Joe Wilk loves Kansas so much that he has the official state seal tattooed on his side. Inside the seal is the state motto, "Ad Astra Per Aspera," which is Latin for "To the stars with difficulty."

That motto, as much as anything, sums up Wilk's professional situation right now.

It's "Meat Day" at the Imperial Athletics Gym in Boca Raton, Fla. Today is, as former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans explains, "the day where we really beat the hell out of each other, where we chop each other up like a piece of meat."

In other words, it's a day where, if you're not a top-level professional and you don't know what you're doing, it's best to avoid the gym.

Joe Wilk is not a top-level professional. Not yet. But here he is, with pride and loyalty to his roots, ready for the fight of his life.

Wilk is a featherweight mixed martial arts fighter. He's long dreamed of making it to the UFC, the pinnacle of MMA, and he's sacrificed greatly in his bid to get there. He concedes he has much yet to learn, which is why on Feb. 16 he made the 1,500-mile trek from his hometown in Manhattan, Kan., to Boca Raton to train for a couple of days at Imperial Athletics.full story >>

While you plow your way through seven-layer dip and a pile of wings this Super Bowl Sunday, you can bet that the Patriots will be fueling up, too. Only they'll be taking a far more scientific approach. You might even say they have a secret weapon. Its name: Superstarch.

Turns out, a slew of New England players -- including Vince Wilfork, Ron Brace and Mike Wright -- have been using this powdery, slow-digesting carbohydrate to up their games all season. And by all accounts, it's working pretty darn well.

New England defensive tackle Ron Brace has been taking the supplement since the off-season, and says it's been his key to giving his all at every practice. "A lot of energy supplements I've used in the past would give me an immediate jolt, but then a crash afterward,” Brace told Men's Health. "With this I feel neither -- just sustained energy and I’m able to keep going through my training day." He says he plans to chug the product before Sunday’s game. (As for you: Make sure you’re eating The Perfect Diet.)

So what is it? The raw material is the same cornstarch sitting in your cupboard, says Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut. “The difference is that it’s been through a proprietary heat-moisture treatment, which changes the way the starch gets absorbed.”

Essentially, superstarch is digested more slowly than both regular starch and sugar. As a result, it’s absorbed into your bloodstream at a steady and much slower rate than the sugars in popular sports drinks. The result: sustained energy throughout 4 hours of battle with the Giants. “Consuming a regular carb drink that is rapidly absorbed is like emptying your entire gas tank into your engine at once,” says Volek. “It’s overkill.” (Is your workout overkill? Discover how you can blast fat -- in almost no time -- with The Ultimate Two-Exercise Workout.)

One performance benefit of superstarch: Volek says that using it provides a steady source of blood sugar as opposed to the highs and lows that can occur with rapidly absorbed sports drinks. “This more sustained fuel flow has many advantages such as promoting greater use of fat and potentially sparing muscle glycogen,” explains Volek. Glycogen refers to the carbohydrate that’s stored in your muscles. These carb stores are a finite resource -- your carb intake and activity the day before will determine how loaded-up they are. “Most sports like football, basketball, tennis, and hockey, require short bursts of high intensity effort that draw on glycogen,” says Volek. “So anything that spares their use could translate into performance gains.” (If you want to perform your best, you also need a strong core. Take our test to Find Out If Your Abs Are Weak.)full story >>