Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i Men's Fitness UK

If, like me, you’re more familiar with Love Island than you’d care to let on, you’ll already be aware of this month’s cover star Kem Cetinay. If not, well, he won last summer’s series of the fun-in-the-sun TV sensation, and emerged from the show’s Spanish villa as one of the select celebs now known just by a first name. But unlike many reality TV stars in the social media age, Kem has used his newfound fame as a force for good. Instead of using his huge Instagram account (two million followers and counting) to promote appetite-suppressing lollipops or some other highly dubious shortcut to an A-list body, the 23-year-old has spoken out about the mental health issues that dominated his teenage years, with anxiety levels so high he couldn’t leave…

Stevia is a natural sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant. The active compounds, steviol glycosides, are 150 times sweeter than sugar, are pH-stable and heat-stable, and contain no calories. Stevia has been used by the Guaraní peoples of South America to sweeten foods and drinks for 1,500 years, and has been widely used in Japan for decades as an alternative to sugar. The product’s popularity is now on the rise in the UK after it was approved for use in 2011.…

Look beyond deadlifts In this CrossFit-and-strongman era, it’s a common claim that deadlifts are all the abs work you need. Dead wrong. In fact, the most recent study to compare key exercises found that press-ups and plank holds beat even heavy squats and deadlifts for core activation. Although the weighted movements produced the most force on the lower back, the bodyweight moves proved most effective for the rectus abdominis and external obliques. What’s the frequency? Once upon a time, the myth was that, as “endurance” muscles, the abs should be trained every day. Now it’s more common to encounter claims that you only need one dedicated core workout a week – but the truth lies somewhere in between. “Two or three abs workouts a week might be optimal for most…

What do you think of when you think of Scandinavian style? Clean lines, simple cuts, an almost minimalist approach that all adds up to a thoroughly modern aesthetic. This style has taken the fashion world by storm recently – and now it’s on the high street in affordable form. FōR is a new menswear label inspired by Nordic designers, and you’ll find it in Burton and at asos.com this summer. The phrase “nothing fancy” might have been coined for FōR: it’s a collection of classic wardrobe staples with a relaxed, contemporary fit, with smart tailoring, branded trims and attention to detail the watchwords. The shirts, for example, have a boxy fit and all keep it simple with one or two colours – even the patterned options. Trousers are cropped and…

“Every time I started to feel a little anxious I’d go for a run or lift weights, and I immediately felt much better” This month’s cover star has had quite a year. He went from cutting hair in a back-street barber’s to recognition on every street corner after winning Love Island, 2017’s hit and Baftawinning ITV2 reality show. More than 2.5 million people watched him and Amber Davies leave the show’s Mallorcan villa as king and queen of the ultimate holiday romance. But while viewers voted in droves for his cheeky and cheerful outlook on life, they didn’t realise that Kem hadn’t always been the life and soul of the party. Indeed, he spent his early teens locked away in his bedroom unable to leave the house for school or…

BIKE While any old bike will do the job, one that’s designed for the job will make life much easier. Look for 700c wheels with wide (and therefore comfortable) 32mm tires, a steel frame for strength and comfort, and rivets in the frame to attach pannier racks. LUGGAGE If you want the room for a few luxuries like spare clothes, then use panniers (either two on the back, or four spread across the front and back). If you want to stay light and agile, then use minimalist bikepacking bags, which attach directly to your bike and force you to travel light. OVERNIGHT GEAR If you plan on sleeping out in the wild, then you’ll need a sleeping bag and mat (inflatable ones are great for providing extra insulation). For the…

ESPRESSO Ditch the full-fat latte and have an espresso, especially before you hit the gym. The hit of caffeine will give you increased energy and focus, allowing you to train harder for longer to ignite the fat-burning process. GREEN TEA Green tea is picked earlier than black, so it retains more polyphenols and antioxidants. This means it can boost your metabolism – the rate at which you burn calories – which burns more body fat. It can also reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, but possibly the best thing about green tea is that it tastes great without needing milk and sugar. FIZZY WATER WITH LIME JUICE Fizzy drinks are packed with flab-causing sugar, while the diet versions contain artificial sweeteners that are associated with insulin spikes, leading…

Most of us don’t spend enough time stretching before or after a run or weights session, even though we know it will aid recovery, increase flexibility and mobility, and reduce pain and injury. And we can now add improving heart health and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease to the list of benefits – so long as the stretches are done mindfully and with total focus on feeling each hold. Indeed, the practice of mindful stretching can be as helpful to your heart as moderate-intensity conventional exercise such as brisk walking, according to research published in the European Journal Of Preventive Cardiology. If you don’t fancy signing up to a yoga or Pilates class (although we recommend doing so), spend some time after your next session on a mat stretching…

If you want to take your all-round fitness to new heights then you’re going to need a ladder. A workout ladder, to be precise, where you do descending and ascending reps. In this workout you’ll do an inverted ladder, which means you do descending reps of one move followed by ascending reps of another. “Inverted ladders will test you mentally as well as physically,” says Olli Foxley of W10 Performance gym (w10performance.co.uk). “One exercise is getting easier as the other is getting harder.” HOW TO DO IT Do ten reps of exercise 1A then one rep of exercise 1B followed by a 10-metre bear crawl. Then do nine reps of 1A and two reps of 1B, and continue in that pattern until you get to one rep of 1A and…

1 LIFT HEAVY It’s not about ego. The key is to focus on the eccentric (lowering) phase – a University of Florida study found that neglecting this phase could cut gains in half, so try overloading it. On your final set pick a weight you struggle to lift fully, have a spotter help you raise it, then dig in and lower the weight as slowly as you can. Take a breath and repeat, five times minimum. 2 TON UP Strongman Derek Poundstone was renowned for his pain tolerance. He’d do 100 curls with a 20kg bar, learning to handle the searing lactate in his biceps so he could work harder on other lifts while sparking serious hypertrophy in his arms. What can you do? Pick a weight that forces you…

For the start of the second block of the plan we shook things up with a change to the session structure, which meant that you were spending more total training time on your chest, back, arms and shoulders to make them bigger and stronger to change your body for the better. And in this final week, while the sessions follow the same structure as in week one, the key variables have again been changed to challenge your muscles even more so they keep getting bigger. There are still five sets of the first two moves of each workout, but you’ll do an extra two reps per set this week. For the final four moves of each session, the total number of sets stays the same as in the first week…

1 Get intense to become fit and lean Weights are great for adding serious size but you need to get clever with cardio for a really cut physique. That means short, sharp bursts of all-out effort to strip fat and improve heart and lung health. The Nordic SkiErg is perfect for this. Find out more p17 2 Add a cherry on top of your recovery To get back to your best after a tough session eat more cherries. They may not be a typical post-workout snack, but compounds in the fruit reduce muscle inflammation and soreness, and can even help you get higher-quality sleep. Find out more p71 3 Stay focused when stretching to get lean Stretching is vital to safeguard your muscles from injury, but new research shows really…

Maybe it’s time to trim down your five-cups-a-day habit: evidence is mounting that cutting back on coffee when its stimulating properties aren’t as important to you will actually increase its performance-enhancing effects when you take it because you really need it. University of Dublin researchers found that athletes with low habitual caffeine consumption maintained performance over repeated sprints after chewing caffeinated gum, while those with a high regular intake dropped off fast. Switch one daily cup for a green tea instead.…

Ditching sugar for artificial sweeteners seems like a smart move, but as always, things aren’t quite so simple. According to research published in Experimental Biology, the latter might still promote obesity and diabetes, though through a different mechanism. Early studies indicate that sweeteners change the way the body metabolises fat – leading researchers to suggest that moderation, not mindlessly slamming Coke Zeros, is key. 5% How much of your daily energy intake should come from sugar, according to NHS recommendations. That’s about 30g for an adult man, or less than a can of Coke. Drink responsibly. Pressing re-assessed…

1 Change your speed According to Spanish research, it’ll bring in different muscle groups – at slow tempos, the external obliques barely contribute, but their input’s six times higher at one second per rep. 2 Put it in reverse The reverse crunch can help fix your posterior pelvic tilt – aka Desk Hunch – and works your external obliques. Bring your feet off the ground and knees towards your face, then lower slowly. Hold an anchor if it helps. 3 Add weight As with any move, progress means adding resistance, not just reps. Changing the leverage is one way to do it - think hanging leg raises vs the knee raise - but for moves where that isn’t an option, weight plates are your friend.…

So you spent the winter in the gym, and you never skipped leg day (right?). Time to head to the beach or pool and show off the result of all that hard work with a pair of these stylish swimming trunks.…

Buff headband and neckband The versatile Buff wicks away summer sweat and keeps you warm on colder days. £16, buffwear.co.uk Orlebar Brown Summer Sport T-shirt Showcase your summer body without going topless in this tailored-fit crew-neck tee. £75, orlebarbrown.com Bellroy Duo Work bag Look the business in and out of meetings with a compact yet spacious laptop bag. £249, bellroy.com Speedo PowerMesh Pro Jammer shorts Swim faster with power mesh panels that increase muscle awareness for stronger stroke. £44, speedo.com Suunto 9 fitness watch Keep on top of your training, daily activity and sleep with this wearable tracker. £499, suunto.com Icebreaker Cool-Lite Sphere T-shirt An ultra-light merino wool tee that wicks away sweat so you can keep your cool. £55,…

Adventure cycling, cycle touring, bikepacking, bike travel, bike tripping, bike bivvying… there’s an ever-increasing list of sub-genres that people like to use when talking about travelling by bike. There are plenty of nuances differentiating a touring cyclist from a cycle tourist, but we are all essentially people on bikes, with bags attached, pedalling from one point to another, and that’s what matters. Whether your trip is a multi-year, circumnavigational epic, a summertime jaunt spread across a couple of weeks or months, or a one-night wander spent enjoying the local roads or trails, ultimately it’s all the same. It’s about evoking a sense of freedom, experiencing the rawness of life, meeting new people, exploring places you otherwise wouldn’t, and getting to know them in a way that most travellers only dream…

01 PICK A PLACE It’s easy to plan a holiday when you’re staying in one place. Cycling trips take a bit more effort – but you don’t have to make that effort yourself. “The beauty of booking a cycling holiday with us is that we’ve already done all of the research and planning,” says Explore Holidays’ James Adkin. “We’ll design an itinerary that balances sightseeing with cycling, rest days with active days, and finding routes that are scenic with minimal traffic.” Adkin advises planning based on the places you want to visit. “Timing and budget are important, but I wouldn’t let the amount of exercise I ‘need’ dictate a holiday,” he says. “For me it’s about immersing yourself in the destination, its people, culture and sights, not clocking up the…

Last month I had the unexpected honour of appearing on the front cover of this magazine (see below). That happened because I successfully completed an eight-week transformation (outlined in the New Body Plan book) that saw me lose 10kg of fat in just eight weeks. The results were better than I could have expected but before the whole thing started the working title could have been Project Fear because, quite frankly, I was terrified by the prospect of doing it. I was scared that I wouldn’t make much of a difference, I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to stick to the plan and I was scared that I’d let myself down. For a long time, I had allowed those fears to put me off doing something that would…

The best beginner moves for building an impressive set of abs require no kit at all. That’s great news, because it means you can start sculpting a solid six-pack any time, anywhere. But after those initial results the returns can start to dry up and it won’t matter how many crunches you do - your bodyweight is no longer enough to keep the gains coming. It’s at this point you need to increase the workload on your abs so they carry on growing both bigger and more defined. And one easy yet highly effective way to do this is to introduce extra resistance to your abs routine with dumbbells. Try this challenging but rewarding six-move session to get your six-pack back on track. HOW TO DO THE WORKOUT This session…

When asked what body part they would most like to change, most men say they want either a bigger chest, bigger arms or a smaller belly. But to make a major change to the way you look with your shirt off, you don’t need to make a massive change to one body part: you need to focus on making small changes across your torso. Adding width to your shoulders and back, increasing the size of your chest and arms, and stripping away belly fat will transform you from average Joe to athlete-in-waiting with a lean, defined and sculpted V-shape. That’s what this four-week training plan has been designed to do. It’ll add muscular size to all your major upper-body muscles groups while helping burn excess fat to create a bigger,…

The first week of this plan – as you now know – isn’t easy, but it is effective. Because the only way to pack on lean muscle mass quickly while also stripping away unwanted belly fat is to push your muscles hard with enough high-quality reps, and with only the briefest rest between sets and moves to keep your heart rate high. In this second week of the first fortnight of the plan you’ll do the same workouts in the same order as the first week. However, while the total number of sets and reps for moves 1 and 2 remain the same, there is an extra set for all the other moves in the workout. This means you’ll do a total of five sets for moves 3, 4 and…

Throwing things is what separates us from the animals. Even our chimp brethren, with their pound-for-pound strength advantage, can’t come close to humans when push comes to fling. That power comes at a cost – our more flexible shoulder joints are somewhat injury-prone – but throwing might also be the thing that fixes it: in a study of handball players, published in the Journal Of Strength & Conditioning Research, adding six weeks of medicine ball throws alongside regular training enhanced isokinetic strength around the rotator cuff, as well as improved throwing velocity. Precision, sadly, wasn’t affected, so you’ll still need to rely on your (relatively) enormous human brain – plus copious practice – to stay on target.…

For the urban cyclist, an e-bike is the perfect way to travel. With a lightweight motor providing up to 250 watts of pedal assistance, they’re ideal for stop-start riding around town because they’ll give you a boost to pull away from traffic lights and junctions without breaking sweat, or cruise effortlessly up hills. With high-capacity batteries and energy-saving modes, they often have a range of 80 miles or more – enough to keep most people going for a week of commuting with a recharge at the weekend. And with improvements in technology making them more efficient and affordable than ever, now is the perfect time to jump on the e-bike bandwagon. Here’s our pick, and what we like about each model. KALKHOFF DURBAN MOVE G8 1 Lightweight and powerful The…

Sunglasses can protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays, from other elements when running or cycling, and even from pollen, reducing the symptoms of hayfever. But they also need to look good, so make sure you choose the right pair.…

You never forget how to ride a bike, right? Right. And there’s nothing stopping anybody from jumping on their bike and setting off on an adventure the day after they decide they want to do it. It doesn’t matter whether you ride ten miles or 100 miles a day on tour, because the experiences will be largely similar, and it won’t take long for your body to adapt and accept an increasing daily mileage. This is the beauty of cycle touring. If you do have time to prepare, invest some in riding the bike you intend to take on tour. Now is the time to iron out any niggles with your position, making sure you’re comfortable and that the bike is in good working order. If you’re planning a longer…

“Pack your helmet, shoes, pedals and one set of kit in your hand luggage so you can ride even if you go to Mallorca and your suitcase goes to Marbella,” says Pete Muir, editorial director of Cyclist magazine. “Don’t use a soft case if you’re flying with a budget airline – baggage handlers aren’t always respectful of your £3K steed,” says Muir. “Also check your bike isn’t damaged as soon as it comes off the conveyor, because many insurance policies require some kind of proof it was broken in transit, such as reporting it in the airport. Take pictures in situ.” “Insist on keeping your bike in your hotel room, no matter how much the hotel insists it will be fine in the hotel ‘garage’ or storage room,” says Muir.…

After a tough workout you should prioritise taking on some high-quality protein to kick-start the recovery process. But new research suggests that chomping down on cherries can further accelerate the recovery process to get you back to your best faster, thanks to their high concentrations of phytochemicals and anthocyanins. These compounds have both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities, and have now been linked to enhanced sleep and a reduction in post-exercise muscle damage and soreness, according to a research in the International Society Of Sports Nutrition journal. Instead of a tub of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, opt for fresh cherries or cherry juice for a bigger hit. 43% 100g of tart cherries contains just 50 calories but 43% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C for better immune system…

GET THE PLAN All the workouts that got me into cover model shape in just eight weeks are detailed in the New Body Plan book. The plan is suitable for people of all training abilities and includes detailed form guides as well as extra tips to help you get the most out of every workout. EAT SMART What you eat is just as important as the training side of the plan. The book’s in-depth nutrition section gives you detailed meal plans according to your body shape goals, as well as a simple guide that busts common food myths and gives you an easy-to-follow approach to healthy eating. The best bit? No foods are banned while you’re on the plan. REAL-WORLD ADVICE This is a plan that was made with real…

“Conditioning gives you far more bang for your buck when you want to build a lean, athletic physique” SO WHAT’S WRONG WITH TRADITIONAL CARDIO? “It isn’t the most efficient way of training,” says trainer Stephen Taylor (getbodyconfident.com). “If you enjoy it and have time, fine – but you won’t build muscle from it. Muscle is hard to build as it is, and endless running or workouts on the cross-trainer won’t help this situation.” There’s also evidence that long, slow cardio workouts will increase your body’s production of cortisol, giving you more of a propensity to store belly fat. SO WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE? “If you’re a busy man, you want the best results in minimal time. For this, conditioning is the game-changer,” says Taylor. “Conditioning is cardio, but not as you…

WORKOUT 1 CHEST AND BACK 1 INCLINE BENCH PRESS SETS 5 REPS 10 TEMPO 2010 REST 60SEC Lie back on an incline bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully. 2 BENT-OVER ROW SETS 5 REPS 10 TEMPO 2011 REST 60SEC Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip, bending your knees slightly. Bend at the hips until you’re at roughly 45° to the floor. Pull the bar up to touch your sternum, then lower under control. If you’re moving your upper body to shift the bar, the weight’s too heavy. 3 DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS SETS 4 REPS 10 TEMPO 2010 REST 60SEC Lie on a flat…

Crankalicious The Classics gift box from Crankalicious handmade cycle care includes seven beautifully presented 100ml bottles containing all the products to clean, polish and protect your bike. It makes a perfect gift for cyclists, whether new or experienced at bicycle care. £25. Available from crankalicious.com Spin Shed A new way to shop for independent and stylish cycling brands, Spin Shed has been making waves in the world of cycling fashion. Among its 20+ brands is this sublime short-sleeve jersey from IRIS, which combines performance and style in a pro-level fabric. Jersey pictured £86 – but use code IRIS10 to get 10% off. spinshed.com Fat Lad at The Back MAMILs rejoice! Fat Lad At The Back makes top-quality cycling clobber in all sizes and promises you won’t look like a shrink-wrapped…