An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.
If you’re physically active, you’ve likely rolled an ankle now and again. Ankle sprains come in two types: an eversion, in which the ankle rolls outwards, and an inversion (by far the most common type), where your ankle rolls inwards. Either kind of sprain results in the painful stretching or tearing of ligaments. When you sprain an ankle, you should immediately ice it, compress it, and elevate it to reduce swelling and inflammation.
But when can you start walking or even running again after you’ve sprained an ankle? The answer varies depending on who you ask. Many physical therapists and sports doctors recommend that you don’t resume physical activity until your ankle no longer hurts when you take a step. Depending on the severity of the sprain, that could take weeks.
Other physical therapists and sports doctors suggest that movement may in fact speed the healing process, and that walking and even running can resume less than 24 hours after a sprain so long as the ankle is given support through proper taping. Taping limits the range of motion of your ankle, which reduces the chances of it spraining again, which allows you to continue to engage in physical activity while it heals. Taping also compresses the injured area, which helps reduce swelling and inflammation.
Sprains are rated as mild, moderate, or severe. With a mild sprain, the ligament has just been stretched. Your ankle feels stable when you put weight on it and just feels a little sore and stiff. With a moderate sprain, the ligament has torn a bit. Your ankle doesn’t feel entirely stable when you put weight on it, you can’t move it very much, and it’s swollen. With a severe sprain, the ligament has been completely torn. You can’t put any weight on it, can’t move it, and it hurts a ton. Taping an ankle to resume physical activity immediately after a sprain should only be reserved for mild to moderate sprains. For severe sprains, you need to stay off your ankle for a few weeks so that the torn ligament can heal.
While you can buy an ankle brace, using medical tape is the better option for folks engaging in physical activity. The biggest benefit tape provides is that it isn’t as bulky as an ankle brace which makes getting your shoes on a whole lot easier. When done correctly — as demonstrated above — tape can provide the same amount of support as a brace.
By: Brett & Kate McKay Title: Skill of the Week: Tape a Sprained Ankle Sourced From: www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/how-to-tape-an-ankle/ Published Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2025 12:45:55 +0000
I have worked in the healthcare field for more than fifty years. I began my career working in addiction medicine. After working with men and women suffering from addictions to drugs like alcohol, heroin, and cocaine, I began to realize that addiction is not just about drugs.
We know that people can have addictive relationships with food, work, and even sex and love. In my book, Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Overcoming Romantic and Sexual Addictions, I say,
“When we find that our romantic relationships are a series of disappointments yet continue to pursue them, we are looking for love in all the wrong places. When we are overwhelmed by our physical attraction to a new person, when the chemistry feels fantastic, and we are sure that this time we have found someone who will make us whole, we are looking for love in all the wrong places.”
In the book, I also quoted Dr. Stanton Peele, an authority on addiction who reminds us,
“Many of us are addicts, only we don’t know it. We turn to each other out of the same needs that drive some people to drink and others to heroin. Interpersonal addiction — love addiction — is just about the most common yet least recognized form of addiction we know.”
Now Dr. Raphael Cuomo has extended our understanding of addiction even further. In his book, Crave: The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer, he says,
“We live in a society saturated with addiction, but not just the kind that ends in emergency rooms or interventions. This is not only about heroin, meth, or alcohol. It is about the relentless cycle of stimulation and reward that defines ordinary life. Binge eating. Compulsive phone checking. Nightly glasses of wine. Doomscrolling. Sugar, caffeine, porn, social media validation, and manufactured outrage.”
I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Cuomo. I asked him questions that I thought my readers would be most interested in learning about including the following:
What first got you interested in the cancer connection and why is this connection both hidden and important?
If you were talking to a group of guys, what are some of the things you would say to them about how the book could help them?
Tell us in what ways food is a drug and what do we need to know to keep from becoming hooked?
What is “Digital Dopamine” and why is it a hidden public health problem?
You can watch my full interview with Dr. Cuomo here.
Most of has have concerns about cancer, know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, or have fears that we ignore or obsess about. Dr. Cuomo offers a new perspective I found very helpful. He says,
“We often think of cancer as a genetic accident. A cell mutates, begins to divide uncontrollably, and escapes detection. The story is partially true. But it omits the most important questions:
What makes the body permissive to that escape?
Why does the immune system, which identifies and eliminates abnormal cells every day, begin to miss its targets?
Why do repair systems fail to correct damaged DNA?
Why does cellular growth shift from regulated to rebellious?”
In ten, information-packed chapters, Dr. Cuomo answers these and many more questions that can help us understand the biology of addiction and cancer:
Molecular Scars
The Addicted Society
Craving is Chemical
Inflammation Nation
Food as a Drug
Digital Dopamine
Nicotine, Alcohol, and the Usual Suspects?
Beyond the Individual
Biology Can Change
The New Prevention
In his concluding chapter, Dr. Cuomo says,
“Prevention, as commonly understood, has struggled to match the evolving reality of cancer. Cancer involves more than external exposure. It arises from internal conditions. Disease takes hold when the body’s environment shifts toward permissiveness, inflammation becomes persistent, immune surveillance weakens, insulin signaling grows erratic, and repair mechanisms fall behind damage. These issues arise collectively, resulting from behavioral, emotional, and structural patterns repeated consistently over time.”
For more information about Dr. Cuomo and his work, you can visit him here: https://raphaelcuomo.com/
You can watch my interview with Dr. Cuomo here: https://youtu.be/GLuHclBPH4U
If you would like to subscribe to my free weekly newsletter and read more articles about physical, mental, emotional, and relational health, you may do so here:
https://menalive.com/email-newsletter/
The post The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer appeared first on MenAlive.
By: Jed Diamond Title: The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer Sourced From: menalive.com/the-hidden-biology-of-addiction-and-cancer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-hidden-biology-of-addiction-and-cancer Published Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2025 19:28:24 +0000
Modern medicine has given us incredible tools to peer inside the body and spot disease earlier than ever before. But with that power comes a problem: the more we look, the more we find — and not everything we find needs fixing.
My guest today, neurologist Dr. Suzanne O’Sullivan, argues that our culture of over-diagnosis is leaving many people more anxious, more medicalized, and sometimes less healthy. In her book The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker, she explains how screening tests, shifting definitions of “normal,” and the rise of mental health labels can turn ordinary struggles or idiosyncrasies into problems in need of treatment. We dig into everything from cancer and diabetes to Lyme disease and ADHD and discuss how diagnosis really works, why screening can sometimes harm as much as it helps, and how to know when a label is and isn’t useful.
Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!)
Listen to the episode on a separate page.
Download this episode.
Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice.
By: Brett & Kate McKay Title: Podcast #1,084: Overdiagnosed — How Our Obsession with Medical Testing and Labels Is Making Us Sicker Sourced From: www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/podcast-1084-overdiagnosed-how-our-obsession-with-medical-testing-and-labels-is-making-us-sicker/ Published Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:06:19 +0000
Dan Buettner is an educator, explorer, National Geographic Fellow, and author of numerous books including, The Blue Zones: Secrets for Living Longer—Lessons From the Healthiest Places on Earth.
“In the early 2000s I set out to reverse engineer longevity,” says Buettner. “Rather than searching for answers in a test tube or a petri dish, I looked for them among populations that have achieved what we want — long, healthy lives, and sharp brains until the end.”
After locating the world’s blue zones areas, Buettner and National Geographic took teams of scientists to each location to pinpoint lifestyle characteristics that might explain the unusual longevity. They found that though the blue zones communities are located in vastly different parts of the world, their residents share nine specific traits that lead to longer, healthier, happier lives. These traits are called the Power 9.
Move Naturally — “The world’s longevity all-stars don’t pump iron, run marathons, or join gyms,” says Buettner. “Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it.”
Purpose — “People in the blue zones don’t wake up feeling rudderless. They’re interested in family, keeping their minds engaged. The Nicoyans called it plan de vida and the Okinawans called it Ikigai. For both, it translates to ‘why I wake up in the morning.’”
Downshift — “Even people in the blue zones experience stress. But what the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour. Costa Ricans have a knack for creating happy moments every day.”
80% Rule — “Eat until you’re 80% full. Unlike most Americans, who keep eating until their stomachs are full, traditional Okinawans stop as soon as they no longer feel hungry.”
Plant Slant — “Until the late 20th century, the diets of every blue zone consisted almost entirely of minimally processed plant-based foods–mostly whole grains, greens, nuts, tubers, and beans.”
Wine @ 5 — People in the blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. The trick, if you do drink, is to drink one to two glasses per day with friends and food.”
Belong — “Healthy centenarians everywhere have faith. All but a handful of the centenarians we’ve interviewed belonged to a faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter.”
Loved Ones First — “Successful centenarians in the blue zones put their families first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home.”
Right Tribe — “One of the most profound, measurable, and long-lasting things you can do to adopt a blue zones lifestyle is to build a social circle around yourself that supports healthy eating, activity, and emotional well-being.”
These are all worth exploring. Those that work for you, build into your life. Yet, it is not easy to live with these healthy practices in today’s world.
The Rise of Domination Systems Throughout the World
Social systems scientist Riane Eisler, one of the most original thinkers of our time, first wrote about the two contrasting systems in our world in her book, The Chalice & The Blade: Our History, Our Future:
“The first, which I call the dominator model, is what is popularly termed either patriarchy or matriarchy — the ranking of one half of humanity over the other. The second, in which social relations are primarily based on the principle of linking rather than ranking, may best be described as the partnership model.In this model — beginning with the most fundamental difference in our species, between male and female — diversity is not equated with either inferiority or superiority.”
In her most recent book written with anthropologist Douglas Fry, Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future, they say that for most of our two-million-year history humans have lived in balance with nature in true partnership. But in the last six thousand years 6,000 years (less than 1% of our history) domination systems have been on the rise.
Planet Aqua: Rethinking Our Home in the Universe
Like Riane Eisler, Jeremy Rifkin is a maverick social scientist who is changing the way we perceive our world. He is the author of 23 books including The Empathic Civilization, The Age of Resilience and most recently Planet Aqua: Rethinking Our Home in the Universe.
Rifkin says that when humans decided to attempt to tame the vast waters of our planet six-thousand years ago, it set in motion a time-bomb of destruction that is causing damage that puts our very existence at risk. Jane Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, says,
“Planet Aqua will shock most people. Rifkin points out that instead of living on a land planet, we actually live on a water planet — fresh, salt, and frozen — and this changes all of our long-held beliefs. Now, climate change is rapidly disrupting the hydrosphere, taking us into a foreboding future of floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and hurricanes, pushing many species to extinction, including our own.”
Nature Bats Last: The Imminent Collapse of Hydraulic Civilization
“Our earliest ancestors were animists and conceived of the world around them as alive, vibrant, and brimming with spirits continually interacting in a boundaryless nature, of which our species’ agency was intimately intertwined,” says Jeremy Rifkin. “Six millennia ago along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in what is now Turkey and Iraq and, shortly thereafter, the Nile River in Egypt, the Ghaggar-Hakra and Indus rivers in the Indus Valley, the Yellow River in the Huang He Valley of China and later across the Roman Empire, our forebears began to harness the planetary waters for the exclusive use of our humanity. Now, in the grips of a warming planet, brought on in large part by a fossil fuel-driven water/energy/food nexus, the urban hydraulic civilization is collapsing in real time.”
Anthropologist Joseph Tainter studied numerous civilizations throughout history and recognized patterns of collapse which he described in his book The Collapse of Complex Societies. In The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival, Sir John Glubb noted a similar pattern, that all “superpowers” from ancient Persia to the Roman and British Empires, collapsed after ten generations or approximately 250 years.
Thomas Berry was a “geologian” and a historian of religions. He spoke eloquently to our connection to the Earth and the consequences of our failure to remember we are one member in the community of life.
“We never knew enough. Nor were we sufficiently intimate with all our cousins in the great family of the earth. Nor could we listen to the various creatures of the earth, each telling its own story. The time has now come, however, when we will listen or we will die.”
Another visionary who has been sounding the alarm about the times in which we live is evolutionary scientist, Rebecca D. Costa. In her book, The Watchman’s Rattle: A Radical New Theory of Collapse, she says,
“The uneven rate of change between the slow evolution human biology and the rapid rate at which societies advance eventually causes progress to come to a standstill.”
She quotes her mentor world-renowned biologist E.O. Wilson, who has been called “the Darwin of the 21st Century.” According to Wilson,
“The real problem of humanity is that we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology.”
In an article I wrote about Cost’s work, “We Can Handle the Truth,” I quoted her:
“From an evolutionary perspective, social progress moves fast, but our brains — the apparatus that must process all this new information — evolve over millions of years. So, while the world is changing in picoseconds, my brain is struggling to keep up.”
This is the underlying reason, she believes, that all complex civilizations eventually come to an end.
The Truth Can Set You Free: Who Do You Choose to Be?
I wrote about the collapse in numerous articles including, “How You Can Survive and Thrive as the Ship of Civilization Collapses.” In the article I introduced readers to another visionary leader, Margaret J. Wheately, who more than anyone I know tells the truth about what we face and guides us towards a better future.
“This is the Age of Threat,” says Wheatley, “when everything we encounter intensifies fear and anger. In survival mode, we flee from one another, abandon values that held us together, withdraw from ideas and practices that encouraged inclusion and created trust in leaders. And, most harmfully, we stop believing in one another.”
She recognized that what we are seeing in the U.S. today is following the same pattern of collapse after 250 years of domination that were recognized by other experts.
But there is a better way. As Jeremy Rifkin says,
“We must give up our belief that it is our duty to dominate and control nature and reconnect as partners in all life on Earth. We must rethink the waters as a ‘life source’ rather than another ‘resource’ to exploit and learn to adapt to the hydrosphere rather than trying to get the hydrosphere to adapt to us.”
We must find our tribe outside the confines of “civilization.” The captains of “Ship of Civilization” would have us believe that even if the Ship is sinking, we might as well go down with the ship because we are all doomed (except the captains who imagine they will survive and thrive as the rest of us go under). That is the big lie of civilization. As my vision showed me, there are millions of alternatives and more and more lifeboats in the water every day, but you won’t learn about them in the corporate-controlled media. You can learn more here.
Each of us must claim our own path of service. Only by joining with others who have the courage to face the truth and to become “warriors of the human spirit,” as Margaret Wheatly call us, can we work together to create “Islands of sanity.”
We must act now, or we will be swept away by the currents of change. Wheatley says,
“My aspiration is for you to see clearly so that you may act wisely. If we don’t know where we are, if we don’t know what to prepare for, then any path we choose will keep us wandering in the wilderness, increasingly desperate, increasingly lost.”
One positive action you can take now is to learn about a new course that Wheatley will be offering. Claiming Your Path of Service: Choosing to Serve This Age of Collapse and Possibility, developed with the extraordinary platform Advaya.life.”
You can also follow my own work and offerings at MenAlive.com. I look forward to hearing from you. If you have not yet subscribed to my free weekly newsletter you may do so here.
The post Blue Zones, Planet Aqua, and the End of American Empire: Finding Your Purpose in Today’s World appeared first on MenAlive.
By: Jed Diamond Title: Blue Zones, Planet Aqua, and the End of American Empire: Finding Your Purpose in Today’s World Sourced From: menalive.com/blue-zones-planet-aqua-finding-purpose/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blue-zones-planet-aqua-finding-purpose Published Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:51:45 +0000
You don’t even have to watch the news to know that things are not going well in our world. The signs of collapse are all around us. There are two ways most people respond: (1) Close your eyes, put your head in the sand, and pretend that all is well, or hope that some magical solution will be invented to fix things quickly and easily (2) Redirect your fear, rage and despair to someone or something you can blame for our problems, or try and escape into one diverting fantasy after another and temporarily calm your nerves.
There is another choice that is more effective, but not for the faint of heart. It begins when we face the truth about our present situation. I got my own wakeup call more than thirty years ago. Here’s how I described it in my latest book, Long Live Men! The Moonshot Mission to Heal Men, Close the Lifespan Gap, and Offer Hope to Humanity:
“In 1993 I attended a Men’s Leaders’ Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of the activities offered was a traditional Native-American sweat lodge ceremony where we ask for guidance and support for ourselves and our communities. I had the following life-changing vision.
We are all on a huge ocean liner. Everything we know and have ever known is on the ship. People are born and die. Goods and services are created, wars are fought, and elections are held and disputed. Species come into being and face extinction. The ship steams on and on, and there is no doubt that it will continue on its present course forever.
There are many decks on the ship, starting way down in the boiler room where the poorest and grimiest toil to keep the ship going. As you ascend the decks, things get lighter and easier. The people who run the ship have suites on the very top deck. Their job, as they see it, is to keep the ship going and keep those on the lower decks in their proper places. Since they are at the top, they are sure they deserve to acquire more and more of the resources of the earth.
Everyone on the lower decks aspires to get up to the next deck and hungers to get to the very top. That’s the way it is. That’s the way it has always been. That’s the way it will always be. However, there are a few people who realize that something very strange is happening. What they come to know is that the ship is sinking. At first, like everyone else, they can’t believe it. The ship has been afloat since time before time. It is the best of the best. That it could sink is unthinkable. Nonetheless, they are sure the ship is sinking.
They try to warn the people, but no one believes them. The ship cannot be sinking, and anyone who thinks so must be mentally ill. When they persist in trying to warn the people of what they are facing, those in charge of the ship silence them and lock them up. The ship’s media keeps grinding out news stories describing how wonderful the future will be. Any problems that are occurring will surely be solved with the wonders of our civilized, technological lifestyle.
The leaders of the ship smile, wave, and promise prosperity for all. But water is beginning to seep in from below. The higher the water rises, the more frightened the people become and the more frantically they scramble to get to the upper decks. Some believe it is the end and actually welcome the prospect of the destruction of life as we know it. They believe it is the fulfillment of religious prophesy. Others become increasingly irritable, angry, and depressed. Like caged rats they bite their own tails and those of their cage mates who appear to be a threat.
But as the water rises, those who have been issuing the warnings can no longer be silenced. More people escape confinement and lead others toward the lifeboats. Though there are enough boats for all, many people are reluctant to leave the ship. Many questions are asked. “The old stories tell us that we’ve been on this ship for more than six thousand years, isn’t it safer to stay aboard? Could things really be so bad that we must leave? Where will we go? Who will lead us? What if this is all there is?”
Nevertheless, the Ship is sinking. Many people go over the side and are lowered down to the boats. As they descend, they are puzzled to see lettering on the side of the ship: T-I-T-A-N-I-C. When they reach the lifeboats, many are frightened and look for someone who looks like they know what to do. They’d like to ride with those people.
However, they find that each person must get into their own boat and row away from the ship in their own direction. If they don’t get away from the ship as soon as possible, they will be pulled down with it. When everyone who wants to leave, each in their own boats, rowing in their own direction, reaches their own place in the ocean, they begin to create a new, partnership, web. It will be the basis for a new way of life that will replace the life that was lived on the old ship of civilization.“
Here’s What I’ve Learned That Has Helped Me Survive and Thrive
1. “Civilization” is a misnomer. Its proper name is the “Dominator Model.”
In her international best-selling book, The Chalice & The Blad: Our History. Our Future, originally published in 1987, historian Riane Eisler said,
“Underlying the great surface diversity of human culture are two basic models of society. The first I call the dominator model, what is popularly termed either patriarchy or matriarchy — the ranking of one half of humanity over the other. The second, in which social relations are primarily based on the principle of linking may best be described as the partnership model.”
You can view my podcast with Riane and her team at the Center for Partnership Systems here.
2. There is a better world beyond civilization.
In 1992, I was given the book Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I got a clear sense of the two worlds that are competing for our attention: A world where hierarchy and dominance rule (Quinn calls it the world of the Takers) and a world where equality and connection rule (Quinn calls it the world of the Leavers. In his book, Beyond Civilization: Humanity’s Next Great Adventure, Quinn says,
“Beyond civilization isn’t a geographical space up in the mountains or on some remote isle. It’s a cultural space that opens up among people with new minds.”
This is not a time to give up. It is time to reach out!
3. Do not lose heart. We were made for these times.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, wrote this inspiring letter to all of us who are concerned about the future. She said in part:
“My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
“I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able vessels in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind.
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.”
4. Rethink our relationship with planet Earth.
According to world-renowned author and social scientist, Jeremy Rifkin,
“We have long believed that we live on a land planet, when in reality we live on a water planet, and now the Earth’s hydrosphere is taking us into a mass extinction as it searches for a new normal.”
In his important and timely book, Planet Aqua: Rethinking Our Home in the Universe, Rifkin says that we must give up our belief that it is our duty to dominate and control nature and reconnect as partners in all life on Earth. He says,
“We must rethink the waters as a ‘life source’ rather than another ‘resource’ to exploit and learn to adapt to the hydrosphere rather than trying to get the hydrosphere to adapt to us.”
5. Find your tribe outside the confines of civilization.
The rulers of civilization would have us believe that even if the Ship is sinking, we might as well go down with it because there really are no better choices. That is the big lie of civilization. As my vision showed me, there are millions of alternatives and more and more lifeboats in the water every day, but you won’t learn about them in the corporate-controlled media. You can learn more here.
6. Claim your path of service.
We must act now, or we will be swept away by the currents of change. In her book, Who Do We Choose to Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity, my longtime colleague and friend, Margaret J. Wheatley says,
“My aspiration is for you to see clearly so that you may act wisely. If we don’t know where we are, if we don’t know what to prepare for, then any path we choose will keep us wandering in the wilderness, increasingly desperate, increasingly lost.”
Margaret sent me a recent email:
“I am grateful to announce a new, self-paced course available starting October 5, 2025, Claiming Your Path of Service: Choosing to Serve This Age of Collapse and Possibility, developed with the extraordinary platform Advaya.life.”
If you would like to learn more about my own work, I invite you to join me at MenAlive.com
The post How You Can Survive and Thrive as the Ship of Civilization Sinks appeared first on MenAlive.
By: Jed Diamond Title: How You Can Survive and Thrive as the Ship of Civilization Sinks Sourced From: menalive.com/survive-and-thrive-as-the-ship-of-civilization-sinks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=survive-and-thrive-as-the-ship-of-civilization-sinks Published Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2025 19:46:09 +0000
I didn’t think about my blood pressure in my 20s and 30s. I only noted it when it got checked during urgent care visits. I always thought it was something I’d worry about when AARP sent me a welcome letter.
While I’m not quite ready for senior discounts, I’ve entered middle age and have become more interested in preventive health.
One health metric I’ve started to track regularly is my blood pressure, which I measure once a week.
Why?
Well, blood pressure is a key indicator of long-term health, and it’s worth monitoring when you’re younger and not just when you’re officially elderly.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, often has no symptoms. It’s a silent killer. Left unchecked, it damages your arteries and organs until it announces itself with a heart attack, stroke, or kidney disease.
Based on the stats, nearly half of you reading this article have high blood pressure.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to keep your blood pressure healthy with straightforward lifestyle changes. If you need medical backup, modern treatments are effective and widely available.
In today’s article, I’ll cover blood pressure, its health importance, what raises it, and practical steps to keep it in check.
What Is Blood Pressure?
Think of blood pressure as the force your blood exerts against your artery walls every time your heart pumps. When your heart beats, it creates a surge of pressure called systolic pressure — the top number on a blood pressure reading. When your heart relaxes between beats, the pressure drops; that’s diastolic pressure, the bottom number.
So if you’re 120/80, the 120 is how hard the blood is pushing during a heartbeat, and the 80 is the pressure while your heart rests.
The American Heart Association defines a healthy adult blood pressure as below 120/80. Here’s the full list of blood pressure benchmarks and diagnoses:
Normal: <120/80
Elevated: 120–129/ <80
High blood pressure (Hypertension, Stage 1): 130–139/80–89
High blood pressure (Hypertension, Stage 2): ≥140/≥90
If your systolic stays in the 120s, you’re not hypertensive but “elevated.” It’s like a diagnosis of prediabetes.
A systolic above 130 means a hypertension diagnosis.
The 120 vs. 140 Debate
For years, 140/90 was the hypertension diagnosis line. In 2017, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology lowered it to 130/80, labeling anything above 120/80 as “elevated.”
The change was controversial. Overnight, millions of people who’d been told their blood pressure was “fine” were suddenly borderline hypertensive. Critics said it over-medicalized healthy individuals in their 20s–40s, making more of them eligible for drugs.
Supporters countered that risk doesn’t suddenly appear at 140/90; it rises gradually. Lowering the threshold aimed to encourage earlier awareness and lifestyle changes, not just more prescriptions.
Different groups still disagree: European societies and the World Health Organization continue to use 140/90 as the benchmark for diagnosing high blood pressure.
Think of blood pressure as a continuum. Lower is better over time. If your blood pressure is slightly elevated, don’t panic, but don’t ignore it either. Take it as a nudge to tighten your habits.
Why Healthy Blood Pressure Matters
High blood pressure has earned the nickname “the silent killer” for a reason. You usually feel fine, until you don’t. Here’s what uncontrolled hypertension does behind the scenes:
Heart disease and heart attacks. Chronically high blood pressure stiffens arteries and forces your heart to overwork. Heart disease is the number one killer of men in America, and high blood pressure is a main culprit.
Stroke. Hypertension weakens brain blood vessels, leading to clots or ruptures — strokes that leave you debilitated or dead.
Kidney damage. Your kidneys rely on tiny blood vessels to filter waste. High pressure scars them over time, leading to kidney disease or failure.
Sexual health. High blood pressure is bad for your boners. Erectile dysfunction not only impacts your sex life but is also linked to hypertension and can serve as an early warning sign of cardiovascular trouble.
Common Causes of High Blood Pressure
Hypertension usually stems from a mix of genetics, aging, and lifestyle. Some factors can’t be controlled; others can be. Here are the main factors for men:
Age. Arteries naturally stiffen with age, and plaque builds up. Expect blood pressure to rise in your 30s and 40s if you’re not proactive.
Being male. Men get hit earlier than women. After menopause, women catch up, but until then, men lead in hypertension rates.
Family history. If your parents had high blood pressure, you’re more likely to develop it too.
Diet. Too much sodium (from processed and restaurant foods) and not enough potassium (from fruits and veggies) is a recipe for high blood pressure.
Inactivity. Sedentary lifestyles weaken hearts and stiffen arteries.
Excess weight. The heavier you are, especially around the middle, the harder your heart has to pump.
Alcohol. Occasional drinks don’t have a big impact, but consistent heavy drinking raises blood pressure.
Nicotine. Whether from cigarettes or Zyn, nicotine raises blood pressure by stimulating adrenaline release, which increases heart rate and constricts blood vessels.
Stress. Chronic stress keeps your system revved up, nudging blood pressure higher.
Poor sleep (and sleep apnea). Less than 7 hours a night — or untreated sleep apnea — can keep your pressure elevated.
Managing Blood Pressure: Lifestyle Strategies
The encouraging news about blood pressure is that lifestyle changes can have a huge effect on it, often enough to avoid or delay medication. Here are the big levers you can pull to keep your blood pressure in check:
Dial in your diet. Cut back on processed food and salt; eat more vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Lift weights. While strength training spikes blood pressure during sets, it lowers it over time by improving heart function and blood vessel health.
Get in Zone 2 cardio. Aerobic exercise is a powerful lever for lowering blood pressure. Zone 2 cardio strengthens your heart, improves vascular flexibility, and trains your body to use oxygen more efficiently. Aim for 150 minutes a week through walking, cycling, rowing, or jogging.
Hit the HIIT. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can also help; short bursts of near-max effort followed by recovery periods give you big cardiovascular benefits in less time. I’m a fan of the assault bike for HIIT.
Lose weight if needed. Even just a reduction of 5–10% of your weight can improve blood pressure.
Limit alcohol. No more than two drinks a day. Less is better.
Quit smoking and Zyn-ing. Every cigarette and nicotine pouch tightens your arteries, spiking blood pressure. Quitting will relax them and reduce blood pressure.
Manage stress. Exercise, meditation, hobbies, prayer, time outdoors — whatever keeps you from running in the red zone all the time.
Get good sleep. Aim for 7–9 hours. If you snore, check for sleep apnea.
Deep breathing. Slow, controlled nose breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Even 5–10 minutes a day of box or diaphragmatic breathing can help.
Catch some rays. Moderate sunlight exposure helps your body release nitric oxide stored in the skin, which relaxes blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Research suggests people who spend more time outdoors have fewer heart problems than those who stay indoors. Aim for regular, sensible sun exposure.
Cut back on caffeine (if you’re sensitive). Coffee affects people differently. For some men, it barely moves the needle; for others, it can spike blood pressure for hours. If you notice big jumps after an energy drink or espresso, scale back.
Stay hydrated. Staying hydrated helps your kidneys balance sodium and maintain blood volume, supporting healthy blood pressure. Dehydration makes your heart work harder and can spike stress hormones.
Spend time in nature. Japanese research on shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) shows that being in green, natural environments lowers stress hormones and blood pressure. Follow the 20-5-3 nature prescription!
Check your numbers. Regularly track your blood pressure. Aim for once a week. See below on how to do it.
How to Take Your Blood Pressure at Home
To keep your blood pressure in check, monitor it regularly. At-home, automatic arm-cuff monitors are inexpensive and reliable.
I check my blood pressure once a week on Sundays.
Measuring at home can give you a more accurate reading than at the doctor’s office. A lot of people have “white coat syndrome,” where they get nervous at the doctor’s office and their blood pressure spikes, making it appear they have high blood pressure when they don’t.
Technique matters for blood pressure measurements. A sloppy reading can skew your numbers. Here are the best practices:
Use an upper-arm cuff. Wrist and finger devices aren’t as accurate.
Check at the same time. Mornings are best, before caffeine or workouts.
Sit quietly beforehand. Rest for 5 minutes before taking a reading.
Posture matters. Back supported, feet flat, arm resting at heart level. I keep my arm on the couch armrest to achieve the arm level height.
Don’t talk during the measurement. Even chatting can bump your numbers.
Take two or three readings. Do them a minute apart, then average them.
Log your results. A written record (or the machine’s memory) shows trends better than one-off numbers.
Avoid common mistakes. Don’t measure over clothing, after coffee, or right after exercise.
When Lifestyle Isn’t Enough to Lower Blood Pressure
Sometimes, despite doing everything right, your blood pressure stays high. Genetics and age can be stubborn. That’s when medication comes in.
There are several meds out there that lower blood pressure. The most common are thiazide diuretics and ACE inhibitors (like lisinopril).
If your blood pressure remains high despite lifestyle changes, talk to your doctor about medication.
Conclusion
Blood pressure is a scorecard of how hard your heart is working and how healthy your arteries are. Keep your numbers in check, and you’ll drastically reduce your risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and even erectile dysfunction. Ignore it, and the silent killer may come calling.
So check your blood pressure. Make the changes you need to make: eat smarter, move more, stress less. If you need meds, take them.
Your heart and overall health will thank you for the effort.
By: Brett & Kate McKay Title: A Man’s Guide to Blood Pressure: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Keep It in Check Sourced From: www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/a-man-s-guide-to-blood-pressure/ Published Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:36:52 +0000
When you think of water workouts, your mind probably goes to lap swimming, water aerobics, or maybe some high-octane Navy SEAL pool drill. What probably doesn’t come to mind is treading water — something you learned in swim class as a survival skill and haven’t thought much about since.
But treading water isn’t just for passing a Red Cross test or keeping yourself afloat while waiting for a lifeguard. With a little intentionality, it can be turned into a surprisingly effective — and satisfyingly challenging — full-body workout.
Why Treading Water Is Good Exercise in General
Let’s first look at what makes treading water beneficial even before you try to level it up:
Full-body engagement: An efficient tread uses your arms, legs, and core in coordination. The flutter kick, scissor kick, or eggbeater motion all activate your lower body, while your arms sweep and stabilize.
Cardiovascular and muscular endurance: Staying afloat taxes both your aerobic capacity and your muscular endurance, especially the longer you do it.
Low impact: It’s easy on your joints. If you’re dealing with nagging injuries or trying to stay active during recovery, it’s a solid option.
Real-world utility: Treading water builds the kind of practical fitness that could one day keep you alive — or help you save someone else.
Mental toughness: There’s a primal discomfort in the feeling of not being able to rest — of having no edge to lean on, no ground to stand. Learning to push through that discomfort builds your poise under pressure.
How to Make Treading Water a Legit Workout
Most people tread water inefficiently and lazily — just enough to keep their nose above the surface. But that doesn’t activate the full potential of this exercise. Mixing in these elements will:
1. Add Time-Based Intervals
Instead of aimlessly bobbing around, structure your session like you would a gym workout:
Warm up: 3 minutes easy treading
Main set: 5 rounds of 1 minute hard treading, 30 seconds easy
Cool down: 2 minutes easy
“Hard treading” means using faster, more forceful movements — like exaggerated eggbeater kicks and aggressive arm sweeps — to keep your upper chest and even your shoulders above the waterline.
2. Go Hands-Free
Cross your arms over your chest or raise them overhead while kicking. This forces your legs and core to work overtime and completely removes the assistance of your arms. Try to hold for 20–30 seconds, then recover with normal treading.
3. Hold a Weight
Grab a 5-10 lb object like a dumbbell or brick and hold it at your chest or overhead while treading. This instantly boosts the difficulty and mimics classic lifeguard or military pool drills.
Warning: If you’re not a strong swimmer, make sure a capable buddy or lifeguard is watching while you do this. It’s no joke.
4. Perform Water-Based “Strength” Moves
Mix in controlled movements to target different muscle groups:
Water pushdowns: Push the water down as hard and fast as you can with straight arms.
Flutter kick sprints: Keep your legs straight and kick rapidly without using your hands.
Bicycle kicks: Mimic riding a bike while staying upright — harder than it sounds.
5. Set a Distance Marker
Pick a pool lane and tread from one side to the other without swimming — just vertical movement. This forces forward propulsion through awkward, inefficient movement, taxing your stabilizers and coordination.
Sample 20-Minute Treading Water Workout
Here’s a simple beginner-to-intermediate routine:
Time
Activity
0:00–3:00
Warm-up (easy treading)
3:00–4:00
Hard treading
4:00–4:30
Rest (light treading)
4:30–5:30
Hands-free treading
5:30–6:00
Rest
6:00–7:00
Treading while holding weight
7:00–7:30
Rest
7:30–10:00
Intervals: 30s sprint treading / 30s rest x 3
10:00–12:00
Pushdowns and flutter kicks
12:00–15:00
Distance tread (cross pool vertically 2–3 times)
15:00–17:00
Hands-free or overhead hold challenge
17:00–20:00
Cool down (easy treading)
Final Tips
Stay upright: The workout is in the vertical position. If you’re angled back like you’re floating in a La-Z-Boy, you’re doing it wrong.
Don’t touch the bottom: Treading only works if you’re off the ground. Deep end only.
Work up gradually: You’ll be shocked at how tiring this gets. Ease in and build your capacity over time.
Use good form: Lazy flapping wastes energy. Focus on strong, intentional movements.
There’s something satisfyingly fundamental about treading water. You don’t need equipment, music, or a squat rack. It’s just you versus gravity. As opposed to other workouts, where the fitness being built seems several steps away from what might be called upon in the real world, you can viscerally feel it building your survival capacity. So tread away — you’re getting harder to kill!
By: Brett & Kate McKay Title: How to Turn Treading Water Into a Legit Workout Sourced From: www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/fitness/how-to-turn-treading-water-into-a-legit-workout/ Published Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2025 13:44:28 +0000
