Easy way to unrack weights

If your gym is anything like mine then it's likely you'll come across bars that have loaded and left, just like an disastrous tinder encounter!

If you're lucky there won't be much weight racked on, if you're not this tip might help you out!

All you need to do is lay a plate on the floor and roll the bar on top it, this should elevate the plate enough for you to easily remove those unwanted weights!

Hopefully this post will of improved your life and reduce your tendency to be a gym wanker after a monster session!

How to boost your energy!

I don't know about you but my energy levels have been rubbish this last two months, my greatest wish has been to quit everything and go and become a full time sloth, sadly this was not an option given to be at careers day.

On busy days I do take a Caffeine Pro pill to help become a delightful morning person, rather than a savage beast, however caffeine isn't forever so I have had a look into other ways to pick myself up!

Get outside.

 Vitamin D with help boost your energy levels and make you feel better in your self in general, the sun might not be very strong but it will still get you of that D that you have been craving!
Check out my post on the benefits of training outside

Hot to Cold showers.

Showers are great for waking you up but to make sure you are really wide awake and really to take a slice out of life after you finish your normal shower turn the temperature down low and try to endure the frigid for half a minute or so then reward yourself by taking the temperature back up then finish on cold again!

This will actually give your cardiovascular system a workout, heat opening up your capillaries and cold constricting them, making blood travel faster!

Listen to some sick beats!

Listen to some music with a fast beat, no Adele I'm afraid, think of all the songs that make you want to party and get them blasted on.

Eat!

Get some high GI food down your neck for a quick boost of energy and some low GI foods for the long haul.

Smell.

Certain smells can boost your energy, you don't need to carry around a bottle of your preferred fragrance you can incorporate them into your day to day life, either by using perfume/cologne, air fresher, shampoo/ body wash or even cleaning products can perk you up.
Look out for Peppermint, Lemon, Lime, Cinnamon, Rosemary and Lavender.

Tidy up!

If your house is messy and cluttered this will have an effect on your energy levels.
Time to roll up your sleeves and spring clean!

Exercise!

Get out to the gym and have a workout, I can't say that I have met anyone who says they don't feel energised after a good workout, even the next day when you are crippled with DOMS you wish you were back in the gym getting that energy and endorphins hit.

Drink more water!
If you are dehydrated then you will feel rubbish, check out other benefits of drinking more water on my water challenge post.

I know that some of these are harder said than done, when you feel like a sack of potatoes it's hard to shake that feeling off, try and choose some of the easier tips and see how you feel about getting back into the gym.

How to cook Jacket Potatos

Jacket Potatoes are a cheap, easy and really versatile!

Just slap on what ever toppings that take your fancy, just be careful you don't fall into the trap of grating cheese, eating the cheese then having to grate more cheese to put on your potatoes!

The trick to great jacket potatoes to make the skin crispy and the inside light and fluffy, being the delight that I am I thought I would share my recipe with you, not sure you can call it a recipe but whatever!

Ingredients:

Potato

Olive Oil

Salt

Any toppings you would like!

Method;

Prick your potatoes with a fork, just like you would a microwaveable meal, make sure you do top and bottom.

Next put a dash of oil into a bowl along with some salt and roll your potato in your salty, oily mix until your potato is evenly covered.

Put your potato in the oven, don't bother pre heating just slam onto the middle shelf on a wire rack and whack the temperature up to 200c then relax for an hour or so while your potatoes bake!

To double check that it's cooked properly just get your trusty fork and give your potato a stab to see if it's still hard or not.

Kale

Off the back on my review on  Kale Chips I thought I would give raw Kale a look, I am sure that awful Gwyneth Paltrow will be most pleased!

Kale an amazing amount of vitamin A and C.

An insane amount of vitamin K.

Helps boost testosterone. 

Good levels of calcium, iron, manganese, copper, potassium and magnesium.

Lowers cholesterol.

Helps look after your eyes.

                                                   Can help prevent cancer.

I use Kale in salads, smoothies or just a plate filler with some meat, not everyone is a fan of green vegetables so add some garlic and butter to make it more suited to your tastes.

Beef

I love red meat! I know it gets a bad rap with apparently links to cancer and heart disease.

My thoughts on it are it's delicious and if it's good enough for cave people than it's good enough for me!

Beef increases your testosterone levels.

Has good, easy to absorb level of iron. 

Iron from none meat sources is harder for your body absorb and the reason some vegetarians are told to add some red meat to their diet, this is mainly women who are pre menopausal.

Good levels of vitamin B6 and B12.

Good levels of protein.

Good levels of Zinc

Good levels of Selenium.

Good level of Creatine.

When looking to buy your beef try to get it from cattle that have be raised on grass rather than grain.

Grass fed cattle give more nutrient rich meat.

The cancer risk comes from carcinogens, which is basically when you burn food, such as well done steak so it is healthier to have your steak rarer.

Garlic

I add garlic to everything I can and other than keeping vampires away it also has other great benefits!

Garlic helps boost the immune system.

Can help lower blood pressure.

Helps lower cholesterol.

Boosts testosterone levels.

Can help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Good levels of Manganese, vitamin C and vitamin B6.

Can possibly increase athletic performance. 

On a side note garlic also repels spiders!

If you are lazy like me then you can get some Very Lazy Garlic from the supermarket, it won't stink out your fridge like cloves can, if you really can't deal with the taste or the smell you can also get garlic supplements.

Wild West Beef Jerky

Looking for a high protein snack that you can just pick and munch on without any sort of prep?

Then look no further than Wild West Beef Jerky! 

Typically an American snack it has made it's wear into the UK, I picked some up from my local Asda for £2 a 35g packet.

With 72.49g of protein per 100g there aren't any snacks that spring to my mind that can compare in protein levels

Beef Jerky is also good to get some Zinc, which is good for your immune system and wound healing, into your system.

The Jerky doesn't look overly appealing and has a strong flavour.

 If you are not a fan of beef give this a miss, saying that if you are buying a product with beef in the name when you don't like beef that you are a silly sausage!

The Jerky is quite chewy but not so much that your jaw will ache from all that chewing.

Wild West comes in 10 flavours, I have only come across the original flavour but when I come across the others in a shop I will be sure to try them!

You can buy them online here