Growing up in suburbia, my Dad would spend his summer weekends cutting grass, trimming hedges, and just plain hanging out. Of course, hanging out was codeword for drinking beer.

And not just any beer – yard beer. Yard beer is essentially the cheapest, nastiest, most delightful, refreshing drink a man could have in the middle of 80 degrees and 80% humidity. Leave the water and lemonade to the boys. Let the pansy men drink the micro-brews and top shelf stuff. Yard beer is for men.

The criteria for the best yard beer are complex and oftentimes fall into the wrong hands. Yard beer needs to be sustainable for the long term. Why? Because you will go through case after case after case of the stuff.

Be sure to get the most comprehensive yard beer available by always following the essential yard beer purchasing criteria:

1. Cheap
2. Cheap
3. Must be on sale
4. Nearly looks like water when poured in a glass (of course, it’s never served in a glass so no one knows for sure)
5. Can drink several (no less than 20) without filling up
6. Cans only, you pansies…
7. Cheap

Now, my Dad was extremely loyal to his yard beer. He had a few favorites that he would rotate through, depending on which ones were on sale that week. But suffice to say that every yard beer mentioned in this article has been in my Dad’s beer fridge at one time or another.

I know times have changed and some of these classics are hard to find. I suggest trying as many of these out as you can, as they come on sale of course. But always remember, yard beer is designed to bring great happiness to your life as you perform the manly outside chores associated with whatever you are doing on the weekends.
(Dig it? Then why not Digg it?)

The Classic

PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) is arguably the most respected of yard beers for its accessibility and purely cheap connotation. When a fella hands you a Pabst over the backyard fence; smile, thank him, and remind him to keep his friggin dog off your lawn. All kidding aside, it actually is pretty good.

Honorable mention is one of the all time classics, Busch. Guys who drink Busch are doing so to make a point.

The History Lesson

Schaefer beer claims to be the oldest lager in America. Since it is written on their cans, and is a good, solid yard beer, there is no reason doubt their claim. Oftentimes when drinking a Schaefer, you will wonder whether you actually have “the oldest lager in America” right in your hands, but that is simply another exquisite quality found in the typical yard beer.

The Most Expensive (crazy-talk)

Budweiser is not called the King of Beers just because. This classic has always been known as a cheap American beer, but dropping a bunch of these on the weekend in the yard could get costly. For some reason, Bud has started to believe their own hype and they are pricing for premium. Someone forgot to read the memo from my Dad.

The Sissy

Keystone is the beer “that’s served in a can but tastes like it came from a bottle.” They just didn’t tell you from what kind of bottle. This beer works fine on many of the criteria, but with so many other manly choices to choose from, why would you resort to acting like a woman? Drink yard beer because it tastes like yard beer (out of a can). And if you wanted to take the whole sissy thing to a whole other level, grab yourself a case of the Keystone Light.

The College Guy

Milwaukee’s Best (AKA “The Beast”) brings back so many fine memories. It was cheap, accessible, and pretty much every store that carried milk or bubble gum, also carried The Beast. Heck, college kids pretty much invented the concept of yard beer. It needs to be cheap, accessible, and be able to drink dozens of them without thought.

(If you really want to knock off all the weak brain cells, switch over to Milwaukee’s Best Ice. Tons more alcohol content, but you still should be able to drink plenty of them.)

The Hard To Find

Stroh’s beer was a default beer for us in Michigan. Stroh’s is from Michigan and was a classic for us growing up. Similar to other regional beers like Genessee in NY, this beer was hard to find outside of the Midwest. But if you really wanted to impress the neighbor, offer him up something he’s never had (nor will ever want to again).

The Standby

Miller Lite is a just a plain classic yard beer that can never go wrong. This one actually makes you look sophisticated in your selection. It hints at the idea that you have at least some dignity left and you are frugal – all in the same breath. If you are staring down 10 different yard beers in the grocery aisle and you are not sure if you might have an unexpected guest stop by while slurping down the yard stuff, then go for this one. You never have to explain yourself with Miller Lite.

The Cleaner

Schlitz and Schlitz Ice got this lovable little name through its many trials of working it into the rotation. I was buying this in college for 8 cents/can (on sale with a coupon). I kid you not – a freaking coupon! “Shitz Ice” as we liked to call it would taste fantastic, but would pay for it DEARLY the next day. No idea what they use in this stuff, but I suggest everyone go out and have one today!

The “I Don’t Give A Crap Anymore”

Hands down winner, Natural Lite. There is no other beer in the world that tells anyone who sees you drinking one of these, that you simply don’t give crap anymore what they think. It’s cheap, always on sale, looks more like water than water does, and has just the right amount of alcohol to keep you going. Bring a case of this to the next party you’re invited to show your friends how much you care about them as well.

Red, White and Blue used to own this title – COMPLETELY – but I haven’t seen this beer for years. This was PBR’s “low-end product”. That is like saying you are interested in the low-end version of The Yugo!  My Dad would routinely have 2-3 cases of this stuff in his stash at all times. Classic…

The Most Respected and Adored and Admired and Manly

Miller High Life. There is nothing to say here other than “if you drink this, you’re a man.” Period. The Champaign of Beers motto is tongue in cheek marketing that makes this beer even manlier than it already is.

Long before Chuck Norris, Jet Li and the Ultimate Fighting Championship – there was The Master. His physique and physical prowess was (and IS) what legends are made of. Just one look at his photos or movies and you know the extreme discipline it took to pull off those moves.

His physical exploits are so legendary in the world of martial arts that when it came time for him to make movies, EVERYONE wanted to make a name for themselves by taking a run at him. Imagine trying to act, produce and being “the freaking man” while every guy opposite you in a fight scene is acting only SOME of the time!

To stay at the very top of the martial arts world for over 20 years (on and off the set), Bruce Lee had masterful stretching and flexibility skills. Besides wicked physical strength, freakish cardio ability, and speed only replicated by machines – flexibility and agility were his top priorities.

Consider some of his unequaled feats:

• Lee’s striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second
• Lee’s combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24fps, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up
• In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person’s open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind
• Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs
• Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger
• Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer
• Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks
• From a standing position, Lee could hold a 125 lb (57 kg) barbell straight out
• Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick
• Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-lb (68 kg) punching bag
• Lee could cause a 300-lb (136 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a side kick
• In a move that has been dubbed “Dragon Flag”, Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair
• Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola, at a time before cans were made of the softer aluminum metal
• Lee could use one finger to leave dramatic indentations on pine wood

Each and every one of these demonstrations of his ability involved strength, agility and, yes, flexibility. We can never hope to reach his level of success in these, nor do I think anyone really wants to (although putting your fingers through a can of Coke would be a neat party trick).

Improving our own flexibility, though, has many benefits. For instance, a flexible body means we can defend ourselves in a bar fight; have better sex; fight obesity with more exercise; sleep better; have more fun playing with our kids; work more efficiently; constantly feel refreshed; improve posture; relieve tension; and possibly cure cancer! (not sure on the last one, but it improves everything else, so why not?)

And the key to a flexible body is proper stretching. Many of us want the basics of getting it without having to do Yoga or, much worse, Pilates – both of which are awesome if you have the time, but most of us don’t.

Tips for stretching prowess to help improve flexibility

1. Stretch when you wake up. Start the day off by loosening up all the joints and shake off the previous night’s exploits. Whatever you did yesterday put the body in a real kind of hurt and you need to do something right away. Grab your morning beverage and start a 10 minute stretching routine first thing in the morning. Your body will thank you for it all day long.
2. Warm up first. Many guys think stretching IS the warm up exercise for whatever else they plan to do. Not true. Make sure to warm up a little by jumping rope, running in place, or doing some jumping jacks to get the blood moving first. If you perform some Bruce-like stretches without getting the blood moving first, injuries will be on their way.
3. Target major muscle groups. Just like other manly workouts, don’t focus on the little muscles. Target large, major muscle groups and all the little muscles will get stretched out in the process. It’s much better use of your time going after the majors first and then focusing on the minors later if you have time.
4. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds. Doing this enables the muscle to continue to expand over time without injury. Even if you are barely stretching at the beginning, holding it for 30 seconds tells the muscle you mean business. Next time you will be able to take it further, longer.
5. Become a rubber band. Bouncing as you stretch only shocks the muscle and can cause serious injury. Besides, it looks stupid. Think of your muscles like rubber bands. You want to slowly stretch it out – taking it a little further each time. Only taking it as far as the muscle wants it to go – not beyond.
6. No pain, serious gain. When you bounce instead of rubber band, you often will go too far. If the muscle is not ready to go that far (due to rigamortis setting in from your seriously boring day job), then you will either here a “pop” and start crying like a little schoolgirl or just start crying. Either way, if it hurts – STOP! Learn to listen to your body and understand it takes time to get a Bruce Lee-flexible.
7. Breathe. Blood flow and oxygen are the two core ingredients to muscle flexibility and stretching. You get the blood moving by doing the stretch, but if you forget to put plenty of oxygen into your system, you will not get the full effect. Better still is to focus your mind on the muscle and at the same time focus on breathing. Together, your mind will allow you to do things you didn’t think possible with your flexibility.
8. Have fun. You will stop after a few minutes or a few days if you are not digging it. Remember it is not a chore. Remind yourself of the positive affects this will have on your life. Think of the benefits of being able to reach some other guy’s head with your foot or better yet, work and hold a position your wife or girlfriend never thought you could.
9. Be careful. Once you start seeing the amazing benefits of being as flexible as Bruce Lee, you will want more. Guys have been known to take it a little too far with addiction-like behavior. Make it a part of your life by doing a little bit everyday and you will get there before you know it. Injuries suck and they will set you back. Addictions suck too and you don’t want to get burned out – you want this flexible body for life.
10. Be consistent. The routine of stretching will lead to flexibility you have only dreamed of. Your body will start craving it and when others start seeing what you are capable of with your new found flexible prowess, you will want to ratchet it up. Remember that consistency is what made Bruce Lee so freaking good. Anyone at the top of their profession will tell you that anyone can get lucky once or twice, but the real pros are consistently in the mix.
11. Rest it up. Make sure to give the muscles a rest from time to time. Stretch different muscles on alternating days and this will give them the rest they need to go even further next time out.

The definition of flexibility is to easily bend an object or the ability to adapt to different circumstances. Isn’t this what most of us men want in our lives? The thought of being flexible (in all aspects of our lives) is at the core of manliness.

The thought of throwing a round house kick at some guy’s head or getting out of a rear naked choke are really cool, but having everyday physical flexibility is what most of us are after. Getting the perfect stretch and doing it every day is how we can achieve a Bruce Lee like flexible body.

Some links to proper stretching.
Bodybuilding.com
Men’s Health
Ask Men

When you’re in a bar, pub or nightclub, the fist fight morphs into a bar fight – they’re not the same.  Fist fights outside or in an open area are quite different than bar fights found in very close quarters.  There are all kinds of variables in a bar fight that you simply don’t find in a fist fight.

When all diplomacy fails, or even worse, the fight has nothing to do with you but you’re in the blast range, follow these guidelines and you will have a chance to get out of there without too much damage or ending up in the back of a police car on the TV show Cops.

• Take a few steps back.  Create some space so you have time to look for advantages.  There are all kinds of advantages you can choose from if you have the time.  This gives you a second to find a potential weakness or a way out.
• Back to the wall.  Contrary to popular belief, your back to the wall can actually help.  No one will sneak up behind and bust a chair over your head.  But if you put your back to the wall, you better know your next move.
• Make yourself small.  Small targets are harder to hit.  Crouch down a little and turn to the side narrowing your body.  Also, you want to ensure you don’t leave your groin exposed, so bend the legs and turn to the side.
• Kick to the groin.  Give a short, quick kick or knee the guy about to swing.  If he’s left his stance wide open, which most beer guzzling novices will do, they will go down VERY quick.
• Take off your glasses.  Easy one if you have the time – often you don’t.  Take these off if you can’t afford the cost to replace, but also, if broken on your face, will leave HUGE cuts.
• Use gravity.  If you are bigger guy like me, you can use your body weight to bring a guy down to the floor.  One more thing, you might want to make sure you are on top.
• Elbow to the head.  Elbows are terribly effective for close quarter encounters.  Many times, you simply don’t have room for a punch.  The elbow can be thrown from just about any position and if done correctly, can be way worse than a punch.
• Throw short fast punches.  You don’t have a bunch of room while inside a bar to throw the haymaker.  Use fast, short bursts and once you throw a few, take a step back to ensure counters don’t catch you.
• Uppercuts. Uppercuts.  Uppercuts.  These are very effective if the other guy wants to start grabbing at you.  He is trying to pull you in close and in doing so has his hands up high and stretched out.  Uppercuts can pack a huge wallop if done with conviction.
• Head butt.  Don’t do this if you think you don’t have a hard head.  I do, and am usually too stupid to feel the pain anyhow.  Beware of the other guy throwing one as well.  If you get eye to eye, this is what a lot of drunk guys like to do since it is glorified on TV.
• Grab a chair.  This puts distance between you and the other guy.  You are also sending a clear message you will take this thing to a whole other level if you have too.  Hopefully the other guy will simply back down and cooler heads can prevail.
• Everything is a weapon.  Glasses, cans, ashtrays, jackets, mugs, shoes, whatever you can get your hands on can help you in a bar fight.  Everything can be used to your advantage.
• Everything is a weapon.  Glasses, cans, ashtrays, jackets, mugs, shoes, whatever you can get your hands on can help you in a bar fight.  Everything can be used to the other guy’s advantage – so beware!!!
• Be careful with the head.  You don’t want to end up in prison for killing someone, so don’t go for the kill to the head.  Try to disable ONLY, long enough to get out of there.  Only go after the head as the last resort.
• Never break a bottle.  Using something to cut is the same as going after the head.  It always ends badly and usually never deters Mr. White Trash Alcoholic who wants to fight no matter what.  Again, just disable, disarm and get out.
• Don’t escalate.  You want to bring the situation to a head as quickly as you can and bring it back down right away.  End it quickly and leave.  Escalation leads to really bad things.
• Beware of others.  I know your budds have your back but try to leave them out of it.  Handle your own thing and hopefully the other guy’s fellas get the same memo.
• Beware of the bouncers.  If security comes to break it up, don’t fight them too.  Tell them you want to leave and you want no trouble.  There are usually way too many muscle heads just waiting for something like this to happen.  You could probably hold your own, but that is a losing proposition.  Remember Daltun in Road House?  Guys like this really exist and love their jobs.
• Do whatever the boys in blue tell you to do.  Once the police come, you do whatever they say.  You can NEVER fight with the cops.  They always have more friends than you do and you will lose!

I hope these were helpful.  I can’t remember the last time I found myself in this situation, but I am in enough bars and pubs to know it will happen again at some point.

Any good stories?  I would love to hear them in the Comments.

Don’t forget to sign up for the RSS Feed and get Teddy’s Autobiography that he wrote in 1913.  It is truly an amazing read.

We spend a lot of money for our favorite team’s gear.  Like any of our apparel choices, they help define our design style and more importantly, our personalities by just what type of cap we have our domes.

Men don’t want to come off as too neat and tidy when going out in public wearing these. Most men want to be seen as not “caring too much” about our appearances.  Care enough, but not to the point where we obsess.

So, ask yourself a few questions before breaking in your favorite fitted cap.  Understand your style first before forever altering the cap that defines you.

What type of hat (sports or other) is best for your personality?  Do you like to wear it retro and beat up looking?  How beat up and old should it look?  How much of a curve (if any) do you like on the bill of the cap?  Should the custom baseball cap be altered?

Get that beat up, classic retro look

Most men who want to wear their manly passion on their heads want the retro look.  They want the hat to look worn and tattered.  Matter of fact, many of the trendy stores started selling hats with beat up edges and torn fabric – on purpose as a style.  Go to any college bar or pub and you will find several examples of this.

To get that look with a cap you already own (or if you don’t want to spend the extra scratch to have them beat it up for you), here are some tips.

1. Wear it a lot. You will eventually get this look if you just wear it a bunch and wash it regularly.
2. Drag it. Tie the cap to a rope and take it on a bike ride or gentle car ride around your neighborhood.  With the price of gas nowadays, though, you better think twice about the car choice.
3. Use sandpaper. Take sandpaper around the edges of the cap and brim of the cap.  This will cause your hat to fray over time, but with some elbow grease, you can get it there much faster.
4. Rip it. In the event you want to get crazy, place a VERY small cut in the fabric on the brim.  Then rip the fabric ever so slightly to get the desired length of crapiness.
5. Place it in the sun. Letting the sun at it for a couple of days will fade the color and allow the hat to achieve a much more used look than that fresh out of the store feel.

Get the perfect curve or curl on the brim

The flat bill style is coming back, but if you want the baseball cap and you to look all grown up, don’t give into the hype.  Not to offend anyone, but that look seems pretty childish to me.  HOWEVER, you buy it, you wear it any way you want.

When curving, you have to make sure you don’t curl too much.  A hat with too much curve makes it look like you are overcompensating for something – huge detriment to ones masculine self and manliness.

Here are some tips to getting that perfect curve.

1. Use a coffee mug.  Place the bill of the hat in the mug overnight.  Wake up the next morning and you’re set.
2. Use a can or drinking glass.  Simply place a can or large drinking glass in the bill of the cap, making sure the bill fits snugly around the apparatus.  Tie it with a rubber band or some other non-abrasive elastic band.  Be careful on this one.  You may over curl it and look like, well, you know…
3. Manual curve.  This is the old fashioned way of breaking it in.  Hold the cap upside down facing you.  Use both hands and curl to specified curlness (this is not a word…)  Then turn the hat over and roll back and forth until you have the right symmetrical curvitude (again, made-up word).
4. Perfect Curve.  This is an actual product some fella came up with.  It is scientific in what it can do.  It can actually specify the amount of curve you actually get.  Check it out here.

Make sure it’s the right size

The old timing, big leaguers would essentially wear a bean cap with a bill on their head.  Check out any pics of Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth to see what I mean.  Now, I don’t think anyone wants to go to this extreme, but turning the custom baseball cap into a fitted baseball cap takes some work.  Try these steps…

1. Buy a cap that is slightly too big on your head.  If the cap is wool or cotton, we plan on shrinking it to fit just perfect.
2. Get the cap wet.  Use a spray bottle or dip the entire cap in warm water.
3. Put the hat on your head immediately.  If you don’t want to look REAL foolish, then you can let it dry a little before putting it on the dome.
4. Wear the hat until it is completely dry.

The hat has to be wool or cotton, though.  And you want to make sure you don’t shrink it too much.  If you feel it shrinking too much, stretch it out while it is drying. Remember, you have to work the fabric to get it to where you want it.

You will be astonished to see your baseball cap fitting around your head in a manner the old-timers would be so proud (see Ty smiling over there).  The cap will form around your noggin like no other hat in your stash.

As I stated, I love baseball caps.  I love the way a fitted baseball cap feels on my head, and like most men, it serves a special purpose.  It’s a very masculine way to show our design style or show everyone who’s our favorite team.

LINK:  Want to see what they wore way back then?  Visit the National Baseball Hall Of Fame’s page on the History of the Baseball Uniform to get some official lingo and styles.