Mens_HealthUSA_December_2016

December 2016 | MensHealth.com 103

Having a high vertical

jump indicates that

you r t y p e I I m u sc l e s

are in working order.

imgcredit_ALL_CREDIT_GUTTER-right

Here’s the curveball: To make that prog-

ress, you need to take strategic recovery

breaks. “A lot of activities that we think

are helpful are not,” says Andreo Spina,

D.O., a chiropractor and mobility expert.

Among these are some of our favorite

pastimes. When major league baseball

coaches and trainers ask him how to pre-

vent elbow injuries in their pitchers, Spina

tells them, only half jokingly, “Have them

play another position.”

From baseball and basketball to swim-

ming and track-and-field events, sports are

“man-made” activities, Spina argues. Many

of them place asymmetrical demands on

the body. Tennis and squash, for example,

tax one arm and shoulder while leaving

the other mostly out of the action. Swim-

ming works your upper body more than

your lower, while running and cycling do

the opposite. The potential damage isn’t

limited to knees and ankles. A study in the

Journal of Applied Physiology revealed that

the heart valves of lifelong runners showed

elevated risk of failure.

SPEED

300m Run

(seconds)

Ag

e (^5)
(^0) ~
Ag^59
e^
20
~^2
9
A
ge
(^30)
~ 3
9
Ag
e^
40
~
49
5846
46.1 52
50 66.4
51 57
56 80
57 67.6
POWER
Vertical Jump
(inches)
Ag
e (^5)
(^0) ~
Ag^59
e^
20
~^2
9
A
ge
(^30)
~ 3
9
Ag
e^
40
~
49
10:27
9:10
9:47
9:31
12:08
10:08
11:09
10:38
14:33
11:58
13:05
12:25
ENDURANCE
1.5-Mile Run
(minutes)
Sure, sports belong in your training
program, but focusing on a single sport or
activity—year-round, with no time to heal
and rebalance—might hurt you.
For most of us, the ideal strategy is a
three-weeks-on, one-week-off plan. For
three weeks, gradually increase your
workload at your activity of choice. Do
more sets, reps, and weight if you’re into
strength training; more distance or speed
if you’re a cyclist or runner; more height,
speed, or difficulty if you’re a climber.
Then ease off for a week and come back
to focus on a slightly different microgoal.
HIIT Your Target
“If you’re a runner, you might plan a
block where you do hills, another where
you do speed or track work, and another
where you work on endurance,” says
Matt Dixon, a former pro triathlete and
the founder of purplepatchfitness.com.
“Even that simple change of stimulus
will yield bigger results than just work-
ing randomly,” he says.
Reams of research have shown that
one approach worth most guys’ time is
high-intensity interval training, or HIIT.
This involves multiple short bursts of
super intense exercise (like eight rounds
of 30-second bike sprints) separated by
periods of low-intensity movement or
rest (like 90 seconds of easy spinning).
HIIT has many proven advantages over
steady-state cardio. The workouts are
short and adaptable, challenging both
your aerobic and CONTINUED ON P. 129
Ag
e (^5)
(^0) ~
Ag^59
e^
20
~^2
9
A
ge
(^30)
~ 3
9
Ag
e^
40
~
49
26.5 21
(^2522)
24 17
22 19
20.5 14
19.5 16