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Looking Great
ASK THE
EXERCISE
GURU
New ways to upgrade your look and build the body you want
Essential moves for a
genius workout
Boost Your
Sex Appeal
A clean shave will knock five years off
your face, but a five o’clock shadow
will get the girl every time, according
to a new study at Northumbria
University, in England. Employing
the same technology used by police
to create suspect composites, the
researchers generated 15 male faces
with varying degrees of facial hair and
then showed them to 60 women. The
results are in the chart below. Women
prefer stubble because it indicates
that a man is mature, but not overly
masculine or aggressive, say the
researchers. As for handlebars, Fu
Manchus, and muttonchops, further
analysis is needed.
Burn Fat
Faster
If you want to maximize fat loss,
don’t rest between sets, run, say
researchers at the University
of California at Santa Cruz. The
scientists studied two groups: One
group did up to 60 seconds of intense
cardio intervals before each set of
strength exercises; the other rested
between sets. At the end of 11 weeks,
those in the intervals group gained
twice as much muscle, and lost five
times more body fat, than the resting
group. “Elevating your heart rate
pumps more nutrients to working
muscles and helps clear waste (e.g.,
lactic acid), accelerating muscle
recovery and growth,” explains lead
study author W. Jackson Davis, PhD.
Any type of cardio will do—running,
cycling, rowing—so take your pick.
Remove Hair
Painlessly
Back hair may be painful to look
at, but removing it doesn’t have to
be, according to a new study in the
journal Archives of Dermatology.
When researchers compared two
THE RIGHT
SCRUFF
Skip the
shave,
save the
stubble.
If I have time to do
only one stretch, what
should it be?
The Look
Clean shaven
Light stubble
GETTY IMAGES; COLIN HAYES (ILLUSTRATION)
Light beard
Full beard
The Verdict
Makes men look five and a half years younger and
slightly less mature than their bearded counterparts.
It is also the least masculine style and inspires less
confidence for long-term relationships.
Most attractive and most desirable for short- and
long-term relationships
Most dominant in appearance
Most masculine, aggressive, and socially mature.
It also makes a man look older.
Forward Lunge,
Elbow to Instep
This move is known as
“the world’s greatest
stretch” because it hits
nearly every muscle in
the body. It also creates
symmetrical strength and
stability, which helps boost
athletic performance.
Step forward with your
right leg, as if you’re doing
a lunge, and place your left
hand on the floor. Move
your right elbow to your
right instep; hold for two
seconds. Place your right
hand on the ground and
rotate your left arm and
chest toward the sky; hold
for two seconds. Place
your left hand on the floor,
move your right hand to
the outside of your right
foot, and push your hips
toward the sky, pulling your
right toe toward your right
shin. Step forward into
the next lunge with your
left foot and repeat the
process on your left side.
That’s one rep. Do five.
of the most popular brands of laser
hair removal—the gold standard
for eliminating hair with minimal
pain—they found that the Nd:YAG
laser was the least painful option.
Subjects also remained virtually hair-free for 18 months; that’s longer than
shaving (up to three days), waxing or
using a depilatory such as Nair (up
to four weeks), or having electrolysis
(up to six months). Visit the American
Academy of Dermatology ( aad.org)
to find a dermatologist in your area
who specializes in this procedure.
DOES IT WORK? Our personal trainer tests the latest fitness gear
Balance pods have long been the mainstay of stability training, but when martial-arts Hall of Famer Ed Downs realized
that many of his clients had lower-back pain, he created the more lumbar-friendly Downs Disc. Stand with one under
each foot while training to develop balance and joint strength—the foundations of injury prevention. Bottom line:
Downs has created a useful tool to improve functional fitness. $30, downsdisc.com STEVE STEINBERG
Mark Verstegen is a world-renowned performance
coach. Can Mark help you?
Submit your questions to
exercise@rodale.com.
