Champions share a hard-to-define quality. It’s a combination of competitive drive, focus and desire that makes them winners -- in sports, in the classroom and in life. You want to be that guy, but perhaps you think you can’t be. Maybe you believe that the winners of the world are born, not made.

If so, think again.

Research shows that the will to succeed is as much a factor of nurture as it is nature. A 2009 study compared competitive drive among members of a primarily patriarchal tribe in Tanzania and a community in India in which women have greater authority and social standing. The researchers -- from The University of Chicago and Columbia University -- found that in the Tanzanian tribe, women were less competitive. But in the Indian community, the reverse was true: The women were more competitive than the men.

The implication: Competitive drive is a learned behavior.

“Granted, some may be born with a mentally tougher edge,” says Greg Chertok, a sport-psychology consultant who works with young athletes at The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center in Englewood, N.J. “But any athlete -- any person -- who is willing to put in the work can develop this as well.”

Here’s how to develop the competitive drive and mental toughness of a champion.

1. Identify your opponent

First, stop and consider who or what it is you’re competing against.

“Most of us think of competitiveness as the drive to be No. 1,” says former NCAA wrestling champion Matt Furey, author of a 2009 memoir, The Unbeatable Man. “That’s OK sometimes, but chances are you’re not going to be the best in the world at whatever you’re doing. So does that mean you’re going to hide your talents under a rock? How about, instead, you let the very best you have shine?”

In other words, stop comparing yourself to others, and start playing the game of life as a healthy competition against yourself -- striving to set and meet goals, and to do your best.

2. Cultivate your competitive attitude

“Excelling often means taking yourself out of your comfort zone,” says Chertok. At the point when most people want to quit, real competitors battle on. You can help develop that go-the-distance attitude by practicing it. During moments when you feel like finishing your workout early or closing the book during homework … make the decision. Do one more set. Read one more chapter. “Flip the competitive switch!” says Chertok.

3. Find your peak performance number

We all have a different energy level at which we perform best. Chertok asks his athletes to find that level on a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being cucumber-cool; 5, a controlled intensity; and 10, a Ray Lewis-like, frothing-at-the-mouth hunger.

Identifying and then getting yourself to your optimum intensity level (Chertok recommends deep breathing to lower your intensity, and your favorite music to amp it up) is going to raise your chances of coming up big when the game is on the line.

4. Take small daily steps to success

Doing one thing today -- one thing that will make you stronger, faster or better prepared -- will help get you closer to your goal. It’s a technique used by Olympic athletes during their long years of training between the quadrennial Games. “Every day they try to do something, even a small something, that gets them closer to a gold medal,” explains Chertok.

So let’s say your goal is to be the starting centerfielder on your school’s baseball team. What steps can you take now to reach that goal? Maybe you need to get stronger, throw the ball farther, hit better?     

Here are three days of small, realistic and measurable goals:

• Today, I will bench-press the heaviest weight I can handle for eight to 10 reps.

• Tomorrow, I will go down to the field and play long toss with my buddy -- and make 10 more throws each time we do it.

• The day after, I will go down to the batting cage and take 10 more swings.

Over weeks and months, those extra reps, throws and swings will add up to you being a vastly improved ballplayer.

5. Positively the way to go

In his 2007 book How Lance Does It, author Brad Kearns examines the factors that helped Lance Armstrong come back from cancer to win seven Tour de France titles. He lists a positive attitude as Armstrong’s “Success Factor 1.”

“Lance developed a positive attitude so resilient and a perspective so enlightened that he could pedal his bike through all kinds of adversity and obstacles and emerge victorious,” writes Kearns.

Note that word: developed. When cancer threatened his life, he had every reason to be negative. But Armstrong realized that a positive attitude is a choice. Again, that drive to be a winner, to succeed on the field and off, is not in your genes. It’s in your mind.

So will you make up your mind today to start competing like a champion … to be a winner? It’s up to you.

Nothing beats going on vacation in the dead of winter… and nothing sucks more than a winter vacation ruined by illness. Whether you’re going to Malaga with the goal of partying till sunrise five nights in a row, or jumping on a plane to Nigeria for an exotic cultural adventure, there are precautions you should take to stay healthy. Here, MLT presents the top five travel-veteran-tested rules for avoiding all the nasty pitfalls -- from stomach parasites to the common cold -- that can wreak havoc on your holiday. 

Travel Rule 1: Pack a first-aid kit

If the last safety kit you encountered belonged to the nurse at your primary school, that needs to change. “A pack doesn’t take up a lot of room and can be very useful,” says Roman-world-tour.com’s Romain Corraze, 25, who completed a year-long, around-the-world trek after finishing his MBA. “I always take one with me.” Don’t forget the basics from your bathroom cabinet: paracétamol for fevers and headaches, bandages and Bétadine to take care of small wounds, prescription anti-diarrheal meds like Tiorfan and Imodium for tummy troubles and a thermometer because, depending on where you’re traveling, it can be a pain to track one down. [A1] 

 

Travel Rule 2: Watch what you put in your mouth

“When you travel to exotic places, the most frequent problems are related to food,” says Fabrice, 33, editor of instinct-voyageur.fr, who’s been going to Asia regularly for the last three years. “Eating raw produce is really the easiest way to get traveler’s diarrhea.” And no one wants that. Avoid raw fruit and veggies religiously when you’re in an underdeveloped country, where restaurants often rinse them in water unsuitable for drinking. You can satisfy any health-food cravings with cooked vegetables, or buy greens at the market and wash them yourself with drinkable water.  

Which brings up an important point: Although we’d normally classify buying a bottle of water every time you want a drink under Big Environmental No-No, you’re exempt from this rule on vacation, particularly in underdeveloped countries where water might be unclean, reused, and swimming with microscopic germs. “I got an amoeba one time in India,” says Fabrice, “and had seriously horrible diarrhea. Luckily I was in a big city, so I had easy access to a doctor and medicine.” If you’re in the wilderness and don’t have access to bottles, boil your H2O or use pastilles micropurs (anti-bacterial tablets that dissolve in water). Buy them while you’re still at home.

Travel Rule 3: Don’t push yourself to the limit

Hey, this tip applies to you, too, Mr. “I’m Soaking Up Rays on Mauritius for My Winter Holiday”. Heat is one of the main causes of exhaustion, which can leave you with muscle cramps, dizziness, headaches, tiredness, vomiting, fainting spells and other symptoms that can put a damper on your week in paradise. “When it’s hot,” says Fabrice, “the basic rule is to drink a lot, even if you’re not thirsty. And always have a hat or something on your head.”

For those of you planning on more physical trips -- including ski trips and the like in cold climates -- don’t forget to take breaks and get enough sleep. “You’ve got to have time to relax,” counsels Corraze. “Otherwise you’ll leave your body more vulnerable to health problems.” So take your hot chocolate break as if it’s doctor’s orders. Because it is.

Travel Rule 4: Fight jet lag and cabin colds

Although jet lag probably won’t destroy your trip, it can make things far less enjoyable, causing insomnia, bizarre sleeping patterns, an upset stomach, a loss of appetite -- plus it can leave you more susceptible to illnesses. But jet lag isn’t a necessary evil of long-distance travel. To avoid it, Doctissimo advises preparing in advance by changing your daily rhythm before boarding the plane; try advancing your clock one hour per day toward the local time at your destination. When you take off, make sure you’re well rested so that the time difference’s hit will be less powerful. Avoid naps once you’re there and (during the first few days at least) stay away from soda, spices, coffee, tea and any other stimulants that could prevent you from sleeping.

Like jet lag, cabin colds are also avoidable with a little common sense. Drinking water instead of dehydrating caffeinated beverages during the flight will prevent your nose and throat from drying out, which is a good defense against colds. Another easy way to avoid picking up wayward germs is by washing your hands. (Obvious, yes, but people sometimes forget the obvious when in the throes of pre-holiday excitement.) Pack antibacterial gel or hand wipes before you get on the plane, just in case you’re in the middle seat and the grumpy aisle neighbor is dozing. And use it before touching any food.

 

Travel Rule 5: Visit a doctor before leaving

One essential step in preparing for a trip to an exotic country is making an appointment with a doctor specialized in travel. Vaccination centers often have a service that caters to travelers; Air France even has its very own Centre de Vaccination in Paris. During the appointment, the doctor will make sure your vaccination booklet is up-to-date, give you a list of medicines to bring along, write prescriptions, tell you what to add to your first aid kit, and answer any questions you might have.

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 [A1]Sandrine: Can you please replace these brand names with generic medicine names when translating? Thanks!

Unless you’re living in a media blackout, you know bedbugs are back. And not just back, but apparently everywhere: hotels, apartment buildings, the mall, the subway, the movies! Laments Dr. Dini Miller, associate professor at Virginia Tech and Urban Pest Management specialist for the state of Virginia: “The media is freaking out like crazy.” And so, probably, are you.

The fact is, bedbugs are, well, everywhere, and they’re not going away. But that doesn’t mean you should throw out all your furniture, or refuse to let family members visit, or spray yourself with toxic doses of alcohol every time you leave the house -- all real-world examples encountered by Larry Pinto, president of Pinto & Associates, a pest control consulting firm, and co-author of the book Bed Bug Handbook. We spoke to Miller and Pinto about what one should do, as Pinto puts it, “in a bedbug world.” Turns out a little common sense goes a long way in dealing with the critters.

Know Thy Bedbug
“I inspect places all the time for bedbugs and I have yet to bring them home with me,” says Pinto. In other words, just because they’re out there doesn’t mean you’ll get them. Adds Miller: “We will encounter them in our daily lives. That’s okay. We need to prevent them coming home with us.”

So how do we do that? Easy. Google “bedbugs” and learn what they look like in all stages of life (eggs to mature adults). Then keep an eye on your stuff. If you go to the movies, says Miller, “Don’t put your things in the empty seat next to you.” In fact, leave them in your car to begin with. If you have to bring your stuff along, so be it, but then inspect it before taking it home and dumping it on your bed. “Get in the habit of looking,” Miller sums up. “That’s the best intervention.”

Check the Bed
Hotels are ground zero in the bedbug wars. Does that mean you should cancel your trip? No. Getting bitten at a hotel is really not such a big deal. (It’s gross, yes, but as Pinto notes, “They don’t give you AIDS.”) The point is not to bring them home.

To that end, you should keep your suitcase in the middle of the floor or on the luggage rack -- check it for bugs first -- and then leave everything inside. If you must unpack, says Miller, you can hang your clothes in the closet (again, after checking it), but don’t use the drawers.

Before you do anything, though, strip the bed and look for bugs or fecal matter (little black spots) in the mattress, along the seams, where the mattress meets the box spring, where the spring meets the frame, and where the headboard meets the wall. “We’re talking two minutes maximum inspection,” says Pinto. If all is clear, relax. If not, change rooms (and if the second room is infested, change hotels). And it bears repeating: Whether the hotel checks out or not, always inspect your bags before bringing them home.

Talk to the Neighbors
Moving into a new pad can be tricky; even experts get stumped by an empty apartment. Still, there are a few things you can do. Pinto advises asking management (before signing the lease) if they’ve had a bedbug problem in the past and if so, how they handled it. They may lie, of course, which is why you should talk to tenants as well. You can also check The Bedbug Registry (BedBugRegistry.com) to see if your building has been cited. And if you’re really nervous, hire a bedbug-sniffing dog. It will run you between $300 and $400, but may be worth it if you’re moving in with friends and can split the bill.

Beware Free Stuff
There once was a time you could furnish an entire apartment from other people’s garbage. Now that bedbugs are the main reason people throw furniture out … not so much. But if your budget requires buying furniture secondhand, go ahead, says Miller; just make sure to transport it yourself, and check it thoroughly before bringing it inside. Even if it appears clean, Pinto recommends vacuuming the piece aggressively with a crevice tool and then throwing out the bag.

Don’t Panic If You Find One
So you’re checking your bag, and lo and behold, you find a bedbug. What now? Well, first, kill it. Then throw your bag, and all of its contents, in the dryer. “The dryer is your best friend,” says Miller. “You can put all kinds of stuff in there, and a hot dryer for 20 minutes will kill all bedbugs and their eggs.” If something can’t go in the dryer, then Miller advises spraying it intensely with alcohol (just not near an open flame, please). And if you find a bedbug in your home? We’ll say it again: Don’t panic. “If you catch it quickly, it’s easy to get rid of,” says Pinto. “Just call pest control and they take care of it.”

For skiers, January is the best month: There’s plenty of snow and the Alps aren’t swarming with tourists. It’s also a great month for getting deals on equipment, since various shops offer post-Christmas discounts. If you haven’t been staying up to date on the latest gear and techniques, you’re in for a surprise: High-tech innovations have made skiing a whole new sport. We tell you what you should buy, what you can rent, and then where to go to try out all your new stuff.

Skis and boots

These days it’s all about Rocker skis. With this technology, the rear and tip of the skis are curved slightly upwards, giving you better performance in deep snow and turns. Many manufacturers combine Rocker with other high-tech innovations. Blizzard’s new “R-Power FS IQ”, for example, uses hydraulic shock absorbers (yes, like the ones in cars), which reduce vibrations and make the skis easier to handle. Head’s latest, the “i.Supershape Titan”, comes with integrated computer chips: They recognize when you finish a turn and automatically stabilize your skis for better traction and higher speed.

Unfortunately, these high-end models can cost upwards of 600 Euro. Markus Hirnböck, an Austrian ski instructor from the Hochkönig area, recommends renting skis if you’re on a budget: “It’s cheaper and you can try different types.” For about 100 Euro a week, you can rent skis and boots, but Hirnböck advises buying your own boots. “If they fit comfortably, you can drive every kind of ski”, he explains. “If not, you won’t have fun even with the best skis.” For price to quality ratio, the experts recommend boots by Dalbello (an Italian company) or Fischer.

If you do have the money to invest in skis as well, the first thing you want to do is check the length. “Beginner skis should be at least ten centimeters smaller than the driver is”, says Hirnböck. Beginners should also opt for all-round carving skis, which move well on all slopes, and ask for a model with a curve radius of 15 to 19 meters. Anything smaller will be too aggressive.

 

Safety gear

Without a doubt, a helmet is your most important piece of safety equipment. All the arguments against them -- they obstruct sight, they make it hard to hear -- are nonsense. Modern versions are lightweight, fit comfortably and have perfect ventilation. “Apart from that, many modern helmets really look cool”, says Hirnböck. “My favorites are by the Swiss company Movement and POC.”

If you drive in the backcountry, you should also invest in professional avalanche rescue equipment. “You’ll need a transceiver, a probe and a shovel”, says Mathias Brugg, a freeride professional and mountain guide in the Austrian Kaunertal. “It doesn’t matter, which transceiver you choose. Most important is to be well versed in its usability.” For the best value for money, try current models by companies like Arva or BCA (around 300 Euro). Or grab the new “Vector” by Pieps, the first receiver with GPS.

Fun stuff

If you have some Euros left to invest in a fun gadget that has absolutely nothing to do with safety, the ATC9k digital camera by Oregon Scientific lets you make HD-videos of yourself. It’s fixed at the helmet, and with its 130-degree-wide angle it captures every stunt. Or take a look at the Aiptek3D i2, one of the world’s first compact camcorders for 3-D movies. It costs 200 Euro and is small enough to put it in your breast pocket.

 

Where to go

No doubt, the Swiss and French resorts with 4000-meter mountains and endless slopes offer extraordinary conditions. But if you’re on a budget, you’re best off staying right here in Germany. According to a recent analysis by the ADAC of more than 1500 Alps resorts, the German ones are the cheapest. A one-week ski pass plus mid-level hotel costs an average of 924 Euro. In Switzerland or France you’d pay upwards of 1400 (not to mention travel costs).

At 660 Euro a week, the absolute lowest-cost Alps resort is Lenggries in Bavaria. Its “Garlant” downhill is exciting, but you will know every square meter of it after a weekend. You’re better off at Garmisch, with its legendary “Kandahar” slope. It was completely rebuilt for the Ski World Championships, taking place from February 7th to 20th. Avoid those weeks, since the town will be packed, but check it out afterwards. Hotels will be cheaper, and for kicks you can try to break the records of the new world champions.

You've tried it all: cutting down the carbs, eating endless amounts of chicken breast, exercising like mad. So why are those infernal love handles -- not to mention that below-the-belly-button roll of fat -- still there?

In part, we (as in the fitness media) are to blame. There are hundreds of different ways to put muscle on the body, and these workouts are what fitness and muscle magazines love to feature; it sure beats snore-inducing cardio with another shot of someone running on the beach. But unless you want to look like a bodybuilder (and even those guys do plenty of cardio come cutting time), it’s time to step up the cardio. “You’ve got to train like an athlete to look like an athlete,” says Tom Seabourne, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at Northeast Texas Community College.

In other words, 30 minutes of slow cardio a few times a week is not enough -- unless you’re happy with your current level of fat stores. If you want to access that fat, says Seabourne, you’ve got to do the right kind of cardio (intervals twice a week), the right kind of weight training (focusing on each muscle group twice a week), and long slow distance (LSD) cardio two to three times a week -- all while eating enough to support your metabolism.

Each form of exercise is essential if you really want to chisel your body down. You need LSD cardio because after your body burns through the glycogen in your muscles, it burns your fat stores next. And while interval training doesn’t burn as much fat during exercise, it burns more calories afterward -- just like strength training does.

Seabourne points out that some guys over-train on LSD cardio while eating too little and neglecting intervals or weights -- therefore slowing their metabolisms and holding on to that stubborn fat. Other guys do a lot of weights and short bouts of cardio, then eat tons of food in order to build muscle -- so their fat stores remain steady or even increase.

The following program was designed by Seabourne to give you the best of both worlds (i.e., recruit more than enough muscle while forcing those stubborn fat stores to surrender, at last).

Follow this program six weeks on and one week off, depending on your body’s ability to avoid over-training mode (in which gains come to a screeching halt while muscle soreness and overall fatigue increase). For some, three weeks may be all you can handle without a break. For others, 12 weeks works.

Weights
You probably have this covered, but here’s a guideline: Lose the bodybuilding program with all the isolation lifts and the absurd amount of exercise sets per body part (e.g., 15 sets of chest). Instead, go with upper-body on Monday and Thursday, then lower-body on Tuesday and Friday -- but only with about 20-30 minutes for each weight-training workout. Aim for two to three sets of two exercises for the major body parts (chest, shoulders, back, quadriceps and core) and two to three sets of one exercise for the smaller body parts (triceps, biceps, hamstrings and calves).

Interval Cardio
Complete two 20- to 30-minute bouts of cardio per week. Always start with a warm-up and end with a cooldown. Examples include:

• On a heavy bag: Three minutes of effort + one-minute recoveries
• On a stationary cycle: 10 cycles of 15-second sprints + 45-second recoveries
• On a treadmill or outside on a grass field: 10 cycles of 10-second sprints + 50-second recoveries

LSD Cardio
Because of the length of each session (60 to 90 minutes), Seabourne’s preference for LSD is nonimpact. “For some, impact LSD, like jogging, can cause unhelpful muscle breakdown -- whereas cycling will not,” he explains.

An LSD cycling, elliptical or stair-climbing program can begin with an hour. Add two minutes a week until you’re moving for 90 minutes. Any more than 90 minutes and you'll need a snack to replenish glycogen stores.