Muscle Talk

Ladies! A way to get your man up … off the couch!
Austrian scientists wanted to see if there was a relationship between the number of calories a man burned through physical activity per week and the quality of his erection. Before we discuss the good stuff, though, we should discuss the science stuff. The researchers asked men how much physical activity they were doing per week, then estimated the number of calories they burned on a daily basis; they termed this number the Paffenbarger Score. Then they asked the men about the quality of their erections and awarded the subjects an IIEF (International Index of Erectile Function) score. There was a clear, positive effect on erectile potency for the men with higher Paffenberg scores—up to a point. The correlation was strongest when the men burned 4,000 calories a week; burning more than this added nothing to erectile quality. So get out and get moving, to get up!

4 obvious habits to help you live longer—surprise!
Scientists at the University of Cambridge in England have confirmed what we already know: that moderating your alcohol intake, exercising daily, eating five portions of fruit and vegetables, and not smoking are all really, really good for you. The researchers looked at the lifestyle habits of British men and awarded them points for their “good behavior”; the healthier the habit, the more points they got. The scientists said, “Though relatively modest and achievable, the impact of the 4 habits [sic] combined impact was associated with an estimated 4-fold difference in mortality risk, equivalent to 14 years in chronological age.” All you have to do is cut back on booze and smokes and kick up the veggies and exercise, and you’ve just added 14 (!!!) years to your life. Sounds worth it.

If visualization is good enough for Arnold…
“So you gotta go to the gym and feel like every rep that you do is getting you one step closer to that goal, to make that vision that you have turn into reality.”—Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Both Arnold and Frank Zane are famous for their use of visualization in the gym to attain their legendary physiques. Is there any scientific evidence to back up this technique? Dutch scientists had half their subjects do low-intensity calf training (30 minutes, five times a week, calf pushes against a wall while lying down), and noticed that the strength of their calf muscles increased by 11 percent. In the other half of their subjects—who had done imagery training (watching someone train calves while imagining their calves doing the work)—calf muscle strength increased by 30 percent. So think more, do less!