Men's Health UK April 2021

MAT FRASER CROSSFIT LEGEND The five-time CrossFit champion’s surprise retirement doesn’t mean he’s about to slow down. He explains why true fitness is for life p50 KAMARU USMAN UFC CHAMPION For Usman, looking the part is crucial to winning any battle. Learn how he built a body that shows as well as it goes p26 SHAABA LOTUN PSYCHOLOGIST Despite its bad rap, social media can be a force for good. Lotun argues that online relationships fulfil a huge emotional need p94 DAVID WILLETTS LIFE PEER AND EX-MP With young men struggling in the wake of the pandemic, Willetts seeks to bridge the intergenerational divide in Britain p12 ROB HOBSON NUTRITIONIST Comfort food needn’t be self-sabotage. Eat away your anxieties with a tasty, science-approved menu by Hobson and others p74 DAN JOHN STRENGTH COACH Spend 20 minutes a day building the body you want with top tips from…

Towards the end of last summer, we published a piece by Will Self arguing that of all the groups whose livelihoods had been destabilised by the pandemic, young adults represented the hardest hit. With their education disrupted, qualifications invalidated, prospects dashed, rites of passage denied – and incarcerated in bedrooms across the country, forced to interact virtually at a time when coltish exuberance should be at its peak – the COVID-19 generation would suffer disproportionately. “Is it any wonder that the young have become disaffected?” asked Self. “Is it any surprise that there has been an upsurge of illegal raves and civil disobedience in places inhabited by furloughed students? How can we expect a generation of young men, who have been taught and bombarded with the prices of everything, to understand…

RORY ALLEN After qualifying as a PT last July, Allen started his first job in the fitness industry at Training Space, Essex, later that month. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, he has never looked back. He worked alongside our fitness editor, Andrew Tracey, to put together this month’s issue. Find him at @roryallenacm. CAMERON BISSETT Bissett has a Master’s degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, where he conducted his research at the Jenner Institute’s outbreak and emerging pathogens lab – the home of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. Now a researcher with a focus on the novel coronavirus, he talks you through the process from first jab to immunity on page 25. OLIVER CLARKE Strongman competitor Clarke achieved a level-3 PT qualification last September and now works at Hertford-based gym Maverick Strength. “It’s been a…

I’ll start by introducing myself. I’m 17, and I go to the Oasis Academy South Bank sixth form. I’m a confident person, and I would also describe myself as resilient. I want to go to university and study marketing. Ultimately, I’d like a career in advertising. But we’ll see. Willetts: So, you’re 17 and I’m 65. One of the things I’ve grown more and more worried about is that life is tougher for your generation than it was for mine. I think we’re letting you down. Aires: How is your generation letting mine down? Willetts: One measure is that it used to be much easier to get on the housing ladder. When I was in my twenties, there were lots of houses being built, and the assumption was that if you got a…

Two-thirds of British men have trouble sleeping, according to researchers at King’s College London. That’s a nightmarish scenario for your weight-loss ambitions. Insufficient sleep won’t just short-circuit your hormones and increase your junk food cravings; it’ll push your body into an anaerobic state more quickly when you exercise – that’s the burnout point at which your oxygen demands exceed the supply. By forcing you to train anaerobically, poor sleep prevents you from running as far in your cardio sessions, or pushing as hard in the weights room. Your calorie-burning potential is dampened. Thankfully, sleep scientists have found an eye-opening solution. In a study published in the Japanese Circulation Journal, they demonstrated that a simple magnesium supplement (£10 boots.com) can negate the effects of a sleepless night on physical performance. When a…

Don’t be fooled. This may look like a move exclusively for muscle-bound bros, but use it with light weights and high reps and it’ll serve as your new favourite conditioning move. The sumo deadlift high pull is a full-body exercise that requires strength, coordination and power. “It’s a technical exercise, but it’s well worth mastering,” says Chris Jillard, PT at Feel Good Strength. “The aim is to pull the bar vertically from the floor to your upper chest in one movement.” Thanks to the large range of motion, it employs almost all of the muscles in your posterior chain. That means you can get the maximum benefit from shorter workouts: burning calories, working your muscles and building up an engine. Start by adding it to one workout a week, and incorporate it…