Innholdsfortegnelse for November-December 2018 i Men's Fitness South Africa

10 minutes How is it that we see the decorations for Christmas going up earlier and earlier, year after year? Is that really the case or has time somehow been speeding up, especially when we enter this final quarter of the year!? I remember my dad always telling me to savour the moment as the time will go faster when you get older, maybe that’s what’s happening… older, I’m simply just getting old. It felt like yesterday that my little dude was born and he’s turning two tomorrow – where has the time gone? It makes me wonder about whether we’re actually living our best lives the way we were intended to or are we just running and rushing from the one thing to the next? Take a breath, reflect.…

WHY MINDFUL MEDITATION IS THE NEWEST FITNESS ESSENTIAL We get it. You’re not into this whole “mindfulness” thing. But know this: The mental wellness discipline, loosely defined as actively practising “acute awareness of the present moment”—whether you’re stuck in your cubicle, chilling at the beach, or ploughing through a complex project—isn’t just good for your brain, it’s also great for your muscles. A study in the Journal of Health Psychology recently found that athletes who practice mindful-meditation techniques are far more motivated to exercise regularly and more satisfied with their workouts than less-mindful dudes. They also sleep better, says a new JAMA study. With all this in mind, we sought out Michael Gervais, Ph.D., a mindful-meditation expert and director of High Performance Psychology at DISC Sports & Spine Center, who’s…

Runners like to scoff at weightlifters’ “cardio poor” routines. But as it turns out, lifters who use kettlebells are actually getting a great cardio workout. A study of college soccer players showed that adding a simple, dynamic, high-intensity kettlebell-snatch routine (15 seconds on, 15 seconds off for 20 minutes) to their workouts increased their VO2 max by about 6% over a control group doing the same free-weight and body-weight circuit exercises but without kettlebells, the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research reports. “Kettlebells are an awesome conditioning tool,”says study head J. Asher Falatic, M.S. “Basic swings with moderate to heavy weight would be a great way to ease KB training into your workout.” GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS— STRENGTH AND CARDIO—WITH A KETTLEBELL. RUNNING YOURSELF INTO THE GROUND? Jogging…

The days of water and gym dispenser soap-suds are long gone. Skincare professionals will agree that skincare for men matters, and it’s never too early or too late to develop a regime suitable for your skin, especially now that we heading for warmer months. Your skin will look better, fresher, and younger for longer — as well as ward off irreversible sun damage. EXFOLIATE Clinique for Men Exfoliating Tonic Daily exfoliator for normal to dry skin. De-flakes and smooths skin’s surface to reveal clearer skin, prep for shave. Unclogs pores and minimises oil build-up. For normal to oily skin, also available in Oil Control Exfoliating Tonic. Removes excess oil, helping to clearer skin. R355.00, clinique.co.za CLEANSE ClarinsMen Active Face Wash This mild facial cleanser with purifying extract of grindelia and checkerberry…

In June 2011, after the sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins, in Boston, the series was locked in a tie. The Canucks, based in the Pacific Time Zone, had lost all the games hosted in Boston. The Bruins, located in the Eastern Time Zone, had fallen in every contest hosted in Vancouver. As the team with the better regular-season record, the Canucks held home-ice advantage for the seventh and deciding game. So when the Bruins arrived in Vancouver the day before that matchup, they went searching for an edge. “I was getting ready to take the stage for a lecture in Minnesota when my phone rings,” says Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D., sitting in a small, windowless conference room outside his…

When you put a time constraint on your workout, you work more efficiently and you work harder, and that’s the game changer, because the intensity of your workout is really what supercharges your capacity to burn fat both during your training sessions and in the hours after they’re over. So instead of focusing on the weight or volume of your reps, race the clock and work harder. HOW IT WORKS These workouts will feel more like a game than a training session. You’ll either work to complete as many rounds of a circuit of exercises as possible in a specified time, or you’ll try to do a set number of rounds in as short a time as possible. We bet you’ll be so focused on keeping up your pace that…

STRENGTH TRAINING CJ Murphy, M.F.S. Owner, Total Performance Sports, Everett, MA Jim Smith, C.P.P.S. Owner, Diesel Strength & Conditioning Zach Even-Esh Owner, Underground Strength Gym, Edison, NJ WEIGHT LOSS Bob Harper Fitness expert; trainer, NBC’s The Biggest Loser Chris Powell, C.S.C.S. Trainer; author; transformation specialist, ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss Frank G. Bottone Jr., Ph.D., R.D. Author, The Diet Denominator: Fill Your Tank for Less FINANCE Roy Cohen Career counselor; author, The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide; careercoachny.com Chris Bart, Ph.D. Business consultant; author, A Tale of Two Employees DERMATOLOGY Tina West, M.D. Board-certified dermatologist; founder of the West Institute, westskinlaser.com Annet King, Director of global education, the International Dermal Institute and Dermalogica PHYSICAL THERAPY Jay Dicharry, M.P.T., C.S.C.S. Director of biomechanics, Rebound Physical Therapy FOOD Danny Boome Celebrity chef, currently…

It’s one of the most popular assumptions in all of gymdom: To get big muscles, you need to lift big weights. Fitness culture is rife with terms like “Max out” and “Go hard or go home” (although, thankfully, “No pain, no gain” seems to have been retired). But despite the conventional wisdom in strength and conditioning circles, heaving massive loads isn’t the only way to build muscle. In fact, it may not be necessary at all, as science is beginning to prove. So if you fear heavy weights, or have injuries that prevent you from using them, lighter training can still lead to the gains you seek. Just what constitutes “heavy” lifting is open to debate, but exercise science generally defines it as weights that are 80% or more of…

If the dating app Tinder created our swipe-left-or-swipe-right world, a new generation of competitors is piling on to perfect it: There’s Hinge, which offers a heightened level of curation—and less of the creepy randomness of Tinder—by linking you to your Facebook friends’ friends; Happn, which GPS-tracks your daily wanderings to see where you overlap with nearby girls; and Tastebuds, which raids your music collection to find women with similar musical tastes. (Those are just a few of the options out there.) And these apps aren’t just for hooking up: A whopping third of new marriages start out online or via apps, a number that’s expected to rise, according to a recent study. With so much dating firepower at your fingertips, why aren’t you sharing sheets all the time? Well, you’re…

MYTH 1 DARK-SKINNED WOMEN AND MEN ARE NOT AT RISK FOR SUN DAMAGE AND SKIN CANCER. People with darker skin tones have a much lower risk of skin cancer than fair-toned people. But this doesn’t make them immune to it. Those with darker skin should still take action to protect skin from overexposure to the sun since you can still develop malignancies and suffer all forms of UV damage. Also, cases of skin cancer in people with darker skin are often not detected until later stages, when the cancer is more aggressive. MYTH 2 PUTTING ON SUNSCREEN BEFORE YOU GO OUT IN THE SUN IS ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOUR SKIN. Sunscreen is not 100% effective at blocking UV rays, and it may not provide as much protection as you need.…

1) Sleep deprivation makes you eat more. Skip sleep, and the next day you’ll eat too many calories from fat and too few from carbs, according to a UPenn School of Medicine study. When subjects were kept from sleeping, a brain region called the salience network, which regulates emotions and bodily sensations like a racing heart, lit up and raised their fat cravings. By the way, if you do pig out, just don’t do it late at night: Eating when the body’s usually asleep can hamper learning, damage memory, hurt the immune system, and even lead to type-2 diabetes, UCLA researchers say. 2) Napping can reverse the effects of a night of poor sleep. A couple of half-hour naps can relieve stress and boost the immune system back to “Yup,…

1) Hit the Gym “First off, being unfit leads to a risk of sleep disorder,” Czeisler says. “And in untrained athletes, exercise will increase your deep, slow-wave sleep phase at the beginning of the night, which is important for consolidating memories and critical ‘housekeeping’ functions, including sweeping the toxic debris from your cells.” 2) Go to Bed Early on Fridays “This is a dirty little secret,” he says. If you’re really sleep deprived after a busy week and have ‘high homeostatic pressure,’ you can hit the late-afternoon ‘nap phase’ on Friday and ride it all the way to Saturday morning. “There are very few times you can sleep longer than you’d usually sleep, and that’s one of them.” 3) Don’t Hack Your Sleep Czeisler encourages wearing a sleep monitor because…

Unless it’s plated next to a 350g steak, most men wouldn’t categorise salad as a muscle-building meal. You might consider it as a side, at best—but even then you’re probably still opting for the fries, because sometimes ordering a salad is even harder than eating one. Well, we’re not here to sell you on iceberg lettuce and croutons—or vegetarianism, for that matter. On the contrary, we wouldn’t have even run this story had it not featured at least one recipe containing bacon (that one, by the way—the Chopped Spinach Cobb Salad—packs a whopping 60 grams of protein). These are muscle meals, built around salmon, beef, chicken, and shrimp. And with fewer calories and carbs than a sandwich, you don’t have to worry when you dish up seconds. GUYS’ GREEK SALAD…

Consuming protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and fibre is crucial for boosting muscle growth and improving your overall mood. But getting the recommended amounts of these nutrients via your daily diet can be a real challenge, especially with a busy schedule and limited food options. The fix is simple: Just work the following three snacks—you’ll find them all at your local health-foods store— into the meals you’re already eating. HEMP SEEDS These little guys don’t contain THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but they do have some high-flying properties, including omega-3 fats and protein. At five grams per two tablespoons, the protein content in hemp is much greater than in most other non-animal foods, and it’s also complete (it contains all the necessary amino acids, just as animal foods do). Sprinkle…

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Every shot you down is about 100 calories. Knowing that, the last thing you should ever do is add sugar to your drink and make it even more fattening. Good thing, then, that many top mixologists have begun swapping lazy syrups and sugar-laden mixers for more interesting, healthy, natural ingredients. To help you elevate your own cocktail repertoire, we went behind the bar with Carlos Rios, brand ambassador for Stoli vodka. Pick up some pitchers on your way home—you’re gonna need them. BUY A FLAVOURED VODKA—OR INFUSE YOUR OWN A good flavoured vodka—think wasabi, ginger, or grape-fruit—really takes the guesswork out of making a drink, says Rios. “Just add soda and a garnish.” You can also infuse your own. Just get some fresh herbs, fruit, or vegetables, prep them (clean,…

TIM FERRISS DOESN’T REST ON his laurels. At only 41, he’s already become a champion kickboxer, a world-record-holding tango dancer, and the author of three best-selling books—The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef. Ferriss has mastered the art of distilling the most beneficial material from an ocean of information on nearly every subject—stress management included—and his rigorous travel schedule for public speaking and consulting gigs presents plenty of challenges to his peace of mind. Still, no one needs to tell the self-proclaimed “Meta-Learner” to take it easy. When we asked Ferriss for his best tips on how to unwind, he said it’s all about minimalism. MF: FOR STARTERS, WHAT’S THE SIMPLEST THING WE CAN DO TO REDUCE STRESS? TF: Walking barefoot offers a lot of ROI for very…

Just stepping into a sauna could lower your risk of ticker trauma. A recent Finnish study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reported that, among 2,315 male subjects followed for more than 20 years, men who visited a dry sauna (80-100°C, with only 10–20% humidity) four to seven times a week lowered their chances of dying of heart problems during that time by 48% compared with men who went only once a week; those who went two to three times a week lowered their risk by 23%. Also, those who sauna’d for 19-plus minutes per session had a 52% lower chance of sudden cardiac deaths than those who steamed for less than 11 minutes. “The changes in heart rate during a sauna mimic the effect of exercise,” says study co-author Francesco…

VITAMIN-PACKED RED CABBAGE IS ALL THE RAGE OVERSEAS. Here’s one trend we hope to see hop the pond. The U.K.’s never been known for terrifically healthy—or, for that matter, tasty—cuisine, what with all those dishes of girdle sponges (fried sponge cake), spotted dicks (suet pudding), and fitless cocks (oatmeal with chopped onion) clogging the Isles. But there’s one area where the Brits may really be on to something: They’ve developed a serious crush on red cabbage. Last year, red cabbage sales went up 50% in Great Britain—a fairly shocking increase. But then, why not? Prepared properly, the versatile, nutrient-dense veg isn’t just good-tasting (again, not necessarily a prerequisite) but also great for you, with 10 times the vitamin A of regular cabbage and twice the iron. (Granted, red cabbage was…

Festive Chicken Pie PREP TIME 10MIN COOKING TIME 15MIN PLUS 25-30MIN BAKING TIME SERVINGS 1 LARGE CHICKEN PIE INGREDIENTS 1 tbsp olive oil2 medium onions diced100g diced carrots100g diced celery1kg chicken mince3 tsp salt1 tsp ground black pepper2 tbsp honey3 tsp onion powder2 tsp rosemary150ml unsweetened almond milkHandful freshly chopped Italian parsley For the crust 500g sweet potato mash5 large eggs1 tsp Oryx desert salt1 tsp bicarb of soda2 heaped tbsp onion flakes1 heaped tsp dried parsley DIRECTIONS Preheat oven on 200°C. In a pan over medium heat, fry the onion, celery and carrots in olive oil. Add the chicken mince and season with salt, pepper, honey, onion powder and rosemary and stir well. Once cooked allow to cool off before stirring in the unsweetened almond milk and set aside.…

For a lot of serious bodybuilders, it’s simply not enough to lift the weights—they take the extra mental step of actively thinking about the body parts they’re working, too (an effort intended to will the muscles into cooperation). Of course, it’s not something science can prove, at least not yet, but thousands of successful lifters with incredible physiques swear by the so-called “mind-muscle” technique. (Who are we to argue?) Here is a workout designed to help you tap into that unexplainable yet undeniable connection, and growa bigger chest in just six weeks. HOW IT WORKS When you train biceps or calves, you feel the muscles working and burning right away. But many guys have trouble feeling their pecs work in the same fashion. Exercises like the hex press force you…

Bulking, as commonly understood, is B.S. We said it, and it’s time you accepted it, too. Telling yourself you can eat anything you want because you’re skinny and trying to put on muscle is just an excuse to eat like a pig, and you’ll pay for it. Yes, you’ll gain some muscle, but you’ll also gain fat, and that fat will obscure your muscles until you decide you desperately need to lose it—and then you’ll have a hell of a time dieting it off. We’re telling you now: Stop bulking before it’s too late. The solution to your skinniness might actually require less food than you think, and no fancy supplements or uncomfortable force feedings. (On the downside, it doesn’t warrant pizzas or Big Macs, either.) Discover the real science…