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Life

13th Mar 2014

How being a man has changed: Fitness

Plenty has changed over the last few years when it comes to fitness, but there are some classics that never go away

JOE

Plenty has changed over the last few years when it comes to fitness, but there are some classics that never go away

Every time a new diet or a new workout plan hits the big time and people start sharing it, it’s all of a sudden the best thing since sliced bread, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Almost inevitably, a few weeks later people realise they were a bit too hasty and discover that hanging upside down from the ceiling with a weight attached to your left arm for three hours won’t get anything done.

One thing is certain, the old school training techniques have plenty to teach us about keeping fit and getting in shape, and perhaps the biggest change over the past few years is the pressure on men to keep a much closer eye on their fitness and health in general, which is of course not a bad thing. However there’s been a big increase in the amount of theories and claptrap that are knocking around about devices and things that can get us fit, from wacky techno-gadgets to “revolutionary” workout plans.

For instance, have you ever come home and thought to yourself “if only I could ride a horse in the comfort of my own living room, I’d be in much better shape?”. Well if you have, then the Horse Riding Fitness Ace Power is the perfect piece of kit for you.

Along with that, let us not forget other comical efforts such as the face trainer, the Shake Weight (aka Shake n’ Bake), a series of vibration based thingies that you still see in some gyms, not to mention version of after useless version of weird exercise belts that cause your stomach to spasm, and yet we’re still using kettlebells and Olympic bars in the gym, things that have been around for years and doing a pretty good job of keeping us in shape.

In fact, while the techniques have changed over the years and there is now a recognition that there are different types of training for different goals, we’re still using most of the same equipment and functional movements that were popular years ago, from kettle bells to deadlifts. Things have changed, but a lot of the old school techniques are still the best way to make sure that you’re working as hard as you can and getting the best results possible in the gym.

Even the latest craze, CrossFit, doesn’t do anything too revolutionary, bar focus on the functional movements that weightlifters have been doing since the sport first began, and adds in the added bonus of high intensity to it, which makes it even more challenging.

Gyms are more high tech, we can run on treadmills and use fancy machines to lift our weights for us, but few things in the world make you feel quite as manly as hitting the bench press or doing a pull up. Although fitness has gone through a few evolutions in the last while, and being a man has changed along with it, Man Hunger hasn’t, so satisfy your hunger by heading to McDonald’s and chowing down on some man-sized meals to satisfy your cravings.

Being a Man has changed but Man Hunger hasn’t. Brought to you by McDonald’s Quarter Pounder Range – Serious Man Food

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