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Contents Steel yourself
April 2016
Henry Cavill hasn’t always been invincible. Learn from his journey to the top p68
ON THE COVER THIS MONTH p57 A-list workouts Get in superhero shape in a matter of weeks – with help from Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt and 22 more stars who’ve already done it p105 Lift better Know exactly what to do whenever you step into the weights room with MF’s definitive ten rules p131 Hard muscle fast Follow these workouts to ensure your body performs to its full potential– and looks amazing
p100 Drink tea, beat stress …as well as torching fat, staying healthy and energising your body p23 Shrink your gut in one move The secret to more muscle and better fat burning? Using kettlebells to cause an earthquake p129 Crush man flu All the supplements you need to fight off the sniffles p92 Power lunches Eat healthier and save time – the definition of win-win April 2016 | 5
April 2016
Updates p15 Intense beats Why your new fat loss aid is a pair of headphones p19 Anyone for cricket? We’ll all be tucking into proteinrich insects before too long p29 Perfect snacks Delicious, guilt-free and easy to make – these flapjacks hit the sweet spot
Personal Best p45 Kevin Hart The comedian and movie star is on a mission to bring people together all around the world using the power of fitness. MF finds out more p50 The ultimate dumbbell guide If you want to get fit at home, you need dumbbells. And if you’re not going to give up, you need the right ones
Features p78 Straight up What does it take to run 1,000 vertical metres? Monstrous cardio and phenomenal leg strength (some mountain goat genes wouldn’t go amiss too). MF meets some of the world’s fastest skyrunners – and takes on one of the world’s toughest challenges
p45
Fuel
p78
p85 Super freekeh Bin the quinoa – this ancient grain is the latest word in nutritional goodness p90 I believe I can fry It’s true – even if you’re sticking to a healthy diet, you can still have a full English
p129
Trainer p114 Box clever Torch hundreds of calories with one simple bit of kit p119 Treadmill trial A new class promises to get you faster and stronger using nothing more than a treadmill. MF puts it to the test
6 | April 2016
p119
IN THIS ISSUE
We asked three of our experts: what would your superpower be?
Matt Maynard
Outdoor journalist and ultrarunner (p78) “I love long training sessions in the Andes mountains near my home. My superpower would be to magic my favourite training foods out of the air to keep me going.”
James Potter
Creator of our Hybrid Training plan (p131) “I wouldchosetheability to recoverfromtraining sessionsinstantlysoI could traintwo orthreetimesa day everyday.Ilovebeing in the gymandputting theworkin, andit’s my bodyrather than my mindsetthatkeepsme fromtrainingevenharder.”
Q: What’s your superpower? I’d like to believe that each of us has some sort of extra special power – that one thing that sets us apart, if not from the rest of the human race, then at least from the other people in our office. Obviously I’m not talking about invisibility, X-ray vision or adamantium claws (think of the accidental upholstery damage) but something we’re just really bloody good at. And whatever it is, you can bet it’s not the result of a cheeky spider bite or genetic dabbling by sinister government officials – it’s all thanks to hard work and discipline. That’s my biggest take-away from our superhero special this issue. While the fictional heroes have largely gained their amazing powers and similarly amazing bodies from a combination of industrial accidents and DNA mutations, the very real actors who play them have built their heroic physiques the old-fashioned way: brutal training, strict-verging-onbonkers diets and pure dedication. And they’ve done this on top of the small matter of working their way to the top of the Hollywood tree to become bona fide A-list movie stars. We hope their fitness journeys inspire yours – and remember, cape and mask are optional. Well, they are at the gym we go to.
Joe Barnes, Editor @MF_Barnes 8 | April 2016
Dan Wheeler
YOUR BEST EVER BODY STARTS AT
TBT.MENSFITNES S.C
O.UK
Body transformation specialist (p107) “I’d like to be Empower-Man, giving people the confidence to chase after their own goals.”
LY N S E Y D Y E R
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Issue 190
April 2016
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MEN’S FITNESS Dennis Publishing Ltd, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD EDITORIAL Joe Barnes 020 7907 6519 Joel Snape 020 7907 6816 William Jack 020 7907 6522 Ben Ince 020 7907 6528 Chris Miller 020 7907 6520 Sam Rider 020 7907 6523 Matt Huckle 020 7907 6498 Alex Sowa 020 7907 6518 Rhian Clugston (art), Gareth Beach (subbing), Sophie Lodge, Dale Rawlings (interns ) Staff email [emailprotected] Work experience enquiries [emailprotected]
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Max, head of digital content #MoveWithHart
Over 1,000 people joined stand-up comic and Ride Along star Kevin Hart for an early morning 5K run around Battersea Park. He told MF about working with Nike to get people moving – and why he thinks there’s an athlete in all of us (though probably not a basketball player in him). Read the interview on p45.
Matt, features writer #MFTBT
After Christmas I realised I’d built up some extra timber. Lucky for me Men’s Fitness has launched an 80-day body transformation plan, so I’ve volunteered to test it. I’m enjoying the workouts, which are all short enough to dust off in a lunch hour. Sign up for your tailored plan at tbt.mensfitness.co.uk.
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Sophie, intern #redmonday
A Monday HIIT session with Joe Wicks is one way to blow away the cobwebs – and MF’s Man of the Year didn’t go easy on us with his new Fitness First class. I couldn’t finish it, but fellow intern Dale fared worse, earning the nickname “Sicknote”. He blamed a heavy weekend, naturally…
Newstrade Director Newstrade Manager Lifestyle Direct Marketing Manager Syndication Sales Manager Licensing Manager
Ben, deputy editor #getagrip
Having signed up for the obstacle course race Toughest, I’ve been working on improving my grip strength (and all-round ninja skills) with lots of pull-up variations, monkey bar traverses and farmer’s walks at the gym. Find out more at toughest.se.
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Fuel consumption and CO2 figures are obtained for comparative purposes in accordance with EC directives/regulations and may not be representative of real-life driving conditions. Model shown is the Abarth 595 Yamaha Factory Racing Edition 1.4 T-Jet 160 HP at £17,890 OTR including Gara White paint at £300 and optional Side Stripe and Mirror covers at £170. *Your Abarth 595 Yamaha Factory Racing must be registered by 31st March 2016 to qualify for the complimentary Track Experience. Offer only applies to selected stock vehicles registered by 31st March 2016 and is subject to availability. See the full terms and conditions here. www.abarthcars.co.uk/track-experience. Abarth UK is a trading style of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK Ltd.
MFAQ
Got a question? MensFitnessMagazine
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Q
I’m keen to make sure my child is active as young as possible. Are there any drawbacks to this? Giuseppe, North Yorkshire Provided you’re not trying to get a two-year-old benching 100kg, it’s a very good thing. The biggest benefit may surprise you, though. A team at the University of Colorado found that exercising at an early age can permanently alter the state of microbes in your stomach for the better, promoting healthier brain and metabolic activity over a lifetime. They didn’t establish an exact age to start, but the findings suggested the earlier the better.
USETHE HASHTAG #MFAQ
Will spinning classes make you a better cyclist, or do you need to get out on the road?
Q
Q
I can’t resist a midnight snack sometimes. I stick to healthy food so it can’t be that bad – right? Kieran, Exeter The “no carbs after 6pm” rule may have been debunked, but there’s still bad news for midnight snackers – whatever they eat. A UCLA study suggested abnormal eating patterns could impair the brain’s hippocampus, which manages emotions and memory. The upshot? Try not to eat round the clock – if not for your belly, for your brain. 12 | April 2016
Q
I can’t always get out on my bike for a proper ride. Will going to a spin class instead help make me a better cyclist? Dean, High Wycombe Well, yes and – have you guessed what’s coming? – no. “Spin classes do work the key cycling muscles, and the intense effort will help your pedalling power,” says Cyclist magazine’s Peter Stuart. “But essentially it’s a general fitness workout. If you really want to become a better cyclist, you’ll need to swap those intense short sessions for longer efforts, which are key to improving the endurance you’ll need.” In other words, you need to put the miles in.
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Q
In your recent Fitness Exam feature, you said the pull-up is the best move for rectus abdominis activation. Surely it’s the abs wheel roll-out! Can you show your working? Reinder, the Netherlands This came from research by Bret Contreras, who used an electromyography (EMG) machine to measure muscle activation in more than 50 moves and the pull-up came top. He says bracing your back to keep a straight line from shoulder to knee forces your core to work hard. The roll-out was best for working your internal obliques.
Photography iStock
I’m overweight and this year I’ve been exercising to slim down, but nothing’s shifting yet. Am I not working hard enough? Karl, Lancashire It might not be easy to hear, but new Anglo-Japanese research has found that the more fat your body has, the more it resists burning it off. The study found that the amount of a protein called sLR11 in the blood correlated with the person’s total fat mass. This protein suppresses the process of turning fat cells into energy, so the more you have, the harder it is to lose weight. Remember, while exercise is important – upping the intensity and reducing rest periods should help – diet is key, so make sure you’re eating lots of veg and cut out foods with added sugar.
04 15
Updates
What matters now
Music makes you HIIT harder
Words Max Anderton Photography Shutterstock
W
e’ve long known that music boosts running performance – by up to 15% according to a 2012 study – now scientists have looked into how it affects highintensity interval training. The results? Listen up. McMaster University in Canada found 20 people who’d never done a HIIT workout, and asked them to do sessions on exercise bikes. “People who listened to self-selected music during HIIT not only enjoyed the exercise more, they also worked harder,” says study author Mark Stork. On top of that, none of them considered the workout where they went harder any more demanding.
The Bottom Line It’s important
to note that the participants listened to their favourite tunes. Pumping out Little Mix won’t have the same effect – or at it least shouldn’t…
April 2016 | 15
Updates | Fitness
Slow down, live longer
A mask will give your diaphragm a good w o r ko u t – i f t h a t ’ s what you want
Do training masks really work?
Photography Rupert Fowler, iStock
We watched Apollo’s son using one on the treadmill in Creed – but does science agree with Rocky Balboa’s coaching?
W
earing a mask when training supposedly limits air intake to mimic the effects of altitude, building lung capacity and VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise). That’s what the manufacturers claim, anyway, but the most recent experiment – done on American army cadets – found no significant improvements to anaerobic capacity, peak power, VO2 max or time to exhaustion over an eight-week period. It concluded the main effect was to make the lungs and diaphragm work harder to get more air. “There’s only one surefire way to improve oxygen uptake for any given activity,” says exercise physiology expert Chris Toms. “The more you cycle, the better your oxygen delivery will be on the bike. The more you swim, the better it’ll be in the pool, and so on.” For additional fat burning The Bottom Line Strengthen your diaphragm and and cardio benefits, go to an altitude chamber lungsbyjustbreathingthroughyournosewhileexercising. (currently only in a few London locations, but Virgin It’s free, and equally if not more effective. Sorry, Rocky. Active plans to build more this year) to train with reduced oxygen, rather than just reduced airflow.
Race Right Whether marathon training or considering your first 5K, use new science to cross the line with confidence
Stretch yourself
Pre-race dynamic movements such as high knees and heel flicks don’t just reduce your chances of a postrace limp. The Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research says it also helps you run “significantly further before exhaustion”.
Stick with girls
Us overeager blokes aren’t as good as pacing ourselves as women, according to another study from the same journal. Tail a lady going at your target speed to stay on track for that PB. (Eyes up, please.)
The number of people with diabetes in Britain has crept over the four million mark, putting it at an all-time high. Type 2 is generally associated with lifestyle, particularly dietary choices – but just because you aren’t mainlining cakes and fizzy pop, don’t think you’re immune. A fouryear Chinese study found anyone with an average heart rate of 88bpm or higher is 73% more likely to develop the condition. The good news? Regular exercise slows it over time. The even better news? Research published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine found three 33-minute highintensity interval sessions a week can lower it by 13% in just eight weeks.
Beat matching
How does your ticker compare to these benchmarks?
72bpm Average UK male
40bpm Endurance athlete
27bpm Lowest recorded Stop bounding
Around 31% of runners get pre-race injuries. Scandinavian researchers found shrinking stride length by 10% correlates to a dramatic drop in that figure. Reduce yours by listening to 180bpm music and synching your steps to the beat.
April 2016 | 17
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Upd on Updatess | Nu Nutrition
M
u ch
i , the wo ld The next big thing? This month: sirt foods
The latest developments in nutrition – explained
This year’s health fad frontrunner is here. It’s bagged a skinny celeb advocate in Jodie Kidd, while boxer Anthony Ogogo and rugby star James Haskell are also supporters. What’s the deal? “Sirt foods activate sirtuin genes – the same ones that are stimulated by exercise – clearing cellular waste and burning fat,” says Aidan Goggins, co-author of The Sirt Food Diet. “A large-scale, independent 2013 study showed they reduce heart disease, diabetes, inflammation and obesity risk, as well as improving brain function.” “It’s hard to criticise,” says dietitian Priya Tew
ealworms,, beetle larvae and g grasshoppers have a all been championed as a sustainable bl protein p sources that h could stop p farmed f livestock k obliterating g the planet’s resources. o And d now o a Dutch h research a team a has a found o o out they’re also a good source off f healthy fatty acids.. ff “All the oils smell different… some nicer than others,” says D Daylan Tzompa Sosa, lead author d off the study published in F Food R h International. l. They’re h Research not yet cleared ffor human p b could ld be b on consumption, but h l l h year – let’s l h shelves later this hope they sort the pong out fi first. IIn the meantime, you can buy f environmentally friendly insect p p f shakes protein as a powder for (smashit.co.uk), smooshed up p in bars (chapul.com), or whole f (thefarmedinsectcompany.com) f Blumenthal levels off culinary y for invention. Creepy crawlies have a nutty tang, apparently.
(dietitianuk.com). “The The top sirt foods [listed right] appear on most healthy food lists and have plenty of benefits aside from their sirtuin-activating properties. However, it’s wise to remember that alcohol is still a toxin, even in delicious red wine. My advice? Eat a wide variety of plant-based foods to get as much good stuff as possible, sirtuin friendly or not.” The slight catch? The full list can currently only be found in the Sirt Food Diet book.
Topp 10 sirtt foods sir
Green tea Dark chocolate Turmeric Kale Blueberries Parsley Capers Citrus fruits Apples Red wine
The Bottom Line It’s not a miracle diet, but sirt foods
contain lots of healthy compounds on top of their genemanipulating trickery, so you can’t go wrong by eating more.
R Reason to eatt more i #6577 protein b ld and d It builds p l but b repairs muscle, l d knew k w you already th Now, a study d that. t e Journal Off in the The International Societyy Of Sports u i i n suggests gg Nutrition p flab fl too it strips – a lot off it. Two g d d two groups did b d and d upper-body t y two lower-body sessions a week. The one on a g high-protein diet ( g per kilo off (3g b d h each h bodyweight d day) dropped three t f times as much fat o gh weeks. k over eight
T e future u u e could cou d The s ee er be sweeter h An enzyme that c g could make sugar less unhealthy has bee identified de t fied been b the University y by y of Montreal. “By d g glucose gl e diverting a glycerol, l l G3PP P as p prevents excessiive forma formation and storage of fat,” says diabetes researcher Dr Murthy Madiraju. It’s the first new metabolic enzyme discovered since the 1960s, but don’t start the cookie binge just yet – clinical trials are still needed. In the meantime, satisfy your sweet tooth with natural alternatives to refined sugar, such as honey and agave nectar. April 2016 | 19
Words Max Anderton Illustration Ryan Chapman Photography Henry Carter
Grasshoppers contain more protein, less fat and fewer carbs than peanut butter
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Updates | People
Man up like Adam Walker
A lesson in toughness from the extoaster salesman who became the first British swimmer to complete the Ocean’s Seven* challenge
Words Max Anderton, Sophie Lodge. *Swimming the North Channel, Cook Strait, Molokai Channel, English Channel, Catalina Channel, Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar, a total of around 205km
Dream big, start small
“I hadn’t swum in eight years, and then I saw a movie about a guy who loses his job and decides to swim the Channel. That day I tried to go nonstop for 45 minutes in the pool. Five months later I was doing five hours straight,” says Walker, 37. “My first open-water experience was in a lake in February. I got severe hypothermia and nearly died.” Most people might have quit then – not Walker. “It just made me more determined. I didn’t want to have nearly killed myself for nothing.”
Celebrate any achievement
“Negative thoughts make bad situations worse. While you think you’re warm you can’t be cold”
“During the Ocean’s Seven I was up against extreme cold, strong currents, giant swells and terrifying marine life, so any progress – no matter how tiny – was a massive achievement,” says Walker. Next time you run a disappointing 10K or can’t complete a set, congratulate yourself just for doing it. You’re achieving more than the 90% of Brits who (according to a nationwide survey) haven’t exercised at all in the past four weeks.
Always look on the bright side
True toughness is making a bad situation positive. “I got stung by a Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish. I was in agony, but I had to find a way to carry on,” says Walker. “I thought, ‘I can swim for one minute. Everyone can do something for one minute.’ I managed 30 seconds before yelling in pain again. Then I visualised the burning sensation as a warm blanket and convinced myself I was lucky to have it.” He swam for another 3½ hours, knowing nothing else he faced would be as hard.
Train your brain
“Negative thoughts make bad situations worse. Focus on positivity instead,” says Walker. “Be specific: while you think you’re warm you can’t be cold. While you think you’re strong you won’t be weak.” Research by the University of North Carolina confirms this sentiment, finding that optimistic feelings can not only allow us to succeed more often, but also provide more opportunities – whether that’s a role being created for you at work or an invite to join a five-a-side team.
Embrace all obstacles
“You’re going to face all sort of barriers in life,” says Walker. “When you overcome them – big or small – you’re getting stronger, whether that’s
physically, emotionally or both. Conquering these swims means I can now propel myself to do anything I want in life.” He proved this by beating his fear of public speaking to present a talk at the Royal Geographic Society about his experiences and start a career as a motivational speaker. Adam Walker’s book Man vs Ocean is out now. Visit oceanwalkeruk.com
Walker in the Cook Strait off New Zealand, where he was accompanied by dolphins
April 2016 | 21
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Updates | Training
MUST-DO MOVE
Build stability and strength in one move
Words Joel Snape Photography Danny Bird Model Callum [emailprotected]
Need to destroy a training plateau? Use the earthquake squat – and shake things up
First, step away from the Bosu. Though it seems to make sense that wobbling atop one of those half-gym balls beloved of some “functional” trainers should activate your stabiliser muscles, studies suggest that all it actually does is decrease the amount of weight you can shift. Result: an unnecessarily compromised workout. The solution? Add the instability to your weights, not your lifting platform. By dangling the plates or kettlebells from your bar, you’ll increase muscular recruitment and intermuscular co-ordination, as well as forcing your muscles to spend more time under tension as you struggle to control the bar – with a bonus fat-loss boost too. Louie Simmons uses the technique with the elite powerlifters he coaches – but since it also challenges your balance, it’ll make you better at anything from five-a-side to scrambling up a Tough Mudder quarter-pipe.
SHAKE IT OUT The squat isn’t the only move that
can benefit from instability. Use these variations to build strong foundations for all your lifts
Overhead hold
Pressing an unstable bar overhead and keeping it there will challenge your core and reinforce your pressing position. Aim for a ten-second hold at the top.
How to do it
Hang a weight from each end of the bar using heavy resistance band – or split the load between several bands to cause smaller, but more random oscillations. Do your squat as normal: sitting back, keeping your weight through your heels – you’ll probably have to slow the movement to maintain control. Keep the weights light at first but aim to build up to 80% of what you’d normally lift, and replace your normal squats with the earthquake variation in one session out of every four.
Bench press
Powerlifters do this with a bamboo bar, but you don’t need one: hang a kettlebell from each side of the bar and control it on the way down.
Barbell curl
Doing earthquake curls will force you to keep your biceps under tension, turbo-charging growth in your upper arms. Don’t go too heavy.
April 2016 | 23
Schelb uses ice axes to climb a moulin, a vertical tube formed by water pouring through a crack in the ice
Updates | Adventure
When did you last have an adventure?
The treacherous gullies of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, have claimed 150 lives since the mid-19th century. But that didn’t stop the young Tim Kemple from climbing its icy slopes when he was growing up nearby. And now, the 34-year-old photographer is committed to a life of never taking the easy option. “We humans are creatures of comfort,” says Kemple. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to put myself in positions where I don’t know what the outcome is going to be. I want to see how I rise to that challenge. To me, that’s what pure adventure is all about.” That means you don’t need to climb at a worldclass level or face down death to have adventure – all that’s required, Kemple insists, is the element of the unknown. “It’s that sense of not knowing what you might find, or if you’ll even be successful that makes it an adventure.” Even if it’s as simple as finding out if you can make the run home from work, it all counts. This shot of fellow climber Rahel Schelb, which Kemple took in the caves inside Vatna Glacier in Iceland, is testament to his tenacity and daring. “I knew we were going to find ice caves,” he says. “I just wasn’t sure if we’d be able to climb in them.” With his attitude, he was always going to find a way.
Tools of the trade
The essentials every ice climber needs
Ice axes
“Lightweight tools with picks that have jagged teeth and a finely beveled top edge. That means you can insert the pick into ice, displacing as little ice as possible, and then remove it without getting stuck.”
Crampons
“These are 12-pronged metal soles which strap to stiff-soled mountain boots. They’ll allow you to move much faster and with more security across glaciers and up steep walls of ice.”
Ice screws
“Eight-inch [20cm] metal tubes with four sharp prongs at the tip. You push and twist to embed one into an ice wall. If placed in solid ice it can hold 1,500lb [680kg] – more than enough to catch a falling climber.”
April 2016 | 25
Words Matt Huckle Photography Tim Kemple/smugmug.com
You don’t have to jump off something huge – it’s about doing things that scare you, says ice climber and photographer Tim Kemple
Updates | Success
Buying drugs off the internet is basically never the answer
The MF guide to napping at work Taking 40 winks prevents impulsive behaviour and makes it easier to keep cool under stress, according to a University of Michigan study. Rebecca Robbins, author of Sleep For Success, explains the science of naps
Will smart pills get m ahead?
Sell it first
W
ould you chug pills to get the edge? The stimulant modafinil is prescription-only but it’s possible, and legal, to buy it over the internet – and a quarter of Oxford University students claim to have taken the drug to harness its reported capacity to increase cognitive ability, while the number of people using it for professional advantage is thought to be rising. “It’s the first real example of a ‘smart drug’ which can genuinely help, for example, with exam preparation,” says professor Guy Goodwin, president of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, who analysed 24 studies into modafinil, 70% of which found very few side effects. The Bottom Line Doping always comes Don’t place your order just yet, though. Illicit with consequences. Focus on bettersuppliers are based overseas with little guarantee of quality food and sleep, and let the purity, and the side effects discovered range from mental gains accumulate naturally. headaches to – yes – a desperate need to urinate.
Words Max Anderton, Matt Huckle Photography iStock
Got FOMO? Picture the scene: you’re having a drink with an old friend when your phone buzzes. Sure, his story about trekking across the Namibian desert is interesting, but that notification could be a retweet of your pithy legs day joke. Sound familiar? It doesn’t mean you’re an awful person. It just means you have fear of missing out, known as FOMO. This isn’t the latest social media buzzword but a real psychological phenomenon. Here’s what we know about it.
Our brains can’t cope
In her book Alone Together, social psychologist Sherry Turkle reports that being connected with everyone all the time is a new experience our brains aren’t equipped to cope with yet. Managing hundreds or even thousands of online friends erodes your real-life intimate relationships because we lack the capacity to distinguish between more than 150 people, says evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar. A 2013 Oxford University study
concluded that FOMO is a driving factor in social media use and that it occurs most regularly in people who feel they lack in love, respect or security. Basically, we’re afraid of missing out on affection.
We can learn to accept it
Turkle says that removing ourselves from tech can help lessen the effect, even if it’s as simple as making yourself ignore the phone during dinner and switching screens off a set time before bed. A more complete solution is accepting you’re going to miss
out sometimes – not only will this put your mind at rest, it can also improve outcomes. Psychologist and Nobel laureate Herbert Simon recognised we lack the capacity to process complex decisions, so he suggested going for the first available option we determine as “good enough”. Studies of this method show that people who insist on making “perfect” decisions are less satisfied than people who “make do”. So learn to let go, enjoy the people around you and… wait, was that a text?
Unless you’re planning on heading to the disabled toilet with a neck pillow, you’ll need to run things by the boss. “Explain that you’ll be napping on your own time, during your lunch hour,” says Robbins. “And that you’ll be more productive in the afternoon as a result.”
Sleepy time
When you do it is key to getting the most from your nap. “Power naps should be between 1pm and 4pm,” says Robbins. “That’s when we feel most drowsy and is early enough not to interfere with falling asleep at bedtime.”
Get the timing right
Avoid a sleep hangover. “Set an alarm for 20 minutes if you can fall asleep quickly, 25 minutes if not,” says Robbins. “Longer naps mean waking up mid-sleep cycle and feeling groggy rather than alert for the afternoon meeting.” April 2016 | 27
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Updates | Gear
Is this jacket really worth £750?
Complete coverage
“Mountain bikers and skiers love it because the hood fits over a helmet, has space for goggles and zips up over your face, leaving no skin exposed,” says Tidball. It has the bonus effect of making you look like a Sith Lord.
The Vollebak Condition Black leads a new wave of ultra-highperformance clothing. This isn’t just a coat – this is battle armour. So do you need it?
Protective panels
Base structure
“There are 19 panels of Ceraspace – a tough, flexible fabric formed from ceramic particles – positioned at predicted impact points to virtually eliminate the chances of rips,” says Steve Tidball, endurance racer and co-founder of Vollebak (vollebak.com).
Developed by expert Swiss textile manufacturer Schoeller, the base layer is a soft shell treated with a military-grade technology called NanoSphere. “It’s waterproof and breathable. You can’t get wet and don’t get cold,” says Tidball.
Worst-case scenario
If you come off the mountain bike trail or get lost adventure racing, your Condition Black will aid survival. “Ceraspace stays cool to limit loss of body heat, while magnetic pockets help keep your core organs warm when you’re in a foetal position,” says Tidball. You’ll even find glow-in-the-dark instructions printed in your sight line for when brain and body start shutting down and you’re too delirious to think.
Free movement
“If you covered your whole torso in Ceraspace, movement would be restricted,” says Tidball. “Instead, we grooved it all so it’s like body armour. It moves with you, not against you.”
Moisture repellent
Words Max Anderton
“You know how water droplets collect on leaves? This is like that. NanoSphere makes dirt and water simply run off the jacket’s surface,” says Tidball. Under a microscope you can see it’s ridged, making it nearimpossible for anything to take grip.
MF SAYS Max Anderton, Updates editor
Yes! If you do night-time endurance events, the hi-tech features make it worth the money. Having said that, it would make the ultimate commuter jacket to deal with any conditions. Time to start saving…
April 2016 | 31
Updates | Experts
Q: How can I get rid of my BO? Sweating isn’t the cause of bad body odour – bacteria on your skin break down substances from your sweat glands to cause the unpleasant aroma. To tackle this, wash daily with soap or shower gel and scrub the areas where you sweat the most to keep them bacteria-free. Using a good-quality antiperspirant and avoiding eating excessive amounts of spicy foods and garlic will also help.
Q: I’ve been feeling down. How do I tell if I’m depressed, and what should I do?
Dr Nick Knight A GP in training, with a PhD in performance nutrition and physiology, Nick is MF ’s resident health expert. Follow him on Twitter @Dr_NickKnight
Ask D An y quesrtiNick o Tweet us ns? #
AskDrNick
Photography iStock
Q: I’m struggling to get up for it in the bedroom. What can I do to find my mojo?
F
or starters, don’t worry – this is a common problem that can be treated. If you’re relatively young, can get an erection when masturbating and often wake up with one, the issue is probably a psychological one such as stress or sexual anxiety. Opening up with your partner about how you’re feeling can help, as can “talking therapy” if you’d rather speak to a professional to help work things out. If you’re older and fail to get erections at all or suffer from health issues such as high blood pressure or diabetes, then it could be a physiological problem – most of which can be solved with medication that your GP can prescribe.
This information is for guidance only and does not constitute or replace a medical consultation with your GP. If you have concerns over the issues raised it’s important to consult your GP for further advice.
Depression is common, affecting around one in ten people at any given time. Physical symptoms can include tiredness, poor sleep and loss of appetite, while sadness, despair and emotional instability are psychological indicators. Many mild cases resolve themselves quickly without any action or treatment – but more severe and prolonged bouts can be emotionally and physically crippling. If you or anyone you know displays long-lasting or debilitating symptoms, contact a GP. The good news is that there are lots of ways to manage and beat depression. These include exercise – which studies have found to be as effective as medication in moderate cases – as well as psychotherapeutic options like cognitive behavioural therapy. Pharmaceutical alternatives like anti-depressants should be used as a last resort rather than a quick fix. If you’re scared or even concerned, head to your GP for a confidential and non-judgemental chat. And always remember – you are not alone.
Q: I have bad skin. What can I do? In 80% of cases, acne is caused by genetics, although hormone levels, diet, cleanliness and emotions can all contribute. While you can’t cure it completely, you can improve your skin by washing with a mild soap, using a light non-greasy moisturiser and trying over-the-counter products that contain benzoyl-peroxide (such as Panoxyl), which help to eliminate spot-causing bacteria and keep your pores clear. If none of the above has any effect, it’s time to book a doctor’s appointment. April 2016 | 33
PB | EXPERTS “The UK is an excellent place to have a go,” says To r b e t , p i c t u r e d s n o r ke l l i n g i n t h e River Etive, near Glen Coe
34 | April 2016
Andy Torbet
A former paratrooper and bomb disposal officer in Iraq, Andy is now an extreme skydiver, underwater explorer and climber – and MF ’s new regular adventure expert Follow Andy at
andy_torbet
Q: Where’s the best place to snorkel in the UK?
y Ask Anedet or tw , Email ram your instag questions re adventuAskAndyT #
A: Snorkelling is one of the simplest and cheapest ways of seeing a different world and with around 32,000km of coastline, 16,000km of rivers and 11,000 lakes, the UK is an excellent place to have a go. Most of this underwater world is within reach of the snorkeller – and yet only a small fraction has ever been gazed upon by humans. Not sure where to start? Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset is the home of the UK’s only “snorkel trail” where numbered buoys lead you around with information on the different habitats in each area. If you don’t want to be bothered with any actual swimming, head to the River Lune under the Devil’s Bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria. The water flows gently, allowing you to float along with the current to see some beautiful river-carved geology and a variety of fish, eels and invertebrates. Not bad for a simple plastic tube.
Q: Any suggestions for mountain climbing off the beaten track?
A: If you’re a competent climber, and confident you can judge if untested rock is suitable to climb, you can branch out. Morocco still has huge amounts of unexplored quality rock, from the desert valleys to mountain crags in the High Atlas. There are a number of guidebooks to show you where you can deviate from established routes. The Balkans also remain untapped by all but a few local climbers – I remember marvelling at the superb gorges and rugged valleys there. Croatia and Slovenia are still unusual but becoming more popular; Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia are the best bet for the adventurous. Of course we have our own wild areas at home too. Northern Scotland is still packed with unclimbed rock in places like Cape Wrath, across the Highlands and the Western Isles. Take your pick!
Q: What kit do I need to spend money on, and what can I get super-cheap?
A: Don’t spend loads on pre-dehydrated meals. In the mountains I take cheap noodles, salami and some dehydrated veg – cheap from justingredients.co.uk. It all keeps for weeks, costs pennies and just needs boiling water. What you should spend money on is footwear. Get the right type for whatever you’re doing and make sure they fit properly. Also, anything that’s going to save your life. If a cheap stove breaks down I’m eating cold rations, but if a cheap parachute fails to open I’m screwed. I own an expensive marine VHF radio transmitter and I take it whenever I’m sea kayaking. In four years, I’ve never used it once. But when the day comes and I need it I’d happily pay one hundred times its worth to be able to contact the nice men from the RNLI to take me home. Don’t die for the sake of leaving a slightly better-off corpse.
Q: Does your experience as a bomb disposal officer in Iraq help you in your adventures?
A: Being a soldier taught me how to assess danger and eliminate or mitigate it to an acceptable level. Cave diving or wingsuit skydiving may look dangerous but with training, planning, kit and attitude we can complete deep cave dives or jump out of planes (or defuse bombs) in relative safety. Things can still go wrong, but we can stack the odds in our favour. I’m not an adrenaline junkie or a gambler – I’m a control freak. That’s why I’m still alive. April 2016 | 35
Training
Updates | Experts
Psyched up Barton’s tips to get you firing on all cylinders
Set an inspiring goal
Leading sports performance consultant Barton (thesportingmind.com) has worked with Premier League footballers, European Tour golfers and Olympians – but would he use inspirational pictures to motivate them?
Q: Can memes inspire me to work out harder? We’ve all seen them, cluttering up our Facebook or Instagram timelines: some inspiring words stuck over a picture of Leo Messi or Michael Jordan. We scan them and move on, or ignore them altogether. And let’s be honest: if someone told you reading them would have a significant effect on your training, you’d probably laugh. But before you start unfollowing the worst offenders, let me assure you that there are some positives you can take away. Scientific research has shown that we perform better when we’re having fun or in a good frame of mind than otherwise. A 2011 study published in Perspectives On Psychological Science found that athletes who used positive and instructional self-talk to motive themselves performed better in games. Motivation is a personal thing and it really comes down to how much you buy into what you’re seeing. If you see a post and think, “Oh, that’s nice” it’s not going to stay with you. But if you see something and think, “Yes, these specific
I f s e e i n g t h i s m a ke s you want to smash anything other than a PB, motivational memes probably aren’t for you
words resonate with me at this specific moment in time”, it can gives you a genuine lift. Some people are motivated by negatives. Swimmer and winner of 18 Olympic gold medals Michael Phelps recently said he uses negative comments he hears to help him chase success that bit harder. And after the Ohio State American football team’s overconfidence led to a crushing defeat in the 2007 National Championships, their coaches made the team watch a video of all the put-downs about their performance. It pushed the humiliated team to bounce back and reach the finals of the following year’s championship. I’d argue, though, that those people have a problem. There’s no point in success if you get no joy out of it. Those who are motivated by negative thoughts aren’t pushed to succeed – rather, they don’t want to fail or look bad. One of the most positive things you can do is share your progress online. You will get a surge of the neurotransmitter dopamine – giving you a hit in the brain’s pleasure centre – from every congratulatory comment or Like you get. In fact, you don’t even need a response – a 2012 Harvard University study found that sharing information about yourself is intrinsically rewarding, releasing dopamine and making you feel good. Ultimately, it’s about you, and how much you allow yourself to be motivated. If you’re a sceptic, no Facebook post – however powerful – is likely to improve your performance. But if you’re open to letting Muhammad Ali quotes inspire you, enjoy the PB that positive attitude could bring you.
Tell the world
Research shows that people who share their goals with others are far more motivated to achieve them than those who keep their goals to themselves. Social media is a great platform for this, enabling you to share your progress with your friends and receive support when the going gets tough.
Just get moving
If you’re not in the mood to go on the long run or cycle ride you’d planned, just set your sights a bit lower – make a deal with yourself that you’ll do something, even if it’s just a short session. Once you get moving and are in training mode, there’s a good chance you’ll be motivated to keep going for the longer distance. April 2016 | 37
Photography iStock
Andy Barton
If you can find a reason to train, you will find it far more motivating – whether that’s to get fit enough to run a marathon, complete an Ironman or achieve an extraordinary feat for charity. We get much more excited by big challenges that have a purpose than by easy everyday goals, so make it a goal that inspires you.
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Health
Updates | Experts
Matt Huckle
MF ’s features writer has always tried to stick to the recommended weekly limit of 21 units of alcohol – only to see it slashed by a third in 2016. He asks what’s really a healthy amount to drink
Q: Is my drinking killing me?
Photography iStock
P
ut down the merlot! It’ll wreck your liver, it was never good for your heart and now it looks as if it’s probably going to give you cancer as well. At least, that’s what the government’s updated alcohol guidelines say in a nutshell. A new report – headed up by Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England – found drinking even small amounts of alcohol regularly will increase your risk of a range of cancers. Worse, unless you’re a woman over 55 who drinks less than five units a week, there’s no benefit to your heart health. This sobering (pun fully intended) set of findings suggests we’ve been doing ourselves a lot of unnecessary harm over the years. It’s prompted the government to lower the recommended alcohol limits for men down from 21 units a week to 14, bringing them in line with those for women. That’s six pints of 4% beer. So where did all that a-bit-of-alcohol-is-actually-pretty-goodfor-you stuff come from? Well, numerous studies have shown those benefits to exist. There are also meta-studies showing a link between moderate drinking and living longer, as well as research indicating alcohol can help prevent cardiovascular disease. When the US produced a similar recent report (the snappily named Scientific Report Of The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee), it found that moderate alcohol intake – 3.5 units a day for men – can be part of a healthy diet Davies, however, said the idea of a glass of red wine a day protecting your heart was simply an “old wives’ tale”. As always, it’s crucial not to confuse correlation with causation. For moderate drinkers, there are often other lifestyle factors at play – such as healthy diet and social life, both of which contribute significantly to low stress and a consequent reduction in heart disease risk. It isn’t as if the new guidelines
are based on new research proving alcohol is harmful – they’re simply a more cautious interpretation of the existing evidence.
Spirit guide
So have we all ruined our health by following the 21-unit recommendation, which has been in place since 1987? Well, as long as you’ve not been drinking all your weekly units on one day and putting pressure on your liver and other organs, it’s unlikely. And as long as you’ve been exercising and eating well – you have, right? – you shouldn’t have much to worry about. Will the new guidelines work? The University of Stirling published a study in 2013 on limiting harm from alcohol. It suggested minimum prices per unit, restrictions on advertising and reducing the drink-drive limit. Nothing was mentioned about telling people to consume less because, you guessed it, guidelines like these don’t have a significant impact. TheBottomLine People resent If the government wants following drink guidelines, but it’s not that to alter people’s drinking hard to booze safely. Keep two consecutive habits then, rather than days a week alcohol free, and don’t issuing punitive-sounding cane it on Friday and Saturday night. restrictions, they should work on practical solutions.
15,000 £15billion 8,416
Pints of beer drunk every minute in the UK
Amount spent a year on booze in Britain
Alcohol-related UK deaths in 2013
April 2016 | 39
Updates | Experts
Q: Are too many men taking a reckless approach to
Are idealised images of unrealistically hard bodies turning men to drugs?
training?
BBC documentary Dying For a Six-Pack reported that body image issues are on the rise, as is steroid use. Is this sensationalist, or should we be worried?
The natural bodybuilder A physique competitor who’s never
touched steroids, Rolandas Malinauskas (personaltraining4u.net) specialises in body transformations
The drug counsellor Steve Wood is a service manager at Open
B
ack in the day bodybuilding was more niche. That meant the guys doing it were serious about their development – they often had more natural potential and approached it with discipline. Now the jacked look has gone mainstream, but few have the knowhow, commitment or genetics to achieve it. That means more guys in gyms who don’t understand or embrace hard training ethics. They see training as a part of their grooming ritual, and they don’t seem to separate steroids from Botox or other beauty treatments. We need more education about natural training and dieting. Body dysmorphia is debilitating, but these conditions occur due to a lack of understanding of how our bodies work. The problem isn’t people wanting to get bigger; it’s a lack of knowledge of how to do it safely. And despite the rising number of steroid users, the main problem isn’t six-packs – it’s fat bellies.
The personal trainer Jonny Rees works at Ultimate
Performance Fitness (upfitness. co.uk), one of the country’s leading one-to-one coaching gyms
W Photography Alamy
hile it’s true that more men are worrying about their appearance, it’s not to the extent the media is portraying. I also think a lot of it is positive. Men are more aware of the dangers of obesity, bad cardio health and poor diet. Going to the gym to do something about it is better than drinking ten pints and having a kebab. That’s a far bigger problem for British men. A stat – based on a small study of bodybuilders in the 1980s – is doing the rounds saying one in ten men suffer from body dysmorphia, but I work with guys who want to improve their physiques, and I can say that’s not the case. They’re driven to improve body parts they see as not up to scratch, but none of them takes an irrational or unrealistic approach. Most don’t even care about having a six-pack, they just don’t want a gut.
MF SAYS Max Anderton, Updates editor
No, British men aren’t suddenly “dying for a six-pack”. Body image issues are a problem, but mental health is the root cause. How we address that should be under scrutiny, not men who exercise.
Road (openroad.org.uk), a drop-in centre providing support and advice for people suffering from drug and alcohol problems
I
started working with steroid users in 2009, but in recent years the number has snowballed. We assess one new user every day, and younger people are coming in – the average age used to be 28 but it’s falling. We get guys as young as 18. Anyone under 24 using steroids is putting their long-term health at risk. For most of the year we’re inundated with what I call “beach steroid users” who want to look good for the summer. They’ve gone to the gym and aren’t putting on muscle as quickly as they see other lads doing it. The problem? Chances are they’re comparing themselves to the guys already on steroids. The fitness industry needs to educate these guys. We need to warn people off harmful drugs – but also let them know how to get bigger safely. Right now, people are getting bad info from mates or the internet. Warning signs in gyms would be a start.
The body image expert Professor Ewan Gillon is a chartered psychologist and clinical director of First Psychology Scotland (firstpsychology.co.uk)
M
en are more likely to seek any sort of therapy now than they were ten years ago. Those men are still in the minority but in general there’s an increase in cases of psychological and emotional problems, of which body image is a part. With men, body image isn’t often the problem they present with. They come because they’re upset or because something has happened – such as being dumped or doing something out of character – and then the body issues come out later. With men, unlike women in the main, body concerns go both ways. Women tend to be anxious about being too big; with men, just as often it’s “I’m too small”. From there comes the dangerous obsession with training or turning to drugs. There have always been people who go to extremes, people we’d call compulsive. From my experience there are more compulsive men now and as a result the extreme side is growing too. But it’s always a relatively small proportion of the population. April 2016 | 41
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04 16
Personal best
Game-changing gear and inspiration
A 5K PARK RUN WITH
Kevin Hart The American actor and comedian is working with Nike to get more people moving. After leading group runs and workouts in the US, now he’s come to the UK to spread his message
Words Max Anderton Photography Stefania Curto
April 2016 | 45
PB | Exposure
G
etting up at 6.45am on a Sunday in January isn’t usually MF’s idea of fun, but today is different. We’ve been invited to join Kevin Hart, star of Get Hard and the new Ride Along 2, on the first leg of his challenge to run 5K in 15 countries in 2016. He greets us, smiling and laughing, and any early morning grumbles soon evaporate.
Tell us about Move With Hart. Of course, people know me for being an incredible actor and hilarious comedian, but I also love to train and I wanted to share that with people too. It’s only right to take things to another level and engage my fans to train with me. It was a spontaneous thing when I started inviting fans to do 5Ks while I was in their cities performing. That spontaneous thing just grew and grew, and then grew some more. And Nike’s involvement? They saw what I was doing and wanted a slice of the action! We developed a partnership, which was simply about motivating people to come out and better themselves. Through social media it’s grown into a global… Phenomenon? I was going to say collaboration, but yeah, let’s go with phenomenon. And that relationship with Nike has grown too… Yeah, I’ve been a supporter of theirs for a long time. I’m a sneakerhead, man! And what respectable sneaker-loving guy wouldn’t want to work with them? Just think of all the free shoes I’ll get now. You’ve got your own shoe, right? That’s right – the Hustle Hart is coming to a store near you this April. How much of an input did you have in its creation? A lot, man. They allowed me to bring my ideas to this thing we wanted to do, which was to design a shoe for fitness, not style. It looks awesome, and it’s not a celebrity shoe designed to be exclusive, limited edition or anything like that. It’s a multi-purpose shoe. It fits all my needs, and I do a bunch of stuff: running, jumping, lifting. You name it, I do it. 46 | April 2016
Runners brave a winter Sunday morning in London to join Hart’s 5K
“Imakepeople laughforalivingand Iloveit–whybe nervousaboutit?” Sounds great… It is, and what’s really exciting is that because of Move With Hart, other people are going to be able to start this physical fitness journey at the same pace I do, in the same shoe I’m wearing.
Did you get to go to Nike HQ? Yes. I’ve been there. I’ve been in the TOP SECRET headquarters, and no, I can’t discuss what I saw. They blindfold you, put a hood over your head, spin you around 20 times, then put you in the door. That’s what happens. You told US talk show host Jimmy Fallon you want to “inspire people to become the best versions of themselves through physical fitness”. How is Move With Hart making that happen? It’s happening at every event with the people showing up. We’re not getting world-class athletes, we’re getting
MF’s Max follows in Hart’s wake as they run through Battersea Park
you psych yourself up to stand out there, just you and a microphone? There’s no routine at all. I think that’s what people would love the most if they actually saw what I do before a show. I make people laugh for a living and I love it – why be nervous about it? Surely your first stand–up set was a bit nerve-wracking? I was never nervous. Awful, but never nervous – there’s a difference. The first time I did it, I was in love with the lights and the fact that people were listening to what I was saying. Granted I didn’t give them much to listen to, but it didn’t matter.
everyday individuals who need a kickstart. The beauty is that it genuinely brings people together. Physical fitness, and especially running, is something we can all dive into. It grabs all races, ethnicities, shapes and sizes. As a unit you all achieve greatness, no matter how fast or slow you are. There’s an athlete in all of us. You just gotta discover it. What kicked off the discovery for you? Being in movies meant being in a position to be seen, and I thought it was only fair that I maximise my potential for the people who pay money to see me on a big screen. I thought, if I can look the part then I’ll really be the part. It started
off as just getting into shape for a role but eventually it became a lifestyle. Your latest movie, Ride Along 2, is an action comedy. Do you want to make the jump to fully fledged action hero? I’m slowly jumping into that realm. As I get older I’m going to do different things. Comedy will eventually give way to action, the action will move to drama and then I’ll come back to comedy… then I’ll do animation! I have a lot of different doors that I could open. Right now I’m toying with which doors to walk through. You’ve played comedy shows to tens of thousands of people. How do
So even if the people in the audience are not laughing, it’s fine? Yeah, because they’re here and they’re listening to me. But of course that’s the end goal. Laughing is like fitness – one of those things we all share as people. I don’t care where you’re from, I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what race you are. Everybody laughs. If you can bring laughter on a universal level, you have separated yourself from the pack. This is my calling: to bring people closer together, to bring joy to people. I see my audiences as people I’m about to bring joy to, like what we’re doing here today. A shared experience that everyone comes away from happier. The run is about to start, so we head to the heart of Battersea Park. Hart makes a speech in which he jokingly threatens to elbow the foreheads of any children who April 2016 | 47
Hart says his mission, both in comedy and running, is to bring people together
Tweets from the Hart
are thinking of giving up mid-event, before getting serious and encouraging people to help if they see anyone struggling. It’s genuinely funny and motivating, and after he’s finished speaking, there isn’t a single person here who regrets getting up so early on a Sunday morning. I line up alongside Hart, with just time for another quick chat before the start.
Tweets
What’s your 5K time look like? My best or today?
Kevin Hart @KevinHart4real
Today. Just wondering if we’ll be able to keep up? This morning’s going to be slower, probably around 21-22 minutes. Besides, this isn’t a race. Unless I win, obviously.
Kevin Hart @KevinHart4real
Not familiar with @KevinHart4Real? Get to know by joining his 25.3 million followers for 140-character gems like these
Why are toilets so damn powerful in the UK? I just flushed the toilet and the water splashed me on my neck. I got toilet water on my NECK. Nothing worse than taking a shower and having to take a shit after you dry off… now I have to get my shitty ass back in the shower lol
Everyone sets off and there’s a palpable buzz of energy as runners clamour to jog alongside a Hollywood star, or just gawp for a few seconds as Hart’s evergrowing entourage goes past. Once he’s finished, Hart high fives everyone who crosses the line after him and gives the last person a hug. Another great speech and a group selfie later, Hart disappears into the grey London morning flanked by security. It’s barely 10am, but the day has already been way better than any Sunday has a right to be.
This is how my week goes: Mooooooooooooonday, Tuuuuuuuuuuuuesday, Weeeeeeeeeeednesday, Thuuuuuuuuuuursday, FridaySaturdaySunday
Find out more about the NRC community’s weekly run clubs and the Nike+ Running App at nike.com/london.
Kevin Hart @KevinHart4real
48 | April 2016
Kevin Hart @KevinHart4real
Kevin Hart @KevinHart4real
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For… widely varying resistance with no need for a full rack
Quick adjustables
Swiftly switch weights up to a respectable 25kg at the click of a dial with Bodymax Selectabells (£259, powerhousefitness.co.uk).
Colour-coding makes selecting loads (up to 22.5kg in 2.25kg increments) easy with the PowerBlock Sport 5.0 (£305, gymcompany. co.uk).
A satisfying click rewards every weight change on the Bowflex SelectTech (£346, amazon. co.uk). Choose from 2 to 24kg.
The Ironmaster Quick-Lock (£547, valleyfitness. co.uk) feels more like a regular dumbbell. It’s slower to change than the others but goes up to a whopping 34kg.
Shiny chromeset
For… weights so sleek you’ll keep them on display
Work with dumbbells to avoid muscle imbalances
Your definitive home
Changing the six weight discs is slower than with the adjustables, but this 20kg Pro Fitness (£55, argos.co.uk) set is cheaper – and works for abs roll-outs.
The 15kg Body Power Chrome Ergo (£91, fitnesssuperstore.co.uk) has a contoured handle that fits snugly in the hand and makes grip strength less of a factor.
This one-piece 10kg dumbbell from Marcy (£66, dumbbellsonline. net) won’t loosen over time. And before you scoff at its lightness, try high-rep sets of flyes with it.
We love the chunky wing collars on the York 15kg (£57, yorkfitness. com), while the rubber-covered grips make long sessions less callous-inducing.
Biceps curl
Howwetested
Personal Best editor Max Anderton did a six-move, no-bench home workout – not just with the products above, but every type he could get his (callused) hands on.
50 | April 2016
Overhead press
Hammer curl
You can change weights on the Bodymax Deluxe (£30, powerhousefitness.co.uk) up to 15kg per dumbbell, while a rubber coating protects floors.
Our favourite for renegade rows. The flat sides and gripping rubber of the Body Power Rubber Hex (£43, fitnesssuperstore. co.uk) reduce the chance of slips.
The Jordan Classic (£98, jordanfitness. com) lets you do abs rollouts on a wood floor without sounding like a 1940s fighter jet taking off.
The 20kg Alex (£165, servicesport. co.uk) is pricy, but its high-grade polyurethane coating means you won’t damage the floor if you drop it.
For… weights so durable they’ll outlive you
Classic cast irons
dumbbell guide
We tried and tested every weight widely available in the UK. These are the ones worth buying
Confidence Fitness Pros (£25, tesco. com) are the bedroom workout classic. This 20kg set is perfectly fine for a full-body workout.
A carry case makes the 30kg TurnerMAX (£55, amazon.co.uk) easy to transport. Just don’t indulge any weird sniperrifle fantasies as you slot the pieces into place.
We like to use a 45lb (20.4kg) one of these old-school Hex dumbbells (£40 each, sears.com) for unilateral exercises like one-arm rows.
This classic 25kg weight from Gold’s Gym (£44 each, available in Sweatband stores only) is great for strongman moves, and the fat handle will build a killer grip.
Renegade row
High pull
Words Max Anderton Photography Henry Carter
For… pumping iron without clanking metal
Floor-friendly rubber
PB | MF Picks
Front raise
A l 2016 | 51 April
Inside a successful man’s desk drawer
10
Have you got the right tools to reach the top (or at least smell better at work)?
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4 5
2
7
6
9
1
52 | April 2016
8
1 Don’t crack
Air conditioning and heating both dry out lips. Anthony Advanced Formula balm (£8, mankind.co.uk) uses mint and white tea to keep them hydrated without the feminine gloss effect that most salves create.
12
Be ready for close 2 encounters
Hello Breathspray (£2.64, hello-products.com) kills any lurking bacteria – and worries that your wife-tobe from accounts might regret leaning over your shoulder to explain the expenses system.
3 Get super powered
The smarter phones get, the hungrier they become. The KNOMO Power Pack (£45, knomobags.com) does two full charges. Chuck it in your pocket when heading out with low bars.
11
4 Treasure your memory Proving that digital storage devices can be works of art too, the 8GB Empty Memory (£60, beyond-object.com) has a unique look that’ll stop you losing it like every other USB stick you’ve ever owned.
5
Words Max Anderton Photography James Lincoln
5 Take notes like a boss
The Livescribe 3 Smartpen (£130, livescribe.com) lets you save and send digital copies of your handwritten scrawls and even dictate reminders. Use it with the compatible Moleskine Notebook (£24, moleskine.com). Note to self: I’m living in the future, and it’s awesome.
7 Upgrade your aroma
Studies show that certain smells trigger positive neurological responses. A whiff of your Acqua Di Parma Colonia Club (£60 for 50ml, uk.acquadiparma.com) and bigwigs will remember you for all the right reasons.
8 Hide your sins
Eyes are the windows to our souls – which means bag-destroying, revitalising creams like Kiehl’s Eye Alert (£22.50, kiehls.co.uk) are vital in the war against the two main giveaways that something’s amiss: tiredness and stress.
9 Maintain your poise
There’s no need to turn up for a meeting looking bedraggled or with a cumbersome golf umbrella – grab the compact Fulton Chelsea 2 (fultonumbrellas.com) to stay dry and presentable.
highbrow 10 Take refreshments
With none of the dusty bits found in other herbals, Teapigs teabags (from £1.30, teapigs.co.uk) are full of flavour and super-ethical. They’re Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance-certified – plus the company donates to Rwandan orphanages.
11 Kill the noise
Bose SoundTrue Ultras (£130, bose.co.uk) don’t just sound crisp and punchy, they isolate noise – perfect for cutting out distractions but without you having to wear comically oversized cans.
6 Look sharp all the time 12 Guilt-free snacks Whether it was raining on your way in or you were short of time after the gym, a quick application of Daimon Barber Classic Pomade (£15, thedaimonbarber. com) will put your hair firmly back in place.
Protein-rich BEEFit jerky is made from grass-fed British meat (£6 for 105g, beefitbiltong.com), while Ludlow Nut Co’s trail mix (£1, ludlownut.co.uk) will provide a tasty hit of good fats and natural sugars. April 2016 | 53
PB | Grooming
Bro, do you even pedicure? Total health starts from the ground up, but most men rarely even wash below the ankle. Follow our care guide and start to love getting your socks off
p t The Expert
1 SO SOFT SSTARTT
“Soak your feet in warm water for ten k minutes, making it easy to remove dead cells and hard skin. Dry your feet thoroughly afterwards.””
2
O TIP P “If y PRO you have y hard skin, add half really a cup of milk. The natural a a o o lactic acid softens more h any y product.” d ” than 5
4
2 EXTERMINATE
“Take a foot file – I use the Mi Microplane Colo al (£13, amazon.co.uk k) because of Colossal g surface area – and rub its large r as hard as is comfortable around yourr heel, the ball of your foot and any bits off tough skin.” O TIP “Use a scrub b to o re emove dead PRO k I love lo Sabo bonuk.co.uk) skin. Sabon (£19, sabo b ll natural, l usin ng crushed because it’s all a o kernels to o exfoliate o a e.” almond
3 NAIL IT
k away y with h chea h ap tools. “Don’t h hack G a l a set (£169, Get a d decent nailcare (£ l ldbondst.co.uk) tayloroldb l e with nail complete b buff,, scisssors and 3 l And try not to clippers. b ealous when be o overzea ttrimming g: too short y’ll be painful.” and they
5
O TIP P “Cut nails PRO sstraight h to t reduce tthe chance a ce of iingrown toenails.”
4 BUFF UP
“Use the buff ’s rough side on the nail surface, and then the smoother side. File the tops and apply oil to keep the cuticles and skin around your nails hydrated. Jack Black Epic Moisture MP 10 Nourishing Oil (£27, mankind.co.uk) works great and smells manly – plus it can also be used on beards.” PRO TIP “Yellow nails? Fix them by soaking your toes in a bowl of lemon juice for ten to 15 minutes, then scrubbing with a toothbrush.”
5 SMOOTH FINISH
“Rub foot cream all over. I use Lotil (£6, chemistdirect.co.uk) on male customers because it’s absorbed super-quickly – perfect if you’re impatient – and has no odour. If your heels are in a particularly bad way, use Origins Reinventing The Heel (£23, origins.co.uk).” PRO TIP “Apply every night before bed. Your feet will soon be soft enough to make babies’ bums jealous.”
2
April 2016 | 55
Words Max Anderton Illustration Dan Woodger Photography Henry Carter
S e a Lewis e s is manager g of Seduire e Shikera l h London. d p d Clinics in Soho, A pedicure e expert, she’s seen more feet than gd Quentin Tarantino’s casting director, a d recommends d getting g g one done d and professionally every three months..
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The best superhero workouts of all time G
one are the when ould d don an injectiono h days d h Michae h el Keaton could j moulded suit and remote-Bata ay through a line off m arang his way goons. Modern heroes need to fight – and g o be able to rrun, jump, j look g good doing workouts of the best, g it. We’ve asse embled the w the 6 iincluding l d h men set to smash h into cine nemas in 2016 Words Joel Snape Typography Timba Smits
April 2016 | 57
The best superhero workouts of all time
22
25 Kick-Ass
AKA Aaron Taylor-Johnson
He’s an ab-free everyman in the first film, but for the sequel – where Kick-Ass has embraced crimefighting – Taylor-Johnson kicked it up a notch alongside trainer Richard Smedley. Their money move? The three-chair press-up. Arrange your seats in a triangle, then do a pressup between them to get more range of motion and activate your outer pecs.
24 Deathstroke AKA Manu Bennett
To cope with shoulder issues from his sword-swinging stint on TV’s Spartacus, Bennett switched to swimming, rowing and hot yoga for his run as Arrow’s master assassin. And those abs? “They’re from a lot of packing my own food for planes.”
23 Arrow
AKA Stephen Amell
As well as channelling his onscreen hero’s alter ego Oliver Queen with parkourstyle circuits, Amell’s mastered the “salmon ladder”, the nemesis of Ninja Warrior challengers across the globe. Haven’t got one in your gym? Explosive pull-ups are the e best prep you’ll get: pull ha ard d enough gh that h you’ve ve got the mome mentum to (brie iefly) take yo our hands off o the bar at the th top, and add ad a clap p when you’re y feeling g super-confid dent.
58 | Ap 6 April 20 2016
Star-Lord AKA Chris Pratt
““Six months, no beer” was the e explanation Pratt gave for shedding his g gut to play a Guardian of the Galaxy, but y you don’t need to be so hardline: just k keep two days a week clear (preferably cconsecutive) to let your liver recover and a allow your body to focus on fat loss.
21 The Falcon AKA Anthony Mackie
Mackie got lean as the Falcon, but it was Pain & Gain co-star Mark Wahlberg who introduced him to a new level of training. “We would start every morning at 5.30am and get in a few hours of serious workouts. Before anyone else was up, we were in the gym.”
20 Human Torch AKA Michael B Jordan
To go from the accidental superhero of 2012’s Chronicle to one of the Fantastic Four, Jordan spent months eating “every two hours”, but it wasn’t all drudgery – breakfast included four eggs, turkey sausage and grits, and dinner was typically steak. Also worth trying: the clockwise press-up. “Do 12 press-ups, then 11, then ten and so on, moving your body counterclockwise,’ Jordan says. “Do 25-30 sit-ups, then do it all again, clockwise this time.”
17
Wolverine
The best superhero workouts of all time
AKA Hugh Jackman
He may not quite have Logan’s longevity, but he’s not doing too badly: at the age of 47, Jackman’s recently joined the 1,000lb (454kg) powerlifting club, posting a 410lb (186kg) deadlift, 345lb (156kg) squat and 235lb (107kg) bench press in a single day. Looking to nudge your own numbers over the top? Get mad, Wolverine-style: by gripping the bar as hard as you can before any big lift, you’ll achieve an effect called “irradiation” (no, nothing to do with the mutant kind), which tightens up all the surrounding muscles and adds stability, letting you shift more weight.
19 Dredd
AKA Karl Urban
To get into character, NZ actor Urban spent 14 weeks training and eating six to seven meals a day, learning tactical movement and shooting from a British military team, and “reading every Dredd comic [he] could find”. Oh, and practising the voice, obviously.
18 Ant-Man AKA Paul Rudd
Rudd trained for or more o than a year for hi his mostly besuited role r l as Marvel’s smalllest hero. His money move for Ant-Abs bs in his single shirt-off ff scene? Holding a ad sandbag overhead g while doing lying flutter-kicks. April 2016 | 59
The best superhero workouts of all time
15 Hawkeye
AKA Jeremy Renner
Renner’s archery technique isn’t that textbook during the Avengers films – he bends his wrist too much, experts say – but the hours of bowwork he put in haven’t done his forearms any harm. For similar time-under-tension benefits, use the archer’s draw in the gym. Hold a resistance band like a bow, and pull your rear hand back like you’re about to fire an arrow.
16
Batman AKA Ben Affleck
With Christian Bale’s terrifyingly ripped take on the Caped Crusader to live up to, Ben Affleck went back to Rehan Jalali – the coach who got him into shirtless-pull-up shape for bullet-riddled heist drama The Town – to get Bat-jacked. The pair’s secret weapon? ere Wave-loading, or doing multiple sets whe the weights and reps vary up and down, to t challenge different muscle fibres and forcce e growth. For a chest worthy of wearing the Bat-symbol, try the routine below.
Alternating dumbbell bench press
Lie on a bench holding a pair of dumbbells, and press one overhead at a time, keeping the other chambered at your chest during the rep. Change up your weights and reps as follows.
60 | April 2016
Set
Reps
Weight
1
8
16kg
2
5
24kg
3
10
22kg
4
15
20kg
14 The Vision AKA Paul Bettany
“There’s nothing to the costume – it’s like a pair of women’s tights,” says Bettany of his turn as (spoilers!) the infinity-stone-powered synthetic body of the newest Avenger. “There are huge gaps, so you have to stay in shape... shape I’m too old to have cheat days now, there’s no cheese and beer for f Bettany y when I’m filming.” g
The best superhero workouts of all time
12 Daredevil AKA Charlie Cox
British actor Cox went on a bulking diet to play Marvel’s blind crimefighter. “I started eating tons of chicken, broccoli, sweet potato, rice and pasta,” he says. “I put carbohydrates in all my protein shakes, so I’d have a shake with sweet potato in it. It’s actually surprisingly nice.”
11 The Punisher AKA Jon Bernthal
13
Black Panther AKA Chadwick Boseman
T’Challa, Prince of Wakanda – also known as the Black Panther – is set for his first Marvel appearance in Captain America: Civil War before getting his own film in November 2017. Boseman’s been in physical prep for the role since 2014, but he’s no stranger to transformations, having been through a gruelling regime to play groundbreaking baseball star Jackie Robinson. Use deficit press-ups, with your hands on weight plates, to mimic his chest-building routine.
Bernthal, set to play the antihero in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil, has previous form as a physical actor: you might remember him slugging it out with zombies in The Walking Dead, playing a prize-fighter in Grudge Match or punching Shia LaBeouf in Fury. As a regular at the boxing gym – he often trains six times a week – leaning out or bulking up while staying in shape is just a matter of adding or subtracting food.
10 Kato
AKA Jay Chou
The Green Hornet’s sidekick was originally played by Bruce Lee, so Taiwanese singer-songwriter Chou had some fast-kicking shoes to fill. Fortunately, he shared a secret weapon with the one-time Hong Kong cha-cha champion – his dance training, stunt co-ordinator Jeff Imada says, helped him pick up the fight choreography “without any prompting. He just flowed from one move to the next.” The moral? Go to that swing dance class with your significant other – then when it’s time for krav maga, you’ll both be set.
April 2016 | 61
The best superhero workouts of all time
Luke Cage AKA Mike Colter
He’s had a few shirtless scenes in Jessica Jones, but Colter is set to be a bigger name in 2016 as the focus of Netflix’s Luke Cage. Colter’s used to playing imposing men, after a stint as super-soldier Spartan Locke in Halo: Nightfall, but to sell Cage’s super strength he knew he had to up his game. Mixing his protein sources was key. “I try to get a gram of protein for every pound [half-kilo] of bodyweight, but it gets boring if I just eat chicken,” Colter says. His secret to a powerful chest? Use dumbbells for your bench press. “My arms are long so it’s easier to lock out when holding dumbbells.” Colter starts every chest session with this routine.
1. Barbell bench press (125kg) Sets 3 Reps 8
2. Dumbbell bench press (40kg)
Reps To failure
3. Barbell bench press (125kg)
Deadpool
AKA Ryan Reynolds
In his first outing as Marvel’s wise-cracking, fourth-wall-busting antihero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Reynolds had his mouth sewed shut. Mercifully, that’s about to be rectified as Deadpool gets his own film. Reynolds has done a lot of bodybuilding in the past, but now his training’s more about function then aesthetics. “As you get older, falling on concrete gets less and less hilarious,” says the 39-year-old. “I do a lot of plyometrics, kickboxing… and yoga.” 62 | April 2016
Sets 2 Reps 10
4. Dumbbell bench press (40kg)
Reps To failure
Owlman
AKA Patrick Wilson Watchmen’s most relatable hero didn’t actually need a sixpack – since being forced into “retirement”, he’s actually supposed to have a touch of the dadbod – but Wilson still had to be able to fight in what he says “felt like a scuba suit”. The actor’s workout included renegade rows for a fat-burning, muscle-building double-whammy: get into a press-up position on a set of dumbbells and “row” one up to chest height after every rep.
The best superhero workouts of all time
Captain America AKA Chris Evans
For Steve Rogers, becoming America’s first Avenger took a syringe of super-soldier serum. For Chris Evans, it meant chicken. Industrial quantities of chicken. “The aim was 2g of protein per pound [half-kilo] of bodyweight,” he says. “I’d eat constantly, including dark, leafy greens with every protein source, and a casein shake before bed.” April 2016 | 63
The best superhero workouts of all time
Iron Man
AKA Robert Downey Jr Downey’s spent more than a decade training in the martial art wing chun, but for his appearances as Tony Stark he had a big (iron) suit to fill. To do it, he and trainer Brad Bose used old-school strongman moves, including sledgehammer swings and weighted wheelbarrow pushes, but also modern training methods such as the earthquake bench press: by hanging two kettlebells off the bar from stretch bands, this move challenges and builds the stabiliser muscles in the pecs (see p23).
Captain Boomerang
The Flash
AKA Jai Courtney
Photography Alamy, Doug Inglish, Marvel, Warner Bros
AKA Grant Gustin
As you’d expect of a long-distance runner, Barry Allen, aka The Flash, is not the most hulking of heroes. Although he packed in press-ups and pull-ups, Gustin spent most of his workout time with Olympic coaches to make his running more efficient. Follow the tips in the box below to do the same .
Lean forward
“When you run, imagine you’re breasting the finish tape,” says Hybrid Running creator Alex Viada. “This keeps the head up, spine erect and shoulders back, and stops the feet striking far out in front of the body. A sagging head and shoulders result in a floppy, inefficient gait.” 64 | April 2016
Transformer arms
“Keep your arms like Optimus Prime,” says Viada. “They should be nearly fixed against the body, elbows at around 80-90°. Don’t ‘punch’ the air as you run – the rotation should be slight and begin at the shoulders, with the arms moving relatively little against the sides.”
Run on ice
No, not literally. ound “Pounding the gro d ts as you run imparts n on tremendous strain ada. the body,” says Viad your “Over-exaggerate y joints’ absorption off the impact and try to lland sible as silently as possibl – this encourages a nd midfoot impact an iding.”” prevents overstrid
OK, so technically he’s a villain, but the Antipodean arch-criminal goes sortof-good alongside Jared Leto’s Joker and Will Smith’s Deadshot in the upcoming Suicide Squad. The team have been training with Gym Jones trainer Pieter Vodden to get in shape. Courtney’s favourite workout? The squat breathing ladder. “Pick a decent weight and squat it once,” he says. “Put it back, take one breath. Repeat with two squats and two breaths, and repeat all the way up to 20.” Vodden, iincidentally, d ll d h with h does this k you should h ld aim llower. 80kg:
The best superhero workouts of all time
Thor AKA Chris Hemsworth
“He is Thor,” says Chris Evans of his Avengers co-star, who stays in godly shape with a combination of old-fashioned volume training and heavy kettlebell workouts. For a five-minute fat blast, try double-kettlebell squats, Tabata-style: rest the bells on your forearms and do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds, rest for ten seconds, and repeat for eight rounds.
April 2016 | 65
Superman AKA Henry Cavill
The current owner of the Man Of Steel’s noble cape is MF’s number one superhero. Turn the page to find out how Cavill went from English boarding school to last Son of Krypton, complete with powerful shoulders and rippling abs.
66 | April 2016
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68 | April 2016
Clothing Dunhill
| Henry Cavill
Beneath The Cape
He’s the English gentleman who became Hollywood’s all-American hero. MF meets Henry Cavill to talk boarding school, screen sex and how he builds his superhero body Words Andrew Harrison Photography Doug Inglish
April 2016 | 69
I’m having an afternoon beer with Superman. We’re sitting in the beer garden of a pub in Twickenham, west London, and 32-year-old Henry Cavill – the man who currently plays the last son of Krypton onscreen – is drinking his second pint of lager top and radiating contentment. In a shapeless dark green Royal Marines hoodie (his brother Nik is a lieutenant colonel who’s served in Afghanistan and Iraq), he’s also sporting a wildly tangled beard that would guarantee his anonymity had he not spent much of 2013’s blockbuster Man of Steel sporting, well, a wildly tangled beard. But no-one bothers him. We are far from Hollywood, in every sense. “If I suggested to an American journalist that we do an interview over a beer,” says Cavill, “they’d find it very weird.” Although he was born on the idyllic, partially Frenchspeaking Channel Island of Jersey, Cavill was educated at Buckinghamshire boarding school Stowe and embodies a certain type of Englishman you might call “officer class”. Men with Cavill’s privileged upbringing and schooling are often accused of being snobs. But they’re just as often described as steadfast, honourable and unfailingly polite. Cavill is the latter. He is a gentleman. He is old-school. So it came as something of a surprise, at least in the UK, when Cavill was cast as arguably the most American hero of all in Man Of Steel, director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan’s dark, controversial take on the Superman origin story – although Cavill’s controlled moral turmoil does suggest that Superman’s true superpower is that most British of virtues, a stiff upper lip. His compelling performance established Cavill as an A-lister, cementing his spot in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, in which he squares off against Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight – and his heroic physique, which he had to work phenomenally hard to attain, played just a big a role.
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hile building Superman’s body took discipline and control, those have’t alwas been watchwords for Cavill. When he was a boy, his father Colin, a stockbroker, once returned from a trip to find that the family home had been redecorated. Why was there an ugly new wallpaper on the walls? he asked his wife, Marianne. “Oh, that?” she said. “It’s easier to clean the blood off.” With five boys at home – Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill being the fourth – Cavill describes the household as “boisterous. No face punches – we’d just bounce one another off the furniture and occasionally draw blood. But all in good humour.” As a stereotypical middle child, Cavill often found himself lost in the family crowd. “I wanted to do right by everyone and follow the rules. Pretty boring, actually!” he says, laughing. “This is probably why I was so unpopular at school, because I was clearly such a wanker.” Cavill loved growing up amid the quiet countryside of isolated, prosperous Jersey, but as he approached his teens he 70 | April 2016
began to feel trapped on the small island. He was desperate to leave for boarding school like his brothers, but when he arrived at Stowe, he found that all the groups and cliques had already formed. He was an outsider. Plus, the ripped action hero of the future had another problem: he was fat. “They used to call me Fat Cavill,” he recalls. “I was a prime target for them. I actually had rolls of fat on me. One guy told me I had tits. I was a big eater, and I still love food. I’m still an indulger, in alcohol, in food, in all the things I enjoy in life. I’ve never been able to do things in half measures. That’s probably why I was a fat kid. And yet as much as people made fun of me, there was no actual bullying. I was just miserable and homesick. At boarding school, you get to be your own person, and you grow by yourself. But I will admit I was quite bitter for a while.”
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cting gave Cavill an identity. He appeared in school productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Grease and found he had a talent for the stage. “I liked acting, and suddenly people liked me,” he says. “Stowe could have smashed my confidence, I think, but actually it prepared me for the world. If I’d gone to Hollywood without having been hurt on a daily basis at school, I might have been less ready for it.” There was one moment at Stowe that changed everything for Cavill, and it’s so unbelievable it would strain the credibility of even the sappiest of biopics. In 1999, Russell Crowe – who, coincidentally, would play Cavill’s Kryptonian father, JorEl, in Man Of Steel 14 years later – came to Stowe to shoot scenes for the thriller Proof Of Life. The 16-year-old Cavill appeared as an extra, running around the rugby pitch in army cadet gear. During a lull in shooting, he approached Crowe for advice. What was the business really like? Well, said Crowe, sometimes they treat you really well. Sometimes it’s shit. But the money’s good and you’ll enjoy it. Then shooting resumed. A few days later, Cavill received a package containing Australian sweets, an Aussie rugby jersey and a CD by Crowe’s band – plus a photo signed with a message: “Dear Henry, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Love, Russell.” Cavill’s still got it. When they met again a decade later on the set of Man Of Steel, Crowe remembered the kid from the English boarding school. “It’s incredible,” says Cavill, still seeming bemused. “If you saw it in a film, you wouldn’t believe it happened. But it did.”
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avill’s first big break was in lurid historical TV drama The Tudors in the mid-2000s, produced by Showtime in the US and shown on BBC2 here. Viewers got to know not just his face, but most of the rest of him too. The show was heavy on sex scenes, especially featuring Cavill’s character, Charles Brandon, Henry VIII’s trusty wingman. No longer fat – in fact, in remarkable shape – Cavill had his chain yanked mercilessly by his brothers over these scenes. “You don’t think of sex scenes as showing your bum to the nation,” Cavill says. “It’s acutely uncomfortable being naked in a roomful of people. The last thing it is is sexy.” He starts laughing. “The actual physicality is very uncomfortable. All you’re doing is smacking your nuts against someone, and nothing is going in.” I ask him what every guy who’s ever watched a sex scene has wondered: has he ever found himself, er, unintentionally
| Henry Cavill
April 2016 | 71
Suave Cavill was pipped at the post by Daniel Craig for the role of Bond in Casino Royale
72 | April 2016
| Henry Cavill
It’s not great when you’re in a professional acting environment and somebody gets a boner, is it?
aroused? “It’s only happened once,” he admits, “and it was very embarrassing. A girl had to be on top of me, she had spectacular breasts, and I hadn’t rearranged my… stuff into a harmless position. She’s basically rubbing herself all over me and, um, it got a bit hard. I had to apologise profusely afterward. It’s not great when you’re in a professional acting environment and somebody gets a boner, is it? No, not acceptable.”
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hile his role as a 16th-century sex machine raised his visibility, Cavill narrowly missed becoming an even bigger sexual icon. He was one of the final two candidates up for playing James Bond in Casino Royale. It must have hurt to lose out on such a life-changing role, I say. “Of course I was disappointed,” he admits. “But Daniel Craig did a fantastic job, and honestly, I was too young for it. I was about 21. The right thing happened there.” His own vision of Bond had been “slightly more Sean Connery”m he says: an arrogant, cultured bastard with a talent for killing. “But it was the right time for Daniel’s version. His was a real reinvention. I dunno… maybe one day I can take it off his hands.” If the role of 007 still requires a shredded physique by then, Cavill’s a shoo-in. In The Tudors he was in fine shape. But by the time he appeared as Theseus in Tarsem Singh’s action movie Immortals in 2011, Cavill was so sculpted he looked as if he’d walked off the set of 300. “I didn’t go that way for the sake of becoming an action actor,” Cavill explains. “I want to tell stories. That’s what excites me. But there’s a demand that you look a certain way in Hollywood. Man Of Steel was the first time I had to bulk up in the full-on action-movie style, and I’ve got to say, I enjoyed it enormously. Well, it’s torture, but you enjoy it the way you enjoy hard work and the results that work brings. It’s rewarding.”
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t’s no secret that the physical demands on modern leading men in Hollywood go far beyond the experiences of actors from generations ago, or even from ten years ago. In fact, today’s A-list nutrition and exercise regimens have more in common with endurance athletes and professional bodybuilders than with classic thespians. In terms of fitness, the process is simple. There’s a period of gaining mass, when you eat vast amounts of fats, carbs and protein, combined with a heavy lifting regime. That’s followed by a cutting phase, when your calorie intake is drastically lowered and the fat melts away to reveal solid muscle. For Man Of Steel, Cavill worked with elite trainer Mark Twight – founder of Gym Jones – to maintain his condition for a shoot of more than 120 days. “The mass build is the fun part,” says Cavill. “You get to eat a lot, and you’re lifting heavy weights. You feel really good because you’ve got big numbers going on the plates. But you’re always aware that you’ll have to eat less and start breathing more in order to show the muscles and the striations. It creeps up on you. That’s the less fun part.”
A lower calorie intake can also affect your moods. Cavill has to be aware of his temper and tries not to snap at people on the set. It’s only during the final days of the “leaning down” phase that food cravings begin to kick in, he says. Visions of pints of beer and greasy food and chocolate begin to dance in his head. It’s a physical ordeal and not without risk. While filming Man Of Steel, Cavill had reached his optimum minimum of body fat, and then had to spend day after day on a freezing Vancouver helipad for green-screen work. “I don’t mind hardship. I consider myself reasonably tough,” he says. “But every day? It’s hard.” At one point Twight had to intervene, pulling the star off set and returning him to a heated trailer – he’d noticed that Cavill’s lips were turning blue. The actor sat there and shivered for half an hour. Afterwards, when he thanked Twight, the trainer pointed out that Cavill had been well on the way to hypothermia. He was on the edge. “And that,” says Cavill, “was a mountain climber talking.”
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here’s never any pure downtime from this physical effort. Even during the shoot for 2015’s The Man from UNCLE – “you can get away with a lot under a nice suit” – Cavill was prepping for Batman v Superman. But he thinks he’s now mastered the pendulum of mass gain, fat burn and recovery. Give him a target date and a reasonable amount of time and he’ll get himself where he has to be. “When I need to do it, I’ll do it,” he says. “But otherwise I’m going to enjoy my life.” Whether he’ll be allowed to is another matter. The two upcoming Justice League movies from the DC Comics stable will extend his Superman commitment to six years – and if the franchise takes off, maybe longer. His dedication to these characters would warm the heart of any comics geek. “They’re the mythological heroes of our day,” Cavill says, “and I want to help tell their stories for as long I can.” While some dismiss Superman as a simple, corny goody-two-shoes, Cavill insists there’s more to him. “The Batman story is easy. He’s dark and brooding and dangerous. Superman, I believe, can be a better story, but it requires ten times the effort to get it right. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed that the big cheeses at the top care as much about the character as I do.” In the meantime, Cavill has his freedom, including the ability to walk around in relative anonymity. “I can still go out and get shitfaced if I want to,” he says, clearly enjoying the thought. “I’m not going to change my life because of fame. It’s supposed to be a good thing that’s happened to me. I want it to enjoy it.”
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uperhero, super spy, noble Tudor swordsman – roles like these could push a guy’s ego to bursting. But it seems life has given Henry Cavill the right education to deal with it all. It turns out that the English values of reserve and hard work are worth something in Hollywood, too. “There are people who are better-looking than I am,” says Cavill, “and people who are better actors than I am. I just have to beat them to the chase.” April 2016 | 73
Build super powers
Words Sean Hyson Photography James Michelfelder
Cavill’s programme for Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice comprised four phases: preparation, bulking, leaning out and maintenance. The bulking phase, demonstrated here, centres on Olympic weightlifting movements – complex but hugely effective lifts that build muscle, strength and power simultaneously. When done in circuit fashion, they’re also very demanding on the heart, which in turn boosts endurance. “There’s a misconception that cardio negatively impacts muscle,” says Cavill’s coach Michael Blevins (gritandteeth.com). “A larger work capacity can allow you to train harder and longer. Building muscle withoutt conditioning is akin to having an impressive engine without a gas tank – it’s worthless. This conditioning helped later when trimming fat.”
1 HANG CLEAN AND JERK
Sets As many as needed Reps Work up to one heavy rep Stand with feet hip-width apart holding the bar in front of your thighs with hands at shoulderwidth. Bend your hips and knees so the bar lowers to just above your knees. Now explosively extend your hips as if jumping while at the same time shrugging your shoulders and pulling the bar straight up in front of you. As the bar reaches chest level, bend your elbows so your palms face the ceiling and catch the bar at
Directions
Perform the workout once per week. Exercises 2A-2E are done as a complex, with a heavy barbell. Do one set of 2A, then without releasing the bar go on to do one set of 2B, and so on for all the moves in the group. Rest, then repeat the sequence for a total of four sets.
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2A CLEAN PULL
Sets 4 Reps 1
Stand with feet hip-width apa art and bend down to grasp the bar with hands shoulder-wid h dth apart. Keep your lower back flat, chest up and eyes lookin ing forward. Pull the bar off the floor, keeping your weight on n your heels and your shoulder ers directly over the bar as it rise ses. When the bar reaches the top op off your thighs, explosively exte end your hips, shrug the bar and come up onto your toes. Con ntroll the bar back to the floor.
shoulder level with your upper arms parallel to the floor. That’s the hang clean. From there, dip your knees and extend them again to power the bar overhead. As it rises, jump one foot in front of you and one foot behind, as in a lunge, to finish the lift in a staggered stance with the bar locked out overhead. Perform as many warm-up sets as you need, gradually building to the heaviest load you can handle for one rep with good form.
| Henry Cavill
2B POWER CLEAN
Sets 4 Reps 1
Begin as you did with the clean pull, but when you come to the explosive shrug and hip extension, continue pulling the bar up to shoulder level as described in the hang clean and jerk. Catch the bar at your shoulders and immediately begin the front squat.
2C FRONT SQUAT
Sets 4 Reps 1
From the top of the power clean, bend your hips back and lower your body into a squat, keeping your lower back in its natural arch and your elbows raised so your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Extend your hips to come out of the squat.
2D PUSH PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 1
Standing tall, dip your knees and quickly extend them, using the momentum to press the bar straight overhead. Then return the bar to your shoulders.
Ap l 2016 | 75 April 5
Henry Cavill |
2E SPLIT JERK
Sets 4 Reps 1
Holding the bar at your shoulders, dip your knees and press the bar up again while splitting your stance, as in the hang clean and jerk. Lock the weight out as your feet land.
3 FRONT SQUAT
Sets As many as needed Reps Work up to one heavy rep Perform the front squat as described in 2C, taking as many warm-up sets as needed to reach a load that allows you only one rep with good form. Do no more than ten total reps to reach your max to conserve energy. For example, do two reps each at about 50% and 70% of your max, and then several single-rep sets as you close in on the right load.
4 FRONT/BACK SQUAT COMBO
Sets 3 Reps 7 front, 13 back Now that you know your max front squat, use 70–75% of it and alternate sets of front and back squats. So if your max front squat was 100kg, use 75kg. Do seven reps of the front squat, then rack the bar. As soon as possible, do 13 reps of back squats. That’s one set. To perform a back squat, squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back ba and stand with wi feet shoulderwidth apart, toes wi turned out slightly. tu Take Ta a deep breath, bend be your hips back, then bend ba your yo knees to lower your yo body as far as you yo can without losing the arch in lo your yo lower back. 76 | April 2016
78 | April 2016
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mong mountain runners, the Vertical Kilometre – a race that finishes 1,000m above the start line – is the new standard of endurance, and in 2016 it comes to the UK. MF gets involved
Words Matt Maynard
April 2016 | 79
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he first time I saw the vertical men was on a chilly spring evening in 2011 in the French Alps. A battalion of them came charging up under the chairlifts, like sharp coloured pencils fresh from the box. “Allez, allez, allez!” roared the crowds. The Vertical Kilometre runners were hurtling onto the mountain at 30-second intervals from a marquee in the centre of Chamonix. Cowbells rang out above, while alpine horns blew news of the lactic acid wars raging on the mountain. I watched entranced as these uphill athletes climbed a thousand metres towards the peak of Mont Blanc, taking little more time than the ski lift itself. By the time the last of those surging figures disappeared, I knew I had to run the Vertical Kilometre.
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he story of the Vertical K begins with an Italian mountaineer called Marino Giacometti. By the early 1990s, most of the world’s first ascents had been achieved and pioneers were thinking about more creative ways to tackle a summit. Giacometti was part of a new movement attempting daring speed records, as was Swiss athlete Pierre-André Gobet, who in 1990 set a time of 5hr 10min to reach Mont Blanc’s 4,809m summit – the first in a series of what became known as Fastest Known Times, or FKTs, from base to peak. Shortly after, Giacometti established thhe Federation for Sport at Altitude – later the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) – with co-founder Lauri van Houten. Support came from sports brand Fila, and Giacometti set up a lab to develop equipment for his hand-picked team of skyrunners. A whirlwind of global races followed: Nepal, Tibet, the Rocky Mountains, Mexico, Mount Kenya. Dressed in Day-Glo headbands, wraparound sunglasses and cramponfitted shoes, these athletes ran up 5,000m peaks (and down again) to rapturous applause from ever-growing crowds. 80 | April 2016
But it was back home in Italy – in BreuilCervinia, at the foot of the Matterhorn – that in 1994 Giacometti and Van Houten cemented the concept of a new race: Vertical Kilometre. “The idea was to have a short distance to entice runners from other fields to try a taste of skyrunning,” Van Houten tells MF. While the race was only 4km long, they were sending competitors up gradients that reached 60%. Although VK did attract enthusiastic entrants, it remained a quirky backwater of elite mountain running.
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had certainly caught the bug, though, and within a few months of witnessing the spectacular Chamonix race I was preparing to tackle my own mountain. I wasn’t quite ready for the full Vertical Kilometre but in 2012 I travelled to Vancouver, Canada, to take on Grouse Mountain, considered one of mountain sport’s classic tests of endurance. Just 15 minutes’ drive from the city centre, the Grouse Grind trailhead has a height gain of 853m and an average grade of 31% (a standard treadmill’s maximum incline is around 15%). Before taking on the challenge I spoke to American ultrarunning legend Nikki Kimball, who has won many of the world’s hardest races (Marathon de
The Torres del Paine National Park in Chile is a spectacular location for a VK – but the terrain makes it tough going
Sables, Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc and Western States 100-mile Endurance Run) as well as being an experienced mountain runner. “Don’t try to run everything,” was her advice. “Be alert with your effort levels.” Sensible advice, but hard to obey – especially since I found myself at the bottom of Grouse Grind alongside Canadians of a wide age range, clearly thinking nothing of climbing Grouse as a regular weekend activity. In my eagerness to get ahead of septuagenarians and schoolchildren, I set off way too fast,
“BY T H E E A R LY 1 9 9 0 S, M O S T O F T H E WORLD’S FIRST ASCENTS HAD BEEN ACHIEVED AND PIONEERS WERE T H I N K I N G A B O U T M O R E C R E AT I V E WAY S T O TA C K L E A S U M M I T ”
Photography UTTP, Jayne Bell, Vern Smith
and before long my charge was sending me into the irrecoverable red zone. Once I realised, I throttled back into a power walk and gradually started to breathe more regularly. When going uphill, running with short steps can feel less tiring than employing long walking strides – but according to a 2015 study in the Journal Of Applied Physiology, on inclines steeper than 28%, athletes can reduce their energy expenditure by walking rather than running at the same speed. And there’s a fringe benefit: walking enables running-specific muscle fibres to rest and recover, which helped me during the slightly flatter final 200m of the Grind. I finished strong, dipping my electronic tag for a time good enough to make it to the day’s leaderboard on the screen at the cable car station. I wasn’t quite a Vertical Kilometre hero yet, but I was getting closer. With a little more training and mountain experience, I knew, I would be ready for the full challenge.
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round the same VK runners, from top: National Geographic named time as I took on him Adventurer of the record holder Urban the Grouse Grind, Zemmer, Nikki Kimball, Year for 2014 and his book skyrunning and Run Or Die became an Paul Navesey, British the VK were starting to international best-seller. VK race director Shane break out of their niche. Ohly and Jeff Browning Perhaps not coincidentally, “We weren’t prepared in the three years from 2011, for a 20-year wait,” Van VK Chamonix race entries Houten says, “but we always believed doubled and the number of runners in it and just ploughed on.” Social going sub-42min more than quadrupled. media had caught on, and images of One of those was Italian athlete minuscule figures powering through Urban Zemmer. In October 2014, at imposing landscapes began to the 1.92km Fully race in Switzerland, capture the popular imagination. Zemmer became the first person to Crucially, the sport also had a new ascend 1,000m in under half an hour poster boy. Kilían Jornet was redrawing with a time of 29min 42sec. In the the line between mountaineering and vertical plane, he is now the fastest man running and was taking the sport by in the world. Yet Zemmer only started storm. Between July 2013 and December in the sport at the age of 33 on doctor’s 2014, the young Catalonian runner – he’s orders to rehabilitate after an injury. still only 28 – set ascent and descent I asked him how he did it and if anyone records for Mont Blanc (smashing Gobet’s could become the Usain Bolt of mountain time by 13 minutes), the Matterhorn sport with hard work. “The training and the highest peaks in North and does its part,” Zemmer says. “Being South America, Denali and Aconcagua. in tune with the needs of your body April 2016 | 81
and avoiding the distractions of other people’s expectations are essential.” Good news. These were all elements I could control. “My talent, however, is a gift of birth,” Zemmer adds candidly, calling it “an inheritance that cannot be substituted for anything else”. Had I really been beaten at birth? I decided that while I might not be threatening Zemmer’s astonishing record, that wouldn’t stop me attempting a respectable VK. It was time to get serious. I registered for the 2015 UTTP Vertical Kilometre, taking place in Patagonia on the three peaks making up the eighth wonder of the natural world: Torres del Paine. Although, as it turned out, I could have stayed at home and had a go. Rumours had been rumbling in the Scottish Highlands: the UK was to get its first VK.
While some VKs are graze, alert to mountain lions Climber turned mountain under 2km in length stalking the slopes looking runner Shane Ohly, race the Torres del Paine for the weakest of the pack. director of Ourea Events, race is 4.5km, which I needed to know how long confirmed it, setting the date means the incline I would be on the mountain in September 2016. “The race is less punishing for – and how I would feel is accessible to everyone,” when I reached the finish. Ohly told me. “It’s not too Former 50km treadmill world technical like some other VK record holder Paul Navesey, who was races. There’s plenty of space to overtake the fastest Brit at the 2014 Chamonix VK, and it’s an advantage to start at the back gave me some much-needed advice. because every time you look up, there’s “The time taken to run a VK is similar someone to chase down and focus on.” to a 10K race. The difference is the impact on the body – it’s far less.” This rriving exhausted at the bolstered my confidence about being end of a big city marathon able to walk back down the mountain is one thing. Collapsing afterwards. Navesey also explained that incapacitated at one of the landing with my weight directly over most isolated mountain summits in my foot (as opposed to the typical long the world is another. Condors circle stride of the flat runner) would reduce the summits in Patagonia, searching my chance of injury and increase my for meat to feast on. Herds of guanacos rate of recovery. But in case that made it sound easy, he was quick to remind me of the intensity of the challenge. “Despite I T WA S those smaller steps, keep the same fast WA N T E D T O S T O P leg speed as in a 10K effort. This will keep you moving upwards as fast as possible.”
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“ I T WA S H A R D, A N D U N P L E A S A N T, A N D I M O R E T H A N O N C E . B U T A F T E R N E A R LY A N H O U R O N T H E T RA I L , I PA S S E D UNDER THE FINISH LINE FLAGS” 82 | April 2016
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he Patagonia course is among the longer VKs at 4.5km, which makes it quite runnable. It’s also spectacular, which provided a welcome distraction
If your running career’s looking up, try one of these
GET VERTICAL
Marathon du Mont Blanc VK 27th June, Chamonix, France Entry is now open for your chance to run up the tallest, most awe-inspiring mountain in western Europe – just a short plane journey from the UK. montblancmarathon.net
Cervino Matterhorn X-Trail VK 8th July, Breuil-Cervinia, Italy Ascend 1,000m where the sport was born – on one of the Alps’ most formidable peaks. The 2016 race introduces a Negativo version (down as well as up). cervinoxtrail.com
Am Bodach VK 16th September, Kinlochleven, Scotland
KM Vertical de Fully October (date TBC), Fully, Switzerland The shortest VK course there is – both the men’s and women’s VK records were set here in 2014 – but that means it’s the steepest, so prepare for an assault on your leg muscles. teamlatrace.ch/km/en
Photography Alamy, iStock
from the difficulty. Asit the trail grew steeper I switched to walking. Noting with satisfaction that the competitors in front of me who continued to run seemed to be treading in treacle, I slowly began to reel them in with a steady, grunting power hike. I had walking poles, and had practised placing them out in front as a counterbalance to my lead foot. ISF research has shown that, when properly used, poles reduce energy expenditure, improve balance and assist uphill thrust. As Navesey had predicted, I was breathing so hard I didn’t have the desire or ability to get any food down – instead I just drank regularly from my handheld water bottle. I was glad, though, to have had his recommended pre-race breakfast of soaked oats and honey, which kept the fires burning all the way to the top. It was hard, and it was unpleasant, and I wanted to stop more than once. But after nearly an hour on the trail, I passed under the finish line flags. It wasn’t the fastest VK on the planet. But I was now officially a vertical man. Full of enthusiasm, I called Ohly to let him know I’d be taking part on Am Bodach in September. “Great!” he said. “Kilían Jornet has said he’s keen, too.” Oh well – I wasn’t really expecting to win anyway.
The Glen Coe Skyline event – part of the Skyrunner World Series – now has a Vertical Kilometre race, the first (and so far only) one you can do in the UK. glencoeskyline.com
Ultra Trail Torres del Paine VK October (date TBC), Patagonia, Chile The Alps are one thing – racing through this remote, desolate range is another. If you’re prepared to travel, you’ll be well rewarded. ultratrailtorresdelpaine.com
April 2016 | 83
Fuel
04 16
Get fit in the kitchen
Your new favourite superfood
Move over quinoa
Next time you’re craving carbs, try freekeh – a heartier, tastier, healthier option
April 2016 | 85
Fuel | Eat This
F
reekeh has been waiting a couple of millennia for its moment in the spotlight, and it’s finally arrived. This ancient grain (meaning it hasn’t been altered and hybridised over the years) with Middle Eastern origins could well supplant quinoa as the go-to healthy carb. “It’s very versatile – the perfect carb to help you get lean,” says trainer and dietician Jim White ( jimwhitefit.com). Freekeh has a low glycaemic index score, meaning it has less of an effect on your blood sugar, which prevents the spikes that spur snack cravings. “And complex carbs help rebuild muscle,” White says. It’s as easy to cook as quinoa and brown rice but has far more fibre and a more robust flavour, as the wheat is fire-roasted after harvest, giving it a smoky taste. Toast it and add it to salad or yogurt, or have it for dinner with chicken, fish or steak. “Or get creative – freekeh can be made into vegetarian burgers and soups,” says White.
Yo u c a n g e t A r t i s a n Grains Greenwheat F r e e k e h f r o m Te s c o , £1.60 for 200g
Get your freekeh on
To cook, just add it to water in a 2:1 water-to-grain ratio and simmer for 20 minutes. Try this dish created by chef Gerardo Gonzalez (elreynyc.com).
Words Bill Bradley, Ben Ince Photography Christopher Testani Food styling Michelle Gatton/Stockland Martel Prop styling Sarah Smart
Sesame freekeh with seared prawns Ingredients (serves 4) 3 plums, diced / 80ml rice wine vinegar / 450g large prawns / 160g freekeh (uncooked weight), cooked / 200g celery, sliced / 50g spring onion, sliced / 85g sesame seeds, toasted / 2tbsp chopped coriander / 1tbsp chopped mint / 120ml sesame oil / Salt
Directions
Season the plums with salt, cover with vinegar and leave until the plums turn bright red. Blitz in a blender till smooth. Sauté the shrimp on the hob. Mix the freekeh with the plum sauce (reserve a small amount), celery, spring onion, sesame seeds, mint and coriander. Toss the mixture in sesame oil until glossy. Top with prawns, plus chilli flakes, lemon juice and zest if liked, and the remaining plum sauce.
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Grains by the numbers Nutritionally, freekeh beats all other popular grains, with more than twice the protein of brown rice All values based on a 40g serving (uncooked weight)
GI index Freekeh
43
Quinoa
53
Brown rice
50
Couscous
65
White rice
89
Carbs
Protein
28.9g
Fibre
8.9g 28.9g
5g
6.4g
34.8g
3.2g 3.7g
32.4g
1.6g
5.9g 36g
3.2g
0.9g 0.6g
Fuel | Knives
3
Knife care
2
Just using one knife for all your food prep? It’s time to up your game with these essential blades
Ke e p y o u r s i n g o o d nick for longer by sharpening them on a whetstone once a week, always handwashing them (instead of using a dishwasher) and occasionally using a honing steel
1
1 CHEF’S
“This versatile knife will handle most chopping jobs, including chiffonade (cutting leafy veg into long strips), so it’s worth buying a high-quality one that’ll last,” says Saleem Ahmed, head chef of the Drawing Board in Leamington Spa (thedrawingboard.pub). Oxo Good Grips Pro Chef’s Knife, £24
5
2 BREAD
“An example of perfect design that does what other knives can’t, thanks to its large, serrated teeth that will rip through even the coarsest rustic loaves.” Anolon Advanced Bread Knife 22cm, £30
4
3 SLICING
“With a long and slightly flexible shaft, this is your go-to tool for dissecting meat and fish (raw or cooked). It’ll give you a clean cut without scoring your food.” Robert Welch Signature Flexible Slicing Knife 30cm, £56
Words Ben Ince Photography James Lincoln
4 PARING
“The smallest knife in your arsenal is perfect for prepping fruit and veg, especially intricate jobs such as carving florets out of cauliflower or taking the stalks out of tomatoes.” Lion Sabatier Fully-Forged Paring Knife 10cm, £30
5 CHEESE
“This blade curls up to a two-pronged point that helps you pick up cheese from a board after you’ve sliced it. It’s also a great decorative addition to your collection.” John Lewis Classic Cheese Knife, £15
88 | April 2016
All knives available from John Lewis (johnlewis.com)
UPGRADE YOUR PERFORMANCE WITH THE GOLD STANDARD OF SPORTS NUTRITION
PRE & POST-WORKOUT
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Fuel | Breakfast
Master your 1 fry-up
Words Ben Ince Photography Joseph Sinclair [??]
When it comes to a full English, selecting the right grub can be the difference between cooking up a fitness-boosting feast and a diet-wrecking disaster. Make the most of your morning treat with our guide to the best (and worst) breakfast eats
Poached egg
2
A complete protein source – meaning it contains all the essential amino acids your body needs – the mighty egg should be the centrepiece of your fry-up, and poaching is by far the healthiest option.
Enjoy more protein and fewer additives by opting for dry-cured packs of back rashers. Smoked has more chemicals than unsmoked – although the jury’s out on whether they’re harmful.
Bacon
T h e f r y - u p wa s vote d t h e n at i o n ’ s b e st - l ove d b re a k fa st i n a re c e nt p o l l – ove r 3 0 % o f B r i t i s h people chose it as their g o - to m o r n i n g m e a l
6
7
8
9
Not a fan of poached? Try scrambling instead, ideally with a small knob of nutrientrich grass-fed butter. A threeegg serving provides over 20g of muscle-building protein, around the same amount as a post-workout shake.
This fungus should be a staple of your full English, thanks to its impressive levels of filling fibre. For bonus points, use fresh shiitakes, which are particularly rich in energyboosting B vitamins.
It might seem odd, but adding some creamy green goodness to your brekkie contributes to your daily fruit and veg intake – an avocado supplies around 50% of your fibre RDA – as well as complementing the meaty flavour of the sausages.
Probably the least healthy egg option thanks to the calories added by the oil, but it still offers lots of protein and joint-soothing omega 3. For optimal frying (and minimal risk of carcinogens) use coconut oil, which has a higher smoke point than olive.
Scrambled egg
90 | April 2016
Mushrooms
Avocado slices
Fried egg
Key Healthy and delicious – an asset to any breakfast
3
4
5
These deep-fried triangles of blood sugar-spiking potato are one of the worst things you can add to your fry-up. For a leaner fix, parboil sweet potato cubes for five minutes, then sauté for another five.
White toast is one of the worst options. It’s brimming with blood sugar-spiking white carbs, and even supposedly healthier wholemeal varieties often include hidden sugar. If you can’t live without it, opt for Schneider Brot Volkornbrot rye bread (available from Waitrose and Tesco), which is made purely of fibrous grains.
For a guilt-free meat feast, it’s worth shelling out for a pricier option like Abel & Cole’s 95% Organic Pork Sausages (abelandcole.co.uk). These contain purer protein-packed pig meat without the nasty trans fats you’ll find in cheap supermarket bangers.
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Black pudding
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How do you make white bread even less healthy? By cooking it in a puddle of calorific oil. For a leaner, more nutritious alternative, swap it for eggy bread by whisking one egg and soaking your slice in it before frying (without oil).
It’s recently been hyped as a “superfood”, but don’t let that put you off – the classic British combination of blood, oats, barley and pork fat offers protein and cardio-boosting iron. Don’t like the thought of eating pig blood? Try the claret-free white option.
High levels of salt and sugar ensure that baked beans are anything but good for your ticker. Try this simple DIY version instead: fry one diced onion in olive oil, add a can of tomatoes, 200g cooked haricot beans, 1tbsp tomato purée and a pinch of pepper, and cook.
Vegetables are few and far between in most fry-ups, which is why a grilled tomato should be top priority for yours. They contain impressive amounts of energyenhancing vitamins A and C.
Hash browns
Fried bread
To Toast
Sausages
Canned baked beans
A good option in moderation. Choose the healthiest kind
Some benefits, but there are better options. Eat sparingly
Avoid this food or kiss your abs goodbye
Tomatoes
April 2016 | 91
P OWER UP YO U R PAC K E D FOUR TOP CHEFS, ONE SERIOUS C H A L L E N G E : M A K E O U R T U P P E RWA R E S E A L E D M I D D AY M E A L S W O R T H P O P P I N G O P E N , W I T H C H E A P, S I M P L E R E C I P E S T H AT TA K E L E S S T I M E T O PREP THAN A TRIP TO GREGGS Words Ben Ince Photography Joseph Sinclair Food styling Maud Eden Illustrations RE Wilkinson 92 | April 2016
LEAN MUSCLE IN YOUR LUNCHBOX!
Props He erblester.com
LUNCH
B U L K- U P BROCCOLI T
he leafy green veggie known
as Chinese broccoli, or kai-lin, is the Cantonese cousin of European broccoli, and contains similarly high levels of immunity-boosting vitamins A and C, which stop your body breaking down after a tough gym session. The recipe here, provided by head chef Owen Sullivan of Maze Grill (gordonramsey restaurants.com), twins it with protein-packed chicken to assist your musclebuilding efforts.
Ingredients (serves 1) 1 bunch of Chinese broccoli / 1 can of cooked chickpeas / 10 whole almonds / 1 cooked chicken breast, torn into strips / 1tsp honey / 1 lemon / 2tbsp olive oil To make Thinly slice the broccoli and fry it in a pan on a high heat for one minute, then add the almonds and cook for a further minute. In a separate bowl, mix the chickpeas, honey, lemon juice, olive oil and chicken. Add the broccoli and almonds and serve.
Almonds contain antioxidants that help to protect against heart disease
Ingredients (serves 1) 200g can of cooked lentils, drained / Large handful of rocket leaves / Large handful of watercress / 1 cooked beetroot, cut into wedges / ½ an orange, segmented / 1tsp piccalilli / 1tbsp olive oil / Pinch of ground cumin
BEET THE BLUES WITH A SALAD This veggiefriendly feast contains a hefty serving of lentils, which increase the brain’s production of serotonin, a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter that’ll keep you smiling through the tail end of winter. The rocket and piccalilli dressing also give it a “punchy 94 | April 2016
pepperiness” to help perk up your lunch break, according to nutrition expert and author Dale Pinnock (whose new book The Power of Three is out now).
Beetroot contains antiinflammatory compounds that will soothe your muscles and joints after exercise
To make Place the chickpeas, rocket, watercress and beetroot in a bowl and mix well. Whisk the piccalilli, olive oil and cumin together, dress the salad and toss well, then add the orange segments and serve.
P OW E R U P YO U R PAC K E D L U N C H
FAT- F I G H T I N G F R I T TATA
posher Italian take on the classic omelette, this spinachinfused recipe – provided by Keith Goddard, founder of Keith Goddard Catering and Munch Food Company (keithgoddard catering.com) – has virtually no carbs or sugar, providing plenty of lean protein and fibre to fill you up without causing fat storage.
A
Ingredients (serves 2) 6 eggs / 2 handfuls of baby spinach / 75g feta cheese, crumbled / 4 sundried tomatoes, sliced / Salt and pepper, to taste To make Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then add the remaining ingredients. Warm a pan, then cook the egg mixture in a little butter over a medium heat until cooked through.
FETA IS RICH IN SELENIUM, WHICH HELPS SUPPORT NORMAL THYROID FUNCTION NCTION
Apri Ap rill 2 01 ri 016 | 95
P OW E R U P YO U R PAC K E D L U N C H
Crabmeat is a lean source of musclebuilding protein, while r o c ke t i s p a c ke d w i t h vitamin A for healthy skin
96 | April 2016
HI
STORY LESSON
!
ENERGISER ORZO ored with B rice and pasta? Swap your regular grains for orzo, a grain-shaped pasta that takes around half the time to cook but provides the same amount of activityfuelling carbs. Its soft texture and smooth consistency also perfectly complement the crabmeat in the recipe below, provided by Luke Tipping, chef director at Simpsons (simpsons restaurant.co.uk).
To make Cook the orzo in salted boiling water according to packaging instructions. Drain and set aside. In a medium saucepan, cook the chilli lightly in the butter for a minute or two until softened, then mix in the pesto. Stir in the orzo and fork in the crabmeat. Reheat until piping hot and stir in the torn rocket leaves.
Ingredients (serves 4) 250g orzo pasta / 1 large mild red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced / 1 knob of butter / 300g picked white crabmeat / 100g wild rocket leaves, roughly torn / Fresh parmesan shavings / Green pesto, to taste / Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
CHEF UPGRADEE DIY PESTO “Pick the leaves off 100g 00g of flat-leaf parsley and blitz them in a food processor with a clove of garlic and the grated zest of a lemon,” says Simpson. “Gradually add 3tbsp of olive oil until you have a rough purée, then season with salt and pepper.”
Cold comforts
These simple storage rules will allow you to enjoy Tupperware-friendly leftovers for months – without giving yourself food poisoning
Fridge life
Freezer life
Pasta
3-5 days
1-2 months
Rice
1 day
2-6 months
Cooked red meat
2-3 days
2-6 months
Cooked poultry
2-3 days
2-6 months
Cooked seafood
2-3 days
2-3 months
Salad
3-5 days
Zero
The World World’ss First Packed Lunch, Est. 1746 Packed lunches haven’t always consisted of packets of crisps and cartons of Ribena. Before the industrial revolution and the advent of Tupperware, if men wanted to eat during the working day, they had to get creative. Take the mighty Cornish pasty. This classic pastry parcel came to prominence as a lunchtime favourite among tin miners during the 18th century. The doughy outer casing allowed them to easily carry and consume large servings of hearty meat and cheap, filling vegetables such as potato, onion and swede deep underground or miles out to sea. It was ideal fuel for a gruelling day of manual labour, perfectly packaged in an edible outer (which could always be thrown away if it got too grubby, or contaminated with dangerous metals). Sadly, the pasty of today is a convenience food of varying nutritional value (unless you actually live in Cornwall), often filled with cheap, processed meat and unhealthy additives. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid them altogether. For a superior muscle-building munch, try a Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Hand Crimped Cornish, which provides 16.5g of protein and just 4% of your sugar GDA – as well as a bonus serving of authentically Cornish root vegetables. If you’re trying to lose weight, go for a West Cornwall Pasty Co Wheatmeal Vegetable, a vegetarian-friendly option that swaps blood sugar-spiking white pastry for the wheatmeal variety to help limit fat storage and control hunger cravings.
April 2016 | 97
Fuel uel | Eatting Out Nutritionist Drew Price investigates the state of food on high street Britain to find out what we’re actually eating. This issue…
The battle of the burgers
It’s official: the burger has gone upmarket. After decades of high street dominance, fast-food giants McDonald’s and Burger King have been forced to raise their game by changing tastes and a new breed of “posh” chains such as GBK and Byron, who claim to offer higher-quality grub for patty-savvy consumers. But marketing hype aside, how much actual difference is there between the two tiers of burger joint? My mission to find out begins at my local Maccy D’s. One Big Mac down, I’m actually feeling surprisingly full and content, without any of the lethargy or blood sugar spikes you’d expect after such a sizeable hit of “junk” food. A key reason for this is the quality of the meat. Jamie Oliver may have grabbed headlines by successfully campaigning against the use of ammonium hydroxide (or “pink goo”) in US outlets, but stricter EU regulations have long since ensured that British burgers contain only actual beef – usually from cuts such as foreshank and flank – with roughly 20% fat content, the same as you’d find in a standard pack of supermarket mince. The result is a surprisingly healthy patty that contributes the majority of a Big Mac’s 28g of muscle-building protein – the same amount as a typical post-workout shake – and can more than hold its own alongside similar offerings from GBK and Byron.
Leave it alone
The salad that goes on top, however, is a different matter. A combination of production line business models and sheer volume of outlets means the traditional “big two” are forced to use added preservatives and artificial sweeteners to improve the lifespan and palatability of veggies such as diced onions and pickled gherkins, neither of which will do your waistline any
Meating out Pick the right burger to boost your fitness goals
98 | April 2016
Byron’s Double Bacon Cheese burger
The classic Big Mac A double cheeseburger at The Prince pub in north London
The biggest burger Drew’s ever seen – from the Camellia Grill, New Orleans
favours. GBK and Byron on the other hand use fresh, nutrient-rich tomatoes and lettuce, which provide high levels of immunity-boosting vitamins A and C. It’s a similar story with sauces, which account for a significant chunk of the 35g of fat in a Whopper (a third of your GDA) as well as containing large doses of belly-busting added sugar. GBK makes its own, from fresh ingredients, with minimal added sugar.
Muscle GBK The Mighty
With two patties topped by bacon and mature cheddar, this monstrous burger offers a giant pile of protein to ur help fuel you bulking efforrts.
But despite these discrepancies, the gap in quality between the swankier, pricier brands and their more “junky” forefathers isn’t as big as you might expect. And while a trip to either kind of establishment is unlikely to end up being especially healthy considering the abundance of extra menu temptations (think fizzy drinks, fries, milkshakes and beer), as a treat meal you could do far worse.
Fat loss Byron Skinny Classic
Swaps the blood-sugar spiking bun for a fresh, nutrientpacked side salad for the same pr price.
Binge Burger King Steakhouse Double
Provides an enormous 40-80% of your GDAs for calories, fat, saturated sa a fat a and fa salt in o one sal delicious hit. d l o h
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Fuel | DDrinkk This hs
Ne le el be s grade your cuppa Upg y d unlock a host off and exttra health benefits fi
GREEN
The tea you’ll find most often in healthy eating plans, largely because it helps speed up your metabolism to burn more calories, but it’s also packed with potent antioxidants that help to prevent cancer. For maximum impact, drink the matcha variety, made with powdered green leaves.
CHAMOMILE
BEST FOR ENHANCING RECOVERY
Made from the flower of the same name, this sweet beverage has been found to reduce anxiety levels and is often prescribed as a treatment for insomnia. Bonus benefit: it can also alleviate chesty coughs.
BEST FOR IMPROVING SLEEP
GINGER
This herbal tea is a perfect post-gym brew thanks to its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, which help soothe your aching muscles after a tough session. And you don’t have to shell out for expensive bags either – simply drop a slice of fresh ginger (or half a teaspoon of the powdered variety) into a cup and add boiling water.
BEST FOR BOOSTING ENERGY
BLACK
The tea used for the good old-fashioned builder’s cuppa accounts for roughly three-quarters of the world’s consumption, which isn’t that surprising considering it has the highest caffeine levels at around 40mg per cup – perfect for fuelling your gym (or construction) efforts.
BEST FOR BURNING FAT
BEST FOR DIGESTION
Words Ben Ince Photography Joseph seph Sinclair [[??]]
PEPPERMINT WHITE
A mild and smooth option – because the leaves are picked when very young – white tea is far lower in caffeine than others at just 15mg per cup, if you want to avoid the risk of becoming jittery. It has high levels of polyphenols, which strengthen the elastin and collagen in your skin to help combat wrinkles.
100 | April p l 2016 20 6
BEST FOR DEFYING AGE
MF SAYS Ben Ince, deputy editor
Feeling the bloat after a hefty meal? This minty brew will improve mobility in your digestive tract to help relieve the symptoms. It’s also easy to cultivate the herb in your garden – to make a homegrown cup, all you have to do is dry the leaves and add to boiling water. Three cups of tea a day will fend off heart disease and cancer, according to a study published in the European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition – but they shouldn’t all be of the “milk and two sugars” variety. For optimum all-round health, it pays to mix things up.
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THE FACTS
55 g Protein | 10 3 g BCAA’s | 3 g L-leucine | 1.8 g Beta Alanine | 73 g low GI Carbohydrate
P O
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FURTHER FACTS
5
55
ONE STOP® XTREME
4 50
3
55 g
50 g
45
A
O C CO
O
S OP® XTREME
CO PETITOR A
2
45 g COMPETITOR B
COMPETITOR B
MADE IN INFORMED-SPORT SITE?
5g
GERMAN
3.2 g
5g
unknown
unknown
1 0
COMPETITOR A
ONE STOP® XTREME
COMPETITOR A
YES YES
YES COMPETITOR B
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE?
YES
SOY PROTEIN FREE?
FRIENDLY BACTERIA?
T
30
2.5
2.0
1.5
3g
2.6 g
1.0
1.8 g
0.5
ONE STOP® XTREME
0g
0g
COMPETITOR A
COMPETITOR B
BETAINE
ONE STOP® XTREME
1g COMPETITOR A
1.5 g
1.5 g COMPETITOR B
BETA ALANINE
ONE STOP® XTREME
0.5 g
0g
COMPETITOR A
COMPETITOR B
ADDED L-LEUCINE
PER 145g SERVING
Manufactured in an Informed-Sport registered facility.
0.4 g ONE STOP® XTREME
COMPETITOR A
TAURINE
1g COMPETITOR B
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Trainer
Your blueprint for success Words Sam Rider
Form and function Everything you wanted to know about weightlifting – but were too busy obsessing over your bench press numbers to ask
1 Why am I lifting weights? Resistance training isn’t just about getting bigger biceps. It’s a perfect elixir for health. “It stimulates muscles to grow, bones to strengthen and fat to break down,” says personal trainer Dan Wheeler, whose success in losing 50kg landed him the cover of Men’s Fitness Australia in 2013. “There are all sorts of hormonal benefits too – as well as spiking testosterone for a healthy libido, it improves sleep quality and quantity, energy and even skin complexion. Exercising improves the turnover of collagen in your skin, and sweating cleans your pores.” The weights room also provides you with the raw materials to transform your mental as well as physical state. “For me it’s a form of meditation,” says Wheeler, who drew inspiration from the celebrated US fitness model Greg Plitt to pump iron. “It can be really empowering – both physically and mentally – providing a daily dose of achievement every time you complete a rep, set or workout.” Identifying your primary goal for picking up a pair of dumbbells will give you the motivation to keep doing it consistently. April 2016 | 107
Trainer | Training Secrets
THE EXPERTS
THE COACH AND COMPETITOR
Tom Hamilton, 26 A former Bristol City apprentice whose pro career was ineded by injury, Hamilton has competed at national level both in bodybuilding and powerlifting. He coaches at W10 Performance in London, a gym that focuses on improving mobility and posture over abs definition and biceps circumference. liftstrong lookstrong.com
THETRANSFORMATION SPECIALIST
Daniel Wheeler, 30 Five years ago, Wheeler weighed 140kg. Realising he’d “hit rock bottom”, in his words, he vowed to transform his body and health. Within two years he’d dropped to 90kg and set up Life Changing Fitness to help others realise their own fitness aspirations. lifechanging.fitness 108 | April 2016
2
Do I have to lift heavy? Your bodyweight is one of the best, not to mention cheapest, tools for resistance training. Besides, not everyone is ready to dive headfirst into the weights rack. Coach Tom Hamilton highlights these strength markers as a guide for whether you’re ready to load up: 30 press-ups in one go Five pull-ups A perfect bodyweight squat (heels down, knees wide, back flat) Jump explosively “Ticking all these off would put you above the average population,” says Hamilton. “That’s a good sign your muscles have plenty of fast-twitch fibres and the capacity to get strong.”
3 Should I start with machines or free weights? Despite its abundant benefits, the weights room can be an intimidating place. With so many bewildering contraptions, the constant clink of iron on iron and all that testosterone sloshing around the room, it’s tempting to camp out by the safe haven of the bench press – everyone knows how that works, right? But resistance machines have a place, especially for the untrained. “They can help you get familiar with which muscles you’re working, and allow you to learn technique without the risk of a loaded barbell guillotining you on the bench,” says Hamilton. Once you’ve used the Smith machine or leg press to learn the movement patterns involved in key lifts, including the chest and overhead press and squats, it’s time to upgrade to free weights. Studies show they recruit more muscle fibres, helping you build functional strength for life outside the gym.
STRONG FOUNDATIONS
Is it worth forking out for a personal trainer?
Work up to the essential compound lifts with team MF
STARTING STRENGTH
If you’re going to spend the money just once, do it at the start. Laying down a firm foundation by learning proper technique will help you progress quickly – and painlessly. “I jumped in at the deep end with one of Greg Plitt’s killer arms workouts,” says Wheeler. “I could barely hold a pen for a week afterwards. When I recovered, I set my ego aside and focused on learning the right form for the key lifts, especially the deadlift and squat.” “Choosing the right PT can be a roll of the dice,” says Hamilton, who compares it with putting your faith in a new mechanic. Before handing your metaphorical car keys over, get a recommendation from a friend. In fact, if they have good experience at training your friend could be equally valuable. Heading to the weights room with someone familiar in those surroundings can help deflect suspicious glares from gym regulars, and they can also guide you through exercises until you’re confident enough to go it alone. They can also save you from the ball-shrinking dread of asking said glarers to spot you. (Although most of the time people are only too happy to help.)
4
Deputy editor Ben Ince says “This beginnerfriendly plan is a simple but effective introduction to barbell training. Three times a week you get to grips with the squat, bench, overhead press and deadlift. While it can be repetitive, regular progression and weekly PB-setting make it very rewarding.” Typical workout Squat 3 x 5 Bench press 3 x 5 Deadlift 1 x 5
THE TEXAS METHOD
Fitness editor Sam Rider says “Once you’re confident with the core compound lifts, this three-day-a-week plan combining volume, active recovery and intensity will rapidly propel allover strength. But beware – it can be brutal if you don’t recover properly with good food and ample hangover-free rest.” Typical workout Squat 1 x 5 – work up to a new 5RM (five-rep max) Bench/overhead press 1 x 5 – work up to a new 5RM Power clean 5 x 3
JIM WENDLER’S 5/3/1
Associate editor Joel Snape says “Simple, efficient, hard. You do four ‘big’ moves a week, hitting pre-determined numbers for a couple of sets before a balls-to-thewall max rep effort. The (massive) upside: you make noticeable progress with only two days a week in the gym, leaving you plenty of time for hill runs or lying on the sofa.” Typical workout Bench 3 x 5/3/1 Squat 3 x 5/3/1
April 2016 | 109
Trainer | Training Secrets
Is there a wrong way to warm up? SWEATIQUETTE Blend in with lifting knowledge that normally takes years to accrue, courtesy of our readers “Squat rack pins: always err on the low side. It’s easier to drop the bar into them than wobble it back in on tiptoe.” “Grunt as much as it takes to get your best effort out – no more, but certainly not any less.” “Spotting someone on the bench? Don’t touch the bar unless it starts to move down or they ask for help. Otherwise you’ve just ruined their set.” “Really, your phone should be on airplane mode. But it’s only a problem for me if you’re sitting on unused kit while you have a chat.” “For the love of God, I don’t want to lie in your sweat. Two seconds and a wetwipe is all it takes.” “Curling in the squat rack is frowned upon, but just about acceptable if you’re curling your own bodyweight. A target to aim for.” 110 | April 2016
5
Yes. The classic: chugging along on the treadmill for ten minutes then hopping on the bench press. “Preparing your body for the specific exercise you’re about to work is far better than getting slightly out of breath,” says Wheeler. So with the bench press, you want to prepare your wrist, elbow, chest and shoulder joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles for pressing before you start loading up the 25kg plates. Do a handful of press-ups and empty-bar presses first. “Increasing blood flow in the area and neurologically stimulating the connection between your mind and muscles will help you lift cleaner, more powerfully and with a reduced risk of injury.” “Stretching under load will also improve your mobility and range of motion,” says Hamilton. This is especially true if your workout is sandwiched between extensive spells sitting at your desk. Mobilise your hips with pause squats, where you stop for a few seconds when you’re a quarter, half and threequarters of the way through a rep. Loosen your shoulders by hanging from a pull-up bar for three lots of 30 seconds, and open up your chest with dumbbell flyes.
6 Why does it hurt?
7 Is pain a good thing?
If you’ve done any form of resistance training before, chances are you’ve encountered Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. DOMS is a phenomenon of pain felt 12-48 hours following exercise, typically after workouts with moves you’re not used to. It doesn’t mean you’ve done irreversible damage – according to a paper by strength experts Brad Schoenfeld and Bret Contreras, it’s more likely that you’ve caused “microscopic tears in connective tissue”. It’s one of the key mechanisms – along with mechanical tension and metabolic stress – involved in hypertrophy, the increase in size of a muscle.
You don’t have to hurt to grow, although people can develop a (harmless) pleasure/pain addiction where they don’t feel they’ve worked hard enough if they’re not sore. “The most savage DOMS tends to be from high reps of moves with a big eccentric, or lowering, phase that target the hamstrings and glutes, such as Romanian deadlifts and lunges,” says Hamilton. You can blunt the trauma by increasing your workload gradually with incremental tweaks in weight, reps or sets. Then help the muscles repair faster with active recovery after a workout to increase blood flow and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle. For example, after a lunchtime legs workout, avoid stiffening up with Hamilton’s discreet solution: “Sneak off to the disabled toilet every hour to do 20 bodyweight squats.” You’ve always got the emergency cord if you start to seize up.
Does it have to take an hour? Certainly not. “The most common excuse I get for people dodging the gym is time,” says Wheeler. “It’s utter bullshit. People who say that will always find time to eat poorly, watch crap TV or sink five pints in the pub.” The remedy is better time management – spend five minutes making a packed lunch in the morning so you don’t have to go and buy it, say, enabling you to fit in a workout. And start small. “If you go from zero effort to three 30-minute sessions a week you’re going to see results,” says Wheeler. To get the greatest benefit, pick compound, multi-joint exercises that work your whole body. This means variations of the squat, deadlift, bench and overhead press. And follow a proven plan rather than cycling through random exercises to make the most of every minute in the gym – on p107 we highlight three programmes that have helped MF’s writers make progress.
9 What kit will help me get better? Weights room floors have hosted everything from muddy Golas to the contents of Derek Zoolander’s wardrobe. It seems that anything goes when it comes to apparel. But if you’re squatting heavy, a crucial swap is to replace your squishy-soled trainers with hard-soled shoes designed for lifting (Converse will work too) that don’t compress. To check your form Hamilton recommends getting someone to film your technique for lifts such as the squat and deadlift. Visual cues are much easier to comprehend than verbal ones, and you can always upload them to Instagram (tag #mensfitnessuk) for extra feedback. To track how training affects your physique, Wheeler advises his clients take weekly photos from the front and side and ban the misleading weight scales. “Your bodyweight can move up and down like a yo-yo when under stress or sleeping badly,” he says. Both swear by the simple training logbook. “Writing down your workout and tracking your lifts and numbers is crucial, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced lifter,” says Hamilton. It’ll ensure you don’t waste time devising a workout on the fly, it keeps you accountable so you don’t slack off and you’ll see in black and white if you’re not progressing.
8
April 2016 | 111
Trainer | Training Secrets
10
What’s stopping me getting strong? “A lack of consistency,” says Wheeler. “A bad plan done consistently will get you better results than a good plan done haphazardly.” Repetition and routine will give you the structure to learn how your body best responds to exercise and help you achieve results. Consistency outside the gym is just as important. “If you’re training for an hour a day you’ve still got 23 hours to focus on your diet, hydration and sleep,” he says. Two things that will immediately help, according to Wheeler, are taking the herbal supplement melatonin, which he says is “proven to improve sleep”, 112 | April 2016
and staying hydrated by reducing your coffee and increasing your water intake. Hamilton uses this formula to calculate how many litres of water you need a day: bodyweight in kg x 0.033. At the sharp end for the experienced trainer, Hamilton – who’s competed at the British Powerlifting Championships – suggests going to local weightlifting competitions can expose you to an environment that’ll help you progress the fastest. “It can be intimidating, but the added adrenaline will see your PBs rocket up,” he says. Find out where to get involved via the Facebook groups BDFPA and GBPF.
MASTER THE PRIME MUSCLE
Squats should be part of every gym plan – from beginners to experts – but often poor ankle mobility handicaps your best intentions. Tom Hamilton explains how to put it right
MOBILISE
During your warm-up, massage your calves using a foam roller or hockey ball to loosen knots in the muscle, then do this resistance band drill between exercises. Stand in a split stance with the band wrapped around your leading ankle and attached to something sturdy. Push your leading knee forward against the resistance without lifting your heel. Do 15 reps, holding for two seconds in the stretched position.
STRETCH
Stretch your calves under load on the calf raise or leg press machine. With a moderate weight, allow your calves to flex so your toes come towards you, and hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Repeat this three times.
STABILISE
Elevate your heels with a pair of Olympic weightlifting shoes. Nike Romaleos are a worthy investment if you do heavy squats frequently.
Trainer | Fat Loss
Jump-start your summer six-pack Raise your power output to torch stubborn belly fat
If you want to see your abs by the time the sun returns from its extended leave, you need to inject raw power into your fat-loss efforts. Moving dynamically, explosively and at full tilt requires serious effort – which means it burns a shedload of calories, causing you to vaporise unwanted fat every time you hit your body’s accelerator. This circuit from trainer Mishal Dasani (ownyourfitness.co.uk) is framed around the simple plyometric box. “It uses full-body high-energy exercises that’ll help you torch fat and move more athletically,” says Dasani.
WARNING: HIGH VOLTAGE This uses a plyo box, but it’s not a plyometrics workout – those should be saved for sprint training. Here’s how to ensure you’re doing a hightempo session that will help you scorch fat safely
PLYOMETRICS MOVES GOAL Increase fasttwitch muscle fibres for power
CHARACTERISTICS
Low reps, high rest, max effort
EXAMPLE One-leg triple jump, broad jump, max box jump
HIGH-INTENSITY WORKOUT GOAL Raise metabolism to burn calories
CHARACTERISTICS
High-energy, short rest, low impact
EXAMPLE Battle rope slams, burpee, low box jump
HOW IT WORKS
“This workout uses power, speed and short rests to burn maximum calories in a short space of time,” says Dasani. The more powerfully you push, the more efficiently your body burns fat. Start with a low box until you’re used to the moves but always jump below your maximum. Save your max vertical leap for plyometrics sessions.
DIRECTIONS
Do ten reps of each exercise and move on to the next without resting. Keep the intensity high but be sure to maintain good form. Do three to five rounds depending on your fitness level and the quantity of fat you want to burn. Rest for 90 seconds between rounds but as it starts to get easier, reduce the amount of rest time by 15 seconds.
3 BOX JUMP
1 VAULT
Keep your hands on the box as you jump from one side to the other.
Too easy? Jump laterally on and off the box without using your hands
Use your arms to generate momentum as you jump. After landing on the box with bent knees, stand tall.
2 EXPLOSIVE PRESS-UP
Squeeze your core to keep your body in line and drive up powerfully with each rep so your hands leave the box.
6 V-SIT
4 STEP-UP WITH KNEE TUCK
Hold the box with both hands for balance and extend your legs out, then tuck them back in to your body.
Keep your heel on the box as you drive up and follow through with your knee. Words Sam Rider Photography Danny Bird Model Callum [emailprotected] Clothing GymShark Form T-shirt £20, and Fit Tapered Bottoms £35, gymshark.com, Adidas AdiZero Feather Prime £72, adidas.co.uk
Step down carefully instead of jumping, to protect your achilles tendon
Try to keep time in contact with the ground to a minimum
5 DEPTH JUMP
Drop off the box and immediately leap up into the air, tucking your knees in to your body for extra height.
MF SAYS
Sam Sa Rider, fitness editor Yo You can just as easily sub in a bench or even an empty st staircase, as I did once (much to the chagrin of the office fire marshals). ma Don’t feel compelled to reach for the biggest plyo bo box you can manage – start small and keep the energy high.
HOW DID YOU FIND IT? #SHARETHEPAIN
April 2016 | 115
Trainer | The List
5 easy steps to banish moobs for life Those unsightly chest-bulges aren’t just caused by fat. Gynaecomastia – also cruelly known as man-boobs or moobs – is usually down to a hormone imbalance. Restore order with these pec-perfecting tips
1
SPRINT IN BURSTS
Words Sam Rider Photography iStock
Body fat plays havoc with your hormones. According to research in the International Journal Of Andrology, adipose tissue causes muscle-building testosterone to convert into moobgrowing oestrogen, encouraging fat to lurk on your chest. The urgent fix is to reduce your body fat to a healthy target – aim for under 22%. Three weekly HIIT (high-intensity interval training) sessions will kick-start your metabolism. At the end of a workout, alternate going flat-out and slow in 30 second bursts for 15 minutes on a bike or rower. If your T-shirt’s soaked at the end, it’s a sign those moobs will soon melt away.
2
LIFT HEAVY
Reducing fat to limit oestrogen will shrink your moobs – and building muscle will hike up testosterone to continue the job. And the heavier, the better. Research in the European Journal
Spot reduce fat
Transformation specialist Rich Phillipps highlights the common causes of unflattering fat accumulation
116 | April 2016
Of Applied Physiology And Occupational Physiology found that “heavy resistance exercise” has the greatest T-level payoff. Endless cable chest flyes won’t alter the appearance of your pecs unless you’ve got the body fat levels of a cover model. Instead, do compound lifts, especially the deadlift, squat, overhead press and bench press. Start each workout with one of those. Do five sets of five, aiming to lift 75% of your one-rep max.
3
DON’T STARVE
Restricting food intake can undo your testosterone-boosting efforts and even induce a rebounding effect called “refeeding gynaecomastia”. The first reported case was during the Second World War when prisoners liberated from camps returned to a normal diet after weeks of malnutrition. It’s an extreme case but highlights the risks that can result from following an unsustainable diet. Instead make smart swaps, such as
replacing a glass of fruit juice with a piece of fruit for a vitamin-rich hit of sweetness with all the benefits of fibre intact.
4
SLEEP CLEAN
Poor sleep quality is a leading cause of both weight gain and testosterone depletion. Andrew Shanahan, founder of manvfat.com, believes cleaning up his sleeping habits was key to his losing over 30kg and banishing his moobs. “The day after a bad sleep, levels of the hormone ghrelin, responsible for hunger, shoot up,” says Shanahan. This means you’re likely to make poor food choices. “Fix this by ensuring your bedroom is clean, uncluttered and comfortable.” Use an eye mask and earplugs if necessary.
5
WATCH YOUR SPIRITS
Alcohol is a prime culprit. Not only is it packed with empty calories, but research published in the Journal Of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics found that it can suppress testosterone levels. A boozy session can undermine all your efforts, so save it for worthy occasions – and don’t let that unwanted cleavage drive you to drink.
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Trainer | The Experiment
Harder, The Experiment
Group treadmill training is the newest workout trend gaining pace – but will it really make you faster? MF’s Joel Snape laces up
stronger
April 2016 | 119
Trainer | The Experiment
WHAT IS IT?
With spinning developing into a megabucks business – devotees of New York’s celebrity-packed Soul Cycle movement happily pay an eyewatering $3,500 for a 50-session pack – it’s only natural that attention is shifting to the next big thing in group cardio. And heading up the charge right now is group treadmill training. As with spin, the theory is that everyone can tweak their own workout parameters to make sure they’re working at the right intensity for rapid fat-loss and performance results. But – and this hardly needs mentioning – running on a treadmill is quite a lot different from riding a stationary bike. So does it work?
THE METHOD
Equinox Gym’s Precision Running is the leader of the UK pack, promising a blend of speed work, hill intervals and core training designed to make you a stronger, more efficient runner. Creator and biomedical science graduate David Silk calls it Balanced Interval Training Exercise (BITE), claiming that its ratio of aerobic-to-anaerobic intervals maximise calorie burn and build speed, all while reducing the stress on the body. Almost as importantly, especially for the #avotoast and #mindfulness crowd, you don’t have to go out in the rain, inhale exhaust fumes or risk getting your #yogapants spattered with mud. As a man whose running route to work involves two dual carriageways and the most congested tube exit in London, I’m instantly sold.
Photography Ben Knight. Thanks to Fitness First Tottenham Court Road
THE TEST
The Precision part of Precision Running, it turns out, rewards the data-inclined pavement-pounder. At the beginning of your first class, you’re asked to estimate the top speed you could maintain for a solid 60 seconds on the treadmill – this is the speed you’ll base your intervals off for the rest of the session. After a quick warm-up (lateral steps, high knees and kickbacks, all done on the treadmill) it’s straight into the first intervals, and I almost immediately realise I’ve made a huge mistake. Though starting at 2.7km/h less than the magic number for a minute is fine, bumping up the incline 5% in the next interval is markedly tougher. We’re doing a programme called Boston Blizzard, so called because it mimics running into headwinds in one of America’s hillier cities, and as the speeds and inclines creep up with each “block” of intervals, I find myself struggling to hang on. Despite a steady monologue of motivation and technique tips from 120 | April 2016
Class warm-ups include lateral shuffles on a low-speed treadmill
The other contenders Project Fit
Walk/Jog/Run is the mantra in an independent class that combines sprints with TRX moves and off-treadmill legwork. All in a room that’s lit like a nuclear sub on high alert. project-fit.co.uk
Reshape
1Rebel’s take on highintensity training issues you with your own weights, band and bench, putting fourminute conditioning blasts between treadmill sprints. Oh, and you get a free juice afterwards. 1rebel.co.uk
Barry’s Bootcamp
The Kardashian family’s favourite workout combines high-speed sprints with bodyweight moves and full-body dumbbell moves, with occasional guest DJ slots and nightclubstyle lighting. barrysbootcamp.com
trainer Anthony “Fletch” Fletcher (done silent-disco style: the class takes place on the gym floor, so everyone plugs their headphones into a receiver that delivers the dance-heavy playlist and chatter directly), by the end of the class I’m not quite following the recommended splits, mainly because my legs won’t let me. One problem with the format soon becomes evident. Unlike spin, where adjusting intensity is as simple as twisting a dial or pedalling faster, my sweaty thumbs occasionally don’t register on the treadmill touch-pad at all, leaving me spending stretches of the class at the “wrong” speed. I’m also more hesitant to push myself to my limit than I would be in a spin class – after all, the worst that can happen when you’re on a bike is getting shouted at by the instructor, but here there’s a very real chance of flying off the back of the treadmill.
THE VERDICT
Somehow I get through, and in subsequent sessions I adjust my starting pace to a speed that lets me follow the format more closely and run faster overall, with less panic-breathing. I also start to enjoy the camaraderie of the class, or at least try to match the pace of my more competitive treadmill-mates (plenty of people, I swiftly realise, are happy to finish the class at dog-walk pace without breaking a sweat). Pleasingly, each class also concludes with 15 minutes of strength work and stretching, including glute bridge and plank variations designed to wake up and strengthen the muscles that make you a more efficient runner. It’s the sort of thing I should do regularly but actually never make time for, and a nice addition to a class that already sees me pushing myself harder than most of my solo runs. Honestly, no group treadmill class is ever going to entirely replace outdoor running – there’s nothing quite like trotting through a frosted field on a crisp winter morning, and even dodging bankers on the way to work has an airpunching edge to recommend it – but in a few short weeks, my top-end speed’s gone up and my fear of lung-busting hard work has gone down. Now, if they can just sort out the soundtrack…
THE BREAKDOWN For any fitness level Lose fat Build muscle Improve performance Under 30min Track performance
Technique advice Available nationwide Sociable benefit No membership required SCORE
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The classes finish with core work and stretching
“I’m hesitant topush myselftomy limit…there’s arealchance offlyingoff thebackof thetreadmill”
Membership at Equinox Gym in London starts at £200 a month April 2016 | 121
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Trainer | Gym-Free Workout
HOME WO R K O U T
Your V-shape starts here
Big weights are unnecessary. The path to shirt-filling shoulders starts with your tiniest dumbbells
W
ant bigger shoulders? Think small. Yes, your deltoids can handle appreciable amounts of weight, but consider risk/reward for a second: they’re also wrapped around one of the most injury-prone joints in your body, and once you blow a rotator cuff there’s not much you can do about it. Instead of hoisting the heaviest barbell possible aloft, then, the solution is to give them a hefty amount of time under tension – and the double-whammy workout here does just that, while keeping them safe.
Yo u c a n g e t results with a set of dumbbells not much heavier than a bag of sugar
This workout’s designed to challenge the stabiliser muscles of your rotator cuff and then hit the delts from three different angles, making sure they grow in every direction. Result: impressive, injuryfree shoulders.
DIRECTIONS
Start with the push press: do ten to 15 reps over 30 seconds, then “rest” for 30 seconds with the weights held overhead. Repeat once for a two-minute set. Rest properly for two minutes, and do the whole thing twice more. Next, do 12 reps each of moves 2a, 2b and 2c without resting, then rest for one minute and repeat three times. If your shoulders feel toasty at the end, you’ve done it right.
1
30/30 push press
Hold the weights by your shoulders, then lower into a quarter squat. Push up through your heels and press the weights overhead, then lower them under control. The “hold” is the challenging part, so use a weight that allows you to complete the move easily. During the hold, keep your midsection tight and brace your glutes to keep your lower back aligned and safe.
A
B
2a
Lateral raise
Start with the weights at your sides, then raise them to the sides, keeping them in line with your body and keeping your thumbs pointing slightly downwards. Stop just shy of shoulder-level to keep the tension on your delts.
A
2b
B
Front raise
Switch the focus to your front delts. Starting with the weights in front of you, slowly bring them up to just below eye level. Pause at the top, then lower slowly, keeping the weights under control.
A
B
2c
Reverse flye
With a slight bend in your arms, bend forward at the waist – back straight, please – and bring the dumbbells up as if you were flapping your wings. Bring them back to the centre to complete the rep.
A
B April 2016 | 125
Words Joel Snape Photography Rupert Fowler Model Freddie Abrahams@WAthletic Clothing Adidas Los Angeles shoe £65, adidas.co.uk
HOW IT WORKS
Trainer | Skills
Kick-the-moon Front and back flips are old hat. Master the new-school acrobatic move
1 It’s universal
You’ve probably seen all-flair-nosubstance footballers show off this trick on a Saturday afternoon (unless their irate manager has banned it) but the kickthe-moon is at the core of a multitude of disciplines. It’s used in gymnastics, martial arts, diving and freerunning – and it’s actually “fairly simple”, according to parkour practitioner and performance coach Alex Pownall (parkourgenerations.com). “It doesn’t require the raw power of a standing back flip or the co-ordination of a front flip. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be scary.”
2 The clue’s in the name
3 Hesitation will be your undoing
“Be fully committed to the move,” advises GB’s Olympic silver medal gymnast Kristian Thomas. Hesitate just a fraction and you could end up underrotating and flop onto the floor. Approach it like you would any max lift in the weights room. “It demands 100% focus and your full attention,” says Thomas. The move won’t come overnight.
4 Celebrate in (free) style
What it takes
• Unwavering conviction •#failvideo-proof ego • A rocket-powered leg swing Difficulty rating 6/10
Perfecting these head-spinning antics in a safe foam-padded environment – instead of on your Sunday league pitch – is advisable if you want your ego, not to mention your face, to stay intact. “Lean back on a flip of any kind and your momentum will simply swing you into the ground – hard,” says Pownall. “But pull it off and the elation you feel trumps any gym PB.”
BREAK IT DOWN
Run-up Gain momentum from a jog, then stretch one leg ahead of you and plant it 126 | April 2016
Take-off Swing your rear leg and arms upwards to generate vertical power
Flip Drive your hips forwards so they come up and directly over your head
Land Keep your legs bent for a controlled landing – then lap up the adulation
Words Dale Rawlings Illustrations Sudden Impact Photography Getty
The move belongs to a gymnastics move group called gainers, because you need to gain speed and harness momentum to get off the ground. The “kick” part relates to the dynamic leg swing required to get you the whole way round. “Lean forward and swing your leg like crazy,” is how Pownall puts it. Power and flexibility are both vital. “If you swing one leg hard and leave the other on the ground and you’re not flexible, you’re going to end up ripping something.” Best case scenario, your shorts. Worst case… well, you can imagine.
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NEXT MONTH IN MEN’S FITNESS
WE REVEAL THE PERFECT BODY*
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Out 16 March
Trainer | Supplements
Fight off man flu with a daily dose of the supps proven to reinforce your immune system
1
PROTECT CELLS WITH VITAMIN C
Your cells and nerves take a battering when you’re ill (and when you exercise) but this antioxidant protects against cell damage and enhances recovery. “You can get it from supplements, but if you get it from fresh fruit too it’ll also aid your digestive system,” says nutritionist Anthony Nyman. Papaya packs the highest natural dose.
2
BEAT PAIN WITH SELENIUM
A mineral that can stop illnesses in their tracks, so you can get your training back on course. “Selenium stops infections spreading and can reduce the aches and pains that come with fevers,” says Nyman. As well as supps, you can also get lots of it from brazil nuts and tuna.
Can I train when I’m ill?
3
BOOST IMMUNITY WITH VITAMIN D
An immunitystrengthening supplement for all seasons – but especially winter, because the primary source is exposure to the sun’s rays. Studies show athletic performance dips in winter months so, short of a February escape to the Caribbean, tablets are an ideal solution.
4
RESTORE VIGOUR WITH ZINC
Deficiency will erode your muscle and strength – and leave gaps in your defences. “Plugging those gaps boosts your odds of fighting infections,” says Nyman. “Zinc is also needed for growth, cell production and, crucially, optimum levels of testosterone.” It can also aid restful sleep, so take it half an hour before bed.
5
FIGHT INFECTIONS WITH FISH OIL
Starting to worry spring will never come? When the stress hormone cortisol rises, it’s harder to fight off foreign antigens. Omega 3 fatty acids in daily fish oil capsules will help suppress cortisol when you’re run down, as well as improving brain and heart health.
Anthony Nyman is a nutritional advisor and Multipower ambassador. Visit multipower.com
You can – just don’t do punishing high-intensity sessions that could make things worse. Research from Indiana University showed 40 minutes of daily exercise below 70% of your maximum heart rate during a cold has no ill effects, while studies have also shown that moderate exercise can stimulate immunity and help fight infection.
April 2016 | 129
Words Sam Rider Illustration Dan Woodger
Never get sick again
Body Work
Build athletic muscle fast How hybrid training will make you indestructible
Looking strong, lean and powerful isn’t half as satisfying as being strong, lean and powerful. That’s where hybrid training can give you the edge over the baseball cap-toting 1,000-curl zealots who clog up the gym floor. “This plan unites full-body compound moves, dynamic Olympic lifts and muscle-fortifying assistance exercises into a threepronged attack on your physique,” says fitness coach and model James Potter (evolvefitnessonline.co.uk) who came to our attention after winning our 2015 Optimum Nutrition workout challenge. Here he shares the plan that got him in winning condition, including the bonus metabolic conditioning workouts that’ll put your respiratory system under short spells of duress to melt away excess fat and enhance your cardiovascular endurance. The final package is a ripped, robust and athletic body that’ll help you score personal bests in the gym and be ultra-fit for function, whatever the world throws at you.
Words Sam Rider Photography Danny Bird Model Lee McLaughlin@WAthletic Clothing BAA T-shirt £18, baaclothing.com, Adidas AdiStar Boost Glow shoe, £91, adidas.co.uk
04 16
April 2016 | 131
Trainer | Body Work
James Potter is founder of Evolve Fitness, a leading coach at Fitness First and winner of our 2015 ON Fitness Challenge.
HOWIT WORKS
Hybrid training is meant to keep you on your toes. Each of these four workouts includes either heavy lifts for strength, dynamic moves for power, high-intensity finishers or all three. Keep your workouts varied and challenging by subbing in the six training methods on p134, and use the nutritional info on p137 to help fuel your efforts.
Workout 1 Lower-body pull Construct your opening session around the musclebuilding deadlift
132 | April 2016
B
DEADLIFT
SETS 5 REPS 5 REST 2-3MIN Grip the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart, with your arms straight and knees slightly bent. Keeping your chest up and your back straight, drive down through your heels and pull the bar up your legs, pushing your hips forwards to stand tall.
GOOD MORNING
A
DIRECTIONS
If you want to emulate Potter, follow this plan for eight weeks. Take at least a day’s break between workouts 2 and 3 to recover. “For the big compound lifts (bench, deadlift and front squat) you should be pushing almost to failure on every set,” says Potter. For the Olympic lifts (cleans), move the bar explosively. “Keep the load moderate and the movement powerful.”
A
SETS 4 REPS 8 REST 60-90SEC Stand holding a barbell on the backs of your shoulders, not your neck. Slowly bend forwards at your hips, keeping your legs and back straight. Bend until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, then rise back to the start. B
HOLLOW ROC OCK
SETS 3 TIME 30SEC REST 60-90S 0SECC Lie on the floor with your legs and arms togetther. Contract your core re and glutes to lift your ha hands and feet slightly off the fl floor. Holding this shape,, ro k rock ck forwards and backwa kwards ds. ds
COMPACT KETTLEBELL SWING
SETS 3 REPS 15-20 REST 60-90SEC Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your arms slightly bent and all your muscles tensed. Drive your hips forwards to push the kettlebell off your body to start the swing. As you lower, hinge at the hips by pushing your glutes back. When you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, drive your hips forward, allowing the kettlebell to rise to head height.
Workout 2 Upper-body push Target your chest and shoulders, and spare some energy for the fat-blasting finisher
A
WIDE-GRIP BENCH PRESS
SETS 3 REPS 8 REST 2-3MIN Lie on a flat bench, holding the bar with an overhand grip, hands outside shoulder-width, your shoulder blades retracted and feet flat on the floor. Take the bar out of the rack and lower slowly until it’s touching your chest, then drive straight up.
B
Because your body is more compact than in a regular swing, the movement is faster and more powerful
CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS
SETS 3 REPS 8 REST 60-90SEC Reduce the weight from the previous exercise. This time hold the bar with hands less than shoulderwidth apart. Take the bar out of the rack and slowly lower it to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body, then drive the weight straight up.
The triceps muscles are key here. Reduce the weight and dig in April 2016 | 133
Trainer | Body Work
PICK YOUR POISON
Add these training methods popularised by CrossFit to break up the monotony of body part splits
MILITARY PRESS
SETS 4 REPS 8 REST 60-90SEC Stand with your feet together holding the bar level with your shoulders. Brace your core and glutes to keep your balance and press the weights straight up so your biceps are close to your ears, then lower to the start.
EMOM
B
A
Do a set number of reps at regular intervals on a running clock, usually every minute, on the minute. This tests your powers of recovery. Three clean and jerks every minute for 10 minutes
AMRAP
Complete as many rounds as possible of a given exercise combination within a given time. It builds stamina and burns fat. 12 minutes of eight front squats and eight push presses
RFT
Complete a given number of rounds of a circuit as fast as possible. Short rest periods develop long-lasting muscle endurance. Eight rounds of 15 kettlebell swings, 10 KB clean and presses and 5 KB snatches
CHIPPER
A series of exercises, usually high reps. Complete one round for time. A highvolume, muscle building grind. 100 press-ups, 75 bodyweight squats, 50 burpees, 25 pull-ups
DIPS
SETS 4 REPS 8-12 REST 60-90SEC Grip the bars or handles with your arms locked out, and lean forward so you recruit your chest muscles. Bend your arms to lower until your chest is level with your hands, then press back up powerfully.
A
B
LADDER
One or more movements, increasing or decreasing workload over time. Build intensity for a challenging warm-up. 1-10 reps of goblet squats alternating with 10–1 reps of pull-ups
TABATA
Do eight rounds of high-intensity intervals, alternating 20 seconds’ effort with ten seconds’ rest. A real fateviscerating finisher. Row for max distance
134 | April 2016
FINISHER 10min AMRAP Power clean Reps 10 Burpee over bar Reps 10
Workouts 2 and 4 include finishers – in this case a 10min AMRAP, or “as many rounds as possible”. These circuits build stamina and burn excess calories. Keep a score of your reps and try to beat it next time.
HANG POWER CLEAN
Hold the bar just above your knees, hingeing forwards at your hips. Drive your hips forwards to generate power and use this movement to raise the bar to chest height. Quickly drop into a quarter squat and bring your arms under the bar to catch it on the top of your chest, then stand up.
BURPEE OVER BAR
Put the bar down and drop into a crouch with your hands on the floor. Jump your feet back into the top position of a press-up. Jump your feet forwards again, then jump up and over the bar. Turn and repeat in the other direction.
Workout 3 Lower-body push Like an adrenaline shot in the glutes, heavy squats will prep your whole body to grow
FRONT SQUAT
SETS 5 REPS 5 REST 2-3MIN Rest the bar across your upper chest with your hands holding it in place and your elbows as high as you can get them. Keeping your chest up and back straight, squat down, keeping your weight on your heels. Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground, making sure your knees stay wide apart, then drive back up.
A
BARBELL LUNGE
SETS 3 REPS 10 REST 2-3MIN Use a light barbelll. Holding the bar across your shoulders, take a big step forwards, s, making sure you’re balanced, and lower your back knee until it’’s just off the floor. Keep your back upright and your ur front knee in line ne with your front foot. Return to the start and keep ep alternating legs.
B
A
A
BENCH PISTOL SQUAT
SETS 3 REPS 6 EACH SIDEE REST 60-90SEC On a stable bench or box, stand on one leg, with the other extended ed in front of you u. Bend your standing leg to lower into a single-leg squa at, then press back ack k up to stand.
B
ac o A lack of flexibilityy in tthe hamstrings g gs is usually ly the pi t l squatter’s q pistol qu tt ’ do a This s downfall. gives you gi yo more g room leg
B
April 2016 | 135
Trainer | Body Work C
TURKISH GET-UP
SETS 3 REPS 3 EACH SIDE REST 60-90SEC Lie holding the kettlebell in one hand straight igh above b you. Keep your eyes on the weight and shoulder strong as you contract your abs to sit up p, resting on your other hand. Bring your straighten d leg l back b k ened so you’re kneeling, then straighten up and a stand.
B
A
Workout 4 Upper-body pull
A
The large muscles in your back join the party before another dynamic finisher rounds off your week
POWER SNATCH
PULL-UP
SETS 4 REPS 10 REST 60-90SEC Grasp the bar with an overhand grip. Retract your shoulder blades to engage the muscles in your upper back. Brace your core and pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar, then lower under control.
136 | April 2016
SETS TS 3 REPS 3 REST 2-3M 3MIN Ho old the bar just above our knees, yo hingeing at the hips. Th hen drive our hips yo orwards fo o generate to ower and po usse this movement to mo aise the bar ra bove your ab ead, keeping he it close to our body. yo Quickly drop Qu into a quarter in quat so you sq don’t have to do ft it as high, lift lock out your lo houlders sh and stand. an
B
C
A
PENDLAY ENDLAY ROOW
B
SETS 4 REPSS 10 REST S 60-90SEC 60 90S C With h bar ba on o the h th the floo oor, bend your kne l h l and d ees slightly hing nge forward from the hips, h k g keeping you b k slig lig h ly ur back ightly con d your ncave and should blad back ba k oulder blades thro gh d grasp g roughout, and it w a overhand o a with an grip ip just outside your legs. Powerfully pull the weight up to your lower sternum, then lower it back to the floor and repeat.
KETTLEBELL CLEAN AND PPRESS RESS
SETS S S 3 REPSS 100 REST S 60-90SEC 60 90S C k l b ll Hold a kettlebell b between your legs. D h Drive your hips f forwards to push the k y kettlebell off your body l k you would ld with ha like s g As the h weight gh swing. r rises, rotate your wrist s your palm faces up so a d catch a h the h kettlebell k l b ll and o your shoulder. h ld on F h p h From here, press the k l b ll overhead, h d, kettlebell d h your driving with llegs if you need extra mo momentum. R Reverse tthe weight g to the st star art. ar t.
CARBS: BACK ON THE MENU
“Carbs don’t make you fat – overeating does,” says Potter. And you’ll need them to get through these workouts. Follow these rules to use them the right way
GLYCAEMIC INDEX
GI is a measure of how foods affect blood sugar levels. Breaking down starch-containing foods by processing tends to raise their GI value. White bread, rice, pasta and even flour spike your insulin levels, which determines how much sugar is stored as fat or used for energy. B
LOW GI
Eat low-GI carbs most of the time to keep insulin levels, energy and hunger under control
PORRIDGE
A
Eat for breakfast for slow release energy
SWEET POTATO
A lunchtime energy pick-me-up without the afternoon slump
BROWN PASTA
Go wholegrain for the extra digestion-aiding fibre hit
HIGH GI
Eat these after training to shuttle amino acids and glycogen to your muscles for recovery
BREAD FINISHER 3 RFT
Thruster Reps 21/15/9 Jump over bench Reps 21/15/9 Do 21 thrusters, then 21 reps jumping over the bench. Next do 15 reps of each, then nine. Race the clock and rest as needed.
THRUSTER
Hold the bar level with the top of your chest and your elbows high. Keeping your chest up and back straight, squat down. Lower until your thighs are at least horizontal, keeping your knees wide apart, then drive back up and press the weight overhead.
JUMP OVER BENCH
Stand facing a kneehigh bench. Jump over it, using your arms to generate momentum and bending your knees to soften your landing. Turn and repeat in the other direction.
Stick to wholegrain and seeded varieties
WHITE RICE/POTATO
Indulge after exercise for fast-acting recovery
WHITE PASTA
Tuck in after your most draining workouts April 2016 | 137
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PROMOTION
Interesting person
Average day Eric Underwood
The 31-year-old lead male ballet soloist for The Royal Ballet Company talks us through what a performance day looks like My day is really regimented. I need to plan my daily routine carefully so I can have a late night without feeling drained. Breakfast is always a banana and porridge.
It’s vital to loosen up after a night’s sleep. This is a move everyone should do: stand with your back to the wall, then lower yourself slowly one vertebra at a time – as if peeling your spine away from the wall – until you can’t go any further. Reverse the move to stand up.
8am Wake up
9.30am Pilates
10.30am Technique time
I’ll have a nap or listen to music. I’m currently into The Weeknd and Drake. I don’t listen to ballet music in my off time.
11.45am Lunch break
12pm Rehearsal
5.30pm Unwind
7.30pm I always run 3km home after a show, which takes about 12 minutes. It lets me unwind. When I get home I have a glass of wine and watch some trashy reality TV. Then I’ll have a steak or a cheeseburger.
I’m currently the Lead Arabian in The Nutcracker, a sensual character with gentle, measured movements. When I was Tybalt in Romeo And Juliet, I’d lean forward to emphasise his aggression.
Show time
10.30pm Run home
I remove myself psychologically from pressure. I try to become the character I’m playing so that “Eric” isn’t nervous or confident because “Eric” isn’t there. For me that works really well.
IMPROVE YOUR LIFE 1 “A lack of movement is bad for you. If you work at a desk, don’t stay still all day. Move.” 2 “At your desk, rest on the ball of one foot, put the other behind you and push forward to stretch your calves.” 3 “Roll through your spine every morning.” 146 | April 2016
Words Matt Huckle
Keep it light – dancing when you feel bloated is awful. I cook my own food so I’m in control. Today was chicken and couscous.
I perfect ballet technique now, so on in rehearsals I can focus on my character later. It’s exhausting and there’s no room for mistakes. If something doesn’t go well I’ll take a video home and research it. You have to be confident when you’re on stage.