Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i Men's Fitness UK

The annual Eat-As-Much-As-You-Can season is almost here, and at this time of year your goal of eating for a leaner and healthier body can take a back seat until the New Year. But just because most of your upcoming friend and family festivities will revolve around food, that doesn’t have to mean all your previous hard work will come undone. The simple strategy of slowing down the speed at which you eat, and then eating until you’re sated, not stuffed, are just two very simple yet effective ways of controlling your calorie intake. More than that, being more mindful around meals – which is as easy as eating at a table and not in front of the telly – helps your body digest and absorb the nutrients you eat so…

You’re well acquainted with the benefits of extra virgin olive (heart-healthy monounsaturates) and coconut (non-carcinogenic even when you’re cooking, and full of brain-boosting MCTs) – but they’re not the only oils worth using. Here’s how to upgrade your cupboard. Algae It has more monounsaturated fatty acids and fewer saturates than olive oil – and has a higher smoke point. Taste: inoffensive. Pumpkin Rich in unsaturated fats and minerals, it’s got a low smoke point, so it’s best used as a dressing – drizzle it on salad or veg. Argan Another one for your vinaigrettes - but with three times the vitamin E of olive, and a toasted nutty flavour. Toss it in a tagine.…

1 Train your tris It’s more than half the battle. Use the close-grip bench press to target all three heads of your triceps at once – and make sure you keep your elbows tucked. 2 Slow down It’s the best way to tweak your chin-ups for maximum biceps tension. Pull up as fast as you like, but aim for a five-second eccentric (lowering) phase on each rep. Start with three to four sets of two to five reps and try to increase your total volume of reps every week. To directly target the biceps, use a neutral grip - palms in. 3 Add 50% … to your press-ups by doing 1.5 reps each time. Go down, press halfway up, go down again, then press all the way back up to…

If you’re heading for the coast, flip-flops and shorts are usually fine. If you’re heading off the coast, they’re not. Waterproof and windproof are the watchwords if you’re thinking of taking a sailing trip at any time of year – it’s rarely mild out there on the ocean waves – and even if you’re just pootling around a local lake, warm layers are essential for comfort.…

Conventional grooming wisdom says that when you use a two-in-one hair product you tend to lose in quality what you gain in convenience. So if you use this five-in-one option from hair brand Nanogen, should you expect all your hair to fall out the minute it is applied? Quite the opposite, in fact. Because as well as cleansing and conditioning your locks, this clever product uses keratin to strengthen your hair and contains a unique blend of bio-active amino acid-derived plant extracts and peptides that thicken your thatch. It also uses salicylic acid to exfoliate and aloe vera to soothe your scalp. £9.99 for 240ml B5 This vitamin B5 derivative in this product works as a humectant, attracting water from the air and using it to improve hair lustre, as…

MIX YOUR MOVES “The position of the shoulder can influence biceps activity throughout the range of motion,” says Greg Burns, a trainer at Embody Fitness. “For instance, the preacher curl provides greater activation in the first third of the ROM and targets the short head, while the standing curl gives the greatest activation in the final third of the movement and targets the long head. For full stimulation you should train using a variety of exercises with differing points of peak contraction.” USE A PRE STRETCH “The long head of the biceps crosses the shoulder joint, which means that it’s possible to pre-stretch the muscle in certain exercises to cause higher levels of muscle activation,” says Burns. “Incline dumbbell curls are the perfect example of this. Another trick to stimulate…

TRAPDOOR YOUR TRAPS “Some people find it hard to disengage their upper trapezius when training shoulders and that can throw your head forwards, putting the neck under stress,” says Scott. “If you’re waking up with a sore neck after shoulder day, try creating an angle by leaning forwards when doing lateral raises, holding on to something if necessary.” WAKE THE BOYS UP “If you’re overhead pressing before waking up the shoulder girdle muscles, it’s like a football team playing without a defence or keeper,” says Scott. “Fire up the rotator cuffs with wall angels. Stand flat against a wall with your hands up, elbows tucked back, then bring them above your head.” Do two slow sets of five. THINK POSTERIOR “Plenty of moves hit your front delts, but spare a…

If the only time you slice a lime is to slide it into a bottle of Mexican lager then you’re missing out on an easy way to shed some weight. A squeeze of the citrus fruit’s juice over a meal lowers its glycaemic index, according to the University of Sydney. This means your food is digested more slowly to prevent a big blood sugar spike that not only increases fat storage but will also result in a sudden crash that will have you reaching for the biscuit tin.…

The main reason to make this dish is that it is absolutely delicious, but it also contains a huge hit of muscle-building protein thanks to the hard-to-beat combination of eggs and fish. Here are some other reasons kedgeree is the food of (healthy) kings 1 Eggs As well as protein – around 7g in every egg – they’re also high in omega 3 fats, which reduce your risk of heart disease. They’re also one of the few food sources of vitamin D. 2 Ocean trout Eating wild, rather than farmed, fish will ensure that you get a better ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids – you want the latter to be higher to reduce diet-related inflammation. 3 Parsley A generous sprinkling of parsley contains a healthy dose…

If you want to get stronger, the obvious way is to pick up a heavier weight and try harder. But the smart way, says leading kettlebell coach Mike Mahler (mikemahler.com), is to use the same weight but perform a version of the exercise that’s more challenging, such as the bottom-up kettlebell press. Turn over to find out why. WHY DO IT “If you do an exercise and you get to a point where it’s really easy for you, try doing a more challenging version,” says Mahler. “That way, rather than just getting better at the exercise but allowing your technique to get sloppy, you optimise your technique. For example, if a traditional one-arm kettlebell press where it is racked normally becomes really easy, you could do a bottom-up press, which…

In the pursuit of bigger arms it’s tempting to dedicate more training time to your biceps at the expense of your triceps. But shifting the balance in favour of the back of your arms will make your gun show a much more impressive event. This six-move session has been designed to take your triceps training to the next level through supersetting two complementary triceps exercises, thereby working those neglected muscle fibres hard so your body has no choice but make them bigger and stronger. How to do the workout This is a six-move session divided into three supersets. Do a set of move 1A and go straight on to 1B, sticking to the sets, reps and rest shown until all sets are completed for both. Then follow this same superset…

Following a training plan that aims to make you more powerful has several benefits. For a start, power moves are fun to do - they involve big, quick movements and they’re satisfying because you feel like you’re training in quite a hardcore way. You may even feel like an elite athlete. And you should, because power moves form a big part of any pro sportsman’s training plan. They use them because they target the fast-twitch muscle fibres, which are responsible for improving speed and generating force. The happy side effect, if you’re not a pro athlete, is that targeting those muscle fibres will also help you to build muscle and burn fat. HOW TO DO IT Follow the sets, reps and rest instructions for each move to get the maximum…

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Where do you get your avocados from? No, this isn’t about the Aldi v Tesco rivalry. Recent research suggests that New Zealand-reared avos (as they’re almost certainly known there) boast double the vitamin B6 and 20% more folate than fruits grown elsewhere, so it’s well worth checking the origin when buying. And with University of Queensland researchers investigating how to increase crop yields – it’s all to do with when they take the cuttings – our antipodean brethren might be about to win the monounsaturated fat war. If only you could throw avos on the barbie… 2.4% People who lifted 80% of their max saw their voluntary muscle activation increase by 2.4 percentage points when going to failure over three weeks, while those who lifted 30% of max improved by…

If you pepper your steak after it’s grilled, it’s time to rethink your condiment chronology. In a 2017 study, Kansas State University researchers found that black pepper almost eliminates the formation of carcinogenic HCAs that occurs on the surface of beef, pork and chicken when it’s cooked. The magic ratio is 1g of pepper to ever 100g of beef but if that’s too much, head researcher J Scott Smith suggests combining it with garlic, oregano or – for chicken – rosemary, thyme, cloves and allspice. If you’re cooking burgers, mix it into the meat.…

If you’re looking for a fragrance that’s represented by someone a little more substantial than a footballer or pop star, you may want to investigate the new Revenants range from prestige fragrance brand Beaufort London, which aims to capture the essence of towering historical figures. The first product in the collection is called Iron Duke and it celebrates Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and the man responsible for masterminding the triumph over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The scent itself captures a rich, leathery, almost animalistic (a hat tip to his horse, Copenhagen) mix that’s powerful, confident and surprisingly contemporary. £95 for 50ml…

PROBLEM 1 THINNING HAIR Do… keep hair short and textured “This will create more depth and help prevent too much scalp from showing. Opt for styling products with a matt finish, rather than wet-look gels, because they will add bulk to the hair for a fuller appearance.” Don’t… grow your hair too long “This will have the effect of pulling hair flat and give it a limp and lifeless appearance. Depending on the style in which you wear your hair, longer lengths can also evoke the look of a combover, which both ages you and draws attention to thin patches.” PROBLEM 2 BALD PATCH Do… go shorter all over “This will lessen the contrast between a bald crown and the thicker hair that grows around it. Once your hair is…

SET YOUR SCAPULAE “Scapular flying, where the shoulder blade seems to come away from the back, can be a problem when doing pull-ups because it can lead you into a neck-straining position,” says Scott. “Set your shoulder blades before you start by moving them as if trying to slot them into your back pocket. This should give you retraction and depression that frees up the use of the traps.” TRAIN YOUR GRIP “A lot of people overlook the benefits of working on grip strength,” says Scott. “A stronger grip will actually boost your overall performance and increase your ability to pull more weight. Pull-ups are a fantastic functional movement and the number one reason for failure is the grip. Use straps when you absolutely need to, but save them for…

GO LONG “The best overall triceps exercise is the close-grip bench press,” says MacCormick. “This creates high levels of muscle activity in the triceps, and also targets the often-neglected long head: muscle activity in this area is greatest when the shoulder is flexed to roughly 90° – the exact position you’re in during close grip bench presses.” FIX YOUR HANDS “Muscle activation in the triceps varies with hand position,” says MacCormick. “Having your elbows further apart than your hands – for instance, in a close-grip bench – stresses the lateral head to a greater degree. If the hands are closer, more stress is placed on the long and medial heads.” Do moves that use a variety of hand positions. MOVE YOUR SHOULDERS “Changing your shoulder position during isolation exercises like…

BIGGER BREAKFASTS Ending your overnight fast with a high-protein breakfast will start your day as you mean to go on and help you hit your daily protein target. Aim for around 35g of protein for breakfast (three eggs and two rashers of lean bacon) because research from the University of Missouri found this improves appetite control and reduces snacking. START SNACKING SMARTER It goes without saying that your midday meal should be high in lean, good-quality protein: a salad piled high with chicken, tuna or beef – so it’s what you eat between meals that will make or break you hitting your daily protein target. A Greek yogurt and a handful of seeds or nuts will provide muscle-building protein and hunger-quelling fats, as well as keeping blood sugar levels stable,…

1 AVOCADO The favourite food of all food and fitness bloggers and the most photographed item on Instagram, one avocado contains about 15% of your daily magnesium requirement, alongside a decent dose of energy-releasing B vitamins. 2 SPINACH The NHS’s recommended daily intake of magnesium is 300mg for men and 270mg for women, and 100g of spinach contains around 80mg – or more than 25% of your daily intake needs. Spinach is also one of the few foods that’s very high in vitamin K. 3 BRAZIL NUTS A 25g portion of brazil nuts contains approximately 25% of your RDI of magnesium, as well as heart-helping unsaturated fats, appetite-suppressing fibre and protein, and a decent whack of potassium, which aids hormone production. 4 MACKEREL Most oily fish from cold-water environments contain…

1 Strong wrists EZ-bars have an undulating middle section which allows a semi-supinated grip. This allows the biceps to be effectively isolated while using a joint-friendly grip. You want to keep your wrists in the strongest position possible, and turning them in towards your body “locks” the joint and keeps it stable. If you are an experienced lifter you can cock your wrists away from your body to lessen the role of the forearms and place greater emphasis on the biceps. Always warm up first and don’t lift too heavy because it places significant strain on the wrists. 2 Bring in the biceps To get bigger biceps you need to make sure that they are doing as much of the lifting as possible, so you must eliminate any momentum to…

Want to lose that stubborn last couple of kilos around your middle? Then reach for a kettlebell and start swinging. “With just one item of kit there are so many things you can do, including high-rep fat loss workouts and lower-rep strength sessions,” says kettlebell king Ashton Turner, co-founder of London’s Evolve353 gym (evolve353.com). “They’re good for developing hip hinge power, which is useful for athletic power creation without the injury risk associated with the deadlift.” This six-move workout has been designed to get you moving and looking like an athlete. You work in all three planes of motion, improving your movement, while also torching calories and shedding body fat. Oh, and it only takes 15 minutes so you can easily squeeze it into a lunchtime session. How to do…

To force your abs into becoming more defined you need to make them work harder for longer, so that you fatigue as many muscle fibres as possible. That’s because it’s the accumulated damage from a testing session that will instruct your body to grow back your abs muscles bigger, stronger and more defined. This five-move session does just that by placing lots of tension on your entire core, so it never has the chance to switch off during a rep. Turn the page and follow the workout guide carefully, focusing on keeping your core tight and engaged from the beginning of the first set to the end of the last. 1A Hanging knee raise Targets Entire core Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 30sec Form Hang from a set of rings…

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Here’s a good reason to hit the gym at peak time, even if it means fighting for the squat rack: watching others sweat might well inspire you to a new PB. That’s because, according to a Belgian study published in Psychonomic Bulletin And Review, effort is contagious. When pairs of volunteers were given tough tasks to accomplish, one participant expanding maximum concentration would inspire the other participant to do the same, leading to improved scores for both. Researchers suggest that the “effort contamination” came from the posture of the partners: that one could tell when the other was working hard by physical signs of increased intensity. So if you’re looking for instant improvement, find a gym or class that attracts people giving it everything they’ve got – early classes or…

The most recent UK census revealed that every single person alive in Britain has at least one pair of jeans. Well, no, it didn’t but you believed us for a moment, because you know it’s almost certainly true. Looking for a new pair? We’ve rounded up some of the best available, and thrown in a few denim jackets too (doubling up isn’t the fashion faux pas it used to be).…

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GO FAST AND SLOW “Hamstrings are widely believed to be made up predominantly of fast-twitch muscle fibres, but there is evidence that they comprise a balanced fibre type,” says MacCormick. “So using a range of reps and both slow and fast contractions is advised. Doing the bulk of your hamstring work in the eight-to-12 rep range will allow for the most efficient accumulation of training volume.” NOT ALL MOVES ARE EQUAL “Not all hip extension exercises activate the hamstrings equally,” says MacCormick. “Standing hip extension exercises like Romanian deadlifts show the highest amount of activation at the bottom of the movement, while 45° back extensions have more consistent levels of activation throughout the whole range of motion. Hip extension exercises where the body is horizontal, such as back extensions, exhibit…

USE ISOMETRICS “If your abs are constantly in a contracted position it can pull your body into bad posture – so it’s important to strengthen them but in an elongated position,” says Scott. “Planks and other similar holds are ideal, but don’t just hold for as long as you can because your technique will give up way before you do. Short holds, done correctly, are much more effective.” DON’T JUST HIP FLEX “The old sit-up with someone holding your feet the ground is dead,” says Scott. “It distorts your hip tilt and you’ll end up using your hip flexors to actually do the move, over-activating a muscle that is shortened anyway. Most people know not to do sit-ups for abs, but watch for the same problem in leg raises and…

If you’ve been avoiding sandwiches because of a vague perception that they’re not a healthy option, it’s time to re-assess because there’s a world of difference between processed cheese on white sliced and the carefully created, nutritionally spot-on sarnies here. None of them takes long to prepare – they’re not three-course meals, after all- so ditch the wilting salads and unsatisfying soups and enjoy your lunch again, starting now. 1 HONEY AND MUSTARD BLT INGREDIENTS 2 slices smoked bacon 110g roasted chicken breast, shredded 1tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt 2tbsp Dijon mustard 2tsp honey 35g diced red onion ½tsp garlic powder Pinch of salt Pinch of black pepper 1 large wholemeal pitta Large handful of mixed baby greens ½ a tomato, sliced DIRECTIONS 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Place…

WHY This is my ideal Sunday-morning brunch dish to share with friends and family. I love the meeting of cultures: the Indian curry-flavoured rice served with the English ingredients of smoked trout and eggs is such a good match. Leftovers are fantastic the next day – have them with assorted lettuce leaves to make a rice salad. WHAT Makes 4 servings 4 eggs 80g French shallots, finely diced 60g unsalted butter, plus a little extra for finishing 35g pistachio nuts 1tbsp currants 2tbsp curry powder 200g basmati rice 20g plain all-purpose flour 320ml fish stock (or water) 80ml thickened (whipping) cream 1 lemon, juiced, plus lemon wedges to serve 500g hot-smoked ocean trout or salmon, flaked Handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, shredded Salt and pepper HOW 1 Place the eggs…

EZB AR REVERSE CURL Stand tall with your shoulders back and feet close together, holding an EZ-bar with an overhand grip with your hands just outside your hips. Keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides, curl the bar up towards your chest, stopping just before your forearms reach vertical. Avoid rocking to generate momentum. ZOTTMAN CURL This move targets all the muscles on the front of your upper arm in every rep, using both heads of the biceps – brachii and brachialis – on the way up, and the brachioradialis when you go palms-down for the descent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and curl them up to chest height, then twist your palms to face downwards before you lower, shifting the focus to your forearms. INCLINE BICEPS CURL…

USE PROPS If you don’t have workout kit, furniture can be an useful substitute. If normal press-ups are too easy for you, try placing your feet on a chair - with the incline you’ll target different areas and place more emphasis on your upper chest and shoulders. On the other hand, if you find press-ups difficult, you can place your hands on the chair. If you struggle with a normal unweighted squat, you can try squatting onto a chair – it shortens the range of motion, which helps you maintain correct technique throughout. GO OUTSIDE Find a hill and sprint up it. Running on an incline is less stressful on your body than running on flat ground, and it’s a great way to increase growth hormone production. Choose somewhere where…

Are you training hard but not seeing the results you want? Then this month’s big workout is for you, because it’s based on training smart as well as hard. To make really noticeable changes to your body you must shock it into growth, and training your chest and back twice each week will give your body no choice but to start laying down lean muscle mass faster – while also stripping away body fat to use for fuel. Turn the page to get going. HOW THE PLAN WORKS This four-week, 16-session training plan is unlike many plans in that it requires you to train your chest and back twice a week. Why? Because when you double down on the training time for the two main muscle groups of your torso,…