Men's Fitness South Africa May - June 2020

MAN FLU… head into the tissue gathering segment of the year (and we are quite fortunate that we don’t have it for too long in South Africa), it’s time to double dose on all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary to fight off the dreaded flu. I’m actually nursing what feels like double pneumonia at the moment and as a man, I know factually and medically that this is the sickest any human being has ever been without dying. I’ve had it a few times over the past few years and somehow manage to survive it, barely. My wife believes it’s an extreme over-exaggeration and given that I have yet to succumb she might be onto something. The key really is to just stay ahead of this winter flu, get…

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…

Which type of cardio gets you the healthiest and keeps you alive the longest? Curious exercise researchers at the University of Sydney examined 11 different health surveys on more than 80 000 people (average age: 52) over 9 years and found that, amazingly, those who’d played racquet sports like tennis, racquetball, or squash in the previous month had a 47% lower risk of early death. And that’s not all: Enthusiasts who swung a racquet regularly also showed a 56% drop in cardiovascular disease. It’s believed that this type of full-body exercise, which features short bouts of high-intensity effort, helps you live longer by boosting your metabolism and strengthening your heart. Swimming, a great whole-body workout, came in second, with aerobics in third place and cycling in fourth. Surprisingly, neither soccer…

Bring it, bro: Competition gets you to the gym Been slacking off instead of hitting the gym and throwing up some iron? Get yourself an enemy to go after. Okay, not an enemy, exactly, but someone who can give you some stiff competition. That’s the very best motivation to work out, according to US University of Pennsylvania researchers who found that, rather than a cheering section, you need to feel a sense of competitiveness to be extremely consistent with your workouts. Their study, an 11-week weightlifting, running, spinning, and yoga program involving 790 students, showed that exercisers who competed for the top spot on leaderboards had 90% higher gym-attendance rates than those in groups in which competition wasn’t emphasised. So, if you’re feeling less than excited about crushing it these…

Vegetarians build as much lean muscle Getting plenty of protein post-workout is key to speeding muscle growth and aiding recovery — but what type of protein is best? To find out, researchers at the Arizona State University in the US tracked the diet and workout habits of 70 elite endurance athletes — 43 meat eaters and 27 vegetarians. And surprise! At study’s end, the veggie eaters had virtually the same lean muscle mass as the carnivores and just as much leg strength. And though the groups’ VO2 max scores showed they were equally fit, the vegetarian women’s numbers were 13% better. The take-home: If you’re getting the right amount of protein per day (1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight), it doesn’t matter what form it comes in…

TO SLEEP SMART, CUT BLUE RAYS ALL DAY Getting enough good sleep is one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy. So hear this: The more screen time you put in on your smartphone, computer, or tablet — all day, not just near bedtime — the poorer and shorter your sleep will be, say US University of California, San Francisco scientists, who analysed data on 600-plus subjects. The culprit: Blue light emitted by screens, which hinders the sleep hormone melatonin. To fight the blues, block rays from your phone or computer with an app from justgetflux.com or twilight.urbanandroid.org. GERMS MAKE HUGE ATM DEPOSITS An American New York University sample of 66 New York City ATMs found their keypads to be teeming with bacteria. Luckily, though, most are harmless…