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Mens Journal
It’s no secret that yoga has health benefits for all. The age-old practice reduces stress, combats anxiety, increases concentration, builds strength, increases flexibility, and helps prevent injuries. With many countries still on pandemic lockdown, and with gyms and studios closed or unable to offer classes, now, more than ever, is a good time to incorporate yoga into your daily routine. If you can’t support your favorite local studio, there are plenty of excellent videos available online to guide you through your practice of choice. Here, we’ve rounded up seven of our favorite free online yoga videos so you can flow at home.
How Yoga Reduces Anxiety, Relaxes Your Body, and Benefits Your Brain
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Mens Journal
As of May 20, all 50 states have started to loosen shutdown restrictions to some degree. For a lot of cities, the first wave of re-opening includes gyms, CrossFit boxes, climbing centers, and the like.
Now, it’s easy to say your best strategy to stay safe is continuing to sweat outside or in your living room. But the reality is most of us really, really miss getting our ass handed to us by heavy barbells and motivating coaches.
Remembering the High-Five: A Simple Gesture Between Buddies, Lost But Never ForgottenSo is it safe to go back to gyms? To be brutally honest, no one really knows. “We’re doing these little experiments one gym at a time to see if we can get away with exercising and promoting health and wellness without making people sick,” says David Aronoff, M.D., director of the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
And we don’t yet know whether that’s possible.
But we do know the vast majority of businesses, especially gyms and studios, are taking measures to try and minimize infection risk. Some are taking the temperatures of their staff and members before they can come into the building. Most are limiting class sizes or member entry to ensure social distancing. Many are shortening their classes to allow time for equipment disinfection in between.
“If you went into gyms right now that were functioning the same as November 2019, that’d be a problem,” Aronoff says. “But everybody involved is most likely trying to mitigate risks.”
How COVID-19 Will Change the Future of Backcountry SkiingHowever, we’re still living with the realities of COVID-19: You can’t look at someone and know they’re not infected just because they feel fine or don’t have a temperature. Some people carry the virus and never get symptoms. And even people who do were likely shedding the virus for days before they were symptomatic, Aronoff adds. What’s more, we know the more people you’ve been interacting with, the higher the chances a stealthy virus like COVID-19 is going to spread.
That being said, we totally get why you’re daydreaming of slinging real weights in a room full of your sweaty, grunting friends.
“There’s an understandable desire for people to be engaging with things that make them feel well and fit—and that reduces anxiety and [the side effects of] social isolation,” Aronoff adds. Plus, we all want to keep our locally owned boxes and boutique fitness centers from going under permanently.
Warren Buffett’s Advice for Investing in the Age of COVID-19First, consider whether you can get the same relief and benefit from home or outdoor workouts, Aronoff says. Then, if you feel like the risk is worth the reward of heading to your favorite fitness center, make sure you ask your gym these seven questions before you walk through the doors.
7 Things to Ask Before You Start Going to Gyms Again
1. How are you spacing out people and equipment?
With a virus that spreads via droplets in the air, with an unknown spray radius, and in an environment where we’re all breathing heavily, your best defense is space, Aronoff says. Treadmills shouldn’t be packed together; no one should be on a machine directly next to you; and classmates, as well as instructors, need to be at least 6 feet away from you at all times.
2. Are you limiting how many people can be in the gym at once?
A safe number of people is completely dependent on the physical size of your fitness center. But fewer people in the building at once means a lower chance of infection—it’s as simple as that.
3. Are your employees wearing masks?
Wearing a mask encourages others to don one, and to remain cautious and vigilant—which can be powerful coming from the person greeting you at the facility. And considering employees are at the highest risk here of being unknown carriers (they interact with the most people in a day), they should be wearing a mask to protect your health.
COVID-19-Inspired Home Workouts Could Decimate the Gym Industry4. Do you have disposable masks if I want one?
It can be challenging to wear a mask while exercising, and you don’t necessarily have to if distancing and disinfection are both on point. But you should wear one in and out of the facility, when you’re going to be passing people in the doorway and at the front desk, Aronoff says. And management should provide clean, ideally disposable masks for guests or employees in case they want one.
5. What’s the ventilation like?
In addition to having space between people, it’s important the facility has a system to move potentially infected air out and fresh air in. Fans potentially just recirculate infected air droplets. The facility needs to have either a great ventilation system or enough windows and doors for a cross breeze to move air through the room.
6. How often are you disinfecting the equipment, and do you have disinfectant available for members to use?
Employees should be wiping down all equipment regularly—certainly in between every class. Additionally, there should be ample ways to make sure common-use equipment can easily be sanitized or disinfected by members, Aronoff says. Management should have disinfectant spray and paper towels, or pre-soaked wipes available in multiple locations around the gym for you to use. Wipe equipment down before you use it (in case the last person was careless) and again after you’re done. Also, there should be plenty of hand sanitizer all around so you don’t wipe sweat out of your eyes with germy skin.
Super-High-Intensity Workouts to Get Fit in 5 Minutes or Less7. What are you doing to encourage healthy choices?
“Often people will go to the gym to exercise or relax [in a gym’s spa or sauna] when they’re starting to come down with something or feel bad,” Aronoff points out. And it’s easy to write off a slight throat tickle while you’re walking into your HIIT class. “Gyms should have really good signage that promotes these principles and kindly reminds people if they’re having any symptoms of COVID-19, to please respect the health of others by staying home,” he adds.
The post Gyms are Re-Opening. Here are 7 Things To Check Before You Go Back appeared first on Men's Journal.
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Mens Journal
There are many narratives that surround the Bay Area: an eclectic and inclusive culture, creative architecture, the Spanish Mission, huge fishing wharfs, colorful houses on steep hills, cable cars weaving through the city, the Chinatown district and of course, the tech boom and stratification of the city. I’d like to add one of my own to the list: the best urban running in the entire country, bar none.
I started running around the Bay the first day I moved here in January of 2012. I ran through downtown Oakland, around Lake Merritt—a paved 3-mile footpath—and through the Temescal and Rockridge districts.
6 Stair Workouts to Level Up Your Fitness During IsolationSince that first wandering run I’ve logged thousands of miles across the metro area, from regional parks in the hills to lunch runs along the Embarcadero, to hot laps in Kezar Stadium, a beautiful track open to all. The options are endless, from a casual 3-miler along the waterfront to 20-plus miles entirely on dirt.
Here’s a list of the best runs across the Bay Area.
All photos by Andy Cochrane.
10 Intense Speed Drills to Improve Your Power and Explosiveness
For those looking for an easy few miles with minimal elevation change, I’d recommend Crissy Field on the northern side of the city. The route runs adjacent to the water, from Fort Mason to the Golden Gate.
It has very few stoplights and tons of green space, making it perfect for a slow recovery day, easy lunch run or a new way to see the city. A great alternative is the Embarcadero, from Fort Mason east towards downtown, following the water.
Photo: Andy Cochrane
San Francisco is built atop dozens of rolling hills and the tallest is Twin Peaks, in the south central corner of the city proper. At 992-feet high, the views from the top are either awe-inspiring or very foggy, depending on the day.
Twin Peaks and similar hill climbs offer runners a great workout, climbing from sea level all the way up winding roads to the top. If it’s a humid morning, a great alternative is Bernal Heights, another hill that sits further east, typically has less fog and is renowned for great sunrises.
Photo: Andy Cochrane
The largest urban park in the country, Golden Gate, is a big rectangle over three miles long from west to east. Inside the park you’ll find a chain of lakes, dozens of historical buildings and statues and even a bison paddock.
Golden Gate offers both paved and dirt trails, with many loops to choose from. At the eastern edge of the park is Kezar Stadium, former home of the 49ers and Raiders. If you happen to be across the bridge in Oakland, a good alternate option is a loop around Lake Merritt, near downtown.
Photo: Andy Cochrane
Sometimes called the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, the Moraga Stairs are worth checking out for anyone regardless of whether you plan to run them. One of a dozen or more hidden staircases across the city, the Moraga Stairs are tiled with beautiful ceramic paintings, best seen from the bottom. For any hardcore runners reading this, a great workout is 10 laps from bottom to top, without stops. A similar leg-burning staircase run is the Lyon Street Steps near the Marina and Presidio.
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Mens Journal
Sprinting is one of the best ways totorch fat and build a strong, muscular lower body—without a gym. To get faster, more reactive, and explosive, you could tax your lungs and legs via 200-meter repeats on a track, or you could do speed drills. Some routines emphasize strengthening single-leg weaknesses while others test your agility and hand-eye coordination, all of which translates to greater speed and explosiveness across all sports and disciplines.
Super-High-Intensity Workouts to Get Fit in 5 Minutes or LessSpeed drills are also the perfect workout to take advantage of while sheltering in place. They don’t require much equipment (if at all) and get you outdoors (never discount the benefits of some fresh air and sunshine on your mental sanity during this time.) If you’ve been looking to run faster, challenge your fitness in a new way, or simply work on something physical that’ll take your mind off this stressful time, try some of these routines below.
6 Stair Workouts to Level Up Your Fitness During IsolationFrom small-apartment training sessions to outdoor hill workouts, we’ve rounded up 10 stellar speed drills from the fitness community on Instagram that’ll get you in peak shape just in time for summer.
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Mens Journal
When the shelter-in-place order went out in March, John Passaro and his fiancé, Megan Soll, began building their home gym. He wanted a Peloton bike, and she wanted a Mirror, which offers a wider variety of on-demand home workouts. So they decided to buy both, along with a set of adjustable Bowflex dumbbells, a weight bench, and foam-backed rubber matting for the floor.
As they settled into their new workout routines, Passaro began most days with 30 minutes on the Peloton. Afterward he’d use Centr, the Chris Hemsworth approved fitness app, for resistance training.
The 30 Best Dumbbell Exercises of All TimePassaro has a longstanding membership at his local gym in Hoboken, NJ. But soon after launching the new at-home program, his weight began falling. He’s down about 10 pounds, and he hopes to lose another 10. But he’ll do it at home. As soon as his gym opens back up, he plans to cancel his $90/month membership. Soll will do the same. She actually has two memberships—one near her office and one near their apartment. She’ll cancel them both.
If Passaro and Soll seem exceptional in their commitment to working out at home—you’d need about $4,000 to replicate their setup, plus $88 in monthly subscription fees—it’s only by degree. In the wake of COVID-19, millions of fit-seekers were recently ejected from their gyms, and many responded by investing in new equipment for their homes and apartments.
ICON Fitness, the company that owns Nordictrack, Proform, and iFit, announced it experienced a 600 percent sales spike in April. During the first three weeks of isolation, Affirm, a company that offers financing for e-tail purchases, issued 163 percent more loans for Mirrors, Tonals, Tempos, and other big-ticket fitness items. The New York Times recently reported people were panic-buying Pelotons, while brands like Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods have struggled to keep basic fitness equipment in stock.
The Modern Man’s Guide to Home GymsThe suite of options runs deep. Boxers are following programs like FightCamp and EBF Live. Virtual-reality users are using a game-like cardio program called Supernatural on Oculus Quest. And cyclists have embraced platforms like Rouvy and Zwift so enthusiastically that Nike recently announced it was launching an indoor cycling shoe (out June 1).
For many, techy home fitness is proving more enjoyable than traditional gyms. Ryan Light, CEO of the Venice, CA, apparel brand Pistol Lake, bought an Ergatta, a $1,999 smart rowing machine that uses gaming tricks to blunt the sting of cardio. “There’s a leaderboard and you race against other people’s times, so there’s a competitive angle that really works for me,” says Light. “That and a small lifting routine at the house has basically replaced my need for a gym.”
Other recent home-workout converts are surprised to find they can save money without sacrificing quality. “I was paying $80 for a gym that was overcrowded and lacked the basics,” says Caitlin Drown, who signed up for Sweat, a women-specific fitness platform that runs $19.99 per month. “Now I have an app that’s designed for working out wherever I am.” Drown, who works with an environmental non-profit in Boston, can complete the workouts with just a yoga mat, resistance bands, and dumbbells.
The 5 Best Treadmills You Can Buy for Your Home GymStories like this signal a degree of doom for brick-and-mortar gyms and studios. While their members are busy rearranging furniture to make room for new devices, health clubs are reeling from the blow of forced closures. Gold’s Gym permanently shut down about 30 locations, and in May, it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Reporting from CNBC indicates that 24 Hour Fitness might be close behind, while Business Insider confirms YogaWorks is closing its New York City locations.
“The reality is that a lot of studios don’t have a lot of working capital,” says Bryan O’Rourke, a fitness analyst and board member with the International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). “In markets like New York, it was already competitive to a fault. A lot of studios are going to suffer. They won’t re-emerge. That’s very real.”
To make the struggle worse, clubs that do re-open will generally be forced to operate under strict new rules that members may find inconvenient. Texas is forcing gyms to operate at 25 percent capacity. In Tennessee, officials are asking gyms to question customers for signs of illness and check temperatures at the door. Equinox will limit members to three workouts per week (booked in advance), and according to Vice, many gyms plan to cut back on luxuries like yoga mats, free towels, and toiletries. Plus, members will be required to wear masks during their workouts.
With new rules, new fears, and shiny new equipment at home, many people will decide the gym isn’t worth the effort. That’s Passaro’s conclusion. Even when gyms were operating as normal, he had to wake up at 5 a.m. to exercise before work. “You end up loafing around and strangers want to strike up conversations,” he says. “And then you just end up standing around waiting for the squat rack. It’s such a waste of time.”
Donnie Yen on His Top Training Secrets and the Legendary Physiques Who Inspired His TransformationBut there’s never a wait for his Peloton. What’s more, the bike’s data-driven platform reminds him of the excitement he felt when he used to swim competitively. “It feels like you’re racing yourself,” he says. “You see your stats, you know where you should be pacing, and you can use that to push yourself harder.” Plus he can sleep in an extra half hour, and whip up a post-workout protein shake or smoothie as soon as he hops off the bike.
The argument isn’t that COVID-19 invented home workouts. But it’s likely that the pandemic has dramatically shifted the fitness industry’s momentum toward the sleek category of personal fitness technology. For most, a home gym calls to mind an incline bench and a stack of iron plates in a garage. But the best options today are powered by artificial intelligence and on-demand workouts. With your permission, tools like Tonal, Tempo, and Ergatta aim to turn you into an exercise addict. Screens and sensors conspire to track your movements and provide real-time feedback, with leaderboards that tap your competitive drive, progress reports to keep you accountable, and real-life instructors compelling you to, “dig deep!” and, “push harder!”
The term “gym equipment” no longer fits. These are “fitness devices.” They share more DNA with an iPad than they do with a steel squat cage, and they’re designed so beautifully that you won’t mind setting them up in your living room.
The big players in fitness have already begun mounting their defence. Equinox, Planet Fitness, Anytime, and the like all have app-based workouts you can do at home, and following in Peloton’s footsteps, SoulCycle recently announced its own $2,500 on-demand bike. But aside from a few major players, how many health clubs have the resources to launch a respectable technology division?
Super-High-Intensity Workouts to Get Fit in 5 Minutes or LessHealth-club loyalists shouldn’t be overly worried about the end of gyms, says O’Rourke. In Georgia, the week after the state re-opened, work-out traffic was already back to about 50 percent, and China experienced a similar recovery. Those are promising figures.
But looking forward, expect to see the at-home option grow increasingly more enticing. “If you have to get in the car to go to a fitness class—well, you might do that every now and then,” says O’Rourke. But you might also choose to walk down the hallway for an even better experience.
The post COVID-19-Inspired Home Workouts Could Decimate the Gym Industry appeared first on Men's Journal.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2020
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Mens Journal
Actor and martial artist Donnie Yen spent his youth in Boston, splitting his time between sessions at his mother’s martial arts school, the boxing gym, and lifting weights at the Chinatown Boys Club.
“I was training to be in action movies before I even knew it was a possibility,” Yen tells Men’s Journal. Even the bitter New England chill couldn’t prevent him from getting his training in. “I would be out on the street wearing boots and my winter coat, kicking signs and lamp posts. I would do a jump kick, then drop down to a full split, on ice, just to test how well my body was able to control the motion. It wasn’t just about all the kind of movements I could do, it was also about what kind of conditions I could do them under.”
Daniel Craig’s ‘No Time to Die’ Strength and Conditioning WorkoutThat desire to be one of the next great action stars has since become actualized. Yen started his career in Hong Kong and became one of the most in-demand leads. The turning point that earned him global stardom and familiarity came when he portrayed the legendary Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man, best known as Bruce Lee’s teacher, onscreen. Most recently, his role as the blind battle monk Chirrut in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story brought him further into the international spotlight.
Now, with Ip Man 4 being his final kung fu movie, Yen reflects on the roads that brought him here.
Men’s Journal: What was your training like when you were growing up in Boston?
Donnie Yen: My mother was a martial arts master and she used to run a Wishu school, so I started my training with her. But there was a quick fascination for what the body could turn into, as well as with the physical aspect of martial arts. I was innately a curious person and I found myself hungry for knowledge on how to get stronger. There wasn’t the access to information that there is now, so it was all about where you went and what books you could get your hands on.
The Workout That Transformed Adam Driver Into Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’Outside of your mother’s school, where else were you going?
I remember taking the subway out to Roxbury, which was about an hour or more, to get out to a boxing gym. There weren’t commercial boxing gyms like there are now. They were really all for legitimate fighters and trainers getting ready to compete. But I found my way into one and started to get to know the fighters who let me into the community. I was a peculiar sight there—this skinny Asian kid—but they would hold the bag for me and teach me things. I spent months there. Looking back, it was kind of a crazy experience.
I got into bodybuilding as well because of the Rocky movies and Arnold Schwarzenegger. That was my first exposure to seeing a physique like that as a main character—and it was superhuman. I wanted to put on muscle because I was a little thin. I found out there was a Nautilus machine at the Chinatown Boys Club, so I would go there after all of my marital arts and boxing. I would just spend hours training in there and lifting weights.
There are some pretty crazy videos of the workouts you did. Where were those routines coming from?
That was when I was trying to get into action-star shape. I was trying to be a “complete package,” who not only looked the part but also had this martial arts knowledge. I took those routines from books—from whatever Arnold and Sly Stallone were doing. I also incorporated some old-school Shaolin training and also a little inspiration from what Bruce Lee did.
This Chris Hemsworth-Approved Bodyweight Workout Will Get You ShreddedWhere did the discipline to do all of that come from?
I was just relentless in my pursuit to be as good as I could be. I would set insane goals for myself. For example, I would challenge myself to do 10,000 side kicks on the hanging bag, and put it in my notebook. So I would be spending just hours doing side kicks, and at the end of the day I would write down, however many hundred kicks it was. By the time I reached 10,000 kicks those side kicks were so strong. There were multiple times when I ripped heavy bags off the wall—maybe about 10 times. I would go into boxing gyms and eventually I would kick their heavy bag off the ceiling.
How did you take that foundation and adapt it to working in action cinema?
I used that passion for learning into each job. First, I would intensely study the style that my character is supposed to be well-versed in. Then I’d bring in experts and consultants to help me bring the best version of it onscreen. On top of that, I was always looking for new styles and techniques I could bring into movies on my own.
Do you remember an example of that?
I remember when mixed martial arts competitions and cage fights were first coming on the scene—before and during the early stages of the UFC. I was in Hong Kong and I would run around everywhere trying to find ways to watch the fights. I would chase down tapes. I was mostly interested in watching the Gracies, and what they were doing with jiu jitsu. Once I saw it, I knew I had to put it in my movies. I was one of the first people to bring it into the cinema in Asia.
Picking a Fight: How to Choose the Right Martial Art for YouHow did you feel when the Ip Man role came to you?
I was portraying an ancient practitioner—not to mention a revered figure, beyond being the teacher of Bruce Lee—so I worked with Wing Chun experts for about three months. I spent hours breaking down moves and ideas. It’s impossible for anyone to understand everything there is to know about Wing Chun, and to be at [his] level. I would have had to study for decades with no other responsibilities. [All I could] do was try to understand what I could of the philosophies and build on the foundation I’ve built over the years of various martial arts styles. I don’t think this role could really be done by someone without that [existing] knowledge of martial arts.
Beyond the training, how did you prepare?
I had a responsibility to portray this person at the best of my ability, even though there were some fictional elements of the story. Beyond the constant training I was doing, I spent a lot of time meditating on him and what he accomplished. I would find music that I felt represented him. I put a lot of study time into getting to know the man beyond the legend.
How did you feel when it was so well received?
I had no idea the movie would do as well as it did. I remember when it came out, it changed my career a lot, but it also hit big in mainland China. That had an interesting effect because the Wing Chun style had started to become popular all over the world because of Bruce Lee, but strangely wasn’t as popular in the various provinces of China. Within the country, martial arts are very regional, and the movie was a way for the style to transcend that.
I’ve heard that thousands of people have started to practice Wing Chun because of the movie, and that’s surreal to me. I’ve had many Wing Chun practitioners approach me to tell me the affect it’s had on their classes. I was just trying to do the man justice, and we found ourselves revitalizing the popularity of the technique in a way, which is a great honor.
The 10 Most Popular Celebrity Workouts of All TimeWas there a moment during the series that’s especially memorable?
Going up against Mike Tyson in the third film was very exciting for me. I’m a huge fan of him as a fighter, but having him in the movie also proved an interesting challenge for me, because I had to hold my own against him. Not just as myself, physicality, but as the Ip Man character in the way that he fights. That was a very unusual challenge.
How was preparing for this last Ip Man movie different from previous ones?
I had of course already established the training routine and practice leading into the first movie. This last film was more about the man and his mentality. The franchise has a legacy now, and I wanted to do right by the fans as far as closure. This preparation was less about being explosive and aggressive, because Wing Chun is a more graceful martial art. It’s a very different style than what we usually see in action movies today. I enjoyed the preparation, knowing this was going to be the last one. I let everything else flow away and just took the experience in.
What was the most challenging element of portraying Ip Man?
There’s great difficulty in transitioning between the kinds of roles I play. Going from an all-out brawler who just wants to inflict damage to a peaceful martial arts grandmaster can be a lot. One day I’m on the set of XXX with Vin Diesel, wearing my leather jacket, doing my one-two-three combinations and jump spin back kicks, and the next I’m in my traditional robe playing Ip Man. I have to spend time training, but also get my mind into the right space for [the role]. It can take some time.
10 Intense Movie Star Workouts You Can Totally StealHow do you maintain your baseline fitness?
I am always taking care of my body, through training and methods of recovery. These days I focus on stretching to keep myself as flexible as possible, because that’s of upmost importance with the kind of action I’m doing. As you get older, you’re in danger of losing flexibility and getting hurt. I don’t do heavy weights at all anymore, it just isn’t necessary for me to stay strong in the way I need. I focus on bodyweight training—lots of pushups—in addition to the fight training I’m always doing.
You’re playing a general in the upcoming Mulan. How did you feel about the physical aspect of that role?
Everyone in the film went through months of training to prepare for their roles. My character is good with his sword and a master of tai chi. I was honored the director and producing staff seemed to have respect for my career and what I’ve done so far. When I came to the set, the stunt and martial arts coordinators were fine with me adding my own take on the choreography they put together.
What was it like filming that Mulan tai chi scene?
I only did two takes. I felt good about the first one and they did as well, but we decided to do another one. The movements for both were different, and I don’t think I could recreate them because that art is so much about being in the moment. I don’t do tai chi a lot, but I do truly enjoy it. There’s another level of connectivity there—being in tune with your body in an elevated sense. My mother is a tai chi grandmaster, so there was a nice full circle element to that scene, too.
The post How Donnie Yen Became One of the Greatest Martial Artists of All Time appeared first on Men's Journal.
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