Fitness Through Fasting Blog

We’re a nation of insomniacs desperate for a decent night’s sleep. But what if sleeping pills are doing more than just knocking us out?

Last winter, Tiger Woods and his harem of honeys titillated the nation with so many sordid stories that the oddest of them all was nearly overlooked: Woods’s rumored recreational use of the prescription sleep medication Ambien.

You could almost hear the collective “Huh?” as people tried to imagine how a widely prescribed (and seemingly benign) insomnia drug could produce an aphrodisiacal haze ideal for crazy sex romps.

Of course, Woods isn’t the only celebrity whose pill-popping has publicized Ambien in ways its designers never intended. In 2006, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy blamed his disorientation on the drug after he smashed his Mustang into a security barrier near the Capitol building.

Lindsay Lohan cites Ambien as the trigger for her first stint in rehab–this after she took it, fell asleep on the floor next to a hotel bathtub, and woke only when the water overflowed.

Ambien (generic name zolpidem tartrate) was the first of a revolutionary class of sleeping pills that today includes Sonata (zaleplon), Lunesta (eszopiclone), and Ambien CR (an extended-release formulation). They’ve been nicknamed “Z drugs”–partly because of their ability to induce z’s, and partly because of the ubiquity of z’s in their generic names.

To marketers and many sleep researchers, these drugs deserve the hype. Boosters maintain that they’re a quantum leap forward in the medical treatment of insomnia–potent, yet with fewer side effects even after people take them for a long time.

But to a growing cadre of critics, the once-bright halo over Z drugs is quickly corroding. On March 6, 2006, New York attorney Susan Chana Lask filed a class-action lawsuit against Ambien’s maker, the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-aventis.

The complaint alleged that more than 1,000 people suffered injury or damage as a direct result of their Ambien use, and included charges that the company failed to “adequately and sufficiently” warn doctors, patients, and the public about the drug’s side effects.

It also detailed nightmare stories of people sleep-driving, gorging themselves on food, and even waking up in jail with no memory of what had happened. Lask coined a name for these people: Ambien zombies.

The lawsuit was withdrawn a little over a year later after the FDA requested new warnings about the potential for what it called “complex sleep-related behaviors.” The agency also called for a warning about another potentially lethal side effect: anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that could swell the tongue and throat, obstructing the user’s airway.

So far at least, I have managed to avoid asphyxiation. As for Ambien zombiehood, that’s a different story.

I took my first Ambien in 1995 as a remedy for months of nightly insomnia. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love this drug from the get-go.

But now, after 15 years of on-and-off use, I’d be lying if I said I don’t hate it, too.

View the original article here

Tags: generic names, treatment of insomnia, revolutionary class, patrick kennedy, sanofi aventis

Your arms are too small. Or at least you feel that they are. But chances are it’s not because you’re neglecting those muscles. In 15 years of training clients, I’ve yet to come across a would-be arms dealer who hasn’t tried every biceps curl and triceps extension in the book.

So what’s the problem? Your upper back. And your core. And your glutes. (Yes, butthead, your glutes.) When those muscles are weaker than they should be, they act like brakes on the size and strength of everything else. Especially your arms.

The problem is simple to correct, as long as you’re willing to invest time doing the Big Arms Workout featured on this month’s poster. In 4 weeks, you can build new muscle from head to toe, and put yourself back in the arms race.

Step 1: Call in the reinforcements

Physiology 101: Your biceps bend your arms, and you work them with curls. You probably figured this out as a kid when Dad told you to “make a muscle” for one of those photos parents use as blackmail for when their sons start dating. Chances are you did a curl the first time you ever picked up a dumbbell, and you’ve been doing them ever since. Now ask yourself: When’s the last time I increased the weight I use on my arm exercises?

Physiology 201: If you want your arms to grow, you need to create overload and challenge them with progressively heavier weights. They’ll adapt by growing bigger and stronger. Since they aren’t receiving that overload from curls, you need to recruit bigger muscles to help them grow in tandem.

Start with the chinup. This move forces you to lift your entire body — several times the amount of weight you could curl — on each repetition. Your lats, which are the fan-shaped middle-back muscles that run from your armpits to your spine, do a good deal of the work. But your biceps are more than just bystanders. They’re working as hard as they can. Without their help, you couldn’t do a single rep.

Target your triceps the same way. Do bodyweight dips or close-grip bench presses with a loaded barbell. You’ll be able to lift multiples of the weight you use for extensions.

Make these heavy, multimuscle exercises the focus of your upper-body training. After you’ve performed them, add curls and extensions to give your arms some extra oomph.

Step 2: Restore your core

Next time you hit the gym, try this test: Go to the triceps pushdown station, select the heaviest weight you can use for 10 reps, and do a set. Rest a few minutes, and then repeat the set . . .standing on one leg. You won’t be able to knock off 10 reps, and the reason is obvious. Your triceps didn’t become weaker; they simply lost some of their support base. A weak or unstable core limits how efficiently your central nervous system controls your muscles; this can raise your injury risk.

So even though your triceps aren’t part of your core, their performance is affected by it. A weaker or less balanced base of support limits the strength and power your arm muscles can generate, while a stronger core enables all your muscles to work harder, longer, and more productively. That’s why the exercises in the poster workout challenge and strengthen your core as well. It’s a two-for-one bargain: You develop better abs while creating the base that allows you to build bigger arms.

View the original article here

Tags: Alwyn Cosgrove, triceps extension, arms workout, Lying triceps extensions, grip bench

It was Jeremy Renner’s idea to come here, to a piano bar called Piano Bar, the kind of joint where he can swill a Ketel One and croon some Billy Joel and, if it so happens, go a little overboard without landing on TMZ.

Hollywood is lurking just outside–both the newly dolled-up Hollywood and the perpetually seedy version–but no eyes are on him at Piano Bar. It has the feel of a neighborhood saloon, dark, bluesy, cheap, perfect for a man unwilling to be anything but himself. “It’s very anti-Hollywood here,” says Renner, steering me to the nearly deserted patio.”If we were somewhere where there’s, like, paparazzi, you’d be in the paper”– and here he predicts how a photo of us would be spun–”We’re f–king!”

I laugh at the absurdity of the leap, but we both know the Web is swirling with sightings and speculation about his private life, all juvenile stuff. The dude is 39, not some flavor-of-the-month pretty boy. He has spent the past decade playing complex and unpredictable characters–a serial killer, a neo- Nazi–the most celebrated of them being the hope-to-die bomb disposal specialist of The Hurt Locker.

This month he toys with expectations again in The Town, a film directed by Ben Affleck in which Renner plays a manic yet sensitive bank robber in Boston’s working-class Irish quarter. “I’ve worked so hard to be respected,” says the Oscar nominee, who has the slightly elastic face and roguish eyes of Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange. “I don’t need some tabloid running off with something just because I got drunk some night and showed my ass to the bartender.”

“Renner is the one to laugh now. Fame is new, a mystery still. Image is not a worry he has ever lost sleep over. “I’m just getting to learn it, brother,” he says. “I’m learning as I go.”

The kid is 16, a product of Modesto–the safe, suffocating San Joaquin Valley town that inspired the setting for American Graffiti–and his mother, on her second of three husbands, enlists him as her Lamaze coach.

He has to come straight from soccer practice, grass stains on his knees, and sit with her at the Y, learning to breathe in unison. “At the time, it was like, ‘Oh my God, this sucks,’ ” says Renner, the oldest of five. “‘Why am I watching videos of these vaginas squirting out all this fluid?’ It was terrifying.”

Years would pass before the traumatized adolescent could see the beauty in birth. Given the choice, he would have opted to remain in the dark about episiotomies a bit longer. But the experience of learning the hard way–enduring, finding value in sacrifice–offered lessons that he would apply many times over. “What a gift I was given,” he says.

Renner carried those lessons to Modesto Junior College, where he took his first theater class. “Nineteen years of emotional repression,” as he is fond of saying, came pouring out on the stage, a catharsis he knew was worth repeating.

He was nudged by his father, a Cal State administrator with a background in theosophy, and then by esteemed acting coach Julie Ariola. They both taught him that self-awareness is more important to success than any single skill.

“If you don’t know who you are, how the hell are you going to be able to…?” Renner leaves the thought unfinished, but it would be easy to fill in the blank with a million possibilities, most of them more profound than becoming a movie star. “So I made a very conscious decision to be fearless, to live a life of fear-freeness. I decided to do something every day I was afraid of.” Like?

“I swam with sharks,” he says, recounting a scuba trip off California’s southern coast. “I was terrified of sharks and I’m still terrified of sharks, but at least I was taking action–and not being squelched by something I don’t know about.”

View the original article here

Tags: american graffiti, bomb disposal, bomb disposal specialist, Billy Joel, Lamaze coach

Look at how you’re shedding to figure out why—and what to do about it

1. Sudden Hair Loss

The trigger is emotional or physical trauma. The shock can cause telogen effluvium, a condition that makes hair stop growing and fall out. “Imagine going bald overnight,” says Jessie Cheung, M.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at New York University school of medicine. As your mind and body recover, so too will your hairline.

2. Steady Hair Loss

Hair follicles demand a steady infusion of nutrients to sustain rapid growth. If you’re shedding more than usual for 2 or 3 months straight, look at your diet: Too little iron, biotin, or zinc can send hair into starvation mode. To restore those nutrients, eat more broccoli, spinach, and eggs. Also, pop a daily multivitamin, such as Centrum.

3. A Round, Smooth Patch

A silver-dollar-size bare spot signals alopecia areata. The catalyst is still unknown, but stress and genetics are likely culprits, says Kevin McElwee, Ph.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of British Columbia. See a dermatologist for corticosteroid injections to ease the inflammation causing your hair to hibernate.

4. A Round, Scaly Patch

You probably have tinea capitis, a fungal infection. (Think athlete’s foot of the head.) Your body battles back with a wave of white blood cells that harm hair follicles. Try an over-the-counter antifungal shampoo, such as Nizoral. If that doesn’t work, ask for a prescription antifungal medication, such as Lamisil.

View the original article here

Tags: Hair follicle, Telogen effluvium, corticosteroid injections, hair stop, starvation mode

You’re so predictable. Every day, you run out of steam, lose juice, or otherwise hit the wall at nearly the exact same times.

How do we know? Because it happens to everyone. Okay, maybe not to Kelly Ripa, but to everyone else. In fact, it’s like clockwork, which actually makes sense, because your body clock is part of the problem — when your internal chronometer is out of whack, you feel wiped out. There are other reasons, too. We detail all of them on these pages, and provide a quick fix — or at least a work-around — for each power suck. Consider your energy crisis solved.

You would think that if there were one time you’d feel naturally alert and energized, it would be after 8 hours of resting and recharging. Instead, your mind is mush. Why? Blame a phenomenon called “sleep inertia.” When you first awaken, the parts of your brain associated with consciousness — the thalamus and brain stem — begin firing right away. But the prefrontal cortex, which handles problem solving and complex thought, is like a cold engine — it needs time to warm up.

“Sleep inertia can last for up to 2 hours, although it’s most severe within the first 10 minutes of waking,” says Kenneth Wright, Ph.D., an assistant professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado. Wright and his colleagues discovered just how severe in a new study, which shows that the mental impairment caused by sleep inertia is akin to being intoxicated. Adding to your addled state is the fact that you also have a nearly empty fuel tank. “Your brain needs a continuous supply of glucose to function optimally,” says Caroline Mahoney, Ph.D., a research psychologist at the U.S. Army Soldier Center.

Fill it up. Make your morning meal a bowl of instant oatmeal prepared with skim milk. Tufts University researchers recently found that people who ate one packet of instant oatmeal spiked with 1/2 cup of skim milk received a steady glucose infusion, which increased their alertness all morning and improved their ability to process information. And if you aren’t already jolting yourself with java, start; a University of Pennsylvania study shows that a dose of caffeine can combat sleep inertia.

Just don’t let a latte replace a real meal. “It will mask your low blood sugar by temporarily stimulating your brain,” says Dan Benardot, Ph.D., R.D., an associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University. “But you won’t have done anything to satisfy the need for energy.”

1 p.m. — The Lunchtime LetdownIf your typical lunch consists of carbs à la starch, then you’ve experienced this early-afternoon brain drain. That’s because a high-carbohydrate meal is the surest way to cause your insulin levels to spike — and your concentration to crash.

“A high insulin response will rapidly take too much sugar out of your blood,” says Benardot. “Then your brain doesn’t have enough of its primary fuel, so you become mentally fatigued.”

Order a combo meal. If you can’t (or won’t) limit your lunchtime carbohydrate consumption, work in extra fiber to slow your digestion and the release of insulin, says Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., owner of the consulting firm High Performance Nutrition. For example, if your noon nosh includes a baked potato, make sure you eat the skin, which is dense with a type of fiber called pectin. “Pectin slows everything down in the gastrointestinal tract,” says Kleiner.

“When food passes more slowly through the intestines, absorption into the bloodstream proceeds in a more timed-release fashion.” (More ways to fortify your lunch with fiber.) In those instances when you give in to a binge, snack on grapes or an apple afterward; either fruit will help stabilize your blood sugar, says Benardot.

Go to the next page to learn how to beat the afternoon slump…

View the original article here

Tags: sleep inertia, Susan Kleiner, U.S. Army Soldier Center, energy crisis, mental impairment

Prepare to breathe hard—and sweat a lot

 Men’s Health guys like to sweat. Basketball in a warm gym, touch football on the beach, throwing iron around, running hard indoors or out. We’ve chosen three of our favorite sweaty workouts here, none of which require equipment, plus two unusual workouts that are fun and sweaty.

The Beach Workout
Next time you’re by the water in warm weather, try this butt-kicking 15-minute workout. It’ll work your lower body like nothing else. Then be sure to cool off in the water. Learn the workout here.

The Toughness Challenge
Here’s a circuit workout involving various squats, lunges, and jumps that will push you to your limit. Keep this one up for a few weeks and you’ll see your body change. Get started now.

Yasso 800s
This is essentially a simple intervals running workout with a freaky payoff. You run 800 meters at a pace you can repeat 10 times. If you’re a distance runner who has put in your long runs, here’s the weird part: Your time for these 800s in minutes and seconds will “match” your potential marathon time in hours and minutes. You can do 10 800s in 3 minutes, 40 seconds each? If you’ve got your distance training in, you can probably run a 3 hour, 40 minute marathon. Don’t believe it? Read on.

Bikram Yoga
This is yoga in a very warm room, 100 to 105 degrees. It makes you sweat. A lot. We don’t have a workout here because you shouldn’t just jump into this. Find a yoga class to get started yourself on our sister site iyogalife.com. And read more about bikram yoga—especially the story of Sean Milford, a regular guy who got totally into it—here.

Go-Karts!
Seriously. If you want to have a great time and sweat like a madman, find a serious go-kart race company like Endurance Karting and enter a team weekend race. Racing over 40 mph very close to the ground, you’ll have the time of your life. We’re not sure if it’s the nerves or the helmet and jumpsuit, but you’ll sweat plenty. Read our story about it.

View the original article here

Tags: distance training, touch football, time of your life, Men's Health, Sean Milford

 
Feed your muscles and your mane at the same time
By: Brittany Risher

 Hit the gym and eat right, and you’ll build muscle, burn fat—and have thick, great-looking hair.

“Exercise increases the blood supply to your muscles as well as your hair, which stimulates growth,” says Jim White, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “And the foods we eat for muscle also promote hair health.”

Just be sure you’re eating balanced diet. “Your body has a priority system,” says Amy Newburger, M.D., director of Dermatology Consultants of Westchester in Scarsdale, New York. “If it only has a limited number of nutrients, your body sends those nutrients to the cells essential for life. So your hair is one of the first type of cells to go.”

Keep your hair (and entire body) healthy by including these nutrients in your daily diet.

Protein

You know you need adequate protein to build muscle—and you also need it for healthy hair because hair is made primarily of protein. Low-quality protein can lead to weak, brittle hair or a loss of hair color—but chances are, if you’re trying to add or maintain muscle, you already eat enough.

Good sources: Chicken, turkey, beef, eggs, low-fat dairy (cottage cheese, milk, yogurt)

Iron

Low iron levels can lead to baldness, according to a Cleveland Clinic review. Researchers looked at 11 studies on the relationship between iron intake and hair loss, and concluded that treating iron deficiency may help regrow hair.

Good sources: Lean red meat, turkey, egg yolks, dried beans, dried fruit, whole grains

Zinc

Shedding more often? You may need to increase your intake of zinc. Studies show this mineral can affect levels of androgens, hormones associated with hair loss.

Good sources: Oysters, nuts (walnuts, cashews, pecans, almonds), beans, beef, lamb

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

“Omega-3s are known to support scalp help—a deficiency can result in dry scalp and dull hair,” White says. And no woman will want to run her fingers through that.

Good sources: Salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, flaxseeds, walnuts

Lignans

In a 6-month pilot study, Taiwanese scientists found that lignans—disease-fighting compounds found in flaxseed—may help slow hair loss. Nine of the 10 men in the study reported modest to much improvement in the number of hairs shed daily.

Good source: Flaxseed. Lignans are found in the flaxseed’s shell, so buy ground whole seeds in your supermarket’s health-food section. The men in the study consumed 1 1/2 tablespoons a day. Try adding flaxseed to oatmeal or smoothies.

Water

If you have dry hair—or just want to prevent straw-like strands—drink more. “Hair is one-quarter water,” White says. He recommends the typical eight glasses a day. Bring a water bottle to work so you don’t spend the entire day refilling your mug at the fountain.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron, so a deficiency can make hair dry and weak. You likely take in enough C from your diet, as long as you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.

Good sources: Broccoli, leafy greens, green peppers, citrus fruit, strawberries

Biotin

A lack of adequate biotin can lead to brittle hair, but deficiencies are rare, White says. This vitamin will help you have thick hair as well as strong nails. (That may not sound important, but women like guys with nice hands.)

Good sources: Brown rice, legumes, lentils, eggs, Swiss chard, nuts

View the original article here

Tags: cottage cheese, omega 3 fatty acids, quality protein, Iron deficiency, Amy Newburger

“He’s a bit lardy, isn’t he?” Jason Statham says in his gritty British voice, chuckling. He’s referring to the man in two pictures he’s holding, a pair of classic “before” shots, one from the front, one from the back. Indeed, the man in the photos has some extra dough, and not the green kind. There’s muscle there for sure, but no definition at all. Jason Statham isn’t ripping on just anyone: He’s the guy in the photos.

Jason Statham’s weight gain came the same way it does for most of us: a few too many beers and a couple of extra servings, compounded over time. Work out hard and you’ll crave calories as fuel at the same time you loathe the millstone they can form around your middle.

“I never gave a f–k about a calorie,” Statham says. “An apple? It’s good for me. I’d have five. Bananas? Eat the bunch.”

Statham was staying active at work, filming the shoot-’em-up War, in which he has his first fight scenes with a worthy adversary—Jet Li. But the pounds crept onto his torso and hung there like the remembrance of meals past.

Now Jason Statham brushes aside  the ugly photos on the coffee table in his living room and gives me a dose of his current reality: He lifts up his shirt. He’s shredded — rumble-strip abs, cords in his chest, veins in his arms.

“That’s 17 pounds in 6 weeks, mate,” he says, and then plops down on his sofa again. “And that’s working out 6 days a week for, at most, about 35 minutes a day. I’ve never, ever gotten results like this before.”

That’s a bold statement from a man who used to be on the British Olympic diving team and lists mixed martial arts (that’s UFC-style fighting) as a hobby. In fact, he sounds like an infomercial. So what are his secrets?

You’ll find five of them on the next page. Then keep reading to discover his eating and fitness plans. Consider them your personal guides for building leading man muscle.

STATHAM’S FITNESS TIPS

Use this action hero’s secrets of strength, speed, and al around badassness to turn your world upside down

Jason Statham defines high metabolism. In fact, I’d bet he burned 500 calories in the time I spent talking to him. From his knuckle-popping handshake (25 calories right there) to throwing shadow punches at my face (another 38) to never quite sitting still as we spoke (a constant 7-calorie-per-minute simmer), he turns conversation into an anaerobic workout.

Projecting physical strength is Statham’s real magic — emphasis on real. He was hustling black-market goods in London when he was typecast as a street thug in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Now, the actor is known for the strong, silent skull-crackers he played in The Italian Job and the Transporter films. Which isn’t much of a stretch for Statham. He’s in incredible physical condition—everything he does is forceful—and his opinions are about as strong as his handshake.

He’s built his physique through brutal intensity and ever-changing workouts designed to improve a skill—whether it be platform diving for the British National Diving Team back in the ’90s or wushu staff fighting for last year’s Transporter 2. But weight lifting just for the sake of heaving iron? Pointless, says Statham. “Muscle-men grow on trees. They can tense their muscles and look good in a mirror. So what? I’m more interested in practical strength that’s going to help me run, jump, twist, punch.”

Here are Statham’s secrets to build a body that works.

FIX YOUR ATTITUDE FIRST

Statham’s workout begins before he walks through a gym’s front door. “I’m a firm believer in attitude,” he says. “Some people just don’t have that desire, and they need a good kick in the ass. Look, you’ve come to train here, let’s f–king train! Your body’s like a piece of dynamite. You can tap it with a pencil all day, but you’ll never make it explode. You hit it once with a hammer, bang! Get serious, do 40 hard minutes, not an hour and a half of nonsense. It’s so much more rewarding.”

POUND YOUR CORE

Statham’s buddy once dared him to do a marathon. He completed it in 3:51 (with virtually no distance training beforehand), and as a return dare, he challenged his pal to do the same abs workout Statham did back in his diving days. “We used to do 500 situp variations every day. Pike up with straight leg lifts and you’ll strengthen your hip flexors, as well as your upper and lower abs.” He notes with a grin that this workout made his friend “spew up.”

HONE A SKILL AS YOU SWEAT

Statham is a monster fan of mixed martial arts — the grappling and striking you see in an Ultimate Fighting tournament. This training defines his “learn a skill” workout philosophy. A typical workout: “Shadow-boxing to warm up the back and shoulders,” he says. Lunging and stretching for the legs. Next, five 3-minute rounds punching and kicking pads, then hitting the heavy bag for three rounds, and doing a session on the speed bag. He finishes with a circuit like the one described below.

USE YOUR OWN BODY WEIGHT

For explosiveness and reflexes, Statham has always used plyometrics. A fast, hard circuit requires no equipment. “I’ll jump rope, then do squat thrusts, burpees [squat thrusts in which you leap instead of standing up], star jumps [from a crouch, jump up and spread your arms and legs into a star, and come back down into a crouch], pushups, tuck jumps [jump, lift legs, tuck], stepups.” The key is explosive execution: “If I’m doing a pushup, I go down slowly and, bang, push up.”

HAVE A PORTABLE WORKOUT

Even if Statham has only 20 minutes, he pulls no-gear, no-cost workouts from the manual in his head. One favorite came from his friend Bas Rutten, the mixed-martial-arts champion. “He uses punching combinations,” Statham says. “He’ll call out ‘one’ — a left. Then ‘one, two’ — a left, a right. Or ‘three’ — a left, a right, and a left hook. You can do that in a hotel room, anywhere.” All you need is to bludgeon your excuses into a senseless heap. Just like Statham would.

THE EATING PLAN

Statham credits intelligent eating for his rapid weight loss. And he’s not starving: He downs 2,000 calories a day. For Statham the eating plan depends on the following execution, which he’s religious about (ahem, except for one night of beers a few weeks in).

No Refined Sugar or Flour at All, Ever

Bread and pasta are out, as are sweets of any kind. No fruit juices. No booze. “That’s the hardest part right there,” he says. His dessert every night is plain yogurt with fresh fruit.

If It Goes Down Your Throat, Record It on Paper

“This is the bible,” Statham says, holding up a black hardbound journal. He writes down everything he swallows, including water (he tries to drink 1 1/2 gallons a day — that’ll keep you feeling full). “Writing everything down makes it impossible for you to muck it up,” he says.

Spread Out the Calories

Statham has six small meals daily. The foods aren’t surprising — egg whites, vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts, and protein shakes. But the 2,000-calorie limit is gospel.

THE TRAINING PLAN

Statham works out every day but Sunday with Logan Hood, a former Navy SEAL that runs Epoch Training (www.epochtraining.com). Saturdays are reserved for hour long sustained trail runs in the Hollywood Hills while the other 5 days are spent at 87Eleven, a full service action film company and stunt studio located in a converted warehouse near the Los Angeles airport. Hollywood stuntmen own and train at the unique facility.

There are trampolines, climbing ropes, heavy bags, barbells, kettlebells, crash pads, and a complex apparatus of pullup bars. And if you start modeling your workouts after his, you should know that he often refers to them as horrible, nauseating, bastard, murder, nightmare, and priceless, preceding each description with the word “f—king.”

There are only two real rules:

1) No Repeats “I haven’t had one single day in 6 weeks that has been a repeat,” he says. “Every single day has had a different combination of exercises. Obviously, you repeat exercises over the course of 6 weeks, but you’ll never do that workout you did on Thursday the 23rd of August again. It always changes, and that’s what keeps it so interesting.”

2)  Record Everything Some workouts are timed, but all work is tracked so that intensity can be maximized. Heavy lifts are recorded so that percentages can be calculated and used in other workouts. “All of this is important,” Statham says. “If you want to get faster, stronger, and healthier you have to record and track progress. Making progress is the primary goal of the training I’ve been doing.”

THE WORKOUT

STAGE 1: 10-Minute Warmup

Statham uses a Concept2 Rowing Machine (http://www.concept2.com/) because it’s low-impact and works the cardiovascular system as well as all primary muscle groups. This is the easy part.

STAGE 2: 10 Minutes at Medium Intensity

This works the body and preps it for stage 3. There’s always variety. This portion of the workout consists of either:

1. Heavy lifting using compound movements like the front squat, deadlift, or power clean. Never more than five reps at a time.

2. Short circuits of various exercises with light weights (see below).
3. Various carrying exercises with kettlebells or sandbags.
4. A progression of about 15 kettlebell exercises.
5. Various throws with medicine balls.

STAGE 3: Interval Training

This is the brutal final stage that “blows every gasket,” says Statham. “You’re crying for air. It redlines the heart into oblivion.” Again, variety is key — either different exercises, or one exercise done according to an interval structure. Here is a list of some of Statham’s exercises. Pick six to make a circuit.

Note: You may not have access to the equipment needed to do some of these. The point is to find a balance of total- body work, so you can pick six basic exercises you can do at home and go full-out. Statham does one six-exercise circuit five times. Rest for as long as you need between exercises. And know your limits.

Track calories, discover thousands of simple food swaps, build a healthier grocery list, and more—all from your iPhone!

View the original article here

Tags: Martial arts films, Los Angeles airport, action star, ugly photos, fight scenes

1. You can put down the weights and the protein shakes. You might want us to be perfect looking; we simply want you not to be fat.

2. Replace all of those hideous size-extra-large T-shirts with something that actually sort of fits. We think you might be a medium.

%%9

10%%. Never allow anyone who listens to baseball on the radio to cut your hair.

%%13

14%%. Purchase sheets that don’t contain polyester and that are white.

5. Blue Book value isn’t everything. Take the money you were going to spend putting the backseat DVD theater in your Honda and buy a nice pair of shoes.

6. We don’t care what the plan is. Just have one.

7. Candles. They are so cheap and they are so effective.

%%29

30%%. When you give her a gift, include a card. You can spend less on the gift if you write something nice. Don’t buy a card with a message in it, unless you’re dating Danielle Steele.

9. She arrives home from work eager for attention. You arrive home from work eager for several beers and the Simpsons-King of the Hill hour. The moment you come home, hug her, look into her eyes, and say that you’re happy to see her. This simple gesture, done with sincerity, will earn you lots of time on the couch.

10. Buy covered garbage cans for your kitchen and bathroom. They hide stuff we don’t want to know about anyway.

11. Make a list entitled “Intolerable Behavior from Women,” and when you see it happening, speak up. Let us know you won’t be around no matter what, and we’ll want to keep you.

12. Drive a stick shift. Men look ineffectual driving automatics.

13. Never utter the phrase, “I know I’m no Brad Pitt/Denzel Washington.” You’re a guy. Merely acting like you think you’re hot makes you hot. Be grateful, because women actually have to be hot to be hot.

14. Short sleeves are for golf only; sandals are for Jesus only.

%%57

58%%. When a woman asks you to accompany her to a wedding or a family event, R.S.V.P. within 24 hours. If you find that you can’t commit, do everyone a favor and break it off.

%%61

62%%. Stop operating on the in-trouble/not-in-trouble paradigm. Just because we’re not yelling at you doesn’t mean everything is okay.

17. If you’re late, call.

18. Brush your teeth a lot.

19. Realize that if you “keep forgetting” to trim your nose hairs, we will “keep forgetting” to initiate sex.

20. If your television is of a size such that it is regularly commented on, hide it in a cabinet. You might have a penchant for a) sloth, b) passivity, or c) tuning out the world, but she need not be reminded of this every time she walks into your living room.

21. You might not know what she wants you to get her for her birthday, but her friends do. Ask them.

22. When we are together, sometimes we are occupied with tasks—closing a window, putting on a new CD, petting the cat—that cause us to focus our gaze elsewhere. May we suggest these windows of time as the most favorable for scratching your balls.

23. Buy a Swiffer and use it. They come in dry (living room) and wet (kitchen and bathroom). Wash your dishes. Pick up your clothes. Swiff. She’ll think you’re a responsible adult.

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Tags: intolerable behavior, brad pitt, simple gesture, Human Interest, look into her eyes

If you condensed your most recent meal down to a few pills, would they be tiny dynamos, or the nutritional equivalent of Tic Tacs? If you’re like most men, what’s on your plate falls somewhere in between—that is, leaving plenty of room for improvement. “If men start to favor certain foods—meat and potatoes, for example—they may develop nutritional blind spots as a result,” says Kristie Lancaster, Ph.D., an associate professor of nutrition at New York University.

This can be a problem, because your body needs a basic roster of vitamins and minerals to run properly. If your regular diet comes up short, you may need a multivitamin to reach this nutritional baseline. But to actually boost your health, you need to consider moving beyond a multi by folding in some less common elements. Lycopene, for instance, is a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes. Red yeast rice, a heart-healthy statin. Bottled boosters such as these can be insurance policies for your nutritional blind spots—and if you have specific health concerns, a form of extended coverage

The right supplements can help your heart, sharpen your immune system, and even improve your sex life. The wrong ones, however, can be ineffective or even harmful. “You run into problems because most men are ‘prescribing’ these things themselves,” says Tod Cooperman, M.D., president of consumerlab.com, an independent tester of health and nutritional products. “Don’t take supplements with abandon. They should be used carefully, because taking in too much of certain nutrients can cause problems.”

We consulted with top doctors, reviewed the latest research, and waded through marketers’ claims to bring you 18 of the best supplements for men. Use our guide—along with advice from your own doc, since many supplements can interact with other medications—to fine-tune your strategy.

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Tags: specific health, vitamins and minerals, Kristie Lancaster, Dietary supplements, best supplements

Q. What can you tell me about saw palmetto? I read that it’s a good herbal remedy for hair loss and baldness.

-Jason

Answer: Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens or Sabal serrulata) is a dwarf palm plant native to North America. It primarily grows along the Atlantic coast in Georgia and Florida. The active ingredients are believed to be found in the plant’s brown-black berries.

Saw palmetto was a popular folk remedy used by Native Americans to treat urinary conditions in men and breast disorders in women.

It has become an accepted treatment for symptoms associated with benign prostate gland enlargement (called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH) in many parts of Europe and in New Zealand. In North America, saw palmetto is considered an alternative herbal remedy for BPH.

Saw palmetto is also popular as an herbal remedy for a type of hair loss and baldness called androgenic alopecia, or male- and female-pattern baldness. This type of hair loss is typically the greatest at the top of the head or around the temples.

Although we still don’t know exactly how it works, it’s believed that it may block an enzyme (5-alpha-reductase) from allowing the hormone testosterone from being converted to another hormone, dihydrotestosterone. Dihydrotestosterone is considered a key contributing factor to the onset and progression of androgenic alopecia and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Saw palmetto has also been found to affect the levels of sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen in other ways.

Much of saw palmetto’s popularity as a remedy for hair loss and baldness, however, is based on how it’s believed to work rather than on evidence that it actually does. Although there have been some lab studies showing that saw palmetto can inhibit 5-alpha-reductase, there are no well-designed clinical studies showing that saw palmetto can cause hair growth, or stop hair loss or baldness from progressing. One of the only published trials on saw palmetto for baldness is a small study involving 10 men with mild to moderate male pattern baldness. Although promising, the study was too small to provide meaningful evidence.

Like most other herbal supplements, saw palmetto has potential side effects. The most common side effects associated with saw palmetto use are mild stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and bad breath. Some men taking saw palmetto have reported erectile dysfunction, breast tenderness or enlargement, and changes in sexual desire.

There have been rare case reports describing liver inflammation, pancreatitis, jaundice, headache, dizziness, insomnia, depression, breathing difficulties, muscle pain, high blood pressure, chest pain, abnormal heart rhythm, blood clots, and heart disease, but it’s not clear that these side effects were directly caused by saw palmetto.

Although it hasn’t been well-demonstrated in humans, saw palmetto may influence levels of sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. Until we know more, people with hormone-sensitive conditions, such as breast cancer, should use caution. Also, saw palmetto could theoretically interfere with oral contraceptives and hormone therapy.

At least two case reports have linked saw palmetto with severe bleeding. People with bleeding disorders or who are taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications (“blood-thinners”)–such as warfarin (Coumadin), aspirin, or clopidogrel (Plavix)–should avoid taking saw palmetto unless under medical supervision. It should also be avoided at least two weeks before and after surgery.

The safety of saw palmetto for pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with kidney or liver disease hasn’t been established.

Sources
Bressler R. Herb-drug interactions. Interactions between saw palmetto and prescription medications. Geriatrics. (2005) 60.11: 32- 34.

Prager N, Bickett K, French N, Marcovici G. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of botanically derived inhibitors of 5-alpha-reductase in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. J Altern Complement Med. (2002) 8.2: 143-152.

Ulbricht C, Basch E, Bent S, Boon H, Corrado M, Foppa I, Hashmi S, Hammerness P, Kingsbury E, Smith M, Szapary P, Vora M, Weissner W. Evidence-based systematic review of saw palmetto by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. J Soc Integr Oncol. (2006) 4.4: 170-186.

Wilt TJ, Ishani A, Stark G, MacDonald R, Lau J, Mulrow C. Saw palmetto extracts for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review. JAMA (1998) 280.18: 1604-1609.

Tags: treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, liver disease, breast disorders, prostate gland, muscle pain

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