The Saturday Miscellany; How to look good naked; Mark Sargeant's fridge; Redstone Diary

How to: Look good naked

By Oscar Quine

Those get-fit resolutions are usually about one thing. Short-cut your way to slim with these little tricks from personal trainer Turner Moyse.

* "In the gym, stick to compound moves. These are exercises that incorporate more than one muscle group. Squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, bench presses, pull-ups. This maximises the amount of chemicals your body releases."

* "We all know someone who goes to the gym six times a week but their physique never changes. Their body has responded to the stimulus, the message hasn't changed so they plateau. Keep your body guessing by changing the variables: weights, distances and speed."

* "Do sports. They're erratic: one minute you're jogging, the next you're sprinting – and you push yourself more around others. You can do anything from extreme sports to hill-walking."

Rotating column: Fizzician

By Samuel Muston

Now it is all over I can say it. I have become ever so slightly fed-up these past few weeks. It has long been a gripe, of course, but now I feel it has reached the point where I need to ask a straight-out question: just how has Champagne come to be the must-have drink for every damn celebration? It has the sort of monopoly that the Royal Mail might envy; you find it at birthdays, at christenings, at weddings – everywhere.

The thing is, I don't dislike it – in fact, sometimes I have been known to enjoy it a little bit too much. But I do wonder how it got this stranglehold. Could not a martini get a look in? Wouldn't it be nice to have a whisky and soda for the toast? And, you know, wouldn't it be better to buy a mid-to-lower range white wine than a throat-ripping bargain-basement Champagne? It's the start of the year, let's have a new tipple.

Instant Ethics

By Ellen E Jones

Dear Ellen

Q. I said I'd do dry January with my partner but can't face it. Is it permissible to tipple behind their back?

A. That depends. Is your partner the unacknowledged alchie in this relationship? If you don't know, then, guess what? It's you. You're the one in denial about your drinking problem and this is your partner's plan to help. Go with it.

@MsEllenEJones

Micro extract: The only medicine

"Humour is often the way people cope with this subtle psychological terror. The jokes American Muslims tell about state surveillance will be eerily familiar to those who lived in East Germany under the Stasi."

From 'The Muslims are Coming' by Arun Kundnani (Verso, £9.99)

Four play: Virtual currencies

1. Bitcoin*

2. Litecoin

3. Feathercoin

4. Cryptogenic bullion

*first block established today, 2009

All Good Things

By Charlotte Philby

In a puddle

Combat the January blues with a blast of fresh air. This waterproof, super-warm 'Scampsuit' (above) from kids outdoor-wear brand Muddy Puddles is perfect for little ones to whizz around in, come rain or more rain. £59; muddlepuddles

Date mate

Even if you already have a 2015 diary, invest in the 'Redstone Diary 2015: The Art of Simplicity': "A celebration of the plain and the pure, of silence, absences, the unadorned and Patti Smith's recipe for lettuce soup." £15.95; scp.co.uk

Boxer clever

Brooklyn-based label Druthers only makes boxer shorts – and they are the best boxers in town. They combine super-soft fabric, wearable design and the perfect cut. Gap, who? From £15; drutherswear.com