Innholdsfortegnelse for Mar/Apr 2024 i Men's Health South Africa

“TEAMS REALLY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO FIND THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY OF EXECUTING EVERY WORKOUT.”– ANDREW MANTEIT, FOUNDER OF TURF GAMES WANT TO UPGRADE YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE? Introduce a healthy dose of competition. A study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that those logging steps as part of a contest against their peers tended to notch more strides than the non competing folks. Turf Games takes this medal-chasing motivation to another level, pitting groups against one another as part of a team-based functional fitness competition. Originally started in London back in 2018, the event has snowballed into a gauntlet of gargantuan proportions. (More than 10 000 athletes have tackled the contest.) In December 2023, Turf touched down in Cape Town to put locals to the test. Competitors…

LET’S ADDRESS THE ASSUMPTION in your question. Are you eating plenty? If you’ve recently embarked on a new exercise regimen, for example, you may well have underestimated the additional calorie requirements. If you’re certain your macros are on point, there might be other factors at play. “People who don’t sleep enough can have raised levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite,” says registered nutritionist Rob Hobson. “Stress can raise cortisol, a hormone that promotes cravings. Medications such as antidepressants might increase your appetite, too, as can undiagnosed diabetes.” If you’re over 40 and haven’t had an a health check, start there. But people are just built differently: research in Nature Metabolism suggests some of us experience bigger dips in blood sugar after eating, impeding appetite control. “This is informed by…

PROBIOTICS vs PREBIOTICS R1.35 Trillion The estimated value of the probiotics market in 2023, up from R970bn in 2018. Quite an appetite for better health. R155 Billion The value the prebiotics market is expected to reach by 2025. Big bucks, but still playing catch-up with OG yoghurt shots. THE MH VERDICT PREBIOTICS WIN! It’s damn close. Probiotics are a quick win, providing potential health benefits for your entire body. However, it’s more economical in the long run to feed your own natural bacteria rather than parachute them in. Oats for breakfast it is, then—and maybe a glass of kombucha to wash it down.…

01 COLOUR THEORY You might have heard of the short wavelength “blue light” emitted by screens, which mimics daylight and triggers our brains to suppress sleep hormone production. But the truth is a little more complex: our electronic devices emit a mix of wavelengths—”with peaks in red, green and blue parts of the spectrum”—the latter two of which you want to minimise after dark, says Timothy Brown, a professor at the University of Manchester. 02 DIM VIEW Too much nighttime light will do more than just make you drowsy in your morning meeting. An animal study by scientists in the Netherlands suggested that exposure to blue light before sleep might disrupt blood-sugar levels and cause next-day cravings for carbs and sweets. Ever fall asleep with YouTube still flickering? Even low light exposure…

HISTORICALLY, IF YOU were buying a luxury top-end—one of the reasons was firm assurance that was hand-finished to the finest degree. World-class craftsmanship was always a guarantee, but in a form of gentleman’s agreement—you rarely saw it. A very small number of watches —we’re talking maybe hundreds—were say the dials or solid backs the movement pared back to their bones and the metal engraved with patterns. Not only were these watches ran the risk of structurally weakening the watch. When the industry ceased to be a provider of practical tools and morphed into a luxury business in the 1980s, it occurred that it would be easier to sell the idea of traditional craft if it could be seen. Technology had moved on and the sapphire crystal case back appeared in…

01 YOU’LL BEND, BUT NOT BREAK The WFH revolution has its benefits, but thanks to our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, our bodies are feeling the strain. Fed up with stiff hips and back pain derailing our efforts in the gym, we’ll start recognising the effects of poor posture on our ability to move well. According to Fiit’s Ian McCaig, so-called “recovery for performance” is skyrocketing among everyday exercisers, with 34% of its members tackling mobility sequences. Online workout platform Les Mills+ has also seen a 55% increase in mobility sessions. With apps such as Pliability expanding to support running and weightlifting, and gyms adding stretching-specific classes to their timetables, mobility is due a new moment. 02 YOU’LL RAISE THE TEMP ON YOUR WORKOUTS Stretching in sweltering confines isn’t just a fad. A study…

South Africans are a hard-working bunch. Yes, don’t let the laidback attitudes, non-stop partying and braai-side antics deceive you, recent reports show we’re logging more work hours than most. (We’re three times more likely to work 60-hour weeks than the average American, FYI.) But burning the midnight oil is doing little for our overall happiness. In fact, the hardest workers tend to feel the worst. The prescription? Getting more done in less. For this issue, we’re focusing on productivity, i.e., maximising how much you can squeeze out of every second so that you can sidestep overtime and all-nighters for an itinerary that’ll nurture a more positive outlook. Our advice in this issue isn’t just limited to thriving in the office; we want to help you tap into some serious potency…

THERE’S AN IRONY TO DAVID Britz’ weight gain. For most of his life, he’s struggled to pack on the kilos. “I always considered myself a hard gainer,” he admits. In other words, despite attempts to tack meat onto his skinny frame, he always seemed to fall short on his macros. So he ramped up his eating, tucking away massive platefuls of calorie-rich feasts. The goal was to maximise muscle gain, but his daily buffet was leading to more padding than power. Here’s how he tweaked his approach to forge the physique you see here. THE WAKE-UP CALL In 2022, Britz headed to CrossFit Kyalami to test his mettle. Lockdown had prevented him from hitting up the Box for 18 months and from the moment he notched his first rep he…

“IF YOU’RE ONLY THINKING ABOUT sleep in the hour before you go to bed—it’s too late,” says Barry Bridges. He’s a qualified sleep recovery specialist who coaches guys on how to upgrade their shuteye itineraries, helping them snag the sort of quality dozing time that regenerates and bolsters mental resilience. Research has shown that poor sleep (or lack of shuteye) can have a knock-on effect on your emotional well-being, ramp up your stress levels and even cause you to gain weight. So, if you’re struggling to snag your prescribed eight hours under the covers, revamping your approach could be one of your most important steps you take for your health this year. “You have to build recovery strategies to prepare for better sleep in the evening,” says Bridges. 01. ENSURE…

2 MINUTES BRUSH UP The American Dental Association recommends two minutes of scrubbing your pearly whites. An advanced electric toothbrush (like this one, which buzzes for every quadrant brushed) will take out the guesswork, leaving you time to floss and rinse out your mouth. Philips One Toothbrush R330, dis-chem.co.za Listerine Total Care Gum Protect Mouthwash R70, clicks.co.za Oral-B Satin Tape Floss R127, dis-chem.co.za 1½ MINUTES SAVE FACE A tooled-up trimmer will make short work of any excess fuzz. Just make sure you wash your face before and after shaving, before using your finger to dab on a pea-sized portion of moisturiser across your skin. Braun 9415s Series 9 Pro Shaver R8 799, braunshavers.co.za QMS Energizing Cleansing Gel R1 010, futurethis.co.za NEUTROGENA Retinol Boost Day Cream R330, clicks.co.za CeraVe Eye Repair Cream…

OXO GOOD GRIPS SWEEP & SWIPE LAPTOP CLEANER Your trusty laptop powerhouse has a habit of attracting dust, smudges and rusk crumbs. OXO’s all-in-one compact cleaner will clear the terrain in seconds, arming you with an armoury of tools—including a retractable brush—to scrub out every nook and cranny. Spotless? A handy storage cap lets you stash this away worry-free. R229, yuppiechef.com JBL CLIP 4 Your playlist has never been more portable. JBL has taken their ultra-waterproof wizardry and applied it to a bite-sized speaker that'll pump out crisp sound in any setting. Built into the design you'll find a carabiner that lets you clip your speaker to your backpack, belt or a conveniently placed branch. Better yet, a single charge nets you around 10 hours of playback. A hike has…

MY GOAL IS TO SEE AS LOW A NUMBER as possible, so I take no chances. I don’t wear clothes when I weigh myself. I use the toilet beforehand but don’t drink any water. Sometimes, I even suck in my gut while standing on the scale, as if rearranging my torso to look more superficially flattering will somehow change things. I have an ideal weight in mind, but the scale rarely, if ever, hits this magic number. When it goes higher, my brain instinctively conducts a mental inventory of what I’ve eaten over the past 24 hours. And then I begin my day with the appropriate amount of shame. This routine constitutes progress for me. I’m healthy for my age (47), although I didn’t arrive at this point without a…

HOW THIS CIRCUIT WORKS You’ll work through 10 different exercises in the order shown. Finish all the reps before you tackle the next move. Between sets, take a breath and then forge ahead. Aim to run this circuit at least three times a week. 1/ STEP UP Stand facing the box with your feet hip-width apart (A). Lift your foot onto the box (B), then push through your lead foot to lift your body up onto the step, keeping your back straight (C). Step backward to the start position. Do 3 sets of 10 reps on each leg. 2/ CURTSY STEP DOWN Standing on the box (A), lower one leg (B) behind the other while maintaining your balance. Lightly touch the floor with your foot before returning to the start.…

MOBILISE LUMBAR WINDSHIELD First, mobilise your hips. Lie on your back, feet near your butt. Gently shift your hips to the left, aiming to drop your left knee to the floor. Return to the start and repeat on the other side. Stop the motion if you feel pain. Do 8 reps on each side. Do 1 or 2 sets. CAT-COW This yoga staple challenges your entire spine. Start on all fours, wrists directly below your shoulders, knees directly below your hips. Round your back as much as you can, spreading your shoulder blades. Then arch your back and squeeze your shoulder blades. That’s 1 rep. Do 1 or 2 sets of 8. STABILISE BANDED GLUTE BRIDGE Strengthen your glutes with this one. Lie on your back, a light resistance band…

01 DEAD WEIGHT Start each round with 12 deadlifts. Keep the bar close to your body, and don’t squeeze the life out of it (or you’ll fatigue your forearms). With your lats engaged, bend down with a flat back to pull the bar from the floor, then stand up straight. Don’t rush: you might be against the clock, but each rep should be as solid as your first. 02 HANG IN THERE From the top of your last deadlift, go straight into your first hang clean to build power in your upper body. Hold the bar at your hips, then lower it towards your knees, keeping your back straight. From here, generate force from your hips and imagine that you’re jumping as you shrug the bar up, lifting it as high as…

ANSWER Imagination SLEPT THROUGH THIS MORNING’S weights session? We suggest you have a long, hard think about what you’ve done. No really, we mean it—because research shows that simply visualising your workout can genuinely make you stronger. While the interplay between mind and muscle is well established, scientists studying the phenomenon at Germany’s University of Giessen claim that you can replace at least a few sweat sessions with imagined ones, “without any considerable reduction of strength gains”. In their study, participants were asked to train three days a week for four weeks, performing calf raises, leg presses, bench presses and triceps extensions. Now, try to get your head around this: for the second four-week stretch, some of the study participants replaced half of their workouts with “fantasy sessions” in which…

THE IDEA THAT A SOLID WORKOUT can benefit your mind is nothing new: even Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha, exhorted his followers to “keep the body in good health… Otherwise, we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom and keep our mind strong and clear”. Though many of us have long intuited the value of physical activity in maintaining our mental health, its psychological effects have been hard to quantify. Exercise has been used to treat those suffering from clinical anxiety, and a Harvard study suggested that increases in activity levels can slash our odds of depression by more than a quarter—but how does a CrossFit WOD, say, compare with conventional medical interventions? A new analysis of 1 039 trials by researchers at the University of…

While it’s true that 8 hours falls within the guidelines of 7-9 hours recommended for adults 18-64 years old, this is not a one-size-fits-all number. Throughout our lives, both our sleep needs (the amount of sleep we need to get to function at our best) and our sleep timing (when our bodies naturally choose to go to sleep and wake up) ebb and flow. The guidelines for adults 18-64 years old are between 7 and 9 hours. Finally, as we get older our sleep changes once again, with our sleep timing beginning to shift earlier. Older individuals may also struggle more to fall asleep or to stay asleep. Across all ages though, one thing remains constant: our sleep falls somewhere within a range. The amount of sleep everyone needs varies…

SO, YOU’VE SPENT YOUR LIFE IN A BOX on four wheels like I have. But you’ve seen them, and are painfully aware of the two-wheeled death devices carving up the N1, unhindered by traffic. You’ve envied how they buzz hither and thither, occupying the gaps between wing mirrors of slower-moving cars. It all looks rather treacherous, and your significant other agrees. As does your mom, your family and friends at large. Motorbikes are fucking terrifying if you’ve grown up in a cage, and by cage, I refer to the nickname afforded by motorcyclists to the cars the rest of us are in. But I’ve been converted. THE CATALYST I thought my story was fairly unique at the time but would later uncover many similar origin stories from other riders. On…

01 Meds WHAT IT IS: A once-weekly injection that increases the production of insulin, lowers blood glucose levels and reduces appetite “I grew up in the age of ‘clean your plate’. I also grew up relatively poor, so when we did eat out, it was [takeaways]. Fast-forward into my mid-thirties, when I had type 2 diabetes and an A1C level of 13% [a marker of blood sugar; a healthy range is below 5.7%]. I weighed almost 165kg. I went to the doctor and he said to me, ‘If you continue to do exactly what you’re doing, you’ve probably got about 15 years left.’ “I have four kids, and they deserve more than that. So I went on this journey of ‘Let’s try Weight Watchers, let’s do keto and let’s do Whole30.’…

The events of the past [couple of years] will stay with me forever. In April 2022, I became a father for the first time. Five months later, my partner fractured two vertebrae in her thoracic spine, which was caused by a rare condition known as pregnancy-related osteoporosis. Then, as bones began to heal and baby steps were taken across the kitchen floor, my father passed away after a three year battle with bile duct cancer. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to writing those words. I was tired—perhaps close to burnout—and both my mind and body yearned for a break. Which is how I found myself at the Kuda Villingili Resort located in the northern atolls of the Maldives. Nestled some 25km from the hectic, sticky Velana International Airport,…