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12.2018

“EVEN THE
STRONGEST
MAN IS GONNA
GET OLD. PUSH
IT AHEAD
AS MUCH AS
YOU CAN.”
DOLPH LUNDGREN, p. 74

Above, on Munteanu:
Bathrobe ($725) by Versace;
versace.com. Boxer briefs
($28) by Calvin Klein
Underwear; macys.com.
Shorts ($45) by Nike; nike.com.
Necklace ($550) by Esquire
Men’s Jewelry, created for
Macy’s. On Lundgren: Shirt
($17) by Champion; champion
.com. Joggers ($170) by Under
Armour; underarmour.com.
FEATURES
74 DRAGO FAMILY VALUES
Thirty-three years after Rocky IV,
Dolph Lundgren gives up
the title to Florian Munteanu—
but not without a fight.
BY AMOS BARSHAD
82 THERE WILL BE TEARS
There’s a place you can go to
understand what it means
to be a man. But you’re going
to be sad there. And scared.
Also: bears. BY NATE GREEN
90 THE MAGIC BEAN
The benefits, the science,
and brand-new ways to
consume one of the most
powerful substances in
the world: coffee.
BY SCARLETT WRENCH
94 WHAT’S YOUR
FITNESS AGE?
There’s how old you are.
And there’s how old your
body is. How to tell what
stage of life you’re really in.
BY MICHAEL EASTER
102 THE
HOLLYWOODIFICATION
It takes a fitness, fashion, and
grooming overhaul to turn an
actor into a superhero movie
star. Here’s how Aquaman’s
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
transformed himself for
Hollywood. BY LILI GÖKSENIN
104 THE SNOW STORM
When your partner lives
with a chronic illness, an icy
drive home becomes an
existential trial. BY ALEX BELTH

PHOTOGRAPH BY BEN WATTS MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 5

 Waterproof boots are LIFE
a godsend. Find more
heavy-duty winter 35 How to make
classics on page 56. getting to work not a
$%#^ing completely
640 Below Boots ($190) by %&$# experience.
Timberland; timberland
.com. Traveler pants by 40 Ask Her Anything:
Banana Republic; Michelle Obama on
bananarepublic.com. strength, boot camps,
and Cheetos.
44 Side dishes
that don’t suck. (We
still love you, green-
bean casserole.)
46 Best Foods: The
jarred-tomato face-off!
(Wait, is that blood?)
48 Mixologize like a pro:
The six bar tools your
home kit needs.
49 Make sure she’s
satisfied: Closing
the orgasm gap.
52 You may be
coming off as a creep
without knowing it.
54 How to shop for
grooming products
everywhere.
56 Layer up!
The 12 cold-weather
style essentials.
PLUS!
FLIP THE ISSUE FOR: 60 A cruise director’s
THE MEN’S HEALTH high-seas workout.
TECH GUIDE 2018 62 Cool Dad: Chef Tyler
76 must-have gadgets, cars, Kord’s harshest food
and gear to make your entire critic? His toddler.
life smoother, easier, sleeker,
and much more fun. MIND
65 Brain Gains: Can
a jolt to your cranium
MH WORLD BODY 28 Seven foods you
should always throw
boost performance?
11 The year in shoes; 19 It’s all about the in your cart. (One of 68 Dear Men:
a vegetable-soup “flow” to help you them is beets. Sorry.) America’s Blackout
recipe for kids; Belly grow more muscle. Epidemic—a plea.
Off! Club; the movies 30 Snacking? Good!
22 King-in-Waiting: Most snacks? Bad! 70 Let science tuck
and football to watch. How the 76ers’ Ben This story? Helpful! you in.
Simmons is visualizing
On the cover: Munteanu and Lundgren photographed his way to the top. 32 Can a supplement 72 Are you nailing your
by Ben Watts exclusively for Men’s Health. Styling by
Ted Stafford, grooming by Jodie Boland using Lab
treat stress? 9-to-5? Take our quiz!
Series Skincare for Men, prop styling by Anthony 24 Thing to do with a MH investigates.
Ansaro & Kendyll Legier/Art Department. On Lundgren: medicine ball #1,843. +
Tank by Tommy Hilfiger; joggers by Todd Snyder
+ Champion; watch by Hublot. On Munteanu:
33 Here’s what your liver 110 Above Average
Shorts by Todd Snyder + Champion; boxer briefs by
26 The new no-weights, wants for the holidays. Guy: At the Gym
Champion; watch by Hublot. all-body workout. (Hint: It ain’t booze.)

6 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPH BY ALLIE HOLLOWAY

DO N ’T L E T
NUMB E RS
D E F I NE YOU

NEW MUSEUM ® CLASSIC

PERFECTION UPDATED.
AN ICON OF MODERN DESIGN.
MOVADO.COM
 EDITOR’S NOTE

“What message responsible, and the only thing most of us

do you have for want to be responsible for is making sure that

nobody is terrorizing our wife or our sister or
our friend in accounts payable.
How do we do a little better? How do we not

the young men do nothing? Advice like “listen to women” is

too vague and, frankly, too easy. Instead, be
a part of building stronger systems of pre-
vention and accountability in your commu-

of America?” nity. Vote for leaders who will invest in law

enforcement that investigates accusations
with speed and deliberation. Ask your boss
and/or HR department about what they’re
doing to prevent harassment and assault,

I 
try to keep politics out of Men’s Health. life were sexually assaulted (one by her own and then ask them how they’ll make sure
Not because I don’t care about the father) as teenage girls. So when a reporter that any investigations are fair to everyone
hows and whys of public life, and not capped off an 80-minute press conference involved. (False accusations against men
because I think you don’t care, but by asking President Trump what message are rare, but they happen, and for any sys-
because politics today is too often a draining, he had for young men—and he answered tem to work, everyone has to believe that the
depressing, and divisive race to the bottom. I that he thought it was a scary time to be deliberations are thorough, balanced, and
want Men’s Health to be a place where every- a young man, when any accusation can de- fair. Anything short of that is pretty scary.)
one feels welcome, and where health, itness, rail a life—I thought about how I would’ve Call out friends or coworkers who say and do
and the drive toward self-improvement is a answered the question. things that you wouldn’t want said or done to
shared and unifying value. There are no Here’s how I would have answered. your wife or your sister or your friend. (Start
Republicans or Democrats in a weight room Men have to do a little better. A few of us— with “Shut up.” Escalate accordingly.)
or a doctor’s oice or a grocery store—there not a lot, but enough—have to do a lot better. Get of the sidelines. Be the change. Do
are just people who are doing the best they We have to stop being shocked when women better. Because all of us can stand to do a lit-
can, and maybe trying to do a little better. tell us they’ve been harassed or assaulted. It tle better, and it has to start now.
All that said: It has been a week. I’m writ- is happening, all the time, all around us, and
ing this just days after the sentencing of Bill we have to stop saying that we had no idea.
Cosby, and the testimonies of Christine Bla- And if we choose to do nothing about it—if
sey Ford, Ph.D., and Judge (now Justice) Brett we hide behind #notallmen or “boys will be
Kavanaugh, and my own personal cataclysm boys” or “it was the ’80s!”—then we have RICHARD DORMENT
of learning that three diferent women in my to accept that we’re part of it. As in: partly Editor-in-Chief

Richard Dorment EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Helene F. Rubinstein Executive Managing Editor Jamie Prokell Creative Director EDITORIAL Ben Court Deputy Editor
Ross McCammon Special Projects Editor Marty Munson Health Director Paul Kita Senior Editor Ebenezer Samuel Fitness Director Janna Ojeda Assistant
Managing Editor Matt Goulet Senior Associate Editor Joshua St. Clair Editorial Assistant PHOTOGRAPHY Alix Campbell Chief Photography Director,
Hearst Magazines Jeanne Graves Director of Photography Sally Berman Deputy Director of Photography Sinikiwe Dhliwayo Photo Production Coordinator
FASHION Ted Stafford Fashion Director COPY John Kenney Managing Copy Editor Alisa Cohen Barney Senior Copy Editor Connor Sears, David Fairhurst
Assistant Copy Editors RESEARCH Robert Scheffler Research Director Jennifer Messimer Research Chief Kevin McDonnell Senior Associate Research
Editor Alex Gardner Researcher Nick Pachelli Assistant Research Editor DIGITAL Sean Evans Digital Director EJ Dickson Deputy Editor Jordyn Taylor News
Editor Louis Baragona Style, Grooming, and Gear Editor Brett Williams Associate Fitness Editor Melissa Matthews Health and Nutrition Writer Eric Rosati Designer Ashleigh Morley Branded Content Editor Mark Emery Senior Social
Media Editor Ryan Bird Video Producer Connor Reid Video Producer Angela Kim Executive Director, Business Development and Global Licensing Natanya van Heerden International Editorial & Content Analyst HEARST MEN’S
FASHION GROUP Nick Sullivan Fashion Director Matthew Marden Style Director Michael Stefanov Market Editor Alfonso Fernández Navas Fashion Assistant HEARST PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP Darrick Harris, James Morris,
Justin O’Neill Directors Cary Georges, Fiona Lennon Deputy Directors Lauren Hechel Senior Editor Lauren Brown Editor Cori Jayne Howarth, Larisa Kline, Ignacio Murillo Associate Editors Amy Cooper Assistant

Ronan Gardiner VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHING DIRECTOR ADVERTISING SALES NEW YORK (212) 649-2000 Caryn Kesler Executive Director, Luxury Goods John Wattiker Executive Director, Fashion & Retail Doug Zimmerman
Senior Grooming Director Joe Pennacchio Eastern Automotive Sales Director Sara Schiano Integrated Account Director Gil Tiamsic Advertising Sales Director John Cipolla Integrated Account Manager, Southeast Brad Gettelfinger Sales Manager,
Hearst Direct Media CHICAGO (312) 964-4900 Autumn Jenks Midwest Sales Director Emily McCoy Midwest Sales Manager LOS ANGELES (310) 664-2801 Patti Lange Western Ad Director Anne Rethmeyer Group Sales Director, Auto
SAN FRANCISCO (628) 208-0648 Andrew Kramer Kramer Media DETROIT (248) 614-6120 Marisa Stutz Detroit Automotive Director Samantha Irwin General Manager, Hearst Men’s Group Karen Ferber Business Manager Paul Baumeister Research
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Men’s Health carries the latest health, fitness, and nutrition reporting to provide you with useful information about your health. But every body is different; individual diagnoses and treatments can come only from a health care practitioner. Printed in USA.

8 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

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 WORLD
BEHIN D THE
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THIS MONTH
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FINDING THE RIGHT pair of shoes is no easy feat. (Sorry, had to do it.) That’s where the MensHealth.com
team comes in. We tried, tested, and dirtied dozens of pairs for every kind of foot-challenging activity, be it at
a CrossFit gym or in a high-stakes work meeting. These are our 2018 Footwear Awards winners.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 11

 WORLD

MEET THE MEN’S HEALTH ADVISORY PANEL

We’d be nothing without our panel of experts. These are the doctors, scientists, and trainers A SOUP FIT
who keep us accurate and updated on the latest in health and fitness.
FOR A DAD
BRAIN HEALTH: GASTROENTEROLOGY: SLEEP MEDICINE: Tyler Kord, cool dad and
P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D. Mark Welton, M.D. W. Christopher Winter, M.D. chef of New York’s No. 7 Sub
David Liebeskind, M.D. (see page 62), fixes us
MENTAL HEALTH: SPORTS MEDICINE:
CARDIOLOGY: Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S. holiday fuel that will please
John Elefteriades, M.D. William Pollack, Ph.D. Nicholas DiNubile, M.D. any family member.
Prediman Krishan Shah, M.D. Jordan Metzl, M.D.
NUTRITION:
Eric Topol, M.D.
Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., TRAINING:
DENTISTRY: F.A.S.N., C.N.S. Mike Boyle, M.Ed., A.T.C.
Mark Wolff, D.D.S., Ph.D. Mike Roussell, Ph.D. Ben Bruno
Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.*D
DERMATOLOGY: OPHTHALMOLOGY:
David Jack
Adnan Nasir, M.D., Ph.D. Kimberly Cockerham, M.D.,
F.A.C.S. UROLOGY:
EMERGENCY MEDICINE:
Elizabeth Kavaler, M.D.
Travis Stork, M.D. OTOLARYNGOLOGY*:
Larry Lipshultz, M.D.
Jeremiah Alt, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
ENDOCRINOLOGY: Judd Moul, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Sandeep Dhindsa, M.D. PAIN MEDICINE:
WEIGHT LOSS:
Paul Christo, M.D., M.B.A.
EXERCISE SCIENCE: David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., FACPM,
Alexander Koch, Ph.D., C.S.C.S. SEX & RELATIONSHIPS: F.A.C.P.
Mark Peterson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.*D Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., M.P.H. Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D.
Justin Lehmiller, Ph.D.
FAMILY MEDICINE: *OTOLARYNGOLOGY is the medical term for
Ted Epperly, M.D. the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialty.

1. In a small stockpot,
. . . AND THE QUESTIONS THEY GET ASKED ALL THE TIME The best tips from combine 1 lb chicken bones
Nicholas DiNubile, M.D., Premier Orthopedics (these could be left over
MensHealth.com this month:
from a roasted chicken) with
and Sports Medicine 1 quart water. Bring to a boil
When a doctor’s injecting a knee, why Work Out over high heat, reduce the

don’t they inject the spot that actually hurts? Like a heat to low, and simmer for 1
hour. Strain the stock. If you
Think of the knee as a tall building with only several small proper and safe Wahlberg no longer have a quart, add
entries. Often, the site that hurts is not only one a needle can’t penetrate water until you do.
but also one that would be uncomfortable for the patient if attempted. 2. Rinse the stockpot and
Instead of going through this metaphorical tenth-story window, we add 1 Tbsp unsalted butter,
enter through the ground floor—a spot where a needle (and medication) ½ small yellow onion
can easily enter the joint. Once the medication is injected, it spreads peeled and chopped, 1
throughout the entire knee, reaching where it hurts. Don’t be surprised if medium zucchini chopped,
1 medium russet potato
the needle goes somewhere other than the pain site. That’s just anatomy.
peeled and chopped into
½-inch pieces, and 1 head
of broccoli chopped into
MH TWITTER POLL
½-inch pieces. (Add half a

Can Yes (So, no.)

It’s all about the push and
pull for Mark Wahlberg’s
trainer Brian Nguyen.
Tbsp salt here as well. Then
at the end, taste and adjust

you tell She’s

The emphasis for his
most recent film, Mile 22:
as necessary. The right
amount of salt is what takes
this soup from pretty good
when she’s No never
faked.
explosiveness, posture,
and functionality.
vegetable soup to one of the

faking it? 44% We’re talking band work

(overhead holds, hip
greatest things on planet
Earth that you can put into
your mouth.) Over medium
bridges), body weight heat, stirring occasionally,
You know, she doesn’t
30%
(pushups, bear crawls), cook the vegetables until
have to fake it. And you
CORY DAWSON (soup), courtesy Mark Wahlberg (Wahlberg)

floor exercises the onion is translucent,

can ensure she won’t
need to by following the 26% (like a barbell floor
press), and kettlebell and
about 10 minutes. Add the
stock, increase the heat to
advice on page 49.
battle-rope work. high, bring to a boil, reduce
Based on 1,579 —BRETT WILLIAM, to low, and simmer until the
Twitter responses to digital fitness editor potatoes are tender, about
@MensHealthMag. 10 minutes. Serves 3

WHERE TO Follow, tweet, comment, like, respond, and

FIND US: tag us. You could be featured in MHWorld.
We’re on all your Instagram & Twitter YouTube & Pinterest Facebook On the web And send us your feedback at MHletters@hearst
favorite platforms. @menshealthmag /menshealthmag /menshealth menshealth.com .com. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

12 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 Use of the Blue Angels name and logo is with the
permission, but not endorsement, of the U.S. Navy.

Available at Select
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KAY® Jewelers and KAY.COM

#MyCitizen
 WORLD
BELLY OFF! CLUB
A BILLY JOEL–INSPIRED
TRANSFORMATION
THE SETBACK
I was always a heavy child,
but during my first marriage
and soon after it ended (in my
early 30s), I started putting on
weight even quicker. Each year,
I would have to buy all new
pants and shirts (at one point:
6XL). I also developed sleep
apnea and high blood pressure.
I travel for a living. It became
embarrassing: I’d always have
to ask for a seat-belt extender.
THE WAKE-UP CALL
A few years ago, my girlfriend,
Suzie, and I went to a Billy Joel
concert. I literally could not fit
in the seat. An usher found us
a diferent seat in the handi-
capped section. It was humiliat-
ing—sitting there solely because
of my size. I finally took control
of the situation and went to
see the doctor about getting
bariatric surgery.
THE FOOD
I had tried weight-loss plans
in the past, but none of them
were long-term solutions. I
would lose 10 pounds and then
put 15 back on. Before surgery,
I started my own program in
order to make the transition
easier. I cut out sodas and
sweets. I limited sugar and
sodium. Since I’m on the road
often, I order healthy options
at restaurants—a lot of grilled
chicken and salad. Where I
used to reach for a candy bar,
I now carry a thermos with
flavored water to curb any
temptation to snack.
14 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
THE FITNESS
Walking a few miles every day
using the Couch to 5K app got
me down to 348 pounds before
my surgery. After surgery, I
switched from walking to jog-
ging and was soon running
local 5Ks. I started of slow,
grateful for just being able
to finish. As I got faster, the
weight came of faster. The goal
was to get down to 230 within
the first year after the surgery.
I got there after seven months.
By the one-year mark, I was
down to 173. Now every day
I run almost six miles and do
more than 40 situps, pushups,
and squats. I completed my
first marathon in New York City
in November.
THE REWARD
I have more energy, more
confidence. If you had told
me five years ago that I would
be doing a marathon, I would
have laughed. But thanks to the
weight loss, I continue to be
active and confident about my
physical future.
SOME ADVICE
This is the biggest thing I
always tell others about
getting surgery: This is
not a cure. It’s like a tool
you buy at Home Depot. If
you don’t use the tool cor-
rectly, then it’s not the fault
of the tool; it’s your fault. So
use the tool right.
ASK
MEN’S
HEALTH
You’ve got questions.
We’ve got experts.
How much damage
is regular spin class
actually doing to
my taint? —COREY, New York, NY
We each have diferently shaped
pelvises, and stress to the pudendal
nerve and perineum (the, uh,
“taint”) can lead to diferent
outcomes. On the more extreme
end might be pudendal neuralgia
or “entrapment,” which is fairly
common among cyclists who
spend a lot of time in the saddle.
Symptoms vary from pain
anywhere in the genital area to
STEVE YOUNGKIN: pain during activities like sex.
STATS It’s uncommon in spin class but
certainly possible. What’s more
AGE: 49 common is numbness in those
regions, due to compression
LOCATION: on the pudendal nerve. The
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio severity of this depends on the
seat. If you can’t change seats, try
OCCUPATION: wrapping a towel around yours to
Computer consultant provide a more forgiving saddle.
If soreness is recurrent after each
BEFORE WEIGHT: 421 class, you may need to rethink
your spin-class obsession.
CURRENT WEIGHT: 182 — The Expert: BILL HARTMAN, P.T., C.S.C.S
I do a single “superset”
of about 15 different
exercises that isolate
different muscle
groups. It takes about
30 minutes. Others
do two sets of various
exercises and complete
KIND TWEET sets on one body part
before moving to the
OF THE MONTH
next. Which approach
Awesome!! burns more calories and
I love provides better fitness?
getting
my —GEOFF, Charleston, SC
Men’s MH itness director Ebenezer Samu-
Health el says: Sigh. It’s always a competi-
in the mail tion over whose workout is better.
every Your 30-minute whole-body blitz
Courtesy Steve Youngkin
month. racks up quick calorie burn; hitting
longer workouts will eventually rack
Solid up calories too. But congrats on win-
magazine. ning the itness war. Your cardiovas-
@CHRIS_H00D cular system is stronger since you’re
working with so little rest time.
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 WORLD
DECEMBER GAME PLAN
What the Men’s Health staff is looking forward to this month.
SPORTS
College Football Playoffs
DECEMBER 15 TO JANUARY 7
Sure, everybody proits except for the athletes.
But bowl games retain that bootleg-Statue-of-Liberty-
option-ofense fun that the NFL can’t seem to capture.
—JORDYN TAYLOR, news editor, MensHealth.com
MOVIES
Aquaman
DECEMBER 21
Yeah, Batman v Superman was
awful, and Justice League was
a new superhero-movie low. So
Aquaman can’t be that bad, right?
Plus, if DC did one thing right, it
was casting Jason Momoa, who
was a bright spot in Justice League
and seems born to make the king
of the sea finally seem badass.
—EBENEZER SAMUEL, fitness director
Spider-Man: Into
the Spider-Verse
DECEMBER 14
It may be the first Marvel-based
film to actually look like a freakin’
Marvel comic. I couldn’t be more
pumped about seeing Miles
Morales come to such stylistic,
web-slinging life.
—MATT GOULET, senior associate editor
16 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
2018 national
champions
Alabama.
Roma
DECEMBER 14 (NETFLIX)
Alfonso Cuarón’s first Spanish-lan-
guage film since his incredible Y
Tu Mamá También, Roma follows a
domestic and the troubled family
she works for in 1970s Mexico. It’s a
slice-of-life film sure to take home
some gold come awards season.
—JOSHUA ST. CLAIR, editorial assistant
EVENTS
World AIDS Day
DECEMBER 1
Now in its 20th year, this
international occasion is an
effort to further awareness of
the disease affecting roughly
37 million people. For reference,
that’s the entire population
of Canada.
—M. G.
VIDEO GAMES
Just Cause 4
PS4, Xbox One
DECEMBER 4
Live out your hyper-action-movie
fantasies by flying jets, shooting
bad guys midair in a wingsuit,
and just blowing up a lot of crap.
—E.  S.
BOOKS
Mr. Nice Guy
By Jason Feifer
and Jennifer Miller
OUT NOW!
They say write what you know.
Jason Feifer, a Men’s Health
alumnus, published a novel
with his wife, Jennifer Miller,
an author, about writers writing
about their sex lives. Juicy.
—PAUL KITA, senior editor
Never Grow Up
By Jackie Chan
DECEMBER 4
Jackie reflects on his multi-
decade, cross-continent, Hong-
Kong-to-Hollywood ass-kicking
career, as well as some hard
lessons from fatherhood.
—J. S.  And there’s brewing coffee for
STYLE
Madewell Denim
Madewell recently
launched men’s
wear for the first
time. Count on
stylish, quality,
perfectly fitting
basics at fair prices
(starting at $115).
I’m picking up a pair.
—TED STAFFORD, style director
Pendleton Blanket-Lined
Cruiser Jacket
Best Made Co. is known for
well-built supplies, just like this
canvas jacket, with its unique
striped-blanket lining. It’s a little
pricey, but it’s an investment in
cold-day comfort. Like a Christ-
mas present to yourself.
—T. S.
The best insights from
MensHealth.com this month:
SHOULD YOU
SPRING
FOR PLASTIC
SURGERY?
Muscle implants cost more
than $4,000. Make sure to
speak with former patients
and carefully choose your
doctor, as it’s not the most
frequent procedure (and you
want someone with expe-
rience). Sounds expensive
and ludicrous? It is. A healthy
self-image truly maketh the
man. —MARIO ABAD
4
WINNERS
SWEEPSTAKES
GET
CAFFEINATED
ON US!
There’s brewing coffee for
coffee’s sake, the time-honored,
craftsmanlike process for the
Crimson Tide Photos/UA Athletics (football team), Jasin Boland/™ & © DC Comics (Aquaman), Getty (World AIDS Day)
perfect cup. (See page 90.)
your sake. When you just need
to one-touch rip it and still want
a satisfying cup. For fans of
the latter, we’re giving away a
De’Longhi Magnifica S
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NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
Men’s Health De’Longhi Magnifica S Cappuccino
Smart Machine Sweepstakes. Sponsored by Hearst
Magazines, Inc. Beginning November 13, 2018, at
12:01 A.M. (ET) through December 24, 2018, at 11:59
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pursuant to the on-screen instructions. Four
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winning will depend upon the total number of eligible
entries received. Must be 18 years of age and be a
legal resident of the 50 United States, or District of
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in their province of residence at time of entry are also
eligible. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by
law. Sweepstakes subject to complete official rules
available at beverage.menshealth.com.
 INSIDEOUT EVENTS &
PROMOTIONS
RHONE - THE NUN - CRUNCH

FIRST CLASS
Walking past first class never bothers you until you’ve tasted those
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life and faith when they are confronted by a malevolent
force in same form of a demonic nun that first terrorized
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FITNESS, FUN #NOJUDGMENTS WITH CRUNCH

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 Hillshire farm® turkey
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And devoured in seconds.

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 22 ................... N BA M USCLE MOV ES
26 ............... A N EW A N Y TIME, A N Y-
W HER E WOR KOU T
28 SEV EN FOODS YOU
......................
SHOU LD E AT EV ERY W EEK
32 ............ W H AT THE HECK A R E . . .
A DA PTOGENS?

GO WITH THE FLOW

The
Perpetual
Motion
Workout
The way to develop strength,
lexibility, and abs all at once:
Learn the art of the “low.”  
BY SEAN HYSON, C.S.C.S.

REMEMBER your last burpee?

To do that burpee you essentially
did a squat, then a pushup, then
a frogger, then a jump squat,
chaining all four movements
together in rapid succession.
That swift and seamless connec-
tion of a variety of exercises is
known as “lowing,” and it’s an
exercise style that can fry your
muscles, stoke your metabolism,
and make you more athletic with
just a few reps a week.
Flows can grow far more
complex than burpees, and they
can do far more than get your
heart racing. Trainers like Get
Primal’s Eric Leija (known
better on Instagram as “primal
.swoledier,” a low expert) use
powerful kettlebell lows to help
you pack on muscle, while Mike
Fitch, creator of Animal Flow,
will have you lowing to improve
your mobility.
SHIRT BY
Under Armour.
SHORTS BY
Rhone.
SNEAKERS BY
APL.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALLIE HOLLOWAY MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 19

 BODY

WHEN YOU FLOW, you’re poaching from yoga, gymnas-
tics, martial arts, and break dancing. Like those disci-
plines, lowing pushes you to do more than reps; your
body must make small transitional movements to get
in position to, say, do a pushup after the squat as part
of the burpee. Few training programs cover those
transitional movements, says Fitch. Flows can work in
surprising ways. A recent study in Human Movement
Science that followed subjects who performed training
similar to Animal Flow for four weeks found that their
ground-based movements improved proprioception (your
sense of where your body is in space) and cognition.   People want to do things they enjoy.”
Other trainers are focusing more on lows that build
strength. Leija posts kettlebell lows you can do for
multiple rounds for a short workout or for one round
as a inisher.
“With moderate to heavy weight in your lows, you can
stress your muscles to induce gains,” he says.  
Whatever you use them for, you can expect them to be
more fun than counting to 20 on another set of curls, says
John Wolf, chief itness oicer at Onnit Academy Gym
in Austin. “Which is more popular: lifting or dancing?” 
he asks. “Dancing. So you end up doing that more often.
 

Ready, Set, Flow!  

Get started with these two flows from Leija, who’s been creating kettlebell
and bodyweight flows for the last six years. Do 3 to 5 reps of each flow.
Do 3 to 5 rounds, resting at least two minutes between rounds.

THE BODYWEIGHT RIPPER 

START
1 2
Quadruped Kick-Through
Get on all fours and raise your
heels. Your hands should be in
line with your shoulders and
your knees in line with your hips.
Twist to your right side, raising
your right hand and extend-
Frogger
From that quadruped position,
rock your weight backward just
slightly, then jump your feet
forward; lift your hands from the
ground as you do this. Land in a
squat with your feet just outside
END
3
Jump Squat
As soon as you complete the
frogger, jump as high as you
can, throwing your arms back-
ward to generate maximum
momentum and power. Land
with your knees slightly bent,
Grooming by Deepti Sadhwani

ing your left leg out straight. shoulder width and your toes cushioning the impact, and then
Continue turning until your butt turned slightly outward. Make immediately lower back into
touches the floor and you’re sit- sure to land with your knees another squat. That’s 1 rep.
ting upright. Reverse the direc- bent and your weight in your Return to quadruped position,
tion and repeat on the opposite heels. Work to keep your ready to begin the next rep
side. Then return to all fours.   chest up and your core tight. of the flow sequence.

20 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 THE SINGLE-KETTLEBELL CRUSHER

START END
1 2 3 4
One-Arm Deadlift One-Arm Row Clean Squat to Press
Place the kettlebell on the Keep your back flat, contract From that position, rotate your From the clean position, turn
floor between your feet. Draw your abs, and once again hand inward so your palm faces your toes out slightly, then bend
your shoulder blades together squeeze your shoulder blades. your shin. Perform the same at your knees, lowering your
and down and bend your hips From this position, draw your deadlift motion explosively, and torso until your thighs are par-
back to reach down and grasp shoulder back and downward simultaneously pull your elbow allel to the ground. Keep your
the kettlebell with your right as you row the kettlebell with back close to your body. The chest up as you do this. Stand
hand. Your shoulders should be your right arm to your right side. momentum will help you mus- back up and press the kettle-
parallel to the floor and directly Pause for a moment, then lower cle the weight up to shoulder bell overhead explosively, keep-
over the weight. Push through the weight so your arm hangs height. “Catch” the weight at ing your core engaged. Return
your heels to extend your hips naturally. Don’t let it rest on your shoulder with the handle the kettlebell to the floor, then
and stand tall. Bend your hips to the floor, though, and fight to just under your chin and your repeat the entire flow with your
return the kettlebell to the floor.   keep your back flat. forearm vertical.   left hand. That’s 1 rep.  

GET THE FLOW DOWN

One of the best parts about flows: You can build them yourself, combining a variety of exercises in ways that work for you.
Always aim to do one leg exercise (such as a squat, deadlift, or lunge), a pulling exercise (such as a row or clean), and a pushing
exercise (such as a pushup or shoulder press) in your strength flows. Follow the rules below to build your own.

1. Start with the basics. 3. Be conservative.

Don’t start flowing until you’re comfortable with some basic
exercises, like squats, pushups, and bear kick-throughs (start
in a plank, then lift your right arm off the ground and kick
your left leg through to your right side), as well as kettlebell
moves like the row, press, deadlift, and clean. If you’re not
comfortable with an exercise, don’t use it in a flow.  
If you’re flowing with dumbbells or kettlebells, only use
as much as you would with your weakest exercise in the flow.
And in general, you should use half the weight you would
use if doing an exercise by itself. 

4. Don’t overflow.
2. Keep it tight. Flows are a changeup to your regular workout, not
As in never flow with more than 5 exercises, never do more your workout’s foundation. Flowing daily can lead to
than 5 reps, and never do more than 5 rounds of a flow. Flows sloppy form. Use them just once a week to prove to
build up fatigue more quickly than, say, a set of pullups, yourself that you own the exercises within them. Onnit’s
so your conditioning can improve even with just a few reps.   John Wolf says, “You’ll walk away feeling like an animal.”

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 21

 BODY
THE76TH SENSE
Ben Simmons’s sprint to NBA superstardom started with a long-term vision and some heavy lifting.
BEN SIMMONS is already the offensive engine who makes
BY BEN JHOTY
the title-contending Philadelphia 76ers go. He’s already
been nicknamed the Young King by none other than
the King himself, LeBron James. And he’s already inspired
a TV sitcom (Brotherly Love, which will be coproduced
by James and eventually land on NBC).
Did we mention Simmons just started his second
year in the NBA?
Great, right? Except that’s not nearly enough for the six-
foot-ten Aussie. When Simmons mapped out his NBA future
years ago (yes, really), the now-22-year-old had “NBA title”
at the top of the list. And he can’t stop repeating that, both
in this interview and to his teammates. Says Sixers head
coach Brett Brown: “He sees his future quite clearly.”
Learn from his mind-set and you’ll set yourself up for
long-term success, too.
1 LOOK TO NEXT SEASON (AND
THE SEASON AFTER THAT, AND . . .)
Even before Simmons was on NBA-prospect
leaderboards, he was pondering his professional
legacy. Once he reached high school, he mused to
his older half brother, Sean, not about the start of
his NBA career but about its golden years.
“He’s always thinking down the track. He’s
thinking championship,” says Sean. “That’s what
you get judged on at the end of your career.”
Envision yourself in your final years on the job,
not at the very beginning. It’s the only way you can
truly set a long-range goal, and it’s your best
chance to chase lofty expectations. “You’ve got to
set the bar high,” says Simmons. “Unless you reach
high, you’re not going to get high. That’s the way
I’ve thought since I was in high school.”
22 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
2 YOU’LL NEED HELP, SO
HELP OTHERS HELP YOU
Simmons’s father, Dave, played for the Melbourne
Tigers in Australia’s National Basketball League,
and he introduced his son to the sport when he
was barely out of diapers. Go deep enough down
the Ben Simmons YouTube wormhole and you
just might find video of a pint-sized Simmons
dribbling between his dad’s legs and dunking on
a kid-sized hoop.
But Dave wasn’t the one coaxing Ben out of bed
to work out most mornings. It was a teenage
Simmons who woke Dad up to train him. “He was
the one who made me get up early and put the
work in,” says Dave, “and he was always letting me
know that it’s not going to be easy. It was going to
be hard work. But it was all going to be worth it.”
3 DENY, DENY, DENY—
BUT ONLY PUBLICLY
The moment Simmons entered the NBA, he
received heavy criticism for his “shaky” jump shot,
and some have suggested that Simmons, a
left-hander, should shoot his jumpers with his right
hand. And why not? After all, he made just 56
percent of his free throws, and he didn’t hit a single
three-pointer all year.
It’s the one criticism that makes Simmons bristle.
“People like to make shit up. Maybe I’m writing with
the wrong hand, too?” he says. “I averaged 16
points, eight rebounds, and eight assists per game
last year. Guys haven’t done that their whole
careers. I think I’m playing well.”
Not well enough to stop fixing his jumper,
though. He’s working on it, says Brown. “And when
he grows his shot, he becomes unguardable.”
LeBron is going to love that.
Steve Boyle
SCORE SOME
NBA MUSCLE
Build a basketball-worthy
body by doing high-rep sets
of fundamental exercises
in this three-times-a-week “I’ve always
believed in myself,
workout from Simmons’s even before I met
trainer, Michael Atkinson. all the NBA guys.
I know who I am.”
1. 45-Degree —Ben Simmons
Incline Leg Press
5 sets (20 reps the first
set, 15 the next, 15, 12, 12)
In a loaded leg-press
machine, lower the weight
until your knees almost
reach your chest before
pushing explosively back
to the starting position.
That’s 1 rep.

2. Neutral-Grip Incline
Dumbbell Press
5 sets (20, 12, 10, 8, 8)
Set up on an adjustable
bench at a 30-degree
incline, holding dumbbells
directly over your chest,
arms straight, palms
facing each other. Bend
your elbows, lowering the
weights until they nearly
touch your chest, pause,
then straighten your
arms. That’s 1 rep.

3. Close-Grip Lat Pulldown

5 sets (20, 12, 10, 8, 8)
Set up in a lat-pulldown
station and grasp the bar
overhead with your arms
slightly narrower than
shoulder width. Tighten
your core (think of pulling
your rib cage down) and pull
the bar to your upper chest.
Pause, then return the bar
to the start. That’s 1 rep.

4. Seated Row
5 sets (20, 12, 10, 8, 8)
Sit at a row station, bend
your knees slightly, and
grasp the row handle. Tight-
en your core and, without
moving your torso, pull the
handle to the top of your
rib cage. Hold for a
moment, squeezing your
back, then return to the
start. That’s 1 rep.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 23

 BODY

#TRYTHISNOW

Baller Move
Pummel your core with
the A. J. Triple Threat,
boxer Anthony Joshua’s
take on the classic
medicine-ball slam.
BY EDWARD LANE onto your toes.

T
HE BALL slam is
a classic, total-
body conditioning
exercise. You raise a
medicine ball over your head

Philip Haynes; styling: Abena Ofei, grooming: Natacha Schmitt/Mac Pro, model: Faisal Abdalla/@faisalpmafitness, author of The PMA Method, clothing: shorts by Nike, mrporter.com; tights and sneakers by Nike, nike.com
with two hands and then slam
it down explosively. It targets
your core, hamstrings, and
glutes and works out your aggres-
sion. As good as it feels, though,
it’s a little basic, which is why
world-champion boxer Anthony
Joshua preps for ights with a
new take on the slam, one that
leaves your abs saying no más.
His move, dubbed the A. J.
Triple Threat by his strength
coach, Jamie Reynolds, starts
with the typical ball slam, then
adds a rotational challenge.
You twist and throw the ball at
the wall sideways, and then you
lift the ball and ire it at shoul-
der height at the wall. (Don’t
worry, we’ll explain how!)
“Med balls are excellent
tools to build up your power,
especially when you’re rotating
and throwing them upwards,
3. FULL
and also downwards,” explains
SWING
Reynolds. “Their versatil- Rotate back
ity ofers an efective way of to the left as you
ticking the boxes when you’re throw the ball as
pushed for time.” Here those hard as possible at
the wall with both
boxes are core strength, calorie hands. Focus on the
burn, and upper-body power. rotation. You should
That power will make you throw with your core,
stronger while etching detail not your arms.
into your abs and obliques.
Try the Triple Threat as a
seven-minute inisher to a
total-body workout, or do it 4 THINGS YOU’LL GET FROM THIS MOVE
for 20 minutes on its own for a
crushing core session.
Explosive Fierce calorie
power burn

Rotational Ripped abs

core strength

24
© Copyright 2018 American Pistachio Growers

AmericanPistachios.org
 BODY

OUR FAVORITE WORKOUT EVER . . . THIS MONTH

The Bodyweight YOU’RE AT THE AIRPORT. You’re shopping for gifts. You’re shopping
for gifts at the airport. We know you don’t have as much time to hit

Burner the gym this month. Instead, you’re doing a 25-minute, no-equipment-
needed burner from Ben Boudro, C.S.C.S., of Xceleration Fitness in Detroit,
who’s trained several NFL players and specializes in crushing you with
The anytime, anywhere workout body-weight workouts. Do it anyplace, whenever you can (heck, even twice
for staying on track during the least a day if your light’s delayed long enough), to hit every muscle in your body,
predictable month. rev up your metabolism, and improve balance and coordination.
TRAINER: BEN BOUDRO, C.S.C.S.

DIRECTIONS Do this workout at least three days a week;

for optimal results, try to do it six days a week. (Remember: It THE WORKOUT
takes only 25 minutes!) Aim to go for a 10- or 15-minute run Do 2 rounds of this circuit. In the first, do each exercise
on days when you can’t find time for this workout.
for 40 seconds, rest 20, then do 40 more seconds.
Rest 90 seconds. The next round, do each move for
30 seconds, rest 15, then do 30 more seconds.
THE WARMUP
Before you start training, loosen up your
hamstrings and hips and relax your back 1. Around-the-World Pushup
with 2 minutes of quick drills. Set up in pushup position, core
tight. Do 1 pushup rep. Then,
1. Pushup to Downward Dog keeping your core tight, lift your
Start in pushup position, hands directly below your shoulders, right arm from the floor, rotating
core tight, then do a pushup. Return to the start, then raise your your torso as you reach your
hips high, bending at the waist. (Shift your feet forward if you arm toward the ceiling. Continue
need to.) Keep your legs straight as you do this, stretching your rotating your torso so that your
hamstrings, and try to form a straight line with your arms and chest faces the ceiling (you can
torso. Return to pushup position. That’s 1 rep. Do reps for 1 minute. shift your feet as you do) and
then place your right hand on the
floor. Try to form a straight line
from shoulders to ankles. Reverse
the moves to return to pushup
position. That’s 1 rep. Alternate
directions with each rep.

EB SAYS
EB SAYS
“When your chest is facing the
“Don’t focus on the
ceiling, squeeze your glutes to
number of reps.
straighten out your body.”
Fewer is better in
the warmup; do
each one slowly.
Feel the stretch.”

2. Superman Hold
Lie facedown on the floor, arms and legs extended. Tighten your
glutes, raising your feet and thighs a few inches in the air. As you do
this, squeeze your back muscles, lifting your arms and chest off the
floor. Hold for 2 seconds, then lower back to the floor. That’s 1 rep.
Grooming: Megan Kelly/Kiehls/Atelier Management

EB SAYS
“If you have time
2. Spider-Man Lunge with Overhead Reach for just one exercise
Start in pushup position, hands directly below your shoulders. every single day,
Keeping your left leg straight, bring your right foot forward so make it this one. It’ll
that it’s just outside your right hand. Pause, then lift your right fire up your mid-back
hand from the floor and raise it toward the ceiling, reaching as muscles—a key to
high as you can. Reverse the movements. That’s 1 rep. Alternate helping improve
sides for 30 seconds. your posture.”

26 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALLIE HOLLOWAY

 YOUR MUSCLE MASTER
Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., Men’s Health’s fitness director,
is a certified strength and conditioning expert who has trained
with professional and Olympic athletes. He’ll be your guide
through this workout.

3. Lateral Bound to Pushup

Start in an athletic stance, feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent slightly, then leap to THE FINISHER
your left as far as you can, landing on your left foot. Gather yourself as quickly as possible,
Set a timer for 3 minutes.
then leap back to the right, landing on your right foot. Complete 5 total jumps back and
forth, then immediately do 5 pushups. Stand back up and repeat the pattern until time is up. Do 1 pushup, then 1 Russian
twist. Then do 2 pushups
and 2 Russian twists. Keep
laddering up until time
expires; rest as needed.

1. Pushup
Get in pushup position. Bend at
the elbows, lowering your torso
until you’re an inch from the floor.
Pause, then straighten your arms
and return to the start. Focus
on keeping your core tight and
keeping your elbows close to
your torso on each rep.

EB SAYS
“It’s easy to get lazy with pushup
form, so here’s a way to avoid that:
Count your reps out loud.”

4. High-Knee Run
Start standing, knees
bent slightly, feet
shoulder-width apart,
arms relaxed, then
begin running in place,
concentrating on driving
your knees up as high
as you can. Aim to get 2. Russian Twist
your thigh higher than Lie on your back, knees bent, feet
parallel to the floor on a few inches off the floor. Tighten
each stride. 5. Knee Tuck your abs, raising your torso so it’s
Lie on your back, then press your lower a foot above the floor. Clasp your
EB SAYS back into the floor. Raise your shoulders hands together just above your
“Don’t let this only be off the floor slightly, supporting yourself chest. This is the start. Keeping your
a lower-body movement. with your hands. Keeping your legs legs as steady as possible, twist
Make sure you’re pump- straight, raise your thighs a few inches. your torso to the right and touch
ing your arms as if you’re This is the start. Now pull your thighs your hands to the floor on the right
really running; that’ll help toward your chest, bending your knees side. Then twist to the left and touch
you drive your knees as you do; squeeze your abs. Return to the floor on the left. That’s 1 rep.
higher, too.” the start. That’s 1 rep.

6. Burpee Broad Jump

Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down and put
your hands on the floor. Kick your feet backward into plank
position, then lower your chest to the floor, as if doing a pushup.
Reverse the movements to stand back up, then leap forward.
Backpedal to your starting position. That’s 1 rep.
Illustration by Kyle Hilton

CLOTHING:
Nike

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 27

 BODY
Grocery
Cart Gold
IF YOU’RE SIMILAR TO the average guy, your shopping cart
is a mix of things like frozen pizzas, chicken breasts, block
cheese, and a case of soda, according to USDA research.
But if you add or swap in these seven foods on your grocery
trips, science suggests you’ll consume the nutrients you
need to ight disease, have more energy, and live longer.
So read up. Then stock up. BY JILL WALDBIESER
1. WHOLE-GRAIN BREAD
A.k.a. not the white-as-
Gwyneth-Paltrow kind.
WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU:
Contrary to what carb haters
would have you believe, there’s
evidence linking whole grains
to a longer life span. A Harvard
study found that people
who consumed whole grains
had a lower risk of dying from
cardiovascular disease, a lower
risk of diabetes, and a lower
risk of hypertension than peo-
ple who did not.
HOW TO EAT MORE: For a smart
snack, toast or grill one slice of
bread and top it with a heaping
helping of halved cherry toma-
toes, marinated mushrooms, or
avocado with sliced radishes.
2. LENTILS
These little UFO-shaped
“pulses” are the edible seeds of
legumes. At the supermarket,
you’ll most likely find green
and red lentils dried in bags.
WHY THEY’RE GOOD FOR YOU:
Lentils are so fibrous they make
Grape-Nuts worried: A half cup
of cooked lentils has eight
grams of fiber. Plus, the fiber
in lentils may blunt spikes in
blood glucose—so much so
that swapping lentils for half
a serving of instant white
potatoes led to a 35 percent
decrease in blood sugar after
a meal, a 2018 study in The
Journal of Nutrition found.
HOW TO EAT MORE: Deploy
them as a fortifier to burgers or
meatballs. All lentil varieties
have a mild, nutty flavor. Red
and yellow types develop a
softer texture when cooked, so
save those for slow-simmered
dishes, says Ginger Hultin,
R.D., spokesperson for the
Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics. Brown and black
lentils retain their texture
better, which means they
work best in heartier meals.
3. BEETS
Commonly bloodred, beets
also come in candy-cane and
golden varieties. They’re subtly
sweet and hearty.
WHY THEY’RE GOOD FOR YOU:
Eating nitrate-rich foods like
beets may be linked to
increased exercise endurance
and lower blood pressure in
older adults. Now there’s
growing evidence that
beetroot juice might keep your
mind fit, too. In 2017, scientists
at Wake Forest University
found that beetroot juice may
enhance the effects of exercise
Food styling: Jamie Kimm, prop styling: Kaitlyn DuRoss/Honey Artists
on the brains of older adults
with high blood pressure.
HOW TO EAT MORE: Roasted
beets are great with a little olive
oil, salt, and pepper as a simple
side to steak or lamb chops.
One downside: They can make
your kitchen look like a crime
scene. So buy packaged,
precooked beets like those from
Love Beets. You can also try
pickled beets or golden beets
to avoid the mess. (The golden
variety has beneficial com-
pounds like its red brethren.)
4. SEAFOOD
Salmon, lobster, shrimp,
mackerel, sardines, crayfish,
trout, cod, skate, crab—what-
ever the variety, you probably
aren’t eating enough of it.
WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU:
Seafood, especially seafood
high in omega-3 fatty acids,
is a powerful force in fighting
cardiovascular disease. Plus,
in a 2018 study, Harvard
scientists found that 92 percent
of couples trying to conceive
who ate seafood more than
twice a week were pregnant by
the end of one year, compared
with 79 percent of couples who
ate less. One explanation: The
fishier couples had sex more
often, possibly due to elevated
hormone levels from a
high-seafood diet. Score!
HOW TO EAT MORE: If you hate
cooking fish, then don’t cook
it, says Carolyn Williams, Ph.D.,
a dietitian in Alabama. Canned
tuna, salmon, sardines, and
shrimp are ready-to-eat. Just
add mayo or sour cream,
lemon juice, chives or parsley,
and salt and pepper. Or raid
the freezer aisle for heat-and-
eat options from LoveTheWild.
Try its salmon with red coconut
curry to start.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CORY DAWSON
5. WATERCRESS
If leafy greens were the 2017
Philadelphia Eagles, water-
cress would be Nick Foles:
It may not have as many
believers as kale or spinach,
but it’ll deliver. Watercress has
stubby, ear-shaped leaves that
top long, curved stems, and it
tastes peppery.
WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU:
Watercress is nutrient-dense,
meaning it offers a large
payload of nutrients per
calorie. In fact, a 2014 study
published in Preventing
Chronic Disease ranked
this leafy green the most
nutrient-dense fruit or
vegetable. Credit its high
concentration of vitamins
and minerals.
HOW TO EAT MORE: Think of
watercress as a “zestier
spinach,” says Hultin, and use
it accordingly. Chop a handful
and stir it into frittatas, stir-fry,
or marinara sauce for pasta.
It’s also delicious as a swap-in
for basil in homemade pesto.
You can enjoy it in a salad, but
balance its bite with mellower
greens, like romaine, butter,
or green leaf lettuce.
6. KIMCHEE
Kimchee is a traditional Korean
food made with cabbage, chile
peppers, salt, and sometimes
other vegetables, all of which
undergo fermentation with
lactic-acid bacteria. Its taste
can range from mellow and
tangy to pungent and spicy.
WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU:
Your gastrointestinal tract,
filled with billions of tiny
microbes, may play a big role
in your immune system and
overall health. Good bacteria,
called probiotics, may
counterbalance disruptive bad
bacteria. Found in foods like
kimchee, probiotics may also
help fight obesity, cholesterol,
and cancer, though further
research is needed.
HOW TO EAT MORE: “Kimchee
makes a great swap for
coleslaw, but you can also try
it as a sandwich or taco topper,
or scrambled into your eggs,”
says Brigitte Zeitlin, R.D.,
owner of BZ Nutrition in New
York City. Aim to have one cup
at least twice a week. Just
make sure you’re buying your
kimchee unpasteurized, the
kind found at a good super-
market (we like the brand
Mother-in-Law’s) or Korean
grocery store. Pasteurization
can kill probiotic bacteria.
MEN’S HEALTH
7. BERRIES
Fresh or dried, strawberries,
blueberries, blackberries,
raspberries, and gooseberries
are small-but-mighty nutri-
tional powerhouses. (Yes,
gooseberries are a real thing.)
WHY THEY’RE GOOD FOR YOU:
They’re a great source of fiber
(one cup of fresh blueberries
has almost four grams; one
cup of blackberries has more
than seven), but they may help
you breathe easier, too. People
who reported eating three to
four servings of fruit daily were
57 percent less likely to have
airway restriction, a signal of
lung dysfunction, than those
who reported eating little to no
fruit. Fruits (especially berries)
are high in antioxidants that
may help tamp down the
chronic inflammation that can
lead to lung disease.
HOW TO EAT MORE: Berries
aren’t just great for breakfast.
Mix golden raisins into a
quinoa grain bowl, scatter
raspberries over a greens-
and-balsamic salad, or place
sliced strawberries atop a
homemade ricotta, arugula,
and olive-oil flatbread.
/ December 2018 29
 BODY
MIDMORNING MIDAFTERNOON
WHAT TO EAT: A breakfast bal- WHEN YOU NEED IT: A pre-noon WHAT TO EAT: Turn to produce, WHEN YOU NEED IT: Siesta time.
ancer. Woke up with oatmeal? slump. Breakfast jumps your not a second cup of cofee. Your body temp drops between
Pick protein. Eggs for break- metabolism, but you may run Most vegetables are low in 2:00 and 4:00 P.M., triggering
fast? Sneak in some fruit. out of fuel before lunch. nap-inducing empty carbs. the release of melatonin.

Adding chia to Test subjects who

Protein and fiber
may help you
eat less lunch. Do
yogurt may cut had a berry snack
hunger and sugar ate less at dinner.
cravings. Enjoy with Add nuts for good
cubed cantaloupe. Red peppers
fats to help fill up.
are high in H20.
(A 1 percent fluid

Berries, almonds, red pepper, banana, peanut butter, bread, walnuts, quinoa, canned salmon, and cantaloupe: Mitch Mandel; sweet potato, egg, and tahini: Getty Images; sliced bananas, banana, and avocado: Studio D
1 boiled egg and loss can affect
½ avocado with your ability to
everything-bagel think clearly.) Dip
seasoning. A .M.) ( 2:
00 in guacamole.
1 :00 –
–1

5:0
30

0P
Your
(9:

Hummus  supplies

.M.
Oatmeal fills

)
you up due to its steady energy
viscosity. Stir in
powdered PB and
sliced banana for
Perfect Day of rather than a
blood-sugar spike
followed by a
protein and fiber.
Snacks plummet. Carrots
love it, too.

SNACKING: WE LOVE IT. Fully 94 percent of

Mix cooked A PB-and-
quinoa with Americans eat at least one snack a day, according to banana half-
canned salmon the research firm Mintel. (And we’re suspicious of sandwich hits
and black-olive that other 6 percent.) The right choices can help your pre-gym
spread for you lose weight and build muscle. The wrong needs without
protein and weighing down
ones won’t. Know the difference.
omega-3s. your workout.
(9:

BY RACHEL MELTZER
.M.
00

0P

0: WARREN, R.D.
–1

7: 0

00 –
00
( 5:
P.M
Make a shake .) Tahini is a good
with yogurt, source of pro-
milk, banana, tein and healthy
and tart cher- fats. Drizzle
ries, which con- it on a small,
tain melatonin. Try a mixture of Premeasure a serving fiber-rich baked
cottage cheese, of crackers (check sweet potato.
sliced banana, and the box) rather than
roasted walnuts munching from the
for a sleep-aiding bag. Schmear with
combination. spreadable cheese.

BEFORE BED AFTER WORK

WHAT TO EAT: Having trouble WHEN YOU NEED IT: You’re WHAT TO EAT: Good carbs lend WHEN YOU NEED IT: If you’re
sleeping? A serving of fruit trying to increase your total your body quick, easy-to-digest headed to the gym to run or
may help your body produce muscle mass. Note: not if energy that your muscles need lift for an hour or longer and
sleep-promoting hormones. you’re bored or stressed. when you exercise. haven’t eaten since lunch.

30 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 Recover from your workout with low-fat chocolate milk.
It’s scientifically proven to refuel your muscles so you can
dive back in at full strength.

BuiltWithChocolateMilk.com/science
 JUNK
BODY
OR

SC

?
IE

E
NC
Brenda Powell, M.D., director of the Center for Integrative
Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, for example, often recom-
mends adaptogens when people with anxiety and depression
aren’t sure they want to take pharmaceuticals. “Adaptogens can
help lessen the physical reaction you have from stress,” she says.
It works like this: When stress strikes, your hypothalamic-
pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a complex system that controls
your stress response, ires a surge of the ight-or-light hormone
cortisol. In the long term, this can cause chronic inlammation,
the problem that’s now linked to so many of the top-killing diseases
of our time, says Roy Chengappa, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at
the University of Pittsburgh who has researched adaptogens.
A daily dose of adaptogens, the theory goes, may help your cells
turn on their stress-protecting mechanisms. That increases your
HPA axis’s stress threshold, meaning you may be able to take on
more stress, or that the same level of stress will have less of an
impact, says Dr. Powell. Think of it as tuning the engine of a car:
If the car used to overheat around 70 mph, you can make it so that
90 is the new overheating point and 70 is an easy drive.
A review in Pharmaceuticals suggests there’s merit to the
thinking, and studies in humans give it support. Among them is
the Creighton University research that found drops in C-reactive
protein—a marker of inlammation linked to stress—in people
who took a supplement that included Siberian ginseng and rhodi-
ola for four weeks. Another looked at ashwagandha—a shrub
whose Sanskrit name translates to “smell of horse,” because it
WHAT’S UP WITH . . . has the funk of a damp illy—and saw that subjects who received
it along with counseling had a 57 percent drop in anxiety, while

Adaptogens counseling-only people experienced just a 31 percent dip.

Stressed? Can’t focus? Low energy?
High energy? Feeling too normal? Read this
before you try the latest supplement craze.
BY MICHAEL EASTER
Promising results, indeed, but medical authorities aren’t pro-
posing you trade in your Zoloft for rhodiola yet. Studies have been
small, so there are still big question marks. Plus, adaptogens can
interfere with prescription drugs (including some immunosup-
pressant, sleep, and antianxiety meds) and can upset your stomach
unless you take them with food.
Where that leaves you: Stress is a problem. And in America,

S 
EVENTY-NINE PERCENT of Americans say they’re we sell solutions, including
stressed-out—thanks, work, screaming kids, social stress-busting powders, pills,
media, and deciding what to have for dinner tonight— and chocolate bars. We get the
which explains the rise of the multibillion-dollar anti- appeal. But there’s probably ADAPTA-WHAT?
stress marketplace. With a bevy of attractive, shiny options, you a better way to manage what IF IT SEEMS LIKE adaptogens
can choose between established practices—therapists and an array gets thrown at you. “If some- are everywhere, it’s because
of prescription pills—and more esoteric stuf like meditation, tap- one wants to use adaptogens, scientists have identified at
ping, and yoga. The newest in the latter category: adaptogens, a I get them to igure out what’s least 54 of them, and many
go by a few different names.
group of (supposedly) stress-ighting plants that are showing up causing their stress, which Yet there are only a handful
in today’s trendiest teas, cofees, and snack foods. is usually some questionable that we know much about
Adaptogens (a hard-to-pin-down category that even the dictio- behavior pattern,” says Trevor so far; most others still sit
nary deines only as “plant extracts that increase the body’s ability Kashey, Ph.D., a biochemist in the “What the heck does
this do?” category.
to resist stress”) come from obscure and god-awful-tasting plants, and nutrition consultant in
roots, fruits, and fungi that survive in harsh conditions, making Columbus, Ohio. “Then I ask if
scientists believe they help humans do the same. They’re sold for they think a magic mushroom TOP- NOT
RESEARCHED THERE YET
a too-high price with too-gorgeous packaging in too-precious web or root powder will ix that pat-
stores like Moon Juice and Goop. They have exotic, spelling-bee- tern and, well, you can guess RHODIOLA CORDYCEPS
inals names—including ashwagandha, rhodiola, reishi, Panax what they say.” Still, if you want •
ginseng, and Cordyceps—and promise to take you back to your to sip an adaptogen-spiked chai PANAX
GINSENG •
center and make you feel normal again, no matter what’s going on. while you’re sorting your stuf REISHI
Such vague and sweeping declarations typically send our BS out, it may make you feel better,
detectors into threat level midnight. But some nonquacky experts if only because you’re making a ASHWAGANDHA HOLY BASIL
are inding glimpses of truth in the far-out claims. move to shake of stress.

32 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH ILLUSTRATION BY ANDY MARTIN

AVAILABLE AT MACY’S, MACYS.COM AND MONTBLANC BOUTIQUES
 THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER—
NOW IN PA PER BACK!

Discover the healing power of food

powers of food.”

from personal experience,

Also available in ebook and audiobook editions wherever books are sold. SimonandSchuster.com
 BODY

Your Hardest-Working Organ

Right Now
This might be a fun month for you, but December’s a rough one for your liver.
BY ALICE OGLETHORPE

FOUR NOGS? Your liver drinks them, too. Extra gravy?
Your liver consumes it as well. Half of a jellied-cranberry
log? Your liver would have stopped at a third, but you’re in
this together, so... The important part is nearly every bite
you eat and every drink you down ends up getting managed
by the same organ in your body: your liver. Although it’s
one of your largest organs, the stuff you do to it this month
can overwhelm it and leave you with long-term damage.
Which means it has less bandwidth to regulate blood
sugar, process cholesterol, and make certain hormones
that you need to...you know...live. Here’s how the wreck-
age happens and how to avoid it. (Hint: Easy on the nog.)  

1 THE FIRST
SIP OF BOOZE...
When you have a drink or two,
your liver kicks into gear and
performs triage: It transforms
the alcohol in your sidecar into
harmless water and carbon
dioxide, which you then pee
out or exhale. It also holds on to
anything it can use, like the
antioxidants in wine or the carbs
in beer. The whole process is a
no-brainer for the liver, but the
metabolism of alcohol creates
fatty acids along the way, which
get stored as triglycerides—
a kind of cholesterol—until
your body can use them up.
Typically, if you eat and drink
reasonable amounts, it will
use them just fine. Until you . . .
3 NOW, SOME FOOD.
A LOT OF FOOD.
You don’t even have to drink alcohol to
mess up your liver. Seasonal foods (you
know, with saturated fat, refined carbs, or
processed red meat) combined with
holiday-associated weight gain can lead to
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
“It’s estimated that up to 30 percent of
the U. S. population has NAFLD, and there
aren’t symptoms, so people usually
don’t know and aren’t doing anything to
reverse it,” says Mazen Noureddin, M.D.,
director of the Fatty Liver Disease Program
at Cedars-Sinai. Meanwhile, that fat is
wreaking the same havoc alcohol does—
inflammation and eventual scarring—with-
out the libations. NAFLD could develop in
as little as six weeks if you really overdo it.
Levi Brown
2 A FEW MORE
DRINKS...
“If you binge, then binge again,
then binge again, your liver gets
shocked each time and can’t
recover,” says Christopher Koh,
M.D., a researcher at the
National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases. The more you drink,
the more your liver shuffles
those triglycerides into the
“burn later” pile . . . until the pile
is so big that your liver can’t get
to the bottom of it. This causes
inflammation and eventually
kills off liver cells, leaving scar
tissue in their place (and can
lead to cirrhosis, a problem
that’s increasingly affecting
25- to 34-year-olds). Not good.
Just three get-togethers a week
through the holiday season can
initiate inflammation, if each
outing involves more than five
servings of alcohol in two
hours. Not to mention when . . .
And you thought you
had a lot to do: Your liver
has more than 300 jobs.
HOW TO HIT “RESTORE”
Your liver can actually regenerate—if you stop beating
it down. You don’t need an activated-charcoal smoothie
or a beet-juice detox cleanse to do it. Your liver naturally
gets itself back in working order if you move the heck out of its way.
A month or so without a drop of alcohol (no beer during the game, no
wine at the client dinner) can reduce the fat storage in the liver and
help tame inflammation. You can undo some of the fat that causes
NAFLD by cleaning up your diet and cutting portion size: Losing

5 percent of your weight can reduce fat in your liver by up to 30 percent.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 33

 insurance and you could save.

geico.com | 1-800-947-AUTO | Local Office

Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states, in all GEICO companies, or in all situations. Boat and PWC coverages are underwritten by GEICO Marine Insurance Company. Homeowners, renters
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 44 DON’T FORGET THE SIDES!

LIFE
.......

49 ............ HOW TO FINA LLY CLOSE

THE ORGASM GA P
52 ..................... A R E YOU CR EEPING
HER OU T?
56 ........................ ST Y LE!
GET COLD-
W E ATHER R E A DY

LL TOLD, we spend on average about nine days a year going

Buckle Up, A to and from work. Other ways you could spend nine days

Strap In, a year? Restoring a motorcycle, writing several chapters

of a novel, going on vacation, driving cross-country a cou-

Flourish: ple times. Armstrong went to the moon and back in eight days and
change. Just because you’re sitting behind the wheel or packed onto
the subway doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish something. Even if it’s
How to Optimize just maintaining your sanity or working up a sweat, there are ways to
Getting to Work get the most out of getting to work. Here are a few of them.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 35

 LIFE
ON TRAINS / BUSES
COURTESY 101
here’s an impulse on
public transportation to
plug the earbuds in, put
your head down, and en-
ter a zone of nonhumanity. That’s
terrible. Once you stop ignoring
and start seeing your fellow
commuters, you’ll understand
we’re all miserable here, and you
might be more inclined to make
the ride easier for folks by:
Sneezing into your elbow
Taking of your backpack
Keeping your kneecaps only
as wide as the width of your
seat or hips
Standing for pregnant, dis-
abled, and older passengers
The Big Gesture When you see
an older person trying to haul a
piece of luggage up a steep set
of stairs, or a mom trying to nav-
igate a stroller down the same,
pause, remove the buds from
your ears, and just say, “Can I
help?” They might wave you of.
They might say thank you. Get
them to the bottom or the top
and your commitment is done.
! BOOKS YOU
EMBRACING HELPLESSNESS
THE TRAIN’S delayed.
It’s standing room only
on the bus and the large
dude with the backpack
will not give up an inch.
Or you’re crawling
along the tracks at a pace
best described as not
quite moving. Or the
air-conditioning isn’t
working in the subway car
and you’re breathing in
the collective 85-degree
respiratory output of your
fellow passengers. Things
aren’t good. And while
you can try your best to be
part of the solution (see
Courtesy 101, above),
sometimes you have to
surrender to the state of
your public-transit
commute. That’s where
the classic mindfulness
36 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
WANT TO BE SEEN
READING
Equal parts entertaining
for you and intriguing to
the people around you.
trick comes into play.
When you find yourself
stewing on the platform
for the train that just won’t
arrive, stop. Recognize
that you’re freaking out.
Pinpoint why you’re
freaking out (the train
should be here by now).
And let it go. You can even
prepare for the inevitable
stress caused by
hellacious commutes by
downloading some
soothing music or relaxing
podcasts. (See the next
pages.) Tell yourself you’re
going to get to work
anyway. Send an email
to the pertinent people
informing them that
you’re trapped by transit.
They’ll understand.
We’ve all been there.
ON YOUR FEET
The Smug
Superiority
of the Run
Commute
EARLY IN my career, I’d
leave for work in running
shorts, with a thermos of
cofee and my work shirt and
pants stufed into a Deuter
Speed Lite bag strapped
around me. (I’d keep my
change of shoes at the
oice.) I’d sprint a mile and
a half from my apartment to
the very last bus stop, where
I’d catch a ride through a
tunnel across a river. Then,
out on the other side, I’d run
another mile and a half up to
the oice, weaving around
those racing to work by actu-
ally racing to work. Nothing
better prepares you for the
professional hustle than
treating your commute like
a high school cross-country
race. I’d pick out brown-
shoed, white-collar dudes
a block and a half ahead of
me, stalk their position,
and blow past them, just as I
hoped to do in the job.
—Matt Goulet
…And Now You’re Sweaty
Congratulations, you got to
KILLSHOT
Elmore Leonard
work and got a workout in
A classic by the under the same token. Now
king of literary try not to ofend your col-
crime fiction might leagues. Before arriving at
make you miss
the oice via bike or run, pre-
your stop.
Previous page: Rocketpixel/Freepik. Commuters: The New York Times/Redux
pare your workplace: Pack
a dopp kit with a spare stick
IMPOSSIBLE OWLS of deodorant, body wipes
Brian Phillips
(which are meant not to sub-
Pick off these
deeply reported stitute for a proper shower
essays from a but merely to peel some sweat
Grantland alumnus and dirt of the back of your
one trip at a time.
neck), and hair product to
abate helmet head. In your
THE SUBTLE ART OF
desk drawer, keep a clean
NOT GIVING A F*CK shirt and an emergency pair
Mark Manson of underwear. Build ten extra
Fun title on minutes into your commute
the outside,
sage advice on to cool down, wipe down, and
the inside. change once you get there.
 IN THE CAR

CONTROL YOUR CRUISE: HOW TO

REDUCE ROAD RAGE
s a magazine editor who covers cars, I
often find myself “testing” interesting
“product” from my midtown office to my
home, 35 miles north of New York City,
and back. The trip takes me on five major
highways, lasts one to three hours (depending on
how soul-withering traffic on Manhattan’s West
Side Highway is), and involves aggressive delivery
vans, oblivious Ubers, and a shocking number of
slow-moving white Camrys. The journey requires
an almost existential calm. Here’s how I get there.
—Ross McCammon

1 2 3 4 5
RELIGIOUS USE OF THE CLASSICAL MUSIC, BRAKING YOUR BRAIN CARLESS DRIVERS BABIES
TURN SIGNAL PREFERABLY GERMAN George Mason Imagine all these That guy who just cut
This is the one traffic Take Brahms’s University psychology people, including you off? Former baby.
law to obey without fail. Requiem. It’s mournful professor John Riskind’s yourself, moving down His mother loved him.
It will separate you but not depressing. method for decreasing the highway at high She might not love him
from the guy who’s just Anthemic but not anger: Imagine your speed (or low) in a now. And who can
weaving in and out of overwrought. It turns a rage level on a speed- seated position blame her? But at some
lanes with no apparent slog into a spirit-stirring ometer. Above 90: without their vehicles point, he was loved. So
spatial awareness. odyssey. Any classical explosive; 75: irate; surrounding them. imagine him in that
The signaling will make music will do. But I 55: mad; 45: frustrated; Weird but effective. state, and just like that,
you feel smug. And you carpool with Johannes. 35: calm. Slowly let tenderness displaces
can’t be angry and off the gas until you’ve rage. “Son of a—awww!”
smug at the same time. settled down.

The Car Correction

Sitting behind the wheel isn’t great for posture. Do this five-minute
fix when you get out of the car. By Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.
Cars: Andrew Cullen/The New York Times/Redux

Seriously. Plenty of major cities like New York

and Detroit ofer fast, safe bike lanes in which
you can inline-skate. Rollerblades let you glide
to work without worrying about what the hell
you’re going to do with the bike once you ar-
rive at the ofice. Plus, these totems of the ’90s Lunge Stretch Scapular Retractions Rag-Doll Pose
provide a substantial glute and hip workout: From standing, step one Place your hands on a wall. Stand with knees slightly
Blading just nine miles per hour burns ten calo- foot forward, then bend Squeeze your shoulder bent, then lean over, letting
ries a minute. If you haven’t been in them since your front knee. Hold for 15 blades, then release them. your head hang. Hold for
your street-hockey days, consider wrist guards. seconds. Do 3 reps per side. Do 2 sets of 10. 30 seconds. Do 3 reps.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 37

THREE MORE ®
RIGHT TWIX TO CRAVE &

THREE MORE
LEFT TWIX® TO DETEST.
MORE FLAVORS. SAME SIDES.
 LIFE A
HEARSATL
SPECI T
EVEN

The former FLOTUS

(shown here in 2013)
breaks it down.

You even say [you and Barack]

argue differently?
—OPRAH WINFREY,
O, The Oprah Magazine
Oh God, yes. I am like a lit match.
It’s like, poof! And he wants to
rationalize everything. So he had
to learn how to give me, like,
a couple minutes—or an hour—
before he should even come in
the room when he’s made me mad.
And he has to understand that he
can’t convince me out of my anger.
That he can’t logic me into some
other feeling.

Who would you invite to

your fantasy dinner party?
—LUCY KAYLIN,
O, The Oprah Magazine
Barack, my mom, Malia, Sasha,
ASK HER ANYTHING
my brother. To sit and listen to our
This Month’s Special Guest: kids and to give them that space.
It’s so important for us to make

The Michelle Obama! sure that our kids and our family
know that Barack and I are there
The former First Lady fielded questions during a recent trip to the Hearst for them, and that when we have
Tower in New York to promote her memoir, Becoming (out November 18). time, we give it to them. Because
A few floors up from the Men’s Health offices, she took questions from we had opportunities for those
a handful of editors and even sat for an extended interview with dream dinner parties. We opted
for family.
an up-and-coming journalist named Oprah Winfrey. The highlights:
Let’s say your husband is left
home alone with a whole bag
What’s your As I grow older and busier,
it’s harder to stay in touch with
of Cheetos. What percentage
of that bag is left when you and
deinition of strength? friends. Any advice?
—MICHELE PROMAULAYKO,
the girls get home?
—RICHARD DORMENT,
—LIZ PLOSSER, Women’s Health Cosmopolitan Men’s Health
I tell folks that I learned to One hundred percent that bag
Equal parts confidence, compassion, and plan my life like I plan my work. isn’t even taken out of the cabinet.
a conviction about something outside of I started planning these boot His taste doesn’t even align with
yourself. Because what does it mean to be camps at Camp David every three junk food. And it could be because
strong if that strength is just inside and months. I would have my trainer, of being raised in Indonesia, he
you don’t use it on behalf of anybody else? one of the chefs from the White even had diferent lavor palates,
House, go to Camp David and we’d as far as I’m concerned. He likes
And what good is being strong if you don’t set up, like, four days of really bitter tastes. He doesn’t like choc-
have empathy for someone else? You can’t hard exercise. We worked out olate. Chips and fresh guac—that
get anything done if you’re not confident, three times a day. I eliminated he cannot stop eating. If it were up
if you don’t have security, if you don’t feel sugar and wine. And then people to him, Cheetos wouldn’t even be
good in yourself. were like, I’m not coming back. in the house. But I have a teenager,
Alamy

I put the wine back on. so sometimes they get in.

40 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 One Emergen-C every day and you’ll emerge restored, fortified
and replenished. A super fresh formula packed with B vitamins,
electrolytes, antioxidants,† and more vitamin C than ten oranges^.
Why not feel this good every day?

©2018 Alacer. †Antioxidants include vitamin C, zinc and manganese. ^Based on using the USDA.gov nutrient database value for a large, raw orange.
presented by

delight in
the

FLAVOR
Nick Evans wants to get you cooking
with confidence. Why? Because even
if you don’t enjoy experimenting in the
kitchen as much as he does, home
cooking is healthier, more economical—
and for dedicated followers of Nick’s
“Macheesmo” food blog—a whole lot of
fun. With football season in full swing
and Super Bowl Sunday coming fast, Nick
shares how everyone’s favorite gameday
snack can be made tastier and lighter
using the KRUPS Digital Air Fryer.

LOVE YOUR
LEFTOVERS
Nick’s enthusiasm for transforming
common extras from the fridge
inspired this recipe’s secret
ingredient. So don’t toss out that
pickle juice the next time you
have an empty jar. According to
Nick, “It actually makes an
incredible brine for chicken!”

BRINE & DANDY

Not familiar with brining? It’s
sort of but not quite like marinating,
where you submerge your protein
in a salty solution to boost tenderness
and flavor. Here, you brine wings
with pickle juice for about an
hour (or leave up to overnight).

NICK’S PICKLE BRINED CHICKEN WINGS
YIELDS: 3 pounds PREP TIME: 30 min
INGREDIENTS:
3 lbs chicken wings
24 oz pickles, juice only
for brine
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tsp chili powder
OIL GONE
“To avoid the added fat from frying,
I love using an air fryer, like this one
from KRUPS, which uses hot
air technology to give you the same
crispy outside and tender inside
that you get with deep-frying,
without using all of that oil.”
AS GOOD AS
IT GETS
“I know a good wing when I try one,”
says Nick, “and these are very,
very tasty.” He also makes it clear
the
that in the end, there’s only a tiny
hint of pickles. “The result is
basically like a brined chicken: juicy,
KRUPS
tender, seasoned perfectly.” DIGITAL
AIR
FRYER
All hail this little beauty, the
healthier solution for enjoying
your everyday crispy and tasty
air-fried foods. It fries fast
without the guilt of unhealthy
oil, while a wide range of
pre-programmed settings takes
the guesswork out of cooking.
The patented extra-large
basket offers capacity for even
larger portions of your favorite
fried-food recipes; it’s also
dishwasher-safe, and delightfully
easy to clean.
COOK TIME: 20 min TOTAL TIME: 50 min
DIRECTIONS:
1 tsp onion powder 1. Using a bag, brine wings in pickle mixture and oil.
1 tsp dried oregano juice for one hour (or 30-minute 5. Add wings to the KRUPS Digital
minimum). Air Fryer.
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2. Remove wings from bag and pat 6. Select the Chicken button and
2 tbsp neutral oil dry with paper towels. press Start for a perfectly cooked
Ranch or blue cheese 3. Make spice rub mixture (salt, wing.
dressing for dipping pepper, chili power, onion powder, 7. Serve wings with ranch or blue
dried oregano, and cayenne pepper). cheese for dipping and pickles on
4. In a bowl, toss wings in spice rub the side.
FOR MORE WAYS TO DELIGHT THOSE YOU LOVE WITH DETAILS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE, VISIT MENSHEALTH.COM/KRUPS.
 LIFE
Death to Green
Bean Casserole!
Three one-pan, make-and-take
side dishes for wherever the
holidays take you. BY PAUL KITA
Rosemary Glazed Carrots
In a large nonstick pan over medium,
heat 1 cup chicken stock and 1 Tbsp
butter. Add 8 carrots cut into ½-inch
circles and cover the pan with a lid.
Cook until the carrots are al dente,
about 7 minutes. Remove the lid and
cook until no liquid remains, about 5
minutes. Add 1 Tbsp honey and the
chopped leaves from 1 rosemary stem
and cook until glazed, 2 to 3 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Feeds 4
PER SERVING: 123 calories, 3g protein,
20g carbohydrates (4g fiber), 4g fat
FOR MORE DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS
ONE-PAN RECIPES, pick up a copy of
the A Man, A Pan, A Plan cookbook at
menshealth.com/manpanplan.
44 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
Charred Honey-Orange
Walnut Brussels Sprouts
In a large bowl, toss 1 lb Brussels
sprouts (trimmed and halved) with
¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp honey, zest
from 1 orange, and a pinch each of salt
and pepper. Transfer to a cast-iron pan
over medium high and saute till well
charred, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the juice
from ½ orange and 1 cup chopped
walnuts. Cook till glazed, about 1
minute. Add back to the large bowl;
season with salt and pepper. Feeds 4
PER SERVING: 375 calories, 8g protein,
23g carbohydrates (6g fiber), 31g fat
Balsamic Mushrooms
with Herbs
In a cast-iron pan over medium
high, heat 1 Tbsp canola oil. Add
6 oz mushrooms (cremini, shiitake,
oyster, and/or trumpet). Cook,
stirring occasionally, until browned,
5 to 7 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp butter
and 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar. Saute
until a glaze forms, about 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat, season
the mushrooms to taste with salt and
pepper, and add 1 Tbsp chopped herbs
(thyme, rosemary, parsley). Feeds 2
PER SERVING: 139 calories, 2g protein,
5g carbohydrates (1g fiber), 13g fat
Food styling: Jamie Kimm, prop styling: Kaitlyn DuRoss/Honey Artists
PHOTOGRAPH BY CORY DAWSON
 LIFE B E S T
FO R MEN

F
O O D S
MEATBALLS NOT
INCLUDED, SO YOU’LL
HAVE TO BYO.

BEST HERB-INFUSED

NEWMAN’S OWN
FOR THE COMMON
GOOD ORGANIC
TOMATO BASIL
Too many “Italian herb” sauces we tested
smacked of dried, stale herbs. This sauce,
though, “tastes like someone chopped up a
bunch of fresh basil and threw it in,” said one
tester. It’s fresh, it’s slightly chunky, and 100
percent of the proceeds go to charity.
FIND IT AT: Most supermarkets

Smackdown
WHAT WE LOOKED FOR Nutrition-
ally, you want the same ingredients
on the label that you’d use if you were BEST CLASSIC BEST WILD CARD

making sauce at home, says Chris
Mohr, Ph.D., R.D., co-owner of the
nutrition consulting company Mohr
Results. That means tomatoes, olive
oil, basil, oregano, and garlic. That
also means no added sugar (some
brands can carry around 20 grams
of the stuf per cup) or soybean oil
(one “Old World style” brand we
found had it—who are they kid-
ding?). Using Mohr’s recommen-
dations, we narrowed down our list,
tasted the remaining contenders,
and issued our awards.
CUCINA ANTICA
GARLIC MARINARA
Traditional shouldn’t mean boring, which was
how many marinara sauces we tried tasted.
The garlic and a one-two combination of black
and white pepper in this one surprised us. “It
has a good, chunky texture, and it’s garlicky
but not overly so,” one of our testers reported.
FIND IT AT: Target, Whole Foods
Raymond Hom; food styling: Vivian Lui, prop styling: Gerri Williams (spaghetti), Cory Dawson (splatter)
MUIR GLEN
ORGANIC
ROASTED
GARLIC PASTA
SAUCE
When they say garlic, they mean garlic.
“This will really repel your date, but it’s tasty
AF,” one tester wrote. That’s because Muir
Glen purees roasted garlic into the sauce, so
every bite has a punch of pungency. Brush a
good spoonful atop toasted crusty bread.
FIND IT AT: Most supermarkets

Three ways to 1. REINVIGORATE 2. CRANK THE HEAT 3. ADD CREAMINESS

gussy up jarred sauce, As you simmer the sauce, A spoonful of Calabrian Save a mugful of pasta water.
CHEF-IFY according to Fabio stir in a clove or two of freshly chiles ($13, williams- When stirred into the sauce,
IT! Trabocchi, chef/owner minced garlic and a glug of sonoma.com) adds an it lends a velvetlike texture.
of Fiola restaurants. high-quality olive oil. oomph of spicy smokiness. Pour in a bit at a time.

46 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 LIFE

The Barspoon
Smart bartenders depend

What to Buy on a 40cm Hoffman bar-

spoon to create perfect

Your Booze for

cocktails, says Andrew THE THREE
Nichols, bar manager at
the new Elk Room in Balti- BEST BAR
SNACKS
the Holidays more. The length handles
even the tallest of highball
glasses, and the low-pro-
According to
Paul Kita, Men’s
file head nimbly swivels
If you’ve been following around solid ingredients.
Health food and
our advice, you have the nutrition editor
You scoff, but the better you
right bottles. Now you stir your drinks, the better Pork rinds
they taste. The spoon can They’re salty, they’re
need the right gear.
z
also double as a strainer, crunchy, and they’re
all protein. The Chili &
stopping loose ice from
Lime from 4505chich-
plopping into your serving arrones.com is perfect
The Quick Juicer glass when you pour. $30; partnered with an IPA.
First, always mix with fresh juice, not carton OJ. cocktailkingdom.com The BBQ flavor is best
But hand-squeezing and picking out seeds is friends with a whiskey.
frustrating. Jillian Vose, coauthor of The Dead
Shishito peppers
Rabbit Mixology & Mayhem (out now), recom- Sweeter than a bell
mends the Oxo Good Grips citrus squeezer for The Old-Reliable Jigger
pepper, these take well
superfast pulverizing. $16; surlatable.com Pouring spirits from a stub- to a quick blistering
by jigger—or, worse yet, in a hot cast-iron pan.
a shot glass—can create Drizzle with good olive
a mess. Instead, leverage oil. Squeeze on lemon
a Japanese-style jigger juice. Scatter with sea
to measure and transfer salt. Eat. Sip. Repeat.
drinks with precision, says Pistachios
z Jeff Bell, bartender at You know how you al-
N. Y. C.’s Please Don’t Tell. ways down the entire
This tapered option, much bowl of cashews? Well,
z

like a Champagne flute, pistachios come with

makes carrying whatever’s a little flak jacket that
you have to unlatch,
inside easier. $9;
which helps with pac-
cocktailkingdom.com ing. Plus, healthy fats!

The Power Peeler

A great drink smells as
amazing as it tastes. Elevate
aromas with one easy trick:
twisting a citrus peel over
z
a glass—not dropping it
into one, says Alex Holder,
z

assistant beverage director

for McGuire Moorman. The
oils settle on the rim and
the surface of the drink,
which results in a perfume
of tropical notes. The Oxo
Good Grips Pro Y peeler
z

cuts a nice, wide swath. The

larger the peel, the more
oil you can express from it.
$13; amazon.com

The Sturdy Strainer The Prestige Mixing Glass

Prop styling: Miako Katoh

The stainless-steel Buswell four-prong Hawthorne strain-
er nestles atop any mixing vessel, and the spring coil
combs particles efficiently, says Aaron Paul, beverage di-
rector for the Alta Group. Because no one likes chewing
their gin fizz. $14; cocktailkingdom.com
For any stirred drink, you want to gently combine the ingre-
dients. Larger vessels, like a Yarai mixing glass, work best,
says John McCarthy, coauthor of Be Your Own Bartender (out
now). The sturdy-as-heck glass has a squat profile and heavy
base that anchor it to your surface. $33; cocktailkingdom.com

48 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN SWEENEY

 LIFE

This is what a female

orgasm actually looks
like as it’s occurring. See
the next page for more

So...
on the photographer
behind it.

Was

It
Good

for

You? SEX CAN BE romantic. Animalistic.

Women aren’t having
orgasms. Men are
confused. So let’s talk
about it. BY JULIE VADNAL
Should be pleasurable. Egalitarian.
Messy, but in a good way. Fun.
Often, it’s straight-up confusing.
When it comes to a guy’s climax,
the routine is fairly simple: You
get a little turned on, there’s some
touching or rubbing or partnered
stimulation of some kind, and then
when you’ve reached the point of
no return—a release!

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALINA OSWALD MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 49

 LIFE
Yes, they’re really
having orgasms.
These photos are
part of German-based
photographer Alina
Oswald’s “Moments” project,
a series she started in 2016
in which she captures real
people (herself, her friends,
even, uh, her coworkers)
mid-climax. So far, she’s
photographed 35 subjects;
these are three of them.
But women’s orgasms can be as con-
founding as a Westworld plotline. First
we have to feel generally comfortable
around you, then remember whether or
not we left our curling iron plugged in
this morning, reassure ourselves that
we unplugged it, then remind ourselves
that we’re making out with a guy we really
like. The blood eventually rushes to our
genitals, and the touching from then on
has to be juuuuust right—not too hard,
not too soft, and usually on the exact right
spot. Things are going well! We’re feeling
it! And even then, sometimes when an
orgasm is ascending like a irework—
poof!—it turns out it was just a dud.
So it’s not exactly shocking to read
new research in The Journal of Sexual
Medicine that says that men have a dii-
cult time telling when (or even if) women
climax during a sexual experience. In the
study, which looked at a nationally repre-
sentative sample of nearly 1,700 newly-
weds, researchers found that 43 percent
of husbands misperceived how often their
wives orgasm, in most cases overestimat-
ing their wives’ O’s. Remember, these
weren’t random hookups but people who
put rings on it and, barring any 90 Day
Fiancé–type situations, had had a few
years or so to explore each other’s bodies.
“The general lack of men’s awareness
was surprising,” says Nathan Leonhardt,
a Ph.D. candidate at the University of
Toronto and lead author of the study. “We
were expecting some [gap in awareness],
but such a high percentage tells us this is
a very prevalent issue.”
50 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
Why the Confusion—
and Why It Matters
If you look around, you’ll start to see
similar data in other less, um, scientiic
places. A recent survey of 1,000 men by
sex-toy start-up Cunni—they make an
oral-sex simulator, obviously—asked if
men gave their partners orgasms during
oral sex. Fifty-seven percent of men
answered yes. But when asked if they
knew what their partners liked during
oral sex, 59 percent of guys said they
didn’t. And then 67 percent said they
sometimes weren’t even sure what they
were doing during oral sex.
Maybe it’s true that all those men really
did give women orgasms. But they also
could use a lesson in what women actually
want in bed—even if they don’t think they
need it. Another recent survey found that
42 percent of men gave themselves an A
rating in bed. Nice, guys.
So what’s really going on here? Why
the disparity between what men think is
happening and. . . reality? (Before you go
there, yes, faking happens, but you can’t
fake it forever.) Not all men are clueless
around a vagina. But that’s not to say
some of y’all couldn’t use a refresher.
Understanding the female orgasm
takes some practice, but it’s important
to school yourself on your partner’s plea-
sure, says sex therapist Ian Kerner, Ph.D.,
the man who literally wrote the book on it,
2004’s She Comes First. “In my prac-
tice, there are a lot of orgasm gaps and
imbalances,” Kerner says. “And I can tell
you that if any partner is not consistently
enjoying sex and orgasm, it can have a big
negative impact on a relationship.”
Of course, most guys in a committed
relationship want to please their partner
during sex. “In the vast majority of
cases, a husband wants his wife to be
pleased with the sexual experience and
wants her to have an orgasm,” Leonhardt
says. “Sometimes men just need to
have the courage to bring up the subject,
talk it through, and be willing to adjust
the things that they’re doing to make
sure she’s having a good experience
as well.”
What She Says
Because how a female gets to orgasm can
be as complicated as trying to understand
blockchain (seriously, what is it?), we
asked real ladies and experts to tell us
what women want more of in bed—and
why it matters that you get it right.
First things irst: Women deinitely
want to orgasm, probably just as much
as you do. “There’s a big, culturally
propagated misunderstanding women
don’t care as much about having orgasms
during sex as men,” says Kerner. “And
that does an injustice to women.” In fact,
in Leonhardt’s study, a wife’s sexual
satisfaction was directly linked to the
frequency of her orgasms. The more often
she orgasmed, the more content she
was sexually.
But there’s more to good sex than a
bed-breaking climax. As tempting as it is
to rush to P-in-the-V action as the clothes
are still hitting the loor, spending some
time to warm up her nether regions is
worth it. Most women, up to 77 percent in
some research, say foreplay is necessary
for a good orgasm. “The best kinds of
sexual experiences I’ve had are when it
isn’t all about the sex,” says Zoe, 21. “So
often I feel men are in it just for the act of
penetrating and inishing, meaning they
 website that educates users on female breathing could be another woman’s
pleasure, in a groundbreaking study signal that she’s just, well, tired and out
that found exactly what kind of clitoral of breath. And not all women whimper
action gets women to climax. Of the and howl as they’re about to climax, even
1,055-strong sample, 37 percent of women if that’s what porn taught you as a teen.
said they needed clitoral stimulation to There’s only one way to truly ind out what
orgasm during intercourse, while anoth- the woman you’re sleeping with likes: You
er 36 percent said it isn’t necessary but have to ask her.
that it enhances the whole experience. Foreplay can be a great way to get
The researchers went even deeper and the conversation started, says Kerner.
asked what kind of clitoral touching wom- “Arousal actually releases a neurochem-
en liked most, and two thirds of respon- ical cocktail that disinhibits you a little
dents said they enjoyed direct clitoral bit, so use that time as an opportunity
touching. When asked about the shape to begin communication,” he suggests.
and style of touching, women responded As a pre-sex makeout sesh begins, start
that they like, in this order: up and down to describe a fantasy of yours, then ask
motions, circular, side to side, pulsating her hers. Or describe the parts of her
skip the foreplay, and as soon as they in- (rapid pushing in one spot), pressing, body you love the most—and then kiss
ish, it’s over. Chances are if you inished, then licking. For patterns of touch, her there.
she hasn’t yet.” nearly all women in the study said they If you can’t tell if she’s feeling it, stop
According to Kerner, most women need preferred repeated, rhythmic motions. for a second and take stock by asking
at least 15 to 20 minutes of pre-penetra- An almost equal number said they liked her, “Does that feel good?” If the answer
tive acts (kissing, touching, and sexy circular motions around the clitoris. is no, redirect. And don’t worry about
talk) to get aroused. “I think the mistake May your ingers and tongue never get it messing with the low, which can be
that a lot of men make is thinking, ‘Oh, lost again. resumed. “Being attentive is hot,” Eliz-
we got into bed, we got undressed, I kissed abeth says. “It shows you’re into me and
her for 30 seconds, and now I’m going How to Talk About It— into having a great time.” Plus, Kerner
down on her for two minutes, and then with Confidence says, the way you communicate early on
I’m going to insert my penis,’ ” Kerner Even when you know exactly what most in a sex session (and in a relationship)
says. “There’s a whole Act I that’s miss- women crave, the truth is every woman is paves the way for future talks. And much
ing.” Female arousal takes time, but it’s diferent. One woman’s orgasmic heavy less confusion.
worth the wait.
When it comes to oral, do it. “It’s
refreshing when men go down on wom-
en,” says Elizabeth, 21. “And it’s better if
it’s not a tit-for-tat exchange but an unex- DO BETTER
pected move, without the assumption of How to please her during every moment.
‘returning the favor.’ ” Once you’re down
there, women want you to be mindful of
your technique, too. “There’s a difer-
ence between a poking tongue and a lat
tongue,” says Grace, 32. For the record, Before During After
she’s a lat-tongue fan—it creates a Early in the Most women need Some experts
softer touch. game, spend time clitoral stimulation say that “afterplay,”
caressing and to orgasm—it’s the time you
The Moves That Get Her There kissing her less science! When spend cuddling
Suggestions from individual women are obvious erogenous you’re doing and recapping
subjective, of course, but they aren’t just zones: the insides it doggy, slip a finger a job well done, is
anecdotal. There’s serious data to back of the wrists, between her legs as important as the
behind the knees, and move deed itself because
up what kinds of touches are most likely
the earlobes. it from side to side, it strengthens
to make women orgasm. Unsurprisingly, Soft touches like a windshield your bond.
most techniques involve the clitoris, that in unexpected wiper. Giving Spend time in
nerve-packed area at the top of where areas create her C-spot some each other’s arms
her labia meet. It’s about the size of an hot intrigue—and attention is an after you’ve
eraser head and packed with thousands give you the chance almost guaranteed both orgasmed—
of nerve endings—similar to the amount to check in with her way to make sure after you’re done
in a penis. along the way. she’s satisfied. high-fiving.
Last year, the Kinsey Institute part-
nered with OMGYes, a research-based

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 51

 LIFE

YOU GUYS

What
Creepy
Looks
Like
Even the most innocuous
behavior can be unsettling
if it’s not welcome—
especially on social
media. Men’s Health
columnist Lauren Larson
(it’s her first column!)
shows you how to read
the clues (and nonclues).

I WAS SWEATING profusely on the
subway platform on a sticky summer
day when I spotted a man I knew from
college. I hadn’t particularly liked him
back then, but I remembered that only
later. In the moment, the surprise of
a familiar face in New York’s stinky
underworld caused me to greet him
with an enthusiasm I usually save for
Seamless deliveries. We exchanged
brief, friendly chitchat and what I
assumed were insincere promises to
hang out “someday.” I immediately
forgot about the conversation.
I am incapable of delivering disap-
pointment to men. I say, “Let’s hang
out someday” when I have no interest in
hanging out, and I say, “Sorry, I have a
boyfriend” when I really mean “Leave
me alone.” And when the man from the
subway sweetly reached out to me on
Facebook a few hours after the fact to
make plans to hang out—I had, after all,
said we should—I replied that I would be
out of town for a while. I would be out of
town for a while, and I hoped his invita-
tion would wither in my absence. It did
not. Over the next two months, he kept
reaching out, sending me messages every
week. Each began with “Yo yo!” followed
by an inquiry into my schedule. At irst I
responded with excuses (“weird time at
work!”), but then I stopped responding.
The “Yo yos!” kept coming. The dynamic
hadn’t started out creepy, but when he
began to ignore the clues that I wasn’t
interested in hanging out, as friends or
otherwise, it started to feel sinister.
I can understand how a guy might
wonder why I didn’t just tell the man from
the subway that I wasn’t interested, why
I didn’t just block him on Facebook, and

52 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH ILLUSTRATION BY MOON_PATROL

 YOUR
EXPERT
In this column,
Lauren Larson
will be writing
about the
evolving dynamics between
men and women—from
hooking up to working together
to . . . everything else.
why I expected him to be able to hear
“No” when I’d said, “Yes, deinitely!”
But I don’t think I should have to explic-
itly reject a man I chatted with on the
subway. If a guy were to tell me he was
“too busy with work” or if he failed to
respond when I texted him three times
in a row, I’d consider that an explicit
enough rejection. Very little separates
a creepy man from a noncreepy man
beyond the ability to tell when a woman
isn’t interested in what he’s putting out
there and to back of accordingly. But
since sex-ed teachers spend more time
instructing kids how to suit up a banana
than they do on the subtleties of non-
verbal cues, we all hit adulthood totally
unit for social survival, predisposed to
creep and be creeped on.
SO HERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES:
That women can tell a guy is creepy
just by looking at him is a myth per-
petuated by “incels” and other “men’s
rights” proponents online. We have
no radar for creepiness, which is why I
once went on three dates with a man who
thought he was a prophet. Creepiness has
nothing to do with appearance (although
a pencil mustache suggests a certain
alienation from civilized society).
Michael Shannon, for example, may look
like the personiication of the dark base-
ment in The Conjuring, but he’s still a
low-key sex symbol because he’s so polite.
Shannon has, in 2018 parlance, “big dick
energy.” BDE, the opposite of creepiness,
is characterized by quiet conidence. I bet
that if a woman didn’t message Shannon
back right away, he would be very cool
about it. He would not send her a 300-
word text tirade about how women are
teases, and he would not continue to ire
of invitations just in case she changes
her mind. Likewise, a guy can be objec-
Illustration by Kyle Hilton
tively attractive and wholesome looking
and still come of very creepy. James
Franco may look like Fireighter Jesus,
but it was still unsettling when he repeat-
edly booty-texted a 17-year-old girl.
“
We have no radar
for creepiness.
Which is why I
dated a man who
thought he was
a prophet.
Creepiness has very little to do with
specific behaviors and a whole lot to
do with context. With the exception
of criminally creepy behavior, like
upskirt photography, very few actions
are inherently menacing. While I might
be thrilled to get a dick pic from a boy-
friend, receiving one from a stranger
on Tinder is always unwelcome. And
I’d be perfectly comfortable with a guy
sitting on my side of the booth on our
second date, but it was creepy when a
guy once boxed me into a booth on our
first date. The trick is knowing where
you’re at on the intimacy spectrum.
There are circumstances when that’s
really straightforward—a 17-year-old
girl cannot legally be interested in
James Franco, so that’s an easy one—
but in most cases you have to pay really
close attention.
It’s rare that a woman will tell you
when you’re being creepy. Women are
nice to men for the same reason you
don’t eat blowfish every day: Each bite
might be the one that kills you. I’ve
seen a lot of Lifetime original movies,
so when a man starts talking to me,
looking at me, or standing too close
to me, I’m always aware of the chance
that he may stalk me relentlessly until
I’m forced to move to a remote ranch in
Louisiana, where he will find me years
later in the embrace of a swole local
”
and go insane with jealousy, killing us
both. So instead of explicitly rebuff-
ing a man’s creeping, I try to passively
deflect it. Nicely.
But there are degrees of niceness.
If a woman is interested in you, she
will be very, very nice. She will make
eye contact when you’re talking. She
will answer your texts. She will ask
you questions about your life. If you’re
getting anything less than extreme
niceness from a woman—even if
she’s still being base-level nice—you
should take a metaphorical and
literal step back. If a woman is even
a little bit rude to you, she’s probably
extremely uncomfortable. Failing to
respond to the man from the subway’s
messages is as un-nice as I get. (As of
press time, he seems to have finally
gotten the point.)
If you’re at all worried you’re creep-
ing on a woman, you should back off
and see what happens. If she starts
to pursue you, she’s interested. If she
takes no action, she’s probably relieved
that you’ve stopped bothering her. In
this era, women aren’t “playing hard
to get” anymore. If I’m interested in
a man, I text him back immediately. I
tag him in memes. I miss work and skip
funerals to hang out with him. Some-
times I can be a little bit creepy.
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 53
 LIFE
“Men’s Grooming? That’s in
Aisle 8 . . . and 9 . . . and 10 . . .”
TA R G E T
THE VIBE Target is redesigning its
men’s sections to spotlight your
grooming. “Our male guests view
style as more than just apparel,” says
Christina Hennington, SVP for mer-
chandising, essentials, and beauty,
and this modern outlook seems to
have inspired the refreshed areas,
which are packed with more than
600 products. Target has introduced
cool niche brands like Byrd and
Rebels Reinery, Internet favorites
such as Harry’s, and items for men’s
various skin tones and hair types,
like those from Hue for Every Man.
What to Buy
Harry’s Fig Body Wash
Harry’s is now doing
for body care what it did
for shaving: disrupting
your routine, with
well-priced bodywashes
in high-end scents.
Byrd Light Pomade
Use Byrd’s surfer-cool
pomade for a piecey,
textured look, like you just
got back from the beach.
Rebels Refinery
Hair Styling Paste
This upstart offers twisted
takes (it’s packaging, but
still) on classic products,
most of which are natural.
Hue for Every Man
New York Shave Lotion
Specially designed to
combat ingrown hairs, a
problem common among
African American men.
Gift sets aren’t just for the holidays.
Most brands offer them year-round.
They’re a great way to scoop up a ton
of stuff at a slightly discounted price.
54 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
CVS
THE VIBE Stacked amidst your
deodorant and dental-loss
go-tos are Korean skin-care
products, natural shampoos, and
brand-spanking-new updates
to the oferings you expect from
companies you already love. It’s
the perfect place to try novel
things like acne patches (little
stickers that start zapping
breakouts overnight—and yes,
they do work) and a kind of
bodywash that comes out of the
bottle already foamy (who needs
a washcloth?).
What to Buy
Degree Men UltraClear
Black + White Dry
Spray Antiperspirant
Deodorant
A spray that won’t
discolor your clothes—
even black shirts.
Dove Men+Care
Clean Comfort Foaming
Body Wash
This means you’ll use that
old loofah even less.
Gillette Sensor 3 Cool
Men’s Disposable Razor
A built-in cooling strip
helps make dragging a
blade across your skin a
little more comfortable.
Axe Gold Wash & Style
From the next gen of
combo hair products, this
shampoo has a light-hold
styling formula mixed in,
so no need for pomade.
Don’t be afraid to sniff.
There’s no factor more important
than scent when it comes to which
products you’ll stick with.
NORDSTROM
THE VIBE At its New York City store,
Nordstrom has started to ofer
haircuts, shaves, spa services, and
special events geared to men. “Men
want their own space where they
feel special and comfortable,” says
Gemma Lionello, executive vice
president of accessories and beauty.
Not only do you get a judgment-free
zone to ask questions and learn
about new products, but you can also
sample anything the store carries.
(Pro tip: If they don’t have it, just
ask.) Nowhere else has the same
level of try-before-you-buy service.
What to Buy
Kiehl’s Midnight
Recovery Concentrate
Putting this overnight
serum on your face
before bed helps combat
dry skin and rough
appearance.
Murdock London
Sea Salt Spray
Gives your hair a textured
look without weighing
it down.
Le Labo Beard Oil
Le Labo is known for its
colognes, but its new
beard oil offers you a shot
of subtle fragrance and
whisker health.
Malin+Goetz
Peppermint Shampoo
This shampoo may perk
you up (and it cleans, too).
It’s like a breath mint for
your head.
Do use testers.
Many stores have clearly labeled
Getty Images
products available for testing.
Plus: free stuff!
 FIVE WHEN YOU WALKED INTO YOUR LOCAL DRUGSTORE, LECTRIC SHAVE WAS STILL
TAKING UP A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF THE “MAN CARE” SECTION. BUT THE
Y E AR S MEN’S GROOMING CATEGORY HAS RECENTLY EXPLODED, AND THERE ARE LOADS OF
AGO, NEW PRODUCTS—NOT ONLY FROM LEGACY BRANDS BUT FROM UPSTART COMPANIES—
AT THE PLACES WHERE YOU’RE ALREADY SHOPPING. BY GARRETT MUNCE
AMAZON
THE VIBE It’s hard to beat the
convenience of an Amazon
Prime membership. The site
sells almost everything, but ded-
icated men’s grooming sections
make it simple to cut through
the noise. There are even new
“shops” specific to hair type,
so finding an item that will
work for you is a breeze. Our
favorite feature, though, lets
you easily subscribe to individ-
ual products so you never have
to remember to reorder.
What to Buy
Baxter of California
Clay Effect Style Spray
It’s like hair clay (what, you
don’t know about hair
clay?) but in spray form.
They’ve weaponized
hair clay.
Perricone MD Face
Finishing & Firming
Moisturizer
It’s like an Instagram filter
you apply to your face.
Ahava Purifying
Dead Sea Mud Mask
Use it once a week for an
extra-deep cleansing,
without making your face
feel like stretched leather.
Jack Black Turbo Wash
Energizing Cleanser
This rosemary-eucalyptus
bodywash won’t replace
your coffee, but it will
tingle. (We’re pro-tingle.)
Do read reviews.
But in shopping, as in any kind of
gymnastics, always throw out the
highest and lowest scores.
WHOLE FOODS I N S TA G R A M
THE VIBE Because the FDA has THE VIBE I nternet-native brands
no speciic regulations about can innovate faster, release new
what makes a grooming product products quicker, and let you
“organic,” Whole Foods created know about their goods more
its own (very strict) standards, rapidly thanks to social media.
which go beyond the usual suspects Use Instagram as a way to expand
(phthalates, microbeads) to ban your horizons by looking at what
more than 100 ingredients. You’ll other people are talking about.
notice, too, that its items don’t Many good small brands aren’t
stop at Dr. Bronner’s. Whole Foods sold in traditional stores, and
now has full men’s sections, with they may even offer trial sizes or
shaving creams, hair products, package deals that make it easy
and sheet masks. The retailer also to check out new stuff with just
ofers hand-poured soaps and a a tap of your thumb.
complete travel-size bonanza.
What to Buy What to Buy
Every Man Jack Knight Co.
Charcoal Sheet Mask Complete Moisturizer
Oil Defense Use this moisturizer
The charcoal helps absorb twice daily for glisten-free
oil and remove dirt. Good protection from the
for selfies, your position on elements. (Never glisten.)
selfies notwithstanding.
Jason Natural Black Wolf Activated
Coconut Body Wash Charcoal Face Wash
Coconut oil + shea butter = The salicylic acid in this
moisture. (The ’70s revival charcoal-infused cleanser
has hit grooming, too. ) is a breakout blocker.
Bulldog Original Herb Essntls
After Shave Balm Body Lotion
Bulldog’s balm is thick for A body lotion that
an aftershave and uses aloe contains cannabis-seed
and green tea to saturate oil? Pass it over.
and revitalize skin.
Do use travel sizes as testers. Don’t sleep on trial offers.
If your store doesn’t offer testers, Many online companies provide free
check out the travel sizes. or reduced-rate trials. Take advantage
of them; just cancel if you don’t like it.
WAIT, WE ALMOST FORGOT SOMETHING... Try these:
Whamisa by Glow Stu-
Here’s a secret: Many “for men” items are basically dio Charcoal Chai Tea
the same as the women’s versions one aisle over. Cut Pore Refining Glow Pad
through the marketing edicts and open your mind. Shea Moisture Green
These products work as well as, and sometimes even Coconut & Activated
better than, the ones that say “sport” on the bottle. You’ll Charcoal Purifying &
Hydrating Shampoo
get a massive selection, you’ll find things you never knew
existed (like charcoal cleansing pads and hair oil), and L’Oréal Elvive
Extraordinary Oil
you’ll look like the most secure man in the store. Treatment
55
 LIFE

1-2
THE COAT AND
THE CORDS
The naval roots of the
peacoat give it a strength
that holds up against wind,
water, and cold. Pair it with
fine-wale cords cut like
jeans for a more casual look.

Wool-blend peacoat ($250)

by Nautica; macys.com.
Cotton-blend sweater ($68)
by Abercrombie & Fitch;
abercrombie.com. Corduroy
pants ($60) by Levi’s; levi.com.
Black Bay Fifty-Eight watch
($3,250) by Tudor; tudorwatch
.com. Leather weekend bag
($695) by Coach; coach.com.

12
STYLE

HEAVY-DUTY
ESSENTIALS
Be ready when the weather
turns terrible. These are the
time-tested staples that
will get you through the next
few (wet, cold) months.

56 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALLIE HOLLOWAY

 A m Training Guide

GET A STRONG, LEAN,

ATHLETIC BODY
with The Beginner’s Guide
To Strength Training

BUILD
a stronger body!

MASTER
the best
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for strength!

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that last!

MensHealth.com / Begin
15345
LIFE

THE PLAID
Buffalo plaid, that is. The icon
of can-do American style has
been perfected by the Japa-
nese: Uniqlo’s spread-collar
take lets you dress it up under
a blazer or with a knit tie.

Flannel shirt ($20) by Uniqlo;

uniqlo.com.

THE SHITKICKER
Waterproof with a grippy rub-
ber sole, Eddie Bauer’s moc-
toe boot is your all-weather
go-between, the kind of shoe
you can trudge through slush
in and leave on at the office.

Leather boots ($170) by

Eddie Bauer; eddiebauer.com.

THE WINTER JACKET AND THE LAYER

The Japanese brand Descente forgoes the
quilting of a traditional parka and relies on
thermal-bonded construction so you can main-
tain heat. Layer it with an underdog essential:
Grooming: Heather Schnell/Honey Artists, tailoring:

a Heattech tee to regulate your body temp.

Darlene Deandrade, location: Planta Baja

Lumilet wool 2L down jacket ($1,050) by Descente;

descente.com. Heattech T-shirt ($15) by Uniqlo;
uniqlo.com. Series 4 watch with Milanese loop ($799)
by Apple; apple.com.
 Leather shoes ($175) by Kenneth Cole; kennethcole.com.
Yes, this is a smart-
watch. The slim
case, functional side
buttons, and sub-
dued face mean you

9-11
can keep high-tech
features like heart-
rate tracking without
sacrificing looks.

GYM-READY Gen 4 Q Explorist

smartwatch ($255)
PERFORMANCE
by Fossil; fossil.com.
An elevated terry-cloth
hoodie favored by the
likes of LeBron James?

pression, not to mention

a sleek superhero look,
to your routine? Check. A
detailed leather gym bag

carryall? Check.

Cotton hooded sweatshirt

($198) by John Elliot;

($48) by Fourlaps; fourlaps

.com. Nylon shorts ($68) by

($32) by Nike; nordstrom

.com. Metcon 4 sneakers
($130) by Nike; mrporter
.com. Nylon-and-leather
weekend bag by Banana
Republic; bananarepublic
.com. Socks ($10 for
three-pack) by Champion;
champion.com. ATH-M50x

Technica; audio-technica
.com. Series 4 watch with
KEVIN SWEENEY/STUDIO D (still lifes), prop styling: Miako Katoh

sport band ($699) by Apple;

apple.com.
THE SWEATER
Made out of nature’s
performance fabric,
wool, the Irish fish-
erman’s sweater has
kept seafaring and
landlocked men alike
warm for ages.

Wool fisherman’s sweater ($169) by L.L.Bean;

llbean.com.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 59

 LIFE

The 6:00 A.M. Workout with:

Matt Mitcham
How a (very) busy cruise director’s
(very) early morning sweat session steadies
him for a (very) long day on the high seas.
BY JOSHUA ST. CLAIR

The workout never really stops

for Matt Mitcham. He starts his
days with 200 pushups and
hits the gym early, but he’ll go
for a run later if he has time and
needs a little bit of stress relief.

33-year-old rolling out of bed

and banging out 200 pushups
in six minutes.
He began working at
Carnival at age 21. Three
years later, he took the main

T
AKE YOUR current
job. Add thousands
of people whom you
have to make happy
for days and days. Add a staf
that includes comedians and
blackjack dealers. Add a
Motown Night, the mechan-
ics of which you still need to
igure out.
Also, your oice might
get tossed around by a bomb
cyclone. Oh, and you live at
your workplace.
That’s what Matt Mitcham
faces as cruise director of the
Carnival Vista (population:
5,384), with guests all looking
to him for an amazing time all
the time. He is the North Star.
The spirit guide. President of
Float Nation. “If I don’t keep
my cardio levels up, doing
highly active events gets
exhausting,” he says. In other
words, if he doesn’t work out,
he doesn’t show up. And then
Aunt Naomi won’t be cab-
bage-patching at the “night-
club” tonight. For Mitcham,
that’s a tragedy at sea.
So every day begins with the
mic when his boss sprained
his wrist. Mitcham’s been
keeping the crowds raucous
ever since, whether emcee-
ing morning trivia for kids
or leading oldsters through
Zumba classes.
He’ll typically work one
cruise ship for six to eight
months, take a month or two
of “real” vacation, then head to
the next ship. He’s a mini celeb
on each cruise, and being rec-
ognized (and having roughly
29,000 Instagram followers)
is part of the job. “My goal is
to make guys want to be best
friends with me and make girls
fall in love with me and make
the grandmas want to marry
me,” he says, not joking.
It’s an exhausting set of
duties, so six days a week, he
spends early mornings in a
bare-bones crew gym. “It’s not
a land gym,” he says.

60 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARTURO OLMOS


Mitcham uses moves like
military presses, bench press-
es, and rows, or runs around
the Vista track. Usually by
7:00, he’s in his cabin doing
an abs inisher, then taking
a cooldown swim. It’s all over
before the guests have looded
the pool area. Then he’s of to
igure out Motown Night.
OF BRAWN
Try Mitcham’s
ten-minute abs
workout.
SMALL TALK
What’s on your workout playlist?
“Old-school hip-hop—that’s my go-to.
Biggie and Tupac, they always have a
story, so they’re really good to listen
to in the gym.”
Favorite gym move?
“Chest press with dumbbells. Let’s be
honest: Every guy wants a big chest.”
Most hated exercise?
“Curls with dumbbells. It’s uncom-
fortable. I’ll do curls with resistance
bands just so I don’t have to do them
with dumbbells.”
You’ve traveled—and trained—throughout the
world. Where’s your favorite place to work out?
“Bali, Indonesia. You get to work out in
the Griya Villas and Spa, a hotel that
overlooks the mountains and the rain
forest out there. And it’s always nice
to work out somewhere where you can
go for a fresh swim straight after.”
Weirdest question people ask on a cruise?
“Do crew members sleep on board the
ship too? No, we come in on helicopters
and Jet Skis every morning.”
MEN’S HEALTH
THE BREAK
Directions:
Do each move for 45 seconds,
then rest for 15 seconds.
Repeat the entire circuit twice.
Hollow body hold: Start lying
on your back, legs straight,
arms extended overhead.
Raise your legs 1 inch from the
ground. Raise your shoulder
blades 1 inch from the ground,
arms still extended. Press your
lower back into the ground.
Hold until time expires.
Bicycle crunch: Start lying
on your back, legs straight
and 1 inch above the ground.
Your shoulder blades should
also be of the ground, your
hands behind your head. This
is the start. Bring your right
knee toward your chest; bring
your left elbow toward your
right knee as you do. Return to
the start, then repeat on the
other side.
Penguin crunch: Start lying
on your back in situp position,
feet flat on the floor. Your arms
should be straight and at your
sides. Lift your shoulder blades
of the floor 1 inch. Keeping
your arms straight, reach your
right hand toward your right
foot, twisting your torso so that
you can reach farther. Return
to the start and repeat on the
other side.
Leg raise: Start lying on your
back with your legs straight.
Place your hands under your
tailbone for support. Keeping
your legs straight, raise them
until your feet point toward
the ceiling, pause, then return
to the start.
Reverse crunch: Start lying
on your back in situp position,
feet flat on the floor. Keeping
your shoulder blades on the
floor, lift your feet and your
tailbone of the ground.
Squeeze your abs, then
return to the start.
/ December 2018 61
 LIFE
COOL DAD
Food Fight!
I’m a chef. My daughter is
unimpressed by my cooking.
That can be hard to swallow.
BY TYLER KORD
I C A N TA K E pretty much any ingredi-
ent you can throw at me and, once I pick
it up of the loor because I am not great at
catching things, I can make something
delicious with it. I don’t need to look online
to remember the ingredients for a chicken
potpie, chicken cordon bleu, or even a
chicken cordon bleu potpie. If you chal-
lenged me to make a soulé, I would have to
look at a recipe, but I wouldn’t necessarily
follow it to the letter and it would still be a
pretty excellent soulé. I’m a good enough
cook that I could put a little twist on it—
like if it was a tomato soufflé, I might add
a splash of elderflower
s y r up, which wou ld
catch you of guard but in
+ will take a bite, at which point I will set up
Tyler Kord
a sweet and comfortable is the chef of
way that might make No. 7 Sub in New
you say to my daughter, York City and
“Wow, Barbara, you’re the author of A
Super Upsetting
so lucky to have a dad like Cookbook About
Tyler to cook for you.” Sandwiches.
62 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
“No,” 22-month-old Barbara would
say. And herein lies my challenge: to feed
my child while trying not to feed my ego.
Barbara is a toddler who knows how to say
only one word but loves a wide range of
foods, from blueberries to cheese to any-
thing that is salty or crunchy, or that I am
about to put into my mouth. She especially
loves when her mom gives her cooked pasta
with nothing on it. What could be more
delicious than dried pasta boiled in water,
cooled to room temperature, and served
with a glass of water? I’m sure that it tastes
even more delicious when her father, who
has spent the past 20 years of his life dedi-
cated to the pursuit of a relatively high level
of culinary understanding, stands by,
observing as his daughter shoves istfuls
of plain shells into her mouth while watch-
ing Coco for the 64th time.
I’m trying. I take her beloved pasta and
I add cheese and milk and a bit of laxseed
meal, which thickens the sauce to a vel-
vety consistency, turning good cheese and
organic milk into fancy Velveeta, and she
FaceTime on my phone to show my wife
what an incredible Chefdad I am. Barbara
will take advantage of my lack of attention
and dump the rest of the pasta on the loor.
“Bon Appétit named my restaurant one of
the best new restaurants in 2009, and I am
pulling cat hair of pasta and considering
still feeding it to you!” I shout at a toddler
who thinks I am a terrible cook but also
that my exclamations are hilarious.
Recently I cooked her some broccoli—
and yes, I get that kids don’t like broccoli
and it is totally my fault, but I gently car-
amelized it in a touch of olive oil to give it
that magical toasted-broccoli lavor, then
gently poached it in garlic-laced chicken
stock, emulsified with more butter than
my wife would be comfortable feeding to
our daughter, and Barbara wouldn’t even
taste it. My broccoli has been mentioned
in The New York Times, and she pointed
at a box of whole-grain bunny crackers
because I guess she can’t read The New
York Times. My friends ask if she likes
broccoli because it’s kind of my thing, and
they’re only kidding, but I pretend that
something else has caught my attention.
I cooked jasmine rice in a combination
of milk and chicken stock with some tiny
pieces of carrot and a little butter, and
after it cooked, I stirred in a very mild
shredded mozzarella. It was a bunch of
stuf she likes, fortiied with some protein
and fiber, but in a way that even a child
could love, and of course she tried to push
it off the table, shouting, “You’ve never
even been nominated for a James Beard
Award for cooking!” and I calmly told my
little girl that at least I got a writing nomi-
nation and put her to bed and drank vodka
while eating cheesy rice.
And frankly, it’s okay. I will simply take
the high road, as I do with my wife and par-
ents, and hold on to the frustration so that
years later I can throw it right back into
the faces of the people I love most. Actu-
ally, I’m really looking forward to teach-
ing my daughter how to cook. Right now,
however, I must remain patient—a truth
that I’ve found links cooking well and par-
enting well. Someday, I imagine that we’ll
make a simple soup, one of the irst things
I learned to make, and together we’ll chop
vegetables, gently sweat them in butter,
add a little stock, and simmer them. I’ll let
her season the soup and make sure it tastes
just the way she wants it to. We’ll set the
table and sit as a family, and I will try not
to spit the soup all over the loor.
THERE’S MORE!
Tyler Kord gave us a recipe for a homemade
soup that adults and maybe children will enjoy.
Find it on page 12 in the MH World section.
ILLUSTRATION BY ROSS M AC DONALD
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 68 ............... A MER IC A’S BL ACKOU T
EPIDEMIC
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TON IGHT

Power Up Athletes, musicians, and Air Force

elite think that a jolt of current to the
brain can give them a performance
Your Brain edge. Is this approach high-tech BS
or maybe really worth it?
BY JEFF BERCOVICI

E 
V E RY CYC LI S T has a measuring-
stick climb, the one you’ve done so
many times that you can track the
ups and downs in your itness level by
the sound of your breathing when you reach
the last turn. For me, it’s Tunnel Road. The
gateway into the rocky hills overlooking
Berkeley and Oakland, it’s three miles of
eucalyptus-lined S curves with a mild but
unrelenting grade.
The irst 50 or so times I climbed it after
taking up cycling three years ago, I was
able to notch personal records at will as my
VO2 max and technique improved in tan-
dem. Since then, not so much. After I rode my
PR of 14:06 a year ago, I was conident a sub-
14:00—maybe even a sub-13:00—was just a
matter of time. Alas, at 41, getting faster with
practice is no longer a foregone conclusion.
Since that PR ride, I have yet to even break
15 minutes, despite weekly eforts.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 65

 MIND
So my ears perked up when I heard the claims of a com-
pany called Halo Neuroscience, which says using its
brain-zapping headset for 20 minutes before work-
outs or practices can help athletes achieve gains in
strength, skill, and endurance substantially faster
than they would on their own. Halo Sport ($399;
haloneuro.com) is one of several consumer devices
applying the science of transcranial direct-current
stimulation, or tDCS, and the only one made specii-
cally for athletes, who can wear it during their warm-
ups to supercharge subsequent training sessions.
Based on research originally conducted by the U. S.
military looking for ways to make special-forces snip-
ers and ighter pilots better at their jobs, it is already
in use at the highest levels of athletics, including by
teams in the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Base-
ball, and by U. S. Olympians. Andrew Talansky, a
former pro cyclist with the elite Cannondale-Drapac
team, says “neuropriming” with Halo before his
workouts sped his transition when he switched to tri-
athlons at the beginning of this year despite barely
swimming a stroke for 15 years. “It helped me acceler-
ate the process, basically,” he says.
Halo is the brainchild—sorry—of Daniel Chao,
M.D., a San Francisco physician and neuroscientist,
and Brett Wingeier, Ph.D., a biomedical engineer. In
the early 2000s, the two helped develop the NeuroPace
RNS system, a brain implant that uses pulses of elec-
trical current to halt epileptic seizures before they
start. The niche success of the RNS system, which has
now been implanted in around 1,300 patients, left
them thinking a brain-stimulating device that didn’t
require open-skull surgery could appeal to a broader
market. (Imagine that.) Surveying the research, they
discovered a large body of data suggesting that run-
ning low-level current through the brain’s motor cor-
tex, which controls voluntary muscular contractions,
inluences how neurons there respond to subsequent
stimuli. “It puts the brain into this more excitable
state where the probability of two neurons firing in
synchrony is increased,” says Dr. Chao. “That’s good,
66 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
because that’s how a new circuit is formed. There’s
a saying: Neurons that fire together wire together.”
Halo’s word for this excitable brain state is “hyper-
plasticity,” its term for heightened neuroplasticity.
For athletes, what hyperplasticity means in prac-
tice is big reductions, um, in practice. Dozens of
studies have documented the efects of tDCS on the
acquisition of new skills, from playing guitar to
solving math puzzles to ski jumping. Many of them
were overseen by Andy McKinley, Ph.D., chief of
the cognitive-performance optimization section of
the U. S. Air Force’s applied-neuroscience branch.
“Obviously, the military is interested in reducing the
amount of time and money necessary to train some-
one to an expert level,” says McKinley. In his group’s
trials, tDCS reduced the time required to achieve
proficiency in tasks like identifying targets on a
simulated radar screen by 25 percent. “It takes fewer
days to train to do the same thing,” he says. In its own
studies, Halo has documented a 50 percent increase in
the rate of motor learning for tasks like playing novel
piano chords and throwing darts.
That’s very cool, obviously. But I wasn’t looking to
master Rachmaninof’s Concerto No. 3 or hand-to-
hand combat. I just wanted to get faster on a bike.
Could tDCS help me with that?
Definitely, Dr. Chao says. That’s because speed
isn’t a straightforward function of itness. “Endur-
ance is all about biomechanical eiciency,” he says.
“There’s a skill of eiciency.” When you’re running,
swimming, or cycling, a little wasted energy in each
step or stroke can add up to extra seconds and minutes
in your inish time. But tweaking your form in those
sports is hard precisely because they’re so repetitive.
“You’re trying to unlearn this movement pattern that
Halo Sport’s has been ingrained in your brain for literally a million
regular-looking
headset pairs with reps,” Dr. Chao says.
a smartphone app By making the brain temporarily more neuro-
to deliver the current plastic, tDCS can make it easier to alter those deeply
to your brain that
may turbocharge grooved movement patterns. “I think of it like loos-
performance. ening my motor cortex so I can reprogram myself,”
says Dr. Chao (who is, let the record relect, not just
a scientist and an inventor but a damn strong cyclist
to boot). That’s exactly the beneit Talansky found. A
swimmer in middle school, he had just enough expe-
rience to have stubborn bad habits—in particular, one
arm that swung out too wide while the other crossed
over the midline. As a relative latecomer to the Iron-
man circuit, at 29, he didn’t want to waste time. “It
allowed me to swim, I think, a lot better than most
Previous page: Francesco Zerilli/Gallery Stock
people without a heavy swim background would after
basically eight months of swimming again,” he says.
There’s also strong data showing that tDCS
improves the brain’s own endurance. In his studies
for the Air Force, McKinley has delved deep into its
efects on cognitive fatigue, testing the ability of sub-
jects to sustain attention during rote tasks, such as
image sorting, with and without brain stimulation.
Control-group subjects typically start losing focus
 The current is 
rapidly after 20 minutes. “What we ind when we add
stimulation is it gets rid of that decline for about six
hours,” McKinley says. Six hours!
I had heard all I needed to hear to give neurostim-
ulation a try—except for one thing. Is it safe? In an
era when health experts are warning that the blue
like the feeling you
light from your iPhone could be interfering with
your sleep and that Facebook might be contributing
to depression, the idea of a new tech product that tar-
get when you wear
gets one’s brain structures sounds a little of-putting.
While some experts have warned that tDCS hasn’t
been around long enough to identify potential long-
a ski hat too long.
term efects, or that it could inadvertently reinforce
unwanted circuits like bad habits or traumatic mem-
ories, the most comprehensive reviews of past studies
have declared it safe when done correctly. “The safety
record of tDCS is exceptional,” McKinley assures me. quickly grasped Dr. Chao’s point about eiciency being
Relieved, I asked Dr. Chao for help designing a a trainable skill. Isolating each side, I could suddenly
not-so-scientiic clinical trial that would allow me to feel how I’d been jamming my pedal straight down
nab that elusive sub-14:00 Tunnel Road. He started rather than rounding of my stroke. By my second ses-
by lending me a Halo Sport unit, which looks like a sion, I could already feel myself pedaling in smoother
normal set of can headphones. Underneath the band circles, my legs no longer ighting each other. During
connecting the earpieces are three foam electrode the intervals, I was able to spin at a higher cadence
pads, which, when wetted, nestle through the hair than normal—about 100 rpm versus my usual 80.
and conduct current through the scalp and After four neuroprimed workouts,
into the brain. I was feeling ready for a test. I warmed
Dr. Chao told me to wear the headset for up for my Tunnel attempt with the Halo
20 minutes while I warmed up and then con- PLUG IN, TURN ON THESE on and ended up riding a 14:07—one
duct my workout in the 60-minute period
of hyperplasticity that followed. It didn’t
OTHER SKILLS second behind my PR. A promising
start. My second attempt, with brain
4 more things tDCS may
matter too much what kind of workout I again juiced but legs still tired from
help you do:
did, he explained, as long as it was repeti- the first, was a bust. But on my third
tive and diicult. “You need to be attentive try, everything felt good. In the steep
to the movement,” he says. He suggested DRIVE SAFER. middle section, I reminded myself to
If you spend long hours at the wheel, tDCS
single-leg pedaling drills to refine the may be better than coffee at helping you focus on a smooth stroke rather than
smoothness of my stroke and high-output focus on the road. Its effects last longer, just trying to gut it out like I usually
VO2-max intervals to practice maintain- and there’s no letdown when they wear off. did. As I sprinted past the end of the
ing form in the face of fatigue. Because segment, spent, my bike computer
I’m not all that much of an athlete to begin LEARN TO PLAY A NEW SONG. beeped: 13:58. Success!
with—I average ive to ten hours a week in If it requires fine motor skills, like playing
the saddle—I was likely to see rapid results, guitar or piano, you can probably cut down WAS IT THE HALO that put me over the
your practice time by neuropriming before-
unlike a pro like Talansky, who’s already hand. Halo Sport has different settings top? Seeing as I beat my goal by a mere
operating close to his potential. “We can depending on which hand you use more. 0.2 percent, I have to think every little
often get more dramatic results in novices bit counted, down to my freshly shaved
because they’re on that really fun, chunky legs. On the other hand, the biggest
part of the learning curve,” Dr. Chao says.
BE MORE ACCURATE. difference surely came from doing a
Making snipers deadlier was a major
One last thing: “There’s almost nobody reason behind the military’s early interest proper, focused warmup (something I
who likes the feeling,” he says. “I’ll just in tDCS. In some of its research, Halo usually skip) and concentrating on my
warn you about that.” employs Aim Hero, a target-practice form even when it got hard. I needed
program video gamers use to hone their
When I put the Halo on for my irst train- first-person-shooter skills. neuropriming as motivation to do
ing session, I understood what he meant. those things, but I could’ve done them
Even at full intensity, the current doesn’t without it. More than anything, my
hurt, exactly, but it tingles in a way that’s RAISE YOUR SINGLE-REP MAX . experiment helped me see how much
There’s a difference between the force
mildly unpleasant, like the feeling you get potential of a muscle and the force you can more low-hanging fruit I have to pick
when you wear a tight ski hat too long. The generate contracting it. Neuropriming helps before I resort to newfangled tech for
headset is also heavy—ine for sitting on your brain send better output to the muscle. a performance boost. But it’s nice to
Dr. Chao likens the effect to a spotter who
my Peloton bike for 20 minutes but too helps you lift a heavier bar for the first time. know that, should I ever find myself
cumbersome for a more active workout. on the lat side of the learning curve, I
As a newcomer to pedaling drills, I won’t be out of options.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 67

 MIND

AN OPEN LETTER

I WANT TO TALK about your drink-

ing. But first, you should know
some things about me: I loved beer,
too. Beer and bourbon and red wine
and tequila neat and martinis that
were so dirty with olive juice they
were like slurping down the ocean.
Sometimes, though, I forgot parts of
an evening. It might be a sliver of a
memory, a minute here or there, or
it might be an hours-long swath of
time. I tried to ignore these missing
pieces. If I didn’t remember a thing,
hey, maybe it didn’t happen.
It took a long time to understand
the damage of my blackouts. It took
a long time to understand blackouts,
period, because most of us don’t. I’ve
found a surprising number of peo-
ple think blackouts are the same as
passing out, but those two activities
are quite different. A passed-out per-
son is unconscious, while a person in
a blackout may be conscious, but the
next day they will have no memory
of events. A blackout is a temporary
memory loss likely brought on when
the hippocampus stops placing informa- more, pregaming, is a good example. Social
tion into long-term storage; it’s the brain’s drinkers experience blackouts more than
version of “failure to send.” people once thought, and a landmark 2002
Not everyone has blackouts. The link may Duke University survey of college students
be genetic, but environment plays a part, found that about half of them had a black-
too. Blackouts are rife in binge-drinking cir- out at some point in their life. Subsequent
cles, because they’re caused by a rapid rise studies have backed up its findings. (Yes,
of alcohol in the blood, so it’s not just how it wasn’t even until this century that the
much you drink that matters but, among medical industry began to see how perva-
other things, how fast. College provides an sive blackouts are, even though drinkers
ideal landscape for blackouts. Shot contests, themselves were familiar.) College kids
beer bongs, all those cutesy-clever games have made a morning-after ritual out of
designed to force otherwise diligent stu- scrolling through their camera rolls and
dents to chug mystery punch from red Solo laughing about the antics their brains didn’t
cups. Drinking on an empty stomach can record. When I mentioned this at a dinner
bump up blood-alcohol content and lead to party recently, a skeptical friend called over
blackout; drinking before going out to drink her 20-year-old son to confirm. He blushed

68 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 and told us the name of his last frat party:
Blackout or Back Out.
For decades, society hasn’t looked too
hard at this excess. College kids drink;
that’s what they do. One problem with
such an attitude is that many of us hold on
to those habits well past graduation. I left
a trail of empties across my 20s and early
30s, as my social activities and friend cir-
cles became more dependent on the bar. I
moved to New York, where I never had to
worry about driving, and a guy I used to
drink with called our blackouts “time trav-
el.” That sounded nifty to me. We weren’t
drinking to the point of our brains shutting
down; no, no, we had a superpower.
That blackouts are both morally and
medically dangerous and yet touted as a
Sources, Blackouts: By the Numbers: Journal of American College Health; Injury Prevention Journal; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; The Journal of Sex Research.
badge of honor is a strange paradox. Some-
where along the way, extreme drinking
became a rite of passage, a marker of cour-
age and badassery for some, a mask of cool-
ness for nerds like me. Drinking eased my
social anxiety, my nagging sense of never
being smart or pretty or brave enough. But
the blackouts ratcheted up the anxiety alco-
hol was meant to manage. What did I say
last night? Does everyone hate me now? I
finally cried uncle at 35, and in the years
after I quit, I decided to write a memoir
about my drinking. People wanted to talk
about women and their blackouts—that
sounded dangerous, maybe salaciously
so—but they rarely asked about the men,
even as the men showed up in my in-box to
hauntingly recount the damage.
Punching walls. Punching friends.
Punching girlfriends. All questionable
manner of verbal and sexual assault. DUIs,
jail terms, divorces. I’ve heard it all, and I
can promise you that none of them are like
that awesome tiger scene in The Hangover.
That 2009 buddy comedy has probably
done more than any other movie to ele-
vate the fantasy of oblivion drinking into
hilarious hijinks. But in real life, the hang-
overs are not so fun. The terror of blackouts
is that you don’t know what you’ve done.
You become an unreliable narrator in your
own life. But just because you don’t remem-
ber something doesn’t mean you aren’t
responsible for it.
I realize nobody wants to talk criminal
liability at the kegger. But we have emerged
into a moment when failing to discuss the
repercussions of men’s excessive drinking
is not only a failure of decency; it’s dumb.
Heavy drinking and blackouts are like a
river raging underneath today’s headlines:
campus sexual assault, fraternity deaths,
the #MeToo movement, an epic tussle over
a Supreme Court nominee, not to mention
the less sensational but no less tragic num-
ber of personal injuries and alcohol-relat-
ed deaths that happen literally every day.
And here’s the thing: You don’t have to
drink to such excess. You don’t have to quit
drinking, either. You can just drink differ-
ently. Skip the shot contests, drink water
between cocktails, try limiting yourself
to two or three drinks in a night, instead
of ten or 12. (Can anyone imagine ordering
12 slices of cake?) Stop egging each other
on toward oblivion. No more chugging, no
more guzzling.
Our culture has lied to young men. We told
them the more they drank, the more impres-
sive they’d be, but take a look at the frat boys
facing probation for their brother’s death, or
the college students forced to answer for sex-
ual violence they committed in a blackout,
or the grown men whose reckless pasts have
come up for revision. Excessive drinking
will unravel a future much faster than it will
ever build it. What’s impressive is the man
who knows his limits. Who has learned to
savor the moment, not disappear inside of it.
—SARAH HEPOLA, author of the best-selling
memoir Blackout: Remembering the Things
I Drank to Forget
BLACKOUTS: BY THE NUMBERS
How often does this really happen? The stats are striking.
50
THE PERCENTAGE OF
COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO REPORT
T H E INCREASED ODDS OF
A LC O H O L - R E L AT E D I N J U R I E S
“ BLACKING OUT” AT REPORTED BY STUDENTS WHO SAID
SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFE. THEY’D HAD FIVE OR MORE BLACK-
OUTS IN THE PAST YEAR COMPARED
WITH THOSE WHO’D HAD NONE.
27
I N O N E S T U D Y, T H E P E R C E N T A G E O F M E N THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE
AT A NIGHTCLUB WHERE PEOPLE WERE 18 OR OLDER WHO HAVE
DRINKING WHO SAID THEY WOULDN’T R E P O R T E D “ BINGE ALCOHOL
INTERVENE IF THEIR MALE FRIEND WANTED USE” WITHIN THE PAST
TO HAVE SEX WITH SOMEONE . BY MONTH. (FOR MEN, THAT’S
C O M PA R I S O N , O N LY 3 3 P E R C E N T O F U S UA L LY F I V E O R M O R E
WOMEN SAID THEY WOULDN’T INTERVENE DRINKS IN TWO HOURS.)
WITH A FEMALE FRIEND.
MEN’S HEALTH / Month 2018 69
 MIND

9 THINGS WE KNOW ABOUT . . .

A Better Night’s Sleep

The top easy-ish ways to stop tossing
and turning and get real, satisfying, READ (BORING IS BETTER)
As school taught you, late-night
outlook-lifting, heart-attack-busting, reading can help you nod of. Just
stop-feeling-lousy-all-day rest. avoid screens; their light can
suppress natural sleep hormones.
—Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences

TRY MAGNEZZZIUM
Magnesium supplements
helped some older people fall
LET YOUR
asleep faster and increase the SLEEPING DOG LIE
quality and duration of those Having the dog in your
z’s. Trying them? Take only rec- bedroom (on the floor, not
ommended doses, obviously. licking your face) doesn’t
—Journal of Research in disrupt shut-eye—your
Medical Sciences hound can provide a sense
of comfort and security
that may help you snooze.
—Mayo Clinic Proceedings

CUT THE WEED

Your friend swears that
weed helps him sleep.
Research goes back
and forth, but the latest
suggests daily users
have more insomnia
and lower sleep quality WAKE AND BAKE
than nontokers. Open seating? Set up by the
—Journal of 11 window. One study found
Addictive Diseases workers with exposure to day-
light have better sleep than their
cave-dwelling ofice peers.
—Journal of Clinical
Sleep Medicine
MAKE A
DO-IT-LATER LIST DRINK UP
Set tomorrow’s tasks to paper: A small study in older adults with
Pre-bed to-do lists can earn you insomnia found that average sleep
longer slumber. The more specific time among participants rose
the list, the faster sleep sets in. by 84 minutes on days they drank
—Journal of Experimental 16 ounces of tart cherry juice.
Psychology —American Journal of Therapeutics

STOP THE LEAK

To stem 2:00 A.M. toilet trips, skip
Illustration by INFOMEN

DECAFFEINATE YOURSELF late-night liquids and try compres-

Don’t be fooled—decaf still contains some sion socks. The socks prevent the
cafeine. Sub in a mug of chamomile to put fluid accumulation in your legs that
a lid on cafeine-related tossing and turning. can give you the urge to pee.
—Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine —Cleveland Clinic

70 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 MIND

Give Your
An email just came in.
You should . . .
A Ignore it for now

Job a
B Ignore it forever
C Jump on it

Answer: A Interruptions force

you to pick up the pace to get
back on track, which increases

Promotion
your sense of pressure and
stress, per UC Irvine research.
Check email at preset intervals
rather than replying to every
message as it comes in.

You spend nearly a third of your life on the clock. (We’ll If your job keeps you on
let you take a 15-minute break to process that.) Are you your feet, you don’t need
getting the most from those hours? See if your ofice the gym.
smarts need an upgrade. EDITED BY LEAH CRAIG A True
B False

Answer: B A study in
the British Journal of
Sports Medicine found
that men who are
highly physically active
at work are less healthy
(as in 18 percent more
likely to die earlier than
their peers). So in your
off-hours, augment
with the right stuff: If
you lift heavy objects at
work, fit in a Sunday sprint
session; if you’re standing all
day, build weight training into
your downtime.

To hot-desk or
not to hot-desk?
A Hot
B Not

Answer: B The freedom to sit

Jobe Lawrenson (briefcase), Ben Mounsey (illustrations)

anywhere you choose—aka

hot-desking—sounds like a perk
(no getting stuck next to the loud
gum chewer). But researchers at
the University of Wolverhampton
in England say that having your
own desk makes you feel more in
control, which means less stress
and more motivation. No choice?
Try this: Focus on what you can
change, such as the background
on your screen or the design of
the coffee mug you bring.

72
 THE WORKPLACE QUIZ
You work best
listening to . . .
A Your new playlist. Loud.
B The sound of silence
C “The Sound of Silence”
(It holds up!)
D The noise from the
kitchenette
Answer: D Silence
isn’t your smartest
soundtrack, and your
playlist isn’t so
helpful, either.
According to
research from the
University of British
Columbia, a moderate level of
ambient noise, such as running
water or soft chatter, stimulates
creative problem solving more
than working where there’s a lot
of noise or nearly none at all.
Which office hazard
wrecks your health
more?
A Your screen
B Your chair
C The little gap between the
restroom stalls. Stressful!
Answer: B Cornell University
scientists say that sitting puts up
to 90 percent more pressure on
your back than standing. Give it a
break: Place your chair’s lumbar
support at the curve of your back
and sit so your hips and knees are
bent at right angles.
Which of these could help
land you a job interview?
A Abs
B Glasses
C Facial hair
D Your impeccable reputation
Answer: D, obviously. But also C.
Believe it or not, your stubble
could swing you a new job. In one
study, job seekers who sported a
beard in their LinkedIn profile
Sun Lee (desk)
photo were perceived as having
more experience than their
clean-cut competitors.
DEC ’18
The best way to stop
stress eating is to . . .
A Pound extra water
B Sleep more
C Stop going to work
Answer: B Job stress wears down
your mood and your self-control,
as everyone who’s come home
and torn right into a bag of chips
before dinner (and maybe after,
too) can attest. But research in
the Journal of Applied Psychology
suggests that when stress is
You’ll be more productive everywhere (as in too much work,
if your desk is . . . too many frustrating people), a
good night’s sleep leaves you
A Pristine more resilient and less at the
mercy of Doritos.
B Tastefully done up
C Personal and lived in. “And over
here’s the breakfast nook . . .”
When you’re facing
Answer: C Sparse offices don’t help you
get more done. Studies at the University a big deadline, hit
of Exeter found that people in spaces the gym . . .
decorated with plants and pictures were
17 percent more productive than those in A Early in the morning
pristine ones. But those who cluttered B On your lunch break
their offices as they liked—sticky notes, C When all the work is done
team gear—were the most productive (32
percent more than sparse-space workers). Answer: B You’re not
going AWOL; you’re
getting stuff done.
Swedish researchers
The best way to handle found that exercising
a hostile boss is . . . during your workday
makes you more
A Push back productive when
B Don’t engage you clock back
in. Even a short,
Answer: A An Ohio State University study brisk walk can
found that people who push back against help you reduce
combative bosses are likely to have higher anxiety, dial up
job satisfaction, more commitment to your energy,
their employer, and possibly an easier time and make that
getting respect from their colleagues. project history.
HOW MANY DID YOU GET RIGHT?
0 TO 3: OUT OF OFFICE 4 TO 7: WORKING ON IT 8 TO 10: EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Maybe you’re just You’ve got the basics; now You’re killing it, so don’t be
distracted. Embrace your master your mental game. afraid to take a time-out. A
inner Luddite and silence University of Washington study in Human Performance
technology. A Stanford researchers found that discovered that for younger
study found that tuning in meditation training not only workers, short breaks of
to several streams of helped people stay focused Internet browsing (not
electronic information at on their work; it helped multitasking, but a true break)
once messes with your them feel less stressed can improve your ability to
ability to concentrate and when they were required sustain focus when you go
to remember things. to multitask. back and do actual work.
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 73
DRAGO
FAMILY
VALUES
Thirty-three years
after Dolph Lundgren
took on the mantle of
the greatest villain in
the Rocky canon, he’s
handing it down to a
newcomer, and a new
generation of men, with
Florian Munteanu.
BY A M OS BA RS H A D
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
B E N WAT TS

74 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

On Munteanu (left):
T-shirt ($30)
by Armani Exchange;
armaniexchange.com.
Joggers ($128) by
Michael Kors;
michaelkors.com.
On Lundgren (right):
Tank ($40, pack of
three) by Calvin Klein
Underwear; macys
.com. Joggers ($170)
by Under Armour;
underarmour.com.
On a picnic bench at a sunny bar
in a part of Brooklyn littered with
postapocalyptic-looking warehouses
used for photo shoots sit a father
and son, sort of. The younger man
is Florian Munteanu. He’s 28, a boxer
and fitness model born and raised
in Germany to a family that fled
Nicolae Ceaușescu’s Communist-
controlled Romania. The older
man is Dolph Lundgren. He’s 61, a
damaged Swedish nerd and survivor
ofHollywood’s ’80s action wars.
In 1985’s Rocky IV, Lundgren gifted us Ivan Drago, the USSR’s
indestructible killing machine. The movie came during the last On Lundgren: Tank ($24, pack
throes of the cold war and was a rif on realpolitik that was huge in of three) by Jockey; jockey
.com. Cargo joggers ($60) by
every way: bufoonish, xenophobic, totally thrilling. And Drago— Russell Park; saksoff5th.com.
tremendously yoked, nearly mute, and glistening (always glisten- On Munteanu: Performance
boxer briefs ($20, pack of
ing)—was a note-perfect embodiment of theoretical Russian evil. three) by Champion;
He was “Death from Above” built in a lab by white-clad mad Soviet champion.com. Shorts ($78)
scientists (who basically, come to think of it, invented advanced by Todd Snyder + Champion;
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as Kubrick or any of the French auteurs, Ivan Drago was pure
cinema: visuals and sound.
This year, with Creed II, Drago is back—and he’s brought his
irstborn, Viktor Drago, along. In a development both stupidly
inevitable and undeniably good, Munteanu’s Viktor will fight
Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed—the long-lost son of Apollo,
the man Ivan killed in the ring. Our global conlicts, our ideals of
strength, our relationships with our dads—what hasn’t changed
since the moment Apollo hit the canvas? And yet, somehow, the
ostensibly 2-D characters are here to grapple with all these revo-
lutions. We are into the ifth decade of the Rocky franchise, and
I sincerely hope we have ive more to go.
The two large men sit side by side—Munteanu in a rad vintage
Bulls zip-up, Lundgren in a tight white T-shirt and Buddhist
prayer beads. I feel like their combined breadth could block
out the sun. (I knew, of course, that Lundgren was a big fella.
Munteanu’s size tripped me up slightly. When we exchanged
niceties, the six-foot-four Munteanu clasped a hand on my
shoulder, efectively enveloping me; fumbling to correlate my
movements, I leaned in to his expansive chest for a hug neither
of us was expecting.) In Creed II, they play a tortured—is there
any other kind?—father-and-son pairing. In real life, they show
of an easier rapport.

76 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH


Lundgren goads Munteanu into drinking tequila shots, which
has them recalling a recent big night out. “Remember the Russian
singer? From the Russian restaurant?” Munteanu says. “She’s
still texting me!” Then Lundgren switches to goading Munteanu
into downing a sloppy joe, an item of food that seems to fully,
understandably, confuse the European. Munteanu ends up get-
ting a blue-cheese double burger, which he patiently waits to eat
until the bartender brings over a fork and a knife.
Soon after being cast, Lundgren and Munteanu started work-
ing out together in L. A. “When you train together,” Lundgren
Styling: Ted Stafford, grooming: Jodie Boland using Lab Series Skincare for Men,
says, “you develop a very pure type of respect for the person.” For
Munteanu, it had echoes of his childhood, in Munich gyms with
his dad, an obsessive boxing fan. “Immediately, I felt that I went
back into the past with my father again.”
prop styling: Anthony Asaro & Kendyll Legier for Art Department
When Lundgren shot Rocky IV, he was the same age Munteanu
is now. The age difference was its own inspiration. “If I could
match him in something,” Lundgren says, “it was enough for me.
And I was thinking, as I was watching Florian”—he turns to the
young man—“there’ll be a day when you won’t be able to do that
anymore. Some people are driven by that. It’s part of my life. And
it’s great to see somebody who can do that too and has a bright
future ahead of him being that physical person.”
The bar’s gotten noisy. It’s dotted with young people (esti-
mated dates of birth: post–Rocky V, at least) absolutely crush-
ing their after-work frozés. We chat a while longer, loosely. We
reminisce about all the muscle-bound greats that Munteanu now
hopes to emulate. Sly, of course. Schwarzenegger. Van Damme.
Seagal! Claims Lundgren, “You could put a camera on Steven
Seagal, he could ight ive guys in here right now.” On cue, we look
around the room at the competition, young men fulilling clichés
in lannels and beards.
“You think you could ight these guys?” I ask.
Munteanu smiles. Lundgren picks a target for him: “Maybe
that fat guy back there. . . .”
Then Lundgren thinks of his own life lived in mirrored weight
rooms. “I’m realizing, Shit, how many times have I gone to the
gym? Millions and millions? And somehow, I enjoy my physique
now more than when I was 27. All the gladiators and great war-
riors, they have their heroic feats. And even the strongest man
at some point is gonna get old and frail. You just want to push it
ahead as much as you can.”
I go settle our check, and by the time I come back, Lundgren and
Munteanu have swiveled to face each other and have locked into
some strain of intensity not accessible to me.
“You have to see why you are who you are,” I hear Lundgren say.
Munteanu, the supplicant, nods with solemnity. “Exactly.”
A BROOKLYN BAR IS A WAYS AWAY from where the two men
started. Munteanu was discovered by a Bucharest entrepreneur
named Eduard Irimia, the founder of a ledgling MMA league
called Superkombat Fighting Championship. Irimia is trying his
best to brand him Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu. To that end,
Munteanu has intense hazel eyes and Anthony Mason–esque
buzz-cut stylization. But all calculated intimidation melts away
in the purported Big Nasty’s warm puddle of earnestness. His
Instagram features at least three photos of him posing in front
of the same bit of L. A. angel-wing street art. When I ask him how
he likes the food in the States, he answers, “I like it. For example,
I like cheesesteaks.”
Lundgren spent his own youth in Stockholm doing martial
arts and diferential calculus. His father, a Swedish army oi-
cer and electrical engineer, pushed young Dolph into brainy
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 77
 On Lundgren: Sweatshirt
($158) by Todd Snyder +
Champion; toddsnyder.com.
Tank ($24, pack of three) by

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joggers ($60) by Russell
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On Munteanu: Track jacket
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Joggers ($128) by Michael
Kors; michaelkors.com.

NIGHTMARE
HEFELTAT
THEEND.” —DOLPH LUNDGREN
overachievement. He was also rage-illed and physically
abusive. “My father had problems in his work, and he took
it out on the family,” Lundgren says. “Well, mostly me and
my mom. The others, he never touched them. I loved him,
and in many ways I still emulate him. But I had a period
where I wanted to really hurt him.”
By the time he was in his early 20s, Lundgren had moved
from Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology to the Univer-
sity of Sydney, where he was inishing his graduate degree
while freelancing as security at rock concerts. One night,
Grace Jones—pop star, actress, radical aesthete—played
a show in town. She spotted the genius-brawler and, that
very night, took him up to her hotel suite. Then she brought
him into ’80s downtown New York. He met Warhol. Bowie.
Michael Jackson. Gianni Versace personally made him a
pair of leather pants. He partied at Studio 54 and Limelight
and the Tunnel, where the VIP rooms came with menus list-
ing drugs available for purchase.
He’d been accepted to a Ph.D. program in chemical engineering
at MIT, the greatest technical school in the universe. It was the cul- nities of Western Europe, they left the small Romanian town of
mination of his father’s dream. But the world he’d chanced upon— Târgu-Mureș without informing any members of their expansive
Jones was the irst real girlfriend he ever had—was too much to extended family. “In times of communism, you had to live a cen-
pass up. He chose New York. Then he landed Rocky IV, which sored life,” Munteanu says with a shrug. “They led, by foot and
made him instantly famous. “I’d been thrown in the business very car. They made the decision that they didn’t want to have children
quickly,” he says, “and it was a shock. And the aftershocks were under those circumstances. After the dictator was murdered and
going on for seven, eight, nine years after it happened.” they were safe, they made the decision to have me.” Munteanu was
Lundgren nabbed role after role—Masters of the Universe, born in the fall of 1990, ten months exactly after Romanian army
Universal Soldier, Johnny Mnemonic—despite, as he readily generals carrying out a coup d’état executed President Ceaușescu
admits, not knowing how to act. “I made big money and I could go by iring squad.
to Paris and meet a diferent young lady every night if I wanted.” In 2003, a decade and change after the fall of the iron cur-
But onscreen, “I didn’t know what I was doing. I had no skills.” tain, the Munteanus managed to track down every last missing
Amid the success, though, he’d never truly worked through his relative. “Since [then], we have [had] these reunions for many
anger at his father. “It’s very diicult to raise hands against your years,” Munteanu happily explains. “I have 43 male and female
parent. By the time I was strong enough to get back at him for what cousins!” His family was splintered by the vagaries of life in the
he did to me, there was no reason. To beat up an old man? For what Soviet bloc. They left Romania in 1985, the same year Rocky IV
happened years before?” was released. Now Munteanu will get his big break playing the
Munteanu’s family was endlessly supportive. His mother son of pop culture’s ultimate Soviet villain. What can you do?
was a lawyer, his father a dermatologist. Seeking the opportu- History churns on.

78 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 FIGHT AGE
LIKE LUNDGREN
Back in the day, Dolph Lundgren got
jacked to play Ivan Drago without using
his genius-level IQ. He just lifted the big-
gest, heaviest weights he could. “I was one
of them. . . . A lot of people are lifting with
their ego,” he says. But at age 61, he stays
jacked by training smarter than ever.

1) opens with a 30-rep

LISTEN TO set, then does 20 reps,
then 15, and then
YOUR BODY 10. “When you start
Lundgren trains
with that many reps,
5 days a week, doing
you get blood into
chest and arms one
the muscle,” he says.
day, back the next day,
“Each set after the
and shoulders and
irst one gets easier.”
biceps the next. He’ll
train legs and core
twice a week. Years
ago, he’d stick to that 3)
routine maniacally. WALK THE PLANK
Not anymore. “I have “When I was 27, I
a plan in the evening had the core strength
what to do the next there so I could do
day,” he says, “but I crazy stuf,” he says.
adjust on how I feel. If “As you get older, you
I don’t feel like doing lose those stabilizing
something, I won’t go.” functions.” So today,
Lundgren spends
extra time training
them, focusing on
2)
side planks. He’ll also
LIGHTEN UP do forearm planks,
THE WEIGHTS then lift a foot of the
One-rep maxes are ground for 2 seconds,
cool, but Lundgren’s tightening his core
days of lifting heavy so his hips don’t tilt
weights are over. He’s to one side. Aim to
found other ways to do three 30-second
maintain his muscle. side planks per
With upper-body side and 2 sets of 10
Before shooting Creed II in Philly over the spring, Lundgren exercises, such as forearm-plank leg
revisited his star-making role. “I wanted to feel the nightmare biceps curls, bench lifts in every workout.
he felt at the end”—after Drago loses to Rocky. Spooling out the presses, and rows, Lundgren does
character’s backstory, Lundgren imagines Drago has spent the he’ll do 4 sets and hip thrusts, too, to
ladder the reps. He strengthen his glutes.
decades since driftless, broke, bitter, betrayed. Abandoned by
his country. Unable to countenance his downfall. “Basically, life
turned to hell.”
After the shoot—14-hour days of scowling and nailing exacting face. And so it was easy for me to deliver the pain.”
ight choreography—Munteanu had “a little breakdown. It took The fact that a Swede and a Romanian-German were playing
me a month to be Florian again. I was telling Dolph: We never Russians was only slightly problematic: The two just went ahead
smiled once in that movie.” Before ilming began, the director, and memorized their lines phonetically. “We’re arguing, trying
Steven Caple Jr., had Munteanu engage in a therapy session with to get emotional,” Lundgren says, “and we really don’t know what
an acting coach in which he unveiled every painful moment he we’re saying.”
could recall. “I had to tell all the dark and deep moments I was liv- Coincidentally, U. S.-Russian relations haven’t been this chilly
ing in my whole life. He knew everything.” Later, during shooting, since the end of the USSR. Creed II won’t focus as heavily on the
Caple would use the real-life incidents as triggers to get Munteanu geopolitics as Rocky IV, but Lundgren cracks, “I do think that
to snap into character. marketing-wise it’s quite good.”
And when that didn’t work, all Munteanu had to do was gaze at “So no Putin cameo?” I ask.
Lundgren. “I was looking into his eyes. I could read the pain on his Munteanu laughs. “He did not come to the ight.”

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 79


AFTER LEAVING THE BAR, Lundgren and I say goodbye to
Munteanu and slide into the buttery seats of a massive black GMC
Yukon. The truck crosses the Ed Koch Bridge and moves slowly,
yachtlike, through sufocating midtown traic. I have a few more
questions to ask Lundgren. Slightly more personal ones.
Lundgren’s father passed away in 2000, around the same time
his career began what he himself calls a “nosedive.” For the next
decade, he primarily starred in direct-to-home-video schlock.
During those years, his marriage to Anette Qviberg fell apart,
largely thanks to his own admitted inidelities. They’d raised two
daughters together in Marbella, on the southern coast of Spain,
far from Hollywood. Lundgren’s connection to the industry had
frayed. He knew that. But he was concerned less about his career
and more about his personal well-being. He had some shit to
sort out. When he met Jenny Sandersson, his current partner,
she pushed him into therapy and daily meditation. He’s spoken
repeatedly and openly about how much it’s all helped.
We glide down 57th Street, heading toward Lundgren’s luxe
hotel on Central Park South. He thinks back to his irst brush with
the city, when Grace Jones brought him here all those years ago,
back before anyone cared who he was. He’d met Sylvester Stallone
and was auditioning for Rocky IV. But he hadn’t yet gotten the role
that would change everything.
He’d walk all through the city, practicing his Ivan Drago, prac-
ticing being as still as possible. Warren Robertson, his legendary
school-of-Strasberg acting coach, told him: “Don’t move at all.
Don’t do anything.” Lundgren didn’t tell anyone he was up for the
part. “I didn’t want them to make fun of me.”
At the screen test, on a soundstage at MGM, Lundgren faced
80 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
On Munteanu: Joggers ($128)
by Michael Kors; michaelkors
.com. Microfiber boxer briefs
($18) by Jockey; jockey.com.
Chain necklace ($550) by
Esquire Men’s Jewelry,
created for Macy’s. I-5923
sneakers ($130) by Adidas
Originals; adidas.com. Socks
($10, pack of three) by
Champion; champion.com.
of against two other massive blond dudes. There were dozens of
people behind the cameras with Stallone, all kinds of unidenti-
ied important-seeming people in suits. The other big blonds went
for an over-the-top Russian Mr. T.
Lundgren laughs, imitating their horrible Slavic accents: “I
will keeeeeeel you!”
He played it cool. “I was just standing there, ighting the urge
to do something.” He clicks into character, recalling the simple,
hushed monologue he delivered. He’s barely talking above a whis-
per. “My name is Drago. I’m a ighter from the Soviet Union.” That
was it. Stallone called him a couple days later. Lundgren was with
Jones, down in the Village. Now he clicks into a very good mumbly
Sly impersonation. “You got the part, kid.”
Appropriately enough, in 2010, it was Sly who pulled Lundgren
out of his home-video purgatory by casting him in The Expend-
ables. “That brought me back to the big screen,” he says. Now, with
Creed II, he’s inally getting to do a bit of acting after all these
decades in ilm. “I don’t know why it’s turned out that way. Maybe
people get a diferent energy from me now.”
He also says he’s forgiven his father. “Did you ever tell him
that?” I ask.
“I didn’t. I couldn’t talk about it. He’d blanked out anything
he’d done. He was in a lot of pain over it. Anybody who beats
up their own kid or beats their wife—that’s coming from their
trauma. I realized that as I got older. He had a very difficult
childhood, too. He was a little, you know, scared boy as well, at
some point.”
When he got sick, before he died, Lundgren was there. “I was
with him right at the end. And I think he knew that I loved him
 THE
no matter what.” Even now, Lundgren says, “I think about him very basic,” he says. “Only
vegetables and tuna.”
every day.”
Tuna is a high-protein,
Repeatedly, Lundgren has found himself with substitute low-fat ish, with one gram
father igures: karate instructors, acting coaches, even Stallone.
And unavoidably, playing Ivan Drago again—as the character has
bloomed into a twisted, manipulative father seeking redemption
DRAGO JR. of fat per 100 calories.

SHRED
2)
through his son—hit a nerve. “It became quite emotional because
I got to be the other guy,” Lundgren says. “I got to be him.” Look-
TRAIN HARD
“We were training every
ing at his onscreen son, too, he found it hard not to compare lives. day for ive or six hours,
“Florian, he’s much more self-assured,” Lundgren says. “He was When Florian Munteanu because I had to shrink
given love and attention as a kid.” signed on to play down,” says Munteanu.
You don’t have that kind
Earlier, when we were at the bar, Munteanu and Lundgren had Viktor Drago in Creed II,
of time, so maximize your
fallen into banter about whether anyone watching Creed II could he weighed in at a half hour in the gym. If
possibly ind themselves rooting for the Dragos. After all, Donnie hefty 250 pounds. That you’re trying to drop body
Creed and Rocky Balboa are the rich guys! The Dragos are down wasn’t going to work fat, instead of counting
for the film. He had to reps, put your workout
and out, looking for the one thing anyone looks for in a boxing
slim down to 225. Fun? against the clock. Do each
movie: One. Last shot. At redemption. move for 45 straight sec-
Munteanu shakes his
Lundgren wasn’t so sure. But Munteanu insisted. “People are head no, but he did onds, banging out as many
gonna be shocked. They underestimate him, underestimate his unlock three shredding reps as you can, then rest
abilities as an actor. Only see him maybe as ‘badass motherfucker for 15 seconds before
secrets you can use.
beginning your next set.
who wants to destroy everything.’ They’re going to be fascinated
about the way he’s playing Ivan Drago now.”
Is it possible? That the Rocky franchise has now gone on 1) 3)
for so long that it might afford Ivan Drago, of all characters, FOCUS ON FISH RUN CONSISTENTLY
some humanity? Munteanu inhaled pro- Munteanu kept his cardio
Munteanu assured me: “There will be tears for us.” tein day and night (aiming sessions simple, running
to eat a gram per pound of for a half hour. His game
body weight). But his eve- plan with running: a few
AMOS BARSHAD has written for the Fader, Grantland, The New Yorker, ning meals focused on one miles at a consistent pace
and The New York Times Magazine. protein source. “I kept it three days a week.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 81

 T H E R E W I L L B E
Five nights in the wild at Evryman, a new breed of men’s retreat,

where you cry and laugh your way to being a better you.

By NATE GREEN

Photographs by NILS ERICSON

82
T E A R S

Looks
comfortable,
doesn’t it?
Nice, even?
Well . . .

83

OD, I’M SO UNCOMFORTABLE.
G
My palms are sweating and my
heart is pounding. Why did I
think this was a good idea?
I could be home right now with my girl-
friend and my dog, having a beer and
watching Netlix. But no.
Instead, I’m staring directly into the
eyes of this small, pale man with a huge
red beard. Andrew. I think he said his
name was Andrew. From Alaska. His
breath smells like peppermint and pine
needles. Did he eat pine needles? Can you
eat pine needles?
My thoughts are racing. I shift my feet.
Andrew shifts his. We continue to stare at
each other. Finally, Andrew takes a deep
breath and speaks. “If you really knew me,
84 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
you’d know that I smoke too much pot and
use it as a coping mechanism. And you
would know I’m ashamed of it.”
His gaze lowers, embarrassed. He looks
back up and we lock eyes. Now it’s my turn.
“If you really knew me, you’d know that
I sometimes drink too much alcohol and it
worries me.”
I have never spoken those words out loud
before. I instantly feel lighter, like a giant
weight I didn’t even know was there has
been lifted. Andrew smiles, happy to not
be alone in his confession.
“Thanks,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say.
We’re standing in a clearing in Big Sky,
Montana, the most appropriately named
town in America. It’s 20 minutes to sunset
and the clouds are just starting to turn pur-
ple around the edges. From where we are,
you can turn 360 degrees and see for miles
in every direction. The tall grass gives way
to dense pine trees, which give way to jut-
ting, snow-capped mountains that seem to
prop up the big—no, massive—sky.
To our left and right are 16 other men,
paired off just like us. Behind us sits a gi-
gantic log cabin that will be our home for
the next two nights. After that, we’ll carry
50-pound packs into the backcountry of
Yellowstone National Park, where we’ll
walk and sleep among the grizzlies, mos-
quitoes, and stars for three more nights.
We all met maybe an hour ago.
“Nice work, guys.”

That’s Dan Doty, who’s leading this
group. “Get to the edge of your comfort
zone and then go a little past it,” he con-
tinues. “Let yourself open up.”   Aaron and I move closer. He puts his
Dan is 36 years old, muscular, with
reddish-brown hair and a full beard. For
the past hour, he’s been walking around in
bare feet. Give him a cardigan sweater and
a White Russian and he could pass for an
outdoorsy version of the Dude from The Big
Lebowski. Dan is a cofounder of Evryman,
an organization established in 2016 that
arranges weekend retreats and weeklong
expeditions aimed at teaching men how to
access and express their emotions.
Opposite: On the
first full day of the
retreat, the men raft
Montana’s Gallatin
River. Left: Dan Doty,
the leader and a co-
founder of Evryman,
gives the guys a
heads-up on what to
expect on the river.
The men here occupy different rungs on
the socioeconomic ladder and come from
all over the country. There’s a woodworker
from Seattle. A recently fired hedge-fund
manager from Manhattan. There’s a project
coordinator from Iowa, a medical-cannabis
grower from Arizona, and a guy who owns
an Italian restaurant in Queens. At least
four guys are ex-military.
We have different jobs, different reli-
gions, and different numbers in our bank
accounts, but we’ve all spent $3,500 for the
same reason: to connect. With nature, our-
selves, each other.
“Switch,” says Dan.
My next partner is Aaron. He has close-
cropped hair and a well-manicured beard.
His arms are covered in tattoos. I will later
learn that he spent 14 years in the Army,
seven of those as a Green Beret in remote
outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will
learn about his parachute accident, his
brain injury, and his PTSD. I will learn how
he went from being a weapons-and-tactics
sergeant to the operations manager at
Evryman. But right now, he’s just another
man in front of me.
“Get closer,” Dan instructs. “Reach out
and put your right hand on the shoulder of
the man in front of you.”
hand on my shoulder and I put my hand
on his. His eyes well up with tears. They’re
blue and glossy and beautiful, and I am
suddenly so overwhelmed with emotion
that my eyes start to water, too.
He just looks so . . . hurt.
Aaron takes a deep breath.
He lifts my hand off his shoulder and
places it over his heart. He holds it there.
I can feel the thump, thump, thump deep
in his chest.
“Finish this sentence,” Dan says. “ ‘The
thing I’m most grateful for is . . .’ ”
Aaron and I stare into each other’s eyes.
Ten seconds go by. Twenty seconds. The
boundaries of my body start to dissolve. I
have the feeling of looking into a mirror.
“I’m grateful I’m here with you,” Aaron
says finally. “I’m grateful I’m home, close
to my wife and my son. And I’m grateful I
found this group.”
The sounds of night begin to envelop us.
Crickets chirp. A tree leans and groans in
the wind. Up and down the line, the men
lean, too. They sniffle and sigh.
Tears trace their way down Aaron’s
cheek, but he doesn’t wipe them away.
“MEN ARE HURTING,” says Dan.
We’re sitting in a coffee shop in down-
town Bozeman, Montana. It’s two weeks
before the retreat, and I’m here to ask if I
can come along.
“Suicide rates are climbing. School
shootings. The #MeToo movement and sex-
ual abuse,” he says. “Men are hurting them-
selves and they’re hurting other people. But
men are not getting the help they need.”
In Dan’s view, there are two main things
hurting men: repression of their emotions
and lack of deep human connection. He
knows this because he’s seen it with boys.
When he was in his 20s, Dan was a thera-
peutic wilderness guide who led troubled
boys through the woods. Overall, he spent
12,000 hours in the backcountry with hun-
dreds of boys. The kind of boys who hurt
themselves and each other. The kind of boys
who are on a direct path to prison. Or worse.
But slowly, while sitting around the fire,
Dan showed these boys how to open up and
feel. And he did it by going first. Talking
about being scared. Opening up.
“It starts a chain reaction,” Dan says.
“When one person opens up, it gives every-
one else in the space the permission to do
the same. It’s an act of courage.”
Of course, boys grow into men. And as
men grow older, they tend to grow further
apart from everyone else.
In other words: Men need to talk to each
other. And not just bullshit “locker room”
talk about sports and sex, but about real
things of consequence: how we’re handling
our relationships, the things that scare us,
what we’re ashamed of, what we’re proud
of, our failures and dreams.
“I went to my first men’s group in 2009
and it fucking blew my mind, and I just
knew that I needed it in my life,” Dan says.
Men’s groups have been around since the
’60s and are like any other type of gather-
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 85
ing in that there’s a set time and a structure.
But mostly it’s guys sitting around in a cir-
cle, talking with one another about their
lives: the good, the bad, and everything in
between. “I didn’t even know what a men’s
group was,” Dan says. “Some German dude
at a dinner party invited me to his group,
the Brotherhood NYC. So I went. At that
point in my life, I was feeling lost. But after
that very first group, I knew I needed to keep
coming. And I knew I needed to start some-
thing of my own to spread the message.” It
would take him a decade to do that.
FTER LEAVING his job as
A a wilderness guide in 2010,
Dan became a producer
and director of the hunt-
ing show MeatEater on
the Sportsman Channel. Eventually his
passion for men’s work got in the way of
his actual work. When his son Duke was
born in June 2016, it inspired Dan to take
action. “I want Duke to grow up in a world
where he can be himself fully,” he says.
Five months later, he started Evryman
with his friends Sascha Lewis and Lucas
Krump and his mentor, Owen Marcus.
Evryman’s first retreat took place in
December 2016 at Race Brook Lodge,
in the Berkshires of western Massachu-
setts. Twenty-five men attended. Since
then, nearly 1,000 guys have either joined
Evryman men’s groups or participated in
one of its retreats.
Evryman wants to “get a million men
in men’s groups all over the world,” Dan
says. It supplies men with the tools and
the structure they need to start their own
group in whatever city they’re in.
“Rather than focusing on what it means
to ‘be a man,’ like it’s some kind of check-
list, we’re trying to teach men how to con-
nect to their own experience,” he explains.
“Because it’s only when you can fully con-
nect to your own experience and allow
yourself to be vulnerable that you can truly
connect to others.”
Or, putting it another way: “There are as
many ways of being a man as there are men
on the planet,” Dan says. “We’re just trying
to give them some tools.”
Whether or not guys want those tools
is another story. It can be a tough sell to
get men together to talk about their feel-
ings. Especially if they have to shell out a
couple grand to go on a retreat. However,
other organizations, like Junto and the
ManKind Project, offer similar retreats,
so the movement is growing.
86 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
“Some men resist the idea of talking
about their feelings and will avoid it at all
costs,” says Edward M. Adams, Psy.D.,
president of the Society for the Psycho-
logical Study of Men and Masculinity, a
division of the American Psychological
Association.
In the ’60s and ’70s, a whole nation of
Silent Generation and baby-boomer men
started to grapple with their own repressed
emotions, just as the women’s liberation
movement was picking up steam. In order to
support women—and support themselves—
men needed to do a new kind of work that
had nothing to do with physical labor.
And so began 50 years of trying to de-
fine masculinity, with everything from
drum circles and sweat lodges to “char-
acter stories” built around Jungian ar-
chetypes (or the “mythopoeic stage” of
human thought). It’s an old topic with a
new urgency.
Adams believes that men right now are
at a “danger point.”
“Without connection to each other, men
tend to lose their sense of identity and
their sense of compassion for themselves
and others,” he says. “But some guys think
this kind of work sounds too soft and not
manly. They think they can handle it on
their own.”
I can relate.
I’m luckier than most guys. I’ve had a
best friend, Jason, for more than 20 years.
I’ve had mentors in my life who have chal-
lenged me to grow and learn. My dad kissed
me and hugged me and told me he loved
me. My long-term partner of ten years—a
wonderful, intelligent, beautiful woman—
pushes me to grow and to love.
Staring into the eyes of another man,
talking about my deepest emotions, and
blubbering like a baby is near the bottom
of my to-do list, right around “punch my-
self in the balls.”
And yet, if I’m being honest with my-
self, I do crave more connection in my
life. I can be self-centered and callous. I
can get wrapped up in appearances and
become overbearing—talking over peo-
ple, interrupting, and manipulating sit-
uations to get what I want. I’m not proud of
it. Maybe I do need to connect with other
men more often.
But will doing it with strangers help?
We stand. Dan gives me a hug and starts
to walk out the door, phone in hand.
Wait, I say. What about the article? Can
I join the retreat and write about it?
He looks at me. “Yes,” he says. “But you
can’t just be a fly on the wall. You have to
jump into the shit with the rest of us.”
EIGHT OF US sit in a circle. It’s Day 2. The
midmorning sun shines brightly, but here
in our rocking chairs, we’re shaded under
the roof of the porch. Against the wall a
cord of wood sits with us, neatly stacked,
25 across and 13 high. Fuel ready for a fire.
This is our “small group.” There’s Chris,
an antiques dealer from upstate New York;
Bob, an IT guy at a large community col-
lege in California; Foster, an executive-
leadership coach for Fortune 500 com-
panies; and Kris, a former talent agent
who left his company and is going back
to school for his MBA. There’s also Craig,
a former police officer who now installs
sensory-deprivation tanks; another Chris,
who works at a food co-op; and Blayne Doty,
Dan’s dad, from Minnesota.
The rest of the guys are scattered
around the house in their own groups. For
some of them, this is their second retreat
with Evryman. Others are first-timers
like me. The purpose of this small group
is to give each man time to open up and
space to be seen and heard. If all goes
well, we’ll end this session with our “work
statement,” a short sentence that captures
what we need to work on for the rest of the
trip. It will become our personal mantra.
Each man gets 30 minutes to become
the focus of the group. But it’s not just idle
conversation. There’s a process to get us
out of our head and into our body. Step 1 is
to slow down. Step 2 is to feel what you’re
feeling, both physically and emotionally.
Step 3 is to share. Easier said than done.
Craig, the former police officer, kicks
things off. “I’m grateful that I can spend
Chris Berman, 42, is a facilities manager of a food co-op in Bozeman, Montana. Craig Salazar, 37, is a former police oficer who now lives in Grantsville, Utah.

Foster Mobley, 62, is an executive-leadership coach for a firm in San Diego. Nate Green, 33, is the author and lives in Missoula, Montana.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 87

time with you guys. I get the sense that you
don’t know my story, so I just want to share
that quickly.
“At the expedition last year, we sat in
a bigger circle with everyone. I didn’t
know what I was going to say, but when it
came time for me to talk, I just fucking. . .
exploded.”
Craig tells us about his life leading up to
last year. He had an emotionally distant
father. Craig cheated multiple times on
his first wife. He tells us about the terrible
things he saw as a cop on patrol in Utah.
“Shit you can’t unsee.”
“During last year’s retreat, the level of
rage I felt was unlike anything I’d ever
felt in my entire life. I was shaking and
screaming. I had no idea this shit was in
me this deep. It scared people.”
After the yelling and the crying and the
purging had stopped, Dan had instructed
Craig to stand up and walk around the cir-
cle of men. “He wanted me to look them in
the eye one by one so I could see the support
surrounding me.” But Craig could barely
meet their gaze.
“I was so ashamed,” he says. “But I
locked eyes with a guy across from me, and
the love pouring out of that man changed
everything. It gave me permission to for-
give myself.”
And just like that, Craig’s story starts
the chain reaction Dan talked about. One
guy opens up and everyone else has permis-
sion to do the same.
Foster talks about his son, how he lost
him for eight years to a methamphetamine
addiction before he got clean. “He taught
me about what I can control and what I
can’t. I put him out on the streets knowing
he didn’t have a place to go. I still feel pain
from that. But it was the right thing to do.”
Chris the antiques dealer talks about his
father and his daughter. “My dad taught
GET CONNECTED
Stand a couple of feet away from another man (to start, preferably someone you
know) and look into his eyes. It will be uncomfortable. You will want to laugh or
make a joke or look away. Fight those urges. Stand there for a full minute, without
speaking. Then take turns inishing the following sentences:
me that crying was for little girls. I was
taught to never show emotions. Now I get
inspiration from my four-year-old daugh-
ter. She has so much passion and fire and
heart. I see my younger self in her.”
I open up about what it was like to grow
up poor. I talk about how I barely gradu-
ated from high school and didn’t make it to
college and how that made me try so hard
to be successful. At some point, I realize
tears are running down my face.
“I always feel like I have to perform,” I
say. “I feel like I have to do whatever I can
to impress you and to be accepted. I want
to know what it feels like to stop trying so
hard and to just be okay being myself.”
After I finish, Bob looks at me. He
reaches over and touches my knee.
“Nate, you don’t have to say or do any-
thing to fucking impress us. We all see you
and accept you as you are.”
It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said
to me.
THAT EVENING, after three hours of raft-
ing Class III rapids on the Gallatin River—
an activity that pushed us to communicate
and work as a unit—the entire group is
gathered in the living room, where a large
fire crackles in the corner. Tomorrow we
go into the woods.
Dan speaks. “This circle is gonna close
out the first phase of the trip and prepare
us for Phase 2. I’m feeling the love and the
presence of every man in here. Let’s share
our work statements.”
One by one, we share the sentence we
need most right now. The thing that will
serve as our compass while in the woods.
“I honor my needs.”
“I feel loved.”
“I’m sad, afraid, and angry.”
“I need to let go.”
“I have feelings.”
“Turn down the heat.”
“I’m proud of myself.”
“I go toward the fear.”
Mine is “Don’t try.”
The words float into the center of the
room and break open in front of everyone.
IN THE WOODS, there are burned trees
next to new ones. There are distant moun-
tains. Patches of snow. Grizzly bear tracks.
One day I count 37 mosquito bites on my
arms and back. Conversations are over-
heard, joined, then abandoned.
“The best porn is when the girl actually
gets off and has a crazy orgasm, right? Or
when two girls use the same dildo at the
same time?”
“Shitting in the woods is complicated.
You have to start making moves when
you’re at a six or a seven on the ten scale.
You really gotta plan your shits out here.”
What do you expect? We’re guys. But
the chitchat about sex and shitting is tem-
pered with real talk. We ask questions. We
learn about one another.
Luke, a business-systems consultant, lost
his wife to breast cancer; now he has a son to
raise on his own. Cody, a former Coast Guard
rescue swimmer, lost a little girl to the wa-
ter. He got her out but she died the next day.
A man from Manhattan and a man from
rural Ohio talk about transgender rights.
A group of us reevaluate our past sexual be-

1 “If you
really knew
me, you would
2 “The most
painful
thing in my life
3 “The
thing I’m
most proud
4 “The
thing I’m
most grateful
5 “The thing
I most want
to accomplish
havior and how we treated women. Some
guys have clear consciences. Others do not.
know that . . .” right now is . . .” of is . . .” for is . . .” in life is . . .” Every evening, we sit around the fire and
watch the flames lick the wood. We sleep
“When you let yourself have a true connection with another man, a deep part of under the stars, talking to each other like
you wakes up and comes online,” says Dan Doty. “It’s a ‘holy shit’ moment that gives kids at a sleepover. Every morning, we piss
an opportunity for your compassion and humanity to shine through.” in the woods, pack up camp, eat breakfast,
and start walking.

88 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH


Forming a IT’S DAY 4 of the re-
bond even treat and Andrew from
with someone Alaska is sitting on a
you have just
met can be a log, crying intensely. I
life-changing walk over to him and put
experience. my hand on his shoul-
der. We sit together.
“I’m not ready to be
a father,” he says in between sobs.  Andrew
tells me that he and his wife are adopting
her sister’s kids. Their father died and
their mother is not in a position to take
care of them. They need a family. They
need a dad. It’s the right thing to do. And
so they’re living with Andrew.
“I’m so scared I’m going to fuck them
up,” he says. He’s crying so hard he’s shak-
ing. The violence surprises him. “What’s
happening?” he says. “I need to lie down.”
I help him to the ground. He’s shaking so
much he can’t control it. A few other guys
come over. One bends down and grabs
Andrew’s ankles. Another touches his arm.
Dan walks over, bends down, and puts his
hand directly on Andrew’s chest, palm
open. He speaks in a quiet but firm voice.
“You’ve been holding this shit in for so
long, Andrew. Let yourself feel it. We’re
right here.”
Andrew lets out a small yelp. His face
is wet with tears. I look at the faces of the
other men around me, their eyes soft and
watery. We sit there and let Andrew cry.
I feel a deep sense of what I can only de-
scribe as love wash over me, flooding every
part of my body.
After a few moments, Andrew starts
to get his bearings. “Thank you,” he says.
“Thank you.” His crying turns to soft laugh-
ter. “Holy shit,” he says under his breath.
“Holy shit.”
Later, on the trail, I catch up with Dan
to ask him what happened. “Andrew’s
been wound so tight, but being out here in
nature with us opened him up,” he says.
“He’s likely never allowed himself to feel
that deeply.”
I look behind us. Andrew is walking up
the trail, smiling and looking off into the
distance, his arms swinging freely. Like he
doesn’t have a care in the world.
U R L A S T N I G H T in the
O woods. Around the fire,
Dan asks us if we know what
a drip torch is. “A drip torch
is a handheld fuel tank with
a long spout, filled with a mixture of 30
percent gasoline and 7o percent diesel,”
he says. “Wildland firefighters use drip
torches to ignite prescribed burns. They
walk around and drip flaming liquid on the
ground to start fires on purpose.”
These small fires have two objectives,
Dan explains. They influence the behavior
of larger, more destructive fires and stop
them from burning everything. And they
remove excess debris, renew the ground,
and start a new phase of natural growth in
an ecosystem.
Sometimes the best thing you can do—
for yourself, for the people you love, for the
world—is to walk around and start your
own fires. To talk about how you feel, ex-
press your emotions. Sure, it takes cour-
age. But if you let it do its work, the fire
will help you grow.
We stand and gather into a circle, our
arms around each other. Over the past
few days, I’ve learned some things about
these guys that their closest friends and
family members are not aware of. I know
what scares them. I know what excites
them. I know what keeps them up at night
and what keeps them going the next day.
They know me better than some of my best
friends. I trust them all implicitly. We’ve
been together for less than a week.
As the sun starts to set behind the
mountain, Aaron, the former Green Beret,
speaks. “Guys, sometimes I feel like I’m
running on one cylinder. But right now,
we’re a well-oiled machine. We’re running
on all cylinders. We created this engine.
So let’s harness all the power, love, accep-
tance, and gratitude we’ve experienced
and let’s take it back into the world. Let’s
take this love back into our relationships,
into our jobs, into the strangers we meet
on the street, and into our communities.
Let’s make this world a better place.”
THE DAY I GET OUT of the woods, my girl-
friend of ten years breaks up with me. I
barely have time to put down my backpack.
I did not see this coming.
We sit on the couch and talk for three
hours. She tells me that for the past year
she’s felt like she’s had one foot in and one
foot out of the relationship. I tell her I have
so much love and respect for her. I tell her
I support her completely. I tell her that
we’ll both be fine. It’s the most challeng-
ing thing I’ve ever done. Then she’s out the
door to stay with a friend for the night.
She will later tell me that that conver-
sation was the most open and connected
she’d ever felt with me. She’ll tell me that
a wall came down. That there was no ego.
That she felt like I really saw her.
A couple hours later, I get a text from
Charlie, one of the guys from the Evryman
retreat. He tells me he’s taking an extra
week off before he heads back home. He’s
going to drive through my town and wants
to know if I want to hang out.
I tell him what happened. About my re-
lationship. About everything. He responds
immediately: “I’m sorry, man. But I’m
pumped for you. Take care of yourself for
the night. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
I turn off my phone, sit on the couch, and
do what Dan taught me: I check in with my-
self. I close my eyes and breathe deeply. I
allow myself to feel my emotions fully. I
allow life to move through me.
The tremors come. The tears flow and
I can taste the salt in my open, smiling
mouth.
NATE GREEN writes about health and fitness.
His website is nategreen.org.
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 89
 THE MAGIC

BEAN COFFEE is man’s original

performance-enhancing drug, and new research
is proving how it can sharpen your mind,
power your workouts, and toughen up your
disease defenses. Make every cup count with this
step-by-step, bean-to-brew guide.

BY Scarlett Wrench

90 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

WHY DRINK COFFEE?
Staving of sleep is the least of its abilities.

Bowel
Bolstering
Though more
research is
needed to prove
an effect in hu-
mans, rodent
studies show that
a key coffee com-
pound, chloro- Diabetes
genic acid, may Protection
act as an anti- Research shows
inflammatory that people who
in those with a drink coffee also
certain bowel have less risk of
disease. type 2 diabetes
than those who
abstain from the
drink, cites a
Easy
2017 review. Even
Energy
decaffeinated
Caffeine is an coffee may pro-
alkaloid in the duce the effect.
same class of Findings suggest
compounds as that the polyphe-
nicotine and co- nols (a source of
caine; it works on disease-fighting
your neurorecep- antioxidants)
tors to block re- in coffee may
laxing adenosine. play a role.
Quite unlike the
other two, how-
ever, every weekly
cup also reduces
your risk of heart
failure by about Heart
7 percent com- Health
pared with those Coffee likely
who don’t drink won’t raise your
coffee, according risk of cardiovas-
to research in the cular diseases,
journal Circulation. and compounds
in coffee may
ease blood pres-
Fast sure, found a
Focus 2017 review in
Planta Medica.
Drinking a cup There’s also some
of coffee before indication that
participating in coffee might
a group activity improve your
helped individu- blood flow,
als feel like they according to an
worked together American and
better as a team, Swedish review.
says a 2018 study
conducted at UC
Davis. The partic-
ipants attributed
the results to in-
creased alertness.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 91

 MAP YOUR TASTES
02 The irst step to a better cup is knowing what you like. Sam Langdon, head of cofee
at Caravan Cofee Roasters in London, gives you a tour of the cofee belt.

South America Southeast Asia

Nutty, sweet, chocolaty
“This is the powerhouse
of the coffee world,” says
Langdon, and the blends are
consistently good. Brazil has
a very high yield, producing
about a third of the world’s
coffee. Brazilian beans tend
to offer a sweeter, heavier
base due to natural pro-
cessing methods, while
Colombian coffees have a
Musky, earthy, smoky
“Asian coffees are divisive,
but I’m a fan,” says Lang-
don. The quicker process-
ing method—the beans
East Africa
are often transported
Citrusy, floral, aromatic
before they’re fully dry—
Be it in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, or Rwanda,
means their flavor stands
this part of the continent produces some
apart: “It’s heavy-bodied
world-class blends. The coffee is grown at
and soil-y. There’s cedar,
high altitudes and has a more complex flavor.
there’s tobacco; it’s kind
“Kenyan coffees can have a very high acid-
of funky.” While most cof-

Previous page: Louisa Parry (coffee bean)

little more acidity. “If you’re
a regular drinker, you’ve
almost certainly tried a
Brazilian-Colombian blend,”
Langdon says. In short,
beans from these locations
are your fail-safes.
Good for: Fans of rich flavors.
ity, almost lemony,” says Langdon. “Ethiopia
fee beans are a pale green
is kind of a wild card, an outlier.” The beans
when raw, Asian beans
aren’t very uniform in size, making an even
are closer to a jade blue.
roast harder to obtain. But in the hands
“They’re robust, so slightly
of a pro? “The complexity of the cup is phe-
better suited to espresso
nomenal: floral, almost tealike.”
than filter coffee.”
Good for: Aficionados.
Good for: Lovers of strong
tastes.

DECODE THE BEAN BAG

03 Now that you know your preferred cofee region, zero in on the best
beans by deciphering label lingo.

ALTITUDE WASHING SEASON

In cofee terms, “high-
altitude” tends to apply to
anything grown above 4,500
feet. The beans mature slowly
due to the lack of oxygen,
developing a more vibrant la-
vor than earthier low-altitude
beans, explains Langdon.
The term refers to stripping
the fruit of the bean and
then fermenting to remove
excess sugar. This results in a
brighter and fresher taste. In
“natural” processing, the fruit
is left on to ferment, and the
bean absorbs some of its lavor.
Just like any other fruit, cof-
fees from diferent regions
come in and out of season
and are at their best lavor
when the time is right. Not
all bags will display a har-
vest date, but high-quality
ones often do.

92 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 ASSEMBLE YOUR GEAR
04 You don’t need a $3K all-in-one machine to make an
excellent cup at home. Just match your level of cofee
geekery to the tools you require.

THE GRINDER THE BREWER

I JUST If you have a spice grinder, The Ninja Cofee Brewer

WANT clean it out and use that.
CAFFEINE It won’t lend to lavor
extraction as much as
other options, but it’ll do.
Cuisinart has a trusty
Spice & Nut Grinder ($40;
williams-sonoma.com).
($100; ninjakitchen.com)
isn’t fancy, but that’s
exactly the point: It’s all
you need and nothing
more. Our tests have shown
that it can take a beating
and keep on dripping.

FLAVOR Upgrade to a burr grinder, The Six Cup Classic

IS NICE which pulverizes beans
to a more uniform pow-
der that results in a more
even-tasting cup. Baratza
makes great ones. The $139
Encore model (baratza
.com) is a good start.
Chemex is an old standby
for pour-over fans. You
have to buy a rig ($44;
chemexcofeemaker.com)
and special ilters ($10 for
100), but the system pro-
duces a smooth-as-silk cup.

I’M You’ll want to hand-grind. It looks like a Breaking

PICKY Manual options ofer the
most control over the ine-
ness of your grounds. The
Hario Ceramic Cofee Mill
“Skerton” is $40. Bonus: You
sneak in an arm workout.
Bad prop, but the $70 (on
Amazon) Hario “Technica”
Syphon Cofee Maker (left)
vacuum-pulls cofee from
grounds, yielding a lus-
cious, luxurious drink.

06
05 THE P ODS, PEOPLE
BREW AN INCREDIBLE CUP
When industry experts want to test the measure of a new brew, they use Yes, they’re wasteful. No, the
a method called “cupping.” This process generates the purest flavor of the cofee— cofee they make isn’t that great.
and it also makes a pretty damn good cup if you have the time. But they’re convenient—and
sometimes all you have. Because
Imprecision won’t do: Ideally, you want a digital scale accurate pod cofee is better than no cof-
1 to 0.1g. Weigh out 11g of beans and grind them to the coarseness
of filter coffee. Preground works, too, if you’re just practicing.
fee, we ranked the most popular
K-Cup flavors.

Pour 180ml of water—just below boiling—on top of the grounds. HEY, THAT’S NOT BAD!
Andrea Manzati (illustrations), SAM KAPLAN (coffee)

2 This coffee-to-water ratio isn’t too strong, so it’s ideal for assess-
ing the flavors. Steep for four minutes and then stir three times.
• NEWMAN’S OWN ORGANICS
SPECIAL BLEND
Breaking the surface of the liquid will release more aromas. • TULLY’S COFFEE HAWAIIAN BLEND
• EMERIL’S BIG EASY BOLD
• THE ORIGINAL DONUT SHOP COFFEE
Skim any foam off the top, as this can taste fairly bitter. Allow the • GREEN MOUNTAIN DARK MAGIC

3 coffee to cool to drinking temperature. Enjoy the brew as is, or

slurp it with a spoon, though preferably not in public.
• FOLGERS BLACK SILK
AM I DRINKING MOTOR OIL?

Smart companies have created better-tasting stir-and-drink instant options for your
TAKE THIS ADVICE WITH YOU portable coffee mug. We like anything from the brands Voilà and Swift Cup Coffee.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 93

WHAT’S
YOUR
FITNESS
AGE? BY MICHAEL EASTER
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW HETHERINGTON

That’s right: “itness age,” which researchers believe can be

course, on how you exercise. Here’s how to calculate how old
94 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
a lot higher or lower than your actual age—depending, of
you really are and how you can stay stronger, longer.
It’s
It’s 100 degrees in my Las Vegas garage
gym as I crank through another round of
squats and all-out air-bike intervals, trying
to block out the creeping pain in my legs,
lungs, and—well, hell—everywhere else.
Just keep moving, I tell myself. Faster,
faster. When the reps are done, I’m de-
stroyed: I hit the hot concrete floor and
begin hyperventilating and punching my
legs to flush the pain. My German short-
haired pointer tilts his head and gives me
a baffled look that crosses mammalian
distinctions. “Dude, what are you doing?”
I began training like this, ive hard hours a
week, nearly two decades ago. Roughly 4,500
hours of my life have been spent in a state of
exercise-induced discomfort, and I’m not
always sure why. Men have a lot of reasons
for working out. Vanity and performance are
the big ones. But I quit giving a damn about
my abs after I got married, and I really don’t
care who I can beat in a pushup competition
or organized footrace. The most recent line
I’ve fed myself is that all this time sweating
is good for my health. It’s going to give me
more, better years on earth. But as I lie on
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I F YO U ’ R E F I T, YO U ’ R E . . .
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CARDIO- DIE DEVELOP
VA S C U L A R OF DEMENTIA
DISEASE CANCER
96 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
the garage loor gasping, I
ask myself: Why do I exercise
so hard, and so often, at age
32? Is all this manic exercise
worth it? And if it isn’t, then
what does training for more,
better years look like?
Thanks to research, we
know that a person’s heart
can have a diferent age from
that of, say, his kidneys or his
brain, which is to say diferent
organs within a single human
body can show varying degrees
of stress and strain. (Which,
if you think about it, is really
all age is: a manifestation of
how much stress or strain your
body has endured and exhib-
its.) But we also know that for
the average guy—let’s call him
“you”—lung health and men-
tal speed peak around your
mid-20s. Beginning at age 30,
your muscle strength and size start decreasing by about 3 to 8 percent per
decade, and cardiovascular endurance dies of by about 1 percent a year. By
40, you’re slower on your feet. Once you hit 50, your brain is shrinking and
bones are softening. From 60 on, it’s Murphy’s Law: What can go wrong will
Prop styling: Bette Adams for Mary Howard Studio, grooming: Cindy Adams for Halley Resources, shirts by Aether, shorts by Rhone, shoes by Reebok
go wrong, all aches and pains and doctor visits. Then you hit age 76 and, if
you’re like the average American male, you die.
Theories on why this happens abound: Your telomeres, caps on the ends
of your DNA, shorten and prevent your cells from dividing; free radicals
cause your cells to accumulate damage; your endocrine system loses its
ability to regulate hormones; and so on. Yet I couldn’t tell you the length of
my telomeres, or what free radicals have done to my body, or the eiciency of
my endocrine system. The shit’s too abstract for anyone not in a lab coat.
There might be a more basic answer. The National Institutes of Health
recently bet $170 million on a program
called Molecular Transducers of Phys-
ical Activity in Humans. Researchers
from around the country will collaborate
in a consortium within the program,
known as MoTrPAC. The goal: to better
understand the health beneits of
exercise at the molecular level. These
researchers will investigate the biology-
altering phenomena that may not only
slow your aging clock but even turn it
back, helping you feel and perform as if
you were decades younger than what’s on
your birth certiicate. Scientists have a
name for it: itness age. And its primary
LESS LIKELY metric is something even a meathead
T O GET
can and does quantify: itness. “Exercise
LUNG DISEASE
(WHICH KILLS is medicine. We know that when you
7 P E R C E N T O F exercise, your muscle produces benei-
AMERICANS)
cial compounds that circulate and com-
 municate with the liver, bone, heart, brain, and more,” says Scott Trappe,
Ph.D., director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State
University, who leads one of the 23 research sites involved in MoTrPAC.
And so a few months ago I set out to ind my true itness age, working
closely with Doug Kechijian, D.P.T., cofounder and owner of Resilient Per-
formance Systems in New York City, and Michael Fredericson, M.D., pro-
fessor and director of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation division at
Stanford University, to invent a itness-age formula that would incorporate
all diferent kinds of metrics. Would I be younger or older than the 33 can-
dles on my next birthday cake? Have those 4,500 hours of itness-related
discomfort all been for nothing?

DISCOMFORT IS SOMETHING that Ulrik Wisløf, Ph.D., knows intimately. VO2 max is often measured with a mask that
He is a professor of exercise physiology at the Norwegian University of tracks oxygen uptake. It’s considered the gold
standard for determining fitness age.
Science and Technology, and his specialty is cardiac itness, speciically
VO2 max, which measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body
can use during exercise. Wisløf, 50, has measured the VO2 max of 5,000
Norwegians, and his research has made him skeptical of time: Tell him VO2 max and challenging your heart,
about your habits and he’ll tell you why your birth certiicate is bullshit. which in turn adapts by increasing the
In 2006, he coined the term “itness age” and created the itness-age amount of blood each beat pumps, boosting
calculator. Go to worlditnesslevel.org, plug in some info—age, waistline, oxygen delivery.
resting pulse, how hard and often you exercise—and his algorithm spits Wisløf created the calculator because,
back your itness age, which, he claims, is your true age. “So you could be like telomere length, VO2 max is a igura-
50, but if you have the itness age of a 30-year-old person, you are really 30 tive and literal pain to measure directly—a
years old,” he says. The reverse is true, too. fact I would learn for myself. To put his
Wisløf’s algorithm estimates your number by comparing your age, heart theory to the test, I head to the University
rate, and activity level with the data he’s collected. If the calculator tells you of Nevada, Las Vegas. I enter the physical-
your itness age is, say, 40, it means you have the VO2 max of the average education complex, a 140,000-square-foot
40-year-old. His papers have been cited more than 20,000 times (most cold-war-era research compound just a mile
exercise studies are lucky to be cited twice), and Garmin now incorporates from the casinos of the Strip. Ph.D. student
itness age into its activity metrics. Nathaniel Bodell is waiting for me in the
The calculator has a legit health utility: “VO2 max has been shown to be exercise-physiology lab. He stoops over
the single best predictor of current and future health,” says Wisløf. The a computer that’s lanked by treadmills,
American Heart Association agrees. It also says that cardiorespiratory erg bikes, and squat racks. After making
itness forecasts impending death better than established risk factors small talk, he straps a mask onto my face,
like smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. The has me stand on a treadmill, and punches
higher your VO2 max, the bigger your dose of age-bending medicine, a few buttons that initiate a VO2-max test.
Wisløf explains. The point at which you optimize health by exercise and The belt kicks. I start stepping. “Just so you
signiicantly drop your itness age is when you are able to generate 10 to 12 know,” says Bodell, “this won’t be the most
metabolic equivalents of tasks, commonly known as METs. comfortable thing you do today.”
Based on oxygen consumption, METs are a measure of exercise intensity. The irst four minutes of running are
Sleeping is one MET. Walking 4 miles per hour earns you ive METs. Run- easy—slowly ramping from a lat 2 to 5 miles
ning about 8 miles per hour or cycling 16 miles per hour scores 12 METs. per hour—but soon I’m running 7.5 miles per
Building the itness to hit 12 METs is where it gets tricky. Wisløf found hour and Bodell is increasing the incline.
that standard aerobic-exercise advice—150 minutes of moderate activity The mask clamped to my face is calculating
or 75 of vigorous activity weekly—is lawed. Forget that only half of Amer- how many oxygen molecules I breathe in and
icans meet the aerobic-activity recommendations. He says that even if out. The fewer oxygen molecules I breathe
you do exercise “enough,” the exercise you are doing may be insuicient to out relative to those I breathe in, the better
make you truly it. my body is at shuttling oxygen from my
“The problem is these numbers don’t account for intensity and don’t lungs to blood to working muscles.
relect how your body responds to a certain activity,” Wisløf says. If you’re Bodell increases the incline by 2 per-
not challenging yourself, building an ability to hit or exceed 12 METs, cent every minute or so, making the test
Spencer Lowell

you’re not optimally protected against disease. progressively more diicult. The longer I
This notion led Wisløf to study the impact of high-intensity interval run before tapping out, the higher my VO2
training. His research indicates that intervals are ideal for spiking your max and, according to stacks of medical

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 97


literature, the further I am from the most
popular ways American men die. The
treadmill has been spinning for 15 min-
utes, and I’m running 7.5 miles per hour at
a 12 percent incline. I tap out. Bodell cuts
the speed, then walks to his computer to
analyze my numbers as I remove my mask
and heave for air.
“Uh, are you a runner?” asks Bodell.
“I trail run a day or two a week and can
hold a sub-seven-minute-per-mile pace.”
“It shows,” he says. I register a 64.9, and
I can hit 19 METs. According to Wisløf’s
itness-age protocol, my itness level is
aligned with someone under 20 years old.
Maybe those thrice-weekly HIIT workouts
are really worth it.
Wisløff’s idea for deriving fitness
age—stratifying a person’s “true” age
based on cardiac capability—is intriguing,
but I can’t help thinking there are other
variables that have to be factored in. Look
at serious endurance athletes. Sure, their
VO2 max is off the charts, but they look like
they’re on the tail end of a hunger strike,
and they’re weak as heck. Some research-
ers disagree with Wisløff and think he’s
overemphasizing VO2 max. Many experts
I spoke with—people who study other fit-
ness markers and work with average guys
day in and day out—argue there’s more
to understanding the aging process than
what you can find out from a treadmill run.
That the most important data requires no
complicated masks or lab software—just
old-school iron and a little grit.
“MUSCLE IS KING,” says Andy Galpin,
Ph.D., a muscle researcher at California
State University, Fullerton. “It causes, con-
trols, and regulates your ability to move.
If you lose muscle quality and can’t move,
everything else fails quickly.” Healthy
muscle controls blood-sugar levels and mit-
igates overinlammation, which is impli-
cated in pretty much all the diseases that’ll
kill you. Powerful muscles may be just as
important as a powerful heart regarding
mortality: Swedish researchers found that
the strongest among a group of men of all
ages were the least likely to die over two
decades compared with those with the least
muscular strength. And in creating a for-
mula to calculate my itness age, Kechijian
and Dr. Fredericson insisted that I test my
strength in four key areas.
First up: a trap bar (a barbell shaped like
a hexagon with two handles). I step inside
98 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
BUILDING MUSCLE
BECOMES HARDER
WITH TIME. BUT
EVEN 70-YEAR-OLDS
WHO LIFTED THREE
TIMES A WEEK FOR
12 WEEKS IMPROVED
THEIR STRENGTH
AND MUSCLE MASS.
the bar, which weighs 170 pounds (also known as my body weight), grab its
handles, then stand, lifting the weight. I walk with it 100 feet across the
loor. This task, a deadlift to farmer’s carry, tests three qualities: handgrip,
lower-body strength, and the ability to carry weight over ground. Men with
the strongest handgrip and greatest muscular strength reduced their risk
of death by 31 and 14 percent, respectively, according to a recent review.
Next I go for 300 pounds, 1.75 times my body weight, an optimal metric
for health. I stand inside the trap bar, grip it, rip it—and it rises. I stroll
the 100 feet. Pass.
On to strength test two: pushups. The classic exercise tests whether you’re
strong for your body weight. Further evidence that relative strength is linked
to mortality is revealed by the obesity paradox: Obese people are more at risk
of various ailments, like heart disease. But unit, obese men with heart dis-
ease had a lower 13-year mortality risk compared with their normal-weight
counterparts, according to a study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. One possible
reason: Obese people tend to have more muscle and strength, due to carrying
their own weight. Build adequate strength without the fat and you’ll likely
avoid disease and be in better shape to beat it if you get it.
I drop to the ground and crank out my reps, reaching 40, which is 12 more
than the target number for optimal aging for guys in their 30s, according to
Dr. Fredericson, citing recommendations from the Mayo Clinic.
Time also changes the very composition of your muscles, which comprise
an array of iber types. At the most basic level you have Type I and Type II
ibers, and hybrids of the two. Pure Type I ibers drive slower, everyday move-
ments, while pure Type IIs power explosive movements. Time plus inactivity
shifts the balance to Type I ibers, one reason older people tend to move more
slowly. The smaller your Type II ibers, the seemingly older your muscle.
Doing only VO2-max-enhancing activities—cycling and running—
tips the balance no matter your age to Type I ibers. The worst exercise
approach is doing nothing, but you’re massively compromising your health
if you’re doing only cardio.
Consider the indings of a study in the European Journal of Applied
Physiology. The researchers compared two identical twins, men with the
exact same DNA but 30 years of diferent exercise habits; one was not a
regular exerciser and the other was an endurance athlete.
As you’d expect, the endurance twin had a healthier cardiovascular
system—better blood pressure and lipid panels, higher VO2 max. “But he
had no better strength or muscle quality,” says Galpin, who led the study.
He actually had far more Type I muscle ibers than his sedentary twin. The
lesson: Chasing one form of exercise at the expense of all others improves
some health metrics, but it weakens other critical links in the aging chain.
For test three, I grab a jump rope, which I’ll use to assess my Type II
ibers. I begin skipping rope, bouncing of both feet, then transition to
jumping on only my right. “1, 2, 3, 4 . . .”
 This tests my coordination, too. Falls kill
roughly 33,000 Americans a year. “Let’s
say you trip,” says Kechijian. “Your ability
CHECK YOUR FITNESS AGE
to recover has little to do with balance and
Do this six-step workout to assess whether you’re
everything to do with your ability to quickly
younger or older than your calendar age.
shoot your foot or arms out to stabilize
yourself.” That’s all coordination and Type VO2 MAX/CARDIO TOTAL STRENGTH
II ibers. “. . . 48, 49, 50.” I hit 50 skips on my
right foot, then repeat on my left, optimal
numbers for each side.
Strength is varied, though, and we need to DIRECTIONS: 1) 2)
measure more. The inal strength test is the Take the irst ive
Turkish getup, which focuses on my move- tests, noting the
ages associated
ment and ability to rise from the ground. Peo- with your results.
ple who were unable to get up using only their Add those ages
legs were ive times more likely to die over a and divide by 5,
then add your
six-year period, according to a study in the mobility test
score to ind your ONE-MILE RUN TRAP-BAR DEADLIFT
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
itness age. Not Your quest to know your AND FARMER’S WALK
I grab a 24-kilo kettlebell and lie on my back, happy with the itness age starts with VO2 Now measure your overall
bell overhead. The task: get up while keeping results? Spend max, but who has time for strength and your grip
the bell overhead. I ace it. Not everyone can. extra time each the complicated test our strength. Stand inside a loaded
week training writer took? Not you, so trap bar, grab its handles,
“No matter your age, you want to build in the areas here’s a simpler test to mea- and lift. Walk 100 feet without
a reserve of strength and muscle,” says in which you sure your oxygen uptake: dropping the bar. Don’t have
Trappe, the Ball State researcher. That struggled most. Crush a one-mile run. Do a trap bar? Use heavy dumb-
this outdoors, if possible. bells or kettlebells.
becomes harder with time, but his research
discovered that even 70-year-olds who lifted
TIME % BODY WEIGHT CARRIED
three times a week for 12 weeks improved
their strength and muscle mass. The men TEST RESULT <7:20 <7:40 <8:00 <8:40 >8:40 175% 150% 125% 100% <100%
who stopped lifting saw strength drop
quickly, while the ones who kept up a once-a- FITNESS AGE
week routine maintained their gains. 25 35 45 55 65 25 35 45 55 65
My itness age is starting to come into
focus. I’m deinitely younger than my 32
years. I have the VO2 max of a 20-year-old,
and I overachieved on all my lifts. Except my
back screams otherwise. see little to no hip and lower-back diseases. In the U. S., the number of hip
and back surgeries performed continues to increase each year.
I stand with my feet under my shoulders, raise the stick overhead, push my
I CALL KELLY STARRETT —a physical thera- hips back, and begin to descend. My goal is to lower into a full squat, feet lat
pist and mobility guru who works with people on the loor. Things go smoothly until I hit parallel; I can’t go deeper without
ranging from Navy SEALs to elite athletes to peeling my heels from the ground or tipping my torso and arms forward.
Silicon Valley CEOs—and ask him what I’m This is old-man movement, but it’s not uncommon among guys my age,
still missing. “So many people chase ininite even those who work out. Starrett says that’s because we see the gym as a
cardio or strength capacity,” he says. “You great place to build strength and capacity, but we don’t care to just move.
need just as much movement capacity. Many That’s a mistake. Research in the Journal of Evolution and Health sug-
people go months without taking their joints gests movement creates both localized and whole-body changes. Further-
through a full range of motion.” more, moving through full ranges of natural motion—for example, a full
That not only sets you up for disaster in the squat with your arms overhead—may jump-start dormant cells that ight
long run, but it also makes you more likely aging. The data suggests that people who move in a variety of ways have
to experience aches, pain, and injury each signiicantly longer telomeres than less active people.
workout. Starrett suggests a inal test in my Your movement capacity is only as old as you’ve made it, says Katy Bow-
aging assessment, an overhead squat with a man, a physical therapist, biomechanist, and author of Move Your DNA.
broomstick. How hard could it be? Kids have full command of their joints and can easily squat, lunge, lift over-
Forget strength and cardio. This test head, and more. But mobility is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. Those kids
challenges total-body mobility, which many eventually sit at school desks, then join average Americans at work, sitting
experts believe could be a key to preventing roughly six to eight hours a day, according to the CDC.
+ISM (illustrations)

age-related degradation. Populations in When adults do move, it’s typically through a few repetitive motions,
Asia and the Middle East who do many activ- like walking and getting in and out of a chair, says Bowman. A standard
ities in the squatting position, for example, workout of cycling, running, some bench-pressing, and curls is beneicial,

100 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

THE MINDS: Doug Kechijian, D.P.T., cofounder and owner of Resilient Performance Systems in New York City;
Michael Fredericson, M.D., director of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation division at Stanford University.

RELATIVE STRENGTH FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH COORDINATION MOBILITY

3) 4) 5) 6)

PUSHUPS TURKISH GETUP SINGLE-LEG JUMP ROPE OVERHEAD SQUAT

Total strength is one
thing, but how well can
you manage your body
weight? Find out by iring
of as many pushups as
you can. Note: Your body
must remain straight
and your chest must touch
the loor on each rep.
You have to be able to get
up from the ground. Lie
with your back on the
ground and a kettlebell in
your dominant hand,
then hoist it overhead.
Your challenge: Reach a
standing position while
keeping the kettlebell
overhead at all times.
Fit people have coordination,
which can’t be trained with
running and biceps curls.
Grab a jump rope and do a
couple skips to warm up.
Then do as many consecutive
single-leg skips as you can.
Repeat on your other leg.
Your lowest number is your
inal score.
The inal piece is often the
most forgotten. Grab a broom-
stick and stand with feet
shoulder-width apart, toes
pointed at a slight angle. Hold
the stick directly overhead. To
pass, squat to parallel while
keeping your arms straight
and your feet planted, not
leaning your torso forward.

TOTAL REPS MAX WEIGHT (KG) CONSECUTIVE SKIPS REACH PARALLEL

28 21 16 12 11 24 20 16 12 0 50 45 35 25 10 Yes No

25 35 45 55 65 25 35 45 55 65 25 35 45 55 65 -1 +3

yes, but we aren’t moving enough or with enough variety to slow the loss I still do five weekly workouts, but
of movement, says Bowman, or avoid injury, says Starrett. they’re different. Most are no longer an
That’s my problem. My cardio engine is huge at the expense of mobil- exercise in the art of suffering. Sure, I still
ity. Movement is my weak link, the “oldest” part of my itness. My lack of occasionally push the intensity—it helps
complete movement may have caused cellular maladaptations, making me relieve stress. But it’s no longer a compul-
more likely to have shorter telomeres, according to a study in Medicine & sion. All out all the time, I now understand,
Science in Sports & Exercise. won’t give me as big a return on time and
Cellular maladaptations? Yikes, I need to start doing signiicantly effort invested as I once thought. What
more mobility training. will? I’ve traded a running session for a
workout in which I forget the numbers
on the stopwatch and barbell and focus
THROUGH ALL THE RESEARCH AND TESTING, I can’t help thinking entirely on improving my mobility. I’ll
of something Starrett told me. “There is no more of a complex system than even count a long walk through the desert
a human being,” he said. “So many factors can predict health and longevity. with my dog as a workout, a moving medi-
We should move away from trying to choose a single silver bullet.” tation that improves my health, my mind,
Believing you have that silver bullet can cause you to miss the target and the quality of my years.
on overall health. “I think we need to step back and challenge what we’re Has my itness slipped? Doubtful.
doing exercise for,” says Galpin. “What you really want for general longev- Push me and I can do all the things I could
ity and wellness is to stimulate, challenge, and stress the body internally, before. But those hip and back pains
in multiple ways. What you actually do to get there—your actual work- that used to come alongside the doing?
out—it’s just noise.” They’re long gone.
After all the testing, I run the numbers laid out by the experts and dis-
cover my itness age is 28, even with subpar mobility. I’ve bought my body MICHAEL EASTER is a health and fitness writer
almost a half decade. and a visiting lecturer at UNLV.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 101

 THE HOLLYWOODIFICATION OF

THE
PHYSICAL
EFFORT
giving Aquaman a big
wet punch in the face.
A. (where he was Moving swiftly
from one achievement
to another is sort of
Abdul-Mateen’s thing.

“That suit is no joke,” he says. “I don’t

think it’s an exaggeration to say it was

that it was 20 pounds.” (Warner Bros.

conirms it was 70 pounds.) Abdul-
Mateen has always been physical—
the actor shaved an inch of his waist

painfully aware of the challenges of

belt. He wanted to wear the suit; he

didn’t want the suit to wear him.
He and his trainer, Stuart Walton,
spent two-plus months at the gym, doing
workouts that sound slightly ludicrous.
“You know, like 100 reps of something,
weights stacked up to my chest,” he says.
he keep it up now that he’s moved on to the
next project? “Absolutely not, no way.”
But the beauty in working out like crazy
for this movie is that he now has a gym
regimen for whatever comes next.

.”
for men (which includes a face wash and a
shine-control moisturizer) and empha-
sized that after you’ve washed, exfoliated,
and moisturized, you’re not done: Next,
use sunscreen. “Every time you shave,
you’re taking a little layer of your skin of
103
and exposing it to the elements. You need
to protect it.” Her favorite is Glossier’s
Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen (which
can, mercifully, be ordered online).
That said, she sends Abdul-Mateen
into the lion’s den to stock up on essen-
tials. “I go to Sephora now,” he laughs. “I
make sure that I have my proper serum,
moisturizer, and cleanser, that I’m
changing my brushes in my Clarisonic.
It’s nice to have the resources to be able
to take care of yourself.”
Abdul-Mateen has also taken to juic-
ing. No, not the sort that gets you banned
from baseball. He’s literally making fresh
juices for himself at home. The same
kid who would rib his older brother for
demanding fresh vegetables after coming
home from college (“I thought he was
just being a snob”) now swears by beet,
carrot, and orange juices and, of course,
kale. Sugar—speciically the kind found
in a certain orange-and-green O-shaped
cereal—is verboten. When your job, and
your ability to succeed, is tied to the way
your body looks and feels, these types of
shifts can be life-changing. “I love Apple
Jacks,” he says. “They send me over the
edge. Once I start eating Apple Jacks, I
start to crave sugar, and next thing you
know, my bills are late and I don’t know
my lines and I’m late to set.”
DRESSING
THE PART
THE LAST STEP in a man’s journey to
superstardom: getting his style nailed
down. All the greats have something
He has even pulled of a wide-brimmed
Borsalino hat. “My style is classy with a
little bit of left turn,” he muses.
It’s notable that, like many of the some help?), but for now, his instincts
stars we ind most stylish (Jonah Hill, are serving him well. He’s spent enough
for example), Abdul-Mateen isn’t time on his body that he might as well
working with a stylist. He’s building show the damn thing of: “I’ll rock
and evolving his look on his own. He whatever complements my waist, long
hasn’t ruled out the possibility of legs, and broad shoulders.”
W h e r e w i l l t h e w o r k —the physical regimen,
the skin care, the style moves—
t a ke Ya h y a A b d u l - M a t e e n I I n ex t ?
HE’S RIDING the Aquaman wave into three more projects, including the Damon Lindelof–
helmed Watchmen series for HBO, collecting entries on his IMDb page like stamps. The
opportunities are emanating from his eforts—moves that separate superstars from one-
hit wonders. Of course, raw talent helps, too. This is a man who left architecture
for acting on a whim and made it work. Yet he still thinks of himself as striving toward
the big time. “I still hang my hat on that irst job,” he says. He’s crossed “superhero movie”
of the lifelong to-do list, so now what? “Best Actor” has a nice ring to it.
LILI GÖKSENIN has written for GQ Style and Vogue.
 THE
SNOW
Falling.

Waiting.

Hoping.

STORM Nearly 18 million men are caring

for a sick loved one right now. Here’s

how one of them survived the

slippery terrain of a partner’s illness.

BY A L E X B E LT H

I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY FA B I O C O N S O L I

104 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

WITH A STORM IN THE FORECAST AND SNOW already falling,my wife, Emily, arrang-
es to leave early from her job at the hospital. I’m home cooking
when she calls to report the roads are in rough shape and so are
her tires. “I can’t believe I waited so long to replace them,” she
says. “My stomach is in knots,” and mine tightens too. I want to stay
on the phone, hoping my voice will soothe her, knowing it won’t.
Growing up, Em learned how to drive a tractor and a grip came as a surprise from this ive-foot sprite—
truck, and she knew how to change a tire before she “ive and three quarters,” as she had it. Her laugh was
got behind the wheel of a car. She is an excellent driv- genuine and easy, and I made her laugh right away.
er, which is good because I’m an excellent worrier. She worked as a unit secretary at the nurse’s sta-
I go downstairs to see an inch of snow already cov- tion of an emergency room and was going to nursing
ering the parking lot. Without a shovel of my own, I school. One thing for sure: Nothing about her sug-
drag my boot through the snow trying to ind the di- gested that she was sick.
agonal yellow lines of our designated space. Then I Em was 22 and had just graduated from college
make the mistake of calling back. when she developed Crohn’s, an incurable autoim-
“I’ve never felt so unsafe behind the wheel,” she mune disease. Five years and nine surgeries later, the
says, and explains that her tires have lost their grip. illness consumed her life. At a time when most of her
“I’m going really slowly.” I could have guessed that. I friends were getting their careers and families going,
nicknamed her Sparky a long time ago because she she became a professional patient, in and out of hos-
moves with such careful determination. I walk to the pitals, preparing and recovering, forever going to spe-
front of our apartment building and settle in, like a dog cialists and surgeons who poked and prodded, cut her
on a porch waiting for its owner. For my wife, a drive is open and sewed her up again. The active disease was
never just a drive, because she struggles with a set of eliminated in an early operation when her large intes-
illnesses that are as frustrating and mystifying as they tine was removed, but the scar tissue from subsequent
are debilitating. Which means, of course, that so do I. surgeries presented its own complications.
“I’m not sick,” Em will say matter-of-factly. “I just
EM AND I went to a suburban high school together need to take a lot of naps.”
an hour north of New York City, but we didn’t real- Technically, that’s true. She’s in remission. But
ly meet until we were in our late 20s. It was a small the afterefects made it clear that she wasn’t what
school, so of course I knew who she was. She was one she had been—an athlete who hardly ever got a cold
of the hot chicks—you don’t forget them—with full as a kid, did chores around her dad’s farm, and once
glossy lips, an upturned nose, and heavy-lidded ston- spent a couple weeks in a canoe down in the Florida
er eyes. But she was only a pleasant, vague memory Keys on an Outward Bound trip. Now, after getting
a decade later when we met with a group of mutual ready for work, she’ll lie back down in her scrubs for
friends on Columbus Avenue one gray November af- additional rest before she leaves.
ternoon. Em’s dark hair was slicked back into a bun There is no mercy at the dinner table. She has to eat
and she wore a svelte black leather coat. When she often, noshing like a bird, but is restricted by what she
shook my hand, she looked directly into my eyes and can digest. Raw vegetables are out, but Em loves my
lashed that photogenic smile. The irmness of her salad dressing, so she’ll suck the dressing of a leaf of

106 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

lettuce. Finding a restaurant can be exasperating to us A good night’s sleep is the diference between
both; I get frustrated at how many places we can’t go, a great day and a lousy one, so I tiptoe around the
and she feels like a drag and gets delated, too. After apartment until she’s awake, quieting my chirpy na-
eating, she’s careful to sit still while digesting because ture. I know she’s restored when she emerges from
the scar tissue can lead to an “obstruction.” She’s en- the bedroom and says, “Here I are,” which is what
dured a thousand small obstructions and half a dozen she said as a little girl the irst time someone asked,
major ones that put her in the hospital, those dreaded “Where are you?”
visits always occurring in the middle of the night.
I thought I knew what I was getting into when we THAT ALMOST MAGICAL quiet that accompanies
started dating. Em told me about the Crohn’s, but it a snowstorm has settled on the city and I’m chuck-
wasn’t until the irst time we made love that the real- ing snowballs at a stop sign when Em calls again. She
ity set in. We were lying in bed in my apartment; Em isn’t close enough, but she’s making progress, and all
stilled my hand as I started to unbutton her jeans, I can think is: I can’t protect my wife.
and prepared me for what was next.
I had never seen an ileostomy bag before and, now EM CAN’T HAVE CHILDREN. She’s unable to con-
confronted with it, secured just above Em’s right hip, ceive, and beyond that, doesn’t have the stamina to be
my curiosity masked my shock. I made sure not to a parent—which rules out adoption. It was a poten-
look disgusted, and in fact, I wasn’t. I asked ques- tial deal-breaker, and we dated ive years before we
tions about how it worked and how often she changed got married, schlepping to couples therapy looking
it—you know, the usual foreplay. Then we moved on for answers. In time, she’ll feel better and change her Our back-and-
to the fun stuf, unfettered. mind, I thought, when actually it was me who had to forth life, as it
In our mid-30s, after we’d been together a few accept that kids were not in our future. goes: In N.Y.C.’s
Chinatown, 2002;
years, Em was diagnosed with chronic migraines and You wish for love, but when it arrives, you never resting after a trip
something called “convergence insuiciency,” which know how it will look. Kids or not, I love Em because to the ER on New
means her eyes don’t work in concert with each oth- I can be myself with her. She’s devoted, unwaver- Year’s Eve, 2010.
er, which you’d never guess be-
cause her eyes look perfectly
normal. That’s because it’s actu-
ally a confounding neurological
and spatial mishap—her vision
is 20/20, but tracking anything
on a page or a screen gives her
a sinister headache. Em hasn’t
been to a movie theater in more
than a decade and has to lim-
it use of her smartphone. She
white-knuckles it through her
shift at work, which, of course,
involves looking at a computer
screen—Em’s ailments knocked
her out of nursing school after
two years, but she continues to
work part-time in the ER.
At home, I do the shopping
and cooking; she does the laun-
dry and accounting. I feel help-
ful when I can pick up any slack
on chores, like preparing her lunch, to save her even ing in her afection, forever cheerleading. I ind her
a nominal amount of energy. She hates that she can’t Post-its throughout the apartment—in the fridge or
do everything herself but isn’t too proud to appreciate the medicine cabinet: “Morning handsome! I love
the help. On the occasions when Em isn’t able to join my life with you!” We look at each other with curios-
me at dinner with friends or at family gatherings, ity and amusement because we have such diferent
I ield a barrage of well-meaning inquiries about her interests—she’s into neuroscience, sharks’ teeth,
health. I’ve learned to gloss over them with “She’s and photosynthesis; I’m into cooking, Buster Kea-
just resting”—because how would getting into the ton, and the Yankees. (I used to think that kind of
complicated truth really help? stuf—having the same taste—mattered. It doesn’t.)

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 107

 Above all, I was attracted to her
ighting spirit. There is some-
thing reassuring about being with
someone who is not going to freak
out in a crisis, and Em is unafraid
when things get tough, which they
always do. She doesn’t like being
sick, of course, but understands
the nature of living with sickness.
Like fame or good looks, you’d
best not make too much of these
things. You learn how to deal.
I’ve had to learn it, too. Since I
wasn’t going to be a dad, I doubled
down on other pleasures and even
tried to lose myself in caregiving.
But when Em isn’t available sex-
ually, I get frustrated, even take
it personally. I curse my self-ab-
sorption. Here’s my wife, living
in constant discomfort, and all
I can think about is getting my
rocks of. But the disappointment
is there, and we brood, the ten-
sion mounting, before we ight.
Early in our relationship, we were
quicker to argue. I once punched
the bedroom light socket in a it
of anger, but now our blowups are
rare, and when I think I am going
to do or say something I’ll regret,
I excuse myself and take a walk
around the neighborhood, to re-
turn only after I’ve cooled of.
Mostly, I handle my anger by
denying it. Em asks, “What’s
wrong?” And I say, “Nothing,” but
she knows it’s something because
she can sense it even if I can’t artic-
ulate it. I think I should be over be-
ing mad, so I ignore it and compensate by being overly
nice, the hostility lacquered beneath all the courtesy
and good intention. At times, I’ve stopped exercising,
eaten too much food, and smoked too much weed.
I haven’t chased women, but I’ll catch the hypnotic
way a girl’s ponytail swings back and forth as she jogs
along, and part of me can’t help but feel heartbroken
for Em, who can’t simply throw on a pair of shorts and
go for a run like she used to.
For years, I went to a men’s group run by a thera-
pist I was seeing. In a room of ive or six guys rang-
ing from their 20s to their 60s—married, single,
divorced—I’d talk about what was going on in my
marriage. The group sympathized with my strug-
gles, and there were times when the sound of anoth-
er man’s voice expressing compassion made me feel

108 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

less alone. The guys challenged me not to feel sorry Consider “That must
for myself. I might be denied certain adventures in be hard” to be an answer.
“This is a generalization, but
my marriage, but who has it all? Life is disappoint- men tend to want to fix things,”
ing, they reminded me; how you handle it is what’s Whiting says. “Women often
important—in my case, having trust that in the long just want someone to listen to
run I will get what I need, if not everything I want. them.” So “I’m sorry you’re
NAVIGATING going through that; tell me
more about it” is a perfectly
THE SNOW IS WET and heavy when a plow inally SICKNESS reasonable response when
your partner starts talking
trudges by, spritzing salt in its wake, like rice at a
wedding. Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the AND HEALTH about what’s wrong.
hardest part. Waiting for her next appointment, for Of the roughly 44 million un-
Build a new fire.
a new medicine to kick in, for her to get well. Waiting paid caregivers in the U. S., 40
Limping along and trying to
percent are men. And when it’s
for her to digest so we can make love, waiting for her pretend nothing has changed
your partner that you’re caring
vision to clear so we can binge-watch Netlix like a becomes an exhausting chore
for, you’re not just dealing with
of fanning the embers of what
normal couple. Waiting to stop waiting. an illness. You’re dealing with a
used to be. Instead, find ways
changed relationship. To help
to construct your new reality;
steady your course:
EM  HAS  BEEN relentless in her pursuit of getting look for new things you can
do together that are different
well. She  visits neurologists and surgeons at pres- Give the rock a rest.
but still meaningful. They
tigious hospitals and of-the-grid holistic  practi- “Male caregivers, in general,
can be daily rituals or special
have the tendency to play
tioners. Em’s gone to talk therapy, practiced yoga and events, but shouldn’t be about
tough guy and not allow
meditation, explored acupuncture, tapping, and cra- the illness or caregiving—you
themselves to experience any
already have enough of those.
niosacral therapy—no modality is too obscure. With feelings,” says Barry Jacobs,
each doctor, she hits a dead end where they pass her Psy.D., a clinical psychologist
Collaborate.
who’s a national spokesperson
along to the next specialist. Privately, she feels like a “Out of all best intentions, the
on family caregiving for the
failure, as if being ill means that she’s weak. well partner often takes on
American Heart Association.
more than they should, making
 “Do you think I will ever get better?” she asks, and That breeds a conspiracy of
the ill spouse feel disempow-
I always say yes, because what else am I going to say? silence that shuts out your
ered and diminished,” Jacobs
partner and doesn’t give hon-
I need to believe it, too. says. “That affects the level of
est conversations—the stuff
affection between you.” The
healthy relationships are built
relationship may never again
THERE ARE SO MANY cars that look like hers that on—a chance. “Illness doesn’t
be as egalitarian as it was, but
when I inally spot it, I’m not sure it isn’t a mirage. kill a relationship; lack of intima-
it’s important to feel like there’s
cy does. It’s hard to feel warm
The car moves so slowly it seems to loat, but it’s her. effort on both sides (even as
and fuzzy about a warrior,” he
Of course it is—steady, unhurried, safe. Sparky, my simple as Em’s Post-its around
says. (Which also explains why
the house). Figure out how
beautiful tortoise. Here I Are. people’s sex lives evaporate.)
each of you will contribute.
She parks in the space I sort of cleared and looks Not going well? Talk to
Team up.
drawn but relieved; it’s taken two hours to make the people who’ve been there: Try
You’ve got to find a way to
half-hour drive. Upstairs, Em changes into her pj’s the Well Spouse Association
bring up what you’re feeling,
(wellspouse.org) or Hidden
and plops down on the couch. I put my right hand in even if it’s negative. One
Heroes, designed for military
way to start is to define the
the middle of her chest and she places her hands over caregivers (hiddenheroes.org);
illness as a couple or family
mine. I used to think that because I was helpless to both have advice and support
issue—“us against the disease,”
communities for navigating
make her better I was also useless, but as she closes her says C. Grace Whiting, CEO
the new normal.
eyes and presses my palm to her chest, taking in my of the National Alliance for
—Marty Munson
Caregiving, a research and
warmth, I know that I am useful, like when I dice vege-
advocacy group. Then together
tables small enough for her to digest, or listen—really you can acknowledge
listen—to her without trying to solve or ix anything. what has been lost and the
She’s hungry, so I heat up a small bowl of the po- sadness around that.
lenta I cooked earlier. What a night. She tells me how
she worked her meditation programs in the car but
found it hard to concentrate. “I don’t even want to
tell you what was going through my mind,” she says.
I tell her she doesn’t want to know what was going
through mine.
We agree to leave it at that.

ALEX BELTH is the editor of Esquire Classic. His work has

appeared in Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and Deadspin.

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 109

 THE (Above)
AVERAGE GUY
HOW DO YOU RATE?
THIS
MONTH
At the Gym “TILL I COLLAPSE,”
by Eminem, is the single song found
most frequently on men’s Spotify
workout playlists in the U. S.
70.1%
OUR WORKOUT BUDDY:
KANYE WEST
of men listen to music The rapper appears twice on the list
while exercising. of top five songs on workout playlists
created by U. S. men. The top two:

At the gym:
“POWER”
70%
of these men listen to
their own tunes.

30,200,000 NUMBER OF U.S. MEN WHO

BELONG TO A HEALTH CLUB. 30%
succumb to whatever’s
playing over the
AND
gym’s sound system. “STRONGER”
HOW MUCH SMALLER THE WAISTS GO MORE, GO LESS,
OF MEN WHO’VE BELONGED TO A HEALTH DO LESS: DO MORE:
CLUB FOR MORE THAN A YEAR ARE
COMPARED WITH THOSE OF MEN
WHO HAVE NOT. 1.9% 2%
1.6"
Increase in lean
muscle mass
among people
Increase in lean
muscle mass
among people WHO’S 30–39
who did high- who did low- LISTENING: The age group
frequency train- frequency train-
ing (three sets ing (nine sets
inches
1 for each muscle for each muscle
playlist streams.
group, three group, once
times a week). a week).

Getty Images (men in gym), Universal Music Group (Kanye album covers), Spotify (playlist cover)
Days per week older adults

4 TO 7
47.7%
THE TOP 5 hit the sauna to lower their
chances of stroke over
MOST CONSUMED SUPPLEMENTS: 15 years by 61 percent.

Whey protein
Washington, D. C.

40.5%
and powders
Percentage who met federal
Multivitamins guidelines for aerobic and
muscle-strengthening activity.
Branched-chain
amino acids
Caffeine OF MEN WHO EXERCISE TAKE A SUPPLEMENT
Creatine TO INCREASE OR MAINTAIN MASS
OR STRENGTH, OR TO BOOST RECOVERY.

One study found that guys who smelled androstadie-

GO TO A CROWDED GYM, South Dakota

BECOME MORE GIVING

none, a part of male sweat, were twice as cooperative
and generous when asked to complete given tasks
as a control group who hadn’t sniffed sweat.
Percentage who met federal
guidelines for aerobic and
muscle-strengthening activity. 17.5%
110 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
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1. Publication title: Men’s Health.
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 HOW MUCH SMARTER CAN TECH GET? WE’RE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THE
ANSWER. BUT THESE PRODUCTS—THE BEST NOT-DUMB STUFF THAT WE CAME ACROSS
ALL YEAR—SUGGEST THE SMART ERA IS JUST GETTING STARTED.

Cover and feature

photographs by
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Prop styling by
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ANDERSON HOPKINS

Illustrations by
ZOHAR LAZAR

Contributors:
ERIC ADAMS
AARON BIBLE
DANIEL DUBNO
MICHAEL EASTER
MATT GOULET
PAUL KITA
TOM SAMILJAN
EBENEZER SAMUEL

Cover:
Apple iPhone XS Max

06 KITCHEN

10 HOME

12 GADGETS

14 GYM

18 FITNESS

22 CARS

26 ADVENTURE

29 TOOLS

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MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 5

Preheat Your
Oven to “Steak”
A FOOD WRITER RUMMAGED THROUGH THE CABINETS OF THE
MODERNIST-KITCHEN ERA TO FIND THE PRODUCTS YOU MIGHT
ACTUALLY USE. TURNS OUT, THERE ARE TWO. BY JONATHAN KAUFFMAN
 MATT VAN HORN, CEO of June Oven, offers NOW
to cook me a steak in his company’s San Fran-
cisco offices. He sticks a temperature probe INNOVATORS
into the center of a small filet and slides the ARE FINDING
meat into the “intelligent” oven, which resem- WAYS TO
bles a sleek microwave. He keys a few com- PRODUCE
mands into its interface (the oven remembers
that he likes his steaks cooked to medium HOME VERSIONS
rare), and he allows the programming to do OF THOSE
the rest: convection roasting, broiling, resting PROFESSIONAL,
for a few minutes, high-heat roasting again.
There are eight steps in all. WILLY
When the June intelligent cision cooking,” the belief that any home
WONKA–ESQUE
oven appeared on the market cook, regardless of skill level, can create MACHINES.
in November 2016, with a uniformly amazing food by letting software
price tag of $1,500 and 48 take care of the temperature and time.
preset cooking programs, it Precision cooking emerged from the
was hyped as the smartest molecular-gastronomy movement of the
appliance in a smart-kitchen early 2000s. In order to torque foods into
movement that over the past strange new shapes and textures, molec-
ive years has produced tea ular gastronomists leverage tools—CVAP
makers that notify your phone ovens, siphons, freeze dryers, immersion
when your oolong is ready circulators for sous vide cooking—that
and WiFi-enabled refrigera- have become ixtures in high-end restau-
tors that, I don’t know, have rants. Now innovators are inding ways to
built-in cameras so you can produce home versions of those profes-
see inside instead of just open- sional, Willy Wonka–esque machines.
ing the dang door. At their I’ve almost forgotten the beef by the
most frivolous, these devices time the June emits a soothing series of June Oven: It’s
seem like Inspector Gadget chimes, and Van Horn jumps up to bring $599, or $799 with
toys for tech bros. me the steak. After an oven-suggested accessories and a
three-year subscrip-
Some of the early appliances ive-minute rest, he slices in: The beef tion to its recipe
failed fast (the Google-funded is deep pink through and through, with database, through
Juicero), stirring up skepti- a steakhouse-worthy crust. “We have juneoven.com.
cism in American markets
about just how “smart” home
cooks want their devices. But
in the two years since it was introduced,
the June has evolved quickly and silently.
The second generation of the oven, released
in August, now costs $599. It includes
air-fryer and slow-cooker functions, plus
100 cooking programs driven by customer
demand, including how to make kale
chips and warm tortillas. With the new
release, the smart oven seems less like
an eye-rolling Silicon Valley fantasy and
more like a tool I might want to use.
The creators of such new devices, like
June Oven, trust in what they call “pre-

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 7

 professional chefs who are teaching the
oven their brains,” he says. This gives the
June a sort of AI-based intuition that’s
powerful and exact. As a party trick, it’s a
pretty impressive one.
With its eight steps, the steak program
is one of the oven’s most complex. Though
every June program relies on precision
cooking, Van Horn says his company’s
target market isn’t the kind of precision-
cooking enthusiasts who buy the six-
volume Modernist Cuisine books and
keep xanthan gum in their spice rack.
Some of the most passionate users are
busy professionals with kids who’d rather
cook than order takeout. The June is suc-
cessful, he argues, not because the oven
is smart but because it outperforms even
the old-school appliances you have in your
kitchen right now.
BY CONTRAST, the Anova Nano looks
and performs nothing like a tabletop
oven. Instead, it resembles an immersion
blender with a clamp on one side and a
simple beveled display at the top. It’s
designed to clip onto just about any pot in
your kitchen for sous vide cooking. The
best-known precision-cooking technique,
sous vide (which means “under vacuum”
Anova Precision in French) refers to the process of sealing
Cooker Nano: $99
at anovaculinary
ingredients in food-grade plastic bags to
.com or more main- cook in a low-temperature water bath. It
stream retailers, sounds fussy, but the method is similar
such as Target and to Crock-Pot cooking, in which low-and-
Best Buy. slow heat produces fork-tender food. The
added beneit of sous vide is that you can
set the water temp at a speciic degree for
palate-shifting results.
Immersion circulators for sous vide
cooking had generally cost more than
$700 until 2013, when Anova, formerly
a lab-equipment manufacturer, created
the $199 Anova One for home kitchens.
Rather than searing the outside of a
steak, say, and keeping it in the pan
until the center reaches 135 degrees, you
slow-cook the beef at 135 degrees until it’s
medium rare through and through, then
hit it with a blazing-hot pan to quickly
give it a dark, umami-rich crust.
This past June, Anova released the $99
Nano, which its in most utility drawers
and can be operated through touch con-
trols or a smartphone, connected to the
device via Bluetooth. “Sous vide sounds
complex, and the fact that it came from
8 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
restaurants to the mainstream made it
sound diicult,” says Anova CEO Steve
Svajian. “Ofering a connected device so
you can do it with the assistance of the
phone was a big thing.”
Connectivity isn’t a draw in itself. The
June oven’s link to the web and smart-
phones helps users troubleshoot culinary
disasters, introduce cooking programs
remotely, and simply let their phone
know that their four-pound chicken will
be ready in 32 minutes.
Svajian argues that the recipes are the
raison d’être for the Anova Nano’s con-
nectivity. When I dropped a sealed bag
of seasoned chicken thighs into a pot of
water and selected “Sous Vide Chicken
Thighs with Lemon Sauce” from the
1,000-plus user-generated recipes on the
app, it automatically sent the cooking
time (two hours) and temp (149.9°F) to
the device. I came back from a shopping
trip and plucked one thigh out of the bag
to sear in a pan. The chicken was almost
obscenely juicy, its lavor infused with the
herbs I’d stuck in the bag with the meat.
John Van Den Nieuwenhuizen, Anova’s
VP of hardware, says the company once
tried to tailor its marketing and content
to a broad swath of the public. It found
that precision cooking, with its exact
degrees and upending of traditional
cooking methods, tends to attract cooks
with a geeky bent. It turns out, though,
that there are a lot of them around the
world. Anova fans haven’t just contributed
recipes to the app: More than 30,000
Instagram posts, in Chinese, Korean,
and German as well as English, are
now tagged #anovafoodnerd—though
perhaps you could attribute that to
“smart” marketing.
Subjecting your food to the supposed
wonders of the still-new smart-kitchen
movement can be risky, especially when
so many products launch with a sky-high
price, lofty language, and the hope they
can lure enough early adopters to propel
the gadgetry into home kitchens. But
second and third generations of these
types of products have become afordable
and, in the best sense, pedestrian. Are
the June intelligent oven and the Anova
Nano technical marvels? You could say
that. But more important, do they make
you a killer dinner? You’ll have to taste
the steak for yourself.
MACY'S & MACYS.COM

Bodum Bistro Nouveau
This teapot is clear, so you can monitor the
darkness of your green tea. You’re drinking
your antioxidant-loaded afternoon cuppa,
not a two-liter, right? $15; bodum.com
Duparquet Copper 9-Inch Fry Pan
What happens when a Cornell engineering
graduate turned coppersmith decides to
reinvent traditional pans? He forges cook-
ware with incredible heating speed, control,
and retention. It also happens to look awe-
some. $275; duparquet.com

Finex 5-Quart
Cast-Iron
Dutch Oven
The Portland, Oregon–
Food 52 x Epicu- based craftsmen
rean XL Matte applied the octagonal
Hinoki S1 Gyuto
Black Natural Fiber shape of their skillets
Chef’s Knife
Cutting Board to this pot. Spiraled
You customize the
You can’t put wood stainless-steel handles
knife (handle, blade,
cutting boards in the make for no-burn
monogram). Japanese
dishwasher. Plastic and transportation. $300;
bladesmiths craft the
glass cutting boards finexusa.com
finest piece of cutlery
ruin knife blades. This you’ve ever held. $375;
material bridges the hinoki.shop
gap. From $55;
food52.com/shop This wine opener doesn’t
need a carrying case.
Crock-Pot 8-Quart
Express Crock XL
Wait, no Instant Pot? This
option is cheaper by
$40 and lines the insert
with a nonstick surface,
Rabbit Axis Lever unlike Instant Pot’s stain-
Corkscrew less steel, which typically
The classic Rabbit was requires a thorough
the best wine opener postcook scrubbing.
ever, except that the $140; crock-pot.com
thing was bulky and
hard to take with you.
This fold-out version,
slightly larger than a
pack of cards, fixes that.
$50; rabbitwine.com

Soma
Brew Bottle
Char-Broil Kamander Brew to-go hot coffee all
There used to be one player in the kamado-style grill winter. Steep cold brew
game: the Big Green Egg. But then companies overnight come summer.
started to realize that maybe people don’t want to Double glass walls rein-
shell out $1,000 for a heavy ceramic pot (but it’s force its durability, and a
green!). Char-Broil’s version is the Drogon of your BPA-free plastic shell
backyard—formidable in build, respectable in fire- guards it from drops.
power, and surprisingly nimble. $400; charbroil.com $40; drinksoma.com

YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP MensHealth.com/gift-guide

 Anker Nebula Capsule Projector
This soda-can-sized projector displays up to
100 inches in high contrast for up to four hours
on a single charge, via WiFi; Bluetooth; USB-
connected streaming sticks; or HDMI-, AirPlay-,
or Miracast-connected laptops and smart-
phones. In other words, everything! Use it in
your garage to stream workouts, in your kitchen
for recipes, or in your living room for movies,
games, and concerts. $350; seenebula.com
R E V E LRY
SCREENS
S PE A K E R S

Gamers will love the
G903’s instantaneous
button responsiveness
and crisp rebound, as
well as its precision sen-
sor and 11 programmable
buttons. Nongamers?
They’ll dig the same
things. The mouse is
nimble whether you’re
surfing or, um, spread-
sheeting. It’s also com-
patible with Logitech’s G
PowerPlay charging pad.
$150; logitech.com
sensors around the house to manage
hot and cold spots for even and com-
Jamie Chung (projector, toothbrushes), David Livingston/Getty Images (Palmer)
ability to deactivate the noise cancella-
tion when talking by cupping your hand
on the earpiece. $350; sony.com
Samsung The Frame
The new 55-inch 4K UHD
television from Samsung,
long a leader in flat TVs, WHAT I WANT
makes everything from Net-
flix to video games jump into
your living room. Then it turns
into a customizable work of
art (with more than 800
options, or you can upload
your own high-res photos).
CHARLIE PALMER
Executive chef
of Aureole New
York City
I have a few
Shinola watches
(shinola.com) and
am always looking
$750; lenovo.com to see what they’re
coming out with
next. I actually had
the same watch
made for each of
my four sons—all
engraved—which
was really special. I
just love that they’re
American made
and based in
Detroit, but I also
just think they’re
really cool—espe-
cially the Statue of
Liberty collection.
Sonos Beam Sound Bar
home theater. But the highlight is Alexa, which can turn on your
TV, check the weather, and resume your Game of Thrones binge
the moment you yell. Beam plus two Ones, $797; sonos.com
SMACKDOWN !
TOOTH FAIRIES
Smart, sensitive brushes Sonicare Diamond-
that glow if you push too Clean Smart
hard, have multiple heads, With five modes to fit your
and track performance. need (e.g., whiten at night,
Oral-B Genius 8000 this brush saves you some
The small heads make elbow grease. The app
precise brushing easy, and monitors how well you do,
the two-minute timer noting where you neglect,
ensures you don’t cheat. like the backs of your front
The app lets you set goals
(gum health, whitening, both of the brushes): a
etc.), and it uses your
smartphone camera to help
you adjust your technique. to see if you’re hitting your
$180; amazon.com goals. $229; amazon.com
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 11
 Master & Dynamic MW07
Wireless Earbuds
Made with an acetate shell, these earbuds
drip style. Their sound and functionality are
flawless, too, with high-end drivers, smart
sensors, and custom wings that ensure a
snug fit. $299; masterdynamic.com

Beoplay P6
Speaker
Even jaded listeners
will be wowed by the
sonic punch from this
two-pound, book-sized,
aluminum speaker. It’s
thanks to the two 1.5-
inch drivers, a 4-inch
woofer, an amp with a
peak output of 215 Parrot Anafi Drone
watts, and some Danish With a 2.8x-zoom 4K HDR camera, AI-enabled flight modes, and
acoustic alchemy. a gimbal mount that tilts the camera 180 degrees, this drone
Setup is simple, and the lets you capture stunning images from any direction, including
battery keeps the party straight up and down. It’s also lightweight and collapsible,
bumping for 16 hours. making it the perfect adventure companion. $700; parrot.com
$399; beoplay.com

Tapplock One
SMACKDOWN !

Combinations and keys are

so 1994. Release your bike or
locker almost instantly with
the fingerprint sensor, or use
the Tapplock app. Both
methods also allow sharing.
SHOT CALLERS
A new breed of digital cameras dispenses with the
mirror and prism found in DSLRs and replaces them
with a high-res electronic viewfinder and screen. Each
excels in a different way.

Sharp Focusing
The Canon EOS R will make sure
that everything you want to be
in focus will be, courtesy of its
incredible 5,655 autofocus
points, compared with 693 in
the Sony and 273 in the Nikon.
$2,300; usa.canon.com

Fast Shooter
Nikon’s Z6 will shoot up to
12 frames per second, so
you can nail any great
action moment. An adapter
connects your existing
Nikon lenses. From
Jamie Chung (drone)

12 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 THE
WORLD’S
MOST
REFRESHING
BEER™

CELEBRATE RESPONSIBLY®
© 2018 COORS BREWING CO., GOLDEN, CO • BEER
Is the Smart
Gym Dumb?
SILICON VALLEY CHANGED MUSIC, MOVIES, HEALTH, AND OFFICE
NAP TIME. NOW IT’S TRYING TO DISRUPT THE WAY WE WORK OUT—
WHETHER WE WANT IT TO OR NOT. BY EBENEZER SAMUEL, C.S.C.S.
 I’VE DONE exactly three reps each of four dif-
ferent exercises—shoulder presses, pulldowns,
bench presses, and deadlifts—but the artiicial
intelligence in this Tonal unit, a cable-based
system with a video screen mounted to a wall
like a TV rotated vertically, thinks it has me all
igured out. It thinks I should bench 63 pounds
of resistance per arm next.
WTF? I typically bench As recently as a decade ago, a home
90-pound dumbbells, so as I workout was a P90X DVD and a mess of
position myself in the Tonal dumbbells across your living-room loor.
unit for a 63-pound bench For that three grand plus $49 a month for
press, I’m all set to exact some streaming workouts, Tonal cleans up the
revenge. I brace my torso, mess. It’s a slim, 22-by-51-inch unit that
plant my feet, press upward, attaches to your wall, an LED touchscreen
and the weight moves . . . just in its center, two adjustable cable arms
like 90 pounds would have. I hidden behind it. When it’s training time,
hadn’t accounted for Tonal’s you pull out the arms and the screen lights
electromagnetic resistance up, displaying a Netlix-like collection
feeling diferent than that of of workouts. These range from exer-
traditional weights. Tonal’s cises to improve your distance-running
AI did. The future of home performance (Run Faster, Run Fur-
itness doesn’t simply give ther) to HIIT sessions (HIIT It Hard) to
you a workout; for $3,000, it muscle-building circuits.
provides you with equipment, You can also select Free Lift, trans-
spots you, motivates you, and forming Tonal into the kind of cable
pushes you. And it keeps you machine you’d ind in just about any gym.
guessing. Its AI doesn’t guide you in this mode, but
The lagship product of a the device still tracks your motion, de-
three-year-old San Francisco livering feedback that gym experts will
startup of the same name, appreciate. Fresh of that bench press,
Tonal is the most publicized I enter this mode, getting more of a feel
entry in the “smart gym” rev- for Tonal’s resistance and its advanced
olution and promises you a quality home “smarts.” I do reps of shoulder presses,
workout with expert instruction—all enjoying the smooth resistance and
without turning your living room into a watching the screen. After each rep, a bar
Marriott itness center. After watching chart appears. The machine is tracking
the rise of Peloton, which went from my reps and showing my power output in
unknown connected-stationary-bike each one.
company in 2012 to a $4 billion valu- The unit’s handles have gyroscopes to
ation in August, Silicon Valley is all track range of motion, and its internal
in on home itness. Tonal and another sensors measure power output. Tonal
startup, the Manhattan-based Mirror, can collect and store this data along with
represent a wave of devices that want to other basic info (your favorite work-
bring big-box itness home, so you can outs, your typical resistance, the reps
do preacher curls right before you hit the you complete), eventually feeding the
dinner table. data through its AI algorithm in order

MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 15

 to optimize resistance. The goal is to be
TONAL’S more than a smart gym; Tonal could be
MOVEMENT a smart training assistant. Its workouts
are designed by the company’s training
TRACKING AND staf, but its AI helps you choose the right
RESISTANCE weights and directs you toward workouts
that suit your goals and preferences. A
MAY SEEM Tonal unit could someday determine bet-
RIGHT OUT OF ter exercises for you based on such things
as height, age, even motivation, but the
THE JETSONS, company doesn’t have a timetable for this.
For now, Tonal’s ability to mimic var-
BUT TO ious resistance-training strategies is its
FORWARD- selling point. Its electromagnetic resis-
tance can be altered in an instant, and its
THINKING programming allows it to simulate more
TRAINERS IT’S than merely lifting weights. You can
use advanced techniques that normally
FLINTSTONIAN. require extra equipment—for example,
curling as if you had chains attached to
your weights (with the resistance pro-
gressively increasing as you lift)—or even
employ eccentric loading techniques,
with the resistance increasing as you
The Mirror
Sure, a trainer lower the weight.
greets you and I bang out a set of lat pulldowns, then a
puts you through set of biceps curls with simulated chain
the paces. But the resistance, and start getting a solid burn.
best part: It’s so
reflective you can Next I experiment with more bench
perfectly see your presses, this time using the unit’s auto-
form, good or bad. mated spotter system to push out a few
extra reps. This doesn’t feel quite right;
essentially, the “spot” is a programmed
weight reduction that I can’t change. I
tell Tonal’s representatives that a human
spotter would force me to keep working
for my rep. They mention that issues like
this can be ixed quickly with a software
update. “You can wake up one morning,”
says David Azaria, Tonal’s head of soft-
ware, “and just ind new functionality.”
Because the hardware is modeled
after a cable machine, it’s ideal for
muscle-building exercises like curls
and shoulder presses, but not cleans,
snatches, and other functional move-
ments that have grown so popular.
Over the past two years, trainers have
started favoring total-body moves; even
budget-priced big-box gyms like Blink
Fitness now have battle ropes and med-
icine balls. Tonal’s movement tracking
and resistance may seem right out of The
Jetsons, but to forward-thinking trainers
it’s Flintstonian. “In the itness world, we
are clearly going away from machines,”
says Mike Boyle, a veteran Boston-based
trainer. “You can get an awful lot of stuf
done with dumbbells and a bench.”
Tonal founder and CEO Aly Orady
counters that I can ind other ways to
perform the moves that the unit doesn’t
accommodate. No power
cleans? I can tweak my
workouts to do deadlifts
and jump squats. But
given its price tag, should
I need to do that?
AT A GLANCE, the Mirror
looks a lot like Tonal:
another wall-mounted
unit for the home-itness
future, minus the cable
arms. But its training
approach is diferent.
Founder and CEO Brynn
Putnam, a former profes-
sional dancer and veteran
of the group-itness scene,
designed the Mirror
($1,495 plus a $39-a-month
subscription fee) to be
essentially a giant iPhone
with a well-built streaming
itness app. (Think Nike
Training Club or Beach-
body on Demand.)
 Slidier Sliders
These laser-cut steel Havyk sliders offer multiple
grip points for your hands and feet, and they work
on any surface, from cement to rubber to grass,
unlike regular sliders, which typically operate only
on smooth floors. $150; roguefitness.com

Its screen sets it apart: It’s highly Tonal

relective, so I can see my form as I’m You’re always
warmed up before
watching an onscreen trainer. Using
a Tonal workout:
the Mirror’s app, I select a workout on The machine takes
my iPhone, sync my Apple Watch, and you through sev-
I’m greeted by Gerren Liles, my video eral drills before
trainer, who’s going to put me through a you start moving
its cables. Because You Might
high-intensity interval workout.
Not Know Squat
It’s Peloton for biceps. My heart rate, A perfect squat has you Smarter Dumbbells
measured via my Apple Watch, is dis- carefully distributing The Bowflex SelectTech
played in the bottom left corner, along your weight between 560 are the world’s first
with a list of other users doing this same your heels and your fore- smart dumbbells to use
feet—and it’s harder than Bluetooth to track
workout. A few minutes later, I’m in irst
you think. SmartSquat weight, reps, and sets. A
place on the leaderboard—and soaked in will sense how you’re trainer on the app even
sweat. “The quality of an iPhone workout balanced and subtly tip gives you tips on basic
isn’t great,” says Putnam. “I wanted to in directions that assist exercises like biceps
get people more excited.” A pair of dumb- you in honing your form. curls and shoulder
$180; smart-squat.com presses. Adjustable up to
bells and a bench can’t do that. 60 pounds per weight.
The Mirror’s workout library includes $499; bowflex.com
yoga, HIIT, and strength-building dumb-
bell routines, but Putnam doesn’t see the
Mirror as simply a itness machine. She
sees it as a new platform.
“You have your TV and your phone,”
she says. “We’re vying to be the next
screen in your life. Fitness is our irst
vertical.”
The Mirror and Tonal are giving the
itness world a heads-up: Don’t be sur-
prised if electromagnetic-resistance ma-
chines land in your gym soon. For now,
expect stumbles, but know that Tonal and
the Mirror are on the right track, giving
us home workouts that involve way, way
more than burpees and body weight.

YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP MensHealth.com/gift-guide MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 17

SNEAKERS TR AC K E R S FAT B U R N E R S

Lululemon

mapped levels of

joints full range of

Trigger Point

Nike Zoom
Fly Flyknit
By combining the
responsive carbon-
fiber plate that’s in its
marathon race shoe
with a plush foam, Nike
created a durable shoe
for all runners looking
to add speed to their
stride. $160; nike.com

WHAT I WANT

as a hobby. You can change the

Jamie Chung (sneaker), Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Modern Luxury Manhattan magazine (Snyder)
TODD SNYDER

cannondale.com

18 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 FĒNIX® 5X PLUS

MULTISPORT

GPS WATCH

WITH PULSE OX

This is not a medical device; see Garmin.com/ataccuracy

Copyright © 2018 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
 TRACKER STARS

SMACKDOWN !
Running (and lifting) with the best
of the new smartwatches.
Farm to Feet
Greensboro Apple Watch Series 4
These merino- This fourth iteration of the watch is
wool training smarter, has a 30 percent bigger
socks are knit in screen, and handles almost all activities.
North Carolina We like it most for running and cycling,
using a 200- where the superior heart-rate sensor
needle machine excels. Lifesaving bonus: The ECG app
(that’s the high- is FDA cleared, and you can send a PDF
est), so they’re fine to your doctor! From $399; apple.com
and strong. The
side ventilation is Fitbit Charge 3
a bonus. $20; Lighter, smarter, and with longer bat-
farmtofeet.com tery life, Fitbit’s latest fitness tracker
pushes beyond heart rate and calories
burned to give you insight into how
you’re sleeping and deliver personal-
ized guided-breathing lessons. It’s
more basic than some smartwatches
District Nako Black Rose Sunglasses but still super useful. $150; fitbit.com
With engineering from Japan, District makes
lightweight running sunglasses that ooze perfor- Suunto 9 Baro
mance but don’t scream jock. The Nako has a Building on the brand’s adventure
titanium-and-nylon frame with rose lenses to heritage, this Suunto thrives off-road—
protect against UV rays and enhance your vision hiking, running, climbing, exploring—
in any weather. $199; districtvision.com where its new GPS algorithm works
efficiently while you enjoy extended
battery power, ensuring you won’t get
lost, even on a 120-hour expedition. 
$599; suunto.com

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus

A hybrid of the Apple and the Suunto,
this beefy watch lets you track
endurance on long runs and hikes and
performance when strength training.
Add in a 500-song capacity and
Reebok Sole Fury
cashless payment via Garmin Pay
Tackle your next workout
and it transitions to more relaxing
in these cross-trainers,
pursuits, too. $700; garmin.com
which have cushioning to
make running comfort-
able, along with support Three-dimensional
and ground-feel for pods help wick
away moisture.

Jamie Chung (smartwatches)

20 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP MensHealth.com/gift-guide

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 Your Car,
Your Friend
NEW SAFETY TECHNOLOGY FOCUSES ON YOUR VEHICLE’S
SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE: YOU. BY SEAN EVANS

22 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH

 YOU’RE DRIVING down the highway, alone,
late at night. Suddenly your blood pressure
decreases. You’re not as attentive as you were
a few minutes ago. You’re shifting around in
your seat. You let the car drift into another
lane. Instantly, your car activates the hazards
and safely steers itself to the shoulder and
stops. The music cuts off and you hear a 911
operator’s voice say that you may be experi-
encing an acute health crisis and the car has “How ’Bout a
transmitted your location and an ambulance Little Enya?. . . No?”
With the launch of
is ready to be dispatched. the 2020 GLE, Mer-
cedes’s Energizing
If the car had sensed S-Class, a feature aimed at calming or Coach system will
things were even worse, stimulating a driver by using climate, take information
from the Garmin
it would have driven you lighting, seat massagers, and entertain-
you’re wearing
straight to the hospital. ment systems as a whole. Six programs (what, you’re not
My interest in high-tech try to stimulate your physical, mental, wearing a Garmin?!)
car safety began in high and emotional states, all while you drive. and environmental
school, the irst time I got in I’ve tried the Comfort program and can factors like tempera-
ture and road condi-
my used 1991 Honda Accord attest that a heated full-back massage tions and create an
and the seat belt strapped coupled with soft blue lighting and the in-cabin experience
me in automatically. Three kind of music you hear in a Myko- just for you.
decades later, almost every nos hotel elevator entirely lives
vehicle I drive in my role up to the hype. “Our studies show
as resident “car guy” for that the more relaxed you are, the
Men’s Health ofers lane
assist, active braking, and
collision warning. You can
get advanced safety tech-
nology in everything from a
Mercedes C-Class to a Chevy
Malibu. Yet there are still
more than 6 million crashes
annually, with an average of
102 deaths every day, per the
National Highway Traic Safety Admin-
istration. Why are things still so bad?
Human error. It’s oicially responsible
for more than 90 percent of all accidents.
Drivers are always wondering: Can
cars get even safer? But what automak-
ers are asking is: How do we build safer
drivers? And they’re spending billions to
do precisely that.
But is there any indication it will work?

IN 2017, Mercedes-Benz introduced

Energizing Comfort to the U. S. in the
 ”Eyes on the Road, Pal!”
A hands-free driving system
that uses driver-facing
infrared camera, lidar map
data, and high-precision GPS,
the Cadillac CT6’s Super
Cruise works only when
you’re actively looking ahead.
HOW YOUR CAR WILL
TALK TO OTHER CARS
Vehicle-to-vehicle technology,
which uses dedicated short-
range communications and
the GPS system in concert to
transmit all kinds of data to
other cars in the vicinity, has
been under development
for more than a decade by
multiple automakers simulta-
neously, all backed by the gov-
ernment. It’s already actively
used by Mercedes-Benz, Audi,
and other companies, as well as
in Cadillac’s CTS. “We all use
standard rules about how the
messages are coded, because
it’s a broadcast system and
every vehicle equipped with
this technology must be able
to decipher a message,” says
Cem Saraydar, director of the
Electrical & Controls Systems
Research Lab for General
Motors.
Messages coming in on
the CTS now include hard
braking ahead, disabled vehi-
cle, and slippery-road condi-
tions. The system’s range
is about 1,000 feet, but
it can process thousands
of vehicles at once.
24 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH
better you drive,” says Benjamin West-
phal, a product manager for Daimler AG,
producer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
Currently drivers have to tell their
Mercedes what their mood is. But with
the launch of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz
GLE, manual input will be reduced and
intuitive automation will take hold. GLE
drivers with Garmin wearables like the
Vivoactive 3 and the Vivosmart 3 will tap
into the brain of a system Mercedes is cal-
ing Energizing Coach. “We analyze and
synthesize your data from the Garmin
and from the car to give real-time
program recommendations,” Westphal
explains. The recommendations are
based on a number of factors, including
the quality of your sleep, your heart rate,
road conditions, how long you’ve been
driving, whether or not you’ve had to
perform emergency braking, and other
considerations. Racing pulse from a near
collision? “We want to let you take the
time to get over a situation irst, then
prompt you,” Westphal says. If it senses
you’ve performed emergency maneuvers,
Energizing Coach may delay the delivery
of a stress-reduction suggestion.
The hardware inside the GLE is primed
to handle more automated comforts than
Westphal is willing to disclose, though
he says personalized thermoregula-
tion could eventually be possible. “The
minute you step inside, the car can set the
temperature accordingly. We just need
humans to consent to giving us data so
the car can know it’s you,” he says.
One way to know who’s driving is facial
recognition, which was a luxury option
until Subaru introduced its DriverFocus
technology to the 2019 Forester Touring
edition. The compact SUV, which starts
at just under $35K, will use a near-infra-
red-camera system in the dashboard to
detect up to ive diferent drivers, greet
them by name, and adjust individual
preferences such as seating and mirrors.
It dovetails with an existing Subaru
driver-safety suite called EyeSight, which
detects the car’s surroundings, including
other vehicles, traic lanes, and pedestri-
ans. It helps enable features like adaptive
cruise control, lane-departure warning,
and precollision braking. “When you add
in DriverFocus, if the Forester realizes
that the driver isn’t paying attention,
those EyeSight systems kick in earlier,”
says Kenneth Lin, director of product
management for Subaru of America,
meaning the car is on high alert, ready to
step in and help mitigate an impending
crash by slowing down or fully braking.
It’s not a stretch to take these same
technologies and monitor eye motions or
blink rate to determine whether a driver
is nervous or scared.
FOR GENERAL MOTORS, fostering
attentiveness is on equal footing with
engendering comfort. The Cadillac CT6’s
Super Cruise, a hands-free driver-
assistance system for the freeway that
uses lidar map data and high-precision
GPS, works only when you’re actively
looking ahead. Look away long enough
and the system shudders to alert you.
Your hands can be of the wheel for a
long period of time, leaving you free to
do things like eat your lunch, but you
the new eau de toilette
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need to be paying attention to the road—
although GM PR wouldn’t quite put it like
that. Hands-free systems have limits,
and the driver must always be ready to
resume control. “The handof between
automation and the human is critical. It
must be very smooth. Airplane manufac-
turers have understood this for a while,”
says Paul Krajewski, director of General
Motors’ Vehicle Systems Research Lab.
In pursuit of the most luid human-
machine interaction, Krajewski and his
researchers study eye tracking, heart
rate, brain waves, and galvanic skin
response to determine the eicacy of any
given piece of technology. Previously,
study participants would inish a stint in
a simulator and then take a survey. Now
biometric responses are mapped over
the survey results to glean more accurate
information.
The more data you ofer up, the better
informed the car could be. The theoreti-
cal applications are endless.
“The goal is a system where the vehicle
knows your calendar’s schedule and
adapts,” says Krajewski. It would play
calming music if you were en route to an
early-morning meeting with your boss,
for example, or understand that you were
headed to see a concert and ire up a play-
list of the band’s hits. Your preferences
should also follow you, whether it’s your
car, your spouse’s, or an Uber. “Imagine
getting into a diferent vehicle and your
temperature, music, and the rest of your
preferred settings are implemented.”
Lin paints a similar picture. “If your
place on your route home.”
are everything, but transparency from
companies collect data without a use
case, that damages trust,” Westphal
secure is very important.”
Which brings us to a vital question:
downsides of sharing heaps of person-
al data with your car company? For
starters, there can be multiple med-
ical explanations for basic biometric “THE GOAL IS A
reactions, like an increase in heart rate.
Maybe you’re on prescription medication
SYSTEM WHERE
and it elevates your pulse. Would you THE VEHICLE
then have to disclose your list of meds
to your car company so it can weed out
KNOWS YOUR
your anomaly? Even if it’s anonymized, CALENDAR’S
the manufacturer could share your data
with insurance companies, which could SCHEDULE AND
determine that drivers of a certain brand
of car have more road rage and raise
ADAPTS,” SAYS
their premiums. Or if an algorithm were A GM ENGINEER.
developed to lag when someone’s driving
drunk to activate engine lockouts, a false
positive would be very annoying.
Worst of all, if your health is entangled
with your vehicle, are you then going to
be served with weight-loss ads on your
dashboard?
Westphal hopes to integrate other
smart systems, saying he doesn’t think
smart clothing has been explored
enough, and points to a smart health vest
developed in Daimler’s trucking division
that detects when a driver is not in a con-
dition to drive, triggering safety systems
to take over. “We have scent difusers
inside some vehicles, so we could think
about custom scent systems,” he says. If ”Yo, Steve, Where
your stress score spikes, imagine smell- To?” The 2019 Subaru
Forester Touring edition,
ing cookies baking in a bid to calm you. which starts at just
Our car will someday make better- under $35K, will use a
informed decisions, including whether near-infrared-camera
or not to drive us to the hospital if we’re system to detect up to
five different drivers,
hurt. Until then, we’ll settle for increas- greet them by name, and
ing our creature comforts in small, adjust preferences such
fun doses. as seating and mirrors.
PAC KS JAC K E T S PA RT Y S TA RTE R S

BioLite CampStove 2
Glampers, rejoice: This
hybrid is a stove and a
charger! Light kindling via
an easy-start chimney and
use that energy to charge
your devices. It weighs a
meager two pounds, and
BioLite enhanced the
power output and air con-
trols so you can adjust the
heat depending on what
you’re cooking. A display
monitors fire strength, fan
speed, and electric charge.
$130; bioliteenergy.com

Name Tktktk Tktktk

26 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH


Mystery Ranch
Robo Flip Pack
Basic and tough, this
pack has a design suited
for men on the go,
whether it’s a spec-ops
mission or a tough com-
mute. The top zips open
so that you can quick-
grab your stuff. A pad-
ded sleeve protects
electronics, and side
straps cinch for stability.
$99; mysteryranch.com
Rylo Action Camera 
Jamie Chung (stove), JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images (Bryan)
With built-in image stabilization and
the ability to shoot in 360 degrees, this
POV action camera creates drone-
worthy video with 6K resolution. Edit
via a mobile app for instant social-
media bragging. $500; rylo.com
Adidas Terrex Fast Chill in the air? The North Face The One Bag
Mid GTX-Surround Hurry up, zip in Three sleeping bags in one (hence the name),
It’s the grip and cushion- a new liner! this sack features interchangeable layers. In
ing of an athletic sneaker seconds, you can swap the insulation to
smashed with the water- accommodate 5-, 20-, or 40-degree tempera-
proof protection and ture ratings. The 800-fill-down midlayer dou-
support of a hiking boot.
Wear it to backpack, trail
run, and play Frisbee at
the park, all without
missing a step. $200;
adidasoutdoor.com WHAT I WANT
LUKE BRYAN
Singer; his What
Makes You
Country album
is out now
I started cycling a
couple years ago. I
met some people
with Trek, and they
built me an elec-
tronic motorized
mountain bike
(trekbikes.com) that
I use for turkey hunt-
Eddie Bauer BC
ing. It’s camo’ed
EverTherm Down Jacket   
out in a custom real-
Most down jackets have baffles
tree paint job. The
(sausage-like sections) that
beauty of an electric
secure the insulation but also cre-
is that it’s quiet and
ate cold spots and ventilation.
goes through the
This jacket eliminates that prob-
woods stealthily. It’s
lem with a down fabric that
nice not to have
blocks drafts and doesn’t need
exhaust polluting
baffles to stay in place. A water-
the woods.
proof shell repels rain and keeps
you warm down to -20°F. $499;
eddiebauer.com
Larq Water Bottle
No need to fear the stink and
germs that may plague your
reusable water bottle (and the
H20 inside it). This rechargeable,
self-cleaning 17-ounce vessel
uses hospital-grade UV-C light
technology to eliminate 99.9
percent of bacteria and viruses
in a minute. $95; livelarq.com
MSR Hubba NX Tent    
The original Hubba won over campers
with its one-pole-to-pitch design. This
upgrade deploys even lighter poles, and
a new treatment on the tent body and
fly utilizes watertight seams and a dura-
ble waterproof coating. Choose from
one-, two-, three-, and four-person
options. From $380; msrgear.com
 Spy Optic Ace EC Goggles
Few guys carry and change out
swappable lenses on the slopes. It’s
a hassle. Spy Optic’s smart solution:
electrochromic lenses that can shift
from light to dark at the push of a
button. Genius! $275; spyoptic.com

are stable and responsive Fischer Ranger Free

on hardpack. It also 130 Walk Dyn Ski Boots
opens up the backcoun- They’re the pick of a fresh
try, allowing snowboarders generation of ski boots
to tour as efficiently as designed for both lift-served
their pals on skis. $935; downhill skiing and off-piste
chimerasnowboards.com touring. You can unlock 55
degrees of cuff rotation (the
top end of what’s available),
they’re easy to hike in, and
thanks to a carbon-reinforced
shell, they weigh in at a
Patagonia Capilene Air skinny 1,540 grams per boot.
A blend of 51 percent merino wool and $800; fischersports.com
49 percent recycled polyester, this
base layer is warm and soft, and it
stretches just the right amount. Its 3-D Inov-8 Terraultra Outdoor Research
knitted construction eliminates seams G 260 Trail Runner BitterBlaze Gloves
for less chafing. $130; patagonia.com It’s the first sports shoe With the combination of
to utilize graphene—a Gore-Tex, goat leather, and
material that’s 200 times NASA-grade Aerogel fused
as strong as steel—in the into the palms and fingers,
outsole. That adds dura- you’ll have not only space-
bility to a lightweight age warmth on the slopes
trail runner, which has but also the dexterity to pull
zero drop from heel to out your phone and take sel-
toe and great ground- fies on the chairlift. $135;
feel. $150; inov-8.com outdoorresearch.com

SMACKDOWN !

ICED OUT
Gigantic coolers hog
space and are a pain to
haul. So we tire-kicked
the smaller softies.
THE TEST
We filled each cooler
halfway with ice and put
them outside. Over three
days with variable
weather, we unzipped
them every few hours to
assess ice melt and
Yeti Hopper BackFlip
24 $300; yeti.com
BEST FOR: Fans of beer
and rucking. Hauling a
standard cooler along on
a hike is about as much
fun as not having booze at
all. Fill this backpack with
20 cans of beer, plus ice,
and hit the trail. It weighs
5.3 pounds empty.
TEST RESULT: 55 hours
Hydro Flask 24-Liter
Soft Cooler Tote
and a kombucha growler.
The liner is BPA-free and
washable, and pockets
stash cash and keys.
TEST RESULT: 48 hours
Pelican SC12 Soft
Cooler $230;
pelicancoolers.com
BEST FOR: Job-site
gourmets. Pelican
covered this cooler with a
tough fabric, but it
cushioned the inside with
an FDA-approved food
Jamie Chung (coolers)

noted how many hours
the ice lasted.
$275; hydroflask.com
BEST FOR: Farmers-market
raiders. Cooler bags can’t
stand up to the heft of
grass-fed rib eyes, squash,
liner to pad your meal-
prepped lunches. The
stainless-steel tie-downs
double as bottle openers.
TEST RESULT: 58 hours

28 December 2018 / MEN’S HEALTH YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP MensHealth.com/gift-guide


H A M M E R TI M E S
Milwaukee M12 Fuel
Sometimes a small drill
gets the job done better.
This 7.75-inch, 2.3-pound
drill/driver excels in tight
spaces, and its lithium-
ion battery generates
D R I LL S
350 inch-pounds of peak
torque—plenty for most
DIY projects. $129;
milwaukeetool.com
BLADES
Leatherman Raptor Shears
Upgrade your everyday carry with this mini
multi-tool, which houses an arsenal, including
foldable medical shears and a carbide
window-glass breaker. $70; leatherman.com
Estwing AL-Pro
Swing with abandon
when using this
vibration-dampening
hammer, crafted from
an aluminum alloy
that’s lighter than tita-
nium. The steel head
Jamie Chung (CRKT)
and claw provide
exceptional strength,
and there’s a magnetic
nail starter in the head.
$100; estwing.com
CRKT Technician
Pliers, a wire cutter, a
fine and rough file, a
bottle opener, and a
knife blade that opens
with one hand are
standard on many
multis. This device
outdoes its rivals with
a telescoping mag-
netic pickup device, a
chisel/scraper, and an
interchangeable ¼-inch
standard Phillips-head
and flat-bit driver.
$90; crkt.com
Ledlenser MT10 Flashlight
This tiny water-resistant flashlight shines
with 1,000 lumens (as much as ten times
brighter than a typical LED headlamp).
Charged via USB connection, the lithium-ion
battery blasts away for 6 to 144 hours,
depending on the brightness. Use it to spot
raccoons raiding your yard or as a lantern
during a blackout. $80; ledlenserusa.com
Stihl MSA 200 C-BQ
While not as powerful as
a gas-powered chain saw,
Stihl’s cordless battery-
powered rig supplies
enough muscle for yard
work, light cutting, and
pruning. It has a 36-volt
lithium-ion battery that lasts Tile Pro Sport Tracker
up to three hours per Attach the waterproof device to anything
charge, and it’s easy to start
you often misplace (bags, keys, jackets, kids).
it up and check oil levels. The Bluetooth sensor pairs with your smart-
Best of all, it doesn’t stink up phone, and you can use the app to trigger a
your yard. $340; stihl.com loud beep from the tile to help you locate
whatever is lost. $25; tile.com
MEN’S HEALTH / December 2018 29