Fitness, Health and Wealth

If you’re wavering among carrots, tomatoes, or spinach to accompany your next meal, go for the greens. Researchers at the University of Vienna in Austria have discovered that when green vegetables break down, they release something call sulfoquinovose (SQ), a plant-derived sugar, which in turn provides essential food for good gut bacteria to feast on. “Our research has found that SQ promotes gut microorganisms known to be associated with healthy individuals,” says lead study author Buck Hanson, Ph.D. Specifically, SQ is broken down into acetate and hydrogen sulfide, metabolites that support the body in functions ranging from brain signaling to appetite regulation to cardiovascular health, says Hanson. (To figure all this out, the scientists studied the fecal samples from a group of vegetarians—hello, plant poopers—and worked their way backwards to figure out the influence of SQ on gut microbes.) 10 Ways to Make Vegetables Suck Less Not a fan of the green stuff? Try these tricks...

Forget about psyching out your competition. If you’re looking to get an edge on your rivals in your next race or game, consider psyching yourself up first. Pressure training, a mental technique that simulates the stress of high-stakes competition during practice, is the newest tool coaches are using to prepare athletes for battle. And for good reason: Research in the journal Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology found that when nearly 300 athletes underwent some form of pressure training before a competition, “they consistently outperformed peers who did not train under pressure,” says study co-author Billy Low. How pressure training works varies by situation—one coach might put up a leaderboard in the locker room, where everyone’s practice times are ranked for others to see. Another athlete might post daily weightlifting goals on his Instagram account, then force himself to report the results that evening. The aim: Get used to training in an environment that mimics the pressu...

Love boot-camp classes but in a time crunch? Good news: low-volume HIIT is just as effective. Less than 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can reap just as many benefits as the traditional 30 minutes a day recommended by the surgeon general, according to new research published in the Journal of Physiology . “In many cases, the low-volume variations of HIIT provide comparable and, at times, superior improvements for a variety of health outcomes when compared to longer but lower-intensity aerobic training interventions,” says study author Angelo Sabag, Ph.D., of Western Sydney University in Australia. Along with strong quads and a six-pack, perks of low-volume HIIT include a decrease in blood sugar levels and a stronger heart. “It improves the responsiveness of our muscles to insulin and allows us to better use blood glucose and fatty acids,” says Sabag. “HIIT also improves the heart’s ability to pump blood more effectively and circulate oxygen and nutrients to orga...

The gym can’t replace therapy , but it’s a damn good release when you’re dealing with a tough day at the office or a stressful family affair. Running can be meditative and yoga can be relaxing, but if you need to blow off steam, you need to lift—and lift heavy.     When your temper is high and you’re frustrated beyond belief, throwing some weight around is an incomparable release. Here are four heavy-lifting routines to help you blow off steam. Anger Management: Best Heavy-Lifting Workouts to Blow off Steam Workout 1: Locomotion Equipment needed: Turf space, loaded sled, heavy dumbbells 1. Farmer’s Carry — 6 x 50m : Stand tall with a weight in each hand. Maintain a “proud” chest, pull shoulder blades down and back, and walk forward using short heel-to-toe steps. Aim for your body weight equivalent to be carried. If you can’t find dumbbells that can equate to this, try loading a trap bar to that equivalent instead. Rest 90 seconds between carries. 2. Sled Push — 6 roun...

The new Fitibit Charge 5 builds on the advanced features of the previous model, offering a sleeker, more rounded body, and new bands. A more efficient (but also brighter) AMOLED color screen has been added, to, which helps it get up to seven days of battery life.     The Fitbit Charge 5 also has some celebrity chutzpah behind it with Will Smith saying it helped him lose his “dad bod” (he took to Instagram earlier this year to confess he was in the worst shape of this life). The new Fitbit model isn’t just a regular tracker. Along with the normal health metrics that most trackers assess, like steps, fitness, sleep, and overall well-being, buyers will get a free six-month trial of Fitbit Premium , a new service that gives you health and fitness guidance plus access to more than 500 workouts, mindfulness and nutrition sessions. Courtesy Image With the Daily Readiness feature, the Charge 5 will tell you every morning whether your body is ready to sweat or if a...

More than 20 percent of Americans suffer from chronic pain , but few know how to manage it without medication. A new book aims to change that. In The Way Out , psychotherapist Alan Gordon explores the science of pain and how the brain sometimes scrambles its signals, creating pain that isn’t tied to a real physical ailment. That’s called “neuroplastic” pain, and Gordon also presents a powerful new way to alleviate it: pain reprocessing therapy, or PRT.     20 Best New Books of 2021 to Add to Your Library Read article “Our brains aren’t perfect, and sometimes they misinterpret signals from the body,” Gordon tells Men’s Journal . “The body is fine, but the brain creates pain anyway. In other words, neuroplastic pain is a false alarm.” Yet even false alarms can be incredibly debilitating—pain is pain, no matter the source. That also makes treating neuroplastic pain especially difficult, since there’s no physical issue to address. For the people who suffer from it, there ...

It’s tempting to view a backyard swimming pool solely as a place to float with a beer in hand (might we suggest one of these stellar summer brews ), but even the smallest backyard varieties can provide challenging pool workouts for both serious and recreational swimmers.     A lot of exercises you do on land can be performed in the water. The movements become more challenging because the water resistance—while being less stressful on the joints—puts more force against your body to work against. Competitive swimmers often turn to dryland training—traditional conditioning and weight room work performed out of the water to complement their swim training. That provides a change of pace and a respite from the water. But for athletes who don’t swim for training purposes, the water can provide similar benefits in terms of breaking the monotony of the gym and complementing traditional strength and cardio training. Here are five pool workouts perfect for a heat wave. 10 At-Hom...

HIIT is effective for melting body fat, but burpeeing to oblivion can be a soul-sucking means to a sculpted end. Instead of reverting to autopilot and blasting through the usual rotation of mountain climbers and jump squats, try this power endurance HIIT workout, courtesy of Lululemon ’s newest brand ambassador and bootcamp maestro, Akin Akman .     “These exercises strengthen neuromuscular pathways and unlock fast-twitch muscle fibers to help you move freely across all planes of motion,” Akman says. Rather than aggravating knees and ankles, this HIIT workout strengthen joints and tendons while improving bone density. “You’ll move and react sharper, becoming more receptive, focused and alert,” says Akman. Plus, all this single-leg work promotes longevity and peak performance. Directions: How to Do the Power Endurance HIIT Workout Exercises 1 and 2 are AMRAP super­sets: Do as many reps as possible in 1 minute, then immediately begin second move without rest. Repeat supers...

The latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) came out earlier this week and the findings were, to put it generously, dreadful. The report, put together by 234 scientists, documents climate changes in every region on Earth and states that some effects are irreversible over hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. In a press statement, UN secretary-general António Guterres said the report was a “code red for humanity.” Here in the U.S., we’re already seeing severe effects of climate change from West Coast to East . If you’re looking for good news regarding climate change, you’re going to have to dig for it.     “It’s just guaranteed that it’s going to get worse,” said Linda Mearns , a senior scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research and report co-author told the Associated Press. “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.” Clean-up after July floods in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany. Flooding in western Germany ...

What’s pushing 2,000-plus athletes from over 50 countries to San Francisco for the 40th annual Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon (EFAT) on Aug. 15—one of the most unique and grueling swim-bike-run races on the pro triathlon tour?     The usual healthy mix of spirit, grit, and determination with a dollop of straight-up masochism. But only one competitor in the crowd (that we know of) has also been curiously drawn to this event—which begins with a cold, current-churned, 1.5-mile swim across San Francisco Bay from the famous former offshore prison—to finish what his suspected Alcatraz inmate ancestor started. How to Train for a Triathlon Prepare to master the toughest endurance test of all. Read article “According to my mom and my grandmother, I’m a direct descendant of Arthur Barker, a convicted criminal who tried to escape from Alcatraz back in the 1930s,” says triathlete Ronnie Troyn, who felt a faint familial tug when first hearing about the race on Instagram. “It just...

This article is an installment of The Everyday Warrior series , a recurring column by retired  Navy SEAL and best-selling author Mike Sarraille , featuring advice, key interviews, and tips to live a life of impact, growth, and continual learning.  While we all strive to live a life of purpose and fulfillment, circumstances can often derail this noble pursuit. When times get tough, it’s easy to lose focus and forget about the bigger purpose. It’s during these moments when you need to remember: Life shouldn’t be viewed as something you win, but rather something you seek to live well.  This concept— The Everyday Warrior Mindset— is a practical, no-quit mentality that’ll help you overcome life’s challenges and come out physically and mentally healthier, more knowledgeable, and resilient. It’s about leading fulfilling lives, despite where you start or where you’re at, focusing on what you can control, ignoring what you can’t, and positively impacting those around you....

Sprinters have arguably the world’s best physiques: Their bodies consist of long, sinewy muscles that can propel them around the track at breathtaking speeds. So why do so few people do track workouts? The facilities are readily available (many high schools and middle schools keep their tracks open to the public during evenings and on weekends), and they’re not just for running, either. Most tracks have grassy infields, if not lined football surfaces, that can be used for shuttle runs and exercises that might otherwise be done in the gym.     Training at the track in the spring and autumn months or on summer evenings is often more pleasant than enduring another crowded gym workout . And unlike your typical long, steady-state jog on a treadmill, running on a track is much more likely to produce improvements in strength and speed. If nothing else, it provides a welcome change of pace from the gym and an opportunity to train outside. Ready to get started? Here’s a warmup an...

Maybe seeing “Flula Borg workout” wouldn’t have gotten your attention in the past. The German comedian has never been known for being jacked. But if you’ve seen the trailer for the new  Suicide Squad , you’ve caught a glimpse of Borg as Javelin, a relatively unknown DC character. He’s a former Olympic athlete who carries around a javelin as a weapon (naturally). So how did Borg, a self-proclaimed “skinny dude,” add slabs of muscle to his frame? He enlisted the help of Los Angeles trainer Paolo Mascitti , whose custom strength-building program scored him 25 pounds of muscle mass.     “My usual routine used to be working out for 20 minutes, eating nothing, and staring at the television for the rest of the day,” Borg tells Men’s Journal . “Paolo told me that wasn’t going to fly.” Borg also happens to have a supercharged metabolism, so bulking him up required 7,000 calories a day. Read all about the making of an ex-Olympic supervillain here . Daniel Craig's 'No Time...

German comedian Flula Borg never had to worry too much about being “ ripped .” After all, a rippling six-pack isn’t exactly required to be rip-roaringly funny. But his naturally lean genetics has worked in his favor. Fans may recall him dancing in a see-through shirt for Pitch Perfect 2 or a mostly censored nude beach visit with Conan O’Brien in Berlin. That all changed when he got the role of DC supervillain Javelin in James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad .     “Since he’s a former Olympic athlete, and carries this huge javelin, I knew I was going to need some professional assistance,” Borg tells Men’s Journal . “My usual routine used to be working out for 20 minutes, eating nothing, and staring at the television for the rest of the day. Paolo told me that was not going to fly this time around.” Borg is referring to Los Angeles trainer Paolo Mascitti , whose custom strength-building program scored him 25 pounds of muscle mass and got him into real Olympic form. We sp...