Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2026 i Men's Health

“FIGURE SKATING. PAGEANTRY AND ATHLETICISM? SIGN ME UP.”—KENGO TSUTSUMI “SNOWBOARDING. I’M TERRIBLE AT IT, BUT IT’S THE CLOSEST TO MY FAVORITE SPORT (SURFING).”—SALLY BERMAN “BOBSLED. HALF MY FAMILY IS FROM JAMAICA, AND I REMEMBER WATCHING THE MOVIE COOL RUNNINGS AS A KID.”—GREGORY BROWN, MD “FREESTYLE SKIING. IT LOOKS SO COOL!”—JOCELYN SOLIS-MOREIRA “IT’S A THREE-WAY TIE: ANY SLED RACING, HOCKEY, AND SPEED SKATING.”—JAMIE PROKELL “IS BOXING A WINTER SPORT? I WOULD WATCH ICE BOXING.”—JASON SPEAKMAN…

TONY CASTILLO, RD 36, Stuart, FL STRONG MOVE: “Focus on whole foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and fiber to support muscle, energy, and recovery.” THOM DELOTTA, CSCS 43, Chicago “Understand the difference between simply lifting weights and training with purpose and intent.” TRUE BEY 46, Fords, NJ “The men who win long-term aren’t the ones who train the most. They’re the ones who’ve learned how to eat well, sleep well, and embrace the lifestyle.” RAY MUSKEYVALLEY, FRCMS 40, Mount Clemens, MI “Before you chase strength or speed, give the joints you need—ankles, knees, hips, spine, whatever the job calls for—60 seconds of slow, controlled motion.” LAMÁN BEN-TRAHORET, NASM 31, Arlington, VA “Two to three strength sessions a week, daily movement breaks, mindful meals, and quality sleep—that’s the real foundation of…

IT TAKES GUTS to bring up the Child Question on the first date. “One of the first conversations we had was ‘Do you want kids?’” says Jonathan. But he says that moment when they both answered a definitive yes was “anchoring” to their relationship. Twenty years later, the couple has two children. Their daughter, Frankie, is 10; their son, Jake, is 8. “Being a parent is the most humbling role you can play in life,” Joey says. When the couple went on that first date in 2005, Joey (pictured on left) wasn’t yet the CEO of Barry’s (and wasn’t even a GM at what was known then as Barry’s Bootcamp until the following year). He was an aspiring actor in L.A. and working the desk at a Gold’s Gym. Jonathan…

ON FEBRUARY 9, 2025, Dijon “Mustard” McFarlane danced on the grandest stage of his life. During the Super Bowl halftime show, the DJ and producer served as a hype man as friend Kendrick Lamar performed the two biggest songs that Mustard ever produced—“Not Like Us” and “tv off,” from K-Dot’s GNX album—for over 133 million American viewers. It was a glorious moment. Yet all Mustard could think was: Why the fuck did I get to do the Super Bowl after I gained some weight back? He weighed 220 pounds, 15 pounds over his lowest weight, and even after seven years of losing and gaining and losing and gaining weight, he still couldn’t enjoy the apex of his career without feeling bad about his body. He’d come a long way. Back…

1. Philz Coffee “I love coffee. I love the smell of it. I love the taste of it. I love the effect of it. I love the sociality of it.” Philz is his go-to brew at home. $7, amazon.com 2. Vibram FiveFingers Toe Shoes Gordon’s brother turned him on to these during a trip to Hawaii a few years back. “It’s like walking around barefoot, so they strengthen your foot muscles, but you have protection.” $170, vibram.com 3. Rolex Gold Day-Date 40 Watch Gordon has a collection of timepieces, but this one he picked up in Geneva is special. “It’s a beautiful, classic piece,”he says. “It’s an investment—you’re never gonna lose money on a Rolex.” $44,200, rolex.com 4. Uno Gordon’s three nephews are his greatest inspiration. When they’re not wrestling, they’re playing…

Freestyle Skiing. It’s an exercise in not falling! @GuyGourmet The Luge. I’m good at just lying down. @the_bebbo Curling…it looks easy. @markfirm Giant Slalom because mountains and snow and speed. @jean9luise Snowboarding because I can aura farm. @s._pascu Biathlon, feels like spy training. @adob3…

THE PROVEN PATH to looking jacked: Eat a ton of calories and train hard fora few months(a.k.a. a bulk), then restrict calories for a few more months (a.k.a. a cut). Busy guys don’t have time (or stomach space!) for that. That’s why a tiny 2023 study is sending ripples through the fitness community. Eric Helms, PhD, a sports scientist at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, divided 21 lifters into three groups (one that ate at a maintenance level of calories, one that ate in a 5 percent calorie surplus, and one that ate in a 15 percent surplus), then tracked how well they built muscle. At the end of eight weeks, naturally, the high-calorie group gained more body mass. But all three groups saw comparable strength and muscle…

▶ I’VE BEEN TESTING and writing about moisturizers for more than 15 years, and the class of 2025 is the most cutting-edge yet. Like smartphones and self-driving cars, today’s face creams perform way more than their basic job function. At their core, facial moisturizers act “as a sealant, locking in water that’s already in skin,” says Ted Lain, MD, chief medical offcer at Sanova Dermatology in Austin. Next-generation products for men not only help with hydration but also tackle a bunch of other skin challenges (like oiliness and wrinkles). Plus, they smell—and feel—way better than they used to. These four moisturizers, each calibrated to offer a specific skin fix, are my new all-time favorites. THE BEST NEW FACE MOISTURIZERS All these creams treat and prevent dryness. But each one also…

IF TECH BROUGHT Anthony and Janique Edwards together, hunger made them strong. In 2016, the couple had been dating about a year and had decided to move in with each other. Their new Brooklyn apartment had no stove and no fridge, so they were eating out nonstop. Anthony, a former dancer turned software developer, knew how to build apps, so he started playing around with a networking tool that could connect people to Black-owned restaurants. Janique got interested. “I wanted it to be something that people interacted with positively,” Janique says. “I wanted people to feel joy.” She applied her creativity to the app’s branding, voice, and aesthetic. In 2017, EatOkra launched on iPhone and Android. Over the next five years—through COVID, through Black Lives Matter—the app grew to…

MARRIED PEOPLE REPORTED FEELING 30% HAPPIER COMPARED TO UNMARRIED PEOPLE.—CHICAGO BOOTH REVIEW, 2025 GABRIELLE LYON, D.O., and Shane Kronstedt can’t seem to agree on one key detail of their story: how long Gabrielle refused to answer Shane’s phone calls after he admitted his feelings for her. “It was probably close to two months,” Gabrielle says. “It was a couple days,” Shane counters. When the two met in 2018 by way of a mutual mentor, Gabrielle was a board-certified family physician in NYC. Shane was plotting his pivot from combat medic in the Navy SEALs to civilian life as a medical student. About three months after their first date, Shane proposed. A 2019 wedding and two kids later, Shane enrolled in medical school at Rutgers University and is now a urology…

JELLY ROLL FISTS a handful of loose skin beneath his black compression shirt and moves it from his hip over toward his belly, pulling it out of the way. He takes my left hand and wedges it in there, planting it on his iliac crest, the top of the hip bone. I can feel the bone’s definition. He reaches down between my legs and claws the inside of my left thigh with his huge hand. “I will 1,000 percent not hurt you—especially if you keep that neck stiff when you land so you don’t bang your head,” he says. His tone is relaxed but also a little intense, like a dad coaching his kid to go off the diving board for the first time. “You ready?” Oh, yeah, definitely, I tell…

“I LIVED A pretty unhealthy life from 20 to 30,” says Ed Sheeran, the 34-year-old English hitmaker best known for the songs “Shape of You,” “Bad Habits,” and “Shivers.” “Even though I was doing well professionally, I wouldn’t say that reflected well into my personal life. Wellness is a direct mirror to mental health and the way you feel. I’d wake up and look in the mirror and just feel gross.” A decade of low self-esteem about his body image pushed Sheeran toward a healthier way of living and cutting back on booze, kebabs, and cigarettes. But there was another catalyst as well. “I became a dad,” he says, referring to the birth of his first daughter in 2020. “I remember Lyra was two weeks old, and I had my…

HOW I QUIT: Chasing Real Dopamine ▶ TIMOTHY / 21 / OREGON THE FIRST TIME I used nicotine was via one of the pouches, Rogue, in June 2024. I switched to Zyn and started using it every day—beginning with 3-mg pouches and eventually graduating to the 6-mg pouches—up until last May. I ended up quitting right before my law school admissions test when I noticed the 6-mg wasn’t doing much for me anymore. I was like, Okay, well, I don’t want to go higher than that, because I knew it was bad for me. I became dependent on it to enjoy things and want to go out and do stuff. I didn’t think quitting cold turkey would be effective for me. Instead, I went about two weeks using the 3-mg dose…

THE GOAL WAS always to connect. It was 2019 and, as I do regularly for my job, I was talking with a trainer, who asked me how he could supercharge his career. It was a question I’d heard from other trainers, too, and especially trainers of color. Heck, I’d had that same question early in my career. In that moment, I realized that Men’s Health could provide that connection. Several months later, with the help of editor-in-chief Rich Dorment, we launched the Strength in Diversity program. Its mission: Help trainers from marginalized communities strengthen their brands and jump-start (or supercharge) their fitness careers. Now in its sixth year, SID has moved 53 trainers through the program. And it’s a team effort. We’ve worked with the National Strength and Conditioning Association…

13 CALORIES PER POUND OF GOAL BODY WEIGHT THAT YOU SHOULD E AT IN A DAY (For a 180-pound guy, that works out to 2,300 calories a day.) Spread that over breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks and you’re looking at about 450 calories per feed. 1 GR A M OF PROTEIN PER POUND OF GOAL BODY WEIGHT PER DAY Aim for 30 to 45 grams per feed—plenty to support the muscle protein synthesis that grows lean tissue. 140 GR AMS OF CARBOHYDR ATE YOU’LL WANT TO H AVE NE AR WORKOUT TIME Aim for 30 to 60 pre-training and 50 to 80 after your workout. Carbs are your fuel; prioritize eating them when you’re about to go hard. YOUR MUST-EATS SKYR YOGURT High-protein, low-fat, smooth, and perfect for snacks…

SOMETHING KIND OF AMAZING is happening in the supermarket. After decades of research on the muscle-building, stomach-filling, disease-fighting benefits of eating a diet high in protein and fiber, manufacturers started flooding the shelves with packaged products loaded with protein, fiber, or both. To find which of these foods are worthy of your cart, we read the labels, analyzed the ingredient lists, and taste-tested everything. And the winners are… Breakfast Rise & Puff Breakfast Quesadillas These folded ’dillas cook up crisp and gooey in a pan or microwave. Each one has 20 grams of protein for 300 calories, but no fiber, so eat it with a bowl of cottage cheese loaded with fresh fruit. Holos Organic Overnight Muesli One stout jar contains 20 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber…

“DID YOU KNOW our marriage is decades?” Gabby asks Laird when he joins our interview. “I didn’t,” he says, pulling in a chair. “‘Decades.’ It sounds like a card game.” You know Gabby, the former professional volleyball player and model, who now helms her podcast, The Gabby Reece Show. And you know Laird, a legendary big-wave surfer. Together they created and run the training program XPT as well as Laird Superfood. They met in 1995, when Gabby traveled to Maui, Hawaii, to interview Laird for an episode of a TV show she hosted then, The Extremists. Neither of them was looking for love. Gabby was in a relationship. Laird was married. At some point between Gabby interviewing Laird and the two tandem-surfing, something clicked, and about a week later he moved…

THE PAKS’ FITNESS philosophy—as you already know if you’re one of the 1 million people following them on Instagram—is that training should complement your life, not dominate it. Same goes for marriage. “We have a super-balanced relationship where we both appreciate each other, pull our weight, and jump in to help whenever the other needs it,” Lauren says. The pair met as friends in college at Northeastern University. Lauren, a former gymnast, often led workouts for their friend group. After a fair number of sweat sessions, they fell in love and married in 2016. Two kids (Kendrick, 7, and Kinsley, 4) and one dog later, the 38-year-olds are trying to balance marriage, business, family, and a book they’re working on together with a 2026 release date. Yes, life is busy,…

JONATHAN SMITH, better known as Lil Jon, hip-hop’s King of Crunk, has just knocked out a set of pullups at Venice’s Muscle Beach in Los Angeles. It’s early November, and the 53-year-old Grammy winner steps toward a photographer’s lens, hits a double-biceps, then drops into a full-torso flex like he’s chiseling the air. Face tight. His intent heavier than the weights. This isn’t Lil Jon from the early 2000s. That Jon had you “Snap Yo Fingers,” “Get Low,” then toast it with “Shots” before asking the only question that mattered back then: “Turn Down for What?” This Jon wants your mind right. Therapy. Meditation. Eat better. Get off your ass and move. In those days, Jon’s daily menu included wings, pizza, fried fish, and subs that he’d wash down with…

“I’M A PILOT AND HAVE AN EXTREME TRAVEL SCHEDULE BUT STILL STAY SHREDDED.” If you think it’s hard to eat well and exercise while traveling, imagine being a pilot for a major international airline. In his mid-40s and weighing 180 pounds, VIKESH KHINDA got a routine checkup and learned his BMI was between 27 and 28—and creeping closer to the BMI of 30 that would nix him from being able to fly a plane. Shortly after, his cardiologist explained he had the heart health of someone nearly a decade older. “He gave me two options: take even more medication or completely change my lifestyle. Naturally, I chose the latter,” he says. Here’s what he did to drop weight, raise his HDL, and cut his LDL in half. GET STEPS…

RIGHT NOW, we are experiencing a new kind of uncertainty when it comes to American health. Policies are shifting fast, often with more attention to political symbolism than evidence, and the result is a landscape where the guardrails that once quietly protected people are becoming thinner. When you spend enough years practicing medicine in places where health systems have collapsed, you learn a difficult truth: People suffer when the structures around them fail to protect them. I have worked in places where public health was stripped to the bone, where illness surged not because people made bad decisions but because the systems around them disappeared. When I look at what is happening in the U.S., I think about those experiences. Public health is designed to make healthy choices easy. It…