Show us your six pack! (Men's Health)

Name: plipplop

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Product:	Men's Health
Date:	29/05/01 (175 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well written, Informative

Disadvantages: Rather patronising, Unrealistic

Published monthly, Men's Health magazine advertises itself as "The World's Best-Selling Men's Magazine". Few regular visitors to a supermarket will have failed to notice the prolific bombardment of biceps, six packs and pecs that adorn the cover of this magazine in the racks - but is it any good?

Actually, yes it is.

At £3.20 it's priced around the same mark as the FHM/Loaded "Boobs and Bits" family of magazines, but is a considerably more intelligent - and infinitely more interesting - read. The quantity of adverts always seems less than most other glossy magazines to me, but then Men's Health has fewer pages overall.

So what do you get for your £3.20?

Most 180 page issues contain a good range of articles about different aspects of keep fit, healthy eating, and sexual issues as well as a bit of fashion, and a bit of fun. I like the editorial style of Men's Health - one thing I can't stand about FHM and its shelf pals is that the whole publication seems targeted towards readers who are "intellectually challenged". Men's Health rises above this, without becoming too technical, and addresses important issues in an appropriate manner.

As with most monthly publications Men's Health is a balance between feature articles and regular columns. Key features in the May 2001 issue include:

10 Questions you must ask your Dad - guide to how you can stay fit and healthy by gaining from your old man's experience

The best night of her life - 13 steps to giving the woman in your life a night to remember

The Men's Health Manifesto - 12 point plan on what Men's Health would like to see in the forthcoming General Election

6 old man ailments young men can get - guide to how a little bit of care now can save your life in later years

Traveller's Checks - top tips for protecting your currency whilst on holiday

T
he real reasons for life's everyday wind-ups - looks at some of the science behind those every day irritations.

As you can see, the magazine tries to cover a reasonably wide range of topics, which, although generally targeted towards men, can offer an interesting read to anyone. Although the editorials are written for men, they usually manage to avoid the temptation to go down the "women are nothing but trouble" road of conversation, and Men's Health is a good representation of what makes men tick today. The magazine also shows a clear intent to appeal across all age groups, with regular articles about issues facing young and older men alike.

Some of the regulars are quite good as well. There are the inevitable readers' letters which ask the magazines' resident experts questions about health and sexual issues - generally all on a serious note rather than the "I woke up in the bath with an orange up my arse" kind of nonsense that FHM specialises in. Bulletin is a regular update on some of the latest health related news, but I particularly like the Fat Burner's Bible and Men's Wealth. The former looks briefly at healthy food alternatives, whilst the latter takes a quick look at shares, savings and money management issues. All these articles are infinitely readable, with a clear emphasis on dispelling myths without going into information overload.

The magazine also regularly advertises reader offers on all sorts of associated products, with good discounts on subscriptions, and regular free mini-magazines or
Inserts.

Hang on a minute. The warning bells are going off here - am I actually going to write an opinion which is totally praiseworthy and completely without criticism?

Don't be silly.

Where Men's Health falls down is it's idealistic, and rather aloof attitude towards men and their bodies. In a similar way to the fact that most women don't, and wou
ldn't want to, look like the catwalk models, I can't help but think that Men's Health is rather out of touch with it's readers. Apart from the fact that the men on the cover are probably all porn stars, the pages are full of attention grabbing titles like "Get a six-pack in six weeks" and "You too can look like this (points to porn star) in just six days".

Get real. The vast majority of the readers of this magazine will be the average man on the street. Whilst we may all be concerned with our health and our bodies, we can't all devote ourselves religiously to the gym and to drinking organic carrot presse. If every reader were to follow all the advice laid down in Men's Health then there would be very little time left for other things - like enjoying yourself? Men's Health seems to suggest that a man's life should be devoted to his body, his career and to ensuring that his wife has A1 orgasms. Sorry - there is more to life you know!

Men's Health is not a specialist gym magazine - there are plenty of those already. This magazine is about mass appeal, and educating as many people as possible about making the right choices regarding their health. As it stands Men's Health can be an intimidating, and rather debilitating read - it's not only the female body which gets bombarded in the press with a supposedly perfect shape.

Nonetheless, I do like reading Men's Health - but only in small doses. If I were to read every issue I think I might find myself eating tofu, going to bed at 9 p.m. and abstaining from alcohol for life - and that can't be a good thing can it?

Summary: