Mens_Health_USA_JulyAugust_2017

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FIND YOUR 

TRUE NORTH 

YOUR ALL NEW 2017 COMPASS

MEN’S HEALTH 

JULY/AUG 2017 

A = THE ADVENTURE 

ISSUE 

MensHealth.com 

@MensHealthMag 

@MensHealthMag 

STRENGTH 

WEIGHT LOSS 

FORGE BIG BICEPS 

5 pro tips for a 

beach-worthy body. 

BY MARK ANDERS 

47 A 

BUILD MUSCLE 

AT THE PARK 

Pullup bars, monkey 

bars—same diff. 

BY MIGUEL 

ARAGONCILLO, C.S.C.S. 

50 A 

GYM-FREE ABS 

6 surprising secrets 

for a six-pack. 

BY EBENEZER SAMUEL 

58 

FOOD 

GRILL THE 

PERFECT BURGER 

Our test kitchen 

totally nailed it. 

63 

#1 HEART FIX 

And all your essential 

nutrition news. 

66 

10 POUNDS GONE! 

Your 5-step plan. 

Plus: the DNA diet— 

disinherit Dad’s belly 

(no luck yet with the 

dance moves). 

BY SARAH WATTS 

85 

HEALTH 

FIX HIP PAIN 

4 ways to strengthen 

these troubled joints. 

BY DEVON SCHUYLER 

89 

STAY COOL 

Pit stains, body 

odor, hydration— 

don’t sweat it. 

BY JERILYN COVERT 

AND JUNO DEMELO 

92 

DON’T LET THESE 

RUIN SUMMER 

Seasonal health 

traps you didn’t know 

existed—until now. 

BY AIMEE SWARTZ 

94 

Lean & Fit! 

Your adventure awaits, just outside: Have hammock 

sex (p. 100), survive anything (p. 128), get beach ready 

in 12 minutes (p. 116), and boost your energy (108). A 

FEATURES 

THE ULTIMATE 

MH DOG 

Nearly 900 competitors. 

8 finalists. 1 top 

dog. Countless belly 

rubs. And tons of tips 

for you and your pup. 

120 A 

THE EXCHANGE 

YOU ASKED 

We answered: How 

much should I spend 

on sunscreen? 

Should I schedule 

sex? Why do I get 

colds in summer? 

18 

USEFUL STUFF 

6 FITNESS TRIPS 

Say farewell to flab, 

once and for all. 

29 A 

BINGE TRAINING 

Lift with Daenerys. 

34 

Get ripped! 

Obstacle racer 

Hunter McIntyre 

shows you how. 

SIZZLIN’ CAMP- 

FIRE NACHOS 

Smokier. Manlier. 

Delicious-er. 

36 A 

YOUR NO. 1 

SUCCESS SECRET 

Let fear fuel you. 

BY TIM FERRISS 

44 

4 SHAKES FOR 

MORE POWER 

Drink to your health. 

Plus: The best blender 

for your buck. 

70 

STYLE 

LOOK GREAT! 

The rules of casual 

cool, from Asheville, 

North Carolina. 

BY SANDRA NYGAARD 

73 A 

TAKE YOUR 

CLOTHES OFF 

And put these swim 

trunks on. 

BY DAN MICHEL 

80 

RELATIONSHIPS 

WILD SEX! 

In 5 minutes or less. 

BY ANNA BRESLAW 

96 A 

ON THE COVER 

Du Toit Botha, photo graphed 

by Sean Laurenz; inset photo 

(subscriber cover) by Amy 

Lombard. Quicksilver wetsuit. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER YANG 

MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 

5

Chris Peel 

VP/PUBLISHER 

Your guide to 

the expanding 

empire of Men’s 

Health, the 

world’s largest 

men’s brand. 

2 

MENSHEALTH.COM/APP 

Load This App, Load Your Bar 

Muscles respond well to new workouts, 

so make our app your source. 

You’ll find exclusive routines, like 

Kettlebell Shred and Unleash Your 

Alpha, from such influential trainers 

as Keoni Hudoba of Barry’s 

Bootcamp in New York City and 

MH Mexico cover guy Brian Mazza. 

Eric Hunter Associate Publisher, 

Integrated Marketing; Cory Rotkel 

VP/Digital Advertising Director 

ADVERTISING SALES 

New York (212) 697-2040: Leanne 

LoCastro Senior Fashion & Watch 

Director; Doug Zimmerman Senior 

Grooming Director; Gil Tiamsic 

Advertising Sales Director; Jaime 

Miller Advertising Sales Manager; 

Chicago (312) 726-0365: Autumn 

Jenks Midwest Sales Director; 

Bridget McGuire Midwest Account 

Manager; Detroit (248) 930-8091: 

Stephanie Schultz Advertising 

Sales Director; Los Angeles (310) 

615-4567: Patti Lange Western 

Ad Director (310) 252-7528; San 

Francisco Office (415) 439-4601: 

Andrew Kramer Kramer Media; 

France Representative 011 33 1 47 

30 71 80: Fabio Lancellotti Def & 

Communication; Italy Representative 

011 39 02 874543: Angelo 

Careddu Oberon Media S.R.L. 

Katherine Louie Publisher’s 

Assistant; Kelsey Cotter, Zoe 

Fritz, Sarah Greer, Pilar Silva, 

Challen Stadler Sales Assistants 

Karen Ferber Business Manager; 

Karen Stinner Production 

Account Manager; Cindy Wenrich 

Production Account Specialist 

MARKETING SERVICES 

Stephanie Block Associate Integrated 

Marketing Director; Hilary 

Kelley Senior Integrated Marketing 

Manager; Josh Feigenbaum, Jackie 

Lebowitz, Daria Meoli Pietras 

Integrated Marketing Managers; 

Jennifer Levin Integrated Marketing 

Coordinator; Delisha Fields 

Senior Special Events Manager; Jiri 

Seger Creative Director, Marketing; 

Robert Slagle Senior Art Director 

1 

MENSHEALTH.COM/ 

GAINZ 

3 

MENSHEALTH.COM/BATTLEQS 

Duel in the Office 

We call it Battle Questions: Visitors 

like Neil deGrasse-Tyson vs. our 

Matt Bean in air hockey. If Matt 

scores, he asks Neil a real profound 

question. If Neil scores, he shamelessly 

plugs his new book. Win-win. 

Big Laughs! Big Gainz! 

Serious muscle doesn’t have to be totally 

serious. Enter Gainz, our new comedy video 

series starring BJ Gaddour. (That’s BJ above, 

doing his part to help build our office deck.) 

Shove a meat-and-bean burrito into a blender 

and call it a protein shake? No rules, man. 

Let other guys get swole—you want Gainz. 

4 

MENSHEALTH.COM/CHEFD 

Power Meals, Delivered! 

Here’s your combo plate: our 

expertise and the know-how of 

Chef’d, the meal delivery folks. 

Try the Soba Shrimp Pad Thai. 

It’s impressive and easy: Unbox, 

cook, eat. That last step’s the best. 

5 

INCONVENIENTSEQUEL.COM 

An Inconvenient Sequel: 

Truth to Power 

Follow-ups to An Inconvenient 

Truth—the action-plan book from 

MH parent Rodale, and the movie— 

arrive in July. Why not speak at a 

town hall? Rehearse; bring a prop. 

MENSHEALTH.COM 

Colleen Duke Senior Manager, 

Sales Planning & Strategy; Eileen 

Becker Account Manager; Lexy 

Ball, Harry Gaffney, Jessica 

Miller Digital Sales Planners; 

Allison Ackerman Executive 

Director, Consumer Marketing; 

Joanne Ferenczi Finance Direc tor; 

Lynn Canning VP, Group 

Research Director; Brunetta 

Cathers Research Director 

RODALE INTERNATIONAL 

Kevin LaBonge Executive Director, 

Business Development and Global 

Licensing; Angela Kim Director, 

Business Development and Global 

Licensing; Tara Swansen Director, 

Global Marketing; John Ville Editorial 

Director, Rodale International; Laura 

Ongaro Editorial Director, Men’s 

Health & Women’s Health; Samantha 

Quisgard Associate Editor; Karl 

Rozemeyer Senior Content Manager; 

Natanya Spies International 

Editorial & Content Coordinator 

RODALE 

Maria Rodale Chairman of the 

Board & CEO; Paul McGinley 

EVP, General Counsel & Chief 

Administrative Officer; Stephen 

Twilliger EVP, Chief Financial 

Officer; Beth Buehler EVP/Chief 

Operating Officer; Adam Campbell 

Chief Content Officer; Ronan 

Gardiner Chief Advertising Officer; 

Miranda DeSantis SVP, Human 

Resources; Bill Strickland Group 

Editorial Director; Joyceann Shirer 

SVP, Marketing; Heidi Cho VP, 

Digital Content; Gail Gonzales 

VP/Publisher, Rodale Books 

J.I. Rodale 

Founder, 1942–1971 

Michael Friberg/Contour by Getty Images (Gore) 

6 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 

PHOTOGRAPH BY MITCH MANDEL

LETTER FROM THE 

Let’s Take 

This Outside 

EDITOR 

Matt Bean 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Bill Stump Executive Editor 

Mike Schnaidt Creative Director 

EDITORIAL 

Bill Stieg Deputy Editor; 

Ben Court Features Editor; 

Melissa Jewsbury Managing 

Editor; Dean Stattmann Brand 

Editor; BJ Gaddour Fitness 

Director; Joe Kita, Paul Kita, 

Dan Simmons Senior Editors; 

Julie Stewart Health Editor; 

Ebenezer Samuel Fitness Editor; 

Jerilyn Covert Associate Editor; 

Tyler Daswick, Brielle Gregory 

Assistant Editors; Andrew 

Dawson, Danielle Fox Interns; 

Gregg Stebben Contributing Editor; 

Denis Boyles Editor at Large; 

Shoi Greaves Executive Assistant 

Fresh air is a hell of a drug. I’m not just 

riffing here: For decades, selfless scientists 

have toiled on tropical beaches and in 

sun-dappled forests to prove this fundamental 

fact. We are fitter, happier, and more 

productive among trees—not in office cubicles, 

and definitely not among fake plastic 

trees. This is a truth plainly obvious to even 

a child. Especially a child being called in 

from the backyard after a long summer day. 

Still, inspecting the research is instructive. 

Consider this finding from Norwegian 

scientists, whose tans I’d bet are as well maintained 

as their foraged box lunches: People 

who exercise outdoors are 160 percent 

more motivated to keep working out than 

those sullen souls trapped indoors on treadmills 

or other medieval torture devices. 

Another study, this one in the Journal 

of Stating the Obvious (sorry, the Journal of 

Experimental Psychology), found that walking 

and thinking outdoors can lead to a 75 percent 

uptick in “creative ideation.” It’s true: 

Our staff brainstorms always go better when 

the door’s open. (Until the pages blow away.) 

In short, when you’re outside, you’re happier 

and better at everything you do. 

So welcome to our adventure issue, a guide 

to pursuing everything you know and love 

from MH—outside. Not one photo, not one 

article, is hemmed in by a building. Everything 

on these pages—like the fun starting 

on page 100—can be done outdoors. 

By the way, what are you up to in July? 

We’re taking intrepid trekkers on hikes 

near our East Coast digs, one at Breakneck 

Ridge just north of Manhattan and the other 

in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Email us at 

adventure@rodale.com. 

Happy trails! 

Instagram 

@mattbean 

Twitter 

@mattbean1 

Snapchat 

mbean_10 

Our staff on our 

new deck (thanks, 

Trex!), where 

fresh air and 

sunshine (and a 

beer or two) help 

us stay creative 

and motivated. 

ART 

Pete Sucheski Senior Art Director; 

Hitomi Sato Art Director; 

Raymond Ho Deputy Art Director; 

Patty Alvarez Contrib uting 

Art Director; Robert Dominguez 

Contrib uting Designer 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Jeanne Graves Director of 

Photography; Sally Berman 

Deputy Director of Photography; 

Sinikiwe Dhliwayo Photo 

Production Coordinator; Melanie 

Skrzek Contributing Photo Editor 

FASHION & 

ENTERTAINMENT 

Brian Boyé Executive Fashion 

Director; Sandra Nygaard 

Fashion Director; Dan Michel 

Fashion Editor; Danielle Nussbaum 

Contributing Editor, Entertainment 

COPYEDIT, RESEARCH, 

PRODUCTION 

Susan West Copy Chief; Mike 

Wilson Copy Editor; Jennifer 

Messimer Research Chief; Alex 

Gardner Researcher; Janna Ojeda 

Senior Production Manager; Ana 

Zapata Contributing Production 

Manager; Jennifer Giandomenico 

Digital Production Leader 

MENSHEALTH.COM 

Sean Evans Digital Director; 

Gus Turner Social Trends 

Editor; Christa Sgobba Senior 

Associate Editor; Ashleigh 

Morley Branded Con tent Editor; 

Paige Carlotti Social Media 

Editor; Alisa Hrustic Assistant 

Editor; Dan Revitte Creative 

Director; Amanda Becker Web 

Designer; Michael Sneeden 

Senior Video Pro ducer; Danny 

O’Halloran Video Producer; 

Ryan Bird, Jessica Paholsky 

Assistant Video Producers; Kris 

Lynds Online Media Producer; 

Barry Knoblach Producer; 

James Nosek Junior Producer 

PUBLIC RELATIONS 

Jourdann Lubliner Associate 

Director, Public Relations 

HOW TO REACH US 

Customer Care To change your 

address, pay your bill, renew a 

subscription, and more, go online 

to menshealth.com/customerservice, 

email HLHcustserv@ 

rodale.com, call (800) 666-2303, 

or write Men’s Health Customer 

Care, P.O. Box 3064, Harlan, IA 

51593-0128. Editorial Offices 

400 South 10th Street, Emmaus, 

PA 18098; Story Feedback & 

Questions MHLetters@rodale. 

com; Licensing & Reprints 

Contact Wyndell Hamilton, Wright’s 

Media, (281) 419-5725 ext. 152, 

whamilton@wrightsmedia.com 

Absolute satisfaction guaranteed. 

Scent-free subscription available 

on request. We occasionally make 

our subscribers’ names available 

to companies whose products or 

services may be of interest to 

them. You may request that 

your name be removed from 

these promotion lists; call (800) 

666-2303 or go to rodale.com/ 

privacy-policy. Printed in USA 

8 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHILIP FRIEDMAN

CLASSIC 

DISTANCE 

1/2 MI. SWIM 

18 MI. BIKE 

4 MI. RUN 

INTERNATIONAL 

DISTANCE 

1.5K SWIM 

40K BIKE 

10K RUN 

SEPT 16 & 17 

2017 

NAUTICAMALIBUTRI.COM

JULY/AUGUST 

Your guide to 

what’s happening 

and how to make 

the most of it. 

By Mike 

Zimmerman 

AUGUST 21 

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: 

THE GAME! 

When a 70-mile-wide swath of 

moon-made darkness sweeps 

across the land, it’ll be freaky 

and geeky. Let’s have some fun. 

Buy eclipse sunglasses, 

or use 

welders’ goggles 

with No. 14 glass. 

Drive to a fullshadow 

spot, like 

in Grand Teton 

National Park. 

Luck into 

cloudless 

weather. 

Path of eclipse 

Convince a 

child that 

you made the 

sun go away. 

Have sex 

during the 2- 

minute event. 

Last longer 

than the event. 

Visit eclipse2017. 

nasa.gov to 

sound smart. 

THREE STRIKES AGAINST THE ALL-STAR GAME 

1. Miami in July does not qualify as Midsummer Classic. There’s nothing 

classic or summery about a sliding-roof stadium with A/C. 

2. Spend hundreds of dollars to watch millionaires play in a jillion-dollar 

stadium? Pass. (We will watch the Home Run Derby though.) 

3. We’d rather catch the Chatham Anglers vs. the Harwich Mariners in the 

Cape Cod League. Or any Little League game at dusk. That’s classic. 

WHY WE’LL 

CONTINUE 

TO LET 

CHARLIZE 

THERON 

PUNCH US 

ANYWHERE 

SHE WANTS 

ATOMIC BLONDE 

HITS THEATERS 

JULY 28 

YOUR NATIONAL DESSERT DAY TIMELINE, AUGUST 2017 

BOOM! 

Americans celebrated their first 

Fourth of July 240 years ago, in 

1777, with fireworks and bell ringing. 

Even with the Brits eyeing 

Philadelphia and George booking 

a winter in Valley Forge. This 

summer, have a blast at the new 

Museum of the American Revolution 

in Philly. Cause we won. 

GRATUITOUSLY VIOLENT BOOK OF THE MONTH BY A FORMER MH EDITOR THAT ALSO HAS PRETTY PICTURES 

THE BLACK HOOD, VOL ONE: THE BULLET’S KISS BY DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI (JULY 11) 

50TH ANNIVERSARY 

YOUR SUMMER OF 

LOVING VINYL 

Mark the half century 

since the Summer 

of Love by blissing 

out to a 1967 gem 

from start to finish, 

as they did back then. 

And ride the snake. 

Are You 

Experienced 

The Jimi Hendrix 

Experience 

The Doors 

The Doors 

Big Brother & the 

Holding Company 

Big Brother & the 

Holding Company 

Buffalo Springfield 

Again 

Buffalo Springfield 

Mellow Yellow 

Donovan 

Flowers 

Rolling Stones 

Younger Than 

Yesterday 

The Byrds 

Grateful Dead 

Grateful Dead 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely 

Hearts Club Band 

The Beatles 

AUG 2 AUG 3 AUG 9 AUG 10 AUG 14 

AUG 24 AUG 25 AUG 28 AUG 30 

AUG 31 

Ice Cream 

Sandwich 

Day 

POINTS 

5 

10 

20 

75 

5 

100 

3 

Watermelon 

Day 

Rice 

Pudding 

Day 

JULY 11 AT MARLINS PARK 

S’mores 

Day 

Creamsicle 

Day 

Peach 

Pie Day 

Banana 

Split 

Day 

Cherry 

Turnover 

Day 

Toasted 

Marshmallow 

Day 

Trail 

Mix Day 

Getty Images (10), Getty Images plus (9), Shutterstock (1), Alamy (1) 

10 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017

All 

that’s 

within 

you 

is 

all 

that 

you 

need. 

WHAT’S INSIDE IS EVERYTHING 

When you’re true to your nature, that’s powerful beyond measure. ZICO’s coconut water comes from the core 

of the coconut. No sugar added. † Naturally occurring electrolytes to support hydration. Perfect just the way it is. 

† 

Not a reduced calorie food. See nutrition facts for sugar and calorie content. ©2017 ZICO Beverages LLC. All Rights Reserved.

UNFILTERED 

PHOTOGRAPHS 

The Thrill of 

Letting Go 

At Tuck Fest, adventure athletes 

compete against regular Joes, 

seeking glory in the water, on trails, 

and up walls. / BY ANDREW DAWSON 

Boosh! One by one the climbers fall. Ka-koosh! This is the deep water solo, the main 

event at Tuck Fest, three days of crazy adventure games at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in 

Charlotte, North Carolina. Climbers go head-to-head in this knockout competition, racing up a 

45-foot wall that arcs over a pool. It requires muscle, dexterity, and smarts. “It’s about strength but 

also trusting your instincts,” says Nathaniel Coleman, 20, of Murray, Utah, who finished second. He 

says climbing is a great workout; try strengthening your grip with forearm trainers ($7, blackdiamond 

equipment.com). At Tuck Fest, mountain bikers charge up trails, paddleboarders and kayakers ride 

whitewater, and runners dash through the woods. Sweat, beer, and adrenaline flow freely. We had to 

find out: What does adventure mean to these guys, and how do they scratch the primal itch? 

Push and Pull 

When deep water 

soloing, “you’ve got 

to push with your feet 

as much as you pull 

with your arms,” says 

Coleman. “If you don’t, 

your upper body will 

tire. Rushing too hard 

can lead to slipups that 

land you in the water.” 

EVENT 

TUCK FEST 

APRIL 21 

BY 

APRIL 23 

Nils Ericson 

C H A R L O T T E , N C

MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 13

UNFILTERED 

Notice the Grin 

“When you’re outside, 

look around. No one 

is mad. That’s the 

power of nature,” says 

Adriene Levknecht, 

29, of Greenville, SC. 

Turn Off the GPS 

“I like to get lost a lot 

in the woods,” says 

Taylor McNeill (far 

right), 26, of Vilas, NC. 

“Somehow it helps 

me feel more alive.”

PROFILES IN POWER 

For a deeper dive into our 

Tuck Fest experience, go to 

MensHealth.com/tuckfest. 

Chase Change 

”To pursue adventure 

is to pursue transformation,” 

says 

Jeffrey Yancey, 29, of 

Charleston, SC. “With 

risk comes growth.” 

Embrace the Filth 

“Being outdoors is 

about getting dirty 

and having fun,” says 

Alan Neronski, 34, 

of Virginia Beach, VA. 


15

Your Trainer 

Ian Creighton, 

coach and 

general manager, 

Brick New York 

in Manhattan 

Six Simple Moves for Total-Body Strength 

MOBILITY 

Complete 3 rounds of this warmup 

circuit. After each round, perform 

jumping jacks for 30 seconds to help 

elevate your heart rate. 

STRENGTH 

Do 4 sets of this circuit. You’ll work 

your legs on the front squats and 

challenge your shoulders and core 

with the single-arm Arnold press. 

THE BENCHMARK 

Do 2 reps of each move and add 2 reps 

per round (2, then 4, then 6, and 

so on). See how many rounds you can 

do in 10 minutes. Then check your 

result against our scorecard below. 

Sumo Squat Stretch 

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Squat 

deeply. When you’re as deep as you can comfortably 

go, put your elbows inside your knees 

and push out, opening your hips. Hold for 3 seconds. 

Return to standing. That’s 1 rep. Do 10. 

Dumbbell Front Squat 

Hold two dumbbells at your shoulders. Squat, 

keeping your knees over your toes. Take 3 

seconds to descend until your hips are below 

your knees. Explode back to a standing position. 

That’s 1 rep. Do 8 to 10. Rest 60 seconds. 

Dumbbell Thruster 

Hold dumbbells at your shoulders, palms facing 

each other. Squat until your hips are below 

your knees; then explode up to a standing position, 

pressing the dumbbells overhead. Lower 

the weights back to your shoulders. That’s 1 rep. 

Vertical Dumbbell Strict Press 

Hold a single dumbbell at your shoulder, grasping 

it by the end. Quickly press the dumbbell 

up, pause, and then take 2 seconds to lower it. 

That’s 1 rep. Do 5. Switch arms and repeat. 

Single-Arm Arnold Press 

Stand with a dumbbell at one shoulder, palm 

facing in. Press the weight up, rotating your palm 

180 degrees. Pause. Take 3 seconds to lower it. 

That’s 1 rep. Do 6 to 8 per arm. Rest 90 seconds. 

Dumbbell-Facing Burpee 

Stand facing a pair of dumbbells placed on 

the floor in front of you. Do a burpee; then hop 

over the dumbbells and turn to face them. 

That’s 1 rep. Begin your next rep from there. 

SCORECARD 

HOW MANY ROUNDS CAN YOU 

FINISH IN 10 MINUTES? 

8 rounds 

Superstar! 

Post your time to social media: 

#MHBenchmarkAMRAP 

16 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 ILLUSTRATIONS BY +ISM

Pre-Collision 1 with Pedestrian 

Detection 2 standard. 

Pedestrians can come out of nowhere. So Pre-Collision with Pedestrian Detection can help spot them and brake 

for you. It’s just one of the standard Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P) 3 features that give you more peace of mind. 

Options shown. Dramatization. 1. The TSS Pre-Collision System is designed to help avoid or reduce the crash speed and damage in certain frontal collisions only. It is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving. System effectiveness is 

dependent on road, weather and vehicle conditions. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details. 2. The Pedestrian Detection system is designed to detect a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle, determine if impact is imminent and 

help reduce impact speed. It is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving. System effectiveness depends on many factors, such as speed, size and position of pedestrians, and weather, light and road conditions. See Owner’s Manual for 

additional limitations and details. 3. Drivers are responsible for their own safe driving. Always pay attention to your surroundings and drive safely. Depending on the conditions of roads, weather and the vehicle, the system(s) may not work as 

intended. See Owner’s Manual for additional limitations and details. ©2017 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

THE 

JULY/AUGUST 

Your biggest, 

strangest, 

and most 

embarrassing 

questions— 

answered! 

HEALTH 

I’ve grilled steaks 

without cleaning 

the grill first. Gross, 

or no biggie? 

George, Carthage, MO 

Your filthy grill may 

make your T-bones 

taste nasty, but it 

won’t kill you. The heat 

and closed environment 

keep you safe, 

says Mark Etzel, Ph.D., 

a professor of food 

science at the University 

of Wisconsin. 

”Harmful bacteria will 

die, and since there’s 

no moisture, bacteria 

won’t be able to thrive 

and multiply.” You’re 

way more likely to 

get sick from handling 

steaks improperly, 

he says. If you touch 

raw meat, wash your 

hands afterward to 

annihilate the bugs. 

FITNESS 

MY SWIMMING IS AN EPIC FLAIL. HOW 

CAN I STREAMLINE MY TECHNIQUE? 

Roy, Los Angeles, CA 

The trick is to feel weightless and to relax both physically and emotionally. 

That concept, taught by Terry Laughlin of Total Immersion 

Swimming based in New Paltz, New York, has turned thousands of bad swimmers 

into pool fish. Push off and glide in the “Superman position,” he says—arms 

stretched forward and shoulder-width apart, eyes down as you scan Metropolis. 

“Start with your head down and eyes looking at the bottom of the pool. That should 

be the foundation of all the swimming you do,” Laughlin says. If you relax your 

head on the water, he points out, your spine will align naturally. Lightly press your 

legs together and do a few unhurried strokes, gliding as much as you can. 

I’m training for a 

half marathon, but 

the more miles I 

do, the worse my 

ankles feel. Help? 

Luke, Arlington, VA 

Work on strengthening 

your ankle 

tendons. And your 

calves. And your core. 

All of these play a role 

in ankle pain. “The 

latter stages of longer 

distances is when you 

can irritate the body 

and get injuries,” says 

Sameer Dixit, M.D., 

a sports medicine 

physician with Johns 

Hopkins Medicine. 

Overuse causes irritation 

and discomfort 

if your ankles aren’t 

strong enough. Try 

exercises on an unstable 

surface, like this 

one: Stand on a pillow 

and bend your leg 

behind you, holding 

for 10 seconds. Do this 

10 times. Swap legs. 


ILLUSTRATIONS BY ZOHAR LAZAR

THE EXCHANGE 

FITNESS 

When I hike, I just 

grab a stick. Works 

as well as trekking 

poles, right? 

Yuri, Raleigh, NC 

We admire an oldschool 

hiker who finds 

new uses for fallen 

wood. If you’re not 

stumbling or feeling 

joint pain, you’re 

probably in the “heck, 

can’t hurt” camp. 

But think again: Using 

a single stick or two 

uneven sticks can 

put your gait out of 

balance and set you 

up for injury, warns 

orthopedic surgeon 

Matthew Panzarella, 

M.D. Lightweight, 

adjustable poles help 

your posture and take 

strain off your knees 

and ankles, especially 

if your pack is heavy. 

“Sticks are heavier 

and less secure than 

trekking poles, which 

have contoured grips 

and straps,” Dr. Panzarella 

says. You can 

shorten them for 

uphill and lengthen 

them for downhill. 

The tips grab the 

ground better than 

your branch. Try Black 

Diamond Trail Pro 

Shock poles ($140, 

rei.com) and hike on! 

TINDER COACH 

NUTRITION 

What the heck is 

monk fruit? Should 

I be eating it? 

Walter, Macon, GA 

Buddha has been on 

our case forever with 

his buzz phrase: “To 

keep the body in good 

health is a duty.” So 

we’re intrigued by 

this Chinese fruit with 

mystical-sounding 

properties (sweet, 

no calories!) and an 

origin myth featuring 

actual monks. 

For centuries monk 

fruit has been used 

in Eastern medicine 

for colds and tummy 

troubles. Now, its 

extract is used as a 

FACT-CHECK MOM 

Bee sting? Rub some deodorant on it. 

LET OUR STYLE TEAM EDIT YOUR PROFILE 

sweetener that’s 100 

to 250 times sweeter 

than table sugar, with 

zero calories. That 

sweetness comes 

from antioxidants 

called mogrosides, 

says Jeffrey Blumberg, 

Ph.D., a senior 

scientist at the Tufts 

University Antioxidants 

Research Lab. 

It’s sold at natural 

food stores in liquid, 

granule, and powder 

forms. Try it if you 

want to cut calories 

without fake sweeteners. 

The FDA lists 

monk fruit extracts 

in its “generally recognized 

as safe” 

category. That’s not 

exactly enlightening, 

but good enough. 

It’s not reliable. Everyone reacts differently to home remedies, 

so not everyone will feel relief with a swipe after the stinger’s out, 

says Matthew Levy, D.O., of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. 

Worry more about an allergic reaction—even if you’ve never had 

one before. Leave the area; other bees can sense a sting and may 

attack. Scrape at the stinger until it comes out. Don’t squeeze— 

that releases more venom. Use a cold compress to relieve pain. 

FOCUS, 

MAN! 

FACE Hey, sunshine! Your 

bright smile conveys warmth 

and positivity. But try to 

find a photo with fewer shadows 

so she can see all your 

features. Better lighting or 

a filter could fix that. 

BODY Marathon backdrop, 

athletic clothing, strong 

posture: A swiping woman 

will know you are fit and 

determined and that you have 

the legs for tights. 

PROFILE Easy with the promises. 

Let her decide if this 

adjective fits. That guy who 

brags often turns out to be 

the one who took his cousin 

to the prom. Share your 

interests ( music, books, 

movies), not just an interest 

in yourself. 

FITNESS 

Can a waist trimmer 

belt help me get abs? 

Gary, Des Moines, IA 

About as much as 

drinking a six-pack 

will. We’ve all seen 

the claims: Strap the 

belt onto a flabby 

stomach and finally 

see washboard abs. 

Maybe it’ll make you 

sweat, but losing 

water weight means 

nothing. “Six-packs 

are mostly determined 

by diet and 

genetics,” says MH 

advisor Alex Koch, 

Ph.D., C.S.C.S., of Lenoir- 

Rhyne University. 

Obviously, exercise 

can help burn off 

that belly and reveal 

the abs you (and all 

of us) have. Save your 

money, Gary. 

QUICK 

CHANGE 

Is there a law against tucking 

a polo into your shorts? When I 

do it, my wife calls me Mr. Old. 

Bill, Birmingham, MI 

Old or nerdy or both. Steve Urkel 

was a tucker. Just saying. The 

standard today is to wear polos 

untucked, especially with jeans 

or shorts. Most brands, including 

Lacoste, Uniqlo, and J.Crew, cut 

their shirts on the shorter side. 

There are exceptions: If your polo 

hangs long, tuck. Golfers: Tuck 

it, especially at a private club. And 

if you’re dressing up a polo with a 

sport coat or trousers for the office, 

tucked looks best. 

I wear a baseball cap in the 

summer. I’m 42, so flat-brim 

isn’t for me. Any guidance? 

Henry, Atlanta, GA 

You’re right so far. For flat brims, 

trucker hats, and foil stickers, I’m 

capping the age limit at 30, plus 

or minus depending on maturity 

level and location. (Anything 

goes in Vegas.) Logos still make 

sense for a young guy. I get my caps 

at gentsco.com. (So have Chris 

and Liam Hemsworth and Mr. 

Timberlake.) These are simple, 

curved-brim caps you can customize 

with initials or symbols. 

Do I really need moisturizer 

when it’s humid out? 

Rodney, St. Joseph, MO 

Yes. Your skin may not feel dry, 

but washing can strip vital oils. A 

moisturizer locks those in. Look 

for oil-free prod ucts with humectants, 

which keep moisture in. 

Try Peter Thomas Roth Water 

Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream, 

and see page 82 for more tips. 

KYLE HILTON (Boyé portrait), courtesy Apple Inc. (phone) 


SM7012 ©2017 fairlife, LLC 

50 % 

more 

PROTEIN * 

50 % 

less 

SUGAR * 

*As compared to regular milk

THE EXCHANGE 

BELLY OFF! CLUB 

TRAGEDY TURNED MY LIFE AROUND 

AM I NORMAL? 

Why do I wonder 

what it’d be like to 

jump when I’m up 

somewhere high? 

Jones, Findlay, OH 

This has a name, 

which means you’re 

not alone and probably 

normal. It’s called 

“high place phenomenon,” 

says Jennifer 

Hames, Ph.D., who 

teaches clinical psychology 

at Notre 

Dame. About half of 

people likely experience 

some variation 

of this, she says. 

“Some people 

might start to notice 

their heart racing or 

feel dizzy,” Hames 

says. “In response 

to that, their bodies 

react and they back 

away from the ledge 

HOW-TO HAIKU 

“After the Shower” 

Droplets glistening 

No towel touches the face 

Whiskers remain soft 

or grasp a railing 

tightly to keep themselves 

safe. When 

they realize that they 

were actually safe the 

entire time, they conclude 

that they must 

have wanted to jump.” 

This all happens 

in a split second. 

Most people who 

experience this phenomenon 

are feeling 

their body’s survival 

instinct kick in. 

DAVID STEELE 

WILLOWBROOK, 

IL 

OCCUPATION 

Juvenile 

detention 

officer 

AGE 35 

HEIGHT 6'4" 

BEFORE 

257 pounds 

AFTER 

215 pounds 

TIME 

1 year 

ASK A BOY SCOUT 

THE SETBACK 

My wife delivered Aubrey early on May 28, 2015. But there 

was a problem: Our baby’s lungs were not developing properly. 

The following day, Aubrey took her last breath. It was 

tough. I was angry and frustrated and eventually stopped 

caring about working out. To cope I turned to comfort food— 

pizza, hot dogs, cheese fries, cheeseburgers, gyros. 

THE WAKE-UP CALL 

I was in the car with my wife when the song “By Your Side” 

came on. I thought of Aubrey and broke down crying. It was 

one of the few times I’d ever teared up in front of my wife. 

When she told me she was pregnant again, I decided to be 

healthy for her, for Aubrey, and for our new baby, Madelyn. 

THE FOOD 

In the past, we’d stop at the Cheesecake Factory at night 

to get a slice of cheesecake. Now I’ll have a glass of chocolate 

milk at the end of the night instead. I also swapped fast 

food for wraps, and instead of french fries I’ll get vegetables 

or rice. For dinner we mainly eat chicken or fish with vegetables. 

The biggest thing for me is knowing what we have in 

our cabinet and sticking to it. 

THE FITNESS 

I started at a moderate treadmill pace for 30 minutes. 

I noticed I burned 500 or so calories. Now I work out four 

days a week for three hours each time. I try to burn 528 

calories during those workouts in honor of Aubrey’s May 28 

birthday, and usually do 28 reps when I’m lifting. 

BELLY OFF! CLUB Tell us your weight loss story 

at transformation@rodale.com. 

Boy Scout Emmett Jaworski, 10, answers your questions. 

WHAT IS THE KEY TO 

HAPPINESS? 

“If you are talking with someone who is sad, then you 

should tell them to do what makes them happy. If 

someone doesn’t know what makes them happy, then 

I would ask them if they would like to play.” 

D. W. JOHNSON (Steele), courtesy David Steele (Steele before) 


JOCKEY.COM ©2017 Jockey International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

REMI ADELEKE 

Former Navy SEAL shows 

that with resilience, you 

can accomplish anything 

SHOW ’EM 

WHAT’S 

UNDERNEATH 

#ShowEm your Jockey

THE EXCHANGE 

OH, JULIE! 

OUR HEALTH EDITOR HARSHES OUR MELLOW ON... 

EATING ANCIENT 

LEFTOVERS 

HEALTH 

Just before the start 

of a triathlon, I go 

in the water and pee 

in my wetsuit. Any 

health risks? 

Karl, Jacksonville, FL 

Go ahead, Karl, it’ll be 

our secret. “Urine is 

mostly water and not 

a toxic byproduct,” 

says dermatologist 

Tsippora Shainhouse, 

M.D. “It is a sterile, 

filtered fluid that 

contains water and 

excess nutrients that 

your body has discarded.” 

So you’re 

probably not risking 

any severe health 

consequences. 

But you’re peeing 

in your padded triathlon 

trunks, right? 

Which double as 

your bike shorts? 

Sure, they get a rinse 

during the swimming 

leg, but you should 

still be on the lookout 

for any nasty rashes 

that might pop up. 

If you notice any 

skin irritation, prolonged 

exposure to 

the water and urea 

in urine could be 

the reason. And the 

friction of that bicycle 

seat jamming up 

against your nethers 

doesn’t help. Apply 

some lube, such as 

Trislide or Body Glide. 

Put it on prior to wiggling 

into your trunks 

and you’re good to go. 

WHAT’S THE DIFF? 

Cholesterol: 

LDL versus HDL 

Mack, Dallas, TX 

That “lousy” LDL 

(low-density lipoprotein) 

sticks to 

artery walls to cause 

harder and narrower 

arteries. The “helpful” 

HDL (high-density 

lipoprotein) carries 

some LDL gunk to 

your liver for removal. 

FOOD COURT 

Dairy Queen Large 

Cookie Dough Blizzard 

THE CRIME: 1,330 calories 

THE PUNISHMENT: 4.9 hours of painting 

the house. Breaks not included. 

Dude, please: Toss it. Yes, I know that chicken was cooked. 

A week ago. You guys seem to think that once food’s been 

cooked, it’s pristine. I guarantee there are lots of bacteria 

on that. Not all bacteria die in a hot oven. There 

might still be germs, and if you leave your leftovers in 

the fridge too long, they’ll proliferate. According to a 

survey in the journal Foods, 12 percent of Americans think 

meat leftovers last a week in the fridge. Wrong! Three to 

four days, max, says the USDA. If you must eat it, heat it 

to piping hot. That’s the only way to make it safe. The USDA 

recommends 165°F; time to buy a thermometer. 

GEAR 

Mountain streams 

look so pure. Do I 

need filters or tablets? 

What do hardcore 

hikers do? 

Shawn, Provo, UT 

If they want to avoid 

beaver fever (also 

known as giardiasis, 

a parasitic infection), 

they carry a filter. 

Remember, animals 

poop everywhere, 

spreading such bugs 

as Cryptosporidium, 

Shigella, Giardia, and 

E. coli. An infection 

can cause diarrhea, 

vomiting, and dehydration, 

and could 

ruin not only your trip 

but also the week (or 

weeks) that follow. “It’s 

a horrible nightmare,” 

says Creek Stewart, 

a survival instructor 

who learned this the 

hard way. “Unless it’s 

life or death, I play it 

safe with a filter.” He 

carries LifeStraw and 

Sawyer Mini filters. 

If a filter breaks or 

clogs, boil water for 

a full minute, which 

should kill 100 percent 

of pathogens. A 

filter is typically 99.9 

percent effective. 

THE GIRL 

NEXT DOOR 

I like to fool around on the 

living room couch, but she 

just rolls her eyes. It’s the bed 

or nowhere. How come? 

Rick, Hartford, CT 

Maybe your timing’s off. She’s 

probably focused on something 

important, like House of Cards or 

Ben & Jerry’s. Distractions can 

ruin sex for women; we require 

concentration to get off. (And we 

can’t concentrate on pleasure 

when Kevin Spacey is doing his 

slow burn.) Let her finish the episode 

and her snack, kill the TV, 

and give her your own look. 

I went over to her place on the 

fly and didn’t have a condom. 

What’s my game plan? 

Nate, Brentwood, TN 

Um, ask her if she has one? A 

responsible woman probably has 

some in her drawer. Otherwise, 

you have two options: Go out on 

that romantic run to 7-Eleven 

or make out like high schoolers. 

Option two is highly underrated, 

says every single woman ever. 

Here’s the thing: We love the bases, 

all three. A night spent lingering 

on them is the hottest form of 

torture she’s ever experienced. 

I know couples who schedule 

date-and-sex nights. Seems 

unromantic. Am I wrong? 

Konrad, Erie, PA 

Do you enjoy your vacations less 

because you schedule them in 

advance? Look, spontaneous, 

take-me-now sex is awesome, but 

so is pretty much every other kind 

of sex. Putting it on the calendar 

just means you’re being realistic 

about busy adult life. 

KYLE HILTON (Eaves portrait) 


THE EXCHANGE 

TEXT A DOCTOR 

Q: Got a bad cold, doc. 

I feel like hell. Why do colds 

always hit me in summer 

when I want to have fun? 

A: A cold is a viral infection, 

and viruses can 

thrive in both winter and 

summer. Are you sure the 

problem isn’t allergies? 

Q: Oh, is that a possibility? 

How can I tell the difference 

between the two? 

A: Allergies don’t cause 

fever and that general 

weak feeling. Also, the 

symptoms tend to linger. 

Q: Can I come see you? 

A: If it’s longer than a week 

or two, yes. Meanwhile, 

stay indoors, get rest, and 

drink plenty of liquids. 

Thanks, doc! 

Jeremiah Alt, M.D., is codirector of 

the Sinus and Skull Base Program 

at the University of Utah. 

FITNESS 

I’m taking a 10-hour 

road trip this summer. 

Any exercises 

or stretches I can 

do during pit stops? 

Simon, Bethesda, MD 

After the bathroom 

sprint, try these three 

moves from Charlie 

Merrill, a Colorado 

physical therapist. 

1. Leg swings With 

one hand on your car, 

swing a leg front and 

back, keeping your 

core engaged. This 

will lengthen your 

quads, anterior hip 

muscles, and hamstrings, 

which shorten 

during the drive. Aah 

factor: Lengthening 

those muscles will 

make your lower back 

feel better. 

2. Calf and ankle 

stretch Extended 

sitting can make 

your calves tight and 

ankles swollen. Worstcase 

scenario: blood 

clots in your calves. 

So put your hands on 

your car, place one 

foot forward (a slight 

bend in your front 

knee) and one back 

(toes pointed forward, 

heel on ground). Aah 

factor: It keeps your 

lower legs from swelling 

and becoming 

stiff, says Merrill. 

3. Pectoral stretch 

Raise one hand, arm 

bent 90 degrees, 

and place it on your 

open car door. Now 

step forward while 

leaning into the 

stretch. Aah factor: 

Merrill says opening 

up your chest and the 

front of your shoulders 

eases neck pain 

and stress on the 

nerves and blood 

vessels that feed your 

arms and upper back. 

GROOMING 

Is that $40 sunscreen 

any better 

than a $15 one? 

Dmitri, Norwalk, CT 

Not really, if merely 

blocking rays is your 

goal. It’s fine to go 

cheap on sunscreen, 

especially if it means 

you’ll use more of it 

and reapply regularly, 

which is crucial. 

If you want more 

from your goop—like 

easier application or 

antioxidants for skin 

repair—that’s where 

costs can creep up. 

“The price may have 

to do with packaging, 

marketing, and 

ACTUALLY DELICIOUS! 

Watermelon + Feta 

If you’ve ever eaten chocolate-covered 

pretzels, you know salt helps sweet taste 

sweeter. Same goes for the sweetness in 

watermelon and the salt in the feta. 

possibly the active 

ingredients,” says 

MH dermatology 

advisor Adnan Nasir, 

M.D., Ph.D. Just make 

sure your sunscreen 

is waterproof and 

broad-spectrum, 

meaning it protects 

you from UVA and 

UVB rays, he says. 

The American 

Academy of Dermatology 

recommends 

a minimum of 30 SPF, 

but it’s never a bad 

idea to go higher— 

like 40 and above. 

That’s because more 

than 40 percent of 

the sunscreens tested 

by Consumer Reports 

came in below the 

SPF on the label. 

Two brands Dr. Nasir 

recommends: Up & 

Up from Target and 

No-Ad from Walmart. 

HEALTH 

My new doctor is 

fat. How can I take 

him seriously? 

Gerald, Ames, IA 

How’s your six-pack, 

Mr. Judgy? We understand: 

Skepticism is a 

good thing. One survey 

found that about 

half of doctors are 

suffering from burnout, 

and that could 

lead to worse health 

care for you. But we 

liked the reminder 

we got from Steven 

Lamm, M.D., medical 

director of NYU Langone’s 

Preston Robert 

Tisch Center for 

Men’s Health. Doctors 

are patients too, he 

says, and a physician 

with a health problem 

may actually be more 

empathetic about 

yours. That’s never a 

bad thing. Then Dr. 

Lamm pointed out 

some telltale signs of 

good doctoring: 

If the doctor focuses 

on your sleep, sex 

drive, and weight 

gain, you’re probably 

in good hands. 

THROW A LEGENDARY PARTY 

How can I amp up my backyard bash so it’s not like every other one? Thom, Memphis, TN 

Do like the Outside Lands organizers: Hire Gorillaz and alt-J. Or just follow their suggestions. 

FOR THE 

VIBE 

FOR THE 

FOOD 

FOR THE 

DRINKS 

FOR THE 

MUSIC 

A big picnic table has underrated party power. “A large community 

table encourages people to get to know each other,” 

says Jonathan Mayers of the Bay Area festival (August 11–13). 

Focus on one surprising thing, like grilled cheese cooked on 

the grill. Lay out condiments: bacon, roasted peppers, tomatoes, 

pickles, green apples. Also works for pizza or tacos. 

A Sazerac batch is easy: Dissolve ⅔ cup sugar in ⅔ cup water 

over medium heat. Cool. Combine with 6 cups rye whiskey, 2 Tbsp 

absinthe, 3 tsp Angostura bitters, and the juice of a lemon. 

Sit with Spotify and add every song that makes you feel good, 

says one festival booker, Allen Scott. “I arrange it to start 

out vibey and build to a dance party as the sun goes down.” 


It’s where all the day’s worries 

disappear the minute you walk 

in the door. It’s home. 

Find your way home. 

Search millions of homes for sale and for rent. 

©2017 Zillow Group. All rights reserved.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO EXTREMES TO ENJOY THE 

OUTDOORS. YOU JUST NEED A RUGGED COOLER TO 

MAKE THEM YOUR OWN. THE NEW OTTERBOX VENTURE. 

DESIGNED IN COLORADO. BUILT IN DETROIT . 

OTTERBOX.COM

For a killer core challenge, do Erwan Le Corre’s 

jaguar plank. Balance on something low to start; 

hold as long as you can. Control your breath. 

EDITED BY 

PAUL KITA 

U S E F U L 

The Manual 

FOR 

Enlightened 

Living 

S T U F F 

Let Daenerys 

Targaryen show 

you how to press 

Make nachos 

even better— 

with fire 

Learn the limbo 

from Instagram’s 

Emily Skye 

Get Ripped on 

These 6 Trips 

A BOOK AND A BEACH WORK WONDERS 

FOR YOUR MIND. BUT WHAT ABOUT 

YOUR BODY? / BY TYLER GRAHAM 

Say you’re a hotel owner. Try to guess which aspect of 

your establishment will likely lose you the most cash this year. Free 

Wi-Fi? A concierge staff? The pool? Nope. It’s the gym. Guests rarely 

use the pricey equipment even if they plan to do so, a recent Cornell 

survey found. So why not make fitness the focus of your next vacation? 

We’ve got a dozen great ideas to send you home tired and happy. 


29

USEFUL STUFF 

CATEGORIES STRENGTH MOBILITY WEIGHT LOSS RELAX SPEED 

PRIMAL MOVEMENT 

MovNat (Nationwide) 

KETTLEBELL CERTIFICATION 

Strong First (Global) 

Erwan Le Corre founded this school nearly a decade ago, 

basing it on the principle that real fitness is practical fitness. 

MovNat replaces treadmills and weights with ocean 

waves and fallen trees. Le Corre’s course will help you 

relearn squatting, crawling, jumping, and swimming— 

and your definition of fit. From $200, movnat.com 

DIY DRILL Learn the bear crawl: Get down on your hands 

and feet, your knees nearly touching the ground. Keeping 

your core tight, crawl forward 20 yards. Repeat twice. 

Not just any dumbbell can coach kettlebells. Here it takes 

three nine-hour days of training to cover six moves. Pavel 

Tsatsouline, the Russian special forces instructor who 

introduced the kettlebell to the West, handpicks your 

teachers. $1,600 for a three-day seminar, strongfirst.com 

DIY DRILL Strengthen your kettlebell swing with the 

300-rep workout: Perform 50 two-arm swings, then 25 

single-arm swings per arm. Repeat 3 times. Focus on 

exploding through your hips, as if you’re trying to leap. 

FITNESS BOOT CAMP 

EXOS (Phoenix, AZ) 

CROSSFIT EXPEDITION 

Anywhere Fit (Western U.S.) 

Train like an NFL star at the EXOS Performance Lab. 

The program features personalized meal plans and nutrition 

guidance; morning plyometrics, speed, and agility 

drills followed by compression recovery; and afternoon 

strength, power, and endurance training. Return home 

with new PRs and a 12-month individualized strength 

training program. $3,500 for five days, teamexos.com 

DIY DRILL The Farmer’s Walk Challenge: Grab two dumbbells 

totaling half your weight. Walk 100 meters. Or try. 

You’ll book this 10-day trek, but you won’t know where 

you’re going or what you’re doing. Except this: Each day 

includes one or two workouts of the day (WODs) and a 

challenging expedition, such as hiking or rafting. It’s 

great for testing your intestinal fortitude, but admittedly 

not for control freaks. $2,500, anywherefit.com 

DIY DRILL Try the grueling WOD known as Invisible Fran: 

Do 21 body-weight squats followed by 21 pushups. Then 

do 15 of each, and then 9 of each. Don’t say it sounds easy. 

Kai Muellenhoff (Erwan Le Corre, this page and previous) 


THE ALLEY OOP JULY/AUGUST 

FEEL THE CONNECTION 

Welcome to the Alley Oop, a chained, page-by-page list 

of recommendations from recommenders. First up... 

TRIATHLON TRAINING 

HITS Tri-Camp (Nationwide) 

6 MORE LIFE-CHANGING TRIPS 

If you need a vacation (you do, by the way), the 

real question is: Which kind? These adventures 

aim to fix what’s nagging you. Your souvenirs: 

energy and serenity. BY JEN MURPHY 

YOU COULD USE LESS SCREEN TIME 

Prairie Mountain Folk School, 

Joseph, OR 

Stow the phone and hone your 

skills. The school brings in blacksmiths, 

woodworkers, and other 

artisans to teach one- to 11-day 

classes on everything from forging 

steel to building cabins. From $40, 

prairiemountainschool.com 

NICK SLATER (illustrations, icons, and Alley Oop illustrations throughout), Andy Smith/Offset (cyclists) 

RUNNING CAMP 

Experts study video of your running, pedaling, and paddling 

and even conduct a motion-capture bike fitting. 

“Often, swim stroke analysis is the ‘aha’ moment for 

athletes, because they feel like they’re doing one thing in 

the water, but it’s not actually happening,” says organizer 

Nick Gough. $1,500 for five days, hitsendurance.com 

DIY DRILL Get a friend to film your swim. Your whole body 

should be close to the surface. Doing 15 minutes of kicking 

drills will help you raise your legs and increase your speed. 

Eric Orton Academy (Jackson, WY) 

The top of every morning starts at the bottom of a mountain. 

Don’t worry: You’ll start slow with mobility and 

conditioning work. “Foot strength sets the foundation 

for everything you do as a runner,” says Orton, author of 

The Cool Impossible. Make this the backbone of your own 

training, even if you can’t partake in Orton’s programs. 

$600 for a three-day camp, runningwitheric.com 

DIY DRILL Stand barefoot on one foot for 30-second intervals 

daily. Work up to the balls of your feet, heels elevated. 

YOU TWO DESERVE A DIRTY WEEKEND 

Twin Farms, Barnard, VT 

Escape to this hotel set on 300 

acres. Splurge on a cottage for the 

fireplace. Plan a picnic for the trails 

or a twilight canoe. Then it’s drinks 

by the fire, a private dinner, and a 

late-night skinny dip. From $1,500/ 

night, all inclusive; twinfarms.com 

YOU’RE STUCK IN THE BREAKUP BLUES 

DuVine Cycling + Adventure 

Co. Napa + Sonoma Wine 

Country Bike Tour 

Sweat out the heartbreak on quadtaxing 

Cali roads. You’ll ride 18 to 

58 miles a day along the coast. 

Then enjoy insanely great food and 

the best wines in the country. What 

ex? From $3,595, duvine.com 

YOU HAVEN’T SEEN OLD FRIENDS 

Sailing in Maine 

A weeklong charter lets you and 

a few friends live the seafaring life 

while exploring Maine’s pristine 

coastline. Captain Marshall Frye, a 

native Mainer, and his crew do the 

heavy lifting (and cooking) while 

you sip Dark ‘n’ Stormys on deck. 

$7,000, sailingcollective.com 

YOU NEED SOME PEACE AND QUIET 

Cumberland Island, GA 

Hop a ferry from St. Mary’s to Cumberland 

Island National Seashore, 

where you can clear your head on 

50 miles of hiking trails. Reserve 

a campsite and shop in advance; 

nothing is sold on the island. From 

$12, cumberlandislandferry.com 

YOU WANT SOME FAMILY BONDING 

Multisport trip to Costa Rica 

Monkeys, sloths, toucans, iguanas, 

frogs? Check. Cartoon-bright 

colors? Check. Rainforest. Ocean. 

Biking, ziplining, surfing, whitewater 

rafting. Plus, kid-friendly guides. 

From $3,000/person, all inclusive 

for five nights; backroads.com 


31

USEFUL STUFF 

1. LISTEN TO THIS 

We suggest Kevin Morby’s album City 

Music, out June 16, if you dig folksy 

rock that feels like being outdoors. 

TOOLS OF MY TRADE 

The Outdoorsman’s Essentials 

STEVEN RINELLA HUNTS, FISHES, AND HOSTS MEATEATER ON NETFLIX. HE’S ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE 

SCAVENGER’S GUIDE TO HAUTE CUISINE. THE STRATEGY: PACK WHAT YOU NEED, NOT WHAT YOU WANT. 

STEVEN RINELLA 

Gear up like this 

wild man on your 

next expedition. 

1 

2 

1. FHF Bino Harness 

My binoculars stay 

bounce-free, and my 

lens wipes, compass, 

lighter, and ammo 

are handy when I’m 

stalking game. 

4 

2. Bison Designs 

Last Chance Belt 

I’ve had this belt for 

seven years. That’s 

over 2,000 days of use 

with no sign of wear. 

3 

4 

3. Vortex Razor 

HD Binoculars 

They deliver searing 

clarity and can handle 

plenty of abuse. 

4. Benchmade 

Griptilian Knife 

I’ve used this blade 

for everything from 

extracting splinters to 

dispatching piranhas. 

5. Dark Energy 

Poseidon Charger 

This portable device 

brings my phone from 

dead to 100 percent a 

few times per charge. 

6. Costa Caballito 

Sunglasses 

They’re so light and 

comfortable. I’ve paid 

to have the same pair 

repaired three times. 

7. Surefire 

Minimus Headlamp 

Indestructible, submersible, 

and bright. 

8. Outdoor 

Research Backcountry 

Organizer 

It holds not only my 

first-aid and survival 

kits but also a dozen 

other micro-essentials. 

5 

6 

8 

7 

Prop styling: Ariana Salvato/Apostrophe, WONG CHI LUI (illustration) 

32 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY LEVI BROWN

You can do this. 

Minneapolis 

7.08 

Miami 

9.24 

New York City 

7.16 

San Diego 

10.15 

Chicago 

Tempe 

8.27 

9.17 

South Beach 

Austin 

4.01 

(2018) 

5.28 

(2018) 

We are America’s Premier Triathlon Series. 

0ĳȄdƈúƟǽɦáǳɲƟƈúď 

The Life Time Tri Series is a collection of short course 

triathlons held in iconic, top tier U.S destinations. 

Produced with unparalleled sophistication, these events 

integrate best in class race experiences, savvy customer 

service and leading technology initiatives. Formed in 

2001, the Life Time Tri Series has enhanced the lives of 

more than 500,000 finishers. 

Learn more and register at: 

LIFETIMETRI.COM 

Event Distances 

SuperSprint 

Sprint 

International 

Swim 

.25mi 

375m 

.47mi 

750m 

.93mi 

1.5k 

Bike 

6.2mi 

10k 

12.4mi 

20k 

24.8mi 

40k 

Run 

1.5mi 

2.5k 

3.1mi 

5k 

6.2mi 

10k

USEFUL STUFF 

2. EAT HERE 

Morby likes Duckfat in Portland, 

Maine, for the meatloaf panini and salads 

in bowls that “look like hats.” 

BINGE TRAINING 

Gains of Thrones 

SEASON 7 OF GAME OF THRONES DEBUTS JULY 16. GET READY WITH THESE UPPER-BODY WORKOUTS. 

REMEMBER, A LANNISTER ALWAYS FINISHES HIS SETS. / BY SER BJ GADDOUR, MH FITNESS DIRECTOR 

WORKOUT A 

YOU’LL NEED: A PAIR OF 

MEDIUM-WEIGHT DUMBBELLS 

(START WITH 25-POUNDERS) 

1. Bent-Over Row 

Holding dumbbells, bend at your hips until your 

torso is nearly parallel to the floor. Raise the 

weights until they reach your pits. Pause and 

reverse the move. That’s 1 rep; do 15 to 20. 

2. Overhead Press 

Hold dumbbells at shoulder level, your palms 

facing each other. Clench your glutes and brace 

your abs as you press the weights up. Pause 

and slowly lower them. That’s 1 rep; do 15 to 20. 

3. Overhead Carry 

Hold weights at the top of the overhead press 

position and walk back and forth. You’re done 

when your elbows begin to buckle. That’s 1 round; 

do 3 to 5, resting 2 minutes between each. 

WORKOUT B 

YOU’LL NEED: A PULLUP BAR, A 

PAIR OF HEAVY DUMBBELLS (50S 

ARE A GOOD START), AND A BENCH. 

1. Chest Press 

Lie on an incline bench holding dumbbells 

above your chest, your arms straight and palms 

facing forward. Lower the weights to your chest, 

pause, and reverse. That’s 1 rep; do 15 to 20. 

2. Chinup 

Using an underhand grip, hang at arm’s length 

from a bar. Pull up, bracing your abs and tucking 

your elbows to your ribs, until your neck touches 

the bar; pause and lower. Repeat till failure. 

3. Farmer’s Walk 

Stand holding dumbbells at your sides. Keep 

your shoulders pulled down and don’t let 

the weights rest on your thighs. Walk as far as 

you can until your grip or posture starts to fail. 

METASHRED EXTREME Get the MetaShred Diet book when you buy the MetaShred Ultimate Extreme Package at metashredextreme.com. 

34 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRANDON LOVING

©2017 glacéau. glacéau ® , smartwater ® and label are registered trademarks of glacéau. 

spotlight 

sidekick. 

vapor-distilled for purity, 

electrolytes for taste.

USEFUL STUFF 

3. VISIT THIS PLACE 

Nancy Pugh and Rob Evans, owners 

of Duckfat, escape to Utah for 

camping and off-road motorcycling. 

A MAN, A PAN, A PLAN 

Sizzlin’ Campfire Nachos 

ROASTING WEENIES OVER AN OPEN FLAME IS FOR WEBELOS. ELEVATE YOUR NEXT FIREPIT FEAST. / BY PAUL KITA 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED 

½ BAG TORTILLA CHIPS 

1 PACKAGE GRILLED CHICKEN 

STRIPS, CHOPPED (ABOUT 2 CUPS) 

1 CAN (4.5 OZ) DICED GREEN CHILES 

½ CAN (15 OZ) BLACK BEANS, RINSED 

½ CAN (15 OZ) WHOLE KERNEL CORN, 

DRAINED 

½ CUP CHERRY TOMATOES, HALVED 

1 CUP SHREDDED CHEESE 

(CHEDDAR OR PEPPER JACK) 

JUICE OF ½ LIME 

¼ CUP SOUR CREAM 

1 AVOCADO, DICED 

2 SCALLIONS, THINLY SLICED 

½ CUP CHOPPED CILANTRO 

1 3 

2 4 

1. Preheat a grill over 

direct, high heat or set 

a grate over a lit firepit. 

Put a long sheet of 

foil in a large cast-iron 

pan, letting the ends 

hang over the edge. 

Repeat with another 

sheet, crossing it over 

the first one. 

2. Layer in the chips, 

chicken, chiles, beans, 

corn, tomatoes, and 

cheese. Fold the foil 

over to make a packet; 

#AManAPanAPlan 

set the pan on the grill. 

Cook till the cheese 

melts, 15 minutes or so. 

3. Meanwhile, in a 

bowl, mix the lime 

juice and sour cream. 

4. With oven mitts, 

remove the pan. Peel 

back the foil. Top with 

avocado, scallions, 

cilantro, and the lime 

sour cream. Feeds 4. 

495 calories, 35g 

protein, 38g carbs 

(9g fiber), 24g fat 

Food styling: Chris Lanier/Apostrophe, prop styling: Kaitlyn DuRoss/Honey Artists; STEVE SANFORD (illustrations) 


PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA HOLMES

USEFUL STUFF 

4. KICK BACK WITH THIS BOOK 

Mike Nelson, manager at Utah’s Anasazi 

State Park, pushes H Is for Hawk, about 

the “demon raptor,” the goshawk. 

T I M F E R R I S S 

SCIENCE-BACKED STRATEGIES YOU NEED TO LIVE BETTER RIGHT NOW. 

Turn Fear 

into Fuel 

TIM FERRISS, AUTHOR OF TOOLS OF 

TITANS AND CREATOR OF THE TIM 

FERRISS SHOW (TIM.BLOG/PODCAST), 

HELPS YOU FIND THE POWER. 

In 2004, I was doing better 

than ever financially, and 

my company, BrainQuicken, 

was distributed in a dozen or 

so countries. The problem? 

I was running on caffeine, 

working 15-hour days, and 

on the verge of meltdown. I 

realized I had to restructure 

the business or shut it down—it was killing me 

and my sense of adventure. 

That’s when I began journaling on a few 

questions: “What would I want to do, have, 

and be if I had $10 million in the bank?” and 

“What’s my real target monthly income?” 

For the latter, in other words, how much 

would my dream life really cost if I paid on a 

monthly basis? (See fourhourworkweek.com/ 

tmi.) After running the numbers, I found that 

FIVE THINGS ON MY RADAR 

What Ferriss finds super useful right now 

Stories of Your 

Life and Others 

Author Ted Chiang is 

the equivalent of Martin 

Scorsese or Wayne 

Gretzky in science 

fiction. He's just that 

good at the craft. 

Square 

This water bottle 

unscrews on both 

ends for easy cleaning, 

doesn’t roll if you 

drop it, and won’t 

leave a metallic taste. 

$15, cleanbottle.com 

most of my fantasies were more affordable 

than I’d expected. Perhaps I needed more 

time and mobility, not more income. Maybe 

I could afford to be successful and happy. 

As the cliché goes, life is an adventure. 

What you choose doesn’t matter. What matters 

is approach. Reinvention comes down to 

asking better questions about yourself, your 

direction, and your objectives. 

The Eagle 

Huntress 

This documentary 

follows Aisholpan, 

a Kazakh girl, as she 

trains to be the first 

female eagle hunter 

in 12 generations. 

Rubz 

Think of it as a golf 

ball that won’t shoot 

across the floor when 

you step on it. Roll it 

under your feet or 

on hand muscles. $7, 

rubzmassage.com 

Quote I’m Reflecting On 

“The best way to complain is to make things.”—James Murphy 

When I interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

I mentioned a photo of him taken before 

he won his first big competition, Junior Mr. 

Europe. I said, “Your face was so confident 

compared to every other competitor’s. Where 

did that confidence come from?” His answer: 

“My confidence came from my vision ... I 

wasn’t there to compete. I was there to win.” 

In my talk with Stanley McChrystal, 

the retired U.S. Army general said, “Do you 

push yourself harder than you believe you’re 

capable of? Do you put yourself in groups 

that share difficulties and discomfort? Do 

you create some fear and then overcome it?” 

It’s the last part—the fear—that holds 

most people back from adventure. To overcome 

self-doubt, do a fear-setting exercise. 

On the top of a page, write whatever quandary 

you are facing, and then create three columns 

below it. In the first column, spell out 

the worst-case scenario preventing you from 

taking action. In the second, list the things 

you could do to minimize the likelihood of 

damage. Finally, in the third, write down the 

things that could repair the situation if it goes 

badly. More often than not you realize that 

your worst fears really aren’t that bad. When 

that happens, you can embrace adventure 

and tackle your goals and ambitions. 

KYLE HILTON (Ferriss portrait), BROWN BIRD DESIGN (product illustrations) 


ILLUSTRATION BY MAX TEMESCU

USEFUL STUFF 

5. HEAR THIS OUT 

Helen MacDonald, author of H Is for 

Hawk, shares Homecoming, a podcast 

thriller about veterans and PTSD. 

WHAT SHE KNOWS 

Emily Skye 

TWO MILLION PEOPLE FOLLOW HER ON 

INSTAGRAM FOR FITNESS INSPIRATION. 

NOW LET HER SHOW YOU THE WAY TO 

LIMBO. / INTERVIEW BY PAUL KITA 

1 

Prep Your Legs 

“Start with body 

squats and lunges. 

You need to warm 

up your quads, hamstrings, 

and knees,” 

says Skye. Doing 

shots of tequila is not 

a warmup. 

2 

Set the Stance 

Kick off your shoes for 

better balance. Walk 

toward the limbo bar 

until you’re a foot or 

two away. “Then set 

your feet slightly wider 

than shoulder-width 

apart,” Skye says. 

3 

Tighten Up 

For firmer footing, 

tighten your core. 

Squeeze your legs 

and glutes. If you’re 

too loose, you’ll fall 

backward. Put your 

hands at your sides, 

out of the way. 

4 

Work Your Feet 

As you lean back, 

shuffle your feet forward. 

Transfer your 

weight to your insteps 

and then, gradually, 

to your toes. “Your 

muscles will be shaking 

at this point.” 

5 

Claim Victory! 

You’re there! Good 

thing your chin didn’t 

hit the bar (rookie 

mistake)! Do a celebratory 

dance of your 

choice. Maybe hula 

hands to match your 

Hawaiian shirt? 

EMILY SKYE 

THE SOCIAL 

@emilyskyefit 

on Instagram, 

@missemilyskye 

on Twitter 

THE SKILL 

See how low you 

really can go. 

THE PLUGS 

Emilyskye.com; 

she’s on the cover 

of this month’s 

Women’s Health. 

Photograph by Juan Algarin, styling: Jacqueline Azria, hair: Aaron Light/Honest Beauty/The Wall Group, makeup: Mai Quynh/Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara/Starworks Artists, manicure: Emi Kudo/Dior Vernis/Opus Beauty, 

prop styling: Abraham Latham/Art Department; Duskii bikini, Alex Woo and Gabriel & Co. necklaces, Jennifer Meyer and Pandora bracelets, Jennifer Meyer earrings, Pamela Love ring; STEVE SANFORD (illustrations) 


USEFUL STUFF 

6. HAVE FUN WITH WORDPLAY 

Eli Horowitz, creator of Homecoming, 

plays Bananagrams, a Scrabble-type 

game that comes in a yellow pouch. 

METROGRADES 

America’s Most Adventurous Cities 

HOW THE NATION’S TOP OUTDOORSY TOWNS GET WILD. / RESEARCH BY JENNIFER MESSIMER 

THE TOP 10 

1. ANCHORAGE, AK 

2. AUSTIN, TX 

3. MADISON, WI 

4. MINNEAPOLIS, MN 

5. SAN DIEGO, CA 

6. RALEIGH, NC 

7. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 

8. BOSTON, MA 

9. SEATTLE, WA 

10. FARGO, ND 

THE BOTTOM 10 

91. BATON ROUGE, LA 

92. BUFFALO, NY 

93. NEWARK, NJ 

94. MIAMI, FL 

95. CLEVELAND, OH 

96. WILMINGTON, DE 

97. MEMPHIS, TN 

98. DETROIT, MI 

99. JACKSON, MS 

100. BIRMINGHAM, AL 

METHODOLOGY Percentage of people participating in various sports in the past 

12 months (GfK MRI); percentage of people meeting activity guidelines, percentage 

of people who engage in vigorous activity five or more days a week (CDC); ratio of 

parkland to city size (The Trust for Public Land); recreational business counts percentage 

(U.S. Census Bureau); recreational household expenditure percentage, recreational 

Consumer Price Index (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) 

To see where your city ranks, go to 

MensHealth.com/adventurecities 

TREK WITH PURPOSE 

Anchorage, AK 

Anchorage is truly wild, with resident bears 

and almost a million acres of parkland. People 

here can hike, fish, kayak, and mountain bike 

in their backyard. Get to know your own environment 

better by booking a specialized guide, 

suggests James Minton of Visit Anchorage. 

You’ll enjoy any area a bit more if you hike with a 

historian, photographer, or biologist, he says. 

RIDE STRESS-FREE 

Detroit, MI 

Many Detroiters commute to work 

on two wheels. To make your own 

ride a relaxing experience, ask 

Google Maps to route you through 

as much green space as possible, 

says Alex Stchekine of Shinola in 

Detroit. You’ll burn 550 calories an 

hour—before you open your email! 

THE BAG 

Stow your laptop, 

lunch, and 

gear in the 

Transit Waterproof 

($265, 

showerspass.com) 

84% 

Portion 

of Anchorage that 

is parkland 

AQUA-SOCIALIZE 

Austin, TX 

Lake Travis and Lake Austin attract 

crowds of kayakers and party 

barges for liquid lounging, says 

Regina Kubelka of Hills Outdoor 

Country, an outfitter in the city. 

Take inspiration from those party 

animals: Find a lake near you (for 

coordinates, see lakepedia.com). 

THE ESSENTIALS 

Lip balm with SPF 

Sunglasses that float. Test 

’em first, or get a Croakies 

cord ($5, rei.com). 

To make a buoyant key chain, 

cut a piece of pool noodle. 

Hagephoto/Image Source/Getty Images (Anchorage), Ben Sklar (Austin), David Baum for Shinola (Detroit) 


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USEFUL STUFF 

7. GO BANANAS IN THE BIG APPLE 

Rena Nathanson, coinventor of 

Bananagrams, stays at the Walker Hotel 

in NYC for its staff and hip restaurant. 

J I M M Y T H E B A R T E N D E R 

STRAIGHT-UP ADVICE ON WOMEN, WORK, AND THINGS THAT DRIVE MEN CRAZY. 

I’ll admit that I can’t stand 

camping. Does that make 

me less of a man? MICHAEL, JUNEAU, AK 

I’m with you. I’d much rather be surrounded by creature 

comforts than by actual creatures. But my wife and kids loved 

roughing it out there—even with the lack of a comfortable 

recliner and modern plumbing. It made them happy, and that 

was enough for me. Sometimes, when it comes to others, doing 

what you don’t want to do is what helps define you as a man. 

The ingredient list for 

s’mores doesn’t 

include lighter fluid. 

JIMMY 

CALLS 

BS ON 

METAL 

AT ALL 

HOURS 

It’s early, 

I’m getting 

a cup of 

black, and 

“Enter 

Sandman” 

starts blaring 

over the 

speakers. 

Almost 

blew my 

bacon. 

No morning 

metal! 

It could 

kill a guy 

like me. 

My stubborn son 

has made it clear: 

No Little League. 

Can I sway him? 

Aaron, Portland, OR 

Baseball is the kale 

of sports—you either 

love it or you don’t. 

But can you get him 

to play catch? Sure. 

Just keep lobbing the 

ball at him. Eventually 

he’ll get sick of 

getting beaned and 

catch the damn thing. 

When he throws it 

back over your head, 

you’ve learned your 

lesson: Let him pick 

the sport. 

I’m tight with my 

female coworker 

and my girlfriend’s 

all weird, calling 

her my “work wife.” 

It bugs me because 

nothing’s going on. 

Richard, Evanston, IL 

Maybe she begrudges 

your coworker’s time 

in your 9-to-5 world. 

(Or does it last way 

past 5? If so, I’d say 

your girlfriend’s radar 

is spot-on.) Look, 

healthy camaraderie 

is great. If there’s 

nothing there, then 

there’s nothing there. 

If there’s more, get a 

work divorce. 

Jim, just moved. 

No friends. Fix me! 

Danny, Boise, ID 

Something wrong 

with you? Making 

friends is like putting 

on weight: It happens 

when you stop paying 

attention to yourself. 

If you want friends, 

BAR TRICK OF THE MONTH 

Perfect the lemon peel 

Twist the lemon around the tool, 

not the tool around the lemon. 

This affords more control. —Drink 

Like a Bartender, out August 8 

act like a friend from 

the first howdy. Buy 

the next guy a brew. 

Crack a friendly joke 

about the job. Make 

the sympatico “oh, 

wow” noise to show 

you’re listening. A 

friend is somebody 

you’re always glad to 

see. Be that guy. 

My wife binges on 

shows I don’t like, so 

we end up watching 

TV in separate 

rooms. Is that okay? 

John, Chicago, IL 

Nope, sorry. I know 

couples who don’t 

share meals and 

hardly spend time 

together—but they’re 

busy! They’d love to 

camp out in front of 

the tube as a couple. 

Watching TV in separate 

spaces is a sure 

sign that something’s 

decomposing in the 

living room. So next 

time she grabs the 

remote, join her. But 

here’s the thing: You 

don’t have to watch 

the show. Just hang 

on the couch. Read 

a book. Whatever. 

You might even start 

enjoying what’s on. 

But even if you don’t, 

it’s time well spent. 

With her. 

Give me an oldschool 

page-turner 

for the beach, Jim. 

Ron, San Diego, CA 

No problem, Ron. 

Take along a copy 

of How to Survive a 

Tsunami. The suspense 

can kill you. 

KYLE HILTON (Jimmy illustration), Brian Bailey/Getty Images (campers), Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images (James Hetfield), ANTHONY CALVERT (lemon illustration) 


® 

©2017 Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. SKITTLES and all affiliated designs are trademarks of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company or its affiliates.

Savings that stack up. 

You could get a multi-policy discount when you insure more than your car 

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the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Boat and PWC coverages are underwritten by GEICO Marine Insurance Company. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2017. © 2017 GEICO

Practice deep breathing to perform better. Put 

one hand on your belly and the other on your 

chest. Inhale. Your belly rises; your chest doesn’t. 

STRENGTH 

Three balance moves 

No-gym adventure workout 

Secrets of the abs guru 

8 Beach-Body 

Secrets from 

the Life of Kai 

Whatever your beach 

or ocean pursuits, 

world-class waterman 

Kai Lenny can help. 

BY MARK ANDERS 

In the Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard 

World Championships, competitors cross the 32-mile 

Channel of Bones in a salty test of balance, muscle, and 

grit. Last year’s M2O saw Kai Lenny power across in 

4:07:41, a world record. Lenny, 24, eschews energy bars for 

slower-burning fare. “Every world title I’ve ever won was 

fueled by Taco Bell’s Bean Burrito Grande Meal,” he says. 


47

STRENGTH 

The Hawaiian, a multiple-time 

champ, has a unique race plan: 

five 380-calorie burritos before 

the event, and five during. He also 

uses creative fitness strategies, 

and they work: He’s the world’s 

fastest stand-up paddleboarder 

and a demon big-wave surfer, 

kitesurfer, windsurfer, freediver, 

and outrigger canoe paddler. 

1 

BREATHE BETTER 

With big waves come big 

wipeouts. That means 

Lenny needs strong lungs in 

case he’s submerged for minutes. 

“Breathing correctly is more 

essential to fitness than being 

particular about what you eat,” 

he says. Proper breathing helps 

deliver more oxygen to muscles 

and calms nerves. That means 

deep diaphragmatic belly breathing, 

not shallow chest breathing. 

Lenny uses this freediving technique: 

Stand or lie down comfortably. 

Place one hand on your 

belly and the other on your chest. 

As you inhale, draw your breath 

deep into your belly. If you’re 

doing it correctly, your chest (and 

top hand) should not be moving. 

Once you have the hang of it, do 

a 2- to 3-minute breathing drill, 

inhaling for 3 to 4 seconds and 

exhaling for 6 to 8 seconds. 

2 

POKE YOUR DIET 

Lenny doesn’t always eat 

Taco Bell. His go-to meal 

is poke (poh-keh), a traditional 

Hawaiian raw fish salad. Cube 

6 ounces of ahi tuna and toss it 

with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 

a diced green onion, and 2 tablespoons 

of sesame seeds. Serve 

over brown rice. Tuna delivers 

protein and omega-3s; brown rice 

provides fiber. 

3 

BLAST YOUR BODY 

You’re not likely to replicate 

Lenny’s winning 

M2O strategy, which involved 

30-minute intervals of near-max 

effort followed by 4- to 6-minute 

recovery intervals. But you can 

practice this stand-up paddle- 

boarding drill: Sprint all-out on a 

flat body of water for 60 seconds. 

Take a 2-minute slow-paddling 

rest before sprinting again. 

Repeat this 10 times. 

4 

TRUST YOUR HEART 

Each morning, Lenny 

dons a heart rate monitor. 

His resting heart rate determines 

his workout’s intensity. If 

it’s around 45 beats per minute, 

his body is rested. If it’s around 

56, his body is telling him to be 

aware. Try it: Within five minutes 

of waking, check your pulse 

using a monitor or by pressing 

two fingers on the carotid artery 

in your neck and counting the 

beats. Do this daily for two weeks 

to establish a baseline. 

5 

FIND BALANCE 

“When I’m at home on 

Maui I try to do as many 

sports as possible,” says Lenny. 

“I’m always on the water, changing 

it up, and I might do five or 

six different water sports in a 

day.” Shaking up your routine is 

a surefire way to avoid boredom 

and prevent overuse injuries. 

Skip biceps and back lifting 

day and take a rock climbing 

class. Spinning class regular? 

Try mountain biking. Lenny 

also hits a brick-and-mortar 

gym three days a week, doing 

strength training and working 

on his mobility. Most moves are 

dynamic, using 8- to 45-pound 

weights. Lenny focuses on high 

reps while honing his balance. 

(See the exercises below.) 

BALANCE YOUR POWER 

Kai Lenny uses a Bosu balance trainer (bosu.com) to fine-tune his skills. His coach, 

Scott Sanchez of Maui-based World Class Sports Consulting, suggests these moves. 

Single-Leg Dumbbell Deadlift 

TARGETS Hamstrings, calf area 

With a dumbbell in each hand, step onto a flatside-up 

Bosu with one leg. Hinge forward at 

your hips. Pause when parallel to the floor, and 

explode back up. Do 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps per leg. 

Pistol Squat 

TARGETS Glutes, quads, core 

Start with your nondominant leg on the Bosu 

soft side up. Take 5 seconds to descend into 

your squat, pause, and explode back up. Repeat 

3 to 10 times. Do 3 sets per leg. 

Ankle Around-the-World 

TARGETS Calf area and shins 

Step onto a flat-side-up Bosu with one leg. 

Using only your toes and heel, make the Bosu’s 

perimeter circle the floor. Do 3 sets (5 reps 

clockwise, 5 reps counterclockwise) per leg. 

Tom Servais (this page and previous), + ISM (illustrations) 


STRENGTH 

A3 

B3 

B1 

A1 

Welcome to the Jungle Gym 

To finish each workout, 

pick the running option 

below that best suits your 

mood or ability. 

Directions Do this workout 1 

to 3 days a week. It can be your 

primary training program 

for 4 weeks, a convenient way to 

work out while on the road, or 

simply an occasional break from 

your typical gym routine. 

A park that has equipment for 

body-weight exercises is ideal, 

but any playground with swings, 

bars, and benches will work. 

First, warm up by walking, 

running, or doing some calisthenics. 

Then perform the 

same-letter exercises (A1, A2, 

A3; B1, B2, B3) as mini-circuits 

with little rest between moves. 

Rest 90 seconds after each circuit, 

and then repeat. You can 

also swap out or add in any of the 

exercises shown on page 52. 

Run 100 yards; 

walk back. Do 5 reps. 

Run 40 to 50 yards; 

walk back. Do 8 reps. 

Sprint 20 yards; 

jog back. Do 10 reps. 

Grooming: Holly Gowers/Chanel 

Les Beiges/Atelier Management 


PHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN GOLDSTEIN

A2 

B2 

A1 Explosive 

Pushup 

Assume a pushup 

position. Lower your 

chest to the ground; 

then push up explosively. 

If your hands 

come off the ground 

(they don’t have to), 

land with soft elbows 

and wrists, and move 

on to the next rep. 

3 sets of 5 

A2 Parallel Bar 

Leg Raise 

Grab the parallel 

bars (or one end of 

the monkey bars) so 

you can raise your 

legs with your arms 

straight. Raise your 

legs until they form 

a 90-degree angle 

with your torso. Pause 

and lower them. 

3 sets of up to 10 

A3 Sprinter 

Stepup on Bench 

Place your right foot 

on a bench. Push 

through your right 

heel and drive your 

left knee up until it’s 

higher than your hips; 

then lower your left 

leg to the ground. Do 

8 reps and repeat with 

your left foot on the 

bench. 3 sets 

B1 Pullup with 

10-Second Hold 

Grab a bar using an 

overhand grip. Pull 

yourself up and hold 

for 10 seconds. Then 

take 5 seconds to 

lower yourself. That’s 

1 rep. (As an alternative, 

do the inverted 

row using a towel grip 

described on the next 

page.) 3 sets of 3 

B2 Plank Climb 

Against a Pole 

Set your hands on a 

pole. Adjust your feet 

until your body, the 

pole, and the ground 

form a triangle. Walk 

your hands down 

the pole as far as you 

can while staying as 

straight as possible. 

Walk back up. That’s 

1 rep. 3 sets of 5 

B3 Bulgarian 

Split Squat 

Lift your left foot 

behind you and rest 

your toes or instep 

on a swing, bar, or 

bench. Lower yourself 

until your right 

knee bends about 

90 degrees. Then 

push back up. Do 6 

reps, switch legs, and 

repeat. 3 sets

STRENGTH 

OPTIONAL 

EXERCISES 

You can substitute 

any or all of these 

exercises for a similar 

move on the 

previous pages. You 

can also combine 

two or more of these 

moves into your 

circuit to make your 

workout harder. 

1. Chinup option 

Inverted Row with Towel Grip 

Wrap a towel around a bar so you can grip the ends with your 

hands about shoulder-width apart. Hang below the bar from 

the towel with your arms straight. Pull yourself up, keeping 

your body straight from head to heels. Pause and return to 

the starting position. 3 sets of 10 

3. Lower-body option 

Self-Assisted Pistol Squat 

Stand next to a pole with your right hand resting on it for 

support. Lift your right foot off the ground. Squat on your 

left leg while extending your right leg forward, keeping it 

as straight as you can. Return to the starting position and 

repeat. 3 sets of 5 reps per leg 

2. Core option 

Dead Bug with Towel 

Loop the towel around a pole and lie on your back with your 

head near the pole. Grab the ends of the towel. Lift your legs 

and bend your knees 90 degrees. Pull the towel and tighten 

your abs. Extend your right leg straight out, pause, and pull it 

back. Repeat with your left leg. That’s 1 rep. 3 sets of 4 

4. Pushup option 

One-Arm Pushup with Nonworking Arm Extended 

Assume a pushup position but with your left arm farther out 

to the side, your right hand on the ground with fingers pointing 

forward. Lower your chest toward the ground in a slow, 

controlled movement; then push back up, doing most of the 

work with your right arm. 3 sets of 4 reps per arm 

1 

2 

3 

4 

PREVIOUS PAGES: 

RHONE SHORTS, 

NIKE SHOES; THIS 

PAGE: ASICS SHIRT, 

HPE SHORTS, NEW 

BALANCE SHOES 

BULLETIN 

STRENGTH 

GET FITTER WITH TWITTER 

The next performance 

enhancer: social media. 

Twitter discussion about 

your workouts may help you 

stay in shape. Tweeters in 

a six-week study from Japan 

averaged 2,557 more steps 

per day and reduced their 

waistlines by nearly 1 inch 

more than non-tweeters did. 

A MAN, A PLAN. DAMN! 

“Until failure” isn’t always 

the best option. In a European 

Journal of Applied 

Physiology study, gymgoers 

contracted their muscles 

more forcefully when told to 

hold the contraction for 30 

seconds than when they were 

given no duration. So plan 

your reps, sets, or time. 

HIIT IT WEEKLY 

It doesn’t take much 

training to teach an old 

dog a new HIIT trick. 

Researchers in Scotland 

put lifelong sedentary men 

ages 56 to 65 through HIIT 

workouts every five days. 

Six weeks later, despite no 

other training, the group 

had more leg power. 


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STRENGTH 

Reinventing 

the Wheels 

A TWO-WHEEL REVOLUTION HAS SPUN OFF A WIDER RANGE OF BIKES 

THAN EVER BEFORE. SO SADDLE UP: SUMMER IS THE PERFECT 

TIME TO EMBRACE THIS LOW-IMPACT, HIGH-BENEFIT FORM OF CARDIO. 

BY THE EDITORS OF MEN’S HEALTH AND BICYCLING MAGAZINES 

Adventure / Specialized Sequoia Expert 

With wide tires, disc brakes, and a steel frame, 

this 22-pound hybrid bike can handle just 

about any escapade on tarmac or gravel. It’s 

designed to carry up to nine bags in Specialized’s 

Burra Burra line, so you can pack for your 

daily commute or a cross-country epic. 

E-Cargo / Benno Boost E 

Yes, it weighs 61 pounds, but a Bosch pedalassist 

power system and a range of up to 75 

miles mean you’ll never get tired. Two reasons 

(at least) why it’s ideal for commuting: You won’t 

hit the office in a lather, and you can carry 

your groceries home on the rear cargo rack. 

Road / Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0 

This 18.5-pound road bike blends speed wizardry 

(carbon frame and aero tubes) and endurance 

features (wider tires and disc brakes). It’s 

fast and comfortable whether you’re racing 

in a crit or to work. This German brand will sell 

directly to U.S. consumers beginning in August. 

FROM $3,500, SPECIALIZED.COM 

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Shod with plus-size tires that are midway 

between normal trail width and fatties, the 

30-pound Tallboy gives you extra traction and 

control—ideal if you have more enthusiasm 

than experience. Dual suspension adds to its 

forgiving spirit, especially on steep descents. 

$2,700, SANTACRUZBICYCLES.COM 

Urban / State Matte Black 6 

Single-speed bikes are easy to maintain and 

help you develop a consistent pedal stroke. 

State’s 20-pound steel version has a range of 

customizable options—flat, drop, or riser handlebar, 

various pedal types, a choice of four 

saddles—and chatter-absorbing carbon forks. 

Triathlon / Cervélo P5X 

To design the most aerodynamic triathlon 

bike in its class, Cervélo eliminated the rear triangle 

on this 22-pound flying machine. Fancy 

carbon wheels, hydraulic brakes, and top-end 

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57

STRENGTH 

Jump your way to abs? That’s what Andy Speer 

(left) has fitness editor Ebenezer Samuel doing. 

HOLLOW HOLDS MOLD ABS 

Conventional wisdom tells us to push our 

shoulder blades down and in during most 

traditional gym exercises. It’s a way of countering 

the hunch associated with desk jobs. 

But in the gym, this posture causes your abs 

to relax, allowing your rib cage to expand and 

limiting oxygen intake. 

Enter Speer and the hollow-body hold: A 

textbook gymnastics move, it’s a key part of 

his abs-and-cardio routine. Lie on your back 

with feet together, arms overhead, and entire 

body tight. Now raise your arms; keep your 

shoulder blades, head, and legs a few inches 

off the floor and your lower back pressed into 

the floor. This forces your abs to contract 

deeply, pulling your rib cage downward. 

SMALL MOVES EQUAL BIG GAINS 

Over the course of our workout, Speer finds 

other ways to make the hollow-body hold, 

a challenging move in its own right, even 

harder. First I’m rocking back and forth while 

maintaining the position, then kicking my 

feet in and out, and then flaring my arms out 

to my sides while remaining in the hold. 

Each tiny adjustment challenges your 

already stressed core to counterbalance the 

movement and stabilize your body. 

Add a challenge to your own workout: The 

next time you do, say, a plank, lift one foot off 

the floor and contract your glutes. Different 

feeling in your core, right? 

Jumpstart Your Abs 

A SIX-PACK OF CORE SECRETS FROM ANDY SPEER, THE TRAINER WHO CREATED 

THE ANARCHY ABS WORKOUT. / BY EBENEZER SAMUEL 

This isn’t what I expected: It’s early in the morning in 

Brooklyn Bridge Park and I’m getting worked over by 

trainer Andy Speer in an odd abs-and-cardio session. 

First I’m learning to jump all over again; then I’m doing 

a reverse plank. It’s 30 minutes of surprises from The 

Anarchy Abs Workout, Speer’s new DVD and streaming 

program (anarchyabsworkout.com). The plan blends 

metabolic training with strength work and gymnastics to 

fry your core. And it taught me a six-pack of lessons. 

HEART RATE FUELS RESULTS 

Speer’s routine mostly alternates between 

hollow-body hold variations and a series of 

jumps—basic vertical jumps, 180-degree 

jumps, side-to-side bounds, and more. Everything 

is done against the clock. We perform 

the hollow-body hold for 45 seconds, rest 

briefly, and then immediately begin the next 

45-second set of jumps. 

The purpose is simple: It’s a creative way 

to raise my heart rate between sets of hollowbody 

work, adding to the challenge of the 

core training while also honing athleticism. 

“You can do a plank or hollow-body hold when 

you’re fresh,” he says. “But maintaining those 

positions with an elevated heart rate is a 

really athletic way to train.” 

PROGRESSION IS A WORKOUT 

I’ve probably jumped a million times in my 

lifetime, but this morning we’re starting 

58 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN STEELE

NAME 

OCCUPATION 

Pure is where passion meets purpose. Where 

head meets heart meets hustle. Pure is why we 

keep out lactose, gluten, and preservatives. And 

pack it with protein from 100% Whey Protein 

Isolate. For those who choose a life that doesn’t 

just match their drive for fitness, it demands it. 

WE’RE ALL MORE THAN MUSCLE 

WATCH HIS STORY AT THEISOPURECOMPANY.COM

STRENGTH 

from square one. I explode onto my tiptoes 

but never leave the ground during 

my first set of “jumps.” 

But this is by design. Speer is guiding 

me through the often-overlooked 

technique of a jump, learning to load 

my hamstrings correctly before eventually 

leaping side to side. And it all 

combines to nudge my heart rate 

upward. “Sometimes it seems a little 

like, ‘All right, when are we getting 

to the workout?’ ” Speer says. “But if 

you do the steps properly, you’re going 

to get a workout from the technique 

work.” It’s a way to turn any complex 

athletic motion into its own workout. 

Try working through the phases of a 

running motion the next time you’re 

planning to run. 

TIME COUNTS MORE THAN REPS 

It’s incredibly easy to fall into a habit 

of counting reps and sets in the gym, 

especially if you train alone. But a 

separate 15-minute arm workout 

with Speer, which he puts me through 

after the abs-and-cardio routine, is a 

reminder that there’s another way. 

Every Anarchy workout pits you 

against time—working 40 to 50 seconds 

and resting 10 to 20 seconds. 

Speer adapts that same formula for 

the arm session as I battle the clock 

in JM presses for triceps and curl-topresses 

for biceps. Incorporate this 

into your next arm workout, banging 

out curls for 40 seconds and resting for 

20 during a 4-minute set. You’ll want to 

use a lighter weight than usual, but the 

change in the pace of your workout will 

leave your biceps crying. 

SPIDER LUNGES ARE SCARY GOOD 

Speer introduces a variety of stretches 

throughout the Anarchy workout, but 

today he has me performing just one: 

a variation of the spider lunge. To do it, 

start by assuming a pushup position; 

then, keeping your left glute tight, 

move your right foot just outside your 

right hand. Finally, reach your right 

arm overhead. 

This is the one stretch you should do 

daily, says Speer, whether you’re working 

out or not. Do 5 to 8 reps per side, 

2 or 3 times a day. “You get a whole lot 

of bang for your buck with the spider 

lunge,” he says. “It’s a commonly used 

stretch drill for a reason.” 

CUT TO YOUR CORE 

Torch fat fast 

and make your abs 

pop with The 

Anarchy Abs Workout, 

available 

on DVD and to 

stream at anarchy 

absworkout.com. 

Grooming: Marco Campos/Oribe Hair Care/Giorgio Armani Maestro, MITCH MANDEL (DVD)

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The best time to flip your burger is 

when the spatula meets no resistance 

as it slides between patty and grate. 

FOOD 

Conquer the cookout 

Mix DIY trail fuel 

Power up your shakes 

MH MEAL WORKSHOP 

The Burger, 

Perfectly Done 

Everyone swears by 

a different method. 

To find the best way, 

we put 12 pounds 

of meat through a 

trial by fire. / BY THE 

RODALE TEST KITCHEN 

A palate-altering burger must possess 

three vital traits. First, it must be grilled. Obviously. 

Second, it must have a chin-drippingly juicy interior and 

a satisfying crust. Last, it must be simple. You can futz 

with flavors when you top your burger, but first master 

the basics—choosing the beef and forming the patty. We 

spent weeks perfecting the craft. Here are the results. 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTINA HOLMES 


FOOD 

DEPEND ON CHUCK 

STEP 1 STEP 4 

GRILL WITH 

PATIENCE 

Every butcher we 

consulted for this 

project pointed us to 

100 percent ground 

chuck—specifically 

from a boneless 

blade roast. This is 

because the blade 

roast tends to be 

more marbled with 

delectable intramuscular 

fat than, 

say, a shoulder roast 

would. You’re going 

to need 2½ pounds of 

chuck blade roast to 

make eight burgers. 

Order accordingly. 

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? 

Grass-Fed Beef 

It’s inherently 

leaner, giving 

your burger a 

crumbly texture. 

Grain-Fed Beef 

Its fat helps 

hold the ground 

beef muscle 

together. 

Marbled meat 

is tastiest... 

...and boneless 

blade roast has 

great marbling. 

Too many well-made 

burgers are ruined by 

being manhandled 

on the grill. The secret 

to a meaty burger 

with a good bite: 

doing nothing. Put 

the patties on a hot 

grill and then step 

back. Don’t press on 

them with a spatula. 

1 

Don’t shuffle them 

around the grate. 

Don’t close the grill 

lid. Our repeated 

tests showed that 

the burger patties 

we flipped just once 

developed a better 

outer crust and juicier 

center than burgers 

we flipped frequently. 

STEP 2 

Grinding your own 

meat lets you control 

what goes into your 

burger. You can have 

a butcher grind it, you 

can grind it yourself 

using a food processor, 

or—for the juiciest 

burger with the best 

bite—you can use a 

real grinder. Try the 

sturdy, durable STX 

International STX- 

1800-MG Magnum 

($190, amazon.com) 

or the KitchenAid 

food grinder attachment 

for your mixer 

($65, kitchenaid.com). 

GRIND IT OUT 

1 

Cut the beef 

into 1" cubes, 

place them on a 

baking sheet, 

and freeze them 

for 25 minutes. 

That way the 

meat won’t turn 

all gummy in 

the grinder. 

START CRANKING 

2 

Attach a fine 

grinder plate to 

the hopper. Fill 

a bowl with 2 tsp 

each of kosher 

salt, ground black 

pepper, and dried 

minced onion; 

these reinforce 

the beefy flavor. 

3 

Feed a few 

cubes through 

the grinder, 

followed by a 

pinch of the 

spices. Repeat. 

Our tasters preferred 

burgers 

with the spices 

ground in. 

Wipe the grate with an oiled paper 

towel. Place the meat over direct mediumhigh 

heat. Set a timer for 5 minutes. 

2 

After 5 minutes, flip. Wait 3 more, 

or until done to your specs (140°F for 

medium, 145°F to satisfy the USDA). 

3 

STEP 3 

The key is minimal 

handling; too much 

packing yields a 

tough burger. Gently 

form the meat into a 

5-ounce ball (think 

tennis ball) and then 

THE DATA 

BEHIND 

THE METHOD 

SHAPE THE PATTIES 

flatten it to slightly 

wider than your bun. 

(It’ll shrink.) Do this 

shortly before grilling. 

Room-temp patties 

are juicier and contract 

less than cold ones. 

12 

POUNDS OF BEEF 

USED IN TESTING 

Don’t overpack 

it! 

BEST PALATE CLEANSER 

EDWARDS & SONS BROWN 

RICE SNAPS (BLACK SESAME) 

NUMBER OF GROSSED-OUT VEGETARIAN 

1 TEST KITCHEN EMPLOYEES 

A burger will tell you when it’s done. 

See the blood and juice seeping through 

the surface? Translation: “Eat me!” 

$6 

AVERAGE COST 

PATTIES 

PER POUND 

OF CHUCK ROAST 

43 

MADE 

Food styling: Chris Lanier/Apostrophe, prop styling: Kaitlyn DuRoss/Honey Artists 

64 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANTHONY CALVERT

CHRISTIAN TAYLOR 

2 x WORLD CHAMPION 

2 x OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST

FOOD 

@guygourmet 

BULLETIN 

FOOD 

JOLT YOUR DNA 

Coffee drinkers are more 

likely to have longer chains of 

DNA than coffee abstainers. 

(Short DNA chains have 

been linked to cancer.) The 

phenols—not caffeine— 

may prevent DNA damage. 

Brigham Young University 

28% 

Drop in cardiovascular disease 

risk when people ate 10 daily 

servings of produce rather than 

little to none. International 

Journal of Epidemiology 

THE EARLY BIRD DIET 

STEP 5 

PILE ON THE 

TOPPINGS 

First, toast the buns to reinforce structural integrity. Next 

spread a protective fat layer on the bun (butter, mayo) to 

prevent sogginess. Finally, build within reason. Try to hit as 

many textures and flavors as possible. We like these combos. 

Early risers eat fewer calories, 

less sugar, and more protein 

than night owls, the journal 

Obesity reports. Scientists 

speculate that people have 

an easier time making healthy 

decisions in the morning, 

when the brain is fresher and 

willpower stronger. 

Creamy Mayo 

× 

Salty 

Bacon 

AMERICAN FRENCH BBQ CAPRESE PESTO 

Chopped 

cornichons 

Coleslaw 

Potato chips Pesto 

Red onion, dill 

Tangy Dijon mustard × 

Tomato slice 

pickle slices 

Caramelized 

Sweet Ketchup 

BBQ sauce 

× 

onions 

Fresh Romaine 

× 

× 

Baby arugula 

Gooey American cheese Gruyère Cheddar cheese 

× 

Mozzarella 

slice 

7.8% 

Reduction in hospitalizations 

for heart attack in New York 

counties with trans fat restrictions 

versus those without. 

JAMA Cardiology 

NICK SLATER (icons) 


FOOD 

Your Adventure Fuel Formula 

HIKING ISN’T A HALL PASS TO MAINLINE ADDED SUGAR, BUT PLENTY OF COMPANIES SELLING GLORIFIED CANDY 

BARS SEND THAT MESSAGE. TURN TO A SMARTER SNACK FOR YOUR TREK (OR BRISK LUNCHTIME WALK). 

THE DIY TRAIL MIX GENERATOR 

TRAIL BARS, 

RATED 

First pre-hike stop: 

the supermarket bulk 

aisle. This candy-free 

mix will fuel one guy 

through about 90 

minutes of activity, 

says Valerie Berkowitz, 

R.D., author of The 

Stubborn Fat Fix. 

NUTS 

2 to 3 ounces 

SALTED OR UNSALTED 

almonds 

peanuts 

cashews 

pecans 

walnuts 

DRIED FRUIT 

½ ounce 

IDEALLY UNSWEETENED 

apples 

apricots 

bananas 

blueberries 

cranberries 

raisins 

SEEDS 

1 ounce 

UNSALTED AND HULLED 

pumpkin seeds 

sunflower seeds 

BONUS 

½ ounce 

FOR MORE CRUNCH 

bagel chips 

wasabi peas 

mini pretzels 

goldfish crackers 

pita chips 

Stay under 6 grams 

of sugar (some have 

up to 29) and as close 

to a 1:1:1 ratio of carbs, 

fat, and protein as you 

can, Berkowitz says. 

GOOD 

Kashi Peanut 

Peanut Butter 

Chewy Granola Bar 

20G CARBS (5G SUGAR), 

5G FAT, 6G PROTEIN 

This 140-calorie bar 

isn’t heavy on sugar, 

and it doesn’t skimp 

on the peanuts either. 

It does contain soy. 

BETTER 

Kind Chipotle 

Honey Mustard 

Almond Bar 



It’s sweet and savory 

and builds its base 

from pea protein. One 

bar has 230 calories. 

BEST 

Power Crunch 

Original Chocolate 



For a whey-based bar, 

it’s 205 calories of 

awesome. It’s sweetened 

with stevia. 

Prop styling: Ariana Salvato/Apostrophe; BROWN BIRD DESIGN (illustrations) 

68 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY LEVI BROWN

ADVERTISEMENT 

Smarten 

Up To 

Shrink 

Your Gut 

Protein Shake 

Can Help You 

Break Through 

Your Weight 

Loss Plateau 

By Chris Hansen 

Being a trainer, bodybuilder, and nutrition 

expert means that companies frequently send 

me their products and ask for my stamp of 

approval. Most of the time I dive into research, 

test the product out, and send the company 

honest feedback. Sometimes, however, I refuse 

to give the product a try, because frankly, the 

ingredients inside aren’t real food. And I’d rather 

drink diesel fuel than torture my body with a 

chemical concoction. 

Like my father always said, “What you 

put inside your body always shows up on the 

outside.” 

One protein shake that I received, that 

will remain nameless, was touted as ‘the new 

shake’ but really had a list of gut destroying 

ingredients. Everywhere I read I saw harmful 

artificial ingredients, added sugars, synthetic 

dyes, preservatives and cheap proteins; the kind 

of proteins that keep you fat no matter how hard 

you hit the gym, sap your energy and do nothing 

for your muscles. 

Disappointed after reviewing this “new” 

shake, I hit the gym and bumped into my favorite 

bodybuilding coach. This guy is pushing 50, has 

the energy of a college kid, and is ripped. So are 

his clients. 

While I firmly believe that the gym is a notalk 

focus zone, I had to ask, “Hey Zee, what 

protein shake are you recommending to your 

clients these days?” 

Zee looked at me, and shook his head. 

“Protein shakes are old news and loaded with 

junk. I don’t recommend protein shakes, I tell 

my clients to drink INVIGOR8 Superfood 

Shake because it’s the only all natural meal 

replacement that works and has a taste so good 

that it’s addicting.” 

Being sceptical of what Zee told me, I decided 

to investigate this shake called INVIGOR8. 

Turns out INVIGOR8 Superfood Shake has 

a near 5-star rating on Amazon. The creators 

are actual scientists and personal trainers who 

set out to create a complete meal replacement 

shake chocked full of superfoods that—get this— 

actually accelerate how quickly and easily you 

lose belly fat and builds even more lean, calorie 

burning muscle. 

We all know that the more muscle you build, 

the more calories you burn. The more fat you 

melt away the more definition you get in your 

arms, pecs and abs. 

The makers of INVIGOR8 were determined 

to make the first 100% natural, non-GMO 

superfood shake that helps you lose fat and build 

lean muscle. The result is a shake that contains 

100% grass-fed whey that has a superior nutrient 

profile to the grain-fed whey found in most 

shakes, metabolism boosting raw coconut oil, 

hormone free colostrum to promote a healthy 

immune system, Omega 3, 6, 9-rich chia and 

flaxseeds, superfood greens like kale, spinach, 

broccoli, alfalfa, and chlorella, and clinically 

tested cognitive enhancers for improved mood 

and brain function. The company even went a 

step further by including a balance of pre and 

probiotics for optimal digestive health, uptake, 

and regularity and digestive enzymes so your 

body absorbs the high-caliber nutrition you get 

from INVIGOR8. 

While there are over 500 testimonials on 

Amazon about how INVIGOR8 “gave me more 

energy and stamina” and “melts away abdominal 

fat like butter on a hot sidewalk”, what really 

impressed me was how many customers raved 

about the taste. So I had to give it a try. 

When it arrived I gave it the sniff test. Unlike 

most meal replacement shakes it smelled like 

whole food, not a chemical factory. So far so good. 

Still INVIGOR8 had to pass the most important 

test, the taste test. 

And INVIGOR8 was good. Better than good. 

I could see what Zee meant when he said his 

clients found the taste addicting. 

I also wanted to see if Invigor8 would help 

me burn that body fat I’d tried to shave off for 

years to achieve total definition. 

Just a few weeks later I’m pleased to 

say shaving that last abdominal fat from my 

midsection wasn’t just easy. It was delicious. 

Considering all the shakes I’ve tried I can 

honestly say that the results I’ve experienced 

from INVIGOR8 are nothing short of 

astonishing. 

A company spokesperson confirmed an 

exclusive offer for Men’s Health readers: if 

you order Invigor8 this month, you’ll receive 

$10 off your first order by using promo code 

“MEN” at checkout. If you’re in a rush to 

burn fat, restore lean muscle and boost your 

stamina and energy you can order INVIGOR8 

today at www.DrinkInvigor8.com or by calling 

1-800-958-3392.

FOOD 

The Four Best Power Shakes for Men 

IT’S THE SEASON OF FRESH. IF YOU’RE STILL GUZZLING BOTTLED JUICES, HAVE MERCY ON YOUR TASTEBUDS. 

THE PEACH- 

AND-PROTEIN 

468 CALORIES 

42G PROTEIN 

50G CARBS (6G FIBER) 

13G FAT 

Experts say you need at least 30 grams of protein 

for muscle growth. That amount also helps 

you stay satiated. The 42 in this mix go down 

easy. Blend 2 peaches (pitted and chopped), ½ 

cup plain Greek yogurt, ¾ cup whole milk, ¼ cup 

mint leaves, and 1 scoop vanilla protein powder. 

THE WATERMELON 

KICK 

170 CALORIES 

2G PROTEIN 


1G FAT 

Need something sweet? Juicy produce brings 

it, but the tingle of the cayenne’s heat will 

encourage you to sip and enjoy, not guzzle and 

glug. In a blender, puree 2 cups cubed watermelon, 

1 cup frozen strawberry halves, 1 Tbsp 

lemon juice, and ⅛ tsp ground cayenne. 

THE OAT BERRY 

326 CALORIES 

14G PROTEIN 


7G FAT 

THE GREEN BEAST 

229 CALORIES 

12G PROTEIN 


8G FAT 

Vegetable-free weekend? This shake will get you back in the game. Blend 

till smooth: 2 cups baby spinach, 15 green grapes, ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, 

½ cup lightly sweetened bottled green tea (like Honest Tea Honey Green 

Tea), ¼ avocado, the juice of ½ lime, and 1 tsp agave nectar (optional). 

Whole grains, antioxidants, and good fats deliver 

an artery scrub-and-lube. Plus, more fiber than 

a large apple! Throw all this in a blender and give 

it a whirl: 1½ cups mixed frozen berries, 1 cup 

1% milk, ¼ cup rolled oats, 1 tsp honey, and 1 tsp 

almond butter. All shakes serve 1. 

THE BEST BLENDER 

FOR YOUR BUDGET 

Because some men don’t want to 

blow $800 on a fruit whacker. 

The Ninja Professional 

Blender 

NJ600 costs $80 

and boasts 1,000 

watts of power. 

(That’s 8 cents per 

watt.) Watch it 

churn even the 

pulpiest produce 

into liquid gold. 

Food styling: Chris Lanier/Apostrophe, prop styling: Kaitlyn DuRoss/Honey Artists; NICK SLATER (icons) 

70 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA HOLMES

NAME 

OCCUPATION 

Pure is where passion meets purpose. Where 

head meets heart meets hustle. Pure is why we 

keep out lactose, gluten, and preservatives. And 

pack it with protein from 100% Whey Protein 

Isolate. For those who choose a life that doesn’t 

just match their drive for fitness, it demands it. 

WE’RE ALL MORE THAN MUSCLE 

WATCH HIS STORY AT THEISOPURECOMPANY.COM

Make the Asheville tuxedo work for you— 

chambray shirt with dark jeans (BBQ pitmaster 

Elliott Moss’s porcine scarf optional). 

STYLE 

Look like you live 

Do denim right 

Find a swimsuit 

Style Adventure 

ASHEVILLE, NC 

Road Trip 

The Secrets 

of Southern 

Comfort 

In Asheville, 

casual is a 

state of mind 

and style. 

BY SANDRA 

NYGAARD 

People breathe differently in Asheville. Maybe it’s the 

calming effect of the Blue Ridge Mountains, like a painted backdrop 

for this haven in western North Carolina. Or the area’s rivers, waterfalls, 

and open spaces that host hikers, bikers, kayakers, and anyone 

who loves fresh air. With more breweries per capita than anywhere 

in the country, a sense of ease flows through the city. And an unfussy 

style—denim, tees, and outdoor gear—keeps that vibe intact. Here’s 

how the locals kick back, unwind, and look as relaxed as they feel. 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DUSTIN AKSLAND 


73

STYLE 

BELT OUT 

YOUR STYLE 

ELLIOTT MOSS 

WHO 

WEAR 

TRAVEL 

TIP 

DRINK 

Sovereign 

Remedies 

This cocktail bar in 

a 1920s-era medical 

building serves up 

old-world libations 

ROCK YOUR 

WEEKEND 

Using pops of 

bright color isn’t 

the only way to 

show your summer 

attitude. Bold, 

tonal patterns 

add flavor. 

Pitmaster and partner at 

Buxton Hall, one of the nation’s 

top barbecue joints. Whole 

hogs are regularly smoked, so 

order the Pulled Pork Plate. 

“I build my outfit around my 

belt. My pal Billy makes them 

by hand. I wear the same Iron 

Heart jeans every day and 

add work shirts I find in vintage 

shops.” Don’t know Billy? 

Try Will Leather Goods belts. 

with a modern twist. 

The mixologists use 

old and new recipes 

and incorporate 

fresh botanicals from 

nearby herb farms. 

The Root Daiquiri, a 

Moss favorite, is made 

with rum, lime, sarsaparilla, 

burdock, and 

dandelion. (828) 

919-9518, sovereign 

remedies.com 

LOOK SHARP IN SHORTS 

WHO 

WEAR 

WALT & LUKE DICKINSON 

The guys behind Wicked Weed Brewing. 

The bustling craft brewery, which also 

includes a pub and taproom, is a premium 

producer of sour beer. The two offer 

roughly 200 packaged and experimental 

brews combined, ranging from hoppy IPAs 

to blond Belgians to tart sours. 

WALT “I’m tall and lean, so fit is crucial. 

I like printed button-front shirts with 

small patterns, as long as they’re slim-cut. 

I wear mostly Vans sneakers. If you’re 

going to wear a basic outfit, you need an 

interesting pair of shoes in the summer.” 

LUKE “I like mixing colors and texture 

with my shorts but keeping my shirts simple. 

I’m in management, so a solid-color 

Henley shirt seems more professional.” 

TRAVEL 

TIP 

STAY 

The Omni 

Grove Park Inn 

Budget-friendly hotels 

abound in Asheville, 

but for a really memorable 

stay, book the 

100-year-old Omni 

Grove Park Inn. The 

stone exterior is rustic, 

but the amenities— 

like a subterranean 

spa—are luxe. Plus, 

Instagram-worthy 

views! From $260; 

(800) 438-5800, omni 

groveparkinn.com 

VANS, $45 KRAMMER & STOUDT, $200 SMITH, $129 VANS, $60 

Styling: Sandra Nygaard, grooming: Brie Reeder/Peridot Management; RYAN OLSZEWSKI and MITCH MANDEL (products) 


HEALTH AND SEX BELONG TOGETHER 

Healthysexuals 

LOVE 

SHARING 

Talk about your sexual health. #NoFilter 

VISIT 

AND TALK TO A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER

STYLE 

UPGRADE YOUR 

WORKWEAR 

To create your own authentic 

patina on bags, belts, or 

boots, go with brown leathers 

and suedes, which always 

look better with time. 

LEVI’S, $70; UNITED BY BLUE (TEE), $36 

RALEIGH DENIM WORKSHOP, $265 

DISTRESS YOUR OWN DENIM 

WHO 

WEAR 

IAN COCHRANE 

Owner of Balsam Mountain Leather 

Co., which specializes in handmade 

leather goods, including wallets and tote 

bags made from full-grain cowhide. 

“I like functional clothing influenced 

by Americana, heritage, and bohemian 

1960s styles. Gitman Vintage shirts and 

Raleigh Denim are among my favorites. 

Breaking in my jeans takes me about three 

years. I try to wash them just once a year.” 

TRAVEL 

TIP 

SHOP 

Old North 

Stray from the popular 

Pack Square to 

this Lexington Avenue 

shop for expertly 

curated clothing and 

accessories for men 

and women alike. “If 

you’re searching for 

that rare pair of sel- 

vedge denim jeans 

or a locally made belt, 

this is the place to 

go,” says Cochrane, 

whose goods are 

sold there. Heritage 

brands like Carhartt 

Work in Progress, 

Red Wing Heritage, 

Filson, and North 

Carolina’s Raleigh 

Denim Workshop 

can be found among 

Japanese jeans that 

delight the purists. 

(828) 505-6495, 

oldnorthclothing.com 

BILLYKIRK, $396 

RED WING HERITAGE, $230 

AMY MORGAN/Noun Project (bag icons), LIPI/Noun Project (shirt icons)

BE SCRUFFY 

AND SMOOTH 

RYAN MARTIN 

WHO 

WEAR 

Baker and owner of Hole 

Doughnuts. The small bakery 

makes yeast-raised, fried-toorder 

hot doughnuts in classic 

and creatively spiced flavors. 

“Asheville is not what you might 

call manicured. Expect lots 

of beards, grown-out hair, and 

a general state of scruffiness. 

I often don’t shave until I can 

twirl my mustache.” Try American 

Crew Beard Serum. 

ADAPT, RELAX 

TRAVEL 

TIP 

WHO 

WEAR 

PAT KELLER 

Pro kayaker and boat designer at the kayak 

company Liquidlogic. The North Carolina 

native is also the winner of the 2014 Rey 

del Rio Waterfall World Championship. 

“I’m active outdoors almost every day, 

whether it’s mountain biking, hiking, or 

kayaking. And because conditions can 

change, I dress with quick transitions in 

mind. I like lightweight, dry-fit pieces 

that work in water and on land. My Astral 

flip-flops have special rubber outsoles and 

footbeds to help prevent slipping.” 

HIKE 

Whitewater Falls 

Hundreds of waterfalls 

can be found in 

the Asheville area. 

Keller likes 411-foot 

Whitewater Falls, the 

highest cascade east 

of the Rockies. “The 

lesser-known Lower 

Whitewater Falls is 

more of an adventure,” 

Keller says. “At 

one point, the falls 

drop 80 feet onto a 

bedrock shelf, and 

the way the light hits 

is just incredible.” 

“I choose my outfits for function—jeans and Doc 

Martens because my shoes have to be oil resistant.” 

Olive is a safe place to start with colored 

jeans—it goes with everything except green. 

GET SPORTY 

AND SHARP 

Technical pieces 

don’t always have 

to look it. These 

fabrics perform, 

but the neutral 

colors keep them 

versatile. 

VUORI, $45 

ARC’TERYX, $89 UNITED BY BLUE, $28 ASTRAL, $75 


77

ADVERTISEMENT 

PRESENTED BY PEDIGREE ® 

PETS 

I Adopted 

My Best Friend 

Jonathan loves to kick around the 

soccer ball and practice his skills 

with his best friend Luna. 

Photos By: AJ Sartor 

MEET JON & LUNA 

Growing up Jonathan always wanted a dog, but he was one of four boys and his parents 

didn’t want to add to their already chaotic household. After his professional soccer career 

was cut short due to an ankle injury, Jonathan applied to the NJ State Police, a career he 

knew would be ultra challenging. 

With a demanding schedule that kept him away from home for long stretches, he 

thought it was the perfect time to adopt a dog from his local shelter to keep his girlfriend 

company – and she agreed. There they met Luna, an energetic mixed-breed 2 year 

old eager for a family. It didn’t take 

long before all three of them were 

inseparable, from hiking and kicking 

the soccer ball to Luna sitting front 

row when Jon proposed. 

Jonathan’s dream of 

owning a dog finally 

comes true.Here he 

is pictured with his 

energetic mixedbreed, 

Luna. 

Jonathan and his fiancée Steph love enjoying 

quiet moments in their backyard with their 

energetic pup, Luna. Since the moment they 

brought her home, Luna has managed to find 

herself in the center of the action, whether 

that is when Jon is training or when they are 

casually sitting in their living room. 

HELPING DOGS 

Every year in this country, more than 4 million 

dogs enter shelters. Millions more wander alone 

and hungry. By working together, we can solve 

this problem. 

The PEDIGREE® Foundation supports the 

people and organizations that work to ensure 

better outcomes for all dogs in need. 

ADOPTION PREP GUIDE 

Try, Try Again. 

Visit your local shelter as many times as it takes 

to find “your” dog. 

Try not to go in expecting to find him the first 

time, because you may not—although it is 

difficult to leave without a new family member 

once you’re there. It’s important to find the right 

dog for you; and for you to be the right owner 

for him. 

Bring a notepad and pen so you can write down 

pertinent answers to the important questions 

you’ll surely want to ask. And if you can, bring 

along a digital camera. Some shelters may not let 

you take shots of their dogs, but most will. 

Adopting a dog is a serious years-long 

commitment. That’s why the process is so 

involved. If you’re having second thoughts 

at any point, listen to your instincts. 

Learn More at 

Pedigreefoundation.org

Feed the good. 

Dogs bring out the good in us. 

Pedigree brings out the good in them. 

Pedigree.com

STYLE 

Look Good Half Naked 

TO MAKE A SPLASH AT THE BEACH, YOU’LL HAVE TO FIND 

THE PERFECT TRUNKS. TIP: BIG AND BRIGHT SHOUT YOU OUT; 

DARK AND SUBTLE SLIM YOU DOWN. / BY DAN MICHEL 

SUNSPEL 

$210 

ZACHARY 

PRELL 

$158 

ORIGINAL 

PENGUIN 

$79 

LANDS’ END 

$40 

SATURDAYS 

NYC 

$85 

BIRDWELL FOR 

TODD SNYDER 

$138 

ORLEBAR 

BROWN 

$245 

OUTERKNOWN 

$85 

NAUTICA 

$70 

GAP 

$45 

ASOS 

$29 

DAN WARD 

$200 

FAHERTY 

$128 

BURTON 

$45 

ORLEBAR 

BROWN 

$265 

EVEREST 

ISLES 

$225 

AETHER 

APPAREL 

$125 

MICHAEL 

KORS 

$98 

PATAGONIA 

$69 

PANGEA 

$92 

KIT AND ACE 

$88 

2(X)IST 

$75 

J.CREW 

$70 

VUORI 

$69 

BONOBOS 

$150 

RYAN O 


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STYLE 

You: Weatherproofed! 

INVESTING IN YOUR HAIR AND SKIN CARE IS ALL ABOUT 

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. / BY DAN MICHEL 

Step outside and soak in the weather. Okay, research is over. The climate 

you live in should determine which products you buy and how 

you use them. Heat, humidity, elevation—even minerals in your 

water—should affect your routine, says Stanford Health Care dermatologist 

S. Tyler Hollmig, M.D. Pick a product for your environment. 

1. STICKY 2. ARID 3. TEMPERATE 4. HIGH COUNTRY 5. COASTAL 

Pit stains are the least of 

your woes. Humidity slows 

the evaporation of sweat, 

which can cause acne and 

clogged pores if left to 

build up. Clear your face by 

using a glycolic acid product 

at night. Try: Malin + 

Goetz Resurfacing Glycolic 

Pads ($50, malinandgoetz. 

com). Quash humidity’s 

attack on hair with a clay 

or paste styler—more hold, 

no shine. Try: Baxter of California 

Clay Pomade ($22, 

baxterofcalifornia.com). 

Two steps can keep your 

skin hydrated. First, limit 

showers to 10 minutes; too 

much cleansing removes 

your skin’s natural oils, 

which help preserve 

hydration, says Dr. Hollmig. 

Second, slather on a longlasting 

cream moisturizer 

after showering. Try: 

Cetaphil Dry Sensitive 

Skin Moisturizing Cream 

($11, walmart.com) or, for 

extreme conditions, oilbased 

Aquaphor Healing 

Ointment ($4, target.com). 

Hard water could be 

sabotaging your routine 

by clogging your pores. 

Minerals in H 2 

0, including 

calcium, make cleansing 

difficult, says Dr. Hollmig. 

Clarifying shampoos and 

face cleansers that contain 

lactic acid can help. 

Try: Bumble and Bumble 

Sunday Shampoo ($25, 

bumbleandbumble. 

com) and Ole Henriksen 

Find Your Balance Oil 

Control Cleanser ($25, 

olehenriksen.com). 

For every kilometer of 

elevation, UV intensity 

increases about 6 percent. 

“And the SPF you need 

rises dramatically,” says Dr. 

Hollmig. Apply a high-SPF 

lotion at least twice daily. 

Try: Kiehl’s Facial Fuel UV 

Guard SPF 50+ ($38, kiehls. 

com). Using a vitamin C 

serum at night will nourish 

your skin and negate ultraviolet 

rays. Try: Anthony 

High Performance Vitamin 

C Facial Serum ($46, 

anthony.com). 

Sun, surf, and wind can 

wreak havoc on your body. 

If you spend a lot of time 

in a pool or salt water 

(which dries skin and hair), 

be sure to wash right after 

with a gentle cleanser. Try: 

Every Man Jack 2-in-1 body 

+ face wash ($12, every 

manjack.com). Afterward, 

be sure to apply a rich 

hand cream for important 

meetings—and for date 

night. Try: Jack Black Industrial 

Strength Hand Healer 

($15, getjackblack.com). 

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Set a calorie max for a.m. eating: 

Count the hours between breakfast 

and lunch and multiply by 100. 

WEIGHT LOSS 

Hack your DNA Go green (tea) Eat smart 

Turn Off Your 

Fat Switch 

We found five ways 

you can hack your 

genes to help achieve 

your weight loss goals. 

BY SARAH WATTS 

If your father is more Dad Bod than Dad 

God, you might assume you’ll eventually grow portly 

yourself. After all, nearly 100 gene variants are linked 

to obesity. The good news: Some genes can turn on and 

off depending on your habits and environment. You 

could plunk down a few hundred on a DNA test, but why? 

Instead, try these smart strategies to flip your fat switch. 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARCADE 


85

WEIGHT LOSS 

DEPEND ON PROTEIN 

Chicken, eggs, and other protein-rich 

1 

foods are more than just muscle builders. 

A 2014 study published in the American 

Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 

people who carry a variant of the FTO gene 

linked with higher obesity risk had less 

appetite and fewer cravings when they ate a 

low-calorie diet with 25 percent protein. Protein 

fills you up and requires more energy 

to digest than other nutrients do, says study 

author George Bray, M.D., of Pennington Biomedical 

Research Center. 

HIT THE SWITCH Include at least one proteinrich 

component, like turkey, shrimp, or peanuts, 

in every meal and snack. “Spreading protein 

intake throughout the day helps your body best 

utilize it for function and rebuilding after exercise,” 

says dietitian Rebecca Clyde, M.S., R.D.N. 

EAT EARLY IN THE DAY 

Your body runs on an internal clock, 

2 

which is why you feel like crap when 

you wake up at the wrong time. This clock 

ticks in every cell of your body and influences 

your metabolism as well as your sleep 

habits. A 2016 study in the American Journal 

of Clinical Nutrition found that overweight 

people who carried a certain variant 

of the PLIN1 gene associated with obesity 

lost more weight when they ate lunch earlier 

in the day. And the earlier they took that 

midday meal, the better the results. 

HIT THE SWITCH Eat breakfast and don’t work 

through lunch. There’s a simple way to determine 

how many calories to consume for breakfast 

and a.m. snacks, says Dina D’Alessandro, 

R.D.N.: Count the hours between breakfast and 

lunch on a typical day and multiply by 100. 

INCREASE YOUR WORKLOAD 

Take a cue from the Amish on this 

3 

one. In a landmark study of an Old 

Order Amish community, researchers from 

the University of Maryland concluded that a 

lifestyle with abundant physical work may 

help offset the impact of carrying risky 

variants of the FTO gene. The most active 

men in this community burn about an extra 

900 calories a day, thanks to several hours 

of farming, carpentry, blacksmithing, and 

other activities—and this basically overrides 

that genetic demerit. 

HIT THE SWITCH You don’t have to live on a 

farm to be as active as the Amish. There are 

many ways to log an extra 900 calories a 

day. For example, walk briskly for 8 miles over 

about two hours. Or try to run 7 miles in an 

hour. Or bike to work for 50 minutes each way. 

BAD 

OUTWIT 

YOUR FAT 

GENES 

Bad genes do 

matter, but 

not as much 

as you think. 

Here’s how each 

bad habit can 

raise the BMI 

of someone 

who falls in the 

top 10 percent 

of people with 

genetic obesity 

risk. (A normal 

BMI is between 

18.5 and 24.9.) 

+0.52 

Eating fried food 

every day 

Say you’re a 6-foot 

guy with a french 

fry habit. Bad genes 

make you about 4 

pounds heavier than 

a genetically gifted 

guy with the same 

vice. Bake potato 

slices in your oven for 

a less oily treat, says 

Marisa Moore, R.D.N. 

+0.79 

Drinking soda 

on the daily 

Frequent fizz fixes 

can cost a 6-foot guy 

with bad genes 6 extra 

pounds. Instead of 

soda with ice, try seltzer 

with frozen fruit, 

says Danielle Battram, 

Ph.D., R.D., who teaches 

food and nutritional 

sciences at Brescia 

University College. 

+1.02 

Eating a typical 

American diet 

In other words, too 

much processed 

junk and not enough 

produce. Try to ease 

into three servings 

each of leafy greens 

and fruit a day, says 

Robert Ostfeld, M.D., 

director of preventive 

cardiology at Montefiore 

Health System. 

+1.05 

Doing just an hour 

(or less) of hard 

exercise a week 

Start hard immediately 

after your 

warmup, says Iowa 

State kinesiologist 

Panteleimon Ekkekakis, 

Ph.D. Then gradually 

turn down the 

intensity over 10 to 15 

minutes until you hit 

your cooldown pace. 

+1.32 

Doing less than 7 

hours of moderate 

exercise a week 

Every Sunday, set 

aside a few minutes 

to schedule a week’s 

worth of workouts on 

your calendar. “Prioritize 

it like you would a 

dentist appointment,” 

says University of Minnesota 

kinesiologist 

Beth Lewis, Ph.D. 


BULLETIN 

WEIGHT 

LOSS 

GO MEDITERRANEAN 

A variant of a gene called MC4R 

4 

predisposes its carriers to obesity 

and type 2 diabetes. But there’s hope: 

A Mediterranean-style diet may cancel 

out that increased genetic risk, recent 

research suggests. This famously healthy 

(and delicious!) diet is rich in olive oil, fish, 

poultry, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and 

nuts. An occasional glass of red wine is 

perfectly okay. The fiber and antioxidants 

prevalent in the diet seem to fight fat and 

improve glucose metabolism. Ciao bella! 

HIT THE SWITCH As you eat more Mediterranean 

foods, think about the tasty stuff you’re adding, 

not what you’re missing (like processed foods). 

When you begin, focus on eating quality meals, 

not counting calories. Log your food for the first 

few weeks to stick to it, says Erin Peisach, R.D.N. 

WORST 

GUZZLE GREEN TEA 

This beverage might boost the activity 

of several genes that regulate 

5 

metabolism, like one known as GLUT4. In 

a 12-week study period, rats fed a high-fat 

diet plus green tea showed greater GLUT4 

expression than rats fed the same diet with 

water. In humans, green tea antioxidants 

have been shown to improve blood sugar control. 

But take note: Researchers who study 

tea typically don’t add sugar or cream. We’re 

not talking about the 430-calorie Starbucks 

Green Tea Creme Frappucino here. 

HIT THE SWITCH Drink a glass a day. Try regular 

Lipton Pure Green Tea ($12 for 100 bags), 

which had the most anti oxidants per bag in a 

ConsumerLab test. Steep green tea at 185ºF for 

three minutes. This maximizes both flavor and 

antioxidant content, a Turkish study suggests. 

THE STAT 

ONE 

SQUEEZE OUT 

MORE CALORIES 

People who swapped in 

whole grains for the same 

amount of refined grains 

(207 grams) pooped 57 

extra calories a day in a 

recent study. A fiber-filled 

gut may use more calories 

in digestion. For the deuceinducing 

dose, choose 

high-fiber grains like oats, 

brown rice, and quinoa. 

WALK TOWARD 

A SIX-PACK 

Replacing 30 minutes of 

sedentary time with walking 

every day for a week 

can reduce your waist by a 

half inch, Dutch research 

suggests. One theory: 

Moving activates production 

of a fat-burning 

enzyme called lipoprotein 

lipase, which is reduced 

when you’re seated. 

+1.97 

Watching 4-plus 

hours of TV a day 

It’s tough to resist a 

steady stream of Netflix 

and Hulu, but all 

that time on your butt 

isn’t doing your butt 

(and the rest of your 

body) any favors. Grab 

dumbbells, turn to 

page 34, and do Workout 

A to build muscle 

during TV time. 

+2.13 

Spending 5-plus 

hours a day sitting 

This costs 15 extra 

pounds for a 6-foot 

guy who’s cursed 

with bad genes. Each 

time you hit “send” 

on an email, stand 

up and stretch, says 

Emily Mailey, Ph.D., an 

assistant professor 

of kinesiology at Kansas 

State University. 

Number of daily cups 

of coffee that, when 

exceeded, diminishes 

the influence of gene 

variants linked to 

obesity, according 

to research from 

Harvard and Tulane 

BMC Medicine 

PHONE IT IN 

People at risk for diabetes 

who used tech tools to 

follow diet and exercise 

plans lost an average of 8 

pounds in a one- to fouryear 

period in a recent 

study. Try Omada (itunes. 

com). It costs $140 a month 

for four months and $20 a 

month afterward, but many 

insurance plans cover it. 


87

To test your hips, lie on your back and raise 

your right knee toward your left shoulder. If your 

groin hurts, you could have a problem. See a PT. 

HEALTH 

Hips don’t lie 

Summer can suck 

Sweat the details 

A Scary 

New Hip 

Trend 

More young 

guys than 

ever are being 

sidelined 

by hip pain. 

BY DEVON 

SCHUYLER 

Kyle O’Flaherty used to be stoked by his weekly workout routine, 

a heavy rotation of cycling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and running. But even at age 20, his 

hips started to ache, and not just during exercise. He’s not unusual. “I’ve seen a 

tremendous spike in young, active men with hip pain in my practice in the past 

five to 10 years,” says orthopedic surgeon Benjamin Domb, M.D. In fact, more 45- to 

54-year-olds are opting for hip replacement, according to a National Hospital Discharge 

Survey. Follow our guide to stay out of the OR and keep your hips pain-free. 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN STEELE MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 89

HEALTH 

4 

1 

5 

3 

THE 

HIP 

WRECKERS 

6 

Healthy guys can get 

achy hips too. Here are 

four possible causes. 

2 

3 

1 

1. Muscle Strain 

This happens when 

your muscle fibers 

stretch or rip, often 

during a sudden turn 

or jump—common 

movements in soccer 

or hockey. The typical 

remedy is rest and 

alternating ice and 

heat therapy to relieve 

the pain as it heals. 

2. Tendinopathy 

Muscle weakness or 

overuse can damage 

the tendons that link 

your glutes to your 

hip bones. You might 

feel sore when walking, 

climbing stairs, or 

lying on the affected 

side. Train your hip 

abductor muscles— 

see the next page. 

2 

HIP CHECK 

Diagnose 

trouble with 

our quick 

self-test. 

HOW YOUR HIPS GO HAYWIRE 

Each thighbone attaches to a socket in your pelvis. A cartilage 

coating allows for smooth movement. Ligaments, tendons, 

and muscles provide stability and range of motion. But things 

can go awry. Watch for these common problems. 

3. Bursitis 

Bursae are like mini 

pillows that cushion 

your hips; the average 

hip has six of them. 

Bursitis occurs when 

these sacs become 

irritated. Your risk 

goes up if you run on 

hard surfaces, so go 

with a track or grass. 

4. Torn Labrum 

The labrum is the 

gasket-like ring of 

cartilage that lines 

each hip joint. Squats 

and lunges, which 

require deep bending, 

can wear it down 

until it tears. This may 

require surgical repair. 

If these moves cause 

hip pain during your 

workout, avoid them. 

5. Arthritis 

The cartilage in your 

joints can deteriorate 

over time from wear 

and tear, injuries, 

deformities, and too 

much body weight. To 

stay active, try Nordic 

walking, that kooky 

style of striding with 

poles. It can help you 

strengthen arthritic 

hips without irritating 

them, Scandinavian 

research suggests. 

6. Genetic Issues 

Exercise can cause 

pain in people who 

have an underlying 

hip abnormality. Dysplasia 

is when a hip 

is slightly dislocated 

because the socket is 

too shallow. Doctors 

try to detect this in 

babies, but it’s often 

missed and lingers into 

adulthood. Impingement 

is when extra 

bone in a hip makes 

the thighbone crush 

the socket. Surgery 

may be needed. 

7. Stress Fracture 

If you do the same 

motion too often, a hip 

bone can crack. Training 

for a marathon, for 

example, may cause 

a stress fracture. Your 

risk spikes if you suddenly 

amp up the 

intensity, so follow a 

gradual training plan. 

Pick one from Runner’s 

World magazine: 

rw.runnersworld.com/ 

training-plan-finder. 

Do your hips seem stiff? Try this at-home test: Lie on 

your back and bring your right knee up toward your left 

shoulder as far as comfortably possible. Then repeat 

on the other side. If you feel pain in your groin during 

these motions, then you may have impingement (see #6 

above). See a physical therapist for targeted exercises. 

Even adjusting your favorite activities could make 

a big difference. Running could be okay as long as you 

avoid hills or take shorter strides, for example. 

7 

ALL THOSE TWO-A-DAYS 

YOU DID BACK IN SCHOOL 

Serious sports training for kids 

who haven’t finished growing 

may change the shape of their 

hip bones, leading to problems 

that could show up in adulthood. 

Boys who play ice hockey, basketball, 

or soccer three or more 

times a week in adolescence have 

an increased risk of hip trouble, a 

recent study review revealed. 

YOUR JOB 

The average guy spends nearly 

eight hours a day on his keister. 

All that sitting weakens your 

hip flexors, IT bands, and other 

important hip-supporting structures. 

Gentle exercises that 

stretch and strengthen the muscles 

can help you counteract this. 

(See the next page.) 

YOUR EXTRA POUNDAGE 

Obesity is tough on hips. Each 

pound of weight adds 6 pounds of 

force on each side. (See page 85 for 

weight loss strategies.) 

YOUR OVERTRAINING HABIT 

People nowadays know that they 

need to be active in their spare 

time, says Rafael Sierra, M.D., a 

professor of orthopedics at the 

Mayo Clinic. Exercise is healthy, 

but many signature moves of 

CrossFit-type programs (squats, 

lunges, box jumps) can be pretty 

stressful on hips. O’Flaherty, an 

avid exerciser, had underlying 

bone deformities and then tore 

his hip cartilage. He needed surgery 

and physical therapy. 

Grooming: Marco Campos/Oribe Hair Care/Giorgio Armani Maestro; GRAHAM HUTCHINGS (photo-illustrations), +ISM (illustration)

Opening page: Eysom tank, Lululemon shorts, Adidas shoes (man on left); Vuori tank and shorts, Nike shoes (man with ball). This page: Vuori tank, Rhone shorts, Asics shoes, New Balance watch 

4 

HOW BAD HIPS 

HURT YOUR BODY 

Stiff Hips 

BACK PAIN 

You may overcompensate 

for stiffness 

by rotating from your 

lower back instead 

of your hips, says Joe 

Eischen, P.T., of the 

Mayo Clinic. This can 

lead to back pain. 

BULLETIN 

HEALTH 

Impingement 

TORN ACL 

People with limited 

internal hip rotation 

may have a greater 

risk of tearing an ACL. 

When you have trouble 

twisting from your 

hips, your legs take 

some of the work. 

TASTY TOOTH CARE 

The muscles and joints in your hips 

form a bridge between your upper 

and lower body, so when they’re messed 

up, your whole body pays the price. 

Hip Pain 

ACHY FEET 

Hip pain can make 

you walk funny, which 

inflames the tissue 

that supports your 

soles. Treating the 

hip problem often 

helps the foot problem, 

says Dr. Domb. 

A healthy mouth doesn’t have to be 

minty fresh: Research from India 

suggests that clove oil fights cavities. 

A compound called eugenol 

(plus oleic acid and lipids) might 

deserve the credit. Find it in Jāsön 

Healthy Mouth cinnamon clove 

mouthwash ($8, amazon.com). 

Labrum Tear 

GROIN PAIN 

Impingement and 

labrum tears can 

show up as groin 

pain, especially if your 

workouts are intense 

or require cutting or 

jumping, as with basketball 

and tennis. 

HANDY PAIN RELIEF 

The next time you feel achy, 

have your mate rub your body 

down tenderly. Slow, gentle 

stroking may help reduce pain 

signals to the brain, Swedish 

research suggests. It activates 

special nerves in skin that 

transmit pleasant sensations. 

5THE HIP PAIN 

PREVENTION PLAN 

To keep your hips strong and 

supple, do these moves by 

David Reavy, D.P.T.. Hold each 

for 3 seconds; repeat 20 times. 

KNEELING HIP THRUST 

Place a resistance band just below 

your butt. Anchor the other end to 

something secure in front of you. 

Kneel and push your hips forward 

as you tighten your glutes. 

KNEELING HIP THRUST, PART 2 

Loop the band around your 

hips. Anchor the other end to 

something secure behind you. 

Kneel and push your hips forward 

as you tighten your glutes. 

HIP FOLD 

Place the band around one thigh; 

anchor it on the same side. Kneel 

and drop that hip inward, toward 

the opposite knee. 

HIP SLIDE 

Lie on your back. Wrap the band 

around one leg, by your groin. 

Anchor it to something secure on 

the same side. Raise your leg and 

pull the band across your body. 

A BITTER PILL 

A scrip for allergies could cause 

more trouble. Corticosteroids 

like prednisone may hike your 

risk of a bone fracture, blood 

clot, or serious infection, a BMJ 

study found. Ask your doctor if 

the drug is truly necessary and 

whether there’s an alternative. 


91

HEALTH 

Sweat: The Details 

STAY COOL AND STINK-FREE THIS SUMMER WITH 

OUR PRIMER ON PERSPIRATION. 

BY JERILYN COVERT AND JUNO DEMELO 

Sweat gets a bad rap, but it’s a finely calibrated fluid with many vital functions. 

It cools you off, moisturizes your skin, and contains antibacterial compounds to 

ward off infection. Each of your sweat glands is surrounded by a web of nerves. 

When your body heats up, those nerves set off a chain of signals to turn on the hose. 

2 TO 5 MILLION 

Number of sweat 

glands found 

on the surface 

of your body 

Hands 

Your palms 

are among 

your biggest 

sweat faucets. 

If they’re constantly 

moist, 

you may need 

Botox injections 

to block 

nerve signals 

that stimulate 

sweating. 

STAY COOL 

REDUCE YOUR SWEAT 

Armpits 

Aluminum-based antiperspirants plug your 

pores to curb sweat. Apply it at night, when your 

sweat rate is at its lowest. If your pits are really 

hairy, a spray or roll-on may work best, says Bruce 

Brod, M.D., a dermatologist with Penn Medicine. 

Groin 

Wear loose 

shorts to let air 

in. Going out 

after the gym? 

Dust your boys 

with Bálla for Men 

Body Powder ($17, 

birchbox.com). 

1. Chill Your Palms 

Hold a frozen water 

bottle. Switch hands 

every five minutes. 

The chilled tissue will 

cool the blood that 

flows into it, says 

Stanford biologist 

Craig Heller, Ph.D. 

Feet 

Each foot makes 

a pint of sweat 

a day. Sprinkle on 

some Desenex 

Athlete’s Foot 

Antifungal Shake 

Powder ($5, 

walmart.com). 

Try bioceramic 

socks, like the 

Asics Rally Crew 

($8, asics.com); 

they regulate 

heat better than 

cotton, reducing 

sweat, a study in 

Textile Research 

Journal confirms. 

THE STINK STORY 

Perspiration alone doesn’t make 

you reek. Regular sweat is essentially 

odorless, but when bacteria 

go to town on sweat, they form 

odiferous molecules. Here’s what 

those germs have on their menu. 

UP TO 2 LITERS 

Hourly sweat 

output during 

exer cise. Glug 16 

ounces of H 2 O for 

each pound lost. 

0.6 TO 

2.3 LITERS 

Average amount 

of sweat a person 

produces daily 

1% 

The rest: urea, 

uric acid, lactic 

acid, ammonia, 

vitamin C, electrolytes, 

and more 

about 760 

+ different 

skin proteins 

These hacks will chill your workouts. (But stop if you feel faint, queasy, or weak.) 

2. Swish Up 

Carry travel-size 

mouthwash. The 

menthol makes you 

perceive the air as 

cooler, says Christopher 

Stevens, Ph.D., a 

researcher at Southern 

Cross University. 

1. Stress Sweat 

Under duress, you 

also leak from scent 

glands, which secrete 

a thick fluid that typically 

produces a 

strong, acrid odor. 

2. Oil 

This flows from sebaceous 

glands, which 

are plentiful on your 

scalp and in your pits. 

Then the greasy stuff 

mixes with sweat. 

3. Diet 

Some food molecules 

(like those from garlic 

and curry) can end 

up in your bloodstream 

and migrate 

into sweat glands. 

4. Dead Skin 

It’s more like a garnish 

than a main course 

for germs. In areas 

with folds that rub 

together, dead skin 

can slough off and 

feed bacteria. 

3. Ice Your Neck 

A neck-cooling collar 

can trick your body 

and brain into feel ing 

cooler. Ultramarathoner 

Pete Kostelnick 

swears by an 

ice-filled bandana 

around his neck. 

WHAT’S IN 

YOUR SWEAT? 

99% 

Water 

BROWN BIRD DESIGNS (illustrations), Catherine Harbour/thelicensingproject.com (sweat background) WARD SUTTON (“Gross!” type) 

92 

MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017

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HEALTH 

8 Ways 

to Ruin Your 

Summer 

ARM YOURSELF AGAINST THESE 

SNEAKY SEASONAL HEALTH THREATS. 

BY AIMEE SWARTZ 

1 

SUFFOCATION! 

Drowning in the Comfort 

of Your Own Bed 

No, really: “Dry 

drowning” or “delayed 

drowning” can happen 

hours after you 

accidentally gulp 

water. In dry drowning, 

muscles in your 

larynx tighten and 

close the airway. In 

delayed drowning, 

water enters the lungs, 

impairing breathing. 

SMART FIX Don’t 

play rough. Getting 

splashed in the face 

can make you gulp 

more water, research 

shows. If you have 

unusual fatigue, 

coughing, pale or 

blue-tinged lips, and 

breathing difficulties 

in the hours after 

swimming, seek help. 

2 

BLOTCHINESS! 

White Spots on Your Chest, 

Back, and Shoulders 

This is a sign of tinea 

versicolor, caused 

by yeast that can live 

on skin all year but 

isn’t always visible. 

“It’s most noticeable 

when your skin is 

tan because those 

patches are unable 

to darken,” says dermatologist 

Tsippora 

Shainhouse, M.D. 

SMART FIX Use 

dandruff shampoo 

as body wash for 

a month to kill the 

yeast. Check the 

fine print: You want 

selenium sulfate or 

ketocona zole. If the 

color doesn’t come 

back in six weeks, see 

a dermatologist for a 

stronger remedy. 

GASPING! 

3 4 

An Asthma Cluster Bomb That 

Can Make Breathing Difficult 

THE RUNS! 

A Few Days After Swimming, 

Intestinal Rebellion 

During a summer 

thunderstorm, grains 

of pollen can rupture, 

releasing tiny 

particles into the air. 

When inhaled, these 

can lead to “thunderstorm 

asthma,” 

a sudden, extreme 

asthma outbreak that 

can strike thousands 

of people at once. 

SMART FIX If you’re 

worried, avoid outdoor 

activities up to 

24 hours after a storm. 

If you do go outside 

and have trouble 

breathing (a warning 

sign is not being able 

to finish sentences), 

seek immediate medical 

help, says allergist 

Purvi Parikh, M.D. 

Community pools 

are not immune to 

microscopic parasites 

such as Giardia and 

Cryptosporidium, and 

just one swallow of 

contaminated water 

is enough to sicken 

you. The aftermath— 

vomiting, diarrhea 

that feels like pool 

water—can be ugly. 

SMART FIX Don’t 

spout pool water, 

and don’t let your 

kids swim if they had 

diarrhea anytime in 

the past two weeks. 

Even if the pool is well 

maintained, “chlorine 

does not kill everything,” 

says environmental 

scientist Laura 

Suppes, Ph.D., M.P.H. 


ILLUSTRATION BY JAMESON SIMPSON

THE DEETS ON ZIKA 

Zika hasn’t gone anywhere—infected skeeters 

will likely buzz parts of the nation again this 

year. Buy repellent with 30 percent DEET; 

that’s the concentration most likely to ward 

off Zika-infected mosquitoes, according to a 

UC Davis study. Try Repel Insect Repellent 

Mosquito Wipes 30% DEET ($6.30, amazon.com). 

5 

EXCRUCIATING PAIN! 

Kidney Stones—and 

the Painful Way They Roll 

6 

FATIGUE! 

A Fungal Invasion 

That Feels Like the Flu 

The sweaty summer 

is prime stone season 

because dehydration 

concentrates your 

urine. Reduced fluid 

levels can cause 

calcium and a compound 

called oxalate 

to clump in your 

kidneys, resulting in 

a common type of 

kidney stone. 

SMART FIX Get in 

the habit of drinking 

enough water to keep 

your urine clear. And 

let your doctor know 

if you take supplements. 

One study 

found that men who 

consumed more than 

800 milligrams of 

vitamin C daily had a 

higher risk of stones. 

Histoplasmosis, a.k.a. 

spelunker’s lung, is 

caused by a fungus 

found in soil that harbors 

a lot of bat and 

bird droppings. Then 

there’s valley fever, a 

lung infection from 

Coccidioides, another 

soil fungus. Severe 

weather can kick up 

dust and carry it. 

SMART FIX If you 

wander around any 

caves this summer, 

keep your hands to 

yourself so you don’t 

disturb pockets of 

poop. For DIY projects 

at home, wear an 

N95 respirator—this 

may reduce your 

odds of inhaling any 

funky fungi. 

7 

UPCHUCKING! 

Gut-Churning Bacteria 

Lurking in the Ocean 

The ocean is teeming 

with bacteria called 

Vibrio, and if you run 

into the wrong species 

while swimming, 

a tiny cut could turn 

into a nasty skin infection. 

The bacteria 

can also arrive at your 

table in undercooked 

shellfish, putting 

your gut at risk. 

SMART FIX Stay out 

of the ocean if you 

have any kind of skin 

wound that hasn’t 

yet healed. If you get 

injured in the water, 

flush the wound 

with saline ASAP. At 

dinner, order oysters 

thoroughly steamed, 

roasted, or grilled— 

anything but raw. 

8 

CHILLS! 

A Bloodsucking Tick That 

Leaves a Disease Behind 

EUGENE DOBRIK/THE NOUN PROJECT (mosquito icon) 

Each year, Lyme 

disease and other 

tickborne conditions 

sicken tens of thousands 

of people— 

maybe more. These 

illnesses are often 

missed because the 

symptoms (fever, 

chills, headache, 

fatigue) mimic those 

of other conditions. 

SMART FIX Forget 

fashion: Tuck your 

pants into your socks. 

Once you’re indoors, 

check your body thoroughly. 

Your upper 

torso is a hot spot, 

says Steven Callister, 

Ph.D., who researches 

tickborne diseases. If 

you think you’ve been 

bitten, get tested.

RELATIONSHIPS 

Touch her Take her Turn her on

Build an “intimacy fort” outside 

the bedroom by rearranging 

furniture and then covering it with 

sheets. Cable is optional. 

Hotter Sex 

in Just 

Minutes! 

BEEN TOO LONG? GUESS WHAT— 

SHE FEELS THE SAME WAY. HERE 

ARE EIGHT SUMMER QUICKIES SHE 

CRAVES. / BY ANNA BRESLAW 

She opened the door for him as he got in from work. She’d barely 

kissed him hello before he turned her around, bent her over the 

kitchen counter, and pulled her tights down. Minutes later, it was 

all over but the panting. That was no fantasy—it was me and my 

boyfriend, just a typical Netflix-and-sweatpants kind of couple. 

But we like to have fun. We went out to eat that night, laughing 

over inside jokes. I’m sure his mind drifted back to our quickie. 

I know mine did. Done right, quickies can be a thrill. See how. 

FANTASY 

Hotel room 

REALITY 

Living room 

FANTASY 

Shower sex! 

REALITY 

Not so easy! 

FANTASY 

Perfect moment 

REALITY 

Anytime 

FANTASY 

It’s spontaneous 

REALITY 

Foreplay helps 

Or anyplace you don’t consider 

sexy. “Novelty is associated 

with hotter sex and greater 

desire,” says L.A. sex therapist 

Shannon Chavez, Psy.D. “Make 

an ‘intimacy fort’ in the living 

room, closet, laundry room ... 

anywhere but the bedroom.” 

Use the shower for foreplay (a 

good place for oral, both ways) 

and then move to the countertop. 

(There’s a mirror!) Or surprise 

her as she exits the shower, 

says Joel Block, Ph.D., author of 

The Art of the Quickie. Take her 

towel and start kissing her neck. 

Quickies solve a big obstacle to 

having sex—finding the time. 

For me, evenings at home are 

sacred. Sure I want an orgasm— 

but I also want to do an eightstep 

skin-care regimen and read 

the thriller that’s been on my 

nightstand for months. 

She can’t go from zero to boner 

like you can, so give her a head 

start. Kiss, hold hands, whisper 

in her ear. I’ve never been more 

turned on than when my boyfriend 

leaned over at a crowded 

party and whispered exactly 

what he wanted to do to me. 

It’s great outdoors: Sex without 

walls engages the senses and 

heightens arousal, as does the 

risk of getting caught. Do it on your 

back deck—or in the car before 

walking into a party. You’ll have a 

shared secret while you’re there. 

If you insist: The best way to 

have shower sex (or bathroom stall 

sex, you freaks) is for her to stand 

with her back to you, legs spread, 

her hands against the wall. Shallow 

thrusts let you hit the first third of 

the vagina, the most sensitive part. 

Rise early: “Mornings are great. 

That’s when testosterone, the hormone 

behind sexual desire, is highest 

for both sexes,” Chavez says. 

“It improves my mood for the rest 

of the day,” says Carol, 43. “Daily 

frustrations seem less annoying.” 

Work out together: “Endorphins 

are high; your natural scent comes 

out. It’s the perfect jumping-off 

point, even at the gym if you can,” 

says Chavez. Kiss her where her 

arm and armpit meet—it’s a sensory 

region loaded with pheromones. 

FANTASY 

It’s pure sex 

REALITY 

It’s a connection 

FANTASY 

She’s into it 

REALITY 

It’s true! 

FANTASY 

It’s full-on sex 

REALITY 

Doesn’t have to be 

FANTASY 

She has an orgasm 

REALITY 

Yeah, maybe 

Stephanie Rausser/Trunk Archive (hammock), MICHAEL BRANDON MYERS (icons) 

Animals love quickies: “Chimps 

don’t want to be interrupted by 

the next guy in line,” says anthropologist 

Helen Fisher, Ph.D. “For 

humans, any genital stimulation 

drives dopamine to the brain 

and can push people over the 

threshold into romantic love.” 

Touch her all over: “Quickies are 

all about physical embrace, touch, 

and connection,” says Chavez. 

That leads to trust and closeness. 

Focus on her body. Afterward, ask 

what she liked and take mental 

notes. Communication bonds you. 

That need-you-now urgency is 

hot, plus brevity keeps us in the 

moment. No drifting off, thinking 

about work or snacks. “And 

when silly things happen, like 

the chair falling over or bumping 

heads, it’s easier to laugh with 

someone I trust,” says Emily, 23. 

Make it happen (again): Bring up 

the last quickie, Chavez suggests. 

“Memories can evoke desire.” Just 

one steamy sex session can have a 

huge impact on her brain’s memory, 

emotion, and reward centers. 

Result: She’ll be wired to want more. 

A quickie doesn’t have to 

mean full-blown intercourse. 

“Don’t restrict yourselves to 

just penetration,” says Claire 

Cavanah, coauthor of Moregasm: 

Babeland’s Guide to 

Mind-Blowing Sex. “Mouths, 

hands, and fingers count too.” 

Keep your clothes on: It’s hot; 

plus, the clothing offers new sensations. 

Emily Morse of the podcast 

Sex with Emily suggests softly 

stroking and touching over her 

underwear. “The fabric provides 

extra friction, amplifying the feel.” 

The key to mutual orgasms is 

switching it up—something 

that’s often lacking during 

quickies. “Orgasm is a release of 

sexual tension,” says Cavanah. 

“To get there, you have to build 

that tension.” Take a few precious 

minutes to warm her up. 

Just do it: That said, she doesn’t 

always expect to finish. “Even if I 

don’t climax, I’ve still had fun and 

satisfied my partner,” says Rachael, 

25. “I know he’ll get me next time.” 

Orgasmic zenith or no, she sometimes 

prefers a sprint to a marathon. 


97

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INSIDE 

It’s summer— 

let’s do this 

right! Here’s 

your simple formula: 

Act like 

a school’s-out 

sixth grader 

and go a little 

crazy until the 

fireflies come 

out. Turn your 

exercise into 

play and your 

backyard into 

a playground. 

Add a dog—or 

two. Now you’re 

good to go. Find 

your inspiration 

on the following 

pages. 

100 BE A BACK- 

YARD BADASS! 

Rock salt + ice 

water = colder 

beer. Then: sex 

in a hammock! 

108 TAP YOUR 

ENERGY RESERVE 

Write “Crush It” 

on your fist. 

And more! 

114 MAKE THE 

WORLD YOUR GYM 

Lift rocks 

during pushups; 

do burpees on 

the beach! 

120 DOGS WE LOVE 

Get a Dalmatian 

for weight loss. 

We introduce the 

Ultimate MH Dog. 

128 I SURVIVED! 

In a lightning 

storm, squat 

like a catcher. 

Plus: hungry 

bears and angry 

alligators. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA HOLMES 


Fend off wild animals! Keep 

killa bees! Serve killa beers! 

Have sex in trees! Build a 

bazooka! Blast rockets! Raise 

a ruckus this summer! 

BE A 

BACKYARD 

BADASS 

BY JEFF CSATARI 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY 

PETER YANG 

When he’s not mowing down 

opponents on obstacle 

courses, Hunter McIntyre 

is kicking some backyard 

butt. Tips inside. 

P.100

RACE A 

RIDING 

MOWER 

The world speed record for a 

lawnmower on a dirt track is 

96.529 mph. With a few gearing 

tweaks, your Snapper could 

break 30. That’s plenty fast for 

racing, says Bruce Kaufman, 

president of the U.S. Lawn 

Mower Racing Association and 

a self-proclaimed “Sod father.” 

Here’s how to kick some grass. 

Go to letsmow.com to find 

a nearby racing club, plus dates of 

upcoming build clinics. 

Remove the blades—it’s a rule. 

Also, your ride must have a residential 

lawnmower engine block. 

No pro landscaping mower or 

motorcycle engines are allowed. 

Enter a Governor-Prepared 

Class race, the easiest for rookies 

who don’t want to modify their 

mowers. Races consist of a 10-lap 

qualifier and a 20-lap final on a 

1 / -mile clay, dirt, or grass oval. 

10 

If you’re a tinkerer, remove the 

governor and modify the pulley to 

boost speed. With good air intake, 

fuel burns faster. Then you can 

enter the Single-Cylinder-Prepared 

Class and set your sights on the 

STA-BIL National Lawn Mower 

Racing Series. Check the brakes! 

MARK 

TURF! 

First, cut the lawn. Mark your 

design in green water-based 

paint; then hose down the grass 

inside the lines. Now grab a broom 

and darken that wet grass by 

sweeping it toward your house. 

Outside the lines, sweep the 

grass in the opposite direction to 

make your design pop. —Grant 

Trenbeath, head groundskeeper, 

Arizona Diamondbacks 

RAISE KILLA BEES! 

The Italian honeybee is the most 

popular species for U.S. beekeeping. 

Raise some and enjoy delicious raw 

honey—and newfound respect! 

Take a class at a community college 

or beekeepers’ club. A hive needs two 

brood boxes for a queen to lay eggs 

in, plus others for storing honey. Buy 

local bees (hardier!), gloves, and a veil. 

Only female bees have stingers. 

Drones (males) don’t. Open the hive 

and find a drone (larger, with bigger 

eyes). Pick up the drone, order it to 

behave, and lay it on your bare arm or 

palm (not your tongue like some 

crazy guys do). Post the selfie: You the 

man. Don’t attempt if you’re allergic! 

Backyard Body Builder #1 Hunter McIntyre and his Malibu training buds (the Yard 

Dogs) enjoy this outdoor muscle sculpter: Hang a kettlebell by its handle from a sturdy 

tree limb. Squeeze the bell between both hands and do as many pullups as possible. 

Rest 90 seconds; repeat twice more. Can’t do even one? Just use the branch. 

FILM STAR! 

ILLO TK 

Build a Backyard Theater 

Buy or rent a projector with 

4,000-plus lumens so you 

don’t have to wait for total 

darkness, says John Sullivan 

of the online retailer Projector 

People. Recommended: 

Optoma EH416 ($900). 

Buy or rent a portable wall 

blackout screen that hangs 

from hooks on your house. 

Find one for about $125. 

Put two 8-inch speakers 

with built-in amplifiers on 

tripods on either side of the 

screen, up to 5 feet in front. 

Stream Netflix or Hulu 

with a Wi-Fi-enabled Blu-ray, 

Roku, Google Chromecast, 

or Amazon Fire TV device. 

Or hook up your Xbox and 

play some late-night Halo! 

SUBURBAN WARFARE 

Tame backyard terrorists—organically! 

Menace 

Aphids 

Raccoons 

Cougars 

Mosquitoes 

Solution 

Order some ladybugs 

($15 for 1,500) or green 

lacewings ($18 for 

1,000 eggs) from Buglogical 

Control Systems 

at buglogical.com. 

Boil habanero peppers, 

an onion, and 2 Tbsp 

ground cayenne in 2 qt 

water. Cool, strain into 

a spray bottle, and 

squirt what they like. 

Peeing around the perimeter 

may not work. Try 

Havahart Elite Hoseless 

Motion-Activated Sprinklers 

to deter both cats 

and divorcées next door. 

Order some praying 

mantises ($19 for 3 egg 

cases, buglogical.com). 

Bonus: They also eat 

crickets, in case that 

infernal chirping is 

keeping you up at night. 

Styling: Brian Boyé, grooming: Andrea Pezzillo/Kate Somerville/Exclusive Artists, prop styling: David Ross/Art Department, production: 

Barbie Duarte/MJ68 Productions; previous page: Vintage Nascar T-shirt, Abercrombie & Fitch shorts, Teva sandals, Smith Optics sunglasses

Royal Silk boxer shorts 

HAVE SEX IN TREES! 

Making like the birds and the bees in the great outdoors is especially titillating—it’s all about 

the risk of getting caught by neighbors or Google Earth. The danger heightens awareness and 

possibly arousal (or so we’re told by the experts). But how to safely pull it off? In a hammock 

slung from two trees, of course. Try the Bear Butt double hammock ($36, bearbuttteam.com) 

or the Mayan hammock from Haiku Hammock Swings ($139, e-hammockswings.com). Both 

fit two (or more) comfortably. Best sex positions? See right. 

THE DEEP She’s on her back with her heels 

on your shoulders. Bonus: She can use her 

feet to smash skeeters on your back! 

THE SPOON Lie on your sides, you behind 

her. Swing the hammock with each thrust. 

THE TIGRESS Lie on your back; she straddles 

your lap (either seated or kneeling) 

with her back to you. She’ll see stars! 


THE MANLY ARTS 

BACKYARD GAMES 

B 

A 

FRISBEENER 

(A) Plant 4-foot stakes about 20 feet apart and place an empty bottle 

atop each one. Split into teams of two and grab a frisbee. (B) Scoring: 

Hit the bottle with the disc (1 point); knock it to the ground (2 points); 

hit the bottle and knock it to the ground (3 points); knock the bottle 

off but the other team catches it (1 point for them, 2 for you). By the 

way, the defending team must catch the disc each time; if they miss, 

that’s 1 point for the offense. First team to 11 (or 21) points wins. 

A 

B 

C 

D 

STUMP 

(A) Find a stump about knee height. Each player taps in a 4- to 5-inch 

nail. Taking turns, try to hammer an opponent’s nail into the stump 

after flipping the hammer 360 degrees and catching it. (B) The flip-tohit 

must be seamless; plus, you have to swing from where it’s caught. 

(C) Hit a player's nail (D) and that player drinks. If you drop the hammer 

or miss, you guzzle. When a player’s nail is totally embedded, he’s out. 

Last nail standing wins. Oh, and it’s okay to straighten bent nails. 

A 

B 

C 

D 

FROZEN T-SHIRT RACE 

Play this with your kids on a really hot day. Grab some T-shirts and 

big zip-top bags. (A) Soak the shirts in water and wring them out so 

they’re damp. Seal the crumpled shirts in the bags and freeze them 

overnight. (B) For game time: Distribute the bags among the players. 

(C) On "go," each person removes the shirt from the bag and tries to 

put it on. (No blow dryers allowed!) (D) First person to get the shirt on 

wins. It’s also fun as a relay. Give the XS to your portly brother-in-law. 

MASTER 

THE 

CLASSICS 

HORSESHOES Accuracy is about balance. If you lean to one side, you miss, says Alan Francis, 21-time 

U.S. horseshoes champ. WIFFLE BALL Your secret weapon: the riser pitch. Be sure to bend your knees to 

lower the release, says Dave Mullany, president of Wiffle Ball Inc. CORNHOLE The bag should fly flat with 

a little spin. Your arm is a pendulum, says Frank Geers, president of the American Cornhole Organization. 

Game instructions courtesy Harpoon Brewery and MH intern Andrew Dawson.

DAZZLE KIDS! 

Open 

Multi Grain Cheerios have 

45% of the daily value for iron. 

Mix 

Plop some Os into a clear 

plastic bottle filled a third of 

the way with water. Shake 

until the Os are broken and 

way soggy. (This is critical.) 

TODD DETWILLER (black and white illustrations), MUTI (color illustrations), MICHAEL BRANDON MYERS (icons); this page: 

Bonobos golf polo shirt, shorts, and belt, Ecco golf shoes; next page: Birdwell Beach Britches for Todd Snyder board shorts 

LAND A 

LUNKER 

BASS! 

BUILD A SPUD MISSILE LAUNCHER! 

The potato cannon is legendary (and loud). “You can’t help but be overwhelmed by 

its power. But beware, there is real potential for danger,” says William Gurstelle, 

author of Backyard Ballistics and Absinthe & Flamethrowers. The spud gun blasts 

a potato into the air using the aerosol propellant in a can of hairspray, which is 

ignited with a spark. Check local ordinances—you don’t want Johnny Law callin’. 

See the demo and learn how to make your own at menshealth.com/spud. 

Sparker 

assembly 

Hook fish, not tee shots. Bass and bluegills can grow huge 

in golf-course water hazards. Here’s how to snag ’em. 

MOST FUN “Keep a rod in your bag and make a few casts 

while you’re ‘searching for dunked balls,’” says Chicago 

fishing expert Ross Gordon. “Have a lure already tied on.” 

MOST SNEAKY Befriend (or bribe) the guy whose house 

backs up to the course near that beautiful pond. 

MOST HONEST Ask the greenskeeper for permission. 

MOST PRODUCTIVE Fish when there are no golfers—at 

dawn or dusk or, even better, under cover of darkness. 

14" length of 

3"-diameter PVC 

3" of 2"-diameter 

reducing bushing 

36" length of 

2"-diameter PVC 

Amaze! 

Grab a strong magnet— 

preferably a neodymium 

model from a hardware store 

or online. Hold it against 

the bottle until shards of 

black iron move to it. Ask 

if anyone wants a bowl. 

Backyard Body 

Builder #2 

McIntyre loves doing 

sled drags with the 

Rouge S-35E ($95, 

roguefitness.com). 

Load a sled with 

weights, bags of topsoil, 

and the neighbor 

kid. Drag it down 

your lawn. Rest for 90 

seconds; do it again. 


POUR 

KILLA 

BEER! 

Warm, flat beer is death to a 

backyard party. To keep a keg 

cold immerse it in a tub or garbage 

can filled with ice and 

water, says Justin Frost of the 

beer supplies site KegWorks. Ice 

water is better than plain ice. 

Then add a few shovelfuls of rock 

salt to the ice bath. Salt lowers 

the freezing point of water. The 

downside of this method is that 

a hand pump is still needed to get 

the beer out of the keg. “Pumps 

add air, which ages the beer,” says 

Frost. So consider building yourself 

a “jockey box.” You’ll need a 

large Coleman-type cooler, coils 

of stainless-steel tubing, a faucet 

connection, and a CO 2 tank. The 

CO 2 will provide the pressure. 

Buy a kit with a single faucet 

tap, couplers, and a 50-foot coil 

of stainless-steel tubing. $139, 

kegworks.com 

Drill two holes through the walls 

of the cooler: one in front to fit the 

faucet knob, one in back to connect 

to the keg and CO 2 tank. 

Put the coil in the cooler and 

connect all the parts. (There’s 

a great video at kegworks.com.) 

Fill the cooler with ice cubes 

and water, making sure the ice 

bath covers the coils completely. 

No rock salt required. Keep 

the keg cold in a shady spot. Enjoy 

a smooth, cold pour. 

Large 

cooler 

Tubing 

CO 2 

tank 

Beer 

keg

EAT WEIRD 

50'Rope 

RIG AN AWESOME 

ROPE SWING 

Buy at least 50 feet of ¾- to 

1-inch-diameter three-strand 

twisted synthetic rope, says John 

Hartenburg of Knot & Rope Supply. 

Make sure one end is pre-spliced 

into a loop. Toss the looped end over 

a good branch (horizontal, about a 

foot in diameter) and slip the other 

end through the loop. Pull. The 

loop will expand as the tree grows, 

preventing branch damage. 

Attach a wooden disk for the seat. 

Drill a hole in the center to pass the 

rope through and tie overhand 

knots in the end to hold. Geronimo! 

Backyard Body Builder #3 McIntyre likes pool 

kicks for hot-weather fat burning. Grab the side of a 

pool, make your body horizontal, and kick all-out for 

30 seconds. Recover; repeat for 5 to 10 sets. 

Cook a Ton of Weenies! 

When you have a hungry 

pack of in-laws to feed, forget 

about spending your hardearned 

dough on fancy gourmet 

takeout. Grab a rust-free 

metal rake and insert a hot 

dog on each clean tine. Roast 

’em over a campfire. 

Roast Starbursts! 

First, buy a bag of 

Starburst candies. 

Impale one square on the 

end of a sharp stick. 

Roast until it's crispy 

on the outside, warm 

and gooey on the inside. 

Eat. (But have some 

patience—let it cool first.) 

BEST FIREWORKS FOR YOUR JULY 4 BLAST! 

Rockets 

Mortars 

Repeaters 

Fountains 

Novelties 

Skyrockets 

are built to 

explode at 

apogee in an 

awe-inspiring 

burst of color 

and a huge 

boom. Try Redneck 

Rockets. 

Close to pro 

pyrotechnics. 

A reusable 

tube is loaded 

with a selfpropelled 

shell that 

shoots skyward 

and bursts. 

Lit by a single 

fuse, they 

shoot multiple 

colorful 

bursts and 

other effects 

like whistles, 

crackles, and 

loud reports. 

Stationary 

fireworks that 

shoot sparks, 

stars, and 

streamers. Try 

Brew-Ha-Ha, 

Tropic Thunder, 

and 

Havana Heat. 

Poppers, 

sparklers, 

snakes: The 

Pooping Dog is 

a real crowd 

pleaser, says 

pyrotechnics 

expert William 

Gurstelle. 


M O R E 

N O W !

HOW CAN 

YOU TAP 

YOUR ENERGY 

RESERVES 

AND PUSH ON 

WHEN OTHER 

GUYS QUIT? 

THE NEW 

PSYCHOLOGY 

OF PEAK 

PERFORMANCE 

EXPLAINS 

THE POWER 

OF MIND OVER 

MUSCLE. 

E N E R G Y 

By JONAH 

LEHRER 

Photographs 

By DYLAN 

COULTER 

P.109

ARL MELTZER HAD RUN MORE THAN 1,300 MILES ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL 

before he thought about giving up. He was in a maple forest near McAfee 

Knob in Virginia. He’d camped on the trail the night before but woke up 

exhausted, dreading another 50-mile slog. He’d already run almost two 

marathons a day for 32 days. He’d scampered over the White Mountains 

of New Hampshire and chop-stepped through the rock gardens of Pennsylvania. 

“It was one of those mornings when my body just wasn’t working,” 

he says. “I had no energy left.” He set off alone anyway, before dawn. 

If he was going to break the AT speed record, running 2,190 miles in 

under 46 days, he couldn’t rest. Not even for a morning. He didn’t get 

far. After a few miles, exhaustion overwhelmed him. He lay down in the 

dirt and fell asleep. It wasn’t a long nap—“Maybe 20 minutes?” Meltzer 

Ksays—but it gave him the strength to make it a few more miles to his

Grooming: Claudia Andreatta/Halley Resources; Rapha jersey, 

gloves, and socks; Specialized bike, helmet, and cycling shoes 

support van, where he had a sleeping bag and mattress. He woke up 

three hours later, still feeling weak. He was sick of eating peanut butter 

and jelly sandwiches from his fanny pack and dealing with ticks. 

Meltzer lay there in his hot van, thinking of the hundreds of miles he 

still had to run. For the first time, he began to doubt whether he could 

make it. “When your muscles are junk is when you start wondering, 

‘Why am I doing this? What’s the point?’” Although he did pull off two 

more sections of 7 and 10 miles each that afternoon, fueled by a pint 

of ice cream and some fried chicken, he collapsed in bed before 7 p.m. 

It was his worst day on the trail. 

The next morning wasn’t much better. “I was in such a shitty 

mood,” Meltzer says. “And it’s like 5 a.m., and I’m a couple of miles 

in, and I’m just not feeling it.” Meltzer had failed to break the AT 

record twice; maybe he just couldn’t do it at all. Maybe at 48, he was too 

old. Maybe he wasn’t tough enough. “I’m thinking all these negative 

thoughts, how I’m super fatigued and I still had so far to go,” Meltzer 

says. “Honestly, going on didn’t seem possible.” 

PSYCH 

YOURSELF 

OUT OF 

FAILURE 

Seven ways 

to overcome 

obstacles you 

believe are 

blocking your 

progress. 

1 

“Prefatigue” 

Your Brain 

Time your workout 

to come after 

a taxing day. This 

helps you build 

mental resilience, 

says Holden 

MacRae, Ph.D., of 

Pepperdine University. 

When you 

remove that preworkout 

mental 

strain, you’ll perform 

even better. 

2 

Risk the Reward 

of Failure 

Don’t settle into 

the 70 percent 

groove, MacRae 

says. Build up your 

energy level by 

seeking new kinds 

of pain instead 

of relying on routine 

workouts. “If 

there’s no possibility 

of failure, you 

aren’t really pushing 

yourself.” 

3 

Apply A/V 

Strategy 

On your highintensity 

days, 

work out to music 

videos. A sightsound 

combo 

is better than 

music alone for 

reducing your 

perceived level 

of exertion. Celebrate 

your gains 

with a moonwalk. 

BACK IN THE EARLY 1920S, THE 

British physiologist and Nobel 

laureate Archibald Hill and his 

colleagues began running around 

a grass track while exhaling into 

rubberized canvas bags strapped 

to their backs. The objective was to measure 

the oxygen consumed at various speeds. 

It’s at this point that Hill, a serious middledistance 

runner, found that running creates 

an “oxygen debt” as muscles demand far more 

oxygen than your lungs can provide. Although 

your body tries to erase this debt—that’s why 

respiration and heart rate increase—it’s never 

enough. When you run fast, you’re denying 

your body the air it needs to create energy. 

Hill’s insight was that this oxygen debt had 

far-reaching consequences. Based on some 

previous experiments on frog legs by Frederick 

Hopkins (another Nobel laureate) and physiologist 

Walter Fletcher, Hill concluded that 

muscles forced to generate energy without sufficient 

oxygen produced a toxic byproduct: lactic 

acid. If the muscles continued to contract, 

then the acid accumulated in cells, causing a 

distinct burning sensation. 

This chemistry set a hard limit on performance. 

It doesn’t matter how determined 

you are to keep going; the acid always wins. In 

his Nobel speech, Hill made this clear: “Ultimately 

the muscle is a chemical mechanism,” 

he said. “If we were aware of all the chemical 

events, we should know all that was necessary 

about the machine which we are studying.” 

It’s hard to overstate the influence of Hill’s 

science. It was written into countless textbooks, 

a chemical explanation for athletic 

performance. Over time, lactic acid became 

a scapegoat for gym rats, exercise buffs, and 

Olympic announcers. When your body gives 

out or your muscles ache the day after a workout, 

this compound is typically cited. Lactic 

acid is what stole your energy, making your 

body stop when your mind wanted it to go on. 

This is what Meltzer seemed to be up 

against on his 33rd morning on the AT. 

Although he’d won more 100-mile trail 

races than any other runner in the world, he 

couldn’t outrun the laws of chemistry. After 

1,000 miles without a day off, his muscles 

must have been acidic jelly. It’s no wonder he 

found himself napping in the dirt. 

But here’s the thing: Karl Meltzer didn’t 

stop. He kept going. 


FIRST MET HOLDEN MACRAE, PH.D., A 

professor of sports medicine at Pepperdine 

University, at a mall in Malibu, 

California. MacRae is 61, but his sinewy 

body is a testament to his lifelong 

interest in athletic performance. When 

MacRae talks about his research, which 

has transformed the science of energy, 

he inevitably brings it back to his own 

mountain biking. “That’s part of the 

test,” he says. “Can I use these ideas to 

understand and maybe improve my own 

performance?” 

When MacRae started out as a scientist, 

conducting experiments on athletes in the lab of 

Timothy Noakes, M.D., at the University of Cape Town, the 

science of human energy seemed mostly settled. Peak performance 

was about staving off inadequate oxygen delivery 

and avoiding the buildup of acid for as long as possible. 

That’s why trainers were obsessed with such stats as VO 2 

max, a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen that 

can be consumed and utilized by an athlete. According to 

this model, endurance freaks like Lance Armstrong—with 

his VO 2 max of 84, about 46 percent higher than normal— 

owed their success to their highly efficient cardiovascular 

systems. They didn’t run out of energy because their muscles 

didn’t run out of oxygen. 

It didn’t take long for MacRae to realize that the existing 

paradigm was terribly oversimplified. Take the so-called 

lactate threshold, that chemical point past which lactic 

acid levels rapidly increase and muscles shut down. Mac- 

Rae concluded that the threshold was largely a statistical 

illusion, a byproduct of scientists failing to collect enough 

blood samples during difficult workouts. “The theory had 

been that once you get past 2 to 4 millimoles of lactate, 

you’re going to feel real fatigued,” he says, citing a standard 

blood measure of lactic acid. “But what we found is that if 

you actually measure lactate levels in people competing in 

half marathons or long bike races, their lactate levels can 

get up around 6 or 7 millimoles and their performance is 

not degraded. If you’re saying that they’re stopping due to 

the lactate accumulation, then those levels should lead to 

contractile failure [in the muscles]. But that’s not what we 

saw at all. They were still going strong.” 

How was this possible? One of the first clues came from 

the research of Håkan Westerblad at Sweden’s Karolinska 

Institute. In the mid-1990s, Westerblad began using mouse 

muscle to replicate those frog leg studies that led Hopkins 

and Hill to blame lactic acid for muscle failure. Westerblad 

made one other crucial change to the protocol. Instead of 

doing the studies at room temperature, he conducted them 

at the rodents’ body temperature, which is about 25 degrees 

higher. This change made all the difference: The muscles 

now continued to function even when they were saturated 

4 

Motivate 

Your Muscles 

Raise the psychological 

stakes— 

find what makes 

suffering worth 

it for you. It could 

be bragging 

rights, a perceived 

slight, or (a classic 

military training 

trick) not wanting 

to let your family 

or team down. 

5 

Push the 

Positive Turbo 

Messaging can 

enhance performance. 

So write 

“Crush It” on your 

fist or get that 

lightning bolt tattoo. 

Or create a 

mantra. Be brief, 

positive, and 

instructive: “Brace 

for benefits” or 

“Focus on form.” 

6 

Tap the Power 

of the Pack 

Competition 

forges resolve. To 

harden your mental 

muscle, note 

your results in a 

group and then try 

to replicate them 

solo. The goal is 

to constantly raise 

the bar on your 

perceived level 

of exertion. 

7 

Ice Your 

Quit Button 

Athletes tend to 

obsess over diet 

while neglecting 

the effect of overheating 

on their 

performance. Sip 

ice-slurry drinks 

during hot workouts 

and splash 

cool water on 

your face during 

races. 

with acid. More recently, scientists have shown that lactic 

acid can actually benefit fatigued muscles, making it easier 

for cells to contract. The chemical that once stole our 

energy is now being described in scientific literature as a 

performance enhancing drug. 

Perhaps the greatest refutation of Hill’s chemical 

model didn’t even require a lab. In many competitions, 

athletes often experience a phenomenon known as the end 

spurt, a speed burst near the finish line when they’re most 

fatigued. Such spurts are a defining feature of many great 

performances, whether it’s LeBron James chasing down 

Andre Iguodala in game 7 of the NBA Finals, or Mo Farah, 

whose last 100-meter push in the 10,000-meter final at the 

Rio Olympics was four seconds (and change) faster than 

his first 100. For the chemical model, these spurts are a 

paradox, since fatigued athletes should have little energy 

left. The body should be falling apart, not speeding up. 

These phenomena led MacRae and Dr. Noakes and their 

fellow renegades to conclude that the science of athletic 

performance was all wrong. “For nearly 100 years, people 

have been told that they get tired because their muscles get 

tired,” Dr. Noakes wrote. “That’s in all the textbooks on 

exercise physiology and athletic coaching. Students everywhere 

around the world are still being taught this. But it’s 

not true.” This raises the obvious question: If the acid in 

your muscles isn’t slowing you down, then why do you think 

you’ve run out of energy? What’s holding you back? 

For MacRae, the answer is simple. “What stops you is 

up here,” he says as he taps his head. “It’s all between the 

ears.” Take the end spurt: According to MacRae, this is 

proof that athletes have a tremendous reserve capacity. 

“Most of the time people don’t tap into this reserve,” he 

says. “We’re scared of the challenge. If you really want to 

understand top athletes, you have to study that reserve. 

You have to ask yourself: How do I tap into that? How do I 

hack my brain so I can perform at the highest level?” 

This is the dilemma Karl Meltzer was wrestling with in 

that Virginia forest. It didn’t matter how many calories he 

consumed or how much Red Bull he chugged; he still had 

no energy. But then he started thinking about his family, 

how his wife and his father had been supporting him on the 

trail, and he realized that he needed to change his attitude. 

“I just told myself, ‘Karl, you’ve got to turn off that negativity 

switch,’” he says. “‘You came out here to be successful. 

Shut up and do it.’ That was what I needed to hear. I knew 

then that I didn’t need to stop.” Meltzer ended up running 

more than 50 miles that day, finishing the last miles in the 

dark, the bobbing light of his headlamp showing the way. 

TOO OFTEN YOU 

YOU ASS

TIMOTHY NOAKES, M.D., NOW AN EMERITUS PROFESSOR 

at the University of Cape Town, became curious about 

human energy during medical school, when he decided 

to run the 54-mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa. 

On his third attempt, Dr. Noakes ran into a physiological 

wall: He was 13 miles from the finish when his muscles 

rebelled, utterly “depleted of energy, their connective tissues coming 

apart.” He assumed he would quit the race. But then something 

strange happened: He kept running, energized by the spectators along 

the road. Their cheers pulled him through. 

This experience led Dr. Noakes to become interested in the psychological 

side of energy. When he was suffering through those last miles, 

it wasn’t a sugary drink that saved him, or a brief rest to suck up some 

oxygen. Rather, it was the sight of those other people. This was a run 

that chemistry could not explain. 

It took decades of research, but Dr. Noakes would eventually develop 

a theory of energy regulation that he calls the “central governor.” In 

essence, the central governor is a software script in your brain that controls 

your physical performance, generating a feeling of fatigue to preserve 

your body. While Hill thought human energy levels were reducible 

to the laws of chemistry, Dr. Noakes argued that the reality is more complicated 

and that your sense of energy is a subjective mental construct 

based on countless variables from skin temperature to the cheers of 

the crowd. “I am not saying that what takes place physiologically in the 

muscles is irrelevant,” Dr. Noakes wrote. “What I 

am saying is that what takes place physiologically 

in the muscles is not what causes fatigue.” 

As evidence, Dr. Noakes cites his studies of 

cyclists during a 100-kilometer time trial. When 

the cyclists were in the midst of a sprint, Dr. Noakes 

found a steady decrease in electrical activity in 

their quadriceps muscles. This suggests that the 

brain was reducing the overall number of muscle 

fibers it was trying to activate; the central governor 

was systematically shutting down the body. While 

the cyclists thought their legs were running out of 

energy, the reality was that they had stopped asking 

their quads to contract. 

The big challenge for an athlete, then, is to 

reprogram the central governor, to train the mind 

to get more out of the body. As Dr. Noakes points 

out, in the final stages of a marathon only a third 

of muscle fibers in the leg are active. Plus, levels 

of ATP—the molecule used to transport energy 

within cells—almost never fall below 60 to 80 percent 

of their resting value. This suggests that we 

still have plenty of energy left. The central governor 

is just too clever to use it. 

The good news is that scientists have come up with tricks and 

treatments you can use to reliably increase your sense of energy 

and perform at higher levels. Some are simple, such as cooling your 

skin during exercise. (Your brain measures exertion by monitoring 

changes in body temperature, so a cooler body leads to lower levels of 

perceived effort.) Others are mischievous and involve giving athletes 

false information about their performance by slowing down the clock, 

doctoring the odometer, or having them compete against a “previous” 

performance that was subtly improved. 

Your brain can also be influenced by motivational cues. In one 

recent study, researchers at Bangor University asked people to pedal to 

exhaustion, going at 65 percent of peak power for as long as they could. 

While the study participants were sweating, the scientists exposed 

them to either a smiling face or a frowning face for 16 milliseconds— 

far too brief for conscious awareness. Despite the fact that the cyclists 

couldn’t discern the face—let alone its expression—the ones exposed 

to the smile stayed on the bike for 178 seconds longer, or 12 percent 

of the total time. The smiling face made exercise feel easier, so those 

cyclists were able to go a few extra laps. 

And then there are the chemical fixes. Giving athletes acetaminophen 

before a race makes them go faster—this mild pain reliever 

numbs the central governor. A variety of stimulants, from amphetamine 

to caffeine, have a similar effect. Because energy is a state 

of mind, waking up your brain can make you CONTINUED ON P. 134 

QUIT ON YOUR BODY BECAUSE 

UME YOUR BODY HAS QUIT ON YOU. 


THE 

WORLD 

IS 

YOUR 

GYM 

By ANTHONY 

M C CARRON, 

LARA ROSENBAUM, 

and EBENEZER 

SAMUEL 

P.115 

TREES 

BOULDERS 

HILLS 

SAND 

WATER 

STAIRS

THE LAND 

4 

3 

1 

2 

5 

TREES 

The equipment in your great outdoor gym. 

BOULDERS 

1. Flip Out 

This takes guts. Hang 

from a slim branch 

that supports your 

weight. In succession, 

pull your knees to 

your chest and lower 

them; swing your 

feet chest-high (legs 

straight) and lower 

them; swing your feet 

to your shoulders. 

Eventually you’ll flip 

over the branch like a 

gymnast. Try to do 5. 

2. Barks and Wreck 

Find a downed tree 

or branch that’s 

sturdy enough to 

hold your weight and 

long enough for your 

body. Balance on it 

to do a side plank, 

your bottom hand 

beneath your shoulder. 

Lift your top leg 

and extend your top 

arm. Hold the position 

for 30 seconds; 

then switch sides. 

3. Have a (Half) Seat 

Find a tree with bark 

that won’t cut you 

or rip from the trunk, 

and reinvent the wall 

sit. With your back 

against the tree (as in 

a wall sit), lower into 

a squat, your knees 

at 90 degrees. Then 

straighten your right 

leg and hold for 30 to 

60 seconds. Repeat 

with your left leg. 

That’s 1 rep; do 15. 

4. Backward Climb 

Meet nature’s military 

press. Start in a 

pushup position less 

than a body’s length 

away from a sturdy 

tree trunk, facing 

away. Keeping your 

chin tucked, walk 

your hands toward 

the tree while walking 

your feet up the trunk. 

Finish in a handstand 

position. Walk back 

down. Aim for 10 reps. 

5. Rock Pushups 

Find two rocks you 

can grip. Holding one 

in each hand, assume 

a pushup position. Do 

a rep, and as you press 

up, pull the rocks off 

the ground. Land 

with the rocks farther 

apart. Repeat, landing 

wider on the next 2 

reps; then do 3 pushups 

to return to the 

start. Work for 20 to 

60 seconds for 3 sets. 

6. Pick Things Up 

Stand with a large 

rock between your 

feet. Drop your hips 

as with a deadlift, 

and slide your hands 

under the rock. Push 

from your heels and 

stand, curling the 

rock up and bringing 

it toward your left 

shoulder. Repeat, 

this time toward your 

right shoulder. Aim 

for 20 to 30 reps. 

Previous page: photograph by SEAN LAURENZ, 

Puma shorts, Nike shoes 

116 MensHealth.com / JulyAugust 2017 ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEVE SANFORD

WELCOME 

TO THE FREE 

GYM THAT’S 

EVERYWHERE 

DIRECTIONS 

Think of these 

moves as an exercise 

buffet for 

use in infinite 

circuits. 

QUICK WORKOUT EXAMPLES 

12-minute burner: Do 30 seconds 

on, 30 seconds off for 

4 exercises. Do 3 rounds. 

Campout: Do all 4 moves from 

1 section for 3 minutes each. 

TOTAL-BODY FITNESS 

Do 1 set for all 24 exercises, 

resting as needed. For each 

move, do 10 reps, 30 yards, 

or 45 seconds per set unless 

otherwise directed. 

10 

12 

7 

11 

9 

8 

6 

Free weights that rock! 

HILLS Nature’s clinic for fixing your running form. 

DANIEL TING CHONG (icons) 

7. Walk the Walk 

One of life’s most 

practical actions is 

also the most natural 

workout with a rock. 

Simply squat and pick 

up the heaviest boulder 

you can. Then, 

holding it in front of 

you with both hands, 

walk as far as you can 

for 30 to 60 seconds. 

Too easy for you? 

Walk uphill to feel like 

the ultimate badass. 

8. Throw Stones 

All you need to shock 

your cardiovascular 

system is a rock and 

a hill. At the top of the 

hill, squat and pick 

up the rock, raise it 

overhead, and throw 

it down the hill. Run 

after it, squat, then 

underhand toss it 

uphill with both arms. 

Continue with underhand 

tosses until 

you’re back to the top. 

9. Be Crabby 

It’s total-body claw 

and order—if you 

make it. The reverse 

crab walk hits your 

glutes, quads, back, 

and triceps. Face 

away from the hill 

and sit on your butt, 

feet flat. Then lift your 

body off the ground 

and walk uphill on 

your hands and feet. 

Start with 3 or 4 sets 

of 50-yard crab walks. 

10. Just Lunge 

Weighted lunges in 

the gym can’t prepare 

you for uphill lunges. 

“The hill creates your 

resistance,” says Matt 

Krause, strength and 

conditioning coach 

with the New York Yankees. 

Start by alternating 

legs as you 

lunge upward. Progress 

to right-leg-only 

lunges for 30 yards; 

then switch legs. 

11. Back It Up 

Running up a hill is 

one thing (and not 

easy). But can you 

walk up a hill backward? 

That’s a great 

quad workout. Bonus: 

You won’t have to 

worry about wrecking 

your knees. (Just for 

fun, kick your playlist 

into reverse too.) 

Start with 5 sets of 20 

yards. Then work up 

to 40 yards, then 60. 

12. Get Creative 

Your hill workouts 

should never be the 

same. Try what MH 

training advisor David 

Jack calls “an organic 

obstacle course.” Jack 

plans a 20-minute 

uphill walk with stops 

to do exercises. “I’ll put 

together 200 pushups 

before I get to the 

top,” he says. Other 

circuit options: squats 

and jumping jacks.

THE WATER 

10 

2 

1 

9 

5 

6 

SAND 

It shifts—and challenges your stabilizers. 

WATER 

1. Pecs on the Beach 

Only Mr. Miyagi 

could dream up this 

pushup. Once you’ve 

pushed up, make a 

“wax on” motion with 

one hand before lowering 

again. Alternate 

the motion between 

arms. Survive 3 or 4 

sets, aiming for half 

as many reps as you 

do in a regular set of 

pushups, and you’re 

ready for Cobra Kai. 

2. Burp’s Up 

If you think burpees 

aren’t challenging 

enough, do them in 

the sand, which cushions 

your landing but 

makes pushing off 

more difficult. Stabilizing 

muscles end 

up working overtime. 

Bonus: You’ll displace 

so much sand that by 

the time you’ve done a 

set of 5 reps, you can 

build a sand castle. 

3. Tuck the Plank 

The sand can be your 

core’s best friend. 

First, assume a plank 

position. Now hold 

that position and slide 

your feet along the 

sand until your knees 

are tucked toward 

your chest. Slide back 

out. Do this for half 

as many reps as you 

would for a regular set 

of mountain climbers, 

aiming for 2 or 3 sets. 

4. Happy Feet 

The most basic sand 

exercise is best: Run 

barefoot. Normally, 

your foot momentarily 

relaxes to take the 

shape of the surface, 

then gets rigid to 

propel your body forward. 

But the sand’s 

giving surface forces 

foot muscles to be 

more responsive. 

Don’t run far: Think of 

a quarter mile as 1 set. 

5. Current Event 

Running in the ocean 

is a good workout 

because of the resistance 

of the water. 

Here’s a challenge 

from David Jack: Run 

into the water to chest 

height. Turn around; 

run back into the wake 

you just created, fighting 

the waves without 

falling. The path back 

to shore winds up 

being even harder. 

6. Get a Jump 

To perfect your box 

jump, you might not 

even need a box. 

Instead, get waist 

deep in water and try 

to jump as high as you 

can. Suddenly your 

muscles must overcome 

the drag of the 

water if you hope to 

gain any height. Jump 

for 20 seconds; then 

rest for 20 seconds. 

Aim for 3 to 5 sets. 


ARE YOU 

KING OF 

THE BEACH? 

THE TEST 

Set a timer for 10 

minutes. Perform 

the exercises in 

order, resting 

when necessary. 

THE MOVES 

Stair in-out (#9): 3 sets, 15 

steps, walk down to recover 

Wax-on pushup (#1): 15 reps 

Shoulder-tap knee tuck 

(#11): Until time expires 

THE RESULTS 

Your score is your total 

shoulder-tap knee tucks: 

6–10 Not bad 

11–15 Prince of the beach! 

>15 Tarzan can’t touch you 

4 

12 

3 

11 

8 

7 

Resistance from the H 2 O is key. 

STAIRS They force you to train explosively. 

7. High-Knee Deep 

How do you develop 

hip strength in water? 

Get bellybutton deep 

and work through 

high-knee drills. You 

essentially run in place 

in the water, lifting 

each knee as high 

as you can on each 

stride. Do 20 seconds 

on, 20 off; repeat 3 

times. Also do butt 

kicks, focusing on pulling 

heel to hamstring. 

8.Before You Walk... 

You may be a fish out 

of water, but can you 

be a bear in it? Even 

the finest swimmers 

can struggle to do 

bear crawls in the 

surf, but the exercise 

develops coordination. 

Start in shallow 

water—6 inches max. 

Build up to shoulder 

height; at this point, 

you’ll face considerable 

resistance. 

9. Many Tiny Leaps 

Stair in-outs provide 

a stiff challenge for 

your glutes. Start at 

the bottom of the 

stairs in a squat, your 

feet slightly beyond 

shoulder width. Jump 

to the next stair, landing 

with your feet 

10 to 12 inches closer 

together. Alternate 

that pattern for 15 

steps. Then jog back 

down. Try for 3 rounds. 

10. Hands and Feet 

Want to ascend stairs 

without walking? This 

one’s tough: Stand 

facing the stairs and 

put your hands on the 

fourth step. Explosively 

jump your feet to land 

on the closest possible 

step to your hands. 

Repeat by moving 

your hands up three 

steps. If 3 sets of 10 to 

15 gets too easy, add 

a burpee to each rep. 

11. One Small Step 

You need one step for 

the shoulder-tap knee 

tuck. Face the front of 

the step in a pushup 

position. Lift one arm 

and tap the opposite 

shoulder. Tap each 

arm three times, then 

move both hands 

onto the step. Do a 

pushup; then tuck 

your knees into your 

chest. Aim to do 3 

sets to failure. 

12. Push Hour 

Train your upper body 

with the traveling 

decline pushup. Start 

with your hands on 

the ground, slightly 

beyond shoulder 

width, and your feet 

three or four stairs up. 

Do a pushup. Next, 

move your hands up 

one step and your 

feet up one step. Do 

another pushup. Aim 

for 3 sets of 10 to 15. 

Sources: Dan Bailey, Reebok trainer; Jeff Cavaliere, M.S.P.T., C.S.C.S., Athlean-X program; Jeremy Cheung, N.A.S.M., C.P.T.; Andy Dooley, Reebok trainer; Darryl Edwards, author of Paleo Fitness; 

Anthony Gustin, D.C., C.S.C.S.; David Jack, Men’s Health training advisor; Matt Krause, New York Yankees strength and conditioning coach; Kenton Whitman, N.A.S.M., cofounder of ReWild University.

T H E U L T I M A T E 


DOG 

We scoured the country 

for a hound of renown. 

Meet Falco–and find your 

own ultimate companion. 

What makes an ultimate dog? Does he lead a 

pack of men rather than a pack of mutts? Does he 

exhibit bravery in war zones where even soldiers 

shake? Or does he simply wait by the screen door every 

night for you to come home? In this special section, you’ll 

meet dogs doing all these things and more—the best stories 

from nearly 900 entries in our Ultimate Dog contest. 

We’ll also take you into the canine mind, show you how 

to find the best breed for your lifestyle, and prove beyond 

a shadow of a doubt that a dog can make you a better man. 

INSIDE 

1. LEADERSHIP 

Falco finds bodies. 

2. BRAVERY 

Fred stood tall in 

Afghanistan. 

3. COMPANIONSHIP 

Sparky connects 

the parents with 

the kids. 

PLUS 

Meet our contest 

runners-up. 

The “dog-ter” 

is in and answers 

your questions. 

Find the dog that 

suits you best. 

P.120 / PHOTOGRAPHS BY AMY LOMBARD

1 

LEADERSHIP / BY TYLER DASWICK 

THIS HERO 

WEARS FUR 

A rescued dog returns the favor by rescuing people. 

FOR TWO WEEKS, THE DETECTIVES’ BEST EFFORTS YIELDED NOTHING. 

The young man who left a suicide note remained missing. Authorities thought 

perhaps the man had simply left town. Enter a bright, motivated, German 

shepherd, partner of Florida FEMA task force member Aaron Tucker. 

Falco has been trained to smell human decomposition. He can sniff a Q-tip’s 

amount of blood in 5 acres, and he’s been locating missing people since 2013. 

He’s often brought in for all-hope-is-lost missions like this one. 

On this day, Falco’s first instinct was to sprint west. The detectives shook 

their heads. They’d been focusing their search efforts in the opposite direction. 

The dense forest was tricky to navigate, but the dog charged right into a 

mass of brush and thorny vines. Three minutes later he gave his silent alert: 

seated, rigid body, nose down. Falco had 

located the dead man. 

“Most police dogs sniff out drugs or bombs,” 

says Tucker, Falco’s owner and handler. “But 

our skill set makes it possible to close a chapter 

by bringing the missing home. We can 

bring peace to the soul and the family.” 

Falco stands out for his valor and leadership. 

When they’re not in the field, Falco 

and Tucker teach search tactics to other K9 

teams. They have a special bond. During 

one search mission, a man jumped out of the 

woods and came at Tucker. He ignored commands 

to show his hands until Falco intervened, 

barking and growling until backup 

arrived and took the man into custody. 

Falco got his favorite snack—a ham hock— 

as a reward. 

PREVIOUS SPREAD: Falco with 

his handler, Aaron Tucker. 

ABOVE: The pair trains for a 

search-and-recover mission. 

168 STUDIO (badge design and icons)

ULTIMATE DOGS 

TOP DOGS 

Almost 900 entries came in for the Ultimate 

Men’s Health Dog contest. Meet the runners-up. 

Hugo 

Tim Denning 

ARLINGTON, VA 

Though he lost his 

hearing to infection, 

Hugo persevered 

through several 

surgeries and now 

volunteers at nursing 

homes and children’s 

hospitals. 

Captain America 

Paul Tadalan 

CHICAGO, IL 

Cap gets around: 

He is a registered 

emotional support 

dog, rides in Paul’s 

motorcycle sidecar, 

and uses his 

booming bark to 

scare off burglars. 

Lucy 

Jason Kharman 

DALLAS, TX 

When a fire was 

raging through their 

condo complex, 

Lucy was able to 

alert Jason of the 

danger: “She ran 

into my room and 

woke me up.” 

Teddy 

Bridgewater 

Trenton Bottorff 

FREMONT, NE 

Teddy accompanies 

Trenton on 

visits to fifth- and 

sixth-grade special 

education classrooms, 

helping 

hyperactive kids. 

pawmazing.com (Ricochet), Jim Dukes/JJDPhoto2art.com (Gunner) 

THE WORLD’S 

FIRST PETS 

Scientists still 

debate the origins 

of domesticated 

dogs. For years, the 

human-canine bond was 

thought to have begun 

about 30,000 years ago 

with a Paleolithic clan 

that adopted wolf puppies. 

But a recent analysis suggests 

that domestication 

occurred at two different 

times, around 15,000 and 

12,500 years ago. The current 

theory: Wolves would 

follow hunting parties to 

scavenge a kill, eventually 

following the hunters home 

to beg for scraps. Over 

the years, they developed 

relationships with those 

humans. The upshot? “Feed 

me” became “I love you.” 

Gunner 

Andrew Einstein 

RIVERTON, NJ 

Gunner helped 

Andrew through a 

depressive episode. 

In 2014, the two 

walked from Philly 

to Ground Zero. 

They’ve also run two 

Tough Mudders. 

Achilles 

John Krupa 

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 

This search-andrescue 

dog in training 

shows his heroism 

by breaking 

up fights involving 

other dogs. He’s 

known as “the sheriff” 

of his dog park. 

READERS’ 

PICK 

CANINE WISDOM 

Ricochet 

Judy Fridono 

ESCONDIDO, CA 

Used for therapy 

as a surfing service 

dog, Ricochet rides 

the waves with all 

kinds of people: 

special-needs kids, 

vets with PTSD, and 

wounded warriors. 

Max 

JD Miller 

RADFORD, VA 

Max is a veteran— 

he was a military K9 

in Afghanistan but 

lost two teeth in a 

training exercise. 

Now he’s a certified 

police dog working 

alongside JD. 

“ If a dog will not come to you after having looked 

you in the face, you should go home and examine your 

conscience.” —WOODROW WILSON 


2 

BRAVERY / BY CHRIS COLIN 

LOVE IN A 

WAR ZONE 

Afghanistan connects a Marine with a cuddly mutt. 

THE AFGHAN COMMANDO HAD 

no particular reason for kicking 

the dog, a stray picked up by U.S. 

Marine Craig Grossi. The dog— 

Fred by name—was just lying 

around with Grossi and some 

other heavily armed guys waiting out the 

heat when the commando turned rabid and 

booted the pooch, no reason. When the man 

lunged at the animal again, one of Grossi’s

ULTIMATE DOGS 

Craig Grossi and Fred on safe 

ground in the United States. 

fellow Marines sorted him out—with a swift 

kick to the chest. 

“Okay,” the commando said, recovering. 

“Now I shoot him.” He meant the dog, not the 

Marine. He aimed his AK-47; the Americans 

shouldered their M4s. The day went from 

warm to hot that fast. In Helmand Province, 

a Taliban stronghold, the mercury regularly 

closes in on 115°F. That’s dog-kicking weather 

anywhere, but not around Grossi and his fellow 

Marines, guys who strip down to flak 

vests and underwear to fight when the heat 

begins to brutalize. 

Man kicks dog: It explains how an elite 

unit at war got into a standoff over a mutt. 

With longish hair and sad, thoughtful 

eyes, Grossi, a Virginia native, looks more 

like a puppy dog than a jarhead. But when he 

arrived at Camp Leatherneck in 2010, the 

27-year-old was assigned to a recon unit—a 

hardcore, tip-of-the-spear group trained to 

drop into dangerous spots in the dead of night. 

Before long, he was on a helicopter headed 

through predawn darkness to the Sangin Valley, 

one of the most hostile parts of generally 

hostile Afghanistan. He landed in shit that 

smelled like 200 crazy warriors: “They hit us 

all day and didn’t let up for a week.” 

Between artillery battles, Grossi noticed 

a funny-looking little dog trotting around, 

sniffing and poking. Afghanistan had no 

shortage of strays, but usually those dogs 

came out at night in snarling packs; the soldiers 

had no problem complying with the 

Pentagon rule that you may not touch a stray 

dog, even to kick it. But Grossi felt that this 

good boy was different. With a large head and 

thick chest, he carried himself like a big dog, 

but on stubby stems. “His front legs and paws 

were like a basset hound’s and his back ones 

like a rabbit’s, but he made it work,” Grossi 

says. “I’ve never seen a dog so comfortable in 

his own skin. He had a show dog trot.” 

Grossi watched as the animal navigated 

the compound “like he was mayor of the 

place.” Maybe it was the animal’s spirit, or 

maybe the monotony of war, but one inevitable 

day, man met dog. “As I got closer, he 

started to wag his tail. That blew me away. 

What does this dog have to wag his tail about? 

It’s hot, he’s covered in CONTINUED ON P. 135 

ASK the DOG-TER 

Canines and vets answer your questions. 

How do I teach an 

old dog new tricks? 

THE DOG SAYS... 

At this stage of life, 

I’m only leaving the 

couch for the thickest 

pork chop on the 

table. You’d better 

show some appreciation 

for my years of 

service to the family. 

Can you tell when 

we’re sad? 


We’re dogs, we’re not 

stupid. We care about 

you, but your mood 

also dictates how you 

treat us. A big smile 

and a scratch behind 

the ears signals to us 

that it’s all systems go. 

What’s up with 

the head tilt? 


Because you thought 

it was cute when I did 

it in ’06. Remember, 

when the parakeet 

screeched? I moved 

my head a little, and 

you fell over yourself 

at my cuteness. 

Why do you scoot 

your butt across 

the floor? 


We all gotta poop, 

amigo. But scooting 

is different. It’s more 

pressing because 

our anal sacs are bugging 

us, and it hurts 

like hemorrhoids. 

Why do you hang 

your head out the 

window in the car? 


We’re just smelling the 

sights. In fact, I don’t 

know how you can 

even tell where you 

are, the way you keep 

your nose behind 

the wheel. So weird! 

THE HUMAN SAYS... 

Your gray-muzzled 

pal can still make new 

associations even 

if he’s no longer a 

fuzzy pup. Just make 

the rewards befit your 

lifelong relationship, 

says dog behavior 

researcher Katherine 

Miller, Ph.D. 


“There’s no conclusive 

evidence that dogs 

can feel empathy,” 

says Bradley Phifer 

of the Certification 

Council for Professional 

Dog Trainers. 

“But dogs’ whole 

lives are spent learning 

to read us.” 


When a dog cocks 

its head at a sound, 

it is trying to more 

clearly figure out 

where the sound is 

coming from, says 

Phifer. Over time, this 

can become a trained 

(and thoroughly 

endearing) behavior. 


Have Fido checked 

to make sure his anal 

sacs aren’t impacted. 

The sacs—they’re 

on either side of your 

dog’s rectum—release 

pheromones that 

help serve as their 

doggy identification 

to other canines. 


“We know that 

dogs become more 

familiar with their 

environment through 

sniffing,” Phifer says. 

“That’s how they 

gain the information 

they need to know 

to become settled 

and relaxed.” 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY +ISM 


The BEST DOG for YOU 

FOR A FULL LIST OF DOGS TO MATCH YOUR LIFESTYLE, VISIT MENSHEALTH.COM/BESTDOGBREEDS 

/

ULTIMATE DOGS 

THE MAKING OF 

A FRIENDSHIP 

Old Drum barked his 

last bark the night of 

October 28, 1869. Convinced 

that the Missouri hunting 

dog was killing his sheep, a 

neighbor shot him to death— 

and was promptly sued. Representing 

Old Drum’s owner was 

attorney George Graham Vest, 

who would go on to become a 

U.S. senator. Vest’s wonderfully 

overwrought closing remarks 

earned him immortality: “The 

one absolutely unselfish friend 

that a man can have in this selfish 

world, the one that never 

deserts him, the one that never 

proves ungrateful or treacherous, 

is the dog,” Vest declared 

at one of several crescendos. 

His client got $50 and 

the world got its “man’s best 

friend” label. 

3 

COMPANIONSHIP / BY BILL STUMP 

OUR FAMILY’S 

TOP DOG 

A pet skeptic is won over by an 18-pound spitfire. 

W 

E’VE HAD SPARKY FOR 

nearly 16 years, a fact that’s hard 

for me to believe today. 

Sparky is deaf now, and he’s 

night blind so we can no longer 

take him around the block in the evenings. 

He had cancer surgery two years ago to 

remove the lower half of his jaw. They got 

the cancer, but now his tongue hangs lower 

than it used to, and he drools a bit, so my wife 

made him a supply of bandanas to keep the 

fur on his chest dry. They add cuteness too. 

Like a lot of guys, I consider my dog my best 

friend. I never thought I’d say that. I never 

wanted a pet. But then my father-in-law, a 

tough Serbian guy with a shock of white hair 

who was a beer distributor and carried a gun 

After surviving cancer, Sparky 

is put on a pedestal by his family. 

in a shoulder holster, got involved. 

“Do you have a dog?” he asked my daughter, 

Kelley, who was 7 years old at the time. 

“No,” she replied. 

“Why the hell not?” he asked. 

“My dad says they’re messy,” replied my 

4-year-old son, Kevin. 

My father-in-law’s gaze shifted to me. I 

saw a weird mix of disappointment and dismissal 

on his face. “What the hell is wrong 

with you?” he asked. 

RUFF THOUGHTS 

A few weeks later I was out of town and hustling 

into a hotel room when my phone rang. 

It was my wife. It sounded like she was in a 

car. “Where are you going?” I asked. 

“To Pittsburgh,” she said. “My dad got 

us a dog.” When I arrived back home, I met 

Sparky, half Yorkie and half Shih Tzu. He 

wasn’t the yellow Lab type that all our neighbors 

had, but I loved him instantly. 

The years since have flown past; I don’t 

remember ever not having Sparky sitting by 

the fireplace on a cold night or hanging under 

my lawn chair by the pool to escape the sun. 

I used to love watching him sprint around 

the yard, bouncing a ball on his nose, mauling 

a stuffed animal to reveal the squeaker, 

and enjoying a Wendy’s cheeseburger and a 

Frosty on his birthday each year. We’ve done 

that birthday routine 15 times and will again 

in a couple of months. 

Not a day goes by when my wife and I don’t 

snapchat, instagram, or CONTINUED ON P. 135 

“ I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look 

of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically 

dogs think humans are nuts.” —JOHN STEINBECK 


These guys 

went out 

looking for 

adventure and 

almost lost 

their lives. 

I S U R

Think about your biggest fear, the kind of nightmare that 

leaves you in a cold sweat. A charging bear? A twister headed 

straight toward you? A crash that leaves you paralyzed? 

These eight men faced those nightmares and lived to tell the tale. For 

some, preparation and quick thinking kept them alive; others were 

just plain lucky. Learn their keys to survival, and what you should do 

if you ever find yourself in a similarly harrowing situation. 

P 129 

BY DEVON O’NEIL, WITH 

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY 

ANDREW DAWSON 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

PAUL POPE 

WITH CHRIS HUNT 

V I V E D

CAUGHT IN 

A TORNADO 

WHEN THUNDER CRACKED, LARRY 

Krznarich and his wife were lounging at their 

campsite on an island in a northern Wisconsin 

lake. It was July 2010. Krznarich turned 

on his weather radio and heard an urgent 

message from the National Weather Service: 

“Severe storm hitting the Turtle Flambeau 

Flowage. Take cover immediately.” 

Krznarich sprinted to warn another couple 

and raced back with them. All four huddled 

under a picnic table. Within 30 seconds, 

the first 60-foot tree fell. Four trees landed 

on the table; Krznarich was crushed by a red 

pine; his pelvis was fractured in three places. 

It was an EF1 tornado, with winds up 

to 110 miles an hour. “The destruction was 

unbelievable,” Krznarich says. “Big trees 

were shattering and tumbling like tinker 

toys all around us.” He says he and the others 

would be dead if they hadn’t heard the radio 

warning and used the table as a shield. 

SURVIVAL 

SKILLS 

You can’t outrun a 

twister, so if you’re in 

the open, seek the 

lowest spot around, 

like a ditch, says Paul 

Auerbach, M.D., an 

emergency medicine 

physician with Stanford 

University. Nothing 

suitable? You might 

be okay in your car. 

“A car should be 

able to withstand a 

certain amount of 

wind, but it can be 

lifted and tossed and 

penetrated by flying 

objects,” says Dr. 

Auerbach. An EF1 or 

EF2 twister will leave 

most cars intact, but 

an EF3 or EF4 will 

move most vehicles, a 

new study suggests. 

A BEAR ATTACK 

MIKE WILSON COULD TELL 

a bear was nearby. He was 

hunting with 20 friends and 

20 dogs in North Carolina’s 

Black Mountains last December 

when the dogs started 

barking. Usually that meant 

a bear had climbed a tree, but 

nothing was up in the branches. By the time 

he saw the 390-pound black bear charging 

at him, it was 10 feet away. He raised his .44 

Thompson Center Contender and fired. The 

bullet hit the bear and made it angrier. Before 

Wilson could reload, the bear was on him. 

“It knocked me plum down the hill, got me 

in my neck with one paw, and nearly got my 

jugular vein,” says Wilson. “I had to get 26 

stitches. The doctor told me if it’d been a half 

inch deeper, I’d have had about five minutes 

to live.” The bear ran away. Wilson’s hunting 

partners bandaged his neck and rushed him 

to the nearest emergency room. 

SURVIVAL SKILLS 

If you encounter a bear, make noise 

to scare it. If a grizzly attacks you, curl 

up and play dead, Dr. Auerbach says. 

With a black bear, do the opposite: 

Push out your chest and make yourself 

tall. Avoid eye contact with polar bears. 

LOST IN 

THE WILD 

IN AUGUST 2014, CALIFORNIA MAN MIKE VILHAUER 

headed into the High Sierra to camp and fish for trout. 

After little luck with lures, he went looking for grasshoppers 

to use as bait. He headed downstream from his campsite 

at Lower Sunset Lake carrying a pink butterfly net, 

a small knife, a compass watch, and a map of the area. 

After a few hours, Vilhauer tried to find his way back. 

He climbed a ridge to get a view of the lake, but it wasn’t 

where his map showed it. So began a five-day odyssey 

that would involve 300 search-and-rescue personnel, 

plus dogs, horses, and helicopters. Vilhauer didn’t sleep 

or eat for those five days. He stared down a wolverine 

and a bear. When he heard a helicopter on day five, he 

remembered a trick from the movie Castaway and built a 

10-by-15-foot H-E-L-P sign out of tree branches. The pilot 

saw it, and a rescue team arrived soon after. Vilhauer 

found out later that his compass was off by 88 degrees.

A BIKE 

CRASH 

BYRON SWEZY HAD JUST BROUGHT HIS WIFE 

and newborn daughter home from the hospital 

when he went for a mountain-bike ride with a friend in 

2004. About a mile from his home in Frisco, Colorado, 

Swezy lost control of his front wheel, vaulted over his 

handlebar, and struck a boulder, shattering his C4 vertebra. 

If he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, Swezy says, 

“there’s no question in my mind that I would’ve died.” 

As Swezy lay temporarily paralyzed, he focused on his 

daughter and wife. He used his cellphone to give rescuers 

his precise location while his friend held the receiver. 

Three and a half hours after his crash, Swezy regained 

feeling in his toes. Doctors fused his C3, C4, and C5 vertebrae, 

which restricts his movement—but he still rides. 


Most crashes happen so quickly that it’s impossible 

to react. If you can, try to curl up in a ball to protect 

your neck and spine. This is when a helmet can save 

you. Find our favorites on page 57. 

THE RESCUER 

SURVIVAL 

SKILLS 

Raise your survival 

odds before you 

leave: Prep for any trek 

or trip by packing a 

map, compass, sunglasses, 

sunscreen, 

extra clothes, an LED 

headlamp or flashlight, 

first-aid kit, firestarter, 

matches, knife, 

a Mylar emergency 

blanket, and extra 

food and water, says 

Tom Vogl, outdoorsman 

and CEO of The 

Mountaineers. He 

keeps these supplies 

in a stuff sack so he 

can grab it and go. 

Christopher Van Tilburg, 

M.D., of the Hood River 

Crag Rats, responds to a 

dozen search-and-rescue 

calls every year. At 5'7" 

and 145 pounds, Dr. Van 

Tilburg, 50, doesn’t look 

like a mountain man. But 

when a mission can involve 

15 miles of night hiking 

while managing a 200- 

pound victim, his build 

is an advantage. So is a 

six-day-a-week training 

regimen that includes 

biking, skiing, trail 

running, and kitesurfing. 

“The universal trait that 

connects us,” he says, 

“is that everybody on our 

team is really fit.” 


CAST 

AWAY 

DARRELL AND HEATHER EMANUELSON HAD 

been looking forward to the first outing in their 

new Blue Jay sailboat. Last August they loaded up their 

kids, ages 7 and 4, and set sail toward Long Island Sound. 

It wasn’t long before the waves picked up. Darrell tried to 

tack into the 3-foot chop but water crashed into the boat, 

filling the hull. “We were in over our heads,” he says. 

Eventually the boat capsized, tossing all four into the 

open water. Everyone had life jackets, but the quarter-mile 

swim to land might as well have been 10; the current and 

waves were too strong. “I had our son and my wife had our 

daughter, but trying to swim while pulling kids is nearly 

impossible,” Emanuelson says. They treaded water and 

then decided that Heather, who’d been a lifeguard back 

in high school, should try to swim to land and fetch help. 

After about an hour and a half of floating and kicking 

toward shore, Emanuelson flagged down a passing fishing 

boat. He and the kids, tired and cold, got to shore just 

as the rescue boats started searching for them. Heather 

had caught a ride during her swim and alerted authorities. 

A FLASH FLOOD 

IN A SLOT CANYON 

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A GETaway. 

In 2010, David Frankhouser, 

Jason Fico, and Joe Cain went to Zion 

National Park to rappel down Spry 

Canyon. A storm hit and water rushed 

through the 3-foot-wide slot where 

they stood. They braced their legs 

against the walls as debris and foamy 

brown water pushed them toward a cliff. 

The water rose until they had no choice: Let 

go or drown. All three shot off the cliff. Cain 

shattered his tailbone and was pulled to safety 

by onlookers. Then Frankhouser and Fico 

were thrust over a second cliff. Frankhouser 

didn’t break a bone. Fico’s femur punched a 

hole in his hip when he landed. Park rescuers 

evacuated the two injured men by helicopter; 

Frankhouser hiked out. “Before the flood, it 

was bone-dry,” Frankhouser says. 

SURVIVAL 

SKILLS 

Before you venture 

into a slot canyon, 

check the weather 

forecast for not only 

your area but also a 

few miles upstream. 

“A storm hits miles 

away and then the 

water rushes down 

and you have no idea 

what is coming,” says 

Dr. Auerbach. During 

your climb, if you 

spot unusual debris, 

muddy water, or rising 

water levels, seek 

high ground immediately. 

“Get as high up 

a bank as you can and 

as soon as possible,” 

Dr. Auerbach says. 


Have a life jacket designed for sailing, made to 

keep you afloat in an upright position, Dr. Auerbach 

says. And bring a waterproof two-way radio. If you 

capsize alone, bring your knees in, wrap your arms 

around your legs, and lean back to float. In a group, 

form a circle with your arms around each other like 

a team huddle. Then bring your legs to the center. 

THE TOUGHEST SAVE 

When a cliff jumper leaped from an 

80-foot waterfall along Oregon’s 

Eagle Creek Trail and broke his 

ILLO 

back upon landing, Dr. Van Tilburg 

was the first rescuer on the scene. 

He swam 40 feet through the plunge 

pool’s 50-degree water to reach the victim. Dr. 

Van Tilburg immobilized the man’s spine with 

towels and clothing and waited,shivering, 

until his colleagues arrived with a floating 

stretcher. The rescue team swam the man back 

across the pool and walked him down the trail to 

a waiting ambulance. “I think he eventually did 

fine,” Dr. Van Tilburg says. “We don’t often 

get the follow-up.” More than a decade later, 

the scenario still ranks as one of the most complex 

of his career.

A LIGHTNING STRIKE 

WHEN JAIME SANTANA 

went for a horseback ride 

west of Phoenix in April 

2016, the sky was blue. He 

rode with his brother-inlaw, 

a friend, and his friend’s 

daughter. The group saw 

a storm coming, so they 

decided to head home. A bolt of lightning soon 

speared the earth next to them. 

The voltage knocked all four riders to the 

ground. Santana’s horse died instantly, likely 

sparing Santana a fatal jolt. Still, he lay on 

the ground in cardiac arrest. None of them 

remember seeing a flash or hearing a sound. 

By chance, an off-duty paramedic saw the 

strike from his porch and resuscitated Santana 

with CPR. Santana suffered a stroke and 

traumatic brain injury from the lightning 

strike, and spent four and a half months in 

the hospital. Nearly a year later, he is learning 

how to walk all over again. 

SURVIVAL 

SKILLS 

During a storm with 

lightning, squat down 

on the balls of your 

feet to lower your 

profile and minimize 

your contact with 

the ground. Or seek 

shelter in a fully 

enclosed hard top 

vehicle or a building, 

says Dr. Auerbach. If 

someone else is hit? 

Try to help the victim 

breathe. Lightning 

strike victims often 

appear dead and get 

temporary paralysis 

that stops breathing 

for up to 30 minutes. 

Call 911 and start 

CPR. Push hard and 

fast in the center of 

the victim’s chest 100 

to 120 times a minute 

until help arrives. 

THE JAWS OF A GATOR 

ON BLACK FRIDAY LAST NOVEMBER, KRIT 

Krutchaiyan and his friend Roberto Gautier 

went duck hunting in the Everglades. Pushing 

their kayaks across a marsh with sawgrass up 

to their eyes, Krutchaiyan kicked what looked 

like a log. It turned out to be a 10-foot alligator, 

which then clamped on his thigh. He beat 

the gator’s head with his paddle; it let go and 

then snapped again. Krutchaiyan, bleeding 

from a wound under his waders, tried to 

backpedal but fell as the alligator rolled three 

times. Then the gator started swimming back 

toward him, mouth open. 

Gautier shoved a kayak between his friend 

and the reptile and they scrambled out of the 

water. Krutchaiyan was airlifted to a hospital 

40 minutes away. The 50-year-old used his 

belt as a tourniquet and slowed his breathing 

to slow his heart rate and reduce bloodflow. 


Pack a tourniquet, like the SOF Tactical 

Tourniquet ($27, tacmedsolutions. 

com) and a blood-stopping wound 

dressing, such as QuikClot Gauze ($20, 

adventuremedicalkits.com). They work 

better than jerry-rigged versions. 


ENERGY, FROM P. 113 

less sensitive to the tired state of your body. 

(Unfortunately, the opposite is also true: 

Doing a tedious cognitive task before a workout 

can dramatically impair endurance.) 

Interestingly, many of these treatments 

also work as placebos. In other words, coaches 

don’t need to dose athletes with stimulants 

or painkillers to improve their performance; 

merely convincing them that they did so is 

enough. In one study, rinsing endurance 

cyclists’ mouths with a sugary beverage 

helped them go faster during a time trial, even 

though they didn’t swallow any. Subsequent 

research showed that the rinse turned on the 

brain’s reward regions, thus tricking it into 

believing that calories had been ingested. 

The question, of course, is how you can 

translate this research into performance. 

It’s one thing to know that energy is largely a 

state of mind. It’s something else entirely to 

not feel so tired you need to stop. Karl Meltzer 

doesn’t have all the answers. “I’ve been 

saying it’s all in your head for 20 years,” he 

says. “Doesn’t mean I understand it, though.” 

T 

HEY CALL IT THE BEAST. FOR 

new cadets at West Point, the 

Beast is basic training, that arduous 

introduction to military life. 

A typical day during the Beast 

begins in the dark, with a zero 

dark thirty wakeup, followed by 90 minutes of 

running and calisthenics. Then it’s a shower 

and a quick breakfast followed by a morning 

of classroom lectures. After lunch it’s training 

time, when cadets learn to assemble and 

fire their M4s, march in formation, and complete 

difficult obstacle courses. Evening is for 

homework and something called “mass athletics.” 

It’s lights out around midnight. 

This challenging routine goes on for six 

weeks, culminating in what’s known as the 

Graduate March Back, a 12-mile slog in the 

August heat with a heavy pack. “Basic training 

is designed to stress the cadets,” says West 

Point’s Mike Matthews, Ph.D., a professor of 

engineering psychology. “We have six weeks to 

turn them into soldiers. That means teaching 

them that they’re tougher than they think.” 

It’s easy to overlook the remarkable nature 

of this transformation. Before these cadets 

showed up at West Point, they were typical 

American teenagers. They slept in, played 

video games, and struggled to do 50 pushups. 

But in just over a month, the academy resets 

their central governors. The cadets are able 

to handle tests of endurance that only a few 

weeks before would have been unimaginable. 

The Army does this by consistently 

emphasizing the mental side of performance. 

The hardest parts of the Beast—like the long 

marches or sleeping alone in the woods in 

a wet uniform—are framed as tests of will 

and grit. Nate Zinsser, Ph.D., director of West 

Point’s performance psychology program, is 

tasked with training cadets in the psychological 

principles of elite performance. “People 

think it’s all about doing more at the gym,” 

Zinsser says. “But the hardest part is often 

changing the way you think about yourself. 

When the crap hits the fan, what ends up limiting 

you is usually not your body. It’s that voice 

in your head telling you that you can’t do it.” 

Zinsser tells the story of Dan Browne, 

the first West Point cadet to run a sub-fourminute 

mile. To prepare for the race, Zinsser 

had Browne do a relaxation exercise followed 

by a guided visualization in which he ran the 

entire mile in his head. “I wanted him to 

think about how he would react when his legs 

got heavy and fatigue set in,” Zinsser says. “Is 

he going to tell himself he’s in trouble? Or is 

he going to say, ‘I can do this, I can do this, 

I just need to hang on.’” In the imagination 

exercise, Browne ran a 3:58 mile. Two days 

later, when he stepped onto the actual track, 

he ran the exact same time. 

The Army takes sports psychology quite 

seriously. This is for a simple reason: As Zinsser 

points out, every soldier is a “tactical athlete,” 

forced to push his or her physical limits 

on the battlefield. For soldiers, mustering 

energy isn’t just a matter of finishing first or 

second—it can mean life or death. In recent 

years, the Army has implemented Zinsser’s 

sports psychology training at 20 posts worldwide, 

building it into the military training of 

more than 40,000 soldiers. 

What can the rest of us learn from West 

Point? First off is the importance of making 

exercise social. It doesn’t matter if it’s 

CrossFit or a running club—you’re much 

more likely to push your limits when you’re 

surrounded by other sweaty people. That’s 

because your central governor isn’t just monitoring 

the chemistry and mechanics of the 

muscles—it’s also keeping track of the athletes 

around you. 

The second lesson involves changing the 

way cadets think about fatigue. “If these 

cadets get six hours of sleep, that’s a miraculous 

accomplishment,” Zinsser says. “And it’s 

easy to feel that exhaustion and just say, ‘I’m 

done.’” But West Point teaches cadets how to 

push past the exhaustion and thus wring more 

out of their bodies. “I can lecture them about 

the psychology, how their thoughts determine 

what their muscles are capable of,” he says. 

“But it’s better to have them experience it for 

themselves. They need their own narrative of, 

‘I went through hell but made it.’” 

On the one hand, the shift from the chemistry 

model of energy to the psychological 

one is liberating because it means you can 

exceed your known physical limits. Your 

muscles are stronger than you think. But it 

also means you are responsible for your own 

athletic failures. Too often you quit on your 

body because you assume your body has quit 

on you. However, the latest science suggests 

that people tend to misread their own flesh— 

there’s almost certainly plenty of fuel left in 

the tank. Does knowing that fatigue is just a 

feeling make the fatigue any less real? Probably 

not. But it does offer you a chance to push 

back against the central governor, finding a 

form of self-talk that might let you tap into 

that secret reserve of energy. 

As Karl Meltzer likes to remind himself, 

“It doesn’t always get worse.” 

M 

ELTZER’S LAST DAY ON THE 

Appalachian Trail began, as 

usual, with a mug of coffee and 

heavy cream, chugged in the 

dark. He’d already been on the 

trail for 45 days; he didn’t want 

to sleep in his van again. The only problem 

was that the finish line was 85 miles away. 

It took him 23 hours of straight trail running, 

but he ran those last miles in an end 

spurt for the ages, coming down Springer 

Mountain at 3:38 a.m. He broke the record set 

by Scott Jurek by nearly a half day. Meltzer 

celebrated with a cold pizza and a warm beer. 

When I ask him why he wanted to run the 

trail faster than anyone else, I was hoping for 

some thoughts on the nature of human possibility. 

But Meltzer is no philosopher. “The 

bottom line is I do these things because I want 

to talk about them later,” he says. “The faster 

you go, the sooner it’s all over.” 


ULTIMATE MEN’S HEALTH DOG, FROM P. 127 

LOVE IN A WAR ZONE, FROM P. 125 OUR FAMILY’S TOP DOG, FROM P. 127 

fleas, and he’s clearly never been treated 

well by a person. He’s in Afghanistan. But 

he’s wagging his tail.” 

Grossi offered up some beef jerky and the 

dog accepted it with elegant caution. The 

Marine reached out to rub its ears, which, to 

a dog, is the equivalent of planting a kiss on 

the lips four minutes into a first date. To his 

surprise, the dog leaned fully into his hand. 

Oops. Grossi felt a jolt of responsibility kick 

in. “I remembered where I was and started 

walking away. I got a few feet and felt this 

poke at my heel. I looked down and Fred had 

this expression like, ‘Where ya goin’?’” 

“Looks like you made a friend,” a fellow 

Marine called. Grossi thought he’d said 

“Fred.” And Fred worked. 

Soon Fred was living the good life, guzzling 

bottled water and feasting on jerky. 

Grossi and a friend plucked bugs from his 

coat, universal mammal friendship behavior. 

That night Fred slept in Grossi’s tent. 

By lunch the next day, Fred had chosen. 

He didn’t just become a loyal companion— 

he became a Marine. One morning, the soldiers 

went on a patrol on a rocky ridge above 

the green zone. He silently trotted beside the 

men for hours, swimming across a canal when 

required. It wasn’t long afterward that Fred 

met the Afghan commando’s boot. The standoff 

ended peacefully, but one fact had become 

clear: Fred was family, a brother. Soon Grossi 

was pondering canine-exit strategies. 

On such matters, the U.S. military leaves 

little ambiguity: If Grossi is caught smuggling 

him home, Fred will be put down and Grossi 

will be court-martialed. Lose-lose. When the 

last morning came, the unit trekked 5 miles 

to the desert to meet their helicopter. To Grossi’s 

sadness and relief, Fred was nowhere to 

be found. It was just before sunrise when the 

guys noticed a puff of dust in the distance, and 

a distinctive trot at the center of it. Fred. 

What followed was a blur of love and 

insubordination. The helicopters arrived 

and Fred was thrown into a bag and carried 

aboard. Back at Leatherneck, some guys at 

the DHL office agreed to watch him while 

Grossi was called out for one last mission. 

The fighting got intense—really intense— 

and at one point Grossi decided to take a rest 

in the breezeway of the compound he and his 

unit were occupying, his head against a wall. 

He never saw the 107mm rocket coming. It 

screamed in from god-knows-where and 

slammed into the other side of the wall, collapsing 

it on top of him. 

When he was pulled from the rubble, he 

had no idea what had happened. He was asked 

how old he was; he couldn’t really say. After a 

hellish extraction during which two friends 

were killed, Grossi woke up in a recovery tent 

back at Camp Leatherneck. He’d sustained a 

traumatic brain injury. When he could think, 

all he thought about was Fred. Where was 

Fred, and was he safe? 

That was seven years ago. Grossi is now 

out of the Marines and living the civilian life 

in Washington, D.C. The saga of getting Fred 

stateside should be a book in itself. Actually, it 

is: Grossi’s memoir, Craig & Fred: A Marine, a 

Stray Dog, and How They Rescued Each Other, 

is coming out in November. Grossi spends his 

days writing and processing everything that 

happened. That Fred is central to his recovery 

goes without saying. 

“Fred reminds me to unplug, to get outside, 

to connect with people if I’ve been on 

the computer too long,” Grossi says. “And if I 

have a night when I can’t stop thinking about 

the friends who died, or what happened to me, 

Fred’s never far from me. I grab one of his toys 

and we start a tug-of-war, and whatever bad 

thought I had goes away.” 

Had the two never met, Grossi says he 

might’ve descended into another lifestyle 

after getting home—more isolation, more 

drinking. “But Fred practically throws my 

running shoes at me. He’s busy, he’s got stuff 

to pee on, squirrels to chase.” So off they go, 

and in the process Grossi connected with the 

younger version of himself, the one that was 

always outdoors and active. 

“That’s who I was as a kid, so Fred has kind 

of kept me honest about who I really am,” he 

says. “He’s like a little version of myself.” 

In Grossi’s time with Fred, a larger realization 

has crept into the frame—a truth 

about himself and the world that he might 

have missed had that mangy creature not 

trotted into his compound seven years and 

7,000 miles ago. 

“You get let down a lot in life, especially 

the older you get. People disappoint you, but a 

dog is always there,” Grossi says. “And they’re 

stubbornly positive, they’ll always find a 

reason to be excited. All he wants is to just be 

there. I really value that.” 

tweet a photo or video to our kids of him doing 

one of our favorite things: sprinting for the 

neighbor’s mailbox as the first stop on his 

walk, digging up his blankets so he can cuddle 

under them for a nap, or zonked out on 

our bed. As empty nesters, we need a way of 

connecting the kids back to us at home—and 

as it turns out, Sparky is the conduit through 

which we share our affection for one another. 

That dog has been the one constant for us 

through the years and all the changes that 

come with a growing family. I often think 

of my father-in-law when I’m hanging with 

Sparky, and I’m thankful for the gift he gave 

us—whether I was a willing recipient at the 

time or not. He knew something I have come 

to learn: The right dog, well loved, bonds a 

family like nothing else can. 

Every night, I let Sparky out, and he stands 

on the patio looking into the dark distance, 

his silver coat rinsed white by moonlight, the 

wind ruffling the fur on top of his head. 

Lately, in spite of the toll aging has taken, 

Sparky looks more thoughtful and happy, 

like he’s running through his memories of 

the past, wondering as I do what the kids 

are doing and where the time has gone. He’s 

begun to stay out there longer, and sometimes 

I have to go bring him back inside to go to bed. 

“Do you think he’s confused?” my wife 

asks me. “Not a bit,” I tell her. 

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I C O N 

Cory Richards 

THE RENOWNED CLIMBER LOOKS BACK—NOT DOWN!— 

ON HIS WILD LIFE SO FAR. / BY TOM FOSTER 

M 

ountaineer, National 

Geographic 

photographer, and 

Eddie Bauer athlete 

Cory Richards, 35, 

is celebrated for such 

exploits as summiting a 26,000-foot peak 

in the dead of winter and Snapchatting an 

Everest ascent (without extra oxygen). He’s 

endured homelessness, an avalanche, and 

more. We caught up with him at sea level. 

MEN’S HEALTH: Tell us a lesson 

from the mountains that 

helps back in civilization. 

CORY RICHARDS: I learned this 

from an alpinist named Barry 

Blanchard when I started to do 

bigger climbs: “Look at each 

piece of the climb as something 

else you’ve already done.” So 

walking up from base camp on 

the Tibet side to advanced base 

camp—that’s your first backpacking 

trip. Just little things 

you keep building on. Then 

you’re not focusing on getting 

to the goal. Break down the 

expectation that you’re going 

into business to be a billionaire 

and start Uber. It should be: “I 

have an idea, but first I need to 

learn what an app really is.” 

Does that work for fitness? 

All you can do, all any of us 

could do, is what’s on the schedule 

right now. That’s how people 

get fit. They go to the gym today. 

Through the aggregation of that 

action, they transform their 

bodies. Stop hoping to be better 

than you are. If you go to the 

gym every day, you will change 

with time. 

You survived an avalanche 

but suffered from PTSD, drank 

heavily, and then wrecked 

a marriage, a sponsorship, 

and a business. Lessons? 

No amount of success or money 

or desperation or depravity will 

allow you an escape from your 

issues. No amount of drugs, 

sex, affection. All of the issues 

remain with you. All of it is a 

mask. The harder you try to 

cover up your issues with ego, 

with clothing, with money, the 

more vacuous you feel in the 

absence of those things, because 

those issues are fighting— 

fighting so hard to be dealt with. 

What can a guy do? 

If you say, “I’m insecure,” that’s 

actually confidence. If you say, 

“I’m nowhere on this path,” 

you’re actually getting there. It’s 

not that putting yourself down 

means you’re somehow good, 

but that humble acknowledgment 

of your place in this path 

is indicative of engaging with it 

and being on that journey. 

On your expeditions, you 

like to immerse yourself in 

the local culture. 

The big lesson is to be exposed 

to otherness. Make an effort to 

go meet a transgender person. 

Actually engage with something 

that scares you. So many people 

have this vitriolic hatred of 

Islam. Sit down with a Muslim 

person, what happens? Oh— 

they want to feed their families, 

they want a good job. The god 

stuff goes out the door. 

So stop being afraid? 

Flipping fear into curiosity 

is a gift. And curiosity feeds 

education and answers questions. 

There are many amazing 

animals, and we’re just one of 

them. The human primate is 

one of the craziest, coolest, most 

magnificent animals on the 

planet. We’re so fascinating. 

You were homeless as a teen. 

How did that affect you? 

I challenge people to stop the 

next time they see somebody 

picking out of a garbage can and 

change their perspective from 

“addict, failure, misfit, homeless, 

scary” to “human animal, 

primate, scavenging, foraging, 

survival.” When you see it from 

a pragmatic stance, it will incite 

empathy. They are an animal 

foraging. Suddenly you’re like, 

“Oh. I don’t have to judge them 

anymore. I can let that go.” 

Mark Stone/Stone Photography 


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Mens_Health_USA_JulyAugust_2017

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