Australian_Mens_Fitness_April_2017

Cardio

Breakthroughs

22 MEN’S FITNESS APRIL 2017

jorg badura

Like any new tech,

trackers have their

pros and cons, so

nailing down benefits

is tricky, says Dr

Kelly Evenson, the

closest thing to a

human fitness-tracker

“tracker” there is.

For example, one

recent study she

did suggested that

trackers don’t improve

health; but her

newest research

shows they can,

indeed, lower heart

disease risk—but only

if used faithfully.

For max usefulness,

she says, wear it in

the same position

every day, update

software often, and

pair it with benefit-

boosting apps.

Been slacking off instead of hitting

the gym and throwing up some iron?

Get yourself an enemy to go after.

OK, not an enemy, exactly, but someone who

can give you some stiff competition. That’s the

very best motivation to work out, according

to US researchers at Pennsylvania Uni who

found that, rather than a cheering section, you

need to feel a sense of competitiveness to be

extremely consistent with your workouts.

Their study, an 11-week weightlifting,

running, spinning and yoga program

involving 790 students, showed that

exercisers who competed for the top

spot on leaderboards had 90% higher

gym-attendance ratesthan those in groups

in which competition wasn’t emphasised.

So if you’re feeling less than excited about

crushing it these days, challenge one —

or a whole gang — of your gym buddies to

a duel and watch the gains start rolling in.

■Many runners believe that landing on the

ball of the foot is better than adjusting to a

heel-first gait, assuming that going balls-

first will cushion the impact better. Not so:

A study in theJournal of Sports Sciences

discovered that when runners switch up

their style, there’s no change in the amount

of force from one method to the other — the

impact is just redirected through the body.

Bring it, bro:

Competition gets

you to the gym

Some studies claim

fitness trackers

are useless, while

others say they’re

great for your

health. What’s the

lowdown?

SHOCKING

EXERCISE

NEWS!

■Last year,

we wrote about

transcranial direct-

current stimulation

(tDCS), a new

brain-stimulation

treatment that

seemstoboost

exercise capacity.

And, boy, were we

ahead of the curve.

In a study at

Kent University in

Britain, nine guys

in their 20s did leg

extensions at about

20% of their max;

but when tDCS

electrodes jolted

their heads with a

tiny bit (2 milliamps)

of juice, their

perceived effort

lessened, allowing

them to exercise

about 15% longer.

You can buy a

tDCS device atthe

brainstimulator

.net,but make

sure ask your

doctor first.

WORKING

OUT MAKES

UP FOR BINGE

EATING(WELL,

AWEEK OF IT)

■The ill effects

of a brief eating

binge can be

offset by exercise,

saysasmallUS

study out of

the Uni of Michigan.

In it, four subjects

(hey, we said it was a

small study) who ate

30% more calories

for a week — but still

did 150 minutes of

cardio and worked

out six days —

had none of the

insulin resistance/

inflammation that

pigging out usually

Ask Men’s Fitness

RUN FOR IT

(BUT HEEL-

TOE OR

TOE-HEEL?)

BEST
WORKOUT
MOTIVATION:
BEATING
SOMEONE’S
ARSE.

A fitness tracker

can work — if you

actually use it.