BUILD A BRAND O IN TIME FOR SPRING!

03
MARCH 2018

MARCH 2018 £4.10

9 771356 743149

DROP GET XXL

3 KGS ARMS!
O STRENGTH & DEFINITION
MACRO ECONOMICS: HOW ADDED PROTEIN BECAME BIG BUSINESS (P86)

31 NEW FOODS TO
Incinerate Kcals 24/7
/7 PACK ON MUSCLE
19 Ways
y To Hack Yourr REST EASY FOR
Weightloss
W i h l Genes
G BIGGER GAINS
Your Foolprooff Plan
n
BOOST YOUR
DEFEAT FLEX APPEAL!
O K
ANXIETY
R
Reclaim Your Life Todayp488
SPRING / 2018
Guide
To Style
A 22-Page Toolkit

39
Of New Season
Trends For Men
With Taste

THE BIG
TRICKS TO PUT PROTEIN
AGEING ON ICE SWINDLE
How The Macro Was Milked p86
03 8 T
H ISSUE

FITNESS MIND WEIGHTLOSS

P38 LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS P37 CASTROL ZZZ P25 SEEDS OF CHANGE
Boost your stamina stock with our portfolio Why rice bran is the oil change you need to Shake up your mundane meal prep and shop
of endurance tips that go the distance keep you on the road to a better night’s sleep seasonally to reach your body goals sooner

P43 YOGA UNRAVELS... P54 UPGRADE YOUR BRAINPOWER P52 DOWN TO A TEA
Deep breath now – the ancient practice and Just seven days of cardio can supercharge Matcha be damned! Turns out a builder’s can
trending cure-all could be doing you harm your cognitive function. On your bike shift stubborn fat as well as any wellness brew

P96 RAISE THE BAR P56 BRAIN TRAINING P100 FOOLPROOF FAT BURNING
Use our deadlifting masterclass to unlock A father and son compare body and mind in Try our four-week plan to harness the new
the strength benefits of the heavy staple search of the smartest ways to stay sharp science of weightloss. Cutting edge, indeed

STYLE HEALTH NUTRITION

P106 BE A MAN OF ATHLEISURE P30 NOTHING TO SNIFF AT P28 CHICKEN SUPREME
The luxe to-and-from gym gear that will Our guide to treating the common cold at Four ways to give flavoursome wings to the
make you look as good as you feel in 2018 every step. Make this your first defence most reliable feathered protein in the aisles

P116 THE BEAUTIFUL GAME P34 LIQUID INVESTMENTS P62 CULTURED TASTES
‘Terrace casual’ has been scoring freely on Hydration is a Very Good Thing. We uncap Fermenting food might take a bit of time,
the catwalks. This is how you can get onside the best reusable water bottles available but these delicious recipes are worth the wait

P133 FASHION WARS P68 LITTLE WHITE LIES P109 STAY BANG ON COURSE
David Beckham versus Pharrell Williams. MH examines whether the positive effects of Recover faster after tough winter sessions
We unpick the stats on the two style icons placebos are sugar-coated, or worth a pop with this piping, high-protein sausage stew

12 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 IN THIS ISSUE
YOUR GUIDE TO PEAK MIDWINTER
ON THE COVER
P47 GET XXL ARMS
Why lifting less and resting
more is the best way to gain

P48 BEAT WORK ANXIETY

We are lonelier than ever at
work, says author Johann
Hari. Time to take charge

P82 FAT-LOSS HACKS

Tinker with your genetic
settings to cut fat fast

P99 MUSCLE IN A MUFFIN

Breakfast is stacking up nicely
with this post-gym protein fix

P111 BURN KCALS 24/7

A one-move fitness challenge
that will incinerate calories for
24 hours after your final rep

P115 GUIDE TO STYLE

Our seasonal handbook to
refreshing your wardrobe

The
Great
British

PHOTOGRAPHER MILLER MOBLEY

MODEL MICHAEL DUBREE
STYLING BRIAN BOYÉ, SANDRA
NYGAARD & DAN MICHEL
HAIR MELISSA DEZARATE USING
KUSCO MURPHY
GROOMING JESSI BUTTERFIELD/
BIODERMA/TRACEYMATTINGLY.COM
SET DESIGN THERESA RIVERA DESIGN

p86

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 13

THE EXPERT PANEL DEPUTY EDITOR
EDITOR

TOBY WISEMAN
CREATIVE DIRECTOR PHOTO DIRECTOR
BEGIN YOUR WELLBEING WINNING
W STREAK AND LEVEL-UP DAVID MORTON DECLAN FAHY VICI CAVE

YOUR BODY AN
ND MIND, WITTH HELP FROM OUR SIX SPECIALISTS STYLE DIRECTOR
ERIC DOWN
FEATURES EDITOR
SCARLETT WRENCH
WORKFLOW DIRECTOR
EMMA KING
SENIOR DESIGNER EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGER ART DIRECTOR
JESSICA WEBB RACHAEL CLARK TOM PLUMSTEAD
COMMISSIONING EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR
(PRINT AND DIGITAL) (STYLE)
TED LANE MATT HAMBLY
SUBEDITOR DEPUTY STYLE EDITOR PICTURE EDITOR
LEAH CRAIG SHANE C KURUP FRANKIE HILL
STYLE ASSISTANT JUNIOR FITNESS EDITOR
RICCARDO CHIUDIONI MICHAEL JENNINGS
ASSISTANT DIGITAL EDITOR DIGITAL EDITOR ASSISTANT DIGITAL EDITOR
ED COOPER ROBERT HICKS MATT EVANS

MANAGING DIRECTOR RODALE

FIT FOR PURPOSE
BRADLEY SIMMONDS
Take PT and influencer
Simmonds’ lead on how
to build functional muscle
that works for you. It’s
advice worth following gpp40
0 is worth buying into p86
BULK FOR SALE
CHRIS MOHR
With the protein-fortified
foods market increasingly
bloated, dietitian Mohr
examines whether the fad
p entirely different story p48
ALUN WILLIAMS
BALANCING ACT CHIEF BRAND OFFICER, LUXURY, BEAUTY AND HEALTH
JOHANN HARI DUNCAN CHATER
While some professionals EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO CHIEF BRAND OFFICER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR RODALE
NATASHA MANN
argue depression is genetic,
award-winning writer CLIENT DIVISION
Hari’s research unearths an MANAGING DIRECTOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR,
BEAUTY HEALTH AND FITNESS FASHION AND LUXURY
JACQUI CAVE ALUN WILLIAMS JACQUELINE EUWE
DIRECTOR OF SPORT AND HEALTH DIRECTOR OF TRAVEL DIRECTOR OF MOTORS
ANDREA SULLIVAN DENISE DEGROOT JIM CHAUDRY

CLIENT DIRECTOR, CLIENT DIRECT DIRECTOR, CLIENT DIRECT DIRECTOR,

PERSONAL FINANCE HEALTH AND SPORT FASHION AND BEAUTY
JACQUIE DUCKWORTH NATASHA BAILEY EMMA BARNES

AGENCY DIVISION
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JANE WOLFSON
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(0207 439 5276) (0207 297 3480) (0203 728 6247)

CONSUMER SALES AND MARKETING

EMPTY PROMISES
O S S
DR JEREMY HOWICK
Prescribing dummy pills may
seem odd, but physicians
are realising their potential.
Scientist Dr Horwick uncaps
the placebo effect p68
GUT
GU FEELINGS
GS
PAUL GREENING
The head chef at London’s
Aqua Kyoto explores the
benefits of fermented food
to help prime your gut. Oh,
and it tastes amazing p62
STRIKE A POSE MARKETING AND CIRCULATION HEAD OF CONSUMER HEAD OF
LUKE WORTHINGTON DIRECTOR
REID HOLLAND
SALES AND MARKETING
MATTHEW BLAIZE-SMITH
SUBSCRIPTIONS
JUSTINE BOUCHER
Could your downward dog
DIRECTOR OF SPORT AND HEALTH DIRECTOR OF TRAVEL DIRECTOR OF MOTORS
be causing you more harm ANDREA SULLIVAN DENISE DEGROOT JIM CHAUDRY
than good? Sports scientist DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR HEAD OF MARKETING
Worthington helps unwind SEEMA KUMARI JANE SHACKLETON
yoga’s loose facts p43
COMMUNICATIONS SHOWS AND EVENTS PRODUCTION
DIRECTOR DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND PRODUCTION MANAGER
OF COMMUNICATIONS SPONSORSHIP, HEARST LIVE ROGER BILSLAND

THIS ISSUE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY… LISA QUINN

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HR DIRECTOR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ACTING HEAD OF EDITORIAL
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14 MEN’S HEALTH
 62
PAGE
There’s far more to
fermented foods than
cabbage and kombucha –
as our recipe book proves
56
PAGE
Is age ever really
just a number? We pit
father and son against
each other in the
ultimate fitness test
Losing weight needn’t
T 
his is a rather difficult one to
write. At Men’s Health, we pride
ourselves on the connection we
have with our readers; the sense
that we know who you are, what
you want and how you feel. But right
now, I’d venture that I’m in a different
headspace to all of you. That’s because,
the lead times involved in monthly
magazines being what they are, I am
writing this in 2017.
As a matter of fact, I’m in the process
of packing up for Christmas. Shane
MacGowan is currently on Spotify, neatly
contextualising this morning’s hangover
from last night’s office party. And, unlike
your good selves, chief among my current
anxieties are not sticking to New Year
fitness goals or delivering on resolutions,
but what to buy my mother-in-law and
how long it takes to roast a 2kg gammon.
While I realise this will be of little cheer
to a man staring February grimly in the
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
EDITOR’S LETTER
DON’T LET FEBRUARY BRING YOU DOWN. EMBRACE IT
82
PAGE
mean hours of tough
work in the gym.
Science is on hand to
offer the shortcut
PAGE When it comes
to depression,
48
the drugs don’t
always work.
But, according
to new research,
lifestyle changes
make a notable
difference
face, please indulge me. What it has made
me realise more acutely than before is the
extent to which we live conveyor belt
lives. And, more pertinently, how our
hopes and expectations are governed by
an unthinking adherence to a cycle that
is beyond our control. We build up a steam
through November, embrace abandon in
December, pay penance in January and
then endure the cold winds of penurious
late-winter. And so it goes on. And on.
What goes around comes around.
It needn’t be like this. We create this
predictable carousel for ourselves under
the assumption that this is just what
men do. But life is too short to be writing
off two months of the year just for the
sake of a festive-themed cheat week.
As it happens, this issue is largely
based around challenging self-limiting
assumptions. In Generation X vs Y (p56)
74
PAGE
We take a look at how Senegal’s
wrestlers earned superstar status
with little more to train with than
rudimentary gear – and a lot of grit
86
PAGE
The UK’s protein
market is growing at
a rapid pace, but is
our macro obsession
all for the good?
68
PAGE
Knowingly taking
a placebo could have
tangible benefits. MH
conducts its own trials
to test the theory
we pit father against son in a
comprehensive test of health and
fitness, and discover that it’s entirely
possible to outsmart your body clock.
In 24 Ways to Hack Your Fat Loss Genes
(p82) we explain how your DNA is not
immutable. And in Career Lows (p48)
award-winning writer Johann Hari
reveals how extensive research has
taught him that it is lifestyle, not brain
chemicals, that causes depression.
So, please, don’t begrudge me my
Christmas. Instead, embrace your
February. It might not be the most
wonderful time of the year, but there’s
more going for it than you might think.
TOBY WISEMAN
BSME EDITOR OF THE YEAR
Readers, we need your help!
The Big Book Awards is a new
competition to discover the best
emerging titles in UK publishing.
We’d love you to help us assemble
a worthy long list in the health and
wellbeing category. If you’re keen
to join our judging panel, sign up
here: hearstpanel.co.uk/join
MEN’S HEALTH 17
 ASK MH
FAST ANSWERS THAT CUT THROUGH THE NOISE

YOUR PT’S SIZE

WON’T INDICATE
THE BIG HIS CALIBRE

QUESTION

Q
SHOULD I CHOOSE
a few sessions. It’s not that easy.”
The first thing to do is ask a potential
trainer about their own fitness ‘journey’,
plus those of their clients. If they have
CHECK YOUR
BODY OF EVIDENCE
A PT BASED ON THE coached people with similar goals to
you, they’ll have an understanding of
Hit your goals faster with
the most effective training

BODY SHAPE I WANT? the challenges involved. If you want to

method for your body type

DARREN, BIRMINGHAM
No, Darren. At least, no more than you
should choose a doctor based on his
beatific complexion. Of course, you’d
expect your PT to be in good shape,
but any trainer worth their salt is more
WORDS: MICHAEL JENINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT HEARST STUDIOS
YOU’RE AN ECTOMORPH
lose weight, for example, it’s far more YOU NEED BODYBUILDING  
important to look at their track record If you’re lean, try a
in securing results than their own body- split of two upper- and lower-
body sessions, finishing with
fat percentage. In terms of experience: 10min of metcon twice a week.
“Your trainer should have a minimum
of five years in the industry, with more YOU’RE AN ENDOMORPH
YOU NEED HIIT
than just a single qualification,” says

For bigger frames

than just a walking set of abs. Besides,
the first person you should examine
is yourself. “Understanding your own
genetic make-up is crucial,” says Andy
Vincent, PT at London’s Third Space.
“If you’re predisposed to skinniness and
struggle to gain muscle mass, flexing
18in arms in eight weeks will be a hard
ask, however your PT is built. It’s a
mistake to size up a potential candidate
thinking you’ll look like them after
Vincent. “Ideally, they’ll also have some
sort of nutrition certification, because
your diet is often the biggest challenge.”
Credentials aside, the best PTs are
the ones willing to put the time in and
invest in your progress. But, remember:
you could be training under Jason
Statham and still not get anywhere
unless you have enough determination
in your own locker. For serious results,
the most important member of your
team is the one in the mirror.
that struggle to shake fat, try
bodyweight sessions which
keep rest periods short.
YOU’RE A MESOMORPH
YOU NEED CROSSFIT
With adding muscle
not a problem, the intensity
of resistance-based circuits
will suit your athleticism.

M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
MENS
ME NSHE
NS H AL
ALTH
TH.C
TH .CCO
CO.
O.UK
UK M N’
ME
MEN’S
N’SS HEALTH
H ALLTTHH 19
HE 1
 ASK MH
INJECT LIFE INTO YOUR NUTRITION PLAN

TEXT A
LAWYER
I’ve just had another kid, so I’m
needed more at home. Will my
boss let me work out of office?

You’re entitled to ask for flexible

working if you’ve been there 26 weeks.
Not that your boss has to agree…

We’re on good terms, though,

and I’ve been hitting all my
targets. Why would he say no?

Well, business comes first. If

he thinks your absence will
affect your quality of work, his
grounds to reject you are fair.

Embarrassing emotional
scenes aside, what’s the best DON’T FRET IF YOUR
way for me to convince him? FIVE-A-DAY PLAN’SS
GONE OUT OF DATEE

Q
Go in with a proposal. Explain how
it would improve your efficiency
and be prepared to negotiate.

Asking for one or two days at home

– plus morning phone catch-ups –
could bring him round to the idea.
Right. So I should prep ASAP or
forget about my dream home office.
Look, employers want happy workers.
If that means conference-calling in
your dressing gown, so be it.
Philip Landau,
PL
employment lawyer
ANCIENT SOLUTION
TO A MODERN PROBLEM
I FIND FORCING DOWN
N MY FIVE-A-DAY
DREADFULLY BORING. CAN I CHEAT THE SYSTEM?
CONNOR, LEEDS
While we’d never tell you your fruit-
and-veg quota doesn’t matter, it does
represent just one small piece of the
wellbeing jigsaw. In fact, Queen’s
University Belfast found that green
diets have little effect on heart health
markers like blood pressure if your
other daily habits aren’t up to scratch.
“Cardiovascular disease can be
avoided, but it’s about investing
energy into your lifestyle and mindset,
not just your five-a-day,” says sports
nutritionist Matt Crane. “Completing
10,000 steps a day and prioritising
sleep are small commitments that
have a big impact, with or without a
side salad.” So, while nutrition remains
the cornerstone of good health, you
can rest easy knowing it’s possible to
compensate for some of the deficit.

Q My office assistant has invited

me to his birthday drinks. Do
I really have to show my face?
Daniel, Derby
SWAP SHOP Nailing your nutrients needn’t be a bore: load up on these surprising superfoods
i/ BURRITO > BROCCOLI ii/ CHOCOLATE > BLUEBERRIES iii/ POPCORN > KALE  
The pinto beans crammed The Hershey Center for Screen-snack with
into your lunch wrap have Health and Nutrition found impunity. The American

A You can discover more about

a person in an hour of play
than in a year of conversation.
Plato, Greek philosopher, 400BC
74% of your folate RDA, a
B-vit that helps create red and white
blood cells and prevent anaemia.
Broccoli provides just 42%.
the dark variety has more
flavonols – proven to improve brain
health and blood vessel function –
Chemical Society found
that popcorn hulls have a higher
concentration of anti-inflammatory
than the popular superfruit. polyphenols and fibre than kale.

20 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 EDITED BY TED LANE

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MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEEN
N’’S HE
HEEAL
ALTH
ALTH 23
23
 A
01 02
RECIPE FOR STOCK UP TO
SUCCESS GET LEAN

WEIGHTLOSS
NEWSFEED
03/18
SEASON’S
EA
EATINGS
Forr year-round health,
stocck your kitchen
with some of nature’s
rec
ecommendations

WINTER

P
S R • Mussels
• Sweet potatoes
• Apples

S L B
Best for: Vit C for a
boo
b osted immune system

FA quarterlyy update ofo SPRING

your
y shopping list iss • Lamb
e
enough to ripen youu
ur • New potatoes
• Grapefruit
w g
weightloss potentiaal Beest for: Dietary fibre
foor healthy digestion

I
f you’ve remained faithhful SUMMER
to the eating plan you sset
yourself on 1 January,
we applaud both your
intentions and resolve. But before
be o e • Mackerel
you meal-prep yet another b batch • Courgettes
of chicken and kale, consider bacteria than their overweightg peers. • Strawberries
the latest research: swappingng your Researchers believe a cyclical eating Be for: Vitamin K for
Best
adherence to a strict meal rota for a plan consisting of updated ingredients cardiovascular health
’ TIS THE SEASON
seasonally attuned approach can give encourages the growth of fat-burning TO EAT PURPLE
your weightloss a healthy fertilising. microbial cultures that are not found SPROUTING BROCCOLI AUTUMN
A study that followed nomadic tribes in the heavily processed diets of most
in Tanzania, published in the journal Westerners. But you needn’t regress
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33

Science, found that a diet based on to hunter-gatherer tactics just yet.

seasonal availability contributed to
a 30% increase in gut microbiome
diversity, a quality linked to improved
mental health, increased energy levels
and, most interestingly, a well-stoked
metabolism. In fact, separate studies
show lean men have 70% more gut
Ditching supermarket shopping, where • Duck
ingredients are often imported, for • Pumpkins
your local grocer’s offerings will make • Plums
you more aware of changing seasons Best for: Iron for muscle
and ingredients. Which, in turn, will and brain function
stop you becoming reliant upon your
tedious, repetitive shopping list.
Cast your net (or reusable shopping
bag) closer to home. It’s the smartest
way to flick your gut’s evolutionary
fat-loss switch. Without a one-way
ticket to East Africa, that is.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 25

 A 03
CORE
REACTION

THE BEST
S
EXERCISE
E SE
DETONATE 01
SIDE EFFECT
CT
YOU’RE
YO
NOT
NO DOING
O G
FAT & LOAD Stand with your feet
shoulder-widthh apart,
positioned at one side
p
d

UP NEW ABS

WORDS: WILL ROWLATT ALLEN | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN | STYLING: ABENA OFEI | MODEL: LEE PHILLIPS AT ANDI PETERS’ MODELS | TRACK PANTS LULULEMON.CO.UK, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK
of the barbell. Hinge
H g
at your hips to b bend d
forwards and hoold d tthee
Prep your core training for weighted end oof the
explosive impact with h the
h barbell
b bell with
ith oonee hhand. d

TWISTING LAND
CLEAN AND PRE
DMINE
ESS. Grab b
Brace
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yourself
y
b in particula
– yyour
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GRIP AND RIP
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ubborn Twisting
T g through
h gh
your
y core to face
belly is about to geet blasted the
th weight,
gh quickly
kl
pull
p the barbell up p

W
and
a d across your
ith every passing
body, turning g 90
week, the e promises
degrees
d as you do
d
you made e to
so.
so Maintain
t a fflatt
become a leaner,
l ,
back throughout
stronger you in 2018 inv variably
to
t minimise your
wear thinner. But there e’s no
risk of injury.
need to settle on that pllateau. Put
a batch of explosives un nderneath
it, instead. The twistingg llandmine
d
clean and press is a dyn namic move
that not only targets your abs, but
your obliques, too. Unlik ke a crunch,
the twist-to-press transsition
engages multiple muscl cle ggroups,
as well as your core, to fast
f track
your six-pack endeavou urs. The
extra calorie burn and metabolism
metabo s
boost from working mo ore muscle
fibres will blow away th he excess
fat camouflaging your abs.a .
“This may be a compound
03
S SOLID
SET D
exercise, but don’t deplloy y it as
As the weight
A
a primary lift, like a squ
uat, deadlift
reeaches
h your
or bench press,” says strrength h
shoulder height,
and conditioning specialist
ialist Andy
sink intoto a halff
Haley. “It’s best used in the middle
sqquat. Get
of your workouts with lighter loads.”
co o t b e
comfortable
This allows you to work in higher
rep ranges, maximising muscle
inn this athletic AIM HIGH
H
sttance
ce and d Explode
E l d through
h h
growth and fat loss across your
m
mentally y ffire up
p y hips
your p and push
p
midsection to expedite results.
y
your muscles l t weight up from
the
Haley recommends adding it to
foor the final
f push. y shoulder, fully
your f
your sessions three times a week to
extending your arm
see half a dozen well-defined results
o e he d Lower
overhead. o e
come springtime. Fire in the hole!
and repeat
p on the
othe sside.
other de Nowo
pull the trigger
gg on
3 sets of 20 reps..
WHAT
YOU’LL
GAIN MILITARY-GRADE SINGLE-DIGIT
ABS BODY FAT
EXPLOSIVE
POWER
PO R

26 MEN’S HEALTH M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO UK
 THE HEALTH
SNOB’S GUIDE TO

8
0 3/ 1

CHICKEN
To rescue this nutritional
powerhouse from bland
02
HAVE A BUTCHER’S
meal-prep purgatory, T prep your bird fo
To o a
or poultry y shears (£37
£3
week’s worth of lunches, allianceonline.co.uk),
a )
teach the old bird some start with h a Victorin n
nox upend
p the bird and cut
new and nutritious tricks ssharpening steel (£ 36 6 through
th gh the
h rib b cage
g and d
nisb
nis
isbets.co.uk) k) to g ive your shoulder joints to separate
Wüsthofhof boning kn ife (£30 £ t breast from
the f the back.

01 THE PECKING ORDER

Chicken is the ubiquitous muscle food. But whether her clipped
knivesandt
i esa ndtools.co
dt
a professionall ed
rreach for a chopping
o
o.uk)
edge.. Now
ng
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g board
Place
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into your Tupperware or served cheekily at Nand do’s,

’ it can that’s
h ’ h heavy enough h notot to it into two pieces.
p To divide
quickly become, well, a bit boring. We’re here to ffree y you from sl
slide
d around d as you carve – t legs,
the g cut between the
the monotony. With the help of Romain Bourrillo on of Notting
g oone e that co
com
comes with h a spike joints along the white fat f
Hill rotisserie Cocotte, let us reignite your relation
nship
h with h rring (£(£20 llakeland
k landnd.co.
co.uk) line
ine and separate the thigh g
the feathered superfood to make it an altogetherr tastier but willll h
help
l with h that,
h ttoo – and d from the d drumstick.
u st . That’s at s
no-less-powerful proposition. We’re cock-a-hoop p about it. turn the h chicken
h k on n its side.
d seven portio
p rtions
tions fro
from
fr one
Bend d each h lleg b
backkuuntill the
h chicke
cken,
ke all in just
thighbone
h hb pops outt and d cut five minu nutes .
A BREAST
This cut is a staple in the d
to detach h them
h m
com l l
mpletely.
gym-goer’s fridge for very Next, pull ll each h wingg away,
good reason. Each 100g
1 portion c h
cutting through h the
he
e joints
packs around 23g of o protein, to remove them. h w
Sw
wap to
similar to that of your standard
shake – only without that sickly,
y
chalky strawberry afftertaste.

B WING
Don’t flap about sticcking to your
weightloss plan. Ressearchh published
bl h d
in Molecular Metaboolismsm found
ou d
that the amino acids in moreishh
wing meat target a group of brainn
cells that help you ffeell fuller
f ll morre
quickly. A smart choice in our boook.

C THIGH
Although more calorific, the hhigh
monounsaturated fat contentt
found in thighs has a positivee effect
on your cardiovascular diseaase and
stroke risk, according to ressearch
published in Circulation. The b ss
he basis
of a truly hearty meal, then
en.

D DRUMSTICK
The darker leg meat is richer
r in
B vitamins, chiefly B3, oor niacin,
which promotes genom mic stability
and regular cell divisioon, making
k
tumour growth less liikely. It clips
your cancer risk, bassically,
ll says
a Nutrition and Cance
ncer sstudy..

28 MEN’S HEALTH
 04
FLOCKS
O OOF
N TRIENTS
NUTRIENTS
055
FOWL
O L
PLAY A
03
S
START FROM
OM
M
SC C
SCRATCH
The
T e Colonel
Co o e cacan
keepp his 11 herbs
a
and spices.
p Here,
Bourrillon g gives y
you
four simple and ta a
astyy
recipes
p that are
p
plump p full of heallth
l
a
and fitness benefits,,
w
with a free rangeg of
o
fresh flavours. Forrget
rg
finger
g lickin’ good
g d
– these are ‘lick yo
our A B
plate clean and ge et RE-FEED SLOW
W CHI
HICKEN
HICK
CCKKEN
EN AND
ND CAARRRROOT FEATHEERWEIGHT
E G ASIAN
S WINGS
GS
down the gym’
gy goodg od.
SERVES 2 METHOD SERVES 4 METHOD O
Chicken breasts, 2 Marinate the breasts, cover and leavee C
Chicken wings, 1kg g Whisk together the olive oil, rice
For the marinade: for an hour. Cook them at 90°C for 90 O
Olive oil, 140ml g soy sauce, salt, sesame oil
vinegar,
Garlic cloves, 2, minutes, then remove and rest them R
Rice vinegar, 140ml gave syrup in a bo
and agave bowll aand then
chopped for 20, before grilling for an extra 15 Soy sauce, 3½tsp
sauce 3½ts
3½t add the wings and refrigerate for 30
Olive oil, 100ml to crisp the skin. Bolster your immune Salt, 1tsp minutes. While heating the vegetable
Lemon zest, 5g system by roasting the carrots for 20 Toasted sesame oil, 1tsp oil in a deep pan to 180°C, combine
JJUMP
MPING Salt & Pepper, 2g minutes at 230°C (their beta-carotene Agave syrup, 1tsp the potato starch with the flour and
THROUGH
TH For the puree:
Carrots,
Carrots 8
boosts T-cell production), blitzing
with the cumin and butter in a food
Vegetable oil, 1L
Potato
P starch, 40g
coat the wings. Fry five at a time for
seven minutes, drain on a wire cooling
CCOOPS Butter, 2tbspp
Ground cumin, 2tspp
p p
processor. Spoon on with MasterChef
M
g the breasts on top..
flair, placing
rChef Quick-mixing
Quick mixing flour, 40g
Q rack for three minutes and then serve
with a squeeze
q off Sriracha for
f a kick.
Use Bourrillon’s
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: LOUISA PARRY | FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS

top tips for thee

best bird buyss

THE OLD BIRD

Go to your local
butcher’s and get
specific. A well-grown,
healthy chicken
should weigh around
1.2kg and be between
56 and 81 days old.

S O S MODE
SPORTS O EL
E
You’re looking g for
f r an
t ete Thee tast
athlete. t stieer
meat comes ffroom
sstrongg chickenns
th
that are in goood
sshape.
p Check ffor firm
meat and d long
l ng legs.. C D
MEDITERRANEA
EAAN CH
CHIC
ICKE
KEEN
N TH
THIG
IGH SSAALA
L D DDRR’SS ORDERS CHICKEN AN
AND
ND MOREL
MOORE
M REL PASTA
REL PASTA
PA ST
ST
SSERVESS 4 O
METHOD SE
SERVES 4 METHOD
Chicken
C thighs, 8 Cook the carrots and onion in a p pan Chicken drumsticks, 8
C In a small pan, boil up the stock and
Carrots, 2, dicedd f three minutes. Mix in
with oil for Chicken stock, 1½L
C remove it from the hob. Add the anti-
FARM FRESH An onion, diced the garlic, water and olives, high in Dried morels, 45g
D inflammatory morels, leave to sit for
Free range is good, Garlic cloves, 5 BP-lowering oleic acid, then add the Cornstarch, 2tsp 30 minutes and then whisk in the
but for the tastiest Water, 150ml chicken and cook on a low heat for Butter, 2tsp cornstarch. In a separate pan, cook the
chicken, go organic. Green olives, 500g, pitted 45 minutes. In the meantime, boil up An onion, diced drumsticks for four minutes in butter
Flock size is limited For the salad: the quinoa, combining it with the salad Garlic cloves, 2, sliced with the onions and garlic. Add the
to 1000 and birds Quinoa, 1 70g once it’s cooked and dressing with oil, Whisky, 70ml stock, whisky, cream and mustard and
will spend a third of A red pepper, sliced balsamic vinegar and crumbled feta Single cream, 140ml simmer for an hour, turning the chicken
their lives outside. Cucumber, ½, sliced cheese. Plate up with the thighs and Dijon mustard, 2tsp over in the last 15 minutes. Cook the
Tomatoes, 150g, halved extra olives for a taste of the Med. Tagliatelle, 250g pasta, toss in the sauce and gobble.

MENSSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 29

 A 06
DEBUG YOUR
BODY

02
RUN WITH IT
01 Once hit, most believe
the cold virus is the direct
AIRBORNE
WHAT ATTACK
cause of your chronic nose
tap. However, according
HAPPENS More than 200 virus strains to the American Journal

…I GET
can cause the common cold, of Respiratory and Critical
WHEN… spreading through the air in Care Medicine, your
tiny droplets when an infected symptoms are actually

ANothing
COLD?makes the
person coughs or sneezes.
Contact with your mouth, nose
or eyes is enough to catch
the bug – so wash your hands
your body’s inflammatory
immune response to fight
the infection. Your sore nasal
passages will continue to
bleak mid-winter more thoroughly and keep them produce excess mucus until
to yourself. Beware: your your cold is defeated. It’s
grim than succumbing colleagues are at their most best you stock up on Kleenex
to man flu. Here’s how contagious during the earliest and ride this one out.
days of a cold. Hot-desk at
you can fortify your a distance, in other words. 03
defences and blow away
the rhinovirus for good

02 04

01

FINISH WINTER
WITHOUT ANY
ILL FEELINGS
04 05

03
PLAY THE HEAVY
With your body’s inflammatory
response (and nostrils) in full
flow, your T- and B-lymphocytes
begin their counterattack
FOOD FOR
SUPPORT
Too run-down to train? The
old adage that you should
feed a cold actually has legs.
In a study by the Laboratory
for Experimental Internal
05
DOWN YOUR RISK
The average man contracts up
to four colds a year, so as your
symptoms subside, double
down on your defence strategy.
WORDS: LEAH CRAIG | ILLUSTRATIONS: PETER GRUNDY

against the infection. If your
symptoms are above the neck,
you can support them with
a workout. Yale Uni found the
virus replicates better at cool
temperatures. One 45-minute
session will simulate the
physiological conditions of
a fever, boosting your body
temperature and, in turn, slowing
your immune system’s enemies.
Medicine, ill subjects who
were given a 1200kcal meal
experienced a 450% increase
in gamma interferon, a
compound that supercharges
your immunity. Also, Finnish
scientists found that lozenges
containing infection-fighting
zinc cut cold duration by 30%.
They’ll help you suck it up.
The University of Helsinki
found topping up your vit C
with a glass of OJ at breakfast
halves both the incidence
and duration of colds. Plus,
Carnegie Mellon University
discovered that stress slows
your immune response, so start
imposing an at-home email
ban. You’ve won the battle
– now prepare to win the war.
 VERSUS
07
10
DAIRY
YOUR VOCAL
TALES
COACH
08
KERNELS
OF TRUTH A
COW
VS NUT

MILK THE BENEFITS

Any cornerstone off human nutrition can, it seems, be
repackaged for
f the health conscious. But are trendy nut
alternatives
l really
lly worth
h abandoning
b d g the
h udder
dd ones?

COW T
VSS
£240m
The falll in total T
155%
The last recorded d
UK dairry milk increase
c e se for
o nuut
n the p
sales in past ‘milk’ ssales over
es o e a
two yeaars. Bad d two-year period d,
news foor farmers; all
ll thanks
h k to th he
good neews for your continuing trend fo or
wallet aas prices drop
d plant-based
l b d nutrition n

An exceellent source of riboflavin, or vit B2,

2 FRESH
S SSCIENCEE A major component in most anti-ageing
dairy milk
m (no, not the chocolate) boosts your p
products, almond milk’s vitamin E levels make
metaboliic rate,
t speeding
d up your calorie
l burn
b n iit a fountain of youth. Bathing in it won’t help
Current
C Medicinal Chemistryy D
Dermato-Endocrinology

GLASS HALF FULLL

30% 6.4G 7.2G 30% 0.8G 2.2G

Per 200ml*
Per 200ml

Calcium RDA Protein Fat Calcium RDA Protein Fat

HALF EMPTY
*OF FORTIFIED NUT MILK | WORDS: ED COOPER | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT HEARST STUDIOS

High calorie Lactose intolerance Antibiotic risk Goes off quickly Expensive High in sugar Allergy potential Not actually milk

The bro-approved GOMAD (gallon of milk GONE SOUR According to the World Health Organisation,
a day) diet is popular among hard-gainers. almond and cashew milks have been found to
But all that blue top milk equates to 77g of leave enthusiasts with an iodine deficiency,
saturated fat, supersizing your CVD risk an easily preventable cause of brain damage

JERSEY MILK K STAR PLAYER

ER COOCONUT MILK
It’s bursting with more protein (about 18%)), Loocked and loaded with MCT (medium-chain
plus higher levels of calcium, vitamin A and trriglycerides), it’s a potent source of mental
vitamin D, than your corner shop variet y energy. Add to coffee for extra focus
en

THE MH VERDICT: COW WINS!

While nut milk is a valid, vegan-friendly alternative, it relies on being fortified with vitamins
and minerals. Dairy, however, is brimming with both and farms out more protein and healthy
fats with every swig. For pure nutrition – and, let’s be honest, taste – stick with the herd

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 33

PURE LIQUID
INVESTMENT
This month, the MH Lab
deep dives into hydration,
uncapping the best bottles
around to make sure your
performance
formance isn’t
isn t diluted

F
irst, the science: hydration
is important. Very
important. In fact, if
you’re serious about
exercise (which we assume
you are), then you should
know that losing just
2.5% of your water weight
results in a 45% decrease
in your performance
during HIIT. Your calorie
burn literally dries up.
The common
prescription of six to
eight cups is outdated, too.
Research conducted by The
National Academies of Sciences,
ICE
C KLEAN GREAT OUTDOORS
Engineering and Medicine 72/100
0 77/100
determined that men need an Klean Kanteen Reflect LifeStraw Go Filter Bottle
£22 andkeep.com £35 cotswoldoutdoor.com
average of 3.7 litres of fluid per day
– that’s more than six full pints. Performance
e o ce •••••••
•••••••••• Performance ••••••••••
But simply refilling the old Designn ••••••••••
•••••••
• Design ••••••••••
plastic bottle at your desk won’t Ease
se oof use ••••••••••
••••••• Ease of use ••••••••••
cut it. Although many companies BASIC C C With no paint n
S C DECENCY nor ALL THE FILTERS The adventurer’s
have removed harmful BPAs from plastic, this is simplicity at its best.
b essential. This bottle allows you to
their products, new research has Thanks to its polished interior, this fill up at a river, stream or puddle and
revealed that refilling unwashed bottle doesn’t retain or impart sip filtered water. Plus, for each one
Evian bottles exposes you to flavours, keeping your water fresh. purchased, a child in a developing
WORDS: TED LANE | PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN FEE

900,000 bacteria per square
centimetre. And not the good kind.
There is now a glut of reusable
bottles on the market – even Pret
is in on the act – but not all beakers
are created equal. The product
team at the Good Housekeeping
Institute tested the flasks hoping
to clean up your drink problem.
Plus, it’s backed with a guarantee,
so you can return it if you break it.
EXPERT VERDICT The uninsulated
design held this one back. Although
it made no claims to the contrary,
cool liquids warmed by 6.4ºC after
12 hours. It was also uncomfortably
icy to the touch when filled with
cold water. However, the bottle was
leak-free and dishwasher safe.
country will receive safe drinking
water for an entire school year.
EXPERT VERDICT The rubber
mouthpiece is easy to use, but you
have to suck quite hard. It didn’t leak
and is pretty tough – although the
filter gives the water a plastic taste.
Worth the outlay for wild weekends.

3 MEN’S HEALTH
34 M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO K
 PO
09
POUR OOVER
THE
T FACTSS
00
10
WATER
MARKSS
MARKS A

MHH
WINNER

TEST
THE WATER
Everyday items
like these bottles
require simple yet
specific trials. This
is how our experts
ran the numbers

COUNTING DOWNS
73/100
Joseph Joseph Dot
£10 josephjoseph.com
Performance ••••••• ••
Design ••••••••••
Ease of use ••••••••••
SPOT ON Made from BPA-free plastic,
this cleverly designed bottle helps
you track your hydration goals.
The lid displays a new dot each
time you refill, so opt for the 600ml
version and mark off seven in one
day to hit just above your H2O RDA.
EXPERT VERDICT The dot system
was useful for tracking your daily
goal, but it was easy to accidentally
increase dots when securing the lid.
There was no leakage, even when
upside down, and although it’s not
designed for hot liquids, temperature
only decreased by 5.2ºC in 12 hours.
COLD FACTS
After filling
with icy
water and taking
GET THE HUMP the temperature, the
81/100 bottles were left for
12-24 hours before
CamelBak Chute Vacuum being tested again,
£40 cotswoldoutdoor.com with any rises noted.
Performance •••••••••• CANNED
Design •••••••••• HEAT
Ease of use •••••••••• Heat is harder
to retain but, following
THIRSTY WORKS This vacuum- the same process,
insulated bottle keeps liquids cold bottles were retested
for 24 hours and hot for six. Its steel between six and 12
shell keeps condensation at bay hours later and degree
drops recorded.
and the narrow mouthpiece stops
spillages. Plus, at 1.2L, it’s a beast. WORTH
EXPERT VERDICT Being so sturdy, BOTTLING
there was no leakage – but it is heavy Finally, on
to the added extras:
and hard to grip when full. The star they were put in the
performer in the heat tests: cold dishwasher, upended
liquids lost only 2ºC in temperature for leaks and sipped
in 24 hours and hot liquids lost just on the go to test
the mouthpieces.
9.6ºC after the advertised six hours.
PULL A CORK
75/100
Corkcicle Canteen
£25 root7.com
Performance ••••••••••
Design ••••••••••
Ease of use ••••••••••
CAN’S NOT HOT Stylish and crafted
from stainless steel with triple
insulation, this bottle makes bold
claims of keeping drinks ice cold
for 25 hours and hot for 12. Smart
extras include a wide opening to fit
ice cubes and a slip-proof bottom.
EXPERT VERDICT It’s comfortable to
sip from, but would benefit from a
mouthpiece for drinking on the go. Its
capacity is small due to the insulation,
which was hit and miss in our test.
Over 12 hours, hot liquid lost 28ºC
of warmth; over 25 hours, cold only
gained 2.8ºC. Save this for sunny days.

M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO K MEN’S HEALTH 35
 11
POUR
CHOICES
12
FATS AND
FIGURES A
HIT THE BOTTLE
BEFORE BED AND SINK sleeping problems. A chemical found
STRESS FOR GOOD in rice bran oil has been proven to
combat the effects of sleeplessness FRYING HIGH
borne out of the office. Know when to drizzle and
Research published in the journal when to deep-fry by poring
Nutrients found that phytosterols over our guide to the
in this oil have a potent hypnotic smoking points of oils
effect. Firstly, ferulic acid lowers
levels of the hormone serotonin in AVOCADO OIL
your blood. Normally associated Temp: 271°C

SMOKING HOT
with happiness, serotonin levels also Best for:
rise during the day when exposed High-temperature frying
to sunshine, helping you to feel more Health benefit: Lowers
awake. Keep them in check, then, bad ‘LDL’ cholesterol
and you should drift off more easily.
Another phytosterol in rice bran COCONUT OIL
oil, y-oryzanol, also inhibits your Temp: 232°C
histamine receptors. Histamine Best for: Baking
is an inflammatory agent released Health benefit: MCTs

CHANGE YOUR by your immune system that can

put your body on edge at around
3am. Block the receptors and you
can help fire up
your metabolism

OIL & SLIP INTO should sleep right through.

Crucially, scientists at the University
OLIVE OIL
Temp: 191°C

DEEPER SLEEP
Rice bran oil is your new cure
of Tsukuba in Japan found these
benefits to be specific to those
suffering from anxiety-induced
insomia, by targeting and lowering
Best for:
Drizzling over salad
Health benefit: Reduces
risk of heart disease
for the stresses of insomnia. levels of stress hormones in the blood.

COOLING OFF
Of course, you needn’t give BUTTER
Try this fix for golden slumber up your extra virgin altogether Temp: 135°C
(nor a generous dash of balsamic Best for:
and some crusty bread). But when Spreading on bread

A
s more and more British deadline anxiety kicks in, a swap Health benefit: Rich in
men notch up 50 hours to rice bran oil for your evening vitamins A, E and K2
at the office each week, meal will provide a simple, tasty
it comes as little surprise fix for undisrupted shuteye.
that many of us are walking, zombie-
like, towards a mental health crisis.
Britain’s reputation as one of the
world’s most perennially tired
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT HEARST STUDIOS

nations – with one in three now

regularly suffering from insomnia
– is an exhausting symptom
of work-related stress,
a problem to which
we lose 12.5 million
working days each year.
But now that we’ve jolted NUTRITION
you awake with some nightmarish
statistics, here is some dreamier NEWSFEED
news. According to researchers,
a simple oil change in the kitchen
03/18
can cure your stress-related

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 37

 A 1
13
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O R
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max by 16%. If it’s good your blood to expand hold on tight and melt
True fitness means being able
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DOWN
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Pre-run stretches DOWN
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Focus on getting reschedule your 6am
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muscle fibres, instead. enjoy an extra hour in
Journal of Strength and bed boosts muscular
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You’re getting fitter in
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JAMA
WORDS: MATT EVANS | ILLUSTRATIONS: INFOMEN

DOWN DOWN HOLD

HIGHS ARE LOWS
Hill running is often
touted as a stamina-
booster, but flat terrain
actually spikes your
endurance potential.
Give it your level best.
South Dakota
State University
38 MEN’S HEALTH
POWDER HABIT SHORT-TERM PAIN…
Drop the pre-workout …Long-term gain. Just
UP scoop: 3-6mg of 12min of all-out intervals
F**K THE HATERS caffeine per kg of your (that’s three rounds of
Flagging in the gym? bodyweight is optimal Tabata a week) can up
Swearing mid-set for stamina. Your your VO2 max by 10%
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an energy boost. Journal of Strength mean it’ll be fun, mind.
So ignore the dirty and Conditioning Norwegian University
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Keele University
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
 HOW I
BUILT MY
BODY
DOUBLE-TAP
YOUR INNER
ATHLETICISM
PT and social media fitness
mogul Bradley Simmonds
wants to upgrade your
potential in 2018. All you
need to do is follow on
I
nstagram’s a funny one,
isn’t it? On the one hand,
it’s a bottomless source of
#fitspiration, spurring you
on to be your best self. On the
other, it’s an unregulated vortex
of extreme opinions, fake news
and dangerous pseudoscience.
Which is what makes Bradley
Simmonds’ even-handed use
of the platform to promote his
fitness philosophy so refreshing –
and, as a result, very successful.
Though we’re sure the lycra-clad
models in his videos also help.
His fitness journey – to
appropriate the parlance of his
chosen medium – began after
an ACL injury cut short his
footballing career at Queen’s Park
Rangers. Still in a cast, he began
studying for his PT qualifications
at 19. “I’m not someone who can
easily relax or take a break,”
Simmonds says. “I need to keep
myself active and ticking over.”
It’s thanks to this drive that he
now counts Theo Walcott and
John Terry among his athlete
clientele. How did he get on their
radar? “I just sent them a DM on
THE MOTIVATOR
Bradley Simmonds, PT
and fitness influencer
INSTAGRAM
@bradleysimmonds
40 MEN’S HEALTH
GROW YOUR FEED
Try Simmonds’ Instagram tactics
to add bulk to your own following
REACH OUT
Identify the people you want to
Instagram,” he says. “That’s it.” work with and message them.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Collaborate on content and
Despite finding success after then piggyback off their follower base.
his footballing career, it’s his
STRIKE A BALANCE
sports background that forms the
bedrock of his training principles.
“I like to mix cardio and strength
Ensure your posts are not just
attractive, but useful. Don’t show
off what you can do; show others
exercises. I’m not training for
how it will make me look – I’m
training because I want my body
what they need to do to reach their goals.
SCHEDULE SUCCESS
Post at peak times. Share workout
to function well. So I do a lot videos at 9pm for people to try
more endurance work than the next day and then a snap at
lunchtime when they’re on their phones.
people might expect,” he says.
Mirror muscles hold little
allure to Simmonds. “Someone
who is ripped might not be able
to run a 10K,” he says. “What
does that say about them? Are
they truly fit?” It’s this mindset
that has seen him combine his
signature social media HIIT
workouts with various fitness
challenges. Last year, he cycled
the 178km L’Etape du Tour, ran
the London Marathon and began
boxing in earnest, with his mind
on a fight in the near future.
And to those who hold the
outdated notion that stamina and
size are oxymoronic, Simmonds
has a simple yet compelling
response. “Look at Cristiano
Ronaldo. He is ripped, but his
10%
day-to-day workouts are filled
with HIIT, followed by a 10-mile
run on match day,” he says. “True
athletes mix cardio with weights.
It’s my aim to empower people
with the platform I have and
help them realise that you don’t
actually have to be an athlete BODY FAT
to train like one.” MH likes this.
We think you will, too.
SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN AND SPORTFX
WORDS: TED LANE | GROOMING: NATACHA
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
 14
FIT FOR
PURPOSE
15
FOLLOW THE
LEADER A

THE FITNESS TRIFECTA

Follow Simmonds’ ethos for
all-round excellence and target
strength, stamina and functional
muscle in just one workout

01// DEADLIFTS
4 sets of 5 reps, 2min rest
With feet wider than shoulder-width,

15"
bend your knees and grab the bar
with an overhand grip (A). Set your
coree and
d ppinchh yyour shoulders,
h ld thhen
stand p (B).
nd up (B) Lower underd controol.
BICEPS

02// TREADMILL SPRINTS

8 sets of 20sec on, 10sec off
For a stamina-boosting finisher,
increase the treadmill speedo until
you’re at an all-out sprint. Hop
off to the side after 20sec and
rest for 10sec. Deep breaths, now.

B
PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM WATKINS | ALL CLOTHING ADIDAS.CO.UK

40
MIN A

03/ ASSISTED ED CHIN

CHIN-UPS
N UPS
4 sets of 12 reps, 60sec rest
Hanging from a bar, tuck your knees
10K TIME into a band so they take your weight
(A). Engage your lats to propel your
chin above the bar (B). Lower, your
core tight, then hang on for 11 more.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 41


THE DEVIL’S
ADVOCATE
STOP YOGA TYING
YOU UP IN KNOTS
To many, a spot of downward dogging
is the remedy to all your physical and
mental woes. That’s not just a stretch,
it’s a licence for more harm than good
C
lose your eyes, take a deep
breath and try to relax – because
you might not like what you’re
*PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH | WORDS: DAN MASOLIVER | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT HEARST STUDIOS | ELASTIC BANDS COURTESY OF RYMAN.CO.UK
about to hear. The truth is that
the fitness industry is a pendular one,
where one diametrically opposed craze
soon replaces another. For the past
few years, the trend has been
hardcore HIIT workouts and
heavy weights. We men, in
particular, threw ourselves into
these macho disciplines with
gusto. And now we are broken 1 .
Enter yoga: a centuries-old practice
promising to relax both your body and
mind. The tightness in your hips?
Opened. That lower back pain?
Eased. Your all-consuming,
blood pressure-elevating
stress levels? Exhaled.
These days, yoga
is seen as the
Ayurvedic
antidote to all
that ails you. And men are unfurling their
mats by the millions, with blokes now
representing an unprecedented
28% of all downward doggers.
The bitter irony, however,
is that while yoga provides no
guarantee that it will heal you,
it could even break you further.
A recent study published in the Journal
of Bodywork and Movement Therapies
found that in 10% of all practitioners,
yoga didn’t reduce, but actually caused
M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
MENSHEALTH
S H.CO.UK
CO UK
ASSESS YOUR
musculoskeletal pain. And if you’re
thinking of taking it up as part of an injury
rehabilitation programme, hold on to
your tights: the same study found that
21% of existing injuries were exacerbated
– not solved – by going with the flow.
Perhaps the most insidious risk of this
purported panacea is that you might not
know the extent of the damage you’ve
caused until it’s too late. While a strained
hamstring would be obvious, injuries to
connective tissues such as joint capsules,
ligaments and tendons are another story.
With no blood supply or pain transmitters,
you can overstretch them and they won’t
hurt. But they won’t heal, either. Plus,
over time, you can displace a joint, create
an alignment issue or worse – all without
even realising. Complex, eye-catching
moves force your body to contort itself
into postures that it isn’t ready for.
Performed incorrectly, as it all
too often is, yoga poses
a real danger to your
long-term health
and mobility.
“Performed incorrectly,
SEARCHING FOR
yoga poses a real threat
EXTRA ZEN COULD BE
TIGHTENING YOU UP
THIS MONTH’S ADVOCATE
Luke Worthington, from
London’s Third Space,
is a sports scientist and
movement specialist
16
POSITION
17
UNWIND THE
FACTS A
> DEALS WITH THE DEVIL
1 HIIT AND MISS
The American Journal of
Medicine has linked HIIT to
rhabdomyolysis, a condition
that precedes kidney damage.
2 EXERT YOURSELF
Yale School of Medicine found
those who play extreme sports
regularly possess more anxiety-
reducing neuropeptide Y.
3 JOG YOUR MIND
According to one study*, just
30min of running each week
enhances sleep quality, mood,
concentration and relaxation.
Don’t get me wrong: in a safe and
controlled manner, it can be a powerful
addition to your workout portfolio. But
the fact is that there are more effective
ways to simultaneously strengthen
your body, improve your movement
and eradicate stress than pulling your
foot behind your ear and trying to
connect with your ‘heart centre’.
While yoga encourages anxiety-
reduction through mindfulness,
asking you politely to focus on your
breathing and push all thoughts
from your head, so-called
‘adrenaline zen’ activities
demand it 2 . Let your mind
wander during rock climbing
and you’ll plummet to your doom
(or the crash mat); lose focus while
surfing and a wipeout is all but
guaranteed, and I dare you to think
to your long-term
health and mobility”
about Monday morning’s conference
call as you hurtle down a boulder-
strewn hillside on your mountain bike.
Alternatively, the rhythmical, repetitive
nature of low-intensity steady-state
training, like swimming or running, has
also been proven to release endorphins
and reduce stress 3 . All without
having to suffer the ignominy of rolling
around in ‘happy baby’ pose. So while
the highly Instagrammable allure
of scorpion handstands, flying
pigeons and one-legged crows
is admittedly a draw, for your
own sake, buck the trend and
namaste away from the studio.
MEN’SS HEALTH 433
 18
PUSH YOUR
LIMITS A
FITNESS OUT OF THE BOX
CrossFit is known for its intense workouts, zealous 05_
LETTERS OF
fans and HD 8-packs. This is your pre-WOD primer THE LORE DO I NEED TO
Brush up on your
acronyms – you’re
going to need them.
UPDATE MY
Use our lexicon to GYM GEAR?
avoid any awkward Becoming better
nod-and-smiles at
your first session acquainted with
TREND a barbell will
put remarkable
TAKE A SWING AT ‘THE SECRETS pressure on your
SPIRIT OF FITNESS’
TO EARN ELITE RESULTS CROSSFIT wrists. You’d do
well to support them
with some wraps
EMOM
EVERY MINUTE (£13 rogueeurope.eu)
ON THE MINUTE during your first
Used as a warm-up. snatches and cleans.
For 10min, perform Especially if their
five pull-ups, press-
ups and box jumps previous conditioning
every time the clock extends only to
hits the minute mark. over-vigorous
right-swiping.

WRAP UP TO STOP
YOUR WRISTS FROM
BLOWING YOUR WOD
ATG
ASS TO GRASS
This one’s about 06_
01_ range of motion. With
a sandbag on your WHAT
WHERE DO I START? shoulders, do three
sets of 10 squats,
SHOULD
A specialist box is your only serious option – CrossFit-inspired
classes at your local gym just aren’t worth the effort. Dedicated
ensuring you get
as low as you can.
I AVOID?
Impatience. Early
WORDS: AARON TOUMAZOU | PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON, PHILIP HAYNES, STUDIO 33 | ILLUSTRATION: BEN MOUNSEY

spaces will have all the kit you need and tuition from informed on, CrossFit earned
trainers. South London’s 3 Aces is Team MH’s gruelling
g g go-to.
g a reputation for poor
form and injury.
02_ 04_ Expert coaching will
AMRAP minimise dangers,
WHO’S IT FOR? IS THERE A AS MANY REPS
AS POSSIBLE as will checking
The ambitious. CrossFitters train SIGNATUURE An obvious one. Set your ego at the door.
to be complete athletes. Scaled to time, go until you
workouts accommodate all abilities MOVE TOO can’t push any more. “Respect the process.
and ensure there’s always something MASTER?
R? B
Try it with a pillar of Don’t try to run before
any CrossFit workout:
to improve on. Feeling pigeonholed Start by naiiling
g the burpee. you can walk,” says
into bro-splits or bodyweight training? the ‘kippingg’ pull- Brockhurst. That ring
This will expand your horizons. up, in whichh you muscle-up can wait.
swing your b body
d
03_ back and foorth with
every rep, accelerating
WILL IT GET ME RIPPED? your momentum. With haands d A WOD
“The CrossFit physique is pretty wider than shoulder-widthth, WORKOUT OF THE DAY
special,” says Rich Brockhurst of push your head forwardss CrossFit workouts
3 Aces CrossFit. “But we’re not about often have names like
to begin swinging throughgh Murph, which involves
six-minute abs. Your body should your shoulders (A). As the
he a one-mile run,
be a byproduct of what you do with force sends you into a backswing, flex 100 pull-ups, 200
it.” Combining compound lifts with at your hips and pull your chest to the press-ups, 300 squats
killer cardio kit like the Airdyne bike bar (B). Push away and arch your back and another mile run.
strips fat and builds muscle – fast. to swing momentum into your next rep.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 45


HIT SNOOZE FOR
BIGGER MUSCLE
Go light on work and heavy on
rest for a new, relaxed approach
to adding extra bulk and getting
the most from your minutes off
F
orget what you know about
reps and rest. The ‘12 reps
punctuated by a minute’s
rest’ protocol, long relied
upon by bulking bros, is now as
outdated as their snapbacks. New
research flexing its scientific
muscle suggests that you need
to lift lighter and rest longer
to really pack on size.
Observing a test group
who performed upper-
body isolation moves,
sports scientists found
that a generous helping
of five-minute rest
periods produced the
greatest overall rep output
in those lifting weights at
50% of their 1RM. The study,
published in the Journal
of Human Kinetics, found
that a recovery time of
60 seconds – or even
WORDS: LOUEE DESSENT-JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: JOBE LAWRENSON
MUSCLE
NEWSFEED
03/18
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO U
19
PAUSE THE
PRESS
20
FREE UP
STRENGTH A
up to three minutes – wasn’t
enough to fully recharge.
But that doesn’t mean restful
sessions need to overrun. Longer REST PRACTICE
rests will allow you to lift effectively
in the 20-25 rep range, fitting in the
same volume of work into fewer sets.
Drop the weight and
move into a loosening
exercise designed to
Essentially, a scientific rejig of your
current workout will see you rest
more and yet build a better body.
unlock lifting potential
Extended rest periods are not
an excuse to exercise your thumbs
on Instagram, however. Offset your
pursuit of ‘the pump’ by spending
the intervening five minutes BENCH PRESS > T-ROTATION
working on your mobility with From a press-up position,
our muscle-loosening exercises
reach up and rotate
(right). Match the move to your towards the ceiling with
lift to make the most of your newly your right hand, making
found free minutes in the gym. a T-shape with your body
A TIME OUT to really test your core.
IS THE KEY TO
FAST GAINS
DEADLIFT > DYNAMIC CHILD POSE
On all fours, move your
glutes to your heels
while keeping your hands
and knees in place, and
your head down to avoid
straining your neck.
BACK SQUAT > PLANK STEP-UPS
From a high plank, step
your right foot up to land
just outside your right
hand. Sit into the stretch
to boost your hip mobility.
Now try the other side.
MEN’SS HEALTH 47

Career
Lows Is Your Working Life Getting You Down?
I
was first diagnosed with depression when
I was a teenager – and I was immediately
told a story by my doctor. It was the
1990s and this take on our distress was
conquering the world. You are depressed
for a straightforward reason, my doctor
told me. There’s a chemical in people’s
brains called serotonin that makes us
feel good. You are naturally lacking this
chemical. That is why you feel like pain
is leaking out of you uncontrollably.
I lived by this story for years, drugging
myself for more than a decade – and yet,
to my puzzlement, I remained depressed.
Three years ago, I began to research
what was really happening. I ended up
travelling the world, speaking to leading
scientists on this issue, as well as people
who’ve come back from depression. What
startled me most was discovering that
so much of what I thought I knew was
wrong. They explained to me that there
is no evidence that low serotonin causes
depression. And there is no evidence
that depressed people have a chemical
imbalance in their brains.
But there is evidence that several key
changes in the way we are living are
48 MEN’S HEALTH
Guest Speaker
Johann Hari
Artwork by
Dan Page
causing depression and anxiety. Crucially,
I learned that there is evidence for seven
environmental causes – along with two
real biological factors that make it worse.
I started to glimpse one of them in
Philadelphia. Joe was waiting for the day
to end. If you walked into the paint shop
where he worked and asked for a gallon of
paint in a particular shade, he would ask
you to pick it from a chart, and he would
prepare it for you. It was always the same.
He would put a dash of pigment into the
tin, then put the tin into a machine that
looked a bit like a microwave, then the
machine would shake it vigorously. This
process evened out the paint. Then he
would take your money and say, “Thank
you, sir.” Then he’d wait for the next
customer, and do the same thing. Then he
would wait for the next customer, and do
the same thing. All day. Every day.
Take an order. Shake paint. Say, “Thank
you, sir.” Wait. Take an order. Shake paint.
Say, “Thank you, sir.” Wait. And on. And
on. Nobody ever noticed whether Joe did
it well or badly. The only thing his boss
ever commented on was if he was late, and
then he’d get bawled out. Joe told me that,
as he left work, he’d always think: “I don’t
feel like I made a difference in anyone’s
life.” As he looked out over the next
40 years of this, he felt a black despair.
Guilty Thoughts
Joe felt like his human thoughts, insights
and feelings were almost a defect. But
whenever he told me about how his work
made him feel, he would chastise himself.
It was reasonably paid, he could live with
his girlfriend in an OK place; he knew
plenty of people who didn’t have any of
that. He felt guilty for feeling this way.
But then the feelings kept coming back.
And he shook more paint. And he shook
more paint. And he shook more paint.
Joe made me think about a lot of
my friends. Most of them have more
interesting jobs than Joe, but they often
viewed their work with anxiety, panic
or low-level despair. I began to wonder:
could the way we work be playing a role
in depression?
I learned that the answer to this was
uncovered, almost by accident, in the
1970s by an Australian scientist called
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
IT’S TIME YOU LIFT THE LID
ON BRIMMING WORK STRESS

S CO U S 9
THE FIRST STEP TO A HEALTHIER
WORK LIFE IS TAKING YOUR
FEET OFF THE PEDALS

50 S S CO U

Professor Michael Marmot. He was given
the job of carrying out a study that most
people thought was pointless because
the answer would be so obvious. He
wanted to investigate what makes people
stressed at work and he believed he’d
found the perfect laboratory in which
to learn the answer: the British civil
service in Whitehall. This small army
of bureaucrats and civil servants was
divided into 19 different layers, from the
permanent secretary at the top, down to
the typists at the bottom. What he wanted
to investigate was who would be more
likely to have a heart attack: the big boss
or somebody below them?
Who’s More Stressed?
Everybody told Marmot he was wasting
his time. Obviously, the boss would
be more stressed because he has more
responsibility. But when the results were
published, after years of investigation,
the truth was found to be the exact
opposite. The lower down you went in the
hierarchy, the more stressed you were –
and the more likely a heart attack became.
Then he noticed that you could see
exactly the same effect with depression.
Next he wanted to know why.
So, he began to study people who
worked at the same rung on the civil
service ladder, but whose jobs differed,
to see whether this could explain the
differences. And it did. He cracked it.
He discovered what made the difference.
It turned out there are two crucial aspects
of your work that can make you depressed
and stressed. One is if you feel you have
no control over your work. And the other
is if you feel nobody seems to care about
your work or notice how well you do it.
Those two factors are worse in the
lowest-status jobs, but they are not
confined to them. Even people in very
high-level jobs often feel like this.
Between 2011 and 2012, the polling
company Gallup conducted the most
detailed study ever carried out to assess
how people across the world feel about
their work. They found that 13% of us
say we are “engaged” in our jobs, while
63% claim to be “not engaged”, which is
defined as “sleepwalking through their
workday”. Meanwhile 24% are “actively
disengaged”. They hate their work.
That means that 87% of people, if they
were to read Joe’s story, would recognise
at least a little of themselves in it. Nearly
twice as many people hate their jobs as
those who love their work. And this thing
that most of us don’t like doing – that feels
like sleepwalking, or worse – now takes
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
Guest Speaker
Johann Hari
up most of our waking lives. The average
worker checks their first email at 7.42am
and leaves work at 7.19pm.
As I researched, I looked at several deep
shifts in the way we live today that are like
this. We are lonelier than any humans
before us. We are more likely to value junk
– like buying stuff, then showing it off –
than any humans before us. These are
other deep changes that have been shown
scientifically to increase depression and
anxiety. Yet we continue to be told that
all that’s happening is our brains are
spontaneously malfunctioning and we
need to be drugged to get back to work.
There is a different way of thinking
about depression – one that leads to very
different solutions. The evidence suggests
we are depressed for rational reasons
because we aren’t living in a way that
is compatible with what human beings
need to have a decent life. I have come
to realise that this means the solution is
not to change our brains, but to change
the way we live. Some of the scientifically
backed solutions I go
through in my new book
Lost Connections can
be carried out in our
“The solution
personal lives. Some is not to change
require bigger shifts.
I learned about one our brains, but
possible solution to Joe’s
problem in Baltimore.
to change the
The day that Meredith way we live”
Mitchell handed in
her resignation, she
wondered if she was doing something
crazy. She worked in a typical office
job. She was given assignments with
a deadline and her role was to keep her
head down and do what she was told. At
the age of 24, she could see this stretching
out before her inexorably. Around
this time, Meredith had started to feel
a pervasive sense of anxiety that she
couldn’t quite understand. On Sunday
nights, she’d feel her heart pounding in
her chest and a sense of dread about the
week to come. Before long, she found she
couldn’t sleep during the week, either.
She was quitting for a reason. Her
husband Josh Keogh had worked in
bike shops since he was a teenager. It
was insecure work, poorly paid, with
no path up – but he loved bikes. One
day, he and his friends in the bike store
asked something. What, exactly, does the
boss do? Don’t we do most of the work?
Couldn’t we do this ourselves? So they
decided to set up a new bike store – but
they would run it differently. They’d
organise the company democratically.
They’d share out a lot of the less
interesting tasks, so nobody was stuck
doing something they didn’t like for
too long. They’d all build something,
together. They’d all be the boss.
Taking Control
When I went to Baltimore Bicycle Works
– a thriving business – most of the staff
talked about how they had felt anxious
and depressed in their old jobs, and how
it had largely disappeared once they
shifted to this new way of working. The
reasons why are made clear in Professor
Marmot’s research. These people worked
in bike shops before; they work in bike
shops now. The actual work hasn’t
changed drastically, but they have dealt
with the factors that cause depression.
Now, they have control over their work;
their colleagues notice the work they do.
Depressing tasks are shared out, so they
don’t dominate anyone’s day. This is the
difference between work that depresses
you and work that energises you.
There is no reason, they told me, why
companies have to be structured in
this top-down, controlling
way. It’s actually quite a new
invention, dating back just to
the 19th century. So why don’t
all companies work like this?
This is a radically different
way of thinking about
depression and anxiety.
We have been taught to see
them as pathologies – signs
that the individual is broken.
But what if they are signs that,
in fact, the culture is broken? That it’s not
giving people what they need? I discovered
there is a whole range of solutions, like
giving people control over their work,
that act as real antidepressants – ones
that actually solve the depression, rather
than trying to mask it.
I realise now what I should have told
Joe back in Philly. You’re not crazy.
You’re right to feel down. You’re being
made to live in a way that doesn’t meet
your needs for autonomy and meaning
and choice. But we don’t have to live
like this. There is a better way waiting
for us. But, to get there, we have to
start by seeing that depression and
anxiety are not what we have been told
they are for so very long.
Award-winning author Johann Hari’s
book Lost Connections: Uncovering the
Real Causes of Depression – and the
Unexpected Solutions is available from
Bloomsbury and as an audiobook from
Audible. Visit thelostconnections.com
MEN’S HEALTH 51
 TIME
WORDS BY TED LANE / PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOBE LAWRENSON

MAXIMISING LIFE’S GREATEST LUXURY

H 
old on to your kettles –
everything you thought
you knew about your
morning cuppa is about
to be turned on its head. Sales
of green tea have leapt by 50%

03
in just three years, boosted by
promises of piping hot health and
cosy weightloss. Old favourite
English Breakfast, on the other
hand, was left to stew over its
supposed shortcomings. But,
thankfully, we were all wrong.
A European Journal of Nutrition
study found that the black tea
WEEKS TO DEMOLISH in your Tetley’s is a prebiotic.
What’s more, its molecules are
STUBBORN FAT WITH larger than green tea’s, so instead
of passing through your gut
A BUILDER’S BREW lining, they sit there and
feed the production of
the friendly bacteria
pseudobutyrivibrio. It’s
these bacteria, according
to the scientists, that
alter your body’s
metabolism, making it
burn through energy and
boil off stubborn fat cells.
The University of California
conducted experiments on mice
and found that those given black
tea lost the same amount of
weight as those on a low-fat diet.
This furthers research in Nutrition
that found a mug of builder’s
inhibits the enzyme lipase, helping
fat pass through the body without
STEAM TOWARDS
YOUR WEIGHTLOSS sticking to your waist.
GOALS THIS MONTH All of which is probably enough
to even out the three Digestives
you’re partial to dunking. Probably.
 80
MINUTES TO SPIKE
TESTOSTERONE IN
FRONT OF THE TV
W
hen the giants of Northern
Hemisphere’s rugby elite
scrum down for the Six
Nations, it can be easy
to feel a little, well, emasculated.
But try not to beat yourself up: for
a physical boost of your own, just
take a seat and get behind them.
According to new research in
Physiology & Behavior, urging your
team to victory over 80 minutes
can score you a 28% testosterone
spike. If you’re more of an impartial
spectator, it’s very much worth
taking sides, with testosterone
IMAGE MANIPULATION: COLIN BEAGLEY ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY
levels in the UK now at an all-time
low. This male elixir not only helps
you to look and feel younger, lift
more and recover faster from the
gym, but it can also help you edge
away from the impending fertility
cliff which makes a shot in the
SCORE YOURSELF
A SHOT AT EXTRA
MUSCLE ON THE SOFA
arm on any given Saturday
certainly worth your while.
The boost comes down to
the sense of community and
camaraderie you feel when facing
off against a perceived ‘other’. Sit
within chanting distance of the
enemy at your local and the
vicarious competitive edge
will produce an endocrine
response, stimulating the
production of more
testosterone and
enhancing your efforts in
the gym until next weekend’s
kick-off. There is, however,
a catch. The beneficial boost
is only enjoyed by supporters
of the winning side. A loss, on
the other hand, will leave you
figuratively – and physically –
deflated. Sorry, Scotland.
 A WEEK’S CRASH
COURSE IS ALL YOU
NEED TO GET SMARTER

Institutes of Health have

discovered. Examining mice, the
team found that just seven days

07
of running on a wheel – though
you can stick to the cycle lanes
– increases the number of new
neurons in your brain for sharper
reactions and a better memory.

T
hat exercise is good for The study authors added that this
the mind is no new thing. was the most conclusive evidence
But how many of you use yet that the brain cells produced
that as inspiration? Most by running are not just a
men consider cardio’s grey matter quantitative improvement, but
DAYS TO UPGRADE benefits a long-term investment,
safeguarding you from cognitive
a qualitative one, too. Every stride
improves the standard of your
YOUR BRAINPOWER issues many years and miles down
the line. Which, if you’re more at
brain’s neurons at a biological
level. Add the fact that you’re
ON THE COMMUTE home on the lifting platform (or
sofa) is unlikely to have you lacing
outdoors rather than sat in traffic,
and your cardio commute has
up your Asics any time soon. the power to clear your head of
But what about a short-term anxiety, making room to unleash
boost to your mental firepower your full mental potential. Start
within a week, too? The promise measuring up the corner office.
of unwavering concentration and
promotion-worthy initiative come
Monday? Because that’s exactly
what scientists at the National
 TIME
batter your risks of NAFLD with
a healthy stack of pancakes.
A study by Kangwon National
University found that egg yolks

D
o you know how important

06
your liver is, really? We’d undo the damage of a high-sugar
wager not. Yes, you joke diet, reducing fat build-up in your
about it taking a battering liver. It’s down to the Atherogenic
on a Friday night, but it’s useful for Index – the ratio between healthy
more than nullifying a booze binge. HDL and bad LDL cholesterol in
Your liver is responsible for the your blood. And, flying in the face
metabolism of food, too. And much of popular belief about eggs and
like beer’s harmful alcohol content, cholesterol, subjects who ate yolks
the Western diet is flooding your regularly had lower levels of liver
system with sugar and drowning fat. So spoon some batter into a
MINUTES TO REBOOT your liver in harmful fatty deposits.
In 2016, it was calculated that
pan and fry on each side for three
minutes until golden brown. Stack
YOUR LIVER WITH A 52 million people across Europe
are at risk of non-alcoholic fatty
them high. Oh, and double down on
the maple syrup. Yes it’s sweet, but
PANCAKE DAY BINGE liver disease (NAFLD). But you can
lighten up, because there’s a fluffy,
its 54 antioxidants act as a salve to
liver inflammation. Time to indulge.
delicious antidote scheduled for
the upcoming Shrove Tuesday.
Whisk up four eggs and you can
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT HEARST STUDIOS | RETOUCHING: ANTHONY HAMMOND

FLIP THE SCRIPT OF

FIT FOOD: PANCAKES
ARE GOOD FOR YOU
Joe
AGE

57
HEIGHT

5ft 11½in
WEIGHT
GENERATION
83kg

X v
CHOLESTEROL

217mg/dL
LDL

134 mg/dL
BLOOD GLUCOSE

106 mg/dL
TESTOSTERONE

637ng/dL
BRAIN VOLUME

85%
GRIP STRENGTH

0.51 kg/kgBW With stereotypes

CHEST PRESS

50 kg fitness disproven on
ENERGY OUTPUT editors at Men’s
18 METs to be father and son,
BEERS PER MONTH

54 generation game,
health, nutrition and
determine, once and
and gained with time.
will help you stay
stronger,
Words by Joe Kita & Paul Kita

56 S S CO U
 Paul AGE

32
HEIGHT

5ft 11½in
WEIGHT
GENERATION 70kg

s Y
CHOLESTEROL

197mg/dL
LDL

104 mg/dL
BLOOD GLUCOSE

87mg/dL
TESTOSTERONE

1401ng/dL
BRAIN VOLUME

88%
GRIP STRENGTH

0.65kg/kgBW
around ageing and CHEST PRESS

a daily basis, two 82 kg

Health – who happen ENERGY OUTPUT

21 METs
no less – played a BEERS PER MONTH

facing off across 131 14

fitness markers to
for all, what is lost
Their discoveries
younger and
for longer
Photography by Steven Laxton

S CO U S 5
WE SHARE
THE SAME DNA.
I’m 57. My son Paul is 32. We grew up in the
same place (Pennsylvania), earned the same
degree (journalism), and work for the same
magazine (Men’s Health US, of course). We’re
both 5ft 11½in, and people say we even talk
and walk the same way. There’s very little
to separate us. Well, apart from 25 years.
Middle-age isn’t what it was, though.
Not only are we living longer, many of us
are striving to stay fitter, stronger and more
agile in our later years, too. We’re signing up
for our first triathlons and getting smarter
in the kitchen. But while we may feel we are
striking a blow against time, the fact remains
that it’s hitting back at us, too. So what about
all the changes we can’t perceive?
In an effort to dig a little deeper, Paul and
I subjected ourselves to a barrage of tests,
from routine blood work to carotid artery
ultrasounds. We had stress echocardiograms
to gauge our heart health and MRIs to assess
the deepest reaches of our brains. We had
a dietitian dissect our eating habits and
a dermatologist map our moles. And we
squared off in the gym to test our muscle,
too. Here are the six most surprising lessons
we learned. Start applying them now and
ageing won’t floor you.
LITTLE COMES
BETWEEN THIS
FATHER AND SON
58 MEN’S HEALTH
LESSON 01
The Heart Can
Beat Ageing
We underwent a battery
TEST #1 of cardiovascular tests at
STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAM New York City’s Mount Sinai
Hospital; its executive health
18 METs
assessment programme is
POWER
14:31 minutes
Gen X considered among the world’s
21 METs
17:40 minutes
best. Technicians taped
Gen Y
electrodes to our chests,
wrapped blood pressure cuffs
TIME around our arms, and made
us exercise to exhaustion on
GEN Y - 1 / GEN X - 0 treadmills. On that last test,
Paul lasted a full three
minutes longer and cranked out three more METs (‘metabolic
equivalents’ – a measure of exercise capacity). Happily, we were
both well above our age group averages and have a low risk of
heart attack in the near future. Even though my heart is 25 years
older and has beat about a billion more times, our hearts “could
be interposed,” said Dr Kevin Dunsky, director of comprehensive
health at Mount Sinai Heart. “Their appearance and function
are similar.” My decades of running, cycling, and eating well have
paid off. It seems you really can stay young at heart.
PREEMPTIVE MATURE
STRIKE INSIGHT
Paul says: I’m impressed that Joe says: I’m cautious. My father
Dad almost beat me, considering died at age 61 of a heart attack or
his heart’s been around since stroke, and I’ve been preoccupied
before JFK was elected. I do with arterial plaque ever since.
mostly strength training, so I track my cholesterol and
this was a reminder that there’s take a statin daily. But I never
more to fitness than just mirror fully assessed my heart’s
muscles. After all, the heart performance until now. “Heart
is a muscle, too. The best way disease isn’t plumbing,” says
to futureproof yours, says Dr Dunsky. “You can’t say,
cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatston, ‘Aha, there’s a clog in this pipe.
is with interval training; intense Let’s clear it.’ In the absence
exercise combined with active of symptoms, problems can be
recovery. You can do it with difficult to spot.” Our treadmill
classic cardio (alternating test – the stress echocardiogram
60-second sprints with three- – proved the missing piece of
minute jogs) or weight training my cardiac puzzle, allaying many
(try EMOM, ‘every minute, on of my concerns. If you have heart
the minute’ circuits). Train this disease in your family, ask your
way three to four times per GP about it. In the meantime,
week when you’re young, and self-preservation needn’t be
you may never need to worry. hard graft; a Finnish study found
men who used the sauna four
times a week are up to 50%
less likely to die from heart
disease. There’s your hot tip.
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
 GENERATION X vs Y

LESSON 02 LESSON 03

Your Brain Can Beer Needn’t

Be Trained Come With A Belly
After years of having my son In the past decade, I’ve
TEST #2 question my every decision, TEST #3 gained about 5kg, despite
3D TI BRAIN MRI WITH NEUROQUANT I finally have proof that WEIGHTS, WHTR, FASTING exercising regularly – my
my brain isn’t the size of GLUCOSE LEVELS job, after all, demands it –
88% a pistachio. After our MRI and eating fairly well. Now,
154 lb, 0.46 WHtR, 87 mg/dL
memory
brain scans, state-of-the- Gen Y according to my waist-
tissue
85%
volume
volume
art software was used to to-height ratio (WHtR) –
Gen Y compare our results to a tool doctors use to gauge
Gen X
age-graded norms. Once 184 lb, 0.52 WHtR, 106 mg/dL your risk of diabetes, heart
we got beyond the rather Gen X disease and other illnesses
unflattering term ‘grossly related to obesity – I’m on
GEN Y - 2 / GEN X - 0 unremarkable brain’ GEN Y - 3 / GEN X - 0 the butter-knife edge of
(thankfully, it’s radiology- being overweight. Plus,
speak for ‘normal’), we delved into the data. “Throughout the my glucose level is currently hovering at the lower end of the
course of my career, I’ve seen thousands of brains,” said pre-diabetic range (100 to 125 mg/dL). By comparison, Paul
Dr James Brewer of CorTechs Labs, the company behind the carries none of these risks. Mine is a classic case of “creeping
imaging technology, “and usually there is a good amount of obesity”, says dietitian Dr Chris Mohr. Adding a kilo a year escapes
variability. But I’ve never seen a father and son side-by-side. It’s notice until you try on the tux you last wore in 2012 and realise
fascinating how similar the anatomy is.” Our hippocampi (where you need a new tailor. After examining my diet, both Mohr and
memories are made) and frontal lobes (involved in recall) were Dunsky flagged the 54 craft beers (23 litres!) that I imbibed
similar. And my memory tissue volume of 85% (the more the better) in one month. That averages out at a little more than a pint
was just 3% less than Paul’s. I’ll make sure he remembers that. an evening – which could prove something of a downer.

PREEMPTIVE MATURE PREEMPTIVE MATURE

STRIKE
Paul says: It turns out Dad isn’t
as dim as I thought. Our healthy
habits may be paying off, but
I need to keep putting the work
in. According to the experts,
our hearts and minds are more
connected than we realise:
a recent study that tracked
518 people over three decades
found that those with better
cardiovascular health at 18-30-
years-old had a decreased risk
of brain shrinkage 25 years later.
“The most important thing is
keeping good blood flow to the
brain,” Brewer says. “If you have
high blood pressure or diabetes,
sort it.” Pulmonary shunt training
– say completing a round of
barbell squats before going
straight into 10 reps of overhead
presses – keeps blood flow
efficient from top to bottom.
It’s the smart choice.
INSIGHT
Joe says: Beyond 60, the brain’s
memory structures lose volume
at about 1% a year. The anxiety
attached to this decline is driving
a new industry of brain-training
games. But these games tend
to make you better at the task
involved, says Brewer. Instead,
try to improve your cognitive
resilience. Challenge yourself
to learn new things like music
and technology – the more
complex, the better. “Building
up abilities and strategies to
solve problems in a variety of
ways will allow you to function
better for longer,” Brewer says.
Pick up a few new moves with
MH’s Primal 9 training app and
you can challenge both mind
and muscle. Problem solved.
menshealth.co.uk/primal-9
STRIKE
Paul says: Left unchecked, the
dadbod can take hold sooner
than you think. A new study
monitoring alcohol use among
nearly 8,000 millennials found
that “heavy episodic drinkers”
(that’s men who put away five or
more drinks on a night out) had
a 41% higher risk of becoming
overweight within five years. But
keeping tabs on your WHtR can
halt stealthy weight gain. It’s
a far more accurate gauge than
BMI, which doesn’t account for
deadly abdominal fat. To find
yours, divide your waist (bottom
of the tape touches top of hip
bone) by height. Less than
0.43 is underweight; 0.43 to
0.52 is healthy and 0.53 to 0.62
is overweight. Now plan your
Friday night accordingly.
INSIGHT
Joe says: Don’t let those
microbrews screw you. Next
time you order, here’s an easy
way to estimate the calories
in your can: multiply the ABV
by 30. My 54 beers – most of
which were higher-alcohol
IPAs – averaged 225 calories
apiece. And that’s only half
the problem. “The body
preferentially metabolises
alcohol,” explains Mohr, “so it’s
more likely to store whatever
else you’re ingesting.” This is
how a beer belly is born. As well
as selecting lower-ABV brews,
up your intake of EPA and
DHA fats. Not only does it
stave off weight gain, it also
protects against alcohol-related
inflammation, according to Plos
One journal, making a krill oil
capsule a better morning-after
cure than a pack of ibuprofen.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 59

 LESSON 04 LESSON 05

You Can Out- Genetics Is A

Muscle Old Age Pain In The Neck
Instead of arm wrestling It’s been 26 years since
TEST #4 (macho, yes, but not clinically TEST #5 I said goodbye to my father
HANDGRIP DYNAMOMETER meaningful) we duelled with CAROTID ARTERY DUPLEX ULTRASOUND and Paul to his grandfather.
a dynamometer. Squeeze Left/right arteries normal And the ultrasound image
0.65 kg / this handheld device as hard on the screen in front of
Gen Y
KgBW 0.51 kg /
Gen Y as you can and, in addition me proves a stark reminder.
KgBW
Gen X to grip strength, you’ll get “This is something you’ve
an indication of your overall inherited from your dad,”
NORMALISED strength and longevity. L 40-59% stenosis, R normal says Dunsky, pointing to
GRIP Gen X
That’s because it gets at the a 59% narrowing of my left
broader quality of physical carotid artery. “You’re in
GEN Y - 4 / GEN X - 0 “robustness,” says exercise GEN Y - 5 / GEN X - 0 incredible shape and doing
physiologist Dr Mark everything possible to keep
Peterson. Turns out, I’m in the 50th percentile for normalised your heart strong, so that’s not you,” he says. “It’s genetics. And
grip strength for my age. I’m average, essentially. Paul is in Paul, you have these genetics, too. Your carotids are clear now,
the 75th percentile for his. Both are pretty good, but – in this but you also have to stay on top of this as you age.” An altogether
instance at least – Paul has a better grip on his health. disconcerting prognosis for us both, but a valuable insight, too.

PREEMPTIVE MATURE PREEMPTIVE MATURE

STRIKE
Paul says: Want to know how
you measure up? If your gym
or doctor’s office doesn’t have
a dynamometer, order a Camry
EH101 on Amazon for around
£20. Don’t cheat and train for
it beforehand; do the test right
out of the box, three trials per
hand. If you do poorly, commit
to raising your bar. Specifically,
work in three sets of pull-ups,
hanging windscreen wipers,
hanging leg raises and dead
hangs into your evening run.
If your local park isn’t generous
enough to furnish you with
overhead bars, a narrow tree
branch, or even kid’s climbing
frame will do. Just wait until
no one else is using it, first.
INSIGHT
Joe says: I’ve eased up on my
resistance training over the
years, so it was a quick win
for Paul. But my losses extend
beyond pride – both upper-
and lower-body strength are
linked with longevity. I suspect
my sporadic protein intake may
play a part, too: “Your body
doesn’t store protein,” says
Mohr. “It uses what it needs and
excretes the rest, so you need to
split your intake throughout the
day.” Without enough protein,
exercise can actually break down
muscle. About 30g per meal
(that’s a small chicken breast)
will help keep your focus high.
STRIKE
Paul says: Genes can be
managed, but they can never
be mastered. The Kita family
gene pool is brimming with heart
disease. I know this, yet I ignore
it. But when you’re staring at
an image of your neck arteries
pumping blood, you realise
you’re basically just a machine
prone to breakdown. Being
aware of weak points motivates
maintenance, so make time
to brush up on your family
history. The sooner you start
to take note, the better.
INSIGHT
Joe says: A carotid ultrasound
is an easy way to detect plaque
build-up and avoid stroke; these
take just 30 minutes and cost
from around £100. Because
carotid plaque often correlates
with stenosis (narrowing) of
the coronary arteries, it may
be the most crucial life-saving
test you’ve never heard of. But
diet and lifestyle play a role,
too. In one UCLA study, garlic
extract was shown to reduce
artery build up by a huge 80%,
while further research has linked
skipping breakfast with arterial
narrowing. Crush a clove into
your morning eggs and rebalance
the odds in your favour.

OUR BRAINS OUR CAROTIDS

Brains ‘float’ in fluid These neck arteries supply
(pictured black in these blood to the brain. Joe’s
MRIs). Joe’s fills 85% of left carotid has narrowed
the space. Paul’s fills by 40-59% while Paul’s
88%. The black space gets remain wide. These images
bigger as the brain are from a carotid
shrinks with age, but a ultrasound test.
healthy lifestyle puts the
brakes on this process.

60 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 GENERATION X vs Y

LESSON 06

Don’t Trust Your AN UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR

Testosterone INNER WORKINGS WILL EQUIP

YOU WELL FOR THE FUTURE

My testosterone is in the
TEST #6 normal range for a healthy
TOTAL BLOOD TESTOSTERONE adult male (280 to 1100 ng/
dL), but Paul’s is well above
1401 ng/dL 637 ng/dL
Gen Y Gen X normal. Could he be twice the
man I am? Luckily (for me),
the link between T and
manliness isn’t direct. While
it’s true that testosterone
generally rises through youth,
peaks in young adulthood,
GEN Y - 6 / GEN X - 0 and then slowly declines, it’s
not clear how these levels
affect us. “It’s unwise to give so much weight to a single measure,”
says Steve Woloshin, a professor of medicine at The Dartmouth
Institute. “So long as you’re within the normal range, science does
not yet know the importance of those numbers.”
Ageing By Numbers
PREEMPTIVE MATURE
STRIKE INSIGHT What Paul learnt
“Most 32-year-olds never get this many
Paul says: Even for a fit man of Joe says: Age needn’t diminish
my age, my testosterone levels you. While it’s expected that tests in the absence of symptoms – not to
are high. But, according to my T levels would be lower mention unlimited funds – but I’m glad
Woloshin, I shouldn’t take that than Paul’s, research from I did. Even though I soundly defeated
to mean too much. And neither the Endocrine Society shows my dad, I saw glimpses of my future self,
should you: if your GP prescribes maintaining fitness and muscle
a T test because of an underlying mass can stave off most of
both good and bad. As Dunsky said, I
condition by all means accept that decline well into middle now have a baseline of health and fitness
the offer, but there’s no reason age. As for those whose levels I can refer to for the rest of my life. This
to source your levels for your fall below the healthy range for is key; measurements taken at any one
Instagram bio. “No professional their age, according to Woloshin,
organisation recommends the benefits and harms of
moment in time don’t mean nearly
screening for the general testosterone replacement as much as those charted over time.
population,” Woloshin says. therapy aren’t yet known. In Knowledge is health.”
If you feel fit, don’t sweat it. the meantime, adding a weekly
grass-fed steak to your diet
should help to maintain healthy
What Joe learnt
hormone levels. And I’d say “Some men don’t believe in searching
that’s a form of therapy, too. for disease; medical tests can send you
down rabbit holes. Well, I believe the
opposite. The more educated you are
as a patient, the healthier you’ll be.
Sure, I learned some scary things. I have
OUR HEARTS proof that I’ve lost my edge. And those
Lined areas on the stress
echo image show that Joe’s heart issues are in my rear-view like a
atria (upper heart speeding lorry. But it’s a motivator to
chambers) are normal
in size and very similar keep running, do more lifting, eat more
to Paul’s measures. protein and keep pitting myself against
Despite the age
difference, their hearts youth. Because the moment I stop is
are virtually the same. when I’m truly old.”
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 61
62 MEN’S HEALTH
 ou could be forgiven for
believing fermented morsels to
be a new branch of superfoods.
They are not. True, wellness
bloggers and social media
‘nutritionalists’ feed off their
popularity for followers, while the
global probiotics industry is predicted
to top $65bn a year by 2023. But the
process of lacto-fermentation is an
ancient one. Central African farming
societies subsisted on porridge made
from soured oats; across Asia, the
art of pickling vegetables varies by
village; the Inuits ferment fish, seal
and whale; and, in Europe, we
habitually consume sauerkraut
and pickled roots. Fermentation,
you see, has been trending pretty
hard since 6000BC.
Its name deriving from
lactobacillus (a ‘friendly’ bacteria
that converts sugars to lactic acid to
preserve fruits and vegetables by
killing off all sinister bacteria), lacto-
fermentation enhances not only food’s
shelf-life, but cultivates the nutrients
pickled within. As a result, you get
an increased payload of vitamins,
minerals and, crucially, probiotics
– live cultures that promote the
healthy balance of bacteria in your
gut biome, linked to everything
from boosting mood, immunity and
energy, to a reduction in obesity,
heart attacks and cancers.
Downing yoghurt pots is
to somewhat miss the point,
however. Fermenting and
pickling your own foods at
home – while admittedly
more involved than
a Yakult – packs more
health benefits, flavour
and nutritional
potency into every
bite. What follow
are five meals that
serve up fermented
foods as their proud and
primary ingredients. Break
with the trend. This is for
men with truly cultured tastes.

MEN’S HEALTH 63
 Adding a dash of
rice vinegar to
starchy meals has
been linked to
improved blood
sugar control.
Which justifies
adding that crusty
bread roll.

Regardless of the confused
nutritional consensus on red
meat, researchers agree it’s
hard on your digestive system.
Happily, by foregoing the mince
patty in favour of a vegetable
version, replete with flavour
and fibre and topped with slaw
and fermented ketchup, you’re
flipping the regular gut-buster
into a probiotic punch-packer.
Burger With Super Slaw
And Fermented Ketchup
By Andrea Waters, co-founder
of Redemption Bar
INGREDIENTS
(SERVES 4)
• RAW BEETROOT, 40G, GRATED
• SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, 50G, DICED
• OLIVE OIL 1TBSP
• A RED ONION, FINELY DICED
• GARLIC CLOVES, 2, CRUSHED
• BLACK BEANS, 400G, RINSED
• GROUND FLAXSEEDS, 30G
• SMOKED PAPRIKA, 1TBSP
• RED MISO PASTE, 2TBSP
• HIMALAYAN SALT, 2TSP
• GROUND BLACK PEPPER, 2TSP
• WALNUTS, 200G, CHOPPED
• SOURDOUGH BREADCRUMBS, 180G
Leave the grated beetroot in
a colander over a bowl to drain off
excess liquid. While that’s dripping
away, oven-roast the mushrooms in
a splash of oil until brown, not crispy,
and set aside to cool slightly. Saute
the onions and garlic until soft.
Pulse the onion and garlic with
the beans, mushrooms, flaxseeds,
paprika, miso paste (try brand Miso
Tasty), salt and pepper. It should be
nicely combined, but still chunky.
Combine the mixture with the
beetroot, walnuts and breadcrumbs
(add more if it’s too wet – it needs
to hold its shape). Pat the mixture
into four patties and rest in the
fridge for at least an hour. Brown
the patties in a pan with oil and
finish in the oven for five minutes.
You’ll need some sides with that…
Super-Fast Slaw
OK, it might be cheating
slightly. But using sauerkraut
instantly adds fermented
goodness to a coleslaw
that takes mere minutes to
knock up. Chop chop, now.
INGREDIENTS
• A LARGE CARROT, PEELED
AND GRATED
• A MEDIUM KOHLRABI, PEELED
AND GRATED
• SAUERKRAUT, 500G
• CORIANDER LEAVES, HALF
A BUNCH, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
• FLAT-LEAF PARSLEY, HALF
A BUNCH, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
• UNWAXED LEMON, ZEST ONLY
Mix all the ingredients together.
And that’s it, basically. Add as much
dressing as you like, depending on
whether you want it just bound
together or almost drowning.
Red Dead Fermentation
Your ketchup only takes 15
minutes to make, but 16 hours
to ferment. Fortunately, this
recipe is for 1.5 litres of the
stuff, so you can make a big
batch and keep it in the fridge
for a couple of months.
INGREDIENTS
• VEGAN WORCESTERSHIRE
SAUCE, ¾CUP
• UNFILTERED RAW APPLE CIDER
VINEGAR, ½CUP
• PURE MAPLE SYRUP, ½CUP
• COCONUT WATER KEFIR, 100ML
• SMOKED PAPRIKA, 1TBSP
• HIMALAYAN SALT, 1TBSP
• ORGANIC TOMATO PASTE, 1L
Combine the first six ingredients
in a bowl, stir well, then add the
tomato paste and stir again before
transferring into a large, wide glass
or ceramic jar. Fasten a cloth over
the top with a rubber band.
Leave for 16 hours in a warm
space. The kitchen is ideal – just
keep it away from the window if it’s
cold outside. Then either pour your
ketchup into bottles and cap, or
stick an airtight lid on your existing
jar. And apply liberally to everything.
Coriander is
more than just a
fragrant garnish.
It’s rich in vitamin
K1 – a third of
your RDA per large
handful – which
strenghtens your
bone health.
Daikon, sometimes known
as Japanese radish or mooli,
is one of the most consumed
root vegetables across
swathes of Asia, principally
because it is as toothsome raw
as it is cooked. This makes it
ideal for the laziest of culinary
processes: lacto-fermentation.
But there is more to unearth
than just flavour. A study in
Food Chemistry found that
compounds in the veg protect
your DNA from oxidative
damage, much like that
caused by too many 7am
HIIT classes, for example.
Prep it slow – and stay fast.
Salted Fermented
Daikon With Chilli,
Coriander, Ginger
And Sesame
By Miles Kirby, executive chef
and co-founder of Caravan
INGREDIENTS
• DAIKON, 400G, SLICED
• SEA SALT, 10G
• ONIONS, 120G, CHOPPED
• SALT, 2TSP
• CHILLI FLAKES, 50G
• FISH SAUCE, 60ML
• RICE WINE VINEGAR, 60ML
• GARLIC, 20G, CRUSHED
• GINGER, 35G, GRATED
• CORIANDER, 3 HANDFULS
FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS | PISTACHIO DINNER PLATE MUDAUSTRALIA.COM
• CASTER SUGAR, 10G
• SPRING ONIONS, 2, SLICED
• BLACK SESAME SEEDS, ½TSP
Massage the daikon with the sea
salt in a bowl and leave for an hour.
Pulse the remaining ingredients,
apart from the spring onions and
seeds, in a blender until mixed well.
Wash the salt from the daikon and
then dry it. Mix it with the sauce and
store in a sterilised, unsealed Kilner
jar for 24 hours. Then seal it and stick
it in the fridge for at least four days.
As it ferments over time, it will
develop deeper flavours. Serve with
the spring onion and seeds. Simple.

64 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 Put a bunch of dietary fibres
in a jar with minerals such as
calcium, potassium and iron,
along with some C- and B-vits.
Now, add gingerol, capsaicin
and chlorophyll, finishing with
34 amino acids. Congratulations:
you’ve just made kimchi – a
pickled Korean cabbage, and
one of the five healthiest foods
in the world. Or you could just
follow the recipe below, and
plate it up with a fresh eel salad.

Golden Kimchi And Smoked

Eel Salad
By Erchen Chang, head chef
at Bao and Bao Fitzrovia
Higher consumption
of kimchi was KIMCHI INGREDIENTS
found to have
a “profoundly • CHINESE CABBAGE, 2 HEADS
positive effect” • SALT, SPRINKLE
on the cholesterol • A CLOVE OF GARLIC
levels of healthy
adults, the Journal
• FERMENTED BEANCURD BLOCKS, 4
of Medicinal
• A GREEN APPLE
Food reports. • A CARROT
• CASTER SUGAR, 2TBSP
Eel adds extra
phosphorus, which
• SESAME OIL, 1TSP
strengthens bones
• RICE WINE VINEGAR, 1½TBSP
and ligaments, • CHILLIES, 2
containing more TO SERVE
than the quantities
of milk, yogurt and
• SMOKED EEL, HANDFUL, DICED
shrimp combined.
• SALAD LEAVES, HANDFUL
• GRELOT ONION, ½, SLICED
• CHILLI OIL, 2TBSP
• GOLDEN KIMCHI, 100G
First, wash your hands well to
keep bad bacteria out of your kimchi.
Wash the cabbage and chop it into
chunks. Sprinkle with salt, layer by
layer, then let it sit for 24 hours.

The next day, blitz the garlic,

beancurd (you’ll find it in Chinese
supermarkets), apple, carrot, sugar,
100ml water, sesame oil and rice wine
vinegar to make the sauce. When it’s
smooth, and only then, add the chilli.

Drain the water from the salted

cabbage and mix it in a bowl with
the sauce. Put the mixture in a
sterilised glass jar and tuck it away
somewhere dark for a least a week.
Finally, dress the golden kimchi with
all the other ingredients and serve
cold, alongside your smoked eel
and salad. Dress with chilli oil, eat
and feel very wholesome, indeed.

M S
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
CO K MEN’S HEALTH 65
A cooked breakfast needn’t
leave a grease stain on your
health. The probiotics in this
dish have been proven to curb The fermentation
anxiety, with a Psychiatry processes at work
in sauerkraut
Research study finding that increase the
regular sauerkraut intake leads bioavailability of
to higher levels of GABA, a the vitamin C by
200%, compared
neurotransmitter that tempers to the raw veg.
your brain’s fear response.
Celeriac also bumps up the Halloumi, as with
other sheep’s milk
fibre you need to feed your cheeses, is easier
digestive microbes, while on your digestion
the ’kraut’s sharpness is than most, and
adds an extra 8g
balanced out by the eggs. of protein on top
Your #brunch posts are top of the eggs.
about to gain more likes.

Celeriac And
Sauerkraut Rösti
With Poached Eggs
And Halloumi
By Eve Kalinik,
nutritionist and author
of Be Good To Your Gut

INGREDIENTS
(SERVES 2)
• CELERIAC, 130G
• SAUERKRAUT, 20G, LIQUID
SQUEEZED OUT
• FREE-RANGE EGGS, 6
• ONION POWDER, 2TSP
• GROUND CUMIN, 2TSP
• COCONUT FLOUR, 1TBSP
• SALT AND PEPPER, PINCH
• UNSALTED BUTTER, 1TBSP Shred the cabbage into thin strips
• APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, DASH and place into a large bowl. Add the
salt and massage it into the cabbage
• UNPASTEURISED HALLOUMI, to release any liquid. After 15–20
4 SLICES
minutes, you should see a pool of
• FRESH HERBS (TRY PARSLEY liquid in the bowl. Now you can add
OR DILL) TO GARNISH the caraway seeds and chilli.

Trim the tough skin off the
celeriac, then grate it into a large
bowl. Add the sauerkraut, two
egg whites, onion powder, cumin,
coconut flour and a pinch of salt
and pepper. Get your hands in
to mix it all up well. Divide the
mixture into four and flatten into
small, pancake-shaped röstis.
Bring a pan of water to the boil,
ready to poach the four remaining
eggs with a dash of apple cider
vinegar. Heat a frying pan on
a medium heat, add the
butter, then fry the röstis for
three minutes on each side.
For the last minute or two, add
the halloumi slices to the pan.
Transfer the röstis and halloumi
onto a plate, almost ready to serve.
Poach the eggs until done to
your liking – which, if you’re
unsure, is with perfectly set whites
and a molten yolk – remove and
drain. Place the eggs on top of the
röstis. Garnish with fresh herbs and
a pinch of mineral-rich salt, then
give your gut what it’s starving for.
In With The Kraut
Not only is sauerkraut probiotic-
rich, but it’s also easy to make.
Plus, doing it yourself means
you know it hasn’t been
pasteurised or heat-treated.
INGREDIENTS
• A MEDIUM CABBAGE (WHITE,
RED OR A MIX)
• MINERAL-RICH SALT, 2TBSP
• CARAWAY SEEDS, 1TBSP
• RED CHILLI, ½, DESEEDED
AND FINELY CHOPPED
Pack the cabbage down inside
a jar and then cover it with the
liquid from the bowl. Secure the
jar with a muslin cloth and rubber
band so that it can breathe.
Press down the cabbage inside
the jar every few hours.
After 24 hours, seal the jar
with a lid and keep it at room
temperature for a further three or
four days. You can leave it longer
for extra flavour and fermentation.
When it tastes the way you want,
store it in the fridge.

66 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTTH.CO.UK

CO K
While the Okinawans’
restricted calorie intake may
be what gobbles up the
headlines, it is the strong
tang of fermentation in the
Japanese diet that keeps
their life expectancy in
the mid-eighties. A study
published in the journal Plos
One found that probiotics
directly ease joint pain and
arthritis. But you don’t need
to be a grand-master of
traditional techniques to stay
limber – just Google your
nearest Asian supermarket
and start cultivating your own
blue zone of physical and
mental longevity from the
comfort of your own home.

Black garlic Crab And Pollock Roe Soba

has twice the
antioxidant levels
Noodles With Fermented
of the white Black Garlic And Rape Leaf
variety and is By Paul Greening,
toxic to 14 types
of cancers. It’s
head chef at Aqua Kyoto
dark magic.
INGREDIENTS
Along with 16g of (SERVES 2)
fibre per 100g, the
rape leaves also
• KATSUOBUSHI BUTTER, 50G
serve up 82% of • POLLOCK ROE, 30G
your iron RDA, • BLACK FERMENTED GARLIC, 6
for more energy CLOVES, THINLY SLICED
throughout the day.
And until you’re
• FERMENTED RAPE LEAF, 100G
127, presumably.
• SPRING ONIONS, 2, THINLY SLICED
• MINCED GINGER, 1TSP
• SOBA NOODLES, 140G, COOKED
• CRAB MEAT, 100G, COOKED
• GREEN SHISO LEAVES, 4, SLICED
To make black garlic, pop regular
cloves in a rice warmer for two weeks.
Or you could just buy some. The rape
leaves need fermenting for a few
days in nukadoko (fermented rice
bran) – Greening makes his own,
but you can buy starter kits online.

Heat a frying pan with katsuobushi

butter, scraping out the pollock
roe while you wait. Stir in the pan,
adding the garlic and rape leaves.

Throw in the spring onions, minced

ginger, cooked soba and crab for one
minute, mixing well. Once it’s hot,
serve in a bowl with the shiso leaves.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO K MEN’S HEALTH 677
 30%
Pain reduction in those with chronic
back ache after taking a placebo

68 MEN’S HEALTH
 Little White Lies
Unethical, unrealistic or just a load of quasi-spiritual
hogwash – placebos have a bad reputation. But now
many physicians are waking up to their potential,
and the latest evidence suggests their effects hold
true. To find out whether sugar pills can revitalise the
tired, gym-going office worker, we conducted
an experiment of our own. Could healing our
bodies turn out to be an act of faith?
WORDS BY TOM WARD – PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROWAN FEE

DO YOUR MEDS REALLY DO

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE BOX?

MEN’S HEALTH 69
Suppose
we told you
there was a pill that could provide you
with the energy to power through your
morning workouts with professional
dedication, then arrive at your desk
ready – no, raring – to start your working
day? Suppose the same pill could banish
training aches and pains and erase your
mid-afternoon headache; could cure you
of chronic procrastination and rebalance
your off-kilter sleep cycle?
The bad news is that no such capsule
exists. The good news is that, if you dared
to believe us, even just for a second,
it may well be enough.
Backed by an increasingly robust body
of evidence, prescriptions of placebo pills
are on the rise. What’s more, many of
these prescriptions are now ‘open-label’
– that is to say, patients are knowingly
taking sugar pills to combat cramps,
allergies, chronic
pain and depression.
And, crucially, they’re “THE MERE HOPE
feeling the benefits.
The latest figures
OF IMPROVEMENT
suggest that 97% of UK SIGNALS YOUR
GPs have prescribed
placebo pills. And this BODY TO EASE
has been proven to
aid everything from
SYMPTOMS”
stomach ulcers to – according to one
study detailed in the journal Mechanisms
of Placebo Pain Reduction – the perception
of pain when test subjects’ fingers were
squeezed in a vice.
While their use in mainstream medical
practice may be new, the phenomenon
can trace its origins back to the second
world war. Treating Allied soldiers in
southern Italy and desperately low on
morphine, a nurse assisting anaesthetist
Henry Beecher told a wounded soldier
that he was about to receive a powerful
painkiller. In fact, her syringe contained
only salt water. To their surprise, the
injection calmed the soldier, preventing
the onset of shock. Beecher would go on
to become a leading voice in how new
pharmaceutical drugs are tested.
Currently, it is estimated that half of
all drugs reaching final-stage trials are
70 MEN’S HEALTH
discontinued because of their inability
to beat sugar pills in blind tests. Faced
with two options, patients simply cannot
tell the difference. To what degree, then,
is the real thing any more valuable than
the belief that what you are taking is real?
The most recent breakthrough came SOME BELIEVE
PLACEBOS ARE AN
with the realisation that patients didn’t
UNTAPPED PANACEA
necessarily have to be deceived in order
for placebos to work. In 2017, a 260-person
study review carried out by Dr Jeremy
Howick, a clinical epidemiologist at
Oxford University, found that open-label
placebos are just as efficient at improving
symptoms compared to those purporting
to be functioning medicines.
In one study, patients with lower back
pain given open-label pills noted a fast
reduction in discomfort.
In others, they’ve been
found to reduce symptoms
of irritable bowl syndrome,
depression and attention
deficit hyperactivity
disorder. Howick – who
has written a book on
the subject, Doctor You –
attributes this to ‘embodied
cognition’. Essentially, the mere
anticipation of improvement signals the
body to release chemicals that can help
to alleviate symptoms. It’s like Pavlovian
conditioning, in which your brain
anticipates reward (energy and alertness,
for example) based on a stimulus (such
as the action of taking a supplement).
To test this theory for ourselves – and
to find out whether placebos hold any
promise for the tired, overstretched, but
otherwise healthy, man – we decided
to carry out our own testing protocol.
For two weeks, three writers would pop
a pill once a day. One would knowingly
take an energising cocktail of creatine,
ginseng and B vitamins. Another would
knowingly take a sugar-pill placebo,
and the third would take the same,
believing it to be a vitality-boosting
vitamin complex. We recorded their
results, then asked Howick to weigh
in on how sugar pills can work for you.

84%
Doctors surveyed who described
placebos as ethically acceptable
01
THE LEGITIMATEE
ENERGY-BOOSTEER
David Morton - 34
Deputy Editor at Men’s Health
The Pill - Solgar Gold Specifics
Energy Modulators solgar.co.uk
A punishing fitness schedule, young
family and exacting job meant David
could use all the performance help
he could get. His course of health-
boosting nutrients plugged the gap
“I’ve been training harder than usual as
part of a body-transformation feature.
Using the Primal 9 app, I’ve been fitting
in a combination of strength training,
cardio and conditioning for an hour
a day, five days a week. On top of that,
most mornings I’m up at 5am with
a two-year-old child. So it’s full-on. The
idea of taking a pill to give me a booster
shot appealed, and I believe they have
helped. While I’m not a lot more energetic
02
THE UNAWARE
SUGAR PILL DOSER
Ben Hobson - 35
Digital Editor at Runner’s World
The Pill - Placebo World Sucrose
Capsules placebo-world.com
Returning to his training after illness,
Ben decided to throw himself into
cardio with the help of an energy pill.
Unbeknown to him, he was fuelling
his workouts with a placebo
“I’ve been doing a lot of fitness and gym
work lately, and have been popping the
pills before my runs and weight-training
sessions. I was expecting more side
effects. Most of the energy pills I’ve
taken before contain beta-alanine,
which gives you a hot, tingling face, so
that’s what I was anticipating. Those
aren’t the sort of reactions you can
ignore – you know it’s doing something.
With these, it was different. I had
Empty Promise?
than usual during my gym sessions, I do
feel less exhausted back at my desk and
I don’t find myself fading come 4pm.
“After taking my pill every morning, I’d
often then forget about it, which could
be why I haven’t noticed a more marked
change in how I feel. I didn’t overthink
the process. I’ve had three or four nights
recently when I haven’t slept so easily,
but that’s likely due to the fact that I’ve
changed my diet to include fewer carbs,
so I might be producing less melatonin.
“My case is an interesting one as
I know the pills I’m taking are ‘real’.
I guess there’s a psychosomatic aspect
to that; I know they’re genuine and so
I expect them to work. Considering my
diet is currently quite restrictive – I’m on
a calorie deficit – I feel like the pills have
been filling in for the caffeine and sugar
I would usually rely on to prop me up.
“So, yes, overall I noticed their impact.
If I was eating my normal diet and not
training so hard, I might not rate them
as highly. But, even though I haven’t
been bestowed with boundless energy,
they have made up for a shortfall – and
paid my energy debt on a daily basis.”
David’s score: 7/10
increased focus, rather than a surge
of energy. The pills helped, but not
like dosing on caffeine.
“On some days, when my baby son
had had a bad night and I’d turn up at
the office knackered, taking a pill would
make me feel better for a little while.
I think there were a couple of occasions
when the supplements added an extra
element to my training, too. A lot of that
is down to the fact that I was returning
to training after being ill, likely having
lost a little of my fitness. The trial helped
to motivate me. I’d take a pill, wait half
an hour, then head to the gym thinking,
‘This is it.’ It would have seemed a waste
to take them and then not train.
“Once or twice, I forgot to take the
pills. Strangely, I think I pushed myself
that bit harder on those days because
I wanted to match the other sessions.
In general, though, I trained at my usual
pace. I was taking them in the hope
of making regular sessions feel easier,
rather than harder sessions less painful.
“All in all, the difference wasn’t huge.
At times they were helpful – but I’ve
taken supplements with more impact.”
Ben’s score: 5/10
MEN’S HEALTH 71
03
THE CONSCIOUS
PLACEBO POPPER
ER
Ted Lane - 27
THE SELF-HEALING
Commissioning Editor at Men’s Health RESPONSE COULD BE
The Pill - Placebo World Sucrose STRONGER THAN WE KNOW
Capsules

A heavy workload pushed training to

the bottom of Ted’s to-do list. He timed
his course of open-label placebos with
a weights-room reacquaintance

“I knew these pills were placebos. But

having been provided with a specific
purpose for taking them, to boost my
energy, well, that made it interesting.
The fact I was actively seeking some
kind of sensation meant they kind of
worked. I was acknowledging a problem
and looking for a solution.
“A quick caveat: I deliberately timed
this experiment with my return to
training. Beforehand, I’d been so busy
that I’d come into the office early, only
to then work through lunch. The more
gym sessions I let slip, the more lethargic
I became, and so the less motivation
I had to exercise. My low energy levels
were something I was very conscious
of. Beginning the placebo trial offered
an extra incentive to force myself
away from my desk.
“Even though I knew them to be fake,
I don’t think I could fully grasp the fact
that the pills weren’t going to work.
That was the weird thing. It didn’t make
any difference to my mindset. When
I took them, the thought would pop
into my head: ‘This is an energy pill.’
I’ve also never taken energy-boosters
that have a slow-burn effect, as opposed
to more instantaneous pre-workout
supplements, so I had no real frame
of reference for how they were
supposed to make me feel.
“I noticed the effect most in the gym.
After taking the pills, I pushed myself In Ben’s case, it seems likely he might
that bit harder than I otherwise would
have done. But I also had more energy at An Article not have experienced much effect over
and above the ‘natural high’ of exercise
– which is certainly no bad thing. What’s

work afterwards. I didn’t just come back
to my desk, yawn through my afternoon
tasks and wait to go home. I was focused,
if not in the super-switched-on way you’d
expect after a megadose of caffeine.
“I feel a lot better now than I did
a few weeks ago. Whether that’s from the
extra workouts or the pills themselves,
something certainly worked.”
Ted’s score: 6/10
Of Faith
Our trials would suggest that a daily
placebo holds more than empty
promise. Researcher Dr Jeremy
Howick explains how you can
benefit from a new belief system
interesting about Ted, who took the
same placebos knowingly, is that he
couldn’t fully grasp the fact that they
weren’t going to work. And, as a result,
he did feel some benefits.
This could have been a conditioning
effect. Just as Pavlov’s dogs salivated
when they heard a bell even if there was
no food around, it is possible our bodies
react in a certain way when we swallow

72 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK


10%
Drop in depression and anxiety
with placebo pills
a pill, even if we know on a conscious
level that they are just placebos. It’s
likely that Ted’s body reacted to the act
of taking a pill, in spite of what he knew.
What’s really interesting is David’s
response. Because he was the only
person taking genuine nutritional
supplements, it’s difficult to tell whether
they had any impact above a placebo
effect. He mentions a ‘psychosomatic
aspect’, and he could be right. I’m only
aware of small trials showing that energy
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
SUPPLEMENTS’
CLAIMS AREN’T
SUPPORTED BY
modulators high in ginseng, such as
those David took, work any better than
a placebo. Certain supplements’ claims
are not supported by evidence – but if
you believe they work, they often will.
This issue also raises a problem with
the ‘nocebo’ effect, in which our beliefs
have a negative impact. If you regularly
take a supplement, then one day run
out, it can create a negative expectation:
“I don’t have my magic supplement, so
I won’t have a good workout.” It’s worth
considering that the placebo benefits
can be a double-edged sword.
Empty Promise?
The reason placebos confuse people
is that many struggle to understand how
the mind can cure the body. Certain
complaints some people assume are ‘just
psychological’, while others – anything
that shows up on an X-ray, say – are
‘physiological’. This leads us to believe
there are certain things placebos can’t fix.
This philosophy is very much mistaken.
Nothing is ‘just in your head’. Your mind
and body are so intertwined that they
can’t be separated. It’s why placebo
back, knee and shoulder surgeries have
been seen to
work as well
“MANY as the ‘real’ thing.
Fabrizio
Benedetti,
professor of
physiology and
neuroscience at
EVIDENCE” the University of
Turin, uses the
phrase ‘placebo response’, instead of
‘placebo effect’. He reinforces that inert
pills can act as a catalyst for the body’s
endogenous healthcare system – its
natural healing mechanisms. After more
than a decade of research, he claims to
have mapped the biochemical reactions
that make up the placebo response.
He believes the brain produces its own
analgesic (painkilling) compounds under
conditions of stress, which not only
relieve pain, but can also modulate
heart rate and respiration – and that
this can be triggered by knowingly
taking placebos. Benedetti believes
such processes can help lift mood,
sharpen cognitive ability, relieve
insomnia, limit the production of stress-
related hormones such as cortisol
and help digestive disorders.
Crucially, you don’t need to buy a
placebo ‘pill’ to benefit from a placebo
response. Even positive self-talk – “I’m
going to have a great workout”, “I feel
energised” – can have the same effect.
Many mind-body techniques including
meditation and mindfulness can also
help to induce the relaxation response.
And for those who train seriously, the
body rebuilds itself best when it is
relaxed and less stressed.
It seems the mind has far more
power over the body than most would
believe, and that actively tapping
into this – with or without a sugar
pill – can have a huge impact.
MEN’S HEALTH 73
01
ROAR OF
THE CROWD
01\ Wrestling
is bigger than
football. The top
matches draw
tens of thousands
of spectators
 In Senegal, professional wrestlers are more highly revered than any other
sportsmen, with six-figure salaries to match. For young men, success in the
ring is a chance to escape poverty, while those at the top maintain their
status with the help of shamanic rituals. MH took a ringside seat
WORDS BY TOM WARD – PHOTOGRAPHY AND INTERVIEWS BY CHRISTIAN BOBST
GUTTER CREDIT

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 75

02

BEACH CLUB
02\ Coaching
sessions take place
by the seafront
03\ Kherou Ngor
trains on the steps
of Dakar’s Monument
of the African
Renaissance

Africa is a 03
physically, by some of the planet’s
most inhospitable mountains, deserts
and rivers, and politically, by decades-
long conflicts, border disputes and
humanitarian crises. But despite the

continent turmoil, an unlikely shared passion runs

the length and breadth of the continent.
It’s not, as one might suspect, a love
of football, but a deep and profound
appreciation of bare-basics wrestling.

of 1.2 billion Throughout the 54 African nations,

no form is as popular or as intrinsic to its
country’s way of life, as Senegal’s historic
national sport, known in the native Wolof
language as ‘Laamb’ or, in French, as ‘La

people Lutte Sénégalaise’ (Senegalese fighting).

Across this West African country, from
dusty village squares to Dakar’s biggest
arena, it is a sport that attracts sell-out
crowds and shuts down cities with ease.

divided,
76 MEN’S HEALTH
Originating with the Senegalese Serer
warriors who used it as a way of training

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
 BATTLE FUEL
04\ Ngor pours
milk over his head,
a ritual believed to
harness the power
of ghosts and spirits
before a fight
PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN BOBST / LAIF / CAMERA PRESS
for war, the sport has been making
fighters famous since wrestler Boukar
Djillakh Faye became a star in the 14th
century. Today, La Lutte is a multi-
million-dollar spectacle.
“Winners’ faces Its top wrestlers are some
of the most famous men
appear on buses, in the country, with their
faces appearing on T-shirts,
T-shirts and buses and billboards.
For those competing at
billboards” the highest level, there is
opportunity to earn up to
£150,000 per match – a startling amount
in a country where the average worker
earns just 75p per hour.
But it takes more than a rigid and
dedicated training regime to reign
victorious in the sport of La Lutte.
Among the competitors, their trainers
and followers, superstition, magic and
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
War Games
04
folklore hold equal reverence, with
an arsenal of rituals, talismans and
incantations considered as vital to victory
as a wrestler’s strength and skill.
This is ‘gris-gris’, a spiritual practice
with its roots in the Islamic faith. It may
seem anachronistic in a sport that attracts
sponsorship from telecoms giants and
coverage across dedicated TV channels,
but for the gris-gris wrestlers of Senegal,
staying faithful to traditional rituals
is no mere show, as photographer
Christian Bobst discovered over the
course of several trips.
RITUAL TRAINING
Senegal is traditionally the only West
African country to allow blows with
the hand, but today its fighters practise
Luttee Traditionnelle both avec and
sans ‘frappe’ (hits). The more traditional,
hands-free version is reserved for
MEN’S HEALTH 77
War Games 05

SCHOOL OF
HARD KNOCKS
05\ A wrestler
wraps his body with
amulets to bring
local village matches, while stadium luck for a fight in the
small village of Djilas
fights routinely feature devastating
06-08\ Gyms are
jabs and punches. Whatever weapon
expensive, so many
is used – hand, elbow, knee, or an training sessions
opponent’s own bodyweight – the and fights take place
winner is the first to throw his adversary in public spaces
to the ground by lifting him up and
over. Typically, a match will last no
longer than the 90 seconds it takes
a skilled fighter to upend a challenger,
to the delight of the crowd.
Bobst, a Swiss photographer, first
came across the sport when working in
a small village on behalf of an NGO in
2012. He has since returned to Senegal
to document wrestling matches across 06
the country. “The atmosphere in the
bigger stadiums is febrile,” he says. “In
the cities it feels very serious; police
protect the fighters. It isn’t like football
hooliganism, but people do lose their
minds sometimes. In the countryside,
it’s a lot more playful.”

FIGHTING SPIRIT
The differences between these arenas
are as vast as the men fighting in them.
Some, like Balla Gaye 2 and Eumeu
Sene are household names and, “more
popular than soccer players,” says Bobst.
So valuable is their cultural cachet that,
“even politicians want to be pictured
with them.” At the
other end of the
spectrum are the
“Hungry to
huge numbers of
young hopefuls
break in, men
attending spit- train around
and-sawdust bare
bones training their jobs”
schools on rural
beaches. Senegal’s climate is too hot for
wrestling during the day, with matches
taking place at dusk, illuminated by the
glow of electric mosquito traps. Those
hungry to break into the sport train when
they can – around school and jobs – and
will often practise well into the night,
silhouetted as the sun sinks over the sea.
The training is basic but effective.
Bobst recalls watching one competitor
run across the sand with two others
attached to him by a large rubber band.
Other times they’ll carry each other
as they run. The key is to build both
balance and strength in the core and
legs – as fights always take place on sand,
developing a solid foundation is essential.
Alongside these rudimentary exercises,
the fighters undergo a regimen of
bodyweight and skills training, including
press-ups, squats and practice fights.
07

78 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 08
Should a fighter distinguish himself
in one of the local competitions, he may
earn enough to afford training in a gym.
The set-up will still be sparse – there’s
rarely enough money for equipment –
but the chance to be noticed is worth the
entry fee: “The young men with the most
talent will go on to train at one of the
famous academies run by ex-fighters like
Balla Gaye, who opened the first official
wrestling school in Senegal,” Bobst
says. “Many successful wrestlers have
graduated from his school, including
the sport’s superstar [and Gaye’s
namesake] Balla Gaye 2.”
Their training regimes are fuelled by
a diet not unlike that of any other athlete
– piles of rice for carbohydrates, plus
fish and meat cooked in oil. Except, in
their case, the more weight they can gain,
the better. “Usually the fighters start out
lean and athletic, then later they try to
put on weight,” says Bobst. “They’re still
strong and muscular, but they’ll aim to
get a bigger belly.” The more you weigh,
of course, the harder it is for an opponent
to lift you in the air, and the more chance
you have of using your bodyweight
to beat them down.
But despite their dedication, even the
best fighter considers his preparation
futile without the protection of the most
important component: gris-gris magic.

HOLY GHOSTS
At the highest, stadium-packing level
of La Lutte, each wrestler will spend
09 a vast amount of money on amassing
DUEL AT
an entourage of shamans and religious
DUSK
teachers known as ‘marabouts’. This
09\ Tournaments get
support team is tasked with performing
underway as the sun
sets in cities across rituals believed to bestow supernatural
Senegal – it’s often powers upon a wrestler before a fight.
too hot to wrestle Wealthier and more successful athletes
during the day
will be able to acquire the most sought-
after spiritual talent.
Bobst is quick to point out that these
practices are in no way cartoonish. This
is not the voodoo of Western pop culture:
“Senegal is a Muslim country and they
would probably say that the Christians
perform voodoo, which is mostly black
magic, while the Muslims perform
gris-gris, which is white magic.”
Of course, that’s not to say there’s
no foul play: “Fighters will sometimes
hire voodoo priests to perform black
magic, too,” Bobst explains. “Each fighter
is afraid that an opponent could have
more spiritual support, so they try to
hire as many marabouts as possible
to ensure that they win.”
Traditionally, gris-gris refers to
GUTTER CREDIT

amulets made by the marabouts. These

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 79

 10
LIONS IN
THE SAND
10-12\ Locals turn
out in droves for a
bout in the Adrien
Senghor arena.
Fights often go
on past midnight
often take the form of a small cloth bag
inscribed with verses from the Qur’an
and containing ritual objects. Their uses
are varied among descendants of the
West African diaspora; in Haiti they are
regarded as good luck charms. In the
Cajun communities of Louisiana, they
are thought to ward off ill-fortune. For the
wrestlers of Senegal, they are believed to
mean the difference between a crushing
defeat and a glorious victory. “They’re
not just part of a costume,” says Bobst.
“They’re worn to provide protection.”
Just as boxers have their walkout
songs, gris-gris wrestlers have their
own elaborate intimidation strategies.
“Before a big stadium fight, the reigning
champions will walk around performing
rituals with their marabouts. There are
drums and music. They pour ‘magic’
fluids over their heads.”
80 MEN’S HEALTH
Alongside this ritual dance, called
a bàkk, fighters will inhale ‘holy smoke’
and release pigeons, believed to bring
even more luck. Each fighter has an
assistant to watch over his amulets. Equal
reverence is given to the removal of these
amulets post-fight, too. Win or lose, this
is always done behind closed doors, and
in the presence of a shaman. Bobst recalls
not being allowed into a room where this
was happening because it was apparently
dangerous and ‘full of spirits’. “It’s a very
paranoid system,” he says.
EXTERNAL FORCES
These days, there are other, more modern,
powers at work in the sport, too. Many
of the fighters competing at the top level
believe their street cred is improved by
temporarily relocating to Europe or the
US to train. “Most of the wrestlers I talked
to want to go abroad. It’s their chance to
travel, to see the world,” says Bobst. “It’s
also a status thing. If you can afford to go 11
to America then you really are someone.”
But as well as gaining a competitive
edge in the gym, it’s rumoured that many
of the wrestlers have been introduced to
steroids while abroad. According to Bobst,
it is an open secret that top-level fighters
have used them to gain size and strength
before returning to Senegal to compete.
“Anabolics aren’t yet widely popular, but
everyone talks about it,” he says. Signs of
outside influence are apparent too in the
wrestlers’ clothing; men perform gris-gris
rituals in tech sportwear next to those in
traditional costume. Some wear T-shirts
emblazoned with sponsors’ logos.
As their celebrity grows, wrestlers
are also demanding – and receiving –
higher pay for their performance. They
read about their competitors’ salaries
in daily papers such as the Sunu Lamb,

12
which reports exclusively on Senegalese
wrestling, and start to form a sense of
their commercial worth, accurate or
otherwise. For the next generation of
aspiring fighters, the bar
“Top fighters is set high and it’s difficult
to imagine that those
now train in lucky enough to escape
poverty and make a
the US. It’s a career from fighting will
resist the lure of America.
status thing” But whether they will
relinquish centuries of
tradition remains to be seen. It’s easy
to write off the gris-gris rituals as a mere
performance piece. But, for now at least,
their effects can be very real.
In 2015, Bobst documented a sell-out
fight between Balla Gaye 2 and Eumeu
S CO U
War Games
13
THE CHAMP
13\ Fans sing
and dance in the
street as winner
Ngor returns to
his neighbourhood
on the roof of a car
Sene at the 30,000-capacity Demba Diop
football stadium in Dakar. Gaye 2 became
a superstar in Senegal after dethroning
reigning champion Yekini in a fight
that lasted all of 30 seconds. Until that
match, Yekini had been unbeaten for 17
years. The odds, then, were very much in
Gaye 2’s favour. But as Bobst looked on,
something entirely unexpected unfolded.
“Eumeu Sene turned up late and was
very angry and aggressive. When the fight
started he went into the arena and went
ballistic. After beating Gaye 2, he started
crying. I couldn’t understand what he was
saying, but obviously he was not well.
“Later, it emerged that his team had
told him somebody had found some
gris-gris on the grave of his mother. He
was convinced that Gaye 2’s team had
done it. That’s a big no-go in their culture.
You cannot put magic spells on the grave
of someone’s mother. It made Eumeu
so angry that he won the match. In the
end, it turned out that it wasn’t even
true; his own team had made the whole
thing up to provoke him.”
In such cases, it’s difficult to argue that
gris-gris doesn’t work. The psychological
effect is undeniably powerful.
The recent influx of money into
the sport may be a new and strange
phenomenon in La Lutte. But money
isn’t the only force that moves.
MEN’S HEALTH 81
 2 4 Ways
To Hack
Your
Fat Loss
Genes
h o2
o2 h2 o

g
o c

c o2

o c
h2

If you’re looking to lose weight, there are options. You could

slave away at the treadmill, put down roots in the weights
room or just deny yourself pleasure at the dinner table.
Alternatively, you could cheat the whole system. That’s
because, with a little scientific tinkering, you can rewire
your brain, hijack your biology and make fat loss automatic
every hour of the day. This is our guide to outsmarting
Mother Nature. Let’s make your genes a better fit

Words by Louee Dessent-Jackson & Scarlett Wrench – Photography by Jobe Lawrenson

82 MEN’S HEALTH
YOUR INNER TOOLS
FOR TRUE CHANGE

01
Amp Up Your
Fibre Power
Leaner men have healthier gut
bacteria than their overweight
peers. But while this is partly
inherited, a smart addition
to your daily diet can flip the
switch. An NHS study found
the fibre inulin is better for
your gut than probiotic drinks.
To get your fill, roast in-season
Jerusalem artichoke with
garlic and add it to your soups
and salads.
02
See Insta Results
Food cravings begin in the
brain, not the belly, with
the part of your grey matter
responsible for visual imagery
particularly active. Next time
you find yourself salivating,
rewire your mental circuits
by bringing a vivid, compelling
or emotive picture to mind,
advises Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Lacking imagination? A scroll
through @natgeoadventure
after lunch should
transport you to a
better mental space.
03
Empty The Tank
Evolution has hardwired our
bodies to store fat for potential
famine, rather than torching it
for fuel. But imposing a tactical
food delay could hack your
weightloss hard drive. A Uni
of Bath study found training on
an empty stomach triggers the
‘PDK4 gene’: a sign that your
body fat is burning off. An hour’s
effort is enough, so schedule
in your Sunday run before you
settle at the brunch table.
Avo on toast, we presume?
84 MEN’S HEALTH
04
Diarise Your
Cheat Days
Scientists now know willpower
can be biological, rather than
an acquired personality trait.
This means our genetics could
affect our response when
faced with a mouth-watering
menu selection, according
to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Why leave it to chance? Take
impulse out of the equation by
making ‘burger night’ a fixed
weekly event, rather than weak-
willed indulgence. Studies
show a 2700-calorie cheat day
can binge-proof your brain for
the rest for the week.
05
Save Your
Best For Last
Your lunchbreak workouts
may offer respite from office
drudgery, but for maximum
fat-burn from your weight
training, save the heavy stuff
for the evening. According to
journal Chronobiology, our
in-built body clocks mean
we’re strongest at 6pm. Use
this time for full-body deadlifts
over curls or presses to recruit
maximum muscle mass. You’ll
shift more
weight – and
can drop them
sooner, too.
06
Juice Up Your
Metabolism
A dad bod isn’t an inevitability,
no matter the shape of your
own dad’s, er, bod. Make your
paunch a softer target by
upgrading your morning juice.
Not only is watermelon lower
in sugar than OJ, it’s also rich
in citrulline, which animal
studies by Paris Descartes
University found ‘loosens’
stubborn belly fat, making it
easier for your body to burn
it up. Opt for a carton of What
A Melon, which is 100% pure.
07
First Orders
It’s not just your
choice intoxicant
that impacts fat
loss: your bar snack
has its part to play,
too. Peanuts are rich
in resveratrol, the ‘red
wine’ compound, which the
European Journal of Nutrition
discovered boosts your fat cells’
ability to torch calories. And to
wash them down? Go British:
grapes grown in cooler climes
contain more of the nutrient.
08
Follow A Hot Tip
Not only will a warm bath
speed your post-gym recovery,
but add a few magnesium
flakes and you can scrub away
at body fat, too. These natural
salts – available in most health
shops, or your gym, depending
on its hipster cred – raise levels
of the anti-obesity hormone
adiponectin, according to
Journal of Nutrition research.
We’ll let that thought soak in.
09
Have Good Scents
Here’s a tip from the sharp
end of science: the smell of
grapefruit has been shown
to activate ‘nerve pathways’
to the body’s fat tissue, which
essentially means you’re
torching more calories, Osaka
University reports. Of course,
grapefruits aren’t exactly the
most portable of snacks;
happily, a pre-lunch spritz of
citrus aftershave (try Terre
d’Hermès) has a similar effect.
10
Acquire Taste
If an insatiable sweet tooth
is souring your weightloss
plans, it’s time to reconsider
your afternoon pick-me-up.
But it’s not just the digestives
at fault: a Cornell University
study found 200mg of caffeine
– a double espresso’s worth –
dampens our tastebuds and
makes sweet foods less
satiating. If you recoil at the
word decaf (that’s French for
‘brown water’), breakfast tea
is your best of both.
11
Step Into The Light
It may make you feel virtuous,
but shuffling from bedroom
to bus to gym on dark winter
mornings deprives your body
of natural light. And that could
cast a shadow on your fat-
burning plans, too: a study by
North Western University
found morning light exposure
resets your circadian rhythm,
positively affecting hormones
linked to metabolism. Step out
for some brisk winter rays 20
minutes before work and hit
the weights room at sundown.
12
Diet By Halves
Still sticking by your new year
eating plan? We’d advise you
to quit it. According to the
University of Tasmania,
adopting a ‘two weeks on, two
weeks off’ protocol prevents
the drop in your metabolism
– part of your body’s ingrained
famine response – that occurs
midway through a strict
nutrition regimen. Give your
Tupperware some time off
and you’ll stand to lose an
additional 8kg by summer.

13
Seafood And
Cheat It
The lower your levels of
satiety hormone leptin, the
higher your risk of obesity.
Fortunately, scientists have
devised an opulent approach
to overturning this particular
problem. Crustacea such as
langoustine and lobster are
rich in the mineral zinc – with
roughly a third of your RDA
per serving – which the
journal Life Sciences says
ramps up production of the
hormone. With or without
the lashings of garlic butter.
14
Play With Fire
Any man with a passion for
Sriracha will be aware of chilli’s
ability to bump up metabolism.
But now, recent research from
the American Society for
Microbiology has found
that capsaicin – the burning
core-chemical in chilli –
hacks the genes involved in
digestion, too, using up extra
calories long after your tongue
stops tingling. Our native
Dorset Naga happens to be
one of the world’s hottest – if
you think you can handle it.
15
Play The System
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: STUDIO 33
That the cornershop crisp
selection looks all the more
tempting after a hard morning
of meetings is purely down to
science – our ‘stress genes’
impel us to scavenge for
high-fat foods when under
pressure. But you can outwit
them: a short gaming session
on your phone is not only
proven to reduce anxiety,
but also crush food cravings,
according to journal Appetite.
Just three minutes is enough
to see willpower win out.
16
Green Energy
Your fat stores have met their
matcha. As well as lending
your latte hipster kudos, the
green tea powder has been
shown to boost levels of the
‘marathon enzyme’ AMPK,
which McMaster University
found helps you train harder
for longer – and enjoy it more,
too. Vitamin C makes the
nutrients easier to absorb, so
blend a teaspoon of powder
with fresh berries as part of
your morning shake.
17
The Zen Is Mightier
Eleven-hour working days add
as much to your fat stores as
they steal from your downtime,
as chronic stress disrupts the
hormones linked to weight
control. Fortunately, Coventry
University found on-trend
mindfulness suppresses this
response at a genetic level.
Not the meditative type?
Playing pool is proven to have
a similarly soothing mental
effect. Pot your belly.
18
Chew Through Fat
If you’re really keen to
supercharge your calorie burn,
the muscle you need to be
working is your jaw. Lingering
longer over your meal and
chewing thoroughly increases
‘diet-induced thermogenesis’
– that’s calorie burning, to you
and us – while improving
blood sugar control, according
to Clinical Nutrition. Aim for
40 reps per mouthful, instead
of the usual 15. That you’ll have
less time to source second
helpings surely helps, too.
Hack Your Fat Loss Genes
19
Elevate Your Fitness
Flaked on your training again?
Blame your parents: the extent
to which we enjoy exercise
could be genetic, says VU
University Amsterdam. Still,
breaking a sweat needn’t be
a grind. Studies show social
integration and
novelty are vital “Morning
in helping us to
stick with a plan.
light boosts
Join in at a local hormones
climbing wall to linked to fast
keep motivation
at its peak. metabolism”
20
Dark Magic
Upgrade your overnight oats
by skipping the usual fruit
topping and grating a block of
dark chocolate over it, instead;
its polyphenols suppress
genes related to fat storage,
according to Nutrition journal,
rewiring metabolism. Better
still, a 600-calorie cocoa-
based breakfast has been
linked to a reduced incidence
of overeating later in the day.
We like to call it bar training.
21
Snooze Control
After a well enjoyed evening
of overindulgence – be
it alcoholic or calorific –
sleeping through the next
morning’s meal may seem
sensible. Well, here’s your
wake-up call: a study by Ohio
State University found that
a pattern of gorging and
meal-skipping activates genes
that lead to fat gain. Spread
your meals throughout a 12-
hour window – which means
making time for bacon and
sleeping it off on the sofa later.
22
Lites Out
Dampening your cravings
with low-calorie fizzy drinks
will have rather flat results.
Chemical sweeteners such
as sucralose – found in ‘diet’
beverages – hijack fat cell
production, increasing the
risk of weight gain, according
to George Washington Uni
researchers. Instead, sub in
this year’s trending fat-loss
brew chicory-root coffee, for
a more 2018 solution.
23
Get The Best
Of The Rest
Propping yourself up
with extra helpings of,
well, everything after another
late night is only natural.
A study in Sleep journal found
that scraping by on less than
five hours’ rest increases
endocannabinoids in the
blood, which are linked
to impulse and reduced
willpower. If tiredness is
leaving you hungry, take a trip
up and down the office stairs
in the late afternoon – just
10 minutes jolts your brain
in the same way as caffeine.
24
Dial Down Fat
Ready for the cold, hard truth?
Scientists have found a master
gene that regulates our levels
of blubber-storing ‘white’
fat cells and calorie-burning
‘beige’ – and 44% of us carry
a variant that raises obesity
risk. But don’t take the stats
lying down – not when you
can hack the gene during
your shower. A daily blast at
a breezy 18°C, instead of your
usual 45°C, will help rebalance
your ratios. Grin and bear it.
MEN’S HEALTH 85
The
Great
British
WORDS BY OLIVER THRING - ARTWORK BY PETER CROWTHER

The UK protein market is

experiencing a growth spurt,
as fortified foods move from
gym-bag to shopping trolley. But
with everything from chocolate to
bread to crisps being adulterated with the nutrient,
what does it say about our insatiable hunger for
extra muscle with every bite? MH unpacks the facts
86 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
 CAN THE PROMISE OF
MORE PROTEIN REDEEM
YOUR GUILTIEST TREATS?
 25% The proportion of UK
consumers who buy protein-
fortified foods or drinks

he change
happened quietly,
albeit suddenly.
Once the chalky
preserve of sweatbox
changing rooms and
elite sportsmens’
kitbags, protein has
become the sexiest,
most ubiquitous
and most lucrative nutrient around.
Between 2010 and 2015, the number of
new food products claiming to be ‘high-
protein’ rose almost 500%, according to
market research group Mintel. And with
one in four Britons already consuming
sports supplements regularly – recently
rising to an alleged 42% of men aged 16-24
– it’s clear we just can’t get enough of it.
Of course, we expect to find whey in
our post-gym shakes and bars. You’ve
doubtless used them yourself, whether
looking to build and sustain muscle or
simply recover faster from your workouts.
But this relatively niche market has
breached its banks. Its appeal is blowing
up. Yoghurt brands such as Arla heavily
market their protein content. Weetabix
On The Go calls itself a ‘protein breakfast
drink’. Even Marks & Spencer’s Balanced
For You ready meals promote their high
levels of the muscle macro.
Meanwhile, the ‘healthy’ ice cream
brand Halo Top, soon to launch in the UK,
now outsells all of its US competitors. This
is in no small part due to its advertised 5g
of protein per scoop – five times that in
the caloric equivalent of a Ben & Jerry’s.
Other brands such as Shreddies and
Batchelors Cup a Soup have all launched
high-protein products. Coca-Cola has
even created protein milk Fairlife, which
the company’s executives anticipate will
“rain money” for the brand.
Not even rain itself has escaped
EVEN WATER IS
protein-ification. Recently launched
NOW SWELLING WITH
‘water’ Vieve claims to be natural, sugar- EXTRA MACROS
free, fat-free and high-protein – a list of
descriptors that could all be applied to
a glass of tap water with one exception.
Each bottle contains 20g of protein,
mainly derived from collagen.
In the language of marketing gurus,
protein now has a ‘health halo’, just as
low-fat foods did back in the ’80s. But
why exactly is this? Why have British
consumers suddenly embraced this
macronutrient with such strange and

88 MEN’S HEALTH S CO U

MARGINAL
GAINS
Want to know how much
muscle you’re really getting
for your money? This is
how protein-fortified foods
stack up against their
unadulterated counterparts
bewildering obsession? And is it really
as good for us as we seem to think?
MACRO ECONOMICS
We’ve known about proteins since the
18th century. The Swedish chemist who
named the molecules in the 1830s coined
the word from the Greek ‘pro’ – meaning
first and, therefore, most important.
They are, of course, crirical to life. The
amino acids of which they are comprised
are essential to sustain our muscles and
bones, and synthesise hormones. Research
in the Journal of Nutrition found that
eating a serving of protein at every meal
promotes healthy ageing, while a Japanese
study linked eating animal protein with a
lower risk of mental decline. So far, so vital.
Crucially, it proves pretty helpful
for weightloss, too: when we consume
protein, it stimulates glucose production
in the small intestine, which helps us to
feel full. A 2013 paper from the University
of Missouri found that a high-protein
breakfast staves off hunger better than a
regular bowl of (unfortified) cereal, even
when both dishes offer the same calories.
Nevertheless, the word ‘protein’ can
be a misleadingly catch-all term when
describing what actually goes into
adulterated food products. You have whey
and casein, which are found in milk, as
well as numerous plant options like those
extracted from soy and hemp. One of
the many growth areas for the booming
high-protein industry is that derived from
insects – crickets, for instance.
And, when deciding where to score
your hit, not all proteins are created
equal. Typically, only the animal-derived
varieties found in meat and dairy contain
all essential amino acids – those that our
body cannot produce itself. They also
offer a more favourable ratio of protein-
per-calorie. Quinoa, as any health hipster
Tesco Finest High Weetabix
Protein Loaf Protein Cereal
5.1g per slice 7.6g per serving
Kingsmill Thick Regular
Wholemeal Weetabix
4.5g per slice 4.5g per serving
worth his Himalayan sea salt will tell
you, is a rare example of a plant that
contains every amino acid necessary
for the human body. But you’d have to
consume almost 550 calories’ worth of the
stuff in order to score 20g of protein, says
dietitian Chris Mohr, who has a PhD in
exercise physiology. To obtain the same
from a juicy steak would set you back by
less than 200 calories.
Consequently, food manufacturers
have realised that we don’t just want more
protein, we want it in more manageable,
condensed packages. Yet while the sports
nutrition industry has been bulking up,
British snacking habits have been waning.
According to recent research from
Mintel, our consumption of sweets
and crisps has fallen 10%. “Concerns
around health are prompting users
to cut back – most
people are trying to
eat healthily much,
“Protein is no more
if not all, of the time,” the preserve of
explains Emma
Clifford, Mintel’s
bench-pressers. It’s
associate director been lifestylised”
of food and drink.
“As companies clamour to capitalise
on the interest in protein, there has
been a surge in new products featuring
the high-protein claim. Snacks lend
themselves well to this, providing an easy
way for consumers to boost their intake.”
Significantly, 18% of consumers
now say they would happily pay more
for a snack with added nutritional
benefits. And in 2018 that doesn’t mean
low-fat muffins or vitamin-enriched
biscuits. It means extra P.
APPETITE FOR EXCESS
None of this is to address exactly why
we suddenly want it so much. Of course,
successive popular eating plans – from
Atkins to Dukan and, more recently, the
PROTEIN
INVESTIGATION
Yorkie Pro Muscle Food Spicy
Chocolate Crisp Beef Protein Pizza
10g per bar 67g per pizza
Yorkie Raisin and Pizza Express Large
Biscuit Chocolate American Hot
2.4g per bar 47g per pizza
Paleo diet – have been teaching us to
prioritise protein for the last two decades.
And while we’ve always been careful
not to use the word ‘diet’ itself, this very
magazine has promoted the nutritional
benefits of protein since its inception.
According to Dr Mayur Ranchordas,
a senior lecturer and sports nutrition
consultant at Sheffield Hallam University,
this fixation could be due to a process
of elimination. “The key message
nowadays is to reduce the amount of
carbs we eat, and for a long time we were
told not to eat fat, either,” he says. “So
protein is the only macronutrient left
to fill the gap.” But Ranchordas is also
quick to lay responsibility with social
media for the recently accelerated shift,
citing the ‘wellness influencers’ who
share their workout and refuel snaps on
Instagram. Protein
supplementation
is no longer
the preserve of
overmuscled
bench-pressers.
Body fuel has
been lifestylised.
Meanwhile, Dale Pinnock, a specialist
in the medicinal properties of food, thinks
that our collective obsession with protein
is not so much the result of a newfound
interest in health, as a guilelessness when
it comes to nutrition. “People are mad
about protein all of a sudden because
of prevailing ‘bro science’, rather than
society becoming more interested in
fitness per se,” he says. “Certain ‘theories’
that once existed within the confines
of the gym have been brought into the
mainstream and presented as true.” As
a result, we’ve come to believe that more
and more protein is inherently healthier.
So how much of it do we need and
MEN’S HEALTH 89

how much of it are we already eating?
Dr Zoe Harcombe, a researcher in public
health nutrition, points out that protein
is present in almost every food, not just
your chicken breast. “Nature tends to
create foods with either a mix of carbs
and proteins, such as vegetables, grains,
legumes, or fats and proteins, such as
meat, fish and eggs,” she says. All this
means that we already consume more
protein as part of our everyday diets than
we might suspect, claims Harcombe.
“At my size, and with my activity levels,
I need roughly 50g of protein a day,” she
says. “I could get that from a couple of
tuna steaks. But I’m still taking on protein
from almost everything else I eat during
the day: porridge, salad, brown rice,
dark chocolate – you name it.”
Britain’s Department of Health
recommends that men consume an
average 56g of protein daily – or 0.75g
for every kilo of bodyweight, based on
the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI).
Most of us are eating more than that: the
mean average intake in the UK is 86.5g
per day for men. According to a recent
Scottish government report, “mean
protein intakes are well above the RNIs
in all age groups.”
If you’re still
unsure of what that
quantity looks like,
“Food marketeers
a typical chicken seek the simplest
breast contains
about 40g of
sales hook – there
protein, a portion is no nuance”
of tofu 15g and two
eggs 12g. And from the fortified aisle?
You’ll find 10g in one of Eat Natural’s
soya-enriched Peanut and Chocolate
bars and a full 20g in a bag of Sweet
Southern BBQ Chicken protein crisps.
All of which means your odds of falling
short are highly unlikely.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
The average Brit might not be at risk
of deficiency, but, of course, optimal
nutrition is about more than meeting base
requirements. People exercising frequently
will need more protein than the sofa-
bound, and for the man in training or
looking to add to his frame, government
targets probably set the bar too low. “The
American College of Sports Medicine
recommends that athletes undergoing
heavy training should eat between 1.6g
and, in extreme cases, 2g per kilo of their
bodyweight,” says Ranchordas.
Working out at roughly 150g a day for
an average-sized man, this is double the
British government’s recommended
90 MEN’S HEALTH
MINIMUM
EFFECTIVE
quotas for sedentary people. Even so, it’s
still a goal you can meet without desperate DOSE
measures. “It’s relatively easy to get enough In order to sell itself
protein from food sources, no matter how as a source of protein,
much exercise you’re doing. There’s really food-labelling
no need to resort to fortified ice cream,” guidelines dictate
says Pinnock. “My major concern is the a product needs just
people who are banishing all carbs while 12% of its calories
eating half a grilled moose for breakfast. to be derived from
They are pushing protein intake beyond the nutrient, which
a healthy level, risking damaging their means many of your
kidneys, cardiovascular health, gut flora kitchen staples
and increasing their colorectal cancer risk.” already pass muster
Indeed, science suggests you really can
have too much of a good thing. A 2013
paper published in the journal ISRN
Nutrition concluded that an excessively
high protein intake “could be useless or
even harmful for healthy individuals”,
especially for those who self-prescribe Spinach – 30%
protein supplements and overlook the
guidelines for using them, something
which can be common among athletes
and bodybuilders. Excess protein, the
report claims, “is not used efficiently by
the body and may impose a metabolic Cheddar cheese – 26%
burden on the bones, kidneys and liver.”
Nevertheless, Ranchordas is keen
to countenance
against irrationality –
after all, what we
are talking about Broccoli – 20%
here are diets with
unusually high levels
of protein, prioritised
at the expense of
other nutrients. He recommends that
we approach the alleged dangers of
Chickpeas – 18%
over-consumption with a healthy side
of scepticism. “We can speculate that
high-protein diets might cause problems,”
he says. “But the data is not as clear as
it is for high-carbohydrate diets, which
are known to cause insulin resistance,
glucose intolerance, obesity, heart Peanuts – 16%
disease and type 2 diabetes. I wouldn’t
recommend a diet excessively high
in any one macronutrient.”
All of which is reasonable. However,
it’s not a compelling sell at the checkout.
And until the pitch of ‘naturally balanced Porridge oats – 13%
nutrient ratios’ manages to acquire
some marketing sex appeal, food
marketeers will continue to seek out the
most translatable sales hook, regardless
of scientific nuance or veracity. In the
early 2000s, that hook was omega-3.
In 2018, it is baited with protein.
Tomato sauce – 12%
NATURAL ORDER
What, then, is the hungry MH reader
to do? Well, if you’re only making it to
the gym a couple of times a week, then
35.7%
The increase in ‘high-protein’
products launched in the UK
within the last year alone
CRISPS MAY PROVIDE A
PORTABLE SOURCE OF P, you. It’s just that, for the same
BUT CAN THEY EVER price, you could purchase
REPLACE YOUR SHAKE? eight whole pints of another
PROTEIN
INVESTIGATION
habitually stocking up on protein-
fortified foods is probably unnecessary.
Protein is not a muscle-building elixir
in and of itself and, in any case, it’s likely
your diet already has you covered. If
you’re training regularly, then – by all
means – supplement your intake. But
unless you’re happy to fork out 50% more
for a loaf of bread, it’s easier and cheaper
to add an extra scoop to your shake.
The critical point, agreed by all
nutritionists we’ve spoken to, is that the
quality of your diet is more important
than the quantity of your macros. If all
you’re doing is counting grams, the people
who stand to benefit most from those
extra helpings are the manufacturers
of processed foods – capitalising on the
prevailing myth that a ‘high protein’
badge automatically makes a food
product healthy, regardless of whether
it naturally belongs there or what else
might be in it. As Harcombe says: “Adding
protein to our crisps and cakes doesn’t
make them virtuous; it just makes them
junk foods with added protein.”
Food manufacturers are well aware of
this, which is why they are frequently at
pains to claim some kind of authenticity
for their wares. When phrases like ‘clean
eating’ are common parlance, drawing
attention to ingredients’ ‘natural’
credentials becomes a key part of the sell
for a high-protein product. As a Mintel
investigation into UK attitudes concluded,
brands are learning to put a strong focus
on the plant-derived nature of high-
protein ingredients in order to “boost
associations with naturalness”. Indeed,
many marketeers predict the next big
retail trend will be plant-based or ‘green’
protein, in place of the ‘high-’ prefix.
But it’s worth noting that boosting
“associations with naturalness” is only
ever required in those cases when the
food you are purchasing is, well, quite
unnatural. Brands such as Vieve Protein
Water, for example, bill themselves
as ‘naturally flavoured’, yet a glance at
the ingredients list reveal it to contain
the artificial sweetener sucralose and
the anti-foaming agent E900, alongside
its added collagen protein.
It’s not that they’re bad for
health drink – one that serves up all your
‘natural’ protein alongside vitamins D,
B12, calcium and phosphorus. It’s called
milk. And wouldn’t that be simpler?
MEN’S HEALTH 91
 YYOUR
STACKED
MUSCLE
M
MUFFIN
PERSONAL P/ 99

TRAINER
Because fit is the new rich
EDITED BY MICHAEL JENNINGSS

COOL
COMFORTS
F CHILLYY
FOR
S
STARTS
S
P/ 106

HOTWIRE YOUR
METABOLISM
IN 25 MINUTESS
P/ 100
L
LEARN TOO
DEADLIFT
LIKE A PROO
UNLOCK P/ 996
EXTRA
STRENGTH
P/ 105

PPUT
UT THE HEA
HEAT
EAT
AT
GUTTER CREDIT

O WINTER
ON
CCO P/ 1099
COLDS

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 95

PT / 03.2018
NEW!
W!
FORM MASTERCLASS #2 A A

RAISING
THE BAR
Deadlifts are the anchor B
of every elite athlete’s
strength training: master
them and you can build
power, co-ordination B
and lean muscle in one.
With proper technique in
the bag, expect to watch
those weights shoot up
01
DOWEL HIP HINGE
02
WALL ROMANIAN DEADLIFT
3 SETS OF 10 REPS 3 SETS OF 10 REPS
First, learn to engage your hamstrings and Use a wall to perform the same hip hinge
glutes, which are vital for deadlifting. Hold as before, but this time add a barbell to
a dowel (or broom handle) behind you: begin strengthening your hamstrings,
one hand low, the other high (A). With glutes and back. Take a step away from
yyour
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BREAK DOWN
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Trying to deadlift as much
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A
off will put you at risk of long-
term injury. Take a step back
and work your way through
these four moves first to
find your groove with the
movement patterns needed
to add plates to your barbell.
Now, let’s get down to it B
A

WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | GGROOM MING::

M
NATACHA SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN | STYLING: ABENAA OOFEI

03
BANDED
DED LA
DED LAT
AT PPUL
AT PULLDOWN
ULLLDOW
LLDDOW
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04
BBLOCK
BL
L PULL
3 SETS O 8 REPS
TTSS OF REEPS
EPSS 3 SSETS OF 6 REPS
Set a barbell in a rack at head height and With the bar on blocks, hinge down to
EXPERT Jason Coultman tie two bands round it, just wider than grip it, hands just wider than shoulder-
EXPERIENCE Likely to be the shoulder-width apart. Hold the bands width (A). Keeping your back flat, arms
strongest man on your feed. with straight arms and walk backwards locked and feet firmly planted, lift the bar,
Head of powerlifting at to create resistance. From here, pull your driving your hips forwards as it passes
Performance Ground, London, hands down to your sides (A), keeping your shins to finish with your knees, hips
Coultman deadlifts a scary the tension in your back as you then push and shoulders locked out (B), getting
285kg. He knows the score. your hips backwards (B). Hold for two you comfortable at the top of the lift.
CONTACT jasoncoultman.com seconds, then reverse the move. Lower it down. You’re ready to deadlift.

96 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK


PULL IT ALL
TOGETHER
Lifting the bar off the floor
might look simple, but you
can’t pull your potential if your
technique is off. Take your
time perfecting your form and
gain all the strength, speed
and muscle-building benefits
that come with deadlifting
correctly. It’s time for lift-off
PHASE 1
MODEL: LEE PHILLIPS AT ANDI PETERS’ MODELS | TRACK PANTS LULULEMON.CO.UK, TRAINERS NIKE.COM, PVC TECHNIQUE BAR AVAILABLE FROM ESP-FITNESS.COM, BALLISTIC JERK BLOCK AVAILABLE FROM BULLDOGGEAR.EU
GET GROUNDED
Position your feet as you would
for a squat: your toes pointed
slightly outwards to harness
your glute power. The bar should
stay directly above your feet
throughout. Hinge at your hips –
push your glutes back – and grab
the bar with an overhand grip.
Bend your knees and lower your
hips so your shins touch the bar.
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
DEADLIFT 101
PHASE 2
TIGHTEN UP
Ensuring your body is braced
before you pull is vital for correct
form. Lock your arms and rotate
your elbows inwards as if you’re
trying to snap the bar. Lift your
ribcage up to create tightness in
your back and look at the floor
a few feet ahead of you. The bar,
your feet and shoulders should
all be aligned. Get ready to pull.
PHASE 3
STAND TALL
Tensing your back and glutes,
take a deep breath and drive
your feet through the floor. Drag
the bar up your shins and, as it
passes your knees, drive your
hips forwards to pull it to your
thighs. With your knees and hips
locked, chest up and shoulders
back, hold the bar at the top for
one second to show your strength.
MEN’S HEALTH 97
MH PROMOTION

BREAK
THE
CHAIN
DON’T LET BAD BREAKFAST
HABITS GET BETWEEN YOU
AND YOUR GOALS

T
hey say breakfast is the
most important meal of the
day. It sounds platitudinous
to the point of cliche, but
here’s the thing: they’re not wrong. READY FOR ACTION
Because if you start your day the Supercharge your breakfast in seconds.
right way, and fill your tank with the Snoozing no longer means losing
right fuel, you enter yourself into
a virtuous cycle of good decision Protein Pancake Mix
From tub to plate in two
after good decision. You’ll be more minutes, this just-add-water
productive; you’ll say no to snacks, protein pancake mix is the
and you’ll swap that post-work perfect way to start your
pint for a trip to the gym. day if you want Brad Pitt’s
physique but have John
But who has time on a weekday Goodman’s appetite.
morning to whip up scrambled eggs
and smoked salmon on a slice of Protein Yoghurt Smoothie
rye? Precisely nobody, that’s who. Blending ingredients for a
Fortunately, there is another way morning smoothie is normally
time-intensive and noisy
to avoid running on empty – even
as hell. This stir-in smoothie
when you’re running late. Ready in mix gives you the same
anything between nought and two creamy texture and protein
minutes, the new breakfast range goodness, minus the faff.
from Optimum Nutrition makes
Protein Flapjack
hitting your macros convenient and
PPacking 20g of muscle-
enjoyable in equal measure. It’s fast eenhancing protein and
food, but not as you know it. eenough oaty complex carbs
tto stave off hunger until
lunch, these flapjack bars
deserve to become your
go-to on-the-go breakfast.

P Oats
Pro
W
With more protein per
SHAKE portion than a regular bowl
p
oof porridge, Pro Oats are
THINGS UP tthe best way to fuel today’s
Here’s how you can g
gym session and support
ascend to fitness yyour muscle growth.
supremacy in three For more information visit
simple steps. onacademy.co.uk
Step 1: Fill Optimum
Nutrition shaker.
Step 2: Shake.
Step 3: Enjoy.
 PT / 03.2018 EARLY-MORNING GLORY

POWER SAUCE #21

MICROWAVE MUSCLE MEAL #25
TIME TO MAKE YOU WILL NEED… PROGRESS
HAM & EGG 5MIN
PROTEIN
O
36G
• A muffin
• Eggs, 2
• Water,, 300ml
PRESERVE
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WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAVEL DORNAK AT HEARST STUDIOS | FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS | RECIPE: GRAEME TOMLINSON @THEFITNESSCHEF_

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MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 99

PT / 03.2018
03 20 8

T BIG WORKOUT
THE

S
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The keystone of effective weightloss – and keeping
T
fat off for good – is training smarter, not harder. 02A
0
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through
t all planes of motion, you can burn
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0
01A

02B
2B

01B
0B

S
SUPERSET
S

THE HEAT 01
BENT-OVER BARBELL ROW
2
REVERSE DUMBBELL LUNGEE
S
Strength coach Dan Lawrence’s
WORDS: MICHAEL JENNINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES

p
peripheral heart action (PHA) 4 ROUNDS
OU S OF
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1 M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
ENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO K
 F
FOOLPROOF WEIGHTLOSS

THE SPEC
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MUSCLES
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WORKOUTT
255
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N
03B
3B R S S IN
RESULTS N
0
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WEEKSS
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NATACHA SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN | STYLING: ABENA OFEI | SHORTS EVERY SECOND COUNTS AT MATCHESFASHION.COM, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UKK

0
04B

S
SUPERSET
S

3
DUMBBELL PUSH PRESS T
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MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
CO K MEN’S HEALTH 101
10
P / 03.20188
PT

01B
0B 02A
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0 B
02B

MODEEL: LEE PHILLIPS AT ANDI PETERS’ MODELS | ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM WATKINS
SC S
SUPERSET
S

H CK 01
LANDMINE THRUSTERR
2
LATERAL SKATER JUMPP
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ttrigger extra calorie
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1 MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
 FOOLPROOF WEIGHTLOSS

EXPERT Dan Lawrencee

EXPERIENCE
CE Elite strength
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S
e ce hass made
Lawrence de athletic
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danlawrencetraining.com m 03A
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3MINN
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04
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LEVEL
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03
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SHORTTS ADIDAS.CO.UK,TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK | LOCATION COURTESY OF CROSSFIT PERPETUA

S
SUPERSET
S

3
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0
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MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 103

 PT / 03.2018 MOBILITY MATRIX

NEW!
LOOSER HIPS, BIGGER LIFTS
From lower back pain caused by sitting at a desk all day to robotic stiffness and zero
squat depth, tight hips are shackling your athletic potential. Choose from these warm-up
moves to strengthen and lengthen your hip muscles and unlock peak performance

PERFORMANCE

01 02
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIP HAYNES | GROOMING: NATACHA SCHMITT USING CLINIQUE FOR MEN | STYLING: ABENA OFEI | MOODEL: LEE PHILLIPS AT ANDI PETERS’ MODELS | SHORTS NIKE.COM, TIGHTS UNDERARMOUR.CCO.UK, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK,

EXPERT
SEATED LIFT-OFFS KETTLEBELL
Ollie Frost 3 SETS OF 10 PER SIDE EXTERNAL ROTATION
is a rugby
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YOGA BLOCK LULULEMON.CO.UK

and steady here.

A

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POSTU
PO URE
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 105
PT / 03.2018

GEAR CHANGE #23

BECOME A MA
OF ATHLEISURE
If your downtime is spent moving back
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WORKOUT WARMER
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p This bag £118 lululemon.co.uk
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106 MEN’S HEALTHH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 COOLER COMMUTES

HOOD VIBES
This classic windrunnerr
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its three-panel hood withth
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Nike Sportswear Tech
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S
SMALL AAND MIGHT
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Skagen Hybrid Smartwatch
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M
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
S CO K MEN’S HEALTH 107
 PT / 03.2018 BULK ORDERS

NEW!
MEAL PREP HERO #3 HEARTY MEXICAN CHICKEN SAUSAGE STEW
Spoon out a week of flu-fighting dinners sure to spice up tired meal prep menus

HOT BANGERS INGREDIENTS

1/ A red onion
2/ Garlic cloves, 8
628
Kcal
METHOD
Step 1 Finely chop the onion
and garlic and fry with a knob

FOR COLD DAYS

3/ Chipotle of coconut oil for 10min in a large,
paste, 100g deep pan. Now, add the chipotle
4/ Red peppers, 2 paste, peppers and sausages,
5/ Men’s Health 26g frying for a further 5min.
Kitchen Lean Chicken Fat Step 2 Next, stir in the tomatoes
Batch cook this comforting Mex-style Chipolatas, 10
6/ Tinned chopped
and bone broth to create your
stew. Make sure you mix it well
stew and say ¡Hola! to five immunity- tomatoes, 850g
62g before covering the pan and
boosting portions, brimming with 7/ Chicken bone
broth, 500ml
Carbs letting it cook for 20min. Keep an
eye on it – and don’t forget to stir.
vitamins to help bolster your defences 8/ Black beans,
850g, drained
Step 3 Mix in the beans, spinach
and thyme, cooking for a further
9/ Spinach, 3 handfuls
10/ Thyme sprigs,
39gg 10min to reach your preferred
t
thickness. Iff your
y stew becomes
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3 handfuls ttoo sticky, add a splash off water.
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t s left
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divide
b
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f and look forward
f
CHOP, CHOP tto a banging
g g week of food.
Cutting your garlic releases
alliinase, an enzyme that
helps stop the spread PUMPING IRON
of bacteria. Added Pairing vit C-rich pepppers
with go-to green spinachh 110
to your onion’s
anti-inflammatory maximises your body’s
selenium, it’s a absorption of iron, aaiding
PERFORMANCE NUTRITIONIST LIAM HOLMES AT PH NUTRITION PHNUTRITION.CO.UK | PHOTOGRAPHY: HEARST STUDIOS | FOOD STYLIST: TAMARA VOS

double dose. the healing proceess by

helping blood ccells
ll
deliver oxygeen to
damaged tisssues.

09

08

007

GUT AND RUN

With 70% of your
immune system in your
gut, the broth’s collagen
and sausages’ glycine are
vital for strengthening
ork
its inner lining. They work
with the B-vits in the beanss 04
to increase your body’s
06
infection-scanning T ceells.
CHAEL JENNINGS | RECIPE BY PERFORM

01 TTRIPLE THREAT
T
Tomatoes, chipotle paste
and peppers provide a
03 ccombination of antioxidantss
beta-carotene, vit C and E
b E.
These protect your immunne
T
cells
ll against oxidative
d
damage caused by workouts. 05
We predict
d clean
l bowls.
b l .
WORDS: MICHAEL

02
01

MEN’S HEALTH 109

 PT / 03.2018 INCINERATE KCALS 24/7

THE MH FINISHER #3 NEW! PERFECT YOUR PULLING

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03
WAIT A SECOND
THE FORMAT:
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Keep your eye on the timer. For Catching the bar with a
the first 30sec, complete one wider than shoulder-width
burpee pull-up, then add an extra overhand grip, pull your
chest as close to it as you
rep every 30sec after. When you
can’t fit all your reps into 30sec,
just do burpees. When your
02
FAST TRANSITIONS
can. Hold on for one count
before lowering with
burpees no longer fit into 30sec, control. Drop down and
your finisher is over. Here’s how… Burpee pull-ups are stand tall – that’s
actually easier than one rep. Make
straight ones, as you each one after as
01
HIT THE DECK
use the momentum from
the jump to attack the
good as the first.

bar. To do this from

Drop from a standing your straight-arm plank,
position to plant your jump both knees to your
hands on the floor with chest, sit back into a
straight arms, jumping squat and then explode
your feet back into upwards to grab the bar.
a straight-arm plank.
From here, complete
a press-up, touching
your chest to the floor
before launching back
up to full extension.
TIGHTS CASALL AT MATCHESFASHION.COM, TRAINERS NEWBALANCE.CO.UK

THE
TASKMASTER
Name: Andrew Tracey
Trainer tip: “Rather
than trying to get up
and down as quickly
as possible, break
this movement down.
Think of it as one giant
three-move set.”
Contact:
@theandrew.tracey

MEN’S HEALTH 111

THE MH DIRECTORY
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Spring _
GUIDE TO
_ STYLE

Change
Edited by Eric Down & Shane C Kurup

This time of year is one of renewal – and your 122

Quartz W
Watches
h
Crystal teechnology
g
wardrobe deserves a recalibration, too. Our has underrgone
a renaissaance
ce
with thesee shiny
h
comprehensive manual is your seasonal new offerings
g

update. Whether you’re after a signature

scent, want to master tonal dressing or just
need a clean cut, consider this your refresher

116
The Close-Up
Find your fashion-forwarrd ffootball
tribe with these statemeent pieces
p s

121
Should I Be Wearing
g?
MH explores why corduuroy
is enjoying an unlikely revivall

133
Style Versus 124
Does Pharrell
e Williamss outrank
oout The Portfolio: Tone Deft
Becks
B in the ffashion staaakes? Monotone d
M dressing
i iis a kkey SS18
trend. Here’s how to pull it off
ff

134
The Edit
Park your parka and layyer upp
with a lightweight blouusonn

136
Grooming Manual
Cut loose with relaxed looks
oo s
that’ll make styling a brreezee

138

03/18
Instant Upgrade
Thanks to a luxe update, the
bum bag is making a comeback

M S
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
CO K MEN’S HEALTH 115
 Terrace
Casu l
Football haas long enjoyed a chequered
relationshiip with street style. But now
TRACKSUIT TOP £215
AND TRACKSUIT BOTTOMS
£149 BOTH CASTORE
ZIP-UP JACKET £140
NIKE X UNDERCOVER AT
MRPORTER.COM
T-SHIRT £60 AND
the beautifful game is making its mark TRAINERS £170
BOTH NIKE

ment logos, technical fabrics

with statem EARPHONES £170
BEATS BY DRE
WATCH FROM £399
and team scarves dominating the APPLE WATCH NIKE+
SERIES 3
catwalks. Know the score SUNGLASSES
£150 OAKLEY
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

Genuine
Article
“Beware imitations.
Or, at least, reissues.
If you’re after retro
originals, always check
the inside label. The
neckline never lies”
Neal Heard, Vintage
Sports Consultant

Photographhy by Jobe Lawrenson

Styling by Riccardo Chiudioni
Words by Dan Masoliver

The Off-Duty Playmaker

Dressed as though half-expecting to be hauled off the bench to start stretching, this supporter
takes training ground chic to the next level. He’s also, naturally, a numbers fan with a stat for
every occasion, the latest Apple smartwatch ensuring every fact is at his fingertips. While his
route one sportswear silhouette of matching tracksuit top and bottoms with box-fresh trainers
could potentially come over a tad Tony Pulis, he pulls it back with tidy one-two collaborations
and fresh takes on classic training gear from the likes of Castore and Nike.

116 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 THE CLOSE-UP
ACCURIST.CO.UK, ADIDAS.CO.UK, ALICEMADETHIS.COM, APPLE.COM, BEOPLAY.COM, BEATSBYDRE.COM, CASTORE.CO.UK, COMMON PROJECTS AND DEREK ROSE AT MRPORTER.COM, EASTPAK.COM, ELLESSE.CO.UK, FRAME-STORE.COM, JIGSAW-ONLINE.COM, JOHNLOBB.COM, LEVI.COM

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
ZIP-UP TRACKSUIT TOP
£70 ADIDAS ORIGINAL
T-SHIRT £40
VISION AT TOPMAN
JEANS £215
FRAME
TRAINERS £320
COMMON PROJECTS
AT MRPORTER.COM
WATCH £139
ACCURIST
HEADPHONES
£249 B&O PLAY
GLASSES
£110 KOMONO

The Dalston Diver

Though a proud season-ticket holder, this hipster wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the new
season’s kit – he may be tribal, but he’s no sheep. Instead, he prefers to attend games in one of
the three Roberto Baggio-inspired Fiorentina shirts sourced from Topman and eBay, all of which
look a class apart when paired with skinny jeans, an Adidas shell jacket, B&O Play headphones
and Common Projects trainers. The Panini Italia ’90 sticker album is this enthusiast’s lookbook,
while his hoard of vintage match programmes is truly his pride and joy.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 117

 ZIP-UP HOODIE £545
DEREK ROSE AT
MRPORTER.COM
T-SHIRT £29
JIGSAW
TROUSERS £160
AND HAT £40 BOTH
RON DORFF
SLIDERS £150
PAUL SMITH
GLASSES £375
LUNETTERIE GENERALE
RING £175
ALICE MADE THIS
WATCH £525
MAURICE LACROIX
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

Centre Half
“Club scarves were
first seen on the
terraces in the 1930s.
Now they’re all over
the Milan and Paris
runways. Football
is back”

The Veteran Benchwarmer

While he may spend more on his Sky and BT Sport subscriptions than he managed to get through
during his days in the stands, this committed fan won’t let a little thing like fathering twins –
babies Alex and José – get in the way of his weekend of football. His attire combines comfort and
practicality without sacrificing style, pairing top-notch athleisure apparel, such as a crisp white
tee and Ron Dorff jersey sweats, with designer sliders that wouldn’t look out of place on the team
coach. He might need a pair of specs to watch the match, but even those are design classics.

118 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 THE CLOSE-UP
KITEEYEWEAR.COM, KOMONO.COM, LUNETTERIE GENERALE AT KAFKA.CO.UK, MAURICELACROIX.COM, NIKE.COM, NIKE X UNDERCOVER AT MRPORTER.COM, OAKLEY AT SUNGLASSHUT.COM, PAULSMITH.COM, RIVERISLAND.COM, RONDORFF.COM, TAGHEUER.COM, TOPMAN.COM

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
PARKA £725
STONE ISLAND
ZIP-UP HOODIE
£60 ELLESSE
JEANS
£85 LEVI’S
CHUKKA BOOTS
£1090 JOHN LOBB
SHOULDER BAG
£28 EASTPAK
GLASSES £150
KITE EYEWEAR
SCARF £15
RIVER ISLAND
WATCH £1350
TAG HEUER

The Reconstructed Casual

Hooliganism is a rare sight in domestic football these days, but traces of 1980s terrace style
remain. This we can celebrate. In fact, with the resurgence of brands such as Stone Island and
Ellesse, the look is arguably stronger today than ever. This devotee has one foot in a tougher
past, the other striding into an enlightened future. He prefers podcasts to match programmes,
thinks money has ruined the game and, though appearing hard as nails (sharp Mod crop, parka,
Eastpak satchel and scarf), he still wept like a baby when Leicester won the league in 2016.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 119

 Into The
Groove
PHOTOGRAPHY: NICOLE GOMES | STYLING: RICCARDO CHIUDIONI | GROOMING: OSCAR ALEXANDER USING FUDGE & L’OCCITANE | SHOT ON LOCATION AT I CAMISA & SON ICAMISA.CO.UK | LEVI.COM, JIGSAW-ONLINE.COM, HARVEYNICHOLS.COM, SCHUH.CO.UK
Sometimes the
unlikeliest contenders
make for the most
memorable successes. Think
Greece winning Euro 2014 or
Leicester running away with
the Premiership in 2016. Style
is often no different. This
year, for example, the great
unlikely trend for colder
months is corduroy. And
when it comes to improbable
comebacks, there aren’t
many that can top that.
Admittedly, it’s a
complicated one. Unlike denim
(enduringly cool) or velvet
(perennially not), corduroy
has been seen throughout
history as alternately practical,
posh, left, right, groovy and
geeky. It has been the uniform
of both the anti-establishment
MENSHEALTH.CO.UK
It might be the material of the moment, but it’s also one
fraught with stylistic pitfalls and Jeremy Corbyn punchlines.
Associate style editor Matt Hambly tries total-look corduroy
for size to see whether it’s a groove you should be digging
and the landed gentry,
18th-century dandies and
1970s roadies. Even the name
itself is equivocal: some
maintain it’s a derivative of the
French corde du roi – literally,
cloth of the king – while
others claim it descends from
duroy, a coarse woolen fabric
worn by the Georgian working
class. Politically speaking,
corduroy has swapped sides
more often than Game of
Thrones’ Littlefinger.
Even so, there can be no
doubting its current status
as the on-trend fabric of the
season. Prada was the first
to break cover with a variety
of tan blazers and bombers
featuring prominently in its
AW17 collection. Then Gucci,
E Tautz and Brunello Cucinelli
all followed suit with their
own modern interpretations
of the polytechnic humanities
tutor vibe. It became a look.
But of course, looking good
on the runway is one thing
– pulling it off on the street
is another. And this is where
SHOULD I BE WEARING...? CORDUROY
Matt Hambly
MH’s style editor
tests a new take
on a vintage trend
I’m struggling. Wearing
head-to-toe wales (the official
name for the ridges that define
corduroy) may be hitting all
the right fashion notes, but I
still can’t help feeling that I’m
missing a beat. “Corduroy is
a bold look, both in the sense
of its inherent bulkiness and
strong links to years that
style forgot,” says Sarah Ann
Murray, fashion consultant
and stylist to Kit Harington
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
and Samuel L Jackson. “In
particular, the lower the wale
– that’s to say, the thicker the
cord – the more difficult it
is to wear convincingly.” In
other words, it starts wearing
you. “I would advocate mixing
up corduroy separates,” she
says. “I think you’ll get more
wear out of a pair of trousers
than a blazer, especially in
a fine, needle cord. The key is
to match them with a colour
and fabric that stand up to
that bulk. A bright crew-neck
sweater, for instance, rather
than a shirt will look best.”
Ultimately, I think that
this kind of look is as much
a lifestyle choice as it is
a style statement. It’s not
the sort of thing you can
ditch your jeans and sneakers
for on any given weekend
SHEARLING JACKET – friends will think you’ve
£99 LEVI’S
JUMPER £89 JIGSAW turned up for lunch in fancy
TROUSERS £155 dress. But that’s the point,
NN07 AT HARVEY
NICHOLS really. You need to make the
BOOTS £250 RED fabric look as though it’s a
WING AT SCHUH
natural part of your wardrobe.
Next time, I’ll try something
a little more accessible.
Levi’s now makes a cool
trucker jacket in a fine chino
corduroy. It comes in black
as well as the traditional tan
and offers all of the fabric’s
practicality without the usual
dated overtones. And that’s
a power chord in my book.
MEN’S HEALTH 121
 Volte
Face
Waatch aficionados have always been sniffy about
quaartz, but time is a healer. With a new enemy in
smartwatches, even committed horologists are
beiing won over by the latest electronic upstarts

BREITLING
CCOLT SKYRACERR
Even the uniniitiated can £1690
tell a battery-poowered
quartz from a sspring-
wound mechannical c watch. tc
Instead of a steeadyy sweepp
of the dial, the ssecond hand
ticks crisply at readable BRISTON
intervals. But thhe biggest
gg CLUBMASTER
VINTAGE
giveaway is preecision. £300
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

Quartz is a crysstal that

responds to eleectricity by
vibrating at a coonsistent
ose oon
8192Hz. It will lose
average just ten seconds
a year, while a mechanical
m h
watch can lose ten te seconds
seco ds
a day. Despite this,
th q quartz
has been anathe hema to
spring-and-cog gs snobs. b
The explosion oof cheap p SKAGEN
quartz watchess from Japan
is held responssible for
almost decimatting g the
Swiss watch ind dustryy in
dus
the ’70s and ’80 0s – a p period
known as ‘The Q Quartz
Crisis’. But collaarss aree
loosening at lasst..
“Quartz is thhe only ly
horological tecchnology g Precision
developed in thhe 20th
century,” says rrenowned
collector James Dowling.
“The point of horology is
keeping time, and quartz
does it best.” As the rise
of the smartwatch poses
the biggest threat to
mechanical brands, so the
watch with a crystal heart
is now being viewed with
comparative affection.
“Wearable tech is in its
infancy,” says Dowling.
“Quartz has proved itself
for four decades. It’s finally
being given some respect.”
l
p SIGNATUR SLIM
01
0 03
i i
Engineering
i i g
A Breitling for less
than £2000 is certain
to get noticed – and in
this case, it’s for exactly
the right reasons. The
thermo-compensated
Breitling SuperQuartz
movement is 10 times
more accurate than
standard quartz. Adding
to its desirability, the
ultra-light case is made
of Breitlight, a proprietary
polymer spiked with
composite fibres, making
it three times stronger
than titanium. It’s
genius, to say the least.
TITANIUM
£155
Square Up
With their distinctive
cambered square face,
02 Briston watches are
Mid-century inspired by Gatsby-
style tickers of the
Modern
It’s a quartz-only ’20s. Our favourite, the
Clubmaster Vintage,
line-up over at
has a felted flannel
Bauhaus minimalist
Skagen, which has strap cut from suiting
cloth, making it the
consistently ensured
ideal partner to a
its crisp, designer
mohair two-piece.
watches are firmly in
The cellulose acetate
the affordable price
tortoiseshell case
bracket. If you’re
– made from 70%
a fan of 20th-century
cotton and plant fibre
design, this new
– is skilfully polished
back-to-basics
for four days to achieve
arrival will pair
a lustrous finish.
beautifully with your
reproduction Marcel
Breuer tan leather
Wassily armchair.

122 MEN’S HEALTH

 WRIS
ST MANAGEMENT

Photography By Taal Silverman

Words By Alex Doak

LONGINES
CONQUEST
C VHP
£1160

066
Indivvidual Touch
Bamfo
B ford, the custom
te e with links to both
atelier
TAG Heuer and Zenith,
has ressponded to
client requests
r with
a ppurchasable version

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
off its temporary
‘
‘courte esy car’ quartz
watch,, issued when
serviciing customers’
mecha hanicals. Typically
for Bam mford, true
personnalisation is key:
y caan customise a
you
rangeg of features and
d ct te 20 characters
dictate
for
f thee caseback. Well,
brevity is the soul
of w
wit, after all.

05
TIMEX
Tough
g Timess
MK1 ALUMINIUM
This year’s ‘Very High g
£69.99 Precision’
P ec s o model ode ffrom
o
BAMFORDLONDON.COM, BREITLING.COM, BRISTON-WATCHES.COM, LONGINES.COM, SKAGEN.COM, TIMEX.CO.UK

Longines is equipped
with a recently
developed in-house
movement accurate
04 to ± five seconds per
Martial Hour year. It’s also able to
A contemporary reset its hands after
update of the iconic an impact or magnetic
‘US Marines’ military- exposure, using a
inspired model, the clever ‘gear position BAMFORD
all-new Timex MK1 detection’ system. MAYFAIR
is leaner and meaner Even mechanical £425
than its predecessor, diehards couldn’t help
thanks to a new but be impressed. 1969
lightweight aluminium Plus, the clutter-free Seiko Astron
case. It’s also more face will appease even The first quartz
versatile: the metal’s the fussiest aesthete.
ability to be anodised wristwatch cost
gives you a whole host 450,000 yen – the
of colour choices. Its
eminently affordable same as a Toyota
price tag also means you Corolla
needn’t be restricted
to buying just one.

MEN’S HEALTH 123

 THE PORTFOLIO

Tone Deft
From low-key neutrals
to bold brights and
dusty pastels,
designers are fixated
on monotone looks for
SS18. But how do you
pull off tonal dressing
in real life without
looking, well, too one-
note? MH’s resident
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

style gurus quiz a

team of menswear
aficionados on how
to achieve top-to-toe
Pantone precision

PARKA £795
JACKET £715 AND
TROUSERS £380
ALL PAUL SMITH
SWEATER £325
SIES MARJAN AT
MATCHESFASHION.COM
TRAINERS
£185 GRENSON

124 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 Photography by Pip
Styling by Eric Down
Words by Alfred Tong

CARDIGAN
£345 JOSEPH
SWEATER £995
RALPH LAUREN
PURPLE LABEL
TROUSERS
£79 COS

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
 01
Stay In
Your Tonal
Comfort Zone
If you’re not feeling outré
enough to go the whole hog
in a full-on purple ensemble,
grey, black and navy shades
are a great way to test the
water. But less orthodox hues
can still be elegant, especially
when applied to the garment
in an intelligent way. “This
season, we’ve used pink and
pistachio green, but in dusty,
sun-bleached and washed-
out tones, so they’re more
restrained and easier to wear,”
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

says Toby Lamb, creative

director of Richard James,
a Savile Row tailor renowned
for its masterful use of colour.
Most important is to consider
what shades are occasion-
appropriate and, crucially, what
colour you feel comfortable in.
If you’ve got the bombast to go
to work wearing a terracotta
suit, fill your boots. But if that
won’t go down well with your
boss in your morning meeting,
a monochrome navy or grey
outfit fuses trend with custom.

JACKET £89
KIN BY JOHN LEWIS
SWEATER £115 ARKET
SCARF £160 ETON
TROUSERS £425
MARGARET HOWELL
SHOES £880
LOUIS VUITTON
 THE PORTFOLIO

02 Have you ever wondered why

certain tones look great on
Consider some men and not others?
Complexion While it may seem as though
the style gods favour a select
few, in fact, it’s largely down
to what suits your skin tone.
“Burgundy is a good route to
GROOMING: OSCAR ALEXANDER USING NANOGEN AND SISLEY | MODELS: O’SHEA ROBERTSON AT SELECT AND PHILLIP DEERE AT NEXT | PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANTS: NICK GRAHAM AND GARY MORRISOE | STYLIST’S ASSISTANT: RICCARDO CHIUDIONI
go down if you want to make
a statement, but it pays to
be aware of what works for
your complexion before
committing. Tonal dressing
can wash you out, especially
if you pick tones that are too
light and you have pale skin,”
says David Aquilina, head of
menswear at Harvey Nichols.
Dark and earthy shades tend
to suit most complexions,
while brights look good
against a tan, so choose
accordingly – or crack open
a bottle of San Tropez.

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
SUIT £4300
RALPH LAUREN
PURPLE LABEL
T-SHIRT £80
HANDVAERK
BAG £1190 TOD’S
POCKET SQUARE
STYLIST’S OWN

CAP £7
NEW LOOK
ROLL-NECK £150
JOHN SMEDLEY
SHIRT £345
RALPH LAUREN
PURPLE LABEL
TROUSERS £190
CERRUTI 1881

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 127

 THE PORTFOLIO

03 Mixing textures is a tried-and- possible, whether it’s textures

tested method of injecting a
Take The dash of sartorial verve into an
Rough outfit – and it works especially
well for tonal dressing.
With The “Combine woven materials
Smooth with ribbed, matt and sheer
fabrics to add depth and
interest,” says Lamb. “This
variety of finishes is important
when everything is the same
shade.” Aquilina agrees: “Get
as much contrast in there as
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
ASAUVAGE.COM, ADIDAS.CO.UK, ARKET.COM, CERRUTI.COM, COSSTORES.COM, CUTLERANDGROSS.COM, DUNHILL.COM, ETONSHIRTS.COM, GRENSON.COM, HM.COM, HANDVAERK AT MRPORTER.COM, HUGOBOSS.COM, JOHNSMEDLEY.CO.UK, JOSEPH-FASHION.COM, LOUISVUITTON.COM, MARGARETHOWELL.CO.UK
or patterns. You want to see
where one piece ends and the
next starts.” The key message
here, then, is not to be too
‘matchy-matchy’ with your
materials, which could lead
to lacklustre results. “It’s best
to avoid similar fabrics, as
they can make an outfit look
contrived,” says James
Doidge, head of menswear
design at Marks & Spencer.

SWEATER £125
SCOTCH & SODA
TROUSERS £495
JOSEPH
TRAINERS £110
ADIDAS ORIGINALS

JACKET £1495
DUNHILL
T-SHIRT £70
OLIVER SPENCER
SWEATER (AROUND
WAIST) £175
SANDRO HOMME
TROUSERS £90
MICHAEL KORS
TRAINERS
£160 GRENSON

128 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

SUIT £1850
A SAUVAGE
SHIRT £30
TOPMAN
FOLIO £335
DUNHILL

04
Use Pattern
As A
Focal Point
Another way to sidestep
Pantone blandness is to use
pattern to your advantage.
“Prints are a great way to
break up solid colours and
provide visual interest,”
explains Lamb. Meanwhile,
Men’s Health style director

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
Eric Down advises opting
for two-tone accessories to
prevent things appearing
convoluted. “The major or
minor colour should match
the dominant hue of your
outfit, while the secondary
colour should be a neutral
shade, such as white, cream
or navy,” he says. “This will
stop your outfit looking
too busy.” If you’re not sure
where to begin, try a blue
microprint shirt layered
beneath a denim jacket or
navy peacoat. It’s a combo
that’s both considered and
masculine. For the more
adventurous, this winning
pairing of burgundy suit and
blue geometric-print man bag
makes a powerful statement.
 05
Build
On Your
Spectrum
One of the most common
faux pas of tonal dressing
is ending up looking like a
single blob of colour. To avoid
this pitfall, try building an
outfit based on graduating
shades of a single ‘theme’
hue. “First, pick a base colour
and then assemble your
outfit from there, adding
different shades and fabrics
for interest,” says Doidge.
Adrian Holdsworth, founder
of Italian-inspired tailor Volpe
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

Sartoriale, also advocates COAT £795

this approach. “There should CERRUTI 1881
JACKET £399 AND
be a good amount of variety TROUSERS £169 BOTH
HUGO BOSS
between the shades, but
SWEATER £560
within a close range,” he says. ERMENEGILDO
ZEGNA COUTURE
“What you’re going for is a BAG £995 SMYTHSON
‘total look’, in which the subtly SHOES £180 GRENSON
different hues all work in
unison. Done well, it looks
really refined.” This graduating
technique was championed
on the SS18 catwalks by
Berluti, Zegna, Oliver Spencer
and Dunhill – brands that
trade in subtle elegance.

GUTTER CREDIT

130 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 THE PORTFOLIO
MICHAELKORS.CO.UK, NEWLOOK.COM, OLIVERSPENCER.CO.UK, PAULSMITH.COM, RALPHLAUREN.CO.UK, RUSSELLANDBROMLEY.CO.UK, SANDRO-PARIS.COM, SCHIESSER AT MRPORTER.COM, SCOTCH-SODA.COM, SIES MARJAN AT MATCHESFASHION.COM, SMYTHSON.COM, TODS.COM, TOPMAN.COM, ZEGNA.CO.UK

06 Footwear is a great tool for

breaking up your tonal outfit.
Juxtapose A pair of crisp, white trainers
Your can ground a monotone look,
whether it’s casual or smart.
Footwear “The thing to remember is to
make the contrast obvious:
go for hues at least two tones
lighter or darker than your
outfit’s main colour, so that it
looks deliberate and not just
poorly matched,” says Down.
Aquilina also underscores the
importance of creating a clear
distinction: “I’d caution against
matching your shoes to an
all-white ensemble – it’ll look
strange if there’s no contrast
between your legs and feet.”
Beyond shoes, layering
something as simple as a
white tee beneath your jumper
or sweatshirt will highlight
your tonal savoir faire.

SUIT £80
H&M STUDIO
VEST £40 SCHIESSER
SUNGLASSES (ON
JACKET) £300
CUTLER AND GROSS
SHOES £195
RUSSELL & BROMLEY

JACKET £55
AND TROUSERS
£35 BOTH
TOPMAN
SHIRT £275
JOSEPH
TRAINERS
£185 GRENSON

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 131

 Style Wars
Alongside careers in football and music, David Beckham and Pharrell
Williams have enjoyed lucrative sidelines in fashion. Both aree undoub
btedly
btedly
stylish, even intoo their fifth decades, but who is really leadinng?
Illustrations by Joe McKendry
Words by Jamie Millar
DAVID BECKHAM RESPECT £24.95 FOR 60ML BOOTS.COM | PHARRELL WILLIAMS GIRL £20 FOR 100ML THEFRAGRANCESHOP.CO.UK | KENT & CURWEN VARSITY JACKET £895 KENTANDCURWEN.COM | BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB REVERSIBLE BOMBER £295 BBCICECREAM.EU

David Beckham, 42
D Vs Pharrell Williams, 44
4
Fashion Scents
Therre’s just one Signature For Him Pharrell’s fragrance Girl, made byy

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
variattion, but Becks has many other Comme des Garçons and named
scentss in his locker, such as Respect, 12 1 after his hit 2014 album, is unisexx,
Innstinct, Intimately and Beyond confusingly. These are blurred lines

Beckham-like bend meets Ultra Boost
cushioning. These Predators are a
style swerve whether you’re playing
football or watching
c g it in thee pub
Adidas Footwear
Part of his Statement Hiking
collection, Pharrell’s Hu NMD Trail
£220 £200
00 Shoes will send all but the most
aadventurous ruunning for the hills

ntt
Wrist Assessment
Tudor ambassador Becks dresse sees P
Pharrell’s repped several Richard
the Heritage Black Bay S&G up M models, all of which go for
Mille
with a suit and down with denimm
m. £3.5K
£ £1m
m b
between six and seven figures.
It’s more versatile than Phil Neville
illle T man’s a multi-Mille-ionaire
The

Body Art
Hard
Ha to keep track, but Becks added An unknown
k qu harrellll
uantity, but Ph
fo tatts in 2017, including ‘Seven’
four d it to
admits t h i some remooved
having d via
on his finger, four birds behind his 50+ ? painful laser surgery: “I don’’t need
left ear and ‘Dadda’ on his neck fire on my arms; I’m a grown man!”

Instagram followers of Kent & Curwen,
founded in 1926 and now co-owned
byy
b by Becks, which offers refreshing
archive pieces like this jacket
Personal Brand
Followers of Billionaire Boys
Club, which Japanese designeer
83K 350K 05.
Nigo and Pharrell set up in 200
This bomber is right on the money

The average number of monthly Google Trends-setters The average searches for “Pharrell
“Beckham style” searches since 2004; it style” over the same period. It spiked
peaked at 100 in 2007 when he signed for 50 5 at 21 in April 2014, when he covered
LA Galaxy. As did “soccer WTF”… (jk) the Style Bible issue of American GQ

The GTS Verdict: Beckham wins!

Pharrell has the fashion chops of a man half his years: age cannot wither him, nor custom stale his infinite variety of oversized hats.
However, after some sarong moves in his youth, Becks has streaked ahead in the timeless style stakes and this is a guide to, well, you know.

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 133

 Cold Photography by Tal Silverman

C
Park your parka – technical fabrics are often too
hot for the city, even in winter. Instead, our edit
Words by Shane C Kurup

Trending
Tops
of this season’s lightweight blousons will help
The Matchesfashion.com
you layer up while retaining your cool buying team predict
a 20% uplift in
blousons for
spring 2018

APC.FR, BANDOFOUTSIDERS.COM, CALVINKLEIN.CO.UK, FRENCHCONNECTION.COM, HM.COM, HUNTERBOOTS.COM, J CREW AT MRPORTER.COM, LAVIN AT MATCHESFASHION.COM, OLIVERSPENCER.CO.UK, URBANEARS.COM, WOODWOOD.COM
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

BLOUSON £80
H&M EDITION
HEADPHONES £85
URBANEARS

134 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 THE EDIT: BLOUSONS

£140 FRENCH CONNECTION £120 J CREW AT MRPORTER.COM £420 APC

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
£280 OLIVER SPENCER £340 BAND OF OUTSIDERS £2270 LANVIN AT MATCHESFASHION.COM

£235 HUNTER ORIGINAL £379 CALVIN KLEIN MENSWEAR £220 WOOD WOOD

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 135

 Cutting
Cutt g
Loosee

WORDS: SHANE C KURUP AND TOM WARD | PHOTOGRAPHY: PIP | STYLING: RICCARDO CHIUDIONI | GROOMING: OSCAR ALEXANDER USING NANOGEN AND SISLEY | HAIR: KEVIN LUCHMUN | GROOMING ASSISTANT: CHIE SATO | MODELS: BENJAMIN, CHARLIE, FRASER AND TOM ALL AT
Meen’s hair in 2018 is losing

ESTABLISHED | BENJAMIN WEARS JACKET £90 NEW LOOK, T-SHIRT £80 HANDVAERK | CHARLIE WEARS JACKET £45 BURTON, T-SHIRT £80 HANDVAERK | FRASER WEARS JACKET £499 CALVIN KLEIN MENSWEAR, SHIRT £195 DUNHILL | TOM WEARS JACKET £90 H&M STUDIO
its austere edge and adopting
a frreer spirit: still tight, just
less uptight. Renowned
barrber and stylist Kevin
Lucchmun explains how to
askk for – and maintain – the
styyles making this year’s cut

01 02
The Buzz Cut The Short Back & Sides
Just as we’re seeing a less
starchy approach to menswear There’s more to this simple look than meets the eye, “This cut will always be in style,” says Luchmun. “But,
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

design this year – soft, says Luchmun: “If your hair is fine, then this cut could for a really polished and contemporary take, tell your
unstructured tailoring, look too transparent. Tell your barber to leave it a barber to fade and taper your hair around the nape
oversized greatcoats, rugby touch longer than usual. If you have dark, thick hair, area and leave the top less manicured. Products are
shirts – hairstyles, too, are however, you can go shorter.” Sachajuan’s Leave In central to pulling this off; Hanz de Fuko Quicksand
loosening up. “Men are now Conditioner (£21 for 250ml thegroomingclinic.com) (£16 for 56ml mankind.co.uk) has a natural texture
gravitating towards more is all you’ll need to style – it’s clean and fuss-free. and creates that just-off-the-beach volume.”
relaxed styles that work with
the natural texture of their
hair, rather than trying to fight
against it,” says Luchmun.
“We’re at a crossroads: while
close tapers and short backs
and sides are still relevant,
the prevailing trend is for
longer, more relaxed cuts.
My advice is to go with it
and emphasise what you
already have, be that thick,
wavy or poker-straight hair.”
Here is the cream of the crops
for the coming season.

Tip For
The Top
For a less structured
look, applying
products when your 03 04
hair is still damp Mid-length Textured Cut The Faded Crop
will soften Growing hair out is a notoriously awkward process. “Some men will always want the sharp look of a
things up The key is to maintain its shape. “You need to keep fade,” says Luchmun. “Even so, a looser feel on top,
this cut narrow, despite the extra volume, so ask your enhancing any curls, is a more modern way to style
barber to remove weight from the back and sides but it out. Tell your barber to go with your hair’s natural
keep the length,” says Luchmun. “The edges should persuasions rather than taming it. Moroccanoil
be textured for a lived-in look. Label M Souffle (£19 Texture Clay (£16.35 for 75ml moroccanoil.com)
for 120ml labelm.com) will give it an undone quality.” will finish the look and provide a softer texture.”

136 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK

 THE SS18 GROOMING MANUAL

Uncommon Scents
With new season fragrance launches so often amounting to ‘sporty’ reiterations
of the same citrusy aroma, it can be tough to sniff out a scent of one’s own. However,
these additions to your bathroom cabinnet will set you apart from the duty-free crowd

01 02 03
The Saharan The Scientific The Smell of
Zephyr Concoction Victory
Taking its name from the Escentric 03 focuses on What better way to honour
fiery, arid wind that rips the dry, woody scent of one of British naval
across the Sahara Desert, vetiveryl acetate, derived history’s most decisive
this is, mercifully, much from an Indian root, that victories than with a
less abrasive. Blending has been hybridised with fragrance that simulates
a traditionally masculine acetic acid to eliminate the aroma of the battle
base of sandalwood and its bitter undertones. It’s itself? Well, each to their
tobacco with outré top also layered with notes of own. Nevertheless,
notes of juniper and hay, ginger, peppercorn, lime, BeauFort’s Trafalgar-
the result is an exotic sandalwood, cedar and inspired scent remarkably
and certainly unique leather. Most remarkably, combines accords

GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18
fragrance, but one that the lab-engineered potion of smoke, gunpowder,
is still reliably usable on reacts to your individual brandy and sea spray.
a day-to-day basis. Blows pheromones, making it Your usual lemongrass
high-street scents away. entirely unique to you. concoction this is not.
Serge Lutens Chergui Escentric Molecules BeauFort London 1805
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: TAL SILVERMAN | BURTON.CO.UK, CALVINKLEIN.CO.UK, DUNHILL.COM, HM.COM, HANDVAERK AT MRPORTER.COM, NEWLOOK.COM

Eau de Parfum £150 for Escentric 03 £76 for Tonnerre Eau de Parfum £95
100ml sergelutens.com 100ml harveynichols.com for 50ml beaufortlondon.com

Grooming SOS
Studies show that we’re working longer hours, going out later and sleeping less, all of which is enough to age you quicker
than a stint down the mines. Fortunately, we’ve assembled a kit to help you look your best – even when running on empty

BEST FOR THE KIT THE SCIENCE APPLICATION RESULTS

Lancer
Intensive Night Shut-eye is sacred, so make sure you get the most from yours, Use a small amount WEDS
Treatment however short. This cream’s hyaluronic acid breaks down on your face after 8
£130 for 50ml damaged skin tissue while directing moisture to the new cells cleansing and
Sleepless beneath, helping you look like you’ve banked a full eight hours. before going to bed. In one day
Nights mankind.co.uk

Dr Barbara If the telltale signs of your long days (and nights) are Gently apply
Sturm raising eyebrows, fret not: this eye cream combines a small amount
Eye Cream potent natural ingredients with molecular cosmetics round your eyes
Late-Night £105 for 15ml to penetrate your skin for long-lasting hydration. twice daily. In one week
Eyes spacenk.com

Perricone MD Designed to keep you feeling fresh whether you’re tackling Use a fingertip’s
Cold Plasma an early HIIT session or client breakfast, this concentrated worth and apply
£129 for 30ml treatment uses scent-free, elasticity-promoting copper evenly to the face
Early-Morning perricone tripeptide, evening out skin tone and fighting redness. each morning.
md.co.uk In one week
Meetings

Murad Retinol While unpaid overtime is becoming the norm for many, Lightly massage
Youth Renewal it needn’t take a toll on your outlook. Murad’s eye into the corners
Eye Serum formula uses the age-defying vitamin retinol to remove of your eyes
Last-Minute £65 for 30ml fine lines and encourage your skin’s collagen production. once a day. In one week
Deadlines murad.co.uk

MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 137

 Kick-Ass INSTANT UPGRADE

S
Hoow do you negotiate the yeearr’s
moost unlikely trend revival wiithout
loooking like an anachronism (or
worse)? The answer: it’s not what
youu wear, but how you wear it
Photography by Tal Silverman
Words by Shane C Kurup
GUIDE TO STYLE – 03 / 18

How
H o To Wear
Get
et yyour satchel
et
game
g on point and
avoid any bum notes

There is only one name of
accessory more ridiculous
than ‘bum bag’ and that’s
‘fanny pack’. Unfortunately,
they amount to the same
thing, which is to say those
belted pouch holdalls
beloved of middle-aged
tourists, New Kids On The
BUM BAG £620
WALLET £340 Block fans and, at best,
AND KEYRING
£315 ALL PRADA a few skaters around 1991.
PRADA L’HOMME Many would contend
INTENSE £72.50
FOR 100ML that of all trends, however
PRADA AT
JOHN LEWIS short-lived, the bum bag is
BEOPLAY P2 the least deserving of revival.
SPEAKER £149
B&O PLAY But fashion is a fickle beast
and brands as diverse as
Louis Vuitton and Prada
via Fila are imploring us to
reconsider the virtues of
this once-maligned style.
So should you? Yes, claims
James Doidge, head of
menswear design at Marks
& Spencer, who has created
a sporty black rendition for
his own Spring collection,
inspired by the styles worn
on the streets of Tokyo.
The key, he says, is how
you wear it: “The prescriptive
name is a bit of a misnomer
because it’s actually an
extremely versatile carryall.
Yes, it can function as a loose
belt, though I’d suggest
wearing the bag itself on
your hip. Alternatively, it
can work well slung casually
across your shoulder or
On the front
Go traditional
and you’ll look like
one of the tourists
at Magic Kingdom.
body. You could even loop
it round a larger bag.”
This fire engine-red
version from Prada caught
our attention at the SS18
shows, not least because it To the back ILLUSTRATIONS: JOE MCKENDRY | BEOPLAY.COM, JOHNLEWIS.COM, PRADA.COM
looks less like a Japanese Worn ironically
sightseer’s passport sac and on your rear is a look
more like a smart update on that’s best reserved
for true hipsters.
the classic messenger bag.
Compact yet capacious, it
will declutter pockets without
burdening you in the way that
a tote or rucksack might.
Meanwhile, the hard-wearing
tech fabric and statement
Cross-body y
colour mean that no-one is This attention
attention-
ever going to confuse you commanding look gives
for a market trader. easy access, earning it
the MH endorsement.

138 MEN’S HEALTH MENSHEALTH.CO.UK