Men's Health Australia October 2021

EXTRA-ORDINARY ★ First of all, thank you for having me on board for this historic issue. Yes, I’m the first Asian to appear on the cover of Men’s Health Australia, so I think it’s just a great moment. But please just think of me as an Australian local. I spent more than a year shooting Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in Sydney at Fox Studios, which was a fantastic experience. Hopefully, God willing and fingers crossed, we’ll get to do another movie there soon. Even just hearing an Australian voice is so comforting. I really do miss the cadence of Australian speech and the fact you don’t refer to breakfast as breakfast – you just call it brekkie. It’s like nobody there takes themselves too seriously, right down to…

★ According to data from business support company NordVPN Teams, we’re now working an extra two hours each day – and working from home has a lot to do with that. As the spectre of unemployment looms over many of us, taking your foot off the gas might not feel like a viable option. But there’s a simple way to streamline your day without risking a termination notice: quit multitasking. Writing a report while prepping for a meeting might seem timeeffective, but the mental demands of switching back and forth will stack up. The same goes for replying to emails in the squat rack. “Task-switching interferes with both tasks,” says Professor Joe Devlin, neuroscientist at University College London. “Schedule time for crucial tasks, including exercise and socialising. And turn off your…

Q Lockdown is driving me crazy! I need to see my friends. I need to party again. A What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others. – Confucius; b. 551 BC TEXT A NUTRITIONIST It’s the night before payday. Any cheap go-to nutrition fixes? Thursday 7:30pm My stomach and bank account are at odds. Am I stuck with packet ramen? No, just shop smart. Frozen fish, in particular salmon ($3-7 per portion), is a smart option, because it’s swimming with protein and dietary fats.  Makes sense … But I’m not into fish. Is there anything else? Eggs are another good source of protein and healthy fats. How about a frittata or Spanish omelette? You can pack in lots of veg –whatever’s in the fridge. Ah, yes, there’s a ropey-looking broccoli…

★ Ask the MH girls the questions you can’t ask anyone else. They’re three women who speak their mind, so don’t expect sugar-coated answers Lizza: My husband had that issue with ex-girlfriends. He thought they liked the way he looked because of the gym but resented the time he spent there. Nikolina: If your partner’s not a gym-going person, it’ll be hard for her to understand why you’re virtually living there. Can you create a balance? I mean, maybe try to get her involved – do a few sessions with her. Otherwise, you might want to cut back a little bit, right? Or else work out at home now and then. Becky: I think you need to communicate with her about why this is important to you. Because, yeah, if the gym is…

YOUR MONTHLY DOWNLOAD OF THE LATEST LIFE ENHANCING RESEARCH YOU DON’T NEED reminding that cranking up the volume of Workout Hype Tunez Vol 3 can enhance your physical performance. You’ve doubtless experienced the boost that a well-timed drop gives you when you’re under a loaded barbell, helping you squeeze out an extra rep – or an extra 1.7, according to researchers at Samford University. Listening to music you like reduces your perception of effort and even masks pain, so you won’t notice the burn in your pecs. But intriguing new research suggests that this is merely the support act. Switch to a down-tempo playlist once you’ve finished your final rep and you can press play on the recovery process right away. During strenuous activity – such as one of our hardhitting newsletter…

FOR ALL OUR best-laid plans, the balance of kilojoules in and kilojoules out all too easily tips the wrong way when you’re largely confined to your home. After all, that’s a lot of incidental exercise out the window. The obvious prescription is to put less on your plate at meal times. But for those whose pleasures have shrunk enough already, that sounds a bit dispiriting. Gratifyingly, scientists may have found a soothing alternative. Book in for a COVID-secure massage and ask your therapist to add a few drops of grapefruit essential oil to the lotion. That might sound far too decadent to be a certified weight-loss technique, but Japanese scientists have discovered the beneficial effects of the scent of grapefruit. In a rodent study, they recorded electrical activity in the nerve pathways to…