03/2019 THE WEIGHT-LOSS ISSUE

FITNESS WEIGHT LOSS MIND

P21 A FRESH ANGLE ON ABS P13 BEER WITHOUT THE BELLY P33 YOGA VS MEDITATION
This brand new move aims sports science at With Dry January over, our expert weighs in Both are touted as panaceas, but which has
your core for HD results. No crunches required on how to avoid a booze-belly bounceback the more solid scientific grounding?

P37 CARVE OUT NEW STAMINA P19 SPREAD YOURSELF THINNER P52 WORDS OF WISDOM
An innovative piece of cardio kit is bringing For fast fat loss, peanut butter and jam are Why “self-talk” is the secret to elite cardio
the slopes to your gym. Pack a bobble hat the best things between sliced bread endurance. It’s a trick worth shouting about

P94 KING OF THE SWINGERS P27 DIETS ARE OVERRATED P66 THE WILL TO SUCCEED
Master the American kettlebell swing to Clean eating isn’t enough if you’re hungry for Grit and determination are not character
blast your fat-burning workouts skyward a slimmer physique. There’s a better way… traits but skills you can hone. This is how

STYLE MUSCLE NUTRITION

P109 TWIST YOUR MELON P51 ELEVATE YOUR GAINS P22 FILL YOUR PIE HOLE
Menswear designers are tipping their brims Altitude training has benefits far beyond Far from a plate of stodge, a proper British
to the bucket hat. Want to give the beanies marathon stamina. Use the principles of pie has upper-crust nutritional credentials.
a break? Here’s how to pull it off (or on) hypoxia to inflate your biceps to peak scale Allow our chef to rewrite your recipe book

P110 REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST P28 MAXIMUM WATTAGE P60 PLEASURES OF THE FLESH
The decade that fashion forgot is being NFL powerhouse JJ Watt on how pushing Can eating nothing but meat revitalise your
reimagined. Which is your 1970s style tribe? his body to the limit saw him through injury health? MH meets the human carnivores

P118 IT TAKES TWO P41 RED-HOT POWER P103 STICK IT TO FAT

This season’s collections are doubling down Ask more of your gym attire than a lack If your New Year eating plan already feels
on double-breasted jackets. Peruse our edit of of chafing. Here’s how the colour of your stale, these lean, piquant chicken skewers
a relaxed take on a classic that’s no less sharp kit can really raise your lifting game will pep up your meal prep in minutes

6 MEN’S HEALTH
ON THE COVER
P91 MUSCLE-BUILDING HACKS
Don’t let an unforgiving schedule
stifle your ambitions. Use our PT
special to sculpt muscle – fast

P42 CHRIS HEMSWORTH

MH travels Down Under to train
and talk with the Hollywood icon
P72 HOTWIRE YOUR METABOLISM
Turn cutting weight and leaning
out into a 24/7 affair, with our list
of tips to cull calories all day long
P98 BURN FAT, BUILD BRAWN
Swap flab for abs in four weeks with
nothing but a pair of dumbbells
PHOTOGRAPHY
STEVEN CHEE
GROOMING SARAH TAMMER
STYLING CHARLOTTE STOKES
COVER STAR CHRIS HEMSWORTH
T-SHIRT JACANDJACK.COM
JEANS NUDIE JEANS AT
DAVIDJONES.COM
JEWELLERY HEMSWORTH’S OWN
WATCH TAG HEUER

P104 GUT-BUSTING KIT

Affordable home-gym equipment
that puts paid to any last excuses

P54 BEST FITNESS CLASSES

Your annual prospectus of the
finest group workouts in the UK

TheGentleAr
e tOf Choking p76
 EDITOR IN CHIEF

TOBY WISEMAN
DEPUTY EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR STYLE DIRECTOR
DAVID MORTON DECLAN FAHY ERIC DOWN
HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH OUR TEAM OF SPECIALISTS PHOTO DIRECTOR EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER FEATURES EDITOR
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COMMISSIONING EDITOR CHIEF DEPUTY STYLE
(PRINT AND DIGITAL) SUBEDITOR EDITOR
TED LANE YO ZUSHI SHANE C KURUP
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ED COOPER ROBERT HICKS DANIEL DAVIES
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MANAGING DIRECTOR, MEN’S LIFESTYLE, HEALTH AND FITNESS

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ACTING SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE
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You are what you eat… The British freerider talks The high priest of denim MANAGING DIRECTOR, BEAUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR, LUXURY AND FASHION
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right? Wrong. Relying on facing fear and bouncing shows how simple sartorial DIRECTOR OF SPORT AND HEALTH DIRECTOR OF TRAVEL DIRECTOR OF MOTORS
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weight-loss goals, argues world’s most dangerous routines can start your DIRECTOR OF FINANCE CLIENT MANAGER, FITNESS
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Success can be a matter Could you survive – even Crunch your abs into a COMMUNICATIONS
of holding your resolve. flourish – on meat alone? six-pack with the V-up HEAD OF PR HEAD OF PR AND DEPUTY HEAD OF PR
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Unleash your inner athlete Spector separates the and press. Let LA-based EFFIE KANYUA BEN BOLTON
with Foxley’s simple dietary myths from the Bruno give you a hard- PR MANAGER PR AND COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE
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8 MEN’S HEALTH
 EDITOR’S LETTER
82

PAGE
LASTING SUCCESS BEGINS WITH SELF-BELIEF
In the Utah desert, freeriders
hurtle down cliffs in search of

60
glory. MH chases the bikers
who conquered their fears

PAGE
Rejecting the warnings
of science, followers of
the latest diet trend
are abandoning all but
meat. Could it work?
We flesh out the facts

54 76

PAGE
PAGE

Once a niche martial art,

Join the right crowd and Brazilian jiu-jitsu has
sign up for year-round the fitness world in its
momentum with our guide stranglehold. Why are
to this year’s top group pro athletes and A-list
workout classes actors hitting the mats?
MH goes for a roll

72 66
PAGE

PAGE
Maximise your weight If self-control is the key
loss with our metabolism- to progress, can it be
spiking tricks, from new trained? Three men
workout hacks to easy reveal how they became
nutritional upgrades masters of their will

PAGE

91
Short on time but
long on fat-burning
the New Year, New You trap. Despite being
an arbitrary invention, we are inexorably
seduced by the calendar and the idea
that we’re in annual need of resurrection,

I t might seem odd – antiquated even –
that at a time when everyone in
possession of a smartphone has the
ability to publish content at the push of
a button, we monthly magazine types are
still beholden to lead times, future gazing
and holding tight while the ink dries. And
yet, I tell myself, that’s the price you pay
for proper editorial craft and the tactile
luxury of holding something that has been
painstakingly cultivated with your readers
in mind. Unfortunately, it’s also why I ended
up writing the last March issue’s Ed’s Letter
on Christmas Eve, with Slade playing in the
background and a mulled wine on the go.
This time around, I determined to be
different. No matter how many Yuletides
one has experienced or Get Back in Shape
specials worked on, nothing can quite
prepare you for that peculiar strain of
melancholy and existential angst that
aspiration? Beat the
demands of your
schedule with our
quick-fire strategies
plagues the spirit in the post-festive,
midwinter months. That’s why I’m writing
this in as close to real time as I can, with
the hand of 2019 firmly upon me and a
production editor’s gun to my head: so
I can empathise more sincerely with the
mindset that accompanies February,
the ancient month of purification.
This is the Weight-Loss Issue, and
at least that much I appear to have got
right – after a Christmas spent pickling
my organs in Suffolk cask ale and a
subsequent few weeks feebly battling
persistent flu, my torso doesn’t need
tightening so much as recasting. But from
a mental point of view, I can’t help but feel
resentful for having fallen so readily into
along with all the guilt and anxiety and
self-flagellation that goes with it.
Over the past month or so, my favourite
mental salve has been the Twitter feed of
Men’s Health contributor and all-round
sage Matt Haig: “You are not an iPhone.
You don’t need replacing every year.” Or:
“Just be kind to yourself. Get to know the
old you. Don’t throw yourself away like
another piece of plastic.” And: “My New
Year’s resolution is to resolve not to
resolve. To stop seeing myself as a Russian
doll with endless better versions inside.”
Right now, this feels like a far more
apposite recipe for Lent happiness.
It speaks of durability, vitality and
equanimity. Perhaps most importantly,
it smacks of belief. I’ll drink to that.
TOBY WISEMAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF

MEN’S HEALTH 11

THE BIG
QUESTION
Q
DRY JANUARY IS OVER.
DOES THAT MEAN I’M
DESTINED TO REGAIN
MY BEER BELLY?
DANIEL, SOUTHAMPTON
Alcohol contains calories and carbs,
so increasing your intake may well
cause weight gain. But then, so could
upping your intake of anything else.
Studies generally suggest that those
who drink within their limits – a couple
of beers a day, say – don’t carry
around any more weight than
abstainers. Indeed, a review in Current
Obesity Reports found that drinkers
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL HEDGE
tend to weigh less than teetotallers.
Still, weight isn’t everything.
According to researchers at the Mayo
Clinic, extra fat around your middle,
synonymous with beer drinkers,
makes you up to four times more
likely to develop metabolic disorders
than leaner types. That’s the real risk
you run by returning to booze.
ASK MH
QUENCHING YOUR THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
POUR OVER OUR ADVICE
TO TIP THE SCALES
IN YOUR FAVOUR
IS YOUR BELLY
A HEART THREAT?
To determine your risk,
here’s how to calculate
your waist-hip ratio
To safeguard your long-term health
while still enjoying the odd pint, hit
the weights room. “Muscle is ‘active’
in ways that counteract visceral fat,”
i/ ROUND THE WAIST
explains PT Emma Storey-Gordon: Measure your waist
it raises your metabolic rate. midway between your
And, although your body is hard- lowest rib and the
top of your hips.
wired to preserve its fat stores by
increasing your appetite, you can
prevent weight gain by confining
calorie consumption to a window of
time (try 16 hours of fasting, eight
hours of eating – not continuously, of
ii/ ON THE HIPS
course). “You’ll be able to enjoy bigger Then measure your hips
meals, which are more satiating,” says around the widest part
Storey-Gordon, without exceeding of your glutes.
your calorie allowance.
Finally, fill up on fibre, aiming for
30g per day. This creates a healthy
microbiome in your gut, reducing
inflammation and your likelihood of
obesity. We’ll raise a jar to that. iii/ SUM TOTAL
Divide waist by hips.
If it’s 0.9 or higher, it’s
time to take action.
MEN’S HEALTH 13
 TEXT
A PT
Hi. I’ve cramped up on my run,
and I’m still a few miles from
home. What are my options?
The first thing to do is stop.
Then, stretch for 30 seconds
per leg – it’ll help ease the pain.
OK. I’m determined to finish
my run, though. What can I
do when I set off again?
Try starting slower to see
how you feel, then switch to
minute-long, on-off intervals.
Will do. Incidentally, this
isn’t the first time this has
happened. What’s causing it?
The most common reason is
dehydration, but it could also
be muscular fatigue.
So, try to be sensible with your
training load before a big run.
I’ll try. Anything
else I can do?
It’s a tall order, but avoid salty
food and caffeine. Good luck!
Andre Bates,
AB
@i.am.fitness.ldn
ANCIENT SOLUTION
TO A MODERN PROBLEM
Q IIitknow it’s good for me, but
can’t get on with yoga. Is
really worth the stretch?
Simon, Saltaire
A The roots of education
are bitter, but the
fruit is sweet.
Aristotle, ancient Greece
14 MEN’S HEALTH
AVOIDING THE USUAL
SUSPECTS CAN DO MORE
HARM THAN GOOD
Q
DAIRY, GLUTEN, SUGAR, RED RIGHT FOOD,
MEAT… SHOULD I REALLY
WRONG TIME
BE CUTTING IT ALL OUT?
Nutritionist Lowe on
the best times to eat
MATT, BRISTOL or avoid certain foods
We understand your scepticism, Matt – every RED MEAT
Avoid eating too
few weeks, a new food group is vilified. But this much meat before
paranoia can do more harm than the foods training. It has a slower rate
of digestion, leaving you with
themselves. “By unnecessarily eliminating foods an unsettled stomach. Save
it for your post-gym refuel.
from your diet, you risk becoming deficient in
nutrients,” warns nutritionist Chris Lowe*: the SUGAR
Carbs drive your
fibre in wholegrains, say, or vitamin B12 in meat. performance, so
*FIND CHRIS LOWE ONLINE: @CHRISLOWENUTRITION, CHRISLOWENUTRITION.COM
It can be a psychological problem, too. You’ve get your sweet fix before
or after your sessions – or
heard of the placebo effect; well, there’s also a during, if you are exercising
continuously over 90 minutes.
“nocebo” effect, in which you experience side-
effects from something benign. In one study, DAIRY
Milk is excellent
people who complained of gluten-related after training for
the three Rs: repair (protein),
symptoms were asked to consume a muffin.
Some ate one containing 11g of gluten; others
replenish (carbs) and rehydrate
(fluid). Go full fat for more
muscle protein synthesis.
unknowingly ate a free-from treat. Yet both
groups reported feeling worse afterwards. GLUTEN
Test, don’t guess.
So, “suspect” foods needn’t always be avoided. Some fibrous, wheat-
based foods cause bloating,
Instead, try consuming them at smarter times (see which isn’t ideal before the
right). Then you can have your cake and eat it. gym. But if you feel fine eating
bread, enjoy a post-gym sarnie.

SPREAD
YOURSELF
THINNER
For upper-crust fat
loss, peanut butter
and jam are the best
things between sliced
bread. Bring napkins
T
he worthy
fat-burning
breakfast
options that
are championed by
fitness influencers
are almost uniformly
joyless and time-
consuming. Another cold
Tupperware of overnight
oats does little to excite
the taste buds, and
knocking up a superfood
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP | FOOD STYLIST: NICO GHIRLANDO
frittata makes catching
the 7.36am train tricky.
Amazingly, researchers at
the University of Georgia
happened upon some
lip-smacking science that
suggests the peanut butter and
jam sandwich is at the cutting
edge of morning weight-loss fuel.
A test tube study found that the
dynamic duo of fillings contain
a cocktail of compounds that,
together, stop fat cells in their
tracks. The combination in
question – that of resveratrol
(found more readily in peanuts
than in red wine, surprisingly)
and the flavonol quercetin
(crammed into strawberry jam)
– caused body fat to waste away.
Specifically, the combination
blocked a sensor that nascent
fat cells need in order to connect
with fatty acids in the blood for
01
DOUBLE
FAT LOSS
02
IN RARE
FORM A
WEIGHT LOSS
NEWSFEED
03/19
LEANER LOAF
That’s breakfast sorted.
Now fuel all-day fat loss
with our recipe for the
ultimate steak sarnie
RYE
A Swedish
study found
that rye is more satiating
and less fattening than
an average wheat loaf.
This dense bread packs
four times the fibre and
20% fewer calories.
STEAK
A punch of
protein causes
the largest rise in the
thermic effect of food
(TEF). It increases your
continued growth. And it wasn’t metabolic rate by up to
just the growth phase that was 30%, compared to 10%
disrupted, either – the mixture for carbs and 3% for fats.
proved just as ruthless at taking MAKE EXCESS FAT
out mature fat cells, too.
TOAST WITH AN OLD-
SCHOOL BREAKFAST
CHIMICHURRI
In addition, these spreads have Packed with
myriad benefits in isolation. The parsley, this
quercetin in jam has also been steak companion
linked with inhibiting the growth contains apigenin,
of cancer cells and reducing blood which the University of
pressure, while the resveratrol in Texas found spikes fat-
peanuts prompts your muscle cells burning and muscle-
to build more energy-producing building testosterone.
mitochondria, which fire up your
metabolism, even at rest. But to
fight flab most effectively at
breakfast, researchers suggest
it’s the combination of both that
creates a unique one-two gut punch
to your paunch. Spread the news.
MEN’S HEALTH 19
 03
GIVE IT
THE V A
THE BEST 01
EXERCISE
WHY 2019 IS YOU’RE
SITTING
COMFORTABLY

CRUNCH TIME NOT DOING Sit on the floor, your

knees bent, holding

FOR YOUR ABS

a kettlebell to your
shoulder with your
right hand. Bring
your left arm out to
If your winter weight-loss the side to steady
yourself when the
plans are on schedule, step up hard part kicks in.
the pace with the V-UP AND
PRESS. As an upgrade on the
sit-up, it’s truly hard core

I
t’s all too easy to fall back
on the classic moves when
desperately trying to rework
your abs. But relying on sit-ups
earns you only half the benefits.
For a truly ripped middle – which,
02
FLYING V
let’s be honest, is your ultimate Balancing on your
aim after weeks of clean eating to glutes, lean your
shed your winter coat – you need to torso back and raise
target your entire core, not just the your feet off the
abdominals that sit at the front. ground, extending
“The hollow body position your legs up and out
forces you to engage your in front of you under
obliques,” says Los Angeles- control. Find your
based celebrity trainer balance – this is the
Ben Bruno. “The key is to starting position.
keep a steady torso and try
to avoid twisting or falling.” It’s the
instability that targets your deeper
core for a functional strength 03 04
MODEL: CHRISTOPHER WHITLOW AT ANDI PETERS MODELS | TRACKPANTS EU.PUMA.COM, TRAINERS ASICS.COM

IN’N’OUT PRESS TO
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | STYLIST: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT

pay-off, while the feet-elevated

tuck will work the superficial Keep the weight to IMPRESS
rectus abdominis muscles, which your shoulder and Finish the rep by
will, at last, make your abs hold your core tight slowly pressing the
truly pop. Finally, pressing the to avoid wobbling, kettlebell overhead.
kettlebell up slowly will not only then contract your Pause, then lower it
widen your silhouette, but also abs and breathe in, under control. Finish
force your obliques to work crunching your knees your set, rebalance,
overtime to keep you upright. to your chest. Exhale and then repeat on
To achieve six of the best, do and reverse the move. the opposite side.
three sets of 10 per arm, twice
per week. Consider them your
next reps to the abs you want.

WHAT
YOU’LL
GAIN POPPING
ABS
CORE
CONTROL
BOULDER
SHOULDERS
GYMNAST
BALANCE

MEN’S HEALTH 21
 THE HEALTH SNOB’S GUIDE TO
PROPER PIES
For too long, this definitive British comfort
food has been unjustly neglected by
gourmands and gym-goers alike. Here, we
celebrate its upper-crust nutritional cred

02
MAKE YOUR CASE

01 PUT A LID ON IT
Once a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, the humble pie has slipped
into the doldrums of Wetherspoon’s pub grub and reheated
football-stadium tuck. But Tristan Welch, head chef at Cambridge
brasserie Parker’s Tavern, wants to reverse this own goal. Done
right, pies are a nutritious, macro-laden payload presented
inside a deliciously buttery parcel. They’re a crust above, in
other words. This is how to get a slice of the action.
A CHICKEN TIKKA
The combination of muscle-building
protein – an impressive 23g per 100g
– and the metabolism-enhancing
spice of tikka marinade makes this
upgrade of football’s iconic balti pie
a true game changer when you’re
aiming for a lean, strong physique.
B SARDINES
The ultimate oily fish, sardines
are full to the gills with omega-3
fatty acids. Their anti-inflammatory
properties help to prevent heart
disease, reducing your risk of
life-threatening blood clots and
lowering your blood pressure.
Puff pastry and potato toppings require
little explanation, while hot water crusts
are rare. So we’ll focus on shortcrust
– an essential part of any man’s culinary
armoury. “This delicate pastry is perfect
for pies, because it soaks up the sauce and
takes on its flavour,” says Welch. Start by
sifting 225g of flour into a bowl that has a
silicone base (£20 lakeland.co.uk) – this
will keep it steady when you’re mixing later.
Slice 100g of butter into small pieces over
the flour; use two knives rather than your
fingers to keep the butter cool. Mix together
and, once a fine crumb forms, add two egg
yolks and a splash of cool water, gradually
stirring until the mixture has evenly
combined. Use the flat of the knife to
fold it into a dough, then shape it into
a disc with your hands. Roll out your pastry,
occasionally rotating the dough 90 degrees.
A smart rolling pin (£20 johnlewis.com)
with attachments on both ends will help you
to achieve an even thickness. Wrap in cling
film and chill for 20 minutes. Then, trim to
fit, brush with an egg and start preparing
your application for next
year’s Bake Off.

C LAMB NECK CHOPS

The L-carnitine content in lamb
will chew away at unwelcome signs
of ageing by firing up your stamina
and giving your muscles an energy
lift, as it increases your levels of new,
mitochondria – your cells’ in-built
“power generators”.

D SAUSAGE MEAT
That sausages make you happy is
obvious. But allow us to present
some scientific evidence. As a
source of choline, the porcine filling
plays a role in the formation of
SAM-e, a feel-good hormone that
helps to relieve depression.

22 MEN’S HEALTH
 04
READY
TO ROLL
05
HOME
ADVANTAGE A
03
FILL YOUR
PIE HOLE
From a bite-sized
Melton Mowbray to a
massive masala, pies
can sate all appetites.
Falcon’s pie set (£55
falconenamelware.
com) covers all bases:
its enamel finish
transfers heat evenly
for a perfectly cooked
filling, and no chance
of a disappointingly A B
soggy bottom. Once MUSCLE-UP TIKKA MASALA PIE TAKE HEART STARGAZY PIE
you’ve updated SERVES 8 METHOD SERVES 4 METHOD
your kitchenware, A chicken, whole Marinate the chicken overnight in the Sardines, 4 Reduce the stock by half and whisk in
A jar of tikka marinade fridge, then roast at 190°C for an hour. Fish stock, 250ml the crème fraîche, mustard and vinegar.
follow Welch’s expert
An onion, finely chopped Rest, then debone. For the sauce, fry Crème fraîche, 125g Trim the pastry into a rectangle and
recipes to make Garlic, 3 cloves, crushed the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in English mustard, 25g cut out six golf-ball-sized holes around
your cooking time Ginger, 6cm, chopped butter. Blend the tomatoes and cashew White wine vinegar, 1tbsp the edge. Brush with the yolk, then
as easy as, well, pie. Chilli powder, 1tsp nuts, then add to the pan. Cook for 20 All-butter puff pastry, bake for 20 minutes. Fillet the sardines
Tinned tomatoes, 400g minutes, pour in the cream, bring to a 250g and grill alongside the heads and tails.
Cashew nuts, 4tbsp boil, add the chicken, then fill a pie dish. An egg yolk Chop and fry the bacon and onions and
Double cream, 300ml Mix the flour and butter until crumbs Streaky bacon, poach the eggs. Arrange the sardine
Plain flour, 150g form. Stir in two yolks and cold water to 150g, unsliced fillets, bacon, onions and eggs in the
Butter, 100g, cubed bind the dough. Roll it, wrap in film and Baby onions, 16, halved dish and pour in the sauce. Cover with
Eggs, 3 chill for 20 minutes. Brush with egg and Quail’s eggs, 16 the pastry, poking the fish heads and
Cold water, 3tbsp bake at 180°C for 30 minutes. Dig in. tails through the holes, and serve.

PATRIOT
GAINS
Science suggests
the best of British
is often the best
for your health, too

FISH AND
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY I FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS | TEA TOWELS COURTESY OF DEXAM

CHIPS
Go heavy on
the vinegar. Research
WITH THANKS TO PARKER’S TAVERN, CAMBRIDGE, PARKERSTAVERN.COM | *NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY

shows that its acetic

acid reduces levels of
cholesterol in your blood
to safeguard your heart.

SUNDAY
ROAST C D
The rosemary
with your lamb and AGE-DEFYING SHEPHERD’S PIE ALL SMILES FIDGET PIE
roasted veg can give SERVES 4 SERVES 8
METHOD METHOD
you a cognitive boost Lamb neck chops, 8, Pork sausage meat, 700g Combine the butter, flour and lard in
Roast the potatoes at 140°C. Flour the
and 15% improvement in on the bone Butter, 55g, cubed a paddle mixer, adding the water to form
lamb and brown in a casserole dish.
short-term memory*. Maris Piper potatoes, Plain flour, 265g, plus the dough of your hot water crust. Set
Remove the chops and add the onion,
600g carrots and celery. Add the butter and extra for dusting aside to cool. Roll and layer inside a pie
An onion, sliced Strong white bread
FULL into rings
flour, mix and add the stock. Simmer, put
the chops back in and cook. Scoop the flour, 55g
tin, then freeze. Remove and crimp the
rim. Mix the mustard seeds, meat and
ENGLISH Carrots, 8, peeled potatoes into a bowl and combine with Lard, 65g half of the bacon, diced, and form into
Be generous Celery, 2 sticks milk and butter to create the mash. After Water, 135ml, boiling a patty. Wrap in a lattice of the remaining
when you’re ladling on Butter, 150g, diced two hours, remove the lamb and add the Mustard seeds, 4tsp bacon and drop into the pastry. Bake at
your side of baked beans. Plain flour, ½tbsp peas. Divide the mix into four dishes, add Streaky bacon, 600g 180°C until the centre is 74°C. Reduce
The high fibre content Lamb stock, 350ml two chops each, crossing the bones at Pork stock for gelatin the stock and pour in. Caramelise the
and the antioxidant Milk, 100ml the top. Pipe the mash over and bake for Red apples, 6, sliced apples and layer on top before glazing
lycopene will take a bite Frozen peas, 4tbsp another hour at 160°C. It’s worth the wait. Apricot jam, 2tbsp with heated apricot jam. Now, pig out.
out of your cancer risk.

MEN’S HEALTH 23
 WHAT
HAPPENS
WHEN…
…I
With the “good bacteria” industry predicted to be worth
£36bn by 2022, we put probiotics under the microscope
to see if the purported health panacea really has the guts
REBALANCE YOUR
HEALTH FROM
INSIDE OUT
02
02
BUGS OF WAR
The effects of your first dose
WORDS: TOM WARD | ILLUSTRATION: PETER GRUNDY | *BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION | **EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION
can range from effortless bowel
movements to diarrhoea. If you
suffer from the latter, don’t worry.
Fatigue-causing yeast overgrowth –
the result of eating too much sugar or
refined carbs – begins a turf war with
the incoming good bacteria. This
can be explosive, but the result is
a biome repopulated by the victors
and a rise in your energy levels.
03
GREEN GOBBLIN’
Unfortunately, the positive
effects of these supps are
temporary, lasting only as long
as you’re taking them. For
long-term results, raise your
intake of prebiotics, which feed
good bacteria and allow them
to grow naturally, so you don’t
have to parachute them into
your gut with pills. The best
sources are high-fibre foods,
including asparagus, cabbage
and spring onion. Add to basket.
TAKE PROBIOTICS?
03
04
BRAIN FOOD
Whether via pills or prebiotics,
improving your gut biome can
have happy consequences.
A review of 15 human studies
found that supplementing
your diet with “friendly”
lactobacillus and bifidobacteria
for a month can fuel a mental
health reboot. Supporting
01
04
05
the hypotheses linking
your brain and your gut,
studies have shown that
probiotics can fire up the
function of your central
nervous system to help
alleviate symptoms of anxiety
and depression, while also
improving your memory.
06
GOING
PRO A
01
INSIDE TRACTS
The idea that your overall
wellbeing begins in your gut is
increasingly gaining credence.
Safeguard your “good bacteria”,
the thinking goes, and you’ll
set up both body and mind for
a healthier outlook. But don’t
reach for those yogurt shots
just yet. Your best bet is to take
your probiotics in an acid-
resistant capsule that protects
them from stomach acid until
they reach your intestines. For
maximum payload, pop a supp
30 minutes before breakfast.
05
LOSS ADJUSTER
As a welcome kicker, probiotics
can also help you lose weight
– for example, by limiting the
absorption of dietary fat in
your intestines. One study*
found that people who take
lactobacillus rhamnosus for
three months lose almost
50% more weight than others;
a separate study suggested
even low doses of lactobacillus
gasseri taken for 12 weeks can
result in an 8.5% reduction of
belly fat. It may be time you
called in the reinforcements.
MH PROMOTION

COMBAT
MOISTURE
AND HEAT

YOU SET
YOUR GOALS
LEADING SPORTS CLOTHING BRAND JOMA IS HELPING YOU RECLAIM YOUR LOVE OF SPORT WITH A RANGE THAT
PRIORITISES YOUR EXERCISE EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU’RE IN SEARCH OF GOAL-SMASHING SUCCESS

W
hen you’re deciding what kit to
wear for your sporting pursuits,
don’t leave it to guesswork. As one
of the world’s leading sportswear
brands, endorsed by professional sports teams
across the world and distributed in over 100
countries, Joma – founded more than 50 years
ago – can be relied on to assist you with not
just reaching, but surpassing your goals.
“Exercise your freedom” is at the core of
every product Joma offers. In a world where
we’re constantly being told the best way to
keep fit, Joma is letting you call the shots. It
wants you to decide what sport you practise.
It understands how often you do it, where and
when – and your sportswear should reflect that.
Joma believes that now is the time to
play sports simply for the sake of it – for
pure enjoyment. This is the message the
brand was originally founded on, and it
remains at the heart of all of its product
design today. Joma recognises that you’re
always on the lookout for new sports and
new challenges, and searching for the latest
innovations and technologies that will
enable you to obtain the results you
desire with comfort and confidence.
The updated design on its technical gear
boasts exceptional quality and performance-
boosting materials, so you can be sure when
you’ve committed to your sporting goals that
Joma will be with you every step of the way.
THE TECH LOW-DOWN
STAY COOL From base layers to
running jackets, Joma’s breathable
kit is crafted with sweaty-sessions in mind.
STYLING A sleek and modern
design ensures you’ll look the
part while performing your best.
PURPOSE Joma’s products
are designed to adapt to your
sporting necessities for better results,
regardless of your training discipline.
For more information and to see the full
range of products, visit joma-sport.com

TRAINING MATTERS
MORE THAN DIET
When it comes to putting the squeeze
on your waistline, heavy metal beats
diet food fads. Go crush your goals
W
e’ve all been guilty of it:
smugly swallowing a
mouthful of greens before
regurgitating platitudes
such as, “Abs are made in the kitchen,” or,
equally misguidedly, “It’s 90% diet.” We’ve
been fed the same message for
years – changing what you eat
is the surest route to getting
in shape for the long term.
However, no matter how
you serve it, it’s nonsense.
Without rebooting both your
training and your diet
together, you’ll never tip
the scales in your favour.
Researchers at the
Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE | *INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY | **CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF KOREA
in Seattle confirmed this
when they conducted
randomised trials on
overweight participants:
a clean diet alone
was nowhere near as
effective for fat loss
as combining good
nutrition with exercise. What’s more,
our obsession with food consumption
could be distracting us from more urgent
statistics. A 2009 study suggested that
poor cardiorespiratory fitness was
responsible for nearly 17% of male deaths,
while obesity accounted for just 3%,
once activity levels were
factored out 1 . In short, “After five years,
you’d better get moving. over 41% of
People may counter
that, while a regular fitness dieters will have
habit is laudable, you can put on more
still achieve rapid changes
in body composition
than they lost”
through your diet. If eliminating carbs
helps you shed your spare tyre in two
weeks, you’ll be motivated to commit
to a healthier lifestyle, right? Wrong.
After five years, as many as 95% of dieters
will be back where they started, and 41%
THE DEVIL’S
ADVOCATE
will have regained more weight than
they lost. One study even found that
subjecting yourself to a so-called weight-
loss diet just once doubles your odds of
becoming overweight in the future.
When you change your eating habits
too quickly, your metabolism slows and
clings onto every calorie, making weight
loss even harder. That’s why, whether
it’s keto or juicing, I’m cynical about any
plan that’s short term or tough to stick
to. Commit to anything
for less than a year and
you’re not giving your
body time to adapt 2 .
It’s exercise that makes a
plan stick. As well as being
beneficial in isolation,
training has been proven
to play a key role in diet adherence. Most
of us underestimate the mental toughness
required to resist cravings 3 , but research
shows that even small amounts of physical
activity help to strengthen willpower. One
Dutch review concluded that forming
an exercise routine leads to significant
07
CRASHING
DOWNS
08
DIETARY
VICES A
> DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
RELYING ON CLEAN 1 WORTH THE WEIGHT
EATING CAN CRAMP
Researchers at UCLA found
YOUR WEIGHT LOSS
half of all “overweight” people
are actually fit, while a third
with “healthy” BMIs are not.
2 CRASH AND BURN
Yo-yo dieting doubles your
chances of a premature death
and significantly increases your
risk of heart attack or stroke.**
3 HUMBLE PIE
Dieters who rate their self-
control highly often fail first,
because they make less of
an effort to avoid temptation.
increases in self-control, probably because
it increases blood flow to the frontal region
of the brain. That means hitting the gym
not only improves cardiovascular fitness,
muscle mass, blood pressure and mood,
but also steels you against the lure of
THIS MONTH’S
ADVOCATE
the Golden Arches. The same can’t be
said of any kale smoothie.
Faisal Abdalla is
a leading PT and If you’re training hard, don’t be afraid
the author of The to break from nutritional austerity with
PMA Method. a cheat meal. Or have a cheat day. Rely on
Follow him on
food alone for transformation and there’s
Instagram: @faisal
pmafitness no room for slip-ups: you can’t burn off
extra calories without exercise. Workouts
are what turns any reboot into a sustainable
lifestyle, rather than a short-lived dietary
denial. To make 2019 your most rewarding
year yet, lace up your trainers.
MEN’S HEALTH 27
HIT THE
GROUND
RUNNING
Follow NFL All-Pro
JJ Watt’s path back
to the top and regain
your peak, no matter
your starting point
T
hanks to a herniated
disc, the Houston
Texans defensive end
JJ Watt played in only
three games in 2016. Then he
fractured his shinbone in just
the fifth week of the following
season. However, after a gruelling
off-season regimen, Watt, a three-
time defensive player of the year,
entered the next campaign in
the best shape of his career.
The strategies he used to come
back stronger than ever weren’t
complicated. Even before Watt’s
major back injury, he had long
prioritised his core training,
and now he emphasises it even
more. His 20-minute programme
changes daily but involves plenty
of planks (single leg, single arm,
with a 20kg plate strapped to
his back and his feet elevated
six inches) and the surprisingly
gruelling dead bugs.
During rehab, Watt utilised a
range of single-leg exercises and
drills, too. “They build balanced
strength and agility,” he says.
He still performs plenty of lunge
variations, as well as single-leg
Romanian deadlifts and Bulgarian
split squats. And he is smart in
the way he divides his week of
training. He does one heavy legs
day to provide the strength and
power required to make an
impact in every play, and one
volume leg day for the match-long
endurance his muscles need.
28 MEN’S HEALTH
Watt also tracked everything
he ate for a year, which he credits
with allowing him to tune into
his body. Now, he says he
doesn’t need to count
calories: instead, he eats
when he’s hungry and
focuses only on portion
sizes. He also weighs
himself daily to ensure
he stays on track.
Watt finds it helpful
to evaluate his
achievements on
a day-to-day basis.
Recovery is a marathon,
not a sprint. Breaking his
leg was devastating, he
says: “I’d worked so hard
to return from my back
surgery the year before.”
Although the physical pain
was challenging, Watt found
the mental aspect of rehab
was even harder. “Some days,
you progress rapidly; on others,
you stumble and may even go
backwards. But you keep trying to
move forward,” he says. Now, as
you can see, Watt is moving at full
tilt to reclaim his place at the top
of his sport. We suggest you follow
his lead – or get out of his way.
 131kg WEIGHT

CAREER SACKS
88
LOWER-BODY
WORDS: BEN COURT | PHOTOGRAPHY: TURE LILLEGRAVEN
GROOMING: VICTORIA CALLAWAY | CLOTHING BY REEBOK

A A
BLITZ B A
B
Get to the gains B
line by fusing
Watt’s goals of
unilateral strength
and core stability 01/ SINGLE-LEG RDL 02/ DUMBBELL LUNGE 03/ WEIGHTED PLANK
in this three- 5 sets of 3 reps each side 3 sets of 12 reps each side 3 sets of 45 seconds
move workout Hold the barbell to your thighs (A) Stand tall with two dumbbells by your With a weight on your back, assume
and hinge your hips forward, back sides (A). Lunge forward with your a press-up position, legs extended
flat, to lower the weight. With one leg left leg until your right knee brushes (A). Lower into a plank, elbows
straight, extend the other behind you the floor (B). Push back up on your supporting your weight (B). Contract
(B). Return to the start under control. left heel. Repeat with the other leg. your glutes, grit your teeth and hold.

MEN’S HEALTH 29
 MIND
NEWSFEED
03/19

DOWN YOUR RISK OF

DEMENTIA WITH A
BRAIN-AIDING PINT

BEER-REVIEWED
RESEARCH
vessels that helps to flush away Not yet embraced craft
toxins. New experiments on mice beer? Drink up. You can get
found that, contrary to popular a head in the health stakes
logic, small amounts of alcohol ABITA PURPLE HAZE
make this in-built waste-disposal Resveratrol in the
system more efficient. Pop into the raspberries used
pub for a swift one on the way home to brew this beer can protect
from work and your glymphatic your brain from age-related
system will be better able to sift

I
decline, US researchers found.
f someone told you that alcohol out the sticky protein plaque
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES | RETOUCHING: COLIN BEAGLEY

could preserve your memory,
you’d be forgiven for believing
they’d had one too many. But,
according to research published
in Scientific Reports, a pint a day
keeps dementia away. Scientists
have observed that teetotallers
have a higher risk of developing
the degenerative disease than
moderate drinkers; in one BMJ
study, abstinence in middle-aged
people was associated with a 45%
higher risk of Alzheimer’s, compared
with those who consumed up to
14 units of alcohol per week – the
standard guideline amount.
This happy news comes courtesy
of your glymphatic system, the
network of super-thin tubes
surrounding your brain’s blood
associated with Alzheimer’s,
known as beta-amyloid.
Unsurprisingly, scientists are keen
to trot out the well-worn trope that
you should enjoy “everything in
moderation”, as too much alcohol
disrupts the glymphatic system and
has a seriously detrimental effect on
your body’s restorative powers. Sage
advice, given our propensity for
turning one pint into six. But at a time
when millennials are turning their
backs on the local and, as of 2015,
29% of those aged between 16 and 24
class themselves as non-drinkers,
it’s worth remembering that raising
a toast to your good health is no
bad thing. Cheers to that.
SAM ADAMS LIGHT
A low calorie count
isn’t usually enough
to gain our backing, but this
beer manages to retain its
robust flavour at only 119kcal.
BREWDOG PUNK IPA
The silicon content
of IPAs is good for
strengthening your bones,
according to the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
LEFT HAND GOOD JUJU
The University of
Georgia found that
ginger – of which there’s plenty
in this ale – can reduce muscle
soreness after your workout.

MEN’S HEALTH 31
 MH VERSUS
13
POSE AND
CONS
14
FIGHTING
CHANTS A
YOGA VS
MEDITATION

THE MIND OR THE BODY?

Yoga and meditation have transitioned from go-to mental
salves to cure-all health remedies. But which practice has
the scientific backbone? MH oms and ahhs over the stats

MEDITATION
VS
£195
WORDS: BEN WELCH | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP | *FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE | †JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION | ** MAHARISHI UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT

million
The new age of anxiety has
seen self-help start-ups, such
as meditation app Headspace,
grow to become tech giants
valued in the millions
STRESS KILLERS
Stick at yoga and your levels of brain-derived
neurotrophic factor – a biomarker that’s
lower in those with depression – will triple,
bolstering your mood in the long term*
3
MONTHS
1
HOUR
An Experimental Biology study found a clear
reduction in anxiety after just one hour of
guided meditation. This positive impact on
stress levels lasted for as long as one week

FAT CHANCES
A course of restorative yoga is proven to help Mindfulness is the perfect addition to your
you lose more than 2.5 times the amount of
subcutaneous fat than standard stretching,
according to the National Institutes of Health
2.5x 7x weight-loss plan. The University of North
Carolina found that those who meditated lost
seven times as much as those who didn’t

ALL-ROUNDERS

Slows Soothes Eases Cures Enhances Improves Reduces Lowers

ageing inflammation insomnia back pain energy memory cancer risk cholesterol

Finish your morning run with downward dogs HEART CENTRE Proven to release nitric oxide, which opens up
and US researchers found you’ll enjoy twice
the drop in blood pressure, which slashes
vascular stress to cut your heart disease risk
2x 30% your blood vessels and lowers blood pressure,
mindfulness can cut your risk of dying from
heart attack or stroke by almost a third†

MUSCLE STRETCH
Daily sun salutations may feel purely spiritual, Short, daily meditation has been linked to
but Indian scientists revealed they increase
your bench press strength by 23%. It’s the
most wholesome route to mirror muscles
23% 5MIN spikes in testosterone and human growth
hormone, which increase protein synthesis
and support the growth of new muscle cells**

MH VERDICT: MEDITATION WINS!

While you may expect the mental and physical nature of yoga to give its benefits a more
measurable edge, the research disagrees. Despite focusing solely on the mind, meditation’s
physiological benefits are miraculously wholesale. Incense at the ready

MEN’S HEALTH 33
SCALE UP FOR
GUARANTEED
WEIGHT LOSS
Track your body mass and
composition with pinpoint
accuracy using our expert-
approved scales. Step on it

B
attling the scales is the most
tired of weight-loss tropes.
They are erroneously seen
as something to fear, but
just as every bleep and vibration
from the tech strapped to our wrists
provide helpful feedback, the new,
connected smart scales can be allies
in the fight for lifelong fitness.
Researchers at the University
of Pennsylvania found that those
who weighed in every day over
two years achieved a far superior
drop in both BMI and body fat
compared to data shunners, even
when not on a specific weight-loss
kick. According to the experts,
regularly weighing yourself will
motivate you to engage in healthy
eating and exercise behaviours, PRECISION MADE 90/100 DOCTOR’S OWN 75/100
because it provides daily confirmation Withings Body+ Tanita RD545
that your newly acquired taste for £90 withings.com £407 tanita.eu
cauliflower steaks and CrossFit is
indeed paying dividends.
Performance •••••••••• Performance ••••••••••
This month’s MH Lab experts,
Design •••••••••• Design ••••••••••
the exercise physiologists at Harley
Ease of use •••••••••• Ease of use ••••••••••
Street’s Centre for Health and Human THE WHOLE PICTURE The trend THE SUM OF ITS PARTS The hand
Performance, reviewed five different screen shows you your previous eight sensor allows segmental analysis,
smart scales, putting each to the weigh-ins, so your willpower won’t which provides results for your torso
test against their clinically graded wobble after one bad day. Meanwhile, and each of your arms and legs. This
InBody machine to see which the nutrition-tracking app helps you is the only scale that offered an all-
produced the most accurate results to set goals and achieve them. important visceral fat reading, too.
for body mass and body composition. EXPERT VERDICT After an easy EXPERT VERDICT The segmental
Digest their results, then invest set-up, this scale worked immediately, analysis, which works in a similar
in your future wellness. giving one of the most accurate way to a clinically graded InBody
readings for body mass (but the least device, is a persuasive selling point,
accurate for body fat percentage). but the feature was let down in our
Still, across most metrics, this was the tests. Inaccurate measurements
most precise, giving consistent results and inconsistency make the price
at an impressive price point. point seem unduly high.

34 MEN’S HEALTH
 15
MADE TO
MEASURE
16
CRITICAL
MASS A
MH
WINNER

NUMBER
GAMES
The CHHP experts
used the following
criteria to find the
best tech for your
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY, STUDIO 33, MICHAEL HEDGE, DAN MATTHEWS, LOUISA PARRY

weight-loss goals

SET-UP
The ability to
connect to the
app and progress
quickly is key.
The kit should
be easy to use.

ACCURACY
SIGNAL FAILURE 69/100 FAMILY MAN 88/100 The MH Lab tested LIGHT IDEAS 93/100
Garmin Index Fitbit Aria 2 the scales to see QardioBase 2
£150 garmin.com how closely their £130 getqardio.com
£120 argos.co.uk results compared
Performance •••••••••• Performance •••••••••• to the InBody Performance ••••••••••
Design •••••••••• Design •••••••••• results used with Design ••••••••••
Ease of use •••••••••• Ease of use •••••••••• elite athletes.
Ease of use ••••••••••
GROUP ON The Garmin Index goes JOINED-UP THINKING Already on the BASIC INSTINCT This US device offers
further than most scales, measuring tracking bandwagon? This scale the same data as the Fitbit but also,
weight, BMI, body fat, bone mass, works well with Fitbit watches and helpfully, readings for bone mineral
water percentage and skeletal muscle wristbands to show how your activity CONSISTENCY density and body water. Qardio claims
The scales were
mass. As many as 16 people can be impacts your weight and map your checked multiple it’s the most accurate smart scale,
“recognised” by the smart scale. progress in easy-to-read charts. times, to make but we’ll be the judge of that.
EXPERT VERDICT The scale couldn’t EXPERT VERDICT Though fairly sure the data is WEIGHT IN GOLD Simple instructions
consistent and can
fully connect with our network, simple to set up through the app, be implemented
made the set-up easy, but this device
making it difficult to take advantage this scale only gave us basic results practically. gives results to the nearest whole
of the full suite of Garmin’s benefits – body mass, BMI, lean mass and number, so they weren’t as precise.
– comments on forums suggest body fat. It was deemed the most However, in our experiment, it lived
that this problem is not uncommon. accurate overall, but keep an eye up to its hype, measuring body fat
With this incomplete set-up, we could out for outlier results, as it was percentage as closely as possible to
only obtain data on body mass. prone to occasional inconsistency. our clinical-grade InBody readings.

MEN’S HEALTH 35
 MH GAME
CHANGERS
WOODWAY
CARVER
PEAK
17
EFFORT
18
ALTITUDE
FITNESS A
TAKE YOUR CARDIO TO NEW HEIGHTS
The Woodway Carver brings an avalanche of stamina-boosting and fat-burning
benefits from the slopes to your gym. MH slaloms through the numbers

E
ven the most ardent iii_
cardiophile will, at
times, experience 7,000
treadmill tedium, In order to perfect
WORDS: BEN WELCH | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | STYLIST: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT | MODEL: CHRISTOPHER WHITLOW AT ANDI PETERS MODELS | TOP CASTORE.COM, SHORTS, TIGHTS AND TRAINERS ALL ADIDAS.CO.UK

stationary bike boredom and the design, thousands

rower restiveness. For all the of practice workouts
variety of modern gyms, those in were completed on
search of new stamina have few the many prototypes.
options. As such, innovations
are hotly anticipated, especially
if they promise to outperform
old equipment across every
fitness parameter – and be iv_
bloody good fun to boot.
Conceived 20 years ago in
the garage of Olympic skier Tim
2.5KM
Third Space City’s
Dudgeon, the Woodway Carver is hypoxic chamber mimics
a ski and snowboard trainer that the high-altitude air of
IRL slopes, taxing your
replicates the alpine sports using lungs and lifting your
rollers on a treadmill. Set in a metabolism – while
hypoxic chamber that mimics making your Carver run
a high-altitude atmosphere (as feel authentically alpine.
it is housed in London’s Third
Space City gym), the Carver WOODWAY CARVER
£POA
will push you to peak fitness WOODWAY.COM
with a fat-burning lower-body
workout. Grab your goggles and
take a deep breath – we’ll see
you for an après-ski shake.

v_

i_
12
8
In his suburban garage,
ii_

Dudgeon created this
many prototypes of his
invention before taking
it into hi-tech production
with Woodway.
800KCAL
By challenging your large,
Challenge yourself to
workouts across 12
different runs from three
lower-body muscles, a
60-minute Carver workout
well-known ski resorts:
can burn around 50kcal Zermatt in Switzerland,
more than a mind-numbing Whistler in Canada and
hour on the rower.
Mount Fuji in Japan.

INTO THIN AIR IMPROVED MOOD FASTER FITNESS ACCELERATED FAT BURN INJURY REHAB
Intermittent hypoxic
Your levels of the feel- Studies suggest that you Hypoxic exercise has also Taxing your cardiovascular
training inside an altitude
good chemicals dopamine can improve anaerobic been shown to supercharge system at a low intensity
chamber has high-
and serotonin quickly performance by 40%, and lipid and glucose metabolism, rebuilds injured muscles
flying health benefits
increase in your brain. aerobic increases by 20%. as well as control appetite. without sacrificing stamina.
 THE BEST
GYMS IN
THE WORLD
KEEP YOUR FITNESS
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
If you’re bored of barbells and want to shake
up your training, look to the Onnit Academy START
for a brand new twist on building strength AT MACE RIGHT
Wolf often begins an
VALUE hour-long session with
If your gym doesn’t have 20 minutes of joint
maces, improvise by

I
mobility exercises: effective
n one corner of a gym in Austin, placing a 5kg weight but not always practical. If
Texas, coach Cristian Plascencia on one side of a barbell. you only have five minutes,
has a client crawling on the turf. Bodyweight moves can he advises rolling around
In another, a broad-shouldered also challenge your body on the floor. Yes, really.
man in his thirties wobbles on a rotationally. In a plank Crawling, crouching and
balance board. Near a SkiErg machine, position, lift your arms off rolling are all important to
an NFL free agent pushes through the ground alternately, our natural functioning.
a series of light kettlebell lunges. keeping your hips still.
Down the hallway, a CrossFit athlete
executes flawless handstands.
The gospel according to Onnit
preaches that you shouldn’t always
lift heavy, and that training with more
than just barbells and dumbbells
will deliver tangible results. Here,
you’ll use maces, clubs and battle
ropes – treated as gimmicks elsewhere
– as training staples, and you’ll feel
and function all the better for it.
Since opening four years ago, Onnit
has established itself as a haven for
innovative training ideas, many of
which are worth integrating into your
own workouts. The key here is rotation:
forget the ups and downs of reps, or the
back-and-forward movements of
sprints. To truly progress, you need
to twist. Unlike the dumbbells and
barbells you typically use, maces and
clubs are heavier on one side, creating
an “offset load”. Fighting to keep them
steady adds rotation to every exercise.
Analysing how you manage this
imbalance reveals your weaknesses.
“We’re looking at these asymmetrical
patterns, asymmetrical loads, and
using them to identify what may
be deficient,” says Onnit’s chief fitness
officer, John Wolf. “If we address
your weakest link, your whole system
will benefit.” Deploy this rotation
philosophy on home soil to become
a complete athlete in weeks.

38 MEN’S HEALTH
 19
ROTATION
POLICY
20
STRONG
POINTS A

BETTER AT
A STROKE
A common misconception
is that rowing is an upper-
body workout. Press away
from the footboard and
contract your quads,
hamstrings and glutes.
Focus on the push-off in
the closing rounds of the
class and you’ll cruise
across the finish line.
WORDS: EBENEZER SAMUEL | PHOTOGRAPHY: RIVER JORDAN | DAVID GRENADA/ONNIT GYM
TRAINING
PARTNERS
It may be in an industrial
park 10 minutes from
downtown Austin, but
this gym counts NHL
stars Jonathan Toews
and Duncan Keith,
Philadelphia Phillies ace
Jake Arrieta, and Seattle
Seahawks safety Earl
Thomas as clients. You’ll
learn from the best.
REST AND
RESET
Build in recovery time
after a tough conditioning
session to dial down
work stress. It stimulates
your parasympathetic
nervous system to relax
muscles and lower your
heart rate, which can be
chronically high in today’s
always-on office culture.

GYM
ONNIT ACADEMY

LOCATION
AUSTIN, TEXAS

WEBSITE
ONNIT.COM

MEN’S HEALTH 39

MAKE RED-HOT
MUSCLE GAINS
Maximise your New Year gains
with an overhaul of your gym
wardrobe. CrossFitters, take
note: red is the new black
Y
ou only have to do a lap of
the gym floor to see that
all-black everything is the
training apparel trend of
the moment. But here at Men’s
Health, we prefer to set the agenda,
rather than to follow it. Besides,
those black sheep are missing
out on a sartorial performance
enhancer. Be bold and opt for red
gymwear, and research suggests
it’s your arms and abs that will
truly stand out from the crowd.
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE | PLATE FROM BULLDOGGEAR.EU, ZIP FROM UNDERARMOUR | *PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE
In a study in Biology Letters,
participants were asked to
rate images of men for
traits such as aggression
and dominance, while
interpreting their
BUILD HEAVYWEIGHT
MUSCLE WITH A RED-
HOT HORMONE BOOST
†JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH
21
BET ON
RED
22
GO T
TOTAL A
emotional states. When pictured
wearing red, the men were
TIME FOR T
consistently perceived as more
dominant than those in blue or grey. Make gains around the clock
They were also rated as appearing with our testosterone spikers
“angry” more often than the others.
As a result, scientists believe that 08.00
seeing yourself in red can trigger Swap pre-workout
similar mental connections, causing coffee with a green
a natural spike in your testosterone. tea. High levels of
Pull on a rouge top and you’ll enjoy caffeine can spike cortisol,
an injection of man’s ultimate which inhibits T release*.
anabolic hormone before leaving
the gym changing room. 13.45
Even a short-term testosterone Brave a cryotherapy
boost is associated with improved chamber after an
physical performance, muscle explosive lunchtime
power, aerobic endurance and faster workout to boost T synthesis†.
recovery times, which explains A cold shower will work, too.
why research shows that sports 18.00
teams wearing red are more likely Reapply your
to win. (Except for Jose’s United, aftershave before
obviously.) Inject some colour dinner. A Japanese
into your sporting wardrobe and study found floral scents up T
score the results you want, faster. levels, aiding muscle recovery.
22.00
Most T is produced
during sleep, so make
it an early night. A
magnesium supp will help you
to drift off, US scientists found.
MUSCLE
NEWSFEED
03/19
 Cover Model Muscle
Chris Hemsworth

FOR HEMSWORTH, FEELING

GOOD IS PARAMOUNT –
LOOKING GOOD IS A BONUS

He’s one of the most highly paid, generously muscled and

envied actors in the world. But Chris Hemsworth is a man
who wears his prodigiousness lightly. Men’s Health kicked
back with the Avengers star at his home in Australia to
discover the secret of his success. The answer? Humility
Interview by Ben Jhoty – Photography by Steven Chee
 s ice-cool,
superhero Norse deities go, you’re
renowned for not taking life too
seriously. Has your upbringing helped
you to stay grounded?
CH: I had an amazing childhood and
lovely, brilliant parents. They shaped who
I am. Dad worked in child protection –
a selfless line of work that says so much
about someone’s character. He always
had a strong sense of right and HEMSWORTH TRAINS
wrong, standing up for the most HARD, BUT WORKS JUST
vulnerable among us. AS HARD AT RECOVERY
As kids, my two brothers and
I were hugely athletic, so we were always
outdoors, kicking a football, riding
motorbikes, surfing together, or playing
water polo. We didn’t live in a suburban
setting; our nearest neighbour was a
couple of miles away in the Dandenongs,
east of Melbourne. We fought like all
siblings do, but mostly we had the same
enthusiasms, interests and hobbies. And
we were there for each other in times of
need. Something I’m very aware of is that
I wanted to have kids young, so I’d be
athletic enough to keep up with them.
At a guess, that isn’t yet a problem
you’ve experienced too often.
Well, maybe sometimes [laughs]. You
should meet my son…
Both you and your younger brother,
Liam, were up for the lead part in the
original Thor film. Does healthy sibling
rivalry extend to the roles you pursue?
For a while, that was the go-to story. I had
a conversation with Liam about it recently,
because it makes us sound like we’re these We had a healthy dose of that. But so I helped him out. Somehow, there
macho bastards who are battling all the when it came to something like acting, emerged this story of intense rivalry,
time. People always gravitate towards there was so much fragility, so much but none of that was true.
the more shocking stories, so they ask vulnerability and anxiety, that you After Star Trek (2009), your breakout STYLING: CHARLOTTE STOKES I GROOMING: SARAH TAMMER | TOP ADIDAS,
me, “Hang on, you guys used to have wouldn’t dare Hollywood movie, the phone didn’t ring
fights with ninja stars, chasing each other
around with saws?” And, um, yeah – but
“I thought I’d pull one another
down because,
for eight months. How did you deal with
the pressure and uncertainty?
who didn’t? It was becoming a cliché. My have to go to trust me, you do I was about to quit. I always wanted to
dad said that we were making it sound like enough of that act, and one of the first things I wanted
we grew up in the Dark Ages. Australia and yourself, you to do when I got any money was to pay
So, yes, we’re competitive people, but
ask Home and know? Self- my parents’ house off. I’d once asked Dad
SHORTS BILLABONG, TRAINERS NIKE

no more so with each other than with
anyone else. I watch my kids now down
at their primary school, and it’s a case
of “Who can jump higher?” or “Who can
run faster?” It’s in our nature. In some
ways more than in others, absolutely.
bashing. I do,
Away for a gig” anyway. And I
know that Liam
and [eldest brother] Luke do, as well. A
lot of artists suffer from that. So, they’ve
only ever been supportive. This was the
process with Thor: I auditioned but I
didn’t get it at first; Liam was auditioning,
when he thought he’d pay it off and he
said, “Honestly? Probably never.” Most
people are in that boat and, for whatever
reason, I’d set my mind on changing that.
So, I was super-active with auditions.
Then, during that eight-month period,

44 MEN’S HEALTH
 Cover Model Muscle

THE CHRIS satisfying about

deadlifts. When I
Chris Hemsworth

HEMSWORTH Favourite
exercise?
do them, I use very
light weights. And Last book you
PLAYBOOK Bear crawls on
a Tabata protocol.
distance running:
I find steady-state
recommended?
Some poetry by
You get movement cardio work mind- Charles Bukowski: Most men would relate to that.
in all your joints, numbingly boring. it’s heavy and dark, But we all still need to be reminded of
which you don’t but it can make me it. I still need reminding. My wife will
get from running laugh because it’s probably read this and say, “Hang on!
or lifting weights. so in your face. That wasn’t you yesterday!” [Laughs.]
The advantage is That was kind of the genesis of this app…
Workout
the mobility. It’s a The Centr wellness app that you’ve
anthem?
core exercise, and created with your wife, Elsa Pataky?
It really depends
your heart rate is Yeah, absolutely. The whole thing was
on my mood. Cheat meal?
elevated. You’re about not becoming stagnant. That’s
I often have Pizza: ham and
working your legs, when your emotional and physical
mellow music on pineapple or
shoulders, arms problems occur, I think. Initially, when
when I’m training. pepperoni.
– they’re all the app idea came up, I didn’t want to
It’s almost like
incorporated. And do anything that had been done before.
meditation. The
there’s no impact. I wanted to create something that
Teskey Brothers
Anyone between embodied the three main elements of
– they’re my All-time hero?
five and 80 can healthy living – movement, nutrition and
favourite band Growing up, I would
do it: there’s no mindfulness. That’s a first, I think. For
of all time. They constantly watch
pressure at all. If me to do a great job on screen and not to
are locals from Kelly Slater’s surf
I pick up injuries, implode from the anxiety or the pressure,
Melbourne. Their movies. But he’s
I’ll do this a lot. I’ve got to find that centre. So I thought
mother was the a mate now, so he
about it, talked to my wife, and I was, like,
midwife at my can’t be my hero:
“We could put together a team of people
brother Liam’s that’d be creepy.
in about five minutes!” It actually ended
birth. I can’t get
Least favourite up being a two-year journey, but very
sick of their music.
exercise? quickly I could point to people within
Deadlifts. They’re my reach who’d taught me so much. I’m
hard on my back. Life motto? always getting asked: what’s the secret
I wish I could do “Do stuff, be nice, formula? The truth is that there’s no
them more easily, have fun.” My mum single answer. It’s about staying open to
because there’s and some mates advice, learning and constantly growing.
something very have it tattooed. Do you think the app will help men
Good, isn’t it? become more active?
I hope so. I remember this quote by Mark
Manson [author of The Subtle Art of
Not Giving a F*ck]: “Movement creates
motivation.” Rather than sitting around,
waiting for motivation to occur, take the
first step, take that initiative. Get involved
in something, and there’s a snowball
effect. You’ll find motivation. Once I’m
in the midst of training and staying
healthy in mind and body, it becomes an
I became more and more anxious, to the released in 2012]. I got the job, and from addiction. But that first step is the hardest.
point where I couldn’t harness or use that there I got Red Dawn. Then I got Thor. Get up, move, then it will follow.
energy. It was all to my detriment. I was So, shifting the focus away from yourself Many men struggle to find the time to
trying to convince myself I wasn’t nervous was the key to moving forward? work out as much as they’d like. Does
before auditions, rather than just grabbing Yeah. It was about looking a little deeper Centr help with that?
hold of the part. I was at the stage where and asking, “What is this fear based We’re all terrible at time management.
I was thinking, “I’m going to go back to on? What is it trying to tell me?” And People always ask me, “How do you find
Australia. I’m going to knock on Home and analysing that. Getting away from the the time?” Well, calculate how many
Away’s door and ask them for a gig.” “Poor me!” scenario, which is massively minutes of the day you spend scrolling
Then, my mentality changed. It was unhealthy. Beating yourself up after the on your phone. Hours, right? So, are you
right before Christmas. I had one more event because you screwed up [doesn’t telling me you can’t find 20-30 minutes a
audition, and I just thought: “Do this for work]. You can’t control that. When day to work out? You’re lying to yourself.
Dad’s house. Think about reasons other the fear comes, it’s easy to think that You just chose to watch TV instead.
than yourself.” When you’re constantly everything depends on a single moment. You clearly don’t struggle much when it
self-analysing, it’s ultimately a selfish But nothing does. No single moment comes to packing on muscle for certain
endeavour. That audition was for The ever defines your journey. I’ve found
Cabin in the Woods [filmed in 2009 but it comforting to let go a bit and think,
“I’ll do my portion of it, but maybe life
or nature has a plan.”

MEN’S HEALTH 45
 Cover Model Muscle
Chris Hemsworth

FORM AND
roles. If you know you have to bulk FUNCTION
up, what do you focus on, in terms
“In the past year, Chris has
of training and eating?
focused on functional moves
I did struggle the first time around.
with bodyweight and weighted
Before Thor, I was always much
exercises,” says Luke Zocchi,
leaner. A lot of my training was
Hemsworth’s trainer and
cardio-based – surfing, flexibility
friend. “And he has reduced
work. So, the first eight months or so
his gym time by cutting out
were brutal. Now, I feel like I could
rest periods. It’s surprising
do it in eight weeks. It’s just down
how challenging functional
to muscle memory and smarter
exercises can be, even without
training. The knowledge
heavy weights. He now moves
you acquire is so important. TRUE WELLBEING, SAYS
HEMSWORTH, STARTS better in everyday life and has
I was doing it completely
WITH SELF-MOTIVATION improved his core strength.”
wrong at first. Back then, I
Employ Hemsworth’s workout
just ate huge steaks, chicken breasts
for a mobility overhaul worthy
and broccoli – and I didn’t feel great.
of an Asgardian thunder god.
These days, I eat a lot more plant-
based foods, and I feel much better.
I’m also more aware of listening
to my body and resting. Stress is
a huge issue. If I’m travelling too
much or my head is busy, my body 01\ BEAR CRAWL
doesn’t change shape or respond to 20SEC ON, 10SEC OFF FOR 2MIN
what I’m trying to get it to do.
You’re 35 now, but with the likes
of Jason Statham, Hugh Jackman
and the Rock still punching hard,
the window for male action heroes 02\ SIT-THROUGH
seems to be staying open for much 10 REPS EACH SIDE
longer. Are their careers something
you hope to emulate?
On certain days, when I’ve had a few
injuries – and I had quite a few during
Thor – it can start to become a drag, 03\ L-SIT PULL-UP
10 REPS
you know? But over the past year or so,
I changed up a lot of my training and
nutrition programme, and I feel the
best I’ve ever felt. So, if you’d asked
me that 12 months ago, I would have
said that I’m already over it, but I feel
04\ BODYWEIGHT SQUAT
20 REPS
great at the moment. With films, it’s
about whether the story interests me,
to be totally honest. You work hard
on a movie; there are so many people
involved, so many hours, so many
05\ DUMBBELL REVERSE
years of work. And so, when it comes
LUNGE AND CURL
and goes and doesn’t work, I’d be lying 10 REPS EACH SIDE
if I said it wasn’t disappointing.
Do you miss your twenties, in terms
of your physical ability?
I used to be able to get up and sprint.
But I’ve found that, after lifting 06\ DUMBBELL PUSH-UP
weights for so long and not getting in AND ROW
touch with my fast-twitch fibres, the 10 REPS EACH SIDE
snappiness that my body had [has
gone]. In the dads’ race at my kid’s
school last year, I hadn’t sprinted in

07\ DUMBBELL BURPEE

CURL AND PRESS
10 REPS
 Cover Model Muscle
Chris Hemsworth

NOW 35, HEMSWORTH

MAINTAINS HIS PHYSIQUE
BY TRAINING SMARTER

about five years – then, boom, you go and To what extent do you feel pressure
do a 100m sprint at full pelt. My back was to maintain the body that made you
cranked for weeks. [Incidentally, he won.] famous? And how does that influence myself. [When I figured that out] that’s
There are ways around it: training your relationship with exercise? when things started to change. I felt
differently, reminding your body to do It’s not so much about being famous. happier, and my work got better. It’s an
those things, basic maintenance. But when It’s more that the roles I’ve taken on interesting one: if you try to emulate
you’re in your twenties, you’re constantly have shaped my physique. It just goes the people who inspire you, you’re not
moving. At school, you’re hand in hand with the parts being true to yourself. You can allow for
kicking the footy at
lunchtime; after school, “I’ve learned to I play. But occasionally, I’ll see
paparazzi poking out of the
inspiration on step one, I guess. But the
real work comes with asking, “Who am I?”
you’re playing sport. I have
two state medals for hurdles,
stop thinking bushes and I’m, like, “How’s
my rig look? Am I on point,
As toxic as it can be to think about yourself
constantly and analyse all this stuff, it
silver and bronze. I made about who I or have I slacked off lately?” forced me to wonder, “Maybe there’s not
state a couple of times in the
200m and I loved it. But I
have to be, and [Laughs.] Also, I maintain
my fitness simply because it
enough truth here. Am I denying part
of myself here?” I really think there’s a
tried to sprint recently and to be myself” makes me feel better. lightness to the way I approach things
my mate was like, “You kind Finally, in the decade or now. I certainly have less angst. I’m more
of look awkward. What are you doing?” I so since you landed in Hollywood, comfortable and more confident in saying
need to do some more sprint work, I guess. how would you say you’ve grown, as no. It used to be a case of, “This could
It just hurts. Running is painful. I don’t do an actor and as a man? be my last chance!” Now, I kind of go,
a lot of running for that reason. I’d rather I’ve become more comfortable in my “I think it’s going to be alright.”
have mobility in my body from surfing skin. And I’ve stopped trying to think Hemsworth’s app Centr is accessible via iOS
and get that fluidity that I enjoy. about who I have to be, or what kind of app, Apple watch and online at centr.com
personality I need to have to succeed
in this business. I’ve learned to truly be

MEN’S HEALTH 49

03
SECONDS TO SNIFF
OUT THE CURE FOR A
RECEDING HAIRLINE
A
s many as 45% of men
experience male pattern
baldness before the age of
35. Sure, some men – such as
a certain Mr Statham – can pull off
a grade one but, for others, it results
in a severe confidence knock that
can even lead to body dysmorphia.
Yet there’s an alternative to the
£10,000 “full-Rooney” transplant.
While you now rely on unguents
and creative styling, new research
suggests that a simple tweak to
your grooming routine could
breathe new life into your hairline.
50 MEN’S HEALTH
Scientists at the University
of Manchester found that hair
growth is promoted by the smell
of sandalwood, which imbues
a lingering, rich base to Oriental
fragrances. Because of its high
concentration of olfactory
receptors, the nose is, of course,
the region of the body that is
most closely associated with
scent, but similar receptors are
found in the skin around your hair
follicles. Here, cells produce an
olfactory receptor called OR2AT4,
which plays a vital role in many
A NEW, FRAGRANT WAY
TO REFOREST YOUR
THINNING HAIRLINE
physiological responses, including
the promotion of follicle growth.
When the researchers submerged
hair follicle cells in a synthetic
sandalwood odorant, they found
a 25-30% increase in the secretion
of growth hormone, enough to
stimulate a hirsute response. To
beat your top-line recession, keep
a new bottle of Aesop’s Marrakech
Intense (£60 aesop.com) in your
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES
desk drawer and take a few seconds
to freshen up before work drinks.
Two sprays will do it. But remember,
for everyone’s sake, less is more.

15
MINUTES TO RAISE
HGH AND ACHIEVE
PEAK MUSCLE GAIN
E
xpect to see hypoxic
chambers in your gym soon,
as they cross over from
the professional to the
recreational athlete. They work by
simulating the lower oxygen levels
of high altitudes, promising to
elevate your endurance and shift
your calorie burn up a gear. Now,
new research suggests that they
can give your strength gains a lift,
too: reducing your supply of O2
could be the fastest way to spike
your levels of growth hormone,
which means it’s well worth out-
muscling the lean long-distance
athletes hogging the valuable real
estate inside the chamber.
Sports scientists asked test
subjects to complete the same
workout twice – once in a “normal”
BREATHE SOME
NEW LIFE INTO YOUR
WEIGHT TRAINING
atmosphere with 21%
oxygen, then again in a
far thinner atmosphere with just
13% oxygen concentration –
equivalent to
an altitude of 3.7km. Subjects
completed five sets of 14 reps of
bench presses and leg presses
at 50% of their one-rep max,
resting 60 seconds between sets.
While the subjects reported no
difference in fatigue – which,
crucially, means they can train at
the same intensity and complete
the same volume of work – levels
of HGH in their blood sky-rocketed
when they trained in hypoxia.
Once released, HGH stimulates
your liver to make IGF-1, which
triggers the growth and repair of
muscle tissue. So, take a barbell
into the chamber and spend 15
minutes working through big
compound lifts such as deadlifts
and squats for the maximum
benefit. You’ll return to sea level
with new heights of strength.
MEN’S HEALTH 51

45
MINUTES TO TALK
YOUR WAY TO A 15%
ENDURANCE BOOST
TO CLOCK UP YOUR BEST
RESULTS, BE YOUR OWN
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
I
n the 1990s, researchers
confirmed what many already
believed: an athlete’s strength
and endurance rise with
encouragement. It’s why training
with a partner increases your
likelihood of lifting a PB. It’s also
why the camaraderie of a workout
class can keep you running on
fumes. When you’re pounding
the pavement at dawn, however,
encouragement can be hard to
come by – and it’s precisely at this
moment that science says you
need a good talking to.
Bangor University researchers
sounded out a simple solution by
taking two groups of test subjects
and measuring the length of time
for which they were able to exercise
at 80% of their max power output.
Over the following two weeks, one
group was taught a number of
phrases its members could use to
encourage themselves, alongside
the protocols for using them. The
other group was taught nothing.
When they repeated the test,
members of the self-talk group
improved by an average of 15%
on their previous times.
There seems to be no right or
wrong thing to say, but in much the
same way as former Mr Olympia
Ronnie Coleman shouts, “Light
weight!” before pressing 100kg
overhead, the self-talk focused on
perceived exertion and persuading
your brain that the exercise was
entirely manageable. So, remind
yourself that this morning’s run is
easier than last week’s, before
taunting the hill at kilometre six as
“Easy work!” You’ll edge ever closer
to the hallowed 40-minute 10K,
no extra morning runs required.

06
WEEKS TO DROP SOME
BELLY FAT AND RELIVE
YOUR 1ST XV PRIME
M
aintaining an overhaul of
both your exercise and
your eating plans is no
mean feat. Go all in on a
new gym routine and your ensuing
hunger will know no bounds – a
problem when you’re training for
weight loss. Science, however,
suggests a solution: it’s time to
dust off your old rugby boots.
By embracing the spirit of the
Six Nations and spending your
Sundays on the pitch (and in
the clubhouse bar afterwards,
watching the games), you’ll be
better able to fend off any wobbles
in your willpower. Researchers at
Cornell University discovered that
exercising for fun – for sporting
glory, say, rather than performing
monotonous dumbbell reps – can
counter-intuitively make you far
less prone to overeating.
The scientists led volunteers on
a 1.4-mile walk, telling half of the
subjects that the purpose was
exercise, while selling it to the
rest as a scenic stroll. After the
excursion, they were all offered a
selection of snacks. Intriguingly,
TIME
OUT-THINK WEIGHT
GAIN WITH OLD-
SCHOOL TRAINING
though the two groups had exerted
themselves to the same degree,
the exercise set consumed 124%
more calories than those who
thought they had walked for fun.
The exercise group had somehow
developed a larger perceived
energy-expenditure debt, which
they quickly sought to balance.
Even if your rugger renaissance
only lasts for the weeks of the
tournament, that’s enough time to
tackle your weight-loss goals and
reboot your resolve to stick to any
eating plan for months to come.
Think of it as the crash-ball diet.
MEN’S HEALTH 53
 It’s an age-old problem:
a training plan that
seemed so exciting in
January already feels
boring four weeks
later. But don’t throw
in the sweat towel –
WORDS BY MEN’S HEALTH EDITORS
instead, keep both
your body and mind
signed up to year-
long fitness using our
prospectus of the UK’s
smartest, toughest
and most enjoyable
group workouts. Don’t
be late for class, now
01
DIVE STRAIGHT IN
Open Water Swimming, Tuesdays at 5.30pm with Paul
Outdoor swimming in Yorkshire isn’t for
the faint of heart, but it’ll certainly burn off
a layer or two of extra padding – or freeze off,
rather. Fortunately, wetsuits are provided.
The Scaling Dam club was recently accredited
by Sh2out – affiliates of British Triathlon –
but you don’t need Brownlee-level skills to
take part. Classes cater to everyone from
Channel swimmers to shivering beginners.
Scaling Dam Sailing Club, North Yorkshire, scalingdam.org

02STRONG AND
SHREDDED
Shred, Wednesdays
at 6pm with Olly
Defying the purists, who
insist that conditioning and
strength should be trained
separately, DW’s standout
session makes you use your
recovery period between
compound lifts to complete
quick-fire HIIT moves. The
result is an intense class with
a high-megawatt calorie burn.
DW Fitness First, Bath,
dwfitnessfirst.com
03PLAY TIME
Adult Parkour, Wednesdays
at 7pm with Craig and Frazer
Parkour is now recognised as
a sport, though this is a workout
for your inner child as much as
your muscles. In this class, you’ll
run, jump and crawl in an indoor
playground made of scaffolding,
springboards and foam pits.
Fluidity Freerun
Academy, Cardiff,
fluidityfreerunacademy.co.uk
04TRIPLE EFFECT
Formula 3, Fridays at
7.45am with Luke
For the City boy who wants
to squeeze in the maximum
benefit, we suggest a morning
with Luke. His three-part class
fuses rower, dumbbell and
bodyweight moves for stamina,
strength and power – in 50
minutes of intensive exertion.
Third Space City, London,
thirdspace.london
56 MEN’S HEALTH
05THE OG
Full-Body, Saturdays at
8.45am with Faisal
Barry’s Bootcamp is the true
pioneer of the often replicated
“cardio intervals plus floor
work” formula. But this is no
run-of-the-treadmill class.
A session with top trainer
Faisal is the ultimate weekend
energiser, certain to leave you
pumped up, not burned out.
Barry’s Bootcamp, London
West, barrysbootcamp.com
06FEEL THE BURN
Heat, Thursdays at 7am
with Luis
Before “metcon” became
a Nike trainer, it was a method
of training your body to make
better use of its energy reserves
for optimum performance –
a promise that this class
fulfils. You’ll blend Skillmill
drills with quick, functional
movements. Expect to leave
the room 1,000kcal lighter.
Virgin Active, Mansion House,
London, virginactive.co.uk
07GUT PUNCH
HIIT 45, Mondays at 7.15am
with Jamie
Come out swinging with
a viciously effective combo
that will keep you burning
calories and building muscle:
strength movements and
punchbag work. Jamie is
a martial arts supremo, so
you will get a powerful hit
of technique to boot, while
pummelling away some of
that Monday morning angst.
Another Space Bank, London,
anotherspace.london
08STRETCH
YOURSELF
Power Flow, Thursdays
at 6pm with Fi
Come for the dynamic,
fitness-focused yoga. Stay for
the spine-tingling playlists and
cinematic visuals. Sessions are
developed to lift your strength
and mobility, not merely your
serenity – and the mountain
ranges, dense forests and
crashing swells certainly help.
Fly LDN, London, flyldn.co.uk
09CLIMB HIGH
Adult Improvers, Saturdays
at 2pm with Neill
Free weekend? Rock up to
the largest indoor climbing
facility in Europe to hone your
technique with two sessions 10
each lasting two hours. The
first part runs through the RUN FOR
basics and corrects your
existing bad habits. Then, your
coach arms you with smart
THE HILLS
Parkrun, Saturdays at 9am,
energy-saving tactics. You’ll
leave fully equipped for both with various volunteers
the walls and the wilds.
Edinburgh International
11BIKE AND BUZZ
Climbing Arena,
edinburghleisure.co.uk
Cycling Club, Sundays
at 9.30am with various
Meet for a swift espresso at
Proper’s café-cum-bike shop
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, GRAHAM MORRIS, SEBASTIAN
in West Sussex, then set off
on a scenic tour of 30-70 miles.
Routes vary, but expect a good
mix of conversation-pace flats
and lung-testing hills, as well
BARROS PHOTOGRAPHY, CHRIS PARKES
as a few photo-worthy coastal
paths. Plus, groups are split
into faster and slower riders,
so you won’t risk being left
behind – or held back.
Proper Cycling & Coffee,
Hassocks, West Sussex,
propercycling.co.uk
 33 BEST FITNESS CLASSES

14SAFETY IN 17BLAZE A TRAIL

NUMBERS
Powerlifting Club,
Wednesdays at 6pm
with Jack
Heavy lifts, squats and
presses form the backbone
of any successful training
programme and have
crossover benefits to every
other exercise in the gym. They
can also be bloody intimidating.
This club was designed to give
beginners confidence under
a barbell, but also provides the
necessary tweaks to help you
hit big numbers for those PBs.
UFit, Cardiff, ufit-fitness.com
Blaze, Thursdays at 6.30pm
with Graeme
This might be a chain-gym
class, but the experience is
very much boutique. The
purpose-built Blaze studios are
dimly lit, with a well-curated
playlist and large screens to
display your heart rate via a
Myzone monitor. Workouts
combine martial-arts tekkers
with treadmill intervals and
strength moves, pushing you
to 90%-plus of your max effort.
You’ll have nowhere to hide.
David Lloyd Clubs, Edinburgh,
davidlloyd.co.uk

The world’s best and most democratic running

club now operates in hundreds of locations 15TAKE FLIGHT
nationwide. For better views than you’re likely to Power Ride, Tuesdays at
1.10pm with Richard
find in your local park, head to the Yorkshire coast: Your average spin class, this
on this 5K route, you’ll depart from the grounds of is not. With each bike linked
Sewerby Hall, run down to the cliff tops, then along to a large screen behind the
instructor, you will be coached
the seafront in a scenic loop. Bring a woolly hat. according to your level of effort
Sewerby Hall & Gardens, Bridlington, parkrun.org.uk and be awarded a final score,
which will push you to pedal
hard for the sake of your pride.

12KO BOREDOM 13PUT ON A SHOW H2 Soho, London,

TC60, Mondays at 6.30pm
with Luke
No two sessions are ever the
same at this sociable, no-frills
gym, set up by boxer Tommy
Coyle. Over the course of
an hour, head trainer Luke
will take you through an
ever-shifting circuit of cardio,
strength training and bag work.
The academy offers free
classes for young people, too,
earning it nice-guy kudos.
Tommy Coyle Academy, Hull,
tommycoylefoundation.org
Lucha Monday, Mondays at
7.30pm with Greg and Garry
Do most workouts make
you feel like you’ve been there,
lifted that and bought the
logo tee? Then this is the class
for you. Combining acrobatic
Mexican techniques with some
nifty American moves and
Japanese methodology,
this three-hour beginner’s
wrestling session promises to
boost not only your strength
and fitness, but your creativity.
London School of Lucha
Libre, Bethnal Green,
londonschoolofluchalibre.com
stagesindoorcycling.co.uk
16WARM UP
Hotpod Flow, Fridays at
5.30pm with Alex
If the popularity of mobility
training has taught us anything,
it’s that there’s a lot more to
yoga than deep breathing and
connecting with your spirit
animal. Classes are conducted
in 37°C pods, affording your
muscles greater flexibility to
correct any performance-
hindering tightness.
Hotpod Yoga, Newcastle upon
Tyne, hotpodyoga.com
18NO CHOKE
Beginners BJJ, Fridays at
6.30pm with Luiz
Get to grips with Brazilian
jiu-jitsu the way it’s meant to be
– humbling, in a gi and under
the tutelage of a practised
expert, head coach Luiz.
UFC and BJJ superstars are
regulars, but white-belted
beginners are welcome, too.
London Fight Factory, London,
londonfightfactory.com

MEN’S HEALTH 57
33 BEST FITNESS CLASSES
19WILD WAYS
Wild Training HIIT, Sundays
at 10am with Simon
Enter the pain cave… or,
as they call it, the “Muscle
Tunnel”: the gym’s outdoor
training area, furnished
with a calisthenics rig, lifting
logs and kegs. By challenging
your body with unfamiliar
movements, it’ll deliver a
far bigger fat burn.
Wild Training, High Wycombe,
wildtraining.co.uk
20NINJA THIS
Burn It, Fridays at 9am
with Tyler
Big Friday planned? Launch
a pre-emptive strike on fat with
a brief but ruthlessly effective
session from Tyler “the One-
Legged Ninja” Saunders, a
former wheelchair basketball
player. His half-hour HIIT class
works on full-body strength,
while torching ample calories.
PureGym, Borehamwood,
Hertfordshire, puregym.com
21GET ON TRACK
Track Life, Mondays at
6.30pm with Rory and Omar
Spearheading a new trend
for high-tempo track running,
the coaches fuse palpable
enthusiasm and expertise to
improve your technique with
pro-grade drills, before pushing
your engine into new gears
with runs ranging between
100m and a full mile.
Track Life LDN, Battersea,
London, tracklifeldn.com
22TOP START
Olympic Weightlifting Club,
Saturdays at 1.30pm with Jon
The progression from
squatting excellence to snatch
proficiency is one of training’s
quantum leaps. Thankfully,
FSI has created a lifting
programme for beginners.
Take your first steps and reps
here and progress in weeks.
Functional Strength Institute,
North Shields, Tyne and Wear,
fsigym.com
58 MEN’S HEALTH
23HEAVYWEIGHT
MUSCLE BUILDER
Lower Body, Wednesdays
at 5.45pm with Ollie
That the setting is as far from
a spit’n’sawdust boxing gym
as you can get doesn’t come
at the expense of knockout
coaching at Kobox. Here,
you’ll drill the fundamentals of
boxing with the “1-6” punching
system, before you switch to
your wall station to undergo
a series of heart-pumping
exercises. That’s round one.
You’ll do three more…
Kobox Marylebone,
koboxlondon.com
24THE FULL 45
Hollywood, Fridays at
6.30am with Adam
The Australian group-
training powerhouse has
become a major player in
the UK. And now, it has an
unlikely but mighty ally, with
England rugby’s James
Haskell opening its latest
facility in Bath city centre.
Expect an exhausting but
hugely effective blend of
strength, agility and HIIT, for
a session that will burn more
calories than any average
spin class – and is much
more enjoyable, too.
F45, Bath, f45training.co.uk
25RING WORK
False Grip, Mondays at
6.15pm with Mark
For the strong, ultra-cut
physique of a GB gymnast,
develop your performance
on the Olympic rings. Moves
such as rows and press-ups
will ensure that you build
an unshakeable core.
Gymbox, Cannon Street,
gymbox.com
26STRONG STUFF
WIT Strength Club,
Saturdays 1pm with Rob
WIT calls this class a blend
of “compound movements and
accessory work for improved
strength and stabilisation” –
but we call it the elite way to
get a supreme (yet functional)
weekend pump. Let’s hope it’s
T-shirt weather soon.
WIT Training, London,
wit-training.com
27FLY THE FLAG
Calisthenics, Mondays
at 6pm with Alex
Dispensing with heavy
weights doesn’t mean you’ll be
easing up. During your time on
the rig, you’ll learn to master
your bodyweight while working
towards moves such as
muscle-ups, levers and
planches, under the tutelage
of “chief monkey” Alex Quinn.
A defined six-pack is one likely
side effect – but the real
reward is how smug you’ll
feel with your results.
Starks Fitness, Temple Quay,
Bristol, starksfitness.co.uk
28MIDDAY REBOOT
Lunch Break Yoga,
Wednesdays at
12.30pm with J
By cutting class time to 45
minutes and designing a flow
that recharges the mind and
reinvigorates the body, this is
a perfect lunch-hour antidote
to any stressful morning.
Gym & Juice, Manchester,
gymandjuiceuk.com
29TRI HARDER
Develop Front Crawl,
Thursdays at 8.30pm
with Cedric
Expert triathlon coaches
take you through an eight-
week programme that will help
you master the front crawl,
honing your technique for
improved speed and economy
on race day. Swim it to win.
Nuffield Health, Shoreditch,
London, swimfortri.co.uk
30
ESCAPE TO
THE COUNTRY
Burn, Saturdays at 9.30am
with Tom and Andrew
Farm Fitness is no
ordinary bootcamp.
In the bucolic Essex
countryside, Tom Kemp
has transformed his
family farm into a lifter’s
paradise. Over an hour-
long session, you’ll work
in small teams to push
each other through a
fun, efficient full-body
workout – think pressing
logs overhead, flipping
tyres and deadlifting
quad bikes. There are
free weights, too, but
who needs those?
Farm Fitness, Essex, farmfitness.co.uk
31OLYMPIC
SUCCESS
Olympic Lifting, Saturdays
at 9am with Chris and Adam
If you want to iron out
chinks in your barbell game,
stop in at ISC. Classes focus
solely on Olympic lifts: the
snatch and the clean and jerk.
We’ll see you on the platform.
Ipswich Strength &
Conditioning, Suffolk,
iscgym.co.uk
32ROWING
STRONGER
Grow Signature, Wednesdays
at 7am with Ben
The WaterRowers at Grow
are both therapeutic (due
to the sound of real water)
and devilish (well… it’s still a
rower). Between sprints, you’ll
score boatloads of muscle
definition with resistance
moves. Unique and effective.
Grow, London,
growfitness.co.uk
33FLIP YOUR
TRAINING
Freestyle Gymnastics,
Thursdays at 8.30pm with
various coaches
It’s hard not to feel inspired
at the home of Team GB’s
most successful gymnast
ever, Max Whitlock. Here,
you’re given free rein to use the
elite-level facilities, whether
you’re attempting your first ring
muscle-up or somersaulting
your way to Tokyo 2020.
South Essex Gymnastics Club,
Basildon, southessexgym.co.uk
MEN’S HEALTH 59
Pleasures
Of
The
Flesh The 100% carnivorous,
veg-be-damned diet is the apex of new extreme-
eating trends. Its followers claim that weeding out
plant foods can rebalance our appetites, restore
vitality and even reverse chronic illnesses – while
its detractors say it’s deleterious.
But could it work for you?
WORDS BY RICHARD GODWIN – PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASMIN SCHULLER
 COULD MEAT REPLACE ALL
OF YOUR DAILY STAPLES? WE
GIVE THE FACTS A LICKING
T
his is a story about human carnivores –
people who believe that the best diet is
one comprised only of meat. No bread, no
roast potatoes. No Caprese salads, no kale.
Not even cheeseburgers. Just animal flesh.
Or, in the case of Canadian psychologist
Jordan B Peterson, 56, and his daughter
Mikhaila, 26, just beef, salt, water – and
the occasional glass of bourbon.
“I know how ridiculous it sounds,”
Mikhaila conceded, when challenged
about her eating habits by a reporter last
summer. But she credits her diet with
easing the debilitating autoimmune
conditions, depression and fatigue that
had made her life a misery since she was
a teenager. Her father, too, claims he has
lost more than 20kg since following his
daughter’s lead and says he now feels
magnificent, even if it’s as “dull as hell”.
This is also a story about science
and ideology, carbs and fat, and the
line between healthy scepticism and
conspiracy theory. But it begins
with a few people
slowly coming to
the conclusion
“The diet challenges
that the standard everything we’ve
nutritional advice
– that you need
been taught over the
fibre, your five past half-century”
a day, your daily
bread – isn’t working for them.
“Those who were going carnivore 10
years ago did so because they’d been
chronically sick,” says 51-year-old Shawn
Baker. A former orthopaedic surgeon
based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Baker
now sells books and diet plans to would-be
carnivores. He has recently noticed a
surge of interest among men who aspire
to his apex-predator physique – he’s built
like a cartoon henchman – but he tells
me that carnivory initially developed as
a niche diet for people who found eating
“normally” made them feel awful. “They’d
usually tried everything. They had been
vegetarian and vegan. They had been on
all kinds of medication. This was the only
thing that worked for them.”
62 MEN’S HEALTH
500g
The weekly limit of red
meat advised by the NHS.
Carnivores eat closer
to 800g a day
One thing the internet has done is
allow people with niche interests to find
one another. The carnivore “community”
mostly came together on the Reddit
forums r/zerocarb and r/carnivore.
A computer scientist named Amber
O’Hearn has blogged extensively about
the subject at empiri.ca for the best part
of a decade. Her strapline is: “Eat meat.
Not too little. Mostly fat.” (A nice spin
on Michael Pollan’s advice: “Eat food.
Not too much. Mostly plants.”)
That Baker was struck off the medical
register in 2017 likely doesn’t help his
cause. Nevertheless, he is careful to stress
that the diet is not for everyone, and he
encourages anyone interested in trialling
it to do their own research. “It challenges
what we’ve been taught about nutrition
over the past half-century or so,” he says.
Fa i t h a n d M e d i c i n e
When you mention the carnivore diet to
an omnivore or herbivore, their reactions
tend to fall somewhere between scepticism
and anger. And understandably so: our
hogwash-o-meters are on high alert when
it comes to celebrity-endorsed miracle
cures, and “Jordan Peterson’s Cow Plan”
sounds like the bullshit bullseye.
That Peterson, a controversy-courting
author and public speaker, is often
portrayed as some
sort of alt-right
troll (not entirely
fairly, but it’s not
ungrounded,
either) makes the
diet sound as if
it has ideological
roots, too. After all, if veganism is
associated in the popular imagination as some kind of political movement, like
with environmentalism, progressive it’s an alt-right thing,” he says. “But that’s
causes, the left, femininity and not what I’m seeing at all.”
compassion, carnivory must surely stand Most of the British carnivores I speak to
for the opposite, right? It sounds like a are shy about discussing their diets. Their
parody diet for climate-change-denying, friends think they’re mad. Many of them
coal-rolling, gun-toting, toxically have scientific backgrounds. Intriguingly,
masculine gammons. Such is the age we many used to be vegans, having tried
live in: nothing can just stand for itself. various food-elimination regimens to
Certainly, we all know people who address illness or weight gain. Colin, 38,
think it’s hilarious to taunt vegans. At is a single father of two who manages
the Conservative party conference, Brexit property in Cornwall. He describes himself
enthusiast Daniel Hannan complained as politically on the left. “You can find
that people who objected to US-style plenty of right-wing vegans,” he says. “It’s
chlorinated chicken entering Britain more about health than politics.” He was
were probably “anti-capitalists” who motivated to try the diet as a way to cure
“don’t like meat”. But Baker seems his irritable bowel syndrome.
confused by all of this. “In a number of
interviews I’ve done, it’s been painted
 Pleasures
Of
The
Flesh

he was already experiencing. “I’m way

more active than I used to be. I have more
mental energy. I don’t understand why…”

C h ew i n g t h e Fa t
Ryan, 29 (who asked that we change
his name), a researcher at Liverpool
University, had a similar experience.
“Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of
money, so we’d mostly eat plain pasta, or
tinned food,” he says. Many of his family
are obese. Food was “entertainment” in
his household: “If something
CONSULT THE EXPERTS
good happened, we’d celebrate
BEFORE YOU GRAB A SLICE
OF THE CARNIVORE ACTION with ice cream. If something
bad happened, we’d cheer
ourselves up with a nice meal.” He had
been plagued by poor digestion and
weight issues throughout his life but,
after turning carnivore in July, he finally
has a functional relationship with food.
Like many carnivores, he made the
transition in stages, gradually dropping
his carbohydrate intake and then trying
the ketogenic diet. “Keto” is a very low-
carb, high-fat diet that was originally
designed to help prevent fits in children
FLESHING OUT THE FACTS with epilepsy. More recently, it has
gained a cult following among factions
The Diet Omnivore Ketogenic Carnivore
of the fitness community. When deprived
Your Macro 30% protein, 20% protein, 40% protein, of carbohydrates, your body switches
Targets 20% fat, 50% carbs 75% fat, 5% carbs 60% fat, 0% carbs its energy supply from glucose to
ketones, which are derived from your
Example Grilled chicken Almond-crusted Rib-eye steak and
breast, sweet salmon with chicken livers, fat reserves. Many people lose weight
Meal
potato and baked sautéed kale and seasoned with salt on the keto diet, and its advocates claim
vine tomatoes mozzarella and pepper that it eases the symptoms of a suite
430kcal, 40g of 570kcal, 45g of 540kcal, 55g of of conditions including Alzheimer’s
protein, 8g of fat, 50g protein, 38g of fat, 12g protein, 35g of fat, 0g
of carbs, 7g of fibre of carbs, 4g of fibre of carbs, 0g of fibre and type 2 diabetes. But it also comes
with significant risks, particularly
Supposed Easy to follow and Basing your meals More muscle-building to kidney and liver function, and is
Benefits uncontroversial; also, around fats trains protein than keto;
notoriously hard to maintain.
the established your body to burn anecdotally said to
thinking is that carbs its own fat for fuel; stabilise energy and At first, Ryan says, the idea of eating
are delicious cheese is included cure chronic illness all of that butter, cream and meat made
him feel ill. However, he found his
tastes changed over time. “Not everyone
In a typical day, he eats a dozen eggs, a while, and it made me feel much worse. benefits to the same degree, but I
a packet of bacon, three packets of I don’t have normal, healthy digestion, experienced pretty much everything
beef mince, plus some liver or kidney. so I can’t say it’s bad for everyone, you could ask for: improved skin, energy,
“I like a bit of pork shoulder and lamb but I’m sceptical of the idea that it’s mood – to the point of feeling euphoric
shoulder, too. I have chicken occasionally, right for everyone, too.” sometimes,” he tells me. It wasn’t much
but it makes me lethargic.” He gets most He seems as surprised as anyone that of a leap to drop the leafy greens. “I did
of his meat from local smallholdings, carnivory is working. “I tried lots of a bit more research and came to the
where he knows the farmers personally. different diets and I realised that when conclusion that it wasn’t something
“I really care about animal welfare,” I ate fewer vegetables, I felt better,” he I needed. They were an extra hassle
he stresses. And he isn’t out to convert says. “One day, I was on Reddit and I came to cook, anyway.” He says he only eats
anyone. “Vegans become incredibly across the r/zerocarbs group. I thought when he’s hungry and often ends up
angry at carnivores, but many carnivores I’d try it. Within a couple of days, my “unintentionally” fasting for hours.
have tried vegan diets,” he says. “I did for IBS went away.” He experienced a little
discomfort transitioning – “really loose
stools” – but nothing worse than what

MEN’S HEALTH 63
Pleasures
Of
The
Flesh
“The body knows how to regulate itself.
We’re just sending it confusing signals by
upping our blood sugar a few times a day.”
Objections to carnivory generally fall
into the broad categories of nutrition,
ethics and lifestyle. Carnivores claim
they don’t really miss the pleasures of
baking, or snacking, or even applying a
little Béarnaise to their steaks. “The less I
had, the less I wanted,” says Ryan. “Now,
if I’m preparing dinner just for myself, I’ll
start eating some of the steaks while I’m
cooking the rest and start cleaning up in
between. That may sound sad to some
people, but it’s been very freeing for me. I
don’t have to consider things as much.”
As for the nutritional concerns, well, it
seems fairly clear from my conversation
with Ryan that he is alive, so it’s possible
to survive on just meat. He also claims to
feel great. “Even if it were conclusively
proven that this diet would shorten my
life by 10 years, I would take it, as the
quality of my life is that much better,”
he says. But people who like to lunch at
McDonald’s and smoke 40 a day often
claim to feel great, too. There are placebo
effects and confirmation biases. Anecdote
is not data. And it may take years for, say,
colon cancer, to make itself apparent.
Nevertheless, dietary science is
notoriously complex and poorly
understood. That there are 3.8 million
people with diabetes in the UK is not
a ringing endorsement of the way
we currently do things. British adult
obesity has almost quadrupled in the
past 25 years. And there’s a growing
body of evidence that the standard
advice regarding fats (which we’re told
to limit) and carbs (which are seen
as necessary) is back to front.
P l a n t vs B e a s t
Still, there’s a chasm between low-carb
and nothing but meat. I consult Timothy
Spector, genetic epidemiologist at King’s
College London, and author of The Diet
Myth. “Humans can exist on a wide
variety of diets,” he says. “Some have
adapted to eat high-meat diets, such as
the Inuit, Masai or Mongolian people,
but most don’t tolerate it. There may be
rare people in the West who can, but it’s
dangerous to recommend it as a long-
term solution.” Spector cautions that the
excess protein is likely to lead to problems
such as gout and heart disease. “Most
people will be constipated.”
64 MEN’S HEALTH
An obvious objection concerns vitamin
C. The carnivores argue there’s enough
of it in fresh meat – particularly raw
or offal meats – and that, anyway, the
body adapts to reduce its base needs.
Another is the lack of fibre. “There’s no
absolute physiological requirement for
fibre,” Baker argues. “Why do we think
it’s necessary? The traditional argument
is that it lowers cholesterol, which is
true, but you don’t need low cholesterol
to survive. People also say it mitigates
blood-glucose spikes. If you drink a glass
of apple juice, you’ll experience a much
larger spike in blood sugar than if you ate
an apple. But if you’re not taking in any
glucose, that’s a moot point.”
So, he reasons, fibre is necessary if
you’re eating plenty of toast and biscuits,
but not if you’re eating lots of steak. His
stool, he is proud to report, is excellent.
“The vast majority of people on the
carnivore diet will tell you that, after a
transition period – maybe a couple of
weeks – bowel habits become normal.”
Spector remains deeply sceptical. “To
support a healthy gut microbiome, you
HUNTING OR GATHERING?
Plants may offer more vitamins per
calorie, but that doesn’t mean your
meat is devoid of goodness
VITAMIN C
30% 110%
in 100g of lamb in one kiwi
pancreas fruit
MAGNESIUM
15% 20%
in one wild in 100g of spinach
salmon fillet (a small bag) need to eat fibre,” he says. He concedes
that some gut complaints (such as types
VITAMIN A
of IBS) can be exacerbated by certain
290% 205%
in 100g of in a medium-
plants in the short term. But when
it comes to the general population?
“Doubling our fibre intakes would help
chicken liver sized carrot the vast majority of people,” he says.
The distilled advice of Spector’s book
FOLATE is that you should eat as wide a spectrum
of foods as possible, because that’s what
25% 25%
in 100g of per medium-
keeps your gut bacteria happy. He argues
that our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate
an enormous variety of foods: about 600
beef kidney sized beetroot
types, far more than are found in our
CALCIUM modern diets. Baker argues, however, that
given the choice between killing a nutrient-
40% 35%
in 100g of tinned in 100g
and calorie-rich mammoth that would
feed a family for weeks and scrabbling
sardines of tofu
 2-5
The average
number of days
it takes for
around for nuts and berries that might
your body to
easily have proved poisonous, an Ice Age
enter a state
hunter-gatherer would invariably have
of ketosis
chosen the mammoth. That may be, but
(burning fat
not all hunter-gatherers had access to meat,
for fuel)
let alone mammoths, and mammoths are
after cutting
extinct because early humans killed them
out carbs
all (which should be a lesson in itself).
And the best evidence we have is that early
humans thrived by adapting to different
food sources. Around two billion people eat
no meat today. So, how Baker’s principle
applies in the 21st century is debatable.
Gut Instincts
Then there’s the environment. If cattle-
rearing is destroying
the planet, a lack
of vitamin C
“Anecdote isn’t data
may well prove – and many medical
to be the least of
our concerns.
conditions can take
A much-cited years to emerge”
report published
in the journal Nature claims that we
greedy Westerners must cut our beef
consumption by 90% in order to reverse
dangerous climate change.
But again, the carnivores contest
this. Robert (not his real name) is a
British academic in his forties who has
been on a meat-only diet for the past
four years. “For me, as a biologist, this
[environmental argument] is the craziest
part,” he says. “Is there anything more
natural than a herd of ruminants grazing
on marginal farmland? Should we turn
this land over to intensive agriculture –
pesticides, fertilisers and machines?”
Ryan is similarly sceptical. “With
modern agriculture, you’re destroying
millions of lives to plough one field.
You’re destroying the topsoil, and
you’re losing carbon capture because
you’re not giving those long roots time
to bed in before the crops
STEAKHOLDERS DISMISS get pulled up.” In an ideal
THE NEED FOR A VARIED
world, we would “re-wild”
DIET – DESPITE THE SCIENCE
our landscapes and use
them for pasture-raised animals. But,
of course, we don’t live in an ideal world.
We live instead in a world of battery
farms and chlorinated chicken.
“I’m not out to change the world,”
continues Robert. “My wife is a vegetarian,
as are our daughters. Everyone should
make their own decisions. My fervent
wish, however, is for state nutritional
policy to be scrutinised more deeply.”
That doesn’t seem so extreme, even if
the message that many seem to have
taken from the profusion of contradictory
advice is: if you can’t trust any of it, you
may as well just pick out the parts that
suit you and ignore the rest.
But perhaps the most fundamental
objection to carnivory is the evolutionary
one. It challenges the whole idea of
what it is to be human. It suggests that,
perhaps, our species took a wrong turn
with the development of agriculture.
If you’ve been listening to your Jordan
Peterson podcasts, you might hear an
echo of this in the “Fall of Man” story in
Genesis. When God casts Adam and Eve
out of the Garden of Eden, he condemns
Adam to a miserable life of toiling in the
field. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou
eat bread...” At a time of great ecological
and political uncertainty, the idea that we
should have stuck to a hunter-gatherer
existence – or, as the
carnivores would
have it, just the
hunting – has
a certain appeal.
Ever since
Peterson came out
as a carnivore, many
complain that a certain “madness” has
descended on what was once a quirky,
little community. Many of the more bizarre
posts link to a YouTuber named Sv3rige,
who makes videos about his experiments
with feasting on raw meat and drinking
pig’s blood. Sv3rige’s channel also
abounds in flat-earth conspiracies.
Some of the carnivores I speak to even
suspect that the movement has been
infiltrated by Russian disinformation
bots. The idea that many of the more
extreme carnivory posts are “fake” isn’t
so far-fetched: Russian trolls were
discovered to have been spreading anti-
vaccination theories in the lead-up to the
2016 US presidential election. The wider
aim seems to have been to undermine
faith in experts and to foster division.
One recent Reddit discussion centred
on these doubts. Even if, anecdotally,
many carnivores feel better, shouldn’t
the reality that their diet contradicts
all of the established advice not give
you pause? “I think doubts are a sign of
healthy scepticism,” came one reply. “This
goes entirely against what is currently
considered healthy by the vast majority
of people... That said, my doubts are very
small. When I was eating what my doctor
told me to, I felt terrible: gut pain, bloating,
low energy, brain fog, heartburn and high
blood pressure. Now I’m eating exactly the
opposite, and I feel incredible… I’ll never
go back to eating how I used to.” In times
of uncertainty, it seems that people are
ever more willing to trust their gut.
MEN’S HEALTH 65
SCIENCE REVEALS HOW TO GET
YOUR BRAIN IN GEAR AND
ENHANCE SELF-DISCIPLINE

66 MEN’S HEALTH
 TRUE
GRIT
Two competing forces
govern your willpower:
one is impulsive and hungry,
while the other is resilient and
goal-focused. To master the skill
of self-control, you need to keep
them in balance. MH spoke to
the men who know how
WORDS BY JAMIE MILLAR – PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROWAN FEE
GUTTER CREDIT

MEN’S HEALTH 67

I can resist everything
except temptation,” goes
the famous Wildean quip. Jesus,
on the other hand, resisted
Satan’s promises of food and
power after fasting in the
wilderness for 40 days and
nights. Meanwhile, Eve buckled
to the serpent’s suggestion
that she should eat an apple
from the tree of knowledge,
putting lack of self-restraint
at the core of Christianity’s
creation myth. The lapse of
resolve is man’s original sin.
Yet willpower is “the greatest
human strength”, according to
a book co-written by much-
cited social psychologist Roy
F Baumeister. At least, if it stays
strong: that 80% of New Year’s
resolutions reportedly fail by
February suggests it often
doesn’t. In the mid-1990s,
Professor Baumeister and his
colleagues at Case Western
Reserve University in
Ohio demonstrated
that willpower, like a
muscle, can fatigue.
In a groundbreaking
experiment, subjects
in a room containing
freshly baked cookies
were given a puzzle to
solve – one designed to
be impossible to complete.
Those asked to resist the
treats made far fewer
attempts than subjects
who were allowed to snack;
already depleted, their
self-control crumbled.
You don’t have to be
religious to believe that
willpower is key to our
fates. In the late 1960s,
Stanford psychologist
Walter Mischel – author
of The Marshmallow
Test, which tells the story
of his research – presented
preschoolers with a choice.
They could have one
sweet now, or two later.
68 MEN’S HEALTH
The children were left alone
in a room with a bell that
they could ring if temptation
proved irresistible.
Some kids rang with almost
indecent haste; others waited
and took the treats home. Their
ability to delay gratification
correlated with how they fared
in later life. As teens, those who
could wait were more likely
to achieve better scores on
university admission exams. As
adults, they tended to exhibit
a lower body mass index.
Brain-imaging scans later
showed that “high delayers” had
more activity in their prefrontal
cortex, linked to problem
solving and impulse control.
“Low delayers” displayed more
activity lower down in the ventral
striatum, a hotbed of desire
and addiction. In particular, the
amygdala, in the medial temporal
lobe, compels us to act now and
worry later. This would have
been helpful when early man
was competing for scarce
resources, but it’s less so in
2019, when temptation is all
around. By contrast, the
prefrontal cortex helps
us to pursue goals: to
forgo one marshmallow
in favour of two later.
The amygdala is fully
functioning from birth,
cueing babies to cry
because of hunger, while
the prefrontal cortex
develops into our early
twenties. But while the
diverging responses on the
marshmallow test suggest
that self-control is pre-wired
to an extent, it’s also hugely
shaped by our environment.
As research into “brain
plasticity” has revealed, the
prefrontal cortex is malleable,
even in adults. It’s not the
case, then, that some of us
naturally have the discipline
to run marathons, while
others are doomed to
struggle to get off the sofa.
If willpower is a muscle
that can be weakened by
overexertion, then it can also
be built. Here are the tools.
01
THE RESILIENT CHEF
FACING
TEMPTATION
At 6ft 3in and 114kg, chef Tom Kerridge
has always been “a big lad”. But he
stretched that description when he left
school and gave up playing rugby to work
in a kitchen. In 2005, he opened the Hand
and Flowers in Marlow, which became the
UK’s only pub with two Michelin stars. He
found release from the pressure of running a
business in booze – he would start sessions
with a pint of negroni – and eating cheese
on toast at 2am before sleeping for four
hours. By the time the TV show Great British
Menu brought his gourmand’s pub
grub to a wider audience, he was LAPSES ARE INEVITABLE,
SO LEARN TO BOUNCE
tipping the scales at 190kg. As
BACK, SAYS KERRIDGE
he approached his 40th birthday
– “halfway to death”, as a friend
morbidly put it – he thought, “I might not
make it to 50 if I keep going like this.”
Banning butter wasn’t a menu option
for a chef known for his indulgent cuisine.
Instead, Kerridge cut out carbohydrates,
which he now describes as “dull flavour
vehicles”. “Nobody goes out for a curry and
says, ‘I had amazing pilau rice,’” he says.
Refreshingly for a purveyor of cookbooks
– he recently published Fresh Start, a
practical guide to home cooking – Kerridge
doesn’t claim that his regimen has any
magical qualities. After all, most diets work,
and all involve some form of sacrifice. But
by focusing on what he could eat, not what
he couldn’t, he made that sacrifice more
palatable. “So many people give stuff up,
then spend their lives thinking, ‘I wish I
could have a burger,’ rather than, ‘I’m
really enjoying this,’” he explains.
When he gave up smoking on the cusp
of turning 30, Kerridge extinguished his
PROP STYLIST: JAINA MINTON I PORTRAITS: JULIAN BENJAMIN
cravings by sucking on “a pretend,
nothing-in-my-hand cigarette”. A decade
WITH THANKS TO THE MACDONALD COMPLEAT ANGLER
later, if he hankered after carbs, he’d
visualise a potato with a face and refuse to
be beaten. Instinctively, he was employing
simple but effective “if-then” strategies,
whereby we train ourselves to respond
to cravings with a reflexive but non-
sabotaging action: for example, if you feel
a sugar craving, you eat an apple. “Such
if-then plans, when they become automatic,
 TRUE GRIT

RADIATE
SELF-CONTROL
Adjust your “temptation
thermostat” to make smart
decisions appealing and cool
off your lust for excess
HOT

Future-Proof Yourself
Visualise your future self
and your choices will be
motivated by ambition,
not just cool logic. In one
study, subjects who did this
found it easier to make
ethical decisions.

Drag Things Out

Focusing on a cigarette’s
long-term effects stubs out
desire, whereas short-term
thinking lights it up. By the
same token, think about how
a workout will make you feel
now, not look later.

Find Entry Points

Rather than the result of
consistent “traits”, your
behaviour is context-specific.
Keep a diary to identify the
“hot spots” that set you off,
then form a plan of action.
take the effort out of effortful control,” see it that way.” Instead, they reframe
writes Mischel. What’s more, ascribing setbacks as moments to learn from and Make It Official
detached, “cold” aspects to an object of detach the process from the outcome. Create pre-commitment
desire – imagining a marshmallow as a “You can never control winning,” continues plans or “habit contracts”, in
cloud, or inside a picture frame – tempers Ingham, who now runs Supporting which other people hold you
its “hot” attributes: taste, smell, touch. Champions, a high-performance accountable. For example,
Still, keeping the weight off consultancy for agree to pay a friend or family
is a daily endeavour. “It’s not sport and business.
something that just happens,
“So many people give “You just have to
member a fiver if you don’t
then that’s it – done,” says stuff up on diets, then understand what
stick to your resolutions.
Kerridge. At the time of spend the rest of their you can make better See Things Differently
writing, he’s just back on lives thinking, ‘I wish the next time.” “Cognitive reappraisal”
the low-carb wagon after a I could have a burger,’ Just as professional sounds like a head-scratcher
“full-on” two months ahead rather than enjoying athletes also offload but it’s simple and effective.
of the opening of his new what they can have” some of the mental Imagine the delicious cake in
London restaurant, Kerridge’s heavy lifting to their front of you is wriggling with
Bar & Grill. But because his is support teams, the pests, or contains poison.
a lifelong run, he argues that the occasional rest of us can do the same by recruiting
lapse matters less than what in football members of our social networks, Gain Perspective
parlance is called “bouncebackability”. If whether by working out with others Self-distancing – viewing
you miss a one-on-one with the keeper, or posting about our goals online. situations as if you were a fly
you don’t walk off the pitch; you focus (Kerridge’s efforts were reinforced by on the wall – reduces stress
on the next chance. “You just keep doing his friends.) Ultimately, it comes down and amygdala activation, while
that, every day,” he says. to what you want more, says Ingham: helping you to react rationally.
Kerridge’s is a mindset adopted by many “Do I want to achieve my goals, or
athletes. Elite athletes fail a lot, says Dr do I want that cookie?” COLD
Steve Ingham, a former director at the
English Institute of Sport: “They just don’t

MEN’S HEALTH 69
 02
THE UNLIKELY IRONMAN
FINDING YOUR
REASON
Before he became the only Nike-
sponsored Ironman triathlete, John
McAvoy was serving time for conspiracy
to commit robbery and possession of
firearms. As a chubby child, he hated PE.
His role models were notorious criminals
who got their kicks from cars, watches
and partying. This attitude took its toll,
leaving McAvoy “grossly
unfit and overweight”.
In prison, however, “One day, I won’t be
McAvoy spent his time able to train. There
doing press-ups, squats people with no legs, no
and burpees. He started arms, dying on hospital of his capacity for
knocking out 1,000 reps beds – so feel alive,
of each, not realising that
this might be considered
challenge
excessive. “People limit
themselves,” shrugs McAvoy. A couple of
years after his release, he was back inside
for plotting to rob a security van. But when
a friend was killed while committing a
robbery, he had a moment of clarity. “I
thought, ‘What have I done with my life?’”
One day, McAvoy noted that a certain
inmate was allowed more than the
allowance of three sessions in the gym per children in schools and young offenders’
week and learned that he was rowing a
million metres to raise money for charity.
70 MEN’S HEALTH
SHEER DETERMINATION
TOOK MCAVOY FROM BEHIND
STEEL BARS TO IRONMAN
THE FORMATION
OF HABITS
Grit is more about routine
than personality. Here’s why
we are what we repeatedly do
Willpower, determination
and steeliness: these are the
characteristics most often
deemed essential for success.
But the “just try harder”
STAY ON approach is flawed, warns
James Clear, author of New
TARGET York Times bestseller Atomic
Habits: “Research has found
Willpower isn’t simply that those who are most
psychological: raise likely to exhibit self-control
your resolve with our are people who live in an
physical hacks environment with fewer
temptations.” Simply by
Turn In Early keeping sweets out of the
Sleep loss inhibits house, or your phone off your
activity in the desk, you give your willpower
prefrontal cortex and “an immediate boost”.
limits your brain’s Clear observes that we slip
ability to absorb all too easily into behaviours
glucose, making you that are “obvious and easy”;
more impulsive. One those that are impractical
study compared its are harder to stick with. The
effects to that of guitar in the cupboard will
McAvoy asked if he could do the same. being mildly drunk. languish unplayed, and the
“It was very rhythmic, very relaxing,” he gym out of your commute’s
says. He racked up the million metres Cool Down way will remain unvisited.
in a month, so he asked if he could do two In a Journal of Clear advises scaling down
million, then three. While he was working Consumer Research any new aspirations to fit
his way to five million, a prison officer study, subjects into two minutes: reading
approached him with a list of indoor experiencing “heated” a page of a book, or repping
rowing records. McAvoy broke the emotions – anger, 50 squats, for example. “You
British record for the embarrassment – felt want to master the art of
marathon, then the calmer after grasping showing up,” he explains.
world records for 24 a cold glass. Scientists An all-or-nothing approach
are hours and 100km. also posit the strategy typically defaults to nothing.
McAvoy puts some could put the brakes This focus on practicality
on rash decisions.
over personality also
endurance down to explains, in part, the curious
prison warping his Feed Your Head phenomenon of highly
yourself” sense of time. A second croissant accomplished men whose
But now, he is might not abet your well-known iron willpower
fuelled by remembering the sacrifices weight-loss efforts, but apparently fails them: think
he has made: all the hard training and neither will allowing of Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods,
missed social engagements. He sees your blood sugar to General Petraeus. Not only is
working out as a privilege: “One day, I won’t plummet. According self-control a learnable skill,
be able to do it. There are people with to Florida State then, it is context-specific.
no legs, no arms, dying on hospital beds. University, lapses in You have to want to use your
Feel alive, challenge yourself.” When not self-control are more willpower. If you cannot
racing or training, he tells his story to likely when your brain control your impulses, you
is low on glucose. can at least control your
institutions. “I was an overweight kid environment. You might
in prison, and now I’m the only Nike- not be able to stop at one
sponsored Ironman,” he says. “If I’ve slice of cake, but you can
done that, anyone can do anything.” bypass the bakery aisle.

The first time his heart stopped
beating, CrossFit coach Tom Foxley
03 was 13 and cycling home from school. His
heart restarted with a “whoosh” and sped
up to what felt like 1,000bpm. He thought
THE MINDSET COACH he was dying. When he felt well enough,
he cycled home and told his mum.
CHANGING Diagnosed with sudden death syndrome,
an umbrella term for unexplained cardiac
arrest among under-35s, the keen
YOUR OUTLOOK footballer and cricketer distanced himself
from anything that would raise his heart
rate, turning instead to his PlayStation. He
became an introvert. He stopped trying at
school and was bullied. After 18 months
or so, the doctors were no wiser about
his condition but figured he’d be fine to
TRUE GRIT
start exercising again. Around this time,
the 57kg sapling met a former Royal
Marine who’d started working for his
landscape gardener parents. A seed was
planted. Tentatively, he started working
out, not discouraged by how he couldn’t
run more than 400m without stopping
or manage a single pull-up.
“Everyone minds the gap between where
they are now and where they want to be,”
says Foxley. “They don’t look at it from the
other side: where they’ve come from and
where they are now.” He adopted what’s
known as a “growth” mindset: the conviction
that he could develop his qualities and
change the world around him. Conversely,
a “fixed” mindset – the belief that your
qualities are set – makes action
FOXLEY KNOWS THE VALUE
harder and less enticing.
OF PRIORITISING PERSONAL
GROWTH OVER TARGETS Foxley, who went on to serve
four years as a Royal Marines
reservist and founded Mindset RX’d – a
“scalable, learnable system to master the
inner athlete” – also had a clear vision of
himself wearing the unit’s green beret. Part
of the reason that we often struggle to
make smart, long-term decisions is that,
when considering our future selves, we
activate the same brain regions as if we
were imagining a stranger. The more
vividly you can picture the “future you”,
however, the more you’ll behave in
accordance with your goals. In one study,
subjects who were shown a digitally aged
picture of themselves were prepared to
save 30% more for retirement.
One of the biggest game changers
for Foxley’s clients – who include
CrossFitters and adventure sports
athletes, among others – is envisioning
what kind of person they want to be,
rather than fixating on goals, which are
still important but outcome-centric.
“Right now, I can
display the character
“The more vividly traits that’ll take me to
where I want to be,” says
you can picture the
‘future you’, the more Foxley. Instead of the
delayed gratification of
you’ll behave in ways
that will bring you
adding 10kg to your
deadlift in however many
closer to achieving
your true goals”
weeks or months – and
feeling like a letdown if
you manage 9.9kg or less
– you can enjoy the
instant gratification of being the kind of
person who’ll get up and try: “When you
think of it like that, ironically, you achieve
the things that you want to quicker.”
MEN’S HEALTH 71
 21Ways To
Wake Up
Your
HACK YOUR BIOLOGY
TO CLOCK UP FAST,
TANGIBLE RESULTS

Metabolism
Your hour in the gym is merely
a piece of the weight-loss puzzle.
A crucial one, sure, but there are
still another 23 hours in the day.
That’s why we’ve compiled this
guide to amplifying your fat burn
from wake-up to wind-down, no
extra effort expended. You’ll torch
through kilos in record time
Words by Louee Dessent-Jackson / Photography by Rowan Fee
 01
Form in a Teacup
Cold brews and colourful
lattes may be trending right
now, but a classic cup of
builder’s has benefits that
they can’t match. Tea is
a rich source of prebiotics,
which feed micro-organisms
in your gut; meanwhile, black
tea, in particular, increases
your levels of fat-burning
pseudobutyrivibrio bacteria.
Seven minutes’ brewing
time is optimal if you don’t
want watered-down results.
02
Branch Out
Far more than
just a bar snack
or a Martini
garnish, olives offer
major benefits to your
metabolism, thanks to their
high copper and CLA fat
content. But you might be
missing out on the best bit of
the plant: researchers at King
Saud University found that
oil made from olive leaves
increases the production of
metabolism-boosting thyroid
hormones; in lab rats, levels
more than doubled. Add a
drizzle to your bruschetta.
03
Divide and Conquer
To earn extra burn from your
workouts, don’t train more –
train differently. Instead of
grinding it out for an hour, split
your exercise in two. One study*
found you could burn almost
double the calories via a process
called “excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption”. Try half
an hour of sprints in the park
before work and a bodyweight
circuit at lunch. You’ll be culling
calories for 48 hours.
74 MEN’S HEALTH
04
Breakfast
Means Breakfast
Forget fasted cardio. Your
morning meal activates genes
involved in fat metabolism,
reports the Journal of
Physiology. So, simply by
eating it, you can encourage
your body to burn more
05
Top of the Pops
Dosing up on pre-workout
supps before training may have
you buzzing for the gym, but
there are other ways to enjoy
a similar boost without feeling
like a kid on a sugar binge.
A study in Scientific Reports
found that rats that had
been fed grape polyphenols
(Swanson Grapeseed 380mg
£7.40 swansonvitamins.com)
before being let loose on
treadmills displayed higher
levels of AMPK, an enzyme
linked to fat burning. Add
a bunch to your stack.
06
Learn to Batch Cook
If your al desko lunch
consists of a rush-job
sandwich and you
hungrily devour your
main meal once the
working day is done,
you should consider
reversing that trend.
According to
researchers at UT
Southwestern Medical
Center, eating the bulk
of your calories earlier in the
day keeps your circadian
rhythm in sync, ensuring that
your body burns off more of
what you put in. You’re going
to need bigger Tupperware.
calories throughout the
day. A separate study in the
International Journal of Obesity
found that eating a high-fat
meal upon waking primes
your system to burn body fat
instead of glucose. Upgrade
your bowl of Shreddies to
shred even more.
07
Spin It to Win
Stop what you’re curling. While
heavy lifting can improve your
metabolic rate, for the best
results, superset it with
a session on the bikes. A
University of Copenhagen
study comparing spinners
with lifters found that the
former group had higher levels
of metabolism-boosting
hormone FGF21 after training.
This was attributed to either
the high intensity or the
increased lower-body muscle
recruitment. Cap off your
session with an AirBike finisher.
08
Order from
the Amazon
As well as boosting immunity,
vitamin C is crucial to your
metabolism, offsetting the
oxidative stress that slows
our bodies down as we age,
according to the University of
Colorado at Boulder. But you
needn’t resort to Berocca. The
rainforest fruit camu camu
(Organic Camu Camu Powder
£10 greensorganic.co.uk)
contains five times your RDA
per teaspoon of powder and,
according to Gut journal, can
temper weight gain caused
by overeating. It’s a smart
addition to your next shake.
09
*BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE | IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES,
Burn More
with Water
A diet of steak and protein
bars may have benefits for
your biceps, but it comes with
a metabolic downside. In a
University of Connecticut
study, athletes on a high-
protein diet showed signs
of metabolism-stalling
DAN MATTHEWS, MICHAEL HEDGE, LOUISA PARRY, PHILIP HAYNES, STUDIO 33
dehydration, even though
they didn’t feel any thirstier
than usual. Don’t wait to feel
parched – just 500ml of water
can elevate your metabolism
by 30% within the next hour,
reports the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism.
GET ON YOUR BIKE
AND FREEWHEEL
TO PROGRESS

10
It’s Hip to
Eat Squares
“Eat little and often” is a myth
so ubiquitous that it’s rarely
questioned. But a study in
the journal Plos One noted
a slight increase in calorie
burn among men who ate
larger meals less frequently,
while research by the US
National Institute on Aging
showed that mice that
consumed one supersized
daily meal were healthier than
constant grazers. It’ll also cut
back on the washing up.
11
Save It for Later
Delaying your weights
session until after work will
reignite your metabolism just
as it’s easing off (while also
helping you to escape the
**UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI | †PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE | ‡UNIVERSITY OF GRANADA
allure of “a quick half”). In
a US study**, subjects who
trained after 6pm torched more
fat than those who worked out
in the morning. The extra lie-ins
won’t go amiss, either.
12
Just Think About It
Boosting your metabolism
may require little more than an
attitude adjustment. According
to one study†, subjects who
were encouraged to interpret
their daily activities as exercise
burned more calories and lost
extra body fat without any
change to their routines. It’s
strenuous work updating those
spreadsheets… right?
BIGGER IS BETTER:
SERVE YOURSELF TWO
SUPERSIZED MEALS
13
Salt Your Wounds
Iodine is essential for helping
your thyroid to produce the
hormones that keep your
metabolism in good working
order – yet the UK is among the
world’s 10 most iodine-deficient
nations. Sea vegetables such as
wakame are excellent sources,
best served in miso for easier
nutrient absorption. But if you’re
more of a seafood traditionalist,
add iodised salt to your chips.
14
Top Up Your T
Endless back squats aren’t the
only way to elevate your levels
of testosterone, a natural fat
burner. A University of Bath
study found that performing 10
sprints of 30 seconds elevates
your T levels for the following
hour, while improving the
body’s ability to metabolise
sugar. To optimise your results,
keep your work-rest ratio at 1:3
– fail to recover and you won’t
put in peak effort. Good gains
come to those who wait.
Wake Up Your Metabolism
15
Mint Conditioning
Sugary sports drinks might be
indispensable mid-marathon,
but during a swift 10K, avoid
the extra carbs. Instead, add a
few drops of peppermint oil to
your water. According to the
University of Mohaghegh
Ardabili, it improves oxygen use
instantly, increasing the amount
of fat your body can burn, while
the Beijing University of Chinese
Medicine found the scent
alone can relieve fatigue.
16
Hone Your Bones
A stronger skeleton will do more
than reduce your odds of being
carried off your next OCR
attempt – it’ll also prop up your
fat-burning. A Canadian study
found the “bone hormone”
osteocalcin improves the way
you metabolise sugar and fat.
Trade standing squats for
plyometrics, such as jumping
lunges and V-tucks. Effect
change from the inside.
17
It’s Your Round
Your weight-loss goals don’t live
or die in the gym. A study by the
Mayo Clinic found “non-exercise
activity” such as pacing and
fidgeting significantly affects
your body shape and size.
A brief stroll after eating
has a more positive effect on
metabolism than longer walks
at other moments, so time your
coffee run accordingly.
18
Throw Some Shade
We know that browsing emails
after dark can disrupt your
sleep – but it’s equally stressful
for your metabolism, too.
Research by Northwestern
University linked exposure
to screen light to insulin
resistance, which harms your
ability to process carbs. On
those evenings when powering
down isn’t an option, take a
lutein supp to protect your
eyes from blue light. It’s less
daft than resorting to wearing
amber-tinted glasses.
19
Sweet Option
Not all body fat is
created equal. While
“white” fat stores calories,
active “brown” fat helps
you burn them off. Cold-
weather exercise boosts your
levels of the brown kind – but if
pounding freezing pavements
doesn’t appeal, research‡ shows
that eating melatonin-rich
foods has a similar effect. Grab
a handful of goji berries.
20
Embrace the
Daily Grind
You may be “over” pimped-up
breakfast bowls, but at least
one of social media’s
favourite porridge toppings
has legitimate fat-burning
benefits. A study in the
journal Metabolism found
that cinnamon flips the switch
that triggers fat cells to torch
calories. Spoon it into your
post-gym shake to wring even
more rewards from your efforts.
21
Set a Curfew
Forget what you know: those
eight hours of sleep are of
limited benefit after midnight.
The body experiences a surge
in hormones that control fat and
carbohydrate metabolism at
11pm – but only if you’re asleep.
Weight flies off early birds.
MEN’S HEALTH 75
The Gentle
Art Of
 BELOVED OF A GROWING TRIBE OF A-LIST ACTORS, ATHLETES AND TOP TRAINERS,
BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU HAS THE FITNESS COMMUNITY IN ITS STRANGLEHOLD.
GRAPPLING TO SEE THE APPEAL? OUR WRITER DONNED HIS WHITE BELT TO
DISCOVER WHETHER THIS INTIMATE MARTIAL ART IS A FIGHT CLUB WORTH JOINING

LET’SS ROLL
DESPITE ITS HIGH
INTENSITY, JIU-
JITSU REQUIRES
STRATEGY AS MUCH
AS STRENGTH

ave, whom I’ve only known for a few
minutes, is kneeling between my thighs as
I lie with my back on the floor, his hands on
my hips. This might seem compromising,
but in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, this is “the guard”:
an ostensibly defensive position that,
in reality, presents an array of offensive
options. It is also – as my first lesson at
martial arts gym Fightzone in east London
is teaching me – a great icebreaker.
From here, I can dislodge one of Dave’s
hands and tug on the lapel of his gi while
bringing him forward with my hips, so
that his weight traps his arm against my
chest. I can then reach around to grab his
back, while getting hold of his trouser leg
on the same side. From here, I can lift my
own leg up as a lever and “sweep” him,
so that I’m on top (“the mount”). Then
I can grip his other lapel and, bringing
my hands together like a pair of scissors,
cut off his air supply. That is, if I can
remember the sequence of moves that
was demonstrated to our class moments
before, never mind execute them.
“It’s like chess,” says Dave, a 26-year-
old computer programmer who’s shorter
and slighter than I am, but sweeps me
with surprising ease. We’re not sparring
or “rolling”; we’re just practising moves.
He encourages me to choke him harder by
pushing my wrist bone into his throat.
To paraphrase Tyler Durden, even if
this is your first day at Fightzone, you
have to fight. As we slap hands to signal
that we’re ready, I’m apprehensive, even
though Brazilian jiu-jitsu doesn’t involve
much punching or kicking. I needn’t have
worried. Dave and I spend most of our time
locked in stalemate, barely moving but
sweating buckets. The class tires me out
in a way that even my twice-weekly five-
a-side can’t match. It’s clearly a crushing
workout. But that doesn’t explain why
people are so fixated on being asphyxiated.
So what else is getting them so gassed?
Brazilian jiu-jitsu descends from a
martial art originally developed in feudal
78 MEN’S HEALTH
Japan, before being exported to Brazil on a
wave of Japanese immigration around the
turn of the 20th century. Jiu-jitsu roughly
translates as “the gentle art”, which, to the
uninitiated, might seem inappropriate.
An alternative interpretation might be
“yielding”, the idea being to redirect your
opponent’s force, rather than to meet it
head-on. It’s about taking your opponent
down to the ground, where you can oblige
them to submit with limb locks or chokes.
“Jiu-jitsu is learning how to control
another person,” says Fightzone co-founder
James Roach. “It’s not aggressive. There’s
no anger. It’s not like boxing, where you’re
trading punches, toe to toe. In a lot of ways,
it’s worse than that. It’s like being attacked
by a snake, and the snake is slowly moving
up your leg, going up your torso, working
its way towards your neck...”
Best of the Best
Roach greeted me with a warm smile
when I finally girded myself and entered
Fightzone. But that doesn’t make rolling
with the 6ft 2in, 88kg brown belt – one
below black – in my second lesson any
less intimidating. I’m 5ft 10in, 80kg and
currently beltless because Fightzone has
run out of the white novice ones; my lack
of a waistband feels emblematic of my
ability. Roach manipulates me at will,
like a child playing with an action figure.
He sportingly lets me out of his guard,
before pulling me back in with his hands
and dexterous feet. Though I know I’m
doomed, there is something compelling,
even fun, about trying to delay the
inevitable. It’s
like a Rubik’s
Cube of limbs.
“Unlike boxing,
In 2012, Roach
opened Fightzone
jiu-jitsu is about
with Marco Canha, control: there’s
a Rio de Janeiro-
born black belt no anger, no
and former British
Open champion,
running 34 classes
aggression”
a week. They’ve since expanded that to 120.
Boasting “the busiest martial arts schedule
in Europe”, Fightzone also teaches MMA,
Muay Thai, wrestling and boxing. But
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has always dominated,
and its classes are the best attended.
Ten years ago, Roach was working as a
surveyor on building sites and staying up
with his mates to watch UFC. The first-ever
event was won by Royce Gracie – a scion of
a legendary dynasty that developed, then
popularised, Brazilian jiu-jitsu – settling
the debate about who’d win in a bracket-
style, single-elimination tournament out of
a boxer, a kick-boxer, a karateka and a sumo
wrestler. (Royce’s half-brother, Rickson
Gracie, also choked out Chuck Norris on
another occasion.) After meeting Canha at
a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in Sweden,
Roach sold his house to fund Fightzone
and now lives in the gym in a space he’s
converted upstairs. His girlfriend often
works on the front desk, while Canha’s
children attend the kids’ classes.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has many passionate,
often high-profile adherents, some of
whom I’ve interviewed for this magazine:
Jason Statham (who rolled with Guy
Ritchie while on the press tour for Lock,
Stock…), Henry Cavill and Kelly Slater.
More recent converts include Justin
Bieber, conscious, perhaps, of how many
people want to strangle him, and Russell
Brand, who interviewed Ryron and Rener
Gracie for his Under the Skin podcast. It’s
a club in which the first two rules (“You do
not talk about Fight Club”) are regularly
flouted. But, while celebrity endorsements
may get members through the door,
something else is locking them in.
Origin Stories
While, in most martial arts, there’s a
natural hierarchy – stronger, fitter men
tend to fare better – Brazilian jiu-jitsu
is a great leveller. As Roach puts it:
“There’s no fat or thin, rich or poor.
Everyone’s the same on the mat. Everyone
wears the same £60 gi.” That many of
the men I roll with are a good few kilos
heavier than me would matter far less,
too, if I had even a modicum of technique,
because Brazilian jiu-jitsu was devised
to counteract just such imbalances.
Carlos Gracie is often regarded as
the father of the martial art, having
founded the first
academy in Rio
de Janeiro in the
1920s, but his
younger brother
Hélio should at
least be considered
its uncle. A frail
child who was
often excused
from school
on health grounds, Hélio adapted
the techniques he had learned to
compensate for his weakness, leveraging,
well, leverage instead of strength.
The Gracie brothers earned renown
in their native land with a series of “vale
tudo” (“anything goes”) challenges.
One of Hélio’s sons, Rorion, opened the
first American Gracie Academy in LA,
where – as the legend goes – he offered
$100,000 to anyone who could beat him
or his brothers. Recognising the first-ever
UFC as a major marketing opportunity,
 GRAAB AND GO THE NEW
FIGHT CLUB
WITH MOVES STRUNG
TOGETHER IN NEAR-
LIMITLESS COMBOS,
IT’S A WORKOUT FOR
BOTH MIND AND BODY

JIU-JITSU’S
WHO’S WHO
Five high-rollers
with formidable
yet largely
unacknowledged
grappling skills
01
Ed O’Neilll
The Modern Family
paterfamilias
considers his black
belt awarded by
Rorion Grace in
2007 his greatest
achievement in
life – apart from his
kids, of course.
02
Ashton Kutcher
A purple belt under
Rigan Machado, who
teaches no-sparring
jiu-jitsu to risk-averse
celebs. But given that
the actor was also
a college wrestler,
we won’t mess.
03
Guy Rittchiee
Directed by Roger
and Renzo Gracie, the
black-belt film-maker
started out with the
Stath and reportedly
gets mats out on set,
so he can roll before
the cameras do.
04
Vince Vau
Vaughn
At 46, the funnyman
swapped Average
Joe’s Gym for the
Gracie Academy
(home to Ryron and
Rener) in Torrance,
California. Two years
on, he’s a blue belt.
05
Anthony
B o u rd a i n
The late gastronaut
won the blue-belt
masters middleweight
division at the 2016
IBJJF Open in New
York, where he
trained at the Renzo
Gracie Academy.

MEN’S HEALTH 79
 FLOOR TIM
ME
ONCE SEEN AS A
NICHE DISCIPLINE,
JIU-JITSU IS
NOW CONSIDERED
Rorion cannily put forward not himself or INDISPENSABLE BY
his brother Rickson, who resembled a bald MMA FIGHTERS
Marlon Brando on steroids, but his smaller
sibling Royce, dressed in white to look
innocent. Rorion knew that Royce’s victory
against bigger men would highlight
Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s supremacy.
Today, MMA fighters consider Brazilian
jiu-jitsu to be indispensable. “For me,
it’s everything,” says Mackenzie Dern, a
former world champion with a Phelpsian
haul of golds. Dern made the switch
to MMA when she was 21, after being
encouraged to do so by the people at her
academy with whom she regularly rolled.
She joined the UFC in 2016, and her record
stands at seven fights, seven wins. Striking
isn’t easy, she hastens to add, but you
only have so many punches and kicks
to master: after that, it’s simply about
refining your technique. “But jiu-jitsu is
chess,” continues Dern, echoing Dave.
“You make one move, and there are about
10 different options after that.” And
those options are always evolving with
the addition of new techniques.
Arizona-born Dern started training
when she was three. Her father is Brazilian
martial artist Wellington Dias, who was
taught by Hélio Gracie’s son Royler. Only
later did she realise that not all the other
kids did Brazilian jiu-jitsu after school,
as they did in her dad’s homeland. But
over the years, she’s witnessed the sport
explode in popularity in the US. “Now, it’s
crazy,” she says. “I see kids with sponsors.”
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is not something you
do purely for money, however. Even after
more than 20 years, Dern – whose parents
once grounded her from training when she
lied about going to a party while in high
school – still hates to skip a session. “It’s so
fun: getting choked out by friends, choking
them out,” she says cheerily. “It’s definitely
relaxing. It takes your mind off stress.”

Close Combat TRAIN FOR 01 02 03

Sam, the second person I roll with at

Fightzone, works in music. Having run a
THE MAT
few marathons, he was looking for a new “Shifting a resisting
challenge as 40 loomed and was inspired opponent takes the
to take up jiu-jitsu after listening to a kind of power no
*WORKSHOPGYMNASIUM.COM | WITH THANKS TO FIGHTZONE

podcast by Jocko Willink, a Navy Seal barbell can give you,

commander-turned-life coach who extols but weights can be Kettlebelll Press Kettlebelll Row Kettlebelll Swin
ng
a good supplement,” This press will help Any moves that help Bridging your hips
its benefits for wellbeing. “I’d never done
you develop the upper- you develop your grip is a crucial move to
any combat sports, so there was an allure says Artur Zolkiewicz, body strength required and “pull” strength help you escape your
to testing myself,” says Sam. After a year a purple belt and the to resist an opponent have application when opponent. To build the
and a half, he has gained self-confidence, manager of Workshop who has you pinned. you’re trying to tug explosive power you
Gymnasium*. These Hold the KBs by your your partner around need, go heavy and
strength and mobility: “I stretch now,
chest, upper arms flat by the gi. Get into a keep the rep count low
because I’ve got a reason to do it.” moves will put fighting and core tense. Exhale press-up position for (up to five per set).
He also points to another potential strength in your grasp. as you press straight greater instability, and Squeeze your glutes
motivator. With each new stripe on his up, keeping your back row the KBs up one at while keeping your
white belt (four denotes the stage just flat against the mat. a time by retracting arms relaxed.
your shoulder blade.

80 MEN’S HEALTH

before blue), Sam gets the same satisfying
sense of “levelling up” that he used to get
from computer games, minus the empty
feeling with which the latter left him.
“Besides, if you’re feeling nervous about
something, having some fat guy sit on you
really puts it in perspective,” he says.
I can vouch for what he calls “stress
inoculation”: in my third lesson at
Fightzone, I’m trying to escape from the
guard of a bald, trim guy called Rich, who
is 51 but could pass for much younger. I
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES
make the mistake of leaning forward too
much, allowing him to choke me. I’m not
prepared for this but, to my surprise, I
don’t panic and somehow wriggle out.
When my wife messages me later to
ask how my day’s going, I reply, “A guy
tried to choke me. But I handled it.” For
modulating a chronically overactive fight-
or-flight response, it’s hard to beat a bona
fide fight. “It’s a mortal struggle with no
consequences,” says Sam.
Rich, who runs an art gallery, joined
Fightzone at the same time as Sam, and
they’ve become friends. He heard about
Brazilian jiu-jitsu through The Joe Rogan
Experience, the podcast of the comedian,
UFC colour commentator and black
belt. “I knew it would be a bit scary to
be in a fight, and I wanted to battle that
frightened part of me,” says Rich. The
low-impact nature of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
makes it accessible even for older men.
(Chuck Norris became a third-degree
black belt at 75.) When Rich was forced to
take six months off because of a freak neck
injury, his “happiness rating” dropped
significantly. “I’m uplifted when I’m doing
this,” he says. “It gets all the aggression
out. It’s fun, too. Trying to strangle your
mates, giving them a hug afterwards.”
This is, perhaps,
where Brazilian jiu-
jitsu has a real hold “It’s a friendly
over other, less tactile
active pursuits. As community:
uncomfortable as
the prospect of close
we beat each
physical contact with
a stranger might be
other up, but
to many, research
suggests it’s something
in a nice way”
we all need more of. Studies conducted
by the Touch Research Institute at the
University of Miami have connected
“touch therapy” to reductions in
depressive symptoms and pain. Touch
also lowers heart rate and blood pressure,
while boosting immunity. Oxytocin, the
“cuddle hormone”, promotes bonding
and social behaviour. Cuddling and
choking are not quite the same thing –
but maybe they’re not always so different.
Rollling Thunder
The competition-only class at the Roger
Gracie Academy in west London is more
serious than anything I’ve experienced
so far. Instead of a gi, the students
wear compression gear in the gym’s
monochrome livery, or rash guards and
board shorts. At the far end of the room
hangs a row of solemn-looking Gracie
family portraits. Over the course of the
session, the floor becomes slick with
sweat and blood from an accidentally
contacted nose, which splatters over
a pair of trainers discarded at the edge
of the mat. The humid air fills with the
sound of slaps, grunts… and laughter.
Some of the laughter is emanating from
Roger Gracie himself, a 14-time Brazilian
jiu-jitsu world champion, the chairman
of the UK Jiu-Jitsu Federation and widely
held to be the sport’s greatest of all time.
THE NEW
FIGHT CLUB
The master offers his head to his students
so they can tighten up their choke games.
As he invites, then evades, their takedown
attempts, he grins like a 6ft 4in schoolboy.
“Jiu-jitsu is play-fighting,” he says. “You
have fun. At the same time, you learn to
fight.” Like Roach and Dern, he speaks
of how wanting to do better in training
engenders positive lifestyle changes: eating
better, sleeping more, drinking less. I hear
Edward Norton’s narrator in my head:
“Fight Club became the reason to cut your
hair short or trim your fingernails.”
The explanation for Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s
growing popularity, in Gracie’s view,
beyond the fact that you can be any size,
shape or age, is that it allows you to engage
in a full-blown fight – but without the blows
and head trauma. “You still try to win, to
control your partner,” he
says. “But you don’t have
that aggression.” You can
go all out, 100%, and if
it becomes too much to
handle, you can tap out
before any lasting damage
ensues. “‘The gentle
art’ – that’s the meaning
of it,” says Gracie, who
also fought in the UFC.
(There’s a picture of him in the academy’s
entrance, smashing another guy’s nose
with his fist.) “It’s the only art where you
can be gentle with your opponent.”
“Opponent” isn’t quite the right word.
In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, you need a willing
partner, not just a human punchbag. “You
can’t be unfriendly with someone you’re
having to learn with,” says Gracie. “That’s
why the community is so friendly. Some
of the best friends I have in my life came
from jiu-jitsu. We try to beat each other
up, but in a nice way.” Gracie moved to
London more than 16 years ago, and some
of his students have been training with
him ever since. He’s watched them get
promoted in belts and jobs, get married,
have kids and open one or more of his 14
affiliates around the country. “You have
greater intimacy with people,” he says.
“It’s not like you walk into the gym, don’t
say hi to anyone, train and leave.”
Brazilian jiu-jitsu builds self-confidence
but, crucially, it’s also humbling – even
for the great Roger Gracie. “I’m used to
losing,” he says. “I wasn’t amazing from
day one. I’ve tapped a thousand times in
my life.” Whether sparring or training,
Brazilian jiu-jitsu forces even the most
rampant ego to occasionally submit, and
not hang self-esteem on the outcome.
Some days, you’re on top; some days, a guy
called Khaled kicks your ass. You learn
how to win, but more importantly, you
learn how to lose – and keep rolling.
MEN’S HEALTH 81
 DROP
AND GO
01\ The Canadian
freerider Jordie Lunn
hurls himself down
a near-vertical cliff
side in the 2018 Red
Bull Rampage

01
Leaps
Of Faith
In the arid wilds of Utah, elite riders clear 20m
canyon gaps and fly down sheer cliff sides. But what
drives them to tread such a precarious line between
glory and disaster? MH dropped into the world’s most
dangerous mountain-biking competition to find out
WORDS BY SCARLETT WRENCH
Near the top of a
prehistoric mesa
in Zion National
Park, Utah, is a
sand-coloured
boulder the size
of a small truck.
It clings precariously to the side of the
mountain, poised to plummet to the desert
floor below. And it has a fitting name:
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson. The Rock
was christened by Brendan Fairclough, a
30-year-old freerider from Surrey, who is
planning to ride his bike off the top of it.
Once he’s done that, Fairclough explains
to MH, pointing up at the vertiginous
mountain in front of us, he’ll race down
its ridges, sail over its canyons and roll
across the finish line, a 237m near-vertical
drop below the start gate. These are not
the kinds of runs that bikes are designed to
handle – nor humans designed to survive.
The Red Bull Rampage is a mountain
bike competition unlike any other.
Competitors must be invited to take part
by a committee of veteran riders, and
only the best merit a spot. It’s not a race
to the bottom, though points are awarded
for speed. Riders are judged on a number
of criteria, including airtime and tricks,
as well as more virtuoso factors such as
fluidity and style. To put it bluntly, they
are rewarded for taking risks: riders score
points for their willingness to tread the
narrow line between victory and injury.
Rampage was founded in 2001 by Todd
Barber, who took his inspiration from
big-mountain skiing and snowboarding
competitions. The first event attracted a
motley crew of dirt jumpers, slopestylers
and downhill racers. It was, in a sense,
the UFC of mountain-biking: a mixed-
discipline event, at which competitors
pitted their skills against riders from a
broad spectrum of backgrounds, with no
guarantee as to who would come out on top.
The 13th event is held on the outskirts of
the small town of Virgin, where Mars-like
canyons, mesas and monoliths provide an
awe-inspiring stage on which the riders
84 MEN’S HEALTH
can showcase their skills. (The location,
incidentally, was first recommended
to Barber by his friend Josh Bender, a
Virgin native and rider who had attracted
attention in the sport after attempting a
17m drop – and ending up in hospital.)
Accidents are not uncommon but, as
Fairclough, who has ridden at Rampage six
times, puts it, “Normality is distorted out
here. You’re scared, but everyone is scared.” 02
He shrugs. “And it’s kind of normal.”
DIGGING FOR VICTORY
From top to bottom, the average run
is over within the space of a couple of
minutes. But that doesn’t tell the full
story. In reality, success is hard won over a
period of around eight days, as riders and
their two-man dig teams toil in the desert
to carve out and then practise their routes.
That’s another thing that makes Red Bull
Rampage unique: no two riders will run
the same line. And finding – or, rather,
building – a creative path within the site
boundaries is crucial to their final score.
If you want a sense of how complicated
this process is, watch an online video called
Risk vs Reward at Red Bull Rampage. In it,
Californian rider Cam McCaul explains a
“blind take-off”: a drop in which the first
time the rider catches sight of the landing,
it’s too late to adjust speed or trajectory.
“Two miles per hour too fast and the rider
will land halfway down and explode upon
impact,” says McCaul, matter of factly.
“[Going] two miles per hour too slow will
put the rider before the landing – and 03
cause them to get catapulted off the bike.”
Tensions run high in the days leading
up to competition. The teams are typically
up on the site before sunrise, enduring
the bitterly cold desert winds in the hours
GUTTER CREDIT
before daylight hits the mountain. After
that, the temperature quickly rises to
40°C, and the rest of the day is hot, dry

and dehydrating. “It’s hard to keep
up morale, so it’s important to have
people you trust and can relate to,” says
Fairclough, whose dig team comprises
his childhood friend and fellow pro-rider
Olly Wilkins, plus friend and former Royal
Marine Ben Deakin. “At the end of these
tough 10 days, you’ve got this intensely
physical and mentally demanding task.
On that day, you can’t be at your lowest
point. You’ve got to be ready to go.”
Carving the perfect line is very much
an art, not a science. “The judges have set
criteria, but it’s also about the overall feel,”
explains Gee Atherton, a downhill racer
from Wiltshire, who placed second at
Rampage in 2004 and 2010. “You can’t be
too clinical about it. Your run has to have
some life to it. It’s that soul, it’s that fire,
Leaps Of Faith
that’s going to impress the most… That’s
the thing that marks you out.”
As a result, the stakes get higher every
year, as the riders battle to outdo their
previous performances, as well as each
other. “It’s advancing quickly,” Atherton
says. “Lines that guys built for final runs a
couple of years ago would be used to warm
up on now. Every year, it gets bigger, and
the drops and gaps get a little bit longer.
And every year, you think: maybe this
is the peak, maybe this is as big as it can
get. Then, inevitably, everyone pushes it
a little bit further. It gets a little bit crazier.”
DANGEROUS GAMES
In 2015, a rider named Paul Basagoitia
from Nevada crashed on a step-down and

“The stakes get shattered his vertebrae. He was evacuated

by helicopter and required nine hours of
higher every surgery. The same year, Boston slopestyler
Nicholi Rogatkin tumbled off a cliff in
year. In 2015, his qualifying run, enduring a 12m beating
on the way down. Miraculously, he was
a rider shattered unharmed: he dusted himself off and
cleared the canyon gap on his next attempt.
his vertebrae It’s undoubtedly a profession that calls
for a fair amount of mettle, but competitors
in a crash” are more than just thrill-chasers. (“Are

04

DESERT
STORM
02\ Brendan
Fairclough, the only
British rider in
competition, darts
along a narrow ridge
03\ A rider makes his
ascent to the start
gate – a 40-minute
climb that affords
plenty of time to
question yourself
04\ Poland’s Szymon
Godziek in mid-flight,
as he practises for
a run that will earn
him eighth place
Leaps Of Faith
FLYING
WHEELS
05\ Spain’s Andreu
Lacondeguy prepares
for a nerve-racking
descent. From start
to finish, there’s a
vertical drop of 237m
06\ The US rider DJ
Brandt was called up
on a wildcard for the
invitation-only event
07\ French rider Vincent
Tupin soars above the
red Utah desert
08\ American Ethan
Nell celebrates coming
third place for the
second year running

05

you calling me stupid?” says Fairclough,

laughing, when asked about his motives.)
In reality, the risks are carefully assessed.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN PONDELLA, PARIS GORE, GARTH MILAN, BARTEK WOLINSKI, PETER MORNING
“It’s all calculated,” says Fairclough. “You
don’t go jumping off something without
knowing exactly what you’re jumping off.”
Evaluative skills are just one tool in a
rider’s arsenal. Physical training includes
weights-based strength and conditioning
work, as well as practising tricks and
developing endurance on the bike. Core
and upper-body stability is as important
as quads of steel when manoeuvring
down narrow, bumpy terrain.
Atherton isn’t a fan of the “adrenalin
junkie” label. “It’s not like I’ll do anything
just to give myself a buzz,” he says. “I’ve
been in this sport for a long time, and you
have to know when to push harder and
when to draw back.” Still, he concedes that
THANKS TO RED BULL

Red Bull Rampage “does attract people

who are willing to walk a very fine line”.
Most riders have suffered their fair share
of injuries. In a recent crash, Atherton
dislocated his hip and knocked himself
out. “The psychological side of recovery
was almost harder than the physical. It
took me a while to get back on the bike,” he
says. “But I worked through it. It’s a risk,
but I’m doing something I love.”
GUTTER CREDIT

One rider who has previously been

somewhat sceptical about the safety

07
86 MEN’S HEALTH

precautions at events such as Rampage is
Nevada-born Cameron Zink. In the year
of Basagoitia’s accident, Zink elected not
to do the second of his two runs down the
mountain – though it could have helped
him move up in the ranking – claiming it
wasn’t worth the risk. But he has been back
each year since, has placed on the podium
a total of four times and describes Rampage
as “an event unlike any other”. “You have
the freedom to go as big as you want, to do
anything you can dream up,” he says.
This time, however, things don’t go so
well for Zink. He is ruled out of competing
because of an existing shoulder injury,
for which he is scheduled for surgery. “I
was just going to deal with it, compete,
then get it fixed,” he tells MH. “But I was
coming down on a cash roll, which is
basically a front-flip 360, and it popped
out on landing. The medics didn’t want to
put it back in because of liability, so I had
a friend, Mitch Ropelato, do it. There was a
grinding and an elaborate pop… Bummer.”
A DOWNHILL BATTLE
On the morning of the competition, the
air is especially cold. High winds, which
unsettled a few of the practice runs,
now threaten to set the riders off course.
06
Fortunately, they quickly die down as
the day warms up. Spectators crowd the
surrounding hills, scrambling up to the
best vantage points, already caked in dry,
red mud. The medical team is on standby,
and helicopters circle overhead.
Then, one by one, the riders make their
way up to the start gate. The new site is
higher and longer than those of previous
years, adding around 45m of vertical drop.
It can take the riders 40 minutes to hike up
to the top, their bikes over their shoulders –
it’s simply too steep for cars or buggies.
The first rider, Szymon Godziek from
Poland, crashes hard after misjudging a
backflip. He shakes it off, picks up his bike
and finishes the run. Then, Fairclough
drops in. From the base of the route, he
resembles a distant dust cloud. He speeds
down to the Rock for his signature piece –
then drops off it with seeming ease, a fall of
almost 11m. He runs down the ridge line,
leading up to a 20m canyon. He clears it.
Then he rides down a sheer cliff drop and
builds up to a soaring backflip, before –
finally – passing the finish gate.
The canyon gap holds particular
significance for Fairclough. “Two years
ago, I built a jump that was 18m, but I
only managed about 15m and ended
up dislocating both of my thumbs,”
he explains. “So, we were looking for
“For one rider,
the psychological
side of recovery
after a crash
proved harder than
the physical”
08
redemption.” Wasn’t he afraid? “We’re
pretty dumb. We forget pain, you know…”
After much debate, it is announced
that the top prize goes to Brett Rheeder,
a first-time winner from Canada who
impressed the judges with a staggering
backflip that drew gasps from the crowd
below. Second up on the podium is Andreu
Lacondeguy from Spain, followed by
wildcard Utah boy Ethan Nell. Fairclough
– this year’s only British rider – takes tenth
place and receives the Kelly McGarry
Spirit Award, named after the relentlessly
positive New Zealand rider who died
in 2016, and given out to commend a
participant’s good humour and resilience.
MH catches up with Fairclough as he
steps off the podium. How does he feel
about the result? He looks down at himself.
“I’m in one piece. My legs and arms are in
the same position as when I arrived,” he
says, and smiles. “So, it’s all good.”
The next Red Bull Rampage will be held
on 25 October 2019. Visit redbull.com
MEN’S HEALTH 87
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 Our hectic modern lives mean maximising our training
time has never been so important. From a one-move
calorie-scorcher (page 94) and meals that burn fat for
you (pages 93 and 103) to gym-free lunchtime
circuits (page 98), our guide will help you to
PT build lean muscle on an unforgiving schedule
SPECIAL!
ILLUSTRATION: ALCONIC AT SYNERGY ART
 03 19 HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN FAST PROTEIN FIX

RECHARGE YOURSELF
POST-WORKOUT WITH
OUR THAI ENERGY BOWL

GREEN
GIANT 0

1
THE B VITAMINS IN YOUR

2
PEPPERS AND BEANS

3
5
4
HELP TO METABOLISE
YOU WILL TIME TO PROTEIN, CARBS 0-1MIN
NEED... MAKE AND FAT This lean chicken curry from
Chicken
breast pieces,
7MIN the Fitness Chef, Graeme
Tomlinson, couldn’t be simpler.
100g, cooked PROTEIN
In a bowl, mix the chicken,
Light coconut
milk, 100ml
31G coconut milk, garlic powder,
beans, pepper and curry paste.
Garlic powder, CALORIES
450
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | RECIPE: @THEFITNESSCHEF_ | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP I FOOD STYLIST: NICO GHIRLANDO | IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY

1tsp 0

1
Green beans,
CARBS

2
handful,
56G

3
5
4
chopped
Green pepper,
½, chopped FAT 1-5MIN
Green curry
paste, 1tbsp
10G Pop the bowl in the microwave
for four minutes and prep the
Microwave side salad. The medium-chain
basmati rice, fatty acids in your coconut milk
125g are a fast energy source and
less likely to be stored as fat.
0
7

1
6

2
3
5

5-7MIN
Now remove the bowl and
microwave the basmati rice
in its packet for two minutes.
Spoon the rice onto a plate and
pour over the Thai curry for
a reviving al desko dish.

SUPER SIDE #03

SWEETEN
THE DEAL
To complement the
Thai curry’s kick, call
on this mango salad. MOUTHWATERING
Bursting with fibre, it’ll Prep your fruit by chopping up Throw the fruit into a bowl with a handful MANGO SALAD
improve digestion and 100g of mango into small cubes and of spinach before drizzling over one An easy express salad
keep you full for hours halving three cherry tomatoes. teaspoon of olive oil. Toss and serve. containing under 150kcal.

MEN’S HEALTH 93
 03 19
FORM MASTERCLASS #08
GO ABOVE
AND BEYOND
IN THE GYM
Elevate your fat-burning
to new heights with the
American kettlebell swing,
a conditioning upgrade from
across the pond that will send
your excess baggage packing
in one swift, metabolism-
surging movement
BRING YOUR FAT
TO THE BOIL
The kettlebell swing may look
simple, but you can fall into
the trap of squatting, instead
of generating the power by
thrusting your hips. First,
practise the movement, then
strengthen the muscles you’ll
call on, and you’ll capitalise
on the calorie-burning
benefits of the real thing
YOUR TRAINER Tom Bliss
KNOWLEDGE: PT Bliss is strict
on lifting technique. He’ll
take you from apprentice to
athlete level in four steps.
CONTACT @tomblissfit
94 MEN’S HEALTH
A
B
01
BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE
2 SETS OF 10 REPS
Build a stronger set of glutes to power
the upward swing. Position your upper
back on a bench with a barbell resting
on your hips and your knees bent,
with the soles of your feet pressed
into the floor (A). Under control, drive
your hips upward, squeezing your glutes
at the top when they’re parallel with
the floor (B). Lower back down.
A
B
03
KETTLEBELL Z PRESS
2 SETS OF 10 REPS
Now enhance your overhead strength
and build the stability you need to control
the weight above you. Sit in an upright
position with your legs outstretched, with
a pair of kettlebells on your shoulders
in the front rack position (A). Press
them overhead together (B). Once
your elbows are locked out, return
the kettlebells to your shoulders.
A
B
02
SUPERMAN BACK EXTENSION
2 SETS OF 15 REPS
By strengthening your back, you’ll be
able to maintain proper form, even when
fatigue starts to set in. Lie chest down
on the floor with your legs and arms
outstretched (A). Initiate the movement
by squeezing your lower back and glutes
and simultaneously raising your arms and
legs off the floor (B). Hold for a couple of
seconds, then return to the start.
A
GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT | MODEL: LUIS YOUNG AT W MODELS | SHORTS CASTORE AT MRPORTER.COM, TRAINERS NIKE.COM
B
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | STYLIST: ABENA OFEI
04
RUSSIAN KETTLEBELL SWING
2 SETS OF 12 REPS`
Practise the Russian swing before going
overhead with the American version.
This will help you hone the movement
pattern you’ll need later. Holding the
kettlebell between your legs, initiate the
movement by swinging the weight back
(A), before driving your hips forward to
lift the kettlebell to shoulder height (B).
Let the momentum bring you back.

WE HAVE
LIFT-OFF
With new strength secured,
follow the form guide below
and grip the kettlebell handle
with confidence. You’re now
ready to tackle all the reps
of our workout without
pausing, for maximum calorie-
burning effect. Take a swing
PHASE 1
HINGE, DON’T SQUAT
Hold the top of the kettlebell
with both hands between your
knees. Swing back to start the
movement by hingeing from
your hips. With a slight bend
in your knees, drive your hips
back, as if opening a door with
your glutes. Keep your
chest above the kettlebell
and your back flat.
HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN METABOLIC BOOSTER SWING
PHASE 2
IT’S ALL IN THE HIPS
To bring the weight forward,
you need to drive your
movement from your hips,
not your arms. So, thrust
your hips forward just as
you did in the glute bridge,
keeping your back straight
and squeezing your glutes
as the kettlebell passes
through your legs and up
to shoulder height.
PHASE 3
OVER AND OUT
This is where the US
version differs from the
Russian swing. Finish by
continuing the movement
overhead, until the bottom of
the weight is facing upward.
Breathe, then control it
back down between your
knees to go straight into
your next rep. Find a
smooth rhythm and you’ll
fly through your set.
THE WORKOUT
20
AMERICAN
KB SWINGS
10
BURPEES OVER
KETTLEBELL
5ROUNDS AS FAST
AS POSSIBLE
POST YOUR SCORE
AND TAG US
@MENSHEALTHUK
MEN’S HEALTH 95
 GEEK TWEAKS #05 A BODY OF

NO WEIGHTS? BENEFITS
Bodyweight training

NO PROBLEM
has more to offer than
mere practicality. We
unpack the science
to prove its worth

FIRM
Light, portable and simple to set FOUNDATIONS
up, the TRX is the best investment The instability
of suspension training
that a time-poor man can make. HANG TIGHT AND TAKE works the ligaments around
your major joints and
Grab yourself a smart bodyweight YOUR DEFINITION
TO A HIGHER LEVEL strengthens the surrounding
workout any time, anywhere tissues. It can also increase
neuromuscular activation.

MULTI-PLANE
MASTERY
As the TRX works
from a single anchor point,

CHANGE IT UP
Learn these variations to ensure there’s no sticking point
it forces your body to recruit
muscles across all three
planes – the sagittal, frontal
and transverse – for a
in your movement and deliver smooth reps every time well-balanced physique.

SIDE PLANK WITH PIKE ROTATION

01 CHANGE THE
3 SETS OF 10 REPS ON EACH SIDE CHALLENGE
Target your love handles by lying sideways To prevent your
on the anchor point, both feet in the cradles weight-loss progress from
stalling, the TRX allows
and your elbow under your shoulder. Lift you to alter the difficulty of
your hips and reach your arm under your an exercise by increasing
torso. Reverse the move to start rep two. the load through greater
angles, ranges or speed.
SINGLE-ARM INVERTED ROW
02 COMPOUND
3 SETS OF 10 REPS ON EACH ARM BENEFITS
Sculpt your abs by positioning yourself The TRX is ideal
under the anchor, holding a single handle. prep for weighted moves
Point your other hand up. With your feet flat, such as compound lifts.
legs bent, extend your hips so your back is Using the straps, you can
get into lower or more
straight and row your body up. Lower down. precise positions to mimic
the actions of a lift.
SWIMMER’S PULL
EXPERT: MATT GLEED, TRX SENIOR MASTER TRAINER, @MATTGLEED | ILLUSTRATION: FLYING CHILLI

03 SIX-PACK
3 SETS OF 15-20 REPS
Now raise your metabolism. With your feet STRENGTH
The TRX tests
offset, hold the handles with straight arms your abs and smaller
and lean back. Lift up towards the anchor stabilising muscles as your
by pulling down, your core tense. End body fights against the
with arms straight by your sides. suspended base. Muscles
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TRX TRAINING, VISIT TRXTRAINING.CO.UK

are under tension longer,

burning extra calories.
ONE-LEG HIP PRESS
04 3 SETS OF
10 REPS EACH
Burn through calories
by working your legs.
Sit facing the anchor
and place one heel in
both cradles. Lie back with
your knee over your hips
at 90 degrees. Extend the
other leg up to the anchor.

MEN’S HEALTH 97
03 19
THE BIG WORKOUT
QUICK-FIRE FAT LOSS
IS WITHIN YOUR GRASP
Two dumbbells are all you need. Our targeted workouts
– designed to fire up every major muscle group – will
turbocharge your metabolism wherever you find yourself
01B
LEAN IN
18 MINUTES
To help you land the most
potent attack on your body’s fat
stores while armed with only a
pair of dumbbells, we’ve made
all of the moves in this workout
a combination of two exercises.
You’ll perform each super-move
pairing for 60 seconds, taking
a 30-second break in between.
Complete three rounds in
total, for 18 minutes of calorie-
torching intensity that leaves
no muscle unworked in your
quest for a leaner physique
01A
01
TALL KNEELING HAMMER
CURL TO FRONT RAISE
3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
In the first two weeks of your plan,
perform this workout on Mondays
and Fridays; in your second two
weeks, on Wednesdays. Kneel
down holding two dumbbells at
your sides. Curl both up (A),
squeezing your biceps, before
lowering them back down to your
hips. Without letting go, bring both
arms up in front of you (B), before
lowering again to work your abs,
biceps and shoulders hard.
02B
02A
02
FLAT-BENCH CHEST
FLY TO PULLOVER
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES
3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
The perfect pairing to sculpt your
STYLIST: ABENA OFEI | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT
chest and back. Lie on a bench
with your arms fully extended
above your chest, holding the
dumbbells. Keep your arms as
straight as possible as you lower
the weights down wide to stretch
your chest (A). Pull them back to
the start position. With a slight
bend in your elbows, lower both
arms behind your head (B), then
bring them back over your chest.
 HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN QUICK-FIRE FAT-BURNING

THE SPEC
MUSCLES
TARGETED

WORKOUT
18
MIN
RESULTS IN
4
WEEKS
LEVEL
HARD
04B
03A

03B
04A

03
RENEGADE ROW
04
GOOD MORNING TO
TO BEAR CRAWL BENT-OVER ROW
MRPORTER.COM, TIGHTS NIKE.COM, TRAINERS EU.PUMA.COM

3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC 3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC

MODEL: LUIS YOUNG AT W MODELS | SHORTS LULULEMON AT

At the top of a press-up, while Finish the round with a calorie-

holding a dumbbell in each
hand, set your feet wide and
keep your core tight as you
row one dumbbell up to your
chest (A), before returning
down. Repeat on the other
arm. Then “walk” both hands
forward (B) and bring each
foot to the press-up position.
Don’t stop for 60 seconds of
love-handle-shifting effort.
torching legs move. Hold the
weights in the top of a hammer
curl, as if there were a band
around your hips pulling them
back. Let your hips hinge to 90
degrees (A), keeping your chest
up and back flat. Extend both
arms below you (B), before
pulling them into your side. Drive
your hips forward to standing.
Now, another two rounds await.

MEN’S HEALTH 99
03 19

EXPERT Mark Ross

EXPERIENCE Ross balances
being a Barry’s Bootcamp
trainer, semi-pro footballer
and PT, so he knows how
to score weight-loss
01A results against the clock.
CONTACT @markross_fitness

02A

01B

02B

NON-STOP
INTENSITY SIDE BEND TO
LATERAL LUNGE
BULGARIAN HIP HINGE
TO REVERSE FLY
SHORTS NIKE AT MRPORTER.COM, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK

With its one-minute intervals

and use of lighter weights, this
workout keeps the intensity
high to help you expend extra
calories. “When you push past
the 30-second mark, lactic acid
builds up. It’s at this point that
you’ll create the most metabolic
stress to drive weight loss,”
explains trainer Mark Ross. So,
think of this workout as cardio
and weights rolled into one –
the most time-efficient way
to carve out a defined body
3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
Commit to this workout on
Wednesdays in weeks one
and two, and on Mondays and
Fridays in weeks three and four.
For the first combo, hold a
dumbbell in your right hand. Flex
your torso sideways to lower it to
your knee (A). Extend back up.
Perform a lateral lunge with your
left leg, lowering the dumbbell to
your foot (B), then rise to standing.
Switch sides after 30 seconds.
3 ROUNDS OF 60SEC
With one foot on top of the bench
and dumbbells by your sides, take
a step away with your other leg.
Imagine your hips are being pulled
back, so your chest lowers down
towards the floor, keeping your
arms fully extended (A). From
here, lift the dumbbells out to your
sides in line with your back (B).
Lower the weights, then raise your
upper body back to the start.
After 30 seconds, switch legs.
 HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN QUICK-FIRE FAT-BURNING

THE SPEC
MUSCLES
TARGETED

WORKOUT
18
MIN
RESULTS IN
4
WEEKS
LEVEL
MED

Now, switch to your quads. Start

in the finish position of the last
move to perform a one-legged
squat, dropping your opposite
knee to the floor (A). Before you
come back up to the starting
position, lift both dumbbells out
to your sides (B), squeezing your
shoulders at the top. Control
the weights back down, then
press back up through your heel.
After 30 seconds, switch legs.

MEN’S HEALTH 101

 03 19
MEAL PREP HERO #10
STICK IT TO FAT
Fire up the grill to fry through stubborn
flab with lean chicken skewers that also
pack the hand-held hit of protein you
need to put new muscle in its place
STRESS BUSTER
The tryptophan, vitamin
B5 and magnesium in
your chicken breasts will
help to lower your levels of
cortisol, a stress hormone
that is closely linked with
weight gain. Their protein
will protect your muscles
during a calorie deficit, too.
01 02
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFFREY WESTBROOK | FOOD STYLING: JAMIE KIMM | PROP STYLING: ROBYN GLASSER/VARGAS REPRESENTS
03 04
05 06
07 08
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33, LOUISA PARRY, DAN MATTHEWS, GETTY IMAGES
09
10
HARD-BODY HACKS FOR BUSY MEN SLAY YOUR CRAVINGS
CALORIE KICK
Garlic is thermogenic,
which means your
body produces heat and
energy when it’s eaten,
burning through calories
in the process. The cloves
and granules in this dish
will give your metabolism
a helpful boost.
11
12
CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH HOUMOUS AND PITTA
Prep five for a working week’s worth of easy fat-torching lunches
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: METHOD
1/ Canned chickpeas, 382 Step 1 To make your houmous,
250g, drained Kcal purée the chickpeas, olive oil,
2/ Olive oil, 1tsp cumin, harissa, tahini, lemon
3/ Cumin, pinch juice and garlic cloves . When you
4/ Harissa paste, 1tsp
5/ Tahini, 1tsp 8g have a smooth, thick consistency,
transfer it to a serving bowl
Fat
6/ Lemon, ½ , juiced
7/ Garlic cloves, 2
and season with salt.
8/ Vegetable oil, 1tsp Step 2 Preheat a grill to a
9/ Cherry tomatoes, 200g 27g medium-high heat. In a bowl,
10/ Chicken breasts, Carbs mix the vegetable oil, tomatoes,
5, chunked chicken chunks, granulated
11/ Granulated garlic, ½tsp garlic, paprika and oregano,
12/ Paprika, pinch plus two large pinches each
13/ Oregano, pinch 35g of salt and pepper. On wooden
14/ Pine nuts, handful Protein skewers, alternate between
15/ Feta cheese, chicken and tomatoes.
2 blocks, crumbled
16/ Wholemeal pitta bread, 5 Step 3 Grill your skewers for
four to five minutes on each
side, until the chicken is cooked
through. Assemble your dish
in the office with a spoonful
of houmous, pine nuts and
feta, then serve with either
a hot or cold pitta.
FIBRE IN THE HOLE
Not only are chickpeas
crucial for creating your
houmous, they’re also a
great source of fibre, which
slows digestion to help
you feel satiated. This
will put the brakes on
your cravings for blood-
sugar-spiking snacks.
HUNGER CONTROL
When you’re overweight,
your body can become
resistant to leptin, the
hormone that signals your
brain to stop eating. The
tomatoes on your skewers
contain anti-inflammatory
carotenoids, which can help
to reverse this process.
13 15 16
14
MEN’S HEALTH 103
03 19
GEAR CHANGE #31
FAT-SHIFTING
POWER TOOLS
Now that you’ve armed yourself
with the training knowledge to
send calories packing, secure the
kit you need for the workouts in
our weight-loss special. Invest now
and go hammer and tongs at home
HEX MARKS THE SPOT
Our Big Workout (page 98)
requires a pair of dumbbells
that can withstand the sweat
and toil of weight-loss circuits.
Hexagonal ends with heavy-
duty, rubber-covered heads
minimise noise and protect both
your weights and your flooring
THE TIME IS NOW at home from damage, so you
can focus on those final reps.
To burn through the largest
Bodymax Hex dumbbells
number of calories in your
20kg £70 for a set of two
dumbbell workouts and HIIT
sessions, it’s crucial that you
powerhouse-fitness.co.uk
stick to the one-minute-on,
30-seconds-off timing. An
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT LUCKY IF SHARP
LED clock that displays the
number of rounds you’ve
completed and how much time
you have left will hold you
accountable and keep you
motivated. It looks cool, too.
Bulldog Gear interval timer
£225 bulldoggear.eu
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY

PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE
The TRX (page 97) is a
versatile body-conditioning
tool for all levels of fitness.
It’s quick and easy to set up
at home, with three types of
anchoring solutions. And with
a year’s free access to the TRX
training app, fresh inspiration
for weight-loss wowrkouts is
always close at hand.
TRX Pro4 £200
trxtraining.co.uk
RESERVE THE BENCH
Don’t waste your precious
training time waiting in line
for a bench at the gym. With
six adjustable positions
offering plenty of versatility
for lying or seated sets,
this flat bench is the perfect
partner for your home fat-
loss workouts and boasts
the MH stamp of approval.
Men’s Health incline and
decline flat bench £70
full range at argos.co.uk
SWING SUPPORT
You’ll need a reliable kettlebell
to execute the American swings
in our Form Masterclass (page
94). “Odd object” training
can often be tough on your
wrists and forearms, but the
ergonomic design of this
handle ensures that there
is no slipping or excessive
movement when you’re
holding the weight overhead.
Coloured cast-iron
kettlebell 24kg £54.50
wolverson-fitness.co.uk
 _
GUIDE TO
_ STYLE

109
Rave On
Relive your 1990s heyday with
the Madchester-style bucket hat
130
Good Jeans
110 The Levi’s head of
Retro Revival design reveals the
Four 1970s fashion tribes are back hassle-free style
– this time with better taste essentials that

G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
make him tick
115
Rain Man
Fend off the spring deluge with
SS19’s reworked trench coats

126
Under Your Skin
Why dropping acid might be
the smartest trend in grooming

128
Lighter Load
SS19’s man bags prove good 118
things come in small packages Doubling Up
Forget the pinstriped bankers: the double-
116 breasted jacket has a fresh new look
Military Time
For their rugged charm, army
watches are your strongest allies

MEN’S HEALTH 107

 Twist
For men of a certain age,
SS19’s fashion shows were
noisily resonant with echoes of
the 1990s – the refrain being
Your
that we should look back,
only this time in nostalgia,
not anger. Aside from a surfeit
of neon and stonewash, this
mood was largely down to
the abundance of bucket
hats on the runways.
Melon
“As is so often the case, we
have Miuccia Prada to thank
for this trend,” says Dean
Cook, menswear buying
manager at Browns. “What
she kicked off with her AW18
Fashion designers have gone mad show, others have carried into
the new year. And with Fendi,
for Madchester-style bucket hats Kent & Curwen and River
that, until recently, were considered Island all in on the act, you
beyond the pale. So, why are they
tipping their brim to this retro hit?
01
The New
Old School
“Keep it current
with a form-fitting
zip-through knit”
– Dean Cook,
Browns
STOCKISTS: BURTON.CO.UK, K-WAY.CO.UK, PRINGLESCOTLAND.COM, RIVERISLAND.COM
03
can expect it to be a key piece
for the forthcoming season.”
Whether this strikes you
as a good or a bad thing
depends on which side of the
headgear fence you sit on.
Pulling on a beanie when the
mercury drops might be as
far as you’ll go, while others
are happy to experiment with
baker boy caps or raffish
fedoras. Certainly, the bucket
hat falls into this more
flamboyant category and,
as such, is a style that must
be approached with caution.
“Liam Gallagher may have
made it iconic, but as with all
comebacks, you don’t want
to look like a carbon copy of
Photography by Rowan Fee
Words by Jamie Millar
Styling by Eric Down
INSTANT UPGRADE
what came before,” advises
Cook. “Wearing one with an
oversized shirt might be too
literal a reference to the
1990s. But a fitted knit and a
long, smart coat will give it an
entirely different direction.”
Think beyond the bucket
hat’s stylistically dubious
heyday and it can be a
surprisingly versatile addition
to your look. “Whether
dressed down with luxe jog
pants or up with tailoring,
it will always have a more
playful character than the
ubiquitous watch cap,” says
Cook. In short, it’s a case of
being less “as you were” and
more “as you want to be”.
G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
02
04
01-K-WAY
£50
02-BURTON
MENSWEAR £14
03-PRINGLE OF
SCOTLAND £125
04-RIVER
ISLAND £15
 Flares For The decade that style

Fashion
apparently forgot has
been remembered with
renewed fondness as
a riot of corduroys and
shearling, orange and
brown, hits the rails.
But from AM radio
rockers to Boogie Nights
lotharios, which style
tribe do you most dig?
GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19

BLAZER £520
AND TROUSERS £230
BOTH SANDRO AT
MRPORTER.COM
CARDIGAN £115
BROOKS BROTHERS
SHIRT £290
CERRUTI 1881
SHOES £150
GH BASS & CO
HAT £395
LOCK & CO HATTERS
GLASSES £285
CUTLER AND GROSS
TIE £240
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
WATCH £1,100
BAMFORD GMT

The Cerebral Auteur

No, he’s not dressed like Wes Anderson – he’s channelling the films of Coppola and Fellini.
Hence the corduroy suit in upholstery brown that, crucially, isn’t vintage. Sandro and Brooks
Brothers perfectly capture that 1970s vibe but they’ve tweaked the fits for 2018, while
Cutler and Gross’s heavy-browed specs are a knowing take on the kind once favoured by
renegade auteurs-in-training at the local rep cinema. The same goes for the timepiece:
Bamford’s retro GMT watch is an authentic alternative to today’s dinner-plate-sized tickers.
 STYLE TRIBES: 1970S CHIC

Retro Revisit
“To keep things
current, team one
1970s piece with your
day-to-day wardrobe”
– Jake Turner,
Rokit Vintage

GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19
JACKET £895 OFF-WHITE
AT MRPORTER.COM
ROLL-NECK £155
JOHN SMEDLEY
SHIRT £185 FRAME
JEANS £85 LEVI’S
BOOTS £695 JIMMY CHOO
BASEBALL CAP £65
LUCKY SEVEN
SUNGLASSES £170
SHERIFF & CHERRY
WATCH £1,300 TAG HEUER

The Last Outlaw Photography by Jobe Lawrenson

Are you talking to him? Probably. But only to ask him where he got that field jacket. It’s this
Styling by Riccardo Chiudioni
season’s Off-White, but looks so authentically lived-in that he might have swiped it from Words by Tom Banham
De Niro’s wardrobe. No mohawk, though: for him, it’s all about the Burt Reynolds mane,
held in place with Native’s Styling Surf Spray. He had to get rid of the Harley when the kids
arrived, but he kept the weathered Chelsea boots, which peek out from his straight-leg
Levi’s. They give him that feel of the open road, even if he’s crammed onto the Central Line.
GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19

STOCKISTS: ADIDAS AT OFFICE.CO.UK, AKG.COM, AMPLIFIEDCLOTHING.COM, BALLY.CO.UK, BAMFORDWATCHDEPARTMENT.COM, BROOKSBROTHERS.COM, BRUNELLOCUCINELLI.COM,

CARL-F-BUCHERER.COM, CERRUTI.COM, CONVERSE.COM, CUTLERANDGROSS.COM, EMANUELE BICOCCHI AT SELFRIDGES.COM, FENDER.COM, FRAME-STORE.COM, GHBASS-EU.COM
SHIRT £148 THE KOOPLES
VEST £200 BALLY
TRACKPANTS £610 GUCCI
AT MATCHESFASHION.COM
SHOES £70 ADIDAS AT OFFICE
SUNGLASSES £435
CUTLER AND GROSS
NECKLACE £490 VERSACE
AT HARVEY NICHOLS
BRACELET £200 EMANUELE
BICOCCHI AT SELFRIDGES
BAG £880 PRADA
WATCH £3,600
CARL F BUCHERER

The Reformed Porn Star

What began as a Movember giggle has got slightly out of hand. His handlebar moustache
has now been joined by a chest rug, in which nestles a heavyweight Versace medallion.
Check his wrist for yet more gold. But this spin on 1970s bling isn’t mere costume. His
velvety Gucci trackpants hang with grace; he’s all about flair, not flares. And those shirts,
worn as wide open as post-Nixon China, aren’t vintage Hawaiians. They’re sharper takes on
the style by the Kooples, of course. Polyester’s the one thing this guy is happy not to revive.
 STYLE TRIBES: 1970S CHIC

Cleaning Up
“Use unscented
baby shampoo to
remove dirt from
vintage leather”
– Danielle Kendry,
Absolute Vintage

GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19
JACKET £409 SCHOTT
PERFECTO
GUCCI AT MATCHESFASHION.COM, JIMMYCHOO.COM, JOHNSMEDLEY.COM, LGRWORLD.COM, LEVI.COM, LOCKHATTERS.CO.UK, LUCKYSEVENCAPS.COM, OFF-WHITE AT MRPORTER.COM,
PRADA.COM, SANDRO AT MRPORTER.COM, SCHOTT PERFECTO AT SELFRIDGES.COM, SHERIFFANDCHERRY.COM, TAGHEUER.CO.UK, THEKOOPLES.CO.UK, VERSACE AT HARVEYNICHOLS.COM

T-SHIRT £20 AMPLIFIED

CLOTHING
JEANS £205 FRAME
SHOES £55 CONVERSE
SUNGLASSES £270 LGR
HEADPHONES £30 AKG
GUITAR £559 FENDER

The Born-Too-Late Rocker

Having raided Dad’s record collection, he knows that music just sounds warmer on wax.
But until they invent a pocket-sized turntable, he makes do with the Astell & Kern SR15
for that hi-fi sound on the move. On his head, a pair of AKGs – the go-to brand of rock
engineers when the Ramones were breaking the land speed record. And below, it’s all
neo-Dee Dee Ramone, too – ironic Iron Maiden tee, skinny Frame jeans and Converse
primed and ready to endure the pit at CBGB. Now, he just needs to learn to play the guitar.
 Trench WARDROBE CLASSIC

It may have earned its iconic status

on the battlefield a century ago,
but the inherent functionality of a

Revolution
The rise of swamping outerwear,
better suited to the icy summit
trench still makes it your strongest,
most stylish ally in the face of
a Great British deluge

of Kilimanjaro than Kilburn, has

resulted in an irritating profusion Clean Lines
of Puffa ensembles crowding the If your trench is
bar. Which is why the renaissance in dire need of a
of the trench coat – as seen at
wash, pop it in a mesh
Dior, Canali and Louis Vuitton –
is a welcome development. bag to protect your
The trench is an urbane solution buttons, straps
to cold-weather dressing: less and buckles
GROOMING: OSCAR ALEXANDER USING CLINIQUE AND FUDGE | MODEL: LOUIS GRIFFITHS AT SELECT MODEL MANAGEMENT | STOCKISTS: BRUNELLOCUCINELLI.COM,

counterfeit adventurer, more

sartorial faithful. It also has a rich
history. Both Aquascutum and
Burberry claim to have invented it
in the 19th century, originally as a

G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
lighter, waterproof alternative to
CANALI.IT, CHRISTIANLOUBOUTIN.COM, GUCCI AT MRPORTER.COM, HANRO.CO.UK, REISS.COM | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY

the military greatcoat, which later

saw service in two world wars.
“Form and function come
together perfectly in the trench
coat,” says William Gilchrist, stylist
to the Rolling Stones. “It’s a design
worth saluting.” Every element has
COAT £1,800 CANALI
purpose – the D-rings on the belt SHIRT £85 REISS
VEST £33 HANRO
might no longer be used to hold TROUSERS £670
grenades, but the storm flap on BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
SHOES £795
the shoulder, the throat latch and CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
BAG £1,420 GUCCI
sleeve straps bolster the garment’s AT MR PORTER
all-weather credentials.
Yet even bulletproof design
must evolve. Louis Vuitton offers
a leather trench that may feel too
Matrix for most, but it’s chic
nonetheless. Meanwhile, Hancock
and Norwegian Rain are making
use of engineered fabrics that
efficiently repel water. “Advances
in technology mean that the
trench coat has stopped being a
personal sauna. Fabrics can wick
and breathe,” adds Gilchrist.
So, should you feel the urge to
sing in the rain, you’ll finish in finer
fettle than a certain Gene Kelly. Photography by
Hamish Brown
Styling by
Art Humphrey Bogart Alain Delon Michael Caine Eric Down
Bogie’s Burberry, with The British trench Michael Caine’s black,
of the its soft structure met French Left double-breasted Words by
Trench elegantly fitting over a Bank cool courtesy of number in 1971’s Get Stephen Doig
Learn from suit, was Casablanca’s Alain Delon in 1967’s Carter brought to the
the timeless third star – though Le Samouraï. Teamed trench the hard-edged
icons who being complemented with a jaunty-angled toughness of a Geordie
wore it well by dusky one-liners trilby, it cemented gangster. Layer it over
and Ingrid Bergman the coat’s furtive a flannel three-piece
helped its case. noir aesthetic. – shotgun optional.

MEN’S HEALTH 115

 A Call War – what is it good
for? Well, watchmaking,
Remember that flashback to
Butch Coolidge’s childhood
in Pulp Fiction? Christopher
Walken’s mesmerising Captain
Koons coaxes a young Butch

To Arms
from his TV cartoons by
actually. The superb presenting him with a gold
legibility and durability watch that had belonged to
of an unashamedly generations of Coolidge
military men – a legacy Koons
rugged military-issue had promised Butch’s father
timepiece make it an he’d help to uphold. “The way
your daddy looked at it, that
essential component of watch was your birthright,”
your sartorial arsenal says Koons. “So he hid it in the
one place he knew he could
hide something: his ass.”
Other than hoping that the
captain had given it a thorough
clean and service, watch nerds
will have noted that Quentin
Tarantino’s prop master had
done well. The gifted item is
a genuine First World War
“trench” watch, complete with
G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19

02
Officer Class
01 Timex Allied
40mm £80
If you think that
the Timex Allied’s
24-hour dial markings
– picked out in a
canary yellow as
plucky as a feather
in an officer’s beret –
feel strangely familiar,
you’d be right. This

STOCKISTS: HAMILTONWATCH.COM, LUMINOX.COM, TIMEX.CO.UK, ULYSSE-NARDIN.COM, VERTEX-WATCHES.COM, VICTORINOX.COM

is the Dutch-owned
watchmaker’s
highly modern,
brass-cased
take on the US
military watch, a
02
no-nonsense style
it convincingly
embodies.

01
Absolute Power
Ulysse Nardin Marine 03
Torpilleur £6,800 Elite Squad
With its 60-hour power Luminox Navy SEAL
reserve and in-house 3502 Series £395
movement, Ulysse The US navy’s elite
Nardin’s Marine SEAL unit doesn’t just
Torpilleur is as 03 license out that dial
luxurious a “mil-spec” marking – it relies on
as the battlefield would Luminox’s tough-as-
permit. Though most old-flippers diving
top-end watchmakers watches. As well as
would showcase such tritium gas tubes that
mechanics using a glow for 25 years,
crystal caseback, this black-ops agent
Nardin celebrates its comes equipped
maritime heritage with a unique form of
with an engraving of armour: lightweight,
the watch’s torpedo chemical-resistant
boat namesake Carbonox composite.
Designed for all
environments – like
the SEALs themselves.
 WRIST ASSESSMENT

soldered, wire-loop strap Britain’s Vertex, making a

attachments. It was on the
Belgian front line that men’s
watches migrated from the
pocket to the wrist. Young
Butch was probably just
grateful for a watch so robust
it had weathered every major
20th-century conflict since.
War has incubated myriad
advances in the wristwatch,
from hands-free convenience
to dial luminescence and the
rotating bezel. But if this year’s
new recruits are anything to
go by, the definitive combo
of features that makes
a “mil-spec” watch such
a versatile addition to any
man’s footlocker was
achieved towards the end of
the Second World War. This
was when the Ministry of
Defence commissioned
12 brands to create the
“Watches Wristlets
Waterproof” range.
complete set of all 12 models,
known as “the Dirty Dozen”,
a watch collector’s holy grail.
Today, almost every
essential military-watch trope
can be traced back to the
WWW watches of 1944:
no-nonsense, white-on-
black styling, precision
timekeeping and
decent water
resistance. Oh, and a
rugged steel case. Bad
news if you want to
keep yours “safe” in
a prison camp...
Lost and Found
Point your watch’s 05
hour hand at the sun Stealth Attack
Vertex M100B
– true south is £2,624
halfway between When Don Cochrane
revived his great-
the hour hand and grandfather’s London
12 o’clock brand in 2016, Vertex’s
first phoenix from the
ashes was a new take 06
on its Allied military
American Hero
WWW piece of 1944. Hamilton Khaki Field
With its numerals Mechanical £375
in dazzling Super- Before it joined
LumiNova, this variant Switzerland’s vast
comes in stealth
Swatch Group as an
mode, coated in black affordable cousin of
diamond-like carbon. Omega, Longines et al,
Hamilton was one of
America’s biggest
watchmakers, making
it the natural choice for
the US infantry during
the Second World War.
With its manual-wind
movement, this
millimetre-perfect
reissue is as faithful
as it can get to its

G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
Just 145,000 1940s forebear.
were issued to
Allied forces by the
likes of Omega,
Longines and

05

04
Field Weapon
Victorinox INOX
Professional Diver
04
Titanium £649
Jokes about the
need for corkscrews
aside, the ubiquity
of Victorinox’s
Swiss army knife
06
“out in the field”,
from footlockers
to the International
Space Station, more
than qualifies its
tool watches as
battle-worthy. This
one adds a sturdy,
200m-water-resistant
titanium case, camo
dial and a strap made
from parachute cord Photography
for good measure.
by Rowan Fee
Words by Alex Doak
 THE PORTFOLIO

Double
Take
This season’s collections have reclaimed
the double-breasted jacket from Messrs
Gekko and Rees-Mogg by recutting it in
a leisurely style that’s rakish and relaxed
in equal measure. Here’s how to double
down – and ease up while you’re at it
G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19

SUIT £695
SHIRT £219
BOTH BOSS
VEST £33 HANRO
SHOES £795
CHRISTIAN
LOUBOUTIN
Photography by Hamish Brown
Styling by Eric Down
 THE PORTFOLIO

BLAZER £940
ZIP-THROUGH
£555
BOTH STELLA
MCCARTNEY
TROUSERS £790
PRADA
GLASSES £235
GREY ANT
BAG £1,630
CORNELIANI
GROOMING: OSCAR ALEXANDER USING CLINIQUE AND FUDGE | MODEL: EDGE AT SELECT MODEL MANAGEMENT | STYLE ASSISTANTS: RICCARDO CHIUDIONI, LAUREN MITCHELL | DIGITAL OPERATOR: JAKUB GLOSER | PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT: SCOTT ARCHIBALD

MANOLO
ARMANI

BLAHNIK
SHIRT £420

SHOES £650
SUIT £2,000

BOTH GIORGIO

The Sartorialist
– Scott Schuman,
Opening Gambit

the look feel current”

an open-neck shirt or
a sporty, high-neck zip-
jacket unbuttoned, with

through, instantly makes

“Wearing a double-breasted
G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
 THE PORTFOLIO

Hang Loose
“The modern double-breasted
jacket is more comfortable than
its starchy predecessor, as it is
looser, has a fuller drape and
feels more natural when your
hands are in your pockets”
– Robert J Spangle,
Thousand Yard Style
G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19

SUIT £885
RICHARD JAMES
T-SHIRT £180
ETRO
SHIRT (ON COUCH)
£135 RICHARD
JAMES
 THE PORTFOLIO

COFFEE POT £95, TRAY £99, TEACUP AND SAUCER £46 ALL ALESSI.COM

BLAZER £900
TROUSERS £540
BOTH PAUL
SMITH
T-SHIRT £165
BAG £1,220
BOTH PRADA
SHOES £765
CHRISTIAN
LOUBOUTIN
HAT £250 LOCK
& CO HATTERS
STOCKISTS: ARMANI.COM, BOSS.COM, CHRISTIANLOUBOUTIN.COM, CORNELIANI.COM, DIOR.COM, ETRO.COM, GREYANT.COM, HANRO.CO.UK, LOCKHATTERS.CO.UK, MANOLOBLAHNIK.COM, MATCHESFASHION.COM, PAULSMITH.COM, PRADA.COM, RICHARD-JAMES.COM, STELLAMCCARTNEY.COM

G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
Wide Boy
“Playing with your proportions
is a strong statement. A soft,
wide-leg trouser looks cool and
is comfortable for a bigger
physique. The fluidity also
gives ease to the formality”
– Jonathan Daniel Pryce,
GarconJon

JACKET £2,200
TROUSERS £690
BOTH DIOR
SHIRT £133
MASSIMO ALBA
AT MATCHES
FASHION
SHOES £515
PRADA
GLASSES £260
GREY ANT
 Peel Acid and faces tend not to
be good bedfellows. But the
glycolic kind – isolated from
sugary sources such as

Sessions grapes and pineapples – is

pretty sweet for your skin.
This low-pH wonder peel
sloughs off dead skin to leave
your face lighter, brighter
and bathed in moisture

Balancing Act
Avoid mixing acids
such as glycolic
and vitamin C – this
can alter pH levels,
making them
GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19

less effectivef

01
For sun damage
DCL Skin Renewal Complex SPF30
Because glycolic acid thins your skin by
removing dead cells, it’s doubly important
to cover up with an SPF. This moisturiser
includes SPF30 alongside glycolic
and hyaluronic acids, so your newly
smoothened skin is UV-protected.
£117 spacenk.com

Photography by Barry Makariou

Words by Tom Banham
 GROOMING MANUAL

02 For razor burn and redness
Anthony Glycolic Facial Cleanser
Glycolic acid strips dead skin cells, but high
concentrations can leave skin raw. At 4.9%,
Anthony’s is strong enough to exfoliate and
soften the coarsest sailor’s beard, but gentle
03 For oily skin
Malin+Goetz AHA Treatment Solution
Men have more sebaceous glands than women,
so our skin gets greasy quickly. M+G’s solution
pairs glycolic and lactic acids, which mop up oil
but hydrate the cells, to leave your face matte
04 For dull skin
REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask
If your skin is looking grey, it’s probably coated
in a layer of dead cells. Smear this mask on, enjoy
the tingly feeling for 10 minutes (this indicates
the acid is exfoliating them all off), then wash

GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19
enough to use daily. Perfect for swashbucklers. but moisturised. Derek Zoolander-worthy. away to reveal skin that glows like a newborn’s.
£26 thegroomingclinic.com £36 malinandgoetz.co.uk £36 spacenk.com

05 For saggy skin 06 For wrinkles 07 For breakouts

Perricone MD High Potency Face Firming
Once only available to dermatologists, this serum’s
one-two acid punch offers instant firmness.
Glycolic hydrates skin from within, while alpha
lipoic fights free radicals, repairing damaged
skin cells. Worth a punt for any jowly cheeks.
£95 spacenk.com
Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads
Glycolic acid molecules are minuscule, so they
penetrate deep into your skin to stimulate
collagen production. This burly cocktail of alpha,
beta and gamma acids – including glycolic –
removes dead cells and plumps fine lines.
£46 selfridges.com
Bulldog Oil Control Blemish Targeter
When your normal cleanser’s not cutting it, this
targeted treatment deploys the grease-killing
power of glycolic acid alongside spot-stoppers
witch hazel and lactic acid, to bust breakouts
before they flare up on your handsome mug.
£6 bulldogskincare.com

Strength
in Numbers Alkaline Acid
Pick the wrong potency
and you could get
burned. Here’s how to
find your ideal pH 5% 7% 10% 20%+
Sensitive Glycolic Oily or acid- Professional
skin acid virgins tolerant skin chemical peels
 Baggage Not long ago, man bags
were seen as epicene
affectations. But in

Reclaim these more enlightened

times, we’re beginning
to realise that small
isn’t just beautiful –
it’s a whole lot more
practical, too

OO £ 75 0
I M M Y CH
J
GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19

S £ 16 0
M AIN

£495
R RY
M UL B E

EY £350
C ART N
L A MC
S T EL

50
£1,3
DIO R
 THE EDIT: MAN BAGS

Neat Solution
“Unlike backpacks,
these light, stylish
bags won’t crease and
distort your jacket”
– Gene Ricketts,
opumo.com

7
PA K £2
E AST
STOCKISTS: UK.COACH.COM, DIOR.COM, EASTPAK.COM, JIMMYCHOO.COM, MAINSLONDON.COM, MULBERRY.COM, RIVERISLAND.COM, STELLAMCCARTNEY.COM, UK.TOMMY.COM, UMBRO.CO.UK

GUID E TO STY LE – 0 3 / 19
0
TIO N £11
LLEC
IG ER CO
HILF

H £ 25 0
C OAC

8
N D £1
E R I SL A
RI V

O £30
U M BR

Photography by Rowan Fee

Styling by Eric Down
Jonathan
HOW I GET DRESSED
Cheung
5.45am
After my alarm goes off,
I have a quick stretch. I
don’t eat breakfast during
the week: human beings
have evolved to be
mentally sharper when
we’re hungry. Instead,
I just have some coffee.
5.55am
I don’t shower the first
thing in the morning –
I leave it until after I’ve
worked out in the evening.
I was a small, skinny kid
G UI DE TO STYL E – 0 3 / 19
and bulking up helped me
psychologically. Tabata is
great for building stamina.
5.56am
I’ve been buzz-cutting my
hair for years, since a girl
convinced me to get rid of
my Liam Gallagher/Bruce
Lee mop. I have Wahl hair
trimmers (1), which I also
use on my face: it’s more
robust than other shavers.
6.01am
Every now and then,
I check out my body
composition on my
Fitbit scales. Because
of my intermittent
fasting and clean diet,
staying below 8% body
fat is fairly effortless.
03
KIEHL’S OIL
ELIMINATOR £33
04
QUIP SLATE
METAL ELECTRIC
TOOTHBRUSH £40
02
VICTORINOX PIONEER
ALOX KNIFE £47
6.02am
I use a Swiss army knife (2)
to deal with my stray hairs
and nails – a great example
of how good design can
address our needs. I have
one in nearly every room: a
white one in my bathroom,
to match my tiles.
6.03am
After washing my face, I
apply Kiehl’s Oil Eliminator
moisturiser (3), which
doesn’t leave your face
greasy. I also use Mother
Dirt’s probiotic spray,
which clears, controls
and tightens my skin.
6.07am
I clean my teeth with a
Quip electric toothbrush
(4) – it has a clever, pen-
like design, with a cap
that makes it stick to
tiles or a mirror, so it
doesn’t leave a sticky
residue on your sink.
6.12am
The perfect T-shirt is like
a unicorn. It’s very hard
to define. I go for brands
like J Crew and, of course,
Levi’s (5). I prefer a closer
fit, as it streamlines your
frame and prevents you
from looking shorter.
As the head of design at Levi’s, Jonathan
Cheung knows that starting the day
on the right foot is vital. A clean diet,
fastidious exercise routine and a
considered wardrobe provide the tools
he needs to be as resilient as his denim
06
6.25am LEVI’S 501
One of my most prized JEANS £65
watches is my Sinn
EZM1 (8), a minimalist
chronograph without
subdials, made of titanium.
There’s something Dieter
Rams-ish about it.
6.28am
Trucker and Sherpa
jackets are my outerwear
go-tos. I often wear
vintage styles: they just
get better with age, as the
material becomes more
lived-in and seasoned.
05
WORDS: SHANE C KURUP | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK | WAHL.CO.UK, VICTORINOX.COM, KIEHLS.CO.UK, GETQUIP.COM, LEVI.COM, ADIDAS.CO.UK, SINN AT JURAWATCHES.CO.UK
6.45am
I walk my schnauzer, Suzy,
every morning. Walking is
active meditation, when
your subconscious and
conscious minds join the
dots. It’s a crucial part of
Jonathan the creative process.
Cheung
In a 25-year
7.15am
career spanning I have a beautiful commute
six countries, across the Golden Gate
Cheung has Bridge. I listen to a
worked with podcast or a book
Giorgio Armani, summary on blinkist.com
Franco Moschino as I drive. It’s important
and Marc Jacobs
LEVI’S T-SHIRT £25 to maximise your time.
08
6.14am
The classic 501 (6) is my
everyday pair. The design
is still so popular as it
evolved from a practical
need (originally, the jeans
were worn by gold miners
over their trousers).
6.18am
Trainers are my main bag.
I only wear classic designs,
such as Adidas Stan Smith
01 (7) or Vans Pro Skate. I’m
WAHL AQUA BLADE a bit older now, so I’d feel
BEARD AND STUBBLE SINN
TRIMMER £90 a bit too try-hard in the EZM1 WATCH ADIDAS ORIGINALS
latest Yeezy Boosts. £4,800 07 STAN SMITH £75
Jonathan’s Heavy-Duty Style Advice
01/ Jean Splicing 02/ Effortless Cool 03/ Dark Matters
Make sure you own two White trainers have the Having a base palette
decent pairs of jeans: a sort of easy charm that of “masculine” colours
black pair and a light-blue Hardy Amies often – dark indigo, black,
wash. They’re a solid bedrock cited. They’ll even make your grey and olive – is a risk-free
on which to build your look. suit look more contemporary. way to wear bolder shades.