Men's Health: Magazine vs. Website

Usually Men's Health puts a guy with muscles on the cover, but I guess the President plays Ball!


Men's Health is a magazine that focuses mostly on how men can live a healthy life. Most of the stories tend to have random facts about exercise, nutrition, sleep, emotions, money and of course sex. There is always some sort of cover story on the celebrity who sits on the cover, inside the story you learn tactics that they use for healthy living. Occasionally some health horror stories will be thrown in, so you learn what not to do. It's organized in such a way that you don't keep running into the same topics back to back. You might read about the benefits of raw veggies on one page and then the very next page is about bacterias. In no way does the magazine have sections with a single topic strictly being discussed. Most of the articles tend to be short in length, but there is always at least a couple long articles in the magazine. Men's Health has tons of variety in the way everything is laid out. Each page has a different look to it, with different kinds of fonts, colors, pictures, and bullet points. Ads in Men's Health tend to be believe or not, men/health related! Ads include rogaine, beer, cologne, books, shampoo, protein shakes, and of course cars. From that list you can see there is definitely a lot of ads.

If you go to the Men's Health website you find that it is different than the magazine's layout. The homepage is most like the magazine, in that it is very diverse in it's features; but the website has specific web pages that cover specific topics. If you click on fitness, you are immediately taken to a section that strictly has articles and information on fitness. On the site you can also find videos and tutorials that can teach you about the given topic. There is even a section of the website where people can consult with a personal trainer, of course they charge after 30 days! The online version of Men's Health definitely allows the site visitor to interact with the site; you can post comments, participate in polls, and send in your fitness results. Also, the online version is constantly updated with different information, allowing the consumer to find new information constantly.

Men's Health is different than other magazines by how they combine different niches, to make one big awesome niche! They aren't just focused on exercise, or nutrition, or money. They connect different niches that allows the reader to stay interested and connected in the content they are offering. I would say the most dominated topic is: facts. Reading through Men's Health you find a never ending flow of useful facts that the reader can really take in to make a healthier life for themselves. For example one random fact in the newest issue says you should always drink after dinner, because the more you drink the more you eat. People who drink before a meal ate 15% more than people who drank after.
 The print version has stuff you can put up on your fridge, charts that allow you to know what veggies are best for you and how to cook them. That's one of the coolest things about the print version, is your able to take these charts and put them to use. What makes the actual magazine optimal is the fact you can take it with you and read it. It's in your hands and can go wherever you do. It's impossible to take your computer everywhere you go, or get online everywhere you go. We just don't always have access to the web, I'd say the site comes up short because you can't take the site with you everywhere; in your car, to work, or to an appointment. Once I've read the magazine it goes right into the trash, its not something that you want to read twice. Magazines have short shelf lives, this is their biggest shortcoming and where they fall short of the websites. The Men's Health site is constantly updated, allowing you to get that constant flow of the information you love to suck up. When your reading the Men's Health magazine, its a one sided direction of information, you read and can't give any feedback. Where the magazine is lacking, the site makes up for it by allowing you to actively communicate with people on the site. These people include other consumers, trainers, or nutritionists. You can also watch the videos on the site that show you how to do certain exercises. If you were someone new to working out, the Men's Health site would be very helpful to learn how to exercise properly, with all of the workout tutorials they have online. If you click here you can see a bunch of the workout tutorials that Men's Health has for you.

Men's Health targets the young professional who has an interest in being physically fit and healthy. Not only that, but the target audience is the man who cares about his image, whether it's his style or being physically fit. Ads on the site and in the magazine are definitely geared toward this target audience. For example there is a couple different health shakes being marketed and then there is the cologne type of ads. None of the ads appeared to be offensive, or as making fun of a certain stereotype. Their target audience is way too cool for them to risk putting stupid ads up (I know, I'm part of that audience) ha ha.

 For myself, I prefer the print version. It's more exciting to me to be reading the magazine, than it is to read the website. I guess it's because I'm always on my computer for everything else, it's nice to get a break away from the computer every now and then. Only when I want to know how to do certain exercises do I lurk over to the website. Overall, the audience is probably best served to visit the site. The website just has so many different resources and really allows you to dive into the topics that specifically interest you.

Men's Health really has taught me how to live a healthier life. I've always exercised, but it motivates me to exercise more and to exercise better. I've learned tons of valuable nutrition information that has helped me understand what a fit person should and should not eat. Reading Men's Health isn't just a time killer for me, it's an opportunity to learn the most up to date healthy habits. I'm not a fan of them on facebook or anything, but do consider myself a huge fan.

Doing this assignment made me realize how valuable and useful the website really was. I also learned that I'm stubborn in that I refuse to favor the site over the actual magazine. It's so cliche, but there is something about having the new issue of the magazine in my hand. I do see the amazing value in the website and can see myself visiting it more than I have in the past.