Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2022 i Men's Health

MH STAFF TIP Char romaine for the best Caesar salad you haven’t had … yet.…

YES, STRONG, powerful back and core muscles can help protect your shoulders and your spine. But if you truly want to prevent back pain and injury, you also need all that beef to be mobile. “Your torso is always changing positions, twisting and turning and shifting,” says MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. “And you need to train your back and ab muscles to be ready for all that movement.” That’s where the Bear x Gorilla Flow, one of Samuel’s favorite back exercises, comes in. Most row exercises force your torso to maintain a static position as you do rep after rep. This flow starts you in a bear plank, but after you’ve done a row rep on each side, you jump forward, shifting the position of your hips and…

KNOW THE SIGNS Talk to an allergist if you have an itchy or tingly mouth; hives and itching; swelling in your lips, face, tongue, or throat; wheezing, nasal congestion, or trouble breathing; abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting; or dizziness or fainting. Call 911 if your airways feel constricted, your pulse is rapid, you’re dizzy or light-headed, or you feel you’ll lose consciousness. RULE OUT AN INTOLERANCE An intolerance isn’t actually an allergy; it’s a digestive-system issue. So you might have gas, cramps, nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, or abdominal pain, but you won’t have breathing issues. Lactose and gluten are classic causes of intolerance. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about these symptoms. GET THE RIGHT TEST Food-allergy test kits look for allergy-stoking antibodies in your blood. The problem: You can…

OPEN PEOPLE—adventure seekers—had more allergy issues. Could be they were out doing things that would expose them to more challenges, like finding safe foods. TRY: Meeting novelty needs through experiences other than food. EXTROVERTED PEOPLE—outgoing, expressive—had more concerns around the personal and social issues of living with a food allergy. TRY: Inviting people to your home for gatherings, where you can control the food. AGREEABLE PEOPLE—the sort who put others’ needs ahead of their own—tended to feel anxious or stressed about allergies in social situations that revolved around food. TRY: Finding ways to speak up to others about your food allergy. CONSCIENTIOUS PEOPLE—responsible, organized—had problems finding a restaurant and were more likely to feel bad if issues arose. TRY: Reminding yourself that if a challenge hits, it’s often due to…

UPGRADE A CLASSIC Meet your new summertime uniform. Banana Republic’s performance pants look like chinos, but they’re water-repellent and breathable, with built-in stretch. Wear them with Goodlife’s slim, lighter-than-air Henley. This outfit looks good anywhere: the office, al fresco dates, overwater bungalows (one can dream), or wherever else summer takes you. Henley ($85) by Goodlife; Motion Tech pants ($100) by Banana Republic; Tread Lite sneakers ($120) by Florsheim; watch ($550) by Victorinox. GO CAMPING Old-school camp shirts were billowy button-ups made for postretirement lounging. Fair Harbor’s Casablanca top fixes all that. Its cut is slim, like a summer dress shirt, yet lightweight for hot poolside days. Its UPF 30 fabric helps fight sunburn. Shirt ($78) by Fair Harbor; Alpha Icon chinos ($88) by Dockers; sunglasses ($163) by Ray-Ban; Captain Cook…

1 Monitoring before and after treatment If you’re receiving your ketamine through the mail, you should be regularly monitored by a health-care professional who is trained to address your expectations for the therapy, spot signs of psychosis and addiction, help you make sense of the sessions, and know the nuances of depression. 2 Proper screening Check with a psychiatrist before trying this if you have a history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder; there have been reports of mania and worsening psychosis. Also check in if you have a heart issue or uncontrolled high blood pressure. 3 Treatment for a valid reason If someone is willing to prescribe ketamine for “an existential crisis” or to “help you relax,” go elsewhere.…

BEST WATER BOTTLE Nathan SpeedDraw Plus The strap on this 18-ounce flask is so comfortable that you’ll barely realize you’re carrying it. Bonus: There’s room in the zippered pocket for just about everything. $37; nathansports.com BEST SMARTWATCH Garmin Fenix 7 Solar This ultimate outdoor watch tracks key fitness metrics, plays music, and offers spot-on GPS—all while providing up to 22 days of battery life with solar charging. From $799; garmin.com BEST TECHNICAL TRAIL RUNNER Hoka Tecton X Hoka reinforces this pair with two carbon plates that deliver both forward and lateral energy return. That means you’ll stay balanced and nimble on even the rockiest of switchbacks. $200; hoka.com BEST RUNNING HAT Brooks Carbonite “The extra-breathable material keeps my head cool, and reflective tech on the brim keeps me feeling safe…

THE FITNESS-EQUIPMENT landscape has never been this expansive. Ever since the pandemic sparked an uptick in sales of home gym equipment, gear companies have been in overdrive, pumping out everything from adjustable dumbbells to connected cardio machines to fully wireless recovery boots. But amid all that innovation, something’s still missing. Scan the companies driving the next generation of workout gear and you’ll see little diversity. Most major fitness brands have overwhelmingly white ownership. While the equipment offerings have grown increasingly diverse, the faces that bring you that equipment have not. “The disparities and inequality that exist for Black people in this country in general exist in so many ways [in the fitness industry],” says Percell Dugger, founder of Fit for Us, an agency that advocates for and empowers Black fitness…

BEING A COUNTRY Florida girl from Jacksonville, becoming an entrepreneur was not included on my vision board. I wanted to be a nurse when I was growing up, because my neighbor was a nurse. When you’re not exposed to different careers, you don’t tap into your passion; you do what is normal. That is what you’d see in the history of the Black community—until now. We are finally learning our strength. I’m still astonished by what we’ve created with no blueprint. Powerhandz started with one vision and one mission in July 2014. The best ideas come from a personal need or solution. When Jason Williams revealed to Slam magazine that he used gardening gloves to improve his electrifying ballhandling, it was game over, especially once my cofounder added weight resistance…

To play a Navy SEAL, Chris Pratt needed to be in “combat shape, ready to do everything from sprint with a heavy pack to drag a body,” says his trainer Jared Shaw, a former SEAL. That meant embracing the Murph CrossFit Hero WOD (created in memory of Navy SEAL Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy), which Pratt did several times as part of his training. DIRECTIONS: Start with a 1-mile run, followed by the 3 moves. See “Best Breakups” for options. Finish with another 1-mile run. Wear a 20-pound weighted vest if you dare. 1. Pullup Hang from a bar with an overhand grip. Pull your head to the bar, then lower. That’s 1 rep; do 100. Struggling? Do inverted rows instead. 2. Pushup Get in pushup position, abs and glutes tight,…

BACK IN AUGUST 1985, Douglas Casa was young, healthy, in great shape, and racing a 10K. He ended up in an ambulance and a coma due to severe exertional heatstroke. It’s been his goal ever since to keep others from suffering the same fate. Casa, who heads up heat research at the Korey Stringer Institute, is on the cutting edge of how athletes and outdoor workers can do what they do when it’s sweltering without ending up where he did. Use these tips to get a workout in, hit your splits, and live to tell the tale. RESET YOUR THERMOSTAT THERE’S A REASON 85 percent of football-related heatstroke deaths happen in the first three days of practice. The initial hot days put a ton of stress on your body as…

1 GO ON A CLOTHING DIET OF ONLY TEN NEW ITEMS Clothing makers waste tons of water and spew out 10 percent of all the heat-trapping carbon emissions on earth. Even if you donate your hand-me-downs, too many items end up in landfills. So, a clothing diet. Eleven months in, I’d added only eight items (not including socks and undies). I prize my new clothes—a pair of Allbirds, a Friends of Friends flat-brim hat—so much more. 2 ONE DOUBLE-DOUBLE PER MONTH Cutting meat out of your diet is an efficient way to reduce carbon emissions. But I live five minutes from an In-N-Out Burger, and my two teenage boys are growing by the foot. By taking a “cheat day” approach, I was able to slow my fast-food roll without feeling…

—@josehernandezmorfin YOU COULD STAY INSIDE, I guess, and park it next to whatever AC and/or fan situation keeps things frosty for you. You could also avoid spicy foods and strenuous activities, clothed or unclothed, and if you play your cards right, you might just have the least sweaty—and least fun—summer in the history of humanity. I don’t think that’s really what you’re asking, though—sweating, after all, is usually awesome. It’s how you know your body’s awake. It’s how you know you’ve worked hard and pushed your limits and earned whatever rest-day recovery or cheat-day indulgence your body’s been craving. It is also, of course, the most natural thing in the world, your body’s built-in system of temperature regulation, which is why I’d think twice before messing with any of the…

MEN’S HEALTH MVP members have access to some of the best health, fitness, and entertainment coverage on the entire Internet. Each month, we survey our MVPs and choose one whose story catches our eye. Sign up at join.menshealth.com and you could see yourself here one day. MY FITNESS/NUTRITION GOALS THIS YEAR Lowering my body-fat percentage and replacing processed foods with natural foods. MY DREAM WORKOUT PARTNER Steve McQueen, because his no-nonsense daily workout regimen mixed practical weightlifting and movement-based aerobics. MY ROLE MODEL RIGHT NOW My mother. She’s currently battling her second bout of cancer at the age of 70 and refuses to give up. WHAT MAKES ME FEEL STRONG Watching my parents battle cancer at the same time. They fight side by side, with love, grace, faith, and courage.…

DIRECTIONS: Do this workout 3 or 4 times a week, resting at least 1 day between sessions. All other days, go for a 20-minute walk or run. WARMUP WALKING LUNGE TO SPRINT Do 5 walking lunges per leg. On each, take a large step forward, then bend at the knees and hips to lower your torso until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Turn and sprint back to your starting position. REVERSE WALKING LUNGE TO SPRINT Do 5 reverse walking lunges per leg. On each, take a step backward, then bend at the knees and hips to lower your torso until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Sprint back to your starting position. WORKOUT 1 SKATER LUNGE Start standing on your right leg, knee bent slightly. Swing your…

LAST YEAR, Dallas-based musician TOLU ADESINA found himself feeling tired and unproductive. His doctor saw that his blood pressure was high—130/90 mmHg. If it stayed there or climbed, he’d damage his heart and other organs. Adesina, now 40, made a few simple changes that brought his energy back and pushed down his BP to a healthy 120/80. Here’s how he did it. BEFRIEND THE SPICE RACK “I’M YOUNG and not married, and I used to eat out a lot,” Adesina says. That meant hardly any vegetables and tons of salt. (Restaurant meals are loaded with it.) In many people, all that sodium and too little potassium can push up blood pressure. So he started cooking. He looked to the flavors of his homeland, Nigeria, for inspiration, then added a twist.…

LARGER AMOUNTS OF ALLERGENS Sometimes food allergies don’t show up if you have a small amount of the food. For example, you may be fine with a side of peas, but if you have pea soup or a meat substitute made with pea protein, there’s so much more protein that you may have symptoms. MORE CONTACT WITH CERTAIN PRODUCTS If someone has a latex allergy, they may also react to avocados, bananas, chestnuts, and kiwis, since they have similar proteins. BACTERIA AVOIDANCE “People who live in farming communities have fewer allergies than people in cities,” says Dr. Sicherer. For example, in recently industrialized parts of China, people started to see more allergies as lifestyles shifted to more enclosed environments and less exposure to animals, gardening, and the outdoors. Overly clean…

BANGING HEADS and fixing heads might seem like totally different pursuits, but Myron L. Rolle, M.D., says that doing the one prepared him to do the other. Football “has given me so much. Friends, fitness, focus, and the intangibles: communication, teamwork, structure, discipline, and overcoming adversity.” As he details in his new book, The 2% Way, Dr. Rolle was a standout safety at Florida State University, but instead of playing his senior year, he went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He returned a year later, was drafted in the sixth round in 2010, and played three years in the NFL until he was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that, he put his energy into studying for the MCAT, which took him to Florida State University College of Medicine…

BEST RUNNING SHORTS Puma x First Mile Woven Running Shorts These aren’t just comfortable; they’re also made of recycled fibers. $45; puma.com BEST RUNNING EARBUD Shokz OpenRun Pro Most options shut out the sounds of the outside world, which is great for music but not for general safety. Shokz delivers strong audio that also lets environmental noise through. $180; shokz.com BEST RUNNING SHADES District Vision x New Balance Keiichi Standard They sit easily on your head and feature antifog tech that keeps your vision clear even during your hardest runs. $220; districtvision.com BEST ALL-AROUND SNEAKER Nike React Infinity Run Flyknit 3 A perfect balance between stability and flexibility, it’s equally powerful for sprinting ultrafast on a manual treadmill and pounding out a five-mile run. $150; nike.com…

Best Foam Roller TRX ROCKER Its shape anchors the roller in place, letting you apply pressure to tight muscles by rolling your body across its surface. From $35; trxtraining.com Best Grab-and-Go Massage Gun HYPERVOLT GO 2 “I take this 1.5-pound powerhouse everywhere because it fits easily in any backpack or duffel bag. It’s the ultimate on-the-go back loosener.” —Ben Court, executive editor. $199; hyperice.com Best Recovery Boot THERABODY JETBOOTS The first fully wireless air-compression boot features four pressure settings and 240 minutes of battery life on one charge. It’s post-leg-day bliss. $899; therabody.com…

I WAS BORN in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Richmond, Virginia. My dad was a Vietnam veteran, but he wasn’t the same when he came back. It was up to my mom to take care of six children. Honestly, we struggled. There were many days I went hungry, but those are good lessons because when you’re at the bottom, you grow to understand that the only way out is up. I was introduced to rope jumping by Mr. Herbert Rainey, my next-door neighbor. He was a fourth-degree black belt in karate. He was jumping rope one hot summer day and put that rope in my hand just before 5:00 p.m.; it was after 9:00 p.m. before I put it down. I took that rope with me everywhere after that day—school,…

MONITOR YOUR TEMPERATURE VICTOR CAMPENAERTS, pro cyclist; holder of the one-hour world record WHEN YOU’RE GOING for the one-hour record—the farthest you can ride in 60 minutes—“overheating is a major issue,” he says. To determine how hard to push without overheating, he uses CORE ($257; corebodytemp.com), a waterproof sensor that snaps onto a heart-rate strap or sticks on the body. In races, it helps him keep his core temp low until the moments he really needs to push the effort. BREATHE AND GET YOUR HEART RATE DOWN CHRISTIAN JONES, former Chicago Bears linebacker JONES GREW UP in Orlando, Florida, and knows that underneath the pads and the helmet, there’s a body doing its best to stay cool. As your core temp rises, so does your heart rate. He tries to…

PATAGONIA blends synthetic and natural in its Capilene Cool Merino shirt ($59) to keep you dry during brutal sweat sessions. NIKE‘s new DriFit Aero-Bill ($28) has perforated panels for ventilation and is made out of 50 percent recycled materials. MIIR bottles, like the Climate+ 20 oz Wide Mouth ($40), keep your water chilled and are made using sustainable practices. ALLBIRDS emphasizes natural materials. Its Trail Runner SWT ($140) is made of merino wool, eucalyptus fiber, and rubber.…

Q. Is there any way to tan without damaging my skin? A.Yes. Sunscreen. Tanning acts as a kind of natural sunscreen, with your skin cells producing pigment to protect your underlying tissues from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Even if your skin is darker or you tan easily, you should still use sunscreen. (Don’t worry, sunscreen shouldn’t prevent you from tanning; it just protects your skin.) The 2022 MH Grooming Award winner for sunscreen is Sun Bum Mineral SPF 50 Roll On lotion. The worst way to tan is with a tanning bed. (Fifteen minutes in one equals four hours under the sun.) The safest way to tan is with a tanning spray or lotion. These are recommended for people who aren’t able to tan—or can’t without burning. Even with…

BAD KNEES. The words conjure images of popping joints, morning runs turning into jogs and walks, and pizza-box-height vertical leaps. You probably know a few people who have bad knees—an estimated 65 million Americans fight chronic knee pain every year. You might even have a pair of less than stellar knees yourself. Ben Patrick, 30, knows bad knees well. Patrick is Knees Over Toes Guy, a social-media sensation/knee-rehab guru whose training methods promise to end knee pain and juice athletic ability. Patrick himself suffered from bad knees, and he says he still remembers being called the “old man” of his high school hoops team, back when he had knees so bad he could barely jump two feet high. You’d never know that from checking his Instagram (@kneesovertoesguy) now, though. His…

WHEN AUTOMAKERS WANT to test what the public thinks of an upcoming truck model, they head to Texas. So that’s where Darren Palmer, vice president of electricvehicle programs at Ford, found himself four years ago. The handful of people in Palmer’s Dallas test group initially thought they were watching a demonstration of Ford’s F-150 Raptor, an absolute beast of a gas-powered performance truck. Palmer didn’t exactly tell them otherwise as he ran through the numbers. “I said, ‘I’ve got this new truck for you. It’s got 775 pounds of torque, it has 563 horsepower, it’ll pull a 10,000-pound trailer at a 25 percent grade, and it goes zero to 60 in four seconds,’ ” he says. Then he revealed that the Lightning was all electric. “It was hilarious watching [these]…

1 STICK WITH SIMPLE Hold the celery—and while you’re at it, the bacon, shrimp, and cheeseburger sliders, too. Under the ruse of “brunch,” some restaurants junk up the drink to jack up the cost. The original, post-Prohibition recipe uses just tomato juice, vodka, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Yes, that’s all. 2 BUT THEN UPGRADE Instead of a vegetable blend, go with 100 percent tomato juice for a balanced base. Squeeze fresh lemon juice to avoid the chemical tang of store-bought concentrates. And splurge for quality vodka if you can. (Some of our favorites, like Ketel One and Tito’s, work, but Suntory’s Haku Vodka is bright, clean, and superb.) 3 MEASURE AND MIX In a cocktail shaker, shake or roll (i.e., swirl the shaker around in small circles) the…

WHEN LIVE-MUSIC PROMOTERS started suspending tours in March 2020 due to Covid, a part of me began to die. As the concert-less months continued, my music-loving friends turned into ghosts, sunshine on summer days reminded me of outdoor festivals of yesteryear, and listening to new music felt hollow. Then came livestreamed shows. At first, being able to catch a rare H.E.R. jam session with Chloe x Halle an hour before an equally rare Questlove DJ set was kind of awesome—and all I had to do was switch browser tabs. But after six months of streaming shows, virtual concerts faded into the endless screen-time void of Zoom work meetings and Google Hangouts. Music, once a refuge from the chaos of life, became a reminder of what I was missing: human connection.…

WWHEN BYRON MacLEAN was forced to retire from his police job in Nova Scotia for medical reasons last year, he saw a psychotherapist to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder from military duty in Afghanistan and time on the force. But after a while, talk therapy stopped working. His depression, anxiety, and night terrors returned, straining his marriage. “I felt really stuck,” says MacLean, 43. Then a military buddy told him about ketamine—the psychedelic drug that doctors have used for decades as an anesthetic and pain reliever and that has gained new popularity as a possible wonder drug for mood disorders. MacLean was initially scared it would send him on a bad hallucinogenic trip. Or worse, that it wouldn’t work and he would be out of options. MacLean isn’t alone in…

Best Swim Shorts ROKA SIM PRO II Neoprene buoyancy shorts perfectly position your body for extra speed as they keep water out and maintain comfort for a broad range of body types. $135; roka.com Best Technique Tool FINIS MANTA SWIM PADDLES Finis’s biggest strapless paddles let you go fast while correcting your form—pushing you to extend and catch and teaching you to apply even pressure on each stroke. $25; finisswim.com Best Goggles COBRA ULTRA SWIPE GOGGLES You’ve gotta see the competition to beat them, and the Swipe antifog tech in these lets you reactivate your antifog coating after extended use. $70; arenasport.com…

BEST DUMBBELL INNOVATION NordicTrack iSelect Voice-Controlled Dumbbells Nordic teamed up with Amazon for these weights, which adjust from five to 50 pounds with voice command. $599; nordictrack.com BEST WORKOUT SHOE Reebok Nano X2 A redesigned heel clip stands firm even during the heaviest deadlifts, and a flexible foam springs back during plyo drills. $135; reebok.com BEST EARBUD Beats Studio Buds These speakers sit securely and provide crisp audio through cleans, bench presses, and even handstands (if that’s a thing you do). $150; beatsbydre.com BEST TRACKER Whoop 4.0 “It tracks the metrics I need—heart-rate variability, sleep—with no excess, and it’s built to take a pounding in the gym.” —Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., fitness director. Free with subscription, $49 without; whoop.com BEST SHIRT Rhone Tech Short Sleeve This breathable top moves with you…

NEHEMIAH “BUBBA” HEARD and Jay Perkins are the two other founders at Kettlebell Kings. We met when we were 18. Bubba, who like me is Black, played football with me at Rice. Jay, who is white, lived in Austin and went to the University of Texas. After graduation, the three of us went into the corporate world, but it didn’t take long for us to realize that we were all too ambitious for that pace. The eureka moment for me was the actual results from using kettlebells to train. I saw results, but more importantly, I saw how easily the exercises translate to real-world improvements in your daily life. We started the company in 2012. To build awareness, we used free content, such as videos and weekly workouts, to gather…

CHEAT MEAL? “Pizza. Everything on it, double pepperoni, double cheese, thin crust.” MEAL YOU COOK FOR YOUR PARTNER? “Two poached eggs over avocado, olive oil, everything bagel.” BIGGEST HEROES? “Navy SEAL Jared Shaw. Men and women in uniform, first responders, people who sacrifice their life to create the bubble inside which we’re allowed to thrive.” FAVORITE MOVIE? “Stand by Me. There’s a scene where the boy breaks down when he’s talking about how his dad hates him; he’s crying so hard. Every time I watch it, I watch it with Jack, and he’s like, ‘Dad, why are you crying?’ I hope to God you’ll never know why!” FAVORITE EUPHEMISM FOR SEX? “Getting it in.”…

HEAT EXHAUSTION Stop and attend to these right away; the situation could progress to heatstroke. ❑ HEAVY SWEATING PLUS: ❑ COLD, PALE, CLAMMY SKIN ❑ FAST, WEAK PULSE ❑ MUSCLE CRAMPS, TIREDNESS, OR WEAKNESS ❑ NAUSEA OR VOMITING ❑ DIZZINESS OR HEADACHE ❑ FAINTING WHAT TO DO: Move to a cool place, loosen clothes, drink cool liquids, and take a cool bath. Get immediate help if you are throwing up and/or if symptoms worsen or last longer than an hour. HEATSTROKE The following symptoms are super serious; people can die or be permanently disabled if these aren’t treated quickly. ❑ BODY TEMPERATURE OF 103 DEGREES F OR HIGHER ❑ HOT, RED, DRY, OR DAMP SKIN ❑ FAST, STRONG PULSE ❑ CONFUSION ❑ HEADACHE, DIZZINESS, OR PASSING OUT WHAT TO DO:…

DO YOU NEED THEM? If you sweat a lot during an intense workout that lasts longer than 60 minutes, a drink with electrolytes is probably smart, says endurance coach Kim Schwaben-bauer, DHSc, R.D., C.S.S.D., founder of Fuel Your Passion. WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR? Sodium. It’s a limiting factor in performance as exercise goes on. It also helps you retain fluid, and it keeps your thirst mechanism working properly. HOW MUCH SODIUM DO YOU NEED? You generally want a product to provide 300 to 400mg of sodium in 13 to 27 ounces of water, says MH advisor Brian St. Pierre. We like the not-too-sweetness of UCan Hydrate (300mg sodium, $25 for a 30-serving jar; ucan.co). Salty sweaters can go higher on electrolytes; LMNT packets contain 1,000mg of sodium ($20 for…

Hot and Cold Plunge Pro XL “Finding an ice bath that comfortably fits me isn’t easy,” Judge says. Enter this supersized cold-plunge tub, which can also double as a hot tub, for the ultimate postgame R&R. $7,490; thecoldplunge.com Calm A big part of Judge’s pregame prep (apart from batting practice) is meditating. He uses Calm, a free app featuring guided meditation sessions that start at just two minutes long. “It really helps me clear my head.” Free; calm.com Whoop 4.0 During baseball season, Judge works out three times a week. He relies on this fitness tracker to meticulously log his performance in each session. “It gives me valuable insights about my body and takes the guesswork out of my training,” he says. Free with subscription, $49 without; whoop.com Eight Sleep Pod…