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WorldMags.net 98Avoid Fat Traps

FEATURES / COVER STORIES

06.14

...so you can finally reveal your abs! BY MARIA MASTERS

102 A Fit Man’s Cancer

Wild + Loud Sex! What does it mean when she moans like that? Find out here.

Don’t worry: We have your protection plan.

BY SUSHMA SUBRAMANIAN PAGE 158

BY PAIGE FOWLER

116Big Muscle! Build a better body— without a gym. BY TREVOR THIEME, C.S.C.S.

124 18 Grooming Fixes Look great right now!

138 Get Wolverine Fit Grow huge and jacked like Hugh Jackman. BY MIKE ZIMMERMAN

144 Guy Food Guide Your summer just got a whole lot tastier.

Photograph by M I KO LI M

EDITED BY PAUL KITA

TONS OF USEFUL STUFF

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MENSHEALTH.COM 7

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54 DRINK SMART

Fitness

46 RIDE HARD

Sex

70 REPAIR FAST

Nutrition

Health

102 . . .AND SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Guy Wisdom

EVEN MORE USEFUL STUFF...

26Is Your City Soft... 30What She Really or Ripped? We measured the biceps and counted the abs. MetroGrades now declares a winner.

Need to Start Cycling Right Now Roads, trails, or streets: Our simple guide makes it easy to saddle up.

62The Hot Fitness Tool You Must Try If you’re not swinging kettlebells, you’re giving up big muscle gains. Read up. Rock the bells.

117Lose 10 Pounds in 28 Days! Start right now with our no-weight workout. Your body is the ultimate barbell, so use it to grow more muscle.

40Guard Your Guts

64Make Meetings

This Key Nutrient?

The news may please you—and her!

Ask Men’s Health reveals the truth about selenium supplements.

That microwave dinner can make you sick. Quick: Take this step before you hurl!

Save time, enhance productivity, and never use PowerPoint again!

56What Hot Women

38Lose the Weight

726 Ways to Ruin

70Upgrade Your

Want You to Know

You Hate—and Still Scarf That Pizza!

a Day at the Beach

Home—in One Weekend!

Thinks About Your Penis Size

Actress Gabrielle Union spills the secrets. Hint: One involves a toilet seat.

Leverage this diet strategy to eat smart without ditching foods you love.

58My Fiancée Really 42 The Magic Move Wants Implants. Do I Get a Vote?

When it comes to those tricky conversations, MH’s Girl Next Door is your breast friend.

76The New Rules of Cheating Jimmy the Bartender serves up the cold truth.

for Muscle Growth Discover the simple secret that scrawny guys haven’t learned.

50This Summer’s Must-Grill Meal Burgers and dogs? Please. Here’s an easy surf-and-turf winner.

54Is Your Smoothie

Outwit these potential saboteurs and take the bitchin’ out of beachin’.

120 Do Video Games Train Killers? Surprising new research reveals what happens when boys—or you— pick up that controller. BY TOM McGRATH

164 The Day My Brain Went Dark What if you couldn’t remember a full 24 hours of your life? A bizarre account of amnesia you won’t soon forget. BY RICHARD NALLEY

Suck Less

Six projects that take 90 minutes or less and are sure to impress the pants off her.

86The Secrets of Summer Style Dress casually, look sharp, stay cool. BY SANDRA NYGAARD

92Don’t Be That Dad

10 Your To-Do List It’s (finally) summer! 14 First Word Take your shots. 16 Lifesavers How a nutritionist manages his protein. 24 Body Science Holy strokes! 29 Bulletins News on health, sex, food, and fitness. 45 Advantage Gain your edge! 79 How to Do Everything Better Enjoy baseball, battle bugs, and get naked! 172 The Average Guy ...and thrills.

Avoid these fatherhood fails—before it’s too late. BY LOU SCHULER

108 Turn a Small Idea

Making You Fat?

into Big Money

Most bottled options suffer from sugar shock. We sipped and slurped to find the best.

Follow the six secrets to cashing in. BY ERIC SPITZNAGEL

ON THE COVER Hugh Jackman, photographed by Art Streiber. Styling by Brian Boyé, grooming by Birgitte/Rene Furterer/ ABTP. Rogue T-shirt, Citizens of Humanity jeans, Montblanc watch.

8 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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P h o t o g r a p h s b y L E V I B R O W N (s m o o t h i e s , s h o w e r h e a d ) , J A K E S TA N G E L (c y c l i s t) , J a n W i l l e m S c h o l t e n / G a l l e r y S t o c k (m a n w i t h b o o k )

463 Reasons You

18Are You Lacking

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JUNE 2014 Your To-Do List WorldMags.net

J.I. RODALE Founder, 1942–1971

ROBERT RODALE Chairman of the Board and CEO, 1971–1990

ARDATH RODALE CEO and Chief Inspiration Officer, 1990–2009

MARIA RODALE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

SCOTT D. SCHULMAN President

Superstar Tim McGraw—singer, actor, lucky husband of Faith Hill—headlines Nashville’s CMA Music Festival. And he’s on our July/August cover, on sale June 24. Like to meet him? Truck yeah! Go to MensHealth.com/McGraw and enter to win.

PAUL MCGINLEY EVP, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer

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THU

S U N All your dad really needs on Father’s Day is a visit or a call. But a handwritten note would be best. The shock may induce a cardiac event, but he’d go out smiling. Or play it safe with a gift: Go to MensHealth.com/ fathersday for ideas.

S U N The final season of True Blood starts with a fang. Get ripped like MH guys Stephen Moyer and Joe Manganiello using our DVD, Bodyweight Burners, by the curiously ageless BJ Gaddour. Mens Health.com/bbdvd.

F R I Someone on the Web claims this is Take Your Dog to Work Day. We suspect a canine hacker. If you can get away with it, go ahead— women will love that (and maybe you too). No dog? Quick—go to page 18 and pick one.

MON Wimbledon starts. Psyched to play? Here’s a fun warmup: Throw a football. The motion is similar to a tennis serve, says Peter Smith, who coached a college tennis team to four national titles. The team? Southern California, of course.

10 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

S AT It’s the summer solstice. Ready to worship the sun? Your Druid robe has epic UPF, but you’ll find better ways to avoid your own Bronze Age on page 102. And learn to spot epidermal trouble at MensHealth. com/skincancer.

T H U The kid from Kalamazoo turns 40 today. Derek Jeter and the Yanks are off, but MLB schedulers have a very special present for this Hall of Fame shoo-in for the next day: The Red Sox come to Yankee Stadium.

I l l u s t r a t i o n b y M R . X E R T Y, i c o n s b y T R AV I S L A D U E

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The reporting in Men’s Health is meant to increase your knowledge of current developments in health. Because everyone is different, the ideas expressed by researchers cannot be used to diagnose or treat individual health problems. A health care professional can best guide you.

KARL.COM #KARLPARFUMS

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SHOOT.

I WHEN MY YOUNGER DAUGHTER WAS 6, SHE WANTED TO PLAY BASKETBALL. WE SIGNED HER UP FOR

an intramural team. Problem was, she wasn’t strong enough to reach the rim. She launched a few air balls her first couple of games. Soon, sad and broken, she quit shooting entirely. Fast-forward two months. As we were driving to the final game, I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw her sulking. “You know what I want to see tonight?” I said. “I want to see you take a shot.” She scrunched her face. “I can’t reach the hoop. Basketball is stupid.” “Taylor, I don’t care if you hit the wall behind the basket,” I said. “You’ll never make it if you never shoot.” Another scrunchy face, then some tears. She was clearly too young for this lesson. We both just wanted our long winter nightmare to be over. The game started like all the others. The first couple of times Taylor got the ball, she immediately passed. But the third time, she held it, shuffling back and forth near the three-point line. As her teammates screamed “Pass! Pass!” a look of recognition spread across her face. Suddenly she took off running toward the basket, forgetting to dribble. She shot. She scored. Her teammates went crazy—hugs and high fives all around. She ended up taking four shots and making two. She walked off the court that night beaming. I was too. I’d just witnessed a moment she’d never forget, one that reshaped her as a person in front of my eyes. “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp,” Robert Browning once wrote. His message doesn’t apply just to Romantic poets and basketball. It’s essential to success today. Consider the long-reach all-star (and our cover guy) Hugh Jackman. He could have retired as a Broadway legend a decade ago. Instead he became a superhero. On the big screen, as Wolverine, he’s saving the world from ultimate doom. In real life, he’s leaping after falling damsels in Oscar distress. We’re grateful, and so is Jennifer Lawrence. But just when you think you can define Hugh Jackman, he redefines himself—a new role, a new capability, a new kind of strength. When we caught up with Jackman in a snowstorm in February, he’d already been to the gym that day...twice. Why? “Every day off requires three days of work,” he told us. Same applies to your diet, your relationship, your job. Jackman’s advice to each of us: Keep reaching. Stretching. Shooting. Sure, you’ll miss plenty of shots. But you’ll also surprise yourself and score.

FIRST WORD

YOU, ON THE COVER OF MEN’S HEALTH We’re running a contest to find the Ultimate Men’s Health Guy, and the winner will appear on the cover of our November issue. The judging panel, which includes Erin Andrews, Kenneth Cole, and Chris Cuomo, will pick a winner this summer, but readers’ choice is part of the vote. Here’s your leaderboard. 1. VAUGHN RIPLEY, BRUNSWICK, MD

8,198 reader votes “I’m one of the longestsurviving HIV-positive people in the world. I work out six days per week. I want to live long enough to see and enjoy my grandkids.” 2. PATRICK MIDGLEY, STAUNTON, VA

4,146 reader votes “My personal motto is ‘Every Day.’ It reminds me that every moment counts. It keeps me humble, at peace, and ready to do my job.” 3. ROBERT CARASITI, EAST MORICHES, NY

Bill Phillips, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @billphillipsMH

ARE YOU THE ULTIMATE MEN’S HEALTH GUY?

Go to mhguysearch. com to enter or vote. Entries close on June 15, 2014. What are you waiting for? Reach. Stretch. Shoot. You might score.

14 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Photograph by SPENCER HE YFRON/Redux Pictures, grooming: Amanda Beczner

2,838 reader votes “I measure success almost entirely on how I feel physically and emotionally. Of course, I enjoy the extra look my wife gives me when I step out of the shower.”

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PURE RED WHITE + YOU @ IZOD.COM

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OUR ADVISORY BOARD BRAIN HEALTH P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D. David S. Liebeskind, M.D.

Plan Meals for Muscle

Power Up with Powder

“I aim for 180 grams of protein a day and eat four times: A big protein shake for breakfast; a smaller one before I work out; and an early dinner that includes a piece of meat, chicken, or fish, plus greens and rice or potatoes. Finally, I eat a late-night threeegg omelet with a side of Greek yogurt and a chunk of dark chocolate with peanut butter.”

“For my a.m. shake, I blend two scoops chocolate Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard with 2 cups black coffee, a banana, 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa, and a handful of walnuts. My preworkout shake is two scoops chocolate MTS Machine Whey Protein with water.” (Note: Aragon has no deals with these companies.)

CARDIOLOGY John Elefteriades, M.D. Prediman Krishan Shah, M.D. Eric J. Topol, M.D. DENTISTRY Mark S. Wolff, D.D.S., Ph.D. DERMATOLOGY Adnan Nasir, M.D., Ph.D. EMERGENCY MEDICINE Travis Stork, M.D. EXERCISE SCIENCE Alexander Koch, Ph.D., C.S.C.S. Mark Peterson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.*D FAMILY MEDICINE Ted Epperly, M.D. GASTROENTEROLOGY Mark Welton, M.D. INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE James N. Dillard, M.D., D.C., L.Ac. MENTAL HEALTH Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. William Pollack, Ph.D. NUTRITION Alan Aragon, M.S. Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D.,

ALAN ARAGON, M.S.

F.A.C.N., F.A.S.N., C.N.S.

Michael Roussell, Ph.D. OPHTHALMOLOGY Kimberly Cockerham, M.D., F.A.C.S.

For years men have chased workouts with protein shakes, hoping to take advantage of the “anabolic window”—the time when your body is primed to build muscle. Now a major new meta-analysis shatters that science. Its coauthor: Alan Aragon, M.S. “The critical factor for muscle strength and size is your total daily protein intake.” He advises men to eat 0.7 to 1 gram of complete protein—which has all nine essential amino acids and is found in meat, poultry, fish, milk, and eggs—for every pound of their target weight. “Include at least 20 grams of protein at every meal and snack,” he says. “That ensures your muscles have the optimal amounts of critical amino acids, like leucine.”

Upgrade Your Workout

“Every month I publish a research review. I write most of it but also reach out to nutritionists, study authors, and trainers. It forces me to stay current with new research and connects me with the top people. I speak at about six to 10 conferences a year. That keeps me sharp and expands my network. Social media lets me track what’s hot.”

“To maximize my time in the gym, I’ve started doing ‘drop sets.’ On the final set of many lifts I go to failure; then I cut the weight by 25 percent and bang out as many reps as I can. I’ll also use the rest-pause method, where I take a set to failure, rest a few seconds, crank out a few more reps, and repeat. It really cranks up your heart rate!”

SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., M.P.H. SLEEP MEDICINE W. Christopher Winter, M.D. SPORTS MEDICINE Nicholas A. DiNubile, M.D. Jordan D. Metzl, M.D. TRAINING Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.*D BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S. Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S. David Jack UROLOGY Larry I. Lipshultz, M.D. Judd W. Moul, M.D., F.A.C.S. WEIGHT LOSS David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., FACPM, F.A.C.P.

Jeff S. Volek, Ph.D., R.D.

SLAY SUNDAY BLUES

GET REAL-WORLD STRONG

BARE BOTH ARMS

CHEW MORE, EAT LESS

Transitions can be a drag—like the Sunday night blues, which torment 81 percent of Americans, according to a poll from Monster.com. Take the edge off by doing 10 minutes of work before dinner on Sunday. Or spend a few minutes visualizing Monday’s tasks. This simple exercise may help ease anxiety.

We tend to exercise forward and back, up and down. Life’s not that simple. Fight back with the kettlebell side lunge and touch: Grab the kettlebell with both hands; let it hang in front of you. Step to the left and bend your left knee till the bell touches the floor. Power back to the start. Repeat on your right.

Don’t fight heart disease singlehandedly. A new study from Boston University confirms that having a different blood pressure in each arm is associated with a higher risk of heart problems. Differences 10 points and up may indicate narrowing arteries. So always measure your BP in both arms.

Here’s further evidence that slow and steady wins the bellyoff race: Chewing more can lower your total meal intake by nearly 15 percent without sacrificing satiety, reveals new research from Iowa State. Double the number of times you chew food. This gives your brain time to register fullness.

Thomas Joiner, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Florida State University; author, The Perversion of Virtue

David Jack, sports performance and conditioning coach based in Phoenix, Arizona

John Elefteriades, M.D., director, Aortic Institute, Yale University and Yale–New Haven Hospital

David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., FACPM, F.A.C.P., founding director, Yale University Prevention Research Center

16 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Save the products you like to your “watch list” or buy them directly from your smartphone.

IT’S THAT EASY. WE PROMISE.

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YOUR NEW ROOMMATE An adopted Italian greyhound (from ngap.org) can make a great pal.

I know certain dog breeds are prone to health problems. So which are best? RYAN, WICHITA, KS

YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT

YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME OUTDOORS

YOU HAVE OTHER PETS, EVEN CATS

YOU’RE A DAD (OR PLAN TO BE)

YOU ROOT FOR THE UNDERDOG

Greyhound

Labrador Retriever

Pug

Collie

Shelter Dog

A racing dog in an apartment? Yep—it’s a winner. These dogs are quiet, independent, and reserved, and they like to lie around, says Dr. Sawchuk. But they are vulnerable to gum disease, so brush their teeth daily.

If you love to hike, run, and throw a Frisbee, you’ll love a Lab. Loyalty, intelligence, and an even temperament make these dogs people pleasers, says Dr. Bell. With a muscular build and an all-weather coat, they thrive when kept active.

These pint-size pooches have no predatory drive, says Dr. Bell. To avoid dealing with breathing trouble, make sure each nostril opening is onethird the width of the dog’s nose. Clean its face daily with a fragrance-free baby wipe.

Lassie’s family-friendliness was no act. Collies tend to be frisky outdoors, calm indoors. (Kids may follow suit.) You must brush their fur, but it’s a way to bond, Dr. Sawchuk says. Look for a “smooth” collie if you want to brush less.

Before you swoop in to play savior, do some recon. Spend time with the dog and ask a shelter worker how it ended up there. If the previous owners noted behavioral issues, consider whether you have the patience to take them on.

18 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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P h o to g r a p h by L E V I B R OW N , p r o p s t y l i n g: M e g u m i E m o to/A n d e r s o n H o p k i n s; i l l u s t r a t i o n s by S A S C H A E L M E R S

With pets, nothing is fur sure. But good breeders screen dogs for congenital conditions. Jerold Bell, D.V.M., a clinical associate professor of genetics at Tufts University’s school of veterinary medicine, recommends visiting caninehealthinfo.org to find out which dogs need which tests. Still, DNA carries more than disease potential. See which breeds’ traits suit you, with help from Dr. Bell and Sandra Sawchuk, D.V.M., M.S., a clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

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WorldMags.net DOES IT WORK? SENSODYNE REPAIR AND PROTECT TOOTHPASTE WORTH IT SKIP IT

The claim: This paste protects sensitive teeth by repairing vulnerable spots. The reality: It really works, researchers in Italy recently confirmed. The outermost layer of your teeth can wear down from mechanical factors, such as teeth grinding, or from erosive chemicals, like acids found in some foods. This exposes tiny tubes in the next layer of tooth tissue, and these tubes contain nerve fibers, says study author Claudio Poggio, M.D., D.D.S., an associate professor of dentistry at the University of Pavia. He and his team found that Sensodyne Repair and Protect almost completely fills those tubes, blocking your nerves from pain as a result. Plus, minerals in the paste help repair the collagen network that protects teeth from further damage, he says.

I think I do a pretty good job when I shave. Is preshave really worth it? FRANK, SAN DIEGO, CA

The answer isn’t cut-and-dried: It depends on your face and skin. Preshave products reduce drag and moisturize your skin, so they’re use-

ful for guys prone to nicks, bumps, or razor burn, says Bruce Robinson, M.D., F.A.A.D., an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. For other men, a dollop of shaving gel or cream on a wet face may be enough to ensure a smooth shave. A compromise is a razor with glide strips. Most of them contain polyethylene glycol or a similar compound that hydrates hair, making it more pliable and easier to shave, says Dr. Robinson. We like the Gillette Fusion ProGlide ($10, amazon.com). For ideas on shaving products and other face savers, check out our 2014 Grooming Awards in this issue.

I’m always overthinking problems. How can I get my mind to stop? COLLIN, RALEIGH, NC

Don’t hit the brakes; turn the wheel. Whatever the problem—relationship, work, family—you’ll feel better if you keep moving forward, doing something. Dwelling on the future can be frustrating, exhausting, and even pointless because you can’t completely control what’s going to happen, says psychiatrist Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., president of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation in New York City. “Get rid of the notion that you have to fix everything at once,” he says. Instead, try writing down the steps you’ll take to set a solution in motion, Dr. Borenstein suggests. Then list at least three doable goals within each of the larger steps you’ve outlined. Give yourself a break and hit the gym or read a book for a half hour to regain perspective, says Dr. Borenstein. Then dive back in. As you cross things off your list, you’ll see your progress and regain a feeling of control, he says. Finally, to fend off excess rumination in the future, try meditation. In a new Canadian study, eight weeks of a mindfulness-based stress-reduction

TIM, HAMPTON, VA

BRIAN, SEATTLE, WA

Reality check: You’re only good at planks if you can hold one for at least two minutes while maintaining perfect form. If you can do that, then it’s time to try the same-sided bird dog, a movement that demands coordination, balance, and stability, says Dean Somerset, C.S.C.S., medical and rehabilitation coordinator at World Health in Edmonton, Alberta. “You have to use all aspects of your core, from your pelvic floor to your diaphragm, obliques, spinal muscles, and even your shoulder stabilizers,” he says.

Stop sitting like a caveman at work. Hunching in front of a screen keeps muscles contracted, restricting bloodflow and oxygen and forming knots. Use an adjustable chair with armrests “so you aren’t wearing your shoulders as earrings,” says Julie Zuleger, Ph.D., a lecturer in human kinetics and health education at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. Keep your screen 15 to 24 inches away and adjust fonts so you won’t lean to read, she says. Then do these stretches three or four times a day. Hold each for 15 seconds.

DIRECTIONS

NECK

ARMS AND BACK

CHEST

Tilt your head right, then left. Bring your chin to your chest and hold; then gently look up at the ceiling. Rotate your head to the right, then the left.

Clasp your hands and push up. Hold, release, and repeat three to five times. Then stand, arms up. Bend at your waist to your right, hold, and repeat left.

Interlace your fingers behind your back. Inhale and pull your arms back and up while sticking out your chest. Hold, and release. Do it three to five times.

20 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Drop down on all fours with your arms straight and your knees and hips bent 90 degrees. Brace your core. Then lift your left arm and left leg off the floor and extend them directly outward so they form a straight line with your left shoulder and glutes. Pause, and bring them back in without letting them touch the floor. That’s 1 rep. Do 5 to 8 reps on your left, and then switch sides and repeat on your right. That’s 1 set; do 2 or 3 sets.

B E T H B I S C H O F F ( p h o t o g r a p h s) , J O E L K I M M E L (s t r e t c h i n g i l l u s t r a t i o n s) , M a s t e r f i l e (t o o t h b r u s h)

How can I keep knots from forming in my neck and shoulders?

I’m good at planks. How do I challenge my abs and obliques?

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IT’S

RARE TO FIND A MEDIUMBODIED

RED WINE SO

WELL DONE.

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SantaMargherita.us

WorldMags.net program helped people limit their overthinking. Find a class at w3.umassmed. edu/MBSR/public/searchmember.aspx.

I keep hearing about a weightloss supplement called garcinia cambogia. What’s the deal?

Does selenium really prevent cancer? I figure it can’t hurt to take a selenium supplement.

Just say “No deal.” Despite some recent hype, this supplement is actually old news. About 20 years ago, some people thought that the hydroxycitric acid from the fruit of this Southeast Asian plant could suppress appetite and inhibit fat production. But little solid research backed up that claim, and people lost interest instead of weight. Fast-forward to today, and guess what? The research is still unimpressive, says MH nutrition advisor Alan Aragon, M.S. Even in the few studies that suggested the supplement was effective, the weight loss was negligible. “This stuff is just a rip-off,” Aragon says. A better plan: Reduce portions of the foods you already eat and like, and don’t force down the foods you dislike, regardless of how “healthy” they’re touted to be. The key to losing weight is sticking to a plan, he says, and the key to that is honoring personal preference.

JASON, HOBOKEN, NJ

Figure again. Once touted as superheroes, selenium capsules may be more like Kryptonite. In fact, taking selenium supplements may actually increase your risk of prostate cancer if your current levels are already high enough, a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests. “The optimal daily selenium intake is around 55 micrograms, and the doses you see in these single supplements can be two to six times that,” says study coauthor Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. You’d need that much only if you have a deficiency, which is pretty unlikely because the typical American diet contains plenty of selenium, says Kristal. One 3-ounce serving of cooked yellowfin tuna, for instance, has 92 micrograms of the mineral. You probably also consume a good deal of selenium in grains, meats, and poultry, says Kristal. If you pop a multivitamin, select one that has less than 55 micrograms.

Should I purchase one of those water filters that claim to remove pharmaceuticals? DAVE, ALLENTOWN, PA

Maybe, though not for that reason. Yes, the idea that your water could be harboring some of your neighbor Bob’s blood pressure meds is creepy, and a recent EPA study found that most municipal wastewater sources tested contained traces of antihypertensives, antidepressants, and antibiotics. But don’t overreact: The concentration of these drugs is thought to be too small to pose a risk. Still, filtering your water is smart, says Shane Snyder, Ph.D., codirector of the Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants. That’s because substances called endocrine disruptors are creeping into water supplies, mostly from farm runoff and factory waste. These hormone-like contaminants can contribute to obesity and even feminize fish. Play it safe with an activated carbon or reverse-osmosis filter system, Snyder says. Contaminants stick to the carbon, while reverse osmosis forces water molecules through tiny holes that don’t let the bad stuff through. Buy an NSF-certified water purifier, he says, and change your filters by their expiration date to keep out another contaminant—bacteria. 22 MENSHEALTH.COM | January/February 2014

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TOM, BASKING RIDGE, NJ

I’ve been going to a hookah lounge. It’s safer than cigarettes, right? DON, ARLINGTON, VA

What are you smoking, dude? Don’t let the fancy rigging fool you: Sucking on a hookah is as dangerous as any other kind of smoking. Sure, it’s a water pipe, the tobacco may be flavored, and it feels social. But it’s hardly safe, says Mary Martinasek, Ph.D., an assistant professor of public health at the University of Tampa. Studies estimate that in a typical session, which usually lasts at least 45 minutes, you can inhale about 10 times as much carbon monoxide, 40 times as much tar, and 30 times as many of some carcinogens as from a single cigarette. What’s more, just two hours in a hookah lounge can cause nausea, headaches, and dizziness in some smokers and even in nonsmokers just hanging out. That’s because of the carbon monoxide emanating from the hookah’s charcoal, which even the tobacco-free kind contains. Still aren’t ready to put down the pipe? A study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that even occasionally smoking a tobacco-free hookah can impair recovery of your lung cells, which can contribute to future lung diseases. Sharing a pipe can also increase your risk of the common cold and even more serious diseases, such as TB, Martinasek warns. Have a question? We’ve got answers! Ask at MensHealth.com/experts.

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WorldMags.net 5 / BRAIN CELLS SUCCUMB

Without oxygen, your brain cells start to die off within minutes. Depending on the brain region and number of cells affected, symptoms and complications can range from dizziness and hellacious headaches to paralysis, coma, and even death.

4 / A CLOG FORMS

As blood flows past the buildup, pieces of plaque break loose and float through your bloodstream and toward your brain, where a clot can become stuck in a tiny cerebral artery. Blood and its precious cargo, oxygen, cannot reach the brain cells fed by that artery, causing an ischemic stroke.

3 / ARTERIAL WALLS STIFFEN

Your immune system deploys specialized white blood cells to break down the plaque, but those cells can’t break it down. Instead, they combine into “foam cells,” which spur inflammation. Your arteries’ smooth muscle cells form a hard cover over the mixture, stiffening your arterial walls. This pushes your blood pressure even higher.

2 / TINY RIPS OCCUR

Under that stress, microscopic tears form in the innermost layer of your arteries. Your body tries to repair the damage by churning out clot-forming platelets. Other molecules, including LDL (bad) cholesterol, cellular debris, and calcium, become trapped inside the artery wall, forming plaque.

1 / THE PRESSURE RISES

Stroke rates among the young are on the rise. The culprit: hypertension. Daniel Lackland, Dr.P.H., a professor of neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, explains how high BP harms your brain. BY K. ALEISHA FETTERS 24 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Like a torrent of water rushing through a skinny hose, high blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher) forces your arteries to stretch more than they should.

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I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y G E O R G E M Y E R S

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MA> B<HGB< F>G L ?K:@K:G<> :O:BE :;E> :M =BEE :K= L WorldMags.net

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METRO GRADES

Ripped City THERE ARE A LOT OF SIGHTS TO SEE IN MEMPHIS—GRACELAND,

Beale Street, Sun Studio—but you won’t find Chiseled Citizens on any itinerary. The city ranked last in flex appeal, which is a long way down from the summit of sculpted, a.k.a. Denver. While the Mile High City boasts one of the highest percentages of people who weight-train, folks in Memphis are more likely to pick up a fork than a dumbbell. “The comfort food that is served is often a way of helping people cope with life’s challenges,” says Marian Levy, Dr.P.H., R.D., assistant dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis. “Plus, the ‘ripped’ lifestyle is not a cultural phenomenon here.” —GILLIAN FRANCELLA

Buff Bodies

Flabby Physiques

DENVER, CO

100 MEMPHIS, TN

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

99 DETROIT, MI

SEATTLE, WA

98 CORPUS CHRISTI, TX

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

97 EL PASO, TX

ANCHORAGE, AK

96 LAREDO, TX

WASHINGTON, DC

95 BUFFALO, NY

AUSTIN, TX

94 SAN ANTONIO, TX

PORTLAND, OR

93 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

AURORA, CO

92 PHILADELPHIA, PA

10 BOISE CITY, ID

91 SAN BERNARDINO, CA

For full rankings, go to MensHealth.com/metrogrades.

THE DNA OF ABS

You already know what causes your head to swivel when you’re at the beach, but how about hers? A study from the Australian National University found that women perceived a man’s shoulder-to-hip ratio to be more important for determining his attractiveness than his height or even his penis size. (Yes, skip the Speedo.) But that’s good, because while we can’t make you taller or, you know, longer, we can help you shrink your waist (see below) and broaden your upper body (go to MensHealth.com/V-shape).

FLACCID PENIS SIZE ( i n ) 2 3 4 5

WHAT ATTRACTS WOMEN

Put the “V” in Your Vacation

1.15 1.20 1.25 1.30 1.35 1.40 SHOULDERS ( i n ) DIVIDED BY HIPS ( i n ) LEAST ATTRACTIVE

1.45

MOST ATTRACTIVE

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

1 / THE DIET

2 / THE WORKOUT

3 / THE REST

Don’t play the hunger game. “If you cut too many calories from your diet too quickly, you’ll sacrifice muscle mass,” says MH nutrition advisor Alan Aragon, M.S. Start by cutting 250 to 500 calories a day, which will help you lose 1 pound of fat every week. When your weight loss stalls for three or four weeks in a row, cut another 250 calories.

You’ll never achieve a state of shredded if you don’t exercise intensely enough, says Tyler English, author of the Natural Bodybuilding Bible. What qualifies as intense enough? Three total-body circuits a week. (See MensHealth.com/ spartacus.) “Keep your rest periods short and the intensity level high,” English says.

Your body needs “off days” in order to keep burning fat and building muscle, but don’t spend them with your feet up. English’s Rx: Each day off, do 3 or 4 one-minute planks to stimulate your core. And to prime your body for the next workout, include 15 minutes of mobility work and foam rolling, targeting your hips, calves, and back.

26 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

7.8 BODY FAT PERCENTAGE OF THE AVERAGE GUY WHO’S BEEN TRAINING TO BE A BODYBUILDER OR WEIGHTLIFTER FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS Source: Acta Diabetologica

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METHODOLOGY FOR RANKINGS: Number

of gyms, trainers, and C.S.C.S.’s per capita (SimplyMap, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Strength and Conditioning Association); percentage of households with people who lift weights and buy “high-protein” food (SimplyMap); and percentage of people who do muscle-strengthening exercise twice a week (CDC)

K Y L E B E A N ( p h o t o - i l l u s t r a t i o n) , G e t t y I m a g e s (a b s)

3 Steps to a Six-Pack

If you’ve ever told yourself that underwear models just have good genes, you’re not far off. Every guy has a different “set point,” a minimum percentage of fat his body tries to hold on to for survival, says Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., C.S.C.S. Think a high set point is why your abs are still invisible? Lower it. Pick a date you want to be ripped by, and then begin “3 Steps to a SixPack” (below left) six months out—you’ll need the time. “The lower your body fat drops, the harder it is to drop it further,” says Schoenfeld.

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JUNE 2014

If you crack open a cold one after a half marathon or adventure race, choose carefully: Australian research suggests that low-alcohol beer with a pinch of salt added can help you rehydrate better than a boozier brew would. This works only if the beer is 3.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) or less; otherwise the benefit vanishes, says study author Ben Desbrow, Ph.D. Try Miller 64 or Budweiser’s Select 55, or mix your favorite with a nonalcoholic beer. A combo of Sam Adams Boston Lager and O’Doul’s, for instance, yields 2.7 percent ABV total. And don’t forget the salty pretzels!

P H O T O G R A P H S B Y T R AV I S R AT H B O N E

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June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 29

WorldMags.net Why She Fakes It

MORE OFTEN CITED

Women who pretend to orgasm during intercourse are often trying to make you feel good or amp up their own arousal, a Temple University study says. Or they’re just tired. Some of the reasons: TO MAKE YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL SO YOU KNOW YOU CAN PLEASE HER SO YOU DON’T FEEL INADEQUATE TO REWARD YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT YOU EXPECT HER TO REACH ORGASM TO MAKE SEX MORE INTENSE TO TURN HERSELF ON SHE THINKS IT’S SEXY SHE’S AFRAID SHE WON’T ORGASM

LESS OFTEN CITED

SHE WANTS TO GO TO SLEEP

HUNG LIKE HERCULES? She may actually prefer a mere mortal.

SHE ISN’T ENJOYING HERSELF SHE’S ASHAMED SHE CAN’T ORGASM

Downsize your assumptions: Men think a 7-inch erection is ideal, but women actually prefer an inch less, a new study in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinity reveals. Not only did women not consider a larger-than-average penis desirable, but their ideal size matched that of the average package. “The mythology of the oversize penis comes from men’s desires, not women’s. It’s a way men size each other up,” says Brandy Engler, Psy.D., an L.A. sex therapist. In fact, a giant erection can be uncomfortable for some women, Engler says.

IS SHE BORED ON ALL FOURS? The primal heat of doggy-style sex may leave her cold. In a new Journal of Sexual Medicine study, not one woman who consistently climaxed said sex on all fours was her favorite position. They preferred to be on top, for better clitoral stimulation, says author Susan Oakley, M.D. In doggy-style, have her tilt her butt up so your penis pushes against her front vaginal wall, making indirect clitoral stimulation more likely.

Turn Her Crank ON OUR RADAR

For late-breaking sex news and tips, go to news. MensHealth.com.

30 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Sex is easy, rider. When asked to rate the attractiveness of Tour de France cyclists, women favored the best Tour performers, a new study in Biology Letters found. But here’s the crazy part: The women just looked at portraits of the riders and didn’t know how well they raced, says study author Erik Postma, Ph.D. Possible reasons for the finding: Athletic ability may translate to appealing self-confidence; or physical prowess may be associated with facial symmetry, an aspect of attractiveness, says Postma.

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Percentage of men who think diet, exercise, or drugs might enlarge their penis. (These don’t work. Ignore the spam!) Source: Psychology of Men & Masculinity

EDITED BY L AUR A TEDESCO

A l l b u l l e t i n s : J U S T I N P E R V O R S E ( i c o n s) , E d G a b r i e l s / H a l l e y R e s o u r c e s ( f o o d s t y l i n g ) , M e g u m i E m o t o / A n d e r s o n H o p k i n s ( p r o p s t y l i n g )

SHE’S SELFCONSCIOUS

NEW

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GIVE YOUR JOINTS AN EDGE. *

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Introducing Edge from Osteo Bi-Flex.® Edge helps strengthen your joints with our exclusive Joint Shield™ formula... and provides added beneﬁts for muscle health or energy support.* Are your joints ready for action?

Find it in the vitamin aisle. Learn more @ OsteoBiFlexEdge.com Available At: Individual results may vary. 5-LOXIN® ADVANCED is a trademark of PL Thomas - Laila Nutra, LLC. U.S. Patent #8,551,496 and patents pending. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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14-OB-1036dr

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Beat Father Time

Men in their 20s and 30s still clock the fastest Ironman triathlon times—but guys in the 40-and-up age group are gaining on them. 750 650

700

BAND IT LIKE BECKHAM

TOTAL TIME ( M I N ) 500 550 600

When it comes to your athletic longevity, don’t take chances— use a rubber. Doing resistance-band exercises can help bolster neglected leg muscles and prevent injury, a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests. Elite soccer players who performed a hip exercise that incorporated the bands were able to strengthen their inner thighs by 30 percent. “The hip adductor muscles are stressed substantially in soccer and other sports that call for high-speed direction changes,” says Kristian Thorborg, Ph.D., the study’s lead researcher. If those muscles are weak, the stress shifts to the groin area, which is why groin injuries are among the most common in the game. Protect yourself, no matter what your sport, by including the exercise below in your workout.

Try It! Loop a resistance band around a pole, threading one end through the other one so the band is secure. That’s the anchor point. Stand with the anchor to your right and loop the band around your right ankle. Take a step left (away from the anchor) so the band goes taut. Lift your right leg and let the band pull it toward the anchor. Then pull your right leg to your left so your feet touch. Reverse the move. Do 3 sets of 15 reps with each leg twice a week.

AGE 55–59 50–54 45–49 40–44 35–39 30–34 25–29 18–24

1995–98

1999–2002

2003–06

Percentage increase in your endurance capacity after you consume a 16-ounce energy drink Source: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

2007–10

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

DON’T TWIST IT Chasing after good form can slow you down. Just do what comes naturally.

Heeling Power Landing on your heel does not make you a plodder. Runners who hit the ground heel first expend less effort than forefoot and midfoot strikers do, a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found. Rear-foot strikers used nearly 10 percent less energy than midfoot and forefoot strikers did at the same speed. “You shouldn’t necessarily change the way you run,” says John Davis, coach at RunnersConnect. Unless you’re chronically injured, says Davis, running against your natural instinct can reduce your efficiency.

Focus Group ON OUR RADAR

For late-breaking cardio news and tips, go to news. MensHealth.com.

32 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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See success, be a success. In a UC Riverside study, a vision-boosting computer game helped baseball players sharpen their visual acuity by 31 percent. That translated to more hits and fewer strikeouts for batters who finished the program, which consisted of 30 sessions lasting 25 minutes each. Improve your game and power up your own visual virtuosity by downloading the $6 game to your computer or iPad: Go to ultimeyesvision.com. EDITED BY MICHAEL E ASTER

LUNA ROSSA CHALLENGER OF THE 34TH AMERICA’S CUP

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MACY’S AND MACYS.COM

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WorldMags.net 1

2 Chug Chocolate! Come to the dark side. Milk mixed with highfiber cocoa powder may help your cholesterol profile, say scientists in Spain. After drinking about 2 cups of the mixture every day for four weeks, people saw their HDL (good) cholesterol rise 6 percent more than when they drank plain moo juice. Credit cocoa’s polyphenols, which may boost a major protein in HDL, says researcher Beatriz Sarriá, Ph.D. Try Navitas Naturals powder ($10, navitasnaturals.com).

DON’T WAFFLE Smarter choices may help your head and your heart.

Breakfast That Serves You Fill your produce prescription: A French study shows that 1 increasing your vitamin C intake may lower your stroke risk. The vitamin regulates levels of nitric oxide, which aids bloodflow, says study author Stéphane Vannier, M.D. To make sure you hit at least the recommended 90 milligrams a day, eat 1 cup of fruit salad made from any combo of oranges, strawberries, papaya, kiwi, and mango. All pack more nutrients than a supplement—and taste better too.

QUICK BITE

Broccoli and Fontina Frittata

This recipe, adapted from the cookbook Brassicas, provides a nice dose of brainboosting tyrosine.

34 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

1 cup shredded fontina cheese and add six eggs beaten with ½ tsp salt. Cook until the eggs set around the edges, about 2 minutes, transfer to the oven, and bake until a knife tip inserted into the frittata comes out clean, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully remove the hot pan using an oven mitt. Slice and serve. Makes 4 servings

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In grams, the average guy’s protein intake at breakfast. (We recommend at least 30. To pull it off, see Muscle Bulletin.) Source: USDA

E D I T E D B Y PA U L K I TA

Sang An (frit tata)

For late-breaking nutrition news and tips, go to news. MensHealth.com.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat a 10-inch oven-safe, nonstick pan over medium and add 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves. When the garlic sizzles, add 2 cups of bite-size broccoli florets and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Stir in ¼ tsp salt and 2 Tbsp water. Sauté until the broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Top with

3 Be an Egg Head Crack open some brain food: Tyrosine may sharpen you mentally, a Dutch study found. People who consumed 2 grams of this amino acid—found in eggs and cheese—did 10 percent better on mental reflex tests than those who ate none. Study author Lorenza Colzato, Ph.D., says tyrosine may amp up production of dopamine, which is linked to brainpower. You’d need to eat eight large eggs to hit 2 grams of tyrosine, but a lower amount may provide some benefit.

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ADVERTORIAL

WorldMags.net R OB SMITH – RUGBY PL AYER

BEHIND THE MUSCLE PHOTO BY ROB SMITH

ROB’S SUMMER WORKOUT OUTDOOR FAT BURNER • 4 times, 10–15 sec. rest between each: ~ 50-yard sprint • 3 rounds, no rest between each; increase reps (10, 15 and 20) each round: ~ Burpees ~ Mountain climbers ~ Jumping jacks • 4 times, 10–15 sec. rest between each: ~ 50-yard sprint

here’s ripped, and then there’s Rob Smith ripped. Complete with serious agility, titanic tackling ability and incredible strength. As a gifted rugby football club player rising among the ranks, he’s a serious athlete dedicated to fitness, physique and lifestyle. How does Rob heat up his workouts for summer? He takes them outside, hitting the basketball court with a buddy and running sprints at the field to mix up his high-powered lifting routine. He also takes along Isopure Zero Carb Protein Drink in one of his favorite flavors — Blue Raspberry — for 100% whey protein isolate to keep his muscles strong and lean, plus crystal-clear refreshment that tastes great in the summer heat. Q

To ﬁnd out more about Rob and Isopure, check out TheIsopureCompany.com/Rob

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Meet the man behind the muscle at TheIsopureCompany.com/Rob #MoreThanMuscle

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WorldMags.net A ZEN WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT START AT THE BOTTOM To whittle your middle, grow tree trunks for legs. Muscular legs can help you fend off belly fat, according to a study from Japan. People with the most muscle mass on their legs had the least visceral fat—the dangerous kind that surrounds organs. Compared with smaller muscles, your leg muscles burn more fat before it can deposit around your organs, explains study author Michio Shimabukuro, M.D., Ph.D. Find some leg-building exercise options at MensHealth. com/workout-center (select the “quads” link).

If you want to eat less, try an exercise—of the mind. A study from the Netherlands reports that a brief meditation may help you control your appetite. Hungry people ate fewer cookies after a 14-minute “body scan,” during which they shifted their attention to different body parts and noticed their sensations, than those who didn’t do the exercise. The meditation made them more accepting of their feelings of hunger and satiety, an effect that may have reduced their desire to consume high-calorie foods, says study author David Marchiori, Ph.D. Try something similar: Download the body scan from the UCLA Mindfulness Meditation Awareness Center (marc.ucla.edu).

Average number of pounds lost attributed to calorie counting among people in a multipronged weight-loss program

No More Fat Tuesdays

Source: Obesity Reviews

Pain-Free Losses? ON OUR RADAR

Some side effects may be good for you. Here’s one example: In a new study from Japan, mice fed flurbiprofen, an anti-inflammatory med widely prescribed for arthritis, didn’t gain as much weight as rodents that ate drug-free chow. The researchers say that unlike other pain relievers, flurbiprofen reduces the accumulation of “unfolded proteins” that contribute to fat-cell development. Further research will help determine whether this anti-inflammatory might someday be prescribed as a weight-loss remedy for humans.

38 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

For late-breaking weight-loss news and tips, go to news. MensHealth.com.

Use guilt wisely: A study from Finland shows that slim people eat less on weekdays to counteract piggish weekends. People who lost weight were often heavier on Sundays or Mondays. They likely ate less during the week, creating a “negative energy balance” that offset weekend indulgences, says study author Anna-Leena Orsama, M.Sc. Her advice: Buy a scale that links to an app so you can track weight fluctuations long-term.

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WEEKEND WEAR Your belt should feel a little looser by Friday.

E D I T E D B Y J U L I E S T E WA R T

calvinkleinbeauty.com

macyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and macys.com

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time canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touch us. celebrating 25 years.

anniversarWorldMags.net y edition for men and women

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Percentage rise in your risk of metabolic syndrome (a precursor to diabetes) per hour you sit, averaged over a weekend Source: University of Tasmania

UNFRIEND THE BLUES

A Better PSA Test ON OUR RADAR

Many doctors skip PSA testing for prostate cancer due to concerns about its accuracy. But researchers at Mercer University and Georgia Southern University may soon have a better option. Their test detects cancer based on the levels of three fats in a man’s blood. Prostate tumors increase these fats, but your diet doesn’t, according to study author Uddhav P. Kelavkar, Ph.D. The payoff: fewer false positives and false negatives. Pending more study, the test may help M.D.’s detect tumors and pick treatments.

Call it the positivepeople payoff: Reading feel-good updates on Facebook may boost your mood, according to a new study from UC San Diego. The researchers found that when a person posted something positive on Facebook, his or her friends tended to post more happy statuses soon after. Study author James Fowler, Ph.D., says we evolved to copy emotions because it promotes bonding and aids survival. And you don’t have to wait for someone else to start the domino effect. “It pays to post positive messages because some will bounce back; you make your friends happy, and they reciprocate,” Fowler says.

DON’T PLAY CHICKEN Half of last year’s salmonella outbreaks began with poultry.

LOOK COOL, FEEL BETTER

Nuke It Right or Puke Tonight If you hurry in the kitchen, you could hurl in the bathroom. Taking frozen food out of the microwave too soon can make you sick, a CDC report reveals. Researchers who studied a salmonella outbreak linked to frozen entrées found that up to 12 percent of infected people failed to let their meal rest, as the package directed, after cooking it. Frozen meals may contain raw ingredients that could harbor harmful bacteria, and the post-zap standing time helps your food finish cooking, making it safe to eat, says study author Leslie Hausman, R.N., M.P.H. Consider those few minutes insurance that you won’t hug the toilet later. 40 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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For late-breaking health news and tips, go to news. MensHealth.com.

This allergy season, slip on some symptom relief. Researchers in Turkey say that wearing sunglasses may help prevent itchy, watery eyes. People who went sans shades for three weeks needed 10 times more antihistamines than those who wore sunglasses daily during that time. That may be because the lenses keep airborne pollen from landing on your eyes and activating mast cells, the culprits behind inflammation and irritation. For shades that will keep your eyes itch-free, protect you from harmful UV radiation, and have you looking great, check out “Where Skin Cancer Is Hiding” in this issue. E D I T E D B Y J U L I E S T E WA R T

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PILLAR OF POWER To build serious muscle, try this daily meal plan.

1 Breakfast (36 g protein) SCRAMBLED EGGS

3 whole eggs, 4 whites The whites add protein without as many calories. OATMEAL

⅔ cup Oatmeal contains betaglucan, a fiber that can help boost immunity.

The New Math of Muscle Are you getting enough? Consuming 30 grams of protein at each meal can help you build more muscle, research in the Journal of Nutrition reveals. When study participants ate that amount, their protein synthesis level—the key to muscle growth—was 25 percent higher than that of people who skewed their consumption by loading their protein at dinner, as most Americans do. Spiking your protein synthesis levels a few times a day gives your body more opportunity to add muscle. Power up on protein four times a day to aid your workout gains and build more lean mass.

2 Lunch (48 g protein) CHICKEN BREAST

5 oz For quality protein that’s affordable and easy to fix, chicken is a great choice.

QUINOA

⅔ cup With about twice the protein of white rice, quinoa packs the amino acids you need to build muscle. SAUERKRAUT

½ cup Fermented foods offer natural probiotics, and some can even help decrease body fat, say researchers in Korea.

3 Dinner (44 g protein) STEAK

5 oz Steak provides protein and creatine, an amino acid derivative that can beef up your power in the gym.

BAKED POTATO

The carbs and potassium in potatoes help refuel and repair your body after hard training sessions.

Eat for Size and Strength A gun-sculpting diet is a matter of type and timing. To stay primed with protein all day long, follow the user-friendly meal plan at left, designed by Men’s Health nutrition advisor Mike Roussell, Ph.D. Each combo provides at least 30 grams of protein to provide a host of muscle-building benefits.

44 Additional pounds that powerlifters deadlifted when they used a hex bar instead of a straight bar

Source: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

4 Before Bed

Stay Ripped for Life

(31 g protein) LOW-FAT COTTAGE CHEESE

1 cup It contains plenty of slowdigesting casein protein. WALNUTS

¼ cup These nuts are packed with polyunsaturated fats, which can help you pack on lean muscle mass. BLUEBERRIES

½ cup They’re a potent source of free-radical-fighting antioxidants. 42 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

ON OUR RADAR

Be jacked in the future: Older people with more relative muscle mass tend to live longer than those with less, a study in the American Journal of Medicine reports. To build mass that lasts, do deep squats twice a week, varying your reps each session. Past research has shown that squatting until your hips are below your knees activates your glutes significantly more than squatting until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

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For late-breaking muscle news and tips, go to news. MensHealth.com.

EDITED BY MICHAEL E ASTER

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NO INGREDIENT SHOULD HAVE A NUMBER IN IT. We’re committed to making our food the right way and only using 100% natural ingredients, 100% of the time. A cup of yogurt won’t change the world, but how we make it might. Learn how at chobani.com

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YOUR EDGE—IN EVERY THING! EDITED BY CLINT CARTER

“I want to explore. I want to get lost, figure it out, and then find my way home.” M a t t h e w Tu r l e y

—AARON CHASE, PRO MOUNTAIN BIKER

Beginner’s Guide to Cycling P. 46

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WorldMags.net Guide to Cycling

Find a New Gear All-purpose bikes don’t exist. Time to set some goals, choose your wheels, and spin your way to a flatter belly. BY CLINT CARTER

A BICYCLE ISN’T AN ALL-PURPOSE TOOL. IT’S A

precision instrument designed to conquer a particular type of terrain. “Often people want to buy one bike to do everything well,” says Zac Daab, owner of Cascade Bicycle Studio in Seattle. “Generally what they end up with is something that doesn’t do anything well.” So before you blow your cash on another set of worthless wheels, ask yourself: Do you prefer to bomb the backwoods, rack up the road miles, or crush your daily commute? By choosing a bike with a specific purpose in mind and then developing the skills, you’ll stay motivated. Plus, you’ll finally put that fuel tank on your belly to good use—by burning it off as you build strength.

Reduction in a cyclist’s risk of severe head injury if he’s wearing a helmet during a car collision Source: Accident Analysis & Prevention

769

Number of calories a 190-pound man burns for every hour he spends mountain biking

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MOUNTAIN BIKING “There’s no better way to enjoy the view from a peak than by looking down from your bike,” says Aaron Chase, a pro mountain biker based in New Jersey. And the workout doesn’t end once you’ve climbed to the top of the trail. Canadian researchers found that even with gravity doing the work, your heart rate stays in a high aerobic zone.

DON’T BE A STIFF When your body ` is rigid, you’re more likely to hurt yourself. “The best tip I can give anyone is to stay loose on the bike,” says Chase. That’ll help you react quickly to roots, rocks, and sudden dropoffs. “People try to lean back and tense up on steep

SLOW YOUR ROLL `

The front brake carries about two-thirds of your stopping power, says Chase. But if it’s the only brake you use, you’ll hurl yourself over the handlebar. To regulate speed without going face-first into the dirt, always keep one index finger on each lever during the ride and work both brakes in unison to avoid building too much steam. If the levers aren’t within easy reach, raise or lower them. (They’re adjustable.)

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RIDE, RINSE, REPEAT `

Over time, built-up grit and grime will damage the derailleur, which makes routine cleaning one of the most critical parts of mountain bike maintenance. After a dirty ride, do this: Scrub the chain with a stiffbristled brush and a water-based degreaser. Then blast the frame with a hose and wash the whole bike down with dish soap or a dedicated bike cleaner. Finally, hose it off once more. “Just make sure you’re not washing grease right into your disc brakes,” Chase cautions. “The chemicals can tear them up.” Dry the bike completely, and then finish by relubricating the chain so your ride is ready to go the next time you are.

“T ““THE TTHE TH H HEE BES BBE BEST EST ES ST TTIP TIIP IP I CCA GIV IVVEE CAN AAN N GGIVE IVE IV AANY ANYONE AN NYO NY NYO YON ON NEE IS IS TO STAY LOOSE ON THE BIKE.” CHECK OUT A RACK `

Unless you live right by a trail system, you’ll need to transport your bike somewhere to ride. But that doesn’t mean you need a pickup truck. You can mount a carrying rack, like Thule’s Raceway 2 Bike 9001 ($250, thule.com), to almost any kind of car. It locks on for security, folds flat for easy storage, and infinitely increases the likelihood that your bike won’t end up abandoned in the back of your garage.

P H O T O G R A P H S B Y J A K E S TA N G E L

I llus tr ations by D UST I N WA LL AC E; this page: P ear l Izumi jer sey, F ox shor ts and gloves , Scot t helmet and shoes, Native sunglasses. O p p osi te: Rapha jer sey, shor ts , and gloves; Specialized shoes; La zer Genesis helmet; Oakley sunglasses; Castelli socks.

74%

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BIKE BASICS

1 Disc Brakes Unlike caliper brakes, discs retain their full stopping power even when they’re dusty or wet. In fact, moisture makes them more efficient, Chase says.

2 Do-It-All Wheels Rims come in three sizes: 26, 27.5, and 29 inches. That middle number, 27.5, gives you the ideal balance between maneuverability and stability.

3 Full Suspension A “hardtail” bike will cost about $1,000 less, but a model with a rear shock— like this one—will be safer and more fun on a bumpy trail.

4 Lift Kit A switch on this bike can raise the bottom bracket 7 millimeters to provide extra clearance on rough terrain. THE BIKE (left)

Scott Spark 760 ($1,900, scott-sports.com)

BIKE BASICS

1 Tall Head Tube Even some pro riders stoop too low for max efficiency, says 3D Bike Fit owner Kevin Bailey. If you’re not sitting comfortably, your power will suffer.

2 Weight Watcher For the casual rider, a wheel set at about 2,100 grams is perfect. Lighter models can easily cost several hundred bucks.

3 Compact Ring A standard chain ring has 53 teeth. A compact ring, like this one, has 50. Small difference, but fewer teeth will help you climb hills faster.

4 Leggy Shorts Spandex eases friction; padded chamois inside saves your ass from sore spots. THE BIKE (above)

Specialized Secteur Elite ($1,200, specialized.com)

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ROAD BIKING

Asphalt-ready rigs cost less than mountain bikes and allow you to set out from your front door. “The barrier to entry is lower,” says Kevin Bailey, owner of 3D Bike Fit in San Francisco. That makes daily rides easier—a huge boon for your heart. Cycling 3½ hours a week cuts your risk of cardiovascular disease by 18 percent, say Dutch researchers. GEAR UP FOR GLORY Before you ` go blowing your budget on a $3,000 rig, think about this: Your body will make contact with your bike in just three places—hands, feet, and butt. So it’s worth saving some cash for dedicated gloves, shoes, and shorts. There’s no need to spend more than

CYCLING 3½ HOURS A WEEK CUTS YOUR RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE BY 18 PERCENT.

PULL YOUR PEDALS `

PACK A BIG LUNCH `

SPRING FOR THE FIT `

An efficient pedal stroke transfers about 20 percent of your leg’s power into forward momentum. To hit that number, rethink your rotation. “Most people start at 1 or 2 o’clock and push down, like a piston,” says 3D Bike Fit cofounder Alex Lugosch. But by using cleated shoes to lock into your pedals, you can start the stroke at around 11 and pull up and through the apex of each rotation before pushing down again. “It will force you to engage your glutes and hip flexors,” Lugosch says.

Even if you’re new to the sport, you can ride for hours—but only if you keep your muscles fed. “If you’re out for 90 minutes or more, your body needs fuel,” says Monique Ryan, author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. Gels, bars, and sports drinks will help you cram in the necessary 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates (depending on intensity) for every hour you ride. Then drink up. “Every pound you lose is the equivalent of 16 ounces of sweat,” says Ryan.

By the time you ride 35 miles, you’ll be somewhere near 9,000 pedal rotations. That repetitive motion can lead to an achy back and knees, as well as saddle sores. Avoid all that by dropping $150 or so to have a pro set up your seat, handlebar, and pedal positioning. “It’s pure ergonomics,” says Zac Daab of Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Studio. “A good fit keeps you comfortable and interested in the sport.” Have your bike shop do a fitting or refer you to someone who can.

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June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 47

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BIKE BASICS

1 Greaseless Cog The ideal commuter bike replaces the steel chain with a carbon belt, resulting in a cleaner ride that won’t stain the legs of your khakis as you ride to the office.

2 Hidden Gears 3

An internal gear hub, like the three-speed model here, shifts gears inside the wheel. With fewer moving parts than a traditional derailleur system, it requires less maintenance.

3 Cargo Hauler

With heavy loads, you’ll want more than a backpack. Secure groceries or a laptop using bungee cords or a pannier bag.

4 Fender

Protect yourself from looking like a muddy mess. This fender prevents the blast of mud that would otherwise shoot up your back on wet days. THE BIKE (LEFT)

Novara Arkham ($849, rei.com)

COMMUTING

STAY OFF THE BEATEN PATH Accord` ing to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, 726 cyclists died in crashes in 2012. Using the previous year’s stats, about a third of accidents happen between the commuting hours of 4 and 8 p.m. So instead of simply traveling the same route you 48 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

MAKE A SCENE `

At night, bicyclists overestimate when they become visible to drivers by up to 131 feet, say researchers in Australia. So use bright clothes, reflectors, and nighttime riding lights. And ride in conspicuous spots; on shoulderless roads, take the center of the lane. “It’s perfectly legal,” says Steve Clark, a cycling instructor for the League of American Bicyclists. “And it discourages motorists from attempting to squeeze past you.”

WORRIED ABOUT CARS? ODDS ARE YOU’LL LIVE LONGER THAN THE PASSING DRIVERS. NAIL THE QUICK STOP `

BREAK THE LAW `

When a vehicle pulls out in front of you, your first instinct will be to lock the brakes—a move that could throw you over the handlebar. To avoid eating asphalt, you need to counteract the bike’s bucking by shifting your weight backward, over the rear tire. “As you squeeze both brakes, push yourself back, off the saddle if possible,” says Clark. Practice the technique— away from any traffic— until it starts to become reflexive. “Once you have it down, you’ll be able to stop your bike on a dime,” Clark says.

For the most part, cyclists are expected to follow all motor vehicle laws—stopping at red lights, riding in the direction of traffic, and so on. (Find your state’s law at bikeleague.org.) “But your biggest priority should always be to protect yourself,” says Mionske. For instance, some states mandate that if a bike lane exists, riders must stay inside it. But if that lane runs along a row of parked cars, you risk being taken out by an unexpected car door. In that case, ride just outside the lane, Mionske says.

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70%

Proportion of car-on-bike collisions that take place at intersections Source: Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine

J .C rew T- sh i r t , R a p h a j e a ns , C h r o m e sh o e s , T im b u k 2 C l a r o b ag

Folks in the ride-to-work club are generally happier and less stressed about their commute than even people who walk. Worried about cars? Odds are you’ll live longer than the passing drivers, says Bob Mionske, Olympic cyclist–turnedattorney who specializes in bicycling rights. “Sitting in a car is by far the greater hazard to your health.”

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AVAILABLE AT MACY’S, MACYS.COM AND MONTBLANC BOUTIQUES

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WorldMags.net Guy Gourmet

THIS MONTH’S EXPERT

Kyle Bailey is the busy executive chef of four restaurants in Washington, D.C.: ChurchKey, GBD, Birch & Barley, and The Arsenal at Bluejacket.

With a few simple prep tricks and a ripping-hot grill, you can put your local steakhouse chain to shame. BY LILA BATTIS

Schedule a Rubdown Enhance the beefiness of flank steak with spices: In a small bowl, mix 4 tsp ground coriander, 4 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp freshly ground pepper. Use the tip of a knife to pierce holes in a 12- to 16-ounce flank steak so the rub can penetrate. Massage in the rub; then wrap the steak in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to eight hours. B To protect shrimp from overcooking, you’ll need to baste. For the sauce, boil a medium pot of water, remove it from the heat, and add 6 dried ancho chiles. Let them rehydrate 10 minutes, and then puree them in a blender or food processor with 2 garlic cloves; 1 tsp each dried oregano, paprika, and freshly ground pepper; ½ tsp each ground cumin and cinnamon, and 1 cup ketchup. Thin with water if needed. C

Tackle the Turf Cook the steak first so it can rest and become juicier. Preheat your grill to direct high heat, place the steak over the flame, and cook until well seared, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip it and sear the other side, 3 to 4 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 140°F. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil, and wait 15 minutes. D

Handle the Surf AVOID A MIS-STEAK Slice against the grain for tenderness.

THREE-MINUTE SALSA

Pair this salsa with tortilla chips for a simple appetizer, or better yet, spoon it over the flank steak to amp it up with negligible added calories. You have plenty of time to make it while your steak is chilling in the fridge, post-rubdown. 50 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Combine 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed; ½ red onion, diced; ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice; and 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro.

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As the steak rests, thread 3 peeled, deveined jumbo shrimp onto a pair of soaked wooden skewers. Repeat for a total of 12 shrimp on 4 pairs of skewers. Using a basting brush, coat the shrimp with the sauce. Grill the shrimp, turning and basting every minute or two, until cooked through, about six minutes. Slice the steak and serve with shrimp. Makes 4 servings Per serving 330 calories, 30 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates (8 g fiber), 10 g fat

PH OTO G R A PH S BY S A M K A PL A N

F o o d s t y l i n g : K a r e n E v a n s /A p o s t r o p h e , p r o p s t y l i n g : C a r o l i n e C o l s t o n / H a l l e y R e s o u r c e s; i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y J I M W I N T E R S ( B a i l e y) , R O B E R T H A R K N E S S (s a l s a i n g r e d i e n t s)

Pimp Your Shrimp

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WorldMags.net Guy Gourmet

Salute the Kernel

WHAT DOES THE SHRIMP SAY?

Boil your ears naked and you’ll leave that corny flavor in the pot. Instead, grill them with the husk on to protect the kernels as the natural sugars caramelize.

Learn the language of the seafood label and fish counter and you’ll score a bettertasting catch. Tom Worthington, partner at Monterey Fish Market in San Francisco, helps with the translations.

How to Make It To cook corn right, preheat your grill on medium. Place the ears directly over the heat and grill, turning often, until the husks are charred and the kernels are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove them and use a hand towel or oven mitt to pull off the husks and silk at the same time. Serve them as is or return the cobs to the grill for a brief sear.

TRANSLATION

Tasty! Supermarket shrimp probably came from afar—so they may have been frozen and thawed more than once. Not near a coast? Ask your fishmonger if the shrimp came frozen in one block. In that form, they’re less prone to flavor-leaching temperature fluctuations.

TRANSLATION

Chemical-Laden Choose U.S. wild shrimp over imported farmed varieties because of antibiotic and pesticide use in Asia. U.S. trawling is strictly regulated, so wild U.S.caught varietals are often more planet-friendly than imports. Domestic farmed shrimp, while harder to find, are good too.

TRANSLATION

Impressive! Number ranges, like 16 to 20, refer to the shrimp count per pound. Bigger shrimp are pricier but save you time on shelling. Plus, not only do they look commanding sitting on a skewer or dangling from a martini glass, but they also let you use the word “oxymoron.”

TRANSLATION

Nature-Sealed Think of the shells as freshness shields. So the time you invested in peeling them is repaid in flavor. Just make sure those shells are grayish-green and free of black spots, which may signal decay. Good shrimp should smell briny. If you smell ammonia, back away.

$15, weber.com Coating meat with liquid while grilling protects it. “Without a layer of moisture, you start to overcook and scorch the surface before the inside is done,” says Guy Crosby, Ph.D., author of The Science of Good Cooking. Plus, smoke molecules created when drippings hit the heat are water soluble, so the grilling food absorbs their flavor. Tiny divots in the silicone bristles of Weber’s basting brush help sauces cling.

Make Butter Better! In a small bowl, mix together one stick of softened butter with ½ tsp ground cayenne, ½ tsp honey, and the juice of one lime. Slather this sweet-and-spicy butter blend onto your just-grilled ears.

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R O B E R T H A R K N E S S (s h r i m p s i g n i l l u s t r a t i o n s) , M I T C H M A N D E L ( b r u s h)

The Science of Basting WEBER STYLE STAINLESS STEEL BASTING BRUSH

INSTANT UPGRADE

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AVERAGE thinks libido is a boy band from Mexico

MALE VITALITY, STAMINA AND OVERALL PERFORMANCE IN A SINGLE PACK. GNC.COM

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

WorldMags.net Test Lab

Smoothie Scorecard

Virtuous as they may seem, most brand-name smoothies are polluted with added sugar or soy protein. We looked at 170 options, tossed the ones with offending ingredients, and pored over the stats to find the best.

MAKE NO EXCEPTION If your smoothie’s sugar doesn’t come from fruit, it doesn’t belong in your cup.

FIBER CHAMPS

PROTEIN HEROES

QUICK MEALS

Filling You Up and Fighting Cancer You should consume 38 grams of fiber a day, says MH nutrition advisor Mike Roussell, Ph.D. “But the average guy takes in less than half that,” he says. These smoothies can help out. Supporting Your Workout Routine Flooding your body with protein every three or four hours can speed muscle synthesis, says Roussell. Try one of these around quitting time to prepare for an after-work sweat session. Scoring Nutrition on the Run Fresh fruits and vegetables are ideal but not always convenient. “Low-cal smoothies can be your allies when you need nutrients but lack the time to slow down for solids,” Roussell says.

GRAB-AND-GO OPTIONS 266 61 g 15 g 48 g 2g 90 5g 2g 2g 15 g 320 62 g 6g 48 g 4g

Bolthouse Farms Multi-V Goodness 15.2 oz It tempers the sugar impact with more than 40 percent of your day’s fiber. Still worried about the glycemic load? Drink half the bottle and save the rest. Vega’s Choc-a-lot Protein Smoothie 26 g pack Made from a blend of green vegetables and plant protein (with all the essential amino acids), this powdered mix trounces anything sold in a bottle. Naked Juice AÇaÍ Machine 15.2 oz With a full day’s worth of vitamin A and three days’ worth of vitamin E, this smoothie supplies a major dose of free-radical-fighting antioxidants.

SMOOTHIE BAR BLENDS 230 50 g 8g 38 g 3g 370 67 g 6g 48 g 20 g 270 53 g 6g 37 g 16 g

Jamba Juice Berry UpBEET 16 oz Jamba jacks up the fiber by cutting whole fruit (strawberry, blueberry, mango) with veggie juice (carrot, beet, broccoli, spinach, kale, and lettuce). Jamba Juice Kale-ribbean Breeze + Whey Protein Boost 16 oz The Breeze has 10 grams of natural protein, but if you bolster that with whey, you’ll reach 20 grams—a solid number for building muscle. Starbucks Orange Mango Smoothie 16 oz Starbucks makes nutrition easy to come by: This smoothie, spiked with whey protein, is sold at 11,000-plus locations. —HANNAH McWILLIAMS Calories

54 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Carbs

Fiber

Sugar

Protein

PH OTO G R A PH BY L E V I B R OW N

F o o d s t y l i n g: M at t Vo h r/ H a l l ey R e s o u r c e s , p r o p s t y l i n g: M e g u m i E m o to/A n d e r so n H o p k i ns; i c o ns by H U B E R T T E R E S Z K I E W I C Z

BEST FOR

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WorldMags.net Women

Four things you need to know about women, according to

Gabrielle Union Attention is better than necklaces. “Women across the world would throw stones at me if I didn’t say beautiful jewelry might be just the right thing for some. But you have to know who you’re with. For me, time and effort mean more than anything. My fiancé [Dwyane Wade of Miami Heat fame] doesn’t leave the house or go to sleep at night without telling me he loves me. Even in the middle of the season he finds time to cuddle up with me, if only for a couple of minutes.” Seriously—put the damn seat down. “Falling into the toilet in the middle of the night? Not cute. When your ass hits cold water and you’re half asleep, you’re just mad. There’s nothing okay about it.” We want you to play the field. “You should date a lot! I dated a diverse, interesting crop of men while I was learning who I was, and I strongly suggest doing that. There’s no way you can figure out what your type is if you’ve dated only one kind of person.” Just dust yourself off and carry on.

To n y D u r a n ( U n i o n ) , s t y l i n g : J i l l & J o r d a n / R a c h e l Z o e , h a i r : L a r r y S i m s , m a k e u p : F i o n a S t i l e s

“I’ve gone out with guys who didn’t always get it right, but they learned from their mistakes. That’s all I can ask for— that when you fall on your face and make crappy decisions, you discover something about yourself. That’s what you win.” — INTERVIEW BY LILA BATTIS

STATE OF THE UNION

You may remember her as the standout hot girl from early-2000s movies like Bring It On and Bad Boys II. Under that hotness, Gabrielle Union, 41, is a beer-drinking, ESPN-watching guy’s girl who loves hanging out in sports bars with her three-time NBA champion fiancé. So what’s Dwyane Wade’s secret to keeping his intended interested? “He writes poems,” she says. “He’s that dude.” See Gabrielle in Think Like a Man Too, in theaters this month.

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WorldMags.net The South Rises Again

Women

In a porn site’s survey of states, Mississippi prevailed for staying power: Folks here log about 12 minutes per visit. Source: PornHub.com

RICK, WICHITA, KS

Yes and no: It’s all about the delivery. To sell the cheese, you must demonstrate a great sense of humor and a selfaware mastery of dorkiness. And then you must immediately shift to something less lame. Can you do all that? If so, go for it. But for most guys, I advise a more natural approach. Ask what she’s reading on her Kindle, or if she can recommend a drink for you to order. If you’re confident and conversational, and you can avoid making her feel like a practice run for your rusty pickup routine, then you’ll at least earn her respect.

A woman at my office has great legs, and she caught me checking them out in a meeting. I’m no pig, but by god, those legs! How do I recover? KYLE, SAN DIEGO, CA

JIM, FORT COLLINS, CO

Sure! But also ponder her motivations. If she’s unhappy with her current assets, give your opinion but support her decision. If she thinks you’re unhappy with them, make it clear—through words and actions—that you think they’re awesome. Finally, consider this: Consciously or not, she may be craving attention from other men. If that’s true, think hard about whether she’s the right Mrs. Jim for you.

58 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Don’t beat yourself up over it, Kyle. She knows she has great gams, and you’re not the first colleague she’s caught noticing. It’s possible she didn’t even mind the attention—as long as you looked suitably embarrassed upon being busted. But next time, a little decorum, okay? This is the office, not The Office. Plus, here’s a little secret: There’s something very sexy about a man who doesn’t look, even when he really wants to.

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CHARLES, BROOKLYN, NY

I think my wife and I have hit that sexual plateau everyone warns about. Help! BEN, CHICAGO, IL

Here’s a suggestion: Grab two sheets of paper and give one to her. Sit down together and separately list all the sexy things you’ve never tried together but think you might like to. Aim for at least 15 ideas. Then exchange lists and check off the ones you’re willing to try. It might seem like a silly exercise, but I bet you’ll discover that you both have an adventurous streak. And as a souvenir for the bedroom, you have a sexual to-do list.

Follow Madeline on Facebook at MHGirlNextDoor, and on Twitter at @MHGirlNextDoor.

Want to turn a latenight cocktail into an all-night encore? Let William “Fuzzy” West, director of special projects at Beats Music (“a new kind of streaming music service”), show how it’s done.

BEGIN WITH AUDIO FOREPLAY Start with a sexy bass line—just avoid the obvious slow jams. “That’s like walking into the room with your pants already at your ankles,” says West. Try “What You Won’t Do for Love” by Bobby Caldwell.

GIVE HER SOMETHING FAMILIAR Cue up a couple of known songs by such artists as Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, or Marvin Gaye. Once her hips start to sway, you can move in a little closer.

BRING ON THE SLOW JAMS After five or six songs, it’s finally safe to switch over to a slower, more sensual love song, like John Legend’s “All of Me.” Now make your move.

P H O T O G R A P H B Y M I KO L I M

C U R T I S J I N K I N S ( i c o n) , W E S T O N W E L L S ( H a l l e r) , h a i r a n d m a k e u p: S c o t t M c M a h a n ; Z A C H G R A H A M (c a s s e t t e); s t y l i n g (m a i n p h o t o g r a p h) : S t e p h a n i e Tr i c o l a /s t r i c o l a . c o m , C o s a b e l l a b r a

Do cheesy pickup lines really work?

Let’s do a risk assessment: If you tell your girlfriend, you create a serious rift in that socalled friendship. But if you don’t tell her and she finds out anyway, you may be toast. Are you willing to risk your neck to protect her friend’s? I wouldn’t. If you’re certain it was a pass, go ahead and speak up. But prepare yourself. Your gal won’t be thrilled to find out that her friend is a backstabber, and may even turn the interrogation spotlight on you. Just keep a cool head and answer her questions honestly. That’ll reassure her that it is indeed the friend—not you— who deserves blame.

My fiancée wants implants. Personally, I find them tacky. Can I put in my two cents?

Build a Seduction Playlist

My girlfriend’s good friend made a pass at me. Now what?

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Success isn’t measured in meters. But I’m STROKES away from my personal best. 6:59 SUIT UP. FIRST ONE IN THE POOL. 8:45 CARPOOL DUTY. BUCKLE UP. 10:22 LAND THE PITCH. HELLO, PROMOTION. 3:45 RECHARGE. PURE PROTEIN® BAR. 7:45 FAMILY DINNER. HIT THE PILLOW. Fuel your inner athlete with the winning combination of high protein and great taste in Pure Protein® bars.

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POWER YOUR PURPOSE pureprotein.com

WorldMags.net Best New Workout

TRAINER

Tyler English, C.P.T., P.E.S. BEST FOR

Triggering new muscle growth, boosting metabolism, and incinerating stubborn fat deposits EQUIPMENT

Dumbbells, chinup bar FOCUS

Strength, mobility, weight loss CALORIES BURNED

314* *As measured by a fit 5'11", 175-pound man using a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor

Full-Throttle Muscle Maker Boost your mobility and pack on lean mass with five killer combo moves.

HOW TO DO IT

Stream the follow-along version of this workout: StreamFit.com/MensHealth

21 MINUTES

Perform the following exercises as a circuit, moving from one exercise to the next with 30 seconds of rest between them. Complete 6 reps per exercise for your first circuit, and then try to add another 2 reps per exercise during each successive circuit. Do a total of 4 circuits.

2 Chinup and Knee Raise

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells just outside your shoulders; keep your arms bent and palms facing each other. Squat, and then drive up explosively with your legs as you press the weights straight over your shoulders. Lower the weights and repeat.

Grab a chinup bar using an underhand grip, and hang at arm’s length (a position known as a dead hang) with your legs straight. Pull your chest to the bar, and then raise your knees to your upper abs without rounding your back. Pause, and slowly reverse the move to return to a dead hang.

3 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge and Curl

4 Dumbbell Batwing Row

5 Pushup and Row

Stand holding a pair of dumbbells by your sides. Step backward with your right leg, lowering your body until your left knee is bent 90 degrees. Curl the weights to your shoulders; then lower the weights and return to the starting position. Repeat, this time stepping back with your left leg. That’s 1 rep.

Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and assume a staggered stance, right foot forward. Bend at your hips until your torso is at a 45-degree angle, and allow the weight to hang at arm’s length. Row it to your ribs. Now raise your arm out to your side. Do all your reps, switch arms and legs, and repeat.

Assume a pushup position, gripping a pair of dumbbells and spreading your feet about hip-width apart. Lower your chest until it’s a few inches off the floor, and then push back up to the starting position. Row the left dumbbell to your ribs, lower it, and repeat with the right dumbbell. That’s 1 rep.

60 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y +I S M

J I M W I N T E R S (E n g l i s h), C u l t u r a /C o r e y J e n k i n s /G e t t y I m a g e s ( p h o to g r a p h)

1 Dumbbell Squat and Press

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WorldMags.net Training

ANATOMY OF A KETTLEBELL A

Beginner’s Guide/

A. HANDLE The most common spot to hold—especially for ballistic moves like swings and snatches. B. HORNS Hold these (the sides of the handle) for goblet squats and when the bell is upside down. C. BASE The heaviest part of the bell and where the mass is centered.

Kettlebells Sculpt a stronger, leaner, more athletic body with this ballistic fat-frying muscle tool.

POWER MOVES

Two Kettlebell Exercises Every Man Should Master

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, VERY FEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE

GO BALLISTIC AT HOME Prefer to sweat in private? “Buy three kettlebells: a 16-kilogram, a 24-kilogram, and a 32-kilogram,” says Tsatsouline. “That’s all you need for every move you’ll do.” His choice: First Place kettlebells ($70 to $120, performbetter.com).

TRAINING RULE 1

TRAINING RULE 2

TRAINING RULE 3

Understand How They Work

Know When to Use Them

Focus on Your Form

Unlike a barbell or dumbbell, a kettlebell has a load that’s offset from its handle. “That amplifies the ballistic forces in quick, dynamic movements, effectively making the kettlebell feel heavier than it actually is,” Tsatsouline says. It also places greater demand on your stabilizing muscles, core, and coordination, leading to bigger (and much faster) gains. Plus, because of its thick handle, the kettlebell is a great tool for developing better grip strength, says Tsatsouline.

“Kettlebells are ideal for explosive, total-body exercises, such as swings and snatches,” says Tsatsouline. They’re also good for the overhead press because you get a good stretch at the bottom and a perfect lockout at the top. (See “Power Moves,” right.) As for the triceps extension, biceps curl, and other moves that hit smaller muscle groups, a kettlebell also works just as well as a dumbbell does. But if you’re going heavy (deadlift or bench press, for example), grab a barbell.

A kettlebell’s -balance makes good technique even more important. “Keep your wrists straight,” Tsatsouline says. Bending your wrists raises your risk of strain and doesn’t let you transfer power as effectively between your body and the bell. Also, keep your weight on your heels and your shoulders pulled down and back. “That increases your stability and allows you to generate more power, boosting your performance in every exercise,” says Tsatsouline.

62 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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2 / KETTLEBELL SWING This classic move offers serious power-building and six-pack benefits. You’ll burn about 14 calories a minute (the same as running 6 miles an hour), say University of Wisconsin researchers. DIRECTIONS Set a kettlebell on the floor, spread your feet slightly beyond shoulder width, and grab the handle. Hike the bell between your legs and then thrust your hips forward as you swing it to chest level. Swing it back between your legs. That’s 1 rep. Continue swinging without stopping.

Find more workout tips and total-body challenges by visiting MensHealth.com/fitness.

P h o t o g r a p h b y T R E V O R R E I D , g r o o m i n g : K r i s t a n S e r a f i n o / L a u r a M e r c i e r/ E x c l u s i v e A r t i s t s; i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y B R O W N B I R D ( k e t t l e b e l l ), Z A N D E R D E K K E R (e x e r c i s e s)

1 / KETTLEBELL SINGLE-ARM PRESS A kettlebell is best for this move because “you can start the lift lower, which is safer for your shoulders,” Tsatsouline says. “At the top it pulls your arm back slightly, improving mobility.” DIRECTIONS Stand with your feet shoulderwidth apart and hold a kettlebell in front of your shoulder with your palm in, elbow tucked, and the weight resting on the top of your forearm. Press it straight up, rotating your arm so your palm faces forward. Do equal reps on both arms.

Eastern Europe had ever heard of kettlebells. Today these weights are in almost every gym in America, and “kettlebell workouts” is the sixth most googled exercise term on the planet. No wonder: “Kettlebells are more user-friendly than barbells or dumbbells,” says kettlebell pioneer and StrongFirst.com chairman Pavel Tsatsouline. “You don’t need as many to hit every muscle, and they offer distinct advantages for boosting mobility and all-around strength.” Follow these rules to get the most out of every rep. —MICHAEL EASTER

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No matter how you live, every step counts with vívofit™. It’s the only fitness band with a 1+ year battery life and an inactivity alert that reminds you to move. Displays steps, calories, distance, time and your daily goal. vívofit is water-resistant1 and can be paired with a heart rate monitor2 during fitness activities.

1+ YEAR

MOVE BAR

STEP GOAL

SLEEP MONITORING

HEART RATE

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garmin.com/vivo

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the new fragrance for men available at macyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and macys.com

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WorldMags.net Work

Make Meetings Suck Less

Most are yawners. But yours don’t have to be— follow the tips from the pros to truly tap the power of the group.

START

SNOOZE ALERT! ONLY SHOW VISUALS THAT ABSOLUTELY MUST BE SEEN. TALKING POINTS CAN BE E-MAILED LATER.

WRONG: YOU SHOULD BE MODERATING. MAKE SURE NOBODY HANGS BACK.

SEND AN E-MAIL. LET PEOPLE READ IT ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULES.

Do you really need input?

YES

ZERO

LINE UP THREE TO FIVE SPECIFIC GOALS SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED.

How many PowerPoint presentations are planned?

What prep materials have you sent out?

NONE. I’LL BRING EVERYONE UP TO SPEED IN THE MEETING.

MORE THAN ZERO

BACKGROUND INFO AND A CLEAR LIST OF GOALS

As the group gathers, ask: Is everyone prepared?

How are you guiding the discussion?

TOTALLY. THEY’VE READ THE MATERIAL AND COME IN WITH IDEAS.

I’LL DIVVY UP THE DUTIES AND GIVE EVERYONE DEADLINES.

I’M MOVING THE AGENDA FORWARD AND PULLING IN THE RIGHT PEOPLE.

How will you end it?

“THANKS, EVERYONE! RACE YOU TO THE COFFEE MACHINE!”

ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BE.

WHY WASTE THE TIME? GIVING PARTICIPANTS THE CHANCE TO PREPARE PROPERLY WILL LEAD TO BETTER IDEAS.

UH, NOT EVERYBODY IS READY, THEY CONFESS.

IT’S OPEN TO ANYONE. I DON’T WANT TO BE RUDE!

GET OVER IT—A SMALL MEETING IS MORE FOCUSED. SEND E-MAILS TO YOUR NONVITAL COLLEAGUES SO THEY DON’T FEEL LEFT OUT. TRY, “I DON’T WANT TO HOG YOUR TIME, SO UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE, I’M HAPPY TO BRIEF YOU AFTERWARD.”

RESCHEDULE. ASK THE GROUP MEMBERS TO USE THE CURRENT BLOCK OF TIME TO BRING THEMSELVES UP TO SPEED.

YOU’RE A MEETING MASTER! KEEP IMPROVING WITH REGULAR POSTMORTEMS: EVERY SO OFTEN, TAKE 15 MINUTES AFTER A MEETING TO EXPLORE HOW THE ATTENDEES THINK THEY CAN BE MORE PRODUCTIVE.

NOT SO FAST! ASSIGN CONCRETE TASKS, OR ALL THE IDEAS WILL FIZZLE.

64 MENSHEALTH.COM

Who’s on the invite list?

Sources: Muriel Maignan Wilkins, managing partner of Isis Associates, a leadership development firm; Jill Geisler, head of leadership and management at the Poynter Institute and author of Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know; Bruce Tulgan, founder of Rainmaker Thinking and author of It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss; Peter Bregman, CEO of the management consulting firm Bregman Partners; Ron Ashkenas, senior partner of Schaffer Consulting, Stamford, Connecticut

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Illustrations by KIKUO JOHNSON, icons by MICHAEL BRANDON MYERS

I’M JUST LETTING THE IDEAS FLOW.

NO. I’M JUST UPDATING THE TEAM.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Think hard before you start herding people around conference tables. According to a 2014 Salary.com survey, meetings rank just behind Web browsing as the biggest office time suck. “If you meet with five people for an hour, you’ve committed five hours of productive company time,” says Bruce Tulgan, author of It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss. So make efficiency your priority. It all begins with the questions on this page. —LILA BATTIS

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EVENTS & PROMOTIONS

Check out our website at MENSHEALTH.COM/INSIDEOUT for the latest event and promotion updates.

BUILD YOUR CORK STRENGTH Introducing the Men’s Health Wine Cellar. The first reader-sourced wine club from the experts at Men’s Health and Uncorked.com. • Special monthly • Access to hundreds of the selection packs curated world’s top wines through by Men’s Health readers our partner Uncorked.com, the home of the world’s • Free shipping on greatest wines. monthly specials

Wine Cellar DECANTED 2013

BARRY’S BOOTCAMP SAN FRANCISCO Barry’s Bootcamp is finally bringing its famous highenergy, interval cardio & strength training workout to San Francisco with a new luxury fitness studio on King Street. The Bay Area will now be able to experience the workout that has a following of dedicated fitness enthusiasts, athletes and A-list celebrities alike. www.barrysbootcamp.com/sanfrancisco

GNC MEGA MEN® HEALTHY TESTOSTERONE VITAPAK® Provides a strategic approach to comprehensive dietary supplementation for adult men supporting virility, stamina, energy production, overall health and wellness. This premium formula consists of key vitamins, minerals, herbs and other micronutrients essential for hormone development. gnc.com/vitapaks

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WorldMags.net Style

THE RULES

Swim Trunks This summer, upgrade your swimwear to look slimmer, stronger, and more confident.

YOUR SUITS ARE CUSTOM TAILORED,

those eyeglass frames hug your face, and that CEO-impressing watch took days of research to find. So why do your swim trunks look like spring break 1997? Sure, they cover the territory, but a style slipup at the beach is like kicking sand in your own face. (Remember, those vacation snapshots live forever on Facebook!) So find the right trunks for your body and share those photos with pride. —BRIAN BOYÉ

Show Some Thigh

DON’T Wear Them Baggy

A slim guy in oversized clothing, whether it’s a suit or a swimsuit, looks emaciated. If you can fit more than a bottle of sunscreen between your shorts and your leg, they’re too wide. Plus, you risk giving your junk an unfortunate cameo when you sit. MR TURK TRUNKS, $148

66 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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P H O T O G R A P H S B Y J OYC E L E E

St yling: Brian Boyé, prop st yling: Karin Olssen

Who wears short shorts? Until the ’90s, everyone did. (Clyde Frazier’s ’70s court shorts were probably shorter than the boxers you’re wearing now.) And anytime you’re shirtless, short shorts still look best. Trunks should stop at least a couple of inches above the knee, says Faherty Brand swimwear designer Mike Faherty. “Any longer and you start to shrink.”

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Seeing the difference between two of 14,232 shades of green can make all the difference. Maui Jimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patented polarized technology provides higher contrast and depth perception.

ÂŠ2014 Maui Jim, Inc.

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How Can I Keep My Swim Trunks from Fading?

Style

Before you wear them for the first time, soak them in water with a splash of vinegar. That will set the dye. Source: Jolie Kerr, cleaning author and advice columnist

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 2(X)IST, $98. PARKE & RONEN, $120. NAUTICA, $60. FAHERTY, $125

Make a Statement

Skip the Stretch

Head for Dry Land

If you’re swimming laps, you’ll move more efficiently through the water in Speedo-style “jammers,” or briefs, says Jonathan Skow, the designer for Mr Turk. But yes, they’re a bit daring for some beaches or public pools, so wear them only if you’re confident that you can pull them off. “The first rule is that you need to feel great in whatever you’re wearing,” says Skow.

Pools and beaches are among the few style venues where you can still look respectable while wearing bold graphics and bright colors. “A floral blazer might not always work for you, but at the beach you can get away with almost anything,” says Skow.

Picture a rubber band wrapped around a water balloon: That’s what an elastic waistband looks like around any extra flab you might be carrying. “Elastic can make belly fat look worse than it really is,” says Faherty. Look for flat-front, board-shortstyle trunks with laces or a drawstring to flatter (read: flatten) your torso.

Designers are finally making quick-drying trunks that can pass as shorts; just look for pockets and snap-front closures. “Throw on a collared shirt and you can wear them straight to dinner,” says Faherty.

DON’T Stay Wet

Soggy shorts are a chafing nightmare. Opt for nylon or polyester, or a blend of the two. “Fabrics that are at least 75 percent synthetic dry faster,” says Faherty.

DO Go Retro

This is going to be the summer of ’50s prints, says Skow, so look for shorts with vintage florals or geometric patterns. But be warned: A loud and abrasive design will draw attention to your midsection. If your abs are still emerging, go with a softer color palette.

68 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

DO Simplify to Slim

Big patterns are great, but again, they draw eyes down toward your belly. If that’s a problem, opt for small prints. And consider shorts with a wide waistband and adjustable tabs, which allow you to loosen the squeeze on your gut.

DO Hide Your Package

If you want shorts that evolve onto dry land, choose a pair with a fly closure. Even though there’s no real zipper underneath, the added layer presents a more finished look. And if clinginess is a particular concern of yours (we’re looking at you, Jon Hamm), choose trunks made from sturdier cotton blends—not lightweight microfiber.

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THE MH MUSTHAVE

MAIDE BERWICK POLO AND HIGHLAND PANTS Maide keeps you looking as cool over an 8-foot putt as you do over a beer in the clubhouse. With a wicking shirt to battle sweat, pants with waistband grip strips to keep you tucked, and modern tailoring on both garments, you’ll play it off naturally when your buddy catches you improving a lie. Not that you’d ever do that, of course. MAIDE GOLF BY BONOBOS SHIRT, $78; PANTS, $108

For more info on these items, see page 171.

C U R T I S J I N K I N S (i c o n), T R AV I S R AT H B O N E (g o l f o u t f i t)

Gain an Edge

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Introducing New Tommy Bahama Compass

Available at Macyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and macys.com, Tommy Bahama Stores and tommybahama.com

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WorldMags.net 3 Months

Living

Length of time most single guys sleep on the same set of sheets. Change yours at least every two weeks. Sources: Ergoflex survey; Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., hygiene researcher

Six Quick Home Fixes

THE MH HANDYMAN

Carter Oosterhouse had his first carpentry gig at age 12; now he’s the host of HGTV’s Celebrity Motor Homes. His book, Carter’s Way, is out now.

Some projects swallow up a whole weekend. Others take less time than the trip to the hardware store. Have a few minutes to spare? Then use them to upgrade everything.

5 MINUTES

Silence a Creaky Door

Fix a Leaky Showerhead

YOU NEED SPRAY LUBRICANT (SUCH AS WD-40), HAMMER, SCREWDRIVER, WIRE BRUSH

YOU NEED ELECTRICAL TAPE, WRENCH, SCREWDRIVER, NEW RUBBER GASKET, TEFLON TAPE

Hit the offending hinge with a shot of WD-40; then open and close the door for 20 seconds to work it in. That may do the trick; if it doesn’t, pop the pin out of the hinge with a hammer and screwdriver. Brush off the gunk, lube the pin, and slide it back in.

Wrap the fixture’s nut in electrical tape for protection; then unscrew it with the wrench. Pop out the gasket with the screwdriver, clean out any buildup in the pipe, and drop in the new gasket. Wrap the threads in Teflon tape and reinstall the showerhead.

20 MINUTES

Reseal Crumbling Bathroom Caulk

YOU NEED SCREWDRIVER, NONCONTACT VOLTAGE TESTER, DIMMER SWITCH, WIRE NUTS

YOU NEED PUTTY KNIFE, RAG, TUBE OF SILICONE “TUB AND TILE” CAULK, CAULKING GUN

First, kill the power at the breaker; then pop the switch cover and check the wires with a voltage tester. Not hot? Good. Remove the old switch and use wire nuts to connect the three dimmer wires to the three wall wires. Green is the ground.

Pull away the old caulk or pry it free with a putty knife. Clean the area with a warm, wet rag. Load the caulk tube into the gun; then run a uniform bead along the seam with one steady motion. Go back over it with a moistened finger to neaten uneven spots.

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1½ HOURS

Frame a Frameless Mirror

Make a StreetNumber Mosaic

YOU NEED MOLDING, BLACK PAINT, CONSTRUCTION ADHESIVE (SUCH AS LIQUID NAILS), PAINTER’S TAPE

YOU NEED MARKER, 18"×6" PIECE OF PLYWOOD, CERAMIC OR PORCELAIN TILES, GLUE, TILE GROUT, SPONGE

A hardware store can cut you four pieces of molding at 45-degree angles. Paint the back sides black so you don’t see a reflection off the mirror, and apply glue in a zigzag pattern. Stick the molding on the mirror and tape the corners until the glue sets.

Draw your house numbers on the plywood. Then smash three colors of tile (for the numbers, background, and border) into half-inch pieces. Glue the pieces onto the board, fill the cracks with grout, and sponge off any excess grout from the surface.

PH OTO G R A PH BY L E V I B R OW N

P r o p s t y l i n g: M e g u m i E m o to /A n d e r s o n H o p k i n s; i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y C U R T I S J I N K I N S (b e d i c o n), J I M W I N T E R S (O o s te r h o u s e)

70 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

30 MINUTES

Install a Dimmer Switch

1 HOUR

DRIP TORTURE Home repairs don’t have to drive you mad. Get handy, man.

10 MINUTES

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Average number of water tubing injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms every day in summer. Prevent a sprain or back injury by slowing down in rough water.

Health

Source: Journal of Physical Activity & Health

Make your beach day disaster-free by dodging these seaside health hazards.

THREAT LEVEL

1 Sand Flies

2 Food Poisoning

3 Pinkeye

4 Jellyﬁsh

5 Septic Sand

6 Rip Currents

Unlike mosquitoes, which prick your skin, sand flies (no-see-ums and biting midges, for example) gnaw into you with tiny teeth before sucking up your blood. They don’t carry disease but may leave you covered in itchy bumps that last about a week.

Every year, one in six people contract a foodborne illness, according to the CDC. And since bacteria breed faster in a warm environment, cases tend to spike during the summer, says Men’s Health advisor Ted Epperly, M.D. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and fever.

“Salt water isn’t sterile,” says Dr. Epperly. In fact, polluted water can harbor bacteria that cause conjunctivitis, a.k.a. pinkeye. And the more time you spend splashing around, Dr. Epperly warns, the more likely you are to end up with itchiness, redness, discharge, and tearing.

Of 2,000 known jellyfish species, only 70 cause serious harm to humans. If you’re stung, expect a painful, burning reddish or purplish rash.

E. coli from animals (or rather, their poop) and runoff from sewers and septic tanks can live on warm sand. It’s one of the EPA’s biggest concerns for beachgoers, says spokeswoman Enesta Jones. If you’re infected, expect to have diarrhea within a day.

A shark isn’t your top underwater enemy. Rip currents are behind more than 80 percent of lifeguard rescues and 100-plus drownings every year, says B. Chris Brewster of the U.S. Lifesaving Association.

PACK SMART Stash spoilage-prone foods, like meat and mayo, deepest in your cooler. Eat them within a half hour of taking them out.

itchy? Rinse them with tap water a few times over two hours. If your symptoms worsen, see a doctor. You may need antibiotic eye drops.

BANISH BITES Scratching through your skin can lead to infection, so prevent bites by applying a deet-based repellent before you hit the dunes and every time you dry off after a swim.

72 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

FLUSH THE PAIN Eyes

BURN IT OUT Apply heat, which changes the toxin’s protein structure to neutralize pain, says Paul Atkinson, M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O., of Dalhousie University. So scrape the stingers out with a credit card and give the area a 20-minute soak in water just hotter than a hot tub (109°–113°F). And no one has to pee on you.

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CUT THE CRAP Check the EPA’s database (watersgeo.epa.gov/ beacon2) for beach advisories or closures, and use hand sanitizer before digging into your cooler, says Jones.

BEWARE THE CALM

“Rough water is often safer than the calm spots,” says Brewster. Caught? If you can’t escape by swimming parallel to the shore, go with the current. Once it dissipates, try again. —ANGELA GIANNOPOULOS

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M AT T J O H N S T O N E

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SAVE THE BACKBONE You know. It’s the long, ﬂexible column of vertebrae that keeps you upright and lets you move around. But you have another backbone. A part that won’t show up on an x-ray. This one helps you stand up, too — but for the things you believe in. It enables you to speak your mind. Take a chance. Do your own thing. At Cigna, we care about both. Because you’re made up of bones as well as ideas, beliefs, passions, quirks, and habits that all work together to make you unique. We’re a health beneﬁts and services company that supports you. Day or night, we’ll listen to you and get to know what matters most — all so you can be 100% you. Get inspired at cigna.com/goyou

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WorldMags.net Everyday Hero

“I Knew I Had 30 Seconds”

COURAGE UNDER FIRE Wade faced flames with a cool head.

With no help in sight, Aniel Wade rushed into a burning home to save the family trapped inside.

IT WAS A BALMY FEBRUARY MORNING IN ALVA,

Florida, when Aniel Wade, 20, made a snap decision to risk his life. “Never, not once, have I felt heat as hot as inside that house,” he says. But he didn’t have time to let fear set in. “It was helping whoever was inside that I was worried about.” The criminal-justice student and Ace Hardware employee had been making his morning delivery rounds when he spotted a plume of smoke on the horizon. As he drew near, the picture came into focus: an elderly woman, tethered to her oxygen tank, on the porch of an old farmhouse. Behind her, a small sliver of the house stood intact. The rest was engulfed in flames. Frightened and gasping, the woman couldn’t answer whether others were inside. “That’s when I heard the screaming,” says Wade. Any fire marshal will warn you against entering a burning home without proper training and equipment, but as another driver stepped up to help the woman, Wade rushed into the blaze. Stumbling through the smoke, he found a young woman, panic-stricken and struggling to carry two children. He scooped up the kids and shepherded the woman toward the door as the flames swallowed the hallway behind them. Local media dubbed him a hero, but Wade deflects: “Thinking about the guys who actually put out the fire, who go every day with no praise, I just felt honored to be able to help them in whatever small way I could.” —LILA BATTIS

TAKE SMART RISKS `

STOP AND ASSESS `

COMFORT VICTIMS `

APPRISE RESCUERS `

Before Wade pulled over, others drove past the fire. It’s called “diffusion of responsibility”: People assume that someone else will handle the situation. By stepping up, you cue others to spring into action as well, says Pellegrino. Dole out assignments to specific people (“You in the red shirt, call 911”) to ensure clear communication.

Before he knew people were inside, Wade realized he could help the woman on the porch to safety. “If someone’s in an unsafe place and you can help them at minimal risk, we encourage that,” says Pellegrino. But don’t put yourself in harm’s way. “If you get hurt, we now have two victims, and that can delay the rescue efforts.”

Wade didn’t just blindly run in—he scanned the scene and applied prior knowledge. “I saw how the fire was burning and knew I had about 30 seconds. With the age and materials of the home, I knew I’d be able to break through a wall.” Use your senses to take stock, says Pellegrino. “If something doesn’t look right, trust your gut.”

Once he helped the family escape, Wade led them to his truck and waited with them for rescuers. Offer “psychological first aid” by helping victims calm down until police or EMTs take over, says Pellegrino. “People who are minimally hurt need attention and need to be in a safe place, and even those who are untrained can do that.”

When firefighters arrived, Wade filled them in. “They were ready to run inside, so I went over and told them everyone was out of the house.” Pay attention to the situation and any injuries, and share that info with rescuers, says Pellegrino. And before you leave, give your contact info to a police officer in case the cops have questions.

74 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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PH OTO G R A PH BY B O B C R O S L I N

Illustration by BRAD MUTI

MANAGE A CRISIS Jeffrey Pellegrino, Ph.D., a firefighter/EMT and member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council, shares how.

LEAD THE CHARGE `

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The Best Glass for Guinness Drinkers

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Made in collaboration with craft brewers, this glass is specially designed to highlight stout beer’s unique coffeelike flavors. $25 for two, riedelusa.net

A friend told me he’s cheating on his girlfriend. I think it’s pathetic behavior. Do I tell him that? JASON, PORTSMOUTH, NH

Not just yet. If you go all Dear Abby on him, he’ll think you’re judging him (which you are) and clam up. Instead, think about why he told you in the first place. Is he bragging? Feeling guilty? Unhappy about something else? Be a real pal and consider what might be behind the cheating. Ask like you’re worried about him, not the poor girl he’s cheating on. Once he knows you’re on his side, maybe he’ll let you steer him straight.

JOE, TULSA, OK

Bless you, brother. I’ve seen plenty of jerks in my bar. And guess what? Everyone knows exactly who they are. They’re the guys sitting alone when I start pouring free drinks a few stools down. So just ignore your boss. You and the janitor both know he’s an ass, but unfortunately, sticking your neck out won’t help. Just keep being a nice guy, and the janitor—plus your colleagues—will notice.

76 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

RAY, SALT LAKE CITY, UT

How old is the guy? Fourteen? I guess you already asked him to knock it off and he won’t, so now it’s time for Plan B: shame. The next time he does this, turn to your nearest ally—hopefully a more mature colleague— and say, “Hey, can you believe Frank keeps stalking my sister on Facebook? What the hell, right?” Watch him stammer out an explanation, skulk away, and maybe even grow up.

SEAN, ORLANDO, FL

Bud, you may not realize it, but you’re at the start of a negotiation. She opened high: She wants you to bend to her routine. So if you counter with something closer to yours—11 p.m., say—then maybe you two will settle somewhere in the middle. That still puts you in bed a little early, but now she’s going to bed late.

How to Comfort a Crying Woman

THE MANLY ARTS

My coworker likes to joke about my sister’s hot Facebook photos. How do I shut him up?

Most Ph.D.’s will tell you to resist your urge to always solve a woman’s problems. Now here’s confirmation, from a real expert: Gretchen Rossi, former cast member of The Real Housewives of Orange County, a show that’s seen its share of sobbing. A crying woman just wants you to hear her out, says Rossi. “Even if her problems are wacky, she needs you to validate her

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When I call my buddy to hang out, he brings his wife. Can I ask him to leave her home? KEVIN, RENO, NV

No, you can’t. That’s the problem, you dope: Until he got your call, your pal had planned on spending the night with his lady. And now he feels bad sentencing her to a night alone. If you

want some bro time, you need to give him (and by that I mean her) some advance warning. Say, “It’s been a while since just the two of us went out. How’s Friday?” That way she can line up Prosecco night with her girlfriends and he’ll be free—and guilt-free.

Every time my dad visits, he insists on fixing things in my apartment. Why can’t I get the guy to relax? TOMMY, ATLANTA, GA

Well, you could grab a wrench and join him. My old man was like yours— he had restless hands. If he didn’t have somewhere to be, he found something to do. You following? If you don’t want your dad greasing the rusty hinges on your screen door, then don’t make him sit around listening to them squeak. Pick up tickets to a game, book a tee time— whatever will make him happy. Then you can both relax, and you might actually give him some stories to share when he goes home.

Follow Jimmy’s tips on Twitter: @MensHealthJimmy

feelings.” So grab a box of tissues, have a seat, and let her talk as long as she wants. Lightly take her hand or rub her back as you offer reassurance, and once the tears slow down, give her a hug. Now she’s worn out, so offer her a snack or some water, or even a stiff drink. Follow up the next day with flowers or a sweet text. With a nice guy like you looking after her, she won’t be sad for long. —KRISTINE THOMASON I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M A R K T O D D

M I T C H M A N D E L (s t o u t g l a s s) , M i c h e l l e P e d o n e (J i m m y) , S t e v e G r a n i t z / G e t t y I m a g e s (J e n n i f e r A n i s t o n)

My boss is rude to our office cleaning guy. Can I speak up without overstepping?

My girlfriend goes to bed at 9:30 and really wants me to join her. I can’t fall asleep that early! Now what?

It’s called compromise. Plus, I don’t know any guy who couldn’t use a little more shuteye. If you can’t sleep, read a bit. It’ll open your mind and close your eyes.

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Saving People Money On

More Than Just Car Insurance.

See how much you could save on insurance for your truck, motorcycle, RV, boat and more.

geico.com | 1-800-442-9253 | local ofﬁce Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Boat and PWC coverages are written through non-afﬁliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Motorcycle coverage is underwritten by GEICO Indemnity Company. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2014 GEICO

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WorldMags.net THIS MONTH Beat the heat by running cold water over your forearms. Firefighters at a blaze who tried a similar technique for 15 minutes chilled out faster than their peers did. When you need more than just a splash—and want to make a splash with the kids—see “Build Your Own Water Park” in this section.

Pull Off a Perfect Game

Line illustrations by TOBY LEIGH

Make the most of game day with help from Derrick Hall, president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Go Yard for Parking

Call Your Own Game

Eject a Foul Fan

Time Your Relief

Eat Like a Champ

Stadium lots can be pricey, gridlocked, and still far off. To find alternatives, the free Park Whiz app (iTunes, Android) can point you to game-time deals at nearby lots. Or call around to see if any bars or restaurants are hosting pregame parties. “Some let fans park free, knowing they’ll be spending money,” Hall says.

Face paint and a witty sign aren’t enough to attract instadium attention. If you want to be on TV or the Jumbotron, or get a pic with the team mascot, hit Twitter. Most teams have a special hashtag for fans to use during play. Cheer virtually, and include your seat number. Or catch a home run. Problem solved.

Overserved hecklers spoil the sport, but now you can safely call them out. Many stadiums, such as Arizona’s Chase Field and Atlanta’s Turner Field, allow you to discreetly text a complaint to security. Check the stadium’s website and in-stadium billboards. It’s like having a personal bouncer on demand.

That seventh-inning stretch is bathroom rush hour. So plan to hit the head between the fourth and sixth innings, when most people are still in their seats. “Time it so you leave just before that final out, and you’ll be back in your seat with the least delay,” Hall says. And with far less slippery shoes too.

Salty ballpark dogs deliver neither flavor nor satisfaction. Scout for healthier options with MLB’s At the Ballpark app (free; iTunes, Android). At some stadiums, you can even use the app to order and pay ahead so you don’t have to stand in line. If you can, bring water along to stay hydrated— and to justify that next round.

E D I T E D B Y PA U L K I TA

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June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 79

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Strip Without Shame Stay confident and let it all hang out almost anywhere with these strategies from Brian Ferris, Ph.D., a North Vancouver psychologist and self-esteem expert, and Robert Haase, L.M.P., who teaches massage therapy nationwide. Read up. . .then strip down. But no selfies! I N TH E B E D ROOM Worried that she’s judging your abs—or some other part? She’s probably just as nervous as you are. Stay in the moment by focusing on sensations, like the smell and touch of her skin. And tell her she looks amazing. She’ll remember the passion more than what she sees. AT TH E DOC’S OFFIC E If the thought of bending over makes you clench up, just remember: The doc has seen worse. Ask questions (Which screening tests do you need? What can specific symptoms mean?) to distract yourself enough to take the edge off. ON TH E MASSAG E TABLE Can a rubdown trigger wood? Unlikely. While most of us are hardwired to equate touching with intimacy, a good massage therapist counteracts that with professionalism and by warning you before touching a semiprivate area. Skip the “happy ending” joke.

RULE THE BACKYARD PART 1

TIDY UP YOUR BOWL

GOT TO SWAB THE LOO? DON’T BOTHER WITH STORE-BOUGHT BOWL CLEANER. GO WITH VINEGAR AND BAKING SODA, WHICH COMBINE FOR A GUNKBUSTING REACTION, SAYS MARTIN MULVIHILL, PH.D., A RESEARCHER OF GREEN CHEMISTRY AT UC BERKELEY. SPRINKLE ½ CUP BAKING SODA AROUND THE INSIDE OF THE BOWL, ADD ½ CUP VINEGAR, AND SCRUB WHILE THE EFFERVESCENCE DOES THE WORK.

12’–15’

HANG A HAMMOCK

No need to schlep to the beach: In just a few minutes, you can create a chill-out spot right in your own backyard. Derek Hansen, author of The Ultimate Hang: An Illustrated Guide to Hammock Camping, explains how to rig the perfect napper’s paradise. Put one up, and then rest, daydream, and repeat. You’ve earned it.

1 polyester or parachute-nylon outdoor hammock (about 10'× 5'), 2 polyester or polypropylene webbing straps (each 4' long with stitched eye loops on either end), 2 climbing-rated carabiners, travel pillow, towel

80 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Rig Ropes

Control Comfort

Recline Right

Locate two trees with sturdy trunks that are at least 6" in diameter. They should be 12' to 15' apart; for most guys, that distance is about five comfortable steps. Check overhead for dead limbs or broken branches that could fall on you. You want sleep, not a dirt nap.

Wrap each webbing strap around a tree at about head height to create an anchor point: Feed one end through the opposite eye loop and then pull the strap tight to secure it. Now use the carabiners to clip the hammock to the loops. It should hang 20" off the ground.

Your hammock should slope downward at a 30-degree angle from each tree. To test the angle, form a “finger gun” with your thumb parallel to the tree. Your thumb and index finger should both touch the strap. If the angle is too steep, unhook the strap, twist it, and reconnect.

Don’t just lie in the center of the hammock. Drape your body across it diagonally with your head on one side and your feet on the other. It’ll help you keep your back straighter, easing pressure. Break out the pillow and put a rolledup towel under your knees. Nap-test often.

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C o lor illus trations by PAU L B LOW

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Seek Shade

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THE BEST IS WITHIN

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RULE THE BACKYARD PART 2

BANISH THE BLOODSUCKERS

Biting insects can be a barbecue buzzkill. Joseph Conlon, technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association, and Daniel Kline, Ph.D., a research entomologist with the USDA, offer some planet-friendly tactics to help you ward off pests.

Stage a Drought

Smoke Out Trouble

Blow ’Em Away!

Even a bottle cap filled with water can be a mosquito breeding spot. Wipe down tables and your grill after a rain, and keep an eye out for stagnant water in random places—that tarp on the woodpile, a planter tray, a cup or bottle left outside. For your trash can and recycling bin, use a drill with a ¼" bit to add drainage holes in the bottom.

Mosquitoes hate citronella, but most candles can’t protect past a 5' radius. Scented torches are better because they give off more smoke, another pest peeve, for a few more feet of coverage. If you just can’t stand the smell, then go with a portable Thermacell outdoor lantern ($32, thermacell.com). It releases allethrin, an odor-free bug blocker.

Many pests are weak fliers, so point a floor fan toward the area where your guests will gather. If a fly sneaks past, do this: Wait until it lands, and then open your hands and prepare to clap about 8" above it. As you clap, the fly will sense the air disturbance and fly straight up between your palms. Wash your hands before grabbing more chips.

Outsmart Your Office Frenemy Defend your career with tips from Fathali Moghaddam, Ph.D., a professor of conflict resolution at Georgetown University.

BAN B.O. WITHOUT DEODORANT!

FLUNKED A SNIFF CHECK AFTER WORK? IF IT’S NERVOUS SWEAT, YOUR DATE MAY SMELL YOUR ANXIETY, RESEARCH FROM POLAND REVEALS. DITCH THE UNDERSHIRT, WHICH CAN HARBOR STINKY BACTERIA, AND SCRUB YOUR PITS WITH SOAP AND WATER. OTHERWISE, JUST SPRITZ ON SOME COLOGNE. THE FRAGRANCE CAN INTERACT WITH BODY ODOR, CREATING A MORE PLEASANT COMBO, A STUDY IN PLOS ONE FOUND.

K NOW TH I N E FR E N E MY To gauge your colleague’s trust, share some harmless but private way you’ve bent the rules, like how you occasionally take a personal day to golf. If the info leaks to your other coworkers, it’s on. WIE LD YOU R WOR DS If you’re forced to work together, deploy phrases like “We make a good team,” which encourages him to cooperate. Also try something like “I’m on board with that idea. It could be even better if...” You’ll seem more focused on solutions than on fighting. BUDDY UP TO THE BOSS Regularly communicating with your superior gives you more leverage. Don’t whine about your nemesis. Volunteer for new projects as your boss dreams them up. You’ll look proactive (and promotable) and ice the frenemy out.

82 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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WorldMags.net we looked to the sky and saw a different way to purify water. by vapor-distilling it, so it’s pure and crisp like from a cloud, then adding electrolytes for a distinct taste. oh, and we got some daydreaming done, too.

what will you see when you look up?

drinksmartwater.com inspired by the clouds

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RULE THE BACKYARD PART 3

Build Your Own Water Park Leave the overpriced kit at the store—building a slide is easy. Ken Denmead, the author of Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, shows you how.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED Heavy plastic (6'× 25'), 8 pool noodles (each 4' to 5' long), 1 roll of sticky-back Velcro (¾"×15'), scissors, hose (50') with sprinkler attachment, 3 wire loop stakes (each ½" to "), 1 bottle of baby wash (15 oz), rope (½" diameter and 8' to 10' long)

Pick Your Spot

Use Your Noodles

Fortify the Walls

Bypass the steep hills—you want a rush, not a wreck. Look for a gentle, grassy slope within hose length of your house. (Hint: Skip mowing the week before.) Leave at least a 5' clearance on all sides—that way you’ll prevent painful wipeouts.

Assemble the underside of the slide first. Unroll the plastic and arrange your pool noodles in a line along each long side. Keep a few inches between each noodle end and position them just a few inches from the tarp edge, like lane markers.

Pull the plastic up and over the noodles, and place 2" Velcro strips at 6" intervals to keep the noodle casing in place. Roll each noodle over about a quarter turn more to secure the side walls. Flip the slide over completely. Now you have guardrails.

Make It Rain

Lube the Runway

Rinse and Repeat

Place your sprinkler a few feet from the side of the slide, about halfway down, and adjust the settings so the spray will hit the entire length of the plastic. Secure the hose with loop stakes so no one trips over it. Turn it on and soak the splash zone.

For a faster ride, dribble a line of baby wash down the middle of the slide. This will make the chute more slippery. Another idea for super speed: Have one kid hold the rope while another kid runs alongside the slide, towing the slider along.

When you are finished, hang the hose on a nearby tree or fence to create an outdoor shower for rinsing off. Then don’t clean up. Seriously. Do. Not. Bother. Leave the rest of the work for the morning. Plastic rolls up more easily when it’s dry.

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CRISP LIKE AN APPLE . BREWED LIKE AN ALE . WorldMags.net

Style

WorldMags.net BY SANDRA NYGAARD

PHOTOGRAPHS BY AARON RICHTER

CLEAN UP YOUR LOOK

NOSWEAT SUMMER LOOKS

Upgrade Your T-shirts A fitted T-shirt makes your biceps pop. “The sleeve should start at the edge of your shoulder—like a dress shirt’s,” says Josh Reed, founder of Gents. But if it rides up in front when you cross your elbows, go a size bigger.

Wanting comfort isn’t an excuse to be sloppy. Beat the heat with style.

Choose Cooler Cargo Shorts To modernize the classic cargo style, opt for a sleeker cut, says Frank Muytjens, head of menswear design at J.Crew. “The fit should be closer to your body for a clean, slim silhouette.” As for length, you want the shorts to fall right above your knee.

AS SOON AS SUMMER HITS, MANY

Join a New Band For the price of a few iced mochaccinos, you can dress your watch for the season.

J. PRESS YORK STREET SHORTS, $175 GENTS SHIRT, $59. VANS SHOES, $47 VINT AND YORK SUNGLASSES, $129. JACK + MULLIGAN BAG, $105. TIMEX WATCH, $45

86 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

J.CREW (PATTERNED), $20 EACH HOOK + ALBERT (SOLID), $95 EACH

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S t y l i n g : S a n d r a N y g a a r d , g r o o m i n g : L a u r a S h e l l e y / C o l o r s c i e n c e / E x c l us i v e A r t i s t s; T R AV I S R AT H B O N E (w a t c h s t r a p s)

men turn off their fashion sense to stay cool. And that’s a mistake, says Megan Collins of Style Girlfriend, a website devoted to helping men dress better. “In summer, many guys are thinking only about being comfortable,” she says, “and they let their style slide.” Here’s the challenge: How do you stand out when every guy wears the same combo—T-shirt, shorts, and flipflops? Look for lightweight fabrics and slimmer-fitting designs. “You can feel just as cool in a linen button-down as you do in a T-shirt,” says Collins. The same goes for footwear: “Upgrade your flip-flops to a pair of slip-ons.” Use the advice on the next few pages to take bold steps (see: Hawaiian shirts) so you’ll never blend into the crowd.

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TRAIN HARDER DRY FASTER

R I S E TO A N E W L E V E L O F P E R F O R M A N C E WITH

C H A M P I O N V A P O R ®.

D E S I G N E D TO D RY FA S T E R A S YO U R B O DY H E AT R I S E S S O YO U C A N A LW AY S K E E P YO U R CO O L . VISIT CHAMPIONUSA.COM/VAPOR

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Style / No-Sweat Summer Looks

Create Some Cap Space Baseball caps never go out of fashion, but they should be deployed the way pinch hitters are— sparingly. What you need are utility players like straw fedoras and porkpies to add some flair while keeping the sun out of your eyes, Collins suggests. “They look more consistent with less sporty outfits.”

KEEP YOUR COOL

KEEP UNDERSHIRTS UNDERCOVER

The undershirt is your outfit’s unsung hero. It does the dirty work of absorbing sweat to keep you feeling fresh. And if you’re wearing it right, no one will be the wiser, says Gents founder Josh Reed. “A crewneck, V-neck, or tank should not be visible beneath your shirt,” he says. Here’s your undershirt cheat sheet. CREWNECK

V-NECK

TANK

ABSORBS SWEAT. . .

TOTALLY IT COVERS YOUR ARMPITS AS WELL AS HOT SPOTS ON YOUR BACK AND CHEST.

ADEQUATELY IT ABSORBS MOISTURE ON YOUR BACK, UNDERARMS, AND LOWER TORSO.

MINIMALLY NOT ONLY ARE YOUR ARMPITS EXPOSED, BUT THE FINE FABRIC ABSORBS SWEAT POORLY.

IDEAL PAIRING

A CREWNECK KNIT OR A TIE AND DRESS SHIRT THAT YOU INTEND TO KEEP BUTTONED UP.

A V-NECK KNIT OR A BUTTONFRONT SHIRT THAT YOU PLAN TO WEAR SLIGHTLY UNBUTTONED.

A SLEEVELESS SHIRT: ONLY IF YOU’RE GOING TO THE BEACH, WORKING OUT, OR STARRING IN GREASE.

LOW, AS LONG AS YOU PAIR YOUR COLORS WISELY: DON’T WEAR A DARK TEE UNDER A LIGHT SHIRT.

LOW, AS LONG AS THE V DOES NOT SCOOP TOO DEEPLY BELOW YOUR NECKLINE.

HIGH. SAVE IT FOR THE GYM, UNLESS YOU ARE A GUY WHO DOESN’T PERSPIRE VERY MUCH.

STYLE RISK

Steer Clear of a Tropical Storm You don’t need to have pineapple-size cojones to pull off a Hawaiian shirt. Just pay serious attention to the print and fit, says designer David Hart. “Stick to slim bodies, narrow sleeves, and classy, old-school prints: Think native fish, hula girls, Hawaiian flowers, or even pineapples.”

Throw Chinos a Changeup Here’s an easy way to stand apart from the minions: Cuff ’em. “It breaks up the silhouette and adds instant edge,” says J.Crew’s Muytjens. Roll the cuffs of slim chinos twice— or once, and then again just in the front for a messier effect. “Only your ankle should show,” Muytjens says.

Add Finishing Touches

BANANA REPUBLIC SHIRT, $70; HAT, $45 ORIGINAL PENGUIN CHINOS, $89. CONVERSE SHOES, $60 MIANSAI LEATHER BRACELET, $78; ROPE BRACELET, $95

88 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Icons by GIO PASTORI

Subtle accessories— like a necklace that peeks out from beneath your tee or a short, curated stack of wristbands—can help you stand out. Just don’t overdo it or you’ll draw comparisons to Captain Jack Sparrow. Two bracelets should do it— especially when paired with a watch.

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WOMEN COME. WOMEN GO.

BUT GREAT SOCKS STICK AROUND.

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Style / No-Sweat Summer Looks

MASTER THE HALF WINDSOR

Step Up Your Game When selecting your go-to summer shoes, look for bolder textures (like woven straw or suede) and pops of color (like orange or white).

SING THE BLUES

AFTER HOURS STEAL

SPLURGE

Knotting a lightweight cotton, knit, or linen tie can be tricky. Add some heft with a half Windsor knot, suggests designer David Hart.

1 DRAPE THE TIE AROUND YOUR NECK, MAKING SURE THE WIDER END FALLS ABOUT 12 INCHES BELOW THE NARROW END.

TRETORN, $75

GUCCI, $425 2 CROSS THE WIDER END OVER THE NARROW END.

OFFICE STEAL

SPLURGE

3 LOOP THE WIDE END AROUND THE NARROW END AND LIFT IT UP.

COLE HAAN, $198

4 PULL THE WIDE END THROUGH THE GAP BETWEEN COLLAR AND TIE; MOVE IT OFF TO THE LEFT.

TOD’S, $575

Put a Sock in It Going sockless looks cool, but your sweat-soaked feet will feel anything but. Instead, wear a no-show liner, suggests designer George Esquivel. Wear liners with heel grips and reinforced toes (below) to avoid slippage.

5 NOW PLACE THE WIDE END ACROSS THE NARROW END IN A LEFT-TO-RIGHT DIRECTION.

ABOVE: 2(X)IST SOCKS, $10. RIGHT: BANANA REPUBLIC JACKET, $325; SHIRT, $70 A|X ARMANI EXCHANGE JEANS, $98. JOHNSTON & MURPHY SHOES, $140 ERNEST ALEXANDER TIE, $65. NAUTICA BELT, $40. TIMEX WATCH, $60

7 WITH BOTH HANDS, TIGHTEN AND ADJUST THE KNOT.

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90 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014 For more info on these items, see page 171.

T R AV I S R AT H B O N E (s h o e s , l i n e r s) , G I O P A S T O R I ( i l l u s t r a t i o n s)

6 BRING IT UP THROUGH THE GAP AGAIN AND DOWN THROUGH THE KNOT IN FRONT.

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EVENTS & PROMOTIONS

Check out our website at MENSHEALTH.COM/INSIDEOUT for the latest event and promotion updates.

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TASTES LIKE REAL BREWED TEA BECAUSE IT IS

THE BEST SOCKS ON TWO FEET FROM GOLD TOE® For Father’s Day give the best gift on two feet. Gold Toe® socks are the perfect gift, available in so many styles and colors to match his wardrobe, Dad will be sure to enjoy them more than a tie. Find a pair to suit his needs at www.goldtoe.com/MH

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WorldMags.net Fatherhood BY LOU SCHULER

Parenting is a minefield. Avoid these wrong g moves, and you’re halfway to being a great dad. ad. 92 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL PARENT? I THOUGHT IT

would be simple: I’d imagine what my parents mig might have done and do the opposite. It doesn’t work, bu but if you have kids, you know that. Parenting, I’ve found, foun is like that Kobayashi Maru test in Star Trek: Trek: a noa no-win situation that reveals your character more than it test tests your intellect or tactical skills. You will screw up, and your mistakes will aaffect your you kids in ways you can’t anticipate. But unlike tthe Star Trek simulation, which is rigged to destroy everyone, e parenting allows do-overs. Not only can you learn from your own mistakes, but you can also learn from the collective fuck-uppery of every dad who’s ever lived.

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P ro p s t y l i n g: M e g u m i E m o to/A n d e r so n H o p k i ns

6 EASY WAYS TO SCREW UP P YOUR KIDS

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LEVI BROWN

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Fatherhood / 6 Easy Ways to Screw Up Your Kids

SCREWUP 1

You’re obsessed with getting your kid into Harvard. Drug use. Petty crime. High rates of anxiety and depression. That’s what Arizona State psychology professor Suniya Luthar, Ph.D., expected to discover when she set out to study the children of impoverished families 20 years ago. And she found it. Problem was, she found even more of it in the affluent kids she used as a control group. Luthar has been studying the high-achieving offspring of high-achieving parents ever since, and each new finding worries her more than the last. The kids who have the most going for them are at the highest risk. “The problems come when they feel that their parents will be disappointed,” Luthar says. “Their sense of self-worth gets tied up in an inextricable way with not failing.” KNOW WHAT NOT TO DO Sure, a father should ` challenge his children to rise to their potential. But that’s a small step away from showing disapproval when they don’t excel. Even a raised eyebrow can convey it. “Sometimes you don’t even realize you’re doing it,” Luthar says. Moreover, your disappointment may be echoed by teachers, coaches, and peers. “If a child feels criticized and made to feel like a failure, and this happens on a regular basis, that’s a sure sign of danger.”

WASTED EFFORT? Expecting stardom is a sure way to discourage a child’s efforts.

SCREWUP 2

You’re rude to the overworked waitress at Ruby Tuesday. You can lecture all day about manners and treating people with respect, but if your actions contradict your words, your credibility shrivels. “Our kids watch us and our attitudes,” Luthar says. “I remember one kid saying, ‘Dad’s tone of voice changes when he’s talking to somebody at work.’ There are many cases where the parent has a work self that’s different. Kids notice.” LEVEL UP “The kids who say their parents value ` success over decency are the ones who get in trouble,” Luthar says. Connect your words with

WHAT MY POP TAUGHT ME

Chris Cuomo, anchor of CNN New Day and father of three, recalls the lessons he learned from his dad, Mario, the former New York governor.

1 / IT’S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP

2 / WORK HARD— AT EVERYTHING

3 / LISTEN TO THAT VOICE INSIDE

4 / DON’T WALLOW IN SELF-PITY

5 / ALWAYS SHOW COMPASSION

While my father was governor, I grew from a 12-year-old kid to a 23-year-old adult. The slightest guidance can lead to success, he’d say, so there’s no reason to be stubborn if you’re stuck. Find someone with knowledge and hope you can benefit from it. And I could always turn to Pop.

Pop viewed hard work as a requirement, not an extra. The only time you should be down on yourself, he’d say, is when you fail to put in the hours to make a difference. And that effort should apply to all areas of life. Your work is just a vanity exercise if it’s at the cost of your family’s happiness.

Follow your gut, not a fad or a friend. This can mean doing something unpopular. Pop insisted that many situations had no right answer— you could go either way, and it was up to you. He’d listen and feel out options with me. But the guidance was clear: Consider all choices, and do the right thing.

Trouble will come, he’d say. You will fail. You will be treated unfairly. You can’t control that, but you can control how you handle it. Pop would deal with a setback, loudly or quietly, and then quickly set about resolving the situation. Dwelling on a bad break doesn’t help anything or anyone.

This was his lesson for a lifetime: Dedicate your energies to something bigger than yourself. Pop explains his religion in a single word: love. “Money creates opportunity,” he says, “but all that matters is what you use it for. If you make life about your appetites, you will always be hungering for more.”

94 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Fatherhood / 6 Easy Ways to Screw Up Your Kids

actions. Stop to help a stranger. Show sympathy for people who are worse off. And treat people with respect when you have nothing to gain.

SCREWUP 3

Go noncompetitive: Cycling and running groups improve cardiovascular fitness, while martial arts, yoga, and dance develop balance and coordination. Boy Scouts still go hiking and camping; Girl Scout camps are often open to nonscouts. Or just go for a family walk or swim.

You think your kid is the next Bryce Harper. When your son hit that shot over the left fielder’s head, in your mind he became a prospect, a future pro, or at worst a scholarship athlete. “As parents we become very vulnerable when we begin to look at sports as some kind of career path or an activity that has some big payoff at the end,” says Mark Hyman, a lawyer and assistant professor of sports management at George Washington University who’s written three books about youth sports. “You’re vulnerable to making some big mistakes.” The biggest mistake is pushing a child into year-round training and competition for a single sport. “You’re creating barriers that prevent kids from becoming the best athletes they can be,” Hyman says. “They get injured or want to quit before they’re near their potential.” REGAIN YOUR PERSPECTIVE Hyman’s take: Too ` often, youth sports programs exist to separate parents from their money without concern for the needs or interests of the participants. Remember that kids play to have fun, to be with friends, or maybe just because they like the uniforms. “Exceptional athletes go on to excel anyway,” Hyman points out. “They don’t need to be treated as professionals from age 7 or 8.”

INTENSE TRAINING MAKES SOME KIDS QUIT BEFORE REACHING THEIR POTENTIAL. SCREWUP 4

You let your kids quit everything.

96 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Don’t look at social media as a perpetual orgy of bullying, stalking, and naked selfies, says Danah Boyd, Ph.D., author of It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. “Parents don’t realize that young people are using social media as a primary place to hang out,” she says. “The kids are trying to connect with people they know from school, from church, from summer camp.” True, you find cruelty you wouldn’t have seen before the Internet. But learning to cope with it, Boyd says, can teach kids important skills. BUILD A FOUNDATION OF TRUST How do you ` establish and maintain trust in a wired home? Boyd proposes the “cool adult” solution. Have an adult your kids are comfortable with—an aunt, an uncle, a coach—connect with them online. If they slip outside boundaries, you’ll hear about it.

SCREWUP 6

Your marriage makes the ones in (BNF PG 5ISPOFT look healthy. Conflict at home can have a lasting effect. In a British study, brain scans of teens exposed to prolonged discord at young ages showed reduced gray matter in the cerebellum vermis. This same pattern is also seen in patients with depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, and even schizophrenia, says lead study author Nicholas Walsh, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of East Anglia. That doesn’t mean family turmoil causes those disorders or that isolated squabbles shrink young brains. But when a messy marriage affects the daily dynamics of your household—even if you never actually argue in front of the kids—it just might lead to real and lasting damage. KEEP HOME A HAVEN You can’t shield your kids ` from all conflict. In fact, Walsh says, “kids who are mildly stressed or challenged when growing up perform better academically.” But while you’re working on your marriage problems, try to promote a family climate that’s as warm as possible, he says: “Kids need a supportive, stimulating environment in which to develop the healthy habits and skills they’ll need later in life.” Which brings us back to this: Parenthood is set up for you to fail. You will, repeatedly. But human bodies and brains are resilient. “There’s no universal parenting approach to anything,” says Boyd, the social media expert. “You have to figure out what works in your house.” As every Star Trek fan knows, just because the future is an undiscovered territory doesn’t mean it can’t be better than the one you’re in now.

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THE BEST THINGS TO SAY TO YOUR CHILD

Praise can backﬁre if it’s focused on intelligence or skill. Here’s the smarter approach, says Carol Dweck, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. YOUR SON DOESN’T MAKE THE CUT FOR THE TRAVEL TEAM. “What can you work on?” If your son doesn’t know, have him ask the coach. “Now he’s showing the coach that he’s interested in getting better, and he’s receiving information about how to improve,” says Dweck.

YOUR DAUGHTER IS REJECTED BY EVERY ELITE SCHOOL ON HER LIST. “You don’t have to go to Harvard, Stanford, or Yale to make a tremendous contribution.” “The point of her life is not college,” Dweck says. It’s what she does later, with the knowledge and skills she picks up in school, at work, and in life.

YOUR KID TRIES TO REPAIR HIS BIKE BUT JUST MAKES IT WORSE. “That’s nothing. Wait’ll you hear what I messed up today.” Some kids have what Dweck calls a fixed mindset. “They think mistakes mean they’re not good at it.” They end up avoiding challenges. Parents can help them understand the value of mistakes by sharing their own and framing them as keys to success.

YOUR DAUGHTER ACES HER ALGEBRA TEST. “Nice work! What’s coming up?” The best praise focuses on process, not results. Same goes for the kid who’s struggling. It’s always about the next step. “It’s a value system you’re communicating,” Dweck says. “Nothing you do now tells us what you’re capable of doing later, if you go at it with passion and commitment.” —L.S.

Illustration by MIGUEL PORLAN

This is the flip side of the sports dad derangement syndrome: In a Finnish study, kids with the best speed, agility, and dexterity did better in math and reading their first few years in school than kids who hadn’t developed these skills. Granted, the study didn’t show cause and effect. But the CDC says school-age kids should exercise at least an hour a day doing a variety of activities. And the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting screen time to no more than two hours a day for kids older than 2. GET A MOVE ON Organized sports are still the ` best way for kids to play at full speed while developing all-around fitness. “But kids may get the message from parents that if they’re not stars, there’s no reason to continue,” Hyman says. He notes that the peak age for sports participation is 11, and 70 percent of children are finished by 13. So how do you encourage them to stick with it?

SCREWUP 5

You let them post on Instagram, and then you stalk them.

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WorldMags.net Weight Loss BY MARIA MASTERS

WHO’S MAKING YOU FAT? Meal myth: You alone are responsible for how much you eat. New science: Your tablemates—real or on a TV screen—play a big role in whether you pack in nutrients or pack on pounds.

YOU’RE INVITED TO EAT LUNCH IN A ROOM WITH

one other person in it. That person has been told by researchers what and how much to eat, but you don’t know this. At the end of the meal, you’re asked this question: “Why did you choose to eat as much as you did?” If your answer is “I ate what I wanted to” or “I ate until I felt full,” then you’re not as intuitive as you think you are. “Our study participants assume that they eat out of free will,” says Sarah-Jeanne Salvy, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the University of Southern California. “They don’t realize they’re influenced by what other people eat.” Other social, environmental, and societal cues also prod you to eat more. Part of the reason you’re susceptible, explains Salvy, is that you can conform socially and convey your selfimage through your eating habits. This plays out subconsciously 24-7 and can influence almost every food decision you make. “When you’re on autopilot and eat mindlessly, it’s dangerous,” says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., a professor at Cornell University who researches weight loss. Here’s how to maintain control at every meal.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOYCE LEE

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1 2 3 DANGER ZONE

DANGER ZONE

With Buddies at a Bar

Out on a Date

Alone, Watching TV

Sure, you’re your own man, wellinformed and sensible—just not around your pals. U.K. research suggests that guys can consume almost 20 percent more calories when they eat with same-sex friends than when they dine solo. It’s about what others are doing, says Salvy. “If your crew is eating wings and nachos, chances are you’ll do the same.” Guys also tend to be competitive, even with wings. “Nobody wants to be the slow one in the group, so you try to keep up,” says sports nutritionist Chris Mohr, Ph.D., R.D. ESCAPE IT Before the waiter even ` appears, mention that you want the grilled chicken salad. Some friends may rib you; others will consider emulating you. “Making public your decision to eat healthy is the first step to changing your behavior and perhaps that of the guys around you,” Salvy says. Instead of eating mindlessly, you’re helping your companions to stop and think before ordering five baskets of wings or a bucketload of nachos.

Resist the primal urge to order the 24-ounce steak. A study from Indiana University of Pennsylvania found that men who dined with women purchased an average of 1,141 calories’ worth of food, versus 900 calories when they ate with guys. “Men may be trying to prove their masculinity around women by buying more calories,” says study author Marci D. Cottingham, Ph.D. ESCAPE IT Order with your brain, ` not your testosterone. At Ruth’s Chris Steak House, the Petite Filet without butter is 340 calories, while the Cowboy Ribeye clocks in at 1,690. Sure, you’re a cowboy, but try sharing an entrée with your date and adding a salad. “There’s something sensual about sharing food,” says Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., author of The Flexitarian Diet. And it never hurts to go romantic: People who eat in restaurants that have dim lights and soft music consume fewer calories than those eating in the bright glare typical of many franchises, according to a study in Psychological Reports.

Eating while watching the tube can be even more perilous for your belly than eating at the bar with your buds. One study from UMass Amherst found that chowing down in front of the TV can bump up your intake of high-calorie fare by as much as 71 percent. Even worse: “Your brain subconsciously associates food with screen time, so you train yourself to crave calories when you sit on the couch,” says Blatner. Soon you’ll find yourself scarfing out of habit, not hunger. ESCAPE IT First, turn off those ` distractions. Then savor your food; this improves satiety, Mohr says. And always ditch the to-go containers in favor of real plates. Cornell researchers found that paper plates and plastic cups make people feel as if they’re eating snacks, so they may be more likely to have a “real meal” later. If you must snack in front of a screen, eat pistachios. “Breaking open the shells slows you down and leaves a visual reminder of how much you’ve already eaten,” Mohr says.

FAT FIGURES

THE TELEVISION EFFECT

Seemingly minor food decisions—like where, when, and how fast you eat—can snowball into belly fat fast.

Eat just two meals a week in front of the TV, and you may pack on 10 pounds in a year. The reason: The tube’s presence can bulk up your calorie intake by a couple hundred each time. The effect applies to other screens too, like computers, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D. “If you’re distracted while eating, your waistline is at risk.” MAC AND CHEESE

PIZZA

+71% LISTENING TO MUSIC 347 CALORIES

IN FRONT OF THE TV 593 CALORIES

Sources: Physiology & Behavior

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+34% LISTENING TO MUSIC 720 CALORIES

IN FRONT OF THE TV 964 CALORIES

Physiology & Behavior

June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 99

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Weight Loss / Who’s Making You Fat?

4 5 DANGER ZONE

At Home with Family

At a Social Event

Being home doesn’t seem all that dangerous: You’re cooking and serving, eating at the table, and saving leftovers. But none of that helps if you can easily reach for seconds. A Cornell University study found that men who set serving bowls on a side counter consumed up to 35 percent less than those who put the food on the table, within easy reach. The less effort we expend, the less we keep track of our eating. ESCAPE IT Leave the family-style ` pasta and chicken platters in the kitchen; bringing them to the table makes second and third helpings too easy, says Blatner. Also, make a pact with yourself to eat only what’s on your own plate. (In other words, keep your mitts off your kids’ and wife’s plates.) Finally, try to orchestrate meals so the healthiest items are served first. Yes, starting with salad is always smart. In a study from the University of Leeds, England, dieters who began a meal with a salad consumed about 20 percent fewer calories than those who began with garlic bread.

You can speak your mind around your buddies, but some situations require more subtlety. In fact, eating healthy can be socially awkward. In a study from the University of Scranton, participants were asked to rate characteristics of people who ate either pie or oatmeal for breakfast. The pie eaters were perceived as more humorous and less boring. “Showing more self-control than others—even if it’s just making healthy food choices— can increase the chances of a relationship conflict,” says Julie Exline, Ph.D., a psychology researcher at Case Western Reserve University. ESCAPE IT People pleasers need ` to be especially aware, says Exline. “You may go out of your way to eat more than you normally would in order to make others feel comfortable.” Try this bait-and-switch tactic: Compliment the food and talk about how great everything looks while filling your plate with healthy options, like produce and protein. It will seem more like you’re indulging and not counting calories.

THE COMPANION INFLUENCE

THE AUTOPILOT TRANCE

THE SPEED TRAP

THE SUPERSIZE SABOTEUR

When you snack with a buddy, you’re likely to consume more cookies and crackers than you would if you eat with a romantic partner.

By being more aware of the number of food and drink decisions you make every day, you can become more vigilant about your food choices.

Slow down: If you pound your pasta quickly (in nine minutes, say), you’ll eat more than folks who are dining at a more relaxed pace (22 minutes).

When you eat out of a larger container, you’re likely to consume more, even if the actual amount of food is the same in both containers.

RELATIONSHIP EFFECT ON SNACKING

DAILY FOOD AND DRINK DECISIONS

TIMING EFFECT ON CALORIE CONSUMPTION

SERVING SIZE INFLUENCE ON M&M’S INTAKE

+59% WITH A PARTNER 44 GRAMS

WITH A MALE FRIEND 70 GRAMS

Sources: Appetite

100 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

+16X PEOPLE’S GUESS 14 DECISIONS Environment and Behavior

+11%

ACTUAL NUMBER 227 DECISIONS

SLOW EATING 805 CALORIES

FAST FILL-UP 893 CALORIES

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

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+129% SMALL BOWL 155 CALORIES Appetite

LARGE BOWL 354 CALORIES

Prop st yling: Karin Olsen, wardrobe st yling: Karen Schijman/Berstein & Andriulli, manicure: K im Chiu/Mark Edward Inc; illustrations by +ISM

UNHAPPY ENDING Resist the temptation to impress your sweetie pie with your huge appetite.

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WHERE SKIN CANCER IS HIDING To beat melanoma, you need to look in some strange places.

BY PAIGE FOWLER

NAVEL-GAZING MAY BE A WORTHWHILE PURSUIT AFTER ALL. JUST ASK VIVIAN

Bucay, M.D., a San Antonio dermatologist. In 2006, at age 45, she noticed a patch of dry, white, flaky skin on her belly button that didn’t wash away. Curious, she took a biopsy of some flakes, expecting psoriasis, or eczema at worst. She was shocked when the pathologist called with the test results: melanoma. Further tests revealed that the cancer had spread to her lungs. Dr. Bucay’s chances of survival were so low—just 3 percent—that she entered clinical trials for an experimental treatment. The long-shot gamble paid off: She’s been cancer-free for seven years. Today, she’s warning the rest of us that what happened to her was no fluke. “About 50 percent of melanomas don’t start as a preexisting mole that changes,” Dr. Bucay says. Here’s another sneaky thing about melanoma: It can lurk in unlikely places, even on your nails and in your eyes. Yes, this is one mean disease. But while Dr. Bucay needed luck to survive it, you don’t have to cross your fingers: Turn the page for this summer’s most essential beach reading.

Jan Willem Scholten/Galler y Stock

102 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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EVENTS & PROMOTIONS

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COMPETING

This year Urbanathletes will set new standards of what it means to be ﬁt, while giving back to the causes that matter most. Here are some of our favorite give-back moments from 2013.

FOR A CAUSE MEN’S HEALTH MISSION

Men’s Health is a proud supporter of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), which provides opportunities and support for people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical ﬁtness and competitive athletics. To date, Urbanathletes have raised more than $280,000 for CAF through generous donations and fundraising efforts. Learn more at CAF.org

URBANATHLON AGENCY CHALLENGE

>>>

250+ advertising agency employees competed for ultimate bragging rights and the chance to win a free ad in the magazine to beneﬁt the charity of their choice.

VP/Publisher Ronan Gardiner and Alice Yom, Neil Slotterback, and Patrick Rice of Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners and “Team BSSP” won the San Francisco competition with a time of 1:34:37, donating their page to raisetheriver.org.

>>> VP/Publisher Ronan Gardiner and Jacob Garber, Allison Newman and Arie Hefter of Carat and “Team You Just Got Third Party Served” won the New York competition with a time of 1:22:40, donating their page to water.org.

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Health / Where Skin Cancer Is Hiding

Your Back There’s nothing quite like the feeling of the warm sun beating down on your pasty back after a long winter of hibernation. But there’s also nothing like a cancer diagnosis: The back is the number one area where melanoma pops up on a man’s body, according to University of Pennsylvania research. That sudden dose of sun may be responsible, says Clifford Perlis, M.D., a dermatologic surgeon at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. “For reasons that aren’t fully understood, getting blasted with short bursts of intense sun, like when you take off your shirt at the beach, is associated with changes in cells that can lead to melanoma,” he explains, “whereas chronic, prolonged exposure to your face, arms, and hands is more likely to lead to nonmelanoma skin cancers.” DEFENSE Anytime you plan to go shirt` less, first slather your body with enough broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) to fill a shot glass, Dr. Perlis advises. (See this issue’s Grooming Awards for powerful protection from L’Occitane and Turo Skin.) Since spots on your back are easy to miss, ask someone to lend a hand. For times when you’ll be in the sun solo, use the Aquasentials Easy Lotion Applicator ($7, amazon.com)—it’s basically a long-handled sponge. Either way, make sure you bring the bottle with you. A University of Minnesota study suggests that 90 percent of people don’t reapply sunscreen as often as they should. All of that said, there are times when you shouldn’t bare your back. For outdoor sports like golfing or sailing, wear a sun-protective shirt with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 50 or higher. Dampness diminishes UPF, so going to 50 ensures UV protection even if you sweat, Dr. Perlis says. DETECTION In addition to yearly visits to ` a dermatologist for a full-body scan, give

yourself a thorough inspection in front of a mirror every month. Ask your partner to examine the skin on your back. “I don’t recommend checking more frequently than monthly, because you’re less likely to notice changes when you look at something every day,” Dr. Perlis says. If you’re furry, have your mate check after you come out of the shower—it’s easier to see skin through hair when it’s wet. Take photos of moles, spots, or patches, and then compare them to what you see next month. Look for any of the standard warning signs that a mark has turned cancerous—in other words, know your ABCDEs. What are these? This handy mnemonic from the Skin Cancer Foundation reminds you to pay attention to mole Asymmetry, an uneven Border, a variety of Colors, a Diameter larger than ¼ inch, and an Evolving size, shape, or color. If anything’s off, see your dermatologist. Don’t delay if you see any sores that don’t heal.

Your Butt Yes, you can develop skin cancer where the sun don’t shine. That’s because mucous membranes in your anus contain pigmentproducing cells that can turn cancerous just as skin cells can. These tush tumors aren’t common—they represent less than 2 percent of melanoma cases—but they can be very deadly, with a five-year survival rate of only about 12 to 18 percent. One reason: People rarely find the cancer in time to stop its spread. DEFENSE You could rub sunscreen in your ` crack, but it won’t prevent melanoma. The best way to keep the disease from kicking your butt is to find and treat it early. DETECTION Even a yogi with a hand mir` ror probably wouldn’t be able to spot skin cancer between his cheeks. Instead, watch for symptoms, which may include lumps near your anus, constipation,

Listen up. TUNE IN TO MEN’S HEALTH LIVE, OUR NEW WEEKLY RADIO SHOW! Join the editors of Men’s Health, along with experts, celebrities, athletes, and other newsmakers, as they discuss all that matters to you. Find us on your favorite digital service and over 45 local airwaves across the country.

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Health / Where Skin Cancer Is Hiding

bleeding, pain, itching, or feeling like you have to go even when you recently had a bowel movement. These signs don’t definitively point to melanoma—other conditions, such as hemorrhoids or colorectal cancer, could be culprits— but if you notice any of them or a change in your poop patterns that lasts more than a few days, visit your doctor for a workup.

Your Head and Neck It’s no head-scratcher why skin cancer strikes a guy’s scalp, neck, and ears: The top parts of your body bear the brunt of the sun’s rays. And skin cancer above the shoulders is particularly lethal: People with scalp or neck melanomas are nearly twice as likely to die of the disease as those who develop it on their extremities, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina. Although only 6 percent of melanoma patients have the disease on their scalp or neck, these cases make up 10 percent of all melanoma deaths. Why? A dense concentration of blood vessels and lymph nodes in your head and neck could make it easy for cancer that starts there to spread throughout your body. DEFENSE The first step is obvious: Slather sun` screen on your neck and ears before going out. Then protect your pate with a hat rated UPF 50 or higher or, at the very least, don a dark cap, since dark hues allow less UV radiation through to your skin. We like the Columbia Coolhead Ballcap III ($32, columbia.com). When you can’t put a lid on it, Dr. Perlis recommends treating your bald spots with a layer of sunscreen gel, which is generally less greasy for hairy areas than cream formulas are. Try BullFrog WaterArmor Sport Quik Gel SPF 50 ($11, amazon.com). DETECTION “Whenever you have your hair cut, ` ask your barber to take a good look at your scalp and let you know if there are any areas where the skin looks different from the rest,” says Dr. Perlis. Ask him (or her) to inspect the areas behind your ears and the back of your neck too. Anything odd? Contact your dermatologist.

Your Fingernails and Toenails

106 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

1 BENIGN The border of a benign mole is even, not scalloped or notched.

2 BENIGN A normal mole is symmetrical. If it’s bisected, the halves match.

by excess sun exposure. Still, it’s a good idea to apply sunscreen to the tops of your feet and the backs of your hands before you head outside. At the very least, doing so may reduce your risk of other types of skin cancer, such as basal or squamous cell carcinoma. DETECTION Skin cancer leaves several telltale ` signs in nails. One is bleeding under the nail that doesn’t fade, so if you have a black-andblue mark that lasts two months or longer, or if you can’t remember bumping that spot, call your dermatologist. Do the same if you spot a brown mark that extends from your nail onto the cuticle or nail folds, says Dr. Perlis. Another warning sign is a brown-black vertical stripe down the nail, which occurs in about two-thirds of patients with nail melanoma. If you see any of these, get them checked. (If it’s not cancer, it could be a fungal infection.) You should also examine your hands and feet for moles, taking care to check between your digits.

Your Eyes Sometimes the hardest thing to spot is right in front of your eyes. And after your epidermis, your eyes are the most vulnerable area for melanoma. The disease often develops in the iris or the choroid, a lining that carries oxygen and nutrients

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3 MELANOMA It’s not just one color. Brown, tan, black, or other shades could appear.

4 MELANOMA Big is bad. A melanoma is usually bigger than a pencil eraser.

to the inner part of your eye—which also makes it easy for the disease to spread through your bloodstream to other body parts. “Intraocular melanoma most commonly occurs in people with blue or green eyes and fair skin,” says Dr. Perlis, “since darker pigment in brown eyes may be protective against damage from the sun.” DEFENSE Throw shades at skin cancer. Although ` researchers aren’t sure if sunlight causes eye melanoma, the American Cancer Society recommends wearing wraparound sunglasses that block 99 or 100 percent of UVA and UVB to protect your eyes and shield the delicate skin around them. One pair we’d wear is the Straight Jacket by Oakley ($130, oakley.com). If you drive to work, consider adding UV-blocking film to your car windows for more protection. (Find a dealer at llumar.com/en/DealerLocator.aspx.) DETECTION Make sure someone probes your ` peepers regularly. “Visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist for a yearly exam to have the insides of your eyes checked,” Dr. Bucay says. Then, when you do your monthly skin scans, examine your eyes in the mirror. A growing dark spot on your iris or a change in the shape of your pupil could indicate cancer. Another clue: changes in your sight, such as blurred vision, flashes, or floaters. If you see any of these, make an eye appointment ASAP.

Cour tesy of the Skin Cancer Foundation

Fair-skinned guys have the highest risk of skin cancer, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is off the hook. In fact, melanoma of the nail is just as likely to strike African Americans as Caucasians. And only about 40 percent of those who develop invasive melanoma on their toenails will survive the next five years. It’s also possible to develop melanoma on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet. In any case, the later you’re diagnosed, the grimmer your outlook. DEFENSE Researchers aren’t exactly sure what ` causes these occurrences of melanoma, but they’ve concluded that melanomas on nails, palms, or soles actually aren’t likely to be caused

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LOSE WEIGHT YOUR WAY 17 WEEKS

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Work

WorldMags.net BY ERIC SPITZNAGEL

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CODY PICKENS

HANGING TOUGH Since he founded TRX 10 years ago, Randy Hetrick has sold more than a million of the training straps.

TURN YOUR IDEA INTO $57 MILLION 108 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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Grooming: Beth Nowak

The TRX system’s creator reveals how he built a $50 million company out of...straps. Use his tips to turn your own big idea into a life changer.

IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 1997, AND RANDY HETRICK, A U.S. NAVY SEAL TROOP

commander, was deployed in Asia with the mission on hold. “The challenge is maintaining conditioning when you have no access to training facilities,” he says. So he started experimenting. Digging through his backpack, he discovered a jujitsu belt. By tying a knot at one end and throwing it over a door, he could use it to do a variation of a single-arm row. But he wanted more versatility, so he found some nylon webbing used for repairing parachute harnesses, and stitched a more elaborate training strap. It had a Y shape with handles that doubled as stirrups. Now Hetrick could do pullups, curls, core exercises, leg work—a seemingly endless array of moves. The SEAL team loved the contraption and dubbed it “the gizmo.” Still, nobody, certainly not Hetrick, thought the gizmo, “a true invention of necessity,” would be of much interest to civilians. Some 17 years later, that gizmo, now called TRX (Total-Body Resistance Exercise), is a fitness phenomenon. But Hetrick wasn’t just lucky. His rise from amateur inventor to fitness entrepreneur proves that a good idea is only half the battle.

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OFFICIAL SPONSORS PROUD SUPPORTER OF

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Work / Turn Your Idea into $57 Million

NAVY SEALS VS. STANFORD

Randy Hetrick, an alumnus of two of the world’s most exclusive training institutions, shares a few lessons in life and leadership. CORE SKILL

SEALS

Pushing yourself past your limit. “You do it by constantly challenging yourself to be better, setting new targets, and seeking innovative ways to improve.”

FLEX YOUR CREATIVITY The TRX video library (trxtraining.com) has 194 moves to choose from.

STANFORD

1 Dive in Deep

2 Test and Tweak

3 Find Shortcuts

After leaving the military in 2001, Hetrick enrolled in business school at Stanford. He was 36 and married, with a baby on the way. “I anchored the bottom of the first 20 exams,” he says. But he realized the gizmo might be a means to pull himself up. He unveiled it in a class called Formation of New Ventures and brought his prototype to the Cardinal’s training center. “Pretty soon, guys asked to try it .” The keys: Believing in his product and getting it into the hands of his target user.

If at first you don’t succeed...well, you’re like everyone else. Hetrick rejiggered his design at least 50 times. His SEAL buddies and some elite athletes pitched in. “No matter how smart you think you are, you need river guides to help you navigate the rapids,” he says. Hetrick’s first 49 tries weren’t mistakes. “We tend to see success as good and failure as bad,” says Bill Crawford, Ph.D., a Houston-based psychologist. “But failure can provide good information about what doesn’t work.”

Hetrick made his TRX prototypes with a $39 sewing machine. But he gained ground on his competitors, who had sleeker equipment but were less versatile. “Many creative people spend thousands on prototypes,” says Bob DeMatteis, author of From Patent to Profit. But big innovations don’t always happen in big labs. DeMatteis helped invent the self-opening grocery sack with a $2 investment: an X-Acto knife, plywood, and coat hangers. It’s a $1.5 billion business today.

To underpromise and overdeliver. “Building a brand is a marathon, but sometimes you have to sprint like hell.”

MUST-READ BOOK

SEALS

Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. “Explorer Ernest Shackleton used tenacity, resourcefulness, and teamwork to lead his men to safety.” STANFORD

Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. “Jobs was relentless in his passion for creating great products and for building the brand experience.”

I l l u s t r a t i o n by T R AV I S L A D U E

LEADERSHIP

4 Create a Movement

5 Hone Your Message

6 Keep Innovating

Soon after earning his Stanford MBA in 2003, Hetrick launched Fitness Anywhere in San Francisco. “I netted a grand or so a month, but it seemed like a fortune.” He kept at it, selling the TRX first to pro athletes and trainers and then to gyms. Eventually he branched out, bundling the TRX with workout DVDs and creating a certification for TRX instructors. The movement gained momentum as people began to design and share their own TRX exercises and circuits.

Sure, suspension training has been around for a long time, says Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. What set TRX apart was its slogan: “Make Your Body Your Machine.” Hetrick marketed it as “a gym in your backpack,” as handy for workouts as the iPod is for music. “Portability and convenience in exercise is booming,” says Comana. “TRX satisfied the customers’ needs—perhaps even their unrecognized needs.”

Today TRX has 110 employees and annual revenues of over $50 million. But Hetrick knows TRX needs to keep evolving. “Every few years we’ll come out with another true innovation,” he says. The latest, the TRX Rip Trainer, is a bar joined to a resistance cord that’s especially good for high-speed, low-load rotational training and core work. It’s too early to say if the new tool will be a hit, but Hetrick notes that it’s on a significantly faster growth track than his original gizmo was.

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SEALS

“The goal is always the mission. When structuring your team, you try to identify complementary skill sets. Each man has a specific role and tailors his training to it.” STANFORD

“We did case studies— CEOs, entrepreneurs, sports figures—and distilled best practices. But nothing is more important than what I learned leading a SEAL team.”

June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 111

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WorldMags.net TREVOR THIEME,

C.S.C.S.

ILLUSTRATION BY RORY KURTZ

YOUR BODY IS YOUR BARBELL You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to lift weights to get fit. Just push yourself. Discover five ways to turn your body into the most effective muscle-building tool on the planet.

116 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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WorldMags.net 2014 POSTER SERIES

The BodyWeight Blast

Alternate between Workouts A and B three times a week with 48 hours of rest between them. Do the first four exercises in each workout (the Muscle Burner) as a circuit and the last two (the Cardio Burner) back-to-back as a superset; see the directions at right. For each move, choose the most challenging variation that allows you to complete the workout. Total time per session: 30 minutes.

WORKOUT A

MAKE IT EASIER

MAKE IT HARDER

MUSCLE BURNER

P r o p s t y l i n g (f r o n t o f p o s t e r): S a r a h G u i d o / H a l l e y R e s o u r c e s; B E T H B I S C H O F F (e x e r c i s e s) , g r o o m i n g : L a u r a D e e S h e l l e y / C o l o r s c i e n c e / E x c l u s i v e A r t i s t s; +I S M ( i l l u s t r a t i o n s)

1 / Shoulders-Elevated Single-Leg Hip Thrust

2 / Pushup

Place your upper back against a stable box or bench with your arms out to your sides. Lift your right foot, tucking your knee to your chest [A]. Raise your hips as high as you can [B]. (If doing reps, do 10 per leg.)

Get down on all fours with your feet together, hands under your shoulders and body straight from head to ankles [A]. Keeping your elbows tucked, lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor [B].

PERFORM IT ON TWO LEGS (BOTH FEET ON THE FLOOR). ELEVATE YOUR SUPPORTING FOOT ON ANOTHER BENCH.

ELEVATE YOUR HANDS ON A BOX OR BENCH. ELEVATE YOUR FEET ON A BOX OR BENCH, OR BRING YOUR HANDS CLOSER.

3 / Deep Squat

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms straight out [A]. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and squat as far as you can [B]. WIDEN YOUR STANCE, OR LOWER YOURSELF ONLY UNTIL YOUR THIGHS ARE PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR. NARROW YOUR STANCE, OR ADD A JUMP BETWEEN REPS.

4 / Inverted Row Secure a bar at waist height. Grab it using an overhand, shoulder-width grip and hang with your arms straight and your hands above your shoulders [A]. Pull your chest to the bar [B]. BEND YOUR KNEES 90 DEGREES AND PUT BOTH FEET FLAT ON THE FLOOR. RAISE ONE LEG OR PERFORM IT SINGLE-HANDED.

CARDIO BURNER

5 / Squat Jack

6 / Mountain Climber

Squat with your feet together and your hands touching the sides of your ankles [A]. Now explode up to a standing position, raising your arms above your head and jumping your feet out to your sides [B]. DECREASE YOUR RANGE OF MOTION (DON’T SQUAT DOWN AS FAR). GO FASTER.

Assume a pushup position [A]. Lift your right foot and bring your right knee as close to your chest as possible, touching the floor with the toes of your right foot [B]. Repeat with your left leg. That’s 1 rep. GO SLOWER. GO FASTER.

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WorldMags.net MUSCLE BURNER (25 MINUTES) OPTION A DO EACH EXERCISE FOR 60 SECONDS (30 PER SIDE FOR SINGLE-LEG MOVES), RESTING 15 SECONDS BETWEEN MOVES. DO 5 CIRCUITS TOTAL.

Continue your transformation: Your Body Is Your Barbell is available now wherever books and e-books are sold.

CARDIO BURNER (5 MINUTES) OPTION B DO 5 REPS FOR EACH UPPERBODY EXERCISE AND 10 REPS FOR EACH LOWER-BODY ONE. COMPLETE AS MANY CIRCUITS AS YOU CAN IN 25 MINUTES.

OPTION A DO THE FIRST EXERCISE FOR 20 SECONDS AND REST 10 SECONDS. REPEAT FOR EXERCISE 2. THAT’S 1 SUPERSET. DO 5 SUPERSETS TOTAL.

OPTION B PERFORM 10 TOTAL REPS OF EACH EXERCISE TO COMPLETE 1 SUPERSET. PERFORM AS MANY SUPERSETS AS YOU CAN IN 5 MINUTES.

WORKOUT B MUSCLE BURNER

1 / Single-Leg Hip Hinge

2 / Handstand Hold

Stand on your right leg with your left foot raised slightly behind you, arms by your sides [A]. Push your hips back and reach for the floor as you lower your torso and raise your left leg [B]. (If doing reps, do 10 per leg.)

Place your hands on the floor 6 to 12 inches in front of a wall, spreading your fingers as wide as you can. Kick one leg at a time up into a handstand [A] and hold that position [B].

DON’T GO DOWN AS FAR. EXTEND YOUR ARMS OVER YOUR HEAD FOR THE ENTIRE MOVE.

DO A PIKE PUSHUP (FEET ON A BENCH, YOUR HIPS OVER YOUR SHOULDERS). PERFORM A HANDSTAND PUSHUP.

3 / Assisted Pistol Squat

4 / Hollow Chinup

Stand holding a pole or squat rack and raise your right foot in front of you [A]. Push your hips back and lower your body as far as you can, raising your right leg so it doesn’t touch the floor [B]. (If doing reps, do 10 per leg.)

Grab a chinup bar using a shoulder-width, underhand grip and hang with your legs angled in front of you, feet together, and toes pointed [A]. Pull your ribs to your elbows, raising your chin above the bar [B].

SQUAT ONLY UNTIL YOUR THIGH IS PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR. DO THE MOVE WITHOUT THE POLE FOR ASSISTANCE.

JUST HANG FROM THE BAR. MOVE YOUR HANDS TOGETHER SO THEY TOUCH.

CARDIO BURNER

5 / Skater Hop

Stand on your right foot with your left leg crossed behind you [A]. Bound to your left, landing on your left foot and crossing your right leg behind you [B]. That’s 1 rep. Continue hopping back and forth. TOUCH THE FLOOR WITH YOUR BACK FOOT EACH TIME YOU LAND. INCREASE THE SPEED OF THE MOVEMENT OR THE DISTANCE OF EACH JUMP.

6 / Donkey Kick Keeping your feet flat, squat and place your hands on the floor in front of you [A]. Lift your hips and kick your feet into the air behind you [B]. PERFORM THE MOVE WITH YOUR HANDS ELEVATED ON A BOX OR BENCH. INCREASE THE SPEED OF THE MOVEMENT OR THE HEIGHT OF EACH KICK— OR DO BOTH.

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2014WorldMags.net Poster Series TREVOR THIEME,

C.S.C.S.

THE BODYWEIGHT BLAST Build strength and torch fat from the comfort of anywhere with the ultimate no-weights workout plan. GUYS CAN BE WARY OF BODY-WEIGHT

exercises for building muscle. But that’s only because they treat them differently than free-weight and machine-based moves. “If you stop doing hundreds of reps and instead choose exercise variations that challenge you to do 5 to 10, you’ll change the training stimulus,” says BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S., the author of Your Body Is Your Barbell and creator of this month’s training program. “You’ll prioritize strength over endurance, and every ounce of muscle you build will be usable beyond the gym.” Not that you’ll ever have to set foot in one, since these workouts can go anywhere you do.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY TRAVIS RATHBONE

WorldMags.net POWER POINTS: ASSISTED PISTOL SQUAT

The unassisted pistol squat is the ultimate test of fitness: “You need to have everything—strength, power, coordination, mobility, and balance—not just to perform it well but to perform it at all,” says BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S., author of Your Body Is Your Barbell. That’s why he recommends starting with the assisted version, which will help you build the skills you’ll need to perform it handsfree. Use the tips at right to guide your form, and go slowly. “Most guys don’t have the ankle, knee, and hip mobility to safely do the move fast,” Gaddour says.

Find Your Footing

Use Your Hips

Steady Yourself

Don’t Drive Your Knee Forward

Distribute your weight among three points: your heel and each side of the ball of your foot. “This ‘tripod foot’ is key for stability,” says Gaddour.

“Gripping a pole helps you keep your chest up so you can achieve greater range of motion and reduce your risk of back injury,” says Gaddour.

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“Imagine you’re trying to close a door with your butt,” says Gaddour. Once your hips are back, bend your knee and sink into the squat.

The more vertical the shin of your supporting leg is, the less strain you’ll put on your knee, says Gaddour.

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Muscle / Your Body Is Your Barbell

WARNING: YOUR WHOLE CONCEPT of strength training is about to change. How can we be so sure? Because for years, fitness insiders have told men that body-weight training is an excellent Plan B—perfect for vacations, business trips, and days you can’t make it to the gym. They’ve championed it as a system for boosting metabolism and building endurance, and decreed it a smart starting point for guys embarking on strength programs. “And all of that is true,” says BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S., author of the new book Your Body Is Your Barbell. “But so is this: Your body weight can be even more effective than iron for packing on muscle.” It’s all in how you use it, as you’re about to discover. Paired with the workouts on this month’s poster, the body-weight training secrets revealed on this page can help you increase not only the size and strength of your muscles but also your power, mobility, and balance. “Instead of training to look like a hulking beast, which most guys do without realizing it, you’ll train to look like some of the fittest men in the world: boxers, gymnasts, soldiers, MMA fighters—guys who sculpt chiseled physiques without ever lifting a weight,” says Gaddour. Best of all, you’ll do it without ever having to set foot in a gym. Welcome to your new Plan A.

SECRET 2

Prioritize Strength

Body-weight training incentivizes an entirely different body type than weightlifting does. “With weightlifting, the heavier you are, the more pounds you can lift—not because you have more muscle, but because the extra mass gives you more leverage and momentum,” says Gaddour. “So there’s little motivation to fix poor eating habits.” The exact opposite is true for body-weight exercises, in which the extra mass becomes a limiting factor for both performance and athleticism. “Carrying around an additional 20 pounds is like wearing a weight vest,” Gaddour says. “So the incentive is to get lean as quickly as possible, and exercise alone won’t do that. You also need to dial in your diet.” Start by eliminating added sugar, particularly in the form of empty liquid calories. Then focus on increasing your intake of protein and produce. The recommended daily allowance of protein for the average adult male is 56 grams. “Shoot for at least double that,” says Gaddour. In a recent USDA study, men who consumed twice the recommended amount of protein lost more fat and maintained more muscle than those who consumed less. “Take the opposite approach with carbs,” says Gaddour. “Try to limit your daily carbohydrate intake to around 100 grams, and eat most of your nonvegetable carbohydrates after your workouts.”

“A common misconception is that you need to lift heavy to build serious muscle,” says Gaddour. But the reality is that your muscles can’t tell the difference between your body weight and a barbell. “They know time and tension—that’s it,” Gaddour says. “As long as an exercise is sufficiently challenging, you don’t need to add weight to trigger muscle growth.” Think about that the next time you drop and do 20 pushups, or bang out a set of 50 body-weight squats. “If your goal is to increase size and strength, then most of the body-weight sets that you do should be challenging in the 5- to 10-repetition range,” Gaddour says. Check out “4 Easy Ways to Make Any Body-Weight Move Harder” (right) to learn how.

118 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

SECRET 3

Focus on Form “Every rep of a body-weight movement recruits more muscles, better engages your core, and places a greater demand on your nervous system than most weightbased exercises,” says Gaddour. That makes technique all the more important. “You want to put yourself in a position that maximizes your training effect while minimizing wear and tear,” says Gaddour. Each exercise has its own technique, but many share a few key points. Remember this mantra: “Vertical shins for lower-body moves, vertical forearms for upper-

4 EASY WAYS TO MAKE ANY BODY-WEIGHT MOVE HARDER

SECRET 4

Master Fewer Moves “Next to lack of motivation, the biggest roadblock for people who are just starting a fitness program is ‘exercise ADD,’ ” says Gaddour. “When you constantly switch things up, you never fully master the skills associated with executing an exercise perfectly.” You also never fully realize its fat-burning and muscle-building potential. That flies in the face of what many guys are told—that constant variation is the key to avoiding plateaus and maintaining muscle growth. “But most guys are better off sticking to fewer exercises and milking every benefit from them before moving on,” says Gaddour. Start with the exercises on this month’s workout poster. “They cover what I call the ‘body-weight 8,’ or the eight key movements for sculpting a fit body: hip hinge, hip thrust, deep squat, single-leg squat, row, pullup, pushup, and handstand pushup,” says Gaddour.

CHANGE POSITION

“The steeper your body angle is to your working muscles—say, elevating your feet in a pushup—the harder the move is,” says MH advisor BJ Gaddour.

DECREASE STABILITY

“Reduce your contact with the floor by raising a limb, or narrow your base of support by moving your hands or feet closer together,” Gaddour suggests.

SECRET 5

Use Your Body Daily Body-weight moves generally require more skill than machineand weight-based exercises do, so your brain and body need more time to learn to perform them efficiently, says Gaddour. Speed the process by practicing easier variations, such as the ones described on the poster, during your off days. “Do 1 set of 10 reps per move,” says Gaddour. Moving around in a deep squat for 5 to 10 minutes a day or holding the top of a hip thrust for 20 seconds every 20 minutes you’re at your desk can also be a mobility game changer. “You’ll activate your glutes, open up your hips, and take pressure off your lower back,” says Gaddour. “Get mobile, and muscle will follow.” Your Body Is Your Barbell is on sale now wherever books are sold.

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CHANGE TEMPO

“Slow the lowering phase of an exercise to 3 seconds, or pause at the bottom for 4 seconds to eliminate any built-up elastic energy,” says Gaddour.

COMBINE MOVEMENTS

The more muscles you engage, the harder you’ll work, Gaddour points out. That’s why the burpee, T-pushup, and chinup with knee raise are so fatiguing.

Illustrations by K YLE TEZ AK

SECRET 1

Dial In Your Diet

body ones,” says Gaddour. Vertical shins shift more load to your hips and hamstrings, taking pressure off your knees. Vertical forearms shift more load to your pecs and lats, taking pressure off your elbows. In both cases, the results are healthier joints and faster gains.

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Special WorldMags.net Report BY TOM McGRATH

WHEN KILLING IS A GAME As shoot-’em-up video gaming becomes even more immersive, scientists are racing to finally answer a controversial question: Does virtual violence turn some boys into real killers?

FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES, THE WORLD HAS

Still, as I enter the building through the open doorway, my body tenses and my eyes scan the room as quickly as possible. Is there danger in here? I move forward tentatively, my senses heightened in anticipation. Suddenly I see a figure in the shadows. My finger moves instantly, twitching for what seems like dozens of times as the rat-a-tat-tat explodes around my ears. I see a body slump. It’s the one I’ve been aiming at, and I feel a surge of satisfaction in my chest. It’s a Saturday afternoon, and though physically I’m perched on a chair in my basement with a smooth plastic Wii controller in my hand and a chunky 15-year-old TV on the table in front of me, mentally I’m in the war-torn streets of whatever unidentified city is the setting for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. I’ve been playing the game for the last 45 minutes, and though my skill level is pretty lame—I seem to be killed almost as often as I kill—in many ways I feel lost in this other world. I play for about 10 more minutes, blowing away a few more bad guys, until I’m blown away myself (again) and decide I’ve had enough. Because I’m in my basement and not in a lab somewhere hardwired to all sorts of monitors, it’s difficult to say for sure what’s happening to me physiologically. But it’s a safe bet that my heart rate and blood pressure are both elevated and stress hormones are coursing through my body. I feel a little on edge. Which, as I walk up the stairs to the kitchen, makes me wonder: Would you really want to be my wife, my kids—even my dog—right now?

been engaged in a massive and unprecedented social experiment: What happens when millions of people—most of them boys and young men—are allowed to pretend, in the most vivid way possible and often for hours on end, that they’re professional killers? Does the experience increase the odds that they’ll someday turn into killers themselves? Does it shape their personalities in other ways? Or is it all simply forgotten in the hours after the game ends? The anecdotal evidence isn’t reassuring, at least in light of the mass shootings of recent years and the number of those shooters who’ve had strong connections to violent video games. Columbine’s Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, for example, were serious fans of the sci-fi horror game Doom. James Holmes, who opened fire in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others, allegedly told one

120 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

person that during the shooting he felt like he was “in a video game.” And late last year it was revealed, in Matthew Lysiak’s book Newtown: An American Tragedy, that Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old behind the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, had logged more than 500 hours playing the first-person shooter game Combat Arms, during which he recorded a staggering 83,496 kills (including nearly 23,000 head shots). And yet scientific evidence about the effects of violent video games is muddled. On one side is a group of researchers, backed by dozens of studies, who are convinced that our mass infatuation with such titles as World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto is a public health threat and that such games are making us more aggressive and less sensitive to violence. What’s more, these experts claim, the threat is particularly strong for men: Men buy the majority of games, and according to a Harris Interactive survey, young men are about 2½ times as likely as young women are to describe themselves as “addicted” to playing. “We can’t say whether the games lead to violent criminal behavior. But we know they lead to aggressive behavior and thinking,” says Brad J. Bushman, Ph.D., a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University who has spent the past 25 years looking at the effects of violence in media. Bushman coauthored perhaps the most persuasive paper on the topic, a 2010 meta-analysis that looked at more than 100 previous studies. The paper’s conclusion: Playing violent video games ranks alongside substance use, poverty, and abusive parents as a risk factor for both short-term aggression and the development of aggression-prone individuals. On the opposite side of the argument is another contingent of researchers who essentially believe that all of the above is b.s. They counter that much of the research indicting video games is flawed and that their own studies generally show no ill effects from playing. Indeed, they see the hand-wringing as classic “moral panic”—people fearing and demonizing something because they don’t understand it. “Obviously video games have an effect on us or we wouldn’t play them,” says Christopher

YOU PLAY, YOU PAY

Small-screen violence may still have a big effect on your brain. Smartphones are great because they let grown men geek out playing shooter games without looking like, well, geeks. The problem? Tapping and zapping on your morning train ride may make you more aggressive and less empathetic at work, says Bruce Bartholow, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Missouri. In fact, the easy accessibility of these games may cause them to be more problematic than their big-screen brethren. “If you have the game in your pocket and can play all the time, there may be no opportunity for those effects to diminish,” says Bartholow. His advice: Limit yourself to an hour a day. —LILA BATTIS

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Prop st yling: Ed Gallagher/B ig Leo; illustration by Q U I C K H O N E Y

NONE OF THIS IS REAL.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CRAIG CUTLER

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Special Report / When Killing Is a Game

Ferguson, Ph.D., a professor of clinical psychology at Stetson University and an outspoken opponent of the video game critics. “But do they have any dramatic public health effect? No.” The stakes are huge. The video game industry, which in 2013 made about $93 billion worldwide, has surpassed the global film industry. Given that four of the five best-selling games of last year were violent shooter titles, software developers and even game-system manufacturers may take a hit if violent games are found guilty. More important, the popularity of these games may mean that not only are more Adam Lanzas out there but new ones are being trained every year. WHEN HE STARTED PLAYING COMBAT ARMS IN

2009, Lanza was a skinny, socially awkward 17-year-old who’d been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism disorder. Or at least that’s who he was in real life. In the game, onscreen, he was able to create a different version of himself: a muscle-bound soldier wearing fatigues, goggles, and a black beret and carrying a military assault rifle. In Lanza’s chosen mission in Combat Arms, players were to rack up a certain number of kills as quickly as possible—even if it meant turning the rifle on themselves and committing suicide—and Lanza became obsessed with it. By 2011, he had moved on from Combat Arms to other violent games, such as Call of Duty and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, where again the goal was to tally as many kills as possible. Had Lanza been born just a generation earlier, such a violent outlet would have been hard to come by even in the world of video games. In the early days, of course, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong dominated, and in retrospect these games seem not just benign but almost sweet. That began to change in the 1990s with the development of a new genre: the first-person shooter. Titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and several others allowed players to see the world not from an objective outside perspective but from the point of view of the person doing the shooting. As the technology and graphics improved dramatically in the following decade, first-person shooters exploded in popularity. “In a lot of ways, it’s the easiest thing to do,” says game writer and designer Walt Williams when asked why violence is at the heart of so many games. Almost all video games operate on the same principle: giving players obstacles to overcome, pixels that need to be clicked on and made to go away. Creating those obstacles in the form of people—and making them disappear with virtual bullets—is one of the simplest solutions game creators have. But Williams believes that the attraction of first-person shooter games runs deeper. “I think it’s connected to a power fantasy,” he says. “You’re put in a situation that reinforces the power being in your hands. That’s appealing.” 122 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

So how does your body react when that power takes the form of shooting an onscreen representation of a human being who might shoot you first if you don’t act quickly enough? Numerous studies have shown an uptick in all the measures you might imagine: blood pressure, heart rate, stress hormone levels. In short, though the violence isn’t real, your body reacts as if it were. Even more intriguing is what happens in your brain. In a 2011 study from Germany, researchers showed violent screen shots from the game Counter-Strike to gamers with firstperson-shooter experience. Typically, showing people negative images provokes activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex, the area involved in emotional processing and control. In this study, though, the experienced gamers showed significantly less activity in that region. They had become desensitized to the death and gore. OF COURSE, PHYSIOLOGY IS ONE THING; BUT

behavior is another. A number of studies from the 1990s and early 2000s showed that playing violent video games leads, at least in the short term, to more-aggressive attitudes, emotions, and actions. In one of the most frequently cited

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studies—published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2000—college-age students played either the violent game Wolfenstein 3D or the nonviolent Myst. Afterward they answered a questionnaire designed to measure their attitudes and emotions; then they took part in a competitive activity in which they could blast another student with white noise. Those who’d played Wolfenstein 3D not only demonstrated thoughts that were more aggressive but also delivered longer noise blasts to their oppo-

HOW TO PROTECT A TRIGGER-HAPPY KID

Ban a boy from playing violent video games, and you may start a war. Instead, achieve détente by using these strategies from human behavior researcher Cheryl Olson, Sc.D., and clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair, Ed.D.

WorldMags.net Do you handle the obstacles you face in real life the same way you handle those on the screen— with aggression?

Illustrations by QUICKHONE Y

nents than the Myst players did. The virtual violence, in other words, seemed to prime them to react more aggressively in the real world. More-recent research suggests that the propensity toward aggression isn’t something that necessarily fades minutes after the game has ended. A 2008 study published in Pediatrics measured the aggressiveness of Japanese and American schoolkids at two different times, with three- to six-month gaps between assessments. Those who habitually played violent video games were more likely to be aggressive during the first measurement period, and their aggression was also more likely to increase by the second one. Another study, published in Developmental Psychology in 2012, surveyed high schoolers annually from ninth to 12th grade about their video game habits and aggressive behavior. Higher amounts of violent video game play predicted higher levels of aggression. It should be noted that none of these studies link video games to violent behavior. That’s important because there’s a difference between aggression and violence: Aggression is defined as any behavior carried out with the intent to harm another person, while violence is an act intended to cause extreme physical harm, such as injury or death. Still, researchers say, we need to be concerned. “I’m much more interested in types of aggression we experience in our everyday lives,” says Doug Gentile, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Iowa State University. He means

the general way we interact with one another: If someone bumps into you, do you see it as an accident or a provocation? Does your temper flare more easily than it normally would? Put another way, do you handle the obstacles you face in real life the same way you handle those you face on the screen—with aggression? The research so far suggests that for heavy gamers, the answer is yes. Studies also suggest that video games, which make you an active participant in the onscreen proceedings, are more powerful than passive media, like movies or TV. In a 2008 study, European researchers had kids ages 10 to 13 do one of three things—play a violent video game, watch someone else play the same game, or play a nonviolent game. Afterward, boys who had played the violent game were the most aggressive of the three groups. (Curiously, girls showed no difference in aggression among the three groups— a fact that the researchers speculate could be because boys in the study had played a lot of violent video games outside the study, while the girls had played relatively few. The boys, in other words, may have been hardwired by previous game exposure to behave aggressively.) For Gentile, none of these effects are surprising. To habitually engage in violence in the virtual world, he believes, is to train your brain to think in a certain way, which then manifests in aggressive behavior in life. “Your grandmother was a great neuroscientist,” Gentile says. “She always told you that practice makes perfect.” ONCE UPON A TIME, PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR

Chris Ferguson was an awkward teenager too. Or at least he was a fan of Dungeons & Dragons, a role-playing game that in the 1980s was a target of some conservative Christians who feared that its fans were on a slippery slope toward devil worship. (Others feared that it put kids on a less alarming path toward Renaissance fairs.) This was the era during which Tipper Gore mounted her famous crusade against overly explicit song lyrics; as a result, the music industry was forced to put parental warning stickers on certain albums lest teenage souls be corrupted.

Both events made Ferguson, now 42, leery of grownups overreacting to things they don’t understand. “Adults clearly didn’t know what they were talking about,” he says. Still, his skepticism didn’t fully kick in until he became an adult himself and read a research paper stating that the link between violent media and aggressive behavior was nearly as strong as the link between smoking and lung cancer. Ferguson’s reaction: That’s absurd. Much of Ferguson’s career since then has been spent trying to debunk the notion that a strong scientific connection exists between violent media—particularly violent video games— and negative outcomes of any kind. For starters, he questions the methodology of many of the studies, arguing that they frequently lack standardization, often don’t control for gender differences, and don’t necessarily measure what they purport to measure. One of his favorite examples is a 2004 study supposedly proving that playing violent video games gave college students a more aggressive mindset. His gripe? The researchers’ chosen method for measuring attitudes was asking study participants to fill in the missing letter in the following word: explo_e. As it happened, the participants who had played violent games were more likely to put a d in that word (“explode”) than the control group, who more often chose r to spell “explore.” But, Ferguson wonders, does that really tell us that they were likely to be aggressive? He also suspects publication bias—that is, some journals choose to publish studies that show a result over those that show nil effects. Finally, he’s conducted several of his own studies over the years and says they all fail to prove a significant negative effect from playing games. In one of Ferguson’s most recent studies, published in January 2014, he and his coauthors explored the question many have asked over the years: Are violent games particularly dangerous for people with preexisting mental health conditions—specifically children diagnosed with either depression or ADHD? The study, which appeared in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found no CONTINUED ON PAGE 171

PUT UP NEW TARGETS

TELL HIM TO STAND DOWN

SAY, “SHOOT HOOPS, NOT PEOPLE”

RECRUIT HIS BUDDIES

Pinpoint the game elements that bother you and the features he’s looking for, and then try to find a compromise, says Olson. If he loves combat and competition, nudge him toward fantasy or sci-fi games in which he can annihilate aliens and not people.

Abbreviating his gaming sessions may lead to frustration—players often can’t advance far in brief periods. Instead, designate game-free days, says Steiner-Adair. In return, promise a few long stretches of game time so he has a chance to advance to a new level.

Children use gaming to de-stress after school, but killing stuff is a bad coping tool. So set aside the first hour at home for any sport or game except the video kind. “If video games aren’t an option, he’ll learn to deal with stress in a better way,” says Steiner-Adair.

Those immersive shoot-’em-ups can encourage isolation. To counteract that, find games that foster children’s capacity to play together, says SteinerAdair. Go to commonsensemedia.org, search for games based on skills taught, and try to agree on a few. —L.B.

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20s 30s 40+ WorldMags.net THE BEST LOOKS FOR LIFE

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THE 2014 GROOMING AWARDS YOUR NEEDS EVOLVE AS THE YEARS PASS. GIVE US A MINUTE, AND GO GRAB A MIRROR. HAIR THINS. FACES WRINKLE. FEET STINK. TEETH

stain. These are facts of life, and a man should try only so hard to conceal them. Grooming isn’t meant to stop the march of time or permanently hide your flaws. Grooming, when done properly, is a winning negotiation with your body. It’s the delicate art of trimming, mussing, whitening, massaging, and scrubbing to put your best foot, and face, forward. Turn the page to find out how to look like a winner at any age. P H O T O G R A P H B Y T R AV I S R AT H B O N E WorldMags.net

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WorldMags.net THE GROOMING AWARDS 2014

EXPLOIT YOUR YOUTH Your 20s are the sweet spot of grooming—when acne fades and crow’s-feet are way off the radar. No wonder 69 percent of the guys under 30 in a Men’s Health survey said they own just three or four grooming products. “Your skin and hair have never been better, and your hormones are firing at their optimal levels,” says Tony Nakhla, D.O., a California dermatologist and the author of The Skin Commandments. But it’s not all good news: These are also the years when your collagen begins to break down, making way for wrinkles. “You’ll need more sleep, less booze, and as little sun exposure as possible,” says Doris Day, M.D., a Manhattanbased dermatologist. These steps will help keep you looking fresh.

START STRONG 5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUTH LAST.

Shave Years Off

Detox Your Gels

Take a Risk

Be an Early Adopter

Use a Soft Touch

When you have some scruff, run your index finger vertically down your face, says Michael Gilman, founder of The Grooming Lounge in D.C. You should be shaving in the direction the hair naturally grows.

Products that contain alcohol can weaken your hair, irritate your scalp, and dry out your skin, Gilman says. Look for alternatives with soothing, moisturizing ingredients, such as aloe or chamomile.

If you have straight hair that’s a few inches long, use pomade to slick it back into a pompadour, and have your barber show you where to part it, suggests Craig Whitely, editor-in-chief of themensroom.com.

About two-thirds of men experience some hair loss by age 35. “Incorporate Rogaine into your regimen before anyone notices,” Dr. Day says. “It’s always easier to keep the hair you already have than to grow it back.”

Scrubbing breakouts will just trigger more oil and leave your face red, says Kenneth Beer, M.D., a dermatologist based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Instead, wash gently using a product with salicylic acid.

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P O R T R A I T PH OTO G R A PH S BY B EN L A M B ER T Y

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STAY YOUNG—IN 5 SECONDS A DAY

ADD THESE MOVES TO YOUR MORNING MUST-DO LIST.

Your Goal / Beat UV Rays UV light is the biggest factor in premature aging, accelerating the loss of elasticity and the appearance of fine lines, Dr. Nakhla says.

Your Plan / Moisturize Skin thins with age. Keep it strong and elastic by fighting UV damage now, says Josh Zeichner, M.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center.

Use This Neutrogena Men Triple Protect Face Lotion with Sunscreen SPF 20

BOOTS NO7 CALMING POST SHAVE RECOVERY BALM It has aloe, which soothes nicks. $8, walgreens.com URTH SKIN SOLUTIONS FOR MEN SHAVE FORMULA Safflower oil makes razors glide easily. $25, geturth.com

P r o p s t y l i n g : S a r a h G u i d o / H a l l e y R e s o u r c e s ( s t i l l - l i f e s ) , g r o o m i n g : C a r o l i n a D a l i / To m F o r d / S e e M a n a g e m e n t ( p o r t r a i t s); i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y J O N AT H A N C A L U G I

BILLY JEALOUSY BEARD CONTROL This conditioning balm will help you tame the wildest facial hair. $20, billyjealousy.com

NEUTROGENA PORE REFINING EXFOLIATING CLEANSER

LAB SERIES SKINCARE FOR MEN PRO LS ALL-IN-ONE FACE TREATMENT

GROOMING LOUNGE MUG CLEANER FACE WASH

DR. DENNIS GROSS SKINCARE ONE STEP ACNE ELIMINATING PADS

BULLDOG SKINCARE FOR MEN ORIGINAL EYE ROLL-ON

EVERY MAN JACK 2-IN-1 CITRUS SHAMPOO + CONDITIONER

Get a softer clean than with soap using this gentle exfoliating cleanser that penetrates your pores with its alpha and beta hydroxy formula. $7, neutrogena.com

This product combines the benefits of a moisturizer and an antiaging cream. The soothing rosemary extract also makes it an ideal aftershave. $29, labseries.com

No need to use elbow grease when cleaning your face. Gently apply some of this nondrying paraben- and sulfatefree formula. $19, groominglounge.com

Send acne packing with these exfoliating wipes. Salicylic acid works with L-carnitine (which cuts sebum production) and clears oil-clogged pores. $38, dgskincare.com

No synthetic fragrances in this stuff: It’s a natural undereye treatment contains Brazilian ginseng extract, which can improve dark circles. $18, us.meetthebulldog.com

Lighten the load in your gym bag with this 2-in-1 product. Your hair and scalp won’t dry out, thanks to the glycerin and shea butter. $8, everymanjack.com

AXE HAIR MATTE EFFECT TEXTURIZING SALT SPRAY

RITUALS BLUE DRAGON FOAMING SHOWER GEL

GILLETTE CLINICAL CLEAR GEL ANTIPERSPIRANT/ DEODORANT

CREST BE LIME SPEARMINT ZEST

RALPH LAUREN FRAGRANCES POLO RED

NAUTICA VOYAGE N-83

Why gunk up your palms with gooey product? This refreshing salt spray adds bulk and texture to limp locks with just a few squirts. $17, axematteeffect.com

This soothing shower gel contains cedarwood fragrance. It foams up with just a drop of H2O, making it easy to apply to hard-to-reach areas. $15, rituals.com

Gillette’s new product won’t leave any traces behind. And it has the highest concentration of aluminum zirconium you can buy OTC. $10, pgestore.com

Crest livened up its line of toothpastes with summer-friendly flavors, like spearmint and lime, without losing the cavity-fighting benefits. $6, pgestore.com

The bold saffron, grapefruit, and coffee berry notes in Ralph Lauren’s fragrance create a fiery trifecta that’s sure to reinvigorate date night. $78, ralphlauren.com

Kick off your morning with this light, aquatic scent. It has notes of nutmeg and cardamom; plus, its mint may help improve your memory recall. $63, macys.com

S T I L L- L I F E P H O T O G R A P H S B Y T R AV I S R AT H B O N E

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WorldMags.net THE GROOMING AWARDS 2014

EXTEND YOUR PEAK Time is a precious resource during this decade, and your mirror may not get enough of your time. A Men’s Health survey found that most guys in their 30s spend just 20 minutes a day in prep mode— which could hold them back professionally. “Grooming’s impact increases in direct proportion to your job position,” says Dan Kilgore, a Boston-based principal with Riviera Advisors, a recruiting company for Fortune 500 firms. “A lack of it can be fatal to your career.” University of Texas research even found that the most attractive men stand to make 17 percent more than their least attractive peers, which translates to about $230,000 over a lifetime. Here’s how to spend your valuable minutes in the morning.

STEP IT UP

A PLAN TO PRESERVE YOUR PRIME.

Reduce Shampoo

Put It in Reverse

Banish Dandruff

Layer It On

Protect Your Ivories

Daily shampooing robs hair of moisture. Lather up three days a week to give natural oils time to replenish, says Jeffrey Yabut, a stylist at Truman’s Gentleman’s Groomers in NYC. Just rinse on the other days.

Hair is usually thicker on the back of your scalp than the front, so you’ll want to add product at the rear first. Fine follicles tend to clump together with excess putty or paste, revealing the scalp underneath.

Look for a conditioner with jojoba oil, which has compounds identical to the oils your hair produces. Pair it with a shampoo that contains zinc pyrithione, an antifungal agent that will prevent any new flakes.

Apply thinner skin products first, says Josh Zeichner, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. A serum is more effective when followed by a thicker product to lock in moisture.

Coffee, citrus juice, and sports drinks erode tooth enamel and leave stains, says Debra Glassman, D.D.S., a New York City dentist. Rinse with water after drinking any of these to fight the acid’s side effects.

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IT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GERMAN ENGINEERS HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE FOR PLAQUE

INTRODUCING ORAL-B’S MOST ADVANCED BRUSHING EXPERIENCE It accelerates to top speed faster than a high performance sports car. And with seven brushing functions and nearly precision brush movements per second, it delivers more plaque removal* and a clinically-proven, superior clean versus the leading sonic technology. It truly is engineered to perform. Explore the innovation at OralB.com/black.

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30s THE GROOMING AWARDS 2014

SMOOTH YOUR MUG YOUR SHAVER DESERVES THE SUPPORT OF THIS EXFOLIATING REGIMEN.

Your Goal / Blast Buildup Decades of dead skin (yeah, gross) can gum up the works in your shaver, leaving skin looking craggy. Exfoliation will be your savior—if you stick with it.

Your Plan / A Sonic Boon Set aside the washcloth. A wave of new devices, like the Clarisonic Mia and the Foreo Luna, use sonic movements to deep-clean skin debris.

Use This Foreo Luna for Men, $199, foreo.com

GUCCI GUILTY POUR HOMME Earthy notes of patchouli convey masculinity. $88, sephora.com KENNETH COLE MANKIND Sandalwood and ginger make it stand apart. $72, kennethcole.com KARL LAGERFELD POUR HOMME Lavender and zesty mandarin are pleasantly musky. $75, macys.com

L’OCCITANE VERDON OUTDOOR MOISTURIZER SPF 30

BLIND BARBER WATERMINT GIN FACIAL CLEANSER

DERMALOGICA ULTRASMOOTHING EYE SERUM

KIEHL’S SINCE 1851 ULTRA FACIAL OVERNIGHT HYDRATING MASQUE

DOVE MEN+CARE EXPERT SHAVE TOTAL COMFORT SHAVE CREAM

AVEENO MEN’S AFTER-SHAVE LOTION

This moisturizer is great for swimmers and counteracts sun damage with ingredients rich in vitamin A, an ally in the battle against wrinkles. $32, usa.loccitane.com

Here’s the one time bathing yourself in gin is socially acceptable. The juniper berry in this cleanser may be a surprising acne fighter. $18, blindbarber.com

Ward off premature wrinkles with this peptide-packed serum. Its vitamin C can increase collagen production to firm your skin. $50, dermalogica.com

Apply this mask before bed, and the hyaluronic acid—which can help your cells retain moisture—will have plenty of time to seep in. $35, kiehls.com

Shave creams should apply easily and not wash away before your razor finishes the job. Dove’s lather is rich and provides a comfortable shave. $26, target.com

The oatmeal infused in this mild aftershave helps rehydrate your skin for days after you use it by locking water into your outer layer of skin. $6, drugstore.com

HEAD & SHOULDERS 2-IN-1 SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER WITH OLD SPICE

RUSK PASTE

ÊSHAVE HAIR STYLER

RECIPE FOR MEN ULTRA CLEAN SHOWER GEL

MARVIS MOUTHWASH CONCENTRATE IN STRONG MINT

PHILIPS SONICARE DIAMONDCLEAN BLACK EDITION

This shampoo and conditioner combo deploys pyrithione zinc, a strong antifungal ingredient, and has an invigorating, first-date-safe scent. $6, pgestore.com

Grooming on a budget? Rusk’s paste applies easily and costs under $20. It also contains a form of keratin, the same protein found in your hair. $18, stylesource.com

Hair goes haywire when it’s too dry. The sugarbased emulsifiers in this paste lock in moisture, while the beeswax adds volume to individual strands. $17, eshave.com

Before your morning coffee, try this energizing grapefruit- and guarana-infused body wash to give your day a kick in the pants. $19, recipeformenusa.com

The natural bee extract propolis, found in this refreshing, alcohol-free peppermint mouthwash, can help prevent plaque from forming. $23, bigelowchemists.com

With five brush modes, nearly 50 percent more bristles than the standard model, and a charge that lasts for weeks, the Sonicare is a must-have. $220, philips-store.com

132 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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WorldMags.net THE GROOMING AWARDS 2014

REFINE YOUR LOOK Strands of gray and crow’s-feet are often interpreted as signs of distinction. But when a younger guy angles for your job, they can feel like signs of vulnerability. The long hours at work, the lack of sleep, and the sunscreen-free weekends on the back nine can all catch up to you in a hurry—if you don’t take action now. Thankfully, most of you have already started fighting back: Seventy-eight percent of men in their 40s we surveyed spend 30 minutes or longer on their daily grooming routine. “The rules of skin protection won’t change very much this decade, but the process will require more vigor,” says Kenneth Beer, M.D., a dermatologist in West Palm Beach, Florida. Just follow our plan below.

GROOM SMART

ACQUIRE TOP-LEVEL SKIN CARE INTEL.

Watch Your Timing

Kickstart Your Cells

Do an About-Face

Drop the Soap

Get the Mane Idea

Apply face serums optimally. Retinol breaks down in sunlight, so apply it before bed, says dermatologist Doris Day, M.D. Vitamins A and E together boost SPF protection in the a.m. and aid skin repair at night.

Two words: glycolic acid. “It’ll buff your skin and improve its tone,” Dr. Beer says. A glycolic acid cleanser or peel will also help clear your skin of dead cells by speeding cell turnover, say researchers in Italy.

Skin is thinnest around your eyes, so be careful when cleansing it if you want to prevent wrinkles, Dr. Day says. Wash the skin gently with the pads of your fingers, and pat down if you dry your face with a towel.

Soaps contain moisture-depleting sodium hydroxide. Cleansers lack the harsh chemical and bathe your skin in hydrating oils. Look for products labeled “cleanser” whenever you need to lather up.

Switch to shampoos with keratin proteins, which improve hair strength. Or if you’re thinning up there, try a low buzz cut to give the illusion of thickness, says Craig Whitely of themensroom.com.

134 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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SHAVING HAS EVOLVED. Defy the limits of ordinary shavers, with the Arc5 Wet/Dry Shaver from Panasonic. Experience the personalized closeness and comfort of 5 nanotech blades and a powerful 14,000 CPM motor controlled with our advanced Shaving Sensor Technology. Find your ultimate shaving device at Shop.Panasonic.com/Evolve WorldMags.net

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40+ THE GROOMING AWARDS 2014

FORTIFY YOUR FACE

KEEP BLOTCHES AT BAY AND WARD OFF WRINKLES FOR YEARS TO COME.

Your Goal / Fight Aging As fat cells on your face shrink, the skin thins. You might notice brown, splotchy patches and uneven areas of pigment.

Your Plan / Add Vitamin A A University of Michigan study found that applying vitamin A can help skin retain moisture and boost collagen.

Use This Anthony Logistics for Men Vitamin A Facial Treatment

CLINIQUE FOR MEN ANTI-AGE MOISTURIZER Proteins help stimulate collagen. $36, clinique.com FRESH BLACK TEA AGE-DELAY EYE CONCENTRATE This calming formula levels wrinkles. $85, fresh.com JACK BLACK DEEP DIVE GLYCOLIC FACIAL CLEANSER Glycolic acid strips buildup. $20, getjackblack.com

GOLDFADEN MD FRESH A PEEL

TURO SKIN SPORT LOTION + SUNSCREEN SPF 30

LAFCO REPARATIVE HAND CREAM

MALIN+GOETZ SAGE BODY WASH

AMERICAN CREW HAIR RECOVERY + THICKENING SHAMPOO

TRUMAN’S GENTLEMEN’S GROOMERS THE FINISHER CONTROL PASTE

Exfoliation can help smooth out bumps and eliminate splotchy skin. This facial peel contains lactic acid to reduce skin imperfections. $85, goldfadenmd.com

This fragrance-free formula offers an amino acid antioxidant boost to slow down the effects of free radicals that damage cells and degrade tissue. $35, turoskin.com

Consider this the antidote for rough mitts. The silicone-free cream uses natural jojoba and olive oils to seal in moisture and soften skin. $20, lafco.com

Testers liked the lather’s herbal fragrance. Your skin will appreciate its amino acid cleansers that balance and hydrate without irritation. $18, malinandgoetz.com

Thinning strands? This shampoo is packed with keratin proteins, which improve the fullness of hair, according to researchers in Tokyo. $12, loxabeauty.com

Truman’s bottle makes applying product a cinch: a half pump for thinning hair; one squirt for regular; and two pumps for thicker ’dos. $18, trumans-nyc.com

BUMBLE AND BUMBLE THICKENING DRYSPUN FINISH

V76 BY VAUGHN CLEAN SHAVE HYDRATING GEL CREAM

SUPERSMILE FLUORIDE FREE PROFESSIONAL WHITENING TOOTHPASTE

PANASONIC ES-LV95-S ARC5

CALVIN KLEIN ETERNITY 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION FOR MEN

MONTBLANC LEGEND INTENSE

One tester called it “a hair styling revelation.” We liked the workable texture and light hold that accomplished the mission with ease. $29, bumbleandbumble.com

This gel transforms into a rich cream that softens your stubble as you lather. Vitamin E antioxidant beads keep skin soft as they protect and repair. $28, v76.com

Need something else to smile about? This whitening paste deploys calcium peroxide to lift stains. It also works on bonds, veneers, and caps. $21, supersmile.com

This electric razor’s motor adjusts its speed based on the density of your beard, and the head pivots to follow the contour of your face. $500, shop.panasonic.com

This crisp and classic fragrance has stood the sniff test of time. There’s a good reason it’s been flying off shelves for 25 years. $74, macys.com

Place this bold, masculine scent on your wrist and neck, and it’ll put the notes of cardamom— thought to promote mental clarity—to work. $79, macys.com

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C O N T R I B U T O R S : B R I A N B OY É , G E R I LY N M A N A G O , D A N M I C H E L , S A N D R A N YG A A R D

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AVA IL A B L E AT D IL L A RD â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S , B O N -T O N & B E L K

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NEVER

STAND

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STILL

BY MIKE ZIMMERMAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ART STREIBER

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HUGH JACKMAN CONSTANTLY PUSHES, TRAINS, TRANSFORMS, AND FINALLY PERFORMS. LET HIS LIFE BE YOUR LESSON IN THE POWER OF CHANGE.

WorldMags.net FEATS OF STRENGTH

TODAY

The Physical

Every time I’ve spoken with Jackman, he’s been in some state of intense physical transformation. I don’t think people really understand that level of commitment and what it takes to maintain it over a span of years. Films like Real Steel (training with Sugar Ray Leonard) and Les Misérables (losing 30 pounds and then gaining it back again) required serious prep work. Of course, nothing compares to the transformation Jackman has had to undergo to play a certain heavily muscled mutant. Take what happened as shooting on The Wolverine wound down. “It was October [2012]. I started having a few treats here and there. I was planning my cheat meals, planning my life leading up to Christmas. And I was like, ‘Uh-oh.’ ” Why? He’d gotten word that X-Men: Days of Future Past was a go for that spring. (It’s out now.) Even though he had another shoot in the meantime—the underrated thriller Prisoners—he had to retrain for Wolverine all over again. “Once you’re in shape, you can get away with a few treats,” he says. “But every day off requires three days of work.” For Jackman, the intense preparation is part of the performance, even when the cameras aren’t rolling. For example, he always wants to give himself a solid three months to prepare for any role that might have him in the raw, which is often a possibility with anything Wolverine-related. “There’s a naked shot in this one,” he says. “Not front naked—it’s PG-13—but full-body. So I made it very clear that I wanted to know the date I’d be shooting that stuff. That was May 21. And I remember about three weeks before that, I hear, ‘Oh, we’re having some trouble with the day, we might push it off a few weeks.’ ” He giggles. “I said, ‘Absolutely not! I don’t care, you can push anything back you want, but I’m naked on that day!’ ” At this point I have to ask: Is there ever a time when he stops reinventing his body? It’s not a yesor-no answer, it turns out. Technically, right now, February 2014, Jackman is not physically working to become someone else. But even when he can stop, he doesn’t. He thinks about it, however. “It’s interesting,” he says. “I’ve been fascinated myself that I don’t want to completely do nothing. This morning, including this [photo shoot], I’ve trained twice. I’m betting that for the next five or 10 years, I’ll still get asked to do stuff where I have to be physical. It’s tempting to just go and do yoga, or swim, or play tennis. But being skinny, I’ll lose the muscle like that. I know how hard it is to get back. And by the way, it’s harder at 45 than it was at 30. Even now, I’m noticing the weight starting to go down. You have to work hard.” Then he starts laughing. “It sucks.”

RAPID FIRE: HUGH JACKMAN

Motto: “Have a go.”

One exercise for the rest of your life: “Deadlift. It hits pretty much everything.”

Hero: “Nelson Mandela. That kind of humility I admire.”

What you cook to impress your wife: “Ricotta pancakes.”

Favorite curse word: “Motherfucker. Motherfucker’s neat.”

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S t y l i n g : B r i a n B o y é , g r o o m i n g : B i r g i t t e / R e n e F u r t e r e r / A B T P, s e t d e s i g n : B e n a r k S t u d i o ; o p p o s i t e : J o h n V a r v a t o s T - s h i r t , C i t i z e n s o f H u m a n i t y j e a n s

the sun probably shines hot in your world, but on the day I met Hugh Jackman, New York City was buried under a foot of soot-stained snow and frozen stiff, traffic and all. It was a good day to be sequestered in a massive studio space downtown shooting photos, and the shit. This is my fourth time talking with Jackman. In the nearly 10 years bridging those conversations, I can tell you a few things I know for sure. One, he has an industry reputation as a generous gentleman. I can testify: He listens. He engages. He respects. Two, he’s a big dude. He has a couple of inches on me, which makes him six-two. But the heroic stature really comes from the broad chest. Today he spends much of our photo shoot sprinting, climbing, and jumping around the studio. He doesn’t need claws to sell it. Three, he has an unearthly work ethic, a trait he shares with most hypersuccessful people I’ve met. Skeptics will say he’s able to do what he does because of money, or luck, or some other cosmic fix. Balls to that. Four, Jackman was not always one, two, and three. The fact is, and I’m going to use the obvious metaphor, it takes ongoing feats of superhuman strength for a man to remake himself. Jackman has that strength. Do you?

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A GENTLEMAN, WITH AN EDGE

HOW HUGH JACKMAN BECAME A CLASS ACT AMONG ACTORS.

At Home

In School

On the Job

Jackman’s father emphasized good etiquette: “Everything was very proper and English that way. So a lot of that chivalry was stuff I was taught at home. But then he’d actually talk to me about stuff like respect. Really, it’s about having respect for people.”

At his liberal university, a woman called him a misogynist because he opened a door for her. “I was like, ‘What?’ I had to rethink it. Then I understood the point. Don’t do things for her just because she’s a lady. Treat everyone the same because they’re people.”

Early in his career, a man yelled at him on set. “I took him aside and said, ‘If someone on the street talked to me that way, I’d punch him in the head. So if you continue, that’s what’s gonna happen.’ You can’t be afraid to lose something for what you think is right.”

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June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 141

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Jackman makes a deliberate distinction between a challenge and a goal. Goals are single-minded pursuits and therefore limiting. Challenges can expand. Example: Can a man be in better shape for his signature role in 2013 than he was 10 years earlier? Watch The Wolverine and you see the answer. Each Wolverine film is an expanded physical challenge. What separates a man who meets these challenges from those who fall short? “It’s a great question, and it still fascinates me,” Jackman says. “Think about how the Seattle Seahawks rose to the occasion and Denver didn’t. What is the mental step? I’ve heard that [Broncos coach] John Fox says there are two types of pressure, the pressure you apply and the pressure you feel. They wanted to be applying. But on the day? They didn’t apply any pressure. So it’s all a mind game. Preparation, I’ve realized, is key.” That’s fine to say. But we’re all pretty sure the Broncos prepared. Their collective wheels came off so fast that one had to question their lug nuts. So what then? “You know that stuff’s going to happen,” he says. “Can you regroup? Even if you have a bad first take, don’t let that screw up the whole day.” Part of that lesson came from Jackman’s big break, the first time he grew out the Wolverine muttonchops on the original X-Men. “I remember studio people saying, ‘We’re not quite seeing what we saw in your audition.’ [Director] Bryan Singer’s coming over to talk to me. I thought this was a prelude to being fired. Right then I made a very clear decision to do what I thought was right. If I didn’t like the script, change the script. If I didn’t like the action, change it. But it needed to come from me so if I got fired, I was not doing what I thought people wanted—just what I wanted to do. About three days into that, I remember catching Bryan’s eye, and I could just tell that he was like, ‘That’s the guy I hired.’ ”

FEATS OF STRENGTH

The Mental

I l l us tr ati o ns by M A R C O G O R A N R O M A N O; o p e n ing sp re ad an d o p p o si te: J o h n Var vato s T- sh ir t , 7 fo r A l l M an k in d j e ans , M o n tb l an c watc h , Lo u is Vu i t to n sn e a ke r s

The Indeﬁnable

Stopping, whatever that may mean—taking a break, stepping out of the spotlight, recharging—can never be an option for Hugh Jackman. Recharge? The work recharges him. That’s one of the tricks that successful people like to use. There are plenty of tough-guy clichés about this idea: “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” for example. But one-liners alone don’t capture the point. Jackman captured the point long ago and lives by it. “My father has an insane work ethic. I have about 60 percent of it, but in Hollywood that makes me a fairly hard worker. I got that from him. He never missed a day of work in his entire life. He brought up five kids on his own. He loved his job as an accountant, and he told me, ‘You’ve got to find that thing you love to do, and then you’ve got to be educated.’ Don’t just assume because you love to do something that you’ll be good at it. You have to learn how to do it. I did four years of drama school because of my dad. I was offered a big job on a soap opera. It was that or go to drama school. It was a huge decision. Oh, shit yeah! I remember watching that soap opera and the guy who took that role. All I remember was he played the trumpet. So I turned it on, and there’s this bloke playing the trumpet. And I was literally sitting there eating two-minute noodles, living on a hundred bucks a week for rent and everything, and I’m like, I could’ve done that and gone on to America. So I did have some moments.” Jackman makes it sound simple, and on one level it is. But it’s not so simple on a day-to-day, real-life level when we’re all faced with personal choices and challenges. If you want to bring it back to simple—permanently—first bring yourself to a point of reckoning, just like Jackman did. “Learn a lot about yourself,” he says. “You push yourself, challenge yourself, you go to places emotionally and you don’t always want to do that. But it keeps you fresh and young. Our tendency in life is to narrow everything. Worldview, friendships, choices, feelings we have, reactions to things become smaller and narrower. We lose our range. “It wasn’t until I came to a truce inside myself about the fact that my job rarely will be comfortable that I started to enjoy it more,” he says. “Like Wolverine. You want to get somewhere you’re not physically? It’s going to be uncomfortable. The end result is good, but it’s uncomfortable to change. It’s frightening. So in a way, feeling comfortable is a warning sign. Accepting this as a part of life was a big change for me.” And once he did, he saw the benefits again and again, and still does today. “Right now my oldest kid has grown about a foot in a year,” he says. “He’s going through growing pains—literal pains—so it’s uncomfortable. But he’s growing. And for me, losing weight, putting on muscle, losing water weight, none of that is easy. The resolve ultimately makes you stronger, and you feel better for it.”

“Push yourself, challenge yourself, go places emotionally. You don’t want to, but it will keep you fresh and young.”

THE ALL-NEW WOLVERINE WORKOUT

DIRECTIONS

IF YOU SPORT FEROCIOUS CLAWS, YOU NEED THE GUNS TO BACK THEM UP. “ONCE A WEEK, HUGH WILL DO A VARIATION OF THIS ARMS WORKOUT,” SAYS DAVID KINGSBURY, JACKMAN’S TRAINER FOR X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST.

Perform the close-grip bench press and dumbbell incline curl as a superset (back-to-back), doing 6 reps of each with 60 seconds of rest between them. Complete 8 supersets total. Next, do 50 dips, and then ﬁnish with 50 barbell curls. Perform everything with good form and rest as little as possible.

Close-Grip Bench Press

Dumbbell Incline Curl

Dip

Barbell Curl

Grab a barbell using an overhand grip that’s slightly less than shoulder-width apart, and hold it above your sternum with your arms straight. Take four seconds to lower the bar to your chest. Press the bar straight up to the start.

Grab a pair of dumbbells and lie on your back on a bench set at 45 degrees. Bend your elbows and curl the weights as close to your shoulders as you can. Pause, and take four seconds to lower them back to the start.

Grab the bars of a dip station and lift yourself so your arms are straight. Cross your feet behind you and slowly lower yourself until your upper arms dip just below your elbows. Pause, and push back up to the starting position.

Grab a barbell and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Without moving your upper arms, bend your elbows and curl the bar as close to your shoulders as you can. Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.

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June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 143

GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

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EDITED BY PAUL KITA

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX FARNUM

P.144

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REASONS IT’S GOOD TO BE HUNGRY RIGHT NOW HERE ARE ALL THE TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, RECIPES, AND SKILLS YOU NEED TO START BUILDING MORE DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS MEALS TODAY.

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WorldMags.net AT BREAKFAST: DUCK!

Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs, so they require gentler heat to cook through. In a skillet over medium-low heat, melt 1Tbsp butter and add the eggs. Cook until the whites set, 3 to 5 minutes. Chow down.

GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

SATISFY MORE THAN YOUR APPETITE SAVOR THE FOOD, AND THE WORK./ BY DAVID LEITE y Connecticut kitchen is my true north. It’s not fitted out with enormous professional appliances. (I learned long ago that a hot flame is a hot flame.) Its gray-green walls, white cabinets, and patterned countertop are more zen than anything else. When I’m alone, my kitchen becomes my workshop—where I not only assemble ingredients but make them as well. Homemade espresso-maple smoked bacon. Portuguese chouriço, which my father said through tears was as good as the kind he grew up eating in Portugal. Breakfast sausage; corned beef and pastrami; duck prosciutto; stocks and demi-glaces; homemade ketchups, mustards, and vinegars. Even my frigging compost is artisanal.

It’s no different from eighth-grade shop class, I’ve come to realize. But instead of lathe chisels lining the wall, I have knives lining a drawer. And just as working in shop relieved my teenage angst, cooking in my kitchen workshop beats back worries about mortgages and unfulfilled dreams. It’s there—brining meat, rinsing sausage casings, roasting bones—that I am in the moment. I am sure of myself. Why bother doing all this? I hear in my head. “I do it because I can,” I reply out loud. I do it because I find no greater joy than sitting at the table with my partner and our friends, knowing that I’m filling bellies, sustaining friendships, and reinforcing purpose—all because of the craftsmanship that comes from my kitchen workshop. You can do this too. Keep reading. —Leite is the author of The New Portuguese Table

Bypass the Blender for Sublime Hot-Weather Cocktails For an easy summer drink, turn to the Sazerac. Chill a rocks glass in the freezer. In another glass, muddle 1 tsp sugar with 1 tsp water. Fill this glass with ice and stir in 2 ounces rye, 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters, and a lemon peel. Add a splash of absinthe to the chilled glass, swirl to coat, and toss (down your gullet). Strain the rye mixture into the chilled glass. —David Joachim, author of Cooking Light Global Kitchen

IF YOU WANT TO EAT BETTER, YOU GOTTA QUACK SOME EGGS

MENSHEALTH.COM | JUNE 2014 | P.146

When you break a farm-fresh duck egg into a skillet, you’ll notice how the tangerine yolk perches resplendently atop the white. By contrast, the feeble yolk of a commercial chicken egg droops and flops. Cook that duck egg sunny-side up, and you’ll savor a richer, deeper flavor, says Joshua Skenes, executive chef of Saison in San Francisco. Plus, the nutrition of duck eggs is nothing to squawk at.

Go Ahead, Cook the Books

Butcher Tom Mylan, author of The Meat Hook Meat Book, turns to his sauce-stained copy of Moro East for grilling guidance.“It’s taught me to use Greek yogurt for everything: as a marinade, as a dip, and as a topping.”

DUCK EGG

CHICKEN EGG

WEIGHT

70 g

50 g (large)

CALORIES

130

PROTEIN

9 g

6 g

IRON

3 mg

<1 mg

V I TA M I N B 1 2

4 mcg

<1 mcg

SELENIUM

26 mcg

15 mcg

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St yling: Jasmine Hamed, prop st yling: Justin Segall, food st yling: Katie Christ, hair and makeup: Alexia Ogle, production: Carmel Cot tingham; still - life photographs by R ALPH SMITH; icons by Jay F letcher; illustrations by +ISM

02/

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BUILD A BREAKFAST BETTER THAN ANYTHING THAT POURS FROM A BOX DAVID LEITE’S BEST EVER SAUSAGE PATTIES

What you’ll need 2

L B C H I L L E D P O R K B U T T, C U T I N T O 1" C U B E S

L B C H I L L E D F AT B A C K , C U T I N T O 1" C U B E S

C U P C H O P P E D PA R S L E Y

T B S P K O S H E R S A LT

T B S P G RO U N D S A G E

2½ T S P B L A C K P E P P E R

0 4

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T S P G RO U N D CORIANDER

TSP RED-PEPPER FLAKES (OPTIONAL)

TSP DRIED THYME

T S P G RO U N D N U T M E G

T S P G RO U N D G I N G E R

1/ Run the pork butt and fat through the ¼" plate of a meat grinder. 2/ In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the ground meat and fatback with the rest of the ingredients. 3/ Cover the bowl containing the sausage mixture tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 4 hours so the flavors meld. Shape the mixture into 3" to 4" patties, each about ½" thick. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the patties until browned on both sides and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side. The uncooked sausage will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Makes about 12 sausage patties

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0 IDIOT-PROOF 5 YOUR CLAMBAKE

Think of clams as self-contained steamers: When you heat bivalves, the water inside their shells gradually cooks their tender meat. Buy littlenecksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;middle necks and top necks are too chewy. Then scrub them under cold water, toss them on the grill, and wait for the shells to part. Ken Oringer, chef and owner of Clio in Boston, recommends spicy clams casino: After the shells have opened, top each clam morsel with butter, a splash of hot sauce (like Cholula), and a squeeze of lemon.

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WorldMags.net HARNESS STEAM POWER!

The same method for grilling clams also works for other mollusks, such as oysters and mussels. Try topping any grill-steamed bivalve with garlic butter, fresh pesto, or your favorite BBQ sauce.

THOUGHT WINE WAS WEIRD ONCE TOO

GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

06/ YEAH, YOU

07/

First stop: Japan, which is brewing bolder traditional sakes, says Tadashi Ono, executive chef of MaisonO in New York City. “These hold up well with bold-flavored foods. I’m not a big fan of clean, crisp, ‘easy drinking’ sake; I like something challenging,” says Ono. CHIKURIN FUKAMARI JUNMAI “It’s earthy and funky with a distinctive fermented ﬂavor,” says Ono. Drink this with other similarly nuanced foods, like aged meats and cheeses or something cooked with miso. $32, jotosake.com WATARI BUNE JUNMAI GINJO 55 “Watari bune” pertains to a strain of rice that gives this sake a clean, energetic ﬂavor. “It’s nutty, fruity, and complex, but gentle,” Ono says. Try it with grilled seafood or sashimi. $24, jotosake.com

Cooking: It’s Something to Do While You Drink Beer

Magic happens when strangers cook together. I host classes at The Farm Cooking School, where I watch timid guests don aprons. We peel and chop, simmer and sauté as one. Mistakes occur. Beers empty. And soon, we eat—a newfound family through food. —Ian Knauer

When in Doubt, Add Bacon Fat

After cooking bacon, let the liquid-gold fat cool, pour it into a lidded container, and refrigerate it to use at will. Don’t worry: Bacon fat has about the same number of calories as vegetable oil. And it tastes like bacon! *Melt the fat in a pan before you make omelets or scramble or fry eggs. *Drizzle warm fat on grilled bread. Rub with cut garlic and top with tomato. *Spoon the fat over grilled steak. —Steven Raichlen, author of Man Made Meals

YOU’RE NOT EATING ENOUGH AVOCADOS. 4 SOLUTIONS, HERE

WHIP UP A SIMPLE SNACK Drizzle half an avocado with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and add a squeeze of lime juice. Dig in with a spoon.

WAKE UP YOUR BREAKFAST Make scrambled eggs and add diced avocado, a squeeze of lemon juice, crushed red-pepper ﬂakes, and crumbled feta.

STIR TOGETHER A CHIP DIP Combine mashed avocado with goat cheese, salt, lime, and Tabasco. Scoop up the mix with potato chips or rice crackers.

MAKE HER MELT Tuck avocado slices into a tuna melt with Cabrales cheese (or any blue cheese) and sliced tomato on rye toast.

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MENSHEALTH.COM | JUNE 2014 | P.149

This time of year, creamy, luscious California avocados are at their best. “When they’re in season, Hass avocados are rich, nutty, and almost sweet,” says Susan Feniger, co-owner of The Border Grill restaurants. Per cup, these bumpy-skinned California avocados contain nearly 3 more grams of fiber and 78 percent more heart-healthy monounsaturated fats than smooth Florida avocados do.

WorldMags.net LEAN ON THIS PROTEIN

Bison steak is naturally leaner than the typical beef version you’ll ﬁnd at your grocery store. Per 6 ounces, bison rib eye contains 4 more grams of protein and 90 fewer calories than beef rib eye.

GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

BISON ARE AT HOME ON THE RANGE AND ON YOUR GRILL

Think of the bison as the food world’s Rocky. Due to unregulated hunting, fewer than 1,000 bison (also known as buffalo) lived in the United States by the late 1800s, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service—a huge decrease from the 30 to 60 million that roamed the land when the Europeans first reached these shores. Surviving animals found protection with private ranchers. They’ve made a comeback: About half a million buffalo now live in North America. And the future of these beasts lies in the hands—or rather, wallets—of consumers like you. After all, only about 60,000 bison are processed in the United States each year, while 120,000 beef cattle go through the system every day. However, now that consumers have started herding toward this lean protein in recent years, more butcher shops, restaurants, and high-

end grocers now carry bison meat. The trend is as good for the species as it is for your diet. Bison offers more protein per pound than standard beef for fewer calories. Ranchers often offer organic, grass-fed, hormone-free meat—just the kind you should be looking for when you shop. (To locate bison meat near you, download BisonFinder, a free app for iPhone and Android.) And buffalo is extremely easy to prepare. Brush tenderloins, steaks, or a whole loin with a touch of oil, season with salt and pepper, and grill the meat to medium rare. Or make a burger topped with the classic combination of ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Pick it up, and behold a truly American meal. —Steven Rinella is the author of American Buffalo and the host of MeatEater on Sportsman Channel

Teach the Next Generation to Grill with Pride My son Eddie turns 3 this summer. Last year he sat beside the grill, repeating my lessons. (“Don’t forget to use salt, Daddy.”) This year we’ll go to the farmers’ market so he can pick what we’ll cook. I’ll teach him to massage marinade into meat. I’ll point out the hot spots on the grill. And we’ll be together, as men, over a fire, like so many before us. —Jesse Schenker, chef/owner of Recette in NYC

12/ PA RT Y !

ROCK YOUR KITCHEN

ROY BUCHANAN / WHEN A GUITAR PLAYS THE BLUES “This album smolders like a perfect BBQ ﬁre.” —John Stage, founder/pitmaster at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse, New York JIMI HENDRIX / ELECTRIC LADYLAND “It puts me into a meditative state. I can lose myself cooking to it.” —Saul Bolton, executive chef/owner of Saul at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn

You Can Dance While You Sauté

Think of the Altec Lansing XL Jacket speaker as your new sous chef. It’s wireless, so you can move it from kitchen to grillside, and its rubberized jacket shields it from sauce. It sounds almost as sweet as the phrase “Dinner’s ready!” $199, alteclansing.com

RELAX!

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THE ROLLING STONES / BEGGARS BANQUET “It’s perfect to play loud. You can’t go wrong with ‘Street Fighting Man.’” —Josiah Citrin, chef/owner of Mélisse in Los Angeles

THE BOOKS / LOST AND SAFE “I want to make food the way that they make music. The Books blend studied technique with modern sounds.” —Josh Habiger, culinary director of Pinewood Social in Nashville

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YOUR FIRST IS STILL BEST When my friends show me their new grills and start talking BTUs, I bite my tongue. My basement is filled with used and rejected grills. My Weber One-Touch Silver 22.5" charcoal grill has outlasted every one. The Weber’s domed lid creates incredible convection heat for roasting chicken or crisping pizza crust. When I open the dampers, I can sear amazing steaks. As a chef, it’s all about versatility. —Tony Maws, chef/owner of Craigie on Main, Cambridge, Massachusetts

HOW TO GRILL EVERYTHING

When your coals are hot, bank them to one side of your grill to create three temperature zones, says Maws. Then start cooking.

THE BLAST FURNACE Consider this the sear zone: Steaks, lamb chops, pork chops, scallops, and burgers belong here. Or use the spot to quickly char foods that require lower heat to cook through.

THE SIZZLER Tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers can shrivel over high heat. Put them here, along with large cuts of meat, such as whole chicken or pork shoulder; close the lid to circulate heat.

THE WARMER The less intense heat of this zone creates an optimal space for toasting burger buns, gently melting butter in a saucepan, or maintaining the temperature of food that’s already cooked.

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WorldMags.net GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

SPICE BLENDS PILE ON T HE FLAVOR

Ancient cultures have spent centuries honing mixtures of herbs and spices to support and define their cuisines. Now that all the hard work is complete, steal these blends for your own. All it takes is a sprinkle here or a rub there to add complexity and mystery to your food. Here are my four favorites. —Joe Yonan, author of Eat Your Vegetables WHERE TO BUY Spice blends are becoming easier to ﬁnd in mainstream grocery stores, but if there are any from this chart that you can’t ﬁnd, head online to these trusted spice traders: penzeys. com, kalustyans.com, gryffonridge.com.

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1 4

Za’atar /Middle East INGREDIENTS

SUMAC

THYME

S A LT

SESAME SEEDS

This blend draws its aromatic power from wild thyme, giving the spice mix a slight tang. That’s why it’s great with creamy hummus or yogurt dips.

Sprinkle on TOASTED P I TA RO A S T CHICKEN RO A S T E D EGGPLANT POPCORN

Chinese Five Spice /China INGREDIENTS

CINNAMON

C LOV E S

FENNEL

S TA R A N I S E

SZECHUAN PEPPERCORNS

The star anise gives this blend a potent licorice kick, so use less of the mixture than you think you need. Too much can make meals taste bitter.

Sprinkle on BARBECUED PORK RIBS SEARED DUCK BREAST BEEF STEW MOLASSES COOKIES

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WorldMags.net COOK WITH HER, WIN HER HEART

When planning the menu for your big date, consider her cooking experience. Think homemade pizza or pasta. That way you two can work together kneading the dough and tasting the sauce.

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Garam Masala /India INGREDIENTS

CARDAMOM

C AY E N N E

PEPPERCORNS

CINNAMON

The ingredients in this blend can differ according to region, but the mix usually contains some heat. Use it in cooking and to finish dishes.

CORIANDER

C LOV E S

CUMIN

B AY L E AV E S

Sprinkle on RICE PILAF SAUTÉED SPINACH LAMB STEW RO A S T E D C AU L I F LOW E R

Dukka /Egypt INGREDIENTS

R A L P H S M I T H ( b l e n d s) , M I T C H M A N D E L ( i n g r e d i e n t s) , J a m e s C a n t (G r i n s h p a n)

CUMIN

HAZELNUTS

The name means “to pound” in Arabic. The broken texture gives the mix a slight crunch similar to bread crumbs. It tastes nutty and savory.

CORIANDER

SESAME SEEDS

Sprinkle on RO A S T E D C A R RO T S RO A S T CHICKEN BAKED SALMON FRIED EGGS

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SEDUCE HER IN THE KITCHEN There’s something intimate about the kitchen, says Eden Grinshpan (pictured above), the host of Eden Eats and Log On & Eat with Eden Grinshpan on the Cooking Channel. “It’s fun to dress up and go to a restaurant with sexy lighting, but sometimes it’s more fun to open a bottle of wine and cook a dish together for the first time.” See that “together” she threw in there? “Cooking with your date is far hotter than cooking for her,” Grinshpan says. And you’re already home. “Food can work as foreplay in moderation,” she says. Keep a bowl of fresh berries on the counter as you cook and feed them to each other. If you become distracted, so be it. You’ll need something to do as the sauce simmers. . .

WorldMags.net FIRE UP SOME FISH

Heat ¼ inch of oil in a cast-iron pan on a grill above an open ﬁre. Add seasoned trout and sage, and cook until the skin crisps, 3 minutes on each side. Serve with melted butter and juice from a grilled lemon.

GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

17/ WAIT FOR A FRESH PAYOFF

16/

Picking great food means remembering the all-too-brief windows of opportunity that open when the planet—not the supermarket— decides what’s available, says David McInerney, cofounder of freshdirect.com. Here are his five favorite fresh summer foods. MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG

SEPT

C A N DYC OT A P R I C OT S ALASKAN SALMON M A RT H A’ S V I N E YA R D S Q U I D SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Play with Fire! (the Singe-Proof Way)

Dousing hot coals with lighter ﬂuid is stupid. Start charcoal quickly— without risking your eyebrows—by picking up a $15 chimney starter. Jam crumpled newspaper into the bottom, dump in coals, and ignite .

GRASS-FED BEEF CANDYCOTS “They’re a supersweet variety of apricot grown in California.” ALASKAN SALMON “Wild salmon has a firmer texture and better flavor.” SQUID “Simply cooking the squid on the grill yields terrific results.” SOFT-SHELL CRABS “They’re delicious grilled with olive oil, salt, and pepper.” GRASS-FED BEEF “Grass is at its peak energy level, resulting in tastier beef.”

Eat Your Damn Vegetables Meat dishes don’t need a lot of meat to taste good. I recognized this when I decided to eat vegan before 6 p.m., lost weight, and wrote a book about it called VB6. I eliminated animal products during the day and gave them a supporting role at dinner, where meat took up about 1 part for every 2½ or 3 parts vegetables. Follow that ratio and you’ll see how small amounts of meat can produce big flavor. —Mark Bittman, author of The VB6 Cookbook

RUB DOWN THE THIGHS

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Chicken breasts are bland and boring. “Commercially produced chickens are born and bred to have oversize breast meat,” says Tory McPhail, chef of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.“Often that size comes at the expense of flavor.” The thighs have a more robust chicken flavor, McPhail says. Buy bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on. The bone helps the meat cook evenly, and the skin adds a hit of crispy deliciousness for a mere 30 additional calories per thigh. McPhail likes marinating the meat in jerk seasoning and then grilling the thighs on a hot grill, skin side down, until the skin crisps, about 2 minutes. He then moves the thighs to a moderate temperature and cooks them until grill marks form, about 6 minutes. Finally he returns them to the hottest zone until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes.

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TAKE LUNCH OUTSIDE

Cowboy cookery isn’t limited to baked beans. Gabriel Rucker, chef of Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon, recommends skipping tasteless canned goods in favor of whole fish. “It’s the perfect lakeside lunch. Also, big props if you catch the trout yourself.” Not an angler? The freshest fish have shiny skin, clear eyes, and firm flesh, Rucker says.

21/ SEEK A FLASH IN THE PAN Cast-iron cookware maker Griswold closed decades ago, but collectors still scour eBay and panman.com for vintage skillets. To appreciate a Griswold castiron pan in action, make a pancake, says Bob Kramer, a chef-turned-knifemaker in Seattle who forges blades the old-school way. A Griswold pancake has a plump, ﬂuffy interior and a just-crisp exterior. It doesn’t sit in the pan; it levitates.

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SMOKE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT On most barbecue-joint menus, mountains of brisket, ribs, and sausage outmuscle vegetables. But at Woodshed Smokehouse in Fort Worth, Texas, executive chef Tim Love partners proteins with smoked kale, potatoes, and whole cauliflower. Barbecuing vegetables isn’t difficult. All you need is a smoker (Love likes the $600 Hasty-Bake, which doubles as a grill), some buddies, a case of beer, and an afternoon. Think you could manage that?

HOLY SMOKES!

Try smoking these vegetables with help from Love. Serve them to your guests as appetizers as you wait for the main course to ﬁnish.

KALE

TYPE OF WOOD MESQUITE TEMP 300°F C O O K T I M E 1½ H O U R S Trim the leaves from the stalks; wash the leaves, and season them with salt, pepper, and ground cayenne. Smoke the kale until it’s crispy; serve the chips with ice-cold white wine.

ROMA TOMATOES

T YPE OF WOOD HICKORY TEMP 150°F C O O K T I M E 2½ H O U R S Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and rub them all over with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Smoke until tender and sweet. Serve in a Caprese salad with smoked mozzarella and fresh basil.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

T YPE OF WOOD OAK TEMP 150°F C O O K T I M E 2½ H O U R S Halve trimmed sprouts and rub them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Smoke until cooked through. Serve with bacon, shredded Manchego cheese, and a splash of cider vinegar.

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WorldMags.net YOU CAN EVEN SMOKE YOUR NUTS

For the ultimate beer buddy, toss some peanuts in the smoker. Use whole, raw nuts and add olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Smoke at 225°F until roasted, about 2½ hours. Crack. Eat. Grin.

GUY FOOD GUIDE 2014

MURDER CAN BE WORTH IT

Lobster prices are not expected to rise this summer, says Bob Bayer, Ph.D., director of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine. That means the succulent crustaceans remain a fairly cheap dinner date. Of course, you’ll want to grill your lobsters shortly after killing them. Don’t freak: Eric Ripert, executive chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin in New York City, will help you.

GRILLED LOBSTER WITH SAUCE VIERGE

If you boil your crustaceans, they’ll become waterlogged. Split them down the middle and steam the meat in its shell instead, and you’ll score more luscious lobster ﬂavor.

Place a damp towel beneath a cutting board for stability. Put the (live!) lobster horizontally on the board, holding its tail with your nondominant hand. Plunge a sharp chef’s knife into the head and through to the board. (R.I.P.) Rotate the board 180 degrees and split the lobster in half. Scoop out the green guts.

1/ In a medium bowl, mix ⅓ cup olive oil, zest from ½ lemon, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, ½ minced garlic clove, 2 seeded and diced tomatoes, 1 minced shallot, and 1½ Tbsp chopped parsley.

2/ Preheat your grill to direct, high heat. Halve three lobsters (see left). Brush the lobster meat with ½ cup melted butter. Season with 3 Tbsp herbes de Provence, salt, and white pepper.

3/ Place the lobsters shell side down. Cook until the meat turns opaque, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer lobster halves to a plate; crack the claws and divide the meat. Makes 3 servings

Harness Your Handiest Cooking Tool 24

*When I sear fish in a hot pan, I flip the fillet skin side down and press the flesh of the fish with my fingers. This helps the skin crisp evenly. *Stainless-steel knives can make some lettuce greens and herbs oxidize and turn brown. I skip the blades and just tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. *If I’m cooking with fresh herbs, I crush the leaves in my hands to release their flavorful oils. —Jason Travi, executive chef of Superba Food & Bread

25/ SERVE

DESSERT WITH BEER

CHOCOLATE COFFEE BEER FLOAT

In a chilled pint glass, add two scoops of coffee ice cream. Pour in one bottle of stout (Vidal likes Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout). Top the ﬂoat with 1 Tbsp diced candied orange peel. Using a microplane or grater, shave some dark chocolate over the ice cream. Serve immediately.

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If you love drinking good beer, you’ll enjoy cooking with it too, says Marc Vidal, executive chef of Boqueria in New York City. Vidal uses smoked porter as a stand-in for beef stock in braises and the chardonnay-like Dogfish Head Midas Touch to flavor paella. And, if only as an excuse to add hops to dessert, he suggests a beer float.

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BY SUSHMA SUBRAMANIAN

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MIKO LIM

FROM YOUR WAKE-THE-NEIGHBORS MOANS AND GROANS TO YOUR X-RATED WHISPERS, WOMEN ARE ALL EARS. IT’S TIME TO MAKE A RUCKUS, MEN.

BRING THE NOISE

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STARTED LIKE MOST COLLEGE HOOKUPS: Laura saw Ray at a frat party. He was quick to compliment her smile—and her ass. A few red Solo cups later, she was back at his apartment, clothes flying off. And that’s when things got weird. The fun, talkative guy from the party clammed up. “He was completely silent,” Laura said. “I could hear everything but him.” The effect was deeply unnerving. Like most women, Laura needed something—a moan, a grunt, a “Yeah, that’s it.” “I like to hear a man groaning, whispering my name, something to let me know he’s about to climax,” she says. Laura is not alone—but then neither is Ray. An overwhelming number of guys become suddenly tongue-tied when they’re getting busy. In fact, in a recent survey, 94 percent of women admit to being louder than their partner in the bedroom.

Okay, the survey was by Lovehoney, a U.K.-based sex shop, but bona fide scientists agree. They even have a name for those sounds—female copulatory vocalization. It’s part of how women are conditioned: “Women are more comfortable being vulnerable and letting a guy know what they’re feeling,” says Jim Pfaus, Ph.D., a psychologist at Concordia University. And there’s incentive to join in. “Arousal is about engaging different senses and auditory sensations—all things that may intensify the experience,” says Kristen Mark, Ph.D., director of the sexual health promotion lab at the University of Kentucky. Hear that, men? Maybe a refresher course would help. Take this quiz, check the survey results, and listen to the professors. And don’t be afraid to speak up.

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Illustrations by JOEL HOLLAND

Percentage of women who believe that the louder the sex, the better it is

JUST SHUT UP AND CLIMAX!

WOMEN’S HEALTH READERS REVEAL THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF MUFFLING YOUR MOANS.

Percentage who say that silence in the sack is always uncomfortable for them

Percentage who say silence is at its sexiest when you’re trying to avoid being caught

Percentage who consider a soundless sexual encounter to be sizzling hot

TRUE

FALSE

Erica still remembers the text she received from her friend Dave one night: “I always thought you’d be the best lay of my life.” It was exactly what Erica needed to hear. “I’ll let you do whatever you want,” she fired back. The texts escalated for a few days until the two met up at a bar. “I want to fuck you,” he growled as he slammed her back against a wall. Back at his place, the floodgates Deep Down, She opened: “I love going down on you,” Finds Dirty Talk he said. Erica couldn’t get enough. “I Embarrassing was so turned on,” she says. “I’m very type A and have problems giving up control. Having someone tell me what to do was hot.” These days, everywhere you look—and listen—you notice a change: Jason Derulo’s single “Talk Dirty” hit number two on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Girls depicts sex in all its messy, awkward, and often loud realness. Long-distance iChats are best with some dialogue, no matter what’s happening on the screen. It’s an interesting cultural shift, says Valerie Peterson, Ph.D., a professor of communication studies at Grand Valley State University. “Sound and talk have always been a big part of sex, but we’ve been taught not to use ‘dirty’ words, and we’ve grown up with a certain amount of prudery,” Peterson says. Connection requires trust—and, she says, “there’s an element of trust in being able to speak freely during sex.” It’s time to find your voice, and hers. The right words, delivered at the right volume, can bust down walls between partners. And when that happens, you might be surprised by how much stronger your bond becomes. Take Olivia and Patrick. Most of the time, Olivia liked that Patrick was polite, but in bed she wanted something else. One night after drinks, “out of nowhere, he was saying things like, ‘You love this dick. You only want this dick,’ ” she says. “At first it seemed out of character. But the way he was taking control—I loved it.” We tend to negotiate our vulnerabilities, says Peterson. “We try not to show our cards and give someone the upper hand. So when you say exactly what you want in bed, or vocalize in other ways, it can be startling, but it’s also a sign that you’re opening up.” Dirty talk is deeply personal; one person’s turn-on is another’s mood killer. That’s why revealing these things isn’t without some degree of risk. But once you find the courage to speak up, it won’t just cement your bond—it could also lower her inhibitions in the bedroom. “Driving her arousal could help fuel her orgasm by distracting her from her anxieties,” Pfaus says. Your homework: Try a little dirty talk in the bedroom. “It might feel clinical or weird at first,” Peterson says. That’ll fade. Sari Cooper, a certified sex therapist based in New York City, suggests practicing dirty talk while masturbating, or watching porn together and mimicking what the actors say—even if it’s in a silly, self-conscious way. Become comfortable with it. Whatever you do, ditch the Fifty Shades stuff and give her honest, graphic compliments. “Tell her specifically what you find most beautiful about her,” Peterson says. “After all, what woman wouldn’t want to hear that?”

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Percentage of women who confess that dirty talk in the bedroom is a turn-on

June 2014 | MENSHEALTH.COM 161

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HOTTEST THINGS WOMEN HAVE HEARD FROM A GUY IN BED

“You feel amazing.” “You taste so nice.” “I want you.” “I wake up hard just thinking about you.” “I didn’t know you had that in you.”

HOTTEST THINGS MEN HAVE HEARD FROM A WOMAN IN BED

“I get wet at the sound of your voice.” “You make me feel like a wild animal.” “I’m gonna be walking funny tomorrow.” “I don’t know what I was doing before you.” “I can’t believe how big you are.”

Source: Sur vey of M e n’s H e a l t h/Wome n’s Health readers

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S t y l i n g : S t e p h a n i e Tr i c o l a / s t r i c o l a . c o m , p r o p s t y l i n g : B e d n a r k S t u d i o s , h a i r : E l o i s e C h e u n g / A v e d a / W a l t e r S c h u p f e r M g m t , m a k e u p : A k i k o O w a d a , m a n i c u r e : K i m C h i u / M a r k E d w a r d I n c . ; J a s o n M e r r i t t / G e t t y I m a g e s (J o h a n s s o n), S te p h e n Lo v e k i n /G e t t y I m a g e s (K u n i s , C r a i g), L a r r y B u s a c c a /G e t t y I m a g e s (R i h a n n a), S te v e G r a n i t z /G e t t y I m a g e s (C l o o n e y) . O p e n i n g s p r e a d , f r o m l e f t : F o r t n i g h t b r a a n d p a n t i e s , A l d o h e e l s; E r e s b r a , L’ A g e n t p a n t i e s , B r i a n A t w o o d h e e l s ; O n l y H e a r t s b r a a n d p a n t i e s , L o n g c h a m p h e e l s ; p r e v i o u s s p r e a d : T h e S t r a n g e r M i n i m a l e A n i m a l e b i k i n i , A l d o h e e l s ; o p p o s i t e : L’ A g e n t b y A g e n t P r o v o c a t e u r p a n t i e s , B r i a n A t w o o d h e e l s

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TRUE

FALSE

TRUE

FALSE

Here’s a useful bit of advice: Never compare a woman to a great ape. Now, that said, all that noise they’re making? It’s wild monkey love, baby. In the jungle, researchers have found, female primates make a variety of copulatory calls. Among bonobos and chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary relatives, the females make these sounds while mating to incite male competition. Males, in turn, are Couples Who more likely to ejaculate when a female Scream Together makes noise, says Christopher Ryan, Stay Together Ph.D., author of Sex at Dawn. But let’s not get carried away: Women aren’t screaming in bed because they want the neighbors to know they’re ovulating. They raise hell in the sack mostly because it makes sex better. A 2012 study from Cleveland State University found that nonverbal communication of pleasure during the act predicted sexual satisfaction. How’s that work? “Moaning might be a less intimidating, more comfortable way for people to express pleasure than verbally directing their partner,” says study author Elizabeth Babin, Ph.D. Mary, 29, knows what gets her going, and it’s never what a guy screams when he’s about to climax. “It’s just that little moan,” she says. “That heavy breathing—when you change positions or move in a certain way. It’s reassuring.” “We’re asking at some level, without language, ‘Do we have chemistry?’ ” says Greg Bryant, Ph.D., an associate professor of communication studies at UCLA. If your verbal cues sync up, that’s great, says Jennifer Sellers, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Green Mountain College. “Couples who match each other’s communication styles usually have the greatest intimacy,” she says. Quietly mimicking her sounds “shows you care enough about your partner to step outside your comfort zone to make her feel more at ease.” There are limits. “I was once in bed with a guy,” says Mary, “and instead of moaning, he squealed like a little girl on the playground. I was shocked. Clearly, that was a one-time experience.”

Remember that hilarious scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall where Kristen Bell hears her ex-boyfriend and his date (Jason Segel and Mila Kunis) getting it on in the adjacent hotel room? An auditory battle ensues between the former partners to see who can have (or at least pretend to have) the loudest sex. Unfortunately, that’s just the movies. No studies prove (yet) that turnWomen Want ing up the volume leads to greater Men to Be Louder arousal or more intense orgasms. And in the Sack yet that willingness to be loud may signal something powerful and deep: You and your partner have reached the ultimate comfort zone. People express themselves through sex. Those cries of ecstasy are a private language shared within a couple. “They can take on a life of their own between two people,” Bryant says. “They create a feedback loop—the more expressive one partner is, the more turned on the other can become.” Plus, the idea that someone might hear you is just a bonus. “There’s an element of danger—the fear of getting caught— that makes sex more exciting for some people,” says Justin Lehmiller, Ph.D., a social psychologist at Harvard University. The less concerned you are with who might be listening, the better: “Acting uninhibited, especially with a partner you trust, is one of the great joys of sex,” he says. Holding back, on the other hand, keeps you from feeling present in the moment, which can lower your libido, says the University of Kentucky’s Mark. This was a problem that Bianca and Carlos knew all too well. Because they have three young kids, they tend to keep things quiet in bed. But on a recent business trip, they finally booked a separate room for the kids. It wasn’t long before the people in the neighboring room were pounding on the wall, trying to quiet them down. It wasn’t going to happen. “The sex was better the louder we got,” Bianca says. “It just felt so good to lose control.”

Percentage of women who couldn’t care less if their noise wakes the neighbors

TALK DIRTY TONIGHT

HESITANT ABOUT GOING THERE? JUST FOLLOW OUR 4- STEP PLAN TO A FILTHY MOUTH.

FEMALE CELEBS WITH THE SEXIEST VOICES

Scarlett Johansson

Mila Kunis

Rihanna

ACTORS WITH THE SEXIEST VOICES

Percentage of women who wish that men would be louder in the bedroom

Give It Time

Skip Danger Zones

Keep It Simple

Go Deep

Don’t go all Dice Clay on the first date. “Dirty talk is born out of trust, communication, and a sense of playfulness,” says Madeleine Castellanos, M.D., a New York City psychiatrist who specializes in sex therapy. “And that takes time to build.” Start by floating something out there to see how it flies.

Most women have a spot on their body that makes them insecure, Dr. Castellanos says. (Pay attention to what she leaves exposed, or covers quickly, when she’s getting dressed.) “If she’s uncomfortable with her belly but loves the way her breasts look, lavish far more attention on the latter.”

Limit your euphemisms for her lucky coin purse, her sugar walls, or her catchment basin of love. They’ll just sound icky, says Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at the University of Washington: “You can say things like, ‘I love being inside you,’ but words like ‘twat’ should die a quick death.”

Drop an octave into full Barry White mode and see what happens. (Think Jon Hamm, not Darth Vader.) “Women are wired to respond to masculine traits,” says Dr. Castellanos. “A deeper voice is associated with higher levels of testosterone. Your rumbling bass note also conveys confidence.”

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George Clooney

Daniel Craig

Source: Sur vey of M e n’s H e a l t h/ Wome n’s Health readers

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THE DAY MY BRAIN WENT DARK A MENTAL STORM WIPED OUT MY MEMORY. COULD IT HAPPEN TO YOU? BY RICHARD NALLEY PHOTOGRAPHS BY KOHJIRO KINNO

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ALL I SEE IS A FLASH: MY WIFE IS BEHIND THE WHEEL, BOOMING UP THE FDR DRIVE IN NEW YORK CITY. 166 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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She’s got the pedal to the metal, which is okay because somehow, in the middle of the day, there is not one other car on the highway. And the sky is all fake colors, a kind of bruised green roiling over squeeze-cheese orange. My wife is saying something: Stop apologizing. But she doesn’t mean “No need to apologize.” She is very, very tense. She wants me to shut the hell up. In the flash, I am aware that my thoughts, the part of me that feels like me, can’t claw to the surface. It is scary—like being buried alive. This is not, it turns out, a dream. This is a story about what happened to me on the day that Hurricane Irene— the one that lulled everybody into a false sense of security before Sandy— bore down on us in New York City. It’s a challenging story to write, because the events of that day remain a blank to me even now: Nearly 24 hours of my life went missing, skipped away on French leave. It was like one of those old amnesia movies where the hero wakes up with a headful of mirrorshard visions: Wha...Where am I? Except that I hadn’t been conked in the head. And in this story I’m no kind of hero. My mind snapped back into place in a ward bed at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in the predawn hours of the following morning, rain spattering the window beside me. Five yards away, our beds arranged toe-to-toe, I faced a sweating man handcuffed to his bed rail. The cop seated beside him nodded to me; then they both turned back to a sitcom on the overhead TV. A neurology researcher would later tell me, “I know of only one place where this sort of thing is actually common, and that’s on soap operas.” That sounds about right, until your life starts imitating daytime TV. As it turns out, this plot twist isn’t receiving its due. I had been ambushed by a particular form of amnesia that day— doctors call it “transient global amnesia,” or TGA—and it might be more common than most people, maybe even many doctors, realize. In one Swiss study, titled “Transient Global Amnesia—Not So Rare After All,” researchers determined that the condition strikes about seven in 100,000 people every year, and that 30 percent of the cases reviewed were initially misdiagnosed. So not runof-the-mill, but not exactly hitting the mental Mega Millions either. And that’s for the whole population. Research shows that the number of occurrences actually jumps in the over-50 age group, with accounts ranging from 24 to 32 cases out of 100,000 people annually. That would put me, at age 54, in the TGA sweet spot. In seeking possible causes of my own attack, I read vivid personal accounts of TGA victims who snapped out of it miles from home, lost, or who came around bruised and scraped, perhaps from fights they didn’t remember getting into. In my own case, I just floated out of the fog and found myself in a strange bed with EKG terminals taped under my shirt, an Ace bandage holding a pulse monitor in place, and an IV dripping magnesium. (Apparently I was slightly low. “That was all they could find,” a nurse would explain, almost apologetically.) Big wads of gauze were taped to the back of each hand. I saw that I’d cut and bruised my ankle somewhere along the line. It was still bleeding some, but it didn’t hold my interest. My full attention focused on my so-called brain.

THERE WAS A CLIPBOARD NEXT TO ME, WITH A NOTE IN

my wife Claire’s familiar handwriting: —This is not a STROKE. —Claire brought you to New York–Presbyterian Hospital in the car. She is OK!!!! —You are having memory loss. Don’t have a reason. —This is TEMPORARY. Claire had spelled it out in huge letters. Possibly, I thought at the time, because they were written in haste or anxiety. I now realize it was something else: a subconscious shout, an attempt to make something register with me and stick. TGA, I later learned, has the quality of being both retrograde, meaning that the amnesia blots out older memories, and anterograde, meaning that you can’t hold on to new information after the amnesia’s onset. I had about a one-minute window of recall. Then: Reset to zero. I also now understand that the note’s bullet points (there were many more) were direct answers to questions I couldn’t let go of—How did I get here? Are you all right? I’d asked them over and over. The bizarre, relentless repetition of questions is a common theme in TGA reports; in one study’s description, it’s as if “a fragment of a soundtrack is being repeatedly rerun.” It would be almost comical if it didn’t fray the nerves of everyone around the victim, who of course can’t remember a thing about it. (I spoke to one man who’d reached the point of exasperation when his longtime life partner kept saying, “Remind me how we met?”) In the days after my attack subsided, I still had a few new relentless questions: Was I sick? What caused this? Will I blank out again? What the hell just happened to me? In search of my balking brain, I read up on the surprisingly rich (if murky) literature on TGA, spoke to neurologists and fellow patients, and tried to affix that evidence to my own case. There hasn’t been enough to convict. That in itself is a scary detail. The last thing I actually remember doing on that pre-hurricane morning was fitting a patio-furniture cover over the basement coal grate in our Brooklyn backyard. Through my earphones, Van Morrison sang, “Say goodbye to Madame George.” About noon, I was later told, I showered and dressed and then wandered down to find my wife, small children, and dog glued to the TV weather report. I hovered in the background for a beat or two. “There’s a storm?” I asked. My family is accustomed to my annoying jokes, but a chill gradually crept over them. “You were taking care of everything all morning,” my wife would later say. “Suddenly it was like a stranger had taken your place.” (As usual, there is a country song that covers this situation.) The scene evolves. Me, stalking out to the backyard and back inside: “I want to know who stacked up all our outdoor furniture!” Family: “You did. For the storm.” Me: “What storm?” Repeat four times. I had stepped out of the shower and fallen off a cliff. But why?

“AMBUSH AMNESIA” MAY BE MORE COMMON THAN M O S T P E O P L E, E V E N M A N Y D O C T O R S, R E A L I Z E .

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BASED ON THE MEDICAL LITERATURE, THE LIST OF MOODS

IS YOUR BRAIN HEADED DOWN THE DRAIN?

168 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

and “mental time travel.” In other words, it governs our ability to remember, look ahead, and place ourselves in the moment. Perhaps tellingly, the CA1 is also configured into the stress circuits of the brain, a potentially dangerous combination when that circuitry goes awry. “The CA1 is very sensitive to metabolic stress,” explains Dr. Bartsch, “so any acute change of the metabolic situation in the brain may cause a disturbance in that region.” In turn, this disturbance may cause a dysfunction of the memory nerve cells that can actually be captured on film. Using supersensitive diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, Dr. Bartsch and other researchers have observed tiny lesions appearing and then disappearing in the hippocampuses of some TGA victims.

1. Do you exercise? A B C

5. How’s your stress level?

Not really Sometimes Frequently

A B C

2. How sharp are your parents? A B C

They act their age Out to lunch Alert the Nobel Committee!

3. How many hours of sleep do you get each night? A B C

Seven to eight Less than seven Sleep?

A B C

Bro-magnon, man Bro-ccasionally Bro-lone

6. Are you a smoker? A B A

Never Used to be <<hack…cough>>

7. How healthy is your daily diet? No, really. A B C

4. How often do you hang out with friends?

High Medium Mellow

Perfect Okay, mostly Fried, mostly

8. How inﬂated is your body mass index? A B C

Under control (18.5 to 24.9) Out of control (30+) Blubbery (between those two)

0–5 POINTS / BRAIN MAN

6–13 POINTS / BRAIN DRAIN

14–20 POINTS / FORGET IT

Taking on a new skill is like putting your mind through interval training, providing a brainpower buffer you’ll maintain as you age.

Your brain is aging naturally. You’re ﬁne now, but might not be in a decade. Start by saying “om”: Try the two-minute meditations on calm.com to help your brain hit “reset.”

Your gray matter may be fading to black, especially if you have a family history of dementia. Socializing and exercise are two ways to help ﬁght cognitive decline. —LILA BATTIS

This dysfunction is sometimes likened to a kind of mini-stroke, in which case TGA is a godsend of a near-miss. “The difference is that TGA almost never progresses to a stroke, even though it’s sometimes associated with the kind of imaging change that is linked with the early phases of a stroke that causes permanent brain damage,” says Dana Leifer, M.D., the neurologist and specialist in vascular neurology and imaging who headed the team that treated me at New York–Presbyterian. My trip to Dr. Leifer’s emergency room began with my wife anxiously ringing doorbells in Brooklyn. She found our neighbors at home with their newborn, battening down for the hurricane. Could they possibly add to their mix our two children, ages 3 and 8, and our jolly, slobbery dog? They could.

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I l l u s t r a t i o n s b y A N D R E A M A N Z AT I

and events thought to precipitate a TGA episode pretty much reads like everything anybody ever did before amnesia struck. Potential TGA triggers apparently include anxiety or depression, exercise, extremely tiring situations, headaches, money worries, “a general context of psychological pressure,” and “sudden immersion in hot or cold water.” In one widely publicized case, a woman arrived at the emergency room after having an orgasm during intercourse with her husband left her unable to remember the preceding 24 hours. (ABC News’s Web headline: “Mind-Blowing Sex Causes Amnesia in 54-Year-Old Woman.”) Thorsten Bartsch, M.D., who has personally seen about 100 TGA patients at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein’s Memory Disorders Group in Kiel, Germany, notes that most of the triggers fall into three broad categories: emotional or psychological stress, physical exertion, and temperature change. (This last category is apparently not as far-out as it sounds. “The old English doctors used to talk about ‘amnesia by the seaside,’ ” Dr. Bartsch says, “because it happened to people who jumped into the cold North Sea.”) By this measure I had hit a TGA trifecta—pre-hurricane stress, pre-hurricane exertion from the yard work... and that shower. According to some researchers, I may actually have managed to score a superfecta. Beatrice Golomb, M.D., Ph.D., of UC San Diego, told me that GRAY HAIRS CAN BE DYED, BUT she and her colleagues have found THERE’S NO FAST a link between statin use and TGA. FIX FOR AN AGING (A spokesperson for Merck, which BRAIN. TALLY UP makes Zocor, the statin I take for YOUR DAMAGE, THEN USE OUR high cholesterol, categorically denied BRAIN BUILDERS any such link with cognitive impairTO STAY SHARP. ment.) And now that the new prescribing guidelines mean nearly 13 million more of us are eligible for this class of drugs, you’d better take notes so you don’t forget. SCORE The mechanism, if it exists, works something like this: Your brain 1. A 2, B 1, C 0 5. A 2, B 1, C 0 2. A 3, B 5, C 0 6. A 0, B 1, C 2 cells are energy hogs, and statins 3. A 0, B 1, C 2 7. A 0, B 1, C 2 can short-circuit the power supply. 4. A 0, B 1, C 2 8. A 0, B 3, C 2 Next step, maybe you miss out on an entire hurricane hitting your hometown. Take your medicine, maybe lose your mind. Temporarily. Dr. Golomb has advice for statin users who have dealt with any kind of cognitive misfire: Talk to your doctor about taking a statin vacation. “Give it two months to see if your memory shows signs of improvement,” she says. Fortunately, the impairment does not seem to be permanent. In her study, 90 percent of people with brain complaints improved—sometimes within days—after they’d quit taking statins. What about the other three potential causes? In one hypothesis studied by Dr. Bartsch and others, the unifying element in all three classes of nonstatin TGA triggers—those stresses, strains, and temperature changes—may be the fact that they raise the pressure of the venous system in the hippocampus, the area of the brain’s medial temporal lobe associated with memory formation. (To gauge your own risk factors for brain decline, take the quiz on this page.) This may in turn touch off a kind of short-circuit in a subregion of the hippocampus called the CA1—thought to be crucial to our capacity for memory

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Hurricane Irene would ultimately spare the city its worst; it was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it blew garbage around on the streets. But that fact wasn’t at all clear in the eerie, ominous sky as Claire raced up the rainswept FDR Drive with her changeling husband. She knew nothing about a condition called transient global amnesia, of course. She was gunning the car in the clear belief that I was suffering a stroke. I met her anxiety with a beatific, wistful cheeriness. And the questions! “Where are we going?” “Why aren’t the children with us?” Then: “I’m sorry!...I’m sorry!...I’m so sorry!” “You were very sweet,” she said later, “but annoying.”

9 WAYS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BRAIN YOU DO CURLS TO SHAPE UP YOUR BICEPS. YOU RUN INTERVALS FOR CARDIO. WHY NOT A FITNESS PLAN FOR THE ORGAN THAT CONTROLS YOUR BODY?

1. Play Well with Others

4. Sip Chocolate Every Day

7. Make Snooze Time Sacred

Every time you make a new acquaintance, the experience is a form of exercise for your brain’s cognitive cells.

In a study in the journal Neurology, a cocoa habit improved participants’ brain bloodflow by more than 8 percent.

If you shortchange yourself on quality rest, your brain’s trash collectors can miss chemicals that contribute to dementia.

2. Hit the Pavement

5. Étudiez le Français

8. Curry Favor

A 40-minute stroll three times a week can help bolster your brain’s memory center, according to researchers at the University of Illinois.

Language skills are stored in places all over your brain. That’s particularly important if any area of your brain has been damaged.

Curcumin, a compound found in the curry spice turmeric, possesses anti-inflammatory properties that may provide benefits to your brain.

3. Play Table Tennis

6. Disconnect from Your Devices

9. Make Time to Unwind

Social interaction helps synchronize the different parts of your brain, optimizing efficiency. So unplug, and connect.

Even a few minutes of meditation or yoga can cut stress, helping your brain maintain access to stored info. —L.B.

The more additional game skills needed (say, quick thinking), the more your brain will benefit, says psychiatrist and author Daniel Amen, M.D.

GROW MORE MENTAL MUSCLE SOURCE: CYNTHIA GREEN, PH.D., AUTHOR 0F BRAINPOWER GAME PLAN

Color My Word Quickly read this list of words aloud, saying the color each word is printed in rather than the word itself. Aim to improve each time.

BLACK

BLUE

GREEN

RED

YELLOW

RED

BLUE

RED

YELLOW

GREEN

BLUE

BLACK

Icons by HUBERT TERESKEWICZ

ONCE WE HAD PASSED THROUGH THE DOUBLE DOORS

of New York–Presbyterian’s emergency entrance, we encountered another obstacle: the fact that absolutely nothing was visibly wrong with me. The ER itself, however, had an unsettled, improvisational feel. With the approaching storm, the city’s transit system had been shut down, so the hospital was being staffed by a skeleton crew. My wife began buttonholing security guards and triage nurses and whispering, “He’s having a stroke...he’s having a stroke.” “A set of beepers went off,” Dr. Leifer later explained to me. A wide range of technicians prepared for a guy with blocked brain blood vessels.

Medical testing is unpleasant enough anytime, but the difference that day was that all the CAT scanning, MRI-ing, puncturing, blood-pressure cuffing, questioning, poking, tongue depressing, eyeball inspecting, and interminable waiting was taking place for me in a disturbing one-minute-reset mental vacuum: Where am I? Who are you people? Why am I freezing naked under a flimsy gown? Then I confronted my personal nightmare. At some point during my half century on the planet, I managed to develop a clawing claustrophobia and fear of suffocation that rarely, if ever, manifests itself. Except in MRI machines. Before that day at New York–Presbyterian, I had sworn I would never be fed into another MRI tube without taking a tranquilizer, preferably the kind they dart-shoot into rogue elephants. Now

Spell Check In three minutes, find as many words as you can. (Dozens are possible.) Go in any direction, as long as letters touch.

BRAIN TIPS/QUIZ SOURCES DANIEL AMEN, M.D., AUTHOR OF MAGNIFICENT MIND AT ANY AGE; GARY SMALL, M.D., DIRECTOR OF THE UCLA LONGEVITY CENTER; MURALI DORAISWAMY, M.D., PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AND MEDICINE AT THE DUKE INSTITUTE FOR BRAIN SCIENCES; DANIEL SCHACTER, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY; GAYATRI DEVI, M.D., DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK MEMORY & HEALTHY AGING SERVICES

I found myself repeatedly swimming up to consciousness every few minutes during a 40-minute MRI series, completely unaware of where I was, finding myself flat on my back, my head restrained in a helmet, and my body jammed inside a narrow plastic cylinder the size of a sewer pipe. I was, I am reliably informed, freaking out. The instinct for self-preservation is a near-automatic, reptile-brain reaction when you’re trapped in such a situation. A subtler kind of self-preservation was an itchy idea that kicked in only in the predawn hours, as my medial temporal lobe began to flicker back online: Completely without warning or explanation, what I thought of as my essential “self” had slipped through a hairline fissure I hadn’t known was there.

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DURING THE ORDINARY COURSE OF THINGS, YOU MIGHT

think of your “self” as all parts of you. Stub your toe—yep, that’s you all right. But here the connectedness had been severed. At some point during the day, a nurse apparently came upon me doing jumping jacks and slapping myself on the cheeks, trying to bring the mind back to the meat. But no amount of slapping would wake it up. As TGA and other illnesses that affect the hippocampus point out, what puts the “I” in “mind” is the ability to remember. “Some people say we are our memories,” says Geoffrey Kerchner, M.D., Ph.D., director of research at the Stanford Center for Memory Disorders. “That’s our consciousness, and the hippocampus is very important in that. We all have a filmstrip of our lives that is continuously updating from moment to moment. We can rewind it and think about what we were doing yesterday and construct a sequence of events. When you don’t know how you came to be in this moment, right now, that is very dislodging.” As my consciousness returned in the early dawn of the next day, it disobligingly began to press fragments of a poem into my thoughts. The poem was by Robert Lowell, a teacher of mine in college whom I greatly admired and whose own mental torments I had naively romanticized at the time. That night, as the familiar phrases from “Skunk Hour” floated through my head—the ones ending with “My mind’s not right”— I felt for the first time the close-on, sharkskin grain of his words, harsh enough to flay the skin off you. But how wrong, really, was my mind? Apparently, not as wrong as it felt at the time. As far as is known, these odd episodes aren’t predictive of future medical issues, including stroke. (Indeed, notes Dr. Bartsch, TGA victims tend to be among the healthiest of neurology patients.) I could take comfort in the fact that while a disturbance in the CA1 area of my brain could be seen as a kind of appetizer version of Alzheimer’s disease (it is the region where Alzheimer’s first manifests itself ), the main course is no more likely to arrive for me than for the rest of the population. Then there is the issue of repeat attacks. It is reassuring to be told, by my doctors and the mainstream medical literature generally, that transient global amnesia rarely strikes twice. But as with a lot of information about this confusing illness, this counsel seems to be shaky. One patient of Dr. Leifer’s I spoke to, a Brooklyn woman who has experienced three episodes in just over two and a half years, now takes the precaution of wearing a TGA medical alert bracelet. She is far from alone. TGA-related websites are peppered with reader comments from people who report having had two, three, five recurrences. And the research numbers are funky. The website of the National Institutes of Health Office of Rare Diseases Research offers the helpful information that “the condition reoccurs in about 5 to 25 percent of people,” which can be read as a statistical mea culpa signifying, “We have no idea.” I have not, as far as I can remember, experienced a repeat episode, but I still carry the thought around. I have a vague recollection—though it’s also

possible I constructed this after the fact—that just before I blanked out that autumn morning, I felt a kind of fizziness in my head similar to the symptom declaring the onset of a migraine. If I feel it again, I hope I have the clarity of mind to jump into bed and pull the covers over my head. Though there is no consensus on what actually causes TGA attacks, there is no doubt that, as Dr. Kerchner puts it, “with aging, brains are more vulnerable to a wide, wide variety of things going wrong.” File it all under the heading of “More Glimpses of Your Fragility,” in the Growing Old Is Not for Wimps folder. It is another of the chilly, apparently hidden realities of aging, hidden in the sense that no matter how often you are bombarded with certain information—like commercials for hemorrhoid cream—it will never seem to apply to you, until it urgently does. But while no talismans can ward off a TGA attack, you can do plenty to improve the health of your aging memory center. Start with the best news: The hippocampus, unlike the brain generally, has the ability to generate new nerve cells in adult life. It is highly plastic and responsive, but it needs stimulation. The best safeguard against the array of challenges your brain may endure is to be aggressive in establishing a social life and ongoing, challenging mental activity. (So: more poker, crosswords, and John le Carré novels, and less laugh-track TV.) That and exercise. “The most powerful thing a person can do,” Dr. Kerchner says, “is aerobic exercise. It is incredibly effective at delaying the onset of or even preventing the symptoms of age-associated memory loss. We don’t know how it works; if we could put it into a pill, we would.” (Between interval workouts, add in the mind-boosting exercises on the preceding page.) For one night during Hurricane Irene, I was a resident of Hospital World, that walled-off, parallel reality that operates on a 24-hour clock of monitors beeping, temperature taking, and overhead lights being switched on as flocks of white-coated doctors alight at the bedside. Shadowy vignettes drifted through my mind, of being awakened to squeeze people’s fingers and push their downturned palms upward. Around first light, a spectral doctor appeared, asking me to name the president of the United States. My first reaction was indignation; my second, surprise: I had to pause and chase the answer. I was given a three-word set to repeat, and the way he suggested that I take my time responding gave me the sinking feeling that I’d blown quite a few of these in previous attempts. (My wife confirmed this when I finally reached her in the early hours of the morning. My partner in crime, she tipped me off: “It’s usually an animal, a sport, and a color.”) When Dr. Leifer, with his good, honest, Bert Lahr face, heaved into view with his team during morning rounds, it was like Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke appearing at Dorothy’s bedside in Kansas. I felt that I’d seen these people recently, but in some hazy, shifted context. “I’d like you to try to remember three words,” Dr. Leifer said. I mustered a top-of-the-roller-coaster focus; to get sprung, I knew I’d have to nail this. “Hummingbird-Baseball-Red” may pop into my mind on my deathbed.

I SPOKE TO ONE MAN WHOSE LIFE PARTNER K E P T S AY I N G, “R E M I N D M E HOW WE MET?”

170 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

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WorldMags.net WHEN KILLING IS A GAME, CONT. FROM P. 123

“In real life, killing is a traumatic experience. But in video games, it can happen a hundred times a minute.” evidence of increased bullying or delinquent behaviors among kids in the trial who played violent video games. To Ferguson, the lack of impact was to be expected. In contrast to Doug Gentile and other researchers who believe that video games condition our brains to respond to perceived threats in certain ways, Ferguson says our gray matter is quite capable of responding to fantasy scenarios and real threats differently. “People aren’t stupid,” he says bluntly. As evidence, he notes that even though video games have soared in popularity in the past 13 years, the youth violent crime rate reached a 32-year low in 2012. What about those mass shooters who were so devoted to their video games? Not only is blaming video games the 21stcentury equivalent of people freaking out over the dangers of Dungeons & Dragons, Ferguson argues, but it also distracts us from what he believes is the actual issue underlying all those shooting cases: untreated mental illness. SO WHO’S RIGHT? OR PERHAPS MORE

important, where do we go from here? After the Newtown shootings, President Obama asked Congress to fund deeper research into the effects of violent video

MEN’S HEALTH Vol. 29, No. 5 (ISSN 1054-4836) is published 10 times per year (monthly except for January and July) by Rodale Inc., 400 South 10th St., Emmaus, PA 18098–0099; (800) 6662303. Copyright 2014 by Rodale Inc. All rights reserved. In U.S.: Periodicals postage paid at Emmaus, PA, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster (U.S.): Send address changes to Men’s Health magazine, Customer Service, P.O. Box 26299, Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-6299. IN CANADA: Postage paid at Gateway, Mississauga, Ontario; Canada Post International Publication Mail (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40063752. Postmaster (Canada): Send returns and address changes to Men’s Health magazine, 2930 14th Avenue, Markham, Ontario, L34 5Z8. (GST# R122988611). Subscribers: If the postal authorities alert us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within 18 months. For licensing and reprints, contact Nick Iademarco at Wright’s Media, (877) 652-5295 ext. 102, or niademarco@wrightsmedia.com.

games, which hopefully could help clarify our understanding. In the meantime, one intriguing path comes from within the game industry itself. Over the past few years, game creator Walt Williams has found himself becoming concerned not so much with the levels of violence in video games as with the banality of it—that is, how mundane it all seems to the player. “In real life, killing is a traumatic experience,” Williams says. “But in video games, it’s something that can happen a hundred times a minute.” In 2012, a new game debuted that Williams helped write and design. It was called Spec Ops: The Line, and the goal was to portray violence—and its effects— in a much more realistic way. At one point, for example, the game’s main character, a soldier named Walker, is faced with the possibility of having to open fire on a group of civilians, albeit hostile ones, in order to survive. As the action progresses, Walker (that is, you, the game player) encounters as many moral challenges as physical ones. Williams says one of the ideas driving the entire game was this: “What if the toll of taking a life actually weighed on you?” For what it’s worth, Spec Ops: The Line received some positive critical notices, but it was certainly no Grand Theft Auto in terms of sales. Given the choice between moral ambiguity and a power fantasy, perhaps the market has spoken. WHERE TO BUY “Swim Trunks: The Rules,” page 66 FAHERTY

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Natural Born Thrillers A white-knuckled look at what makes a man’s heart race.

78%

Number of guys who’ve never ridden a roller coaster

Number of women who are turned on by scars that accompany high-octane tales

38% 34%

Number of men who’ve spent time in an ER paying the price of an adrenaline rush

12%

THE AVERAGE GUY

33 90

Percentage who’ve ralphed Percentage who got after their back in line for another dizzying round of barfy fun adventure

Percentage of wannabe Mavericks who’d gladly fly shotgun in an F-16

1 in 5

Proportion of guys who admit that heights freak them out

4 in 5

Number who’d rather go Verne and probe the depths in a deep-sea submarine

Number who’d overcome that phobia if a woman dared them to skydive

87%

88%

Portion of women who say a taste for adventure is a must-have trait in a guy

Number of guys who’ve gone 100 mph or faster on the highway

45%

1 in 2 Number of guys who’ve talked a woman into going skinnydipping

30%

Portion of gals who say they’re the braver mate

Portion who’d be fearless (or drunk) enough to strip down and streak

Percentage of men who say they would swim with sharks—cageless

WALK ON WATER (SORT OF)

64 Percentage of men who’ve considered a Kilimanjaro summit attempt

CONQUER COLD FEET

Looking for a summer thrill without a steep learning curve? Forget about surfing and try stand-up paddleboarding. In a 2013 Outdoor Foundation report, the sport boasted the highest rate of first-time participation of 42 activities surveyed. You’ll want to rent a long, wide board for maximum stability, says pro stand-up paddler Girard Middleton, founder of Miami’s SoBe Surf. Then find some calm water and start out kneeling if you need to. Odds are you’ll be upright in no time. “With the right equipment and conditions,” he says, “most people stand easily from the start.”

172 MENSHEALTH.COM | June 2014

Your parachute is packed and you’re about to jump— until you can’t. Blame your amygdala—it triggers the release of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that overactivates your right prefrontal cortex, leaving you unable to recognize what to do next, says California psychologist John Arden, Ph.D., author of The Brain Bible. The solution? Focus on small steps to activate your left prefrontal cortex, soothing the amygdala and making the task seem manageable, Arden says. Like this: “I’ll step onto the bar, push off, and count.” Your anxiety should fade—and then you’re flying.

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Percentage of men who’d risk a trampling to run with the bulls in Pamplona

12% HALF

Number of men who’ve gone bungee jumping

Segment who harbor fantasies about base jumping

I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y TA M E R KÖ Ş E L I

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IT’S NOT A IT’S A TROPHY CASE. CLEAR FRONT TOOL CABINET,

Look. You haven’t seen anything like HUSKY’s clear front tool storage. Tempered glass doors on the chest and cabinet. Plus LED lighting on the 10-drawer mobile work center. All to keep your tools in plain sight. HUSKY® never quits. Exclusively at The Home Depot.®

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Armanibeauty.com

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AVAILABLE AT MACYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AND MACYS.COM

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