Men's Fitness South Africa June - July 2020

STRENGTH TRAINING CJ Murphy, M.F.S. Owner, Total Performance Sports, Everett, MA Jim Smith, C.P.P.S. Owner, Diesel Strength & Conditioning Zach Even-Esh Owner, Underground Strength Gym, Edison, NJ WEIGHT LOSS Bob Harper Fitness expert; trainer, NBC’s The Biggest Loser Chris Powell, C.S.C.S. Trainer; author; transformation specialist, ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss Frank G. Bottone Jr., Ph.D., R.D. Author, The Diet Denominator: Fill Your Tank for Less FINANCE Roy Cohen Career counselor; author, The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide; careercoachny.com Chris Bart, Ph.D. Business consultant; author, A Tale of Two Employees DERMATOLOGY Tina West, M.D. Board-certified dermatologist; founder of the West Institute, westskinlaser.com Annet King, Director of global education, the International Dermal Institute and Dermalogica PHYSICAL THERAPY Jay Dicharry, M.P.T., C.S.C.S. Director of biomechanics, Rebound Physical Therapy “ALWAYS LOOK FOR AN INSTRUCTOR WHO…

Running, rowing, cycling, skipping: They may not just strengthen your heart, they may also actually repair it when it’s damaged. Proteins that help keep cells healthy usually mend themselves when they get degraded from normal wear and tear. Sometimes, though, as in heart failure, damaged proteins accumulate and cause heart disease — and there’s no drug that can restore these essential cells to their previous grandeur. But here’s where aerobic exercise — which we already know strengthens lungs, lowers cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, and improves the immune system — comes in. New research on rats found that when rodents with damaged hearts were put on a steady routine of intense cardiovascular exercise (no doubt wearing tiny little leg warmers and sweating to a Jane Fonda’s Workout tape), their cardiac proteins…

Busting out big weight at the gym can be addictive — it’s so satisfying to finally get to the point where you can start moving real weight and build massive muscles. But new research from McMaster University in Canada has shown that you don’t have to lift heavy to get the strength and size gains you want. Scientists challenged the traditional weightlifting notion of “go big or go home” by dividing up two groups of experienced lifters and having them either hit lighter weights (up to 50% of their one-rep max) for sets of 20–25 reps, or go for weights up to 90% of their max for just 8–12 reps. Each group was instructed to lift till failure. After 12 weeks, the researchers found that gains in muscle mass and…

Ask why someone’s banned wheat from their diet, and nine times out of 10 they’ll proudly proclaim they’re “gluten intolerant.” But doctors have stayed sceptical, maintaining that the only people who really need to avoid gluten — the protein “glue” that holds wheat grains together — are those actually diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes gluten to attack the small intestine. In fact, reports show that if a person doesn’t have celiac (and less than 1% of people do) yet follows a gluten-free diet, it could raise their risk of obesity and insulin resistance by steering them toward higher-fat, higher-sugar “gluten-free” packaged foods. But a new study out of Columbia University Medical Center in the US may be what the anti-gluten warriors have been waiting for: It…

Women want to have sex. Like to have sex. May even crave sex more than we do, a new study says. So why does it seem like they couldn’t care less? Because we’re morons. The study, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, asked 229 hetero couples (average time together: six years) how often they want to have sex, as opposed to actually having it. The startling conclusion: Women want sex just as much as men — but men consistently misinterpret their signals, taking any turn-down as disinterest in sex in general, when it’s really just disinterest right then. Remember that the next time. Workaholics need their heads examined The term workaholic generally has a fairly positive connotation, describing someone who’s driven to achieve, always wants the work to…

Are you a barbeque virtuoso who lives to man the flames? Or a braai master who gets weak-kneed at the mere thought of holding the tongs? Either way, we’ve got all the ace techniques and easy tricks you need to take your braai skills to the next level. For example, the best way to transform a less-pricey slab of meat so it tastes like a prime cut? Age it. Finish a steak perfectly without overcooking it? Reverse-sear it. Keep a burger delectably juicy? Flip it, flip it, flip it! Yes, with these 16 top tips, a few hours’ practise, and a little patience, you too can enter the Pantheon of braai gods (or, at least not fall flaming from the heavens).…