How many sets and reps should you do?

We all know that we should listen to our body.  But when should we believe what our body tells us?  How should we interpret what our body tells us?  While working out, we should listen,  but not always do what our body tells us.  Think less like your body's buddy, and more like your body's Drill Sargeant!

At basic training, the Drill Sargeant keeps the recruits off balance--constantly changing, never becoming complacent or lazy with the same old thing.  Working out should be similiar--keep your msucles off balance.  When your muscles become accostomed to regularly lifting a familiar weight in a familiar way, they stop growing--they have adapted. A weight-conditioning program that never changes can create muscle-strength imablance that not only is counter-productive, but can be dangerous as it can make one more prone to injuries. 

Now, this does not mean that you need to start doing some crazy, inclined, behind-the-back tricep windmills; just mix things up a little bit. You can keep doing your regular exercise, but every so often, change HOW you do them.  You can change the order you do them in, or the number of reps/sets, and the weight.  Maybe change the exercise you do for a similar exercise that works the same muscles.  Maybe do the same exercise but from a different position--perhaps kneeling instead of standing, or sitting on an exercise ball instead of a bench.

Check out Men's Health  ultimate guide to sets and reps to help  get you started. Whether you're trying to torch fat, boost strength, or chisel a fitter physique, you'll enjoy the surprised—and supersized—reaction you get from your muscles.

Can Sushi Make You Fat???

It has long been accepted that Asian, and specifically Japanese diets tend to be healthier and more nutritious than the diet of the average North American.  Many North Americans are now including Sushi in their diet, emulating the Japanese diet, and there has been a surge of Sushi restaurants, and packaged Sushi in the supermarket.

While the Japanese favor sashimi and nigiri-style sushi, the vast majority of North American sushi-lovers consume their sushi in roll form.  Nowhere does the potential for seriously healthy eats or nutritional negligence oscillate so wildly as in these seaweed-wrapped, seafood-stuffed bites. Your solution: Men's Health guide to The Best and Worst Sushi in America.

Great warm-up for your upper body

Ask the average person in the gym how s/he warmed up and you will probably receive the same answer:  either s/he did not, or did some basic cardio like the treadmill or station bike for 5 to 10 minutes.

This is a fundamental error. Exercise physiology research shows that doing movements or exercise that target the specific muscles you plan on working activates those muscles to give you more strength, endurance, and bigger gains.


While the "cardio" warm-up (treadmill or stationary bike) is good for increasing your heart rate and core temperature, and boosting blood flow to muscles; targeting specific muscle groups also enhances the neural communication between your brain and your muscles, preparing them for peak performance.

Spending a few minutes on the treadmill—what most men consider "warming up"—is fine if you're only targeting your legs. But if you plan to exercise any muscle above your waist, add our Ultimate Upper-Body Warmup to your workout. The time investment is minimal (about 10 minutes), but the payoff is huge: More muscle, less fat, and a better body in half the time.

Chocolate Milk Diet

Remember what we drank for lunch in Kindergarten?  Milk, and on a good day, Chocolate Milk.  Rememer that book a few years ago: "Everytning I need to know I learned in Kindergarten"?  Well, yet another example.  Turns out that the one time staple of childhood lunch--chocolate milk--contains some of the most powerful weight-loss nutrients in the food universe.  This childhood staple may just be the ideal vehicle for you body's most neglected nutritional needs.  Each container of chocolate milk delivers  a package of micro- and macronutrients that may help you loss some of that excess body fat, and replace it with firm muscle.

Click here to learn all about The Chocolate Milk Diet—and how it can help you lose belly fat.

11 Terrible Breakfasts!

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IHOP's Harvest Grain 'n Nut Pancakes may sound like a nutritious breakfast, but watch out: It holds nearly 1,100 calories—about half the number the average person needs in a day. But guess what? This isn't even the craziest thing you'll find on our list of 11 Terrible Breakfasts. Click to see the slideshow, and don't fall prey to these waist-expanding menu items.

Bonus Tip: Reading on the treadmill is a waste—you can burn 15% more calories by swapping the text for music. See better gains in the gym with the 6 Workout Mistakes that slow you down.

6 Steps to a Six-Pack

Do not assume you can't see your "abs" becuase" you are not doing the "super" exercise, or aren't taking the "magic bullit" supplement.  The problem is probably your mindset.  Yes, I know, losing belly fat is a boring process. It requires time, hard work, and, most important, dedication. And if you stray from your plan even a few times a week—which most of us do—you'll probably never see your midriff muscles.

The solution: 6 simple habits to strip away belly fat for good. Think of them as daily goals designed to keep you on the fast track to looking fit. Individually they're not all that surprising, but together they become a powerful tool. So forget everything that you think you know about sculpting a flatter stomach, and follow our cutting-edge list of nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle strategies to make every muscle in your midsection pop.

The 7 Best Stress-Fighting Foods

If may sound contrary to what you have heard in the past, but we are supposed to eat when we are stressed.  Some evolutionary biologist believe that the urge to eat when situations get hairy is an evolutionary instinct triggered by certain chemicals. The problem occurs when we turn to greasy pizza or a sugary pint of ice cream.

This isn't to say you can only eat fruits, vegetables and tofu when you're stressed, but what you should be eating are foods that can help counteract those stress-inducing chemicals. Pizza and ice cream don't, but M&Ms do. Not a bad tradeoff, right? So next time you find yourself in a trying situation, opt for one of these 7 Secret Stress Relievers. They'll help you look and feel better in the long run.

7 Muscle-Building Mistakes to Avoid

How much do you work out?  How much time, effort, energy, sweat?  Are you seeing the results?  Maybe you were seeing some at first, but now?  Don't worry, everything will work out, if....

Working out is the beginning to building muscle, but it is definetely not everything.  What you are doing before, during, and after a workout plays a significant role in helping you get the results, and progress to a new level.

"Your personal habits, your social life, even which exercises you choose to do can take away from what you're trying to build," says Jeff Bell, C.S.C.S., an exercise physiologist and the owner of Spectrum Wellness in New York City. Bell and other experts helped us pinpoint 7 fitness fumbles that can sabotage your workouts. Eliminate them, and watch your muscles grow.