Australian men s fitness march 2018

ACETIPSTOMAKEYOU KINGOFTHEGYM

BEACHY KEEN: THE WORLD’S BEST BEACHES

P84

TOTAL BODY PLAN Get strong and lean in just 20 minutes!

Work your entire core

P.114

OF S N A I D R G UA

6-PACK SECRETS

T

!

F F O S E K t i f A o r e T h r e T p u T s m A PR eeps hi

STA Y X A L A HE G

R

k t S a I h t t C H R E : t h e w o r ko u V I S U L C EX

DUDE FOOD Easy meals for blokes on the go

67

TRAINING TUNE-UPS MARCH 2018 $8.50

Mensfitnessmagazine.com.au

Introducing the

FALCO Elite Australia’s best value race-ready road bike

§ĞĀ DÖķóň 0ķġŹĀ ſűĀű ňſū ƮÖėűĞġŧ ūňÖù ūÖóġŀė ėĀňľĀŹūƛ ȝ ĕūÖľĀ Öŀù ŹĞĀ ŹūġĀù Öŀù ŹĀűŹĀù ĞġľÖŀň ȜțȠ óňľŧňŀĀŀŹű ĕňū ňſŹűŹÖŀùġŀė ŧĀūĕňūľÖŀóĀ Öŀù ūĀķġÖñġķġŹƛȷ uŀĀ ňĕ Āġùɒű ñĀűŹ ŧĀūĕňūľġŀė ūňÖù ñġĴĀűȲ Öŀù ƛňſū ŹġóĴĀŹ Źň ūňÖù ūġùġŀė Öŀù ūÖóġŀė

Lifetime frame and fork warranty for your peace of mind, and one year on nonconsumable parts

Shimano 105 22-speed components (5800 Series) for crisp shifting performance

Light, fast Alex wheelset with Continental Ultrasport 2 puncture protected tyres

Road race geometry for a fast and responsive feel New lightweight double butted R2 hydroformed alloy frame with smooth weld technology, internal cable routing and semi-integrated headset paired ƕġŹĞ Ö óÖūñňŀ ƭñūĀ ĕňūĴ

!Öūñňŀ ƭñūĀ ĕňūĴ ķňƕĀūű ƕĀġėĞŹ and provides a more compliant ride

mar.

79

Slam dunk those goals.

37 How to go a month without booze.

29

The soothing scent of love.

Breakthroughs 17 Punching power Hit the bag to build neural strength.

18 Health Why you should sleep in the nude.

20 Nutrition Heal your lungs with food.

22 Fitness It’s never too late to start exercising.

24 Weight loss Switch off your sweet tooth.

37 Off the sauce

50 Doubling down

Smart tips to help you stay sober for a month.

Mixing two of the same spirit in your cocktails.

40 No wires!

52 Oil be back

Tune in to the world’s best wireless earbuds.

Five oils you should be using now.

42 Adventure

54 Glory road

Taking on Mt Lhotse (and surviving).

The Great Ocean Road Running Festival.

44 Hanging tough The MF team take on TRX suspension training.

46 Fit food Gordon Ramsay’s meals for health and fitness.

32 THE SLICE IS RIGHT.

Features 56 Galaxy quest

84 The last wild shores

An exclusive look at the gym routine that transformed Chris Pratt’s physique.

Off-the-grid seaside retreats that are tough to get to – and totally worth the effort.

62 King of the gym

92 An endurance quest

30 Squat strong

Everything you need to know to get the most out of your gym membership.

Does EPO put more kilometres underfoot or create more harm than good?

Build strength with the king of leg moves.

73 The game plan

96 Hitting the links

26 Mind Train your brain with adrenaline.

Game Changers

32 Cutting it fine How to prep your veg like a pro.

34 Lift your game Master the banded push-up.

What and when to eat before, during and after a workout, ride, fight or game.

Your MF guide to the wide, wonderful world of snags.

79 Be a goal-getter

It may not be the most beguiling body part... but isn’t it time you showed your bowel a little love?

Achieving your goals for a better body and career and a happy relationship.

101 A moving experience

mar.

110 Expert running tips.

26

Adrenaline is good for your brain.

The Body Book 105 Get bigger arms

114 Total body 2.0

When it come to your guns, less is definitely more.

Full-body fitness in just 20 minutes? You betcha.

106 Have a ball

120 Press ahead

Get a strong body in less time with a medicine ball.

Master the overhead press for bigger shoulders.

110 Full speed ahead

123 Core control

Get fitter faster with e expert running tips. these

A five-move abs circuit to make your entire core work harder than ever before.

96

Snag yourself a weiner.

Regulars

ON THE COVER

Chris Pratt

114 YOUR TOTAL BODY PLAN

10 View from the top 12 Training diary 14 Hot shot 126 Scoreboard 129 Subscriptions

PHOTOGRAPHY: THE RIKER BROTHERS

DISCOVER ALL THE SIGNS OF A GREAT BBQ

BOSS 4 BURNER

890

$

Let them know who’s in charge with the new Matador Boss 4 burner. Premium features put you in total control and the bold contemporary design is a sure sign you’re ready for the main event.

matadorbbqs.com.au

SELF CLEANING HOOD

POWDERCOATED FINISH

ENAMEL CAST IRON BURNERS

WOK BURNER

V IE W FRO M T HE T O P

The heart of the matter

I

f you ever want motivation to train or improve your diet, visit a cardiac ward in a major hospital, as I recently did when my father had an “episode”. Look at the men – and it is mainly men – lying down strapped to HRMs, separated from death by a single pumping muscle.

SUBSCRIBE TO MEN’S FITNESS ACETIPSTOMAKEYOU KINGOFTHEGYM

BEACHY KEEN: THE WORLD’S BEST BEACHES

P84

TOTAL BODY PLAN

6-PACK SECRETS

Get strong and lean in just 20 minutes!

Work your entire core

How many lie there, staring at their own mortality, wishing they’d eaten a bit cleaner, exercised more, drank less or didn’t smoke? Many, I’d wager.

ES OFF! AouTt thTat keTepAsKhim superhero fit R P IS R CH IVE: the work 67 P.114

GUARDIA

NS OF TH

E GALA XY

STAR

EXCLUS

DUDE FOOD Easy meals for blokes on the go

TRAINING TUNE-UPS

I certainly did after visiting my father. I pulled out of a three-month long exercise slump and laced up the runners. I quit pinching chips off my kids’ plates and decreased my visits to Dan Murphy’s.

MARCH 2018 $8.50

Mensf tnessmagazine com au

12 ISSUES FOR JUST $75 AND RECEIVE A FREE SPEED ROPE VALUED AT $30!

Our mortality is real and can’t be avoided. But it certainly can be postponed significantly. You just have to invest some time now and show some self-discipline, and it’s not that hard with the right information. Have a read of King of the Gym on page 62, a no-nonsense guide to getting the most out of a gym. Flick over to Oil be Back on page 52 to learn about the best oils for cooking. In short, start to educate yourself about fitness and clean eating. In fact, do yourself a favour and subscribe (page 129). And for the next year, put into practice some of the good habits outlined in this fine mag. Come 30, 40 or 50 years time, you’ll be very glad you did. I hope you enjoy the issue. Stay strong.

ph: 02 9439 1955 mensfitness magazine.com.au

TODD F. COLE, EDITOR todd@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au

Follow me on twitter @toddfcole

Check us out on Facebook: Australian Men’s Fitness

Men’s Fitness is on the iPad. Check out the magshop app in iTunes or go to http://magshop.com.au/iPad

Both the paper manufacturer and our printer meet the international standard ISO 14001 for environmental management. The paper comes from sources certified under the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification scheme (PEFC™). Please recycle this magazine – or give it to a mate.

10

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

’ EDITORIAL Editor Todd Cole todd@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au Associate Editor Alison Turner alison@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au Sub Editor Karl Mayerhofer

ART Art Director Tania Simanowsky taniasdesign@optusnet.com.au

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions Manager Julie Hughes (02) 9439 1955; subs@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au

PUBLISHERS Todd Cole, Ian Brooks ADVERTISING Commercial Director Tim Fernandes tim@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au; 0405 983 707 ODYSSEUS PUBLISHING PTY LIMITED ABN 39 122 001 665 Level 2, 174 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest, NSW 2065 PO Box 81, St Leonards, NSW 1590 Tel: (02) 9439 1955 / Fax: (02) 9439 1977 www.mensfitnessmagazine.com.au Men’s Fitness is published 12 times a year. Printed by Offset Alpine. Australian and New Zealand distribution by Gordon & Gotch. Copyright © 2018 Odysseus Publishing Pty Ltd and Weider Publications, LLC. Australian Men’s Fitness is published under licence from Weider Publications, LLC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated or converted into machine-readable form or language without the written consent of the publisher. Men’s Fitness is a trademark of Weider Publications, LLC and is used under licence from Weider Publications, LLC and may not be used or reproduced without permission from Weider Publications, LLC. Articles express the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Editor or Odysseus Publishing Pty Limited. ISSN 1836-0114.

WEIDER PUBLICATIONS, LLC A SUBSIDIARY OF AMERICAN MEDIA, INC. Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer David Pecker Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Hyson Executive Vice President, Consumer Marketing David W. Leckey Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer Chris Polimeni President/CEO, Distribution Services Inc John D. Swider Executive Vice President/Chief Digital Officer Joseph M. Bilman Executive Vice President, Digital Media Operations/CIO David Thompson General Manager, AMI International & Syndication Laurence A. Bornstein Director, International Licensing Branding Marianna Gapanovich Director, Rights & Permissions Fiona Maynard Syndication Manager Maribel Dato Production Assistant Paul Miller

Founding Chairman Joe Weider (1919-2013) Founding IFBB Chairman Ben Weider (1923-2008)

The exercise instructions and advice in this magazine are designed for people who are in good health and physically fit. They are not intended to substitute for medical counselling. The creators, producers, participants and distributors of Men’s Fitness disclaim any liability for loss or injury in connection with the exercises shown orinstruction and advice expressed herein.

built for the challenge

For over 50 years, Seiko’s diver’s watches have set new standards.

Today, Prospex continues the tradition, made to professional specifications for those who challenge their limits.

seiko.com.au

●

Training diary

2

3

RUNS

March 10 Six Foot Track Marathon Where: Explorers Tree, Katoomba, NSW What: a 45km path stretching across the Blue Mountains from The Explorers’ Marked Tree near Katoomba to Jenolan Caves.

More info: sixfoot.com

April 6 Kathmandu Neverest Where: Dandenong Ranges, Vic What: this vertical test of endurance requires you or your team to ascend and descend the same track until you complete the equivalent of the height of Everest.

More info: projectneverest.com

May 19-20 Great Ocean Road Running Festival Where: Lorne and Apollo Bay, Vic What: test your mettle at one of the most scenic seascapes in Oz. Distances start at 1.5km for kids and top out at 60km for the ultra.

More info: greatocean roadrunfest.com.au

RIDES

March 25 Rotary Ride the Range Where: Toowoomba, Qld What: four rides for all ages and abilities choose from the 58km, 85km, 100 Mile Challenge (164km) and Classic 112km.

More info: ridetherange.org.au

April 14 Contact Epic Where: Lake Hawea, NZ What: head to NZ’s South Island for 160km, 125km or 95km rides and enjoy the beautiful high country station scenery while you pedal like fury.

More info: lakehaweaepic.co.nz

May 6-21 Outback Odyssey Where: Adelaide to Blinman, SA What: an epic mountain bike ride through the Australian outback over 900km, including the entirety of the famous Mawson Trail.

More info: bikesa.asn.au

TRIATHLONS

MONTHS AWAY

March 25 Bunbury City Classic Triathlon Where: Bunbury, WA What: gives participants two options: either a standard-length triathlon or a smaller enticer-length triathlon, along with a duathlon and kids triathlon.

More info: bunburytriclub.com

April 8 The Triathlon Series Where: Kurnell, NSW What: sign up for the Sprint (750m/20km/ 5km) or Enticer (300m/ 10km/2km) at Kamay Botany Bay National Park in Sydney’s southern suburbs.

More info: thetriathlonseries. com.au

May 12-14 Ultraman Australia Where: Noosa Heads, Qld What: this mother of all races features a 10km swim, 421.1km bike ride and 84.3km run, starting and finishing at Noosa Heads beach.

More info: ultramanoz.com.au

SWIMS

MONTHS AWAY

March 10 Mooloolaba Ocean Swim Where: Mooloolaba, Qld What: a 1km, M-shaped ocean swim off Mooloolaba Beach as part of the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival.

More info: ap.ironman.com

April 6-8 Wet & Wild Weekend Where: Shell Cove, NSW What: an awesome adventure-filled training weekend to help you develop oceanswimming skills and boost your fitness.

More info: oceanfit.com.au

May 20 South Head Roughwater Where: Bondi, NSW What: a tough and challenging 10km swim from iconic Bondi Beach to Watsons Bay, ending at the slipway of the Vaucluse Yacht Club.

More info: oceanfit.com.au

ADVENTURE

1

MONTH AWAY

March 24 Spartan Race Sydney Where: Brownlow Hill, NSW What: try the 7km Sprint, the 13km Super, the 21km Combo or the team-based Hurricane Heat. Expect plenty of leg-testing hills and loads of mud.

More info: spartanrace.com.au/en

April 28 Spartan Race Brisbane Where: Peak Crossing, Qld What: try the 7km Sprint, the 21km Beast or the 42km Ultra Beast. Expect plenty of leg-testing hills and loads of mud.

More info: spartanrace.com.au/en

May 6 Sprint Series Adventure Race Where: Lysterfield Park, Vic What: a classic adventure race consisted of running, mountain biking and kayaking, all navigation based.

More info: adventuresprint.com.au

Got an event in your state that MF readers can train for in 2018? Email details to alison@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au with a couple of good action photos.

12

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

STAMINADE (electrolytes + minerals + magnesium) + WATER = AUSSIE REHYDRATION

On those hot and sticky days when you need to keep your fluids up, no drink works harder.

A refreshing glass of Staminade replaces the essential minerals and electrolytes lost through perspiration and let’s you get back on the job.

Staminade. Don’t just save it for your sports bag. Mix it up a little.

TOP UP THE TANK. Find out more at www.staminade.com.au

t

fi rst

s r i h t r aid fo

●

Hot shot

GREENLAND

Steven Tonkinson diving into the waters of the Sermilik Fjord in eastern Greenland.

14

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

Freeze frame

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

photograph by CHRIS BURK ARD

Nine days into a voyage spanning hundreds of kilometres, photographer Chris Burkard captured passenger Steven Tonkinson diving into the freezing arctic waters of eastern Greenland last September. Burkard cruised from Kulusuk, in the southeast part of the country, through icy waters on a Danish sailboat, photographing glacial remnants and rugged, wind-eroded landscapes. Erratic weather patterns forced the crew to adapt to changing surroundings.

“A lot can go wrong,” says Burkard, “and you never know what will happen above deck.”

On a day with clearer conditions, while in the Sermilik Fjord, one of the largest in Greenland, brave Tonkinson volunteered to take the plunge from a nearby glacier and experience the sub-zero temperatures unprotected.

“The water will stop your heart for a second,” says Burkard. From the boat, using a Sony a7R II camera, he captured the diver during his leap into the blue. Tonkinson lasted just a few moments before heading back to the boat.

Burkard embarked on the expedition to document the overlooked area and its few-and-far-between inhabitants.

“It’s full of ghost towns. The people who remain survive on whale and seal and have a resilience that should be revered.”

He maintains that photographing Greenland is the highlight of his decade-long career: “It’s a fragile place,” he says.

“And it allowed me to tell a story that hadn’t been told.”

15

Hard-hitting news from the cutting edge of modern researc

Breakthroughs It’s worth learning to form a proper fist: research published in the Journal Of Experimental Biology shows that the knuckles are four times stiffer if the fingers and thumbs are properly tucked to brace the whole hand.

Punching power is in your head HIT THE BAG TO BUILD NEURAL STRENGTH. Want a reason to warm up on your gym’s heavy bag? Here it is: by working on the coordination needed for a perfect punch, you’ll restructure your brain as well as your muscles.

In a study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, trained martial artists had differently structured white matter connecting their brain regions than untrained exercisers, prompting researchers to speculate that most of their power came down to synchronisation and timing, with better neural connections letting them synchronise their arm and trunk movements with precision. Add a bagwork session once a week: you’ll build coordination and power that lasts much longer than a triceps pump.

J AM NA UR AC RH Y 2018 7

MEN’S FITNESS

17

Health

Breakthroughs

23% The reduction in mortality risk - from any cause – among adults who did strength training, in the largest study of its kind, published in November 2017.

In a University of Sydney survey of more than 80,000 adults, those who did basic strength training including push-ups and dips saw an even greater reduction in risk of premature death from cancer – a 31 percent drop. Even lunges and squats are better than nothing.

Currently, less than 19 percent of Aussies do the recommended amount of strength-based exercise.

Strength-based training can lower your risk of dying young.

4 benefits of sleeping naked ■ One in three adults sleeps in the nude, according to an international study by the US National Sleep Foundation. There are some major benefits: 1 ] Protect your sperm Researchers found men who stuck with a boxers-by-day, commando-by-night routine had a 25 percent lower rate of damaged DNA in their sperm than men who wore tighter underwear 24/7.

2 ] Boost your love life People who sleep in the buff have happier love lives, according to a survey of 1000 British adults this year.

18

MEN’S FITNESS

SAUNA AWAY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

3 ] Better sleep quality In order to fall asleep, your core body temp needs to drop by about half a degree. And in order to stay asleep, that ideal temperature needs to be regulated.

Sleeping naked makes it easier for your body to cool down and to keep that lower temp.

4 ] Lower blood pressure Lying in bed with your partner naked is found to generate a boost in oxytocin, which has a protective effect on the heart, as it lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system and reduces anxiety.

MARCH 2018

Bottoms up: snoozing in the buff is good for you.

Scandinavianguysare ontosomething.Astudy fromtheUniversityof EasternFinlandfound sweatinginasauna slasheshypertension risks.Of1621men,those whogotinasaunaafew timesperweekwere24 percentlessproneto highbloodpressure thanthosewhowent once.“Relaxingafter astressfulworkday maybetheimportant contributor,”saysstudy authorJariLaukkanen.

Saunaswidenblood vessels,causingblood pressuretodrop,and “saunasleadtosweatinducedfluidloss,which workslikeadiureticto lowerbloodpressure.”

Whoknows?Maybeit evensoutalltheFinnish vodka,too.

Sitting is bad, standing could be worse

■ Desk jockeys have long been warned that sitting is as bad as smoking, exempting those with active occupations. No more. Standing may be worse. Of 7320 workers, those whose jobs kept them on their feet (factory workers, waiters) were twice as likely to develop heart disease than

those who sat, an American Journal of Epidemiology study finds. Always being upright can cause blood to pool in your legs, rather than circulate back to the heart. Standing increases oxidative stress, triggering inflammation. Over time, this can raise cardiovascular risks. Sit every so often to give your body a break.

AUSTRALIA’S LEADING RANGE OF FITNESS PROFESSIONALS.

Back in 2013, Aaron undertook a series of scans to find the cause of extremely high blood pressure. A malignant tumour was discovered on his kidney, and after painful cancer surgery, he faced a long and difficult recovery.

Unable to exercise, and feeling down, he gained 10kg and lost confidence.

Goodlife’s 12 Week Challenge – a transformation program for weight loss and muscle gain – helped him rebuild his strength, fitness and selfesteem. He’s now in the best shape of his life, his blood pressure is back to normal and he’s taking on ever-greater challenges. Beating life’s obstacles – that’s Aaron’s thing.

VISIT GOODLIFE.COM.AU

Nutrition Breakthroughs

Fish for brains Smart sushi: hear it raw.

Drink yourself healthy

Want a smart kid who also sleeps the night through?

Feed ’em fish. A study from the University of Pennsylvania, US, has found that children who eat fish at least once a week sleep better and have IQ scores that are 4 points higher, on average, than those who consume fish less frequently or not at all. Previous studies showed a relationship between omega-3s, the fatty acids in many types of fish, and improved intelligence, as well as omega-3s and better sleep. But they’ve never all been connected before. This work reveals sleep as a possible mediating pathway, the potential missing link between fish and intelligence.

Heal your lungs

Get your goodness in a glass by throwing this lot in a blender.

The food

The effect

The science

Aids brain function

High levels of vitamin K slow cognitive decline, while folate and beta carotene are brain boosters. A handful will do – frozen works fine.

Helps nutrient absorption

Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, so they need to be eaten with fat to be used. With high levels of monounsaturated fat, half an avocado makes the rest of your smoothie healthier.

Spinach

Avocado

Reduces DOMS

Ginger

Improves sleep quality

Cherries

20

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

In one study, volunteers who took regular doses of ginger reported less muscle pain after exercise. You only need a thumb-sized portion – peel it with a spoon.

High in fibre and vitamin C, cherries also promote production of the hormone melatonin, which improves sleep efficiency. A handful will do it.

■ If you quit smoking this New Year, congrats. Now check out the new study from Johns Hopkins Uni, US: a diet rich in tomatoes and apples (and fruits in general) may be what your body needs to help heal your tarred and leathered lungs.

The study started in 2002, when the researchers looked at the diets and lung health of 650 adults.

The researchers then reassessed those 650 people in 2012. They

found that people’s lungs tended to stay healthier if they ate more than two tomatoes or three portions of fresh fruit per day, compared to people who ate fewer tomatoes or fresh fruit per day. The effect extended to ex-smokers, whose lungs stayed healthier for longer if they ate the same amounts of fruit every day – which, in turn, suggests the diet can help restore lung health.

Someone get me a light... and a Pink Lady.

NEW

PROTEIN BAR Anything is Possible™ your first online order.

Enter MF18 at checkout.

15%OFF

www.IRONMANPROTEIN.com.au.

Valid until 31/03/18.

5

HEA L RATTIH STAR NG

• 20g Protein • Low Carb

5

HEA L RATTIH STAR NG

• 2g Creatine • 2g BCAA’s • Tested by:

4.5

HE A L RATTIH STAR NG

.com

Buy online at www.IRONMANPROTEIN.com.au IRONMAN® and the “M-DOT” logo are registered trademarks of World Triathlon Corporation. Official Product of the IRONMAN® TRIATHLON. Used here by permission.

Fitness

Breakthroughs

Time to getmoving Skip to it: it’s never too late to start exercising (and kiss that lounge goodbye).

Even if you’ve been a lazy bastard glued to his armchair for years, if you start exercising now it’s not too late to repair some of the damage you’ve done. So says a study in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. In the study, Texan researchers recruited 53 middle-aged couch potatoes and put them on an aerobic exercise regimen. After two years, those who had stuck to their program and worked out for at least four days per week had healthier hearts and arteries and saw significant improvements in how their bodies used oxygen. “We found what we believe to be the optimal dose of the right kind of exercise, which is four to five times a week, and the ‘sweet spot’ in time, when the heart risk from a lifetime of sedentary behaviour can be improved – which is late-middle age,” says study author Dr Benjamin Levine.

Ask Men’s Fitness Is running bad for bulking up?

Not exactly, says powerlifter Mike Israetel, a professor of exercise science. It works like this: muscles grow best when you give them lots of sets of heavy weights, then let them recover between workouts. “Anything that interferes with the ability to lift hard by fatiguing the muscles, or with the ability to recover, is going to reduce muscle growth somewhat,” says Israetel.

So if you’re lifting for your legs, yeah, running on “leg day” might not be a good idea. But a few laps won’t undo all your work.

Running on leg day might not be a good idea, but a few laps won’t hurt.

22

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO SWEAT

We’ve all heard of Bitcoin. Now there’s Sweatcoin – a free fitness app that awards points (or Sweatcoins) for walking or running. If you accumulate enough points, you can score anything from workout gear to fitness trackers, or even donate your Sweatcoins to charity. It’s currently only available in the US, UK and Ireland, but go to sweatco.in and you can sign up for an email notification that’ll let you know when it’s available here.

Give your shoulders a reset ■ Whether you’re pushing a barbell overhead or pulling yourself onto a rock face, there’s one cue that will instantly put you in a stronger position: pull your shoulder blades back and down. This adjustment engages your lats and lower traps and fires your abs; now you can push and pull with more power and

stability. What’s more, it ensures your shoulders aren’t hiked up or rounded forward, which can cause strain on your neck and, over time, lead to injuries. Think of this cue before and during any exercise or activity.

Soon the motion will be habit and you’ll find that just about everything you do feels much easier.

Weight loss Breakthroughs

Switch off your sweet tooth

The more you lose sensitivity to sweetness, the more sugar you want.

If you have a sweet tooth, it may be because you have tired taste buds. People with a diminished ability to taste tend to choose sweeter – and therefore highcalorie – foods and snacks, which significantly increases the odds of them gaining weight, according to the journal Appetite. Medical professionals and researchers have speculated that a diminished taste sensitivity was linked to obesity, and this new study confirms that the more you lose sensitivity to sweetness, the more sugar you want in your food. Help yourself beat the bulge by taking your time over every meal, taking a moment to appreciate the smells and colours on your plate before eating, then chewing food slowly to appreciate the taste, temperature and texture.

DETERRING DIABETES

Up-lifting news ■ Gymjunkies,thisis theresearchyou’ve beenwaiting for.

AccordingtoaUS HarvardSchoolof PublicHealthstudy, liftingweights ismoreeffective formaintaining a flatstomach than runningorcycling, especiallyfor middle-agedmen.

Researchersstudied the physicalactivity, waist circumference andbodyweightof nearly11,000healthy menage40andover.

Aftercomparing the participants’change inactivitylevels overa12-yearperiod, theyanalysedwhich activitieshadthe greatesteffecton 24

MEN’S FITNESS

their waistlines.Men who did20minutes ofdaily weight traininggained less abdominalfatasthey aged,comparedwith menwho spent the same time hitting the pavementor pushing pedals.So keepclankingthose weights andletbeer bellies be bygones.

A flat belly is a weighting game.

MARCH 2018

Weightmanagement programmescanput type2diabetesinto remission,according toarandomisedtrial inadultswho’vehad theconditionforupto sixyears,publishedin TheLancet.Thestudy showedthatafterone year,participantshad lostanaverageof 10kg,andnearlyhalf hadrevertedtoanondiabeticstatewithout usinganydrugs.“Our findingssuggestthat evenifyouhavehad type2diabetesfor sixyears,putting thediseaseinto remissionisfeasible”, saysProfessor MichaelLean,who co-ledthestudy.

Ask Men’s Fitness What’s the idea behind eating multiple small meals vs. three normal-size ones?

The idea behind consuming multiple small meals a day vs. three “normal”-size meals is that you control your blood sugar levels and insulin production, control hormones better, have more energy, reduced food cravings, less hunger and reduce body-fat storage, which all contribute to the ability to maintain lean muscle mass. Smaller and more periodic feedings that include protein keep your ’s supply of amino in check – to keep y from being used for nergy. Eating more of the right foods and more often will help to speed your metabolism through the idea thermic energy eding (energy to t food).

Mind

Breakthroughs

Train your brain with adrenaline Feel better about yourself after racing down the face of an epic wave or a similar brush with danger? Of course you do, but it’s not just sweet relief: according to new neuroscience, you could be changing the make-up of your brain. Studies have already found links between extreme sports and heightened self-confidence and humility, but researchers now believe that adrenaline junkies benefit from higher levels of neuropeptide Y, an amino acid that controls anxiety and buffers the effects of stress hormones. It’s higher in those who take on high-pressure situations, so if you want a coping mechanism for the stress of everyday life, seeking out danger could be the way to go.

Adrenaline junkies benefit from higher levels of an amino acid that controls anxiety.

3 things to keep on your desk ■ Whether you’re in the office or working from home, you should aim to keep your workspace uncluttered. A group of neuroscientists at Princeton Uni, US, found having objects competing for “neural representation” adversely affects productivity. But a few accessories are essential: 1 ] Plants An Exeter University, UK, study found that they make offices 15

percent more productive. Bad at watering? Get a cactus.

2 ] Folders Productivity king David Allen has 20, but his in-basket – used for random stuff – is how he prevents clutter.

3 ] Stickies Written goals are 42 percent more likely to stick, according to a 2007 report. One goal at a time, with three to four goals for the day, is plenty.

Who the fuck took my stapler?

26

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

50

%

The improvement in creative problem-solving in subjects after a four-day outdoor break, in a 2008 study. Got a big project on? Go on holiday first.

MEDITATION FOR HEART DISEASE

If you’re not yet convinced of the health benefits of meditation, the American Heart Association has another reason to try it: it may help stave off heart disease. Studies suggest the practice may reduce blood pressure, stress and other risk factors.

Couple with a healthy diet and exercise and your ticker will be glad. Meditation takes practice and the benefits are cumulative, so try an app, such as Simple Habit, which offers five- to 30-minute guided meditations for common, specific stressors such as public speaking or a job interview.

Beet it for brain health ■ Endurance athletes load up on beetroot juice for its nitrate content, which improves blood flow and muscle contraction – but now there’s evidence it might help with more cerebral pursuits, too.

In a new US study, subjects who underwent a course of exercise and beetroot juice showed brain network connections

reminiscent of younger adults – which is important because the younger you are, the more neuroplasticity you have, which enables faster learning. Trying to master a complex new skill? Get ready for a beet down.

Imported by Vanguard Luxury Brands www.vanguardluxurybrands.com

EVERY THING YOU NEED TO MAKE LIFE WORK FOR YOU

GameChangers You just nose it

For god’s sake, Frank, give me back my pants.

Feeling stressed out and your better half isn’t around to comfort you?

Give an item of their clothing a sniff.

The scent of a romantic partner can help lower stress levels, according to new psychology research from the University of British Columbia, Canada. The study found women feel calmer after being exposed to their male partner’s scent. Conversely, being exposed to a stranger’s scent had the opposite effect and raised levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

“Many people wear their partner’s shirt or sleep on their partner’s side of the bed when their partner is away, but may not realise why they engage in these behaviours,” says Marlise Hofer, the study’s lead author. “Our findings suggest that a partner’s scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress.”

Maybe just steer clear of their old gym socks or you might find yourself in for a nasty shock.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

29

● Game Changers

Fitness

Squat to get strong

Build serious muscle size and strength with the king of leg moves.

1

2

3

4

Proper squat form is key to avoid knee and back pain.

30

MEN’S FITNESS MARCH 2018

5

Assistance moves 1 DON’T DROP YOUR CHIN ■ Before you lower into the squat, pick a point on the wall in front of you and focus on it. Keep looking at that point as you lower and then drive back up. This will help you avoid dropping your chin towards your chest, which encourages unhelpful movement in your upper spine that will cause you to hunch forwards and make it more difficult to complete the lift once you fatigue towards the end of the set. You might also want to avoid staring yourself out in the mirror because that can be distracting.

2 GET YOUR CHEST UP ■ If you want to lift as much weight as possible and reduce your risk of injury, keep your chest up throughout the move. If you drop your chest, your spine will flex (bend forwards) and that’s not a great thing when you have a heavy load on your back. One thing that will help you keep your chest in the right place is taking a deep breath before you lift and holding the air in your lungs as you lower. Once you begin to rise from the bottom position and are in control of the lift, you can exhale as you return to the start position.

3 PUSH ELBOWS FORWARDS ■ Try to push your elbows forwards before you start the lift. This may feel slightly uncomfortable but it will help you maintain a strong position when you move the weight. The reason it helps is because when your elbows point backwards (as opposed to downwards), this encourages your shoulders to internally rotate and makes it harder to keep an upright neutral spine. Pushing your elbows forwards will also help you to engage your lats – your big back muscles – which will further stabilise your upper body.

4 KEEP KNEES IN LINE WITH TOES ■ Plant your feet roughly shoulder-width apart with your toes turned out slightly at a “ten to two” position. Bend at the knees and hips simultaneously to lower your backside towards the ground and as you lower, keep your knees in line with your toes. It doesn’t matter if your knees go over your toes but you do want to avoid letting them turn inwards. You can spread your knees slightly at the base of the lift to open your hips and sit lower, then squeeze them back in to initiate the upwards movement.

5 HEELS FLAT ON THE FLOOR ■ Your weight should be on your heels and mid-foot throughout the lift. If you go onto the balls of your feet you’re in a weaker position that puts extra pressure on your knees. One reason people struggle to keep their heels down is because they have tight hamstrings, so stretch these muscles by squatting down with your back against a wall and hugging your knees to your chest. It doesn’t matter if your spine curves because, in this instance, you’re not carrying external load. The aim here is getting depth

Add these exercises to your workouts to target the key muscles involved in a squat so you can lift more weight.

Front squat Take the bar out of the rack with your hands crossed over your chest, supporting it across the front of your shoulders.

Squat down, keeping your chest up, then drive up through your heels to stand.

HOW

W H Y The front squat focuses the effort on your quads (front thighs) and because the weight is in front of you it encourages you to keep your chest upright.

Goblet squat Hold a kettlebell handle-down with both hands around the bell, and squat down with your back straight and chest up. Descend until your elbows touch the insides of your knees, then put your weight on your heels as you stand back up.

HOW

This is ideal for beginners because it’s a relatively easy way of working on your depth.

If you use a light weight you don’t have to worry too much about spine position and you can focus on getting as low as possible.

WHY

Split squat Start in a split stance, with one foot in front of the other, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders.

Bend both legs until your trailing knee touches the floor. Straighten both legs to return to the start, then go straight into the next rep.

HOW

Doing this move will ensure that you develop leg strength evenly because you work one side at a time.

WHY

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

31

● Game Changers

Eat to win LEAF IT IN It’s not as trendy as its cousin kale, but cabbage is an excellent source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Cutting it fine Eating more veg means knowing how to prep it better. Take two minutes to upgrade your five-a-day.

If your fruit and veg intake starts and stops at a banana with your breakfast porridge and a lunchtime jacket potato, it’s time to fix up and look sharp. By learning to prepare different greens faster, you’ll expand both your options and your palate. What’s more, you only need to learn a handful of easy techniques to feel like a pro at the chopping board – and Michelin-starred chef Adam Gray is here to take you through them.

I

BABY, DON’T CRY Onions are a lowcal, high-fibre way to add lots of flavour to any dish.

ONIONS

CAPSICUMS

LEEKS

CABBAGE

HALVE AND DICE

TOP, CHOP AND ROLL

SLICE THEM EASY

BETTER OFF SHRED

You probably chop more onions than anything else, so you might as well get it right. “Chop off the ‘nose’ – the bit at the opposite of the stem – then slice it in half, right through the stem, and peel off the skin,” says Gray. Now the tricky bit.

“Put the onion half flat on the board and press down with the flat of your hand as you slice through, with blade parallel to board.” Make a few vertical incisions along the length of the onion and cut perpendicular to those to get a fine dice.

There’s an easy way to take out all the seeds and ribs, with minimal hassle. First, slice off the top and bottom, then make a vertical slice down the capsicum so you can open it up. Put it skin-side down and work the knife along the inside with your blade parallel to the work surface, removing the extraneous bits as you go. Now chop it into strips or chunks.

“You need a very sharp knife for this,” says Gray. “If it’s blunt the fibres get jagged, which means you’ll lose nutrients in the cooking process.” Pull off the outer layer, then use your finest blade to halve your leek by slicing it down the middle, making a half-cylinder.

Now slice it as finely as possible.

“People throw away too much of the leek because the green bits seem too tough after they’re cooked,” says Gray. “But that’s because they’re not slicing it fine enough.”

You can use more of the outer leaves than you think, if you use the technique known as “chiffonading”. Remove any obviously damaged leaves and cut the cabbage in half and then quarters. Cut off the hard core from each quarter at an angle, then tear off the leaves and roll them up into cigar shapes to fine-chop them. The easiest way is to “roll” it: keep the very tip of the blade on the cutting board and rock it backwards and forwards as you feed the cabbage through with your other hand.

C O O K T H E M in scrambled eggs,

omelettes or stir-fries – or you can eat them raw.

C O O K T H E M for a few minutes

C O O K T H E M in a dash of

in a pan, with oil or butter, to kick off almost any dish. Or don’t – red onions are naturally sweeter, so you can put them in salads raw.

rapeseed oil, with some chorizo or salami for the simplest of tasty side dishes.

32

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

C O O K T H E M with sausages and

lentils for healthy comfort food – or just chuck them in a salad.

● Game Changers

Lift your game The Coach He won’t cop bullshit from anyone.

SECRET SQUIRREL

Coach, I’ve just discovered that my wife has been making double super payments (into her account) and squirrelling away significant cash money for more than three years, while we were (and still are) using my total wage to pay the mortgage, bills and all living expenses. Should I confront her?

Banded push-ups Adding downward drag forces your shoulders to move in more directions, netting greater gains.

If you’re knocking out sets of 15 conventional push-ups and looking for a challenge, a resistance band is a great next step.

“The resistance is more constant throughout the motion because you have to control it on the eccentric – or lowering – portion of the move,” says Tim Crowder, an athletic performance coach. The added pull forces you to keep your core engaged e more. (Some of Crowder’s clients complain this move is harder than a bench press for that

I

reason.) Beginners should use a lighter band with less resistance, since even a small amount of extra pressure will feel heavy and maintaining good form is paramount. As you gain strength, you can add resistance by pulling the band taut or swapping in a thicker one.

If your gym has them, loop the band around small push-up bars or flat-sided dumbbells and push off them for more control. Start with three sets of five and move up in resistance when you’re again hitting sets of 15.

HOW IT’S DONE THE SET-UP

THE MOVE

Take an end of a resistance band in each hand. (Look for them near your gym’s recovery equipment or pick up your own online.) Drape the length over your shoulder blades. Start in a high plank, feet hip-width apart, hands beneath shoulders and band under palms.

Maintaining a straight line from head to heels, lower until elbows reach 90 degrees, then press through palms to return to start.

34

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH

2018

■ No, don’t. I don’t care how financially independent your marriage is, that is deceit and betrayal in anyone’s language. It’s simply not a marriage. And it points to the notion that she’s probably got a plan to leave. Son, what she’s doing is borderline criminal, especially if she leaves and demands half the equity in the house.

Sound legal advice is beyond the scope of this

old soldier, so I’d go and see a good lawyer with all the evidence you have.

Safe to say, if what you say is accurate, you’ll need the services of a lawyer soon enough anyway. May as well get one prepped.

WHAT SHE’S DOING IS BORDERLINE CRIMINAL.

LAZY IS AS LAZY DOES

Coach, how do I stay motivated? It’s well into the year and I can’t get off my ever-fattening arse.

I’ll go the gym for few days and then flop onto the lounge for a week. I used to train like a madman.

How do I get it back?

■ For God’s sake, give yourself an upper cut, lad. Unless you’ve got a legitimate malady, you’re just being lazy and self-indulgent.

Habits make themselves.

The more you habituate to being lazy, the lazier you’ll become. The good news is the opposite is true, too. The more motivated you are, the more motivated you’ll

become. Try the old trick of signing up for a race – draft a buddy to train with, set a goal.

Do whatever it takes to get yourself moving because all you have to do is get yourself off that lounge consistently for a few weeks and it’ll become habit again.

And you’ll once again be training like a madman.

Got something health- or fitness-related to ask The Coach? Email your burning questions to info@mensfitnessmagazine.com.au.

TOM NOCELLA

New Shoes. Can feel a Spit to Manly PB coming on!

Oct 2

SARAH MILLER

Have fun!

Oct 2

MATT BOWEN

Nice shoes. At least you’ll look fast!

Oct 2

LUCIA GOYANES

Tom, I just saw your twin running on the Highway at Mildura.

Oct 16

CHAS BARON

Hey, haven’t heard from you in while.

Oct 23

TOM NOCELLA

Thanks for the pit stop Adelaide!

Oct 24

MELISSA NOCELLA

Son, I've been feeding your cat for weeks. When are you back?

Nov 3

BEN MUNDT

Haven't seen you at work for ages. Did you quit? Can I have your lamp?

Nov 29

KATE YOUNG

Hey Neighbour! Your grass is like 3 feet tall, pretty sure I saw a snake…

Dec 15

TOM NOCELLA

Wow! Made it to Freo, guess I’m bi-coastal now #runnerproblems

Jan 1

EXPERIENCE

INFINITE ENERGY

Levitate with DNA Amp gives you the most energy return of leading performance running shoes, so that you can keep on running.

brooksrunning.com.au

A g n i t s Ho

s s e Fitn

? t a e r t e R

ing and ne t n u a d be both . Hotel Komu n a c t a e g re first ret der is the venu , 5 star trainin r u o y g d n si of hosti st thing to con ounds, epic foo a e d i e r Th . The fi . Beautiful surr g n i t a r a s exhil he boxe ommodation. t l l a s k c Bali tic xury ac u l d n a facilities The Facilities Accommodation The comfort of your guests is crucial.

Komune features 66 impressive 4 star rooms as well as 1,2 and 3 bedroom villas plus 38, 5 star beach front pool suites.

The Health Hub

Delicious, fresh and healthy food and world class health and wellness facilities.

This is the Health Hub. A child free area where our award winning chefs cater to your dietary requirements. Located next to our 25m lap pool it’s the perfect placeto enjoy a cold pressed fresh juice after a morning yoga session.

Our Health Hub facilities include 3 large yoga shalas a fully equipped functional training gym, sports ground, spin bikes, barre and pilates equipment plus a full service spa for those looking to relax and unwind with a massage or some beauty therapy.

For more info head to: komuneresorts.com/keramasbali or email us at gm.bali@komuneresorts.com

● Game Changers

Health

Decline the stein.

Deciding to give up alcohol is one thing – actually achieving it can be another.

We all fall into habits with drinking: get home from work and pour a nice beer, a wine, a G&T and sit down – the working day is done.

Or you walk into a pub and order your usual. We’re also prompted by cravings. When we have a drink, the brain is positively stimulated in areas associated with happiness and reward, and after a while we start to connect the two – and for many of us seeing, smelling or even thinking about alcohol (or a place that sells it) causes the urge for a drink. If you’re thinking about giving up booze for an extended period this year, you’ll need to overcome these habits and triggers.

Here are 15 ways to do from Hele Foster’s book Quit Alcohol ( A Month).

D

Off the sauce Want to go sober for a month but worried you might cave in the first week? There are lots of simple hacks that can help.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

37

● Game Changers

01 Fool yourself and others by asking for your soft drink to be served in a beer glass if you’re usually a beer drinker. This can stop people asking why you’re not drinking – plus there’s something about holding that glass that’s reassuring.

02 Check out the hashtag #HelloSunday Morning on Instagram. It’s full of people who have given up booze sharing what they’re doing now they’re not hungover.

03 Brunch and breakfast are your friends – they’re the perfect time to see friends, but don’t come loaded with the expectation to drink.

Health yourself to make the right choice for you. It’s tempting to think, “I’ve done 10 days, one drink won’t hurt.” Taking breaths gives you time to recall that if your aim is to quit alcohol for a month, one drink will stop that.

06 Keep telling yourself that you don’t drink. Saying “No thanks, I don’t want it” makes it twice as likely that you’ll resist than saying “No thanks, I can’t have that”, according to a US study. Saying “I can’t” signals that you’re giving up something desirable but saying “I don’t want it” gives you a sense of empowerment.

04 Avoid shouts.

07 Book early morning fitness classes or a personal

There’s always that one guy who decides you really did want a beer despite asking for lime and soda and next thing you know, you’re off the wagon.

trainer and schedule your sessions for 7am.

The idea of trying to exercise early in the morning with a hangover should put you off giving in.

05 Breathe. If you’re wavering, take two deep breaths and tell

08 Create a cash jar.

Get a jar, mark it “My Sober Fund” and every

night you might have drunk but didn’t, put the cash you estimate you saved in the jar.

Make lists of what to spend it on when the month is over.

Cravings may hit, but they will pass – usually in just 15 minutes.

09 Change your password. If every time you sign into your email you type “nodrinks2day”, it’s reinforcing the choice you’ve made.

10 Put your goals on social media – and take note of the likes.

It helps you achieve your goal, says a study from New York University, US, which found that people who told others they were going to achieve something were spurred on when others took notice.

Another plus to going booze-free: you’re less likely to succumb to pub grub cravings.

11 Repeat the mantra: “It will all still

15 Just aim to get through today.

be there in 30 days” or however many days you have left. Pubs, clubs, bars and the bottle-o are not going anywhere during your month off.

If a month without alcohol seems insurmountable, don’t think about it that way. Goals are often more achievable if we break them down into small targets.

Setting the goal when you wake up in the morning just not to drink that day might work better for you than telling yourself you’re not going to drink for a month.

12 Wait 15 minutes.

Cravings hit you quickly and hard, but if you can distract your mind and stop thinking about them they pass – usually within 15 minutes.

13 Tense a muscle.

MF EXPLAINS

WHAT IS A LIVER-FUNCTION TEST? ■ The liver-function test, a simple test that involves having a sample of blood taken and analysed, measures the levels of three main enzymes known as GTT, AST and ALT. If levels of any of these enzymes are raised, it can sometimes indicate a serious problem, as damaged liver cells are leaking enzymes into the blood.

38

MEN’S FITNESS

But don’t be fooled by a healthy test result, says Professor Kate Conigrave. Two out of three people who drink heavily will have a normal liver, yet are likely to have suffered damage elsewhere. The best test for potential alcohol issues, she says, is a questionnaire by a knowledgeable professional answered honestly by the patient.

MARCH 2018

If you’re starting to waver, simply clench your biceps, your calves or your glutes – research published in the Journal Of Consumer Research found that tightening muscles actually increases resilience and willpower.

14 Go to brightly lit places or sit by the window. You make healthier choices in brightly lit environments, say researchers from Cornell University, US.

MF TOP PICK

Crack a coldie Yes, you can go alcohol free without giving up beer. Holsten Zero has a refreshing pilsener flavour with an alcohol content of 0.0%.

Fully imported and brewed in accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516. With a full beer taste but only 40 calories. holstenzero. com

● Game Changers

Gear

Look Ma, no wires!

Cut the cord on messy wires. Invest in a pair of wireless earbuds and stay tangle-free forever.

Gone are the days when you had to spend half an hour untangling your earphone wires before you even started your workout. Next generation wireless earbuds are delivering top-quality sound and comfort in teeny-tiny buds that fit snugly in your ears. Just make sure you keep ’em in a safe place, as they’re very easy to lose... Here are our picks of the best.

G

2

Set the soundtrack for your greatest workout ever.

3

4

1

5

1) Bose Soundsport Free

1) Jabra Elite 65t

3) EFM

4) Jam Ultra True Wireless

5) Sol Republic Amps Air

in place and stay comfortable. Packed full of technologies, so you can push your workout to the next level.

■ A wireless earbud for those who want the best voice and music experience.

Engineered to ensure a stable wireless connection and best call and voice quality.

Available March 2018.

■ These have a Bluetooth 4.2 “low energ y” wireless audio connection, with an extended feature set able to connect to Siri and Google Now while providing high data transfer efficiency.

■ Two separate buds fit snugly in each ear, delivering up to three hours of play time with a single charge. When you’re done, pop them back into their case for up to 10 full earbud charges.

■ A perfect in-ear seal for max sound isolation with four different ear tip sizes so you hear nothing but your music.

Sweat and rain resistant, you get up to three hours play time and a charging case.

$399.95; bose.com.au

jabra.com.au

$149; myefm.com

$149.95; jbhifi.com.au

$199.95; sol-republic.com.au

■ Engineered to stay

40

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

TAKE YOUR WORKOUT TO THE NEXT LEVEL In just 20 minutes a week

Use promo code: Franchises now available in your city

MENSFITNESS Turbocharge \RXU รฐWQHVV UHJLPH & save 50%!

VSHHGรฐW FRP DX

● Game Changers

Adventure

On top of the world

Top: entering the Lhotse couloir in the Death Zone; bottom: climbing through the Lhotse couloir.

From the tennis court to the world’s tallest peaks – Cian O’Brolchain takes on Lhotse. By Erik Bigalk and Jade Bentley

Cian O’Brolchain oncehad adream ofWimbledontennis stardom.Hismother hadbeenatennisplayer andO’Brolchainhad inheritedhertalentfor thegame.Buthisroots hadalwayspulledhim totheIrishfoothillsand he’ddreamedofbeing amountaineerlong beforepickinguphis firstracket.

“Istartedtrekking withmydadfroman earlyage,”herecalls.

“EvenGrandpawas akeenhillwalker.We wentalloverIreland andabroad.Iwas10 yearsoldwhenIleftall thatbehindfortennis.”

After15yearsof trying,herealised hewasnevergoingto makeittoWimbledon.

O’Brolchainhadto findanewgoal.

“Ihadalwayslivedan activelifeandsetting goalsthatwerejust aroundthecornerwas

C

nevermystyle,”he admits.“So,Iwent straightforthetallest goalofthemall.”

Overthepasteight years,O’Brolchainhas puteverythingbehind hismountaineering passion.Inpreparation forEverest,heandhis teamlaunchedthe 32StepsforCystic Fibrosiscampaign, whichaimstoimprove lungtransplant facilitiesinIreland.

Climbersraisedmoney forthecampaignby scalingthehighest peakineachofthe 32countiesinIreland.

“Thatwasjustthe warm-up,”hesays.

NextwereMtBlanc (France,4808m),Mt Denali(USA,6190m), ChoOyu(Tibet,8188m) andMtKilimanjaro (Tanzania,5895m) beforehefinally conqueredMtEverest (Nepal,8848m)–all betweenJune2010and May2012.Butitwas toweringMtLhotse

(Nepal,8516m)that heldthestrongest pullforO’Brolchain.

Atallorder Theysaythereisno mountaintoohigh forthosewhoare passionateandwilling toputinthehardwork.

Butnotmanyaimas highastheworld’s tallestsummits.

O’Brolchaininvited Sherpasandclimbers tocollaboratetocreate WorldSherpas–atruly globalmountaineering andtrekkingteam eagertoputtheoryinto practiceastheyset theirsightsonLhotse –theworld’sfourth highestmountain.

Theintrepidteam setoutona46-day expeditiononApril5, 2017.O’Brolchain wasnostrangertothe Himalayasandthe challengesLhotse wassuretopresent.

Highaltitudes,totally unpredictableweather

Left: base camp, 5345m (Everest and Lhotse).

42

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

conditions and the fragility of steep, rocky snow- and ice-covered terrain can be fatal to even the best and most experienced climbers in the world. Therefore, time management is absolutely crucial – when to hold off, when to push through and when to rest.

Of course, the extreme temperatures and high pressure mean that climbers and equipment need to be at their best. A lot of the equipment needs to be specifically designed to survive in that environment. As for climbers, strength and endurance training, as well as the right mindset, are paramount for a successful ascent.

“There are always challenges that can put the whole expedition at risk,” O’Brolchainsays.

How an Aussie watch joined the climb A chance meeting at a mutual mate’s house in Brisbane started it all. During a friendly chat around the BBQ, O’Brolchain mentioned how important a good watch is to a climber onatoughexpedition.

Alsoatthebarbecue wasGrantMenzies, general manager of Australian watch manufacturer Adina Watches. Menzies, who designs bespoke timepieces, was up for the challenge.

“I bet we could build you a watch that will

“I knew I must make it to the summit and get down to the couloir before dark, but as I kept climbing I felt absolutely exhausted…”

mountaineersalike wouldstandvictorious atopMtLhotse.

The climb

keep on going in those conditions,” Menzies told O’Brolchain. Hands were shaken and the deal was done.

In support of the expedition, Adina’s manufacturing team set out to craft three special watches for the mountaineers – all customised by hand. After totally re-vamping a highend automatic Adina Amphibian diving watch, the Swiss-made automatic movement was completely disassembled, re-oiled using Swiss-sourced anti-freeze oils and reassembled before rigorous testing was carried out. This included freezing the watches in a solid block of ice in a deep freeze.

Soon after, the core mountaineering team (O’Brolchain, Pasang Tenzing Sherpa and Mingma Tsiri Sherpa) were equipped with three mountain-proof Adina Amphibians, nicknamed “Thin Air”.

“It’s not every day we get the chance to tailor one of our watches to cope with such extreme conditions,” Menzies says.

The family-owned and operated business, started in the early 1970s, is the oldest and one of the last remaining watch manufacturers in Australia. They currently produce 40,000 timepieces per year – each one meticulously assembled by hand –

and are well known for their bespoke watches tailored for specific industries, as well as limited edition branded watches.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to design and produce watches for diving, mining and other industries,” Menzies says. “But never anything with such low temperatures and high altitudes.

It was a new, exciting challenge for us.”

Getting both the watches and mountaineers condition-ready was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the trials they were set to face. And only time would tell whether watch and

Above: climbing through the ice fall, 6000m; below: the Adina Thin Air.

Only a couple of weeks later, the World Sherpas team left base camp after acclimatising to the already thinner air.

As they trekked up, just after hitting the 8200m mark, O’Brolchain’s oxygen tank suddenly malfunctioned. Well into the “Death Zone”, with fatigue and lack of oxygen restricting his progress, O’Brolchain soon lost sight of his fellow climbers.

“The last 300m, I was without any supporting air supply, which made the climb seem like an eternity,” he explains.

Due to the slow pace he’d set as a result of oxygen limitations, which almost prevented him from reaching the summit altogether, O’Brolchain was now racing against the clock to reach the peak before dreaded nightfall.

“I knew I must make it to the summit and get down to the couloir before dark, but as I kept climbing I felt absolutely exhausted,” he says.

“I had little water left and no food or energy gels.”

Alone, he was forced to rely on his knowledge, experience and equipment to push through and climb the last leg. At 1800, O’Brolchain and his Adina watch made it to the Lhotse summit.

They were rewarded with a spectacular view of the setting sun above

the clouds that surrounded nearby Mt Everest.

Although the climb was not O’Brolchain’s greatest feat, it proved to be much harder than expected – with lessons he’ll draw on in his mountaineering business venture.

“I have learnt so much from climbing Lhotse,” he says. “It confirmed my view that climbing big mountains needs thorough preparation, experience, expert know-how and a capacity for self-sufficiency.”

O’Brolchain and his team proved all their preparation had paid off. This climb saw them withstanding the harshest of conditions and demands on gear and mountaineers that accompany such an effort. Earlier that day, the Everest Team, led by Pasang Tenzing Sherpa, who was also wearing the Adina Amphibian Thin Air, summited Mt Everest.

It was a double triumph for the World Sherpa Team and the Thin Air. It’sanamazingly rareachievementfor ateam,letalonean Australianwatch,to gettothetopoftwo oftheworld’stallest mountains. It speaks for the innovation, design, craftsmanship and quality of the watch, and of course the same qualities in the fearless climbers to make it up there successfully and return to tell the tale.

Adina Watches has now added the Thin Air Limited Edition to their top-end adventure watch range, available at a store near you or online at adinawatches.com.au For more on World Sherpas, go to worldsherpas.com MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

43

● Game Changers

The experiment

Marin might be smiling, but we're not...

“You can’t cheat in TRX – you need to use your core to stabilise yourself properly.

That’s why it works.”

For all comers

Hanging tough It might look like child's play, but it’s anything but. The MF crew take TRX for a spin.

Lesser mortals might cower at the idea of training during a heatwave, but the MF crew are not known to shirk at a challenge, no matter how sweaty.

We arrive at TRX Training Sydney on a 40+ degree day, decked out in brand-

L

44

MEN’S FITNESS

new Under Armour gear (thanks, guys!) and ready to learn the fine art of TRX suspension training.

Can you really get an effective workout from a couple of hanging ropes? We were determined to find out, even if one of us did end up spontaneously combusting.

MARCH 2018

SEAL of approval TRX Master Marin Lazic gives us a brief backgrounder before we kick off. Apparently TRX was invented by former US Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick, who created the first-ever version of TRX using only a jiu jitsu belt and parachute webbing.

It was designed as a training tool for his fellow SEALs to use while they waited back at base between operations.

After gaining his business degree in 2001, Hetrick launched the first official TRX Suspension Trainer.

The rest is history.

“One of the cool things about TRX is that literally anyone can use it,” explains Lazic.

“You can adjust it so it’s scalable, whether you’re a beginner just starting out or you’re an athlete looking for a harder workout.”

As well as being scalable, TRX also ticks all the boxes: it combines full-body strength training with cardio and a killer core workout, or as Lazic puts it, “Pilates on steroids”.

“The science behind it is that it’s a single anchor point, so there’s a rotation going through your body the whole time,” he says.

“You can’t cheat in TRX – you need to use your core to stabilise yourself properly.

That’s the secret of it and that’s why it works.”

Quality work Lazic puts us through a half-hour introductory session that involves timed intervals that work all areas of our bodies.

“The focus should be on good-quality movement,” he says.

“Quality over quantity.

Anyone can make you tired, but can they make you better?”

Soon after, we return to the blissful sanctuary of our air-conditioned office and collapse into our chairs. And by the next day, all four of us are sore in muscles we didn't even know we had. This is definitely a training tool worth adding to your arsenal.

For more on TRX Training Sydney, head to trxtrainingsydney.com For more on TRX itself, head to trxtraining.com The MF crew wear Under Armour gear.

● Game Changers

Nutrition

BY YOUR SIDE Serve this with roasted baby potatoes in their skins, or with sweet potato chips.

Feed yourself fit Healthy eating needn’t be boring. Especially when you have inspiration from a famous (and fit) chef.

You might know him best as the insulthurling, angry celebrity chef, but Gordon Ramsay also happens to be a recent convert to a fit and healthy lifestyle. Thankfully, he has decided to share his delicious and nutritious chef-approved recipes with us mere plebs in his new book, Ultimate Fit Food. No fads, no rabbit food (and no swearing) – just wholesome and tasty tucker that’s been categorised into either Healthy, Lean or Fit sections, so you can cater them to your needs.

Y

46

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

Tray baked chicken with butter beans, leeks and spinach SERVES 4- 6 LESS LEAN? Leave skin on the chicken and follow the recipe, but be careful not to pour wine or stock over the browned skin as it won’t crisp up properly.

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken, jointed, skin removed 1 tbsp olive oil 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally 1 leek, trimmed, halved lengthways, sliced 200ml dry white wine 400ml chicken stock 2 thyme sprigs 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained, rinsed 250g baby spinach Salt and pepper DIRECTIONS

ALL IN ONE A one-pan meal means less washing up afterwards, plus all the flavours really come together as they cook.

1) Preheat oven to 180˚C. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2) Place a large roasting tray on the stove to warm up, add the oil. Brown chicken pieces on all sides.

Turn chicken skin side up.

3) Add garlic, cut side down, add leeks and stir.

4) Pour in wine, let bubble for 2 minutes, then add stock. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up bits stuck to the bottom.

5) Turn off heat, add thyme, beans and spinach between chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper and mix all together. Put tray in oven.

Bake for 35–40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally to make sure everything is cooking evenly.

6) Remove tray from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving in warm shallow bowls.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

47

Nutrition

● Game Changers

KEEP IT DOWN When bavette steak is cooked on a griddle, it’s vital to keep the cooking time down so that it’s served medium-rare.

BAVETTE STEAK Bavette steak, also known as skirt, is cut from the flank of the cow and is often marinated or slow-cooked.

Bavette steak with rosemary chimichurri INGREDIENTS

Large bunch parsley, chopped Small bunch oregano, chopped 3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed 2 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped 1 red chilli,

deseeded and finely chopped 35ml red wine vinegar 30ml rapeseed oil 1kg piece of bavette steak 4 portobello mushrooms, cut into thick slices

48

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

12 cherry tomatoes Salt and pepper DIRECTIONS

1) Mix parsley, oregano, garlic, rosemary, chilli, red wine vinegar and a third of the oil.

Season with salt

SERVES 4

and pepper, leave to infuse for 2 hours.

2) When ready to cook, heat a large griddle pan over high heat.

3) Brush steak on both sides with the remaining oil, then, when griddle

is smoking hot, put it on to the pan and fry for 4 minutes on each side. Remove steak, wrap in foil and leave to rest.

4) Put mushrooms on to the griddle, cook for 2 minutes a side. Remove, add

tomatoes, cook for 2 minutes.

5) Carve steak against the grain into thin slices and arrange on a platter. Drizzle with chimichurri, serve with mushrooms and tomatoes.

Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food ($39.99), published

by Hachette Australia.

CHEAT DAY? It looks and tastes like a fried chicken sandwich, with the satisfying crunch from the chicken and the creaminess of the mayo.

WHOLE FOOD Using wholemeal flour and wholemeal buns ensures you stay fuller for longer.

California “fried” chicken sandwich INGREDIENTS

50g wholemeal flour 200ml buttermilk 150g puffed rice 2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp onion powder 4 tsp paprika 1 tsp dried sage 8 mini chicken breast fillets 4 wholemeal buns

1 avocado, sliced ½ iceberg lettuce, shredded Salt and pepper DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat oven to 180˚C. Put flour, rice and buttermilk into three bowls. Season flour with salt and

pepper. Add garlic and onion powder, paprika and sage to buttermilk, mix well.

Crush puffed rice so pieces are broken down slightly.

2) Dip each chicken piece in flour.

Remove, shake off excess, then dip into

SERVES 4

buttermilk. Drip off excess, then put chicken into puffed rice. Ensure pieces are fully coated, then place on a baking tray.

3) Put into oven; bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden and cooked through,

turning halfway through cooking.

4) Meanwhile, make dressing; mix 75ml yoghurt, ½ garlic clove and 1 tsp vinegar with salt and pepper.

5) Slice open buns, divide avocado between. Top with MARCH 2018

iceberg lettuce.

6) Once chicken is cooked, place on top of the lettuce and spoon over dollops of yoghurt dressing, as well as a drizzle of hot sauce, if desired.

Close buns, serve immediately.

MEN’S FITNESS

49

● Game Changers

Drinks

Doubling down By mixing two of the same spirit in cocktails, bartenders are finding one plus one equals way more than two.

The most important part of a classic cocktail tends to be the base spirit. That’s why,when ordering, you often specify the brand – a Rittenhouse manhattan or a Beefeater martini. But where one is good, two can be even better, and bartenders are finding that by splitting the base in booze-forward drinks – that is, using two complementary brands of, say, bourbon or vodka – the drinks achieve a new level of sophistication and subtlety. At the Grill in New York City, bar director Thomas Waugh combines the assertive Gin Mare with the softer The Botanist to create a complex, delicious martini. “You get the best of all worlds,” says Waugh, who also employs two vermouths in his variation (below). “You get a lot of complexity out of putting four ingredients in a martini.” It also works with similar spirits, like a split base of mezcal and tequila in the freewheeling margarita below. You can even mix your favourite rye and bourbon in an oldfashioned. Try it and you’ll soon realise that, yes, you can have it both ways.

T

MARTINI

MEZCAL-TEQUILA MARGARITA

MARTIN CATE’S WINTER DAIQUIRI

45ml The Botanist gin 45ml Gin Mare gin 8ml Dolin Blanc vermouth 8ml Noilly Prat dry vermouth

20ml Del Maguey Vida mezcal 20ml Sierra Milenario Blanco tequila 30ml fresh lime juice 15ml light agave syrup

TO MAKE

TO MAKE

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass filled with ice, stir, strain into a chilled glass, and garnish with a lemon twist or olives.

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker, shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass.

45ml aged blended rum 15ml Mount Gay Black Barrel rum 15ml simple syrup (2:1 sugar to water) 20ml fresh lime juice 1 dash Angostura bitters TO MAKE

Combine all ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker, shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

● Game Changers

Oil be back Who’s afraid of a little fat? Here, five oils you should use.

Fuel Extra virgin olive oil Heart-healthy

Avocado oil Complexionfriendly

Pumpkin seed oil Flu fighter

Cod liver oil Quick rejuvenate

Coconut oil Energy boost

LOAF IS IN THE AIR Dip with sourdough bread, which provides slowdigesting carbs that drip-feed you energy and avoid fat-storing blood sugar spikes.

SEAR YOUR STEAK WITH…

Avocado oil The key to frying the perfect steak is to heat the pan until it starts to smoke and then add the oil, swiftly followed by the meat.

But with most oils, the smoke point – the heat at which they start to degrade and turn carcinogenic – will already have been breached by the time the oil hits the pan. The solution? Use liquid avocado, which tops the smoke point table with a furnaceproof upper limit of 270°C, while also providing a bonus hit of vitamin E.

STIR-FRY WITH…

Coconut oil This oil consists almost entirely of medium-chain triglycerides – fatty acids that go straight from the digestive tract to the liver, where they’re turned into instant energy.

As a bonus, more than 90 percent of these are saturated, which makes it highly resistant to heat and therefore ideal for everyday frying.

Alternatively, for an energy-enhancing morning brew, add a teaspoonful to a strong black coffee.

DRESS YOUR SALAD WITH…

Extra virgin olive oil Extra virgin olive oil is a great choice for all cooking methods and not only withstands high temps but provides added health benefits for foods it’s cooked in. It also helps boost good cholesterol and lower bad, and is high in antioxidants.

Use it as a dressing for a Mediterranean salad – spinach leaves, olives, sundried tomatoes and

mozzarella. It can also be used for everything from baking sweet dishes, roasting, stews and barbecuing.

It’s worth shelling out extra for the extra virgin variety, because it’s pressed within 4-6 hours of picking, whereas any other form is likely to have seen protracted processing. Check the bottle for a harvest date – freshness brings more nutrients and a better taste, so an oil made within the past year is preferable.

DRIZZLE YOUR PASTA WITH…

Pumpkin seed oil An intense, nutty taste makes this oil – a real speciality of southeastern Europe – an ideal topping for rich main dishes and even desserts such as ice

cream. It’s costeffective, too (despite the high bottle price) because a little goes a long way, while its extremely high levels of zinc will help to keep your immune system topped up through winter.

Regular frying

High-heat frying

Garnishing

Drinking

AVOCADO

COCONUT

PUMPKIN SEED SPIKE YOUR SMOOTHIE WITH…

Cod liver oil COD LIVER Sure, no-one likes the fishy taste of cod liver oil. But given its high levels of recoveryenhancing omega 3 fatty acids, adding it to your diet is definitely worth the stomach-turning effort. Our advice: mix a teaspoon of pongy liquid with a smoothie made from mildly acidic fruit – an apple, a pear and a handful of berries – to balance and mask its flavour.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE

Good

Australia’s best olive oil Cobram Estate With control of the entire process from tree to table, Cobram ensures each olive is picked and pressed within 6 hours of harvest, retaining more antioxidants and producing fresher, healthier, high quality extra virgin olive oil.

OK

Bad

● Game Changers

Events

ADVERTORIAL

Glory road

SUN 20 9 1 T SA

MAY

Soak up the scenery at Australia’s most stunning running event.

The event attracts athletes from around the world.

WHAT

WHERE

WHY

GREAT OCEAN ROAD RUNNING FESTIVAL

LORNE AND APOLLO BAY, VIC

A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER!

■ The Great Ocean Road Running Festival is one of the most scenic and stunning runs you will ever complete. Choose between eight events for athletes of all skill levels: a 60km ultramarathon, a marathon, half-marathon, a 14km or 6km run or a 15km, 10km or 5km walk. All this plus a whole weekend of live music and entertainment and delicious food enjoyed with a backdrop of sunny Victorian beach landscapes.

■ The course winds along the wild and windswept Southern Ocean, offering breathtaking views as you run. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to enjoy one of Victoria’s premier tourist destinations without any traffic or crowds. With a variety of running events to choose from, you can set your own challenge, whether it be an enjoyable, scenic jog or that next big long-distance race goal.

■ Each year the Great Ocean Road Running Festival attracts athletes from around the world, and it’s easy to see why. It’s not just about the run – the festival is a fantastic weekend that you can enjoy with friends or family. Register now and check out the website at greatoceanroadrunfest.com.au for accommodation and travel packages so you can make the most of every minute.

There are even cash prizes to be won!

Grab your mates or the family and enjoy a memorable weekend away on May 19-20, 2018.

To find out more, to register and to check out accommodation options, head to greatoceanroadrunfest.com.au

Wired for sound.

Without the wires.

Say goodbye to wires and enjoy a truly untethered audio experience with EFM TWS Earbuds.

Featuring up to 7 hours playtime, simple one button controls, an IPX4 water resistance rating and voice command activation for Siri® and Google Now™, EFM TWS Earbuds are the wireless solution for all your audio needs.

TRUE WIRELESS SOUND

COMPLETE IN-EAR COMFORT

IPX4 WATER & SWEAT RESISTANT

Available from PTC Mobile Accessories, leading telecommunications retailers and online at myefm.com Siri® is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Now™ is a registered trademark of Google inc.

VOICE COMMAND ENABLED

2 YEAR REPLACEMENT WARRANTY

Galaxy

G E T A N E XC LU S I V E LO O K AT T H E GY M R O U T I N E T H AT T R A N S F O R M E D C H R I S P R AT T F O R HIS ROLE IN GUARDIANS

OF THE GALAXY.

quest

trying to impress their way into the big-paying big leagues].”

Gaver says the first couple of months were bodybuilding-type workouts, the next two months were equal parts bodybuilding and conditioning, and the last month was mainly conditioning consisting of cardio circuits, swimming, mountain biking and faster timed sessions. The conditioning workouts often contained a treadmill/rower circuit mixed in with weightlifting or calisthenics.

In terms of goals, Pratt knew exactly how he wanted to look.

“He wanted more muscle, to be much leaner and to be more fit,” says Gaver. “He wanted to do justice to the role.”

Check out how Pratt got in otherworldy shape with these star-making upper-body and conditioning workouts.

Chris Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy workout

DIRECTIONS

■ Perform the warm-up before each workout.

Clockwise from top left: Pratt as the loveable Andy Dwyer in Parks & Recreation; as Joshua Faraday in The Magnificent Seven; as Owen Grady in Jurassic World.

We’re so accustomed to seeing Chris Pratt as a bona fide action star, it’s almost tough to remember he first came to fame as a chubby goofball. Before he was a motorcycle-riding velociraptor trainer in Jurassic World, and before he was a universe-saving superhero in Guardians of the Galaxy – both epic blockbusters, by the way – Pratt was Andy Dwyer, the marshmallowy man-boy who fell into a pit on Parks and Recreation.

So what changed? Pratt got shredded. For his star (and starmaking) turn as Peter Quill, Pratt

“HE WANTED MORE MUSCLE, TO BE MUCH LEANER AND TO BE MORE FIT.” 58

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

dropped more than 27 kilograms in just six months. By combining a carefully calculated diet plan from nutritionist Phil Goglia, an intense training regimen designed by personal trainer Duffy Gaver and sheer hard work, he chiselled out a ripped physique.

Gaver trained Pratt hard for five months, starting with four to six sessions per week in February 2013.

Pratt would even do extra workouts on his own if he felt up to it.

“Chris’ athleticism is amazing.

He is incredibly disciplined and his work ethic is phenomenal,” says Gaver. “He isn’t the client you have to push; he’s the type of client you have to pull down.

If you were to walk into the gym when he was training, you would have thought for sure you’ve got a guy getting ready for the NFL Combine [a scouting event for US college football players who are

■ The first workout is designed to be done as straight sets. Items marked with a letter (3A, 3B, etc) are done as supersets – complete each set consecutively and only rest once you’ve completed the last exercise in the superset.

■ Workout 2 and workout 3 are designed to be done as circuits. Complete all exercises in a row, resting only after you’ve completed a full round.

1. Run

3. Push-up

Sets: 1

Sets: 3

Reps: 10 min

Reps: 10

Rest: as needed

Rest: 60-90 sec

2. Pull-up

4. Squat

Sets: 3

Sets: 3

Reps: 5

Reps: 15

Rest: 60-90 sec

Rest: 60-90 sec

Chris Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy workout 1: back, biceps, abs 1. Lat pulldown Sets: 6 Reps: 20, 15, 15, 15, 12, 12 Rest: 60-90 sec Increase weight 10% for sets 2-4, then another 10% for sets 5-6

2. Dumbbell row

3A. Barbell curl 3B. Push-up

Sets: 5

Sets: 6

Sets: 6

Sets: 3

Reps: 20, 15, 12, 12, 12

Reps: 15

Reps: 5

Reps: 10

Rest: 60-90 sec

Rest: 0 sec

Rest: 60-90 sec

Rest: 60-90 sec

4. Concentration curl

Increase weight 10% for sets 2-4, then another 10% for sets 4-5

Chris Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy workout 2: abs circuit (do 5 rounds) A. Sit-up

B. Crunch

C. Oblique crunch

4. Concentration curl

Reps: 20

Reps: 20

Reps: 20 (alternate sides)

Sets: 3

Rest: 0 sec

Rest: 0 sec

Rest: 60 sec

Reps: 10 Rest: 60-90 sec

Chris Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy workout 3: cardio power circuit (do 3-5 rounds) A. Run Reps: 800m Rest: 0 sec

B. Power clean

C. Bench press

D. High box jump

Reps: 15

Reps: 10

Reps: 5

Rest: 0 sec

Rest: 0 sec

Rest: 60-120 sec Use an 80cm box

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

59

A Goglia meal plan for the rest of us More meals make the man. That’s the takeaway from this sample day of meals (all seven of them!) from Goglia. This is built for someone who goes to the gym at least twice a week (preferably more) and wants to lose weight or take a step towards Chris Pratt – shredded.

Meal 1 3 eggs 1 cup of oatmeal 1 serving fruit

Meal 5 1 cup of mini carrots OR 1 cup cherry tomatoes 12 almonds OR 1 tablespoon almond butter

Meal 2 1 serving fruit

The superhero diet Want to get a body like a big-screen superhero? Of course you do. But no amount of weightlifting or cardio will get you there if you don’t tackle your diet first.

“Food is your best ally in your quest to build a better figure,” says Dr Philip Goglia, founder of Performance Fitness Concepts, who has overseen the diets of actors like Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Alexander Skarsgård and Ryan Gosling through his long-time partnership with celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson.

Goglia found his passion for eating right during his career as an All-American wrestler, Mr North America bodybuilding champion and then three bouts with cancer, all of which he claims to have beaten with the help of healthy eating.

“Gunnar knows that in training he’s going to tear them down, and he needs me to help build them back up again,” says Goglia. “I find the most

common problem when looking over the diets of these guys is they’re all under-eating. You start to learn that as long as you’re burning a good amount, the more you eat, the more you’re going to lose.”

His other main strategies hit on the more obvious: cutting out sugar, avoiding carbs and making a ritual out of your meal-making, starting with breakfast.

“The real problem for most people who aren’t getting paid to work out is finding the time to be diligent, so you have to make it easy for yourself,” says Goglia. “Make it fit your lifestyle and if you need to wake up 20 minutes earlier to make some eggs, do it. During the day, hunting down some fruit and 12 almonds for a snack may be hard, so buy nut butter to snack on or have a low-sugar, wholegrain muesli bar at the ready for your big meeting.

But don’t go overboard with the alternatives, there are a lot of civilians out there who see all these protein bars and confuse them with a slab

Meal 3 225g chicken breast 1 sweet potato OR 1 cup of rice Meal 4 1 serving fruit 12 almonds

Meal 6 450g salmon 1 vegetable 2 cups of salad Meal 7 1 serving fruit PRO TIP Don’t forget your water: aim for 0.033 litre per kilo of body weight daily.

For more insight into how you can upgrade your diet, check out Goglia’s brand-new nutrition app G-Plans, found on his site, g-plans.com

of salmon. That’s not a proper replacement for a good fatty fish.”

The true trick of it all is finding your motivation. Goglia says that when Chris Pratt first came into his office, he had a completely logical conversation about where he wanted his fitness to go.

“He had this great comedy career on track at his current weight, but I think he started to see what that kind of body would do to him over the next 15 years. As soon as he realised what might be at stake, he went into warrior mode.” ■

5 times Chris reached “peak Pratt” on Instagram Like fellow movie stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel and Jason Statham, Pratt’s always posting to social media. Here are five times he hit “peak Pratt”.

■ Pratt really gets into

■ Pratt shows off

character on the set of The Magnificent Seven, catching himself a fish in full costume.

a gnarly bruise he got while shooting the film Passengers.

■ During his Passengers press tour, Pratt couldn’t help but prank co-star Jennifer Lawrence by blocking her face out of pictures.

■ Pratt “marks” his territory on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

■ Pratt blew up Instagram

with this photo showing off his six-pack while he was training for Guardians of the Galaxy.

TO YOUR RESOLUTIONS FULL PILSENER FLAVOUR. ZERO ALCOHOL.

Low in calories but big on taste, Holsten is the key to staying true to your healthy new year resolutions. With only 165 kilojoules (40 calories) per bottle and 0.0% alcohol, keeping that pledge to yourself just got a whole lot easier. holstenzero.com | Tel: 1300 046 578 |

HolstenZeroBeer

0.0% ALCOHOL

W H E T H E R YO U ’ R E A F I R S T-T I M E R O R A N O L D HAND, GOING INTO THE GY M A R M E D W I T H T H E L AT E S T S C I E N C E A N D T R A I N I N G T H E O RY W I L L G E T YO U G UA R A N T E E D R E S U LT S – FA S T. H E R E ’ S E V E RY T H I N G YO U N E E D T O K N OW, A S S E M B L E D

BY O U R E X P E R T T E A M .

BY J O E L S N A P E

62

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

WHAT SHOULD I DO FIRST? Go hard

Think process, not outcome

WOOP it up

■ You may have heard of SMART goals – Specific,Measurable,Attainable,Realistic and Time-driven – but they’re not always lofty enough to inspire real change.

LeadershipexpertandauthorMarkMurphy suggestsgoingHARDinstead:goalsthatare Heartfelt,Animated,RequiredandDifficult, allowyoutoforgeanemotionalconnection to every gym visit. Aim to be healthier to play with your grandkids or perform better at work, and you’ll get it done.

■ You can’t control outcomes. Even if life doesn’t get in the way, there will come a point where you can’t lose another half-kilo of fat or squeeze another rep out of the bar.

What you can control is the “process” goals: going to the gym three times a week, doing 20 pull-ups every time you’re there or drinking half a litre of water before breakfast. Make those your goals.

■ Psychologist Gabriele Oettingen suggests that once your goals are set, you use the WOOP acronym to pursue them. Once you’ve got a Wish, transform it into a clear Outcome, then visualise Obstacles that will get in your way – working late, for instance, or having an addiction to doughnuts. Finally, Plan to beat those obstacles: by keeping a resistance band in your bag or taking a new route to work that skips the doughnut shop.

WHICH MEMBERSHIP SHOULD I GET? Not just any gym will do. Choose the right one to help you on your journey to a better body.

01

02

03

Mid-market

Independent

W H AT I S I T ?

W H AT I S I T ?

W H AT I S I T ?

W H AT I S I T ?

W H AT I S I T ?

The type of place that packs them in and keeps it cheap.

Don’t expect saunas, swimming pools, fluffy towels or (if you sign up to the swipe-card-entry, 24-hour kind) many staff – but betterknown options do offer a comprehensive array of dumbbells and machines, and some are even starting to run classes.

Your Fitness Firsts, Virgin Actives and Goodlife Health Clubs – pricy but nice, with an emphasis on smart staff, inventive classes and (sometimes) new kit.

Unless you want Molton Brown moisturiser in the changing rooms, this is as high-end as you need to go.

Anything that isn’t a chain. This can mean super-friendly – your local, labour-of-love gym where everyone knows your name – or ultrahardcore, with chalk buckets, Incredible Hulk graffiti and Metallica on auto-play.

Known as “boxes”, CrossFit gyms are usually short on machines but heavy on functional kit including ropes, rowers and kettlebells. You’ll typically be limited to private coaching sessions or hour-long Workouts Of The Day, usually including elements of gymnastics, calisthenics and weightlifting.

SpeedFit has recently launched in Australia and is already growing.

It uses electronic muscle stimulation (EMS), which is already huge in Europe,and is used by major athletes like Usain Bolt. EMS machines mimic the natural action of your central nervous system, sending electrical impulses that contract your muscles.

A brief 20-minute workout is all that’s needed, and - trust us – you will feel it the next day, and then some.

Budget

T YPICAL GYM- GOER?

T YPICAL GYM- GOER?

Get-it-done types who wear headphones, make zero eye contact and keep water fountain breaks to a minimum – alongside plenty of people for whom the gym isn’t a huge part of life.

G O I F…

You’re self-motivated enough to not care about your surroundings – or you get most of your training from running, cycling or training elsewhere, and need a costeffective option near the office/home for convenience.

It’s a heady mix of bench press-obsessed office workers and notebook-toting serious lifters in compression tops. Figure out who knows their stuff by looking at their shoes: flat soles are better for serious leg work.

G O I F…

You want more than just barbells and bro time.

These are the gyms for you if you fancy the occasional yoga or spin class, or a go on an air-bike or SkiErg. D O N ’ T G O I F…

You’re planning to “force” yourself into lifting by spending the money. Build the gym habit on the cheap, then invest in yourself.

D O N ’ T G O I F…

You prefer your gym trips to be a spa break experience – or you never remember to bring a towel.

64

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

T YPICAL GYM- GOER?

The kind of bloke who wouldn’t fit through the door of a Bikram yoga class: a singletswaddled, barnshouldered fella who benches more than you squat. Don’t be scared – if you treat them right, these men can be your best assets.

G O I F…

You train better when you’re surrounded by like-minded lifters, and you grunt when you max out.

D O N ’ T G O I F…

You’re easily intimidated, or you’re more into comfort than results.

04

05

CrossFit

SpeedFit

T YPICAL GYM- GOER?

CrossFitters are a committed breed: they know all their PBs, carry precision-engineered skipping ropes and expensive lifting shoes, and talk incessantly about mobility drills.

They also get a bit… competitive.

G O I F…

You need motivation.

There’s essentially no choice but to get involved with the classes and you’ll always have a benchmark to aim at, with multiple metrics in need of improvement.

D O N ’ T G O I F…

You like to put your headphones on, find a quiet corner and get after it on your own – it’s not an option.

T YPICAL GYM- GOER?

Anyone from beginners through to athletes and those recovering from injury. It’s $55 a session, but you get a pre- and post-workout drink, gear to wear and there are only a max of two people at a time, along with your trainer.

G O I F…

You’re looking for something new, and don’t have much time to work out.

D O N ’ T G O I F…

You love being active and enjoy working up a sweat on your own steam. Or if you’re a scaredy-cat and being plugged into a machine freaks you out.

HOW DO I KEEP GOING? The start is – spoilers – the worst part. Here’s how to get yourself through those tough first weeks.

Aim for the minimum

Sure, you might aim high, but setting more realistic goals is the best way to get where you want to go.

■ Hitting the gym six times a weeks seems like the ultimate goal, but it’s easy to slipupon–andhardtorecover ifyoumissaday.Aimtogo twoorthreetimesaweek: it’senoughtomakebiggains, andthebestwayofkeeping upthemomentum.Ifyoufind you’vegotthetime,youcan alwaysgomore.

Harness micro-habits ■ Themostimportantthing isn’ttohaveaHerculean sessioneverytime,buttokeep upthehabitofworkingout regularly.“Behaviourdesign” expertBJFoggsuggests encouragingyourselfinto micro-habits,ordoingthe absoluteminimumnecessary tokeepgoing.Doasingle push-upbeforeyoubrushyour teeth,orheadtothegymfor ashowerinthemorning –whatevergetsyoumoving.

Embrace your chronotype ■Lookingtomaximiseyour resultsbyharnessingthe powerofyourcircadian rhythms?Ofcourseyouare,so answer this:ifitwereuptoyou, whattimewouldyou(a)getup, (b)gotobedand(c)schedule animportantjobinterview?

Theearliereachansweris, accordingtosleepexperts,the moreimportantitisthatyou rearrangeyourschedule totraininthemorning.

The most important thing isn’t to have a Herculean session every time, but to keep up the habit of working out regularly.

HOW DO I KEEP PROGRESSING? Plan for progress now, before you first stall, and you’ll last longer before you have to worry about it.

Shift the goalposts ■ “Each week, set yourself a challenge that gets you outside of your comfort zone and makes you try something new,” says trainer Adam Wakefield. “You could run a 5K, try a CrossFit workout, do a month of rowing workouts, or go on a hike or trail run.” Want to stick to lifting? Aim to improve your rep records: how much weight you can shift for three, five or 10 reps.

Get a notebook ■ “Write stuff down,” says strength and conditioning coach Joel Dowey. “If you aren’t measuring it, you aren’t managing it. I don’t mean sit down and write out some goals on a bit of paper you’ll lose in two weeks. I mean on a daily basis, write down what you want to achieve for the day – and log your workouts.

It’s five minutes of your day – get it done.”

Find strong friends ■ “You’re the total of the people you hang around,” says trainer and former rugby player James Adamson. “And you’ll base what you consider possible on what they’re doing. If everyone you know squats doublebodyweight, you’re going to aim higher than if they’re all happy with a couple of dumbbells.”

Add competition ■ “Find a sport,” says strength coach Will Purdue. “It gives you a reason to train harder, and – eventually – to eat and sleep better.

Even if you’re going for a solo sport, find a team to train with: the group work ethic will drive you to work to new levels. And make sure you compete rather than just practising. The extra push of knowing that you’re going to hit the platform, ring or track in 12 weeks will get you laser-focused.”

Talk about goals ■ “Tell people about what you’re trying to achieve,” says Purdue. “Then your goals go from being something you’re hoping to achieve to something you’re actively working towards. Having people checking in to see how you’re doing is going is great for adding extra motivation.” Don’t want to confide in friends?

Stickk.com automates the process – and you can even get a referee to keep you accountable.

66

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

HOW CAN I BUILD MY OWN WORKOUTS? There’s a simple framework to follow for any goal. Here’s how to plan a session from start to finish.

Part 1 General warm-up ■ It isn’t always necessary for lifting, but if you’re going high-intensity, a warm-up to get your heart pumping and muscles firing is a good idea. A minute of skipping, sprinting or rowing, followed by five to 10 jump squats and a dead hang from a bar will start things out right.

The rowing machine is ideal for a punishing finisher that will leave you knowing you gave your all.

Part 5 The finisher Optional, but recommended.

Rather than adding a separate conditioning session, plan a few short, lung-busting options at the end of a workout: a fast 500m row, 10 kettlebell swings every 30 seconds for five minutes, or 100 push-ups as fast as possible will see you right.

Part 2 Mobility warm-up

Part 3 Main move

Part 4 Accessory lifts

■ Keep this fast and focused. Plan out four to five moves for your upper-body day and another handful for lower-body day, and do them every session. Cat-cow stretches, band pull-aparts and Cossack squats are all solid bang-for-your-buck options.

■ Put full-body compound lifts front and centre in your workouts: that’s squats, deadlifts, bench press or power cleans. If you’re focusing on them, pull-ups can count in this category, and you should be bracing your core and glutes to do them. Keep the reps (relatively) low, and the effort high. If you’re doing any explosive or very technical moves in your workout, do them here while your nervous system’s fresh and firing.

■ After one or two main moves, you should switch to moves that work weak spots, further fatigue the muscles you’re using in your main lifts or target other qualities.

If your main move was a deadlift, for instance, you could use Romanian deadlifts to strengthen your lower back, lat pulldowns for your upper back, or just hit some core work and call it a day.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

67

WHAT’S THAT IN THE CORNER? Dumbbells and barbells you already know – but the neglected kit in the recesses of your gym might be just what you need.

Suspension trainer ■ The yellow TRX is the most common, but any sort of dangling double-strap is ideal for inverted rows – like a pull-up with your feet on the ground – or Ys, where you pull your arms over your head to activate the muscles around your shoulder blades. Include them in your plan alongside bench presses to keep your posture in shape.

Battle ropes ■ If you’re looking for a cardio option that also works pecs and biceps, these are for you.

In a study from the College of New Jersey, US, battle ropes beat 12 other exercises to produce the highest average heart rate. Do 30-second “waves” with 90-second rests, or one all-out minute if you’re pushed for time.

Bulgarian bag ■ This little-used beauty was invented by a wrestling coach who saw shepherds performing feats of strength with goats – yes, really – and is designed to be swung, with even light versions providing a test of grip and conditioning. Try sets of 10 circles (each side) superset with 10 squats with the bag over your shoulders.

Medicine ball ■ They’ve been around for a century, but now they’re available in several flavours – from small rubber versions designed to be slammed to larger options for carrying and abs work. Balls weighing 50kg or more even offer you a chance to try your Atlas Stone-lifting technique, as seen in World’s Strongest Man.

Nordic curl bench ■ The single best kit for bullet-proofing your hamstrings. In studies done on sprinters, Nordic curls – where you wedge your feet under a support, face the floor and use your hamstrings to control your descent – reduced muscle tears by 65%. If you want the effect without the machine, get a partner to hold your feet.

68

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

Those dangling straps aren’t just there for decoration.

Warming up is never a waste of time.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? Once you know, you can fix it. These are the most common newbie mistakes.

Resting too long

Doing too many moves

THE PROBLEM

THE PROBLEM

THE PROBLEM

THE PROBLEM

THE PROBLEM

It’seasilydone: afiddlewithyour songchoicehere, ajogtothewater fountainthere, andsuddenlyyour 60-secondrest morphsinto90.

Forfatloss,you needtobestrict;for hypertrophythere’s somewiggleroom; andforstrength youcanafford two-minuterests.

Usewhatyouneed.

It’seasytothink thatyou’llgrow yourpecsbydoing everychestmove imaginable–butin reality,you’redoing atonofjunkvolume, andnotattacking anysinglemove hardenough.

Youmightthink it’sawasteoftime andenergy,butif youaren’tgettingall yourmotorunits firingbyyourfirst “work”setwitha warm-up,you’re goingtoliftlessthan you’recapableof.

Itseemstomake sensethatgetting morerepsdonewith biggerweightswill leadtogains–butif youdo,say,curls withyourwhole body,you’relosing outontheirkey benefits.

THE FIX

THE FIX

THE FIX

Accordingto researcherBrad Schoenfeld,about10 setsperbodypartis thesweetspotfor hypertrophy.Split thatbetweentwo tothreemovements –benchpresses, dumbbellflyesand dips,say–andhit ithard.

Warmup withspecific movements:do eightto10repswith 30%ofyourtarget weight,fivereps with50%,threewith 70%andtwowith 80-90%.Havea quickrestandyou’ll bereadytogo.

Sure,keepsomerep recordsforkeylifts –benchpressand squat,say–butfor accessorymoves, focusonform andtensionover weightsandreps.

You’ve gone in with the best intentions – sensible progressions, smart intervals – but then you’re in the rack or on the treadmill next to someone going faster than you, and that goes out of the window.

Next stop: form breakdown, stalling and injuries.

THE FIX

Sortoutyourwater/ tunesbeforeyou startyoursets,and getagymtimeror stopwatchtokeep yourrestsstrict.

Warming up badly

Letting form go

MARCH 2018

Getting competitive

THE FIX

Go in with your goals, weights and sets for the day written down, and stick to them. You’re competing with yourself, not anyone else.

MEN’S FITNESS

69

HOW CAN I TROUBLESHOOT TRAINING? No session is perfect. Here’s how deal with the most common sticking points.

Someone’s using the kit you need

You’ve got no time to train

You’re tired and sore

■ “Have a plan B,” says Wakefield. “Go in with a back-up you can do if the popular kit’s taken.

That means dips instead of bench presses, or dumbbell front squats to replace barbell squats.” Alternatively, it’s always fine to ask them if you can “work in” (use the kit while they’re resting) – just be polite, and wait until they’re between sets.

■ Workout time unexpectedly reduced?

“Instead of half-arsing whatever you were planning, go hard and get out,” says Wakefield. “I recommend working on a full-body circuit-style workout. Try five reps each of kettlebell overhead press, front squat, deadlift, row and push-up, going for as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.”

■ You’ll get over soreness – in fact getting blood flowing into tired muscles can help by getting nutrients to them and aiding recovery.

If you just can’t face training, have an espresso half an hour before you’re due to hit the gym, and tell yourself you’ll just do one set: chances are, once you’re in you’ll be ready to get after it.

1

CAN I REALLY BE KING OF THE GYM? You’re there for your own ends – but there’s no harm in impressing your fellow gym-goers now and then.

Here are the moves to master.

1 ) Turkish get-ups That’s the one where you hold a weight overhead on the floor and stand up. And yes, it’s tricky. “It’s a mix of strength, balance and coordination, and it’s seriously impressive when someone can boss around a heavy kettlebell – anything over a 24kg is good going,” says Purdue. “Start light and focus on smooth technique.”

2 ) Slow pull-up “Honestly,seeingsomeoneperformfull range-of-motionpull-ups–that’schestto thebaratthetop,straightarmsatthebottom –withatwotothree-second‘down’phase alwayscatchesmyeyeasit’sprettyrareto seeinmostgyms,”saystrainerJoelBurgess.

Doitwithaddedweight,andthat’ssome properfunctionalstrength.

3 ) Overhead squat Holdabaroverheadwithawidegrip,then squatandstandup.Soundeasy?It’snot.

“Evendoingthesewithanemptybaris atestofyourhip,knee,ankleandshoulder mobility,”saysAdamson.“Butitalsoteaches youtosquatwithyourchestup,whichwill carryovertoyourregularsquats.Ifa barbell’stoomuch,startwithastick.” ■ 70

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

2

3

MF SUPER FUEL

THE GAME PLAN K N OW I N G W H AT A N D W H E N TO E AT B E F O R E , D U R I N G A N D A F T E R A WO R KO U T, R I D E , F I G H T O R G A M E W I LL H E L P YO U TO P E R F O R M AT YO U R P E A K .

Snack of champions: baked beans with egg on wholemeal toast two hours before you kick off. The beans and egg are packed with protein and iron for performance, plus both beans and bread have low GI carbs for slowrelease energy.

High-protein salmon will help sore muscles repair after a tough workout, plus the omega-3s in this pink fish can decrease muscleprotein breakdown, improving recovery.

80-100km MORNING BIKE RIDE

COMBATSPORT TRAINING

COMPETING IN A TRIATHLON

10km RUN or HALF MARATHON

T H E E X P E R T : Cadel Evans, 2011 winner of the Tour de France.

“Your body can only store a finite amount of carbs, which will eventually run out after about an hour on the bike. This carbrich sandwich tops up your energy levels so you don’t run out of steam.”

T H E E X P E R T : James Jelley, MMA coach. “MMA is a tough workout that involves the entire body, so you want energy-yielding carbs, such as potato, to be fully digested long before you hit the mats.

Hydration also starts long before training because dehydration will negatively affect both energy levels and performance.”

T H E E X P E R T : Anthony Meade, an accredited sports dietitian who has consulted to the AIS. “Triathlons start at 7am, so you have to wake up at 5am to eat.

This meal is fast-digesting because you want very little food weighing down your gut during the race.

Stick to foods you’re familiar with. As new foods can upset your digestion, try out this meal a few times before an event.”

T H E E X P E R T : Stephanie Gaskell, sports dietitian. “For an endurance race, we focus on carb-rich foods for energy and make sure the meal is low-fat and low-fibre because endurance athletes can get abdominal upsets with slowdigesting, high-fat foods. Tailor your portion to your bodyweight and have 1-2g carbs per kilo.”

15-30 mins before you set off, have...

A honey sandwich on wholegrain bread plus 1 banana.

During the ride, have... Endura Sports Energy Gel 35g sachet (endura.com.au) Immediately after, have...

300ml milk, then 200g pasta with 100g bolognaise sauce.

“The milk and pasta meal has the perfect ratio of 3 carbs to 1 protein, which is the ideal combination for recovery,” Evans says. “This starts the muscle-repair process and will help mop up any muscle stiffness you might feel the following day.”

90 mins before training, have....

50g boiled sweet potato, 2 boiled eggs, 1 banana, 1 litre of water.

Immediately after, have...

250g grilled salmon, 1 tsp olive oil, asparagus, mushrooms, avocado. “This is a plate of clean, all-natural foods that’ll get used by your body to repair muscles after an ache-inducing combat workout,” Jelley says. “It’s also full of good fats – from the salmon and olive oil – that not only give you energy, but help weight-class athletesrefuelwithoutadding unnecessarybodyfat.”

Two to three hours before, have...

Two slices of toast with jam, 1 banana and 200-500ml of water every hour before the race.

Immediately afterwards, drink...

500ml water.

30 mins afterwards, have...

Scrambled eggs, salmon, tomato, toast and baked beans.

“This meal will replace the electrolytes you’ve lost,energy you’ve burned off, and deliver plentyof muscle-repairing protein,” Meade says.

Two hours before you race, have...

Four Weet-Bix, 1 banana and 200ml skimmed milk.

Immediately afterwards, drink...

One cup of a low-fat hot chocolate.

One hour afterwards, have...

A warm chicken, potato and bean salad (see recipe opposite). “Hot choc has a good mix of carbs and protein that’ll replenish energy you’ve burned off,” Gaskell says.

“The distance is still short compared to marathons, so the salad delivers the right amount of calories and nutrients without adding excessive bodyweight.”

LONG-DISTANCE RUN CHOOK SALAD Eat this one hour after your run, if you can wait that long...

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 225g chicken breast, diced • 100g green beans • 100g yellow beans • ½ boiled potato • 1 tbsp plain Greek yoghurt • dash of lemon juice • salt and pepper WHAT TO DO > Moisten a frypan with half the olive oil and cook the chicken through. > Steam the green and yellow beans. > Place chicken pieces, beans and chopped potato in a bowl. > Add the rest of the olive oil, the yoghurt and lemon juice and mix. > Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

SUPER-SURFER OMELETTE This will fill a furiously rumbling belly postsurf, plus help in your recovery so you can live to ride another day.

• 2-4 eggs • diced red capsicum • spinach leaves • mushroom WHAT TO DO > Beat eggs gently, pour mixture into a pan set to a medium heat. > Fry fillings for 3-4 minutes > Pour fillings on top of omelette, fold over, cook for three minutes and serve.

Turkey breast contains all essential amino acids, making it perfect for muscle repair, plus it’s superlean and a great source of niacin, which the body needs to release energy from carbs.

MUSCLE WEIGHTS WORKOUT

EARLY MORNING SURF

HIGHINTENSITY CARDIO

SATURDAY FOOTBALL GAME

T H E E X P E R T : Dr David Mann, a sports dietitian at St Vincent’s Clinic, Sydney. “You don’t want anything in your stomach while training, otherwise your blood flow is diverted from your working muscles to digest the food. Eating 60 minutes beforehand means the meal will be fully digested and drip-feed your system with all the carbs and protein you need for an energetic workout.”

T H E E X P E R T : Dr Jeremy Sheppard, sports science performance manager at Surfing Australia.

“Surfing involves lying on your belly, so this smoothie gives you foods that will leave your gut fairly quickly and don’t leave you paddling around feeling too heavy.

This shake is also rich in all the carbohydrates and protein you’ll need to finance an extra-long surf.”

T H E E X P E R T : Dr David Mann.

“Your carb intake is higher than the meal you’d need for weighttraining because you’re likely to exhaust your energy supplies.

It’s also eaten twice as early to ensure the nutrients have left your stomach and are firmly in your intestines, where they can be absorbed to create energy.”

T H E E X P E R T:

60-90 mins before training, have...

Two slices of wholegrain Bürgen bread with ham and cheese.

30-60 mins before, have...

A smoothie with 30g of a protein blend (casein, whey and egg protein), 1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, 1 tbsp almond butter.

Immediately after, have...

A Sustagen Sports drink, then a wholegrain roll with chicken and salad. “Most protein drinks will refuel the nutrients you need for muscle growth. I like Sustagen because it has added vitamins and minerals that work together with the proteins in the drink and sandwich to aid recovery while creating ideal conditions for muscle growth.”

Immediately afterwards, have...

The super-surfer omelette (see recipe opposite). “Surfing creates a hydration and muscle-repair debt,” Sheppard says. “This meal-and-water combo repays these bills and the protein will ease muscle stiffness from your paddle so that you can get back into the water the next day.”

Two hours before, have...

A low-fat muesli bar or three slices of wholegrain bread with chicken.

Immediately after, have...

Four slices of bread with tuna and salad and a banana. “The recovery is similar to weight-training because you’ll have taxed your body in similar ways, though not exactly the same, as you’ll need more carbs after interval training,” says Mann. “This meal will replenish the carbs you’ve used.” The anti-inflammatory omega-3s in the tuna will also accelerate your recovery so you’re not stiff the next day.

Matt Lovell, a sports nutritionist. “Carbs in the bagel serve up sprinting power and chicken gives you endurance in the second half. While you warm up, drink the sports drink for the sugars and energy kick you’ll need during the first 15 minutes of the game.”

60minsbeforekickoff,have...

Grilledchickenbreastandsalad bagel,sportsdrink.

Immediatelyafter,have...

Glassofpomegranatejuice dilutedwithwater,then100g sweetpotato(boiled),corn, tomatosalsaandturkeybreast.

Thejuiceisrichinantioxidants suchasvitaminC,whichcan boostrecoveryafterstrenuous exercise,”Lovellsays.“Ifdrunk undiluteditcandehydrateyou, sowateritdown.Thepotatogives youcarbstoreplenishwhatwas lostonthefield,plustheprotein fromtheturkeywillrepair damagedbodytissuesfrom theworkout.”

BE A GOAL GETTER Achieving your goals for a healthier body, a better career and happier relationships isn’t easy. But it is doable. By Adam Bluestein

SUCCES

S

TH

F GUID

E

T

O

EM

“Going on holiday is a nice goal, but to get there you need a map.”

Plan to succeed ■ Setting off towards a new goal is its own endorphin rush.

You’ve set your target and can practically taste success. In the words of every fitness instructor, “Time to go for it!”

If only it were that easy. In fact, we humans are terrible at going for it. And we not only suck at achieving goals – we suck at setting them, going after objectives that are just too vague or hopelessly grandiose. John Norcross, a psychologist at the University of Scranton, US,

found that less than half of people who made a New Year’s resolution (probably the most common type of goal) kept it up six months later.

Beating the odds comes down to having a plan.

“It’s like going on a trip,” says Jim Taylor, a sports psychologist and author of Train Your Mind for Athletic Success.

“Going on holiday is a nice goal, but to get there you need a map.”

Even before you start on that map, you need a goal that’s specific and reasonably attainable. “Get

stronger” or “make more money” – those are like wishes. “Lose two percent of body fat” or “knock 10 seconds off each leg of my next marathon” are more workable, Taylor says.

In order to crush a goal, it should feel somehow personal. It’s harder to lose 10 kilos because your doctor told you to than if you choose to do it for your own health.

Decades of studies in psychology and sociology say that intrinsic goals (motivated by an innate desire for autonomy,

relating to others, knowledge and personal growth) are more motivating than extrinsic goals (striving for the approval of others). Figure out what’s in it for you, deep down. And couch your goals in positive terms.

It’s harder to avoid doing something than it is to aim for something else, what researchers call ironic mental control. Instead of “quit smoking”, pick a goal that’s incompatible with smoking, like taking up swimming. (Hey, it almost worked for Don Draper.)

Next, establish a reasonable time frame, including a series of subgoals. These markers become opportunities to see how it’s going, celebrate achievements and change things up, if necessary.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the UK found that people who tracked their progress towards goals were more successful than those who didn’t.

The more frequent the monitoring,

the better they did. So pad your journey with reminders, or scheduled checkins with a friend, coach, doctor – anyone who can give you a hand.

Keep in mind that almost any big life change – switching careers, doing an Ironman, even sticking to a new diet – requires some level of buyin from other people in your life.

Anticipate how your spouse, kids, even coworkers will be affected by your pursuit.

Of course, none of this is easy – which is why most of us have experience with unfulfilled goals.

Remember that success begets success. Small accomplishments will give you the grit to keep going and the confidence to go after bigger things in the future. So where do you want to start? Is it the right time to become an entrepreneur or to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?

Here, we’ve laid out some best practices, giving you the playbook to actually go for it.

THE TO-DO LIST

Let’s get that in writing

You’re on your phone all day already, so you may as well make it work towards your goals. There are scores of apps and products for each need, personality and preferred level of feedback. A good first question to ask yourself: how type-A are you, anyway?

80

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

For the strict record-keepers

If you’re more into doodling

Good goal-tracking apps, such as Goalscape or Strides, provide guidance and encouragement day-to-day and prompt you to step back periodically to see where you’re excelling or coming up short. Or program your Google calendar to remind you to run or check in with a friend. For pen-to-paper folks, we like Best Self Journal (bestself.co).

When boxes aren’t your thing, man, check out “mind mapping” software to lay out projects and goals visually. You put your goal in the middle and out of it radiates all your sub-goals and how to get there. That way you can see how everything connects.

Coggle, MindMeister and MindMup are free web-based apps to check out.

Your body

The most common ways to sabotage your race-day goals are overtraining and undertraining.

■ Make it a date If you want to ease back into your fitness routine, signing up for a race is a good start. Mark race day on your calendar and your training plan works back from there. We’re not only talking marathon, either. A 5K in April could mean a 10K by September and a half after that. Maybe a marathon isn’t so far away...

There are tons of training plans to choose from. Keep in mind that the most common ways to sabotage your fitness goal are overtraining and undertraining, Taylor says.

A good program builds progressively to help you avoid injury and burnout.

If you’re outperforming the plan – say, easily hitting times and distances – you can adjust up, but do so cautiously. The priority is arriving on race day healthy, finishing strong and wanting to go again, Taylor says.

For additional staying power, join a group. UK researchers found that University of Oxford rowers practising together had heightened pain thresholds (something that begins to explain CrossFit). But if you’re a lone-wolf type motivated by continually besting yourself, stick with what works.

To share or not to share your goals? It comes down to what will get you out of bed and to your workout on the dreariest of winter mornings.

For some, telling others is about accountability. But a study in Psychological Science found that when others acknowledge your intentions, all those “good job!” messages can create a premature sense of accomplishment which can undermine your resolve to do it for real.

When race day comes around, have a back-up plan.

Even if you’ve spent months training faithfully, there are no guarantees. “If it’s 35 degrees and you cramp or bonk, having an alternative goal gives you something to hold on to,” Taylor says. “At a basic level, in endurance sports, the goal is getting through it.”

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

81

SUCCES

S

TH

F GUID

E

T

O

EM

Your relationships

Your career ■ Phone a friend It’s hard to go completely solo when it comes to your professional life. There are just too many outside forces involved, compared with the relative simplicity of a gym routine.

Even the timeline you set is less about your motivation and has more to do with the realities of your particular job or industry.

In general, plan for it to take six months to a year to switch jobs, says career coach Jill Berquist. Changes in behaviour that can better your standing at work – improving collaboration, becoming a better communicator – can take three months just to register with the higher-ups.

To stay focused for the long haul, executive coach

Annie Merkle suggests enlisting an accountability partner, such as a spouse, friend or trusted coworker who is invested in you enough to care.

“Ask your partner to check in weekly to see how you’re progressing,” Merkle says. How many times did you ask someone else for feedback?

Did you speak up in the big board meeting? “It forces you to show your activity and your results,” she says.

Loop in your boss, too. You may not want to tell him or her “my goal is to have your job”, but do express that you want to expand your skills, have more executive responsibility, do more offsites, etc.

“It’s important for bosses to know what’s important to their employees, so they can support

82

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

them and their development,” Merkle says.

Because work goals tend to be quite complex and time consuming, take a panoramic view of the larger landscape. “Think of the path to your goal as lily pads on a pond, rather than a bridge with steps that go straight across,” says Merkle. “You need to be able to be opportunistic.”

Identify the gaps between where you are and where you want to be and look for ways to fill them.

“Can you do a course or seminar?” Merkle suggests. “Can you create and lead an initiative?

There are lots of different ways to close gaps – but you don’t get anything if you don’t ask for it.”

“There are lots of different ways to close gaps – but you don’t get anything if you don’t ask for it.”

Too often, we don’t think about interpersonal goals until there’s a problem. And fixing it requires another party who has a different set of goals and obligations. Vague vows to “spend more time” with a partner, family member or friend fall into that category of wishes, not goals.

Protect that vital time with a recurring date on both your calendars that doesn’t get skipped. “That’s the only way to make sure I don’t lose things like family and my personal health that keep me effective,” says Jordan Fliegel, the cofounder of US fantasy sports website Draft.com. Through trial and error, he’s become a big believer in routines. This means scheduling not just workout time but, for example, a regular phone chat with his grandma. “I call her the same day of the week, every week,” he explains.

If your major goal is a calmer, more cohesive family life, consider adopting a method adapted from software developers. Bruce Feiler, author of The Secrets Of Happy Families, suggests weekly “scrum” meetings, during which your family team talks over short-term goals.

The meetings can be quick.

Essentially you’re asking three questions: what’s going well this week? What do we need to work on? How can we all chip in to meet next week’s challenges? Approaching family goals as collaborative and evolving projects encourages flexibility and idea sharing and brings your team closer together.

And isn’t that the goal?

YOUR NEX T MOVE

And it’s good! Now what?

A real danger for a certain kind of person is to pin too much onto the achievement of a particular goal, says Taylor. Enjoy the accomplishment, but don’t dwell. “Success breeds success,” says Berquist. “There’s something to be said for continuous practise.” As soon as you accomplish your mission, look to the next. “Ultimately, it’s about repetition, so that healthy living you’ve worked for becomes a lifestyle,” says Taylor. Surround yourself with friends and colleagues who encourage you, and you encourage right back. “You really become like the people around you,” Taylor says.

Say goodbye to bitter-tasting probiotic drinks and supplements that won’t deliver.

Developed at University of Queensland, PERKii Probiotics use encapsulated probiotics to deliver scientifically proven LC431™, through your stomach acids and into your intestine.

By removing fermentation, PERKii delivers more probiotics without the by-products and the bitter taste.

More Taste, More Probiotics.

THE GALAPAGOS OF THE ATLANTIC

BAIA DO SANCHO //

BRAZIL DIFFICULTY 4

BRAZIL

– Aaron Gulley

MICHELE FALZONE/GETTY IMAGES

Baia do Sancho, a crest of white sand tucked below onyx cliffs on the island of Fernando de Noronha, might be Brazil’s finest beach – and that’s saying something. To get there, though, is an ordeal: after snagging one of the 246 daily travel permits to the island, which heaves out of the Atlantic 320km off the northeast coast of Brazil, you’ll need to hire one of the island’s “boogies” – dune-buggy cars – to drop you off at a trail that descends a series of dubious-looking ladders. The reward is a remote cove in the Atlantic’s version of the Galápagos, with plant and bird species found nowhere else in the world.

The first time I climbed down to the beach, there were only a few people lounging in palm shade.

The water, rich with sea life, was luxuriously warm, and in 20 minutes of snorkelling I bumped into a sea turtle and a whitetip shark. I spent the rest of the day alternating between the surf and napping in a hammock.

I even wheedled my way into a game of futevôlei, a Brazilian version of volleyball played with your feet. Despite my inexperience, the Brazilians laughed and slapped me on the back and, when I was winded, handed me a fresh coconut to quench my thirst, then pushed me towards the sea.

The view from on high at Baia do Sancho.

BES T BE ACHES 2 0 18

PRISTINE, UNDEVELOPED AND OFF-THE-GRID SEASIDE RETREATS THAT ARE TOUGH TO GET TO – AND TOTALLY WORTH THE EFFORT.

Isla Holbox’s Hotel Casa las Tortugas.

YUCATAN’S UNTRAMMELED EDEN

ISLA HOLBOX //

MEXICO

DIFFICULTY 1

MEXICO

86

MEN’S FITNESS

Sure, you can fly into Cancún and explore the now-overdone beaches of Tulum. Or you can take a two-and-a-half-hour ride up a two-lane highway through the jungle, followed by a 25-minute ferry trip across a pale-green lagoon, and find yourself on a spit of an island that feels like the last undeveloped coastline in Mexico.

And to experience Isla Holbox (pronounced Hole-bosch) is to experience something real: there’s a village with a downtown plaza and a single basketball court, where the local boys play hoops and the girls practise soccer drills. There is a colourful profusion of restaurants, shops and hotels, but almost none of them are over two storeys tall.

Hell, this island didn’t even get electricity until the late ’80s.

The roads are hard-packed

MARCH 2018

sand and there are virtually no cars – transportation is either by bicycle or by golf carts that you can hail for 30 pesos a ride (about $2). Not that you have to move around a lot. Most of the island’s hotels face Playa Grande, a massive expanse of soft white-coral sand. It’s still blissfully uncrowded and the vibe is decidedly mellow, with sea and sky stretching out in seemingly infinite horizontal planes – so much so that the simple act of lying on the beach feels more like floating. The best of the hotels is CasaSandra, an airy, Zen-like boutique experience created by the Cuban artist Sandra Pérez, with rooms for less than the equivalent in Tulum or Cancún.

Twenty minutes outside of town via a rented bike is the lessdeveloped Playa Coco. There you can stow the bike by any

palm tree and walk south down a mostly deserted stretch of beach toward Punta Ciricote, where you’ll find flamingos, egrets and pelicans sunning themselves in a cove across a bay that’s not more than 50 centimetres deep.

When I described that scene to a local, I learned there had been at least one crocodile attack in those waters. “You have to remember,” he told me, “this is still a wild place.” Wild indeed.

— Joseph Hooper

“YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, THIS IS STILL A WILD PLACE.”

AFRICA’S UNDISCOVERED ISLANDS

MOHELI //

COMOROS

DIFFICULTY 5

FROM TOP: CATHERINE LYOOA; MEDIACOLOR’S/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

AFRICA

You’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of Comoros. The country, a tiny group of islands off Africa’s eastern coast between Mozambique and Madagascar, has a small population and a turbulent history. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the archipelago was a pirate haven, thanks to its remoteness and easy access to spice-trade sailing routes in the Indian Ocean. Then, following independence from France in 1975, the country gained the dubious distinction of “coup capital of the world”, with 30 such attempts in roughly

three decades. Which understandably kept tourists away. These days, though, the islands are peaceful, blending Indian Ocean waters with warm Arab and African hospitality and a hint of French flair. The result is a relaxed culture set in an archipelago full of clear water, with empty beaches and volcanic peaks perfumed by clove, vanilla and ylang-ylang.

The least-developed of Comoros’ four islands is Mohéli. At just 180 square kilometres, Mohéli is home to a scattering of traditional villages that fully embrace the few tourists ambitious enough to come. (You must first fly to the capital, Moroni, then take a boat.)

The island’s crown jewel is its namesake national marine park, a 250-square-kilometre refuge, home to reef sharks, giant manta rays, dugongs and the legendary coelacanth, a critically endangered, 400-million-year-old fish that was thought to be extinct until it was discovered here in 1938. Spend your days exploring the park’s beaches and islands by kayak or canoe, or diving pristine reefs. On land, there’s a jungle hike to Boudouni Lake, a small, sulphurous body of water formed in an ancient volcanic crater, and bird-watchers can hunt for a glimpse of the endemic blue vanga or giant Livingstone’s fruit bat, which has a wingspan of up to 120cm. You won’t find nightclubs, shopping or all the other tourist trappings. (The best place to stay is the 15-room Mohéli Laka Lodge.) What you will find is a beach destination that’s unlike any other. – Diane Selkirk

An underwater cave in Comoros.

ROSARIO ISLANDS //

COLOMBIA

DIFFICULTY 2

THE PLACE The Rosario Islands and the 74,030-square-kilometre national park that surrounds them are just 50km out of Cartagena, making the 28-island archipelago popular with daytripping Colombians.

THE APPEAL The main island, Isla Grande, has wide, glorious stretches of white sand, with cabanas and umbrellas for sun seekers. But walk or kayak around and you can find your own hidden cove. You’ll also be able to see abandoned palaces dotting the islands – houses once owned by Pablo Escobar’s drug lords.

THE DETAILS To get there, you’ll need to take a boat from Cartagena. Stay the night at one of the island’s boutique hotels, like Coralina Island, which has thatched-roof bungalows right on the water. You can hire a boat or canoe at sunset and make your way over to Laguna Encantada, a lagoon famous for its bioluminescent plankton.

At first glance, it may look unimpressive under a dark sky, but once you dive into the water, it’s like immersing yourself in the universe, with stars clinging to your skin and flickering across the water. It may be as close to the heavens as you’re going to get. – D.S.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

87

The mob at Lucky Bay.

OUR WHITEST WHITE SAND BEACH

LUCKY BAY

//

AUSTRALIA

DIFFICULTY 3

THE CARIBBEAN: TO GO OR NOT TO GO

88

MEN’S FITNESS

AUSTRALIA

In Australia, we have no shortage of gorgeous beaches – 10,685 at last count, including famous spots like Bondi. But few people venture to the country’s southwest coast,

If you’re considering an exotic beach getaway, you may be wondering about the Caribbean after a particularly destructive hurricane season. The message from the 12 most affected countries has been: for the islands to recover, the return of tourists is essential. With bookings down, you may also be able to find some amazing deals. Here’s where to look – and where to definitely avoid.

MARCH 2018

where you can road trip for days and hit a string of dazzling spots, including Chapmans Point, Blue Haven and a protected cove called Lucky Bay, which has a colony of resident kangaroos that often venture onto the sand. To get there, fly to Perth (unless you already live there), rent a car and drive seven hours east to the country’s most under-theradar beach town, Esperance, which has a Montauk-meetsAussie vibe. From there, it’s another hour to reach Cape

Business as usual The clean-up is well underway and most hotels are back at full speed on Antigua, St Kitts, Nevis, the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Look to these spots for deals.

Needs tourists and TLC Only 30 or so hotels and guesthouses will be receiving guests on Anguila, but the country

is safe and mostly up and running. The British Virgin Islands is still undergoing a Herculean effort on land, but the charter-boat industry is up and running.

In Puerto Rico, 70 percent of hotels are open, though infrastructure still has a long way to go – so you may snag a great deal on lodging, but beach lounging may be one of the few options for activities.

In the US Virgin Islands, where all three islands

le Grand National Park and Lucky Bay. Scientists declared this isolated spot the whitest beach in Australia, with sand so fine it squeaks beneath your feet. For now, there are only camping sites that overlook the gleaming bay (though glamping tents with private decks, kitchens and bathrooms are being considered). In other words, you’ll be on your own for lodging, but the blindingly white beach, as well as its tranquil waters, will be all yours. — Jen Murphy

saw extensive damage, St Croix’s Buccaneer hotel is accepting guests and volunteer programs like those run by All Hands and Hearts are aiding clean-up efforts and working to reopen the national park.

Intensive care required The worst-hit island, Barbuda, will take more than a year to recover.

In Dominica, volunteer programs are aiding clean-up. – D.S

THE ATLANTIC’S ANTI-BEACH RETREAT

ST HELENA //

SOUTH ATLANTIC

DIFFICULTY 4

CENTRAL AMERICA’S DESERT ISLAND FANTASY

PEARL CAYS //

NICARAGUA

DIFFICULTY 2

Just when you think a place has been totally discovered, some piece of paradise pops out of the blue, like Nicaragua’s Pearl Cays, an archipelago off the country’s Caribbean coast. Last February, this group of tiny islands got its first luxe base, Calala Island: just four suites on an 11-acre patch of sand. At US$1450 a night, it’s not cheap, and reaching it requires some work, too: from Managua, you board a 50-minute flight to Bluefields airport – basically a dirt runway lined with grazing goats – then take a 90-minute journey via traditional panga boat. But a staff of 25 is waiting

to take care of you (only eight guests are allowed at a time), and they welcome newcomers with songs and rum punch.

Days revolve around kayak and SUP outings on calm waters along deserted beaches.

Sunsets are toasted with a Toña lager. And evenings involve a seven-course tasting menu prepared by a Michelinrecognised chef. If you crave more privacy, you can paddle 10 minutes to Little Calala, a sandy spit with nothing more than an umbrella, where you can live out your desert island fantasy for a day – without being stranded. — J.M.

FROM RIGHT: COURTESY CALALA ISLAND; SIMON BENJAMIN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

THE PLACE This subtropical island in the middle of the South Atlantic is famous for being the place where, in 1815, the British stashed Napoleon, sure he could never escape. In 2017, the island opened an airport, basically ending 500 years of isolation.

THE APPEAL This is not your standard beach destination.

In fact, one of its best beaches, complete with shells and golden sand, lies 45 metres above sea level, thanks to the island’s past volcanic activity. But what the rugged outpost (below) lacks in sand, it makes up for in inthe-water experiences: warm, clear seas with just-below-thesurface historic shipwrecks; a large resident whale-shark population; and a host of endemic reef species. On land, there are numerous rugged hikes up the hills, including to the top of High Knoll Fort, a stone redoubt with a circular tower straight out of Harry Potter that looms over the island’s main town, Jamestown.

THE DETAILS Flights to the island depart only from South Africa and lodging is limited, but there is the Mantis St Helena, which has 30 stunning rooms in the old East India Company Officers Barracks building. — D.S.

Calala Island Resort.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

89

VANCOUVER ISLAND’S CAMPING OASIS

NELS BIGHT //

BRITISH COLUMBIA

DIFFICULTY 4

THE PLACE Nels Bight is on the northwest tip of Vancouver Island, in Cape Scott Provincial Park, making it one of the most secluded beaches in all of North America.

The view on the hike in to Ham Tin.

HONG KONG’S HIDDEN COVE

HAM TIN //

CHINA

DIFFICULTY 4

90

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

like zombies, thanks to the summer heat, across the long fan of white sand, where we shucked off our hiking boots and submerged our overheated bodies in the shallow water.

Save for some local schoolkids on a hike, we were pretty much the only people on the beach. Afterwards, we sank into the plastic chairs of the only restaurant there, drank oversize bottles of Tsingtao and plowed through plates of curried noodles and fish. We weren’t even done when the restaurant owner saw that the one fisherman in evidence was about to take off. So we sprinted and leaped into his twin-engine boat. He let us off at a fishing village about 20 minutes away, which, unlike Ham Tin, is connected to the road system. We hailed a taxi for the ride back to the city and that night, falling asleep in my hotel room, exhausted, with 7.3 million Hong Kongers for company, I dreamed about a perfect beach that was ours for a day. — J.H.

THE DETAILS Getting there requires a 17km hike through old-growth rainforest from the Cape Scott trailhead, itself a two-hour drive on logging roads from the remote outpost of Port Hardy. (Nearby Nimmo Bay Resort flies its guests in via helicopter, below.) There are no lodging options, so you’ll need a tent, but there are fire pits, food caches to keep the bears away and a rope. The days are frequently fogged in — this is the Pacific Northwest, after all — so bring a full flask and a few lighters to start a roaring fire.

It’s the little luxuries that go a long way when you’re this far off the grid. —J.M.

FROM TOP: ALASTAIR WIPER; JEREMY KORESKI

Wild, tropical beaches aren’t exactly what springs to mind when you think of Hong Kong.

But that’s exactly what’s on offer on the Chinese mainland.

The closest ones are just a 40-minute cab ride north from the city’s high-rises. It does take some effort to get to the

best one, Ham Tin – a remote, white-sand cove surrounded by 300-metre peaks. The beach is at the end of a roughly 18km trek on MacLehose Trail, a 96km ribbon tying together the hills and fishing villages of the mainland New Territories, far afield of downtown but still part of the Hong Kong territory.

The trail was the brainchild of a former Scottish governor of the city who, back in the 1970s, nted to give claustrophobic idents some breathing room. en I visited last summer, iend assured me that it was rth the trek, and so I took up on the challenge. We got t of the cab at the Kei Ling Ha us stop, easily found the wellmarked trailhead and began marching towards Ham Tin, pretty much straight uphill.

But the views from the top of the two peaks you cross on your way are outrageous: the green expanse of the South China Sea dotted with small islands wreathed in clouds.

By the time we reached the ocean, we were shuffling

THE APPEAL It’s a wide-open, sand dollar–dotted beach with bald eagles soaring overhead, the occasional bear track on the sand and seals frolicking in the water. The hike in is part of a network of almost 80km of trails and you can day hike from Nels to the Cape Scott Lighthouse, where the friendly keepers may help you spot orcas off the coast, or wander south to the driftwood-lined Guise Bay.

Trincomalee’s Uppuveli Beach.

THE INDIAN OCEAN’S HINDU BEACH TOWN

TRINCOMALEE //

SRI LANKA

to diving, fishing and whale watching — but the beaches at Trinco are still mostly empty.

Sure, there are Jet Ski rentals and banana-boat rides, but you’re more likely to encounter a herd of cows or even the occasional Asian elephant coming from the forest for a bath than a parasailer. (Two elephants were rescued from the water by the Sri Lankan military early last year.) You can check out nearby Pigeon Island National Park or the colourful cliff-top Koneswaram temple, which is thought to date to 500 BC, and the waters offshore are a kaleidoscopic

dream for snorkellers and divers, who can explore the remains of the original Hindu temple, which was pushed into the sea by the invading Portuguese in 1622. With its mix of palm trees, offshore reefs and Hindu and colonial architecture, Trincomalee has a sort of Aladdin meets The Little Mermaid vibe, so you’ll be forgiven if you mistake it for the setting of a Disney flick. But go now: the islands around Trinco have recently been greenlighted for tourism growth, which means there are going to be a few more people who want to be part of that fantasy. — D.S.

BRUNO MORANDI/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

DIFFICULTY 4

In a country littered with fantastic beaches, the east coast town of Trincomalee (Trinco to locals) hits the seaside sweet spot — long swaths of empty white sand scattered with just enough infrastructure to ensure you can order a margarita. The former British colony, off the south coast of India, was largely shut off from the rest of the world during a 30-year civil war that ended in the late 2000s, leaving it mostly untouched by tourist development. There are a few low-key hotels — like Amaranthé Bay and Trinco Blu

by Cinnamon, both right on the beach and offering great access

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

91

M A D E N O T O R I O U S B Y T H E C Y C L I N G F R A T E R N I T Y, E P O H A S G A I N E D P O P U L A R I T Y W I T H A T H L E T E S LO O K I N G TO G A IN A P ER F OR MANC E BOO ST I N TH E WO RL D O F EN DU R AN C E. W I LL I T P U T MO R E K I L O M E T R E S U N D E R F O O T O R C R E AT E M O R E H A R M T H A N G O O D ? M F I N V E S T I G AT E S . B Y D A L E TAY L O R

92

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

Since our spear-chucking days, humans have been on the hunt for creative ways to gain an advantage in all forms of athleticism. Though the search for a competitive edge lends itself to provocative headlines, the practice of doping for extra stamina is anything but innovative.

In the lead up to the very first Olympic games, competitors gorged themselves on red meat and animal testicles, possibly to unknowingly load up on primal creatine sources, while also experimenting with herbal concoctions and hallucinogens.

Not that long ago, the only way to get hold of viable performance enhancers was to be an Eastern Bloc weightlifter. Today, anyone with a WiFi connection and a few Bitcoin credits is just a few clicks away from having heightened performance delivered in a discreet package straight to your door. When Lance Armstrong was emperor of the Pyrenees hills, micro-doses of erythropoietin (EPO) were at the cutting edge of illegal performance enhancement, a near-flawless way to stay ahead of testers.

Now, this supplement’s loading strategies are openly discussed on internet forums.

Despite the controversy, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. We examine why so many recreational endurance athletes are motivated to put their body on the line, how this practice may negatively affect your health, and, conversely, how you may find EPO to be little more than a pricey placebo.

What is EPO? Endurance aficionados, namely cyclists, have a well-publicised affair with the substance erythropoietin (EPO). Like steroids, this hormone actually occurs naturally, being produced by the cells in your kidneys to regulate the production of red blood cells spewing from your bone marrow. These red blood cells carry more oxygen in your blood so the EPO increases your oxygen absorption, reduces fatigue and increases endurance. It was originally developed to treat people with anaemia

(low blood count) caused by a kidney dysfunction. Medically, it’s still used as a standard therapy in people with kidney disease who have to go on dialysis.

How does it work?

Just because some folks used it to frame a few yellow cycling jerseys in their trophy room doesn’t mean it turns your legs into a nuclear-powered engine room.

In fact, it may do bugger all. Well, that’s if the latest paper in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology is to be believed.

They found no scientific evidence that EPO actually does enhance athletic performance, but did discover several markers to suggest it could cause you serious harm. EPO thickens a person’s blood, increasing the risk of blood clots, which can block the flow to an organ such as your heart or brain.

“I believe there is a clear need for highquality research to investigate the effects of supposedly enhancing drugs in sport,” explains the study’s lead researcher, Professor Adam Cohen. “If, as is expected, many substances in current use are found to be ineffective, it will help keep our athletes safe and improve confidence in sporting results.”

That’s not to say the EPO hype is flat out fake news; it’s that it really doesn’t work all that well on elite cyclists. They are at the top end of their fitness anyway and the gauges used to measure performance,

such as VO2 max, are too often a subjective physical measure, not a more accurate improvement in a time trial score. That said, anecdotal evidence does suggest that it will make the recreational endurance athlete better at whatever endurance event he or she chooses.

So, if you’re to believe the Brits’ study, then using this performance enhancer could be the way to put the dope in doping.

But why do athletes keep risking their reputations for the supposed EPO stamina boost? It’s because the slightest edge, be it physiological or psychological, is what puts winners over the line, which is why placebos continue to prove so effective. To get an idea how successful, take research in the Gunderson Lutheran Medical Journal.

Researchers told runners they were being given super oxygenated water, but in truth they were given plain ol’ H20. Still, they ran eight percent faster. If you know you’re taking EPO, following in the footsteps of so many yellow jersey winners, then you’ve already got the biggest psychological boost you can get.

A PA P E R I N T H E B R I T I S H JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY FOUND N O E V I D E N C E T H AT E P O A C T U A L LY D O E S E N H A N C E AT H L E T I C P E R F O R M A N C E .

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

93

TESTOSTERONE, GROWTH HORMONE AND EPO ARE ALL DEPENDENT UPON A H E A LT H Y S U P P LY O F KEY MINERALS.

little Hungry Jack’s. While your vitamin levels are probably on track, the most powerful hormones and enzymes in your body demand a healthy supply of very specific minerals. More specifically, the hormones testosterone, growth hormone and EPO are all dependent upon a healthy supply of key minerals.

Iron is the building block nutrient that works together with EPO in the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. To maximise its effectiveness, try pairing iron-rich foods – such as red meat or green leafy vegetables – with food high in vitamin C such as capsicum or chilli peppers, as these dramatically increase the amount of iron your body absorbs, according to a study in the International Journal of Vitamin and Nutrition Research.

And try to avoid washing it down with your favourite cup of brew. The tannins in tea can block or blunt the absorption of the iron in the meal, found a paper in Current Developments in Nutrition. That doesn’t mean you need to ditch all tea, just try a different cuppa such as Rooibos which is naturally caffeine- and tanninfree while being rich in the antioxidants that could aid recovery from exercise.

The verdict: don’t bother

The nasty side effects EPO has been banned in sports since the 1990s, and while it definitely helps people with kidney problems, its misuse can lead to serious health complications.

The World Anti-Doping Agency says that it is well known that EPO, by thickening the blood, leads to an increased risk of several deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke and cerebral or pulmonary embolism. They go on to suggest that the misuse of recombinant human EPO may 94

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

also lead to autoimmune diseases with very serious health consequences. This should tell you that the risk/reward ratio just isn’t strong enough to warrant a little dabbling to be faster than the pack on your Sunday morning ride.

Bio-hack your EPO If you think your diet is giving you all you need to maximise your endurance, you’re wrong, even if you’ve never enjoyed a

It appears that all the controversy around the yellow jersey is little more than misinformation. If this drug isn’t doing what it says on the tin and negatively affects an athlete’s health, a way smarter option would be for coaches to give their athletes a placebo and tell them it’s a high-tech illegal athletic booster.

Yes, it’s trickery, but it’s also safer, legal and might just be the only scientifically proven way to break endurance-based world records. Alternatively, buddying up with a training partner who is a practical joker with shared supplements might be the best thing you can do to make endurance improvements. ■

/cellucor

@cellucor

@cellucor

Hitting the links

,

SAUSAGES OF THE

WORLD

1

1 / MORCILLA SPAIN Black pudding, boudin noir, morcilla – no matter what you call it, this pork-andgrain sausage gets its earthy richness from blood. Popular as tapas or in a stew, you can find it at authentic Spanish smallgoods shops and butcheries.

2/ GREEN CHORIZO MEXICO Butchers in central Mexico have long made this twist on the classic by adding serrano peppers, spinach and pumpkin seeds, which give it a spicy, nutty profile.

It’s hard to find here, but a quick online search will bring you plenty of easy recipes so you can make your own.

2

3/ LOUKANIKO GREECE The name is the common Greek word for pork sausage, but in English refers more specifically to a sausage made with ground pork combined with either lamb or beef and spiced with orange zest.

96

MEN’S FITNESS

4

MARCH 2018

Cook any sausage perfectly

4/ SAI UA

Forget everything you think you know about cooking links. After consulting the experts, we found out how to do it right, in 15 minutes.

THAILAND Also known as Chiang Mai Sausage, this coarse pork offering is packed with flavour from aromatics like kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass and turmeric. The name comes from the Thai sai

CAN’T-MISS SAUSAGE PREP 1. Preheat oven to 175°C. On stovetop, heat a cast-iron frypan on medium.

2. After the pan has heated for a few minutes, add the sausage, which should sizzle. Don’t prick the casings. 3. Cook for 5 minutes and flip. 4. Cook an additional 3 minutes and transfer pan to the oven. 5. Roast 7 minutes.

Casings will be golden and crisp and meat will be cooked through and juicy.

The only thing left to do is eat.

(intestine) and from ua (to stuff).

5/ WEISSWURST GERMANY Superstitious Bavarians eat this pork-and-veal link, traditionally boiled, before the noon bell tolls. In reality, it just needs to be eaten as soon as possible, as it’s made without using preservatives. Spices like cardamom and mace give it a subtle sweet-andsavoury profile. Find it at any German butchery or smallgoods outlet.

5

6

6/ MERGUEZ NORTH AFRICA Most often made with lamb, this fiery sausage is native to North Africa and found throughout the Middle East. Cumin, coriander and cinnamon are common spices, with either ground dried chillis or harissa paste, which lends both heat and a crimson colour.

7/ COTECHINO ITALY Northern Italians eat this chubby, stubby sausage boiled and sliced over lentils on New Year’s for good luck and wealth.

Wintry spices typically perfume the coarsely ground pork snag, which is kind of like salami but needs to be cooked before eating.

3

FOOD STYLING BY SUE LI FOR SARAH LAIRD

7

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

97

SAUSAGE SHAKSHOUKA SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

4 small yellow potatoes 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 225g lamb sausage or pork sausage, removed from casing 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1 clove garlic, minced 1 onion, sliced 1 red capsicum, sliced 2 cups crushed tomatoes Salt 4 large eggs Garnish Flaky sea salt 6 spring onions, thinly sliced DIRECTIONS

BREAKING THE

CASE

Whole sausages are neat and easy, but when you split open their casings, it’s like using a richer, more flavourful minced meat to create delicious, inventive dishes – merguez chili, chorizo-stuffed peppers, Italian-sausage bolognaise. Chef Alon Shaya, author of Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel, uses ground sausage to create a rich shakshouka, a Middle Eastern specialty of eggs simmered in spiced tomato sauce.

1) Bring small pot of water to the boil. Add potatoes and boil 10–12 minutes, or until easily pierced with a knife. Drain, let cool to room temperature, and cut into large pieces. In large frypan, heat olive oil over high heat until smoking hot. Add sausage and cook 3–5 minutes, until it turns golden. Add cherry tomatoes and stir until blistered, 3–5 minutes. Add garlic, onion and capsicum, and cook until soft, 2–3 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes and stir.

Season with salt and mix in potatoes. Simmer uncovered, 2–3 minutes.

2) When sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened, reduce heat to medium. Crack eggs directly on top of sauce, evenly spaced around pan. Cover pan and cook until whites have set but yolks are still soft, 5–6 minutes.

Remove from heat.

3) Sprinkle with sea salt and garnish with spring onions.

Serve immediately.

MF sizzling picks

SMOKEHOUSE REPUBLIC

OUTBACK SPIRIT SNAGS

OUTBACK SPIRIT SAUCE

M ATA D O R

Original bratwurst or bacon and cheese bratwurst. Perfect for an upmarket snag sanga at your next barbecue.

Aussie-as snags – beef with bush tomato or pork with lemon aspen and Kakadu plum.

Eat ’em, you flamin’ galah.

A range of Aussie-inspired sauces that can also double as marinades, dipping sauces or can even be used for basting.

Made for the true barbecue aficionado, take your cooking to the next level with the Matador Artiste 4 Burner BBQ.

98

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

1 G O O D M U S TA R D

BEYOND

Not the smooth highlighter-yellow stuff out of a squeezy bottle.

Go for a more upmarket brand, such as Pommery Moutarde De Meaux, or stick with something traditional like Colman’s Old English.

2

BASIC

MUSTARD

1

2 KIMCHI

Classic condiments like tomato sauce and sauerkraut never go out of style, but Australia’s ever-expanding global pantry means making room for stuff like tomato jam and kimchi. Here are a few of the best ways to spice up your sausage.

Adds sauerkraut’s salty umami with a more substantial crunch and blast of heat. Try it once and you may never go back.

3 SPRING ONION AND CHIVE CREAM CHEESE

Softened and spread inside a bun, it adds a tangy, sour cream–andonion vibe that cools down spicy sausages.

You can find it at any supermarket, or just make your own at home.

7

4 DUKKAH

3

When broken up and scattered over a sausage sandwich, dukkah – an Egyptian seed-and-nut condiment available at most specialty supermarkets – adds great texture and flavour. For a local twist, Aussie dukkah is available online.

5 GARLIC JALAPEÑO AIOLI

4

6

Make it by blending mayonnaise, coriander, jalapeno pepper, garlic, lime juice, cumin and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pop it in the fridge for an hour to let the flavours blend.

6 T O M AT O J A M

Thick, sweet and spiced, it’s awesome on brats and game sausage. Try Spoonfed Foods Snag Jam from spoonfedfoods. com.au 7 MEYER LEMON RELISH

5 It adds punchy acidity to a lamb sausage sambo. Make your own by simmering a seeded and chopped Meyer lemon (a cross between an orange and a lemon) with 2 tbsp honey, half a chopped green chilli and pinches of cinnamon, cumin, coriander and salt until sticky.

Put some sizzle on your sausage Gluten Free - Natural - Native Food Products Outback Spirit products available from Coles Supermarkets 10c from every product is contributed to the Coles Indigenous Food Fund www.outbackspirit.com.au

/Outback.Spirit

/outbackspirit

I T M I G H T N OT B E T H E M O ST B E G U I L I N G B O DY PART... BUT ISN’ T IT TIME YOU SHOWED YOUR BOWEL A LI T TLE LOV E?

G N I O M A E C N E I R E P X E

Psyllium husks 81.4g

Wheat bran 45.4g

B

owel. Can you say it without snickering? Yeah, we can’t either.

But your entrails are good for a lot more than fart jokes and long, pleasant Sunday mornings on the throne. Your bowel is your friend, and if you look after it properly by eating right, it’ll pay you back tenfold – with everything from number twos so regular you could set your watch by ’em to a long and cancer-free life.

The long and winding road “The bowel is everything from the mouth to the anus,” says Professor Graham Newstead, a colorectal surgeon from the Prince of Wales Private Hospital in Sydney. Here’s what happens along the way as you eat and digest your food: Step 1 Saliva in your mouth starts breaking down chemicals in the food, making it mushy and easy to swallow.

Step 2 Your tongue pushes that food to the back of your throat and down into your oesophagus, which swallows it.

Step 3 Food arrives in your stomach, which starts digesting it with stomach acids, bile and pancreatic juices.

Step 4 Things move along to your small intestine. All this semi-liquid goo, which is brown thanks to

bile (which is secreted by the liver and breaks down fats), first moves through to the upper small intestine: “It’s here that everything is churned up and starts to break down into the stuff you need to keep, and the stuff you don’t,” Prof. Newstead explains.

Step 5 Then it’s through to the lower third, where all the good stuff is absorbed into your blood system.

Step 6 What’s left – waste products, bacteria, dead cells and indigestible stuff including fibre – makes its way into the large intestine, or colon.

This part has two jobs, Prof.

Newstead explains: “The first is to act like a snake, passing everything through. The other is to act like a sponge, drawing water out so that it becomes semi-solid.”

Fibre in motion Your diet plays a big part in how efficiently your bowel works – and how easily everything gets moving.

For healthy innards, you need water and you need fibre: “Fibre is like blotting paper. It soaks up water, creating a soft, bulky motion – that’s what you want as it’s easy to pass,” Prof. Newstead says. “Think about a bowl of high-fibre Weet-Bix – if you add milk and leave it for 10 minutes, all the milk will have been soaked up.

“Then think about those awful sugary kids’ cereals – they’ll just float in the milk, and not absorb anything.”

All Bran 29.5g

Flaxseeds 27.3g

Got a full house, need a flush Not eating enough fibre can cause either constipation or diarrhoea – both can make life miserable, causing nausea, stomach pains and the sudden urge to dash out of your 3pm meeting and sprint down the hallway to the dunnies.

“A motion that’s too liquid is harder to control, and can also cause you to dehydrate,” the professor explains. “And if a motion is very dry, the lower part of the colon – the sigmoid colon, which is the main reservoir for waste – has to work harder to push things out.”

If this happens all the time, over the years the sigmoid colon gets thicker – “just like a muscle, the more you use it, the bigger it gets,” explains Prof. Newstead – making the passageway narrower, compounding the problem.

All that straining and grunting also increases pressure across the bowel, which can cause little blowouts in the lining at its weakest points, where blood vessels penetrate: “These blowouts are called diverticula,” the professor says.

“Sixty per cent of Western people over 50 have at least one diverticulum as well as muscle thickening in the sigmoid.” Sometimes diverticula become inflamed or infected – a condition called diverticulitis – causing stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and cramping.

The big BC

Get your 35g a day Breakfast ■ 1 sachet Uncle Toby’s

Lunch ■ Sandwich with 2 slices

Dinner ■ 1 cup brown rice (4g)

Oats Quick Sachets Hi Fibre (6g)

wholegrain bread (4g) and salad including ½ cup grated carrot (2g) and 1 tomato (2.5g) + 1 apple (3g)

with lean beef + bean and rocket salad with 75g can four bean mix (6g)

Mid-morning snack ■ 1 mandarin (2g)

102

MEN’S FITNESS

Mid-afternoon snack ■ 35g raw almonds (5g)

MARCH 2018

Evening snack ■ ½ cup strawberries (2g) with a scoop of ice cream

Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Australia and affects one in 18 Aussie men.

Most bowel cancers develop from pre-cancerous growths called polyps.

The cells in your bowels turn over every 10 days. All those dead ones drop off and get passed along with everything else, but sometimes, one little cell doesn’t drop away. Instead,

Black beans 15.2g

Passionfruit 13.9g

Weet-Bix 11g

Sunflower seeds 10.8g

Top 8 high-fibre foods (per 100g)

it stays behind, divides and multiplies, becoming a small mushroomy growth on the lining of your bowel: a polyp.

Forty per cent of people over the age of 40 have polyps. They can be caused by genetic or lifestyle factors, including diet. “Most polyps don’t turn to cancer, but some do,” Professor Newstead says.

“And when people with polyps have them removed, their risk of bowel cancer drops to almost zero.”

Check your bowel transit time: eat some corn on the cob.

It should show up around 8-14 hours later.

Testing, testing…

How are you supposed to know if you have polyps, or worse? Once they become larger, polyps and early cancers can bleed. You might notice blood in your poo, in which case you should get your arse (literally) to the doctor. Polyps and early cancer can also be detected by a Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT). You can do this at home, with a kit from your chemist.

According to Prof. Newstead, an FOBT will detect seven out of eight cancers, and 70 percent of polyps over two centimetres in size. “It’s not ideal,” he says, “but it’s a lot better than doing nothing.” True, that.

A more accurate test is a colonoscopy, which is basically a long, thin camera stuck up your bum.

Sounds about as appealing as, well, having a long, thin camera stuck up your bum, right? But when you consider it could save your life, you might want to talk to your doc about it, especially if you have a family history of polyps or bowel cancer.

Happy bowels = happy you Here are some easy ways to keep your bowels in tip-top shape, courtesy of nutritionist and exercise physiologist Caitlin Reid (healthandthecity.com.au):

■ Add fibre to low-fibre foods: add nuts or seeds to yoghurt; add LSA (linseed, sunflower seeds, almond) or psyllium husks to a smoothie.

■ Switch from white bread or cereal products to wholegrain varieties.

■ Leave the skin on your vegetables when you cook ’em.

■ Start the day with a high-fibre breakfast of porridge or Weet-Bix. ■ Eat less red meat: the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) says red meat should be limited to 500g a week, while processed meats should be avoided altogether – they contain potentially cancer-causing compounds.

● A change in bowel habits, like not dropping the kids off at the pool as often; ● Squirty diarrhoea or thin motions; ● Having to go back more than once;

Keep an eye on your prize It might not be the most enchanting part of your day, but by keeping an eye on what’s happening on the poop deck aboard the HMAS Crapper, you can spot early signs, which could be symptoms of bowel cancer. Look for: ● Crampy stomach pain;

● Blood in or on your daily loaf; If you’re worried, see you doc. If detected early, 90 percent of bowel cancers can be treated successfully.

Prevent, don’t repent The links between diet, weight and

■ Reduce your booze: according to the WCRF, more than three standard drinks a day has been linked to bowel cancer.

■ It’s not just what you eat, it’s how you eat it – watching your portion sizes, eating regularly and eating slowly are all important for keeping your gut healthy.

exercise and bowel cancer risk are some of the strongest for any type of cancer. So if you keep fit and maintain a healthy weight, you’re halfway there.

Then there’s your diet. Fibre won’t just keep you regular and reduce your risk of developing diverticula, haemorrhoids, polyps or bowel cancer – it also helps to lower your bad LDL cholesterol levels and helps you feel fuller for longer. Now that’s something to really give a shit about. ■ MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

103

C I P E G N I T I IS WA

WE’R

CL A I

EE* R F S R U O H F O LIONS L I M Y AY A W A G N I N - CL U B TO D E GIVI

ONLI L A I R T E E R F M YO U R

NE OR

#Afaepic

EFIT NE S W W W.AN Y TIM * A 7-day free trial. Offer valid for first time guests who are local residents or workers 18 years & older only, however, 16 & 17 year olds may trial an “Approved Club”- see anytimefitness.com.au/ approved-clubs (photo ID required). Offer subject to satisfactory completion of pre-exercise screening & to standard temporary/guest membership terms. Not valid with any other offers. Not redeemable for cash. Not transferrable. Only valid at specified club(s) . Limit 1 offer per person. Where the trial pass permits use outside staffed hours, a refundable deposit may be payable for an access card. Further provisions may apply. See Club for details. Offer expires 30/04/18.

S .COM .AU/EPIC

You have the right to bear arms.

How to get big arms GO ON - SPLIT THOSE SHIRT SLEEVES.

Most trainers don’t recommend much arm isolation work – for beginners, no more than two exercises each for biceps and triceps done up to twice a week for three or four sets, tops. More experienced guys can experiment with one “arms day” per week or hitting the bis and tris at the end of upper-body workouts, but the message is clear: less is more.

Remember that the biceps and forearms work hard on any back exercise. Chin-ups and rows should leave them pumped up. Meanwhile, your triceps get smoked by chest and shoulders training. So there’s little reason to bombard your arms with a lot of work beyond that. They’re small muscles, after all (in general – not yours personally, of course).

To see gains in any muscle group, make an effort to gain some weight and get stronger overall. You won’t find many guys with a big bench press who also have skinny arms. And keep your isolated triceps training light – three to five sets of eight or more reps per set, up to three times a week. Heavy triceps work, especially on isolation exercises, can hurt your elbows and restrict all your training. Prioritise your arms training with this advice for a month, and you’ll see results.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

105

Body Book Torch fat

Haveaball Grab this classic bit of kit to get a lean, strong body in less time.

Medicine balls are the real old-school pieces of training kit. You associate them with dusty boxing gyms and trainers who claim to have sparred with Lionel Rose. Well, they’ve lasted the distance - the medicine balls, not the coaches - because they’re an effective training tool. They’re particularly good for explosive movements and exercises that challenge your core, and this workout

M

106

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

is a mixture of those two types of move. The abs moves work because you’re moving in an unstable position.

That’s why some of the rep counts are low – you only do six press-ups per circuit because they’re deceptively tough. The explosive exercises, such as the slam, will develop power while also doing a good job of releasing stress. Just try not to scream too loudly as you throw the ball to the floor.

HOW TO DO THE WORKOUT Do the six exercises in order, sticking to the rep counts detailed, without resting until you finish all the reps of the sixth and final move of the circuit. Rest for two minutes, then repeat the circuit. Do three circuits in total. As you progress you can add another circuit.

1) SQUAT PRESS Reps 10 Rest 0 sec

Try to make each rep as smooth as possible so one proceeds into the next without any noticeable pause. This will work your heart and muscles harder.

FORM

Hold the ball with both hands at chest height. Squat down as low as you can, then stand back up and press the ball directly overhead until your arms are straight. Lower it back to the start position, then go straight into the next rep.

2) ROTATING LUNGE Reps 5 each side Rest 0 sec FORM

Hold the ball with both hands above your head.

Take a big step forwards, bending both knees until your back knee is bent at 90°. As you lunge, rotate your torso in the direction of your leading leg. Return to the start and repeat on the other side.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

107

Body Book Torch fat 3) PUSH-UP Reps 6 Rest 0 sec FORM

Place both hands on the ball, then raise your hips so your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Do a push-up, ensuring that your elbows do not flare out to the sides as you lower.

If you can’t do a single rep, perform the move on your knees. .

4) SLAM Reps 10 Rest 0 sec FORM

Hold the ball with both hands at chest height.

Raise it overhead, then explosively slam it down in front of you. Catch it as it bounces and repeat the move. Aim to do each slam as forcefully as you can and keep the tempo high.

108

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

5) RUSSIAN TWIST Reps 10 each side Rest 0 sec FORM

Start in the top of the crunch position, holding the ball in both hands. Rotate to one side and then the other, keeping your abs engaged.

That’s one rep. If you want to make the move even more challenging you can raise your heels slightly.

6) ROLL-OUT It’s important that as much of your bodyweight as possible is over your arms rather than your knees. This forces you to keep your abs tensed, so you work them harder.

MARCH 2018

Reps 6 Rest 2 min FORM

Start on your knees with both hands on the ball. Make sure there is tension on your abs, then slowly roll the ball forwards to lower your torso to the floor. Reverse the movement back to the start, then repeat the move.

MEN’S FITNESS

109

Body Book Trainer tips

Fullspeed ahead

Pain is a warning system but a poor measure of injury. Sometimes pain can be a good thing.

There’s more to running than lacing up your trainers and hitting the road. Boost your knowledge, improve technique and get fitter faster with help from the expert contributors to the new book Running Science .

THE RUNNER’S BODY

Should I breathe through my nose or my mouth?

■ Getting air into the lungs is absolutely critical for runners, since it provides oxygen essential for the production of energy.

The transport of air into and out of the lungs is known as ventilation and it's controlled by the diaphragm, a layer of muscle underneath the lungs, and the muscles of the rib cage, known as the intercostals.

High volumes of air enter the lungs during exercise and this process becomes inefficient if too much resistance is encountered.

Scientists have found that when ventilation rates exceed 40 litres of air per minute (they can reach up to 60 when running at high intensity) the route that encounters least resistance is through the mouth. The nose is used but only when small volumes of air are required.

Some athletes have used special nasal strips

to reduce resistance and promote nasal breathing, but scientific research has demonstrated that these strips have little effects on ventilation rates or performance since the nose still offers more resistance than the mouth to incoming and outgoing air.

MOVEMENT

Should I lean into my run?

■ The posture of the trunk during running is an important technical aspect for both enhancing performance (running economy) and minimising injury risk. Runners who lean forwards to a greater extent are certainly more economical (which means they run faster for a given oxygen usage). The forward lean really needs to start at the ankles, not the waist, and promote alignment of the body in a straight line. Research indicates the performance benefits can be attributed to greater activation of the hip extensors (hamstrings

CAN CAFFEINE HELP ME RUN BETTER? Taken before or during exercise, caffeine is associated with reduced discomfort and exertion, increased alertness and perhaps even an increase in the number of muscle cells that are recruited during running.

Studies have shown that consuming 5mg per

110

MEN’S FITNESS

kilo of bodyweight 45-60 minutes before exercise is usually enough to improve performance in endurance and shorterduration activities by 3-5 percent. For a 72.5kg runner, a caffeine dose of 5mg/kg is 363mg, which equates to about four espressos.

MARCH 2018

Experiment with caffeine in training to determine the amount that produces the best results. Those who regularly consume caffeine may need a larger dose than the caffeine-naïve, who may require only 2mg per kilo of bodyweight.

and gluteals) during the driving phase of the running stance.

In addition, a forward lean also reduces the risk of injury. Around half the injuries reported in runners are knee injuries, most commonly patellofemoral joint (PFJ) pain.

In a study, injury-free athletes who ran with an “increased trunk lean” of around 14.1° exhibited less PFJ stress than those

who ran at 7.3° and 4°.

As well as reducing knee stress, it engaged the large hip extensor muscles. Maintaining a forward lean – between 10° and 16° is considered to be optimal – without losing straight alignment requires torso strength, which is why strength and mobility exercises help improve running performance and significantly reduce injury risk.

WILL RUNNING HELP ME LIVE LONGER?

Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise such as running results in major benefits to health.

When compared with sedentary individuals, runners tend to have lower body fat percentages, better cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure.

Lung capacity and the ability to transport oxygen to the muscles improve and the heart becomes more efficient. Muscle mass increases, making many daily tasks easier. People who run also tend to have a more positive outlook on life – they are generally happy with their body image and the regular release of endorphins, the body’s natural opiate, supports a better sense of wellbeing.

It's not possible to state definitively that runners will live longer than non-runners, not least because of the problems involved with conducting such a study. But there is every indication that running leads to a far better quality of life.

PSYCHOLOGY

Can positive thinking improve performance?

■ Many runners use psychological techniques.

For example, some engage in self-talk, where they speak to themselves about how well they are performing or are about to perform. Research also indicates that imagery skills can help manage fatigue – runners mentally rehearse experiencing

sensations of fatigue and see themselves coping successfully. Imagery creates a blueprint for the pattern of thinking and behaviours required to deal with a situation, so when those conditions occur, the athlete can instigate the appropriate coping strategy quickly and effectively.

When starting to learn how to use psychological skills, it's good practice to use them in training and then apply them in

competition. Research shows that people use psychological skills in competition more than they do in training – so athletes new to the techniques may be trying to learn these skills at the same time as they're experiencing unpleasant emotions associated with event nerves.

The mental game is trainable, and from training comes the confidence that you can rely on it when it matters.

TRAINING AND RACING

MF TOP PICK

How important is it to warm up?

Forerunner 645 Music

■ Runners and coaches generally advocate a warm-up period before a race or training in order to “prime” physiological systems, enhance performance and reduce injury risk. However, there are no universal criteria defining what constitutes a warm-up – and the evidence to justify warming up is limited.

Garmin has introduced the Forerunner 645 Music – a GPS running watch with integrated music and Garmin Pay contactless payments.

Track your workouts and sleep p patterns and receive and respond to texts, too. $599; garmin. com.au

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

111

Body Book Trainer tips

The notion that warming up can prevent running injuries is not supported by strong evidence.

It's been demonstrated that the rate of increase in oxygen uptake during a run is accelerated by a warm-up exercise, which may be good for middledistance runners because it enhances the oxidative energy contribution, potentially reducing the rate of fatigue and raising the running speed that can be maintained.

And the higher the intensity of exercise, the more important a warmup is – for instance, sprint

performance will be enhanced by increased muscle temperature.

Conversely, in an event that’s not explosive, like a marathon, performance is likely to be limited to some extent by energy availability. A warm-up of any kind has a definite energy cost, reducing energy availability during a marathon, so it makes more sense for a longdistance runner to use the first few kays of the event to warm up.

INJURY

Should I run through the pain?

Running Science: Revealing The Science Of Peak Performance, edited

by John Brewer, is on sale now.

CAN I USE MY ROAD SHOES WHEN RUNNING OFF-ROAD? The important element of trail running shoes is grip. Good grip means you feel safer as you run over slippery, uneven ground, which in turn means your stride is more relaxed and natural – so you’ll run quicker.

Wider gaps between the lugs or studs in the sole are better for grip in

112

MEN’S FITNESS

muddy conditions, while lug angles differ for uphill and downhill grip.

As your running terrain increases in difficulty, you'll need a shoe with better adapted elements.

More testing terrain requires rugged shoes with harder outsoles for rock protection, and even toe guards.

MARCH 2018

Of course, if your off-road run is no more adventurous than your local park, then your normal road shoes will do the job. It’s not advisable to wear trail shoes on the roads because the prominent lugs that give them their grip would be quickly worn away on harder surfaces.

■ Pain is your body’s inbuilt warning system but can be a poor measure of injury. The level of pain doesn’t always equate to the severity of damage.

Having a stitch can be excruciating but doesn't involve any tissue damage.

Sometimes pain can be a good thing. We know training that challenges the body enough to generate delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) promotes tissue adaptation and improves performance. Research on ultramarathon runners also suggests you may be able to run through muscle inflammation with no lasting damage.

There are rules that can help you gauge whether to grit your teeth or jump into cotton wool. Pain isn’t the only indicator of injury: swelling, a joint that locks or gives way easily and

tenderness on the bone are all signs that something could be wrong. If your pain is more than 5 on a scale of 0-10, continuing to train is not wise. If it’s less than 5, you could try some strategies to see if you can influence it – reduce or increase speed, modify your gait, lighten your step or change your shoes.

So it’s possible to run through an injury – but it depends on the injury. If in doubt, get it checked out.

MF TOP PICK

Brooks Comes with a new midsole tech called DNA AMP, which uses a combination of materials to absorb energy and return it back to its source – you. $249.95; brooksrunning. com.au

/cellucor

@cellucor

@cellucor

Body Book Fast fitness Don’t think you have the time or equipment to get in good shape?

Think again.

Total-body fitness in just 20 minutes These three dumbbell-only routines are fast, efficient and custom-made to help you build strength, boost endurance or shed weight.

Right here, right now, we’re telling you that “I don’t have enough time” is no longer an acceptable reason to bail on a workout. Whether your goal is to finally hone a six-pack or to sprint five flights of stairs without losing your lunch, 20 minutes and a pair of dumbbells is all you need. To guide your way, we recruited three top-tier trainers to design speedy routines tailored to different goals. Choose the plan that’s right for you, then make the time.

No excuses.

R

114

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

11A G GOBLET SQUAT Q

2A PUSH-UP

Get into a plank position with hands underneath shoulders. Keeping back flat, hips lifted and abs engaged, slowly lower for four full counts until chest taps floor. Explosively drive through palms to return to start. Do 5 reps.

Stand holding a dumbbell with both hands at chest. Squat as low as you can, keeping back flat and chest up, for four full counts.

At the bottom of the squat, drive through your heels to return to start. Do 5 reps.

1B DUMBBELL ROW

Stand holding a dumbbell in one hand at side; hinge forward sso torso is almost parallel to f loor.

Squeeze shoulder blaades together and row we ight towards side; lower ffor four full counts to retturn to osite start. Repeat on oppo side for 1 rep. Do 6 reeps.

2B REVERSE LUNGE

YOUR GOAL: STRENGTH To build muscle fast, trainer C.J. Murphy designed this six-move plan with a focus on maximising the time you’re under tension. So rather than bang out speedy reps, you’ll lower the dumbbells or your body weight painstakingly slowly. “This cues your body to get stronger and will also help you build size,” Murphy says.

What to do: perform each exercise pairing – marked A and B – back-to-back, then rest for 60 seconds. Repeat for three total sets, then move on to the next pairing of moves. For each exercise, lower the weight/your body weight for a count of four Mississippi. (Note, for the farmer’s walk and plank, your muscles will be under tension the entire time.) Because the weighted moves require so few reps, opt for dumbbells on the heavier side. Says Murphy, “You want w t a weight i ht th thatt feels f l like lik you could ld lift it for f one more rep than prescribed.”

3A FARMER’S WALK Stand holding two dumbbells at your sides; shoulders should be pulled back and down, abs tight. Slowly walk forward, keeping the weights close to your body, but without resting them against your sides. Think of actively engaging your core the entire time. Walk 25 steps forward, then turn around and walk back to start.

C.J. MURPHY

A competitive powerlifter and strongman, Murphy is a certified strength coach and personal trainer.

3B PLANK

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, h holding dumbbells ld d bb ll at sides. d Slowly lower into a backward lunge for four full counts, so back knee is almost touching the floor with front leg bent at 90 degrees. Rise back to start and repeat on opposite side for one rep. Do 6 reps.

Get into plank position on your forearms, back flat, hips level, and gaze fixed a few centimetres in front of your hands. Hold this position for 30 seconds. (If you find yourself starting to waver, squeeze your glutes – this helps keep your core tight, allowing you to last a little longer.)

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

115

YOUR GOAL: ENDURANCE This two-part, high-volume routine won’t only tax your lungs; it will also help build the kind of functional strength that makes long-haul workouts on the bike or in the pool feel easier.

Trainer Prince Brathwaite saved the most lungcrushing move – the burpee – for last; there’s evil genius behind this. “The dumbbell moves require perfect form; front-loading them ensures you execute the exercises correctly, and you won’t be burned out by the time you attack the final cardio finisher.”

What to do: perform the moves in Part 1 as a circuit: push hard for 40 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, moving from one exercise to the next.

Once you complete all four moves, rest one minute.

Do three total rounds, then immediately move on to Part 2. Here, you’ll perform each exercise as a highintensity interval: go all-out for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, and continue that pattern for two minutes. Once you’re done, immediately move to the next two-minute exercise interval.

For both sections, use dumbbells that are 5 to 7 kilograms lighter than you’d typically grab.

P R I N C E B R AT H WA I T E

Brathwaite is CEOfounder of Trooper Fitness in the US, and a competitive bodybuilder.

3 DUMBBELL ROMANIAN DEADLIFT

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of thighs, palms facing you. Keeping knees soft and back flat, hinge forward at hips and lower your torso until the dumbbells reach the middle of your shins. Drive through your heels and push hips forward to return to start. Repeat for 40 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.

116

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

PART 1

1 DUMBBELL SQUAT Stand with a dumbbell racked on each shoulder, palms facing each other.

Squat as low as you can while keeping back flat and chest up, then explosively drive through heels to return to start.

Repeat for 40 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.

Get into a plank position with hands underneath shoulders.

Keeping back flat, hips lifted and abs engaged, lower until chest taps floor. Explosively drive through palms to return to start. Repeat for 40 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.

4 DUMBBELL ROW Stand hol ding a dumbbell in each hand with h arms at sides; hin ge forward so torso i s almost o floor. parallel to Squeeze shoulder blades to gether and explo osively bbells up row dumb to sides; lower the weights to o return to start. Rep peat for 40 seconds, then rest for 10 sec conds.

2 PUSH-UP

Body Book Fast fitness PART 2

1 LUNGE TO CURL Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand at sides. Lunge forward on one leg so front thigh is parallel to floor and back knee nearly taps ground.

Holding this position, curl both dumbbells to shoulders. Lower the weights, and return to standing start.

Repeat for 20 seconds, alternating legs, then rest for 10 seconds. Continue this pattern for two minutes.

3 RENEGADE ROW

2 SQUAT TO SHOULDER PRESS

Stand with dumbbells racked at shoulders and squat as low as you can with back flat and chest up.

Explosively drive through heels to stand and push both dumbbells overhead. Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Continue this pattern for two minutes.

Get into a push-up position with hands grripping two dumbbells, feet spread wide. Perform on e push-up, then by the other. row one dumbbell to your side, followed b out. Repeat for Keep abs engaged and hips level througho 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Co ontinue this pattern for two minutes.

4 BURPEE From standing position, drop to a plank then hop feet in and jump as high as you can. Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.

Continue this pattern for two minutes.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

117

YOUR GOAL: WEIGHT LOSS To shed weight, you need to ratchet up your metabolism so you’re naturally burning more calories all day long, not just when you’re working out. That means putting demands on the muscular and cardiovascular systems that they haven’t experienced before, says trainer David Otey. His workout does exactly that. Otey pairs two compound exercises that performed alone would be a tough routine – and he has you do three sets of them.

“Grouping these multijoint exercises together not only saves time, it turns up the intensity a few notches,” Otey says. Because of this, be conservative in the weight of the dumbbells you choose. Each exercise duo uses nearly every muscle in your body, and you want to be able to hold your intensity for the entire 20 minutes.

What to do: perform each couplet of exercises backto-back, resting for 90 seconds after you complete Move B. Repeat for three total sets. Once you’ve finished, i di t l move to t the th nextt exercise i pairing. i i immediately

D AV I D O T E Y

Otey is a personal training manager and an exercise scientist.

1A GOBLET SQUAT Stand holding a dumbb bell with both hands at chest.

Squat as low as you can, keeeping back flat and d chest up.

At the bottom of the squat, drive through heels t o return to start. D Do 15 reps.

1B DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS 118

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, a dumbbell racked at each shoulder with palms facing forward. Engage your abs, and press both weights directly overhead, arms fully extended with biceps near ears. Lower weights slowly back to shoulders. Do 12 reps.

Body Book Fast fitness

2A PUSH-UP Get into a plank position with hands underneath shoulders. Keeping back flat, hips lifted and abs engaged, lower until chest taps floor.

Explosively drive through palms to return to start. Do 20 reps.

2B RENEGADE ROW Get into a push-up position with hands gripping two dumbbells, feet spread wide. Row one dumbbell to your side and then the other. That’s one rep. Do 10 reps with each arm, keeping abs engaged and hips level throughout.

3B V-UP

3A DUMBBELL ROMANIAN DEADLIFT

Stand with i h feet f shoulder-width h ld id h apart and d holding h ldi a dumbbell d bb ll in each hand in front of thighs, palms facing you. Keeping knees soft and back flat, hinge forward at hips and lower your torso until the dumbbells reach the middle of your shins.

Drive through your heels and push hips forward to return to start. Do 15 reps.

Lie face-up with arms and legs extended. Raise legs high and crunch up, reaching hands toward feet and bringing shoulder blades off floor.

Slowly lower back down with control.

Do 20 reps. Extra credit: perform the move while holding a dumbbell.

Body Book Big lift

Press ahead The overhead press is one of the best lifts for building bigger shoulders. Here’s how to master the movement with advice from strength coach Andy McKenzie.

Mobile wrists are key “For the strongest press possible you need to have mobile wrists so that they can extend back towards your body,” says McKenzie (@ IronMacFitness). “The better the starting position of your wrists, the more able you are to initiate the move with a strong push. Better mobility will also allow your elbows to flare out slightly towards the sides as you press upwards.”

Adjust your head position “The bar starts across your upper chest below your chin, so your head must tilt backwards slightly as you push the bar up in the straightest line possible to avoid hitting your chin and nose. As you press the bar up, tilt your head backwards so that the bar just misses your nose on the way up.”

120

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

Assistance moves Add these exercises to your workouts to target the key muscles groups involved in a overhead press so you can lift more weight.

Push press

Take a shoulder-width grip “The wider apart your hands are on the bar, the weaker you will be and the less weight you will be able to lift.

Aim for a grip with hands no wider than shoulder-width apart and keep your elbows directly underneath your wrists to keep you in the strongest mechanical position possible for the lift.”

Squeeze your shoulder blades “At the start of each rep, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together, then focus on using your shoulders to initiate the lift and get the bar moving. Lower the bar under control, ensuring that your shoulders are fully engaged and managing the weight with good form.”

W H Y This is a useful exercise to use when you become fatigued doing conventional overhead presses. It’s also good for developing the dynamic press movement used in a jerk.

Start in a conventional overhead press position, then dip into a quarter squat.

Straighten your legs and use the momentum to press the weight directly overhead.

HOW

Dumbbell press W H Y It’s an accessible exercise that will also be beneficial for joint health because it requires you to use your smaller stabilising muscles to control the weight. Because it’s a unilateral movement, you’ll also get balanced muscle growth.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height and press them overhead, keeping your elbows directly below your wrists.

HOW

Keep your chest up “You need to keep your chest up during each rep to maintain a strong and stable upper back, which in turn allows better and smoother movement patterns of all the muscles and joints involved in the lift – especially the shoulders, which are one of the most easily damaged joints in the body.”

Kettlebell press An ideal move for ensuring that you have good movement patterns. The way the bell sits on the back of your wrist encourages you to press the weight directly up rather than deviating and stressing your shoulders.

WHY

Hold a kettlebell with the weight on the back of your wrist at shoulder height. Press the weight directly overhead and rotate your wrists slightly so your palm faces forwards as you complete the press.

HOW

J AM NA UR AC RH Y 2018 7

MEN’S FITNESS

121

TRAIN AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

/cellucor

@cellucor

@cellucor

Body Book Ab moves

Core control Try this five-move abs circuit twice a week to make your entire core work harder than ever before – and build a solid, sculpted six-pack.

There’s no point having a set of abs if they’re all show and no substance. What makes a six-pack truly impressive is not just how it makes you look with your top off, but how it enables you to lift heavier and perform better. This quick but intense complete core workout will sculpt and strengthen your abs for all-round gains. There are five moves in total, the first two done as a superset and the final three as a tri-set. Stick to the sets, reps and rest periods and take your abs training to another level.

T

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

123

Body Book Ab moves 1A ALTERNATING LEG RAISE Targets Upper and lower abs Sets 4 Reps 25 each side Rest 20 sec F O R M Lie on your back with your head supported in your hands. Raise both feet off the floor, then raise one foot as high as you can, keeping both legs straight. Lower it again, then raise your other leg. Alternate with each rep.

EXPERT TIP

For both moves of the first superset, try to not let your hands or feet touch the floor between reps. Keeping them aloft increases the workload on your upper and lower abs, which makes both moves harder but forces more muscle fibres into action and helps maintain more muscular tension.

1B V-SIT Targets Lower abs Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 60 sec F O R M Lie on your back with arms and legs fully straight.

Keeping them straight, contract your abs to bring your hands and feet up to meet over your middle.

Pause at this top position, then slowly return to the start.

124

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

EXPERT TIP

For the first two moves of this tri-set try to make sure each rep is smooth and controlled, with a conscious focus on your entire core being tight and engaged, rather than rushing through them.

The slower your reps, the more time under tension your abs must manage – and that’s the key to building greater definition, strength and stamina.

2A PLANK WITH SHOULDER TAPS Targets Entire core Sets 4 Reps 25 Rest 20 sec F O R M Start at the top of a push-up.

Brace your core, then lift one hand up to touch the opposite shoulder, then lower it again. That’s one rep.

Repeat, alternating the shoulder taps with each rep.

2C SUPERMAN PLANK Targets Entire core Sets 4 Time 40 sec Rest 60 sec

2B PLANK WITH TOE TAPS

FORM Start in a plank position with your abs tight. Raise one arm and the opposite leg so they are fully straight. Hold this position without letting your hips sag for 40 seconds. That’s the set. To work both sides equally, raise your right arm and left leg in the first and third set, and raise your left arm and right leg in the second and fourth.

Targets Entire core Sets 4 Reps 25 Rest 20 sec F O R M Start in a plank position, resting on your forearms.

Brace your core, then lift one foot wide to one side. Pause, then return to the start. That’s one rep.

Repeat, alternating sides for the toe taps with each rep.

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

125

S

EBOARD High Performance Guide

PERKii

BIO FIT

MICHTER’S

PERKii Probiotic Water can help improve your gut health by delivering probiotics directly to your digestive system. The drink uses worldfirst technology to ensure over one billion live probiotics can travel through the acidic environment of the stomach, and make their way to the intestine where the probiotics do their best work.

BIO FIT, based in southern Adelaide, offers an evolved approach to exercise underpinned by a working scientific knowledge. Led by exercise and sport scientist David Craggs (B ExSpSc), the BIO FIT strength and conditioning system delivers results through functional group training and one-onone coaching.

Michter’s Us*1 Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey is made from a carefully selected mash bill that features the highest quality American corn. It is then matured to the peak of perfection, with barrels often ageing in excess of eight years.

Available at Dan Murphy’s or at nicks.com.au

>> perkii.com.au

>> bio-fit.com.au

THE MACALLAN

FIA FITNATION

GOODLIFE

The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old is 100 percent sherry-seasoned and 100 percent natural colour, but differentiated by the unmistakable prominence of the American Oak style.

The style is smoothly sweet, with rich fruit and wood spice balanced by a more dominant vanilla, citrus and light oak.

Make the world a fitter place – become a personal trainer!

A career in fitness offers a positive way to educate the community about the importance of nutrition and exercise. And when you study with FIAFitnation, you know that you’ll be receiving the highest quality of fitness education to maximise your career opportunities and your impact within the fitness industry.

Change your life with Goodlife Health Clubs. With 77 locations and Australia’s largest range of group fitness classes, there’s something for every age and fitness level. Transform your mind and body with the Goodlife 12 Week Challenge that will help you achieve amazing results, and maintain them, too. Get moving and enjoy the Goodlife.

>> themacallan.com

>> fiafitnation.com.au

126

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

>> goodlifehealthclubs. com.au

NOVAK DJOKOVIC SPECIAL EDITION The watch calibre features a 4-year power storage, a perpetual calendar that adjusts automatically to February 2100, a rose gold plated stainless case, a combination leather and silicon strap and a sapphire glass, and is water-resistant to 100 metres.

>> $1500; seiko.com.au

GRASSLANDS BEEF

MARVIS TOOTHPASTE

Grasslands Premium Beef, as nature intended, is produced from free-range cattle that have been raised on natural pastures where they are able to roam and graze in a stressfree environment for their entire lives. The Grasslands Beef range is free from antibiotics and added hormones. Guaranteed tender, juicy beef.

Marvis is a classic toothpaste created using a long, precise traditional method which guarantees a rich, smooth texture that is effective at heightening the intensity of the flavour and creating a refreshing protective and whitening effect. Marvis reinterprets the concept of toothpaste, turning a simple daily act into a pure pleasure.

>> marvisaustralia.com.au

>> Available at Woolworths

SMART EATING WEEK

FALCO ELITE 2018

February 12-18 is Smart Eating Week, which is run

by Accredited Practising Dietitians. Take the opportunity to connect with your local accredited practising dietitian during Smart Eating Week, such as by attending an event or linking up online.

The Falco Elite uses Reid’s flagship road racing geometry R2 frame and the tried and tested Shimano 105 components for outstanding performance and reliability.

Lightweight, with excellent on-road handling, the Falco Elite offers an aerodynamic but comfortable ride.

>> daa.asn.au

>> $1099.99; reidcycles.com.au

GOLD COAST MARATHON Celebrate the 40th edition of the Gold Coast Marathon on June 30 to July 1 on the beautiful Gold Coast. Its famous flat, fast course along the city’s surf beaches and broadwater plus ideal winter running conditions result in 60% of participants achieving personal best times each year.

>> goldcoastmarathon. com.au

MARCH 2018

MEN’S FITNESS

127

S

EBOARD High Performance Guide

SUNSHINE COAST MARATHON A community event for every runner, the Sunshine Coast Marathon and Community Running Festival is one of the most loved running festivals in Australia. Held on August 17-19, the event has been timed to make the most of the ideal Queensland winter running conditions.

STAMINADE It’s first aid for thirst.

Staminade’s formulation contains the right balance of carbohydrates and electrolytes to rehydrate and replenish lost energy and lost electrolytes. Ideal for performance and recovery, Staminade is helping Aussies go harder.

>> staminade.com.au

MEN’S BOTANICS Men’s skin care made for the health-conscious, cleanliving man who wants to look after his skin. Men’s Botanics contains highly effective potent organic botanical ingredients that condition, repair and protect your skin naturally.

>> mensbotanics.com.au

>> sunshinecoast marathon.com.au

KOMUNE RESORT

IRONMAN PROTEIN

The idea of hosting your first retreat can be both daunting and exhilarating. The first thing to consider is the venue. Hotel Komune Bali ticks all the boxes.

Beautiful surrounds, epic food, 5-star training facilities and luxury accommodation.

Ironman Protein Bars are packed with 20 grams of protein, 2 grams of creatine and 2 grams of BCAAs for better results in muscle recovery after a hard training session or race. Tested and certified

by Informed Sport.

>> komuneresorts.com/ keramasbali

128

MEN’S FITNESS

MARCH 2018

>> ironmanprotein.com.au

CELLUCOR CORPERFORMANCE An optimal source of protein when you’re looking to maintain lean muscle, replenish nutrients after a workout and indulge your sweet tooth guilt-free. Every scoop is packed with 25g fast-acting whey protein and digestive enzymes so you can satisfy your protein needs any time of the day.

>> nutritionsystems. com.au

Subscribe to Australia’s best fitness magazine for 12 months (12 issues) for only $75 and receive an exercise band valued at $30!

TOTAL VALUE

$132

FRE GIF E T

YOURS RS FOR

SUBSCRIBE TODAY YOUR MAGAZINE CHOICE

I would like to subscribe to Men’s Fitness for 1 year (12 issues) for $75 and receive a free exercise band.

I would like to subscribe to Men’s Fitness for 2 years (24 issues) for $149 and receive a free exercise band.

YOUR DETAILS Mr/Mrs/Ms First name: Surname:

13mm

Email:

ACETIPSTOMAKEYOU KINGOFTHEGYM

BEACHY KEEN: THE WORLD’S BEST BEACHES

Address:

P84

Phone: (

6-PACK SECRETS

Get strong and lean in just 20 minutes!

Work your entire core

OheFro Ffit !

S E K A T r RAT T s him supe CHRIES: thPe workout that keep 67 P.114

GUARDIA

NS OF T

Postcode:

PAYMENT

TOTAL BODY PLAN X Y STA HE G A L A

State:

)

Please 9

Mastercard Visa Amex Cheque/Money order

___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ /

Expiry date: Cardholder’s name:

R

EXCLUSIV

DUDE FOOD Easy meals for blokes on the go

Signature:

REALGUYTRANSFORMED:‘ILOST30KGIN10MONTHS’

TRAINING TUNE-UPS

SIGN UP FOR THE FIT BLOKE CHALLENGE NOW! P56

A ETSTGEAR ,THEGREATES TWORKOUTS

STRIKE IT RICH: HOW TO GET THAT PAY RISE P58

MARCH 2018$8.50

MASSIVE HIT 8% GAINS Mensfitnessmagazine.com.au

SMASH HIS BRUTAL WORKOUT

HEMSWORT H H

DWAYNE DWAYNE JOHNSONAS JOHNSON US HOW THE ROCK GOT MEGA-HUGE NING

180

M

HARDCORE EXERCISES TO BLAST MUSCLE

TAME A T 1-TONNE UT BULL

SUBSCRIBE NOW

IRONMAN KING

GET R PPED! TRA N WHILE YOU’RE STONED P86

MATT POOLE

P SUPER

ST S

MA S T LEA BIIKE GUID DE: PIM MP YOUR Y RIDE RI

02 9439 1955 Please send to Australian Men’s Fitness, PO Box 81, St Leonards NSW 1590 or email to subs@ mensfitnessmagazine.com.au

2 17 $8.50

MAY2017$8 50

www.mensfitnessmagazine.com.au Mensfitnessmagazine com au

FUEL UP FOR MORE SEX P44

*This offer is available while stocks last. It is available to new subscribers or to existing subscribers renewing their subscription. Open to Australian residents only. Your information is used primarily to fulfil your subscription, but may also be used for other Men’s Fitness promotions.

If you don’t want to receive any information about other Odysseus Publishing promotions or offers, please tick here . This form is a Tax Invoice upon payment.

ABN 39 122 001 665.

2/18

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

WWW.MENSFITNESSMAGAZINE.COM.AU

TRAINING SPLIT

OLYMPIC LIFT

Nicking off to the pub mid-workout.

Really fast elevator.

TERMINAL ILLNESS

CALF RAISE

Bringing up Daisy.

Getting sick at the airport.

MELONS Dyslexic lemons.

MUSCLE MASS

CURED MEAT

Church for bodybuilders.

The antibiotics worked.

THE MF GLOSSARY What those health and fitness terms really mean.

MAXIMUM ISOLATION

Training on a desert island.

INTERMITTENT FASTING

Taking a breather between pizza slices.

CAT SCAN

FLAT WHITE

Looking for Mr Tibbles.

AN APPLE A DAY

Compulsively buying new iPhones.

130

MEN’S FITNESS

LOSING WEIGHT Misplacing your dumbbells.

MARCH 2018

Depressed Caucasian

FUN RUN

Contradiction in terms.

No wires.

No stopping you.

SOUNDSPORT® FREE WIRELESS HEADPHONES

Demanding workouts demand SoundSport® Free wireless headphones. They’re completely free of wires, so you’ll enjoy complete freedom of movement. They’re sweat and weather resistant, too. Bose® StayHear®+ Sport tips are designed to stay secure and comfortable all workout long. And the earbuds are packed full of technology that makes your music sound so clear and powerful, you’ll push past your limits.

For more information visit www.bose.com.au

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Bose Corporation is under license.