How to buy a Bike

Mountain Biking UK has a great guide on how to buy a bike. It includes what to check and how much you should pay. If you planning on buying a new bike then have a read... How to buy a Bike

...and don't forget to tell us what you bought!

BMW Mountain Bike

BMW Bikes Run on adrenalin, not on petrol.

What BMW say: Your pulse is rising. Your eyes are glowing. With the new bikes from BMW, you get what every BMW vehicle offers: pure riding pleasure.

We think they are very pretty but they should be for the price. The Enduro costs £ 1,690 and comes well equipped with top components. Check them out here ... and start thinking of how you are going to explain this purchase!

Men's Health Five-a-side tricks from Wayne Rooney

Men's Health shows us Three of the best Five-a-side football tricks from the king, Wayne Rooney

The switch-and-pass

Great for buying a couple of seconds for the killer pass

How to do it: " When running forward with the ball and one defender is by your side, simply turn in a tight circle in the opposite direction," says Rooney. "If a defender is coming up fast on your left, turn to the right as tightly as possible. The defender will try to follow by going around your back which will give you a few seconds to shoot or pass to an open player."

The feint-and-shoot

Great for making the keeper feel like a total charlie.

How to do it: "During a break-away, turn to the far side of the goal just for an instant then turn back and shoot," says Rooney. "This will turn the keeper around, opening up the goal for a clearer shot." Get it right and he'll feel like Paul Robinson on a bad night in Zagreb.

The give-and-get

Great for Running rings round the defence

How to do it: "If you're playing indoors, then you can use the boards as a 6th man," explains Rooney. "When a defender runs towards you, knock the ball into the boards, run past the defender, and collect the ball as it rebounds back." Take care not to blast it 5 yards over, or all your hard work will have been in vain.

Words by Dan Jones

Get a Good Posture

Feeling like a slouch? Take this Mens Health test to check your posture then use the fix to straighten up

Wall test

Stand with your feet about 12 inches from a wall and rest your back against it. Place your right hand on the small of your back, palm facing the wall. Then tighten your abs until your palm is pressed against the wall. In this position, your body should have four points of contact with the wall: your tailbone, palm, upper back, and head. If you have to tilt your head back to reach the wall . . .

Your problem is... Kyphotic posture-also known as slouching.

The cause: Your abdominal and chest muscles have shortened, while your back extensor muscles and spine have weakened. Sitting for extended periods of time leads to this imbalance.

Fix yourself

Step 1: Mobilise your spine. Lie across a foam roll (available at www.perform better.com) or a thick PVC pipe so that it's perpendicular to your spine at the lower part of your rib cage. Reach overhead so your spine extends over the roll and hold for a count of 10. Move the roll up your spine about 2 inches, then repeat. Continue this process until the foam roll reaches the base of your neck.

Step 2: Use this dynamic backward lunge to stretch your abdominal, groin, and chest muscles. Hold a single 10-pound dumbbell with both hands. Step back with your left foot until your left knee nearly touches the floor. As you lunge, turn your torso to the right and reach up over your right shoulder with both hands. Then return to a standing position. Repeat for a total of 15 reps on both sides.

Step 3: Perform a single-arm dumbbell row with external rotation. However, instead of pulling the dumbbell to your rib cage, pull it to a position by your ear, allowing your torso to rotate upward. Repeat for a total of 15 repetitions with a lighter-than-normal dumbbell. Then switch arms and repeat.

  Words by Bill Hartman

The 50 Best Winter Walks

The Independent's essential guide to going out and staying in lists The 50 Best Winter Walks. Here are the top 3:

1.) Freshwater Way, Isle of Wight - One of eight way-marked inland trails on the island, this gentle route takes you from the mouth of the Yar estuary through woodland, farmland and to the water's edge at the Causeway. Here, you can either continue along the flat river valley or take the path that rises up to Afton Down; finishing above the cliff at Compton bay. more info

2.) Ashridge, Hertforshire - The National Trust's Ashridge estate is set on the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire border and straddles the Chilterns. The popular way-marked woodland trail gives you a real sense of the scale of the 5,000 acre estate. It's advisable to wear strong footwear as the woodland tracks here tend to be muddy all year round. more info

3.) Thixendale Round, Yorkshire - This is an intriguing journey through a landscape of dry chalk grassland valleys, green meadowlands and medieval villages. Leaving the remote village of Thixendale, which is at the hub of 16 dales in Yorkshire Wolds, this walk passes through Painsthorpe Dale, which only became accessible to the public for the first time earlier in 2006. more info

Vegetable life-savers

Sort the bad veg from the good with the Mens Health guide: Why you should be eating more vegetables?

Vegetables are a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals, from the antioxidant vitamins C and E to calcium, iron, copper and chromium. Veg are also full of fibre, which is thought to help prevent bowel cancer. In addition, vegetables are now being found to contain phytochemicals, substances which play an important role in protecting the plant from damage and pollutants. When we eat them they pass these protective effects on tot us and may help prevent other cancers and heart disease.

How much more? Five servings of vegetables and fruit a day.

The best way to eat it Frozen vegetables Studies have shown that Birdâ..s Eye green beans retain 100 per cent of their vitamin C during blanching and quick freezing, spinach retains 80% and frozen peas up to 70%.

Thick-cut oven chips Many brands are available with as little as 4g of fat per 100g. They are a godo source of potassium, needed for good water balance and keeping blood pressure under control. They are also a surprisingly useful source of vitamin C.

Tinned carrots Carrots are rich in the anti-oxidant beta carotene, which is thought to fight lung cancer. Carotene is better absorbed from cooked foods than raw, therefore canned carrots that have been heat-treated are a particularly rich source.

Read More about what not to eat "Youâ..d do better eating the packaging"

Waterproof Wonder

Everyone seems to be wearing overshows and Mens Health tells us why. Endura road overshoes look sleek and work like a dream, the rubberised surface repels water very well keeping your feet dry and also stops salt and mud ruining your expensive road shoes. These are elasticated all round and have a sturdy zip at the back. Warm dry feet for just £20? These are the first thing you should buy for your winter training.

Free Runner - Risky Race

Great video of Free Runners doing what they do best! Check it out at Boreme