Thursday, April 30, 2015
Get Fit, Fast: Your 30-Minute Workout Plan!
The Greatest Maseratis of All Time
The Comfortable Wireless Earbuds With Great Sound
How to Navigate TV's Greatest Sports Weekend Ever
The 11 Best Twitter Feeds to Follow During the NFL Draft
A Life on the Road: Urs Pedraita's Record-Breaking Rides
The ultimate pull-up guide: Part 1
Part 1: The grips
Sometimes called the ‘squat of the upper-body’, the pull-up is the gold standard of bodyweight movements and is one of the greatest indicators of relative strength. If you want to get stronger and develop mass, you'd be crazy not to include them in your workout routine. Some people ignore pull-ups in favour of the lat pulldown because the thought of hoisting such a large portion of bodyweight can be too much to contend with. Stop being a whimp. In the long-run, pull-ups will serve you better than cable or machine alternatives, creating true upper-body strength that may also improve your numbers on bench, squats and deadlifts. Plus, it also helps being able to pull yourself out of a swimming pool or over a fence without making a scene.
Hand positioning
There are the three main grips, each working the same muscle groups but in slightly different ways. The lats and biceps are the main targets but pull-ups also ask challenge your rhomboids, trapezius, pectorals, obliques, and forearms.
Hanging around
Regardless of which grip you use, it’s important to have a strong, rigid frame so that your arms don’t feel like they're being pulled from their sockets and the movement can be completed with a degree of economy. Grip the bar, hang with straight arms and tighten up by pulling your shoulder blades directly down, away from your ears. Now you’re ready to go.
Grip 1: Pronated
Best for: Working your lats, jumping over fences.
The overhand – or pronated – grip is the pull-up standard and the one you’d be expected to perform in a military fitness test. They hit your lats hard as bicep involvement is reduced due to a weaker line of pull. This amkes them a perfect move for building a strong back and thus a superhero-esque V-shaped torso.
Technique: Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with your palms facing away from you. Let your body hang, and then pull your chest up towards the bar by drawing your arms towards your body from the sides. Lower yourself back to the start position and repeat.
Grip 2: Supinated
Best for: Building big biceps, prison yard kudos.
This movement is more commonly known as a chin-up and is an excellent exercise for biceps and lat development.
Technique: With your palms facing towards you, grip the bar shoulder-width apart or slightly narrower. Let your body hang without swinging, and then pull your chest up towards the bar by drawing your elbows down from in front of you, towards your body. Lower yourself back to the start position and repeat.
Grip 3: Neutral
Best for: Forearm and grip strength, joint flexibility.
This semi-pronated grip places additional emphasis on your elbow flexor muscles. It also targets the lower lats and is the kindest to your shoulder, elbow and wrists joints.
Technique: Grip the bar with your palms facing each other, shoulder-width apart. Pull your chest up towards the bar by drawing your elbows from the front, towards your body. Lower yourself back to the start position and repeat.
There we have it – the three most common pull-up manoeuvres. For those with adequate pulling strength it’s simply a case of programming them in to your workout schedule and varying the grips to hit your muscles from all angles.
If you struggle with pulling your own body-weight or are looking for ways to increase your reps, look out for, ‘The ultimate pull-up guide: part two’.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Where to Donate Now for Earthquake Relief in Nepal
Ashley Conrad's High-Intensity Leg Circuit Workout
Clutch Life Pancake Recipes
How to Cure Athlete's Foot
Explore the World's Most Bike-Friendly Country
Watch an Tribute to the Fallen Everest Climbers and Guides, Edited at Base Camp
Freddie Roach Trashes Floyd Mayweather Before the Big Fight
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Ashley Conrad's Clutch Life: Nutrition And Supplement Overview
Survival Stories from Mount Everest
Ashley Conrad's Clutch Life: Program Overview
The Guide to Buying Better Used Cars
How to Get the Body You Want for Summer
The Compact Bluetooth Speaker with Room-Filling Sound
The Perfect Puffer for Spring
Post-marathon recovery guide
What you do in the days post-marathon is almost as important as what you do in the days before. Recovering after running a marathon is vital and something that many people neglect. Having run 42.2km, you may not feel like moving again for a while, but you shouldn’t allow your nervous system to sleep completely. Long-distance running takes its toll on your body and leaves you at risk of dehydration and damaged muscle tissue.
Post-marathon recovery plan
Allow a week for marathon recovery, broken down as follows:
0 - 2 days: Complete rest
Congratulate yourself for having run a marathon. Make sure you drink water in small amounts, frequently, to help with the dehydration and flush out the extra lactic acid that builds up after intense exercise.
2 - 4 days: Full body stretching, with particular focus on legs.
Supplement this with some light activity such as swimming, due to the low impact nature of the activity. Try foam rolling too. This is a form of self-massage used by athletes to release muscle tightness and tension using a bit of kit you can find at the gym or buy cheaply online. Use your bodyweight to apply weight over the roller to stretch out the tight muscles – it will be painful (and if an area really hurts, go easy on it), but it reduces muscle stiffness and can lead to better recovery.
5 - 7 days: Light, short-duration jogs (around 30 minutes).
Supplement this with lots of stretching and foam rolling. The overall aim of this plan is to recover safely and effectively by keeping the nervous system moving gently. Therefore, exercise is key, but the amount done should be minimal and low impact.
As well as the obvious physical factors, the stress of running a marathon can affect your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and flu, so it’s important to eat a balanced diet with plenty of vitamins, and drink lots of water. In addition, some people often find they gain weight after running a marathon – do not be alarmed, this is usually due to water retention and will pass.
For more hints and tips, and to find out more about British Military Fitness visit: britishmilitaryfitness.com
Monday, April 27, 2015
Abs Under Siege: Noah Siegel's Hardcore Workout!
Stance Socks Adds Its Logo to the NBA Uniform
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Blueprint To Cut: Nutrition
10 Pro Tips for Mountain Biking
Meb Keflezighi's Tips for a Faster Marathon
John Oliver Will Make You Care Where Your Clothes Come From
Floyd Mayweather's New Diet Has Him Ready for Pacquiao
Workout of the Week #16
Take on your Men's Fitness workout of the week, a new 52-part series to keep you inspired and challenged for 2015. We'll post a new workout every Monday and for an added incentive, we'll take on the workout too so you can see how your best time compares with a member of the MF team.
Workout of the Week #16
Row 2km as fast as you can.
How to do the workout:
Hop on a rowing machine, set a new workout with a 2000m limit, and then go for it. That's literally it.
Watch the video, take on the challenge and post your best score in the comments section below.
MF's best time: 6min 59sec (set by acting editor Joel Snape)
This workout was shot at The Athlete Centre in Oxford. Check out our Workout of the Week YouTube playlist for more gym challenges. Subscribe to the Men's Fitness YouTube channel for our weekly Workouts of the Week, posted every Monday throughout 2015.
Watch the Everest Avalanche Hit Base Camp
Karlos Vemola interview
How did you first get into MMA?
My dad is a Greco-Roman wrestling coach back in the Czech Republic, so I started training that when I was a kid. I left wrestling for bodybuilding when I got older. Then when I moved to England I was working as a doorman for a boxing promotion that branched out into MMA. The promoter asked if I fancied giving it a try because of my wrestling background. I had no actual MMA experience, but I jumped in and did pretty well, and I’ve been doing MMA ever since.
How much training do you do in a typical week?
Monday to Friday I train three times a day. My routine is usually train at 9.30am, eat, sleep, spar at 2.30pm, have a shake, sleep again, then do conditioning or technique work at 7.30pm. I have to sleep between sessions otherwise I can’t recover properly. I give it my all at every session, and sleep, good food and quality supplements are crucial for that. I’ll also train once on a Saturday, but I give myself Sundays off. It’s always at least 15 sessions a week.
How different is your diet and nutrition now compared with when you were focusing on bodybuilding?
I eat a lot more. I’ve probably tripled my calorie intake since switching to MMA. If I’m not specifically cutting weight for a fight, my normal target is 10,000 calories a day. Bodybuilding is a lazy man’s sport and you couldn’t get away with eating that much – you’d just get fat. But with the volume of training that I do as an MMA fighter, I need to eat that much just to fuel my training. The way I see it, my body is like a high-performance car – the more fuel I give it, and the better quality that fuel is, the further it will go.
You started out fighting at heavyweight, and have since moved down to middleweight. Why the change?
I’ve never been knocked out in a fight, all my losses in the UFC were submissions or decisions, and I think a big part of that was my fitness. I think my cardio is a lot better at middleweight now that I’m not carrying any extra weight. I walk around at 105kg, so it’s a crazy weight cut down to 84kg, but I’m a lot stronger than most of my opponents on fight night.
You’re the reigning UCMMA middleweight champion, but you’re moving up to fight Carl Kinslow for the light heavyweight title. How did that come about?
I want to get back into the UFC and to do that I have to fight the best. The top UK guys are already in the UFC, so they’re out of the picture, and I’m looking around at what’s left. There aren’t any UK middleweights worth fighting – I’ve beaten the best of them already – so I’m moving up to light heavyweight to take the title there. I’ll do the same at heavyweight too if it means I can fight tougher competition.
What threats does Kinslow pose you?
He’s a tough guy who’s hard to finish, but I’m on a different level to him and I should be all over him wherever the fight goes. He’s going to come out all crazy and try to take my head off because there’s no pressure on him and everyone’s expecting him to lose, so I need to be careful. But I am going to take him out.
Who would you like to fight next after Kinslow to help get you back into the UFC?
The fight I really want is against Iain Martell. He’s got a 10-1 record, but he keeps ducking me and making excuses so he can take easier fights. The latest one from his management is that he can’t fight me because he’s just dropped to middleweight, but that would be perfect for me! I reckon that with another three or four wins this year I’ll be back in the big show, and once I’m there, I’ll stay at middleweight for good.
Karlos Vemola fights Carl Kinslow at UCMMA 43 at The Troxy in London on Saturday 2nd May. Buy tickets here.
Vemola trains at London Shootfighters, is sponsored by Nutrend Supplements and is represented by the Elite MMA Agency
Sunday, April 26, 2015
The True Story Behind Mad Men
Friday, April 24, 2015
Lyons' Roar: A Bodybuilder Battles Multiple Sclerosis
The Best Audio Systems for Any Home
The Best All-Terrain Road Bikes to Buy Now
The Anatomy of a Baseball Brawl
A Better Watch for Fitness Geeks
Equinox Fitness to Open Health-Focused Hotels
Is fell running Britain's most extreme sport?
It’s the noble – and often painful– art of running up and down hills for the sheer love of it – and MF writer Damian Hall wants a piece of that. Welcome to the world of fell running...
‘This is how death must feel,’ reads the first line of Richard Askwith’s book Feet In The Clouds. Askwith is describing one of his four attempts at the notorious Bob Graham Round fell race, which dominated his life for five years. He also writes, ‘WARNING: the activities described in this book are dangerous and may result in injury or death. Don’t try them. Go to a gym instead, or stay at home and watch television.’
At a time when races from Ironman triathlons to half marathons to mud-splattered obstacle course challenges are becoming phenomenally popular (and lucrative for their organisers), fell running stands out as perhaps the purest form of the sport. In essence, it’s a foot race straight up and down a ‘fell’ – a Norse-derived word used in northern England to mean a very steep thing. Races are usually on unmarked courses, amazingly cheap to enter, short on prizes (no medal or T-shirt for finishing) and contested by runners wearing vests, bumbags and short shorts. They can be as brief as 30 minutes or take as long as 24 hours.
The first fell race has been traced to Scotland in 1064, although the sport is probably much older. It’s folksy, determinedly amateur and full of heroes who frankly should be much more famous. Askwith writes that the exploits of the greatest fell runners ‘are as glorious as anything in sport’s history’. He’s referring to people such as ‘Iron’ Joss Naylor.
As a child, Naylor spent five years in a corrective corset after a back injury; later, he ran in pain for six weeks before being diagnosed with two broken feet. Despite all that, in 1987 at the age of 50 he set the record for the ‘Wainwright Tops’, visiting all the 214 fells mentioned in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide To The Lakeland Fells in seven days and one hour, a run of over 500km with around 36,000m of ascent. (His record wasn’t broken until 2014, when Steve Birkenshaw completed the Tops in six days and 13 hours.)
Do the rounds
Other fell-running legends include Ronald Turnbull, who traversed all 2,000ft [610m] Scottish peaks outside the Highlands in a continuous 627km run lasting nine days and 14 hours. Mike Hartley ran the 431km Pennine Way in just two days and 17 hours. He’s not to be confused with Mark Hartell, who bagged 77 Lake District summits in 24 hours to take the Bob Graham Round to a new level. What’s the Bob Graham Round, you ask? It’s one of the Big Three races or rounds of fell running and takes place up and down the 42 fells guest-house owner Graham visited in 24 hours, setting a new record in 1932 that stood for almost 30 years. Incidentally, when Graham recce-ed each of the summits of what would become his eponymous round, he did so barefoot. And that was long before the days of protective minimalist shoes.
How impressive are these achievements? Well, when Chris Brasher – Olympic steeplechase gold medallist, pace-setter for Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile and founder of the London Marathon – twice attempted the Bob Graham Round and was twice unsuccessful. Arguably the greatest ever ultra runner, Scott Jurek, completed the round (albeit not at his peak) with only 16 minutes to spare.
Could I measure up to these legends of the fells? I was pretty certain I wasn’t ready for a Bob Graham attempt, but I found a formidable yet achievable-sounding alternative race. Or rather two in one weekend – the Brecon Fans Races in the dramatic Brecon Beacons.
Race director Crispin Flowers warns me, ‘The Pen Y Fan Race on the Saturday will leave you unable to walk for several days if you do it properly’. But it’s less than 6km, I think, and I run ultramarathons. What’s the fuss all about? I conveniently forget for the moment that ultra runners tend to walk the uphill sections.
Welcome sign
The first thing I like about fell racing is the entry cost – just £8 for two races. For comparison, the Bath Half costs over £40. As I arrive there’s a conspicuous lack of big luminous signs. I register in a tent under the foreboding Pen Y Fan, the highest peak in southern Britain. The idea today is to go to the top and back as fast as possible. Races are rated according to three ascent categories, A, B and C, with A being the toughest, and three distance categories, L (over 20km), M (10-20km) and S (under 10km). This race is rated AS – ‘brutal but it doesn’t go on for long’ – with 588m of ascent and there’s a £800 prize for anyone who beats the course record of 30 minutes, set by Keith Anderson in 1992. Flowers apologises for not having picked all the thistles from the course and before I know it we’re off.
Up, up, forever up we go. I try to stick with the front group, but quickly drop away. I’m soon covered in sweat, thighs flooding with lactic acid, struggling to run. Three runners pass me and I tell myself no more will. Well, OK, just one more. And, well, one more won’t hurt. Fifteen minutes in and we’re still climbing. I have my hands on my thighs and am basically hiking – it seems just as fast but hurts less. I long for flat or downhill terrain and after 25 minutes I finally reach the summit plateau. After all that climbing, though, flat feels weird. My legs are wobbly and won’t do what they’re told.
A luminous-jacketed marshall looms out of the murk and points to what appears to be a cliff. It’s so steep I have to scramble down. In fell racing, if you’re not going steeply up you’re going steeply down. Uphill is horrible – slow and torturous. Downhill is horrible too – but in a totally different way. You plummet uncontrollably, arms and legs windmilling, while the terrain is trying to trip you up and snap your ankles. It’s terrifying but thrilling.
Slip and slide
I pass three runners. Then I do a little roly-poly. You know, for fun. Ouch. There’s no path, so it’s a free-for-all on the tussocky slope and the hills are alive with runners, either side of me, helter-skeltering it down like a human lava flow.
I finally locate the track we came up what feels like hours ago. There’s a runner on my tail and I pick up the pace to stay ahead. But as I do, someone sticks pins in my heels. Blisters! I sprint-hobble through trees and see a small crowd, and a finish line. I barrel across it, arms and legs spinning, head dizzy, breathing desperately.
It took me almost 30 minutes to get to the summit, but just 10 to get down again. Rather absurdly, I’ve placed sixth. I shake hands with other runners but feel very strongly that I would like to have a little sit-down now.
More runners – young and old, male and female – cross the line, flinging themselves to the ground or bending over double, looking shell-shocked, white-faced, red-faced, but about a minute later, smiling like 90s ravers. I also now feel utterly fantastic as my body floods with endorphins. I apply plasters and Natural Hero cream to my legs and toes, which are in bits – and I’ve got a longer race tomorrow.
Flat rate
Sunday’s Fan Y Big Horseshoe Race, rated BM (‘not too pointy but quite tough’), is more my kind of race. It’s 16km and there’s more flat. But like the Pen Y Fan it starts with a horrible slog uphill, less steep but longer. It also ends with a fast descent, again less steep and longer. In between, though, there’s some flattish skyline running, which I really enjoy, not least for the epic views of huge grass-covered panoramas that go on forever and distract me from the discomfort.
At the finish tape I collapse on the floor, my quads screaming, my toes sobbing and my mouth a foaming, dry sticky mess. I’m destroyed but ecstatic.
As Crispin predicted, my attempts at walking cause much merriment for others for much of
the week. Even so, I know these won’t be my last fell races. But it gets me thinking: how can I improve? What makes a great fell runner?
The best fell runners I’ve seen so far almost seem to have upside-down bodies: all the muscles are in their bulging legs, while their arms are like babies’. ‘I just run every day,’ Mark Palmer, who ran the fourth fastest Bob Graham Round (14hr 5min), tells me after the races. ‘Always off-road, on the hills. If I’m not running I cycle and swim.’
According to Palmer, you’ve got to love it to get the most out of it. ‘Running on the hills just does it for me,’ he says. ‘I can’t run on Tarmac. Up on the hills I feel alive. Give me a hill to run up and I’m happy.’
So what are the attributes of a good fell runner? ‘A good heart and lungs,’ writes Richard Askwith. ‘A light frame, preferably under 63kg, with no excess fat. The kind of sure-footedness that comes from familiarity with the hills.’ All these seem attainable. But Askwith adds something I don’t yet possess and I’m not sure I ever will: ‘And a disregard for pain and danger that verges on lunacy.’
For the Brecon Fans races Damian stayed at Old Wash House. Find out more about the Big Three Rounds – the Bob Graham Round, the Charlie Ramsay Round and the Paddy Buckley Round. Visit fellrunner.org.uk for more info about races all over the UK
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Racing Under the Lights in Brooklyn's Badass Bike Race
Jamie Eason's 12-Week Post-Pregnancy Trainer Day 60
The Active Man's Grooming Kit
The Stylish Packable Jacket for Cyclists
The Grand Canyon's Lost Battle Paves Way For Uranium Mining
The NFL SATs: A One-On-One With the Wonderlic Mastermind
The Man Who Makes Irish Whiskey Barrels
The 10 marathon mistakes you don't want to make
Don't... forget to clip your toenails
The last thing you want is long toenails pressing into the end of your shoe every step for 42.2km. It may not have seemed an issue when doing your practice runs, but when putting your body through the stress of the full marathon distance you need to do every little thing you can to ensure you're as comfortable as possible. You’re going to hurt afterwards regardless, but dead, black toe nails suck, look horrific, and last a lot longer than achey muscles.
Don’t... eat spicy food the week before
Remember the opening scene in The Phantom Menace where Qui-Gon Jinn is cutting a molten hole through that blast door by pressing his lightsaber against it? That’s how your chest will feel if you get spicy acid reflux. Not ideal if you’re running a marathon.
Don’t... wear new shoes
This may seem obvious but we guarantee there will be some doughnut at the start line rocking a brand new, stiff pair of sparkly running shoes that will kill their feet after the half-way point because they haven't been worn in yet. Don’t let that doughnut be you - stick with the shoes you’ve trained for the marathon in. They've been your loyal servants so far and it would be mean to cast them aside for a newer model at the point you’ve both been working so hard towards.
Don't... leave no room for your feet to swell
The heat caused by the constant pressure of thousands of steps will cause your feet to expand slightly. When you tie your laces, leave enough room to accommodate this. Imagine what a fool you’re going to feel when your time is two minutes more than it should be just because you had to re-lace your shoes halfway through. Also, ensure your socks aren't particularly thick (it's best to go for a pair specifically designed for long-distance runs such as Feetures, they have no seams on the toes and are designed to eliminate any chafing between foot and shoe).
Don't... ignore old blisters
If you have any previous blisters from the long runs you did in training you need to cover them well otherwise they could seriously ruin your race. Even if they seem pretty much healed, after 30km or so they can end up just as raw and painful as they were in their prime. Use blister plasters to cover them and smother the whole area in Vaseline to minimise friction. Even if you have never suffered from blisters, it's likely you could develop some during the marathon.
Don't... forget your balls and nips
Put plasters over your nipples – whether you use plasters, tape, or strap some cotton wool down over them, just make sure your nipples are covered unless you want your race vest to end up looking like a discarded rag from an operating theatre. Sorry, that's a bit gross and dramatic, it's unlikely they'll actually bleed (though it can happen), but after three hours plus of friction, they will definitely start getting hot at the least. Carry a little tin of Vaseline, just in case. Speaking of which, all that heat, friction and sweat can also be a recipe for disaster for your balls. Vaseline can help make things go more... smoothly.
Don't... go without shades if it's sunny
The sun will cause you to squint. Squinting causes tension. Tension will cause fatigue. Wear shades to stay relaxed and run your best without any distractions. Who knows? You might even look a little cooler while you're at it. At the very least, they can hide the 'kill me now' look some people acquire around the 35km mark!
Don't... just try and wing your nutrition plan
Your body is a machine and it needs fuel. Ideally, you would have already tested different foods or energy products on your long training runs. If not, we advise sticking with foods you're used to: Jelly Babies, Snickers and squash, for example, rather than energy gels and drinks. If you're going to use gels, have them at hydration stations and ensure you have plenty of water to guzzle them down and help your stomach digest them.
Don't... forget to make a playlist
If you've trained with music, it's likely you're going to want to run with music on race day. You might not have bothered with playlists up until this point, but trust us when we say there’s nothing worse than a mood-killing track such as a moaning Leonard Cohen number or soul-decaying bit of Burial to slow you down. Make a playlist of tunes that, a) you love and b) are pumping. There are all sorts of debates about the right BPM to run to, but we reckon your best bet is to stick to tunes that make you smile. Can't be bothered with compiling your own list? The peeps over at Deezer have come up with a 74-track 4hrs 59min playlist full of cheesy bangers to keep you going.
Don’t... get too excited
Your adrenaline will be pumping as the crowds scream and you finally get to do the thing you’ve been anticipating for so long, but don’t let it all go to your head. Have a plan, and stick with it. You might be feeling good a few kilometres in, but upping the pace could cost you dearly later in the race. Stick to your preferred pace, and gently up the tempo if you feel good at the half-way point.
Our last tip is completely hypocritical: just do whatever works best for you. It’s your race, do it in your way, and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Good luck!
This year Cancer Research UK is Charity of the Year for the Virgin Money London Marathon. To support Cancer Research UK’s biggest ever marathon team and help raise £2.5 million, visit cancerresearchuk.org/marathon
The 9 marathon mistakes you don't want to make
Don't... forget to clip your toenails
The last thing you want is long toenails pressing into the end of your shoe every step for 42.2km. It may not have seemed an issue when doing your practice runs, but when putting your body through the stress of the full marathon distance you need to do every little thing you can to ensure you're as comfortable as possible. You’re going to hurt afterwards regardless, but dead, black toe nails suck, look horrific, and last a lot longer than achey muscles.
Don’t... eat spicy food the week before
Remember the opening scene in The Phantom Menace where Qui-Gon Jinn is cutting a molten hole through that blast door by pressing his lightsaber against it? That’s how your chest will feel if you get spicy acid reflux. Not ideal if you’re running a marathon.
Don’t... wear new shoes
This may seem obvious but we guarantee there will be some doughnut at the start line rocking a brand new, stiff pair of sparkly running shoes that will kill their feet after the half-way point because they haven't been worn in yet. Don’t let that doughnut be you - stick with the shoes you’ve trained for the marathon in. They've been your loyal servants so far and it would be mean to cast them aside for a newer model at the point you’ve both been working so hard towards.
Don't... leave no room for your feet to swell
The heat caused by the constant pressure of thousands of steps will cause your feet to expand slightly. When you tie your laces, leave enough room to accommodate this. Imagine what a fool you’re going to feel when your time is two minutes more than it should be just because you had to re-lace your shoes halfway through. Also, ensure your socks aren't particularly thick (it's best to go for a pair specifically designed for long-distance runs such as Feetures, they have no seams on the toes and are designed to eliminate any chafing between foot and shoe).
Don't... ignore old blisters
If you have any previous blisters from the long runs you did in training you need to cover them well otherwise they could seriously ruin your race. Even if they seem pretty much healed, after 30km or so they can end up just as raw and painful as they were in their prime. Use blister plasters to cover them and smother the whole area in Vaseline to minimise friction. Even if you have never suffered from blisters, it's likely you could develop some during the marathon.
Don't... forget your balls and nips
Put plasters over your nipples – whether you use plasters, tape, or strap some cotton wool down over them, just make sure your nipples are covered unless you want your race vest to end up looking like a discarded rag from an operating theatre. Sorry, that's a bit gross and dramatic, it's unlikely they'll actually bleed (though it can happen), but after three hours plus of friction, they will definitely start getting hot at the least. Carry a little tin of Vaseline, just in case. Speaking of which, all that heat, friction and sweat can also be a recipe for disaster for your balls. Vaseline can help make things go more... smoothly.
Don't... go without shades if it's sunny
The sun will cause you to squint. Squinting causes tension. Tension will cause fatigue. Wear shades to stay relaxed and run your best without any distractions. Who knows? You might even look a little cooler while you're at it. At the very least, they can hide the 'kill me now' look some people acquire around the 35km mark!
Don't... just try and wing your nutrition plan
Your body is a machine and it needs fuel. Ideally, you would have already tested different foods or energy products on your long training runs. If not, we advise sticking with foods you're used to: Jelly Babies, Snickers and squash, for example, rather than energy gels and drinks. If you're going to use gels, have them at hydration stations and ensure you have plenty of water to guzzle them down and help your stomach digest them.
Don’t... get too excited
Your adrenaline will be pumping as the crowds scream and you finally get to do the thing you’ve been anticipating for so long, but don’t let it all go to your head. Have a plan, and stick with it. You might be feeling good a few kilometres in, but upping the pace could cost you dearly later in the race. Stick to your preferred pace, and gently up the tempo if you feel good at the half-way point.
Our last tip is completely hypocritical: just do whatever works best for you. It’s your race, do it in your way, and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Good luck!
This year Cancer Research UK is Charity of the Year for the Virgin Money London Marathon. To support Cancer Research UK’s biggest ever marathon team and help raise £2.5 million, visit cancerresearchuk.org/marathon
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
7 Tips To Rekindle Your Fitness Relationship
Jamie Eason's 12-Week Post-Pregnancy Trainer Day 59
Trek Recalls a Million Bikes After a Cyclist Is Paralyzed
A More Stylish Water Filter
Are Women Really Attracted to Men Who Recycle?
Here’s Why You Should Be Optimistic for the Environment on Earth Day
What It's Like to Be an Airbnb Owner in Cuba
What It's Like to Be an Airbnb Owner Cuba
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
7 Protein-Rich Vegetarian Breakfasts
Sneak Peek: 2016's Coolest Bikes and Cycling Gear
The Essentials: 5 Must-Have Items for Bike Commuters
Can Statins Cause Diabetes?
Are Climbing Gyms the New CrossFit?
Thor workout: Age of Ultron
‘If you watch Marvel Avengers: Age Of Ultron, there are two things you’ll notice about Chris Hemsworth throughout the movie,’ says Joe Wicks, The Body Coach. ‘First, his arms are massive and his veins are popping in every scene. And second, you’ll notice the size of his back and lats. His wide frame makes every other character look tiny, unless he’s standing next to the Hulk of course (who has a CGI-enhanced advantage).’ The workout below will help you build a mighty back to rival the Norse god himself.
1 Wide-grip pull-up
Sets 3
Reps To failure
Rest 2min
‘The pull-up is the king of all upper-body exercises,’ says Wicks. ‘Not only does it put your forearms and biceps to the test, it zeroes in on your lats, which are the muscles that give your back shape and size.’
Grasp a bar with an overhand grip so your palms are facing away from you and your hands are double shoulder-width apart. Contract your upper back muscles to help pull your sternum towards the bar. Then lower under control.
2 Single-arm bent-over dumbbell row
Sets 3
Reps 10-12 each side
Rest 90sec
‘This exercise allows you to go heavy but also keep your lower back safe, because you rest one knee on the bench,’ says Wicks. ‘This enables you to keep your spine straight and really engage your lat muscles as you pull the dumbbell towards your hip.’
Support your knee on the bench with the other leg planted wide for balance. Keep a natural arch in your back and your core braced. Keeping your elbow tucked in, lift the weight slowly to the side of your chest. Pause, then return slowly. Complete all reps on one side, then the other.
3 Lat pull-down
Sets 3
Reps 12-15
Rest 60sec
‘If your back, biceps and forearms aren’t pumped already, this really will be the finisher,’ says Wicks. ‘Make sure you focus on squeezing your back muscles when you pull the bar down towards your chest.’
Adjust the pad so it sits snugly on your thighs to minimise movement. Grasp the bar with a wide grip, looking forward with your torso upright. Retract your shoulder blades and pull the bar down in front of you to your upper chest. Squeeze your lats at the bottom of the move. Resist the temptation to lean back too far to aid the movement.
To find more workouts and meal ideas from The Body Coach check out his Instagram and YouTube channel.
Marvel Avengers: Age Of Ultron is out in cinemas nationwide on April 23rd
Monday, April 20, 2015
Jamie Eason's 12-Week Post-Pregnancy Trainer Day 57
9 Ways to Recover From Your Workouts Faster
The Best New All-Natural Colognes
How to Drink a Cask Strength Whiskey
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Snowbombing 2015 review
We have a confession to make: our name is Men’s Fitness, and we’re Snowbombingaholics. And if you go to the annual winter sports and music festival in the Austrian Alps, there’s a huge chance you will be too.
Though this is a fitness website intended to help you look and feel as best as you possibly can, it would be silly to assume that none of you reading this also like to have a few sherries every now and then, dance about like an idiot, and generally indulge in a light spot of debauchery. That’s OK, we do too.
But the problem with the majority of music festivals is the lack of anything substantial to do during the day. You feel like death warmed up your brain in a microwave. In most cases you emerge from a stinking tent and have to queue for half hour just for the privilege of paying three or four quid for a polystyrene cup of tea, and all you can really do to get through the hangover is get back on the beers. It’s terrible for your body, even worse for your mind, and burns a hole in your wallet faster than an excitable arsonist.
Snowbombing is different. Yes, you will spend five nights enjoying some of the best DJs and live acts the world has to offer, with music going through until 6am for the more diehard party-goers. But you get to wake up, a) in a hotel bed (or someone else’s if you’re lucky) and b) in the beautiful Austrian mountain town of Mayrhofen. Surrounded by snowy peaks, it doesn’t matter how bad you feel when you first open your eyes. You get your ski or snowboard gear on and head for the slopes.
The main cable car is conveniently situated in the centre of the town, and even more conveniently located right opposite Hans the Butcher’s shop. One of the finest meat purveyors in Europe, Hans sells chicken wings, schnitzels, frankfurters and a host of other delicious – and cheap – snacks that all deliver the salt, fat and protein your body craves after a night out.
Once up the mountain, miles and miles of runs greet you, ranging from gentle blues, winding reds and terrifying blacks (including the appropriately named Hara Kiri – one of Europe’s steepest runs with a 78% gradient at its most severe). You’re instantly rejuvenated thanks to the crisp air, incredible scenery and challenge of getting down in one piece. It beats sitting round on fold-out chairs listening to your campsite neighbours play that ‘sick tune’ they never seem to tire of while incessantly huffing balloons, that’s for sure.
If your party spirit does make an early comeback, you can choose from the Arctic Disco (an igloo that doubles up as a club at night hosting exclusive ticketed parties with the likes of Skrillex, MK and Carl Cox on the decks), Rompa’s Reggae Shack, or the Snow Park to listen to quality tunes while munching some lunch on the slopes.
The Snow Park is also a great place to have a laugh watching amateur skiers and snowboarders stack it attempting kickers and rails. It also plays host to some of the world’s best pro riders, who risk life and limb throwing themselves off massive ramps and pulling off insane – or gnarly, as they would say – tricks. On the Friday you can rub shoulders with the pros as money is on offer for any amateur who tries to make it across the Water Splash, a water-filled moat you need to skim over at speed if you don't want a dunking.
Back in Mayrhofen, sets start from around 7pm. The gigantic Racket Club has enough lasers, pyros and video screens to make NASA jealous, and plays host to most of the biggest headliners (this year’s highlights were party veteran Fat Boy Slim, Sigma doing a live show complete with band, and drum and bass legend Andy C playing a six-hour set across four decks). Europahaus – and our particular favourite venue, the small, yet vibing Bruck N’Stadl – host the freshest names in underground dance music, while the stunningly decorated Forest Party has crowd-pleasers such as Rudimental and 2ManyDJs.
You would think all this would cost a fortune, but with accommodation included in your ticket price that ranges from basic digs up to luxury suites, it doesn’t need to end up costing much more than a normal winter sports holiday. Especially if you’re on it and buy earlybird tickets as soon as they’re released. Let’s face it, you’ll probably still get involved with the après ski (aka drink horrendous amounts) if you go elsewhere, but rather than a line-up that reads like a who’s who of electronic music, you’ll be cringing as you hear Rihanna’s latest single for the umpteenth time. It's also highly unlikely you'll get to workout with Mister Motivator on top of a mountain, ski with Eddie the Eagle, rave in an igloo, or get kidnapped by balaclava-clad people and taken to a secret backckountry party!
The only downside? One time at Snowbombing and you’ll be addicted too. Don’t worry though, it definitely gets the Men's Fitness seal of approval as a healthier vice than any other festival going.
All images courtesy of Snowbombing 2015. Photography by Danny North, Richard Johnson, Andrew Whitton, Jenna Foxton
Paddling Hawaii's Lost Coast
Sunday, April 19, 2015
What We Can Do About Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
Workout of the Week #15
Take on our Men's Fitness workout of the week, a new 52-part series to keep you inspired and challenged for 2015. We'll post a new workout every Monday and for an added incentive, we'll take on the workout too so you can see how your best time compares with a member of the MF team.
Workout of the Week #15
Do four rounds of 50m farmer's walks with two 24kg kettlebells and 25 press-ups as fast as you can.
How to do the workout:
Measure out 50m (or large paces) and do the farmer's walks for that distance. If you have to put the bells down, do so, but then pick them up and carry on from that point until you hit 50m.
Watch the video, take on the challenge and post your best score in the comments section below.
MF best: 6min 30sec
This workout was shot at The Athlete Centre in Oxford. Check out our Workout of the Week YouTube playlist for more gym challenges. Subscribe to the Men's Fitness YouTube channel for our weekly Workouts of the Week, posted every Monday throughout 2015.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Jamie Eason's 12-Week Post-Pregnancy Trainer Day 56
6 Products For Cleaner, Healthier Feet
5 High-Tech Hoodies You Can Wear All Spring
The Shoes That Won the Boston Marathon
How to Dress Like the Most Powerful Man on TV
How Do You Define the MVP?
MF meets: UFC Fighter Luke Rockhold
Tornado kicks are hard. Not only is the technique difficult to nail – it combines a leaping kick with a 540˚ spin – but the dynamic movement makes it hard to photograph as well. That’s why UFC fighter Luke Rockhold has done 48 in a row at our photoshoot and we still haven’t got the perfect shot.
Our art director suggests one more attempt and Rockhold nonchalantly fires off his 49th perfect kick. This time we get it – you can see the result above. Naturally, it’s only after we’re finished that Rockhold mentions his toe is still broken from his most recent fight. This is a fighter who has a way of making hard things look easy.
By the horns
Since winning the Strikeforce middleweight title in 2011, Rockhold has drawn attention for being a little different to the rest of the world’s elite mixed martial artists. The 29-year-old Californian isn’t just a contender in one of the UFC’s most stacked divisions with a knack for first-round finishes – he lives a lifestyle that would put all but the most diehard adrenaline junkies to shame. How many people do you know who’d charge down a full-grown bull?
‘I was out in Costa Rica and went to a bull festival,’ Rockhold explains. ‘Every once in a while a couple of locals would jump in and run away from the bull.’ Initially Rockhold’s sense of self-preservation held out. ‘I remember thinking, “There’s no way I’m going to jump in”,’ he says. ‘But after a little of the guaro [a Central American spirit] and whatever else we were drinking, it was just something I had to do. I took a swig from the bottle, gave my friend my camera and then pretty much just jumped over the fence.’
Obviously, Rockhold didn’t trouble to look into the arena before he jumped in and ended up finding himself face-to-face with the biggest bull of the night. Not that it troubled him too much. ‘I just ran at the thing,’ he recalls. ‘I tried to fake going right, then left. He just put his horns down and tried to take a piece off my ass.’
The bull missed, but only just. ‘He whiffed by me – he was literally within inches of goring my leg,’ says Rockhold, laughing. ‘Man, my butt was puckered up.’ He made a dash to the fence to be pulled out by his anxious friends. ‘I expected my buddies to be all excited about it but they were freaking out on me.’ He pauses before adding, ‘I’ll never do that again. I mean, I was wearing Vans with no shoelaces.’
Close to the edge
It’s not all duelling bovine death machines in Central America though. Rockhold’s Twitter feed is an illuminating window into his world, whether it’s posting selfies with Will Ferrell at the World Cup or being snapped hanging out with five of the UFC’s bikini-clad ring girls. In fact, you get the impression Rockhold is a hit with the fairer sex. UFC president Dana White refers to him as ‘that handsome one’ and it seems that a lot of his stories start with him in the company of ‘a couple of girls’.
‘I do have some good stories,’ says Rockhold. ‘One 4th July weekend I was out in California with a couple of girls. We were walking down a little road right on the cliffside and we went past about five or six guys getting rowdy. They said something to me and I said something back. Next thing I knew, it was them versus me. I kinda started fighting all of them, throwing roundhouse kicks and crazy stuff.’
Rockhold found himself backed up to the edge of the cliff with a 20-25m drop onto jagged rocks. Then he went over the edge.
‘It was one of those things when you’ve been drinking and you can’t explain everything that goes down,’ says Rockhold. ‘I remember getting swarmed by the guys, being pushed and flipping off the edge. Somehow I landed just like Spider-Man on this tiny ledge about ten feet [3m] down the cliff. I was stuck there.’ As you might imagine, the fight was quickly forgotten as Rockhold went over the edge. ‘Everyone ran over expecting to see a dead man at the bottom of the cliff and realised I was right there. Everyone was trying to help me up, even the guys I was fighting. They thought they’d killed me. It somehow all worked out.’
Enjoy the ride
Rockhold doesn’t tell this as a cautionary tale about fighting on the streets – it’s just a good story. In fact, as he is telling it he’s playing around with a skateboard in the photo studio, landing a frontside pop shove-it as he gives us the details. So far he’s only smashed one glass. ‘If there’s a skateboard in front of me, I can’t help myself. I like to jump on,’ he says as MF hastily clears the shards away. ‘Skateboarding is a little risky for someone like me, but…’ He shrugs. ‘I like to surf when I can as well.’
Rockhold says surfing provides him a welcome break from life at the gym. ‘It’s a good workout and it’s refreshing to get out of the gym,’ he says. ‘I wanted to go on a cool surf trip to Bali or Indonesia after my last fight but I ended up breaking my toe so that put things on hold. Maybe next time.’
If it seems as if Rockhold is joking his way through life and MMA success has been a fluke, think again. He may know how to have fun but there’s a serious work ethic that’s underlined his success in the cage. He comes from a family of athletes, which fostered a competitive attitude in him from a young age. ‘My dad was a professional basketball player and my mom was a hell of a tennis player,’ says Rockhold. ‘And my older brother Matt is a pro surfer. Being the youngest, I always felt I needed to live up to their achievments.’
Self starter
That competitive edge is evident in his attitude towards training. For one thing, Rockhold oversees all his own strength and conditioning and nutrition, saying that he feels a lot of coaches’ programmes don’t really work for him. ‘I pick and choose from guys I like. I’ve made my own deal and I follow my own programme,’ he says.
Nutrition is crucial in a sport governed by weight classes and Rockhold feels it’s an area that many MMA fighters don’t take seriously enough. ‘People just have no idea what they are putting into their body. You have to have a varied diet – your carb base, your vegetables and your protein, everything,’ he says. ‘I just don’t see how it is possible to be a vegetarian or vegan when you break your body down so much. You have to recover. You need those proteins and proper amino acids, like leucine, which only really comes from animal fats.’
As well as keeping a close eye on his diet, Rockhold believes his work ethic in the gym is unparalleled. ‘I don’t think anybody [in the middleweight division] is more conditioned or more prepared than me. I feel like I train harder and smarter than anybody out there,’ he says. ‘I’ve got a lot of natural talent and I’m not wasting it. I push harder than anybody in my gym and anybody I have ever been around. I am going to keep that mentality. This is my dream and I’m not going to let anyone take it from me.’
Title talk
Rockhold’s confidence is more than just tough talk. He’s displayed his conditioning in the cage, most notably when he wrested the Strikeforce middleweight title from vicious submission artist Ronaldo ‘Jacaré’ Souza in a five-round battle. ‘I didn’t really know what Jacaré was capable of but I just knew that I wanted to win the title, so I gave every last bit of myself,’ says Rockhold. ‘I wasn’t going to let him stop me in the later rounds. Actually I think my conditioning was what really won me that fight. I outlasted him with that determination.’
It was the first time Rockhold had been beyond the first round in his entire professional career. ‘That was an amazing feeling – I cried a little,’ he says of his title victory. ‘I’ve never cried after a fight before but I couldn’t help it. As soon as they announced “and the new…” I just started bawling.’
So just how good is Rockhold and how close is he to capturing a UFC championship? The UFC has him ranked fifth in its middleweight division. Of the men above him, two are coming off losses to champion Chris Weidman, one is in trouble for drug use and the other – Jacaré – Rockhold has already beaten convincingly. A title shot is well within his grasp.
The only hiccup in his UFC run so far was a KO loss to Vitor Belfort via a spectacular spinning heel kick. The loss is mitigated slightly by the fact that Belfort has recently been in hot water over performance-enhancing drug use. ‘I think that the guy’s been cheating his whole career, but it’s not an excuse for me to lose that fight,’ says Rockhold. ‘The simple fact is Vitor is a cheater and I don’t respect him for that – I want to fight him again and beat him for the purity of the sport.’
Righteous path
Cheating is one of the few subjects that makes Rockhold’s relaxed demeanour fade. He says you can tell when someone has been cheating as soon as you fight them. ‘They have kind of freakish, explosive strength,’ Rockhold says. ‘But it only lasts so long. If you get through the initial burst of strength they die quicker than anybody else.’ But it’s not just the physical advantages steroids bring that upset him. ‘It’s the feeling of invincibility these guys get from the stuff, it gives them super, super-confidence,’ he says. Confidence is a huge part of fighting. Doubt yourself and your techniques will fail. ‘I think confidence is the biggest thing for a lot of these guys [on drugs].’
When you’ve been in the sport a long time, Rockhold says, you hear things. ‘I think quite a few of the top guys are using some form of performance-enhancing drugs,’ he says. ‘It's a huge problem and I think it needs to be regulated with blood tests, and people need to be punished. I could never cheat, I just couldn’t live with myself, and I have no respect for the people that do.’
It’s a bold statement to make. But it’s one that sums Rockhold up: he’s the guy that’ll party as hard as anyone and will always have a crazy story to tell. When it comes to competition, though, he’s serious. He wants to train hard, he wants to win and he wants to win clean. And when he wins the title that way, it’s going to be his best story yet.
Photography: Danny Bird, Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
For more on the UFC, visit ufc.com where you can sign up for your UFC Fight Pass and see action from UFC events
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Jamie Eason's 12-Week Post-Pregnancy Trainer Day 53
How To Freshen Up Fast After A Midday Workout
The Stylish Bluetooth Headphones for Travelers
Watch Pro Cyclists Get Big Air in the World’s Largest Indoor Bike Park
Why the Warriors Still Have Plenty to Prove
Watch a Snowboarder Land a Record-Breaking 1800 Quadruple Cork
Roughing It Off the California Coast
Run a River, on Two Feet
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Cory Gregory's Squat Every Day: Program Overview
Requiem for the Coliseum: The Islanders's Last Stand at Fort Neverlose
Silicon Valley's Food King
Aaron Hernandez Found Guilty of Murder
Charlie Cox: Daredevil interview
If you’ve seen Charlie Cox on screen before – as Boardwalk Empire’s friendly IRA man, for instance, or The Theory Of Everything’s amiable choirmaster – he probably didn’t strike you as the dark, brooding type. But now he’s the flawed hero in Marvel’s new Daredevil TV series – and to prepare for the role the London-born Cox went full leotard, hitting the barbells and bags to craft a physique worthy of lawyer/vigilante Matt Murdoch.
First things first: it seems as if every Marvel franchise comes with a shirt-off scene. Was it intimidating to know you’d be going up against Captain America and Thor?
Well, Daredevil doesn’t have any superpowers, so it’s not out of the question that he could have more of a Bruce Lee physique. I was about 72kg and quite skinny coming in, and producer Steven DeKnight said, ‘We’d love it if we could get you to 175lb [80kg]’. I started eating tons of chicken, broccoli, sweet potato, rice and pasta. I put carbohydrates in all my protein shakes, so I’d have a protein shake with sweet potato in it. It’s actually really nice.
Sounds like you must have a really good blender. Did Marvel set you up with a trainer too?
They set me up with this no-joke gym. I felt like a little boy. I was introduced to a trainer and at first I just did what I was told, but then I gradually developed an interest in it. Even though we wrapped over two months ago I’ve kept it up. I really enjoy the process. What’s a typical workout for you? I did the major body parts once or twice a week and then a full-body workout to keep me lean. I’d turn up, run for five minutes, then do chest and back exercises, then run for five minutes and so on. You develop a real sweat and you know you’re getting a major workout. I had to stop using the prowler, though, because it made me want to vomit. I fucking hate it.
Daredevil’s also one of Marvel’s premier ass-kickers. How much of that did you actually do?
As much as they’d let me. I love that stuff, but I’m not a trained fighter so my technique isn’t brilliant. In every fight scene they found pieces for me to do that I could pick up pretty quickly, then they make it look good in the edit. My stunt double Chris was amazing and the mask means you can get away with a lot, but we really tried to use as much of me as possible.
Daredevil seems quite dark compared with the rest of the Marvel Universe…
It is intended to be much darker. There’s a lot of blood, and thematically it’s much more adult. In the Daredevil comics many of the famous series are very dark. I think a lot of Marvel fans will be thrilled.
OK, final question: what’s your number one tip for a busy man – a lawyer with no superpowers, say – who wants to get in better shape?
Here are the things that helped me. First, find out what time of the day you train best at. I can’t go to the gym at 5.30. I just can’t. I’d much rather go at 10pm. Second, you have to get through the first week. Get past the point where it hurts and you’re walking like John Wayne because you’re so sore, and then you’re in. The last thing is that if you can’t get out of the house, do something like the Insanity workout. I put one of those DVDs on and it absolutely destroys me. If you’re just looking to get a sweat on and lose a bit of weight, do that two or three times a week and you’re golden.
Daredevil is on Netflix now