110

Rapidly increase your muscle tone and strength with this

weights-free workout that combines five MH staffers'
high-intensity upgrades to your classic bodyweight moves
Challenging your body doesn't
always require the use of bars
and weight plates - as MH
readers have proved. We asked
for your favourite adaptations
of staple bodyweight moves,
then selected the five most
effective to create this work-
out. It engages your body from
head to toe with no need to set
foot in the gym.
This circuit naturally
tailors itself to your fitness and
strength levels. "Your body is
very clever and will always find
the easiest way to perform a
taxing task," says strength and
conditioning coach Jamie
Sawyer. "By using your own
weight as your resistance,
your body will seek out a
way of making the resistance
lighter the only way it knows
how - by subtly adjusting your
position and effectively reduc-
ing your body weight." For
the best results, perform three
full circuits, resting for 90sec
between each of them.
"I installed a bar above
my kitchen door last year,
thinking that I'd do some
pull-ups every time that
I opened the fridge. No
surprise then that the bar
was quite dusty when I
tried this variation out.
But once I got going it was
actually quite fun. Now
I have another pull-up
variation to procrastinate
with while eyeing outthe
contents of my fridge."
2/
ROUND THE
CLOCK PULL-UP
A Grab a pull-up bar
with a wide, overhand
grip. Pull up and touch
your right shoulder to
your right hand. Pause
for a beat. Moving to one
side works your biceps
harder t han nor mal.
B Without dropping up and
down, shi ft your body so
t hat your l ef t shoulder
touches your left hand.
Pause again, then lower
your body to the centre.
Repeat anti-cl ockwise.
1/
THE SKYDIVE
PIKE ROLL
A Perform a dorsal raise:
lie down, then li ft your
legs and chest up so you
"Power through look like a skydiver in free-
if yourlower fall. This stretches your abs
back starts to and works your lower back.
burn during B Now roll over into a pike
the dorsal posi t ion, without letting
raise-and be your arms or l egs touch
careful not to the floor. This hits your
roll onto your obliques and forms an
manhood when ab crunch t o boot. Return
returning to your to the skydive and repeat ,
stomach!" keeping your limbs off
the ground.
"Another great
try-at-home
move, this one
is all about
balance and
form.Once
lgotthose
right (I must
admit, I fell
over a couple of
times atfirst),
I could feel the
difference in my
arms and core."
"One of the most
underrated
exercises.
Beware! It gets
tougher the
more you do,
but it's a killer
exercise for your
legs and core.
To getthe most
out of it, keep up
the intensity and
stay balanced."
3/
STAR PLANK GET-UP
A From a side plank with
straight arms, lift your
non-weight-bearing arm
and leg into a star position.
a Now move the leg behind
your body and onto the
floor, keeping your hips
pushed up towards the
ceiling. Your body now
resembles the "T"' position
of a Turkish get-up. From
here, reverse the moves
back to the start, then
roll onto the other side.
Alternate back and forth.
5/
JUMP SPLIT SQUAT
A Perform a spl it squat,
then jump up forcefully,
switching legs in the air
and landing wi t h the other
foot forward. Make sure
your front knee doesn't roll
inwards when you land.
a Repeat, landing with
the first foot in front again.
Repeat for 30sec to fire
more fast-twitch muscl e
fibres in your legs and
glutes than Bryan Habana
sprinting for the corner.
"This is a great move
and one that I love
incorporating a few sets
of at the start of my 'chest
day'. Theexplosiveaction
requires a lot more work
than a standard push-up
and causes a lot more
fatigue, but also results in
great gains in strength."
-Clinton Jurgens,
MHSenior Designer
MH READER' S I SSUE F11lJe"<;<;
4/
POWER PRESS-UP
A Hold a press-up position
with your hands on a
bench. Then explosively
push up so that your hands
leave the surface. Keep
your body rigid so that
your hips don't cave in.
a As soon as your hands
return to the bench, bend
at the elbows and explode
back up again. This will
generate maximum
muscle recruitment in
your upper body for
improved strength.
111
112
MH READ ER ' S ISSUE ..
STAY ON TRACK
Tune into the playlist that motivates Men's Health readers to work harder.
From warm-up to cool-down, these are the tracks - listed in order of beats
per minute (BPM) - you use to power your progress
Lecrae "Go Hard"
72BPM
NoahMpofu
R.Kelly "The World's
Greatest" 96 BPM
Clark Moeketsana
Metallica "Enter Sandman"
123BPM
Jj Visagie
Col dpl ay "Clocks"
131BPM
VenyShale
Three 6 Mafia "It's a Fight"
74BPM
Billy Diesel
Common "Go!"
99BPM
Thato van Tito
DJ Khaled ft. Drake "No
New Friends" 125 BPM
BebeMafoko
The Chemical Brothers
"Believe" 132 BPM
Liam Boaysen
Rick Ross "Push It"
76BPM
Tonderayi Mike Faro
Black Coffee "Don't Give
Up" 108BPM
Ntumba Wo Ka Mnguni
TobyMac "Eye On It"
12SBPM
DanieKocks
Imagine Dragons
"Radioactive" 137 BPM
Gareth Williams
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
"Victory Lap" 91 BPM
Sylver Syl Kibs
Boston "More Than A
Feeling" 109 BPM
Nyiko Aject Mnisi
Bruno Mars "Locked Out Of
Heaven" 128 BPM
Shaun Tymon
Coldplay "Paradise"
140BPM
Joy Mosta Hlolele
Bruno Mars 'The Lazy
Song" 91BPM
Francois Clint Soaiman
LI
11
Linkin Park "Burn It Down"
llOBPM
Kobus Kabous van Rooyen
Flo Rida "Good Feeling"
128BPM
Xoloni Ngwenya
Fall Out Boy "My Songs Know
What You Did In The Dark"
152 BPM Hannes Gouws
KNOW WHEN TO HIT PLAY/ Music psychologists Dr Vicky Williamson and Greg Whyte tell you what to listen to, when
SllE'lllllll WARM-UP
I II I ll
15 17
13 19
I 16
14 18 20
STEADY-STATE CARDID
21
23
22
THE INCREASE IN
YOU R EN DU RANC E
WHEN LI STENI NG
TO MUSIC
Breaking Benjamin "Breath"
94BPM
Donald Mhlanga
Skrillex feat Sirah
"Bangarang!" 112 BPM
Thobong Mokoeno
Lady Gaga "Edge of Glory"
128BPM
Douglas Smith
Clawfinger "Biggest & The
Best " 169 BPM
Lebogang Griffin Mohlolelo
-
WEIGHT BEFORE
130
WEIGHT AFTER
90
VITALS
Sergi o da Costa,
30,Joburg
HEIGHT
1.75m
TIME TO GOAL
13 mont hs
-
0
THE GAIN
As a teenager I was always
active. I participated in a Lot
of different sports and found
it diff icult to gai n weight, but
when I Left school I started
to slack. I ended up living
off junk food, and inactivi t y
and boredom took the place
of fitness. I joined a Local
gym and embarked on a
weight training programme,
but I didn't change my eat-
ing habits and I didn't see
the results I wanted. I was
carel ess with healthy Livi ng
and I made fun of myself. I
would focus on my person-
ality more than my Looks.
THE CHANGE
By 2011 my weight had
spiraled to 132kg and my
health was totally out of
control. Simple tasks like
tying a shoelace or getting
up from a chair, were done
with great effort. Climbing
stairs was a defintite " no"
(I woul d opt for an escala-
tor), and I had difficulty
being mobile. I made a deci-
sion to employ a personal
trainer, Beulah Strydom
from The Winning Edge
Gym. I asked her to trans-
form my body, to change my
bad eating habits, to train
me to get fit and most of all
to restore my confidence
and appearance. Being a
hardcore trainer, she sai d
she would train me on one
condition: that I didn't fail
her and di sappoi nt myself,
or waste her valuable t ime.
THE STRATEGY
Our game plan was on. We
shifted our focus to correc-
t ive eating: six to eight
smaller meal s daily, drinking
Lots of water and training f ive
days a week. I also went to
Marc Herhert, owner of
Gorilla Warfare, for some
high intensity interval Tabata
training, Olympic li fts and
some boxing training.
THE REWARD
I have become a spokes-
person for fitness, health
and nutrition. I can now,
with personal education,
help others who are experi-
enci ng what I have been
through and guide them on
a healthy lifest yle. This is
MH READER'S I SSUE We'lb#1" L,..O<;<;
the best I have ever felt in
my life and the best I ever
Looked, and that has
boosted my confidence.
THE RESULT
I Lost 40kg in 10 months and
my body fat dropped from
28% to 11%. This process
restored my confidence and
has motivated me to become
a CrossFit coach/trainer. I
hope to compete in the
CrossFit games in 2014 and
to be the Face of Fitness. I
am not embarrassed and I
am not the fat guy with the
great personality anymore!
The next Belly Off! winner will
become the proud owner of a
Reebok RealFlex apparel hamper
worth RJ 000, including running
shoes that deliver a
feel and promote natural move-
ment. Real Flex training apparel
is made to flex. with Play Ory
moisture management and stretch
fabrics forfreedom of movement
plus ergonomic armholes and
Real Vent engineered ventilation
for ventilation without the chafe!
For more info go to reebok.co.za.
113
, I PRE-WORKOUT
114
"Eating before exercise, as opposed to exercising in the
fasting state, has been shown to improve performance,"
says registered diet ician Megan Pentz-Kluyts.
Shaun Balliah: ''A banana with a cup of
black coffee."
PENTZ-KLUYTS SAYS: "I would advise Shaun to add
in some protein or even make a smoothie by adding
low-fat milk to the banana and consuming it a bit closer
to his workout session. This wil l also help with main-
taining hydration. The effect of t he caffeine from the
coffee may be more closely rel ated to its stimulant
effect, making you feel more energised and decr easing
perceived exertion. A performance-enhancing effect
can be seen from as low as lmg of caffeine per kilo-
gram of body weight. The average cup of filter coffee
has in the region of lOOmg of caffeine per cup."
Nathan Rundle: ''A smoothie with pine-
apple, kiwi, banana with ice and half a cup
off at-free milk with a cup of black coffee
(no sugar)."
PENTZ-KLUYTS SAYS: "This is a good option which
has more readily digested carbs, together wit h a bit of
protein from the milk. Mil k contains intact high-quality
protein and it's a fat-free option, which will assist with
gastric emptying - it's pr eferable not to have a full
stomach before exercise."
Sean Andrew Sanders: "Watermelon or any
light fruit. It's got the fructose you needfor
some energy."
PENTZ-KLUYTS SAYS: "A good choice, as Long as
Sean has had a meal or more substantial snack two to
four hours prior. Otherwise, add a bit of l ow-fat yoghurt."
William Lloyd: "One cup oats, 400ml eggs
and a Granny Smith apple."
PENTZ KLUYTS SAYS: "Oats and an apple are both
good slow-release carb options, but might be a bit too
close to the exercise session. The 400ml of eggs
sounds like too much protein. Although resistance
exercise may necessitate protein intake in excess of
the RDA (additional protein, essential amino acids in
particular, is needed al ong with sufficient energy to
support muscle growth), the general amount recom-
mended is more conservative in nature and directed
more at recovery.''

MH REA DER ' S ISSUE
POST-WORKOUT I
According to the Journal of the International Society of
Sports Nutrition, the amino acid l eucine promotes maxi-
mum protein synthesis. "An ideal suppl ement foll owing
resistance training should contain whey protein that pro-
vides at Least 3g of Leucine per serving," says Pentz-Kluyts.
Ryan Botha: "Cooled oats mixed with my
Biogen whey protein."
PENTZ- KLUYTS SAYS: "The combination of carbs
and protein is important in the early recovery phase. It
promotes the rel ease of the hormone insulin which
stimulates muscle glycogen replenishment as well as
the transport of amino acids into muscle cells which
will help to rebuild muscle. This action also blunts the
rise in cortisol, a stress hormone that would otherwise
follow exercise. Cortisol suppresses t he rate of muscl e
rebuilding and tends to stimulate protein breakdown.
Oats that have been cool ed have an even l ower GI, but
your muscles are like sponges post-exercise, so a
higher GI is best. Enj oy it warm, add some sugar or
honey. Ryan could also add milk to his oats."
Shaun Balliah: "A whey protein shake and
an English muffin topped off with two eggs."
PENTZ- KLUYTS SAYS: "Shaun has included an English
muffin which has a higher glycaemic index providing a
readily available source of carbohydrate for muscle gly-
cogen recovery. This is a good choice and should be the
major carbohydrate choice in recovery meal s. It's a good
idea is that Shaun includes fluid to aid in rehydration."
Nathan Rundle: "Eight egg whites with two
normal eggs, a cup of oats with a scoop of
whey and a tablespoon of peanut butter."
PENTZ-KLUYTS SAYS: "Nathan has chosen good
sources of protein. However, it is quite a hi gh intake of
protein post-exercise. Currently, recommendations
regarding protein suppl ementat ion are conservative and
directed primarily at opt imising t he recovery period after
exercise. Garb-rich foods that are faster acting (with a
moderate to high glycaemic index) eaten immediately
after exercise provide a more readily available source of
car bohydrates for muscle glycogen recovery, since
they're easily assimilated into blood glucose (blood
sugar) and become ready fuel."
Mark Cawood: "A good serving of protein!
Either fish or chicken and some slow carbs."
PENTZ-KLUYTS SAYS: "Garbs and protein are always
a good combination. Just try and make sure that it is
a good helping of carbs with protein. More readily avail-
able carbs are also a good choice post- exercise. And
for t he most benefit, aim to eat regularly each day."
Sean Andrew Sanders: "A rice cracker, with
half an avo spread on it, some fresh sliced
tomato on top, andfair amount of salt and
pepper, to really get all the flavours going!"
PENTZ-KLUYTS SAYS: "Sean's choice includes
healthy fats and some antioxidant s, but it is very Low on
carbs and protein. I suggest he up the number of rice
crackers, as they are more fast-acting carbs and add
some chicken or a chocol ate mi lk."
115
116
We Instagrammed a selection of protein-packed, home-cooked
meals, and asked you to pick your favourites. Then we got our
nutritionist to tweak the top four
/
Swopping parsnips.for
broccoli and green beans
will cut around 836kJ.
The sweet potato will
provide all the energy you
need at the gym
1/ MUSCLE BUILDING
THE SWEET SCIENCE OF BEEFING UP
Steak is a reliable weapon in the battle to
bulk up, with protein and creatine arming your
muscular growth when training. But it is worth
splashing out if this meal is to your taste.
"Organic cuts will ensure you get more of the
conjugated Linol eic acid that promotes extra
fat-burning, keeping your definition while
you build size," says registered nutritioni st
Christine Bailey. "Just 2 tsp of traditional
peppercorn sauce can contain over 418 kilo-
joules, so replace cream with fat-free plain
yoghurt to cut the fat content by almost half."
INGREDIENTS
olive oil
1 sweet potato, cut
into rough chips
1 sirl oin fillet steak
1 tbsp red wine
vinegar
125ml beef stock
2 heaped tbsp fat-free
plain yoghurt
freshly ground black
pepper
steamed broccoli and
green beans t o serve
1 Put 1 tbsp oil in a roasting
tray and stick it in the oven
at 200C. Hard boil the pota-
toes, add to the tray and bake
for 30min.
2 After 20min, season your
steak, then fry for 2-3min on
each si de. When it's cooked, put
it aside for 5min - even your
dinner needs a rest period.
3 Tip any excess oi l from the
pan and add the vi negar and
stock. Leave to bubble until
there's half left, throw in the
yoghurt and pepper. Serve with
steak, chips and the green veg.
2 328 38.8g
KILOJOULES PROTEIN
25.5g 44.6g
TOTAL FAT CARBS
2/ TOTAL RECOVERY
STICK IT TO MUSCLE SORENESS
This one is almost spot-on. "The protein and
ant i-inflammatories, with the monounsatu-
rated fats of t he avocado, will quickly repair
micro-tears to your muscles and limit joint
pain following endurance exerci se," says
Bailey. She suggests replacing the sweetcorn
with a low-carb, nutrient-rich veg such as
kale to reduce the total carb content, giving
you a near-perfect nutritional breakdown. If
you're gunning for full marks, opt for cans of
mixed beans in water to cut the extra salt and
sugar that ot her dastardly varieties hide.
INGREDIENTS
l tbsp sweet chilli
sauce
2 t bsp lime juice
l salmon fillet, cut
into
chunks
V2 avocado, diced
4 cherry t omatoes,
chopped
handful of coriander
leaves, chopped
l t sp olive oil
handful of kale,
chopped
% tin mixed beans in
water, rinsed
l roasted red pepper,
chopped
HH REAOER ' S ISS UE
Skewering the fish will ensure it cooks quickly
and evenly. Just watch how much sweet chilli
sauce you use - it can be high in sugar
1 This is going to be quick,
so get ready. Pre-heat the
grill t o a medium t emperature.
Combine the chilli sauce and
1 tbsp lime jui ce. Thread the
salmon chunks onto a metal
skewer and coat in the sauce.
2 Mix together the avocado,
tomatoes and coriander.
Season with the remai ning
l ime juice. Grill the skewers for
7-Bmin, turning half way. Your
muscle fuel is 3min away.
3 Meanwhile, saute the kale,
beans and pepper for 2-3min
in a little oil. Serve the salmon
wi th veg and spoon the avocado
sal sa on the side. Voita.
2 086 35.2g
KILOJOULES PROTEIN
27.Bg 26.7g
TOTAL FAT CARBS
117
118
Cheese loses some of its
flavour during heating.
Switch to low-:fat soft cheese.
You'll cut out kilojoules but
do little to limit the taste
3/ LOW KILOJOULE
BURN FAT WITH CHILLI PEPPERS
This meal has doubled up on protein by boldly
wrapping the chicken in bacon. Rashers are
too high in saturated fat to be eaten on a
regular basis, so Bail ey's tweaked version
uses Parma ham instead, which is leaner but
(almost) as tasty. "Broccoli is a usef ul source
of B vitamins, antioxidant s, iron and calcium,"
she says. "The jalapeiio peppers will raise
your core temperature very slightly for added
fat-burning, but t heir main purpose in this dish
is to provide a low-kilojoule kick of flavour."
If chicken is your go-to prot ein on a daily
basis, this will be much appreciated.
INGREDIENTS
4-6 jalapeno peppers
1 cooked chicken
breast, chopped
30g sweetcorn, tinned
4 slices Parma ham
30g reduced-fat
cheddar, grated
1 tbsp reduced-fat
cream cheese
broccoli and mange
tout cooked to serve
1 Roast the jalapeiios whole
for IO min at 1aoc. Let
them cool, then hollow them
out. Do not rub your eyes.
2 Mix the chicken, sweetcorn
and cheeses and season.
Place 1 tbsp of the mixture
into each pepper and wrap
with a slice of ham.
3 Skewer each pepper with
a cocktail stick, t hen bake on
a tray with a rack so the fat
drains away. Take them out
after 20min or when the ham
is nice and crisp. Serve with
the cooked greens.
1764
KILOJOULES
21.lg
TOTAL FAT
51.3g
PROTEIN
6.6g
CAR BS
PERCEN TAGE
OF YOUR DAILY
REQU IREMENT
OF MANGAN ESE
THAT' S CONTA I NED
I N A CU P OF
BR OWN RICE
4/ HIGH ENERGY
MH READE R'S ISS UE hi!lf FOOV
Cook your spinach.for
one minute, rather than
eating it raw, to reduce its
oxalic acid. This binds to
calcium, impairing
its absorption
/
A HOT SOURCE OF PROTEIN POWER
"This is a good combination of protein-rich f ish and
low-GI brown rice," says Bailey. But t he fish is very
charred. "Salmon is a good source of healthy fats, but
cooking at a high temperature attacks t hese nutrients
and limits t hei r benefit." Tuna steak is l ower in fat but
packs Bg more protein per lOOg, so it's an easy way
to upgrade this recipe. "Brown rice is a great source
of selenium and manganese and, like other whol egrains,
contains magnesium - an essential mineral for energy
production." says Bailey. This reci pe is a little more
hands-on, but its performance-boosting powers make
it worth the extra effort.
1914 62.3g 16.7g
KILOJOULES PROTEIN TOTAL FAT
INGREDIENTS
40g brown rice
1 shallot. chopped
1 roasted red pepper
from ajar
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic
vinegar
1 tuna steak
BOg broccoli florets
lOOg baby spinach
leaves
14.4g
CAR BS
1 Boil t he rice in 130ml of
water; it should take about
20mi n. Meanwhi le, fry t he
shallot and red pepper in a
splash of oil for a couple of
minutes. Now t hrow t hem in a
blender with t he vi negar and
blitz to make a thick sauce.
2 Take a sheet of foil (or
baking paper if you have any),
sit the tuna steak bang in the
middle and spoon the sauce
on top. Seal t he parcel and
bake at 2ooc. for 6-Bmin.
Don't worry, you'll get to
open your present soon.
3 Steam the broccoli over
the rice for a few minutes
and chuck the spinach on top
for the fi nal minute. Unwrap
t he parcel, pour on the sauce
- then give your body what it's
been waiting for.
119
120
MH REA DER 'S I SSUE ~ l . , . ~
We asked Men's Health readers how they dress for work, now that the office uniform has been
relegated to history. Fashion Editor, Azeez Jacobs, picked out the looks that worked best in any
modern workplace
Zayn, blogger
MH SAYS: "If you wear a leather jacket to the
office, keep the fit streamlined, like this. Dress it
up with a shirt and tie, or down with just a T-shirt."
Jason,
actor and TV
presenter
MHSAYS: "A
two-buttoned
black suit works
for work or for
a cocktail party -
the perfect look
to take you from
the office to an
event. The
pocket square
adds a touch
of class."

Derick,
Footwear
Trading
MH SAYS: "You
can't go wrong
with a simple,
slim-fit white
shirt. You just
have to wear it
properly - so it
doesn't look like
your old high-
school uniform.
The tie, jacket
and chino combi-
nat ion make it
sophisticated
and sleek."
Stuart, Adidas
Jonas,
Standard
Bank
MH SAYS: "One
way to make
your black suit
stand out is with
a brightly
coloured shirt -
l ike this red one.
If your shirt is
going to be as
bright as t his is,
keep your tie
colour simpl e
and muted."
Casey,
Emporw
Armani
MH SAYS: "This
works because
the fit is great.
The tailored,
sl im-fit look, and
the cut brings a
great modern
edge to t he
classic dark and
white colours."
MH SAYS: "Have some fun at the office with some
coloured chinos. This look works because of the
washed-out shade of the chinos and the neutral
tones of t he rest of his outfit. It's colourful but
still understated."
Sandile,
IT Support
MH SAYS: "It's
the printed shirt
that's the hero
here. It takes
what's really
a simple look
- shirt, jacket,
chinos - and
adds a bit
of punch."
Zak,
Sergeant
Pepper
MHSAYS:
"Double denim?
Why not. Just
don't triple-up.
I like the chinos:
denim jeans
would have been
a step too far!
This is a great
office look for
creative or
artsy types."
Mike,
Sunglass Hut
MH SAYS: "The
navy bl azer st ill
rules the office.
Instead of a suit,
I like the play of
the denim jeans
and the white
shi rt. It 's still a
smart look-
he's ready for
any boardroom
meet ing and
he'd be the most
relaxed man
in the room! "
>
"' Cl
z
::>
<
...J
z
;:
Cl
"' ::>
Cl
>-
a.
::>
"' S?
a.
0
f-
::>
Cl
>-
"'

Cl
z
<
:::;
f-
z
UJ
"'
<
a.
a.
<
ri
UJ
z
z
Cl
MH READER' S I SS UE
WHAT WOMEN WANT*
You inboxed us, and we put your relationship questions to the Women's Health Facebook
community. Here's what they said ...
YOU ASKED:
Seriously: do you want your
boyfriend to de-friend all his
ex-girlfriends on Facebook?
Marlize D.
Why would he want/ need to have his exes on his Facebook if
he is dating me/ married to me? I'm not FB friends with any
of my exes. It's a respect thing. Plus some girls don't under-
stand t hat when a man is taken they need to leave him alone.
DeeM.
No, I trust him. Besides, when you put
boundaries in your relationship, by
telling him what he can and cannot
do, you are asking to be the next ex.
Respect includes respecting his right
to make his own choices. Confident
women are sexy, not whiny, control-
ling, insecure ones.
Motheba M.
Yes, it irritates me coz I know men
are dogs. I wish he would block t hem,
or I'll block him to never even see
their communication.
Yolanda R.
As long as it st ops at FB.
Yolanda N.
Is that a
rhetorical
question?
Someex's
area seri-
ous prob-
lem, still
living
in the past.
No woman
needs that.
Kgomotso
M.
What? Of course not. This is the problem, we are so con-
sumed with social media and we forget that it is separate
from our daily life. So what if he has a few friends on FB
- he probably isn't talking to them anyway.
Mandy A.
No - t hey are exes for a reason. Move on from it.
Yohanlne R.
If she is ugly then no! Hahahaha.
Wanita N.
Nah. If I didn't think I could trust him I wouldn't be with
him. Also, if he's fri ends with them on FB, it makes it super
easy to spy on them'
YOU ASKED:

doesn't like the idea

o me going a_way on a boys' weekend.
y not? What's the big deal?
Louise G. Clarice B. lthabeleng L. Rochelle d. B
Boys (and girls) Depends on If you've done It's definitely a
weekends away whether you've something in the trust issue - but
Are you going
are for single been on a boys past that's given I am always
peopl e, not for weekend before her a reason not keen on the "me
fishing or off to
peopl e in com- and what the to trust you, or time" and time
mitted relat ion- out come was .. . she knows that with my girl- party in Vegas?
ships. That's all Ever given her your crowd of friends. So go!
Cos I watched
there is to it. a reason not to friends usually
trust you? Yeah, get up to no Sipokazi S.
The Hangover so
Morwesi P. shouldn't have good, then it's Time apart is
His boys night done that... probably a no. If never a bad I'm going to say
should be your not. some alone thing but there
girls night or Cindy P. W. t ime in a com- must be a reason
no to Vegas. Joy N.
some alone t ime. She knows what mitted relation- why she doesn't
Besides,"absence she gets up to on ship or marriage, like you going
makes the heart a girls weekend is still great now away for the
grow fonder". so ... and again. weekend.
: ................................................................................................................... .
YOU ASKED:
How can a guy keep romance alive
after you've moved in together?
Nicole v. d.W.
Small surprises such
as dinner (even if it's
takeaways), two
minute massages.
wrestling-slash
-tickling sessions.
spontaneous get-
aways! Anything to
keep the mood lifted
and light-hearted.
Lolly D.
By not t urning into a
disgusting pig: pick
up your socks from
the floor. do your
part of the chores.
Surprise your l ady
with something like
flowers, a small
pressie, a massage,
run a bubble bath
for her wit h a glass
of wine. The list is
endless, it really is.
Just make her feel
special and you'll
always have that
spark. Plus. she
will reward you for
it in return!
Help out
around
the house
-without
announcing
what has
been done!
Moni ca J.
Lisa K.
Do the dishes!!!
YOU ASKED:
............... .. ........................ .. ......................................................................................................................................................
I have

colle<fflue
whojt.zrts
with me
at every
office _get-
together.
We're
both in
relation-
ships.
What'SUJ)
withthaf?
YOU ASKED:
For many women, "being romantic" seems to mean
having a guy_ spend money on you. What would you
suggest we llo if we're strappedfor cash?
NlclC.
Get in the car, don't tell her
where you're going, have
drinks (and snacks and a
blanket) packed and go
somewhere beautiful to
watch the sunset. Adven-
tures don't have to cost a
fortune. It's the thought and
effort in the planning t hat'll
mean a lot.
Thamar H.
I'm pretty adventurous so
all you need to do is pack
a backpack wit h a flask of
coffee and some rusks and
take me for a hike on t he
mountain, stopping at a
romantic spot on the way
for a coffee. Easy (especially
if you li ke hiking).
Aneldl G.
Steal me a flower out of
an old lady's garden.
Giiiian G.
Romantic dinner at home.
a walk on the beach, hire
a good movie, buy some
cheese, biscuits and wine.
So many thi ngs that can
be done without spending
too much.
Zulei gah F.
Take me to a bench in a nice
park or to the beach. I can
sit for hours just watching
the view and enjoying his
company, just don't forget
the sweets.
Being romantic only costs
35c - it's an SMS. It's the
Little things that make the
relationship. Women just
want to be Loved. Beatrice c.
Nicolene V.
Romance doesn't require
money. Just cook for your
girl and put on some nice
music. But most impor-
tantly, make her smile.
Anine Y.
A massage! Nothing beats a
good back scratch.
Sadiqah S.
Cook us dinner, give a girl
a foot rub - even an unex-
pected compliment now and
then would be appreciated.
Madeleine R.
It's the little thi ngs that
make me feel special.. ..
pouring my wine, giving me
a hug and a kiss often,
asking if I need anything.
Just always be a caring,
loving gentleman.
Michelle T.
Keeping the kids busy whil e
I have a long bath. A foot
rub or massage. A written
note and chocolate bar is a
huge bonus.
Stefnl H-M.
For me. it's not always about
spending a lot. It's the cre-
ativity, effort and love put
into anything my man does
for me.
Farieda I.
Eerrr, hello! Just tell her to
back off and that you're not
interested. She won't stop
unless you stop her.
Lerato B.
She isn't happy in her rela-
tionship and she's l ooking
to get some attention.
ElmaK.
If you are not interested at
all . say so and do it firmly.
[Eds note: If you are,
time to break up with
your girlfriend. Prefer-
ably before you act.]
Tsheplso M.
Poor lady might like you
hey ...
121
NEW
TR I K
FR M
L
D
These men have spent decades
learning how to stay at the toe
of their game. Their advice will
change your life. Listen up, laaities
11 IAlll CIUlllE IS A WERY UNASSUlllNG ATILETE . Ifyousawhimat
the start of a race you'd think: "I could easily take him". And over a
short distance you probably would. But in extreme endurance ultras
your burst of youthful exuberance and arrogance would peter out,
and you'd be forced to watch the rear view of a meticulously paced
fi gure disappearing ahead of you.
That's because your face-value judgments of his athletic ability
didn't realise that his body has been battle-hardened from the
ravages of cancer and most recently a bone marrow transplant.
Or that his fiercely uncompromising psyche has driven his legs
across thousands of kilometres.
BY IAN MCNAUGHT DAV IS PHOTOGRAPHS MO RNE VAN ZYL
+ DAVID
....,
=
=
c:::
=
:>
=
C"""l
....,
CROMBIE
his year, Crombie, a sports scientist
at the Sports Science Institute of
South Africa, returned from running
62 marathons' worth of jungle along
the banks of the Mekong River, which
snakes through Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam into the South China Sea.
The enormity of the distance is
as impressive as the stand Crombie
is making - defiance against doubt,
cancer and the notion that men can
"retire" their bodies from middle age.
That idea - ofmen "giving up" -
struck Derrick Hill while he was on
holiday in Umhlanga Rocks in 2007.
Go to any beach and you'll see men
with bellies bulging over their board-
shorts, bloated from years of dedication to a lifestyle of more eating
and less moving. In fact, you don't need to go to a beach to see this;
you could probably just turn your head.
"Most of the men of South Africa let themselves go," says Hill.
"They've got stomachs bigger than pregnant women and they don't
need to be like that. They think that after 50 they can just relax on
the couch and watch TV."
This moment on the beach had a profound effect on Hill who,
five years later, came second in the Masters division at the Reebok
CrossFit Games in California - a remarkable achievement consider-
ing his medical history. Like Crombie, Hill had a medical condition
that wasn't the result of a negligent, sedentary lifestyle. He worked
in the building industry; he hauled bags, bricks and beams around
construction sites. He was a long-distance runner who also played
squash and water sports. Yet his spine had been disintegrating for
the past 40 years.
There's a neurosurgeon in Linksfield West who has three decades'
worth of records documenting the deterioration of Hill's spine. This
is the same spine that orchestrated the movements in getting a silver
medal competing against some of the world's fittest men. This,
despite having a hip replacement and despite the fact that - accord-
ing to the South African Medical Research Council - almost two-
thirds of South African males are classified as physically inactive.
Still, Hill's sturdy legs found their way onto the podium in Carson,
California because he's spent most of his life refusing defeat and,
at times, doctor's orders.
A few years ago, Hill's doctor told him he needed a discectomy.
Hill refused, and instead of accepting atrophy, he began strengthen-
ing his back. "I've been through times when it's been really sore," he
says. "I couldn't walk at times, but I kept on strengthening it."
Hill returned to his doctor for another assessment. Again, the
doctor advised a discectomy. Hill conceded. However, an MRI scan
revealed that he was too late. "The doctor said that at that point it
was so bad that ifhe did one disc, they would all go." Hill was given a
piece of paper outlining the life he could expect - it had instructions
on how to get in and out of a wheelchair, which backrests to use when
sitting and how to lift yourself up after sitting down.
"I thought: ' Wow, this is not going to happen.' I'd rather live for
today," he says.
So, once again, Hill got stronger. "I strengthened my back to the
extent that I can do the things anybody can do. When I go to a physio
now they say they've never seen the muscles holding that spine
together like it is," he says.
"Whenever the doctor sees me, he just shakes his head."
It took a life-threatening moment to alter Farouk Meyer's attitude
to exercise. In his mid-twenties Meyer found himself on the operat-
ing table in Groote Schuur Hospital after doctors discovered he
had a stress-induced perforated ulcer.
He'd always been active while growing up but found he had little
time for sport after his family and business commitments.
Shortly after the operation, Meyer came across an article on the
latest endeavour of the often controversial professor from UCT, Tim
Noakes. The story detailed how Noakes had planned to help over-
weight novice runners with heart conditions train for their first
marathon. Meyer, not being obese, didn't fit the criteria but was
invited to train with Noakes and his posse. "I went along t o the
Rondebosch Common. I stayed with them for 12 weeks," he says.
"It changed my life," says Meyer, who had been suffering the side-
effects of medication until regular running had eliminated the
need to take it any more.
Noakes told him to join a running club as he had natural t alent,
which he later confirmed by running his first marathon in just over
three hours.
Running quickly moved from a physical therapy to a career and
he eventually became chairman of the Western Province Athletics
Road Running Commission. At a meeting, Meyer said he would start
the biggest club in the province. "Everyone laughed," he says. Five
years lat er, the club he founded - ltheko Sport Athletic Club -
is indeed the biggest club in the Western Cape and the fastest grow-
ing club in South Africa. "What is phenomenal is that the club is
made up of people who have never run or done sport before."
Meyer, who's now the chairman of the Heart and Stroke Founda-
tion of South Africa, has changed lives through the sport that he
discovered in his 20s. Now at the age of 62, he regularly races and
is the head coach of the club he founded.
AT THE AGE OF 72, BALES STILL SWIMS
REGULARLY, CLOCKING A KILOMETRE-ANO
A-HALF FIVE TIMES A WEEK
n the year 1969, man first walked on the moon, Bryan
Adams bought his first real six-string, and a 28-year-
old Capetonian named Peter Bales found his niche
after he emerged, exhausted, from the icy Atlantic on
the beaches of Woodstock.
Bales and a few friends had braved the frigid waters and writhing
currents that lie between Robben Island and the mainland, discover-
ing a challenge that tested their minds and bodies against distance,
depth, temperature and nature's unpredictability. A few months
later, they founded the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association
(CLDSA), which continues today, with members - powered by their
arms, legs and mental resolve - ploughing through the waters around
the Cape Peninsula as an idea of fun.
Later that year, Bales became the first South African to swim "the
Everest of swimming" - the English Channel - where he crossed one
of the world's busiest shipping lanes from England to France in just
over 13 hours.
Now, at the age of72, Bales is chairman of the CLDSAand still
swims regularly, clocking a kilometre-and-a-half five times a week.
Although he's a Masters athletics champion in South Africa,
85-year-old Borg Stannius began his competitive career on a school
playground in Denmark. A few boys had a competition to see who
could throw a cricket ball the furthest, and the young Borg whipped
everyone with metres to spare. He was talked into taking up the jav-
elin, which he took as far as the Danish national team before leaving
the country. He then played sports socially but only took up athletics
------
+ PETER
! BALES
LONG OISTANCf SWIMMrn
AGE ACHIEVEMENTS
72 Fifst South African to swim the
English Channel
+ FAROUK
V?
~ MEYER
RUNNER
AGE
62
again at the age of 70
after having moved
to South Africa. In
August he'll take
part in the weights
pentathlon (discus,
javelin, weight
throw, hammer
throw and shot put)
at the World Masters
Games in Brazil.
DERRICK

C/J
HILL
--<
::0
,..,,
:z
=
--<
::c
CROSSflT CHAMPION
This year he's
moved up into the
AGE
63
ACHIEVEMENTS
2nd place in the Masters division o t
the Reebok C1ossFit Gomes 2012
85 to 89 age group, and being the youngster he knows he's a threat.
"Every time I get into a new age group, I break the records and then
I just keep going for the hell of it," he says. "Then I hold the records
until somebody comes up and does something about it."
That refreshing confidence is one of the reasons why he can still
make turns in the concrete circle and hurl weights through the air.
"Nobody comes along in my age group that I can compete against,"
he says, "So I go for the record. Breaking records is my game."
As you get older you naturally lose your speed, but you don't nec-
essarily lose your strength, Stannius explains. "I feel better now than
I have ever felt and I feel that I'm stronger than I was earlier in life. I
could lift as much now as I could ever do. I feel marvellous."
To say it and mean it at 85 years of age is a testament to training
done with the perfect balance of effort, enthusiasm, cautiousness
and downright stubbornness. Profiling men like Stannius is unlike
interviewing "modern" athletes. A young athlete is a picture of sports
going well; an old one is a picture of sports done properly. Sportsmen
of the moment will often talk in cliches and sing the praises of products
and training methods, whereas older athletes - with their firmer
handshakes and deeper stares - embody an unspoken doggedness
that's got them through the challenges of their game for decades.
The men in these pages have fought battles against disintegrat-
ing neurons, multiplying cancer cells and the evaporating seconds
of time that their cohorts spend sitting, eating or making excuses.
They've spent most of a lifetime learning how to find something you
enjoy, master it and do it for the rest of your life. These men have the
collective wealth of over 350 years of experience between them. Here
are the secrets to being able to talk about your sport and training in
the present tense when you're in your 80s.
THE SECRETS TO STAYING FIT FOREVER
I GET A MENTOR
If you want to be a better athlete,
join a group, recommends Bales.
"Everybody helps one another and
you can always get very useful
advice from groups like that."
One of the successes of Meyer's
expanding club is its ability to unite
people with a common ground.
"People can relate to one another,"
he says.
"Find yourself someone who's
been there and done that, and
learn from their mistakes," advises
Crombie. "We need to find mentors:
someone to inspire us but we also
need to discover for ourselves
what is possible."
Take your time in choosing
the right one though. Having
done something for years doesn't
necessarily make you better at it,
he explains. "Not everyone learns
from experience," he warns. "You
can keep making the same mistake
and get the same outcome."
Three years ago Crombie
became a mentor to a brigade of
running novices whom he'd invited
to run the Two Oceans Half Mara-
thon to raise funds for his charity,
Home from Home. "They were
morbidly obese," he says. "They
all said they were never made to
run. And I said: 'Read my lips: kak.'
What you mean to say is: 'You can't
run a half marathon yet.' When
they finished and got their medals,
a plastic surgeon could not take
away the smile on their faces. "
1 SMASH THROUGH YOUR COMFORT ZONE
"I've always had this thing that if
somebody el se did something, I
can too," says Hill. "It would always
sound like a challenge to me.''
This-as proven by the expand-
ing waistlines of our generation-
is not a typical approach to life.
Crombie explains that the differ-
ence between an attitude like
Hill's and the sedentary majority
has to do with one's essence. "It's
got nothing to do with your train-
ing, it's your fundamental way of
being in the world."
When Crombie announced his
plans to do the Mekong River Run,
people told him he would never be
able to do it. "What they' re saying is
that they would never be able to do
that, by virtue of their perspective."
Ignore the intimidating
numbers, Meyer says. "What
I've realised when writing pro-
grammes, people look at a running
programme, they look at the total
at the end and they think, 'I cant
do this."'
When you go beyond your limits,
you're on a mission to transcend
what could be considered norma-
tive performance, says Crombie.
"Thi s is a very unknown area. Most
of us don't go there. Most of us live
a life where when the tough gets
going, we back off.''
1 UP YOUR GAME - STRATEGICALLY
Like Bales's steady, year-round
swimming routine, Stannius keeps
a regular gym routine to maintain
his strength. Usually, he'll gym
three times a week and practise
throwing once a week. He is yet
to buy into boutique gyms. "If you
know what you're doing you don't
need all the fancy stuff."
"You've got to be strong in your
shoulders, arms and legs so I do
special exercises to stay particu
larly fit in those areas."
Derrick Hill alternates the
intensity of his training according
to weeks. "In week one I'll do light
weights, then second week it's a bit
more intense, third week is intense
AUGUST 2013 127
and fourth week is your hardest
week. My fifth week goes back to
week one but a little bit harder.".
For Meyer, stockpiling a base
of hefty mileage is paramount
in training. "Build up time on the
legs," he advises. And do it slowly.
"You can't do everything at race
pace." Meyer focuses on speed
work just before a race. "It's more
important to get time and kilo-
metres on the legs."
I STAY INJURYFREE
Bales is an advocate of cross train-
ing. "Whenever I'm not swimming,
I cycle," he says. "It strengthens
your legs and, mentally, I find
cycling is a lot easier than swim-
ming in cold water."
"Don't do your sport flat-out the
whole year round," says Crombie.
"Don't try to push it because you'll
get burn-out. Don't go chasing PBs
every time- just take part. You
need to have time when you're not
pushing to let the body recover. The
body will reward you."
Hill says through using swim-
ming as cross training he's been
able to dramatically improve his
lung capacity.
"Get in the swimming pool on
your rest day," advises Crombie.
"Doing more cardiovascular train-
ing won't do any harm, he says, and
it will take off any pressure on your
weight and joints."
I FUEL UP
Hill's menu isn't dictated by ad iet.
"I never gave up drinking soft drinks
or eating sweets, but on average
I have a fairly good eating plan
and I think that's a healthy way of
doing it."
Keep your protein stocks up,
though. "An absence of protein
wasahugechallengeonthe
Mekong River Run," says Crombie.
"It confirmed that if you don't
have enough nutrition, you will
lose weight and your lean body
mass will be cannibalised." Also,
drink when you're thirsty, advises
Crombie. "I never got dehydrated I
made sure of that. I wasn't drinking
a litre every hour, I was drinking for
thirst."
1 THINK COUNTERINTUITIVELY
One of the most significant reasons
why Hill, Stannius, Bales, Meyer
and Crombie can still train well
beyond middle age is because
they never burnt out. Once you get
this mindset , it frees you up to be
yourself, Crombie says.
Therein lies the paradox: he can
still compete today because he's
not competitive. "I've never tried
to run a faster time, I've tried to
run better and naturally you get
128 AUGUST 2013
better as you train more. But it was
taking part that was important,
that doesn't mean I'm an under-
achiever."
"It should be about personal
achievement as opposed to being
better than someone," says Meyer,
"Whether you make it before the
cut-off time of shave off five
secondsofyourpersonalbest:
"I don't like the label 'elite' and
'amateur'," says Crombie. "We're all
just individuals. You shouldn't have
to compare yourself to anyone and
flagellate yourself because you're
not doing a PB. We can't all be on
the podium. Once you get that, you
will run more naturally and you'll
be able to run a lot longer. I've
never been competitive, and I've
just run 62 marathons back-to-back."
1 PACE YOURSELF
Stannius, who recently recov-
ered from a back operation that
kept him out of training for eight
months. knows the importance of
pacing yourself. "There's a differ-
ence between what you want to
do and what you're able to do. You
have to find out what you're able to
do, and then do that,' he says. "And
that takes patience."
Crombie uses weightlifting to
explain pacing. "If you lifted a five
kilo dumbbell 20 times, it would
become painful towards the end.
But if you did 10, drank a coffee,
came back, you'll do 60. That's the
science of allowing the muscle to
recover and stopping before you
get muscle tears."
It's the same with any disci-
pline, he explains. "If you train
really hard one day and do an easier
one the next, it's easier to recover.
On the third day when you go out
again, it's recovered sufficiently to
do another hard one," he says. "It's
not debatable, that's the way it is."
"You need to know how to run
slowly," Meyer says. "If you can't
run slowly, you'll never be able to
run properly."
"You don't need to be a sports
scientist, you just need to become
a thinking athlete," says Crombie.
'"Listen to your body' is my catch
phrase, but it means a lot. You need
to know what to listen for, and you
should learn that when you can't
run any further, your pace was wrong."
Stannius has fine-tuned his
pace by following his own advice.
"I've never had a coach but I'm
doing alright. It's like they say,
'If it's not broken, don't fix it'."
1 WIN YOUR MINO OVER
"If you can get the mind right, the
body will follow," insists Meyer,
whose running career was largely
influenced by Noakes's emphasis
on psychological fitness. It's
his first step when he starts
coaching an athlete. "I spend half
an hour motivating and inspiring
because I need to be sure the mind
is right first."
"During competitions, Stannius
makes sure his mind is as calm as
possible. "There's a difference to
being excited about something and
being nervous. Hopefully you're
excited about something because
it helps you," he says.
The long-distance swims that
Bales throws himself into always
test more than just his limbs and
lungs. Long swims are like going
into a state of meditation, he
explains. Making peace with the
discomfort and the fear is Bale s's
strategy. "You develop a mental
approach where you actually even
start enjoying it. The secret of
most cold water swimmers is not
to try to fight it, but to invite it in."
Crombie agrees. "You need to
embrace that you're going to take
it on the chin,'' he says. "So when
those things happen, you say:
'Bring it on.' You say, 'Okay sun, so
it's 38C and there's no wind and
there's no shade-fantastic. That's
why I'm here. I'm here to confront
those demons and to transcend
them. Because that's who I am.'"
Hill has completed five
Comrades Marathons and believes
endurance sports have strength-
ened his approach to challenges.
"Over those kilometres on the road
you have that mental capacity that
if you want to get to the end you
actually have to keep going."
I HARDEN UP
Dr Salvatore Maddi, a professor of
psychology and social behaviour
at Harvard, has researched the
concept of a "hardy personality"
and defined it as a balance of com-
mitment, control and challenges.
"You're not born with a hardy
personality, explains Crombie, who
lectures in emotional intelligence.
Your ability to defeat obstacles
in life is directly related to one's
physical challenges, he explains.
When you survive running an "up"
Comrades, it offers perspective for
the next difficulty in life. "Whether
it's a relationship or on a run, you
can ask the question: 'What am I
dealing with? Is this Field's Hill or
is this Polly Shortts? Because I've
been there, so bring it on."
"Build up those experiential
reference points and you can
take them as far as you like,"
advises Crombie. "I've just had a
few cancers. I've had a bone mar-
row transplant,'' he says. "How
hard can it get?"
EVEN THE MOST ACTIVE PERSON ON THE
EARTH NEVER REALLY BEGINS TO REACH
THEIR FULL POTENTIAL
ask Bales what he's done right, that has allowed him to
still compete at the age of72. " It's a matter
of keeping going," he replies. "If you stopped for a
prolonged period, you'd find it difficult to keep going
again." That's the simple, straightforward explanation
in the increasingly overcomplicated field of fitness: find something,
love it and don' t stop.
"It started with throwing a cricket ball and now I take part in
championships around the world," says Stannius, sitting straight-
backed in his chair in his living room. "I don't think about when the
time is up, I'm just enjoying myself while I'm still around."
Hill can walk today because he refused to accept the wheelchair-
bound life his doctor prescribed. "When I go to a building yard, it's
no problem for me to jump up on the trailer and move thirty bags
of cement."
"Even the most active person on the earth never really begins
to reach their full potential, but most of us - male or female, young
or old - are way, way behind." says Crombie. "Don't wait until you're
confronting a life-threatening illness to push your envelope.
Carpe diem."
Our inter view ends. He has to train and I have to write a story.
"Remember," he says as I shake his hand, "we have no idea what
we're capable of."

BORG
-0
0
STAN NI US
::::;:
IT\
::0
WEIGHTS PrnTATHLETE
-
AGE ACHIEVEMENTS
85 Masters Athletics Champion

Injuries are the fun police. Just when you're starting to
enjoy yourself, they arrive unannounced to spoil the party .
.A. Professor Martin Schwellnus, professor of sports
medicine and exercise at the University of Cape Town,
breaks these buzz kills down into two main groups: "One
involves acute injuries, which are the result of one sudden
event and the other group deals with overuse injuries -
these get progressively worse over time and may have just
startea out as a slight niggle. Those overuse injuries occur
mostly to your tendons, bones and cartilage while the acute
injuries normally occur within the muscles, bones or
joints." .A. This guide is all about awareness and prevention,
and it focuses on the five most common acute injuries and
how you can train to avoid them. Consider it the easiest
way to safeguard against hospital bills and sidelines.
WHAT WEXT WRONG!
HAMSTRING
STRAIN
TOUCH RUGBY, TENNIS
You've anticipated the long pass from the opposition
playmaker in your weekly touch rugby game and like
a long-armed thief, you snatch the ball in mid-air and
pump your legs furiously to escape the younger, fitter
oke who's chasing you down. You're five metres from
the line, and then ... Pop! You pull your hammie.
"The difference between a muscle strain and a
sprain: a strain is a partial tear within muscle and
tendons, while a sprain is a partial tear in ligaments,"
says Schwellnus. "There are three main areas that are
affected when it comes to muscle tears: hamstrings,
calves and groin." These tears normally happen when
you accelerate or decelerate quickly in a straight line
Oinear sprinting) and differ from the ankle situation as
it happens when moving in one direction.
"Hamstring tears are the most common strains in
men, but calf strains are more common in older men,"
says Schwellnus. Like the ankle sprain, there are three
different grades. With Grade 1, you'll feel slight pain
when your hamstrings are stretched or contracted.
In a Grade 2 sprain, the pain is more severe, and at the
time of injury, you'll probably feel the tear happening.
With Grade 3, there's immediate, severe pain and you
won't be able to walk properly. The muscle is completely
torn and there may be a small bundle of torn tissue
above the tear.
With both Grades 2 and 3, there may be bruising as
there's bleeding within the tissue.
132 A UGUST 20 13
A past history of hamstring
injury is the main risk factor
for the next Injury - the
re-injure rate for hamstring
Injuries has been found lo
bel231%.
In the 2004 edition of the
European Journal of Sports
Science, studies found that the
two factors most consistently
associated with a hamstring
sb'ain injury are a history of
previous injury and age.
If that's a no, then your
injury risk is increased.
Studies in the European
Journal of Sports
Science found that decreased
hamstring sb'ength, low
hamstring-to-quadriceps
strength ratio, and a side-to-
side difference in hamstring
strength could be risk factors
for hamstring strains.
WHAT TO DO: Take weight off the leg and apply RICE
(Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). If it feels like a
Grade 1, rest for at least three weeks before getting back
into sport. Grade 2 and 3 typically require at least five
to six weeks. If it's a total tear, you may need surgery to
reattach the muscle and rehab for at least three months.
The biggest danger is going back to sport too early -
you'll end with up with a worse tear if you rush the
recovery. "If you are unable to walk pain-free within 24
hours of the injury, it's a predictor of you being unable to
return to play in less than four weeks," says Dr Nikolaos
Malliaropoulos of the Sports Medicine Clinic of the Hel-
lenic Association of Amateur Athletics in Greece.
HOW TO PREVENT IT: "Research shows that by doing
specific exercises called the Nordic hamstring exercises,
your risk of injury recurrence is much lower," says
Schwellnus. The Nordic hamstring lower exercise is a
partner exercise in which the athlete attempts to resist
a forward-falling motion of the upper body using the
hamstring muscles to maximise loading in the eccentric
phase. In a study of Norwegian and Icelandic male soccer
players published in the European Journal of Sport Sci-
ence, this exercise reduced the risk of hamstring strains
by 65%. Add these moves to your current workout plan,
but make sure you also warm up dynamically before any
sprint work, whatever sport you are doing, especially if
it's a sport that you don't do regularly.
WHAT WENT WllON<:!
SPRAINED
ANKLE
SOCCER, TRAIL RUNNING
You're tearing down the touchline, ball at your feet
like CR7. You take on the final defender, with a perfect
diski stepover. You go right, but your ankle ligaments
go left - and you crumple to the ground.
This injury is known as a twisted or rolled ankle, but
whatever you call it, it's a partial or complete tear of one
or more of the ankle ligaments. "This is a joint and liga-
ment problem that can occur in any running or jumping
sport that includes change of direction and speed," says
Schwellnus. "It's very common in sports like soccer,
squash, basketball and rugby where there's sudden
changes in direction, with uneven surfaces increasing
the risk." The symptoms are pain, swelling, warmth and
redness. The nerves become more sensitive, so you'll
feel pain when you put pressure on the area, the joint
will become stiff and bruising will show.
These injuries are classified as Grade l , 2 or 3;
depending on how much ligament damage there is.
A Grade 3 is a complete tear.
By far the strongest risk
factor, especially If the sprain
has happened In the last 12
months. A study In the Euro-
pean Journal of Sport Science
found a two-to five-fold In-
creased risk for a lateral ankle
Ugament Injury after suffering
a prior ankle Injury.
If this is your first game after
a long lay-off, then your Injury
risk increases drastically.
Holes, loose gravel, ditches
or divots Increase the risk.
If the answer is no, the risk
shoots up. Alm to do at least
five to 10 minutes of both
dynamic and static stretches.

erc1ses
balance
ards can
duce the
kofankle
WHAT TO DO: Don'tputanyweighton the ankle.
Immediately initiate the RICE procedure, which works
well to minimise swelling. Don't place ice directly on
your ankle (wrap a dishcloth around the ice cubes), and
apply it for intervals offive minutes on, one minute off.
Repeat this sequence four to six times every six hours.
If you hold the ice down for longer periods, it can actu-
ally make the swelling worse as it increases the circula-
tion, according to the European Journal of Sport Science.
If you use bandages to compress the injury, don't make
it so tight that it cuts off circulation. Avoid anti-inflam-
matories within the first 24 to 48 hours after the injury,
but painkillers with paracetamol can help. Once the
pain and swelling has reduced, you can start with some
gentle cycling on a stationary bike. Still can't put any
weight on the ankle? That could mean a fracture.
Go see a doctor.
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Two words: balance training.
"Ankle sprains are the most common acute injury in
the world," says Schwellnus. "The biggest cause of ankle
sprain re-injury is because the ankle joint structure is
not as secure as it was before the initial injury and
neuromuscular control of the ankle is reduced."
When athletes return to sport before the ligaments
have healed properly, they heal in a stretched position,
making the anklejoint less stable. This can lead to a
condition called Chronic Ankle Instability, which means
you'll be on a first -name basis with your physiothera-
pist. To prevent this, ankle proprioception is critical to
keep the ankle in a safe neutral position, and this ability
is often impaired after injury.
Studies in the European Journal of Sport Science
found that external support Oike bracing and taping)
can reduce the risk of re-injury in athletes with a history
of ankle sprains, but not in athletes with no previous
injury history. A cheaper, well-investigated and highly
effective preventative measure is balance training. This
kind of neuromuscular training is thought to improve
proprioception by re-establishing and strengthening
the protective reflexes of the ankle.
Exercises on balance boards or mats can reduce the
risk of ankle sprains by as much as 50%. Combine this
with some plyometric work, and you'll end up with
super-stable ankles that' ll handle any sport. Ask your
physiotherapist for exan1ples of the exercises needed
to improve your ankle proprioception.
AUGU ST 201 3 133
WHAT WE:\'T WRONG!
SLIPPED/HERNIATED DISC
WEIGHT LIFTING, CROSSFIT
It's an early morning training session and the barbell
is cold to the t ouch. The weights section is busy, so
you're in a rush to get your dead lifts done. You figure
you' ll warm up after a few set s. You stack the bar for a
stab at your PB. The first set goes well, so you jump t o
your max so you can get that elusive limit-beating lift.
As you straighten up while trying to lift the loaded
barbell, you feel the pain hit your l ower back like ball-
peen hammer. You've just slipped a disc. "There are a
variety of ways you can injure your lower back acutely,
but as you get older your discs in between the vertebrae
are at risk so they injure more easily," says Schwellnus.
"The other areas that do get injured r egularly are the
small joint s in your back called the facet joints and the
ligament s." Even though four out of every five guys have
some form of chronic l ower back pain, a slipped disc is
one of the most common acute back injuries. You know
the injury as a slipped disc, but the medical t erm for it
is a spinal disc herniation. It's also known as a ruptured
disc or a prolapsed disc.
134 AUGUST 2013
The small discs of cartilage in your spine don't actually
"slip" (they' re fixed in place), but what happens is that
there's a t ear in the outer, fibrous cover of the disc, and the
softer, inside part of the disc bulges out. This can cause
serious pain and stiffness, and unfortunately, you can do
this injury while lifting any heavy object incorrectly.
WHAT TO DO: Stop training. Don' t lift anything beyond
a paperweight. In most cases, the herniations are small
and can heal within a few weeks with help from rest and
anti-infiammatories. But severe herniations are some-
times unable to heal on their own and surgery is needed.
The inflammation can vary, depending on the damage
done (soft tissue can also be affected). It can also affect
nerve roots, which means other areas of your body may
feel pain. These injuries can also lead to related health
issues, so don't rush back to training before getting a
proper diagnosis. In most cases it only affects one side of
the body and normally occurs in the lumbar or cervical re-
gions of your back, but check with your doc to make sure.
If your back experiences
wear-and-tear as a result of
your job (or your training),
it means that you are more
likely to suffer a slipped disc.
One of the main causes
of slipped discs comes as
result of someone trying
to lift a heavy object with
a rounded back. It places a
great deal of pressure on the
spinal discs, as it places a
shearing force on them.
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Core work, correct
technique, back braces and hip stretches. "The most
important prevention is having strong core muscles and
muscle control," says Schwellnus. Make core work a big
part of your training. And if heavy lifting is part of your
job (or your routine), lift with the correct form.
If you aren't able to lift with a straight back and
correct form (chest and torso upright at all times, and
using your legs to power the movement), then you're
heading for injury. As your body tires, your form is
affected. If you start lifting with a rounded back, stop.
If you use a decent personal trainer or coach, they will
also monitor you. A back brace can help keep the right
technique, as even though the support may not be
enough to guarantee good form, it will give you feedback
so you'll know when your back starts rounding.
Lastly, Canadian researchers found that having
improved hip mobility through stretching can help you
to avoid back injuries. In the 2012 study, men with stiff
hips who completed a six-week stretching programme
increased their range of motion by 50%. "Guys who
can't rotate their hips often twist their lower back,
which can injure the spine," says study author Professor
Janice Moreside. One quick stretch: put your left
foot on a table behind you and raise your left arm.
Lean slightly right. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch sides
and repeat.
TORN CARTILAGE
SQUASH, TENNIS, HOCKEY
It's at the bottom end of the third set, and this guy is mak-
ing you chase the ball all over the court. He slams a killer
shot down the line, but as you turn and sprint to get it, you
put your weight on your right leg while twisting it and feel
a painful tear inside your knee and drop to the hardwood.
You've just torn the meniscus (cartilage) in your knee.
The most common knee injury is damage to cartilage,
but there's also a number of common acute injuries that
affect the four ligaments in the knee (the posterior cruci-
ate ligament, the medial collateral ligament, the anterior
cruciate ligament and the lateral collateral ligament)
and injuries involving bone bruising. There are two types
of knee cartilage: one is the meniscus, a crescent-shaped
disc that absorbs shock between the femur (the large
thigh bone) and the tibia and fibula (the two lower leg
bones). This is the type of cartilage that is torn during
these kind of injuries. The other is a surface-coating (or
articular) cartilage, which covers the ends of the bones
where they meet, allowing them to glide against one
another. This cartilage is associated more with arthritis
and wear and tear than with acute injuries.
Cartilage injuries can occur in a combined bending and
twisting motion Oike in the squash); a blow to the knee
Oike in contact sports such as rugby or MMA); landing
badly after a jump; or through prolonged wear and tear (a
degenerative tear that's more common in older people).
WHAT TO DO: You' ll feel pain immediately, there'll be
swelling and the range of motion of your knee maybe
affected. You may also experience joint locking, where
you aren't able to straighten the leg properly (some-
times with clicking sounds). If it's a significant tear, it
can also feel like your knee gives way when you try to
bend the joint under weight. Apply the RICE method,
and schedule an appointment with your doc or even
better, an orthopaedic surgeon. Tests will determine if
the cartilage is torn, but in most cases, ifbending the
knee and squatting are painful, it's a sign you've torn
the meniscus. Another warning bell? If you feel pain in
the knee while turning over in bed at night. It's called
Cooper's sign, and it's present in over 90% of tears.
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Startdoingmorelegwork.Con-
clusive research in the European Journal of Sport Science
has shown that comprehensive neuromuscular training
that combines plyometrics, strength, balance, sport-specif-
ic technique and agility exercises can reduce lower extrem-
ity injury risk. You should use a proper landing technique
if you're doing box jumps or a similar move (always have
a soft landing on the forefoot) and bend your hips and
knees when landing. Our favourite move? Plyometric
jump squats. They build strength and train your body to
withstand impact: 1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Squat and lower hips until thighs are parallel to the floor,
arms down and back. 3. Explode upward and reach for the
ceiling. 4. Land gently. Do 10. Work up to 20.
If that's a no, your injury
risk is increased.
As for most other injury
types, studies published
in 2006 in the European
Journal of Sport Science
have suggested that a his-
tory of knee injury is a risk
factor for a subsequent knee
or ACL injury. But it does
help to have the Y chromo-
some, the same studies
showed that women have
a three- to six-fold higher
incidence of non-contact
ACL injuries than their male
counterparts.
If the answer is no, the risk
of a knee injury is increased.
Men who regularly work on
Improving their leg strength
have better knee stability.
WHAT WE:\'T WRONG!
DISLOCATED
SHOULDER
MOUNTAIN BIKING, GYMNASTICS
It's 6am, and you're looking down the barrel of a steep
single track. You aim your handlebars, dip your heels
and start the descent. Three slippery seconds of adrena-
line later you reach a hard right. You brace and turn,
leaning into the corner and exiting with the skills of a
pro. You're so chuffed with yourself that you don't notice
the gnarled root peeking out from the mud. Your front
wheel digs in, and you glide over the handlebar, holding
out your arms to break the fall. A bone-crunching bump,
and a dirty slide leaves you bruised, bewildered and
broken. With your shoulder dislocated, you're sidelined
for weeks until you can get back into the saddle.
Because the shoulder joint is such a complex ball and
socket, and one that has the greatest range of motion,
acute shoulder injuries are common. According to
Dr Scott Walsh, shoulder dislocations make up more
than half of all dislocation injuries and in almost all
cases, it's an anterior dislocation (the upper arm
dislocates to the front of your body). In the case of a
dislocated shoulder, the humerous bone (upper arm)
separates from the scapular (shoulder blade) at the
glenohumeraljoint. A partial dislocation is called a
subluxation. A shoulder separation is something totally
different, as it refers to a ligament being torn that
connects the collarbone to the shoulder blade.
136 AUGUST 2013
Lax joints refers to the
ligaments being loose in their
role as shoulder stabilisers,
and as a result, means your
shoulder is more unstable.
"People with lax joints are
more prone to shoulder dis-
locations," says Schwellnus.
People with lax ligaments are
hypermobile. meaning that
they are very flexible and are
sometimes called '"double-
jointed". This may not be a
full body issue, some people
only have lax joints in certain
parts of their body. You can
inherit lax joints from your
parents, or you can end up
with them through Injury, and
subsequent lengthening of
ligaments In the
healing process.
This Injury does result in per-
manent damage. Your joint
is less stable and more likely
to dislocate in the future.
Strength work can help build
up the supporting muscles to
make the joint more secure,
but If It's really unstable, It
could mean surgery.
WHAT TO DO: The bad news? There'll be pain ... and
lots of it. Your arm may feel numb too and you' ll need
to keep it in the same position with a makeshift sling.
The less movement your arm makes, the better. Don't
try to move the shoulder back into place by yourself or
have a mate try to do it: you could trap blood vessels or
cause more damage. Leave it to the professionals. It' ll
also be easier with proper painkillers, but the longer you
leave it, the more difficult it'll become.
The process ofreturning your shoulder to its rightful
home is called reduction and you'll probably be X-rayed
both before and after to make sure there are no compli-
cations. You arm will be kept in a sling for a few days, at
least until the pain subsides and most of your range of
movement has returned. Anti-inflammatories can help
speed up recovery.
HOW TO PREVENT IT: Sadly there's no way to make
sure you'll never fall off your bike (or flat on your face)
again, but you can work on making your shoulders more
stable, especially if you have lax shoulder joints. All
that's keeping your humerus attached to your shoulder
bones are muscles and ligaments. The British Journal
of Sports Medicine reports that a typical mistake many
men make is to focus on the muscles on the front of
their body (chest and anterior deltoids: you know, the
ones that look good in the mirror) while neglecting the
muscles on their back, like the rhomboids, posterior
deltoids, infraspinatus and trapezius muscles.
Ask your personal trainer or biokineticist for exer-
cises for your rotator cuff that you can do at home (with
a resistance band) or exercises that you can add to your
current workout. The extra benefit? It' ll help improve
your overall strength too. Gm
WITH THE
Men's Health
TRICEPS CRUNCH
CUSTOMISE
YOUR TRAINING!
IGNITE EVERY MUSCLE,
BURN FAT FAST, SET
UP IN SECONDSI
W
e've all thought about it.
Whether it's because you
bumped into her randomly
in a bar, or very deliberately
on Face book, ex-girlfriends
have a unique allure. Your
current relationship status might make
it awkward to admit, but you know which
one you'd most like to have sex with
again. Exactly which one. In fact, by
now you can probably not only name
her but also recall a precise occasion in
graphic detail. The sound she made; the
look on her face; what she was or wasn't
wearing at the time. Regardless of what
prompted you to start thinking about it,
once you do it's hard to stop. Trust me.
In my particular case, it was a photo.
While clearing out my cupboard I dug
out a shoebox ofold university paper-
140 AUGUST 2 013

work and found a few pictures from the
pre-Instagram days among the stack of
yellowing essays. There she was: Fiona.
We were together for a year or so and she
surprised me one winter's evening, wait-
ing for me in my bedroom wearing noth-
ing but a bobble hat. She'd dyed her hair
dark brown and we did it on the floor.
The relationships I've had in the
10 years since have all had sexual high-
lights. Still, nothing tops Fiona and her
bobble hat. Recently single again after
an 18-month relationship, online dating
and meeting friends of friends at parties
is all well and good. Exciting, sometimes.
But if no-strings sex is what you're up
for it's a costly and time-hungry process
considering it doesn't always lead to that.
And it's fraught with game-playing and
no small amount of anxiety.
But with an ex, all that hard work has
already been done. More than that, the
barriers along the way to sex - compat-
ibility, self-consciousness and a bit of
occasional embarrassment- have all
been negotiated. You know what really
turns her on and she you. There is far
less confusion involved.
I wanted to know if rekindling old
flames for sexual gain would be a way
to get more sex, more often. I wanted
to find out whether it was possible to
relive those moments stored in the more
private recesses of your memory. Most
of all, I wanted to know if Fiona still
looks that good wearing nothing but a
bobble hat. So, I gave myself four weeks
to have one more attempt with as many
of my past girlfriends as possible. I start
off by messaging Fiona.
She doesn't reply. It's quite a blow
but it doesn' t feel as awful as I thought
it would. I've roped in a team of sexual
psychologists and therapists and Paul
Ginocchio, a therapist who specialises
in men's sexual issues, explains why I'm
less than distraught. "Sleeping with an
ex is a means of exercising some type of
control. It's a way of circumventing the
threat of rejection and the vulnerability
that may come with pursuing someone
new." Or, as Mike Lousada, a second sex
therapist I consult about the proposi-
tion, puts it, "You could call it going
for the low-hanging fruit. It requires
minimum effort with the potential of
high returns. And if you do happen to
get rejected you typically won' t feel too
bad, as you probably didn't have any high
expectations in the first place."
01
02
THE EX FILES
IDENTIFY HER "TYPE" ANO
PLAN THE RECONCILIATION
You never fully pursued ttw
rel at1onsh1p says Judi Keshet
Orr. psychott1er a1w;t
YOUR MOVE Make contact
thruugt1 J mutual fr1encl so you
feel you re on the same l evel
You cuuldnt currnrnt. Now you
must persuade tier yuu can
YOUR MOVE Tu rebuild trust.
refLr tu ttw passing uf t 1nie .
says psycl10lug1st Paul Wilson.
It does make a lot of sense but it's
still a false start. I write down a list of
all my other exes and realise that they
can all be categorised by how things
ended. There are the ones that finished
amicably, simply fizzling out for one rea-
son or another. And there are those that
ended less so, exploding in a tirade of
vitriol and/ or betrayal. I jump onto Face-
book and send the following messages:
To Louise - a friend of a friend who
was more into me than I was into her:
"Been thinking about you."
To Mary - a relationship that
"fizzled" when she decided to move out
of town: "I really need to talk to you."
To Sarah - the summer fling that
ended pretty badly when I admitted to
sleeping with another girl behind her
back: "Are you in town?"
REAL SEX, FANTASY WOMEN
Louise gets back to me a few hours later.
We were an item for just a couple of
months last year and we did it on the
kitchen table once after a night out,
while her housemate was asleep upstairs.
She was always pretty open to sex but
once we started having lots of it and
spending inordinate amounts of time
together, I began feeling trapped. I told
her that I wasn't "in the right place for
something serious right now", avoided
a few phone calls and that was that.
We arrange to have a drink that Friday
evening, at the same pub that was the
preamble to the kitchen table memory.
I wonder if she remembers it. I reckon
she does. We talk about our mutual
friends and I struggle to remember the
names of her colleagues and after an
hour or so we're starting to run out of
conversation. I walk her home through
the park and eventually we find ourselves
face-to-face in the almost darkness, and
I step in towards her for the sort of hug
defined by a mutual pressing of pelvises.
She kisses me - or I kiss her - and she
pulls back and shrugs with a smile.
Back at hers, she unbuckles my belt
and drops to her knees. It feels good but
it's short-lived. In the meantime she'd
unbuttoned her shirt and we have sex
on her bed with the lights off. Afterwards
she tells me that I shouldn't stay, so I call
a taxi. We hug on the doorstep (less pel-
vises this time) and she seems somewhat
shameful. Ifl'm honest, so am I.
The following morning I consult my
therapists. "With this sort of woman,
there is always the risk of them thinking
that you're interested in more than the
physical connection," says Lousada. "At
first glance this looks like an easy option
- however, this is probably a lose-lose
scenario." His point is taken. I feel like
I've done something wrong and I'm
pretty sure she does too. The sex itself
can best be described as familiar; we
followed a very similar pattern in terms
of sexual positions - missionary, doggy
and then her on top - and even disposing
"FANTASY INCUBATION"
IS A PROCESS IN WHICH
NEGATIVE ASPECTS ARE
FORGOTTEN. IT'S JUST
SEXUAL EXCITEMENT
THAT REMAINS
142 AUGUST 2013
of the condom in the bathroom after-
wards gave me an eerie sense of deja vu.
The pedal bin banged loudly against the
tiling along the walls, making the same
echoing ding as it had done previously.
I could imagine Louise tutting to herself
back in the bedroom.
Most crucially, the sex wasn't as good
as I remember. It certainly wasn't at all
like having her spread out on the table
top. That was much better. Consultant
psychologist Professor Glen Wilson tells
me that this feeling of disappointment
is only to be expected.
"It's psychologically very difficult
not to remember past sexual exploits
better than they actually were. This is
extremely common in men and it has
a name - it's called 'fantasy incubation'.
The negative aspects that might have
been operating at the time drop out
and are forgotten. It's just that bit of
sexual excitement that remains and you
modify it, refine it and build other things
into it that make it the perfect turn-on."
Louise was the ideal candidate in the-
ory but there was a danger ofleading her
on or, worse still, having to go through
the process of distancing myself from her
again. She knew that too. Sex with this
sort of ex is high risk for an okay reward
but I resolve to leave Louise alone.
THE NO-STRINGS RELATIONSHIP
The following Wednesday, I'm waiting
outside a restaurant for Sarah. We haven't
spoken since the fireworks of our split
over four years ago but her messages
over the last few days have been pleasant
enough. More importantly, Wilson has
told me that this ex is exactly the one you
should focus on.
"A highly charged termination of the
relationship allows for a much greater
chance ofreconstruction than if you
just drifted apart. Once you move onto
friendship it becomes increasingly dif-
ficult to recreate the sexual attraction."
Mechanically I pull out her chair
from the table and just like old times
she smiles at me and slumps into it.
Within moments we are comparing
our adult lives and I feign interest - she
was engaged but it didn' t work out. We
finish dinner and go our separate ways
with no real promise of more to come.
"It was So good to see you tonight. Again.
Soon." She's used first-letter capitalisa-
tion for emphasis as long as I've known
her. "Really good to see You too," I reply.
The next day I send her an email:
"Before you find your husband, maybe
we can spend a weekend in the country
together. It just wouldn't feel right once
you're married." It's my last shot.
A fortnight later we meet at the hotel.
We reprise our old roles and I am utterly
surprised when, as we are lying next to
each other afterwards, she begins to cry.
She explains that our sex reminded her
of her youth and how much happier she
was then. Compared to this moment, I
was happier when I was younger too.
03
04
THE EX FILES
'Ask yourself if it was the situa-
tion and not you putting barriers
up. says Keshet-Orr.
YOUR MOVE oon't beat
about the bush- be straight with
her. says Wilson. Say the right
thing and she's yours
Tilis won't be easy. 'but pass the
first hurdle and you're onto a sure
tl1ing." says Wilson.
YOUR MOVE Honesty is
key here: no games: clear. open
dialogue. says Keshet -Orr
Nevertheless, we end up having
decent enough missionary-style sex at
every opportunity over the course of the
weekend. At the end of our stay we split
the bill and leave things open-ended.
I get the sense that she got what she
wanted out of the weekend as well.
I feel a bit cheated, not by her, but
by the experience. While I succeeded in
having sex with two of my exes, that sex
~ r

was not of the fantasy-grade I had
remembered. I had thought that time
apart would have led to more excite-
ment. But the reality of sex with your
exes is that they are exes for a reason
and, however things ended, the sex is
different as a result. "It's true that the
sex is probably not as good as your
adjusted recollection of it," says Wilson.
"But one of the most important factors
is a very simple one - you both got older."
If you're willing to confront an older
version of an ex then rekindling old
flames works. It might be a facsimile
of the past, rather than a recreation,
and it's certainly easier than starting
all over again with someone new.
It does have its dangers, though. Most
of all that your ex could well become
an ex-ex. No-strings this is not. Fewer-
strings would be more accurate. Which is
still preferable to full-strings, mind.
On the drive home I think about
Fiona in her bobble hat again, this time
contemplating the reality rather than
further polishing my own picture.
It was a decade ago but in my mind
she hasn't aged at all. She exists in that
moment on my old bedroom floor at
university. If she does get back to me,
I think I'm going to leave her there. Gm
--
. -- -
---
---
r - -:-
, - __
- ::-
- -
--- ---=--
.. c::--._
WHERE TO BUY:
Aleha Industries alehaindustries.com
Ben Sherman 0214258996
CSquared 0214429400
Cafe Coton 0214216095
Canterbur;t 0214259022
Citizen citizenwatch.com
CJR Gift Sales 0112576000
Diesel 0116304000
Edgars 0860692 274
Fossil 0214254438
Holmes Brothers Store 0216712142
lnfinite60 0116841515
Jordan Shoes 021590 7000
u
Kurt Geiger 011616 2128 ID
...
II
Lacoste 0214218836
z
"'
Le coq seortif 0216830200 "
~
Levi's 0214039400
0
2
Medicus shoes 0414841645 0
...
Microtel 0116690789
..:
Mr Price 0800 212 535
z
Nixon 0422002600 ~
Picot and Moss 0116690500 ~
2
Polo 0214218708
~
' ~ l e 0214185283
~
Reebok 0215550395 Ill
S. Bacher & Co. 0113726000 "'

0
Spa2hetti Mafia 0214240698
~
Stuttafords 0118791000 ~
Sueerdr;t 011784 0496
e
0
The Lot ilovethelot.com
0
;;
z
Thomas Pink 0113254098 :::
Timex 0110896036 ~
Tomm;t Hilfi2er 0214257088
g
0
Truworths 0214097260
J
J
..
U!J2 Australia 031 3012464
z
Woolworths 021407 2000 ~
0
YOE 0216836177
~
Zando zando.co.za
...
...
..
Zara 021446 8700
2
z
~
2
~
J
~
0
0
"
g
..
2
;;;
Q
~
.... .... l"\11 ,,,._, . ......... ,...n
2
...
z
...
Try to create a balance between
:;;
~
sleek and rugged. Keep the top half ...
z
preppy and conservative and the 0
bottom hal f chilled and playful. ~
So break it up with rough turn-ups
:
and rolled-up sl eeves, and ditch t he
~
l oafers i n f avour of a pair of high-
~
t ops. This isn' t a l ook for the offi ce,
~
it's one for the streets. 0
...
V-neck textured knit R899 Polo. striped
...
z
%
shirt Rl 099 Tommy Hilfiger. leat her
...
strapped watch Rl 595 Guess at S. Bacher
.;;
"
& Co .. Saluda jeans Rl 899 Diesel. leather
z
i
sneakers Rl 299 Le coq sportif, pinhole 0
camera R799 Lomography at The Lot
~
INSTANT EXPERT

IF YOUR DREAMS SEEM
JUMBLED AND NONSENSICAL,
IT'S BECAUSE THE COMMON
THEME IS USUALLY
EMOTIONAL, NOT LOGICAL
Boost your
recall!
0 Turn off the alarm.
Sound and movement
- Like hitt ing "snooze" -
can wipe out your dream
memory. "If you wake
naturally, you'll Likely be
in a Long REM period - the
right time to remember a
dream," says Cartwright.
"It 's the end of the night ,
so the dream wi ll be the
most interesting, emo-
t ionally intense one."
IPJ You can't move
during your most vivid
dreams, so don't move
when you wake eit her.
"Keep your eyes closed
too," Cartwright says.
"Prolonging the physio-
logical state of dreaming
makes it easier to relive
the Last one."
II Jot down a title for
your dream - "Surfing
in lndo" - and the most
intense emotion you
experienced. This can
enhance recall, especially
if you rarely remember
dreams, says Cartwright.
II Read this page and
discuss. "Talking about
dreams Leads people to
remember them," says
Or Howard Katz, of the
Boston Psychoanalytic
Society & Institute.
What exactly are dreams?
Nobody's sure, but they may be the result of your brain defragging. "Dreams
are probably processing the same thoughts, fears and hopes that you have
while awake. Much of it is non-productive," says Harvard psychologist
Dr Deirdre Barrett, author of The Committee of Sleep (R388, kalahari.com).
"But you're also consolidating memories, anticipating dangers and solving
problems." Scientists used to think dreaming happened only during REM
(rapid eye movement) sleep, the phase when your brain is most active and
your body is paralysed New research proves otherwise; REM drean1s are
simply the most vivid and memorable because the part of your brain that
rules your emotions, the amygdala, is in overdrive.
Dreams
---' ACTIONS, PEOPLE AND WORDS
CAN BE DISTORTED IN DREAMS,
BUT MUSIC NEVER rs .
Most Common Dream Themes
GOING TO SCHOOl
SHING SOMtONf YOU llKf
ING CHASrn

154 AUGUST 201 3
I __ in my sleep. Weird?
CRY Unless it happens regularly, don't
wony. "Dreams cut across the whole range of
emotions," says BaITett. But if you habitually sob
while you snooze, it could indicate depression.
WALK Sleepwalking is often linked to stress
or sleep deprivation, says Barrett. "It can be
induced by anything that messes with the sleep
cycle." It's usually not a problem; however,
frequent nocturnal wandering is associated
with depression, alcoholism and insomnia,
a recent Stanford study found.
TALK More than half of people talk in their sleep,
a Canadian study found. It's not a cause for
concern unless you disturb your bed mate (or
moan her sister's name).
0
MEN DREAM MORE
OFTEN ABOUT MEN
THAN ABOUT
WOMEN. BLAME
PRIMITIVE MAN,
WHO MAY HAVE
PRACTISED
DEFENDING
AGAINST ENEMIES
IN HIS DREAMS
Have a sex dream
- every night!
0 The more men fantasise about
sex, the more frequently they have
erotic dreams. a German study
reveals. "If you just fantasise. you
haven't reached a conclusion. That
may happen in sleep," says Dr Rosalind
Cartwright, author of The Twenty-Four
Hour Mind (R264, kalahari.com). Hint:
save your masturbation for the morning.
IPJ Try this position in bed: a 2012 study
in the journal Dreaming shows that
sleeping face down may increase your
frequency of sex dreams. Why? The
pressure on your penis signals pleasure.
II Take a sex siesta. "During naps,
there's a closer association between
your waking brain and sleeping brain,''
says Barrett. Put your sexual fantasy
on repeat as you doze off: calling up a
dream topic works about 50% of the
time, she says.
Most Common Sex Dreams
INHRCOURSf
SfXUAl PROPOSITIONS
MAKING OUT
rANTASlfS
--e
LIBERAL MEN ARE
MORE LIKELY THAN
CONSERVATIVE MEN TO
RECALL SEX DREAMS
AND NIGHTMARES.
Three dreams that
may mean something
FLYING You're probably an out-of-
the-box thinker, says Cartwright.
Or it could be purely physical:
"As you move toward waking,
you become more aware you're
paralysed," says Boston University
neurologist Dr Patrick McNamara.
"This, paradoxically, lets you fly:
your mind can soar because your
body can't interfere."
FALLING "It's a metaphor for a high-
stress event - for example, the loss
of a.job," says McNamara
FAILING AN EXAM "The fear of failing
in school is a strong, long-term
memo1y," says Cartwright. "It
can be reactivated by a current
experience of not measuring up."
WWW.MH.CO.ZA MH
96KW TURBO CONTROL EFFICIENCY ENGINE
INTEGRATED NAVIGATION WITH LIVE TRAFFIC
UPDATES FOR ROUTE OPTIMISATION
RENAULT
lllAUTY llAllE

Elevate your aspiration with the New Renault Megane GT Line. A distinctive and
expressive design that combines with intuitive technology to deliver a sophisticated
driving experience. With features like the standard onboard navigation featuring
LIVE functionality that provides real time traffic updates. Available in hatch & coupe.
At R259 900. www.renaultco.za
Retail price in accordance with 01 July 2013 price list. Price excludes .. on the road" costs. Terms and Conditions apply.
DRIVE THE CHANGE
RENAULT
i 2013 PosrER sER1Es Men'sHealth
SIX-PACK
POWERPLAY
11!!'9!!1!1!1!1 Alternate between workouts A and B
~ with at l east a day of rest between
them. Perform the exercises in t he order shown;
not e t hat each exercise has a different prescrip-
tion for sets, reps and rest. In each workout, do
exercises 3a and 3b as a superset - t hat is,
back-to-back without rest. After you finish
both moves, rest 30 seconds and repeat.
TORCH FAT, BOOST STRENGTH AND BUILD MORE LEAN MASS WITH TWO TOTAL-BODY WORKOUTS
WORKOUT A
1 TRAP BAR DEAD LIFT
Step inside a t rap bar, bend your hips and knees, and
grab t he handl es [A]. Without rounding your lower back,
brace your core, pull your torso back and up, t hrust your
hips forward, and squeeze your glutes as you stand [B].
Reverse the move to return to the starting position.
3a BARBELL GOOD MORNING
Using an overhand grip, hold a barbell across your upper
back and set your feet shoulder-widt h apart [A] . Keep your
knees slightly bent as you bend at your hips and lower your
t orso until it's almost paral lel to the floor [B]. Pause, and
raise your torso back to the starting posit ion.
A

4 EZ-BAR CURL
Grab an El-curl bar usi ng an underhand, shoulder-width
grip, palms angled inward. Let the bar hang at arm's length
in front of your thighs [A]. Wit hout moving your upper arms,
curl the bar as close to your shoulders as you can [BJ.
Pause, and lower it back to the starting posit ion.
B
SETS 5
REPS
REST 90sec
B
SETS 4
REPS 10
REST n/a
B
SETS 3
REPS
REST 45sec
A B
2 DUMBBELL OVERHEAD PRESS SETS 3
Using a neutral grip (palms in), hol d a pair of dumbbells just REPS 6
outside your shoulders. Set your feet shoul der-width apart. REST n/a'
knees slightly bent [A] . Press the weights up until your arms
are straight [B]. Slowly lower t hem back to the starting posit ion.
Pause only long enough between sets ro e)(change your dumbbells for ones rhat are
2 to 4
1
h kitogramsijghter, a technique known as. "drop 5et!.".
3b CHIN-UP
Using a shoulder-width, underhand grip, grab a chin- up bar
and hang at arm's length [A]. Pull your chest to the bar [B].
Once t he top of your chest reaches t he bar, pause, and t hen
slowly l ower yourself back to a dead hang. If chin-ups are
too difficult, do l at pull-downs.
A
5 BAND-RESISTED PUSH-UP
B
B
St retch a resistance band across your lower back and assume
a push-up posit ion, holding one end of t he band under each
hand [A]. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches
the floor [B]. Pause, and push yourself back up to the starting
position; repeat as quickly as possible.
SETS 4
REPS 12
REST 30sec
SETS 1
REPS 50
REST n/a
2013 PosrER sER1Es MenSHealth !
WORKOUT B
A
1 SEATED DUMBBELL SQUAT JUMP
Sit on a bench holding a pair of dumbbells at arm's l engt h
by your sides, palms in [A). Drive through your heel s as
you explode out of the seat ed position into a jump [B].
Land as softly as you can on the balls of your feet , and
then l ower yourself back to t he starting position.
A
3a DUMBBELL BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUAT
Using a neutral grip, hold a pair of dumbbells at ar m's
length next to your sides and place the top of your right foot
on a bench [AJ. Slowly lower your body until your left thigh
is nearly parallel to the floor [BJ. Pause, and push back up to
the starting position. Switch legs halfway through each set.
A
4 PARALLEL BAR DIP
Grasp t he bars of a dip stati on and li ft yourself so
your arms are straight [AJ. Brace your core, bend
your el bows, and sl owly lower yourself until your upper
arms are slightly lower than parallel to the floor [BJ.
Pause, and push yourself back up to the start ing position.
B
SETS
REPS
REST 60sec
B
SETS
REPS 16'
REST n/ a
~ S p e r l e g
SETS
REPS n/ a*-
REST 60sec
2 short of fa lure
A
2 DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
Li e on your back on a flat bench and hold a pai r of
dumbbel ls over your chest , using a neutral grip [A).
Wi thout changing the angle of your hands, lower t he
dumbbel ls to t he sides of your chest [BJ. Pause, and
press the weights back up as quickly as you can.


A
3b BARBELL ROMANIAN DEAD LIFT
Grab a barbell using an overhand gri p that's just beyond
shoulder width, and hold it in front of your hips [AJ. Keep
your knees slightly bent as you bend at your hips and lower
your torso unt il it 's almost parallel to the floor [BJ. Pause,
and raise your torso back t o the start ing position.
A
5 BODY-WEIGHT SQUAT
Hold your arms st raight out in front of you and st and as t all
as you can with your feet shoul der-width apart [AJ. Push your
hips back and l ower your body until your thighs are at l east
parallel to t he floor [BJ. Drive back up to t he starting position
and repeat as quickly as you can.
B
B
B
SETS 3
REPS
REST 45sec
SETS 4
REPS 12
REST 30sec
SETS 1
REPS 50
REST n/ a