Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Men's Fitness UK

To reach your true fitness potential – in or out the gym – you need a healthy balance of strength training and cardio. If you’re a runner, cyclist or swimmer, a stronger physique is going to provide you with the power and resilience to go faster and further, for longer. Equally, if lifting weights is your primary pursuit, both performance and aesthetics will be hugely improved by having a better engine. Making cardio integral to your routine will also set you up for a longer, healthier life. Regular aerobic training strengthens your heart and blood vessels, improves your lung capacity, lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduces your risk of severe diseases. One major off-putting factor for the cardio-shy, however, is stamina. Simply put, if you don’t have a…

1. Log more miles A lot depends on time, but if you have a bit of it and can open your week to bike riding, there’s no substitute for volume. Hours for an endurance cyclist are always key. The longer rides you can do the better, and the longer rides you will be able to do consistently without wrecking yourself. That’s the main thing to build that base fitness. Once you have a solid base level, you can add on top of it. 2. Save some energy If you’re doing long rides, don’t finish each one knackered and empty. If you do that, you won’t get the full benefit of being able to train the next day. 3. Maximise output If time is not on your side, you need to…

Most men who exercise regularly fall into one of two camps: muscle chasers or endurance enthusiasts. The former enjoy strength training in pursuit of a certain body type; the latter want to be as aerobically fit as possible. The reality, though, is that to reach your true fitness potential – in or out of the gym – you need a healthy balance of both. If strength training is your primary pursuit, both performance and aesthetics will be hugely improved by having a better engine. And making aerobic fitness integral to your routine will also set you up for a longer, healthier life. With that in mind, here’s your guide to becoming a stronger endurance athlete in the months ahead. 1. Be Mr Consistent Like any other training adaptation, improving your…

May is National Walking Month, and though it might sound simplistic, stepping to it is one of the most accessible and easy ways to get in shape and kick-start your fitness journey. But while we all know about getting the recommended 10,000 steps a day, it’s rarely explained why that’s a guideline. “Any exercise that increases your heart rate is good for weight loss, but walking is so easy because you don’t need loads of kit – you can just go out your front door and walk around the block a few times,” says the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health’s Dr Ian Beasley. He adds that walking is low impact – “you are very unlikely to get injured,” and it doesn’t have the socio-psychological barriers that can come with…

MEET THE EXPERT Mike Chadwick is a former Paratrooper and physical training instructor for the Royal Army, credited with revolutionising fitness training in the British Armed Forces. Visit coachmikechadwick.com for more. Poor foot health can lead to a range of issues, including poor posture, muscle imbalances and even joint problems. The feet are made up of a complex network of muscles, ligaments and tendons that provide support and stability for the body. When these structures become weakened or damaged, it can lead to a loss of energy and an inability to move correctly. In turn, that leads to pain and fatigue, reducing the efficiency of your training. Keeping your feet healthy is therefore an important part of any training programme. Stay grounded Spending time out of your shoes is the…

Echelon Stride Auto-Fold Treadmill £1,599 (for the treadmill) plus £29.99/mo all-access membership, echelonfit.com If lack of space puts you off getting a home treadmill, folding options make a lot of sense. However, features, rigidity and stability can vary considerably. The Echelon Stride falls into this folding bracket, but quality design means the user experience isn’t compromised. The motorised auto-fold feature makes packing it away a doddle, and the two sets of transport wheels allow it to be rolled in any direction. The handlebars automatically fold down flat, which allows you to slide the treadmill under your bed or push it vertically against a wall– so you can free up space for free weights or mobility work almost instantly. The Echelon Stride comes with a safety stop lanyard and it’s equipped…

You’re always reminded what you should be doing in the gym... but what about the things you shouldn’t? Along with good form and some basic common sense, there are also some unwritten codes of conduct every man should be aware of. Two personal trainers – Matt Morsia of @mattdoesfitness fame, and Liam Cavanagh (@liamcavanaghfitness) – are here to save your blushes… 1 Stop risking your spine Although there are many body benefits to be reaped from deadlifts, this is one exercise that is oh-so easy to get wrong. “Deadlifting with a rounded lower back is both common and dangerous,” says Morsia. “If you’re looking for a great way to destroy your spin, this is it – especially when under a heavy load. If you can’t deadlift with a neutral, flat…

MONTH 1 WORKOUT 2 MONTH 1 WORKOUT 1 Legs and chest Each session, three heavy lifts will fire up your muscles, while a high-rep superset will fatigue them so you get stronger, faster. Warm up with some light deadlifts, gradually increasing the weight – while reducing the number of reps – until you hit your work-set weight target. 1. SQUAT Sets 5 / Reps 5 / Tempo 20X0 / Rest 2 mins • Rest the bar against the back of your shoulders – not on your neck – and hold it with an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders. Keep your elbows pointing down. • Your feet should be just wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointing outwards slightly. • Squat until your thighs are at least parallel…

If your goal is to build muscle, chances are you have been told you need to train in a ‘muscle-building’ rep range of 8-12 reps. Performing 7 or fewer reps is for strength, and 13 or more reps is for muscular endurance. The main problem with that? It makes it sound like venturing outside of the 8-12 rep bracket is compromising the muscle-building potential of your workout. Research, howeverm now shows that simply isn’t the case. For example, one study compared a powerliftingtype vs bodybuilding-type training programme, where the participants performed the same exercises but with either 7 sets of 3 reps (powerlifting) or 3 sets of 10 reps (bodybuilding).1Training with sets of 3 reps is far outside the 8-12 muscle-building rep range, but surprisingly both groups built similar amounts…

A few years ago, e-bikes tended to fall into one of two categories. They were either hugely expensive allmountain machines bought by middle-aged men who wanted the latest tech and weren’t big fans of pedalling. Or they were adapted cargo bikes made by niche manufacturers for climate-conscious parents to ferry their offspring to school. Fast-forward to 2023 and e-bikes have entered the mainstream. It’s reported that one in 20 people now owns an e-bike, and estimates are that by 2030 as many as half of the 30-million predicted bike sales in Europe at the turn of the decade will be of the motorised variety. E-bikes are here to stay, and big manufacturers such as Trek and Specialized have made huge strides in research and development. Batteries and motors are smaller…

R unning is so popular because it’s so accessible: grab a pair of half-decent trainers and away you go. Get bitten by the running bug, though, and as you progress from parkruns to longer distances, you’ll soon discover a plethora of technology that promises to make you faster in pursuit of PBs. A watch to track time is generally the first port of call when investing in tech, but most smartwatches or bands will also include access to a heart rate monitor, for zone-based drills and detailed post-run analysis. Over the last few years, another metric (and its accompanying tool) has started to make the leap to the mainstream. Added to Strava feeds in 2021 and unveiled in an update to certain Garmin smartwatches at the end of 2022, it…