Men's Fitness Health Plan

Stress, sex and sports. That's what men our age are all about, right? Ha ha! And sooo much more.. We boys over 30 are still athletes at heart. Do you remember the last time you worked out blowing up some Hendrix on your ipod? Well, if not, this is the site for you. A men's fitness health plan is more than the next spare hour you can steal to run twice a year. It is a plan. A strategy. A realistic health goal that can take you and your life (yup! considering the kids, wifey, the annoying boss and all of it) to get you to the next level. We all struggle to find time to fit everything into our lives. A fitness plan adds time to our busy week. You'll sleep-in less. So scroll down, check out our blog, because we'll hook you up! You'll find do-able, fun resources to not only get your gut down to size, but to start thinking about your health for the long term. Cause the gray hairs on your head are making babies, except for the ones clogging up your drain... ;)

Take A Vacation

Stressed out? Boss on your back? Home life not what it used to be? Getting away with friends or a lover can recharge your batteries. Haven’t you worked ENOUGH? Don’t you owe it to yourself to splurge and have a balls-out good time?

You've. Worked. Enough. »

Stay well, stay healthy

Vitality is not just about exercise and what you eat. Our body needs to rebuild tissue and maintain healthy function. Supplementing what our lifestyles rob from our bodies is necessary for health and wellness. Lost a little pep? Its time to refuel.

Stay well, stay healthy »

Exercise and Health

Exercise makes men fire on all 12 cylinders. We feel GREAT. Sexy and ready for ANYTHING. Depression sucks. A hard run, a fun swim, or just a bad-ass intense workout, can change your whole day. Isn’t it time to finally get in GREAT shape? 

We are the champions »

Nutrition for Men

The male body has a higher percentage of muscle tissue than the female body.  To support lean muscle tissue, especially in active men, eating adequate amounts protein is essential.  In fact, men who want to build muscle mass might benefit from slightly increasing the daily recommendation of protein in their diets.  A diet that is built around lean cuts of meat, fish, eggs, poultry, and low-fat dairy products may better encourage muscle growth (we will talk more about that in a bit).

Although too little protein in the diet can cause muscles to shrink, eating too much protein may actually stimulate weight loss.  (The body burns more calories digesting protein than it does digesting carbs.)  If you’re trying to shed excess weight, a high-protein diet could be the way to go.  Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to increase your protein intake only a little if you’re trying to gain lean weight and build muscle.

According to Men’s Health.com, “protein has qualities that help weight loss and may curtail weight gain…The best weight maintenance (gain or loss) strategy is to focus on calories first (higher or lower), protein second. You should make sure you’re eating at least 2 grams of protein per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of muscle mass.”

In addition to protein, the male body also needs adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals.  Nutrient-rich diets help keep men healthy.  Vitamins (including plenty of antioxidants) and minerals are essential for preventing oxidative damage to the cells in the body.  These nutrients are necessary for maintaining healthy tissue, protecting the immune system, preventing bone loss (yes, even men need calcium), and protecting from loss of vision.

 ** The Foods We Eat and A Healthy Body ** 

So now we can dive a little deeper into those facts that we mentioned above, and focus a bit more on each step of maintaining a healthy body and mind.

If you realize that you're not eating properly or exercising regularly then it might be time for some changes. A lot of us realize that we are overweight; nevertheless, we don't think anything of it, or if we do we don't really do anything about it. The percent of overweight and obese people in the United States and Canada is staggering based on the numbers. This isn't a good thing since being fat or obese can cause high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and even diabetes. When roughly one third of these country's populations is obese, we have a critical issue on our hands and we need to ensure it doesn't become pandemic.

There are a number of serious health issues, like those I mentioned above, that are connected with weight problems. These can be life altering such as diabetes, which can lead to loss of limbs and blindness. So, even if you don't want to think about it, these are the facts you have to accept. You can reduce the odds of any of these issues arising by tackling your weight problems through diet and exercise.

Now, let’s talk about your diet for a moment. What does your menu look like? Is it full of healthy items or do you load up on sugars and fats? If you answered the latter, you need to begin to look for ingredients in foods that nourish your body and mind. Make sure you buy good fresh produce, and get a good selection of delicious fruits and nuts in your diet. Learn about Omega-3 fatty acids that are essential to a healthy body, and also learn about the different supplements on the market that are said to enhance certain aspects of healthy life, and also maintain a healthy body. As we get older our bodies need more vitamins and minerals, so take look at the vitamins available today and take the supplements that are right for you to help reverse some of the damage that simply getting older does to your body, and also to prevent more damage from happening- or at least slow it all down a bit. Check the meats that you buy since chicken, beef, pork and fish are all good fuel for your muscles providing that the majority of the proteins you eat also have small quantities of fat (repeat…‘small’ quantities of fat, to keep the saturated fats to a minimum). For high protein meat alternatives try tofu, tempeh, soy meat (TVP) or seitan, all great sources of protein. For more information on how to make sure you are choosing quality proteins, check out our Recommended Solution page.(coming soon)

As for dairy, try to cut out the whole milk. Move to skim or 1%, or even to a soymilk. When you eat cheese, eat quality fresh cheeses, but keep an eye on how much you eat as cheese is high in calories, and stay away from those processed cheeses. If you enjoy eating eggs, there are many studies out there that you can find that debunk those myths we used to hear from our grandparents that you should only eat 2 eggs a week.. go grab an article on eggs to dispel that myth and eat an egg a day if you want. Finally, in order to maintain a healthy heart, make a move to using Extra Virgin Olive Oil to replace most, if not all, of that butter or margarine (saturated and trans-fats in those, guys) you’ve been using to fry your veggies in that sauté pan (yes, we know you use butter to fry your veggies…most of us do.) Olive Oil has a lot of those good taste and cooking qualities, while reducing your saturated fat intake.

Now, guys, we love our junk food. Potato chips, dips, snacks and wings during the Sunday game? Lots of junk foods have 'empty calories', which are basically calories in the form of sugar or starch or fat that don't actually supply your body with anything useful. When you eat any of the healthy foods I talked about in earlier paragraphs, the calories you eat can actually help your body maintain its health, as those meats and nuts contain a great deal of protein, which is useful in our bodies as fuel. Again, you should try to keep away from trans-fats, salt, sugar and saturated fats because all of these things aren't good for the body, especially when in excess. If you can help it, try to cut back on food that's been processed.

Prepared and processed foods are normally full of empty calories, but they taste so good (to most of us at least), so it's not hard to over indulge in them, but the truth in the matter is that these foods can trigger heart attacks, diabetes and they can clog your arteries. Sodium, sugar, preservatives, and a myriad of other ingredients that are in many processed food items can have negative effects on your health. Wholesome, home cooked meals made with good quality meats and freshly picked vegetables, are much healthier options. You can spark up the grill if you have one, my favorite way to cook up good meats and even veggies. Or you could steam your veggies and make a salad – no, boys, we aren’t rabbits, but lettuce is a good source of roughage and if you don’t know why that is important… well, you know that some of what goes in needs to come out.. the roughage helps that process, which is yet another aspect of maintaining a healthy body. Also, with health consciousness increasing in every aspect of society lately, you won’t have to search for long to find that there are even many restaurants that have heart healthy selections for those of us that keep an eye on what we eat, and where you can ask for certain things to be left out (like sugary sauces and those creamy dressings on our salads). That way, you are aware of what's in your meal and how the food is cooked.

Aside from everything above, and maintaining a healthy diet, you have to exercise. For a healthy heart and to be great shape, get started with some cardiovascular exercise to compliment the weight loss you achieve with the right diet. If you aren't accustomed to exercising, begin with walking regularly. You can then try jogging and running when you're ready. For burning fat and getting your heart healthy, you can also get started on strength training, which boosts growth of muscles while the cardio workouts will continue to burn fat.

While none of what we say here is written in stone, and each man must find out what works for him, everything that we have talked about is simply suggestion. All of the things we talked about and the information we have given comes from listening to our friends, living our own lives and staying as healthy as we can with what we have available to us. It doesnt come from medical research, and books. It comes from having paid attention to what goes into our bodies, and how it affects us in the present and what effect it will have on our longevity in the future. It does not have to occur overnight since you can simply do things at your own pace. Better your diet bit by bit, begin walking regularly, then start a fitness health plan, and you'll have made the initial step to becoming more fit.

 ** Dating after 30 ** 

Guys this site is not about dating, but we are guys, so the mention of it is necessary. A good relationship can actually help with our mental and physical health, while a bad relationship.. well.. let's stay away from those.

Single men in their thirties are a breed apart from guys in their twenties. We know this. We have more life experience, and therefore are hopefully a little wiser about the choices that we make.

Experience brings substance and wisdom, and the 30-plus man has them in spades. We have a more clear-cut idea of what we want out of life and better direction on how to get it than we did in our 20's.

We may or may not have outgrown the penchant for meaningless but steamy casual sex that we had in our 20's, but we at some point will surely have started thinking of the Big Picture: marriage, children, a family, the future. If we haven't started thinking about all that yet, we might want to consider thinking about it going forward

The thing is, although we may know what we love in a woman, most of us aren't really sure what kind of woman we want and where we can find her.

The first step to finding her is to regain confidence in ourselves. We all know that our confidence is influenced by how we feel about ourselves and most, if not all, women want a man that is confident about himself... not cocky.. just confident. If we are confident, we are more likely to find ourselves in a situation where we can meet the woman of our dreams, and if we are confident we are more likely to approach her. The more likely we are to approach her, the better chance we have of asking her to join us for coffee or dinner and... well.. you can see where I am going with this. The bottom line is this... how do we build that confidence? Most times confidence stems from feeling good about ourselves. Feeling good about ourselves starts with...? Yes, guys, you got it. Change your diet, change your health, change your life! Get into gear and start now!

Vacation and Travel

Taking vacations allows time for us to relax and enjoy ourselves in being free from your everyday responsibilities at home or the office. It is our moment to travel and explore the world by ourselves or with our families. Vacations also bring unforgettable memories that will last forever. Cherished memories are good for the soul. You will not only enjoy it, but also improve your mental and physical wellness. You may not want to take the time off or even think you need it.  However, simply put, don't you OWE IT to ourselves to take a vacation? Dont you DESERVE IT?

Studies report that many people don’t take vacations often enough. Half of working adults don't take annual vacations, and many people in the United States never take them! Some people actually give their vacation time back to our employers! NOT ME! NEVER! These days, with increasing frequency, when we do take vacations, we often bring work along with us. This trend keeps us in the very mindset we’re trying to escape. According to a Harvard study (study 2006), men that take just one vacation a year reduce their risk of developing heart disease, and therefore the chances of dying from stress related illness by 29%!!.  What better time to start than RIGHT NOW?