“At the end of high school, I stopped playing sport and I really let myself go bit,” says Jeffery, who’s joining Men’s Health today on our new Turning Point podcast. “About a year after high school I was about 112 kilos. I was almost double what I am now. But a couple of key moments hit home. And they weren’t very nice turning points. They were kind of bullying turning points where I went, Oh, okay, I’m not very comfortable in my body anymore. And because of the things people have said I thought, I mustn’t be okay, which isn’t true, but as a kid, how do you take that in? Somebody says something inappropriate about your weight, you’re like, Oh, well that’s my fault. That’s on me. Which isn’t true.”

Stung into action, after high school Jeffery began working out and overhauling his diet, ditching sugary drinks and fatty snacks. “I stopped drinking two litres of soft drink a day, which is never a good idea,” he laughs. “A lot of fried food and all that kind of stuff. And then slowly over a year lost about 10 or 15 kilos.”

At the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), the physical nature of round-the-clock classes and constant performing would see Jeffery’s weight tumble even further.

The actor continued to slim down as his Hollywood career took off. His role in Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, Unbroken, back in 2014, required him to lose 20 kg. From there, he would land parts in a series of war epics like Gallipoli and Before Dawn, that required further stretching, moulding and fashioning of his physique to inhabit characters in ways that were creatively honest.

Now, in perhaps his biggest role to date, Jeffery is swapping combat fatigues for the furry fun of motion-capture tech in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. And while transformations and fluctuations in weight are part and parcel of being a Hollywood actor, in preparing for the unique role of Anaya in the iconic blockbuster franchise, Jeffery faced his biggest challenge yet.

Having worked out with transformation specialists Chief Brabon and Emilie Brabon-Hames for the past three years, Jeffery sought their counsel back in October to prepare for Apes reshoots and an upcoming film called Birthright. “When we really upped it in October, that’s when I really got a taste of Chief and Em’s magic and what they can do,” says Jeffery.

Here, in his own words Jeffery takes us through his journey from humble country kid to Hollywood star and details the training he put in to get in the best shape of his life.

***

SPORT WAS A big deal in the Jeffery household. My dad was a VFL footy player. He played for Prahran and then went on to captain-coach the Healesville footy side for many years. But it wasn’t just my dad. My mum was a professional diver before going to the Air Force and then working for ASIO. She’s a very, very smart woman.

I was adequate at a few sports. I tried probably every sport under the sun, played heaps of footy. I was never going to be a professional sportsman but a lot of the skills I learnt from my mum and dad growing up playing sport – tenacity, you only get out what you put in and commitment – all that is directly applicable to what I do today. They were very valuable lessons growing up.

Around year 9 or 10, I got to the point of where I was like, I’ve got to stop smacking my head against this brick wall of trying to be a professional sportsman. I was talked into doing a school play, a parody of Dracula called the Bride of Spatula. I had one line, it was sung. I can’t sing. I was going through puberty, my voice was breaking. But every night I got up there and I did it and I pushed through the fear and I fell in love with making people laugh and helping people escape for a couple of hours. I joined the Youth Theatre Group and I just fell in love with the community and with storytelling.

***

I WAS A bit of a class clown. It’s funny because the older I’ve got, the more introverted I’ve become, then the more acting I do, the more introverted I get. And that’s probably not the best combo. But a lot of actors are introverted and stick to themselves. When you’re at home or when you’re with mates, you just want to enjoy yourself and not draw too much attention. But I was definitely was a big class clown. It was a defensive mechanism for not doing so well at school. My attention span wasn’t great. Anything that wasn’t media or doing a play, I just couldn’t really sink my teeth into, so I made other people laugh instead.

So, I just distracted myself and had fun, always writing movies in my head and writing scripts when I should have been doing other work. From mid-high school, I knew making films and writing was what I wanted to do and then that shifted into acting. But it never really felt professionally accessible. Growing up on a cattle farm, you’re like, Well, what’s the avenue into this world? I had no clue.

People were like, ‘Hey, you’ve got some talent. What you do is great’. And I was like, ‘Oh, cool, this might just be where it ends though’. It’s like, I’m the kid that’s good at acting in their hometown, and then sooner or later I’m going to have to find something else to do to support the rest of my life.

And it’s a bit of a scary thing when you’re going like, Oh, should I chase acting? Growing up in a working-class town, it’s like, ‘Well, what’s your real job?’ Even when you’re working in the industry, you still got to do other things for money. It’s a very unstable industry.

I started looking into drama schools and I auditioned for NIDA one year and didn’t get in, and the next year I was like, Oh, let’s have a crack at WAAPA, as well as NIDA. I remember one day I was just wandering down the aisles of Coles and I got a call from a bloke called Chris Edmund who ran WAAPA. He’s like, ‘Hey bud, just want to let you know that somebody’s just dropped out. There’s a place for you. Do you want to come over in three days?’ And I was like, ‘Yep, absolutely’. And he’s like, ‘Take a bit of time to think about it’. I was like, ‘No, I’ll be there in three days’. So, I packed up my life and got on a plane and went to Perth.

Going to drama school, I was like, Oh, this is a bit scary. Are my parents going to be okay with this? And it wasn’t until I graduated and was a couple of years into the industry and my dad and I were having a chat and he’s like, ‘Look, when I was speaking to my guidance counsellor about jobs at school, acting was my number one pick but I didn’t go through with it. I didn’t bring it up because it’s a non-existent job. It’s not a job that people like us, growing up on a farm, can do’. And he was like, ‘I’m really proud of you for chasing it. I’m really proud of you for taking the leap and chasing what you want to do’.

***

UNBROKEN WAS AMAZING. It was such an incredible experience and one I never expected. I came out of drama school, got a job working reception at a gym, was setting myself up for a slow burn, which is what you got to do. You have to appreciate everything, expect nothing. Then these auditions started for Unbroken. At the time, they kept saying, ‘We want you to do some auditions with Angelina Jolie’. I was terrified but I got the job.

The major takeaway from that experience was just the scale. Just how many jobs there are on films and how many people are working their butts off to make something beautiful. And you don’t know going into these things, especially American productions, you’re like, Oh, is it going to be like what everybody says? Is it going to be big Hollywood glamour and will there be divas? But that set was just the most humble, down-to-earth set, and it all came from Angie. She’s so, so kind. She leads with kindness. She was so passionate about making this story. And because she’s been an actor for so long, her dialogue with actors was amazing. She was a really fantastic director.

It was also a great experience for pushing myself physically. That was my first big physical transformation. I lost 20 kilos in two or three months. Because we’re playing POWs we wanted to honour these soldiers as best we could. So, we pushed it as hard as we could and it was really a really special experience and a great way to open my eyes to the scale of the industry.

(L-R): Noa (played by Owen Teague), Soona (played by Lydia Peckham), and Anaya (played by Travis Jeffery) I Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

***

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is a dream job for me. Growing up, I was always climbing up hay bales, climbing trees, always getting told to stop climbing stuff. It [Apes] was another one that when you get the audition, you go, Ah, okay, that’s not going to happen. That’s out of my reach. When I talk about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, there’s no playing it cool for me.

And the main reason for that is because I’ve always loved movement. I’ve got to thank my teacher at drama school, Lisa Scott Murphy, for a lot. She really kicked off my interest and hunger and my exploration of physicality, whether it be playing Stewie [in Gallipoli] or playing an ape.

We had this incredible movement coach, Alain Gauthier. He’s so precise and he’s so detailed in his work. And we spent six weeks with him, turning into chimps at this thing called Ape School. You go, ‘Okay, what’s Ape School?’ And you rock up on day one and everybody’s a bit nervous and we’re all trying to do our best warm-ups. And he’s like, ‘Everybody relax, there’s no winning here’. So, we got into it and the thing that drove us was how much everybody was putting in, because you feel like an idiot to begin with. Just making chimp noises, doing all the movement. It’s like being back in drama school.

The great Andy Serkis mentored us in the week leading up, pre-shoot. Weta, the digital effects company, set us up in the studios. It’s a big play space. We were on a big grey carpet with all these motion sensor infrared cameras around us picking up our suits and they get our physicality and stuff. So, they’re live transmitting us with an ape on top, so we could see how the last five weeks of training was translating in our body.

And then we’d run through scenes with Andy. And he’s such an intelligent man so we were just so grateful to have him with us. It was too much fun. It was more fun than you should be allowed to have as an actor.

Jeffery at the global premiere of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in LA.

***

BEFORE TRAINING WITH Chief and Em, I’d call my workout style just floundering around a gym, trying heaps of different things, mixing stuff up, not eating well. Looking back on the previous transformations I did for some of my roles, I don’t think I was doing it in the right way. I had no idea.

For Unbroken, for example, I was just drinking slim shakes because you go, That’s how I’m going to lose weight. And you do, you lose weight, you’ve got nothing going into your body, it’s so unhealthy. And then I’d finish shooting and just blow out because I’d be like, Great, let’s eat everything. And my body’s like, I don’t know what to do with this stuff anymore. Let’s just stick it to the walls and keep it for later because you’ve been in survival mode for the last couple of months.

I’ve been training with Chief and Em, on and off, for the last three years and what’s great about them is it’s so clear, it’s so easy. I met them through a mate of mine, Tim Franklin, before we went over to Perth to shoot a film called Before Dawn. He was like, ‘You’ve got to come down to the beach with Chief and Em. They’re incredible. They’ll absolutely kick your ass on the beach’. I was like, ‘How hard can it be?’ So, I started doing their Original Boot camps on Coogee Beach at 5:30 am, three times a week. And it was brutal, but an amazing way to start the day. And the boot camps were a great way to get in shape for a lot of the cardiovascular stuff for Before Dawn.

But Chief and Em really ramped up the training from October onwards, when we began working on a transformation for the Apes re-shoots. That’s when we really got stuck into Chief’s DARC training method: dynamic, aerobic, resisted conditioning. It’s hybrid training and it’s absolutely amazing because movement, first and foremost, has always been what’s important to me. Just making sure that I can move well. And it was so important for Apes and that’s what they’re all about, that hybrid training of movement and strength.

I do the boot camps three times a week. That’s a lot of cardio, a lot of weighted bars on the beach, a lot of bodyweight stuff. And then the sun comes up, you go for a dip, then you get in a studio and they [Chief and Em] just up the ante again. I’d jump into their studio five days a week and then I do a ‘SKWOD’ with them on Saturdays. I was going hard but it was a good challenge.

I learned during this transformation that the assault bike is the most aptly named piece of equipment in the fitness industry. It’s terrifying but it really worked well for me. Yes, it was challenging. The last six months has probably been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but I loved it because it was something that was making me feel better every day and there were no excuses, you use whatever you have around you. Over the last three months I’ve used trees as pull-up bars, rocks to incline or decline. My dad was a mechanic for a long time, so I used his hoist for dips and for pull-ups and car parts for weights. There’s no getting out of it, which is really important because when you get tired, when you get fatigued, it’s easy to slip.

Nutrition-wise, Em is all over your diet. She really makes it really accessible, really easy to understand. When you start a transformation with Chief and Em, you reset your body. You don’t realise how much crap you’re addicted to. I’ve got such a sweet tooth but Em said to me, ‘You don’t have a sweet tooth, you’ve got a sweet brain. You’re just addicted to these things’. When you start the eating program with her, it feels like a diet to begin with because you’re cutting out all this stuff that we’re so used to eating – processed food and chocolate and all this stuff. But by week three and four you’re like, Oh, this isn’t a diet. This is just eating really well. I was getting up to eating a kilo of veggies a day and having more energy than I’d ever had.

These last couple of months I’ve started to realise the importance of celebrating the little turning points that you have, every day, like getting up, going to the gym. That’s a massive win, especially coming from the kid that was quite overweight and bullied. And I would beat myself up so much for eating junk food or not going to the gym just because I felt so ashamed. Because that’s what people make you feel like when you’re overweight.

But working with Chief and Em helped me change that mindset and really prioritise training and healthy eating and to celebrate those little steps. I’m so proud of where I am right now.

Get in primate shape

PART ONE:

Repeat this mini-circuit 4 times, with no more than 1 min between exercises.

PRONATED GRIP PULL-UPS (AKA Overhand Grip): max reps

• Do as many as possible, then revert to negative only pull-ups, using a jump-box or similar to help get you to the top position. Now take your weight, pause for a moment, then slowly lower yourself down until your arms are straight, then use the box to get back to the top again and repeat.
• Aim to complete at least 10 reps in total each set.

BENT-OVER BICEP ROW: 8 – 14 reps

• Set yourself up as you would for a standard bent-over barbell row, but with your hands supinated (palms up).
• Before you start the row, roll your knuckles back towards you.
• Now, as you row the bar towards you, aim for it to touch your solar plexus. This will utilise your biceps far more than a standard row.

TREADMILL SURGES: 4 sets

• Walk for 10 sec, then Jog for 10 sec.
• At the 20 sec mark gradually increase your speed over the next 30 secs until you are sprinting for the last 10.
• Slow back down to a walk and repeat the process three more times.

PART TWO:

Again, repeat the mini-circuit below 4 times, with no more than 1 min between exercises.

NEUTRAL GRIP PULL-UPS (AKA Hammer Grip): max reps

• Just like the Pronated Grip Pull-ups, do as many as possible, then revert to negative only pull-ups again.
• Aim to complete at least 10 reps in total each set.

BICEPS DRAG: 8 – 14 reps

• Set yourself up as if you are about to do a standard barbell curl.
• When you start to lift the weight intentionally allow your elbows to travel backwards in a rowing fashion. At the same time drag the bar up the front of your body until it touches your solar plexus, before lowering it back down to the start position.

STATIONARY BIKE SURGES: 4 sets

• Cycle with minimal resistance in a seated position for 10sec, then add resistance for 10 sec.
• At the 20 sec mark increase the resistance again and stand up. Gradually increase the  resistance over the next 30 secs until you feel like you are climbing a mountain for the last 10.
• Reduce the resistance, sit down, slow back down to an easy pace, before repeating the process three more times.

FINISHER

ALTERNATING GORILLA ROW: max reps in 90 sec

• Start with two kettlebells of the same weight between your feet.
• Bending your knees, and hinging slightly forward, reach down and take hold of the handles. Your upper body should be almost parallel to the ground.
• Pressing down into the handle of the left kettlebell, row the right kettlebell up, trying to twist the body as little as possible.
• Once the right kettlebell is back on the ground, press down into its handle as you row the left one up.

Listen to Travis’ episode on The Turning Point podcast:

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Breaking down these barriers among men is crucial. The Well Club challenges this binary perspective, proposing a transformative path. This alternative approach advocates for gaining control of the past and future, fostering freedom from the burdens of stress and regret. Despite the innate capacity within each individual to embrace this liberating journey, research indicates that a mere 9% of individuals fully tap into this transformative option.

Guided by Dr. Douk, it’s meant to address the challenges that men encounter in daily lives – and chose to offer a holistic approach called the “Well Method”. The Well Club seeks to not only open up conversations but also redefine the narrative around men’s wellness. In doing so, it paves the way for a future where health is a shared journey, free from stereotypes and stigma.

The concept of the 9 dimensions of wellness, as championed by The Well Club program, represents a holistic framework that transcends traditional notions of health. Encompassing emotional, physical, occupational, social, spiritual, intellectual, creative, environmental, and financial dimensions, this approach recognizes the interconnectedness of various aspects of an individual’s life. Neglecting any one dimension may lead to a decline in overall well-being. By fostering a balanced and proactive approach across these dimensions, The Well Club empowers individuals to cultivate a fuller, more satisfying quality of life. Through its unique “Well Method,” The Well Club seeks to guide individuals toward a comprehensive transformation that considers every facet of their well-being journey.

According to him, “to navigate the complexities of men’s health, understanding the body’s stress response becomes paramount.” Addressing this, he sheds light on this physiological phenomenon, where stress triggers hormonal responses preparing the body to confront or escape perceived threats. In the hustle of modern life, men often find themselves ensnared in constant stressors. Dr. Douk’s emphasis on strategies to deactivate the stress response offers practical insights for achieving a balanced state of well-being.

Moving beyond the traditional scope of wellness, he introduced a compelling element – the integration of faith. Beyond its spiritual connotations, faith, according to Dr. Douk, wields a profound influence on epigenetics. Choosing faith becomes a powerful tool to shape behaviors and environments, subsequently affecting gene functionality. He emphasizes the role of faith in combating challenges like depression, underlining its capacity to stimulate positive thoughts that can reshape gene expression.

He further navigates the realm of neuroscience in his programs, introducing the concept of neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to form and reorganize synaptic connections. This intrinsic adaptability empowers men to think, learn, and choose pathways that contribute to freedom and wholeness. As a fundamental tenet of The Well Club’s philosophy, neuroplasticity underscores the transformative potential within each individual, encouraging choices that enhance overall well-being.

Backing his integrative approach are studies demonstrating the positive correlation between faith and health. Notably, a six-year study on HIV patients revealed that those actively practicing their faith exhibited a significantly lower likelihood of death compared to counterparts with similar health profiles. This compelling evidence reinforces the idea that faith can be a potent catalyst for resilience and improved health outcomes.

As a thought leader in behavioral health and wellness, we are excited to see his mission flowing strongly through The Well Club, which stands upright in redefining men’s wellness through a comprehensive and transformative lens. His wealth of experience, expert opinions, and commitment to positive change positions him as a beacon guiding men toward a path of freedom, fulfillment, and enduring well-being.

The journey is poised to exceed boundaries with the launch of its App, laying the foundation for a global community focused on holistic well-being. This marks a pivotal moment for the company as they are addressing the need to go digital with the expansion of their digital community. It’s a library of classes and experiences designed to catalyze transformation for their members worldwide.

Looking forward, The Well Club envisions the establishment of private wellness clubs globally, fostering a sense of community and shared growth. This commitment goes beyond – with the introduction of The Well Club resorts, offering tailored programs to reset, reinvigorate, and recharge busy executives and elite athletes over short weekend getaways or extended one to two-week retreats.

Men’s Health Australia editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content. This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider. 

The post Unlocking The Hidden Struggles In Men’s Wellness appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Adding to previous research of its kind, authors of a study found that more than 300,000 people saw that being sedentary was a major health hazard. Yet they also estimated that exercising a little bit – the equivalent of a 20-minute brisk walk daily – could reduce the risk of premature death in inactive people by as much as 16 to 30 per cent.

Globally, 1 in 4 adults aren’t moving enough, according to the World Health Organisation. And even if you think you’re an active person, you might be spending just enough time in front of your TV when you’re not at the gym to be putting your health at risk.

What’s more, the effects of staying seated go far beyond what you may think. Sure, your sedentary behaviour can hurt your heart and raise your risk for inflammation-causing extra unwanted kilos. It might also be responsible for some more surprising effects too, including effects on your sex life, your mood, and your blood sugar.

Let these 7 sinister side effects of living a sedentary life inspire you to move a little bit every day. Read on to learn more—and to discover the easiest thing you can do right now to reverse the damage.

Sedentary behaviour effect #1: your mood takes a dive

Feeling down? Blame your chair: Research continues to show that long periods spent sitting can have a significant impact on your mental health, with a 2022 study showing that sitting time was strongly associated with adverse mental health effects during the COVID-19 lockdown.

What’s more, other types of sedentary behaviour—like watching TV or playing electronic games – can increase your risk for anxiety, according to a meta-analysis of nine studies published in BMC Public Health. The reviewers suggest that engaging in “screen-based entertainment,” as they call it, may get your central nervous system all riled up and invite anxiety. Screens may also disrupt sleep, bringing on anxiety that way.

If you’re spending your time on screens, you’re probably not fitting in enough physical activity, the researchers say.

And that’s important, since exercise has mood-boosting benefits. Some research indicates that cardio can boost your mood just as effectively as prescribed antidepressants.

Sedentary behaviour effect #2: Your cancer risk skyrockets

The post ​7 ways you wreck your body when you don’t get off your butt appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

Enter Challengers, a movie as much about the intensity of competitive tennis and a love for the game as it is about three specific players and fanatics whose personal (and romantic) lives are so intertwined that they simply cannot get away from one another over the course of more than ten years. Director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes infuse Challengers with a sense of frenetic energy and constant sensuality that the film’s trio of stars – Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist – are 100% game for, and manage to use their charismatic talents and handles on their respective characters to ramp up even more.

The story is framed by a Challenger match between the famous and successful Art (Faist) and the lower-circuit scuffler Patrick (O’Connor), where the winner ostensibly earns a spot to compete at the U.S. Open. But over the course of the match, we learn about their history – as former best friends, doubles partners, and, yes, competitors – and also about Art’s wife/coach Tashi (Zendaya), who was once a phenom herself, catching the attention of both men before an injury cut her career short.

Through the unique relationship between its three leads, Challengers manages to upend any pre-existing ‘sports movie’ expectations you possibly could have had. With the help of Guadagnino’s inventive and exciting filmmaking, along with a Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score that will make you feel like you just took some kind of VERY intense upper drug, Challengers knows how to please the people watching. The tennis scenes are intense, a form of nonverbal storytelling in and of themselves, and every bit of the film serves to set another vital moment or character trait up.

You’ll walk out of Challengers feeling like you just got a jolt of energy—and probably want to watch it again right away.

What is Challengers about?

Challengers is two types of movie in one: a sports movie – telling an authentic and intense story of three uber-talented tennis players – and a romantic drama, diving deep into a long-evolving relationship between those same three tennis players (who also happen to be complex sexual beings).

The story is simple enough: Art and Patrick are essentially lifelong best friends who are doubles partners, but also face off when they need to. But when they see Tashi Duncan – a tennis prodigy sponsored by Adidas before even attending college—everything changes; they both kind of fall head over heels for her.

The film tells its story in a nonlinear fashion, jumping between the moment when all three met, to its present day Challenger event – where a now-successful Art, now married to Tashi, and a Patrick who lives out of his car are facing off – and everything in between.

The film gains more and more steam as it goes on, both in the bedroom and on the court, climaxing with easily the most exciting ten-minute sequence to hit cinemas so far in 2024.

via Mens Health US

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Blue Zones experts seem to believe that, yes, yes it does.

The Blue Zones lifestyle has been around for a while, but Netflix gave it a boost last year after releasing a docu-series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. The dietary portion of the Blue Zones lifestyle even has its own meal planning service and line of frozen meals.

Unlike fad diets such as Whole30 and keto, the Blue Zones diet encompasses a lot of what dieticians have been recommending for decades.

Let’s take a look at what a Blue Zones diet entails, and if it’s right for everyone.

What are Blue Zones?

Blue Zones are regions all over the world where the lifespan – and health span – of residents is longer than average. According to research, people in Blue Zones reach the age of 100 at 10 times greater rates.

The actual term “Blue Zones” comes from the work of scientists Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain, who drew blue circles on a map around locations with outstanding longevity. They began referring to these areas as “Blue Zones.”

There are currently five Blue Zones.

• Okinawa, Japan
• Sardinia, Italy
• Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
• Ikaria, Greece
• Loma Linda, California

Blue Zones are often touted as models of healthy living, with their commonalities around diet, lifestyle, stress levels, and community involvement. These factors, among others, are thought by some experts to be the reasons why people who live in Blue Zones are some of the healthiest and longest-living in the world.

What is lifespan vs health span?

Lifespan is how long we live. Health span is the duration of a person’s life during which they are in good health. In many cases, health span is shorter than lifespan.

In addition to a longer lifespan, people who live in Blue Zones reportedly a longer health span, living happier, healthier lives for far longer than the average person around the world. This is difficult to quantify objectively, however.

What is the Blue Zones diet?

The Blue Zones diet is made up of 95 to 100 percent plants and mostly whole, minimally processed foods, including 115g of nuts and 1/2 to 1 cup of beans daily. The food you eat is ideally locally-grown, with very limited animal products such as meat, fish, dairy, and eggs. The diet is also low in added sugar. Wine is allowed in moderation, as are coffee and tea.

The main pillars of the Blue Zones do seem to align with current research around diet and lifestyle: that plant-forward, high-fibre diets are associated with lower risk for disease, lower stress levels may improve cardiovascular risk, and a focus on community can improve at least self-rated health levels.

The benefits of the Blue Zones diet

Consuming a diet that’s high in plants, including beans and pulses (these come with bonus points for sustainability), soy products such as tofu, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, is associated with better health outcomes.

The post The Blue Zones diet is awesome – except for one unfortunate flaw appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

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 1. Standard push-ups

Before advancing to more complex variations, it’s important to master the standard push-up. This foundational exercise builds strength in your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.

Instructions:

• Start in a high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor, keeping your elbows close to your body.
• Push back up to the starting position with your elbows softly locked out.
• Aim to complete 10-15 repetitions unbroken before progressing on to the next variations.

2. Side-to-side push-ups

This variation gets you even closer to the mechanics of the typewriter push-up by incorporating a lateral movement while in the lowered push-up position.

Instructions:

• Start in a high plank position.
• Lower yourself down to the bottom of a push-up without your chest resting on the floor. 
• While at the bottom position, shift your chest from one hand to the other, moving side to side. Keep your chest just above the floor as you move.
• After moving side to side, meet back in the middle and push up to the starting position.
• Aim to complete around 5-10 repetitions unbroken before progressing on to the typewriter push-up.

 3. Typewriter push-ups

After mastering these progressions, you should have developed the strength, stability, and control necessary for typewriter push-ups. 

• Start in a high plank position with your hands wider than shoulder width. Note: the wider your hands the more harder the push-up will be.
• Lower yourself down to the bottom of a push-up.
• While in the bottom position, shift your chest from one hand to the other, moving side to side. Keep your chest just above the floor as you move. If comfortable, try to extend the arm into a soft lock position ensuring full range of motion.
• Once you nail your first few reps, continue to challenge yourself and add them to your routine. 

Remember, progression takes time, and consistent practice is key. Always prioritise form to prevent injury and ensure the most effective workout. As you become more comfortable with side-to-side push-ups, start incorporating the typewriter push-up technique, gradually increasing your range of motion and control to master this challenging exercise.

For more workouts from Chris, go to @chrisnayna on IG or check out chrisnayna.com

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The post Chris Nayna reveals how to do the mythical typewriter push-up appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.