Here are some random fitness notes I found on MSN about the average U.S. male.
Where are you on the curve?
Picture the classic bell curve. At the far right, you have players from Major League Baseball and the National Football League who are in the best shape of their lives (or anyone else's lives, for that matter) because they cheated with steroids. At the far left, you have the anonymous 2.3 percent of men ages 18 to 24 who, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's definition of physical fitness, are "never active." And in the middle of the curve, at the top of what looks a lot like a flexed biceps, there's you.
Maybe you're an "outlier"
Once you get past the two extremes, known as the "outliers" in stat parlance, there is one side of our National Biceps that is clearly preferable: the right. The farther you head in that direction, the fitter you are. We understand: You've been trying to slog over that hump for a long time. But in the past, you didn't know where to invest your sweat equity. You went in the right direction with the wrong information. This time, before you move a muscle, look down—at the mountain of data you're standing on.
The stats and a little boost
Take the GuyQ Quiz! Let's see how well you can analyze the numbers.
The Average Guy and Muscle
He was in the best shape of his life at age 23.
Big arms buildup
Let other guys settle for arms the circumference of soda cans. Yours can be the size of soda bottles (2-liter!) if you simply expand the range of motion when you curl.
The Average Sedentary Guy loses 1 pound of muscle mass each year
"To reach full development of a specific muscle, each range of motion must be at its strongest," says Michael Seril, M.S., C.P.T., owner of a personal-training company based in Orange County, California.
The Average Guy's testosterone level decreases by 1 percent each year after age 40
Grab a pair of dumbbells and do 15 to 20 biceps curls, beginning the move with the dumbbells at your sides, not in front of your thighs. Without resting, grab a pair of dumbbells that are 5 to 10 pounds heavier than the previous pair and perform 10 to 12 hammer curls (palms facing each other), but stop when your arms are flexed 90 degrees, then lower the weights. That's one set. Perform a total of three sets, resting 60 seconds after each.
The Average Guy has 13-inch biceps
The Average Guy and Fat
The Average Guy's body-fat percentage is 19.7
Cut body fat 4%
As a car warranty, "10/10,000" is pretty lousy coverage, but as a plan for knocking a few stubborn points off your body-fat percentage, it's perfect. Designed by Tim Lohman, Ph.D., a professor of physiology at the University of Arizona, the 10/10,000 plan calls for two simple lifestyle changes: First, decrease the portion size of every meal by 10 percent, while cutting out all snacks, drinking plenty of water, and limiting carbohydrates like potatoes, rice, and white bread. At the same time, increase your basic activity level to 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) per day; that's above and beyond any other exercise you do. Don't have a pedometer? Try Oregon Scientific's Digital Step Counter (www2.oregonscientific. com). Just larger than a Zippo, it's a classy $10 gizmo that will secretly watch your every step. Trust us, it's worth the effort. "In 10 weeks, your body fat will be down 4 percent," says Lohman.
The Average Guy consumes 2,618 calories a day
http://fitness.msn.com/articles/feed...geguy>1=3476
