Men's Health (1-year)

Alas, in each issue there is at least one article on 'how to drop five pounds this week' or 'how to lose 10 pounds by Easter' -- these look like they'll work and seem very reasonable, but I cannot comment on their effectiveness (would that I were able to!). I can comment on the effectiveness of time management, basic financial planning, and exercise routine advice -- these have worked for me. In fact, I credit many of the articles in this magazine with helping me to plan a graceful exit from my old job and into my new self-employment career and graduate school/seminary endeavour, by illustrating stories and giving useful advice.

There are also fun things, too, like a recent issue's back-page article on how to effectively tan, by the tan-master himself, George Hamilton. Do you know how to tie a bow-tie? This magazine had an article showing that, too.

This is not an 'in-depth' magazine, but then again, it doesn't pretend to be. Many of us work and live in a world that doesn't permit time-consuming research and consideration of essays on health and fitness, unless we are professional in that field. Thus, magazines like this fill a need. So far as health and fitness magazines are concerned, this one is a good one -- many magazines are veiled soft-core erotica. Men's Health does not avoid the topic of sex, but doesn't overplay it the way many do.

The magazine has a good graphic sense to it -- it illustrates the physical things discussed in photographs without as much embellishment as many other fitness magazines. Comparing this to several others on the magazine rack, it is understated, has less flash and more substance in the articles.

Definitely worth a look!


One Year is All You Need   December 27, 2002
Leslie Reissner (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
44 out of 45 found this review helpful

As a regular reader of "Men's Health," I have long enjoyed its articles for their entertaining style and the useful information contained in its pages. After several years, however, it has become obvious that there are only so many abs exercises, or amusing sex tips, or ways to portray men as charmingly stupid. I realize that I no longer need to buy the magazine as I can just look at the back issues I have instead. It covers the basics well, but does it over and over, so my advice is to enjoy it for a year and then go on to more advanced things on your own.


Sad demise   February 18, 2004
41 out of 43 found this review helpful

Men's Health used to be a top-notch magazine with great writers and helpful and innovative articles for all men. Writers like Greg Gutfeld and Denis Boyles gave the magazine a sharp wit and truly made the magazine a stand-out. They turned up their noses at political correctness and wrote what most others wouldn't dare. The writers were real men (and women) who weren't afraid of putting their reputations on the line. They told it like it was, not how the advertisers wanted you to hear it.

However, they're all gone and all that's left is an emaciated skeleton of articles that are not interesting, innovative, or remotely intelligent. In fact, the only men I know who look at it now are my gay friends, for the great pictures of muscles on the cover and inside. But they, also, are too smart and savvy to waste their time on the lame articles. I don't know what happened to the management of that magazine, but somebody made some devastating decisions. I've never seen a magazine go from being truly one-of-a-kind to just a faceless jumble of paper and staples among the crowd. If you want articles on fitness, almost any other magazine will be better than Men's Health. The newest teeny bopper rag will have deeper articles on relationship than Men's Health. They assume the average guy is extremely insecure and has a sub-standard IQ. This magazine had a great thing going, and they blew it. Big time. Don't waste your time or money.


A "Woman's Magazine" for Men   July 15, 2003
Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA)
31 out of 64 found this review helpful

The publishers of "Men's Health" have hit on a very successful formula, one that they've taken right from the pages of any number of women's magazines found on the rack at the supermarket. Each issue is devoted to stroking the egos of the middle-aged readers while selling them tons of useless "lifestyle" cloting, toys and cosmetics that they can justify by telling themselves it's all about their healthy lifestyle.

No stars.


Not as good as it used to be   November 25, 2001
28 out of 34 found this review helpful

I don't know if it's that my weight lifting has taken me to more of an advanced stage, but I no longer find myself as eager to dive into "Men's Health" each month as I used to be. The magazine has changed somewhat over the years. Sure it still has some good articles about training, and so on. In fact, it has just about everything "Playboy" has going for it, except the nude pictorials and fiction. But "Men's Health" has become a little bland. It is not aimed at hardcore weight lifters, and often of late it seems to be aimed at people in the upper echelon of subscribers, pushing high-priced gear and clothing that someone who works in the real world may not be able to buy. The magazine's publishers used to point with pride to the fact that they were based in rural Pennsylvania and as a result in touch with the average man. You don't get that feeling anymore. Also, some of what they tell you has to be taken with a grain of salt. Little training tips they'll drop in may have merit, but need to be part of a much larger picture. Doing a squat will help get larger legs, but there's more to it than that, and sometimes in the interest of brevity, the magazine falls short. Still, you'll find a lot of interest in each issue. Here's hoping it will one day be a five-star magazine again.