wellness Research Foundation. And, according to Harvard School of Public Health, you’ll scorch more kilojoules per session than an equivalent cardio slog. But fail to progressively add weight and your quest is a Sisyphean undertaking. “By relying on bodyweight moves you’ll quickly reach a limited overload,” says competitive bodybuilder and PT James Ronan. “The only way to push yourself becomes forcing out higher and higher rep ranges.” So factor in smaller scale exercises at least once per week. Your favourite moves – push-ups and chin-ups, dips and squats – may engage multiple, large muscle groups, but they neglect the smaller triceps, biceps and rear delts that help form complete strength. “With weights, cables and bands, you can isolate those weaker areas,” says Ronan. Yes, doing 25 chin-ups before breakfast is a notable feat, but doing that every day puts an unhealthy burden on the shoulders. “You may think calisthenics is more natural than weight training, but without the parameters and steady increase provided by the weight rack, you risk injury,” explains Ronan. “Resistance work helps muscular endurance, which transfers directly into cardio performance.” The odd gymbased session, then, will help your body last longer in the sunshine.

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The rise in your metabolic rate after 10 weeks of bodyweight work.

Bodyweight training’s ranking in the American College of Sports Medicine’s top 10 trends for 2017.

YOUR BODY SHOP

ISOLATE YOURSELF Those impressively complex calisthenics moves provide great bang-for-your-buck in terms of muscle-building (and a fair few ‘likes’ on Instagram) but to see meaningful long-term progression, you’re going to need to pick up more than just yourself. Grab a pair of kettlebells and incorporate Ronan’s moves into your regime to target the underworked fibres that will help make over your muscle-up.

1 / KETTLEBELL DEADLIFT

4 SETS OF 10 REPS WITH 90SEC REST

Link up your posterior chain. With a kettlebell in each hand (A), hinge at the hips with a neutral back. Lower as far as is comfortable (B), hold, then power up. Control the KBs – don’t swing them.

2 / SINGLE-ARM TRICEPS EXTENSION

4 SETS OF 12 REPS WITH 60SEC REST

Even out imbalances with moves focusing on one limb. Hold a kettlebell behind you, elbow pointing up. Keeping your arm steady, lift the weight straight up (A), then lower (B). Do four A sets per arm to dial up your outdoor fun.

3 / SINGLE-ARM RAISE

4 SETS OF 10 REPS WITH 60SEC REST

Maintain all-important shoulder stability with this rotator cuffstrengthening move. Hold a kettlebell by your side (A). Lift it up at a 45-degree angle to just above shoulder height (B), then lower, slowly. Do four sets per arm to spark A massive chin-up potential.

EAT THIS

BUY THIS

Do all the mobility work you like – endless bodyweight movements will still grind away at your joints. Stay supple by upping your cashew intake. Nutrients journal found them to be rich in inflammationbusting phenolic compounds. They’re the nuts.

If you refuse to step into a gym, and picking up a kettlebell feels an ask too far, take adjustable dumbbells to the park instead. This bit of kit lets you isolate all the minor muscles that have a major impact on your gains.

FITNESS

EXTEND THE BENEFITS OF. PRIMAL MOVEMENT FAR. BEYOND HIPSTER KUDOS..

ADD WEIGHT TO YOUR. TRAINING FOR A MORE. BALANCED PHYSIQUE..

MINIMAL KIT FOR. MAXIMAL GROWTH..

DECEMBER 2017 103

DEAL A KO STRAIGHT. TO YOUR BODY FAT..

A SESSION IN THE. RING CAN PUT WORK. STRESS ON THE CANVAS..

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FITNESS

OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

THE WHITE COLLAR CONTENDER 4M

High-end boxing gyms are the reigning champs of combat fitness, transforming spreadsheet numbercrunchers into serious contenders – unfortunately, often at the expense of back problems. To keep flexibility in your corner, you need to box clever

Number of Aussies who claim to suffer from chronic back pain each year.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

STRETCH YOUR. REPERTOIRE TO. ENSURE POOR. MOBILITY CAN’T. HIT YOU WHERE. IT HURTS..

After a hard day at the coalface, taking your tension out on 50kg of sand-filled leather is appealing. And hitting and being hit by another human is even better. The endorphin rush is instant, the stress relief satisfying, and the fat-searing kilojoule consumption – up to 3054kJ per hour – in a different class. According to Harvard Medical School it also KOs your risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. And fighting, be honest, is still cool. But your ring-ready physique may belie a crippling vulnerability. Boxers often have terrible postural problems. “Flexibility issues begin with your stance,” says boxerturned-mobility specialist Adam Husler. “Amateur boxers spend nearly all of their time closed up, trying to defend the front of the body. Their shoulders move up toward their ears and everything gets hunched up. Because we spend all day hunched over desks and iPhones, our lower backs are already weak. The boxer’s asymmetrical stance, with one foot forward, exacerbates this.” A quick warm-up will hit upper-body tension hard. “Spend at least some time doing the opposite,” advises Husler. “Stretching out your shoulders and lower back will not only stabilise your posture, but allow you to throw your arm out more freely and punch harder.” So there you have it, office champs. Unfurling your ‘Raging Bull’ posture will ultimately only improve your performance in the ring. You can still be a contender.

The number of seconds of stretching per leg, each day, found to significantly increase functional flexibility (The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research).

YOUR BODY SHOP

To prevent a premature fitness KO, it’s essential to open up the front of your body. A looser chest and core will give you a much greater range of motion and help you put more power behind your punches. Take five minutes pre-sparring session to perform these yogic postures recommended by Husler. Hold each one for as long as you’re able to in order to leave uneven posture on the ropes.

1 / TWISTING FOLD

Ease that tight spine. Stand with your feet wide and hinge at the hips, placing one palm on the floor (A). Keeping arms and legs locked, twist at the hips and lift the other hand to the sky (B). Try to float like a butterfly, then switch sides to help you sting like a bee.

2 / PEC MINOR RELEASE

One of the tightest parts of the body for combat sport enthusiasts is the pec minor, but this stretch hits it. Stand side-on and place your palm flat against a wall. Twist away, keeping your hand flat and chin tucked (A). Hold for as long as you can, then switch sides (B). You’re seconds out from A rounding out your ROM.

3 / LUNGING BACK BEND

Pretty much the opposite of protecting yourself from a punch, this stretches the entire front of your body while strengthening your weak lower back. Raise your arms above your head, step out into a lunge (A) and slowly reach backwards, bringing your palms over A your rear ankle (B). Now stand up and start fighting.

EAT THIS Research in The Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology found foods high in tryptophan have the same stress-reducing effect as 12 rounds with a punchbag. Ditch the raw eggs and add scallops or lobster to your post-pugilism feed for a killer combo.

BUY THIS

Think a shot to the kidneys hurts? Try fighting a resistance band. Beating your hunched shoulders takes time, so limber up to last the distance.

DECEMBER 2017 105

System Addic XXX

From alcohol to Instagram, pornography to sugar, that thing you love is slowly killing you. Or at least, it’s not making your life any easier. Here, in this exclusive extract from his new book Recovery, writer, thinker and comedian Russell Brand explains that to overcome your most destructive and oppressive habits, you just need a little perspective > PHOTOGR APHY BY CHRIS FLOYD

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STATE

OF MIND

DECEMBER 2017 107

ere, in our glistening citadel of limitless reflecting screens, we live on the outside. Today we awake and instantly, unthinkingly reach for our phone, its glow reaching our eyes before the light of dawn, its bulletins creeping into our minds before even a moment of acknowledgment of this unbending and unending fact: you are going to die. You and your children and everyone you love is hurtling toward the boneyard. I know that you know. We all know, but because it yields so few ‘likes’ on Facebook, we purr on in blinkered compliance, filling our days with temporary fixes. A coffee here, an eBay purchase there, a half-hearted wank or a flirt. Some glinting twitch of pleasure to tide you over. And you’re probably too clever to ‘repose in God’, or to pick up some dusty book. Maybe if quantum physics could come up with some force or string that tethers the mystery to something solid you’d think again. But until then there’s nothing but an empty grave and a blank tombstone, chisel poised. So no one’s going to blame you if you perch on a carousel of destructive relationships and unfulfilling work, whirling round, never still, never looking within. Never really going home. Because I had ‘the gift of desperation’ – because I fucked my life up so royally – I had no option but to seek help. Since being relieved of the more obvious manifestations of my incessant appetites, I’ve paced through a series of less obvious and not lethal but still bloody uncomfortable addictions. I believe that the 12 steps and their encompassing philosophy – which I’ve adapted in my new book, Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions – offer nothing less than a solution to the dissatisfaction of living, to anyone with the balls to do the work. And it is work. Indeed it is a personal rebirth and the journey entails all manner of highly uncomfortable confrontations with who you truly are. Be honest, have you ever sat down and inventoried all of the things that bug you? All of the childhood skirmishes, or seething stings of patricidal rage, or your fury with the government, or traffic, or global warming or racism or Apple for continually changing their chargers? When are you planning to become

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WHEN ARE YOU PLANNING TO BECOME THE PERSON YOU WERE BORN TO BE?

STATE

OF MIND

the person you were born to be? To ‘recover’ your connection to an intended path? On holiday? When the kids leave school? When you get a pay rise? Tick-tock, tick-tock, chisel poised.

Acting On Impulse

Do you have that sense that something is missing? A feeling in your gut that you’re not good enough? That if you tick off some action, whether it’s eating a Twix, buying some shoes, smoking a joint or getting a good job, then you will feel better? If you do, it’s hardly surprising, because we live in an age when addictive thinking has become totally immersive. It is the mode of our culture. I refer, of course, to consumerism: stimulus and response as a design for life. The very idea that you can somehow make your life all right by attaining material goals – whether it’s getting the ideal relationship, a beautiful Berber rug or forty quid’s worth of smack – is quite wrong. Addiction is when natural imperatives, such as the need for food, sex, relaxation or status, become prioritised to the point of destructiveness. It is exacerbated by a culture that understandably exploits this system, as it’s a damn good way to sell a Mars Bar or a Lexus. In my own blessedly garish addiction, each pursuit has been an act of peculiar faith that the action will solve a problem. If you’re addicted to bad relationships, bad food, conflict or pornography, it can take a lifetime to spot the problem. And apparently a lifetime is all we have. I always felt I was rather too clever for something like a ‘programme for living’; certainly one that had any religious overtones. It’s not that I thought that religion was ‘the opiate of the masses’ (if it was, I would’ve had some – I loved opium). It’s that I thought it was dumb. Drab, dry, dumb, shouty, hysterical, oriental dumb. Small-town dumb. Foreign dumb. Take Christianity: either it’s so medieval and swathed in pageantry that it’s

droning and ridiculous, or they try and modernise it and make it cheesy. Bad guitars and jumpers with knowing, sympathetic looks. No. Thank. You. I had two serendipitous licks. One, I was introduced to the 12 steps by a seriously committed atheist, and two, I was privately desperate. I was broken. I had run out of ideas and juice and was only kept moving by inertia. I’d given up thinking about why I felt sad, or different. I just knew I did, and I left that knowledge parked to one side in my mind, unaddressed, ignored, rotting. Meanwhile I drank and used drugs to keep me upright and functioning, to stop the sadness running over. If you had tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘Hey Russell, what’s your plan?’ I may have reflexively spouted some cock-eyed optimism about ‘waiting for my break’. But deep down I knew I had no plan. I ask you now, do you have a plan? You don’t have to answer me now (in fact, there’s very little point in answering me at all, given that I’m not there, and you’re now alone, reading this) but can you, in what ought to be the sanctuary of your mind, say to yourself ‘I have a plan, I know where I am going’? If you’re anything like me, you like to half-arse things. Me, I’ll buy a book on healthy eating or meditation and that’ll be enough. I will use the tool of consumerism to satiate a need and leave the matter there. But a book on healthy eating untouched on the shelf will not improve my Body Mass Index – whatever that is. A book on meditation will not elevate my consciousness and attune me to the Great Oneness behind my thoughts and feelings. And if you’re not going to do the things suggested in the book you may as well spend the money on cake or blow it down the track. Also – and I don’t really want to tell you this – it isn’t easy. This isn’t ‘How to change your life in 10 minutes while sat on your arse writing messages to the universe and popping them under your pillow’. It’s bloody difficult. It is the hardest

thing I’ve ever done. That’s why the first step is saying ‘I’m fucked, it’s not improving, I want to change.’ Tacitly – if you do have concerns about your own interactions with booze, fags, porn – you have done that much by reading this far.

Time To Change

First things first: here is a clinically accepted breakdown of the cycle of addiction. If this model works for the aspect of your life that you would like to change, it’s likely that the 12-step model will work for you, too. Let’s see: 1. Experiencing pain. 2. Using an addictive agent – such as alcohol, food, sex, work, or dependent relationships – to soothe and distract. 3. Temporary anaesthesia or distraction. 4. Consequences. 5. Shame and guilt, leading to pain or low self-esteem. And off we go again. I’ll tell you how this applies to me, then you can mentally assess its application to your problem. But don’t let yourself off the hook; if I seem crazier than you, that’s my qualification for writing this, remember. I was in pain. For as long as I can remember, I didn’t feel good enough. Now I’m a little older I think, ‘What does that mean, good enough?’ Compared to what, when, where or how? But back then, in my gurgling and nervous childhood and rash and frenetic teens I just felt inadequate, incomplete. Not good enough. And it hurt. I looked out at the world as if from within an aquarium and I felt lonely. I also had no technique for addressing that feeling, so I had to invent some. That is number two on this fivepoint guide: I used ‘an addictive agent’. And in my earliest incarnation of addictive behaviour I used the innocuous toxin, sugar. Food. I put stuff in my mouth and I felt better – what’s

Step Up To The Plate The rehab-standard 12-step recovery programme may feel restrictive – and that’s sort of the point – but it needn’t be complicated. What’s more, you don’t need be mainlining hard drugs every other evening to make use of it. Here, Brand breaks the steps down into simple actions. Not all may apply to your situation, but used as a blueprint, they can help you kick any harmful habit, from ice cream to alcohol.

Ask yourself: are you a bit fucked up?

Be honest now: do you believe you need to change? DECEMBER 2017 109

Step Up To The Plate

Are you, on your own, capable of fixing yourself?

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there was another way. I was a kid, then I was an addict, and by the time the idea of working a programme had reached me – which with substances means abstinence, and with behaviour and food means structure – I was 27, a heroin addict and in serious trouble. I might now have kicked the drugs, but the inner struggle still remains. Now, hang on to your hat and grab your pistol of cynicism in preparation to gun me down here, because I’m about to allude to how a recent experience in my mollycoddled life made me feel like I was in a first class penitentiary. On tour in Australia I was travelling in air-locked privilege from plane to car to delightful hotel room, to arena, when I was struck from within by a yearning to escape that I couldn’t ignore. I arrived in Brisbane at a towering and chintzy hotel and was taken to a room that blasted me with immaculate comfort. But when the door closed behind the perfectly friendly guard and I was alone I couldn’t open a window, because, y’know, these buildings are high and it’s dangerous. Presumably due to suicide. You cannot get to air, the air you breathe is packaged and one of the few commodities of our wasteful age that is fastidiously recycled. Now I hope I’m not trying to dress up a tantrum as an epiphany here, but I felt trapped, that I had no way back to nature. To breathe. To be a human. Suddenly, I felt I had to scramble to have access to natural conditions. In one jarring moment I felt the g-force of the rapid journey from hunter-gatherer to hunted and gathered. No wonder people hanker after animalism and raw thrills. No wonder people go dogging: hot breath on the windscreen, torch lights and head lights searching, huddled strangers clutching in the dark for the piercing relief of orgasm. No wonder people use porn: hunched over a laptop, grasping and breathless, serious and dutiful like zealous attendants. What are we doing when we’re masturbating? Or swallowing mindless food or swilling silly drinks? Who there do we serve? What is the plan? The feeling I had in the hotel is real.

The need for connection. The feeling I had when I used drugs was real. The feeling you have that there’s ‘something else’ is real, too. What happens when you don’t follow through with the compulsion? What is on the other side of my need to eat and purge? The only way to find out is to not do it, and that is a novel act of faith.

A Lasting Solution

Incidentally, here’s how I actually solved the ‘problem’. I left the hotel at daybreak. I wish I could say that I moved into a community of ‘indigenous peoples’ down by the river, where we grew our own vegetables and sang songs about our ancestors, and an elder gave me a tribal name and a tattoo of a rabbit God on my groin. But actually I just moved to a different hotel, one with a balcony. If your goal is perfect peace, I think that may only be attained when the lights go out. Perhaps in death there is a kind of freedom – but in between then and now there’s a lot to revere. This morning I woke up and did not look at my phone. I am staying in the Lake District. It is beautiful here. It is intense and the sky is low and the rain moves sideward across the face of the day. I have a girlfriend with whom I share peace and easy communication. In the room is our young daughter who wakes up laughing. I meditate and set my intentions for the day. I suppose I can’t be surprised if you think, ‘It’s alright for some,’ rather than, ‘How did this happen?’ Because you have been on your own journey and haven’t seen mine – and not one step of it hinted at this place as the destination. When I was making polite conversation in crack houses, I did so fearful that I may never know freedom. When I flung myself at the feet of strangers, as if they could somehow be an altar, I didn’t know that one day my garbled prayer would be heard and I’d be freed. But it was, and slowly, I am. And if so for me, why not for you? Russell Brand’s Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions is out now.

GROOMING: NICOLA SCHULLER; STYLING: SHARON SMITH/HAYLEY LAWRENCE; CLOTHING: RUSSELL’S OWN: JEWELLERY: TOMASZ DONOCIK; SHOES: CONVERSE

in demonising chocolate biscuits, as they of themselves are not the problem. They won’t of their own volition kick down your front door, shine a flashlight in your face as you sleep, drag you from your bed and jam themselves down your throat. The participation of your consciousness is a prerequisite. For some people a chocolate biscuit is a harmless treat. For some a wee drop of rum or saucy nip of smack is a tonic. Heroin will ferry you to crisis more quickly than a Penguin biscuit, but the key point is the function of this external agent in your life. Number three in the cycle is a temporary numbing, the moment of grateful exhalation and relief, post biscuit, post coital, post gratifying text from the object of your obsession, post whatever it is you’re fixing on. The fourth point is ‘consequences’. I used to feel awful as a kid after I’d snaffled my way through a week’s worth of biscuits in one absentminded sitting. I don’t think there’s a person alive who doesn’t reproach themselves momentarily after an orgasm achieved in solitude. And after using drugs, when I was coming to the end of my sojourn into substance misuse, this was the only time I could countenance quitting. Number five is pain and we’re back to the start of the cycle. As Cambridge graduate and author Eckhart Tolle says, “Addiction starts with pain and ends with pain.” Here we see that dissected. As the cycle goes round it gathers momentum, like an out of control carousel, like the spinning of my head when drunk. The legal age to drink in the UK is 18. By the time I was 19, medical professionals and my college teachers had identified I had a problem and were telling me I needed help. In retrospect it was evident much earlier, in the way I ate, related to people and thought about myself. I wish I could have identified these patterns sooner, so I could’ve begun to apply the methods outlined in this book. For me, though, I had to repeat this pattern for 10 years with consequences increasing with each vertiginous whip. I didn’t know

cntd

Write down all of the things that are messing you up, or have ever done so

Tell someone trustworthy how fucked you are, and how you feel about it

Again, be honest with yourself: are you really ready to stop doing this?

Ask yourself: are you willing to live in a new way that’s not all about you and your ‘stuff’?

STATE

OF MIND

PERHAPS IN DEATH THERE IS A KIND OF FREEDOM – BUT IN BETWEEN THEN AND NOW THERE’S A LOT TO REVERE

Prepare to apologise to every person you have negatively affected

Now, actually apologise, unless you feel that doing so would make things worse

Watch out for the same patterns of thinking and behaviour, and be honest with yourself when it happens

Keep sight of your new perspective

Continue to look at life less selfishly, and help other people where you can DECEMBER 2017 111

ADVERTISING FEATURE

ESSENTIALS

Our guide to what’s happening and what’s new

FUTURE CLASSIC

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GIVE A FLAKY SCALP THE FLICK

Why only do a skincare routine for your face and not your scalp? The head & shoulders 3Action Formula provides the moisturising benefits your hair and scalp need to prevent and relieve dryness. Formulated with almond oil, head & shoulders Dry Scalp Care shampoo and conditioner nourish the scalp three surface layers deep, leaving you with a hydrated, flake-free* scalp — without compromising beautiful hair. RRP: $12.49 each. Visit headandshoulders.com.au *no visible flakes, with regular use.

STRENGTH AND STYLE For watch lovers who appreciate sporty design and the spirit of racing, the Montblanc TimeWalker Automatic Date offers a pure and bold timepiece with a 41mm stainless steel case. The emblematic rotating black ceramic bezel offers utmost robustness and durability that allows the user to track a second time zone, if desired. For stockists call 1300 364 810 RRP: $4,470.

POCKET SIZE, PREMIUM CAMERA Powerful yet compact, the RX100 V offers outstanding 4K movie recording capability and features the world’s fastest* autofocus. Unlike smartphones, this camera produces quality low-light images, giving you the edge you need to capture the moment. Coupled with Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, for instant sharing to your phone while on the go, the RX100 V is the ultimate travel companion. Discover sony.com.au/ premiumcompact *Among fixed lens digital cameras with 1.0-type sensor, as of Oct 2016 press released, based on Sony research

ELITE

120

ONE MOVE FOR KILLER DELTS.

123

YOUR GYM-FREE ABS BLITZ.

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REFUEL VIA AN ITALIAN CLASSIC.

Because fit is the new rich

SIX STEPS TO LEAN MUSCLE

THE SECRETS TO A DO-ANYTHING BODY FROM CRACK TRAINER ANDREW PAP > BY

DANIEL WILLIAMS PHOTOGR A PH Y BY JASON LEE @BEFIT.TR AINING

His name is Pap. His advice is anything but.

V ENUE COURT ESY OF

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ELITE STEP 1

BE GOOD TO YOURSELF

Are You The Real Deal? GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS IN THE GYM WON’T CUT IT ANYMORE. YOUR TRAINING OVERHAUL BEGINS HERE

PAP STATS AGE: 27 HEIGHT:

WEIGHT:

183CM 86KG

BODY FAT : 6.8 PE R CENT DEADLIF T: 245KG ENDURAN CE: 250K M ACROSS S IMPSON D ESERT 100M PB: 10.9 FAVOURI TE PRE-W ORKOUT: WRAP OF PEANUT B UTTER, AVOCADO , BLUEBE RRIES, HONEY, C INNAMON

HANGING AROUND with Andrew Pap could give a man a complex. It’s not simply that he’s ripped. It’s that, athletically, there’s seemingly nothing the founder of Battle Fit Australia can’t do. Our conversation turns into a game where I lay down a challenge and Pap predicts how he’d go. Not soon. Tomorrow. First thing. There’s this letter and it needs to be delivered, by hand, 42 kilometres away. You’ll need to cover the distance on foot. “I’d do it in three-and-a-half hours,” Pap shoots back. There’s a barbell at your front door weighing 80 kilograms. You need to clean-and-jerk it. “No problem,” he says. “I could do 95.” Another barbell, then, this one loaded to 165kg. Squat it, sunshine. Copy that, says Pap.

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DECEMBER 2017

There’s this guy you have to beat in a footrace who does the 100 in 11.5 seconds . . . “Yep, I should be able to go early-11s. I used to be high-10s. Recruiting power quickly is something I can do quite well.” A feat of flexibility? Pap responds with a pistol squat where the glute of his extended leg touches the floor. Turns out his only weakness is swimming, but he’s all over it. In fact, he’s planning on tackling a full ironman next year. You get the point. Pap chases improvement in areas where he excels while going hard at limitations. Nowadays, he distils his approach to fitness into six steps. Want to take yours to a new level? Here’s how.

One reason your commitment to fitness might fluctuate is that you regard all your efforts in this area as must-do chores. “I call it serving a sentence to fitness and nutrition,” says Pap. “It doesn’t have to be that way.” Case in point: before we sit down Pap spies me vacillating over the choice of a muffin. “If you want something sweet, just get it,” he says. “See it as a treat and enjoy it.” He encounters guys all the time training not in pursuit of performance goals or to feel energised but out of compulsion. This leads nowhere good: working out when you’re tired or sick; depriving yourself of certain foods or food groups. “Guys eventually hit the wall,” Pap says. “It can be adrenal fatigue or getting into habits that aren’t healthy. You can also be using exercise to mask mental-health issues.” Nailing so-called onepercenters can be decisive in the highest echelons of sport. But for a guy like you who fits in training between holding down a job and maybe raising a couple of kids, obsessing about minutiae is destructive, Pap maintains. A one-percenter in this context could be the finisher you wanted to tack onto your chest workout or that squirt of mustard you added guiltily to your T-bone. “You can get focused on the tiny details and they pull you left and right. You’re doing circles,” says Pap. His advice: “Look after the 99 per cent. Because ultimately how much does it mean to you to be eight per cent body fat compared to 12 percent? You’re lean and strong at 12. Your immune system is strong, your testosterone is stable and you have enough fat to recover quickly from training. Once you hit single digits you risk losing all of that.”

12/17 STEP 2

HONOUR THE FUNDAMENTALS And they are? “The things that will have the biggest influence on your mind and body,” says Pap. Sleep. Stretching. Massage. Posture. Eating clean most of the time. Think of observing these basics as laying a foundation on which you can pile on the bricks of your routine: those heavy squats and deadlifts; the twice-weekly HIIT workouts. “You can’t think yourself better than the fundamentals,” says Pap. “A lot of guys don’t bother with them because they figure, ‘I’m an athlete!’Or ‘That’s simple stuff.’” And it is simple: simply imperative if you want to avoid injury and breakdown. Sleep tops the list for Pap. “We’re willing to cut it short because we believe the results lie in the hustle and grind,” he says. Guys get by on 5-6 hours a night while flogging themselves in the gym and then wonder why their gains dry up and they’re feeling stressed, tired and apathetic. Aim for eight hours’ shuteye per night for a week while scaling back your training and see how much brighter the world looks. STEP 3

VARY YOUR INTENSITY

Or as Pap puts it, know the difference between a practice and a workout, and then get the ratio right. A workout, he explains, is gritting your teeth and going hard. You test your limits, perhaps shooting for a benchpress PB. You suffer, and when your form falters, you don’t ignore it necessarily but you look for ways to work around it and keep going. A practice, on the other hand, involves prioritising technique and backing off when fatigue sets in. That doesn’t mean you’re not chasing gains. You

most certainly are. But you’re chasing them in third gear rather than overdrive. “There are safer ways to get stronger than just lifting big,” says Pap. “The key is working with submaximal loads.” Instead of heaving a colossal weight for five sets of five, lift something lighter for 10 sets of five. “The gains will come in a much safer way.” If he does 12 sessions a week, Pap says, four of them will be workouts while the rest will be practices. And the latter prime you for the former. “Psychologically and physically, I’m ready to go for them,” he says. “You can’t do those workouts day in and day out. I mean, you can try. But before long your body will force you to stop.” STEP 4

SET GOALS

Now and then Pap asks himself a question: what can I do in training that I couldn’t do 12 months ago? If your answer is “nothing” or “I don’t know”, then you’re drifting, Pap says. “Unfortunately, for most

guys, it’s a case of ‘no idea’,” he says. “They’re just working out. They’re doing squats and lunges and push-ups and running, but they’re not up-skilling.” Change your approach, Pap urges. Flick the switch to being goal-driven. That’s where the magic is. A little planning’s required: this is my objective and these are the steps I need to take to achieve it. Now, on top of your reserves of discipline you’ve added the fuel of motivation. It’s one heck of a combo. A recent goal for Pap was rebuilding after screwing his lower back in a titanic gym session targeting his posterior chain. As he pushed out set after set of deadlifts, front squats and kettlebell swings, “I knew I was breaking form a little but I pushed on and felt fine at the time,” says Pap. “But next morning I couldn’t stand up straight.” In response, Pap reframed his approach to training, adding yoga and backing off the iron. While he kept lifting, he reduced his loads and ranges of motion as his focus switched to,

as he puts it, “stitching up holes” and boosting his “torso functionality”. “I mean, I was a strong and powerful person,” says Pap. “I could lift over 200 kilograms. But when it came to the little things, like utilising those deeper core muscles . . . they were useless. They wouldn’t switch on. And I see that time and time again. We’re all focused on lifting heavier and heavier weights, thinking that’s how you grow. And there’s truth to that, but without those solid foundations you’re just going to put yourself in a vulnerable position.” The rebuild has paid off for Pap. “Right now,” he says, “I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. By a long way.” STEP 5

TREAT FITNESS AS A LIFESTYLE The tendency for guys, Pap says, is to allocate a certain amount of time to training and then, once their workout’s done, that’s it for the day. Pap suggests adopting his approach, which involves a main workout or practice, sure, >

“THERE ARE SAFER WAYS TO GET STRONGER THAN JUST LIFTING BIG”

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ELITE but also maintaining an awareness of fitness at other times of the day and night. “I might be at home, say, but instead of lounging on the couch I’ll sit in a deep squat for a minute to release my lower back,” says Pap. Similarly, an evening in front of the TV isn’t much less relaxing if you spend a few minutes ironing out your kinks with a foam roller. And after a flight, waiting for his bags at the carousel, Pap will do hip circles and other relatively inconspicuous mobility moves. “Because if you carry that tightness into your training there are going to be repercussions,” he says. “What you’re doing in effect is putting out spot fires.” STEP 6

AIM FOR NO WEAK LINKS

Which brings us back to Pap’s drive to be good at everything. Not great or amazing. He’s not delusional. But competent-toadvanced, pretty much across the board. “My overarching thing is to be able to delve into any event, any modality, and do a good job of it,” he says. At any given moment? “Exactly.” “Fitness for me is having that capacity to take on anything,” he continues. “Obviously, guys at the top tier of their sport have to be specific, but I find more joy in being able to carry that pack up to the top of that hill, sprint as fast as you can, swim there, lift this.” Such an approach delivers aesthetic rewards, he says. His physique is a byproduct of the way he trains, not the end goal. “I can fluctuate between 80-90 kilograms, depending on whether my goal at the time is to get stronger or something else,” he says. “The best driver is better performance and loving the process to get there, not how you look in the mirror.”

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READY TO RIP

THIS WORKOUT FROM TAKE-ON-ANYTHING TRAINER ANDREW PAP TARGETS EVERY MAJOR MUSCLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT DELIVER SUPREME FUNCTIONAL FITNESS WHAT TO DO Grab a medicine ball of a challenging weight. Pap uses brutes of up to 75kg. Do the six exercises as a circuit, keeping rest to a minimum but getting enough to ensure your form stays solid. Do 2 reps of each move in the first circuit, 4 in the second, 6 in the third and 8 in the last.

Romanian Deadlift Keeping your legs close to straight, just a slight bend at the knees, hinge at the waist to pick up the med ball (A). Keeping everything tight, stand up tall (B). Good job.

Front Squat Clutching the med ball to your chest (A), push out your butt and bend your knees to go into a deep squat (B). Push through your heels to drive back to the start.

Overhead Press Grasp the med ball between your hands and hold it at face level (A). Without arching your back or using your legs for power, push it with all your might overhead (B).

A A

Reverse Lunge Stand tall, with the med ball resting on your right shoulder (A). Now take a big stride backwards with your right leg (B). Pause and return to start. Repeat on your other leg.

Strongman Carry Clutch the heaviest med ball you can find to your chest (A). Lock your core and walk for 10m, keeping nice and upright (B).

Supine Chest Press Lie on your back, the med ball resting on your chest (A). Tighten your core like you’re about to be punched and push the ball straight up above you (B). Boss!

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ELITE

STAND UP AND PUSH

A A

LOVED BY THE INSTAFIT CROWD,

THE HANDSTAND PUSH-UP IS FOR MORE THAN JUST SHOWBOATING. USE IT TO BUILD STRONG SHOULDERS, A SOLID CORE, DEFINED TRIS AND, YES, EARN A FEW NEW FOLLOWERS. NAIL THE MOVE WITH OUR FIVE-PART PLAN

PERFECT THE PROGRESSIONS Don’t kick up without doing the groundwork first. Start by practising wrist extensions, before progressing through all of the moves, right, and mastering the handstand last. They will condition the small stabiliser muscles needed for the full move. Nothing worth posting comes easy.

01 LOADED WRIST EXTENSION

02 PIKE PRESS-UP

3 sets of 15 pulses Start by preparing your wrists to withstand your bodyweight. On all fours, fingers facing away from you, lock your arms straight (A). Lean forward as far as you can, while keeping your palms flat on the floor (B). Hold for five seconds before rocking back to the start position. Do the 15 reps, rest and repeat.

5 sets of 5 reps With your wrists noticeably stronger, improve your press by strengthening your triceps. With your feet on a box and hands splayed, position your hips up and over your shoulders (A). Lean forward, bending your arms to bring your face to the ground (B). Hold for one second before pushing back up.

EXPERT Alex Nino EXPERIENCE The most flexible man on Instagram, gymnastics specialist Nino has the technique to help you execute impressive inversions with grace

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03 PSEUDO PLANCHE PUSH-UP

04 FACE-TO-WALL HANDSTAND

5 sets of 5 reps Next, turn your focus to your shoulders. Improve stability at the joint by shifting emphasis to your front delts. Starting in an upright plank with your hands facing out, lean forward until your hands are under your hips (A). Now lower your chest to just above the floor (B). Push up. Rest a minute between sets.

5 sets of 30-second holds Finally, you need to get comfortable in a handstand position before adding the push. With your hands on the floor 30cm away from a wall, walk your feet up into a handstand position with your glutes and abs tight. Tense your shoulders and triceps and hold for 30 seconds. Rest one minute; repeat.

12/17 Short on sleep? Then rest, don’t train, says Colter.

MASTER THE EXECUTION Having strengthened all of the muscles needed to perform the handstand push-up, be confident as you approach the wall for the full rep. Dedicate 10 minutes at the start of each workout to practising the move. You’ll soon be the envy of the average gym-goer. Good luck.

PHASE 2 BEND YOUR ARMS To avoid losing balance, tense your abs when lowering your body to help support your lower back; this will help you avoid collapsing into a banana shape. At the bottom you should be able to touch the floor with your forehead or nose. Hold tight here – you’ve nearly made it.

PHASE 1 HANDSTAND HOLD Start by holding the position you mastered in the last of your progression moves. Grip the floor tightly with your hands about shoulder-width. Keep your legs straight as you kick your heels up to touch the wall. Create a stable core by pulling your belly in and tensing your glutes. For added stability, squeeze your elbows in, too.

PHASE 3 PRESS BACK UP When preparing to push up, focus on pushing the ground away from you by ‘screwing’ your hands like you’re trying to open a jar. Keep your core tight and exhale, pushing until your arms are straight. Congratulations: you’ve just nailed one of the hardest moves on the gym floor.

DECEMBER 2017 121

Do you train often and are ready to step up to the next level? Then the TRM Advanced Abs Challenge is for you. You will need access to a chin up bar as the intensity and resistance is increased.

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Can You Survive? NO FANCY GYM GEAR? NO PROBLEM. THESE OLD-SCH0OL MOVES HAVE GOT YOUR BACK PHOTOGR A PH Y BY

WESLE Y MANN

INCARCERATION FORCES a man to take stock. Of his past. His values. His approach to physical fitness. Ain’t too many prison yards equipped with treadmills and squat racks. So a guy has to improvise. Go back to basics: toe touches, crunch variations, push-ups, planks and, you bet, prisoner squats. Even as a free man you may find training this way strangely liberating. And even if you don’t, it will still get you step-off ripped. >

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No-Gear Total Body Blast

THIS PRISON-INSPIRED WORKOUT FROM EX-CON-TURNED-TRAINER COSS MARTE WILL DELIVER GYM-FREE ABS WHILE WIPING YOUR FITNESS SLATE CLEAN DIRECTIONS For each solo exercise, do 1 set of 10 reps (beginner), 2 sets of 10 (intermediate), or 3 sets of 10 (advanced). Or, for the true jailhouse experience, do hard labour: 10 reps and then a ladder (10-9-8-7 and so on, down to 1). On partner exercises, do one move for 30 seconds and switch; beginners should do this once, intermediates twice, advanced trainers three times and hard-core trainers four times. Rest as needed, but keep it short. Do all five moves five times a week.

EBENEZER SAMUEL

3 GRAVITY SUPERSET

Stand with your hands at your shoulders, arms bent and feet at shoulder-width. Drive your hands upward, as if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing a military press. Repeat this move; then drop into a push-up position and perform 1 rep.

1 BODYBUILDER

From a standing position, do a squat. Now put your hands on the ground and kick your legs back into a push-up position. Then jump your feet wide while keeping your core tight. Jump them back together. Finally, do a push-up, jump your legs to your hands and stand back up. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1 rep.

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2 SQUAT WAVE

Gather your fellow inmates in a circle and have everyone bend their knees so their thighs are parallel to the ground. Their arms should also be parallel to the ground. This is your starting position. Now straighten your legs while jumping up; land softly and return to the starting position. When you land, the person to your left should jump; when that person lands, the next person should jump, and so on. Do this until everyone has completed 10 squat jumps. No mates around? Just do 10 squat jumps by yourself, but after each rep, hold the start position for 10 seconds.

12/17

4 PLANK COMBO

Get an inmate to mirror you, standing about 3 metres away. Do 2 gravity presses. Then put your hands on the floor and walk into a plank. Extend your right hand and slap your partner’s extended right hand. Extend your left and do the same. That’s 1 rep. Alone? Do air handshakes.

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1 4

SQUAT/PLANK

Have your cellmate squat until his thighs are parallel to the floor, arms overhead. Place your feet on the badass’s thighs and hold a plank with your arms straight. Switch places after 30 seconds. That’s 1 rep. Stuck in solitary confinement? Just do each of the moves for 30 seconds.

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✔

Mum ✔

ndad Gra ids nd k a m Sa Mike ✔ and e i t Ka ✔

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12/17

S TAT S I T U P S HERE’S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT ROBARDS WANTS YOU TO NAIL: DYNAMIC MOVES TARGETING MULTIPLE MUSCLES. DO THREE ROUNDS OF ONE MINUTE, THREE TIMES PER WEEK. DIRECTIONS Lie on your back with arms and legs outstretched. Lift one arm to the opposite leg, raising your shoulder off the ground to try and touch fingers and toes together. Keep alternating, keeping your core switched on.

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

YOU MAY BE BOTCHING YOUR PURSUIT OF A SIX-PACK. TIM ROBARDS IDENTIFIES THE MOST COMMON BLUNDERS AND SETS YOUR COURSE FOR A SHREDDED FUTURE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON LEE

1 ALL YOU DO IS CRUNCHES

There’s more to your core than just your frontal abdominal muscles. “You see those guys who look like they’ve got a turtle shell in their stomach,” Robards says. They’ve erred by using a too limited range of movements to target too small an area. Comprehensive core training involves taxing your obliques, transverse abdominis muscles, spinal erectors, diaphragm and glutes, Robards explains. “Work different planes of motion, sometimes pulling your upper body to your lower body and sometimes your lower body to your upper body.” See sidebar, right.

CHASING 2 YOU’RE CONFLICTING GOALS

A lot of guys try to bulk up and shred their abs concurrently. Look, it’s been done. Up to a point. But serious muscle making is a goal best pursued in isolation, Robards advises. Chase the extra brawn first. “Adding muscle comes down to how you train. Suddenly eating more won’t work on its own,” says Robards. “Put extra demands on your muscles so your brain figures, I need more muscle to do what I need to do in my environment.” Big enough? Now add definition by cutting total kilojoules while maintaining a high-protein intake.

3YOU’RE NOT DOING HIIT

Core exercises performed progressively will enlarge the muscles of your midsection, but that’s not enough. “You could have the biggest, lumpiest set of tennis-ball abs, but if you’ve still got a layer of fat on top you’re not going to see them,” says Robards. Pair static-move sessions with fat-melting HIIT workouts, such as hill sprints. Twice weekly, do a 15-20 minute block alternating between 30 seconds’ sprinting and 60 seconds’ walking.

4YOUR DIET’S LETTING YOU DOWN

“Exercise isn’t an efficient way to lose body fat,” states Robards. He’s spot on: you’d need to run on a treadmill at 5min/km pace for 45 minutes to burn off two lousy pieces of pepperoni pizza. To shed lard, tweak your diet in favour of lower-energy, higher nutrient-dense foods that your resting metabolic rate can take care of, with maybe a little help from HIIT.

To purchase the TRM 12-Minute Abs Challenge, which includes workouts, training tips and recipes aimed at unveiling your six-pack, go to therobardsmethod.com

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THE RICE AND EASY ROUTE TO RECOVERY WHIP UP A WORKING WEEK’S WORTH OF PROTEIN-RICH MEALS WITH THIS MUSCLE-REPAIRING TAKE ON AN ITALIAN CLASSIC. IT’S ALL GRAIN AND NO PAIN

85%

CHICKEN AND CHORIZO RISOTTO

of your vit RDI per bowB12 l

SERVES 5

• A chorizo sausage, diced • Chicken breasts, 2, cut into strips • A large onion, chopped • A garlic clove, crushed • Risotto rice, 350g • White or red wine, small glass (optional) • Chicken stock, 1 litre • Dried rosemary, 1tsp • Frozen peas, 200g • Parmesan, 2tbsp

METHOD STEP 1 Don’t let scare stories make you shy away from sausage: chorizo is full of vitamin B1, which turns protein into muscle. Throw it in a hot pan. When the fat starts to run, add the chicken, fry and set aside. STEP 2 Brown the onion and garlic in the chorizo fats, then add the rice. The carbs help to replenish your glycogen stores so you don’t burn through muscle mass. Pour in the wine and stir until all of the liquid is absorbed.

COOKING TIME 45

15 30

STEP 3 Add the stock, simmer until the rice is tender, then add the chicken, chorizo, rosemary and peas, until the meat is warmed. Top it off with a sprinkle of parmesan. Squat session tomorrow? Rice one, bro.

KILOJOULES

CARBS

3024 81G PROTEIN FAT 52G 20G

Bounce back from hard training and say arrivederci to DOMS.

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FIT FOR LIFE EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST, DIABETES EDUCATOR AND FITBIT AMBASSADOR DREW HARRISBERG CHANGES GUYS’ LIVES BY PROPOGATING A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO TOTAL WELLNESS. USE HIS TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR FITNESS AND HEALTH GOALS ARE IN PERFECT SYNCH

FLEX AND FLEXIBILITY

A rigid training program can build discipline but will eventually wear you down. My program is instinctive: do whatever you feel like on the day because that is what you will do best. My week includes whole-body resistance work, endurance training, walking the dog, swimming in cold water, cycling and mobility work.

LOSE THE SHOES

I compare wearing shoes all the time with having a cast on your arm: both are immobilising, causing the muscles to stop contracting and then switch off. If your feet are weak and you can’t transmit force into your knees and up the kinetic chain, you can’t perform optimally. The fix? Go barefoot whenever you can.

EARN YOUR EGGS

Personally, I like to fast for a couple of hours after waking. It gives your hormones a chance to do their thing naturally rather than immediately sending them new signals they probably don’t need.

LET’S TAKE IT OUTSIDE

Swapping the gym for the outdoors works on multiple levels. Early sunlight sets your circadian rhythms for better sleep and boosts Vitamin D levels, while eschewing equipment forces you to use your own bodyweight for resistance – essential for learning to perform properly. You can build a lot of muscle by making bodyweight moves like push-ups and squats progressively harder.

WORDS BY DANIEL WILLIAMS

KNOW YOURSELF

I see so many guys wasting their time because they’re not factoring their body type into their training style. It’s only the mesomorph who can look like a beast from doing biceps curls. The ectomorph needs heavy compound lifts to break out of his skinny shell, while the endomorph requires circuit training to burn enough fat to look lean and defined.

EARN IT OR BURN IT

You can store about 400-500 grams of glycogen in your body, distributed between your muscles and liver. Beyond that carbs will be stored as fat. Think of your muscles as a sponge that soaks up carbs, and exercise as the way to wring out that sponge. It follows that most of your carbs should be consumed either side of workouts.

CAFFEINATED CONFUSION

Consuming coffee and carbs at the same time makes no sense. Carbs release insulin that promotes energy storage, while caffeine has the opposite effect, triggering an adrenaline surge to fuel immediate action. Possible result: a big insulin spike accompanied by lightheadedness and grogginess. Try to separate them by an hour or two at least.

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ONE WORD ANSWER

Pluck yourself out of heart trouble.

THAT THE RIGHT SONG can be a tonic for any emotional trial is no great secret. Whether disappearing into a well-worn album after a difficult day or cueing your power track for the gruelling final kay of your first half-marathon, music is a proven psychological prop. Go one step further, however, by pausing Spotify and dusting off the neglected Les Paul in the corner of your living room, and you could save yourself from a more literal form of heartache – the dreaded sort that isn’t often the subject of chart-toppers. In a study published by the Netherlands Heart Journal, those who regularly sang or played instruments were noted to have better cardiovascular health than the less musically inclined. Researchers tested subjects aged 18-30 and found guitarists, singers and pianists had lower blood pressure and reduced heart rates. Playing music fires up the sensory nervous system, and the study authors believe that this gives it cardiovascular effects “resembling those of physical exercise”. Bravo! If strumming through a rendition of Mr Tambourine Man feels beyond your capability, then simply crooning along to a tune of your choosing has benefits too. University of London research shows that giving your lungs a workout increases levels of blood oxygen while exercising major upperbody muscles. We’re calling it band aid.

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ANSWER Guitar

WORDS BY SCARLETT WRENCH; ILLUSTRATION BY PETER CROWTHER

QUESTION What instrument of creativity could fend off genuine heartache?

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