It’s perfectly normal for your motivation to ebb and flow. That’s not even considering how difficult it can be to stay on top of your fitness routine in the fast-paced world we live in today, with work, social, and personal responsibilities. There will be days when the energy left in your tank for gym sessions isn’t quite enough, after everything else in your already busy schedule.

We’ve all been there. There are some days that you’re so stoked to go to the gym you end up spending hours there. Other days, it feels like there is not even your best gym buddy or the perfect workout playlist that could prompt your brain to lug your lethargic body up and off the couch. Occasionally, this tiredness is a sign that you need to accept defeat and take a rest day. It might mean you’re struggling with something deeper. Or, it may just be plain old-fashioned apathy.

Exercise is a scientifically-proven mood booster, though. Small bouts of exercise have been shown to significantly increase dopamine levels. Dopamine is part of our bodies reward system, and is known as a feel good” hormone because it elicits feelings of pleasure.

The times you’re feeling low just may be the days you need to hit the gym the most. That’s why it’s important to keep some motivation-enhancing trick up your sleeves for those moments where you’re really just not feeling it. If the go-to caffeine and hype music just aren’t doing it for you, maybe some words of wisdom from the greats will.

“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion.”

“There is no magic pill”

– Arnold Schwarzenegger, seven-time Mr. Olympia

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”

Kobe Bryant, 5-time NBA Championship winner

“In training, you listen to your body. In competition, you tell your body to shut up.”

– Rich Froning Jr., 4-time CrossFit Games champion

“You shall gain, but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit.”

– Pavel Tsatsouline, chairman of StrongFirst and father of the modern kettlebell movement

“There’s no secret formula. I lift heavy, work hard, and aim to be the best.”

– Ronnie Coleman, eight-time Mr. Olympia

“If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.”

– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor and pro wrestler

“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”

– Thomas Jefferson

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

– Jim Ryun, Olympic silver medalist and politician

“A champion is someone who gets up when they can’t.”

– Jack Dempsey, American boxer and heavyweight champion

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

– Fred DeVito, CoreBarreFit co-founder

“Keep working even when no one is watching.”

– Alex Morgan, football player and World Cup winner

“There comes a certain point in life when you have to stop blaming other people for how you feel or the misfortunes in your life. You can’t go through life obsessing about what might have been.”

– Hugh Jackman, actor and member of the 1000-pound lift club

“Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.”

– Sylvester Stallone, actor

“Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.”

– LeBron James, four-time NBA Championship winner

“I will sacrifice whatever is necessary to be the best.”

– J.J. Watt, retired football legend

“Most people give up right before the big break comes — don’t let that person be you.”

– Michael Boyle, performance coach to the 2013 World Series Championship Red Sox and owner of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning

“I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve — not only to please the coach and the fans — but also to feel satisfied with myself.”

– Cristiano Ronaldo, football legend

“You’re going to have to let it hurt. Let it suck. The harder you work, the better you will look. Your appearance isn’t parallel to how heavy you lift, it’s parallel to how hard you work.”

– Joe Manganiello, actor and one of the 100 Fittest Men of All Time

“You have to push past your perceived limits, push past that point you thought was as far as you can go.”

– Drew Brees, retired NFL legend and 2010 Super Bowl MVP

“If you ain’t pissed off for greatness, that just means you’re okay with being mediocre.”

– Ray Lewis, two-time Super Bowl Champion and NFL Hall of Famer

“You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are no limits.”

– Michael Phelps, swimmer and 18-time Olympic gold medalist

“When you have a clear vision of your goal, it’s easier to take the first step toward it.”

– L.L. Cool J., rapper and actor

“We run for the people who think they cant.”

– Dick Hoyt, retired Lt. Colonel from the Air National Guard who pushed his quadriplegic son Rick through over 1,000 marathons, triathlons, and Ironman races.

“I was never a natural athlete, but I paid my dues in sweat and concentration, and took the time necessary to learn karate and became a world champion.”

– Chuck Norris, martial artist and actor

“Your health account, your bank account, they’re the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out. Exercise is king and nutrition is queen. Together you have a kingdom.”

– Jack LaLanne, bodybuilder known as the “Godfather of Fitness”

“To keep winning, I have to keep improving.”

– Craig Alexander, Ironman World Champion

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

– Michael Jordan, 6-time NBA Championship winner

“I know that if I set my mind to something, even if people are saying I can’t do it, I will achieve it.”

– David Beckham, retired football legend

“We must appreciate and never underestimate our own inner power.”

– Noah Galloway, former Army Ranger and 2014 Ultimate Men’s Health Guy

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”

Muhammad Ali, boxing legend and civil rights icon

“If you take time to realize what your dream is and what you really want in life – no matter what it is, whether it’s sports or in other fields – you have to realize that there is always work to do, and you want to be the hardest working person in whatever you do, and you put yourself in a position to be successful. And you have to have a passion about what you do.”

Stephen Curry, 4-time NBA Championship winner

“You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Wayne Gretzky, 4-time Stanley Cup winner

“Enduring means accepting. Accepting things as they are and not as you would wish them to be, and then looking ahead, not behind.”

Rafael Nadal, tennis legend

“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”

Babe Ruth, Hall of Fame MLB player

This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.

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Kevin Hart’s Trainer Shares The Motivation Advice He Gives His Top Celebrity Clients

Why Fear Of Death Is The Ultimate Fitness Motivation

The post 35 fitness quotes to push you through your toughest workouts appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Early in the movie, he is given some of the greatest wisdom a young man could hope to hear: “Don’t let the little head do the thinking for the big head”. I wasn’t even a teenager when I caught this film on TV late one night, and despite my best attempts to absorb this valuable guidance, it vanished the moment they cut to a scene with exotic dancers on the hoods of the cars as a sales promotion.

I know I’m not alone in having sexual thoughts or sexual urges crowd out what I was actually trying to do with my day. I wasted a lot of time and energy following similar thoughts and urges to fruition. When I did so by myself, the only person losing out was me. As an adult in a long-term relationship there’s really nothing like fulfilling those urges with someone who I really care about, and who cares a lot about me.

As a single man, however, I sometimes found myself following those urges into situations where there was a lot less care from both people, and the length of those relationships was significantly shorter.

At first, I believed I was assuming my final form, that of a goddamn sexual tyrannosaurus. But it wasn’t long before the wisdom of which head was doing the thinking started to make sense.

It started while trying to solve the equation as to why I felt so hurt when a woman didn’t text me back after asking her on a third date. I discovered that it was because my big head had negotiated the initial situation. If I found myself in crisis management fielding a stream of upset texts from a woman who had different ideas to me about the status of our relationship, that was usually because the little head had been project lead on that scenario.

Things carried on like this until a good friend of mine sat me down and gave me a stern talking to regarding what kind of calamity I was getting myself into by having such an unsustainable sexual energy policy.

He wasn’t only warning me of the kind of personal trouble I was inviting, but also of the spiritual trouble I was so obviously trapped in: constantly searching for something that was missing within me and expecting to find what I needed in another, not knowing that I could keep looking until the end of my days and never find it. That’s not to mention that I just wasn’t getting anything done.

At one point I would be walking back to my home in Bondi with my groceries, and I’d pass a beautiful woman in her togs on her way to the beach. Of course, I didn’t say or do anything, but if the feeling in my body from witnessing her stunning, undulating womanhood walk past me lingered like the coconut-scented air that wafted in her wake, the moment I was inside my apartment and the tofu was in the fridge, I’d lose a whole afternoon manually working that feeling out of my body on my own.

It took a while before I finally accepted that my mate was right, and when a ‘big head’ relationship showed up it was clear that I needed to find a way to stop the ‘little head’ from deciding how things would go this time. So, I got to work learning how to redirect those feelings to places that were far healthier and more productive.

By learning to see such moments as a gift given to us by these women and knowing that the energy released from that moment can be used to our benefit in ways far more constructive than mere pleasure, we are instantly freed from our choices being derailed by our more basic instincts.

There’s a physical side to this as well, a technique I learned that is not unlike breathing through a stretch to find more flexibility. Being present to that explosive rush in your body, then taking a few deep belly breaths, it’s possible to move that powerful ball of energy out of your hips and up into your heart. When I moved that energy there, the sky looked a little bluer, things sounded a little crisper, even food tasted more sumptuous.

When we’re teenagers, it’s almost impossible to harness that sexual energy. Learning how to harness it is an important part of growing into a man. Just as we learn how to control our physical power, so we don’t accidentally hurt someone, or learn how to handle surges in emotion or desire, part of being a man is knowing when and how to use the power we all have in ways that provide for or protect the people around us if needed.

If we keep losing energy to anger or desire, we won’t have anything left when it comes to achieving our goals or helping those we care about.

Little boys get ‘stiffies’ on the beach when a pretty lady walks by and unleashes a cascading hormonal response within them that they can barely control. Men, gratefully and respectfully take that very same energy as a free power-up, using that beautiful boost to help them be a better partner, a better provider and a better friend.

When I first started working in the reality TV dating space, I was a single man. Journalists at the time would ask me to my face if as a single man I was a ‘cat in the henhouse’, sometimes even on live television. While I was disappointed that’s the first place they went, completely ignoring not only the professionalism I’m proud of but also the agency of every woman involved, I understand why they did it.

Because as men (and only men asked me this question) they had probably never considered that you could choose what to do with the sexual urges that can sometimes come over you (sorry). For a long time, I was the same, and I’m grateful I get to live now as a different man.

Like anything new we learn, at first, it’s deliberate but soon enough it’s automatic.

Now, any such thoughts immediately repurpose themselves to thoughts about me and my wife, which is a delightful bonus that can sometimes bring a cheeky smile because I’m now thinking about what might happen when I get home, were it not for the 5-year- old kicking-machine sleeping between us.

Learning how to redirect this energy can allow us to reap the benefits of what it means to wholly and completely commit to a loving relationship, even to be more productive at work, be a better father, even to be more helpful to others, because that’s what can happen when we’re using our big brain to do the thinking.

Related: 

Osher Günsberg on the male rite of passage we don’t talk about

Osher Günsberg on saunas and the power of self-talk

The post Osher Günsberg on how to redirect distracting sexual energy appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

With the prospect of facing a much younger opponent looming and both his pride and reputation at stake, Tyson has been back in the gym, working with that same trademark resolve that propelled him to such heights. He recently shared a glimpse into his current training schedule with Jimmy Kimmel. “I’m training extremely hard,” he said. “I start at 11 in the morning, do an hour of cardio, then take a bath, wake up at 1, go to the gym, train eight rounds, boxing. Hit the bag. Then I train with my strength and conditioning coach, and then I work again. It’s just an all-day process.”

As gruelling as that regimen may seem, it doesn’t hold a candle to the routine Tyson used earlier in his career. It would be unfair to expect Tyson to maintain this lifestyle into his late fifties, but knowing his renowned work ethic, we wouldn’t be surprised if he is still working at a similar output. See the training routine and diet plan that helped Mike Tyson become a world beater below.

INSTAGRAM | @miketyson

Mike Tyson’s training routine and diet plan

Tyson’s original training protocol was designed by his famed trainer, Cus D’Amato, who passed away not long after Tyson started rising through the ranks on the pro circuit. Even after his trainer’s death, Tyson continued to give credence to his methods by prioritising healthy wholefoods and focusing on cardio, ring work and calisthenics rather than free weights and machines.

This is the daily routine Tyson followed throughout his professional boxing career. Fair warning, it’s not for the faint of heart, with a 4am start and 16 hours of nearly continuous workouts.

4am: Wake up, stretch, 10 interval sprints and 10 box jumps

4:30am: 5km run, followed by a 1.5km walk

5:30am: Shower and back to sleep

10am: Wake up again and have a breakfast of oatmeal and milk

12pm: Ring work, typically 10 rounds of sparring

2pm: Lunch, fruit juice with either chicken and rice or steak and pasta

3pm: Second training block. More ring work for 1 hour, plus 1 hour on the exercise bike

5pm: Calisthenics. 2000 squats, 2500 sit ups, 500-800 dips, 500 push ups, 500 shrugs with 30kg barbell, 10 minutes of neck strength work

7pm: Dinner, chicken and rice or steak and pasta with orange juice

8:30pm: 30-45 minutes on the exercise bike

9:30pm: Time for bed

 

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A post shared by Mike Tyson (@miketyson)

Is Mike Tyson still vegan?

While Mike Tyson incorporated chicken and steak into his diet during his boxing career, he famously became a vegan following his retirement because he felt like his previous diet wasn’t giving him the physical results he wanted. Since switching to veganism, Tyson has said that his plant-based diet allowed him to lower his blood pressure, ease his arthritis and lose weight.

More recently though, Tyson has given up on his full-vegan diet in favour of occasional meat – which may be necessary if he wants to consume enough protein to take on Jake Paul, whose own protein intake has been going viral. Speaking on Newsmax’s ‘The Record with Greta Van Susteren’, Tyson explained that he has started eating meat again, but only on days where he’s training. When he goes through an extended period where he doesn’t train, he doesn’t eat meat.

What time is the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight in Australia?

The first fight on the card for Tyson vs Paul begins at 12pm, November 16th, Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). But that doesn’t mean Tyson and Paul will actually fight at that time. There are six other fights on the card before the two main draws, meaning their bout will likely take place closer to 3pm.

The fight will be streamed live on Netflix and will not be pay-per-view. Anyone with a Netflix subscription can tune in.

INSTAGRAM | @miketyson

Related:

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The post How Mike Tyson trained and ate to become a world champion appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

The post How John Krasinski transformed his body and built a six pack appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Now that we’ve seen Mescal in action in Gladiator II trailers – and soon in theatres when the film releases on November 14th – we can safely say that those fears have been extinguished. Mescal has toned up while gaining a heap of muscle. His co-star Pedro Pascal has even taken to calling him “Brick Wall Paul”. So, how did he do it? And more importantly, how can we do the same?

So far Mescal has been tight lipped about the specifics of his training regime, as well as the diet and workouts he used in the lead-up to Gladiator II. However, dribs and drabs of information have emerged from a range of interviews and social media posts where Mescal has offered a glimpse into his routine. With the help of Men’s Health fitness expert Khan Porter, we were able to make an educated guess at the kind of work Mescal has been putting in and piece together a workout.

Gladiator II

How did Paul Mescal train for Gladiator 2?

Heading into Gladiator II, Mescal knew that he’d need to beef up. “I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when shit hits the fan,” he previously told Vanity Fair. But therein lied a problem. “I think also, sometimes, one could, in striving for that perfect look, end up looking more like an underwear model than a warrior,” he said.

Another issue for Mescal was the fact that the realistic, true to history physique he wanted was at odds with what we expect from modern movie stars. “This ideal image that has been informed by superhero films – that was something I was keen to avoid,” he said, “Because superheroes don’t exist, but gladiators did. We don’t really know what they looked like, but they were prime athletes raised in stables, and they trained every day.”

To achieve a gladiatorial rig, Mescal came close to adopting their lifestyle by training for 45 minutes, six days per week and generally “Lifting heavy things for a long time and eating lots of chicken.”

As far as we know, fight choreography was a big part of Mescal’s regime. A featurette on the training involved on set shows the extensive work the actor put into preparing for fight scenes. This, MH fitness expert Khan Porter says, would have helped him boost his cardiovascular health while also packing on some muscle. “That fight training replicates really high intensity interval training and will tone you up and build some lean mass,” he says.

But with all that on set cardio, Mescal had to make sacrifices in his regular exercise routine. He recently revealed to Entertainment Tonight that he was forced to give up running to avoid shedding too many calories. “That doesn’t surprise me at all,” says Porter. “The number one thing you need to be doing if you want to build muscle is making sure you’re in a calorie surplus. You can’t build muscle without eating more calories than you’re burning.”

Specifics on Mescal’s workouts are few and far between, with the exception of a lone video that circulated on TikTok last year that showed the actor doing a set of dumbbell shoulder raises. Given the nature of the internet, we shouldn’t be surprised that the thirst trap went viral, but Porter, for one, isn’t impressed. “I don’t know, man. I don’t like that particular movement,” he says. “He’s got his shoulders internally rotated. They’re quite impinged. I would suggest going for a compound movement, something like a shoulder, chest or even bench press, which is going to target a hell of a lot more muscles and avoid the risk of injury.”

@stellarmagazine #paulmescal has been busy training for his role in the new #gladiator film 💪🏼 We’re so excited for this! #fyp #normalpeople ♬ original sound – STELLAR

Beyond the physical improvements, Mescal was also interested in the mental benefit offered by a stronger appearance. “Muscles start to grow, and that can be deemed aesthetic in certain capacities, but there is something about feeling strong in your body that elicits just a different feeling,” he said, “You carry yourself differently… it has an impact on you psychologically in a way that is useful for the film.”

Paul Mescal’s Gladiator 2 workout

To build an athletic physique worthy of the gladiatorial arena, Porter recommends a legendary workout from a strength training pioneer. “One of my favourite training protocols for building mass and strength comes from the late, great Charles Poliquin,” he says. “It’s called the 6-12-25 workout. It’s a giant set of six reps of a heavy compound movement, then 12 reps of a moderate isolation movement, then 25 of a lighter bodyweight movement. This is going to help you by building mass and muscular endurance.”

Progressive overload is crucial, in this and any workout, according to Porter. “Progressive overload is one of the most overlooked and simplest training principles there is. Without it, our bodies don’t adapt to our training stimulus,” he says. “If you’re wanting to put on lean muscle but you’re not progressively overloading the weights that you lift, increasing your training time or volume, you won’t be moving in the right direction.”

Porter suspects that Mescal used a protocol like the 6-12-25 with progressive overload to tone up for Gladiator II, and if you’re looking to try it for yourself, have a go at the workout below. And for further immersion, do this workout six days per week for 45 minutes, to mimic the way Mescal trained.

Lower body

3-4 sets of:

Back squats x 6

10 seconds rest

Romanian deadlifts x 12

10 seconds rest

Body weight squats x 25 or jumping lunges x 25

Upper body

3-4 sets of:

Bench press x 6

10 seconds rest

Pull-ups x 12

10 seconds rest

Reverse flys with light weights x 25

Related:

Paul Mescal debuts ripped physique for Gladiator II

What to stream in November 2024: Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and more

The post How to train like Paul Mescal did for ‘Gladiator 2’ appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Van Der Beek did not reveal how long he has known of his diagnosis, or its severity, but he did make an effort to subdue any fears over his health. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good,” he said.

Now 47, Van Der Beek rose to prominence in the late ’90s for his role as the eponymous Dawson Leary in Dawson’s Creek. Since then, he’s kept busy with a number of roles in film and television. Most recently, he appeared in an episode of Walker and is set to feature in Sidelined: The QB and Me later this year.

Van Der Beek in Dawson’s Creek

Van Der Beek’s cancer is not uncommon. In fact, colorectal cancer is Australia’s fourth most common type of cancer, according Cancer Australia. It’s worthwhile being vigilant because if detected early it can be cured. In case you’re in need of a refresher, here’s everything you need to know about colorectal cancer.

What is colorectal cancer?

Commonly known in Australia as bowel cancer, colorectal cancer is a malignant growth of cancerous cells that starts in the inner lining of either the large intestine (colon) or rectum. Colorectal cancer begins in the innermost layer of the colon or rectum and over time it can spread outwardly to other layers. It can ultimately result in death if left untreated.

How common is colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancers. According to Cancer Australia, it is the fourth most common type of cancer in Australia, behind only prostate, breast and skin cancer. It is worth noting that colorectal cancer is 21% more common in men and that the mortality rate among men is also 40% higher.

Can colorectal cancer be treated?

Colorectal cancer can be treated but the nature of the treatment varies based on the stage of the cancer. Surgery to remove the cancerous growth is the most common form of treatment, but chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy are also commonly used.

In cases where surgery is used as treatment, around half of patients will be cured. Even in these cases, recurrence is common, so it’s necessary to continue monitoring symptoms.

In Australia, the five-year relative survival rate for colorectal cancer was 71% between 2015 and 2019.

How can you avoid colorectal cancer?

Like with most cancers, there are a number of risk factors that could put you at higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. For one, the risk increases with age, as most patients develop the cancer after 50 years of age. A number of genetic factors can also contribute to heightened risk, but there are certain lifestyle factors that can be more easily adapted to reduce your risk. Maintaining a healthy diet, staying physically active, avoiding tobacco and limiting alcohol will all minimise your chances of developing colorectal cancer.

Common symptoms of colorectal cancer include diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain, blood in excrement, fatigue and unexplained weight loss. However, many people will not experience any symptoms during the early stages of the cancer. Considering that the chances of survival decrease as the stages progress, detecting the cancer early through regular screenings is crucial.

Cancer rates are rising in the under-50s. Can the trend be reversed?

7 ways to detect colon cancer and which one’s best for you

The post James Van Der Beek reveals colorectal cancer diagnosis appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

MEN’S HEALTH: So, uh, how’s your first year on the job going?

Josh Johnson: I’m really happy to be part of the news team in what could be the last year of America. I feel like I really slid into home.

Troy Iwata: I’m still learning on the job. There are so many times when I feel very ill equipped to be delivering political information to the masses. But we have really talented writers and producers who make me feel safe in what I’m saying. But it’s also inevitable that when you get a script, you have to put it through a bunch of filters. I need to remember that I’m the one saying it. I’m a mixed Asian gay dude. No matter what, that’s what people are going to see first. But that’s not a bad thing. It just challenges us to be smarter in how we write our jokes.

“A lot of OUR COMEDY comes from OUR GOVERNMENT or POLITICIANS making the MISTAKE of doing something out in the open.”

-TROY IWATA

MH: Where do you start when writing those jokes?

TI: We always search for the hypocrisy.

JJ: Very real journalists travel the world and risk their lives to uncover things that were supposed to be kept secret. But a lot of our comedy comes from our government or politicians making the mistake of doing something out in the open. Like when a Supreme Court decision basically says, “You can’t take bribes as an elected official, but you can take tips!” There’s something to be said for the boldness of not covering it up better. It’s terrifying, but also leaves it right out there to make fun of.

MH: And hypocrisy has always been a bipartisan issue.

JJ: In a weird way, even as a “divided” country we’re all unified in our collective exhaustion. It does voters a disservice to treat them as if they’re too stupid or lazy to care. It’s because they do care and they are watching that they’re so exhausted.

MH: Do your friends and family turn to you for news?

TI: No, my family turns to me to tell me what I should talk about on the show.

“I have a lot of takes, but I’m ALWAYS HONEST about the fact that it’s only HOW I FEEL based on the INFORMATION I have in that moment.”

-JOSH JOHNSON

MH: Which is?

TI: Whatever’s going on in their town.

JJ: I do have people who come to me, and I do think it’s a mistake. I have a lot of takes, but I’m always honest about the fact that it’s only how I feel based on the information I have in that moment. “Look, this is what I think, but I’ve only read two articles and watched a Vox video. I’m not an expert on the subject.” I think everyone’s political position should be metered, and as you get more information, the needle moves.

TI: Your intellect shines through in your comedy, which is probably why people come to you. The main response I get anytime I perform is: “I love your facial expressions!” No one has ever said anything about the words coming out of my mouth.

This article originally appeared on Men’s Health US

The post How to find humour in the US election appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

For those of you who were welcomed to Orange County, California in the aughts, you will remember Adam Brody as Seth Cohen, the nerdy but adorable high school student who befriends his father’s ward, bad boy Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) on teen soap The O.C. But now he’s back in a new series where he plays – wait for it – a hot young(ish) rabbi. The setup of the series is easy enough: a young podcastress, Joanne (Kristen Bell) and her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe, or Willa from Succession) tell their listeners about all their dating woes in LA, rife with the emotionally unavailable, hot mess men at every corner on a Call Her Daddy-esque podcast titled, you guessed it, Nobody Wants This. At a dinner party Bell meets Brody’s Rabbi Noah Roklov in a case of mistaken identity that gets quickly sorted, and throughout the series, he continues to surprise her at every turn by subverting her often-mistaken ideas of what a rabbi is (He smokes weed! He has sex!), and who a single man dating in LA can be.

From the beginning, Nobody Wants This sets its viewers at ease, assuring us that Brody’s Rabbi Roklov isn’t your typical love interest. He is not the brooding, silent type whose icy exterior has to be warmed, and chipped away at by the right (read perfect, pure) woman. He is not the cheating womanizer who finds the right (read perfect, pure) woman that makes him stop his cheating ways, and finally see women not as objects for him to use and conquer, but as sentient, human people who also deserve respect.

When we meet Brody’s Noah, he is funny, besweatered, and charming. (Would I trust him to open a vintage bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape? No, but you can’t win them all.) Not only that, but somewhat refreshingly for male love interests, he is soft, observant, and tender, and emotionally available – all of which scare Bell’s Joanne. And all of which other men can learn from! Sure there’s a mishap with a sportcoat, but he comes back from it, and that’s the power of being emotionally available!

Suffice to say, a religious man being hot is not a new thing – there was Mandy Patinkin’s yeshiva student in Yentl, and Ben Stiller’s hip rabbi in Keeping The Faith. Sadly, even the young Mandy Patinkin bathing naked in the lake, with droplets of water burrowing beneath his forest of chest hair, down his abs, and finding their way to his – ahem, even young Mandy can’t compare to Adam Brody’s hot rabbi in Nobody Wants This. I can’t lie.

NETFLIX

This is a glorified thirst-piece, but it’s not just about how utterly stricken I am by his soft tousled curls, or his puppy dog eyes, and it goes beyond how much I want to see Brody’s character out of that sweater. It’s more so about how tender he is, how he speaks to Bell’s character Joanne (terrible name, but I digress) and holds her face when they talk. How at every point when she wants to run, he reels her back in by being open and honest, by being accountable for his actions (and sometimes even hers), by providing assurance and certainty when she needs it the most. By being a good partner.

All too often when it comes to romantic comedies, or romantic dramas, we’re faced with romantic heroes who are allowed to be flawed, denigratory, and imperfect. If we’re being honest, they’re kind of allowed to be a dick, while the women they encounter are given no such leeway, mirroring the gendered double standards that we often see in real-life dating. Nobody Wants This subverts that notion. First with Joanne, a flawed woman who is afraid of love, runs at the sight of a healthy relationship, and gives up when things get even a little bit too hard. And just as importantly with Rabbi Roklov, a man who sees her misgivings, soothes her distrust, assuages her ick, and loves her through it all.

Beneath this extremely well-written, well-acted television series replete with some of the most insane chemistry I’ve seen in years, is a lesson for men. That providing emotional security and stability, instead of leading with money and a plot of land, will always win out in the end. Even as bad as things get (wearing a sportcoat with basketball shorts), you can still come back from “the ick” and that is no small feat. Trust, everybody wants this.

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The post What men can learn from Adam Brody in ‘Nobody Wants This’ appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.