Nothing says, or rather screams, unmanliness more than a pair of wobbly “pecs” that would look more at home in a nice lace bra than the buff guy’s regulation fitted Abercrombie & Fitch T shirt.
Causes of Moobs

The simple answer here is that man boobs are caused by an imbalance between two of the main sex hormones — testosterone and estrogen. Testosterone is the hormone that should be at the top of all of your wish lists as it is a prime driver for muscle mass, sex drive, and even improves ambition and focus. Estrogen on the other hand, isn’t a friend of your typical Fitness Freak Man, an excess of estrogen will also cause female fat patterning, giving you nicely curvaceous hips and breasts. Yummy, just what every red-blooded male needs.
If you are four stone overweight the last thing you need to worry about is the cosmetic appearance of your chest, you need to just drop fat for the sake of your health.Testosterone is converted to estrogen primarily in the fat cells, so the blunt truth is that the fatter you are the more estrogen you’ll produce.

A major cause of male breast “enhancement” is beer drinking. The hops in beer are incredibly estrogenic and regular consumption of beer will always have a feminising effect. With the exception of moderate amounts of Pinot noir and Merlot, alcohol isn’t good for body composition in general, but beer is terrible and will completely sabotage any fat loss programme.

So that is the doom and gloom done with, what if any, are the solutions?

• Exercise: Intense weight training has been proven to increase testosterone levels. Include large movements like Squats, chin-ups and chest presses. These Movements increase the production of testosterone and growth hormone which help burn fat and lay down new leaner muscle fibres. Interval training is also excellent to shed body fat and promote testosterone production.these are high intensity short bursts like sprints followed by a easy pace recovery.

• Diet: Zinc is the “manly mineral” responsible for much to do with increased testosterone levels, fertility, and lower fat gaining potential. Increasing the dietary intake of such things as organic nuts (notably walnuts for zinc deficiencies), and wild meat.
  Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower are also lower estrogen and  should be added to the diet.Drink 2 to 3 litres of water per day. It is vital to every positive action and production in the body.

• Supplements:Zinc capsules,Curcumin, and grape seed extract are tremendous natural anti-estrogen agents.They can be got in almost all health food shops.

Booby Tap

An embarrassing case of moobs is not something that any man should have to just put up with, but so many seem lost as to what to do. Follow the simple steps outlined in this article (above all else if you do drink beer then stop) and I guarantee that given time, there will be a drastic improvement in your appearance.

Bullet proof your Legs

A lower body program for runners, cyclists and all GAA,soccer and rugby players and any regular gym enthusiast.

Glute activation

These three exercise are an  example of  exercises that will activate and strengthen the glute med. A primary hip abductor. It basically prevents your knees from buckling in.

Keep this strong and it will help prevent and cure I.T. band problems.

I.T. band pain usually manifests as intense pain on the outside of the knee.

As the hip abductors(glute medius) lose their ability to control pelvic stability, the body recruits the I.T. band to help. As the I.T. band gets tighter and tighter it gets to the point where it rubs the outside of the knee with  every repetition on a run or bike. So keep the Glute Med. strong and the body won’t recruit the I.T. band as a hip stabilizer.

1 mini-band lateral walk

With the band just above or below your knee stand with your feet hip width apart and your feet perfectly straight.Now step sideways pushing out against the band while maintaining an upright posture and “straight feet”.

Perform 5-10 reps one way then repeat opposite way.

Rest 20-30 seconds then repeat.

2 Band Squat

With the band positioned  above your knee squat down whilst pushing out against the band until you’ve reached parallel or just below return to standing postion and repeat for a total of ten reps.

3 Bridge with Band

Raise hips and hold for 10 seconds, return to start position and repeat for a total of five reps.

Lower Body Strength

4  Bulgarian Split squat

This will add strength and stability to the front leg, and help stretch the hip flexor muscles of the elevated leg and also work on your core stability while maintaining an upright torso throughout the movement. Perform 10-12 reps each leg.

5  Stability ball hamstring curls

This will strengthen glutes,hamstrings,calves lower back,abdominal and oblique regions but also help stretch out the hip flexor muscles.

Perform 3 sets of 12

Flexibility

6 Hip flexor stretch

Tight hip flexors is one of the main causes of hamstring pulls.

So if your seated at a desk all day  or commuting long distances in your car or running on a regular basis then these babies are sure to be tight.

Hold stretch for 30 seconds then release and repeat for a total of three each side.

7 Groin stretch

Tight groins can lead to medial ligment of the knee and cartilage problems to name just a few so get this stretch in your routine.

Sit back onto your heels and hold for 30 seconds

Perform three sets each side

8 Lower calf stretch

Lower calfs are a hugely tight muscle group in runners especially but also most GAA,soccer and rugby players. This can lead to Achilles tendonitis, lower calf pulls ,ankle ligament damage to name a few.

Hold stretch for 30 seconds then release and repeat for a total of three each side.

Don’t waste the whole of January doing endless crunches in the hope of getting rid of that festive flab.It would take 250,000 crunches to burn 1lb of fat according to the University of Virginia.

Muscle is your body’s primary fat burner.They require energy to contract.Resistance training unlike running or cycling causes a significant amount of micro damage to your muscle fibers that requires your body to work hard expending energy to repair these tiny tears for up to 48 hours after your session.

Here is a sample session that will have your muscles burning calories like a furnace.

If your a beginner seek guidance from a fitness professional before trying this session.

Always warm up and cool down before exercise.

Perform 12 to 15 repetitons of each exercise without rest until final exercise is complete then rest60 seconds before repeating for a total of 3-5 sets.

Final word…resistance exercise is very important in your quest to banish the Christmas belly but even more important is what you eat or for that matter don’t eat.

Nutrition article to follow soon

A-1 Squat

A-2 Shoulder Press

A-3 Lunge

A-4 Press Up

A-5 Back Extension (or lat pull down or dumbbell rows if available)

A-6 Side Plank