Healthy habits for men

One Arm Dumbell Preacher Curl

When it comes to health, men are represented in three key areas. Because exercise, sleep, and stress can be determining factors in keeping your weight in check, research shows that men are doing better than they have been in the past. In case you’re wondering, here are some ways women can benefit from thinking like a man when it comes to health.
Men exercise more
Researchers found men exercise almost twice as much as women. In general, health experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise a week in addition to two days of strength training. If women use the same amount of time to measure up, they’ll have to use their 18 minutes a day doing vigorous activity, such as high impact aerobics, jumping rope, or water jogging. To prevent weight gain, the recommendation is for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity most days. If you’ve lost weight and are looking to keep the weight off, you’re looking at 60-90 minutes of moderate activity.

Men shoot first
While it would seem that women are under more stress than men, according to a number of studies, this is not the case. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, men and women report similar average stress levels. The reason why women may seem to be more stressed is because they are more emotional. Research shows that men who are under stress take more risks than females. Where exercising more or changing our eating habits is needed, women may take the safer route in making the switch. But sometimes drastic matters are needed. Changing dinner or wake times, being away from children a little longer, or staving off cleaning by a day may seem like big risks. But, because higher risk is associated with higher reward, men may be more apt to just go for it anyway to reap the benefits. While women do report more social support, we may ask questions first and be slower to sacrifice our current stressful circumstance to get to a healthier, happier existence.
Men get sleep
The National Sleep Foundation in US reports 49 per cent of men sleep well most nights compared to just 34 per cent of women. Their Sleep in America poll found women are more likely than men to have difficulty falling and staying asleep as well. That’s not slight to men who know how to shut it down after a hard day.
Where men need improvement
Men are not perfect when it comes to health. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, men are 24 per cent less likely than women to have visited the doctor in the past year and are 22 per cent more likely to neglect preventive care, such as their cholesterol tests. A report by the International Food Information Council suggests women are more likely than men to eat foods to maintain overall health and wellness. All in all, men have the wherewithal to make changes decidedly to be healthier, but women hold the key to maintain good behaviour.
My client Phil Jackson volunteered to demonstrate a few essential exercises that are the base to strengthen the upper body.