Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i Men's Fitness UK

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Microbes that are resistant to common antibiotics are a significant risk to people worldwide, with the problem expected to worsen significantly over the coming years. Thankfully, healthy adults who eat a diverse diet with plenty of fibre have fewer antibiotic resistant microbes in their guts, according to new research from California. The findings suggest that modifying the diet has the potential to be a new weapon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. It’s also an easy step, requiring no expensive or exotic foods: just eating a diverse diet, plenty of fibre from whole grains, pulses and vegetables. Words: Mark Bailey NUTRITION NEWS 1 CUP of cranberries a day can improve memory and brain function, and lower ‘bad’ cholesterol.Research conducted at the University of East Anglia found that daily intake also…

A lmost 20 years ago, David and Stephen Flynn (known as The Happy Pear twins), discovered the mental and physical benefits of a plant-based diet – and set off on a mission to encourage everyone to ‘eat more veg’. They opened a greengrocers in their local town to encourage the community, and have since gone on to write five cookbooks, amass a social audience of nearly one million, create their own range of bestselling vegan products throughout Ireland and the UK, and open a chain of Happy Pear cafés. Their new book, The VegBox, returns the pair back to their greengrocer roots. Perfect for anyone who regularly finds leftover vegetables at the back of the fridge, or simply wants to up their veg intake, it’s structured around ten of the…

Yes, there’s probably an infomercial-branded device somewhere out there that lets you do the workout shown on these pages for three easy payments of $79.99. No, you don’t need it. “A towel is all you need to put together a full-body workout that challenges your body from angles it isn’t used to,” says Chris Burgess, a strength and conditioning coach and owner of Lift The Bar. “It’ll let you move through unusual ranges of motion with very little impact, increasing your core stability and body control.” As a bonus, you’ll end up with a cleaner floor... 1a. SLIDING PIKE REPS: 6-8 ●This is a core-tester and party trick in one. ●Start with your feet on the towel in a press-up position. ●Then, keeping your legs straight, bring your feet towards…

Whatever your reason for reading Men’s Fitness, you likely know all about the benefits of regular exercise. Even if it remains a bit of a slog, chances are you continue to keep fit because you know it helps you look, feel and act like the best version of yourself. However, any fitness fan worth their salt will know that exercise is only half the battle. Because while it might not be as gratifying or immediately rewarding, good nutrition is every bit as important. And yet exercise novices and aficionados alike often find themselves caught in the monotonous meat-and-veg trap, assuming that any attempt at improving their health dooms them to a life of bland meals and minimal enjoyment. This issue of MF, however – and specifically our lead feature –…

A male version of the contraceptive pill could be a step closer, following positive trials out of the University of Minnesota. Researchers have developed a pill which was 99% effective in mice, with no observable side effects, and the drug is expected to enter human trials later this year. Previous attempts at developing a male pill targeted testosterone, but caused worrying side effects such as weight gain, depression and raised cholesterol. The new pill, however, is non-hormonal, and instead works to block a protein called ‘retinoic acid receptor alpha’, to help disrupt sperm formation. Words: Mark Bailey…

A sarunner and coach, I’m always on the lookout for different tools to help alleviate aches and pains, and to assist with injury recovery. The Wave Tool is exactly that: an easy-to-use, handheld soft-tissue release blade, it’s unique in its ability to tackle not only big muscles (like the quads), but also small fascial bands. This multi-functional tool allows my clients to scrape and massage away muscle tension, tendon strains, trigger points and scar tissue. Suitable for use before, during and after training, the Wave Tool might lack the bells and whistles of more high-tech recovery tech (massage guns and so on), but it’s small and lightweight enough to easily carry wherever you go. Another handy feature is that you don’t need to apply a huge amount of pressure to…

S pending time in the company of others is known to boost mental wellbeing, but doing so while playing a team sport offers even greater mental health benefits. That’s according to a new report in Science Daily, conducted by researchers at California State University. Building on previous studies, it surveyed the parents and guardians of more than 11,000 kids in the US, between the ages of nine and 13. It found that kids who played team sports, including football and basketball, were less likely to struggle with anxiety, withdrawal and depression, while also having improved concentration. Interestingly, those who only took part in individual sports actually suffered from poorer mental health outcomes. While more work needs to be done to find out why, the pressure to perform without the support…

THE EXPERT Scott Laidler is an online personal trainer who has worked with celebrities and athletes. Learn more at scottlaidler.com or follow him on Instagram @scottlaidlercoaching Summer’s finally here, and it’s natural to want to pump up your arms to look in peak condition for a week on the beach. But focusing exclusively on everybody’s favourite mirror muscles, the biceps, would be a big mistake. The powerful but easily neglected triceps actually make up roughly two-thirds of your upper-arm mass, making them a much smarter area to target. If you want to pack out your summer t-shirts, or look good clutching a cocktail, targeting your triceps is the best way to go in the weeks ahead. 01. Lock in an arms day If your triceps are looking a little underdeveloped…

Humans instinctively run at the most energy-efficient speed, regardless of the distance they are covering, according to new research. A team of scientists from Queen’s University in Ontario, and Stanford University in California, analysed data from runners in a lab, as well as runs recorded with the help of wearable fitness trackers. The results, published in the journal Current Biology, found that our natural tendency is to run at a sustainable speed which conserves caloric loss. And we instinctively want to run at this naturally balanced pace, whether running 1km or 10km. From an evolutionary perspective, it makes perfect sense that we naturally want to run at an ultra-efficient speed which burns the least amount of energy. And most of the time, it’s a good idea to trust your body’s…

After I broke the world record for the 5,000m indoor row [with a time of 14 mins and 53.9 secs] in February, it was the worst I have ever felt. I was just lying on the floor, trying to get as much air in as possible. It hurt like hell. Pain was shooting through my legs and my lungs. I couldn’t move. But you want to do these challenges for yourself – and you want to show you can be a key part of a crew. The 5k erg test is actually part of my normal training programme for the Olympics and the [Oxford-Cambridge] Boat Race. But ultimately, indoor training is just a tool to help us perform on the water at the Olympics [bronze, 2020], the World Championships [bronze,…

A harsh fact of life: training mojo is a fickle beast. Good habits – and fitness gains – can fade fast and it’s easy for serious CBA to set in. Before you know it, you’re in a lull and finding your way back into the groove feels like an impossible task. It’s not. If you’re reading this in the middle of a long lay-off, you’re in the right place. You just need a little extra help. We’ve tried and tested some killer fitness tech that’ll fire up your motivation and help you rediscover the training bug. Prevayl From £220 / prevayl.com Two things can kill good training intentions in a 170bpm heartbeat: being unsure of how to train to unlock real improvements and working out at the wrong intensity. Combined,…

Jumpingout of a plane is quite literally a leap of faith. It requires overriding every logical instinct in your body – while putting your complete trust in a thin nylon canopy which should, in theory, unfold above and glide you down to safety. “This is the part where most normal people will stop to think,” explains Coach Mike Chadwick. “But when you’re a paratrooper, there’s no time for hesitation. You’re in a line of soldiers, clipped onto a static line, all waiting to follow you out of that door. On the other side of the plane, there’s another line of guys who are also jumping out and any delay or mistiming could put you and others at risk. So, when your superior shouts and taps you on the shoulder to…

W ith a fifth of British people actively trying to reduce their meat consumption, Eatplanted has created a selection of recipes using clean ingredients, inspired by Michelin-star chefs. But if you’re on the fence about shifting towards a more plantpowered approach, there are numerous health and performance benefits for doing so. For a start, on average vegans and vegetarians live longer, and grow old with fewer health conditions. Those eating a plant-based diet, for example, tend to have a lower risk of heart disease and cancer (our two biggest killers in the west), as well as diabetes, plus healthier gut profiles and lower blood pressure. That’s partly because plant foods are incredible nutritional packages, filled with phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre. But also because cutting out meat and animal…

‘Routine’ is probably the single most overused term within coach-client relationships. It also almost always lacks context. A training programme will provide a routine, but to be executed effectively it relies on a number of sub-routines also being implemented. It’s important to understand the core factors that contribute to a successful routine – and the fact that most of those factors are based on the time you spend away from working out. Ultimately, a successful routine is built brick by brick. You need to ensure it is progressively achievable rather than aggressively impossible, and make sure every component of your routine contributes to your goal. NAIL THE ONE PER CENTS Small, consistent habits breed adherence and consistency. This ‘1%’ may refer to going to bed and getting up at the…

Winner of the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships no less than six times, Hunter McIntyre entered the 2019 CrossFit Games as a wildcard – making it past the first cut and into the top 75. Though he didn’t test those at the sharp end of the Games, McIntyre can lay claim to a CrossFit world record: completing ‘Murph’ (one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 press-ups, 300 air squats and another one-mile run – with a 20lb weighted vest) in just 34 minutes and 13 seconds. It’s the upcoming fitness sport of HYROX, however, that McIntyre is currently dominating. With two World Championships to his name (2020 and 2022), he also holds the current world record, completing the 8km of running and eight exercise stations in a ridiculous 55:09. Men’s Fitness: What’s…

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) offers a highly effective (and highly sweaty) fast track to fat loss. And, unlike some fitness fads, there’s a lot of evidence to support its effectiveness as a training system. One of the benefits, that you don’t need a degree in exercise science to understand, is that HIIT workouts tend to be short. (This one can be over in as little as 25 minutes.) And while you do need to set some time aside for slower, steadier cardio, for most people a short HIIT workout is a far more attractive option than spending an hour in the gym or pounding the pavements endlessly. In fact, in a study published in the journal Topics In Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, researchers found that when they asked subjects to…