A new report in the journal Human Resource Development International has found that, contrary to popular belief, massive multiplayer online gamers learn by gaming and their skills in the workplace are enriched by hours spent playing games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft.

“Online gaming often gets a bad reputation, but our study reveals a different story. We found that gaming can actually help people develop valuable workplace skills,” reports study author Melika Shirmohammadi. “These skills include problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and even self-confidence. Our research shows that gaming, when done in moderation, can be a way for people to grow both personally and professionally.”

Why gaming builds job skills

Look around your office. It’s likely filled with online gamers. The reasoning is simple: millions of people play “massively multiplayer online” or MMO games, in which they play together in a virtual world. The top three games – World of Warcraft, Destiny 2, and Final Fantasy – claim 150.6 M, 49.7 M, and 60.3 M total players respectively.

“The purpose of the present study was to examine hobby – an understudied but prevalent part of the nonwork domain – to understand if and how MMO gaming positively enriches employees’ work domain,” says Shirmohammadi.

His team conducted a qualitative study among 23 employed MMO gamers who had an average of 20 years of video gaming experience and had played MMO games for at least 10 years.

The MMO games examined (including World of War Craft, EVE and Final Fantasy) require players to coordinate tasks to achieve collective goals, respect team norms (e.g., arriving on time for missions), collaborate with others as part of a team, and avoid reckless or uncalculated behaviours that would jeopardise the mission – in the workplace that might be when your marketing lead brings music into a client presentation.

Gamers are better equipped to manage stress

The reason gamers might be set up to succeed in the workplace is due to their mindset, the researchers found. Gamers reported viewing work as solvable puzzles, and their experience resulted in improved patience in encountering problems and encouraged them to persevere in solving them.

One participant, an engineer, said: “I just see a puzzle and I’m motivated to solve it. So, it’s affected, I guess, my mindset in that way, such that I look at things as solvable…”

Other players say they developed self-confidence through game playing because they feel good about their level of success in the online gaming world. And others reported developing self-awareness as they received feedback on their own skills and how they played alongside team members.

Gamers’ ability with coaching skills – such as evaluating performance, providing feedback, giving instructions and inspiring others – was also traced back to their experiences working with fellow ‘basement dwellers’ taking out trash in games like WOW. Several participants mentioned the similarities between gaming and work that made such skills transferrable.

An IT specialist, described it this way: “I deal with a lot of new people [at work]. Since I kind of go out of my way in game to do all the coaching, I’ve become ahead of some of colleagues in explaining how to do certain things [to new employees] …”

Gamers have resilience

One famous gaming quote underlines the positive mindset gamers bring to the workplace: “Failure doesn’t mean the game is over, it means try again with experience”.

And eventually, levelling up.

Related:

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Study Suggests Gaming Can Help You Burn As Many Calories In 2 Hours As You Would Doing 1,000 Sit-Ups

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In the study, researchers compared brain MRIs of 352 male and female amateur soccer players, ranging in age from 18 to 53, to brain MRIs of 77 non-collision sport athletes, such as runners.

Soccer players who headed the ball at high levels showed abnormality of the brain’s white matter adjacent to sulci, which are deep grooves in the brain’s surface. Abnormalities in this region of the brain are known to occur in very severe traumatic brain injuries.

The abnormalities were most prominent in the frontal lobe of the brain, an area most susceptible to damage from trauma and frequently impacted during soccer heading. More repetitive head impacts were also associated with poorer verbal learning.

In recent years, research has suggested a link between repeated head impacts and neurodegenerative diseases, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

“The potential effects of repeated head impacts in sport are much more extensive than previously known and affect locations similar to where we’ve seen CTE pathology,” says study senior author Dr Michael L. Lipton, professor of radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. “This raises concern for delayed adverse effects of head impacts. Our analysis showed that the white matter abnormalities represent a mechanism by which heading leads to worse cognitive performance.”

Of significance was the fact that most of the participants in the study had never sustained a concussion or been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, suggesting repeated head impacts that don’t result in serious injury may still adversely affect the brain.

“The study identifies structural brain abnormalities from repeated head impacts among healthy athletes,” Dr. Lipton said. “The abnormalities occur in the locations most characteristic of CTE, are associated with worse ability to learn a cognitive task and could affect function in the future.”

Soccer has been regarded as less of a CTE risk than the collision codes of football, such as rugby league, rugby union, AFL and grid-iron. But this study shows that the game is not without risk and governing bodies may need to address the CTE issue, potentially through rule changes, in future.

Related:

All Contact Sport In Australia Could Soon Be Banned, According To An Expert

The AFL has been asked to implement safety measures to mitigate risk of concussion

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The Aussie actor has made a career out of stacking on lean mutant muscle to play James ‘Logan’ Howlett/Wolverine, 11 times in total, over a staggering 25 years. Each time he’s spent months in the gym, not to mention eating his way through a battery hen farm’s worth of chickens.

“I’ve learned you can’t rush it. I’ve learned that it takes time,” Jackman said during an interview earlier this year, ahead of the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, with his best mate and fellow gym grinder, Ryan Reynolds. “So, we have six months from when I finish [Broadway’s The Music Man] to when I started filming. And I’m not doing any other work. I’m going to be with my family and train. That’s going to be my job for six months.”

Jackman added: “And apologies, chickens. Run a mile. Start running now because I’m coming for you.”

Over the years, the actor, who regularly swaps shiny shoes in Broadway shows for adamantium claws, has given us glimpses of his brutal training regimen, with stories of getting up at 3.45 am to eat egg-whites and mammoth training loads. In 2016, the 56-year-old actor joined the 1,000-pound powerlifting club. What’s that, you ask? It means Jackman could bench 107kg bench press, deadlift 186kg, and squat 156kg, which adds up to a thousand pounds (453kg) in a single day.

This year, ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine, Jackman upped his calorie intake to a monster 6,000 per day, enabling him to stack on a startling amount of size.

So, how does Jackman manage to achieve such jaw-dropping results? Here’s a look at his workout and diet routine.

@thehughjackman

Hugh Jackman’s workout routine

Hugh Jackman’s muscle-building regimen was overseen by trainer David Kingsbury, who followed the tenets of progressive overload, gradually increasing the amount of weight Jackman lifted. Working in 4-week blocks, the pair added weight for the first three weeks, and then reduced it in the fourth, when they upped the number of reps. Here’s the weekly split:

Day 1: Chest & Shoulders

• Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Behind-The-Neck Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Cuban Press: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Triceps Dips: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Triceps Pushdown: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Lat Raises: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Front Raises: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Rear Shoulder Flys: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Overhead Press: 3 sets of 8 reps

Day 2: Legs & abs

• Back Squat: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Front Squat: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Leg Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Calf Raise: 4 sets of 12 reps
• Leg Raises: 4 sets of 12 reps
• Ab Wheels: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Knee Raises: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Decline Sit-Ups: 4 sets of 10 reps

Day 3: Back & biceps

• Weighted Pull-Up: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 12 reps
• Bodyweight Rows: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Zottman Bicep Curls: 4 sets of 8 reps
• Cross Body Curls: 4 sets of 8 reps
• Pronated Curls: 4 sets of 8 reps

Day 4: Chest & arms

• Incline Bench Press: 4 sets of 6 reps
• Dumbbell Press #1: 4 sets of 6 reps
• Dumbbell Press #2: 4 sets of 6 reps
• Dumbbell Press #3: 4 sets of 6 reps
• Cable Flys: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Narrow Grip Bench Press
• Triceps Pulldowns: 4 sets of 8 reps
• Dips: 4 sets of 8 reps
• Diamond Grips: 4 sets of 8 reps

Day 5: Core & legs

• Deadlifts: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Romanian Deadlifts: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Zercher Squats: 4 sets of 12 reps
• Incline Sit-Ups: 4 sets of 10 reps
• Barbell Landmines: 3 sets of 10 reps

Leg Day

• Back Squat: >85% 1RM  3 sets of 6 reps
• Leg Press: >85% 1RM 3 sets of 6 reps
• Bulgarian Split Squat: 60-80% 1RM 3 sets of 14 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Lunge: 65-85% 1RM  3 sets of 10 reps
• Medicine Ball Slams: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Hanging Leg Raise: 3 sets of 10 reps

 

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Hugh Jackman’s cardio workout

Jackman isn’t just an iron junkie. He also nails his cardio. Jackman bookends his workouts with a 10-minute cardio warm-up and adds a 20-minute finisher. In the cutting phase of his Wolverine regime, Jackman used the rowing machine as his main form of cardio. In an Instagram post, he revealed that he regularly engages in pyramid training, with sets ranging from 400 metres to 2,000 metres.

“It’s all about evolution,” says Mike Ryan, another of Jackman’s longtime trainers. “From one workout to the next I’ll always have something new to add to the equation. Our sessions are based on established principles, but we’ll always try and bring new ideas to the table. And Hugh now looks the most ripped he’s been for any movie.”

It wasn’t always the case, says Ryan. “[Back in 1989], he was very, very skinny. We used to call him Chicken Legs.”

Safe to say, nobody is calling Jackman that today.

@thehughjackman//Instagram

Hugh Jackman’s training diet

Jackman is a macro fiend, hitting the same foods on repeat, as he knows they’re a reliable protein delivery system. In a photo he shared on social, Jackman revealed some of the meals he consumed as part of the bulking phase of his Wolverine transformation:

Black Sea Bass – In his bulking phase, Jackman consumed around 2,000 kcal worth of black sea bass. It’s a sound choice, low in calories and fat with a healthy dose of selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. And bang for buck, bass is one of the best sources of lean protein around.

Chicken burgers – Jackman consumed at least two chicken burgers per day. That’s roughly 2,000 very tasty calories.

Grass-Fed sirloin steaks –Long a favourite of The Rock, you’re looking at 1100 calories and 25 grams of protein, per steak, plus a decent hit omega-3s.

Eggs – Jackman famously got up at 4am to eat egg-whites. You’re better off eating the whole thing for a nutrient payload. Getting jacked (or ‘jacked-manned’) is often called ‘yoked’, after all.

Muesli – At breakfast, Jackman also likes his muesli, a great source of antioxidants and soluble fibre.

Sweet Potato – The bodybuilder’s potato, this superfood gives you fibre, vitamins, and minerals.

Chicken – Ask any body builder: poultry packs protein!

Brown Rice – Brown rice packs more fibre, vitamins, and minerals than its white cousin due to the presence of bran and germ. It’s also a nutrient powerhouse, stocking magnesium, potassium, iron, and B vitamins, and manganese, helpful for bone development and wound healing – useful when you’re spending your day hauling huge loads.

Spinach – An easy way to get some iron and folate-rich greens.

Avocado – Avo is a great source of omega-3s, as well as nutrients like beta-carotene, riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium and potassium. Eat with impunity.

Related:

Hugh Jackman Shares His Daily Calories as He Bulks up to Play Wolverine Again

Jake Gyllenhaal’s complete training and diet regimen

The post Hugh Jackman’s complete workout and diet regimen appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

There are a few things that could be holding you back from restful sleep. One, you might be stressed, worrying about that work project that’s hanging over you or the tone with which you addressed the barista at the café this morning. Or it might be too noisy. The neighbours are playing bongos, for example. Or it could be that it’s too quiet and you’re missing the residual hum of a refrigerator or air conditioner to lull you to sleep.

We can’t do much about your neighbours but if it’s either of the latter two, a white noise app could help. These apps have flooded the market in recent years – it appears there are whole swathes of the population lying awake each night. If you’re one of them, here’s everything you need to know about white noise apps and our picks of the best apps to help you sleep like a newborn baby.

What is a white noise app?

You know the sound of an untuned radio or TV? That’s white noise. The term refers to a noise that contains all frequencies across the spectrum of audible sound in equal measure.

Research on white noise has found evidence it can reduce crying in infants and boost your performance at work. It could also potentially help counteract symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while multiple studies have also examined how white noise may affect sleep.

While you could untune your radio to produce white noise, you could also just grab your phone and download a white noise app. Guessing you choose the latter.

Do white noise apps work?

Short answer: maybe. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia reviewed the scientific literature and identified 38 studies that have investigated noise as a sleep aid. While there was some evidence that continuous noise reduced the amount of time it took individuals to fall asleep, the quality of the evidence was poor, and at least one study suggested the noise may lead to more disrupted sleep, the researchers concluded.

“If these apps or devices could only do good things, I wouldn’t really care. But because there may be negative consequences, I would just be careful,” says study author Mathias Basner.

But other research has found evidence that white noise apps can be effective in masking other disruptive sounds. A study published in the journal Sleep Medicine on participants living in a high noise environment in  New York City found white noise significantly improved sleep based on subjective and objective measurements in subjects complaining of difficulty sleeping due to high levels of environmental noise.

The question you have to ask yourself – ideally not at 3am – are you awake because you’re stressed and strapped to a mental treadmill, or are you not sleeping because of the sound of the city outside, neighbours moving furniture upstairs or other calls of the night. If it’s the latter, then a white noise app could be beneficial. If it’s the former then you probably need to do your stressing before you get into bed.

Do white noise apps drain your phone’s battery?

Yes, white noise apps can significantly drain your battery, mainly because by using them you are effectively running your phone all night. But there are steps you can take to reduce the toll. Start by enabling battery saver mode to reduce power consumption, limiting background processes and dimming your screen. You can also adjust settings within your white-noise app, such as adjusting the volume or setting a timer, rather than just letting it run all night. You should also lower your screen’s brightness – a common culprit in battery life drainage – which could be distracting and keep you awake!

Is there a free white noise app?

Yes, there are lots of them! And most apps have a free version to choose from. Here are our picks:

Sleep Sounds by Sleep Pillow

This app contains a variety of soothing sounds to help you fall asleep. We like the simple display, with each sound option having its own image. Once you tap the image, the sound plays until you stop it. You can set up a timer that shuts off the sound after a designated period, ranging from one minute to an hour and 15 minutes. The free version comes with the following sound options: rain, ocean waves, lightning, rain and wind mix, bird and frog sounds, whale sounds and crackling fireplace sounds. We like rain – brings back memories of nights under the covers listening to a thunderstorm.

Download: iOS / Android

BetterSleep

This app’s library includes more than 200 mellowing sounds, sorted into categories: ASMR, Animal, Baby, Brainwave, City, Nature, Sci-fi, Solfeggio, Spoken, Water, White Noise, Melodies. The white noise section has seven sounds: white, brown, pink, and green noise, as well as air conditioner, spaceship, and airplane. The free version of BetterSleep gives you access to around a quarter of the sleep sounds.

Download: iOS / Android

White Noise Lite

White Noise Lite is a free white noise app that offers 50 free pre-programmed sounds including Rain and water, Fans and air conditioners, Animals and nature, Transportation and Miscellaneous, which includes Tibetan singing bowl, crowded room, and heartbeat (sounds stressful, tbh). The app also offers coloured sounds, including white, grey, brown, pink, blue, and violet, while timers and alarms give you the flexibility to program sounds to play for as long as you wish, as well as fade, or repeat. The free White Noise Lite app features banner ads – you can upgrade to the full White Noise app for one dollar or upgrade to the pro version for more sound options.

Download: iOS / Android

White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds

This app range of ambient sleep sounds includes Mechanical sounds, Coloured noises, Rain, Thunder, Water, Birds, Animals, Nature, Fire, ASMR and Baby, many of which are free.

Download: iOS / Android:

Atmosphere

On this app there’s a wide range of sounds broken down by category like forest or beach, and you can play multiple tracks at once. The volume of each sound can be individually tweaked, giving you more ability to create your perfect mix.

Download: iOS / Android

Related:

Does White Noise Really Make A Difference To Our Sleep?

Doctors reveal what happens if you only sleep six hours a night

The post The best white noise apps to help you get to sleep appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

But while the name is perhaps a little misleading, what you eat can certainly affect your mood and impact your body’s stress response – namely the rate and degree to which it releases cortisol, an important stress hormone produced in your adrenal glands. Research shows calorie-dense food (rich in saturated fat and sugars) elevates cortisol levels while ingestion of sugars elevates and prolongs the cortisol response to acute stress.

But while that may resonate intuitively, there are variables to consider. Other studies have reported high-calorie diets reduce the body’s stress response. And more prolonged sugar consumption (three times per day for two weeks) has been found to reduce cortisol responsiveness to stress. While this might sound like a positive development, it could make it more difficult for your body to handle stressful situations.

The fact is, a healthy amount of cortisol is required to enable you to perform at your best. You need it to nail that big work presentation, as well as help metabolise food. It’s when cortisol levels rise beyond a healthy threshold and remain there, that your health may suffer.

A diet that keeps your cortisol levels balanced without dramatic spikes, can therefore help you manage stress and anxiety. In essence, ‘cortisol detox’ is a misnomer. Cortisol balance would be a more helpful term but one unlikely to go viral on TikTok . . . so cortisol detox it is. Here’s how to eat in a way that will keep your cortisol levels within a healthy range.

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It helps regulate your body’s stress response and energy levels, keeping you awake and alert throughout the day. Cortisol, like stress, is neither good or bad, it just is. It’s produced in response to challenging situations and, in effect, helps you deal with them. At the same time, chronically elevated cortisol has been linked to anxiety, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Cortisol is necessary for immune function, regulating metabolism, and other bodily functions, including waking you up in the morning. A cortisol detox aims to get cortisol back to a normal range, rather than being constantly overstimulated.

Do you need a cortisol detox?

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you constantly feeling stressed or overwhelmed?
• Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep?
• Have you noticed unexplained weight gain, especially around your midsection?
• Do you feel more anxious or irritable than usual?
• Are you experiencing frequent headaches or digestive issues?

If you answered “yes” to several of these questions, your cortisol levels might be out of whack and you could benefit from a cortisol detox.

What is a cortisol detox?

A cortisol detox should comprise three main components: following a diet that helps restore a normal cortisol rhythm; changing your lifestyle to reduce chronic stress; developing techniques to build resilience whenever acute stress arises.

One thing that can help modulate stress is a healthy gut microbiome. As such, high fibre gut-friendly such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lentils, should all be part of a cortisol detox diet. Fruits also contain antioxidants, which may help fight free radicals that increase cortisol levels.

Pre and probiotics are also key in maintaining gut health. Healthy fats, especially omega-3 fatty acids present in fish and nuts, have been found to help improve brain health and thus reduce stress. Finally, dark chocolate and water intake should also be optimised. Dark Chocolate contains flavonoids, which may help modulate cortisol release.

What does an average day on a cortisol detox diet look like?

• Breakfast: Muesli with yoghurt, berries, seeds, and nuts.
• Lunch: Try an omega-3 fatty acid-rich food like tuna or salmon with a salad or broccolini.
• Dinner: Chicken or fish with some whole grains like brown rice or quinoa and vegetables.
• Dessert: one or two pieces of dark chocolate.
• Snacks: handful of nuts.

Apart from diet, what else can you do to reduce cortisol?

Diet is just one component of a cortisol detox. If you’re constantly finding yourself triggered by stressful situations at work or at home, then you may need to make lifestyle changes to avoid these flashpoints.

At the same time, you need strategies to deal with stress and adversity and cultivate resilience when tough times do arise. Exercising regularly, sleeping consistent hours and practising mindfulness activities like meditation and breath work, can all help keep your cortisol levels balanced.

Related:

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Are you addicted to stress? The hidden dangers of high-performance lifestyles

The post Everything you need to know about the cortisol detox diet appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

If a role calls for brutal physicality, a jacked physique with mountainous traps and a washboard stomach, Gyllenhaal will go all in, see Southpaw and this year’s Road House. If, on the other hand, the role calls for coat hanger physique with a haunted hollowed-out face, Gyllenhaal is happy to oblige, as he did so convincingly as Lou Bloom, in 2014’s Nightcrawler.

In terms of his ‘body of work’, the 43-year-old actor is building up a resume that rivals the yo-yoing body transformations of fellow Hollywood star Christian Bale, who went from buff master-of-the-universe in American Psycho to emaciated insomniac in The Machinist to puffy conman in American Hustle.

So, how does Gyllenhaal do it? The answer is he puts in work! For his role of Elwood Dalton in the remake of Road House, an ’80s action classic, Gyllenhaal reportedly spent over a year finessing his workouts and tinkering with his macros to ensure he was in peak physical condition once the cameras started rolling.

For Road House, Gyllenhaal managed to shred down to five per cent body fat, dropping 10kg to go from 93kg to 83kg. That’s a level usually only attained by elite athletes and is a mark that’s extremely difficult to maintain, as Gyllenhaal’s trainer Jason Walsh told US Men’s Health, earlier this year.

“The way he looked throughout the movie, there (are) peaks, right? People don’t see the valleys,” Walsh said. “They don’t see the time in between the peaks, it just looks like one continuous thing. It doesn’t work like that.”

Here, we look at the workout and diet plans that have helped Gyllenhaal achieve remarkable results across his storied career.

How did Jake Gyllenhaal train for Road House?

In order to play the role of Elwood Dalton made famous by the hulking Patrick Swayze back in the ’80s, Gyllenhaal needed to pile on muscle mass, something that can only be achieved by going into calorie surplus while training at maximum intensity. Walsh and Gyllenhaal worked for up to a year on ensuring he was eating the right amounts of protein, carbs and fats to promote muscle growth.

In terms of his workout, Walsh prioritised mobility and bilateral posterior work in order to prepare for the movie’s dynamic action scenes, which are heavy on the rough and tumble of MMA.

Essentially, Gyllenhaal trained the way a professional UFC fighter would, with heavy mobility and flexor work and a commitment to progressive overload.

Instagram | @primevideoaunz

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House workout

1 Mobility stick stretching – 2-3 minutes

“Generally, we spend a few minutes each session moving, trying to get the core body temperature up before moving into some sort of mobility movement,” Walsh says. “The mobility stick is a great tool to help increase range of motion.”

2 Isometric Inverted hold: 30secs on, 30 secs off, x 3

By holding movements for extended periods, you increase muscular strength and endurance.

3 Shadow box for 30 secs on, 30 off for 3-4 rounds

Walsh had Gyllenhaal work out on a Proteus Motion Machine, a fancy bit of kit that measures strength and power for movements across different angles. “The Proteus is an amazing piece of equipment used mostly by performance centres to help train athletes in every plane of motion and help increase power production,” Walsh says. “We use it primarily for priming the nervous system, proprioception, learning movement patterns and a lot for warming up joints and metabolic training.” We assume you don’t have access to your own Proteus Motion Machine? No, then you can shadow box instead.

4 Sled pull x 2-3 sets

The sled is a powerhouse piece of equipment for building muscular endurance through the glutes, hamstrings and quads and improving leg drive. As Walsh explains, the aim is to go heavy on an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) protocol.

“Most of the sets we do are tied sets,” Walsh says. “We try to keep his (Gyllenhaal’s) work capacity up, keeping him moving, keep him sweating, keep him burning fat. We still want the heavy stimulus so we do a lot of heavy sled work.”

5 Safety bar squats: 4 x 6-8

Gyllenhaal and Walsh used these to foundational compound moves to build up the actor’s posterior chain, creating a platform for explosive movements.

“We always keep the heavy primitive work, in one way, shape or form,” Walsh explains. “Whether it’s squats or deadlifts and the variations thereof, we want to keep the muscle coordination at a high.”

6 10 kg plate hold x 30 secs x 3

Not a beach muscle by any means but highly functional, sturdy forearms are critical in improving grip strength. Walsh incorporated grip work, such as plate holds in each session. Grip strength is often indicative of upper and total-body strength.

7 Suspension trainer push-pulls: 3 sets of 6-8

Cross lateral loading was a standout component in Gyllenhaal’s Road House prep, helping build a potent combination of strength and co-ordination, vital in MMA.

8 Swiss-bar floor press: 2 x 10-12

Gyllenhaal’s sculpted pecs in Road House are a product of floor press movements

“It’s important to keep the stimuli broad with variations of reps, sets, loads and different tempos,” Walsh explains.

9 Bag jump-over x 30 secs x 3

These mimic MM training, Walsh explains.

Gyllenhaal also did the following:

10 Chain push-up 2 x 10-12

11 Push-pull rips: 3 x 6-8

12 Climber sprints 20 secs on, 30 off x 6-8 rounds

Jake Gyllenhaal’s diet plan

Gyllenhaal’s Road House diet was a caloric pay load aimed at building bulk and giving him the energy to fuel his massive training loads.  To achieve 5 per cent body fat, Gyllenhaal used a carbohydrate-cycling protocol and was strict eating regime, eschewing sweet treats and calorie dense options.

“In this case, there were things that were taken away, but I had a hell of a lot more calories that I could consume,” Gyllenhaal told US Men’s Health.

Walsh revealed that Gyllenhaal encountered problems digesting whey protein. As a result, the actor’s nutrition team created a new plant-based protein shake formula, which has since been publicly released under the brand name Rise311.

While specifics are scant it’s likely that Gyllenhaal followed a nutritional plan to the one that got him in such amazing shape for 2015 film Southpaw. There, Gyllenhaal ate mounds of protein in the form of fish, chicken, eggs, for his main meals, with supplements such protein shakes before and after workouts. Like all lean-muscle diets, you need a solid focus on natural whole foods, you must drink loads of water and consume salads, veggies, and lean meats on repeat.

How did Jake Gyllenhaal train for Southpaw?

Of course, Road House isn’t the first time Gyllenhaal has transformed his body into wrecking ball shape. In 2015, the actor played Billy “The Great” Hope in Antoine Fuqua’s boxing epic Southpaw. Once again, the actor achieved a powerhouse combination of muscle and power. Gyllenhaal appeared on The Howard Stern Show before the film’s release where he revealed the insane amount of exercise he was putting in.

“I trained twice a day for five months,” he told Stern. “I started at three miles and eventually, I was running eight miles. I would go and work out for two hours doing mitt work, heavy bag and speed bags.” Here’s a breakdown of his brutal workout regimen.

The Weinstein Company, Dreamworks Pictures

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Southpaw workout

• 1,000 sit-ups
• Run 8 miles
• Eat breakfast (mostly carbs)
• 1-2 hours of boxing and sparring
• 1-hour core workout routine
• Eat protein
• 1-2 hours of boxing and cardio
• 1-hour weightlifting workout
• 1,000 sit-ups
• Go to bed

Core Workout Routine

The following exercises make up 1 round. Gyllenhaal performed 2-3 rounds total, resting 1-2 minutes between each round.

• Pull-ups (1 set of 10 reps)
• Arm walk-outs (1 set of 10 reps)
• Bicycle crunches (1 set of 20 reps)
• One leg/arm plank (1 set of 10 reps)
• Dips (1 set of 10 reps)
• Push-ups (1 set of 10 reps)
• Deadlift (1 set of 10 reps, 1-2 minutes of rest)

Boxing Exercises

• Jump rope
• Footwork drills
• Shadow boxing
• Bag work
• Speedball
• Focus pads
• Sparring
• Flip a 110 kg tractor tire 20 times a day
• Hit a 110 kg tractor tyre with a sledgehammer for 3 minutes at a time

Related:

How Jake Gyllenhaal Achieved His Gym-Honed ‘Prince Of Persia’ Bod

Tom Holland Explains Why He’s Never Working Out With Jake Gyllenhaal Ever Again

The post Jake Gyllenhaal’s complete training and diet regimen appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Now, new evidence supports this, with one study indicating that wearing a heavy weighted vest could lead to an additional three pounds of fat loss over three weeks compared to carrying less weight, whilst also maintaining muscle mass.

Published in The Lancet, the study’s researchers wanted to investigate the effects of additional weight on fat loss. Specifically, the researchers wanted to examine the effects on the hormone leptin during the intervention, which had previously only been studied in rodents.

They mention, ‘We have recently published evidence that there is a loading dependent homeostatic regulation of body weight and fat mass, named the gravitostat, supported by the finding that increased loading using weight capsules reversibly decreased body weight and fat mass in rodents,’ The aim of their study was to investigate if artificially increased weight loading would decrease body weight in obese humans also.

A total of 69 healthy men and women between 18 and 70 years old with mild obesity were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either low load or high load treatment.

• The heavy loading treatment consisted of a weight vest with a weight corresponding to 11% of the participants’s body weight
• The light loading treatment consisted of a weight vest corresponding to 1% of the participants’s body weight.

Both groups had weight vests from the same manufacturer with identical appearance. The participants were asked to use the weight vest for at least eight hours per day for three weeks without deviating more than 20% from these outlines. The participants recorded daily the time using the weight vest in total and the time using the weight vest standing. They were encouraged to continue with their normal lifestyle activities except for the extra amount they spent standing each day.

Measurements were taken by bioelectrical impedance analysis before and after the intervention. Their food intake was measured using weekly dietary food questionnaires.

The researchers found that over three weeks:

• The bodyweight loss was significant in the high load group (1.68%) but not in the low load group.
• Analysis of the absolute change in body weight showed that the high load treatment reduced the body weight by an average of 1.31 kg (2.9 lbs) compared to the low load treatment across both genders.

The researchers conclude that: ‘The main finding was that high load treatment reduced body weight compared to low load treatment and that this was the result of a reduction in fat mass while fat-free mass was unaffected. Our interpretation of these results is that there is a weight loading dependent homeostatic regulation of body weight, the gravitostat, also in humans.’

They continue to explain these results as being due to increased loading leading to increased energy expenditure to provide energy for an inevitable increase in physical workload. This would especially occur when moving upward to resist gravity. This mechanism could be regarded as a part of the gravitostat as it senses the body weight and adjusts the body mass.

To conclude the researchers note that ‘Increased weight loading reduces body weight and fat mass in obese subjects in a similar way as previously shown in obese rodents. These findings demonstrate that there is a weight loading dependent homeostatic regulation of body weight, supporting the gravitostat hypothesis also in humans.’

South_agency//Getty Images

The post Can wearing a weighted vest lead to more weight loss? appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Sound familiar? Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, commonly known as DOMS, is a common affliction for anyone chasing gains in the gym. After all, while you certainly want to challenge your muscles, and to tear muscle fibres to stimulate growth, if your recovery is delayed, your performance in your next session may be hampered. Then, your all-important gains could begin to shrivel.

Here, we look at the common causes of muscle soreness and what you can do to recover quickly and effectively in order to get the most out of your workouts.

What causes muscle soreness after a workout?

The exact cause of muscle soreness is unclear, but most researchers believe it’s due to tiny tears in your muscle fibres. The soreness, it’s believed, is caused by the body healing these damaged fibres.

How long does muscle soreness last?

The pain cave opens around 12-24 hours after a workout and peaks between 24 – 72 hours later, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The pain is usually characterised as a dull ache that comes on gradually, rather than a sharp pain that occurs immediately after activity, which could be a sign of a strain or sprain. These acute injuries are often the result of muscle, tendon, or ligament damage and result in more acute pain – see a doctor if you experience this.

How to treat muscle soreness after the gym?

First of all, don’t panic. Muscle soreness is part of the workout experience. It’s best to anticipate some discomfort. In most cases, symptoms will settle naturally within a few days. While your muscles recover, avoid putting too much strain on them.

Here are some common treatments to alleviate muscle soreness after a workout:

Massage: A qualified masseuse can help increase blood flow to injured areas, which may promote healing and help relieve the pain.

Heat therapy: A warm bath or applying heat pads can also stimulate blood flow to injured muscles.

Cold therapy: Beloved of CrossFitters, influences and content creators, cold water immersion can help reduce inflammation and swelling in your muscles. Applying a cold pack to tender muscles can also help with pain.

Light exercise: It might sound counterintuitive, but keeping your muscles active may help to reduce pain. It’s best to keep the intensity light and avoid movements that put too much strain on injured muscles. Examples of light exercises include walking and gentle stretching.

What can you do to ease muscle soreness?

Drink water

Hydration helps your muscles recover. Water keeps the fluids moving through your system, which eases inflammation, flushes out waste products, and delivers nutrients to your muscle. 

To keep your muscles replenished, a study in the journal Clinics of Sports Medicine recommends aiming to drink between 350-600ml of water about two hours before a workout and then 150-300 ml every 15 to 20 minutes of exercise.

Use a foam roller or massage gun

If you don’t have time to hit a massage parlour, you can always DIY, otherwise known as Self-myofascial release (SMR). This is a technique used to release tension in muscles and connective tissues (think foam rollers – see below) helping move the fluids that accumulate in the muscle after exercise.

A study published in The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that foam rolling may help increase range of motion and reduce DOMS.

Massage guns (see below) are another easy way to shoot down DOMS. These handheld machines deliver rapid vibrations to help promote blood flow to that sore tissue area.

Light Exercise

As much as the couch might call you, the day after a hard workout, try to get some gentle movement through activities like yoga, pilates, a walk, swim, or a bike ride. In one 2012 study, women who performed a 20-minute bout of low- or moderate-intensity cycling immediately following hard workouts enjoyed a reduction in muscle pain along with an increase in strength. Whatever you do, don’t hit the same tired muscles again with another hard workout, which will only increase the likelihood of prolonged, more serious injury.

What can you do to prevent muscle soreness?

Have an espresso

In one study published in the Journal of Pain, participants who had a coffee pre-workout had a 48 per cent drop in DOMS. How does it work? Not only is caffeine a stimulant; it also has analgesic (pain-killing properties).

Drink cherry juice

Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that marathoners consuming tart cherry juice before, the day of, and 48 hours following their events reduced muscle soreness. Bonus: the athletes also showed signs of improved muscle recovery and function. Tart cherries are rich in anthocyanins, antioxidant compounds that reduce excess inflammation.

Eat

The best foods to consume before a workout are rich in healthy carbs and lean protein. A piece of fruit, such as a banana, is a great pre-workout snack for quick-release carbs. If you’re doing a longer workout, try a chicken sandwich on whole-grain bread. 

Top 5 massage guns for muscle soreness

Theragun Elite

$440 at amazon.com.au

Bang V1 Massage Gun

$169.69 at bang.com.au

Hyperice Hypervolt Go 2 

$229.99 at Rebel Sport

JAWKU Muscle Blaster V2

$449.77 at amazon.com.au

Bob and Brad X6

$78.99 at amazon.com.au

Related:

Does muscle soreness mean you’ve had a good workout?

Study Finds Consuming Carbs Can Reduce Muscle Soreness After Exercise

The post What helps sore muscles after a workout? appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.