Men's Fitness UK

ISSUE 274 FEBRUARY 2023 We’ve made a conscious effort, in recent years, to cover fitness in all its forms. There’s a wide world beyond the squat rack, and numerous body and mind benefits to be found from broadening exercise horizons. But… there’s no denying that most men who work out do it because alongside feeling better, they want some physical changes to show for it. Which is why this issue, we’re celebrating all things muscle and strength. From how cover star and TV adventurer Steve Backshall stays in serious shape in his fifties, to the six-week gym programme to build full-body muscle, in the pages that follow you will find the tools you need to look and feel better than ever.…

Editor Isaac Williams Art Director Xavier Robleda Editorial postal address: Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL ADVERTISING SALES KELSEY MEDIA Commercial Manager Ben Rayment 01959 543517 ben.rayment@kelsey.co.uk Ad Production Manager Neil Hepden 01233 220245 neil@tandemmedia.co.uk MANAGEMENT Chief Operating Officer Phil Weeden Managing Director Kevin McCormick Subscription Marketing Director Gill Lambert Retail Director Steve Brown Print Production Manager Georgina Harris Print Production Controller Hayley Brown Senior Subs Marketing Manager Nick McIntosh DISTRIBUTION (UK) Seymour Distribution Limited 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT, Tel: 020 7429 4000 seymour.co.uk DISTRIBUTION (N. IRELAND AND REP. OF IRELAND) Newspread, Tel: +353 23 886 3850 COVER Model: Steve Backshall Photography: Eddie Macdonald Information given is not a substitute for medical advice, so ensure you check with…

Work up a sweat Sometimes you might feel far too busy and stressed to just drop everything at work or home so you can go and exercise. But doing so will help not only shrink your waistline, it will also give your brain some muchneeded downtime. Even just a short but intense 20-minute session can be enough to give you a more positive outlook, and help you get some perspective so you’ll better manage your time to keep stress at arm’s length. Do on one job at a time When your in-tray begins to spill over, it often leads to working longer hours. And too many late nights too often, as well as snacking and eating convenience foods or takeaways at your desk, will seriously hamper you in your efforts…

1 MORE MUSCLE = LESS FAT Contrary to popular myth, you won’t burn significantly more calories at rest simply by increasing your composition of muscle. You burn five to six calories per day at rest for every 500g of muscle you gain – a relatively negligible amount. But more muscle equals more strength, so you can push harder in workouts and use up more calories to synthesise muscle protein rather than store fat. 2 HARDER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER Nobody can go hard all the time, whatever that guy in the office who just started CrossFit says. Intense activity raises your levels of adrenaline and the stress hormone cortisol, with the effect of shutting down some of the body’s major functions, including digestion. That’s fine if you’re running from a tiger,…

One of the stars of the show on the CrossFit scene, one major advantage of the brutal but effective air bike is that it’s not particularly technical. While good technique will obviously allow you to be more efficient, you will get a solid, lung-busting workout however you go about it. That’s unlike machines like rowers and ski machines, for which proper form is a more integral factor. That’s not say air bikes aren’t challenging – quite the opposite. Moving the arm handles and pedals simultaneously moves the flywheel, positioned at the front of the bike. The quicker you move the handles and pedals, the faster the flywheel moves – and the more air the blades of the flywheel have to contend with. This, in turn, increases the resistance on the…

DO ALL MEN EXPERIENCE HAIR LOSS? It’s normal for men to experience changes to their hair at some point in their lives, especially as they get older, including developing signs of male pattern baldness. This type of hair loss progresses differently for each person – although it does develop slowly, allowing time to adjust and, if wanted, to consider treatment. WHAT CAUSES HAIR LOSS? Male pattern hair loss is a genetic condition and the most common cause of hair loss in men, but there are other less common causes, including stress, illness, cancer treatment, weight loss and iron deficiency. Male pattern hair loss isn’t harmful to your health, although it can be upsetting and distressing. It can begin with a receding hairline, and is followed by a gradual thinning of…