How to Be a Real Man

Character, duty, standards and the things nobody sat you down and explained.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Do's & Don'ts: Men

← Newer articlesPage 95 of 179

Pay yourself a salary when the work won't

Trades, commission and seasonal work don't pay monthly. Your mortgage does. Here's the arithmetic that closes the gap.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Sew on a button and mend a seam so they stay fixed

Eighteen inches of thread, a needle and a toothpick. Ten minutes of work that outlasts whatever the factory did the first time.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

Ask it

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

What's really happening inside an arthritic knee

Cartilage has no nerves, so the pain is coming from somewhere else. Once you know where, the fix stops looking like rest and starts looking like work.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

Woodworking6 min read

Cutting, drilling and filing steel without wrecking the bit

Steel punishes the habits wood forgives. Slow down, clamp harder, add oil, and a $25 file will do work you'll be proud of.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideSkillsCal BrennanSep 23, 20265 min

Choking rescue for an adult, a child and a baby

The hands go in three different places depending on who's choking, and the one that works on a grown man will hurt an infant.

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

The cancer check your dentist does and the signs to report

Most mouth sores are nothing. The ones that matter follow a pattern, and two weeks is the number that decides which is which.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideWoodworkingWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Router basics that keep your edges clean and your dados tight

Feed direction, depth per pass, and the reason your 3/4-inch bit won't cut a groove that fits 3/4-inch plywood.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Replace a broken window pane without butchering the sash

The glass is the easy part. Skip one step and your fresh putty cracks out by next winter.

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Why your calf locks up at 2 a.m. and what actually helps

The in-the-moment fix, the four-minute bedtime habit that prevents most of them, and the one calf symptom that means see a doctor today.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideGearWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Buy the pad first, then buy the sleeping bag

The number printed on a sleeping bag is the temperature you'll survive, not the one you'll sleep through. Here's how the system actually works.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Hang a ceiling fan that doesn't wobble, hum or fall

The whole job hangs on a part you can't see from the floor, and most failed fan installs fail right there.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideFitnessCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

Rest won't fix your sore tendon, but loading it will

Six weeks off the bike and the first ride back hurts worse. That's not bad luck, that's what happens when you rest a tendon instead of training it.

GuideMoneyRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20265 min

The only refinance number that matters is the break-even month

Closing costs divided by monthly savings gets you close, but two common tricks make a bad refinance look like a good one.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

How to get a fire going when every stick is soaked

Wet wood isn't wet all the way through. Here's the order of operations that turns a soggy woodpile into a fire that stays lit.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

Fitness6 min

The back pain red flags that need a hospital today

Money5 min

Pay yourself the payment for three months before you borrow

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

Ask it

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Finding north with a stick, a watch and the Big Dipper

The sun gives you west in twenty minutes, Polaris gives you north in ten seconds, and neither one needs a battery or a signal.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

PartnerDude.com

Fitness6 min read

Knee braces, shots and replacement in the order doctors try them

Nobody jumps straight to a new joint. Know the rungs of the ladder, what each one buys you, and what it costs in time you don't have.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

Older articles

Older Be a Man stories