December 2016 Issue #4 | Page 61

pavements doesn’t pound your joints. Stanford University The More You Exercise, The Better: When that researchers found those who run regularly have a lower in- beach holiday is just four weeks away, double gym sessions cidence of arthritis in their joints and it’s hypothesised that every day seems the sensible way to build a trunks-only body. regular exercise has a conditioning effect on your cartilage, But when it comes to building muscle, the clichés are true: making it stronger rather than wearing it away. less is more and quality trumps quantity. Play the hero and The major cause of knee problems is being over- you risk overtraining, which stresses your body and sabotages weight – something regular cardio can help you keep in muscle growth. check, obviously. Reach for your runners. Rest days are where your body undoes the damage you’ve done in the gym, repairing and rebuilding muscles so they come back bigger and stronger. In fact, a week off may be just the tonic your workout plan needs. One Sports Medicine study found an extended break from the bench press results in a surge of testosterone and growth hormone, expediting growth when you start lifting again. It’s the most relaxing shortcut to more muscle you’ll ever take. You Need To Stretch Before A Workout: Just be- cause you’ve done the same touch-your-toes routine since PE doesn’t mean it works. In fact, limbering up with static stretches can do more harm than good. Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports discovered that trying to loosen off your muscles when they’re cold actually has negative effects on strength, power and explosive performance. You Can Lose Fat In Specific Spots: We get it. If Instead, try swapping them for dynamic warm-ups, you want to rid yourself of moobs it stands to reason pressusing moves that activate the muscles you intend to use. ups would do the trick. Struggling to keep your middle-aged That means a primer set of push-ups before you attempt a spread in check? Best ramp up the crunches. Unfortunately, bench press PB. targeted weight loss – or ‘spot reduction’ – doesn’t work. While you can target muscle growth, fat burning is a total-body process. Research in the Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise journal found that when test subjects worked out only one side of their body, their fat loss results were evenly split. 4GUYS.CA 61