Sam Crawford 13/04/2022 Sam Crawford 13/04/2022

The weird art of sauna networking

Did you know that there’s an art to networking in the sauna? Yep. Read on to find out more.

Here’s something you’ve probably never thought about. Networking in the sauna. Well I’m here today to let you into this strange little networking secret that I recently discovered. Are you ready?

A bit of background

I was sat in the sauna the other day chatting away with a few guys and it dawned on me. Has anyone every thought of the insane stealth-networking potential of this situation? If you’ve ever been in the sauna for any prolonged period of time, you’ll know that eventually, you’ll get chatting to whoever you’re in there with.

The type of person in a sauna

If that person you get chatting to happens to be a fellow entrepreneur, it’s essentially an elevator pitch on steroids.

Think about it.

High level guys care about their health more than most. If your gym has a sauna then it’s probably quite a high end facility. A plethora of health conscious, wealthy members means an increased chance of chatting (in a very personal setting) with a business owner for a fair amount of time. Not just a quick 15-second pitch.

An example

For instance yesterday, the two guys I was talking to both turned out to be businessmen in my area. One owned some bars in the city and the other owned a few barbershops.

Guess what? Both their businesses had websites that needed some major work. I told them a bit about what I do and booked a couple of meetings in there and then. In a sauna. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. A great workout, followed by ninja-closing some potential clients whilst sweating out toxins.

Next time you’re sweating your balls off, maybe ask that guy next to you what he does for a living. You never know who you might meet.

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My modafinil review | Real life Limitless pill?

I'm sat writing this at precisely 04:26am. I'm almost 24 hours deep into my very first experience with modafinil - this sketchy little pill. I've got about 26 tabs open trying to do as many things as possible and write this at the same time - it's all a mess - but is it a coherent mess?

Am I Bradley Cooper from Limitless? Or am I Russell Crowe from A Beautiful Mind? Or neither?

So many questions, so litt- actually, so much time. There seems to be quite a lot of it when you don't sleep. Anyway, let's go back to the beginning - here is my modafinil review.

What is modafinil?

According to Medline Plus, modafinil is described as:

"...used to treat excessive sleepiness caused by narcolepsy (a condition that causes excessive daytime sleepiness) or shift work sleep disorder (sleepiness during scheduled waking hours and difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep during scheduled sleeping hours in people who work at night or on rotating shifts)."

Essentially, modafinil promotes wakefulness. Not the jittery type that coffee induces, but something entirely different. Hard to describe, but I'll take my best stab at it in my breakdown of my modafinil experience further down.

Why do people take modafinil?

As stated above, it's mostly prescribed for narcolepsy, but can also be prescribed for obstructive sleep apnoea. Finally (and also unofficially), it is used for being productive and pulling all nighters. That last one is a complete misuse of the drug, but at the same time, it is an effective use. Modafinil has been tested on army troops throughout the years to keep them sharp and turn them into 'super soldiers'. After your first stint of wakefulness, a few hours of sleep can then allow you to go up to 48 hours without sleep again. So you'd be looking at almost 3 days awake. That is if you really tried to stay awake though. I managed to get off at a somewhat reasonable hour the day following my experiment.

Why did I take it?

So, why did I actually opt to give this wünder drug a go? Well, because I could. As you all know by now, I will try pretty much anything in the pursuit of being a better human. I'm like one of those gimpy biohackers, but much less of a weirdo. I think...

My modafinil review

So, what is modafinil like? Did it give me superhuman productivity? Did it make me a charming swine? WHAT HAPPENED? Well, first of all...nothing.

The come up, if you will, was really subtle. I had 100mg (which is half a pill) at first and felt nothing, so took the other half about 40 minutes later and my baseline then begun to feel a little different. Then I had a coffee and everything changed. As soon as I took that first sip, the caffeine must have interacted with the modafinil and caused some super saiyan reaction because I was walking down the street like Evil Peter Parker.

Productivity

I got a helluva lot of work done. I literally just sat down and cracked on with my web design client work all day. This is a little bit misleading though, as I will often do 16+ hour stints without modafinil if I have a big deadline coming up. This did facilitate getting into the zone a bit easier though.

Unreal pump

After getting a fair few hours of deep work under my belt, I decided to test out modafinil's supposed benefits in the gym. Apparently, it can illicit some naughty pumps. This one was an undeniable success. Paired with the coffee, it had me feeling fantastic. A strange caveat to this though, was that I actually felt weaker overall even though the pump was enhanced. Strange one really. My recommendation if you were going to do it, would be to have an arm day where progressing your big lifts isn't the priority and your sole aim is to get the filthiest little sleeve-busting pump possible.

Laser focus

Like a lot of people have alluded to, the buzz you get from taking modafinil isn't some crazy, 10-coffees deep chaotic thrill ride. It's more of a laser focus that sits just a little bit above your baseline. It is genuinely just like being you, but about 10% better. I can't describe it any other way. Whether that extra 10% is worth the potential downsides is up to you.

There were 5 minutes around the 15 hour mark where I was just sat at the kitchen table feeling like my throat was about to explode. Looking back, this was 100% anxiety about the side affects I had been reading up on and being a bit of a hypochondriac, I had worked myself up. After those 5 minutes passed, I got what felt like a second wave and was able to crack back on, but that's definitely something to watch out for.

Do I endorse taking modafinil?

Yes. Go ahead and snort it until your heart explodes and you die.

...of course I don't endorse taking it for any other reason than what you have been prescribed it for. I've only taken it once and to be honest, don't plan on taking at again. It was fun, I got a lot done and it isn't addictive, but there can be potential side affects.

This includes:

Anxiety
Feeling dizzy or nauseas
Headaches
Diarrhoea (or the other way - constipation)
Heartburn
Loss of appetite

And some more serious ones (which you should see a doctor immediately about) are:

Rash, blisters or peeling skin
Sores in your mouth or hives externally
Excessive itching
Pain in your chest, fast heartbeat or irregular heartbeat
Problems breathing or swallowing
Swelling anywhere on your body

These aren't common and I don't want to give people anxiety about it, but I always like to play devil's advocate and ensure you all have a balanced picture of things before making any decision.

So to conclude, it was a great experience, sans the 5 minutes of mental breakdown. Do I recommend it? No, but if you want to, who am I to get in your way?

Why you need a yearly Instagram sabbatical

So, it's over. I have just completed by second annual Instagram sabbatical.

I've written about my first experience quitting Instagram for 30 days here and I've also written about quitting Twitter indefinitely here just in case you want a little read of these after you've made your way through this goldmine of an article.

Anyway, the point is, ya boi has got previous with quitting social media so I'm quite well versed in this space.

Essentially - trust me on this.

What is a yearly Instagram Sabbatical?

It's simply taking a break from the gram for a prolonged period of time.

At the end of the day, Instagram is just a free app on your phone - it isn't a divine entity.

It's just as much of a meaningless abyss as Candy Crush or Google Maps.

Repeat after me... "Instagram is just a free app on my phone".

Good.

Now taking a time off might seem sacrilegious to some of the great unwashed out there, but once you get past that mental hold that Insta seems to have on every man and his dog, you'll realise that a measly 30 days really is nothing.

Taking a set break each year is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Is this the same as quitting Instagram?

No.

You're just taking a break. So don't get all hot and clammy and start having palpitations at the thought of never going back again.

Your Instagram sabbatical isn't a social death sentence, it's the start of Operation: Plug Out. You're gonna feel like you're living outside the Matrix for a bit, that's all.

What benefits are there to taking an Instagram Sabbatical?

You're gonna get all sorts of benefits from taking an Instagram Sabbatical. You can see some others here, but I'm gonna list a few new ones below for your perusal you sexy unplugged swine, you.

Life feels less rushed

Life when you've got Instagram burning a hole in your pocket can really pass you by in an instant.

You're always rushing to get your drinks or your meal so that you can capture it perfectly at *just* the right moment.

You're always rushing to get to the end of a conversation so you can respond to your DM's and comments.

You're always rushing through just about everything in your life at the behest of Zuckerberg and his underlings.

When you take even just a second away from its all-too-alluring pull, you can actually take time to do the things you're so busy capturing. Without sounding hippy dippy à la Eckhart Tolle, being present and not fast-forwarding your life to accomodate an app is a breath of fresh air.

You genuinely become happier

Trust me on this one.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, when you take time out from Instagram, you will become happier. That might sound like quite a blanket statement (which it is), but you're not constantly checking your phone, draining your attention, being bombarded with people living an infinitely better life than you and Saudi Princes with pet tigers shooting dollar bills at you.

Life becomes what it once was - life.

Not some mad pumped up, Life 2.0 matrix that we've all become so accustomed to.

Get yourself reacquainted with boredom

Who would have thought it?

I genuinely missed boredom.

When was the last time you were really bored? Like actually bored?

Bet you can't even remember.

Seriously, as soon as we feel even the slightest twinge of boredom, out comes the phone and in swoops The Zuck™ and his cronies to offer salvation from a second alone with your thoughts.

When I instinctively reached for Instagram I literally had the muscle memory to open up my phone and keep clicking where it was, only to click the random app that had moved into its place. I kept doing this for at least a week, probably longer. But eventually, I came to accept that sometimes, it's okay to just sit there for a bit and think.

Scary, right?

But it was great. I would sit and actually concentrate on something. A problem I was thinking over for example, would often get solved as I sat in the sofa binge eating popcorn and scratching my arse. It was magical.

Focus out the wazoo

This was probs my favourite of the benefits.

When I work, I often have my phone chilling right next to me, whispering sweetly into my ear; "come on papi, open me up and scroll all over me..." but since I deleted Instagram and I'm not on any other social media (unless you count WhatsApp), there was literally nothing to do on it, so I was able to resist its advances.

I found myself focusing for long periods, boxing off work on my business in record time. Before, I'd do about 5 minutes of work then pat myself on the back, scroll for 15-20 minutes on Instagram, go on my emails, watch a few YouTube videos, stuff my face with some chocolate, get very guilty and then do another 5 minutes of work, only to repeat that process ad infinitum.

Now I will sit there for at least half an hour, up to around 3 hours and just do what I set out to do for the day.

Honestly, it's like taking NZT-48.

When should I take my sabbatical?

Take one whenever you damn well please my friend.

I usually take mine in June/July to get a nice summer month of enjoying myself and getting my life together.

You might opt to do one in December to enjoy the run up to Christmas and New Year or you might do January to really attack those new year new me promises.

At the risk of sounding like one of the worst types of people (the "well, it depends" brigade), it depends. What is your goal or purpose for the Instagram sabbatical? Are there any events that you truly want to be present for? Or are you just at the brink and need a month off? I've been there for that last one especially, trust me!

What if I never want to come back?

Then don't.

Obviously.

Instagram is great for making pals and being a snoop.

But it comes with many, many pitfalls.Unfortunately for me, my job requires me to be on there at least some of the time (as a blogger and digital marketer). It's a bit like a heroin addict living in a crack den.

If I didn't have to be, I'd be as far away from the app as humanly possible. But there we go.

A 3-month review of the Wim Hof Method Fundamentals Course

I have to start this off by saying that I am a massive Wim Hof fanboy and have been for years. This being said, I had been putting off the purchase of the full Wim Hof Method video courses.

Well, that all changed about 6 months ago when I took the plunge and dropped £150 on the Wim Hof Classic 10-week course. I threw myself into it head first and loved it.

But I wanted more.

That's why I reached out to Wim and the team to see if they'd be game on sending me the Fundamentals course to see if it would meet my lofty standards.

Laura, Wim's daughter, agreed to it and the next day I got cracking.

Who is Wim Hof?

Wim Hof is the main man.

He is a dutch 'extreme athlete', yogi, multiple world record holder and all round madman (in the best sense of the word).

Think this sort of thing, then imagine that all the time - and more extreme, and basically you've got the life of Wim Hof:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wim Hof (@iceman_hof)

I won't drag out this bio because I can't do him justice, but check out his Wikpedia page if you want to learn more. You'll be flabbergasted by what this man has done in his life (marathon in the Sahara...with no water, etc, etc, etc.).

What is the Wim Hof Method?

Essentially, the method is stretching, breathing, stretching again and then cold water exposure.

An average bout looks something like this;

Yoga poses
3 rounds of 30 Wim Hof style breaths (Deep inhale, shallow exhale, followed by max effort breath hold on last exhale and 15 second hold on the next inhale)
More yoga poses with deep breathing
Cold exposure in the form of cold showers or ice baths

It really is as simple as that. You can see it explained far better by Wim in the video below.

You can also see exactly how to do the breathing exercises correctly in this one:

Wim Hof Fundamentals vs Classic 10-week course

As stated at the beginning, I actually dropped £150 of my own dough on the Classic 10-week course - and was about to pay the £225 for the fundamentals course too before I shot the team a message.

So, what's the difference? Why is one worth more than the other and do you need both?

The classic course is exactly that - it's the original. It involves doing the breathing, post-breath stretching and then some yoga poses followed by cold exposure.

The fundamentals course goes deeper. There are more homework tasks, more variety of breath work and different little snippets that help to really perfect your practice, such as isolating your hands to cold water exposure to increase blood flow. This is meant to help battle Raynaud's disease - something I, and a lot of people (whether known to them or not) actually suffer from.

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A post shared by Wim Hof (@iceman_hof)

In short, the fundamentals course offers much more 'take-home' value than the classic course. That being said, I have taken lessons from both and applied them to my own variation of the method. This is just my favourite stretches, amount of breath work and length of cold exposure.

Once you have tried the method for a few months, you'll get a feel for what you like best and can adjust your practice accordingly.

How do the paid courses differ from the free one?

In the full method, each week ramps up the intensity. You'll do varied rounds of breath work, different styles of yoga and you'll even get homework activities to take your practice to the next level.

The free method, to my knowledge, is just the breath-work tutorial and cold exposure. The stretching is actually a key component and I certainly felt the difference when I incorporated things like headstands, upward dogs and cat-cows into my practice.

With each paid course, you also get a workbook which allows you to log your breath retentions alongside the weekly videos of Wim guiding the class, a 1-on-1 breathing lesson, stretching how-to's and your homework video. It's rather jam-packed...

There's also an option for a stripped back version if you're ever in a rush. Perfect for you busybodies.

My progress

From week 1, I could feel the changes already taking place.

The one thing I noticed more than anything during my time on the fundamentals course was that my cardiovascular performance was absolutely flying.

I love the gym and lift weights 4 days a week, but I had always neglected my cardio, despite needing strong lungs for when I play football.

Silly boy I know...

But as the weeks passed by, I noticed that my breathing was becoming nice and steady, whereas before it had been quite laboured, even when walking around at a leisurely pace.

I also noticed that my mood improved greatly too. I'm usually a chilled out bloke, but I can get stressed out quite easily. Doing the breathing and the exercises was almost like meditation without having to meditate - if that makes sense?

It also helped curb my road rage which is a nice bonus...

Sleep was another huge improvement. I love sleep, don't we all? But sometimes I find it really hard to nod off at night. My thoughts usually race around for what seems like forever until I finally drift off. After religiously doing the method for a few weeks, probably around week 5, I noticed I was getting off to sleep much quicker and wasn't waking up at all in the night.

And finally, since starting on the Fundamentals course, I haven't been ill once. This has coincided with switching back to a plant-based diet which I fully recommend if you want to really boost the benefits of the program.

Wim himself is a vegetarian, which I believe goes to show that it's probably the way to go. Don't take that as gospel though - if you want to crack on with the animal products, feel free. I'm not going to stop you.

But as someone who used to get sick constantly, this has been a godsend, so I won't be going back.

Is the Wim Hof Fundamentals course worth it?

In my humblest of opinions - yes.

The Wim Hof Fundamentals course takes the regular method and completely pimps it up. This is the method that Wim teaches his in-person students and is what he uses to take them on a walk up mountains in blizzards wearing just their shoes and shorts.

It's crazy. It's mad. It goes against everything science has ever said. But it works.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wim Hof (@iceman_hof)

The Iceman has endured study after study, with science finally conceding that he has completely shifted the paradigm of what they thought the human body capable of. There's a reason he holds 26 Guinness World Records...

If you want amazing health benefits, try out the free method. If you want to change your life, the fundamentals course is the way to go.

I had been practicing the method for about 18 months prior to this review and I can't tell you how much difference it made to actually sit down every day with a full plan laid out for me.

In short, the Wim Hof Method is an unbelievable tool for wellbeing. The Fundamentals course takes this a step further and takes you to health heights you never thought you could achieve.

I'm not going to say to buy the courses straight away, because I didn't. But definitely try the free method first and you can see the benefits first hand. When the time is right, you might want to then go and take the plunge.

And when you do, you can find Wim's courses here.

Meditative exercises for people that can't meditate

Meditative exercises - that's probably a phrase you've never come across before.

I mean, there's either meditation or there's not - right?

WRONG.

People who can't meditate...

Personally, I absolutely despise meditation. I can do it, but I find it boring and I am a terrible fidgeter, so I never really get the full benefit.

But I love immersing myself in doing stuff. I love putting my full focus into a game of football, getting into a flow state when I'm writing or even just the calm that cooking a meal brings about.

So actually - yes, there are meditative exercises that aren't actually meditation. You just need to look for them.

The biggest hurdle

Your phone is going to be your biggest enemy when starting your meditative journey.

How often do you start doing something, have a quick check on your phone, then catch yourself 30 minutes later scrolling through Instagram?

I've done it countless times and I'm certain you have too.

Taking away your phone's grasp on your attention should be your first step. If you're going out and about then leave it at home. If you're staying in and want to get in the zone, then you may have to take drastic measures. Try locking your phone away for a set amount of time.

At the end of the day, our willpower is much weaker than we think. Taking away the choice is the best option in the long run. It creates much else mental chatter and we will eventually adapt to our circumstance. Try using a kitchen safe to store distracting trinkets in. This is also useful when you're looking to get some flow state built up during work hours too.

I can't seem to find anything cheaper than the 'safe' linked above, but if you do then let me know because these things are weirdly expensive. Probs worth it though...

What is a meditative exercise?

Basically, something that gets you into a flow state.

That's pretty much it.

Meditation quietens the mind and helps you to not get attached to your thoughts, instead, allowing them to drift on by, free of judgement.

This creates a sense of inner calm, which can also be achieved when your mind if focused on just one thing. When you are completely invested in one activity, your mind becomes instantly calm. Just think back to how engrossed in your video games and sketchbooks you were as a kid.

When was the last time you felt that connected to a task? To anything at all?

Meditative exercises tap into this zen state, letting you reap the benefits of meditation without having to be bored and sat completely still whilst doing so.

Meditative exercises to try out

There are bucketloads of meditative exercises to try out that will get your mind zen AF, but these are some of my personal favourites.

Have a read through and try to gauge whether you think you could get involved with some of these.

Walking (on one condition)

You can't take that pesky phone.

When we go out for a walk, we have all the good intentions of getting back to nature, but then we just check the time, then just a few messages, then BAM, you're walking with your head buried in your phone.

No earphones, audiobooks or anything else with you either. Take a little notepad out to jot down any ideas or thoughts you have so you can check them out online later if needs be.

During this time is when I always feel calmest and have some of my best ideas.

Maybe you will too.

Cooking and cleaning

Cooking and cleaning is one of the best ways to get into a flow state.

How good does it feel to whack on some tunes and just start cleaning your room? We all know that feeling of accomplishment you get when you've been rearranging your house for 3 hours. It's addictive.

Hell, Marie Kondo made a career out of it!

But don't forget cooking either. Prepping, cooking and eating are all meditative exercises and if you really take your time, you'll feel a huge sense of joy and calm. Make sure you keep that phone away though and really immerse yourself in it.

Colouring

Adult colouring books are the cats pyjamas.

They are so effective in fact, that they are used in the treatment of PTSD. Remember how good it felt as a kid when you spent hours on that perfect drawing? Or when you had the latest and greatest Star Wars colouring book?

Well thankfully, shops are cottoning on that we adults still love a bit of childlike artistry, so grab yourself a colouring book and get involved.

Sports

This is probably my favourite.

When you're fully engaged in sports, you don't really have time to dwell on anything outside of the game you're in.

There's no time to stress, no time to worry about what you're having for tea tonight - you're just fully immersed in the now. Competing and being in a team are also great for mental wellbeing. Not to mention, winning creates a huge spike in Testosterone - just saying.

The gym is also a form of sport and is widely accepted as a tool for battling depression and anxiety, much like meditation. If you take one thing away from this article, let it be that.

Join a gym.

Having a good old read

Obviously this site is your best starting place for reading the best of the best... but settling down to a great book comes in at a close second.

It is so easy to lose yourself in a great book and it is infinitely more beneficial than sitting and watching Youtube and TV for 5 hours a night.

Whether it be fiction or non-fiction, it really doesn't matter. If you can rediscover your love for the written word, you'll become a far more zen person - that much I can guarantee.

Learn a skill

Instruments in particular are very effective at cultivating a quiet and peaceful state.

When you have to concentrate on learning a new skill, it is all you can think about at the time, because otherwise you're not going to learn anything are you?

Things like learning to draw, paint landscapes, play guitar or even learning something left field like origami would be perfect for entering the meditative state we all crave.

If you want to try out meditation but you've never been able to sit and actually do it, trying out these meditative exercises may well be for you.

The Dr. Sebi Bodybuilding Diet

Dr. Sebi is a man that needs no introduction.

One of the world's most celebrated natural healers, the man has millions of adoring fans across the globe. One thing his diet does get a bit of stick for though, is that it can be restrictive.

Personally, I think this is down to a lack of imagination. I believe that this diet can not only be enjoyable, but it can help you to build muscle too, which is why I have written this article.

I pretty much agree with everything else Dr. Sebi's diet promotes. He advocates whole, plant-based foods, no processed garbage and to live as natural as possible.

But I have only one issue.

My issue with the Dr. Sebi diet

Sebi claimed he cured his impotence (he ended up with 17 kids to be fair), asthma, diabetes and just about every other ailment he had when he came to America - but one thing he didn't like was...

Muscles.

Simply put, he had an aversion to muscle growth and protein, believing muscle was simply inflammation manifesting itself in the body.

He weighed 120lbs.

I’m a massive believer in the plant-based way and being as healthy as possible, but at the same time, I also love the gym, working out and bodybuilding.

With that in mind, I decided to use Sebi's nutritional template and pimp it up a bit with more protein to get what I believe to be the healthiest bodybuilding diet the world has ever seen.

You're really getting the best of all worlds - a plethora of fruits, veg, herbs and minerals but also lots of healthy sources of protein with complete amino profiles.

The Dr. Sebi approved food list

For those of you wondering what the Dr. Sebi approved food list looks like, here it is.

The Supplements

Ignore his supps.

He was a wise man, but he also loved his moolah, which may be part of the reason he ended up in a Honduran prison on money laundering charges (although some believe it was a cover up - I do too).

His supplement range can cost up to £1,500, with the ingredients being a 'proprietary blend', meaning we don't even know what's in them.

Basically, I'd give this section a miss and stick to a quality multivitamin if needed.

The Dr. Sebi Bodybuilding Diet

Personally, I'd like to think of this diet more as the Dr. Sebi X The Man Blueprint Bodybuilding diet, but whatever.

Meal #1

3 dates
1 apple
2 slices of honeydew melon
Seeded Grapes

Meal #2

30g protein powder

Meal #3

100g mixed berries
1 mid size banana
15g shelled hemp seeds
30g protein powder
45g kale
7g maca powder

Meal #4

2 Brazil nuts

Meal #5

45g spelt flakes
30g protein powder
15g chia seeds
15g flaxseed
140g frozen berries

Meal #6

75g red lentil fusili
240g chickpeas
100g aubergine
100g courgettes
100g mushrooms (not shiitake)
100g passata (blended tomatoes)
1tsp onion powder
1tsp habanero powder

Meal #7

1 slice fonio bread
15g hazelnut butter

Totals

Calories: 2,249 kcals
Protein: 140g
Carbs: 296g
Fat: 47g

Non-approved foods I have added in (and why)

Vegan protein powder
Chia seed
Flaxseed

You're going to want a hefty portion of protein with good amino acid profiles (full-spectrum vegan protein powder provides this) along with healthy fats and omega 3's, both of which chia seed and flaxseed provide in abundance.

Simple really.

And there we have it.

The Dr. Sebi bodybuilding diet, courtesy of yours truly. Some people might kick up a stink about a few 'non-approved' items on the list and the fact I've poo-pooed his supplement range but at the end of the day, I don't care lol.

Le Sebster was lightyears ahead of his time, his diet has cured the ailments of thousands of people and he will forever be an icon of the health and wellbeing space.

And now, even those who want to build muscle can get in on the action! It's the best of both worlds.

The simplest workout for gaining muscle and strength

Everybody wants simplicity deep down, don't they? Whether it be the simplest travel route, the simplest instructions or in this case - the simplest workout.

The simplest workout for gaining muscle and strength is one I've cobbled together from reading Jim Wendler's 5/3/1. It is also a version of the workout recommended in my very own book - The Bulking Blueprint.

This workout is so simple it should be criminal.

All the fat idiots in the gym who think you need to focus on all the little micro elements of lifts in the gym will be having mini strokes in their knee straps and lifting shoes.

Leave them to focus on practicing the upper third portion of their snatch and continue to get nowhere because they aren't juiced up Olympians.

You should focus on the simple stuff.

That's what'll get you big and strong.

Why do I want the simplest workout?

Because it's the only way to go if you're serious about lifting.

We've all heard of paralysis by analysis.

If there is too much choice you end up making a bad one. Even if you make a good choice, you'll always be thinking you could have made a better one.

When it comes to workouts, this is especially true.

Because there are so many new and sparkly workouts with all the most cutting edge, science-backed, wonder techniques, we want to try them all, like a kid in a sweet shop.

We hop from one program to the next in the hopes that it'll get us big overnight. In reality, it never does, so we pick up our new copy of Men's Health and we try this month's workout, then next month's, then we hop on the internet and try a new workout each bloody day!

Simplicity takes away all this noise.

It sticks to the basic principle that governs strength training - progressive overload.

You don't need to shock your body with new exercises all the time, it needs to be shocked by new stimulus. By exposing it to heavier loads instead of new stupid exercises, you break down the muscle and force it to adapt and to grow.

By sticking to the simplest workout you possibly can, you limit yourself to the fundamental exercises. If you progress on these, without distraction, you will get to where you want to be.

Your goal should be the fabled 1 plate press, 2 plate bench press, 3 plate squat and 4 plate deadlift. Once you reach these numbers, you're all but guaranteed to be in fantastic shape, especially if you've been consistent, you've been hitting those assistance lifts and you've been smashing your diet.

What's so simple about it?

It revolves around 4 simple lifts - the bench, the squat, the press and the deadlift. You start every workout with one, then use another as an accessory lift. It is almost too simple.

You'll only be doing 3 exercises per workout (6 on some days if you want to add in the optionals, but whatever) and you'll see tremendous results from doing so.

You will almost feel guilty about how simple this plan is, giving the fact that every man and his dog seems to be doing a million sets of this, that and the other during their insta-workouts that they love to show off, even if they have no results to show for it in real life.

Okay, so what's the plan?

The basic premise of this workout is simple enough:

There are 4 workouts per week - preferably done on Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri.
Each starts with one of the big 4 lifts - Bench, Squat, Press & Deadlift.
For each of these exercises, you will do either 3 sets of 5 (week 1), 3 sets of 3 (week 2) or 1 set of 5, then 1 of 3 then 1 of 1 (week 3). You will then take a de-load week.
You will then follow the main exercise up with 5 sets of 10 reps on one of the other big 4 at 50% of your 1 rep max. For instance, with deadlifts, you'd follow them up with squats. With the press, you'd follow that up with 5 sets of 10 on bench.
On your upper body days, you'll then follow that up with 5 sets of 10 on either a horizontal or vertical pull exercise. For instance a pull up or a row.
After that you can add in some optional arm and shoulder work.
On lower body days (squats and deads), you'll follow this up with 5 sets of 20 on an ab exercise like the reverse crunch or cable crunch.
After you've done 4 weeks, you will up the weight of your main exercises by the prescribed amount (5-10lbs) and add 5lbs on to the 5 x 10 exercises too.
Download this spreadsheet if you want to save having to calculate anything. By putting in your stats, this spreadsheet will work everything out for you for the next year. Adjust accordingly if you stall, etc.
Eat a lot of protein (1g per lb of bodyweight), load up on as many veggies as you can and make sure you're in a slight caloric surplus (more calories in than you burn). If you do this, your strength should consistently increase - as should your muscle mass.
Refer to Jim's post for a better understanding.

Here is my current workout;

Monday - Upper Body

Bench press (3 sets of 5, 3 or 5/3/1)

Press (5 sets of 10)

Lat Pulldown (5 sets of 10)

Optional

Skull crushers (3 sets of 10)

Barbell Curl (3 sets of 10)

Face pulls (3 sets of 10)

Tuesday - Lower Body

Squat (3 sets of 5, 3 or 5/3/1)

Deadlift (5 sets of 10)

Reverse crunch (5 sets of 20)

Thursday - Upper Body

Press (3 sets of 5, 3 or 5/3/1)

Bench press (5 sets of 10)

T-bar row (5 sets of 10)

Optional

Incline dumbbell curl (3 sets of 10)

Rope pushdown (3 sets of 10)

Lateral raises (3 sets of 10)

Friday - Lower Body

Deadlift (3 sets of 5, 3 or 5/3/1)

Squat (5 sets of 10)

Cable crunch (5 sets of 20)

Devilishly simple I know.

There are only 14 exercises used during the entire duration of this plan - even less if you leave out the optional exercises.

I would probably opt to include the optional stuff though as it's always good to add a a little additional arm and shoulder work isn't it.

And be sure not to skimp on the ab work as a strong core is key to progressing on these big lifts. A weak core will create instability and stop you from reaching your full working capacity, thus limiting those sweet, sweet gains.

Track every session and make sure you're making progress over time. I have created a printout for you which covers 6 full cycles. Print it out, share it with your mum, whatever it takes.

Benefits

There are so many benefits to keeping your workout simple. Here's a quick list of the sort of things you can come to expect from this program.

No distractions

You aren't distracting yourself from the important exercises with pointless fluff like tricep kickbacks and 5 different bicep supersets.

These distractions can feel good to do in the moment if you're chasing the pump because they're easy and give you a nice sensation in your arms, but they aren't what's going to get you big and strong.

Squat, deadlift, bench press, (overhead) press, rows and pull ups/downs should be the main players in your workout with just a few accessory lifts in there for your arms, abs and delts.

Anything else is just fluff really. The more time you invest in doing these main movements, the quicker you'll get stronger and more proficient at them, thus getting swole as sin in the process.

Everything is done for you (sort of)

You have the print out and the spreadsheet that tells you exactly what exercises to do, what weights to hit and for how many reps every single session.

The whole program is laid out for you - for free!

Now all you have to do is follow it to a T and you will get bigger and stronger. I guarantee it.

Rapid progress

The Wendler 5/3/1 system is without doubt, the greatest way for beginners, intermediates and maybe even advanced lifters to add serious weight to every single one of their lifts.

Your strength is going to skyrocket, especially if you're new to lifting.

This will keep you motivated, keep you on track and best of all, keep you big and strong.

Misc

You will probably experience a whole host of other related benefits when you hop on the world's simplest workout. I'm too lazy to write fat paragraphs for each, so here's a list of what you can expect:

Increased testosterone
Bulletproof confidence
Better form on lifts (thanks to doing them twice a week and in different rep ranges)
Less time needed in gym
More motivation to work out
Increased energy

There are so many more benefits to this workout and keeping things simple in general, but you get the general gist - simplicity is good.

Some tips

Okay, now you know what you've got to do, here are some tips to supercharge your results. Forgive me, as the first 2 are very very boring, but rather important.

Read 5/3/1

Jim Wendler is a very smart man.

He is also a very big and strong man.

Surprise surprise, he also likes to keep things simple...

Read his book on the 5/3/1 method to understand why it's so effective and why adding more doesn't necessarily mean you'll make more progress.

By reading his book, you'll have a much better overview on the inner workings behind the program which may help you stick with it longer and also to understand why you're doing what you're doing.

Form videos

They're boring, but form videos on Youtube are a great way to learn the basic movements correctly from the off. I spent years doing exercises wrong and then forgetting about them because they hurt.

But the reason they hurt was because my form was awful, which got me injured and hindered my gains.

Take it from someone who's been there - learn correct form.

There is no excuse nowadays with so much ridiculously informative content on Youtube and Google for free.

Just do it.

Sauna

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the sauna is man's best friend.

Sauna's are great for increasing cardiovascular capacity, strengthening the heart and boosting the immune system.

It's also great for improving skin and boosting cognitive performance but they're not particularly useful for the gym lol.

Foam rolling and stretching

You simply can't beat a good bit of foam rolling and stretching.

It's a great way to boost muscle recovery and keep you injury free. Read my guide on exercise recovery if you want to learn more about the dos and don'ts of stretchin' and rollin'.

Wim Hof Method

I have recommended the Wim Hof Method to just about anyone that'll listen.

This breathing/meditation/yoga combo will transform your life - guaranteed.

But how can it be applied to making gains in the gym?

Well, the WHM teaches you how to breathe deeply and properly - two things that us modern peeps have completely forgotten how to do.

This is so important when it comes to bracing for big lifts, especially the squat or deadlift. It will help you to stay calm whilst performing with super heavy weights and aid in hitting those PR's with ease.

I honestly can't recommend this step enough.

Ice baths

And finally, you've gotta be taking ice baths - or maybe cold showers.

If you do the Wim Hof Method you'll already be doing these but even if you opt out of the breathing exercises, do some cold water therapy boi.

Not only does the cold water make you feel unbelievable, you'll get some good recovery bonuses too with lowered inflammation.

How simple was that?

Very simple.

The simplest.

Simples.

Etc.

Anyway, the simplest workout is often the best. It stops you becoming obsessed with minutiae and fluff that holds you back from making the big strength gains you need in order to get strong and therefore (if you're eating well), big.

Try doing 6 cycles of this workout using the linked spreadsheet and my printout log and watch how much progress you make.

And don't forget: simplicity is key.

Fitbit Flex 2 Tracker Only review: Worth the money?

Recently, I bought myself a shiny new Fitbit Flex 2. This blog is going to give a comprehensive review of the fitbit flex 2 tracker only.

At first, I really wanted one of fitness tracking rings as I thought a Fitbit might look a bit garish, but then I realised a big chrome ring wouldn't be much better.

I then looked for the cheapest possible Fitbit as I am a fat cheapskate (at times), despite running a luxury lifestyle blog.

It was then I came across the subject of this review - the Flex 2.

Let me just get this one out there, I’m not being paid or gifted to say anything here. Even if I was I’d still give my honest opinion obviously BUT I’m probably going to gush a bit about this so I just had to clear the air first.

Enough talk anyway - let’s…erm, talk some more!

What can it do?

It doesn’t even tell the time for God’s sake!

But dya know what it does do? Everything you need it to.

I was desperate to see how many steps I did in a day - desperate I tell you! This was the primary reason I got the Flex 2. It is an accurate step counter. I didn’t want to have to carry my phone with me at all times to track steps so this was a nice compromise.

It’s also handy for the phone haters as it stores 5 days worth of data for you before you need to sync it with your blower.

There’s actually a bucket load of features that the Flex 2 is packing but the main ones that you’ll probably be interested are as follows;

Step tracking
Sleep tracking
Activity minutes & type
Daily calorie burn
Distance travelled

It also lets you set silent alarms which is great if you want a slightly less calamitous wake up call than your phone or an alarm clock.

I find this a great way to wake up without having to look at my phone when I’m travelling. Usually I’ll use an analogue alarm but it’s much harder when you’re not at home so this has actually been a bit of a hidden gem amongst the feature set.

Positives from this Fitbit Flex 2 Review

Things are about to get a lil’ gushy people. You have been warned.

Gamifies activity tracking

The biggest thing for me was that the Fitbit Flex 2 completely changed the way I viewed physical activity - steps at least.

I love getting active but getting my 10,000 daily step goal in used to be a bit of a chore. Working from home means I have become a bit of a lazy oaf - I often get less than 3,000 steps a day.

Seeing my ‘score’ on the Fitbit app really motivated me to get out and about to try and beat yesterday’s totals. If I was about an hour or so away from going to bed and had 1,000 steps left to go, I’d just start walking round the garden or up and down the stairs.

This all sounds a little bit Patrick Bateman I know but you’ll see for yourself, gamifying your activity really becomes addicting.

It actually looks cool

On the aesthetic side of things, this thing actually looks the business, which is hard for something as frumpy as a fitness tracker to pull off.

The fact that it is so sleek due to having no clock or any frills makes it seamless on your wrist and just looks like a snazzy little bracelet. If you want to go one step further, you can actually get a pendant for your Flex 2 which sits under (or over) your top.

If you’re concerned about looking a bit too try-hard this is the option you might want to take but I think it’s a bit unnecessary personally.

Great battery life

According to Fitbit, the Flex 2 can last up to 5 days on a single charge. I find that this is pretty much the case, just make sure you don’t have ‘all day sync’ activated and you’ll be fine.

I tend to top up the charge every couple of days while I’m sat down working as that way I won’t miss any significant activity plus I can track my sleep every night as opposed to charging it overnight and skewing the data for the week.

Waterproof

This is a huge bonus and means that all you swimming buffs can go ham.

Being waterproof rather than water resistant is such a bonus for the Flex 2. It means it can withstand a lot when it comes to water, sweat and sport. All you have to do is wipe it down every so often and dry it after you’ve been swimming or taken a bath/shower - hardly a mammoth task.

Great app

The Fitbit app itself is really easy to navigate, customise and keep up to date with. The first time you set up the device, you’ll be taken on your own little virtual guide which sets you up perfectly for a lifetime of life tracking.

Email notifications when battery is low

You can choose to have this on or off but I like getting an email notification through when my battery is low as it helps me to remember to charge the bloody thing.

Otherwise, I’d be forgetting all the time and lose days worth of data because I’m a big stinkin’ eejit.

It’s a handy little tool but it isn’t necessary so I’ll leave this one up to you.

Holds data for ages

The Fitbit Flex 2 can hold up to 5 days of data before you need to sync it with your phone. Most of us will be syncing every few hours to keep up to date with every single step of the day but it’s a very handy tool to have just in case.

Friendly competition

If your friends and family have Fitbits, you can set up challenges for the week. This sounds extremely beige but it's actually pretty fun. Having even just a bit of competition can spur you on to do an extra thousand steps, which all count towards becoming a fitter you.

They do kid's ones too, so it can be a fun way to get your sprog into keeping fit.

Negatives

I’m not gonna lie gang, there isn’t many negatives. After a month or so of testing, I can only think of a couple of minus points.

Doesn’t track weights sessions

This was the main gripe I had the Flex 2. It bugged me that my weights sessions weren’t picked up by the activity tracker.

I go to the gym 5 times a week-ish, which is a decent chunk of activity for the day. By not tracking this calorie burn or activity, the Fitbit isn’t really giving you the full picture of your physical performance for the day.

You set daily goals for your fitness when setting up the Fitbit - be that 10,000 steps, 30 minutes of exercise - whatever.

The Flex 2 only records sports, swimming, aerobic and anaerobic activity, which means that those doing weights may think they’ve barely burned any calories or hit their activity quota when in fact, they’ve probably smashed through it.

To combat this, I just mentally made a note of this and adjusted my diet accordingly. Just don’t got overboard with your estimations and start downing coke and Doritos you big heffer.

Maybe something Fitbit can do to combat this would be to add in a section to log workouts performed like MyFitnessPal does. Or, maybe they have got this capability already but I was just too stupid to find it - who knows?

No clock

This didn’t bother me as it helps the design to stay sleek AF but I have seen that a decent chunk of people thought this lack of clock was a negative.

The Fitbit Alta (Affiliate link) is basically the same but with a clock and doesn’t cost much more so just go for that if you’re gonna get your knickers in a twist about keeping track of this manmade concept.

Verdict

I’d give this little fella a solid 9/10. I don’t think anything deserves a 10/10 but the Fitbit Flex 2 comes close.

My experience with the Flex 2 has really changed my perception of fitness trackers from something your dad buys after the divorce to something that can genuinely improve your fitness pursuits.

With that in mind, I’m really looking forward to upgrading in the next year or so to a slightly more advanced one - probably the Fitbit Charge or Fitbit Versa (Affiliate link) - these automatically tracks activity, allow for incoming calls and cover walking running.

If you like the sound of the Fitbit Flex 2 then you can pick one up here (Affiliate link…again).

What happened when I quit Instagram for 30 days

I have a somewhat love hate relationship with social media. It has connected me to so many people who I would call genuine friends and it has given me a platform to blog full time, but sometimes it grinds my gears - which is why I decided to QUIT INSTAGRAM!

...for 30 days.

The problem with Instagram

This isn't just specific to Instagram - all social media is pretty much giving everyone a complex, anxiety, depression and turning us all into addicted zombies who can't handle ourselves in real social interactions.

But less of that!

That's not important right?!

Here are a few doosies that might resonate with you.

Your phone has become an additional limb

If you're anything like me, your phone will feel like an extra limb. You'll touch it all the time, not only just to check it's still safely snug in your pocket, but because it is a habit you've developed over the years.

The temptation to check Instagram will be an ever-present devil on the shoulder that just won't go away and you'll feel naked if you don't have your phone with you.

How ever will you cope?

No wifi/data = Tension/Stress

Knowing that you can't access your social media profiles will become a daily stressor whenever you don't have wifi or data.

Going through a tunnel on a train, driving through somewhere with no signal in the car - these times will often be some of the worst of your life.

You'll be desperate to check that feed to fill any gap in time and the absence of any form of connection will start giving you anxiety.

Confidence plummets

Because you spend so much time on Instagram creating a fake persona and acting like the life of the party, you may find that in turn, your real life confidence takes a big hit.

When you become so accustomed to all of your social interactions being through a platform on your phone, you might end up struggling to cope in face-to-face situations.

Social occasions become a worry and you'll resent the fact that you can't hide behind a profile. There are so many case studies out there to back this one up.

Here's a quick google search to show you.

You'll never be good enough

This is probably the most cited of the Instagram negative effect culprits.

Everyone posts their very best self - and then some, on Instagram.

It's not real, which we try our best to tell ourselves, but we just can't help but buy into it.

We've got people hiring professional photographers, lighting crews and god knows what else, just to get that perfect shot. Then we look at ourselves in the mirror with our dingy bathroom light for lighting and wonder why we don't look the same.

Of course we're not going to be like them. The people that make it big big, or even just big, on Insta are the elite - they're the 1% of the 1%. They put in thousands of hours of dedication to what they do, they make sacrifices that most of us aren't willing to make and sometimes, just sometimes, they're simply born with all the gifts.

To try and compare yourself to someone like that is actually an insult to them. How can we expect to look like a bodybuilder or a swimwear model if we're not willing to do what they're willing to do? Steroids, crazily restrictive diets, daily sacrifice - the list goes on.

Instead, we should use these people as inspiration - a ballpark to shoot for (shoot for the moon, land amongst the stars, etc) like older generations would do with celebrities in magazines. They knew that these people were doing crazy things and that they'd never look like them, but they knew they could get close and they knew they could do it in a much safer way.

Except, with Instagram, these people don't feel like celebrities do they? They feel like you or me, normal almost... This drives the comparisons through the roof and making us feel like we're simply not good enough.

Nothing gets done

Oftentimes, you'll wake up in the morning, switch your alarm off and then open up Instagram to scroll for 2 minutes, okay just another minute - okay let's make it 10...

And before you know it, you've spent 45 minutes mindlessly scrolling through everyone and their dog's feed. Then on your lunch break (and probably even during work hours you sly dog, you) you'll hammer out another hour of scrolling, messaging and liking. And after work? Well that's about 6 hours of prime scrolling time right there isn't it?!

You'll knock out another few hours of the good stuff until bed.

But wait!

We didn't think about bed.

Wouldn't a nice little night cap scroll be nice? You know, just to get you off to sleep? Why not ey? Oh wait, you've just spent another hour scrolling, you've messed up your circadian rhythm with blue light overload, wasted hours and hours of your day that you could have been either fully relaxing to recharge or actually working on something important/bettering yourself.

But no, that cruel mistress has got you in her clutches.

Maybe it's time to take an Instagram break.

Why I personally decided to quit

As a full time blogger, I thought I had to churn out daily Instagram content, no matter what.

Guess what?

I didn't.

I was putting content out every single day and my likes were beginning decrease, even though my followers were going up through my relentless engagement.

So, what was happening?

Well, my account (and blog) has always and will always be about 3 things - Style, Wellbeing & Culture. I had started to upload things on to my Instagram for the sake of it and whilst they may have been of decent quality, the passion and the 'on brand-ness' of them was missing.

And this filtered through to my followers.

I had become obsessed with getting out there for the sake of it. Just to be seen. But I wasn't enjoying myself. People weren't enjoying my profile like they used to and it just turned into a bit of a misery going on there.

I decided enough was enough. I needed to quit Instagram.

Cue dramatic music.

What actually happened when I quit?

Not too much really.

Well, none of the bad stuff anyway.

People think that when they quit Instagram, their life will fall apart and no one will know who they are once they get back. Even if that was the case, so what?

If someone forgets about you after 30 days, you clearly weren't exactly a someone in their eyes to begin with were you?

But yeah, back to me - the main man.

Once I quit, I felt immediately liberated. I didn't have to capture every moment perfectly, I could just enjoy it for what it was. Of course, there were the times where I was desperate to get back on to check up on my pals, do a quick update for my followers and just check that everything was fine and dandy.

I won't BS you, I missed it. And that's because I genuinely enjoy Instagram.

But quitting for 30 days really let me realise what it was that I actually missed. I missed the thrill of creating content that I enjoyed, regardless of an upload schedule. I missed messaging people and having a laugh. I even missed making stories on Unfold - the best app ever.

It also made me realise what I didn't miss - and that I wouldn't stress about these things again.

I didn't miss checking my account once every 5 minutes to keep tabs on how my new picture was doing. I didn't miss stressing that I should be replying to messages and comments right away. And I certainly didn't miss trying to beat the algorithm by any means possible.

I guess taking the decision to go on a mini Instagram detox has elucidated the good and the bad, giving me the knowledge to use the platform to it's full potential, falling prey to its pitfalls less often.

Would I recommend an Instagram hiatus?

Absolutely.

Definitely.

Yes, basically.

Taking these 30 days off has been a big step for me as someone who has been absolutely laser-focused on growing my presence over the last 18 months.

Taking that decision to quit Instagram, albeit for a relatively short period of time, has given me a new impetus to grow, engage and all that good stuff, but it has shown me that it also isn't the be all and end all.

Are there any benefits to quitting?

An absolute heap of benefits my good sir/madam/humanoid.

Savour the moment

I'm cringing as I write this as it is such a cliched point to make, but I'm going to make it anyway goddammit.

When you're not so caught up in trying to capture that perfect shot of the moment, you can fully immerse yourself in whatever it is you're doing without thinking in the back of your mind about which angle it would be best to capture it from.

Comparisons are gone

When you take away the source of comparisons, you stop them dead in their tracks.

Now all you'll be doing is comparing to others in real life which isn't nearly as damaging as doing it online. The majority of people are cripplingly normal, so you shouldn't feel as terrible about your self-image as before.

You'll get more done

You won't get the false sense of accomplishment that comes with sharing your goals and ambition online. Once you quit Instagram, you won't get the false positive feedback from strangers online which makes you feel like you've actually done something when in fact, you haven't done anything.

By taking a step back from the social media circus, you'll be able to get your head down and work on all the projects that you should be doing without people making you feel like you've completed it long before you actually have.

Real life becomes the priority

You might start to feel a little bit lonely once you shut off the unbelievably loud community that is Instagram. You will no longer have the illusion of interconnectedness that you once did with that lovely app powered up.

You'll realise that in real life, you probably see your friends much, much less than you used to.

Then you'll realise that real life is where it's at, making it the priority.

You'll begin to make more plans to do stuff and it'll be the best decision of your life, because you'll reconnect - properly, with your pals again.

Good stuff.

Bonus: You can feel morally superior to everyone

You can write articles like this preaching the benefits of eschewing the gram which inflates your ego to new, never-seen-before levels.

You can also tell everyone you know that you're on an Insta Detox™ and rub your smugness all up in their faces.

I kid, but you will feel slightly better than everyone else.

Just saying.

How to quit Instagram easily

The easiest way to quit Instagram for your experiment is pretty complex, but I'll walk you through it.

Take your phone out of your pocket

Oh, you were already on it? Okay.

Hold your thumb down on the Instagram icon until it starts wobbling about.

Click delete.

*Designated crying and existential crisis time*

Yes, yes. I know that for some it "JUST ISN'T AS EASY AS THAT!". Except it is. The only reason you think it's not that easy is because you've put barriers up to justify not quitting for a bit.

Everything is going to be there after 30 days. All your pals, most of your followers, any messages, anything worthwhile will all still be there.

Don't stress too much. It's the classic bandaid (plaster for my UK brethren) metaphor. Just get it over and done with straight away and it'll lessen the blow than trying to gradually phase it out.

More actionable steps going forward

Not everyone is going to read this and try to quit Instagram, no matter for what period of time.

I get it.

Addict.

But, you can try to cut down your time and still reap some benefits. In fact, this is what I have settled on myself since coming back into the fray.

Put your phone away

Just put your phone somewhere where it's annoying to get to.

If you want to concentrate on your work for a while, go and stick your phone in your car, in your garage, in the attic, even just another room in a drawer inside a load of clothes.

That way, if you're anything like me, you'll be too lazy to navigate these self-imposed barriers and you'll just get on with what you need to do.

Swap Instagram to an iPad

Just download Instagram to your iPad and get rid of the app on your phone. This is another way of putting a barrier between you and Insta.

The act of searching, downloading and signing back into the app is too much of a process for a lot of us, meaning we can catch ourselves during the twitch to go and scroll our feed.

Don't take your phone out with you - buy a burner

If you don't want to even give yourself the chance to go on Instagram, a great way to go about it is to buy yourself a burner phone.

This way, whenever you go out, you can leave your smart phone at home but you'll never have to miss a call or text if it's important.

I talk about this at length in my article on why I traded my iPhone X in for a £7 Alcatel.

Quit Instagram for good

If you absolutely loved your break, why not quit Instagram for good?

For those looking to go completely off grid and live their best life away from the prying eyes of social media, why not?Could be worth a shot.

The only book you'll ever need for building muscle

How many of us have spun our wheels in the pursuit of building muscle, getting next to no results despite turning up every week for the last 5 years?

That was me.

Turning up to the gym really isn’t enough.

You see, building muscle in principle, is easy. It’s just putting it into practice that’s hard. Turning up and doing the latest workout that you’ve hopped over to for that week may feel like you’re putting in maximum effort but in reality, you’re not.

This is why I decided to write my very own book.

Having been in this situation literally thousands of times throughout almost a decade of hitting the weight room, I knew I had to put my knowledge into writing.

The Bulking Blueprint: Building muscle made easy

Now obviously, I give lots of fitness info away for free on the blog, but this book is something else entirely.

So many guides out there talk around the subject and say a whole lot of nothing until they come to the conclusion of “there’s lots of great workouts out there so pick one that is best suited to you”, leaving us confused, disheartened and worst of all - no better off than before we read it.

I have absorbed so so so many books, articles, research papers, courses and videos on every aspect of health and wellbeing - hell, I’m a qualified personal trainer and sports psychologist! But although I have these nice certificates and am well versed in the theoretical side of things, nothing can replace experience.

Unfortunately, experience in what not to do is something I have in spades. Luckily though, I knuckled down and completely overhauled my approach to fitness, giving me a boatload of experience in what to do - correctly…

I have extracted the needles from various haystacks and put them into one big encyclopaedia that will give you the blueprint for building muscle quickly and efficiently.

This is; The Bulking Blueprint.

What does it offer?

The Bulking Blueprint is so much more than just a fitness book. It is an all encompassing wellbeing course that will improve just about every aspect of your life. From building solid slabs of muscle and crushing strength PR’s to how your grooming products affect testosterone, this book has got you covered.

We’ll walk through a few topics that include a lil extract from the book so you can get a feel for things - I’m nice like that.

The Big 4

The big 4 will form the core of everything we will go through in this book. It is absolutely essential that you perform these 4 exercises if you want to get big and strong.

Here’s an extract that outlines our #1 exercise in a little bit more detail;

“…Squat is king. Squat, then squat some more. The squat will build strength, mass and athleticism in your legs and through your core. It will teach you how to brace your body properly and to keep tight and solid under heavy resistance.
The one caveat to the squat is that it is almost impossible to get right on the first few attempts. It
took me years to master my squat. You will have to find a stance width that suits you, whether you would like to squat with the bar higher or lower on your back and a myriad of other little cues that will help you to build a competition worthy squat.
If you look at toddlers, they can squat down with ease, often staying in this position for prolonged
periods. So, why are we so bloody awful at it once we grow up? Well, because we all have bad
backs and tight hamstrings from being sedentary and craning to look at computers and phones all day…”

Nutrition

Equally, if not more important than your training plan is the nutrition that goes with it. The old sayings are there for all to see;

“You can’t out train a bad diet”

“Abs are made in the kitchen”

These are oldies but goldies and they are covered in depth during the nutrition section of the book, choc-full of tasty, easy recipes, a breakdown of essential macronutrients and how to split them up for optimal muscle growth.

Expect stuff like this;

“…Everyone loves to indulge in marathon 3-hour pump sessions but no one wants to eat to grow. ‘Eat to grow, bro’ is such an overused yet under-practiced phrase.
People think they’re smashing the calories, when in actual fact, they’re eating at or below their maintenance level.
Tracking your calories accurately and honestly is the only way to guarantee muscle gains in the long run. To do this, you must work out what your maintenance (total daily energy expenditure - or TDEE) is and then add 500 calories.
This way you will be gaining 1-2lbs every month. If you are gaining more, then you should probably scale your surplus down to around 250. If you are gaining less, up it to 750…”

Stress

Stress kills testosterone, it kills muscle building, it kills sleep and it will kill you.

We will be going through how to battle stress and how best to get rid of it once and for all.

Here is a little snippet on meditation to whet ye olde appetite;

“…Without a plan in place to deal with life’s hassles, you’re asking for trouble. The best tactic I have used when combatting stress is meditation.
The trick with meditation is to become aware of your body, breathing and thoughts. By recognising your thoughts and taking note of what is actually going through your mind, you become more conscious of your cognitions and therefore can exact more control over your reactions…”

Typical results

I pride myself on writing about practical topics that get my readers genuine results. I tend not to talk about tailoring things because you’re so very special - I give advice that works for everyone - period.

Although I can’t guarantee it, if you stick to this program like I outline in the book, you will more than likely experience all of the below.

Solid muscle

First and foremost, this book is called The Bulking Blueprint. If it didn’t add mass to your frame it wouldn’t be living up to its billing would it?

I’m not promising crazy results, but building muscle to the tune of one pound per month certainly isn’t unheard of. If you’re a beginner, expect closer to two pounds, maybe more.

Long-term strength

This book shows you a couple of training options for building fantastic strength.

The workout plans that I have included are the two very best when it comes to adding weight to the bar. The beauty of them both is that they work long term, with one starting you off and the other taking over once your progress slows down.

That means that they focus on consistent growth over time and don’t try to progress you too quickly, resulting in early plateaus.

Huge increases in testosterone

I consider testosterone to be my strong suit. Having built a bit of a reputation writing about niche and not so niche ways of boosting that fabled T, it would be remiss of me not to include a big fat section on how to supercharge it in this book wouldn’t it?

There are some great writers out there who cover testosterone and they all seem to talk a good game, but one thing they all have in common is that not a single one of them shows their blood work, and most importantly - their testosterone levels.

The NHS states that the normal range for testosterone is 10-29 nmol/dl, which can also be displayed as 288-836 ng/dl.

Here is a picture from a recent-ish study on the median decline testosterone levels in men over the past few decades:

And to compare, here are my results:

As you can see, my testosterone levels are 30.1 nmol/dl or 867 ng/dl- above even the highest part of the ‘normal’ range and over twice the amount of the median for today's males (even though the males observed were a good bit older).

My diet is far from perfect, I still get pretty stressed from time to time and I’d just had a stomach bug before testing, so these results could easily be a lot higher all factors considered.

I’m putting my neck on the line and showing that I walk the walk. No pseudo theoretical BS here.

The Bulking Blueprint lays out exactly how I did it.

You can get these sorts of results too. Expect benefits such as increased energy levels, better mood, improved sex drive, better recovery, deeper sleep and loads more.

You’ll be surprised at the night and day difference having high testosterone makes.

Improved mental wellbeing

A big factor of fitness isn’t just physical - there has been a huge push in recent times for the improvement of the mental side of things too.

Being physically active is one of the most effective ways to battle both depression and anxiety, with a relapse rate far better than that of prescription drugs - trust me, I wrote a paper on it!

Eating well, working out and seeing your progress first hand will give you a much more positive outlook on life. You will wake up feeling excited to better yourself, you’ll have more clarity, your work will improve and you’ll develop healthier relationships with both people and vices.

Less achy joints

If you follow the routines, recipes and correct workout form all outlined in the book, you may notice that your aches and pains that you’ve just become accustomed to over time have disappeared.

Contrary to popular belief, heavy weight training is good for joints. Add to that the inflammation busting foods and muscle & joint recovery plans and you’ll feel like a completely new person.

Building muscle that is strong and functional around your joints is also a great way to keep them healthier for longer, so you're in a win win situation really.

Future proof knowledge

This book doesn’t just tell you what you need to do, it explains in detail, exactly why you’re doing it and the benefits you’ll experience.

That way, you’re not in the dark, blindly following my guidance. You can make decisions based on the information provided and going forward, you can keep your habits up long term, leading to a happier, healthier life.

Where can I get a copy?

The book is available to download via on Kindle and Paperback. You can also directly download a PDF version from the blog here.

Don’t forget to leave a review if it transforms your life. Even if it doesn’t, I’m always open to hurtful comments from disgruntled online strangers so don’t be shy.

Why I swapped my iPhone X for a dumb phone

So, I went and swapped my iPhone X for a ‘dumb phone’ - a £7 Alcatel to be precise.

Am I an attention seeker? Maybe.

Was it wise? Most definitely.

It may seem very much 'out there' to suggest that you should trade in your latest smart phone for a far dumber phone, but if you hear me and my personal story out, your mind may just be swayed a lil’ bit.

My smart phone journey

Way back when, not long after the dizzying heights of the Motorola Razr, I decided it was time to try out these new ‘smart phone’ things.

I opted for the LG cookie - what a phone that was! It even came with a slide-out stylus pen, way ahead of its time…

Anyway, the Cookie had me hooked. Then I got myself a Blackberry Bold, which was a strange mix of touch screen and keyboard. The important thing at that time though was the inclusion of Blackberry Messenger, which I hoped to use to pick up droves of hunnies from school (in reality, all I ever used it for was sending FIFA team ideas to my equally-uncool pals).

After that, I discovered Android and stayed with really cheap, poor quality smart phones from China for a a few years. They were alright to be fair. Because of their slower quality, I didn’t spend that much time on them and they were always more of a help than a hinderance.

Once I come across the iPhone though, things seemed to accelerate a bit.

I’ve always been a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to tech - I had a £50 HP laptop from the early 00’s for years, even when I started this blog.

So my first foray into the iPhone market was the 3Gs. ‘Not bad’, I hear you say. Well, considering the 6 was out at the time, I would probably class that as cheapskating to the max.

Once I got into the apple ecosystem it was hard to get out. I found myself getting sucked into its lovely operating system, it had a nice camera and it was easy to use - much easier than Android.

Luckily at the time (2013), we weren’t quite as interconnected as we are now and social media, phone internet usage, etc, were still in their relative adolescence, so I didn’t become too obsessed just yet.

I felt the pull of the iPhone though, which is why I sold it on and got myself another android - back to a Motorola in fact.

We had a great relationship so we did, but then I felt the pull again and at the end of 2017 I took the went and got a brand spanking new iPhone X.

It helped propel the blog to a completely different level thanks to being ultra-connected to all social media platforms and the unbelievable camera it had.

In fact, everything was pretty rosy until I took a long, hard look at how my habits had changed over the past 18 months...

Where did it all go wrong?

As I said, I had to take a look at myself because I felt like I was slipping away from reality a bit.

Whenever I was on my own in public, my hand would slip into my pocket to grab my phone. When I was walking down the street, I’d be glued to my phone. When I was bored? Phone.

Dinner with friends or family was interrupted by conversations with others who were in my pocket and worst of all, I would cut off and zone out of conversations because I’d be scrolling the latest social media feed, start messaging friends on WhatsApp or simply just have a quick look at my emails.

This wasn’t exclusive to me though. This is basically everyone nowadays, but I knew deep down it wasn’t going to be me for much longer.

We have become zombies. We have semi-conversations that we barely remember with people because we’re doing something else on our phones.

We can’t enjoy anything fully because we’re obsessed with capturing the moment through a screen, putting it on our Instagram and Snapchat stories for a day and then never looking at it again.

Do people ever genuinely look at their videos again from a gig? Or a football match? Or a night out whilst they mime their favourite song?

I doubt it.

As much as I hate these people, I was one of them. I used to preach about how much these people were wasting their lives and how they were all vapid, shallow goons, yet I had wilfully become part of the circus.

Something had to change. If this resonates with you, make sure you’re reading carefully in the next section.

What did I do?

I took the bloody plunge.

Not on a whim though. If you’re going to trade in an iPhone or an equally smart device, you’re going to want a plan in place.

What apps do you need? Both for work and for play.

First, I’d recommend trimming them down - check out my quitting twitter article for more on that.

I decided I needed some apps for work and a few for pleasure, so I set up an iPad with everything I needed on, such as Instagram. The fact that they’re on an iPad makes it much less likely that I’ll binge on social media due to the fact it simply isn’t as easy to.

I also needed WhatsApp because I speak to a lot of my copywriting clients and like to arrange stuff with my friends on there.

For this reason, I bought a second Alcatel.

This time though, it was a smart phone version *shocked screams*. I purposely bought the worst smartphone I could get my hands on (this cost £15) so that it would be clunky and slow to use.

This means I hate spending time on it, so only check it once or twice a day. I also leave it in a drawer somewhere and never take it out with me.

It’s not like you’re going to miss any emergencies if you’ve got the dumb phone on you at all times and the WhatsApp messages will still be there when you get back, so I would definitely recommend the second phone for those who don’t want to give up their group chats.

Benefits of going back to a dumb phone

There are so many amazing benefits to trading in your new fancy tech for a little old dumb phone.

Here are a few of my favourites.

Back to the real world

I liken this to Neo taking the red pill in the matrix.

You may even go for a poo without taking your phone with you. The shock! The horror!

When your head isn’t buried in your phone all day, you’ll start taking in life again instead of numbing it constantly.

You might go for a walk without listening to music and texting the entire way. You might even just sit down and watch the world go by for a bit without reaching down to respond to messages about nothing in particular.

Bloody hell, you might even interact with strangers!

God forbid.

Improved planning skills

You won’t have a map to get you everywhere now.

That means you might have to plan your journey in advance. This may seem a bit daunting but it’s not hard.

Your planning skills will get so much better as a result and you can even go back to the old technique of asking locals where something is.

This might improve your confidence too which is a handy bonus.

Save yourself a lot of money

The majority of people are slaves to a contract, I know I was.

A £60-a-month slave to be precise.

That works out to £720 a year. Just to use free apps, distract myself on the internet, message people and make a few phone calls.

And I got a heavily discounted rate because I have a friend who worked for the provider - it would have been about £85 otherwise.

What a joke that is!

Paying such an extortionate amount of money for a little bit of tech in your pocket.

Listen, I know I sound like your senile grandad who berates all forms of change, but come on, that is a waste of money.

Luckily for me I used mine to my advantage to better the blog and made that money back, but that was lucky. If you’re not using it for business then there is literally no point in wasting almost a grand a year on this subtle little humble brag.

Even if you are using it for business, it’ll still take over your life - and your savings - much like it did mine.

Don’t fall prey and spend that money on something better. You could buy yourself a big stinking trip to Thailand for that money.

Just don’t waste it on a stupid contract.

If you need a cheap provider, I got myself a 1p mobile sim. It’ll cost you about £15 every 4 months. Cheap as bloody chips.

Battery

"Have you got a charger mate?"

"Any plug sockets around here?"

The usual questions you’ll get from a smart phone user. In fact, I’ve probably asked them exact questions about 764 times.

What sort of bum deal is that? You pay all that money, but you have to charge the thing 3 times a day? Then the battery life worsens until it frustrates you enough so that you go and upgrade to the latest model.

With a dumb phone, you’ll never be caught short.

I tested this theory out to see how much battery life I could eek out of one charge.

I got 5 days.

This wasn’t just leaving it untouched either - I used it for all the usual calls and texts I needed to. This isn’t uncommon - some of the more niche dumb phones boast over a week’s life from one charge.

No need to worry about being caught at the end of a night out with no battery to ring a cab now, you dirty stop out.

No fear

This is a bit weird but...you won’t have any fear attached to your phone.

Get mugged? So what? Good luck selling that bad boy on.

Smash it? Drop it in water? Stick it up your bum? So what? It won’t break. Even if it does, just buy a new one.

Lose it? DOESN’T MATTER.

You see, once you have a stupidly cheap handset on your person, you no longer feel on edge about anything happening to it because it simply doesn’t matter.

You can let go a bit more and stop ya worrying. It’s all good.

Escape the upgrade rat race

What happens at the end of our 2 year contract? We are bombarded with ads trying to get us to upgrade to the latest and greatest smart phone.

Even after just 1 year you are offered the chance to trade in your current phone for a new one.

This creates a never ending FOMO cycle that never rights itself and you’ll always be stuck upgrading your phone for fear of feeling outdated when in fact, the phone you’ve got will be good for another 5 years!

Investing (can we even call it investing if it costs about a tenner?) in a dumb phone will get you out of the rat race and allow you to just get on with your life and not have to think about whether your current phone has hyper supersonic retinal display in mega detailed 8k or not - it’s just a phone - and it doesn’t need an upgrade.

You’ll realise no one cares

We think that people will take offence if we don't reply to them straight away - or even in a day's time, but the truth is, they don't.

Especially once they become accustomed to having to wait for your replies. They will learn to respect your time and construct their messages so that it becomes a lot easier for you to keep the conversation short and sweet.

It's a genuinely liberating experience untethering yourself from the constant back and forth of modern comms and you'll feel much less guilty about missing calls and texts - I know I do.

The thing you need to remind yourself of is - important stuff very rarely ever comes up. What people think is important, they can solve themselves 9 times out of 10 but instead, they use you as a first port of call because it is comfortable to do so. Let them deal with the problem themselves.

If something is genuinely important, they will find a way to contact you.

Regain your focus

With distractions almost completely gone (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc) after ridding yourself of a smartphone, you will probably get a bit bored.

But boredom is where productivity comes into its own.

When we have nothing to distract ourselves with, we will inevitably come back to our work to keep us occupied and eventually, the task at hand becomes as enthralling as the empty distractions of a smart phone.

This will drastically improve your work quality and your overall enjoyment/fulfilment.

Promise.

It will also push you to look for other forms of entertainment that have fallen by the wayside over the years. Recently, I have fallen back in love with reading and sketching, the stuff I'd do for hours as a kid.Stuff like this is so much more fulfilling than checking your phone every 30 seconds and you'll get far more from the experience as a whole.

Will I ever go back?

Well technically, I already am back since I do have a banged up smart phone for Whatsapp, but day-to-day? Definitely not.

I feel so much better without looking down at my phone all day, every day.

The moment I swapped my iPhone was the moment I got back to who I used to be.

I’m pretty sure I’ll stay true to the dumb phone life for the foreseeable future.

Should you take the plunge?

Why not try it out for a month?

It’ll cost less than £10 and may well revolutionise the way you live your life.

There are literally no downsides to giving it a try.

Quick recap: Your action plan

Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve discussed and how you can action your swap of a smartphone for a dumb phone:

Buy a cheap dumb phone (Alcatel do the cheapest I think).
Top it up with a £10-£15 credit from 1p mobile or an equally cheap provider.
Work out what you will need to keep in terms of apps, files, etc.
Try to trim those apps that you use.
Download remaining apps to an iPad or Computer if possible.
If WhatsApp is an issue, purchase a terrible, cheap android to keep in a drawer.
Get used to going out with no access to the internet.
Live your life to the fullest.

So, I traded in my iPhone X and re-embraced the dumb phone life.

The question is - will you?

What is and How to Deal With Imposter Syndrome at Work

Imposter syndrome can be a real bugger. A lot of us suffer terribly with it but we don’t actually realise what it is so we get worked up and quit without really knowing why. This blog is going to tell you what is imposter syndrome and how to deal with imposter syndrome at work.

So what is Imposter Syndrome, why do we all seem to suffer from it at some point and what can we do to combat this widespread, insidious dream crusher?

All shall be revealed in the next 1,000 or so words.

What Is and How To Deal With Imposter Syndrome At Work

WHAT IS IMPOSTER SYNDROME?

In its simplest terms, imposter syndrome is feeling like you don’t deserve to hold the position you do, or that you’re simply not good enough at something, despite being more than adept at the task. It can impact your mental health, make you feel like a fraud and leave you feeling like an imposter.

So many people have suffered from Imposter syndrome over the years, including myself very recently - despite it going against my personality traits.

After the two year anniversary of the blog, I found myself in a bit of a rut.

Despite consistently posting once a week for 104 weeks on the bounce, I felt like my blog simply wasn’t good enough, that people didn’t care what I was writing about and that truth be told, I was just a big stinkin’ failure.

I started looking on job sites to see if there was any work going and after finding nothing I fancied, I reluctantly persisted with the writing.

I didn’t really understand at the time, but I was suffering from imposter syndrome.

I felt like I wasn’t good enough, and this permeated through my effort levels. I wasn’t pitching to brands as much, I wasn’t writing content regularly enough and I just wasn’t giving it the beans I knew I should have been.

One morning, after sitting myself down and basically telling myself that I was being stupid, I fired off about 200 emails to companies, I sent hundreds more freelance copywriting pitches to potential clients and within 2 weeks, I had turned it all back around.

Imposter syndrome almost derailed a career that I love and I can put good money on the fact that it has claimed a lot more budding careers of people who weren’t as fortunate as me.

If someone like Michelle Obama suffers from it, we can rest assured that it isn’t just a mental issue of peasant rat-race dwellers like us – so don’t be disheartened – that’s my main message.

But, I don’t like people who wallow either, so although we can admit that Imposter Syndrome is a cruel mistress, if you’re not willing to put the work in that is required to flourish again, then quit yo jibba jabba foo’.

However – if you are ready to put that fire back in your belly, then read on… do you feel like an impostor or are you suffering from impostor syndrome?

WHY DO WE SUFFER FROM IT?

It’s not exactly known why we suffer from crippling self-doubt and imposter syndrome but there are a few theories flying about.

For some reason, it seems that the more successful we become, the more likely we are to suffer from imposter syndrome. This is why we see imposter syndrome in the workplace and many professionals are experiencing imposter syndrome. This is why many high achievers and high achieving women get imposter syndrome.

You work harder and harder to justify yourself to yourself, which becomes a never-ending cycle of pushing and pushing to try and prove to yourself that you are worthy, even if you were already to begin with.

HOW TO QUIETEN THE SELF-DOUBT

Overcoming imposter syndrome can be hard. There are a few ways that I have learned over the past few months that have really helped me to quell the inner doubt in my mind and that has allowed me to push on to start to really make a career out of what I do best – writing.

I’m probably not even a very good writer truth be told, but because I have almost bulletproof confidence, people believe in me – and so I believe in myself.

Here are the tips that can help you do the same.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Once I realised that what I was suffering from was a serious bout of Imposter Syndrome, I did what anyone would do…looked for celebrities who shared my flaws. You are not alone in the impostor phenomenon.

This sounds a little bit daft I know but it’s a great way to realise that what you’re going through isn’t just happening to you and that it isn’t an ailment the elite are immune to.

Once you realise that it is actually quite a common occurrence, you will come to realise that it isn’t that big of a deal if you don’t let it become one.

It was comforting to realise I wasn’t insane for thinking this and that actually, my thoughts were common – but also that they were symptomatic of Imposter Syndrome and not actually of the facts, because the facts were – I was doing well! I just didn’t (want to) see it.

The same is more than likely happening to you if you’re reading this article, so just know that you are more than good enough and that you shouldn’t quit your mission just because you have a bad few days, weeks, months or even years.

Things have a habit of working themselves out for those that believe in it.

AFFIRMATIONS

I have actually written about affirmations before at length.

I believe them to be a huge help for those that need to give themselves a mental boost.

Having used them for about 3 years now, I can safely say that they have helped me in whatever I have utilised them for.

As cringe as it sounds, I used to have an affirmation a couple of years ago when I first started out that went as follows;

“I am an elite-level writer and successful businessman”.

At the time? An absolute load of bollocks – I was neither.

But now?

Still bollocks!

However, I am getting much closer. I write for a living and work for myself, two things that weren’t true at the time of affirming them but that became true after hard work, belief and consistency.

Using affirmations can remind you of your mission every day and keep you on track to become who you want to be.

My imposter syndrome did actually come at a point where I hadn’t done affirmations for a few months actually…maybe I should start doing them again…

MEDITATION

I harp on about the benefits of mediation like I was on commission from Buddha himself, but it really is a life-changing habit. Many people use meditation to get over the imposter phenomenon.

If you can find the time to be still for 10 minutes per day and meditate properly, you will literally become a different person in a drastically short period of time.

I’ve always been a very calm bloke (with the exception of stress from time to time) but meditation just blew everything away.

It made me feel so composed and helped me to see the bigger picture. When something bad happens in our lives, we always tend to focus in on the micro, not the macro.

Your dinner tastes like uncooked pigs nipples, so what? You’ll have another dinner tomorrow. Hell, you’ll probably have another dinner later that night – get over it.

That’s obviously just a stupid example but hopefully it’s painted a picture of the sort of laissez faire attitude we need to employ if we are to beat Imposter Syndrome.

Meditation allows us to hone this mindset. It allows us to develop a thicker skin, more resolve and much better willpower to push on through the doubt and get to the other side, where we will find more work, more joy and more good vibes – true story.

PRACTICE

Just keep practicing.

I know it’s a simple instruction but I am a very simple man. Simple is what works best. It has done for a million years before us and will do for a million years after.

The chances are – you’re really good at what you do, but maybe you’re disheartened by a lack of progress – that was my main issue.

This is why keeping a log of how far you’ve come is exceptionally important to shake you out of a rut.

Whatever it is that you do, keep going, keep improving and KEEP A LOG.

The gym? Take pictures once every two weeks along with measurements, a log of amount of weight lifted per session, etc.

If you’re a social media star, look how far your pictures have come, how many followers you’ve gained, etc.

If you’re a shelf stacker, look how many more shelves you stacked this week than last.

It can be applied to anyone, anywhere, anytime. As long as you’ve got some form of log to look back on after 6 months to see how much you have improved, you’re on the right track.

When I was trying to get out of my Imposter Syndrome rut, I took a look back through my old Instagram posts and stories and good lord, were they bad.

Some of the crap I’d uploaded was off-the-scale bad and yet I thought of myself as not having changed, having basically been plateaued the entire time, when in fact, my content had improved a hundred fold and I had made so many more new friends online – it was a huge eye opener.

And that was all because I had a record of how far I had come.

As the old saying by C. S. Lewis goes;

“Isn’t it funny how day by day, nothing changes but when you look back everything is different?”.

Imposter syndrome is a curse but coming out the other side is a big fat blessing and one that can really give us the inner-confidence to push on and smash the back doors off whatever it is we have chosen to do with our lives.

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

How to create your own real-life limitless pill (NZT-48)

NZT-48 is now one of the most researched pills on the internet, just after viagra and proprietary phallic enlargement blends.

I can’t actually confirm whether that’s true but I assume it’s pretty near to the truth…

Long story short, you’re probably not going to get a hold of it (I’ll explain why in a moment) so the next best thing is to make your own.

EXPLAIN THE TITLE PLEASE…

Have you ever seen the film ‘Limitless’? Chances are, if you’re reading this, you have.

Whether it’s fresh in the memory or this article has just brought back the mems, NZT-48, the pill that Bradley Cooper’s character takes, is the main star of the show.

It allows him to “unlock 100% of his brain”, something which apparently, we only use up to 20% of although this has sort of been debunked.

Anyway, Bradders takes this pill and instantly, he transforms from a deadbeat writer (much like myself), into a prolific author, stock trader, businessman, etc. He also bangs his neighbour’s wife like straight away, which was a weird scene to watch.

This pill gave him limitless self-control, memory, creativity and basically enhanced everything in his life.

The funny thing is though, this pill simply unlocked what was already there. He was calling on information and skills he already had, but were off limits due to his clouded brain.

This is the basic premise of what I’m trying to say. I want this article to be a guide that you can refer back to and share with friends – something that will help you to realise the vast potential that your mind already has – that just needs unlocking.

As a psychology graduate, I have always been fascinated by the dormant power of our minds and how we can improve and harness them to dramatically improve our lives.

To see the power of thought alone, just read some of the testimonies in The Secret, or even better, look at World War II, where they gave injured soldiers sugar pills for pain relief. They believed these pills would stop their pain and they did…

If that isn’t testament to the unbelievable power of our minds, I don’t know what is.

WHAT IS NZT-48 AND DOES IT REALLY EXIST?

NZT-48 is basically just a pill. It was what Cooper’s character, Eddie Morra takes that allows him to use 100% of his mind as explained above.

It is a very interesting concept, yes, but does it actually have any basis in reality? Is the limitless pill a real thing?

Unfortunately not.

There are ‘smart drugs’ which I’ll touch on in the next section a little bit but they are nothing like how NZT-48 is depicted.

Basically – it’s a great concept but completely made up for a film. Who’d have thought it?

There are ways you can boost your brain power, creativity and all those other things Mr. Cooper experienced though…

HOW YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN LIMITLESS PILL

If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m a big hippie and like to do everything naturally.

Recently, I even stopped taking supplements all together as I hate the feeling of having to bring my pill box round with me whenever I travel and relying on exogenous sources for my wellbeing levels – it feels like I’m on life-saving medication!

That’s why the scope of this article will be centred around natural, healthy ways you can expand your mind, unlock your full potential and get the limitless feeling without having to resort to potentially dangerous nootropics like Modafinil.

That being said, I’ll try everything once in the name of science so I’m not going to rule out a week long Modafinil binge/review in the near future – but that’s another story.

The essence of NZT-48 isn’t so much about the pill itself, but the unlocking of our main protagonists brain. It was there all along, but he just had to tune in to the right frequency to get all 100% of it firing at the same time.

I’m going to cover as many tactics as possible to improve all the aspects of your mental state.

Things such as energy, concentration, stress management, calmness, proactivity, stillness, creativity and a bunch of other amazing traits that, when working in tandem, will make you an unstoppable mental machine.

I’ll also be covering a few boring ones in here but their reasoning for inclusion might be a bit different to what you’ve heard before and I’ll try and throw a unique twist on each to stop them being too tedious for you and your yet-to-be-opened mind.

Do make sure you read each one carefully as they’re all important to the success of this process.

And don’t worry, I’ll be doing a full section at the end on how you can implement them all into your daily routine – trust me, it isn’t actually that difficult to just start every one of these habits tomorrow – even today – if you’ve got the hairy gonads for it.

Before we dive in, lets just establish/recap what we want from the NZT-48 pill. What does Eddie Morra (Bradders) actually experience?

Clearer thought, better recall & overall, just smarter
More energy
Motivation to be better (cleaning his apartment, sharpening his dress sense, haircut, etc)
Better attention span – more absorbent of all the information in his environment.
Gets into great physical shape
Improved productivity & creativity
More structured with time management, routines, etc.
Higher self-respect
Looked younger/more presentable/more attractive
Better social skills
Lowered stress – far calmer

Every single one of these steps will improve at least one of these aspects tremendously.

Now let’s start.

SLEEP

No matter what sort of health benefit article you’re reading, sleep is going to be in there somewhere – that, I can guarantee.

Sleep is the all-important factor for improving health. It helps your body to recover from intense exercise, it clears mental fog, makes you happier, helps you retain more (and higher quality) information and so much more.

If you want to get close to NZT-48 level ability then sleep should be your number 1 priority.

Try to get at least 6 hours per night, ideally 8.

RISE EARLY

Maybe this a juxtaposition to getting a lot of sleep?

But…

Rising early is potentially a more important aspect to getting stuff done than sleep. Not overall, but if you want to be productive then getting up early is peerless in its effectiveness.

As long as you adjust your bedtime accordingly, getting up at 5am should be no hassle at all. You can still stay up as late as 11pm and scrape 6 hours so it really isn’t that hard.

Hell, you’ll get your 8 hours even if you went to bed at 9 – that’s still pretty late!

When you’re up at 5am, it’s like someone has switched a different mode on in your brain. As I sit here in some random games room at 5:47 writing this, I can attest to the quiet that early mornings bring.

This room would usually be packed with people chatting, playing ping pong and smashing pool balls but I can sit here on one of the sofas and write some of my best work to date (right, guys?!) because no one else does this and thus, no one else is awake!

I know no-one else does this because every time I get up this early I am ousted from my girlfriend’s apartment to this very games room so I don’t wake her up…

Anyway, enough story time. 5am offers distraction free time to be by yourself, no phone calls, texts or people, just you and whatever you want to do.

If you want more detail on how 5am is the ultimate NZT-48 productivity companion, read it here.

MAKE YOUR BED

This may seem small, but making your bed every single day is one of the best habits you can develop.

Accomplishing a task that requires just a little bit of willpower sets you off on the right foot every day.

This will keep you in a sort of motivated, flow state whereby you don’t want to break your chain of good habits and accomplishing things, pushing you on to complete whatever tasks and goals you have given yourself that day.

Again, small steps, but big rewards.

READ!

What better way to expand your mind to superhuman levels than to read the words of men and women who have already done so with their own?

You want the sharpest mind in town? Read some books gosh darn it.

There are books that teach you how to go deep and work your socks off to achieve your wildest dreams, books that teach you how to manifest your goals with just your thoughts and there are even books on how to turn your body into a muscle building machine.

There are also books that teach us life lessons, books that thrill us, teach us new words and there are books that make us feel things we thought we could never feel.

In short, books will take you through the widest range of emotions and thoughts whilst swelling your brain with a ridiculous amount of new knowledge – much more than a 15 hour Avenger’s marathon ever could (although that is still pretty fun I will admit).

DRINK WATER

Right, this is the last boring-ish one I swear.

I SWEAR.

So, we all know why we should drink water kind of – it’s good for us!

But what makes it so good for us?

Why is water so bloody good for the mind, body n soul?

Because it gives us natural energy, keeps us hydrated (which is pivotal for thinking clearly and rationally and keeps us privy to breakthroughs), makes our minds sharper, makes us stronger, happier, less likely to develop diseases – basically, if we were to put the benefits of water on a supplement from a fancy store, they’d be sold out in seconds.

Do not underestimate the power of h2o fellas.

USE CAFFEINE TACTICALLY

Caffeine can be really good or it can be really bad.

It really just depends on how you utilise it. See, if you rely on caffeine as your only source of energy and depend on it to make you feel good, then you sir, have a problem.

But if you use caffeine as a tool to increase your output at work, in the gym or to sustain a nice fast you’ve got going on, then I’d wager you’ve got a pretty healthy relationship with it.

I try not to have more than a cup of coffee a day, I never have it after midday and I don’t drink it any weekends (I use weekends as a sort of mini-reset for my tolerance levels).

But during the week, I’ll use it to develop Eddie Morra-like laser focus on the task at hand or to really fire me up for a workout where I am still fasting heading into it.

Caffeine is also a great appetite suppressant so if like me, you do struggle towards the end of your fast, coffee is your best friend.

It lets you push the fast just a couple of hours further, leaving you to enjoy your huge meals later in the day.

*A quick side note – if you have a massively unhealthy food binge problem, maybe this pattern of eating ain’t for you.

Anyway, coffee – and caffeine in general – is a fantastic cognitive enhancer and can let you zero in on a task for hours on end.

I recommend sitting yourself down at your workstation with a wee cup of Joseph, setting up a flow playlist (classical works well), switching your internet off unless you reeeeeaaaaaally need it and just cracking on.

You should be able to naturally concentrate for a long time anyway if you’re following all the habits in this article but a tactical deployment of some heavy-hitting caffeine will help you work for 3+ hours straight (you don’t need to wear a nappy though, toilet breaks are allowed).

INTERMITTENT FASTING

I have written about intermittent fasting at length but the basic premise is you have an eating window (usually 4-8 hours) and fast the rest of the time.

During the fasting window you should only consume water, coffee and green tea.

Whilst in this fasted state, you will get a sort of tunnel vision for whatever task you’ve got your sights set on.

I find that since I’m not focused on food, trying to digest anything or the banal tasks that surround the breakfast/lunch rituals as we know it, I can hone in on what I want to achieve and give it my unwavering attention.

This is the sort of concentration and drive that Morra has in Limitless. No matter what’s going on around him, his concentration is so fierce that nothing can knock him off course.

The same applies here, when you’re fasting, you’ve used caffeine tactically and you’re up early, the focus you’ll experience will be nothing like you’ve ever felt before.

MEDITATION, THE WIM HOF METHOD AND ICE BATHS/COLD SHOWERS

These three really deserve a section each to themselves but I wanted to highlight the importance of utilising them in conjunction with each other so that you don’t skimp out on any of them.

On their own, meditation, the Wim Hof method and ice baths/cold showers are great tools for health, wellbeing and NZT-48-esque prowess, but when used together, they will take you to another plane completely.

Some of the benefits you can expect with these three are:

Complete mental clarity
Resistance to basically all diseases (within reason)
More energy
Better breathing
Resistance to extreme temperatures
Unbelievable confidence
Improved recovery
Better skin
Boundless happiness throughout the day

I know this all sounds like a really bad JML infomercial, but it truly works.

Here’s some links to full guides on each below:

SAUNAS

What can I possibly say about saunas that hasn’t already been said? These puppies should be a mainstay in every self-respecting man’s daily routine.

If you have access to a sauna then get involved.

They can boost your brain output, they help to flush toxins out of your body, they give you better skin, a more youthful appearance, they help to recover from hard gym sessions and so much more.

The humble sauna is one of the hidden gems in the natural NZT-48 stack. I don’t see them bandied about too much but trust me, they work.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

This is going to be a simple section.

A brief NZT-48 recap, if you will.

The only difference is, during our recap, I’ll be slotting these habits into various points in the schedule of your new NZT-48-optimised day…

I’ve done this routine for the average 9-5 worker as this is what most of us do.

To be honest, the most important parts of the routine are outside of these hours anyway so if you need to re-jig it to fit your schedule feel free.

Shall we?

05:00 – Wake up (try a natural light alarm clock), down a pint of water, make your bed & go through your morning routine. Don’t eat straight away.

05:30 – 10 minutes of mediation, 3 rounds of Wim Hof breathing & an ice bath.

06:00 – Self-improvement time. Try reading, writing, maybe the gym if you want (although this could be done after work).

09:00 – Work

10:00 – Coffee (pushes hunger back & helps you focus on getting that deep work done).

13:00 – Lunch (go heavy on the fat and protein, this will reduce any blood sugar spike and saves your carbs for after the workout later in the day).

17:00 – Gym time (do a weights session followed by a 15-20 minute sauna, 5 times a week if possible, then get showered and fresh at the gym).

18:30 – Home & your huge carb-heavy dinner (now you’ve changed at the gym, that’s one less thing to worry about once you set foot through the door. You can now concentrate on reaping the calorie-laden rewards of your fast and workout).

19:00 – Ready your things for tomorrow (should only take about half an hour. This is stuff like getting your clothes laid out, readying your meal prep that you definitely did on Sunday evening and any documents, etc you might need the next day).

19:30 – Now its time to relax. You did all your self-improvement work before and during your work hours, you’ve done your gym workout, sweated the toxins out and now your home can be used for what its meant to be used for – chilling the hell out.

20:30 – Night time routine (this should take anywhere between 30-60 minutes. No screens and lots of mindful breathing and you’ll be off to bed in no time).

BONUS BITS

These kind of fit into your daily routine but at the same time, kinda don’t, so I’ve popped them in a lil’ bonus section just for little old you.

If you want to take your NZT-48 journey to the next level, try these two.

THE PARETO PRINCIPLE

This is also known as the 80/20 rule.

It can be applied to basically all areas of life. In business, 20% of your clients probably bring in 80% of the revenue, 20% of your exercises in the gym get 80% of the results and most importantly for our natural version of NZT-48, it can be applied to learning new things quickly.

In the film, Morra is able to learn piano in 3 days, pick up new languages effortlessly and seemingly absorb knowledge left, right and centre.

Obviously this is exaggerated massively for effect in the film but the beauty of the Pareto Principle is that you can apply it here.

To learn a language, if you can master 20% of the words, you can probably get by in 80% of conversations.

Learning 20% of a full guide to playing guitar will probably allow you to play 80% of chords pretty well. It’s definitely a shortcut, yes – but is it effective? Damn right.

You won’t be a master but you’ll be bloody good.

TURN OFF YOUR INTERNET

This is such a huge step to take for all of us, I know.

If you can take the leap of faith though, and turn your internet off when trying to go deep with whatever task you’re trying to get done, you’ll notice remarkable improvements in its quality and quantity.

When you haven’t got the option to distract yourself, you’ll keep coming back to the task. By offering no alternative, you are forced to work.

This sounds a bit draconian but it works – and once you’re in the flow of things, you’ll never want to stop.

There’s a hell of a lot of info to take in there and I do appreciate that it might have blown your kite off a bit but even just taking up one of these habits is a really good start.

NZT-48 may not actually exist, but you can do the same, if not better, naturally and drastically improve your health while you’re at it.

The life changing power of ice baths

I love ice baths.

I'd happily marry one if I could, such is the feelgood factor they bestow upon me.

The fear can be crippling just before you dip your hairy wee toe in, but after 5 minutes when you get out, you enter into some mad state of euphoria, trust me on this one.

Let's give you a quick history lesson, run through the benefits then tell you how to do it.

And yes, I am teaching you how to take a bath...

Ice baths

Let’s talk a little bit about Ice baths shall we?

It’s as simple as it sounds, just get a bath that is ice cold. You can fill a tub entirely with ice if you’re crazy, you can fill it half with cold water and half with ice or you can just use the ice cold water.

I’ll be straight with you, I’ve just been using the ice cold water and that is more than enough to shrink your gonads inside your body.

Sometimes I’ll pop a bag of ice in with me but to reap the benefits, I’d wager the cold water does the trick.

Do you want a quick history lesson? No?!

Doesn’t matter, still gonna give you one.

Cold water immersion has been around since the dawn of time itself, with loads of different civilisations giving it a go - the Romans, Ancient Egyptians and more recently - sort of, the Victorians.

In The Victorian era, cold water therapy was prescribed for just about any ailment you could think of, be it hysteria (whatever that meant) or the flu.

People rated it.

And so they should have.

Cold Water therapy has come full circle and is now back in fashion thankfully, with Paula Radcliffe (famous for being a world class marathon runner, infamous for taking a poo at the side of the road during one of her races) attributing her 2002 Olympic gold to cold therapy - barmy.

What are the benefits?

The list is basically infinite when it comes to the benefits of taking ice baths. It offers even more than my trusty favourite, the cold shower.

Euphoria & Natural energy

This is without doubt my favourite byproduct of an ice bath. You get a sense of euphoria that’s extremely hard to match.

When you step outta da tub, you feel like you’re floating 3 inches off the ground - it really is heavenly.

Do some Wim Hof breathingbeforehand and you’ve got quite the potent 1-2 combo for a drug-free morning high.

Let’s call it; Wake and Lake (lake is the only water-based word I could think of to replace bake - maybe it’ll catch on, who knows - #WakeAndLake).

Reduce stress, depression and anxiety

This is such a key benefit to consistent ice baths. They can actually help to alleviate symptoms of all 3 of these potent mental illnesses.

I can become riddled with stress really easily and I have no idea why but I find it can be kept well managed when I am taking cold showers and ice baths regularly.

This is due to the fact that when you plunge yourself deep into cold water, you cant think about anything else but breathing and the sensation on your body.

You become instantly present and it feels good. Your mind becomes empty and that immediate lift you get really gives some mental clarity to your day, trust me.

I like to do an ice bath in the morning, do a workout, go in the sauna, steam room then the plunge pool (if your gym has these - make use of them!), have a cold shower, meditate and do some Wim Hof breathing. This will all usually be done by about 2pm, meaning the rest of the day I can relax with a quiet mind.

I’m well aware that this sounds like some optimal guru parody but all of those activities have been clinically proven to alleviate stress, depression and anxiety and I know for a fact that doing them keeps all 3 at bay for me.

It is especially important in today’s climate that you take care of your noggin as well as your physical state, so doing a combination of physical activities like the ones I have outlined above is a double edged sword in terms of its efficacy at improving both the mind and body.

Mental willpower

Stepping into an ice cold bath every single day builds major mental fortitude. The willpower to force yourself out of your comfort zone every day will have a positive effect on your overall willpower.

I am notoriously terrible with my self-control and willpower but about 3 weeks after I started regularly doing cold immersion I noticed I was snacking less on garbage and I had managed to stick consistently to my 5am wake ups.

I think it’s a case of not wanting to waste your day now that you’ve done something so difficult if you get what I mean?

Say for instance, you take a big fat ice bath in the morning, do a bit of meditation and Wim Hof breathing - you don’t then want to break the chain by having a snickers for breakfast or drinking so much Guinness that you poo your pants.

Feel me?

How to do it

Ideally, you’d want to do this in the morning or if you’re at home, when you hit the afternoon slump around 2-3pm. I tend to do it in the morning as I wake up around 5am and need something severe straight away to wake me from my zombie-like state.

Fill the bath up so that when you get in and lie down, only your head will be poking out. This way, your full body is getting hit with that cold ass h2o.

I tend to put my feet in first (like anyone was going to dive into their bath head first...) and just stand there and take 5 deep breaths to brace myself for the onslaught of feels about to come my way - I highly recommend this step.

Then lower yourself in and sit in the water for another 15 deep breaths. This acclimatises the majority of your body to the cold.

Once you’ve taken your 15 breaths, it’s time to lower yourself down into the lying position. This takes major stones - it’s okay if you wuss out the first few times. But if you feel like going the full 9 yards, dump yourself back and let the water flow over you.

You’ll feel like screaming - do so if you wish. After a few sharp inhalations, you’ll actually get used to it and the water won’t even feel that cold at all.

You may also get some numbness but that’s all part of the fun - obviously if you start to feel too weird, get out. I won’t be held responsible for you drowning in a tub full of your own filth you animal.

Anyway, take another 30 breaths and then dunk your head under briefly before getting out. This will give you a final shock and if you weren’t already awake before that, you certainly will be after it.

Get yourself out of the tub and get dried. You’ll feel instantly better. Literally as soon as you stand up out of that water you’ll feel like a new person.

Take a look in the mirror and more than likely, your skin will be pink as anything and it’ll feel tight - in a strangely rather good way.

Put your clothes on, feel on top of the world and get out there to smash whatever goals you may have.

That sounded a bit GaryVee didn’t it lol.

The sentiment still stands though. An ice bath will set you up for success in whatever you do, I don’t care if anyone disagrees with me they’re all wrong and stink because they didn’t take a bath.

Floatation Therapy Side Effects and Benefits

I’m always one for trying new and innovative health trends. I have written extensively on just about every single one of them, from Intermittent fasting to cold showers and saunas, I’ve covered it all – hell, I’ve even got a book on them! But what about Floating?

I’ll be honest, floating has never really been on my radar until the past 6 months or so, when I was walking through Liverpool and stumbled across an intriguing little blue sign that stuck with me for a while – Float Planet.

What is floating? Will it take me to another planet? Am I going to try this? All these questions were flying through my mind as I walked past.

Luckily, I got my answers.

WHAT IS FLOATING?

Let’s kick it off with defining floating, what on Earth is it?

Also known as Floatation Therapy, floating simply means exactly what you thought – lying back in water and staying like that for a while.

It goes deeper though, believe me.

Starting out in the 1950’s as ‘sensory deprivation’ (which you’ve probably heard of), floatation therapy was shown to help myriad ailments, which led to it becoming commercial soon after.

It involves placing yourself in a tank or pod which has about 10 inches of water in it along with about 500lbs of epsom salt and is heated to precisely body temperature. You then lay there, weightless and reap the rewards.

Easy.

WHO ARE FLOAT PLANET?

Now we’ve got our heads around floating, who exactly are Float Planet?

They are a floatation therapy centre based in Liverpool city centre – the best place in the world.

Their mission is to create a fully immersive environment that helps lower stress, recover more quickly and live a bloody lovely life in general.

Float Planet’s environment is absolutely perfect for all of this. Kitted out with the best relaxing gear money can buy, I felt immediately at home as soon as I set foot in there – but more on this a bit later.

Does Floatation Therapy Work? Floatation Therapy Benefits

There are loads of things to shout about when it comes to floatation but I’ve condensed them down to 5 for now so I don’t blow your mind too much.

DECREASES STRESS, ANXIETY & DEPRESSION

I am the biggest stress-head ever although I don’t often show it. Tiny things stress me out so much and I know countless people like this. I also know that a huge percentage of the population suffer from anxiety and depression.

Studies have shown that floating can actually alleviate symptoms of all three of these.

Sign me up. There have also been people who have experienced reduced blood pressure, muscle tension, and additional health benefits after a float session in a float tank.

IMPROVES SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Float planet get dozens of athletes through their doors – front full top-flight football teams to champion boxers, athletes can’t get enough of it.

There’s a reason for this – floating can help to boost athletic capabilities, shown in case studies with Olympic medalists and human guinea pigs alike.

It could be down to the relaxation benefits of floating or potentially the minerals of the epsom salt – probably a mixture.

MAKES YOU CREATIVE

Spending so much time alone with my thoughts was such a surreal experience but one thing I did notice was just how much more creative my mind became without constant stimulation.

I found myself coming at problems from different angles, thinking up new things to do with the blog and different avenues to explore in terms of building my business #empire.

I forgot most of these afterwards because I’m an idiot but the thoughts were still there.

RELIEVES PAIN

If you read my blog, I will assume you’re into your physical activity. A lot of us who enjoy getting active put our bodies under a lot of stress. Couple that with all the mental stress we are exposed to on the daily and you’re looking at a recipe for burnout.

Floating helps to increase blood flow all around the body, which helps to provide tissue, organs and bones with much needed oxygenated good stuff.

Floatation Therapy Side Effects and Benefits

This can help alleviate stress around the body and can even rid you of chronic pain all together. Another reason to get to floatation therapy in an isolation tank or sensory deprivation tank.

IMPROVES SLEEP

A direct consequence of spending time in floatation tanks is relaxation. A relaxed body is a body in sync with its natural clock, hence those who float well, sleep well.

Loads of studies back this up too, with some showing immediate benefits straight after just a single, hour-long float. It is quite easy to reach a deep meditative state in float therapy flotation tanks without adverse effects.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH FLOATING

Forgive me, as this is going to be quite a long section, but I just feel like I have to get it all down so you can really imagine what this place is like. There are so many floatation therapy side effects and floatation therapy benefits for you to know about.

So…

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted and shown a load of floating tips on an iPad just to get me in the mood.

I was then taken downstairs to where the magic happens. After a quick tour of the vanity room, toilets and the like, I was shown to my personal floatation room.

Here, I was given the full breakdown of what was to come. Basically, you quickly shower before you enter the pod. Wipe your face dry as you don’t want to be itching it in the salt water (there is a spray bottle in there if this happens though), put your ear pods in so that water doesn’t get in (it also helps keep any external noise out – though the tank does this 99% of the time), cover any cuts with petroleum jelly and then slide on in.

And yes, go in starkers if you want the full experience. There’s a table and wall hooks for all your stuff so don’t worry.

I was surprised by the sheer power of the water when I got in. I was expecting to sink down and have my fat arse skidding along the bottom, but the water lifted me up and kept me there – it was like some form of black magic. Initially, I was a bit intimidated by it but once I let myself go it was an unbelievable feeling of freedom.

If I was to recommend a ‘strategy’ on floating for your first time, I’d say use the float halo provided for the first half of it. The halo is just a support for your neck – I felt it was good to help me ease in. Then just experiment with different positions. I tried elongating my whole body, doing some strange star shape, resting my hands on my chest, etc.

Just keep varying it ’til you find a good’n.

But let’s get back to the float.

So you climb in, there’s an inviting blue hue in the tank which you can either keep on or switch off for the full experience. You can then close the lid if you wish or leave it open if you aren’t up for it – the room will go dark anyway.

What are the benefits of floatation therapy?

Once it goes pitch black it’s game on. Music will start playing for the first 10 minutes to ease you into your float. It will also play again for the final 5 to ease you out. I loved this little touch as it really helped me zone in and out of my float.

About halfway through it really hits you that it’s just you and your thoughts with literally nothing else going on. This is going to sound really weird, but I felt like I was inside a mixture of the following; Heaven, deep space & the womb. Strange but at the same time, brilliant.

You really feel like it’s just you inside a void of infinite nothingness and it was such a welcome break from my monkey mind.

Afterwards, I realised that was the longest I’ve spent alone with my thoughts since I was about 8 years old and it couldn’t be more refreshing.

Harking back to my womb comparison, when the lights come on, you open the tank up and climb out, it feels like you’re being reborn.

Serious symbolism going on there but if you try it you’ll see what I mean. You feel like you’ve been in there forever and for just a moment simultaneously. Seeing light again is almost euphoric – I can see why some people cry (not me though because I’m such a manly man obviously!!).

Then it was time for a shower. Float Planet have got loads of nice toiletries to get you feeling like a high class member of society in no time. Once you’re dried and ready, you can hit the vanity room up if you wish. This is the start of the deep relaxation process that the guys have put in place post-float.

Once you’re done there, it is recommended that you chill out in the Float Planet relaxation room. This is a great place to meditate on your experience and just reacclimatise before you hit the big bad world again.

You can sit in alarmingly comfortable chairs, put your feet up and watch the world go by with a pot of their special brew tea and a book. I did some work on the blog during my down time and 2 hours went by in the blink of an eye!

VERDICT

So, would I recommend Float Planet? And floatation therapy as a whole?

Obviously. This blog has given you the complete run-through of floatation therapy side effects and floatation therapy benefits.

In my humble opinion, my floating experience was one of them most surreal, unbelievable experiences of my relatively short existence.

Apparently, it only gets better with each float too, so if your head is blown by your first session, chances are, it’s going to implode even further if you go again.

Floating is legit. Get yourself down to a floatation tank.

If you’re willing to go deep within yourself and reap some major benefits, get involved.

You can keep up with Float Planet on their site, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

The Bachelor's guide to healthy eating

Do men really need basic cooking/meal prep guides anymore? Is this Bachelor’s guide to healthy eating even NECESSARY?

Well, yes – sort of.

Long gone are the days when a squire’s wench would rustle up a stew and some mead for her breadwinner at the end of a working day.

And thank bloody God. Crippling sexism aside for a sec – what a bunch of man babies that dynamic created! Men who couldn’t cook their own meals, resorting to beans and marmalade with a side of skittles if their other halves weren’t available/didn’t exist.

Thankfully, us blokes are far more adept in the kitchen now, but that doesn’t mean we all have hours and hours of free time to rustle up healthy meals on the reg. Sure, you could do meal prep for the week on a Sunday night but who wants to do that?

This guide will show you the ultimate Bachelor diet. No cooking required – ever.

Yeaaaaaah boiiiiii you heard that right – NO COOKING.

Let’s get into it. This is The Bachelor’ Guide to Healthy Eating.

WHO THIS GUIDE IS FOR

I’ve gone for the title, ‘Bachelor’s guide to healthy eating’ because of the tired stereotype that single guys just eat takeaways and can’t cook for themselves.

I love stereotypes.

But this guide is for basically everyone who lives in the 21st century. We are so deprived of our own time that eating healthily is one of hardest things we are faced with.

Whose average day of eating looks like this?

Cereal/Toast/Nothing
Latte from starbucks
Soup/Meal Deal
Chocolate bar
Microwave dinner
Late night snack aka 3 bags of crisps

I bet at least half of you reading this probably have a diet similar to this. Obviously it is your fault but it’s also kinda not. Our lives are so hectic that eating well goes to the bottom of the priority pile and we opt for the easiest and *tastiest* grub that we can throw down the hatch and forget about.

Except eventually, we can’t just forget about it. Poor eating habits are going to put you in an early grave. I know there’s going to be exceptions to this; “My nan eats nothing but doughnuts and worms and she’s 125!” – good for her. The facts are still there though, eating garbage puts a strain on your bod and the older you get, the harder it’s going to hit you.

That’s not to say you can’t treat yourself every day, I often scoff sweets, chocolate, ice cream and whatever I can get my grubby mitts on, but for the most part, my diet is decent – which is what you should aim for.

Think 80/20 people.

Wouldn’t it be good though, if the food you ate was healthy, quick AND a treat in and of itself on account of its god damn tastiness?

That’s where THE BACHELOR’S GUIDE TO HEALTHY EATING comes into its own. I love this title, pretty proud of myself for that one.

WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?

A meal plan that is healthy and requires precisely zero cooking sounds a little bit too good to be true, are there any other benefits? Yes there are.

Here’s a few to whet your appetite – pun intended.

PRICE

For £40 ($52), you can get a full week’s worth of food. If you did a bit of bargain shopping you could probably get it way cheaper too.

This works out so much cheaper than constantly eating out, saving you time and making you feel better in the long run. A meal deal every now and again won’t kill you though.

HEALTHY

It’s healthy! You’ll be getting lots of lean protein, healthy fats and a good mix of fast and slow releasing carbs throughout the day. Pair that with a plethora of fruits and veggies and you’ve got yourself a perfect diet.

EASY

The main selling point of this Bachelor diet is that it is so bloody easy. No cooking. Does it get any better? No sir it does not.

TASTY

It may look a bit simplistic on paper, but once you’ve tried the recipes below, you’ll realise just how tasty stripped back meals can be. The fact that they’re tasty paired with them being so satiating means that it’ll be a long time until you’re bored of them and you’ll be able to stay on track with ease.

SAVE TIME

With the lack of cooking and low prep times, this diet is going to save you so much time it’s almost laughable. When I’m meal prepping on a certain diet plan, I’ll probably spend 1-3 hours prepping and cooking per day.

With this diet, you’ll be hard done by if you spend more than half an hour prepping, it really is a life saver.

THE BACHELOR’S GUIDE TO HEALTHY EATING

So let’s recap.

I’ve shamed you about your dietary choices and lauded my eating superiority over your malnourished, impoverished heads, I’ve told you that there is a solution and we’ve been through the benefits of the diet.

Now wouldn’t it be lovely if I actually told you what the diet was?

It’s simple.

Just eat more fruit and veg.

There we go!

Hope all that reading was worth it guys.

I’m just pulling ya leg, got you though didn’t I? I’ll outline the diet below. It’s basically exactly what I’m currently following at the moment and it’s giving me great results. It is high in protein, fruit, veg, etc and it’s way healthier and cheaper than your current diet plan – that I can guarantee.

Anyway, enough fannying about, here it is.

MEAL 1

150g Skyr

1 apple

1 banana

30g dates

PREP

Cut up apple, banana and dates.
Put them, along with the yoghurt in a bowl.
Look at yourself in the mirror, perplexed as to how eating healthily can be so goddamn easy.

MEAL 2

100g oats

40g protein powder

150g berries

Milk

PREP

Put it all into a bowl and mix.
Quick note – I use almond milk and chocolate peanut butter vegan protein powder just to try and reduce my dairy intake a bit. Could be a good shout for those who are sensitive to teet produce to make the switch.

MEAL 3

1 tin of tuna

250g microwave mexican rice

60g smoky shredded beetroot

1/2 avocado

30g salad cream

PREP

Microwave rice for a minute.
Add in tuna, avocado, beetroot and sauce.
Microwave for another 1:30 minutes.
Quick note – mexican rice and smoky shredded beetroot are quite vital to the taste of this meal. If you can, try to find these in your local supermarket.

MEAL 4

240g pre-cooked chicken slices

150g bag of salad

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper

PREP

Put everything into a bowl.
Mix it up.

SNACKS (OPTIONAL)

Protein bar
Peanut butter
Chocolate bar
Basically anything snack sized that will stop your hunger for a bit.
Quick note – Frozen watermelon balls are great for snacking. Obviously it’s only really feasible when at home though.

CALORIES & MACROS

Here is the breakdown of calories, macros, etc before snacks are accounted for. Obviously feel free to add more snacks, more ingredients, less ingredients, whatever – to fit your calorie goals.

Calories: 2,203kcal

Protein: 156g

Carbs: 248g

Fat: 55g

What a great diet this truly is. Thank you me for being such a genius.

Western nutrient deficiency: Can we fix it?

We’ve all heard of the standard Western diet haven’t we? It’s basically a better way of saying “worst diet in the world”. Now with that in mind, I think we need to address Western nutrient deficiency.

Being the worst diet in the world is obviously going to throw up some negative effects, chiefly nutrient deficiency in basically 100% of its followers.

This article aims to educate you on what exactly nutrient deficiency is, why it’s so important and why the Western diet is such a big bloody bugger when it comes to it.

Oh – and how you can fix it lol.

NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY

Our bodies require a host of vitamins and minerals to simply live day-to-day. They need a whole lot more if they are to flourish and perform at the highest level possible.

Nutrient deficiency basically comes about because we are either not giving our body enough food (thus not enough nutrients) or our body has trouble absorbing nutrients, which is a topic for a whole other article.

WESTERN NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY

How many times have you heard Standard Western Diet, Standard American Diet or Western Pattern Diet? My guess is a lot – usually accompanied by ’cause of X, Y or Z disease’.

They are all the same thing, but just under different names, don’t be fooled into thinking they’re any different.

Anyway, Western nutrient deficiency is a different kettle of fish to your standard nutrient deficiencies brought about by lack of available foods or poor food selection.

You see, we literally have access to any food we want in the West. We are the luckiest humans to have ever existed and yet we choose to stuff our bodies full of garbage. I’m not here to preach though, I’ve been guilty of that late night Ben & Jerry’s splurge – 3 times a week – for the past year.

But I am here to enlighten my fellow shite-eaters. We can improve ourselves – and it all starts with addressing our deficiencies.

Western nutrient deficiencies come about not because we aren’t eating sufficient calories, but because the quality of those calories is equivalent to stuffing a deep fried pile of cow pat in our mouths.

Highly refined, processed food is killing us. It may be tasty (so, so tasty) but it’s depriving our hot sexy bods of what they really need – nutrients.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

So, what exactly can we do about this lack of nutrient(s) in our diets then?

FOOD

Let’s keep this one simple. If you want to address nutrient deficiency then your food intake is the biggest thing you need to address. Here’s a simple list of food-related things you can do;

Cut out overly-processed foods (ice cream, sweets, ready meals, etc).
Add in more fruits and veggies (packs of frozen veg are really easy to throw in with meals).
Cook at least one meal a day.
Prep your meals in advance.

That was easy wasn’t it? It really is as simple as that. Just add in more quality and subtract more processed stuff.

DRINK

This is another easy one. You want to be drinking only water, coffee or tea – mostly water. Smoothies and juices are okay in moderation but I tend to avoid them nowadays unless it’s right before or after a workout.

Anyway, here’s a quick list to make your life a whole lot easier.

Cut out sugary drinks (Coke, Pepsi, Red Bull, etc).
Limit caffeine (Coffee & tea).
Drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

Literally those 3 things will help you immeasurably in your quest to become a less nutrient deficient zombie so make sure you do ’em!

LIFESTYLE

Your lifestyle is such an important factor too, those who lead sedentary lifestyles and are alway indoors tend to get sick more often and develop nutrient deficiencies on the reg.

Here’s another lovely list.

Get 10,000+ steps every day.
Get out in the fresh air for at least an hour per day.
Get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day (weights, running, walking, sports – anything…)
Sleep at the very least, 7 hour per day. 8 or 9 is optimal.
Try to de-stress (meditation is your best option).

Those lifestyle factors will help you so much when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and bust those deficiencies. They’re all pretty easy to do too so it shouldn’t take long to implement these habits.

SUPPLEMENTS

Now, the supplements.

As we all know, the clue is in the name…supplements should be there to supplement your diet. But let’s be honest, none of us are these perfect machines that can eat the perfect diet day in day out are we.

That is why a good old multivitamin is perfect for the majority of people.

Most multis however, are a load of excrement. They are packed with fillers and subpar dosages, leading to basically no results.

There is one brand that I swear by when it comes to multivitamins though and that is Vitabiotics. Their Wellman range is off the charts effective and always gives me loads of energy. It’s also packed with nutrients that help to fight deficiencies, fatigue and basically anything else that’s related to vitamins and minerals.

They sent me over some of their Wellman Max again but this time, I’ve paired it with their Neurozan brain multivitamin, Ultra Ginkgo & Ginseng and their Wellman energy tablets for the ultimate nutrient boost.

Obviously you don’t have to go as ham as I have but if you really want to boost your performance both physically and mentally then this is the way to go.

Using adaptogenic herbs such as Ginkgo and Ginseng can be very beneficial for nutrient retention and energy levels and is something I’ve actually talked about in great depth in my book – link here if you fancy a gander.

Anyway, if your food, drink and lifestyle factors are all dialled in and you want to take things up a notch then invest in some top quality multivitamins. It won’t break the bank but it may just give you the boost you’re after. You can check out the entire wellman range here.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO FIX?

This is kinda complex but I’ll make it as simple as poss for you.

Depending on how bad your deficiency was and how solid your new approach is, you’re looking at something between 2-12 weeks.

If you completely overhaul your diet, take the best supplements money can buy and cut out 90% of the processed garbage you were consuming beforehand, you’re likely going to be looking at closer to a fortnight but if you want to take a less drastic approach and focus on improving one thing at a time then you’re gonna be closer to 12 weeks.

*This is how happy you can be if you sort your nutrient deficiencies. Foliage is not optional…*

Simple that wasn’t it?

But remember, this change is for life, so 10 weeks difference in the grand scheme of things isn’t a big deal. If you find it easier to do it in bite sized chunks then you do you – you’ll get there eventually and you will have formed a strong, healthy habit that’ll help you live a long, long time.

Old school muscle: The Dumbbell Pullover

The dumbbell pullover – where do we start with this one?

1911 sounds like a good place. This was the year that pullovers were first introduced into the world by a bloke called Alan Calvert – a bit of a fitness buff at the time.

Shortly after their introduction, the dumbbell pullover took the fitness world by storm. It was used as the main upper body movement in many fitness programs of the time.

Have you ever heard of the infamous ‘squats and milk‘ workout routine? This would have lifters drink a gallon of milk every single day whilst performing 20 rep ‘breathing’ squats in their workouts (not at the same time).

Well, the dumbbell pullover was actually the other main movement that has since been taken out of the name – although it does still feature in the program itself.

This is because the pullover was so highly regarded as a full upper body movement that works in perfect unison with the squat. That’s some pedigree for an obscure exercise that has been cast aside by the gym rats of new isn’t it?

THE DUMBBELL PULLOVER

We’ve talked about the history of the lift but let’s get into the nitty gritty – the mechanics. Knowing about the mechanics behind the lift is key to understanding how to target certain areas and why different ways are better for different situations.

The pullover allows for the chest to placed in an optimal position and the stretch that you get from it affects the muscles in the same way that flyes do but with the added bonus of being able to load heavier weight for more reps.

At the bottom of the move, the stretch places a huge emphasis on the lats too, although once you lift the dumbbell past your head, this effect is lessened to some degree. It does still offer huge benefits for building a back like a barn door though as we will discuss a bit further down.

THE GREAT DEBATE

There is a debate that rages amongst the dumbbell pullover community. Well it’s less of a community and more just a few fellas arguing online about muscle activation.

But anyway…

Is it a chest or a lat movement? Well, it’s both. It just depends how you perform it. With that in mind, let’s break down how best to perform a dumbbell pullover for each.

Starting with the chest – this is a bit easier as the pullover does lend itself more towards chest activation. Having the dumbbell behind/above the body and bringing it to the front of the body is naturally a chest-dominant move. This is why so many old-school bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Reg Park credit the dumbbell pullover for their amazing chest development.

All you have to do is really squeeze the pecs throughout the full movement as this is one of those exercises that actually requires that mind muscle connection. I hate saying that but it’s true. This will help to really empty the tank and isolate your pecs nicely.

Now for the lats. This is a little bit tougher but it’s not rocket science – you can still do it easily enough.

I’ll be honest with you, when I perform pullovers, I actually feel it more in my lats. This could be because I tend to hold the stretch at the bottom of the movement for about 2 seconds. As this is where the lats are most dominant, it could mean that I am getting a stronger mind muscle connection there. God I hate saying that so much.

All you have to do to really feel this in the lats is to get that stretch. Hold the bottom position for 2-3 seconds and focus on the contraction in your lats. Then, try to pull with your elbows like you would for rows – this allows for a clear focus on the back and will help burn the lats out nicely.

THE BENEFITS

The dumbbell pullover comes with so many benefits. It can be used at the begining or end of a workout, it can be a chest or a back exercise, it can be done low reps or high reps – it’s such a multi-faceted move.

Anyway, I’ve listed a few of these unique benefits below to whet your appetite.

The upper body squat

The dip is often touted as the upper body squat and with good reason – it basically is. However, I’d argue that the dumbbell pullover may just pip it to the post.

Just like squats working the lower body, pullovers work every last bit of the upper body. They work the chest, the back, the shoulders and to some degree – even the arms.

There’s a reason that this exercise was held in such high regard by thousands of bodybuilders from the golden era. The only reason it has fallen out of fashion is because so many people are simply afraid of hard work and are lacking the mobility to perform it due to their sedentary lifestyles.

Basically, you should build your mobility up and throw the dumbbell pullover into your routine, because otherwise, you’re missing out on some of the best upper body development you can possibly achieve.

The chest angle

This is a biggie.

With standard flyes, it’s quite hard to go heavy. In fact, I’d wager that it’s virtually impossible to go heavy. This is where the dumbbell pullover excels.

Obviously you don’t have to go heavy and it is more about getting a great stretch, but pullovers really allow you to load the stretch on your pecs so much more than flyes.

It is quite a unique stimulus for the chest as it is so used to pressing heavy loads usually as well as sometimes being placed under some stretch but never very heavy.

By adding this volume to your chest at such an alien angle, the pecs are forced to hypertrophy – which is always a good thing.

The lat angle

Weirdly, the dumbbell pullover is actually the only way to isolate your lats. It takes out a lot of the assistance work of all the other back muscles, forearms and even the biceps.

This is what makes it such a great pre-exhaustion exercise as it allows you to get the direct work in before doing heavier compound lifts where your other back muscles and biceps will share the load – taking emphasis off the lats.

AS FOR RIB CAGE EXPANSION…

The big selling point for dumbbell pullovers back in the day was that they expanded the rib cage. So, is this actually true?

No.

Obviously not you idiot. There’s no way to grow bone.

That was quite harsh wasn’t it? I shouldn’t have snapped on you like that – it won’t happen again I promise.

Anyway, like I say, dumbbell pullovers are no good for expanding the rib cage – nor is any exercise ever. However, they are fantastic for increasing all of the musculature around the ribs, which is what gives that look to the physiques of those who use them religiously.

So the answer really should be – no, they don’t expand the rib cage per se but they do cause hypertrophy in all of the areas surrounding the rib cage. So I guess the old timers were kind of right.

HOW TO DO IT

It’s a very simple move – when done correctly.

Lie down on a bench like you would for a bench press. Some people advocate lying across the bench but I think that’s a sub-par way of doing it. If you do want to do it that way obviously that’s okay but your hips may be robbing you of optimal muscle activation.

Once you’re lying down, bring a dumbbell up above your head with straight arms. Your palms should be facing up supporting the dumbbell and you should have a decent grip. Then you want to lower the dumbbell as far down as you can behind your head whilst keeping your arms as straight as possible (some bend is okay).

Once you’re at the bottom position, hold the stretch for a second or two – this is what will really give the lats a great workout. Then pull back up to the starting position, arms straight. The second portion will start as lat dominant and progress to chest dominant, meaning you’ll get a killer pump in your full upper body.

If that explanation hasn’t got through to you, just take a quick look at the video below.

WARNINGS

A lot of people hear ‘dumbbell pullover’ and say ‘what’s that?’ – the rest of the people that hear it will reply ‘nah mate, that’ll scupper your shoulders, I’m not doing it’.

Well they’re wrong – but sort of right. If you try pullovers without having adequate shoulder mobility then you’re asking for problems – as is the same with any other exercise.

All this means is that you have to test how well your shoulders can cope with the stress of being stretched. A simple test is to do a set of overhead press, rest, and then do a set of pullups.

If you can do a set of each with complete range of motion (and I mean complete – no cheating), then you have adequate shoulder mobility and should be able to perform the dumbbell pullover with ease.

If you can’t, then you should look at some shoulder mobility routines online and try again in a month or so. After a few goes, if you just can’t perform the exercise without discomfort then unfortunately, it may just not be for you.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT PULLOVERS CORRECTLY

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. The dumbbell pullover can be slotted perfectly into any routine but I’m going to give you three examples.

I do full body workouts three times per week – if you do this too, I’d recommend throwing them in at the end of each workout supersetted with dead hangs to get the ultimate stretch.

You can also use them as a pre-exhaustion exercise – I find this works particularly well before doing pullups as it really helps with lat activation.

But for those of you who split your workouts into, pushes, pulls, uppers, lowers and whatever else, here’s a few suggestions:

Push workout

Bench press – 3 x 5

Overhead press – 3 x 8

Dips – 3 x 10

Skullcrushers – 3 x 10

Dumbbell pullover – 3 x 15

Pull workout

Deadlift – 3 x 5

Dumbbell pullover – 3 x 15

Pullups – 3 x 8

Barbell rows – 3 x 10

Barbell curl – 3 x 10

Upper body workout

Bench press – 3 x 8

Pullups – 3 x 8

Dumbbell pullover – 2 x 15

Dips – 3 x 10

Barbell rows – 3 x 10

Dumbbell pullover – 2 x 15

The dumbbell pullover is easily one of the greatest upper body builders ever and should be treated as such by far more people than it is currently.

Throw these into your workouts once or twice a week and watch your chest and lats respond in an unbelievable manner. You’ll thank yourself and more importantly – me, in the long run.

Why practicing gratitude will change your life

Practicing gratitude will change your life – but you already sort of knew that didn’t you?

Everyone has this inkling in the back of their heads that being thankful for your fantastic life probably holds some sort of key to increasing your baseline happiness.

Yet we don’t every really practice it do we? We take basically every single thing in our lives for granted. Our food (how easily accessible it is, the amazing nutrition it provides and the fantastic taste), our water (same as food), our warm homes, balanced climate (for the most part), freedom to do what we want, amenities, clothes, transport, our ability to see, hear, touch, taste, smell and even just having all of our bloody limbs.

There are countless things to be thankful for every single day – the fact that you woke up today is an absolute privilege that we just brush off as normal. We never take the time to actually think about how blessed we are from the moment we wake up, til the moment we hit the sack.

WHAT IS GRATITUDE?

There has never been a better time in history to be a human being and we need to start being a lot more aware of that fact. Imagine how people from the past – even just the 1800’s – would react to today’s world. Clean water, sustainable cures for diseases, electricity in every home, working sewage systems, the list goes on.

Their heads would absolutely explode. Anyway, even all of that isn’t the point really; gratitude boils down to being intrinsically grateful. This means you are thankful and content with you. You are thankful for your own hard work, what is has brought to you and your life in general.

You created all of this and that deserves gratitude to yourself. Happiness comes when you are truly grateful and content in the present moment. None of this “I’ll be happy when I get this” or “I could be happy if I had only done that“. It doesn’t work like that.

Practicing gratitude simply means, give thanks to yourself first and your environment after. But always be thankful for both, no matter what the situation is.

Think back to a time when your current life was your dream life. This is one I find always gets people out of their blinkered pursuit of the future and helps them to realise that they are living a life that was once only a dream to them.

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to drive a car, be super strong like your dad or basically do any sort of adult activity ever? Well guess what? You are living your childhood dream! You just don’t realise because you see your life every day. As the famous quote from C. S. Lewis says; “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different?”.

You just need to look back a bit more to realise how unbelievably far you’ve come – just don’t dwell there otherwise you’ll never come back to the present.

Think of gratitude as a bit of modern day stoicism.

BENEFITS OF PRACTICING GRATITUDE

The benefits of practicing gratitude stretch far beyond the five listed below but these will certainly be enough to get you on your way.

Remember, there is nothing more inevtiable than the passing of time. If something bad happens, just remember that a week, month, year will pass and you’ll forget all about it. If something isn’t going to bother you in a year, why should it bother you now?

Practicing gratitude will help you to stop sweating the small stuff and look at the bigger picture. Sometimes, zooming out to see our situation from a different perspective is just what we need.

Anyway…

STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS

Practicing gratitude on the daily will help you develop a deep appreciation for your friends and family. You will want to spend more time present with them and will want to make the most of their company while you still can.

Gratitude will teach you this lesson before it’s too late and honing these feelings of gratitude can help strengthen bonds, it makes you a better listener, a more attentive partner and an all round good egg.

CALMS YOU DOWN

This is kind of linked to what I said above about the passing of time and zooming out on a situation. Being grateful in every situation no matter what it may be, will help you to stay calm in even the most intense, stressful times.

Practicing gratitude isn’t just about being thankful for the great stuff going on in your life. It is also about being thankful for the hardship – the tests that you have to endure throughout life to make you a better human being.

Framing these perceived negatives into positive situations creates many more positive outcomes and will serve you well throughout your life. For more advice on framing negatives as positives, look into Jocko Willink’s ‘good’ mindset.

YOU LOVE YOURSELF

When you start being thankful for your gifts and realise just how lucky and brilliant you are, you will come to love yourself, your abilities and every little thing you wouldn’t notice before.

You will want to take care of yourself and have far more self-respect. I find that this usually leads to greater pride, with people taking action on their fitness goals, career aspirations or simply just treating themselves a little bit.

I know it’s a bit cringey but self-love is a real winner and if you can master the art of loving yourself then it will lead to so many great changes in your life.

OVERALL POSITIVITY

This is definitely my favourite benefit that I noticed since starting practicing gratitude. Your overall positivity will soar. How can it not, when you are saying thank you for pretty much every single thing in your life?

I, and many others, have found that this overall increase in positivity attracts lots of great people to you. This doesn’t mean in a romantic way – but when you are putting so much positivity out into the world, you tend to have that reciprocated by others who share the same beliefs as you.

You become magnetic in a sense – people want to spend more time with you because you’re far more interesting and fun to be around. You are the sum of the 6 people you spend most of your time with. Practicing gratitude and increasing your positivity ensures that those 6 are the right kind of people – people that are going to propel you to achieve your goals.

BETTER SLEEP & ENERGY

This is something I noticed almost instantly when I started practicing gratitude. Your sleep quality and thus energy levels, will absolutely skyrocket.

When you start making gratitude part of your daily routine, you will experience a hell of a lot less ‘mental chatter’ at night – that stuff that keeps you awake for hours.

This is because you won’t be stressing nearly as much as you were before. You’re not rushing through life with blinkers on, always thinking about the next thing, you’re simply grateful for how good things are and this will genuinely help you to catch some top notch shut eye.

GRATITUDE STARTER PACK

Some of this advice may seem like really cliche bollocks BUT they do hold value. How often do we eschew the fundamental cliche advice in order to try far more complex solutions just because they’re different?

Basically all the time isn’t it? The basic, cliche advice is pretty much always spot on – a balanced diet, 45 minutes of exercise a day, fresh air, meditation, whatever it is, it’s pretty much always right. So trust me on this one. If you actually do these things, you’ll set yourself up for success, no doubt about it.

GRATITUDE JOURNAL

A journal is how I started on the road to practicing gratitude consistently. It’s not any special type of journal, any old book will do. But every morning and night, write down 3 things you’re grateful for at that exact point.

It can be literally anything you want!

I will often put down things that have manifested themselves as a result of my hard work to encourage more of the same, I also often put down things such as a strong, supportive ‘inner circle’, my privileges, my missus, even if I hit a PR in the gym that day – anything goes.

This creates such a positive mindset and helps you to realise just how much you’ve got going for you in your life. Try the journal first and then make your way onto the next few points when you feel ready. You’ll be practicing gratitude consistently no time.

SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS

The biggest cliche of them all!

We all claim we spend time with the fam and friends but how much time do we really spend with them? My guess is not very much.

When we get together with our mates in particular, we will all sit round and gawp at our phones, messaging others and tweeting about how much of a great time we’re having, instead of actually being present with our buds.

Then our families…we’re running out of time to spend with them. We know this deep down but ignore it. Guess what? There’s going to come a point where your entire family is dead. A wee bit morbid but it’s true.

Make time to do things with your parents (if they haven’t popped their clogs yet), siblings, cousins, whatever – I know you can’t choose your family but you can sure as hell spend more quality time with them.

If you’re lucky enough to still have grandparents, go and see them, listen to them and actually get to know them. These people have lived through wars, lived through so many decades and have countless stories and advice to give, yet we just see them as lovely old cuddly people. They’re so much more, so dedicate a little bit of time to them and be grateful for their mere existence. And if they’re already 6 feet under, ask your parents about them, they probably led lives that were a million times more interesting than you or I.

SAY THANK YOU

This can be in the conventional sense of saying thank you whenever someone does anything for you but I also find simply saying thank you when I wake up and then about 50 more times in the morning creates a really positive outlook on the day.

If you don’t fancy saying thank you a load of times, simply say it when you wake up and say it when you hop out of bed. Being thankful for waking up and having another day to live is about as basic as it gets, but isn’t that the best thing to be thankful for?

And if you can’t even do that, you must say thank you to anyone who does anything for you. Someone lets you cross the road? Thank you. Someone gives you some directions? Thank you. Someone mugs you and leaves you for dead? Why THANK YOU. In all seriousness though, even if you can’t be thankful to yourself, making someone feel valued by thanking them and acknowledging them could make their day – spread the positive vibes dudes and dudettes.

MENTAL CHECKS

Once I started doing mental checks, my mind was low-key blown into a million tiny pieces.

Every time you do something, try and note whether you take it for granted because you do it every day. I started noticing every time I walked on a soft carpet, put a heater on, used a bloody slow cooker, got on a cross country train, used the map on my phone, walked down the street without being mauled by a tiger – the list was endless.

Once you realise basically your entire existence is made up of thousands of tiny daily miracles that people have spent hundreds of years slaving away for, you will become truly grateful for your life – something which we have all lost touch with.

It’s time to reclaim our lust for life people!

Practicing gratitude will be by far and away the best habit you pick up in 2019. You will become infinitely more aware of your privilege in life and you will undoubtedly be a more happy, well rounded person.

I know these promises sound a bit too good to be true, but they simply aren’t. Implement constant gratitude into your life and be grateful for everything in it – the rest will take care of itself.

Why I quit Twitter: And why you should too

Have you ever gone to quit Twitter, only to open the app back up 2 minutes later, scroll for 15 minutes looking at nothing in particular then forget all about your grand plans?

God knows I have.

But have you ever wondered whether your instincts about Twitter (and most social media for that matter) were right? Is Twitter melting your brain? Well that’s what I’m here for. I’ve been off Twitter for almost 60 days now and I’ve never felt better. My business is flourishing without it, I have more time to focus on what really matters and I feel fantastic.

It feels like quitting an addiction (and the freedom of not mindlessly scrolling while you take a deuce is one of the greatest reliefs of all time).

THE PROBLEM WITH TWITTER

Social media can be used for so much good, but in reality, it really, really isn’t. Twitter especially is rife with issues and has caused so much trouble for even the most casual of users. I’m not going to write a big essay on this because let’s be honest, that’d bore the bloody socks off you, but…

I am going to present you with a lovely little list of the problems (we all love a good list don’t we?) I encountered on Twitter and that I know most others will too, then we’ll move on from there.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

This is the absolute biggest problem with the whole of social media but I found it quite prevalent on Twitter more so than any other platform.

It is a different type of keeping up with the Joneses on Twitter though. You’re not comparing yourself to pictures of people – in fact, you’re not comparing yourself at all really – you’re just trying to fit in.

There is so much pressure on Twitter to conform to the opinions of others. If your opinion is even slightly different to anyone else you are instantly branded as ‘Toxic’ or ‘Cancelled’. I didn’t suffer this ill fate but I got so fed up of seeing people tear others down so regularly that I felt like I just had to get off the platform.

Like most people, I’m not one for regimented conformity – so this form of keeping up with the Joneses really rubbed me up the wrong way. That’s the tea sis. Cancelled.

ANXIETY

Twitter can be a huge source of anxiety in the modern world. How mad is that? Something that didn’t even exist a decade or so ago, becoming one of the biggest sources of anxiety in today’s society.

The constant need to conform and the barrage of absolute bollocks that gets fed to us in 140 characters every second is giving us the worst anxiety epidemic the world has known. More so than during the either of the world wars.

A caveat – anxiety is much more well researched and acknowledged in modern times, but I would wager it is still higher than it was during those periods.

DEPRESSION

Closely linked with anxiety, depression is another mental illness that can be caused, or at least exacerbated by Twitter. Depression statistics over the past 15 years make for grim viewing – it also conveniently coincides with the rise in social media popularity.

This may be linked to the FOMO that Twitter brings. Being connected 100% of the time leads us to compulsively check our feeds every minute just in case we see something funny to retweet or we see our friends tweeting about something we simply can’t miss out on.

If we do see our friends tweeting about something cool they’re doing or god forbid – tweeting other people (gasp), we tend to feel down and jealous, which can lead to anxiety & depressive symptoms at the least and full bouts of the two at worst.

GENUINE HUMAN CONNECTION

Listen, we’re not living in Minority Report. We’re not part of the matrix or shagging robots (for the most part) and we’re still based firmly in the real world. BUT, we are heading that way – we’re losing our grip on reality and a large group of us would probably rather live in a digital world.

You see it everywhere – people meet their friends and they all sit around together on their phones, talking to other people and posting tweets about what they’re doing and how much they’re enjoying it instead of actually doing so.

We lose that sense of genuine human connection – instead opting for the allure of our screens, which is harming our ability to actually communicate and form meaningful, lasting friendships in person.

LACK OF ATTENTION SPAN

This may well be a symptom of the times we live in but our attention spans have regressed at an alarming rate. It is said that our attention only lasts about 40 seconds on average nowadays. How crazy is that? You can only do meaningful work for about 40 seconds before you are distracted by something like a notification or simply just the urge to tweet or scroll your phone.

The use of 140 characters has dumbed us down somewhat in terms of what we are willing to consume. Why read a full post about a meaningful topic when you could just read a few tweets in a thread? That’s the thought process of so many of us nowadays and I believe it’s partly down to Twitter.

SLEEP DISRUPTION

Blue light. This is the culprit for those 3am social media binges. The ability to refresh and refresh for hours straight, seeing new tweets constantly is addictive. We lose all sense of time and get sucked into this vortex.

Blue light will disrupt your sleep by itself but the combined with the addictive nature of Twitter, you will find yourself sacrificing hours of quality sleep to try and think up just one more tweet. This constant need for a few more retweets will keep the gears in your head spinning for hours, which is why you find it so hard to get off to sleep when the last thing you did was look at your phone.

If you want to improve your sleep, spend less time on your phone at night and have boundless energy starting tomorrow then check out my essential night time routine.

GUILT

We will often feel guilty about how much time we spend in Twitter, leading us to feel terrible for a while, before we go an another hour long binge and repeat the process.

We also tend to feel varying amounts of regret over our tweets with the majority of us feeling embarrassed or ashamed of something we tweeted – even if it was just a few days ago. This causes another onslaught of guilt and lowers your wellbeing just a little bit further.

In more severe cases, tweets can pose a serious threat to people’s careers. Twitter has been around for a long time now, meaning there have been a lot of past tweets racked up by celebrities everywhere.

These tweets have been responsible for tarnishing and sometimes completely ruining the careers of countless stars such as Brother Nature, Justine Sacco & Gwyneth Paltrow. The tweets from these people were stupid by the way, but it just goes to highlight how Twitter can go from 0-100 real quick.

TROLL BREEDING GROUND

This is huge. Although I never really got ‘trolled’, a lot of people have received abuse, death threats and worse through Twitter. It’s also a place where you’ll get sucked into needless arguments and ‘debates’ over things you don’t even care about.

I remember I got into an argument with someone because they tweeted a flippant remark about bloggers. Who cares? It didn’t make me feel better – in fact, it made me feel angry and stressed, and for what? Absolutely nowt – it’s a platform for nonsense debate and fierce arguments over faux-concerned people.

OUR OWN THOUGHTS

It’s gone quite unnoticed but we hate spending time alone with our thoughts – if even for a few seconds. Think about when someone goes the toilet on a date, what do you do? You check your phone for updates so you don’t have to sit there doing nothing.

We are afraid of our thoughts. Boredom scares us. It’s a shame really – we don’t even know what it’s like to just be anymore. That’s not in some spiritual way either – your grandparents and even your parents for the most part, didn’t have Twitter – they were just present and spent a lot of time with their thoughts, inadvertently getting familiar and comfortable with their own mind.

I believe this is why there are such higher rates of anxiety and depression in the present day – we hate our own minds and when we have to spend time thinking, with no stimulation, we don’t know what to do and it frightens us.

I recently read a book called Hyperfocus which has a large section on spending time alone with your thoughts and no distractions. It shows you how to be comfortable with your mind and enable your creative spark. It changed my life – you should give it a go.

OVERALL NEGATIVITY

I quit Twitter because basically – it’s boring. So many people just go on there to moan. At least on a platform like Instagram, people are striving for better, they want the best shots and creatives are constantly looking to perfect their craft.

Whereas on Twitter, people just like to complain to brands that their top is a bit too small or that their train is late. It’s just meaningless musings from people who find solace in bashing everything but themselves.

If you want to avoid the majority of negativity in your life at the moment then you should quit Twitter. You will feel an almost instant burst of positivity – promise.

SIDENOTE

A quick sidenote. I know these issues can probably be applied to both Facebook and Instagram too. The thing is though, why are you still on Facebook anyway?

And in terms of Instagram, I genuinely don’t believe it’s that bad. People can’t retweet nonsense onto your timeline and the whole environment is far more geared towards positivity, with much less emphasis on promoting people who moan and bitch about everything.

But if you really want to go full hippie then feel free to bin off all your social media and get that #RealLife experience.

I’M A PROFESSIONAL WHO USES TWITTER FOR BUSINESS, WHAT ABOUT ME?

This is sort of a solid argument, as I can see where business owners are coming from here. But I am a full time blogger and Twitter is supposedly a blogger’s best friend, is it not?

You see, if something is really getting you down, it really isn’t worth the hassle of keeping up with. If you’re feeling the negative effects of Twitter (or any social media for that matter) then maybe it’s just best to take a hiatus.

In the grand scheme of things, it simply doesn’t matter.

WHY IT DOESN’T MATTER

So why doesn’t it matter? Well if we zoom out to the biggest picture possible, we’re a microscopic speck of dust floating on a rock in an infinite blank space, but let’s not zoom out that far – I don’t want to give anyone an existential meltdown.

Let’s take a look a bit closer to home. What do you value more, your happiness or your social media score? Some people don’t realise that it might be this question that they have to ask themselves. You, and only you, can make that decision, but actually addressing the issue head on might be the nudge in the right direction you need.

It also doesn’t matter because Twitter really isn’t the place for businesses to flourish anyway. Twitter is the platform that customers go on to vent frustration. Very rarely will you have customers tweeting praise at you – they do that on other platforms, if at all. It’s like a public complaints mailbox.

That’s why you see so many disastrous PR fails on Twitter. One wrong word and people will jump on you for absolutely nothing. I’ve jumped at brands before too so I can’t preach, but in terms of creating a strong business, I really don’t think Twitter is the way to go.

BETTER PLATFORMS

There are so many better platforms for brands to be on nowadays that are far better suited to businesses. Facebook is still sort of relevant for the average business but Instagram and on-site content marketing will become your new best friends when it comes to growth.

On Instagram, if you post daily and interact with lots of people, you’ll be able to build your brand pretty quickly – especially if you invest in ad campaigns too.

Then there’s on-site content marketing. If you’re not creating quality content for a blog on your site then you’re missing out on potentially thousands of leads. Great content will drive lots and lots of unique visitors to your business, so make this one of your priorities. I guarantee you it’ll more effective – and fulfilling than Twitter.

WHAT ABOUT KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FRIENDS?

At the end of the day, their lives don’t really matter – yours does. You need to start living your own life for you and not for the adulation of your friends and random people online.

Once you get this into your head, you will start to realise how great life can be without flaunting it to everyone twice per hour. You can still keep in touch with friends – you’ve got a phone haven’t you?

Why not actually ask them what they’ve been up to and talk about instead of seeing their tweet about climbing Everest and replying ‘well done – maybe I’ll come along next time lol’. When you quit Twitter it will bring you closer to your friends and the connection will be far more real than a few likes and retweets every so often.

DOES IT HAVE TO BE FOREVER?

Nope. You won’t have to quit Twitter til you’re dying breath.

You can try taking a day off every week or a week off every month – whatever you feel comfortable with. You could try a full month and then see how you feel. I’ll go more into depth below about exactly what you can do when you’re looking to quit Twitter – even if it’s not permanent.

THE SOLUTION

So what is the solution? It’s all well and good preaching on my ‘QUIT TWITTER!!!’ soap box, but if I don’t provide you with the secret sauce then it’s all in vain. So, let’s get into the meat of it.

DEACTIVATE

Here’s the secret if you want to quit Twitter – you quit Twitter. Whaaaaaat?!?!?! I know it may be revolutionary but quitting Twitter really is the best way to quit Twitter. Who would have thought it?

I’m only semi-joking here too. It’s like the proverbial cliche – ripping the (American accent) band aid off. Just get it over with and deactivate straight away. No need for a big dramatic post trying to notify people of your noble quest. Just get off and tell anyone who you’re close to via text or carrier pigeon.

RIDE THE WAVE

The first week is by far and away going to be the hardest. You’re going to instinctively go in your pocket every couple of minutes. You’re going to scroll across your homescreen to try and find the app and you’re going to search for Twitter on your desktop. This is because over the years, you’ve built up a terrible habit – a twitch if you will. You have come to rely on this little app on your phone for stimulation and pleasure.

But you’ve just gotta ride that wave. You’ve got to see out this adjustment period of about a week or so. Once you get past this initial hurdle, it’s plain sailing. You will stop going for your phone every few minutes, you’ll stop looking for Twitter and you’ll stop thinking constantly about if a situation you’re in would make for a decent tweet.

You will come to realise that you don’t need this little bluebird anymore and that you have so much more free time and energy without it. You may even stop thinking in binary metrics of likes and retweets – shock horror.

REASSESS

After taking 30 days off Twitter, you can now reassess whether or not you need it in your life. Have you suffered any of the drastic consequences you thought you would? Do you really need to log back in?

If the answer is no to both of these, why not quit Twitter for good? If you think this is too big of a step, you can always log back in, make the world aware of your presence again and limit yourself to one or two scrolling sessions per day with notifications turned off.

Better yet, delete the app off your phone and force yourself to use Twitter only on your desktop – this is an effective way of limiting your consumption going forward.

BENEFITS OF TAKING SOME TIME OFF

Now for the juicy stuff.

You’re going to experience a looooot of benefits when you quit Twitter. It may also help to take on board the tips about reducing all social media consumption too. But anyway, let’s be havin ya!

YOU BECOME PRESENT

I have noticed this one the most. Instead of pulling out my phone every few minutes to check my feed and if I’ve missed someone’s tweet, I will barely go on it at all. Often if I’m meeting someone, I’ll keep my phone off completely so I can give them my full attention. After a while this gets a lot easier and you’ll find yourself enjoying the present far more.

INCREASES IN HAPPINESS

This is pretty much guaranteed. Once you block all the negativity and bad news that Twitter feeds you with constantly, you will feel yourself being more happy and more concerned with living your own life and not dwelling on someone else’s sadness.

I know that might seem a bit cold but you have to concentrate on increasing your own happiness before you try to increase everyone else’s. They always tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others in the event of a plane crash – this is no less true with happiness and life in general.

MORE TIME

I was averaging about 3 hours of screen time a day which probably isn’t even that bad compared to the general population. But that is still AWFUL. 3 hours per day spent gorming at a screen? That works out to almost an entire day per week lost to social media.

Twitter is the main culprit for this as it constantly feeds you new news stories, insights into people’s lives and just about anything else you can think of that would consume your time. By taking the decision to quit Twitter, you will be saving yourself so much of your finite time.

You can use this time to spend with your friends and family, work on a passion project, learn a new skill, whatever it may be – it has to be better than aimlessly scrolling through a screen hasn’t it?

YOU ARE MORE CREATIVE

Since you will be cutting down screen time (mine’s at about 30-40 minutes a day now), you will be spending a lot more time without this unnatural, novel stimuli and more time alone with your thoughts to be more creative.

Have you ever noticed how most kids are so bloody happy? Do you not think that has something to do with the fact they don’t have phones yet? They can spend their days socialising, learning and being creative. They don’t have the choice to go on their phones so they use their minds all the time.

Why can’t use adults be like that? I’m not stupid – I know that real life comes with stresses, bills, etc but why can’t we strive to just exist a bit more simply? Spend less time on our phone, socialise a bit more (in person) or learn a new skill – these can easily be done if you quit Twitter.

If you quit Twitter, it may just be the catalyst for change that you’ve been after – I know it certainly was for me. Keep your mind young, use your brain more and you will become much more creative and above all – happy.

NO MORE FOMO

There will be no more fear of missing out. You will stop spending your time refreshing friends’ feeds to see if they’ve posted updates or the day after to see if they upload any funny stories about the night.

You won’t care – at least you won’t after the first couple of weeks. Life will go on, the next night will roll around and you’ll want to go to that one because you want to experience it for real – not vicariously through their social feeds.

It’s a win win win win win situation. I can’t think of a single person that loses when you quit Twitter. Except for @Jack.

CAN TWITTER BE A FORCE FOR GOOD?

In short, yes it can.

However, it is pretty hard for Twitter to be a force for good over a prolonged period of time. Twitter was absolutely amazing for me for about 12 months. It allowed me to connect with lots of amazing people in blogging who helped me along the way and have genuinely become friends.

We all now follow each other on Instagram though, so I’m not missing out on any friendships. The only difference now is that the whole space I move in is far more positive and conversations are more meaningful.

If you can follow about 50 people, Twitter will probably be okay for the most part but let’s be honest – apart from your Grandma, who follows just 50 people? It’s impossible.

No matter how pure your intentions, your following count will always end up snowballing and you’ll find yourself getting angry at political threads and annoying trolls. The stress of Twitter really isn’t worth it – not for me anyway.

Become bulletproof: The ultimate 5-step full body warm up

We all know we should warm up, but let's be honest - we don't.I know I'm definitely guilty of having good intentions but just not following through on them whatsoever. My idea of a warm up just a few months ago was doing a few lighter sets of my first exercise. Read on to find out how my recommendations have changed.

We all know we should warm up, but let’s be honest – we don’t.

I know I’m definitely guilty of having good intentions but just not following through on them whatsoever. My idea of a warm up just a few months ago was doing a few lighter sets of my first exercise.

And to be honest, that’s not actually too bad. The best warm ups are those that have you doing more work in less time. This basically means, if you’re spending too much time warming up then it will actually detract from your performance and could even be priming you for injuries. You want to be as effective as you can in as little time as you can.

Enter, the 5-step full body warm up.

This is quick and efficient. It warms the entire body up, meaning blood will be circulating throughout all your muscles – perfect for keeping your joints safe and your performance at its peak.

But most importantly, it can be done in less than 5 minutes, which is ideal for consistency. What’s the point in having the best, most intricate warm up routine if you only do it once a month? By having such a quick & simple routine, you’ll be far more consistent, meaning you’ll see the benefits in and outside of the gym.

THE FULL BODY WARM UP: EQUIPMENT LIST

This isn’t an extensive list by any means, but there are a few items you will need. These will be some of the best fitness investments you will ever make, as they’re going to save you from pain and injury time and time again.

All in all, they’ll probably set you back £20 ($30).

Foam roller
Golf/Lacrosse Ball
Light resistance band

HIP FOAM ROLL

This is the perfect exercise for loosening tight hips – a problem that can really hinder leg exercises and predispose you to injury. Moving the roller to the front and back of the legs will also help to prime the quads and hamstrings.

Areas worked:

Hips
IT band
Hamstrings
Quadriceps
Glutes

How to do it:

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Underhand pull aparts

These are great for hitting the rear delts and rotator cuffs - two areas that can be damaged easily if over stressed without proper preparation. It also gives the biceps & triceps a little stretch which is beneficial for all your pushing & pulling exercises.

Areas worked:

Rear delts
Rotator cuffs
Traps
Biceps
Triceps

How to do it:

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Cobra stretch

Perfect for working the lower back and helping to warm up the core. This will give you improved stability and strength throughout all your lifts and really helps to prime the glutes and hamstrings too.

Areas worked:

Lower back
Upper back
Shoulders
Hamstrings
Glutes

How to do it:

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Chest roll

Tight pecs can be the cause of so many underlying issues that lead to injury and prevent maximal power output. The main culprit here is rounded shoulders. By stretching your chest, not only do you injury proof it for your pressing movements but you also improve your overall health by fixing postural imbalances.

Areas worked:

Upper chest
Lower chest
Front delts

How to do it:

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Wall slides

These are a bugger. They work the shoulders through a very tough range of motion but the reward to effort ratio here is bang on. Performing these will improve your posture in next to no time and have all of your exercises progressing like crazy.

Areas worked:

Rear delts
Rotator cuffs
Traps
Front delts
Medial delts

How to do it:

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That’s it. Quick, easy, effective. Once you’ve done that circuit, start your first exercise with 50% of your 1 rep max for 5 reps, then 60% for 3 and finally, 70% for 1. This will be the cherry on top, ‘greasing the groove’ if you will.

This will allow you to optimise your power output whilst keeping you free from injury in the long run.

You can thank me when you’re 85 and still doing cartwheels.

If you enjoy this sort of stuff then you can follow my dedicated personal training page here. You can also pick up my free bulking blueprint ebook here. AND, if you want a tailored 4-week wellbeing plan courtesy of yours truly, you can pick that up here.

The ultimate guide to a plant based diet

In a world where ‘diet’ has become something of a dirty word, how do we sift through all the bull excretion and find what actually works? I’m here today to tell you that the only diet proven to work for virtually any person on Earth is *drum roll* a plant based diet.

I can hear droves of keto keepers, paleo people and low-carb loonies shouting at their screens right now – and that’s okay. I’m not here to bash on these diets. They may well have their benefits in some populations but they do not work for a large majority of people long term – which is vital.

The plant based diet is the only diet with genuine research showing potential reversal of disease and long term reduction in basically all ailments ever. Yet people do not want to try it. But, why? I ask myself this all the time.

There are so many reasons, mostly misconceptions about what the diet entails, how hard it is to maintain (it isn’t) and scepticism about building muscle and keeping fit. These are all myths perpetuated by industries and individuals whose livelihood is directly opposed to the plant based movement.

I want to get this out of the way first and foremost before diving in – I am not a vegan. I will repeat that. I am NOT a vegan. I eat like your run-of-the-mill vegan the majority of the time but nothing is off the table if I want it. This is what plant based means to me and what it should mean to most of us if we want to reap the benefits of this diet in the long run.

WHAT A PLANT BASED DIET IS

I’ll be straight up with you, a plant based diet can be a bit of a minefield when it comes to it’s true definition, but I’m going to keep it simple and opt with ‘a diet that is based mostly on plants’ (not solely on plants). A plant based diet can be a vegan diet if you want it to, but my point is that it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want it to and that’s the beauty of it – it can be tailored to fit anyone & everyone.

I know there may be a lot of vegans getting their pants in a twist over this statement, saying that only a truly vegan diet can be classed as plant based. Not true guys. Just because you don’t eat animal products doesn’t mean you’re automatically plant based.

And let me pose this question to those who are staunch vegans. What is better – a person who eats animal products all the time, or a person who consumes animal products once or twice a month?

Unless someone is in the plant based movement for purely ethical reasons, there is no need to completely shun a bit of chicken, some cheese or a wee glass of milk every now and again. The point is to reduce it as much as possible and load up on the good stuff, aka, plants.

Once you begin to realise how good you feel when you haven’t got animal fats and proteins clogging up your system though, you’ll barely ever want to eat ’em. Trust me!

Just so we’re clear – a plant based diet, for the sake of this guide, is a diet that is mostly plants (85-100%), that’s all there is to it.

WHAT A PLANT BASED DIET ISN’T

There are a lot of misconceptions floating about surrounding what a plant based diet is and isn’t. A plant based diet doesn’t automatically mean vegan, it isn’t a ‘clean eating’ movement and it isn’t a form of orthorexia. You also don’t have to shove kale in your ears and sacrifice sweetcorn to the plant gods.

Some people associate being plant based with the vegan diet, which they can then associate with orthorexia. The blogger ‘The Balanced Blonde‘ wrote a book called ‘Breaking Vegan’ which details her struggles on the topic. This put a lot of people off veganism and thus – a plant based diet.

The simple fact of the matter is though, this woman had orthorexia and unfortunately, a lot of people mistake this eating disorder as an inherent fault of the diet itself, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is the simple beauty of the plant based diet though – nothing is actually off the table. It is just a gradual movement away from animal products (to a level you can maintain) and a gradual increase to a more plant-filled way of eating.

The plants are your base. As long as you are eating a generous serving of various ones each day, you can have some junk food now and again.

It is not the dreaded clean eating movement, which can be another trigger for orthorexia. It is a flexible diet that will work for almost 100% of people.

Just so we’re clear, the clean eating movement nor the vegan diet are inherently bad whatsoever, they both have amazing benefits. However, some people with deep lying conditions may feel slightly more triggered on them over the conventional diet, such as The Balanced Blonde.

This is why I believe a plant based diet is the way to go. It loosens restrictions and means you don’t feel as backed into a corner with your food choices (even though there are plenty of vegan options available nowadays).

MY VEGAN STORY

I’ll keep this one brief because nobody really cares, but maybe a quick backstory on me might *connect* us and help you get more from the guide.

I went vegan when I was 19 and stayed as vehement a vegan as you’ll ever find for about 18 months or so. I wouldn’t wear animal products, wouldn’t use any sort of product with a smidgen of animal traces in it, I didn’t eat my beloved Haribo Tangfastics and I even had a pair of vegan Dr Martens! I still own them too, they’re the best boots ever – shoutout to the doc.

But I felt like I was missing out, so when I was 21, I opted to go back to the dark side. It started with just a slither of bratwurst sausage, but then things got messy. At the time I was loving it, shovelling carcasses down my throat left, right and centre, but after, I felt awful. Everyone knows about the meat sweats, right? And everyone knows how lethargic you feel after a big, meat-heavy meal.

Well, I felt like that all the time. Eventually I felt so lethargic and lacking any sort of energy, I decided it was time to ditch it again. But this time, there was one key difference – I was plant based, not vegan. This meant I would never feel like I was missing out and the knowledge that I could eat animal products *if I wanted* meant that I found the diet easier and less stressful than before. It is also the reason I am still plant based now and have barely touched an animal product since.

WHY I STOPPED LABELLING IT

During my research into plant based diets, I came across so many variants that made me laugh. There are things such as ovo-vegetarians (those who eggs but not meat), pollo-vegetarians (those who eat chicken but no other meat) and the dreaded semi-vegetarian.

Why are we so desperate to label every little bit of our life? You’re not pollo-vegetarian, you just eat chicken and veg. You’re not a semi-vegetarian, you just sometimes eat animal products! It is human nature to want to find meaning and belonging, but trying to use your dietary preference as a personality trait really isn’t the way to do it.

Once I stopped labelling myself as a vegan I felt instantly freer. There was no pressure to conform to the dietary standard and I felt like I was making even better choices as a result. This didn’t mean I was scoffing animal products left right and centre (I barely do) but knowing I could took a weight off my shoulders.

As soon as you tell someone you’re a vegan or a ‘pollo-vegetarian’, you are opened up to scrutiny and you feel like your every move is hawked over meticulously by every man and his dog. This pressure not only from external sources – but from yourself – to conform to this way of life can be hugely off-putting for anyone getting into the vegan/plant based movement.

This is why ditching the label will be the best thing you do. By just getting on with your diet, you – and only you, can concentrate on what’s truly important – your health and wellbeing.

Michael Pollan put it best when he said ‘Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.’ The simplest and most effective dietary advice for all of us to follow if we want to live a life of health and longevity.

So, take the label off, enjoy the bliss of eating your newly found plant based diet and live a stress free life. Just don’t start telling everyone you’re plant based (like I’m doing with this article…).

WHY YOU SHOULD SWITCH: THE BIG 3

You know what a plant based diet is and isn’t, you know a little background on me, but why should you switch? Here’s your 3 main reasons.

HEALTH

First and foremost is your health. You can’t enjoy anything in life if you aren’t healthy, not truly anyway. And you damn well can’t consider the other two reasons if your diet has killed you.

Within the first week or so, the switch may be difficult but you will soon find yourself with bags of energy, a clearer mind and just feeling great at all times. I even managed to give up coffee after the first two weeks of getting on the plant based diet.

ENVIRONMENT

As we are all aware, the meat and dairy industry are terrible for not just our health, but our environment too. By easing off on our animal product consumption, we can go some way to helping our planet heal.

There’s no point in discussing what food to eat if the Earth has turned into a toxic wasteland is there? Your life goal should be to take care of your body and your planet – they’re the only two places you have to live in.

ETHICS

Finally – and this may be the reason why a lot of people choose a plant based lifestyle – is ethics. Consuming less animal products means less animal suffering as a whole. The source of people’s food can really weigh on their conscience, so if you are of this school of thought, a plant based diet is definitely the way to go.

If you are dead set against animal suffering, the plant based diet can also act as a good way to ease yourself into the vegan lifestyle in the long run.

These will all be discussed in much more detail in the ‘Benefits’ section below, just in case you thought I was skimming over the holy trifecta a bit.

THE UNDENIABLE TRUTH OF PLANT BASED DIETS

Let’s talk about the undeniable truth of the plant based diet for just a second before we get into the full list of benefits. It is just healthier. Period. No other diet in existence can boast the reversal of disease, the droves of success stories or the hard scientific proof.

A plant based diet is a superior diet and that’s just not up for debate. Providing you eat the right foods while on a plant based diet and don’t fall into a junk food trap, you will feel absolutely amazing until your dying breath – which will probably be when you’re about 257 (lentils are powerful stuff).

BENEFITS OF A PLANT BASED DIET

Now let’s get into the good stuff. Everyone wants to know ‘what’s in it for me?’. Well pretty much everything is in it for you. By making the switch to a plant based diet, you open yourself up to an almost endless list of benefits.

Since the list is about as long as time itself, I’m going to list my favourites. These aren’t all woo-woo claims either folks, this is all backed up by science. Good old science.

LOWERED RISK OF HEART DISEASE

This is the biggie. Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the Western world and it really needn’t be. Those on a plant based diet have a significantly lower risk of all forms of heart disease, which begs the question – why wouldn’t you eat this way?

LOWERED CANCER RISK

The second biggest benefit of a plant based diet is the lowered risk of all forms of cancer, especially colon cancer. This has a lot to do with the lowered intake of red meat and its associated carcinogens – which have been shown to actually cause cancer by the World Health Organisation.

INCREASED BLOOD FLOW

Blood flow is such an important factor of health in general. It allows nutrients to be shuttled to muscles and helps you feel great at all times. It is also extremely beneficial to the heart and also for the fellas – their erections.

Erectile dysfunction can be an early indicator of heart disease as both are closely linked to blood flow. What’s good for one is good for both – you can thank me later.

REVERSAL OF DIABETES

A diet that can genuinely reverse disease? Damn bloody right.

Although it may not be able to reverse all cases of diabetes, a plant based diet has been shown to be an extremely effective way of managing diabetes and there are countless stories of people even coming off their medications completely. It really is unbelievable that all diabetes sufferers aren’t eating more plants.

IMPROVED MOOD

Plant based people are happier – according to science.

I can vouch for this though – being plant based gives me so much energy (see below) and makes me feel great all day every day. I know this seems like some sort of JML advert but it does genuinely perk you up and has definitely given me a rosier outlook on life.

ABUNDANT ENERGY

This is probably one of the most obvious ones but when you start packing your gob full of nutrient rich plants, you come to have boundless energy.

I can almost guarantee after a big meat or dairy heavy meal, you feel stuffed and lethargic, then that cycle carries on again and again, every day until you simply don’t have any energy to do anything without some form of external input (coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc). No wonder the majority of people have a crippling caffeine addiction by the time they’re 21!

By taking back control of your energy levels, you can break free of that reliance on caffeine and become free to savour and enjoy your coffees without depending on them. I used to drink 2-3 a day just to keep me functioning, now I drink 2-3 a week and that’s only when I get less than 5 hours of sleep or if I just fancy the taste of one.

That’s not some form of weird caffeinated humblebrag by the way, it’s just showcasing how a simple change in your diet can give you boundless, healthy and sustainable energy.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

This one might be a selling point for a lot of folks. Weight & BMI being the two most coveted improvements. Plant based diet followers are on average, much lighter than those on the Western diet.

I don’t really believe your weight matters too much and don’t personally have a scale at home for this reason. Weight can be distorted by bone and muscle mass so don’t take guidelines too seriously.

But plant based people also hold less fat than those on the Western diet which is the important factor. Being fat is asking for disease, illness and an early death. If you can trim the fat even slightly, you’re on the right track.

BETTER BREATH

This is a bit of a vanity thing but still, bad breath ain’t no joke.

Those who eat meat have a higher chance of bad breath due to the animal protein getting stuck in your teeth and attracting bacteria. By eating a more plant based diet you can avoid this almost completely. You can also floss after each meal to be super careful not to have pungent breath.

LOWERED OSTEOPOROSIS RISK

Considering that the plant based diet is supposedly devoid of calcium, it may come as a surprise that those on this diet have a lowered risk of developing osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Research is now emerging showing that cow’s milk may actually increase the risk of breaks and fractures, contrary to what the dairy industry would have you believe. Countless studies have now shown than the highest consumers of dairy products have the highest rates of osteoporosis, bone breaks and fractures!

This could be down to the protein/calcium balance being thrown out of whack by dairy products which have a higher protein/calcium ratio than that of other plant foods.

LESS SECOND HAND HORMONE & ANTIBIOTICS CONSUMPTION

This is more potent now than ever. Our animals are pumped full of steroids to make them bigger and loaded with antibiotics to stop them getting sick. They’re also pumped with a whole lot of other nasties that end up in their bodies when they are killed.

All of these horrible hormones and medications are of course then in our meat, dairy and eggs which is why illness rates are skyrocketing and we have become so resistant to a lot of older treatments.

The only thing you have to worry about on a plant based diet is pesticides which are sometimes sprayed on crops to ward off insects and animals. These can simply be washed off during a good old rinse of your veg.

HOW TO MAKE THE SWITCH TO A PLANT BASED DIET

You don’t just have to jump into a plant based diet head first. You can ease yourself in if you think that is a better way for you to stick to it long term and acclimatise to less animal products.

The tips listed below are designed to take out the hardest parts of the plant based lifestyle with relative ease. They will also help bridge the gap between plant based and animal foods, meaning you’ll barely realise that anything has changed at all.

ADD MORE PLANTS IN

First and foremost, just add some god damn plants in! All you have to do is have your normal meals, but just add in one or two fistfuls of veg. Some broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, WHATEVER – just pack the plate with veg.

Your meals should never be based around the meat on the plate anyway. It should be packed with vegetables, grains, starches, etc then the meat should compliment it. However, as a culture we’ve let ourselves go and that serving of meat has skyrocketed so it is the main part of the meal.

We need to take control back. Pack your plate with the good stuff and try to half the meat serving if possible after a couple of weeks.

MILK ALTERNATIVES

This is an extremely easy one to implement. If you’re having cereal, a cup of tea or coffee, just add in some coconut, almond or soy milk instead of cow’s milk. These plant based milks actually taste really good, they’re creamy and each has a unique taste which can sex up your usuals a bit.

It’s also stupidly easy to do as you won’t particularly taste a difference and you’re getting rid of one of the worst offenders when it comes to animal products in the diet.

MEAT FREE MONDAYS

Now we’re stepping it up.

Trying meat free Mondays can give you a real taste of what the plant based diet is all about. It allows you to feel some of the benefits of culling the animal consumption even just after one day.

You’ll probably sleep better, have more energy the day after, won’t be as constipated (so I’ve heard…) and a load of other great benefits that you can feel almost instantly.

It also gives you a chance to experiment with a day’s worth of meat free recipes and it can really open your eyes to the possibilities out there – showing you that meals don’t have to be based around meat in order to taste great.

TRY MEAT REPLACEMENTS

Once you’ve graduated from meat free Mondays, you can start looking into meat replacements long term if you still have those fleshy cravings.

Meat replacements nowadays are brilliant, they’re not like the cardboard gear from back in the day. Linda McCartney has an amazing range of plant based meat alternatives (think sausages, burgers, PIES…) that I’m sure will help even the staunchest carnivore to ease off on the meat.

RESEARCH TASTY RECIPES

The final tip may just be the most important – research some tasty recipes! If you are constantly eating bland foods, you’re more than likely going to cave and go for a McDonald’s after about 4 days.

But, if you have lots of amazing recipes to choose from, you keep everything fresh and you can really explore the amazing plant based dishes that are available to you.

I have listed a few from my favourite plant based chef – the minimalist baker, below. Her site is an fantastic resource for anyone looking for quick but tasty (and very healthy) plant based foods.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON WHOLE FOODS

You could eat fries, chips and smoke some doobies and still call yourself plant based but that completely defeats the object of the plant based diet. This is why you should be focusing on a whole foods approach. And if doobies are a staple of your diet… maybe ditch them too and give CBD oil a go instead.

By focusing on whole foods, you reap the full benefits of a plant based diet. You allow yourself to take on the bevy of nutrients that fruit, veggies, whole grains, nuts & legumes can offer (along with a smidgen of organic animal bits if you really fancy it).

As humans, we are always focused on loss. We always zone in on what we don’t have instead of what we can add. This is no different to our diet. We always focus in on what we are taking out of our diet (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, meat free, additive free, sugar free, etc) when in fact, we should be focusing on adding quality nutrition and making that a mainstay first and foremost.

The whole point of a plant based diet is not to restrict you, it is to open you up to a world of abundance and culinary possibilities. By adding in a wide variety of colourful, healthy & tasty whole foods, you will naturally move away from stuffing your face with processed junk as you simply won’t crave it.

You will start to crave the taste and the energy that whole foods give you, which is the whole point of the diet. You have to want to eat this way. If you feel like you are trapped in this way of eating then you’re eventually going to binge and fall off the wagon for good. I know this because I’ve been there.

And that’s why the focus is on abundance and what we can add in, not what we are taking out, limiting or restricting. Focus on getting those whole foods in and naturally, the junk will fall by the wayside.

THE ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS OF A PLANT BASED DIETS

People like to think it’s incredibly hard to get certain nutrients on a plant based diet and use this as an excuse not to try it for themselves or do any sort of research into the topic whatsoever.

In reality, it’s far easier to get these nutrients on a plant based diet than a standard diet. Maybe this is because plant based people are more aware of their dietary intake than most standard dieters but in any case – it is still extremely easy if you know how.

Luckily I do know how – and you will too in a moment. I’ve listed the main offenders that people like to reference when bashing on the plant based way. I’ve also listed exactly how you can get these essential nutrients so you don’t have to worry, my plant consuming apprentice.

PROTEIN

This is a myth that just needs to die. Protein is exceptionally easy to come by on a plant based diet.

For starters, you simply don’t need as much protein as you are led to believe by big supplement companies. I weigh around 155lbs and take in about 125g of protein a day. Some say 0.8-1g of protein per lb of bodyweight is optimal but I would say even 0.6g per lb is sufficient for muscle growth. Add to that the high levels of carbs that the plant based diet includes and your athletic performance will be on another level.

My favourite sources of protein are tofu, oats, kidney beans, chickpeas, oats, lentils and quinoa. If I’m running a tad low for the day I’ll throw in a scoop of protein powder for a boost.

B12

Just supplement with this. If you still sometimes eat meat, this won’t be an issue (most likely – although meat eaters can be b12 deficient). If not though, a supplement costs next to nothing and taking a pill once or twice a week will give you your quota.

To be fair, you won’t even need a supplement if you drink fortified milk or eat fortified cereals (or if you ate grass like the cows who give you b12).

ZINC

Zinc is responsible for healthy hair, nails and sleep, amongst lots of other things. Being deficient is no joke, which is why even though the recommended daily dose is pretty low, I still supplement to get more than triple that, as this can have lots of benefits, mainly just increases in testosterone though.

That said, there are still lots of plant based foods that offer loads of zinc. These are kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, peanut butter, cacao powder, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and oats.

IRON

This really baffles me. Apart from red meat, every other main source of iron is plant based. However strange it may seem, people still love trying to bring it up as a reason to not go plant based.

They’re wrong – obviously. The best sources of iron are spinach, lentils, tofu, quinoa, oats, tempeh, pumpkin seeds – the list goes on…and on…and on.

If you’re really in a pickle, you could just cook your foods in a cast iron skillet which transfers some of its iron content to the foods you are cooking. Just how safe this is though I don’t know – although I still use it anyway because of the #aesthetics.

CALCIUM

Some people – in fact, most people, believe that you can only get milk from calcium. ‘Gotta drink from a cow’s teet to make my bones grow strong!!!’ Not true. Calcium comes from loads of much healthier sources such as tofu, broccoli, fortified milks and cereals, bok choy and oats.

Some of those probably came as a surprise to you and I must admit, they did to me at first too. But these foods are full of nutrients so it makes sense that a wee bit of calcium had to be in there somewhere too.

Ignore the constant onslaught of advertising from the dairy industry and open your eyes to the fact that there are plant based alternatives to everything.

OMEGA 3

It’s not just fish and oils that have omegas in them. My favourite sources of omega 3 in particular are hemp seeds, flaxseed and chia seed. These three pack a huge omega punch and are a convenient, tasty way to get them into your diet.

I throw flaxseed and chia into my oats in the morning and the hemp seeds go in an afternoon smoothie – easy.

IODINE

Since our bodies cannot produce iodine internally, it is essential that we consume enough of it through our diet, which is where scaremongers come in. They will have you believe that a plant based diet simply cannot meet these needs when in fact, it can with ease and it does so by using some of the healthiest foods known to man.

These are potatoes, prunes, strawberries, kelp and cranberries. These are all super easy to work into recipes and are the perfect way to get a huge dose of iodine to keep your body in top condition.

VITAMIN D

The thing with Vitamin D is that it is extremely hard to come by through diet alone. Eggs have a tiny bit in them but the best food source is actually plant based – mushrooms!

Regardless, just get outdoors in the sun if you can. If you can’t, take a Vitamin D3 (D3 is the most powerful form of vitamin D) supplement.

WHY THIS VERSION OF A PLANT BASED DIET IS FOR EVERYONE

The plant based diet is the optimal diet for health, there’s no two ways about it. The beauty of this diet is that it pleases the masses, in part due to the deep levels of customisation you can enjoy on it.

Vegans can have no animal products in their plant based diet if they want. Vegetarians can have some animal products in their plant based diet if they want. Meat eaters can have a tad more animal products in their plant based diet if they want.

It is this level of tailoring that can allow anyone, no matter their dietary preferences, to create a plan that is fun, easy to stick to and most importantly – effective.

The only requirements are that you cut down the animal products to <15% of your total caloric intake and ramp up them fruits and veggies.

A caveat though – I do recommend consuming as little animal produce as possible if you want the best results. I always find that I feel less ‘clogged up’ when I’m running on that clean, lean, veggie energy.

WHY THIS VERSION MIGHT ANNOY SOME

I know I’ve probably ticked off a lot of people with this article, but at the end of the day, it is for the greater good. Just because I advocate not labelling yourself a vegan/vegetarian doesn’t mean I don’t advocate eating that way.

My diet now is almost what you would class as vegan with the exception of a bit of honey. The only difference is that I know I’m not restricted and if I wanted to eat a cheese butty, I could.

This is what is going to help me – and countless others, stay on the diet long term. This is a million times better than going gung-ho for 12 months then crashing and burning like I did. The whole point of the plant based diet is that people will eventually not even want to eat animal products for the most part because they enjoy eating the plant based way so much. This will lead to huge decreases in overall animal consumption, which is what true vegans and vegetarians want, right?

All I’m saying is don’t bash the plant based way. Encourage those around you to join in and to take their health into their own hands by eating the way humans were meant to.

THE CHINA STUDY

An entire section dedicated to just one study? Believe it or not, yes. The China study has been at the heart of fierce debate between vegans and non vegans ever since it was published in 2005. There has even been books that have tried to disprove it, but despite this, I believe the results – kind of.

The China study is the perfect support for a plant based diet. Since it didn’t exclusively look at vegans, this may well be the best study of its kind that represents a plant based way of living in the real world.

It looked at a 20 year study called the China-Cornell-Oxford project which was conducted predominantly in rural china and observed the relationship between animal product intake and chronic disease (cancers, heart disease, etc).

At the end of the 20 years, they concluded that a diet that was heavy in animal products was also more likely to cause chronic disease in participants – results which were corroborated by multiple other studies at the time.

So, what can we take from the China study? Well, considering by the end of the study, they had over 8,000 statistically significant associations between diet, lifestyle and disease – my guess is quite a lot.

But let’s keep it simple – smash the plants. Now backed up by a wealth of research, a plant based diet was shown to prevent and reverse chronic disease, slow or stop the growth of cancer cells, improve rates of obesity, diabetes and bone disease, amongst others.

The China study really taught us the importance of nutrition for keeping the human body in peak condition. It has also showed us that carbs really are NOT the enemy. As long as those carbs are from whole foods, plant based sources of course.

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?

After reading through the China study, it led me down somewhat of a research rabbit hole. If you are into your scientific proof as much as me, you’ll love this section.

If you don’t like your research and would rather just mindlessly scroll through success stories then skip this section you lazy dosser.

Be warned if you do skip though – you’ll be missing out on some extremely interesting work by scientific frontrunners.

COUCH POTATO VEGANS VS WESTERN DIET RUNNERS

This is kind of a novel study but it’s bloody profound, that’s for sure. As plant based people are usually much more slender than their Western diet counterparts, it has been argued that results showing less arterial plaque in the planties is down to this and not the diet itself.

So this study set out to put this to bed once and for all – by measuring sedentary vegans against runners who ate a traditional Western diet. These weren’t just any runners either. These were people who ran an average of 48 miles per week. For the past 21 years.

The results were unbelievable – the vegans had lower thickness in their carotid arteries. Considering the fact these people worked out once a week or not at all, this is crazy. And it just goes to show the true power of the plant based diet and what a diet very low in animal products can do for your overall health.

SAVE LIVES, SAVE MONEY & SAVE THE EARTH

There was a study published by Oxford University that compared the three dietary approaches and what effect these would have on the world by 2050 if everybody implemented them.

Within these effect parameters were mortality, environmental health and economy. Greenhouse gases were included too but for the sake of ease, we’ll just lump that in with the environment.

They compared three eating patterns: a Western diet, vegetarian diet and a vegan diet.

While the findings may have to be taken with a pinch of salt, they predicted that the more plant based the diet, the better it was for all three parameters. By 2050, they predicted a 10% decrease in all cause mortality, saving 8.1 million lives per year, along with over a trillion dollars saved on health costs and a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

SWAP OUT YOUR ANIMAL PROTEIN FOR PLANT PROTEIN

This study looked into how different types of protein affected artery calcification scores. This basically means they measured how animal and plant protein correlated with levels of clogged arteries.

What they found was actually quite astonishing. Out of the 4,500 people in the study, those who consumed a higher ratio of plant based protein were almost 60% less likely to have plaque in the arteries.

This meant that those with the higher plant protein intake had a far lower risk of heart disease when compared to the animal protein participants. Definitely something to bear in mind when putting together a meal plan in the future.

SUCCESS STORIES

Whilst there are thousands upon thousands of plant based success stories, I thought I’d compile a mini list of high profile names that may shock you. Some of these people have made incredible journeys on their plant based diets and I’ll leave some links for you to check them out more below.

BRIAN TURNER

One of my favourite plant based athletes, Brian Turner, initially got into this way of eating because of his severe acne. Believe it or not, being plant based helped Brian’s skin clear up massively and he now barely suffers with any acne whatsoever.

What is most astonishing about Brian though is that he is also a bodybuilder! He fuels his strength and muscle training on a wholly plant based diet – something which so many people think cannot be done.

He is not alone though, there are so many other plant based bodybuilders out there doing amazing things with their physiques such as Derek Simnett, Jon Venus, Torre Washington, Dom Thompson & Nimai Delgado.

RICH ROLL

Rich is an extremely interesting guy – he has a wildly popular podcast, he is one of the fittest men on earth and he has built himself a hugely successful wellbeing empire.

But what’s funny is that this wasn’t the case until relatively recently. Rich Roll used to be a lawyer who found himself wrapped up in a drugs and alcohol addiction which led him down a dark path involving falling out with colleagues, landing himself in jails and eventually, into rehab.

It was only after discovering the plant based way of living (the day after his 40th birthday) that he found his love of fitness again. Fast forward a decade or so and this formerly overweight, drug addicted, alcoholic has now competed in ultra-marathons, ironman triathlons and just about anything else batshit crazy.

He is an absolute machine and has shown no signs of slowing down. Just a little taster of what a plant based diet can do for you.

VENUS WILLIAMS

We had to have some female representation in here! Venus Williams went plant based to battle her autoimmune disease and it ended up being the best decision she ever made.

After deciding to fuel her game with mostly plants, Venus has said she feels amazing every day on her plan. She has won 4 gold olympic medals and 7 grand slams. Not too shabby for someone fuelled by a few bits of broccoli and a smidgen of tofu is it?

Her main meals consist of greens, smoothies, tofu and the occasional bit of chicken or egg whites. It just goes to show that even the most elite athletes, athletes at the very top of their field, can sustain and improve their performance by making the switch to a plant based diet.

There are just too many plant based miracles to list here but there is an absolute library of them over on the Forks over Knives website. There are stories of people losing hundreds of pounds, beating heart attacks, reversing blindness and lung failure. It is absolutely astonishing what can be accomplished just by changing your dietary intake.

Have a read through a few of these and if they don’t convince you to go plant based, you may just be impossible to sway.

BEST FOODS TO EAT FOR OPTIMAL WELLBEING

Just cutting down on your animal product consumption is going to do wonders for your health but there are definitely some foods that will help you along the way to improving your health even further.

I’ve listed a few below and why they’re so good for you.

MUSHROOMS

My favourite on this list by a mile. I absolutely love mushrooms, but I know they can be a tad marmite with some people. If you do like your shrooms though, you’re in for a treat when it comes to benefits.

They are packed with B vitamins, vitamin D and selenium. Along with this, they have medicinal qualities. They can help fight against tumours and may even help to fight neurological disorders such as Alzheimers.

BERRIES

Is there anything berries can’t do? I bet if you ate enough berries, you’d develop superpowers – although that’s just a theory, science hasn’t quite caught up yet.

But what science has told us so far is that berries can increase good HDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure, increase blood flow, increase energy and for the women – they may even help to preserve bone density during and after menopause.

POMEGRANATES

My favourite food to consume for taste and performance. Pomegranate seeds taste so damn good in smoothies, yoghurts, oatmeal, whatever AND they help boost my performance whenever I need it.

This is because this sweet treat is one of the greatest foods for increasing blood flow along with watermelon. This helps to boost cardiovascular function and can help with erectile strength. Thank you sweet pomegranate.

BROCCOLI

Hopefully you’ve stopped having childhood nightmares of a big stick of broccoli chasing you down the street now and you’re finally ready to give this children’s arch nemesis a go.

I never understood why kids (and a lot of baby-like adults) don’t like broccoli. When it’s cooked, it’s tender, tasty and incredibly good for you. With a bit of salt on too it tastes unbelievable. So why do we eschew it?

Because of a weird stigma hangover from childhood! Because it’s a textbook joke, a lot of people never grow out of that phase and are missing out on one of the greatest superfoods about.

Broccoli is packed with nutrients and is particularly effective for men looking to flush oestrogen out of their system. It helps to lower the amount of this hormone in the body, meaning there is more free testosterone floating around to be used for making you feel bloody wonderful.

For both males and females though, broccoli is amazing for digestion, producing new cells in the body and for lowering bad cholesterol.

QUINOA

Quinoa is stupidly nutritious – almost comically so. It is so full of of nutrition goodness that you’d be stupid not to get it in you every day.

People who are worried about consuming grains and gluten – don’t worry. Quinoa is a seed technically and is gluten free. It is a great source of animal-free protein, carbs and fibre too.

In terms of micronutrient content, it is packed with iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, folate, phosphorous, quercetin and B vitamins.

See, I told you it was stupidly nutritious. This is definitely one health trend that’s here to stay.

TOFU

Tofu is made in the same way cheese is (using soya milk instead of cow’s milk). It therefore, has all the benefits of soya milk, but with none of the downsides of cow’s milk (cancer, etc).

It is the perfect main ingredient to big, cooked dinners and can act as a meaty central player to base your dish around. The fact that tofu takes on the flavours of everything around it makes it such a versatile ingredient too.

It can be fried, grilled, baked, scrambled – you name it, tofu can do it. This is what makes it such an indispensable weapon of the plant based diet.

Not only is it perfect as a meat substitute in all dishes, it is a genuine health food in its own right. Absolutely packed with protein, all 9 amino acids, iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc & vitamin B1 – this bean curd should be a staple in your diet.

For women – the fact that tofu may reduce your risk of or even help reverse breast cancer too is reason alone to include this one in your diet.

OATS

I eat oats every single morning. There’s a reason why they’re a staple in millions of people’s lives – they’re tasty and amazing for your health.

A simple bowl of oats can be loaded with lots of other tasty, healthy foods such as bananas, berries, chia seeds, flaxseed, almond milk, nuts and honey to make it the ultimate bowl of wellbeing.

However, on their own as a standalone health food, oats are the GOAT. Maybe we should start calling them GOATS lmao. Anyway, oats are gluten free (whuuuut), they are packed with vitamins and minerals such as manganese, iron and folate and they are cheap. This makes them the perfect way to start your day.

My recommendation for the optimal plant based morning would be to wake up, go through your morning routine, intermittent fast for the first few hours of the day, then break the fast with a bowl of GOATS, filled up with the other health foods listed above. This won’t spike your blood sugar too much and will give you balanced energy throughout the day without the need for external stimulants like coffee or Red Bull.

BANANAS

If there’s one food that’s associated with the plant based diet, it has to be the humble nay nay.

Packed full of potassium, these little babies are amazing for an energy boost, helping cramped muscles, aiding athletic performance and even protecting your heart.

They are sweet and can be used in virtually any dish. Add them, along with a few dates, into a smoothie for the ultimate sweet treat that has no downside. They also help with digestion which is fantastic when you are eating large, wholesome meals.

BELL PEPPERS

Eat ’em raw, fry ’em, steam ’em, bake ’em – the bell pepper is a versatile little bugger. They are tasty and surprisingly dense in nutrients. They also have 200% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C – take that, oranges.

They are also full of B vitamins, folate and antioxidants – all fantastic nutrients for those looking to improve overall health and performance. They are excellent at aiding recovery and they add a lovely dimension to any sort of meal. Maybe just don’t put them in your oats, yeah?

SPINACH

Popeye’s favourite – and with good reason. Spinach is packed with so many vitamins such as Iron, Vitamins A, C & K1, fibre.

It can have profound effects on eye health, cancer prevention and just about anything else you can shake a stick at. It can be eaten raw or cooked and has a great taste. Throw a couple of handfuls in with every cooked meal. It will wilt down so you barely notice it but will give you amazing benefits.

AVOID (MOST OF THE TIME)

Now for some of the foods you should avoid most of the time. I’m not saying eradicate them, but just beware that continuing to consume these foods at the level us humans do, will lead to disease, obesity and early death – probably.

OILS

Yes, even olive oil. Oils are tasty and great for cooking but apart from avocado and coconut oil, their nutrient profiles are severely unbalanced.

With the exception of the two mentioned above, oils have a rather low smoking point, which means cooking with them releases cancer causing carcinogens – not the most fun alliteration to read…

Their omega ratios are out of whack too, with far higher levels of 6 than 3, which may cause heart problems further down the line. If you’re going to cook or drizzle oils, then use coconut or avocado. Better yet, use shallow frying with water instead of oil as this is just as effective, but far healthier.

EGGS

I do believe eggs are pretty healthy to be honest – their yolks are packed with vitamins and powerful hormone precursors but I can’t look past the fact that they are packed with fat and cholesterol.

Now, some may argue that dietary cholesterol doesn’t affect overall cholesterol levels – I certainly have in the past, but is it really a risk you need to take? If it does, then eggs are certainly the biggest offender out of any food type.

If you really are desperate for some eggs though, limit yourself to a few free range, organic ones per week. This reduces the carbon footprint, the animal suffering and potentially, your health risk.

CHEESE

Everyone’s favourite comfort food. Pizza? Cheese on it. Bit of toast? Cheese on it. Seeing your newborn baby for the first time? Let’s put some cheese on it.

It tastes phenomenal but what it does to your arteries isn’t quite up to that same level. Cheese is a good source of calcium but so are many other plant based foods. Weigh this up against the huge saturated fat content, the amount of sodium and exogenous hormones in your average block of the good stuff and the disadvantages are starting to heavily outweigh the benefits.

If you really need that cheese fix, try out some plant based cheeses. You’ll be surprised at just how good they are. Remember, we’re living in the 21st century, progress has been made.

MEAT

We all know it deep down, meat just ain’t that good for us. It may taste divine but the dead animals we have come to rely on for our culinary pleasure are killing us.

After the world health organisation brought to light their research outlining how red meat in particular, was a direct cause of cancer – it seemed like meat’s days were over.

And they pretty much are. I believe that we should see meat as a luxury, not something that we rely on every day for the bulk of our calories. Listen, I know it’s a great source of protein and does pack some great nutrients but if cigarettes packed the same sort of punch, would you start smoking 50 a day? I doubt it.

You can get your protein from far healthier, sustainable sources that won’t put you in an early grave.

BREAD

God damn I love bread. But it just isn’t that good for me – so I limit it.

Sounds easy doesn’t it. That’s because it is! How about this: just don’t buy a loaf in your weekly shop. There is the answer to how to eat less bread.

Unfortunately, the bread that most of us consume is full of additives, salt and god knows what else. It’s also got the evil gluten demon floating about in its nutrient makeup. This is responsible for all the bloating and water retention that comes with regular bread intake.

If you pay a bit more, or make it yourself, bread can actually be pretty good though. If you do make it yourself then go ahead and have it every day! But as for the mass produced stuff – steer well clear.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here are some of the most common questions that are posed to anyone embarking on a plant based diet and are even more prominent if you go completely animal-free (I have had every single one of these questions).

In most cases, I find people are just genuinely interested and actually want to be educated. If they don’t ask though, don’t bring any of these up because it bores people and can actually put them off trying out a plant based diet for themselves.

These FAQ’s may well answer some of your burning questions too. If you do have any other questions though, feel free to comment at the end of the article and I will get back to everyone.

Q: I’VE HEARD THE PLANT BASED DIET IS TOO EXPENSIVE?

A: Absolute nonsense. Unless you’re buying some mad marketing ploys like special coconut milk that’s in a solid gold glass, then the plant based diet is absolutely dirt cheap.

Next time you do the weekly shop, take a look inside your basket and see what the most expensive items are. With the exception of your weekly condom and wine haul, my guess is it’ll be the meat, followed by some form of dairy product (cheese and yoghurt can get rather expensive).

Then take a look at whatever fruit and veg you’ve got in there. Potatoes are cheaper than cheap, apples are practically free and bananas cost 45 times less than an hour’s wage. It’s plainly obvious that going plant based is in fact going to be easier on your pursestrings than a traditional western diet.

Q: ISN’T IT BORING?

A: Not in the slightest. A plant based diet will open you up to so many new recipes and ways of thinking about food. Your palette will no longer be numbed by massive plates of meat and cheese covered in salt and sauce.

You’ll learn new food combos, new cooking techniques, ingenuitive ways of repurposing food and you’ll also get to grips with how to properly flavour and season food – not just lather it in tomato sauce or mayonnaise.

I found after going plant based, I started to cook a lot more different meals, I started to enjoy my cooking again and often made it a social activity instead of just plain old ‘meal prep’ to get me by for the day.

Q: IS SOY SAFE?

A: Ah the plant based staple.

Where the soy/man boobs-esque argument came from is anyone’s guess, but one thing’s for sure – it’s not true. Tofu (the main thing people think of when it comes to soy) is simply the curd of the soybean and is extremely beneficial.

Soy has been a mainstay in Asian diets for thousands of years and believe or not, Asians have the highest average testosterone levels of all continents across the globe. This thoroughly debunks the ‘soy boy’ emasculated male myth that people tend to lean on when criticising plat based folks.

But what about the women? No doubt you’ve heard someone talk about soy causing breast cancer at some point? Well in fact, the opposite is true. Soy has protective benefits against breast cancer. It also protects against prostate cancer and heart disease whilst reducing the risk of cancer recurring in those who have had it previously.

Q: I HEARD ABOUT THIS GUY WHO LOST SO MUCH WEIGHT ON A PLANT BASED DIET THAT HE DIED!!!

A: Weight loss on a plant based diet is almost inevitable. But this weight will be fat weight, trust me. If you keep your calories as high as previously with sufficient protein, you will still drop fat weight even though you are consuming the same calories.

Why this is, I’m not quite sure but I believe it might be to do with getting rid of the hormone and antibiotic filled animal produce and switching to a cleaner way of eating that agrees with your body more. This will reduce your bloating, may cause you to lose some water weight and will help flush your body of animal-carried toxins.

These can be the reason that your body hangs on to extra fat around your belly and hips as fat has preventative properties against toxins in the body. Getting rid of them will help your body shrink these stores as not as much is needed. Sounds a bit pseudoscience-y I know but the last part is definitely verifiable in mainstream science.

A caveat now though. When you make the switch from an animal product heavy diet to a diet rich in plants, you will naturally eat less calories.

Whilst you may be eating the same volume of food, the overall caloric value of these foods will be far lower. 100g of beef and 100g of spinach most certainly do not contain the same amount of calories…

With this in mind, make sure you do your research before setting up your meal plan. You need to be getting enough calories and enough protein. Fats and carbs will look after themselves.

Use an app like Myfitnesspal to help get your calories and protein in check so you don’t become one of those idiots who claims that a plant based diet doesn’t work because they thought a lick of a cucumber and a cube of tempeh would sustain them in the long term.

Q: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN FROM?

A: Everywhere! However, the main sources are lentils, tofu, chickpeas & kidney beans. There are also lots of secondary and tertiary sources of protein such as oats, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, spinach & protein powders.

If you can get 100g+ of protein in your plant based diet then you are winning. People think this is some impossible task but it really, really isn’t. If it was that hard, you wouldn’t have so many plant based bodybuilders building huge physiques and blowing their animal based competitors out of the water.

Basically, everything adds up. There is an issue that naysayers bring up regularly which is complete protein (a protein made up of all 9 essential amino acids). This is sort of important but in reality, as long as your protein sources are varied throughout the day, you will get the full range of amino acids that your body needs. Don’t sweat it.

Q: WILL I NEED TO INJECT MYSELF WITH NUTRIENTS THAT I’M MISSING OUT ON?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

But you might have to take some supplements just to protect yourself and fill in any sort of nutritional gaps that may arise.

If your diet is well balanced in terms of your food coming from different, whole food sources, then this shouldn’t be a problem at all. If you are super concerned though, get yourself a b12 supplement or even a multivitamin and then go from there.

Q: MY NEIGHBOUR SAID CARBS WERE EVIL?

Your neighbour hasn’t got a bloody clue then! Carbs are essential for life. Your body’s primary fuel source is Glucose, aka, carbs. Limiting carbs makes you feel absolutely horrible, which is why low carb diets never work long term and are only used in athletes when they are trying to deplete themselves of water quickly.

Some people who love the Ketogenic diet will be screaming at their screens shouting all sorts of obscenities at me but in reality, the keto diet is a fad and always will be a fad. When you look into any sort of supporting research for its long term health benefits, the majority of it is flawed.

Go plant based and save yourself the hassle.

Q: BUT, B12?

This is the big one that anyone who criticises the plant based diet brings up. However, it’s the most easily refuted claim out there. B12 can be taken as a little pill or it can be obtained in fresh water (sort of) and fortified milks.

It’s as easy as that and it simply cannot be used as a way to criticise a diet that has cured and even reversed disease, granted higher quality of life to thousands and reduces harm to animals and the environment.

Don’t stress is what I’m trying to say. The whole b12 thing has been blown so far out of proportion that no one even knows what it does or why it’s important anymore. They just know plant based folks DEFINITELY CAN’T GET IT!!! Although that’s a flat out lie so hey ho.

Q: BACON THO?

A: Yeah you’ve got me there, bacon tho is an irrefutable weakness in a plant based diet.

Oh wait, no it’s not.

At the end of the day, if you have a craving for bacon, have some bacon. But once it’s dehydrated you from all the salt in it and has made you feel stuffed and lethargic, you’ll soon learn that it’s not really the fuel that your body needs.

Listen, I’m not saying you can’t have some of that sweet, sweet bacon – you can, but you’ll feel so much better if you looked for alternatives. If you can find a new, plant based comfort food, you will feel so much better. I sometimes go for the meat replacements or even go a bit sweeter and go for a few peanut butter bagels.

POPULAR RECIPES

Here are some of the most popular and easy to make plant-based dishes out there. I’ll leave some recipe links beneath them too so you can get started on your plant based meals without any effort at all. It’s basically all done for you, all you have to do is cook the god damn thing!

I’ll also include the cooking times of each one so you know which ones you want to invest your clicks in.

BURRITO BOWL

30 minutes

Scrambled Tofu Breakfast Burrito (30 minutes!)

PAD THAI

30 minutes

Noodle-Free Pad Thai (30 Minutes!)

OVERNIGHT OATS

5 minutes

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats (5 Ingredients!)

HOMEMADE VEGGIE BURGER

30 minutes

Easy Grillable Veggie Burgers

BUDDHA BOWL

30 minutes

Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl

CREAMY GARLIC PASTA

30 minutes

Creamy Vegan Garlic Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

FALAFELS

1 hour

Baked Quinoa Black Bean Falafel

TIPS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR PLANT BASED DIET

These are just a few little tips that will help you feel even better on your plant based journey. I use the below tips to have energy all day and very rarely ever have the need for a coffee, despite waking up at 5am every morning.

I know that all sounds a bit too good to be true but trust me on this one, these tips, plus a plant based diet, will help you develop the lust for life of a young Iggy Pop.

MACA & ASHWAGANDHA

This potent little combo is something I would recommend to anyone.

Let’s start with Maca. Maca is technically a cruciferous vegetable, but is consumed in ground powder form. Some people aren’t sold on Maca’s effectiveness but one thing is for sure – I am.

Maca can boost brain function, energy, stamina, sex drive and potentially even fertility. I must say, after about a week of using Maca I felt the benefits big time. It may well be a placebo but I am certain it’s not. Given that it’s also cheap as chips, you’d be mad not to give it a shot.

Now ashwagandha. This second herb is my favourite. It can also be consumed in ground powder form or taken in extract form (known as KSM-66). Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, which means it helps your body manage stress effectively.

This can be great for men looking to increase testosterone and anyone in general looking to manage stress, anxiety & cortisol naturally.

It can also boost muscular performance, stamina and reduce inflammation in the body which are all things that a plant based diet will help with too, making the introduction of these two herbs into your life one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.

A word of warning though – pregnant & breastfeeding women should give it a miss, just as a precaution.

HERBS AND SPICES IN GENERAL

You should be looking into herbs and spices in general as they are fantastic for you – not to mention they taste absolutely fantastic. Things like turmeric, cumin and oregano will all add a massive kick to meals, but they will give you lots of other health benefits too.

Turmeric especially is fantastic for reducing inflammation in the body, increasing the antioxidant capacity of the body and also lowering the risk of brain diseases. Just be sure to have it with some black pepper as pepper helps turmeric to be absorbed into the blood. Without black pepper, it isn’t absorbed very well at all by the body so bear this in mind.

SMOOTHIES

Without doubt the best way to funnel mounds of nutrients into your body quickly and efficiently, the humble smoothie is the plant based warrior’s secret weapon.

You can throw a whole host of fruits and veggies into a blender and make it taste amazing with a bit of flavouring from protein powder, etc. I usually load up a smoothie with minimum, 3 pieces of fruit, some from of veggie, some herbs and a scoop of protein to get as many nutrients as possible, as easily as possible.

If you’re stuck for ideas, do a bit of research on Google you lazy bugger.

SUPPLEMENTS

Currently, I don’t use too many supplements as my diet includes a pretty wide variety of plant based foods that meet my nutrient quota for the day.

But if you want somewhere to start, here’s what I’m using:

Zinc

15mg, 3 times a week

Almond milk enriched with calcium & B12

150ml, daily

Vitamin D3

10,000iu’s, daily

And that’s it! Of course I use the herbs I mentioned above but I wouldn’t class them as a supplement as I throw them in my smoothies. Using these three has helped eliminate any sort of deficiency I may have.

To be quite honest, you’d probably have far more deficiencies on a normal Western diet so covering these bases doesn’t stress me out at all. I would definitely recommend enriched almond/coconut milk as an alternative to conventional milk to anyone. It basically acts as a supplement with the added nutrients, it tastes great, doesn’t cause any lactose stress and doesn’t contain cancer causing IGF-1.

HOW TO START YOUR PLANT BASED DIET TODAY

Don’t wait until the new year or a new week to start your plant based diet. I find that starting afresh never seems to work for me. If I start say, on a random day, it makes the activity feel normal and I am far less likely to quit after the initial buzz has worn off.

Making something feel like the norm straight off the bat is the best way to keep on with a habit. However, if you feel like you need a fresh start to get motivated for something, then I get that too.

But all I’m saying is don’t make a big deal out of it. You’re not doing some super crazy diet, you’re just beginning to eat like a human should – waking up, if you will.

You can start today by filling your plate with less meat and more veg, eating an extra piece of fruit or even just having a coffee with no milk in. These baby steps on your first day can help ease yourself in for the bigger change further down the line.

GUARANTEEING LONGEVITY

We now find ourselves at the end, my plant based warrior. Are you ready to take the plunge and start running on broccoli florets and kale stems?

I hope you are.

Now we just need to guarantee longevity. All you need to do is to NOT LABEL this diet. Don’t go round telling people you are plant based, just eat a ton of fresh food and enjoy your life.

If you feel like you’re getting cravings for some sweet, sweet animal produce then that’s fine. It’s normal and you can totally go and have something. Just make sure it’s what you really want and then don’t beat yourself up after it. That is the whole point of the diet, it’s long term and there are going to be cravings. As long as you keep them cravings satisfied and less than 15% of your total calories then I don’t see a problem, do you?

If you have gotten this far down then I’d just like to say thank you for reading one of the longest articles I’ve ever written and thank you for hopefully viewing this topic with an open mind.

How To Stay Fit On Vacation Bodybuilding: It's easier than you think

We all love a good bit of travel every now and again don’t we? But what about keeping fit whilst travelling? This blog is going to answer “how to stay fit on vacation bodybuilding” based upon my experience.

A lot of people tend to stress over this, often giving up all together on trying to keep up any sort of fitness regime whilst on their travels. If you’re bodybuilding, it can feel like you need to stay on top of all of your workouts and stay 100% fit while on vacation.

How many times have you heard people say they have come home about 10 pounds heavier after their trip?

It doesn’t have to be like this though. With a few simple tweaks, you can stay as fit as ever whilst on your holidays.

Are you ready for your key to keeping fit whilst travelling and bodybuilding?

WHAT MAKES ME AN EXPERT?

In short – nothing other than years of experience bodybuilding and travelling.

I’m not claiming to be an expert but I am telling you what works for me and I know it will work for you too. I do travel a lot and hold a qualification in personal training if that is any sort of qualifying criteria for those concerned about certificates and credentials though…

#1 PRIOR RESEARCH

This is the biggie if you’re dead set on getting a full weighted workout in whilst away. There’s nothing wrong with going to the gym abroad (I’ve done it a few times this year) but you just need to do a bit of research before you head out.

Get an idea of what sort of gyms are near your hotel/apartment/whatever, look at some reviews on google and see if they have any images online or even better, their own site.

Then find out if they offer day passes, week passes and anything in between. This can get expensive so just beware. This is why I recommend sticking to the protocol below for keeping fit whilst travelling.

how to stay fit on vacation bodybuilding

#2 EQUIPMENT

There are varying levels of equipment you can take on holiday with you to get the perfect workout. In reality, you have 3 options: Nothing, a pull up bar or my preferred option – a pull up bar and some gymnast rings.

You may be thinking that it’s impossible to take these with you, but you’re wrong. I take these with me in my hand luggage. A pull up bar can be a tiny tube that extends and you can pick them up for about £15 ($25). Then some rings will only set you back another few quid and they take up virtually no room.

The bang for your buck with these two is absolutely immeasurable as it allows you to do what I believe to be the best two upper body exercises about – the pull up and the dip. These should be your keeping fit whilst travelling bread and butter no matter where you go.

how to stay healthy on vacation bodybuilding

I recently just invested in one of the coolest pull up bars on the market – the Flexr. It folds to fit in your travel bag/suitcase and you can hang your olympic rings off it to perform dips, incline pushups, L-sits and anything else you can think of.

It did set me back about $85 (it’s from the USA) but it’ll be worth it in the long run as just a week’s membership at some gym I went to in Barcelona cost €50 alone. Think of the savings god damn it.

However, if this isn’t your cup of tea, just go for your standard doorway pull up bar which, like I said before, ain’t gonna cost you the Earth.

One tip for your rings, if you choose to use ’em, is to invest in wooden ones. They are more durable, easier on the hands and simply a lot cooler than plastic ones. Just my two cents.

SHOP: THE TRAVEL COLLECTION

#3 KEEPING FIT WHILST TRAVELLING AS A BODYBUILDER: THE WORKOUTS

We’ll go in the three stages depending on what equipment you have at your disposal. This can all be done in your hotel room, saving you time, money and stress.

Do the workouts on days you would normally work out (duh). They will be fully body workouts though so if you’re used to working one muscle every day, just do these workouts every 48 hours to give your body a chance to rest.

I haven’t gone too big into leg work as you’re more than likely going to be doing a helluva lot of walking and nothing ruins a holiday quite like leg DOMS.

No equipment

100 decline pushups – How to do them
100 doorway rows – How to do them
20 second plank – How to do it

Do as many pushups as you can, then take a 10 second break and do as many doorway rows as you can, take a 10 second break and finish by doing a 20 second plank.

Repeat until you hit 100 reps for both pushups and rows. Don’t stress if you’re better at pushups or rows, just get 100 done and really feel the contraction of the muscle.

We’re working out with no equipment here so there’s no need to worry, just get it done and feel great as you take your cold shower afterwards.

Pull up bar

3 sets of 10 pullups – How to do them
3 sets of 15 pushups – How to do them
3 sets of 30 second plank – How to do it
2 sets of 10 chin ups – How to do them
2 sets of 15 diamond pushups – How to do them

If possible, try and wear a backpack with random things in it to add extra weight to your exercises. This will make the moves far more challenging and will build/maintain more muscle. Obviously if you can only do the prescribed reps with bodyweight then that is fine too – whatever challenges you is perfect.

Perform the pull ups and pushups as a super set and do the same with the chin ups and pushups, taking 90 seconds rest after completing a set. By working opposing muscles back to back, it allows us to work more muscle in less time, resulting in greater gains and a better hormonal boost.

Pull up bar and rings

3 sets of pull ups – How to do them
3 sets of ring dips – How to do them
3 sets of 45 second plank – How to do it
2 sets of 15 ring push ups – How to do them
2 sets of 15 Australian rows – How to do them
2 sets of 10 ring curls – How to do them
2 sets of 10 ring extensions – How to them

This is pretty much my personal workout even when I’m at home. The rings add such a great element to a workout and force you to work out in a way you never thought you would, incorporating skill and balance into the muscle building equation.

Make sure to perform each new exercises set as a superset with the exception of the plank. So you would have 3 supersets: pull ups and dips is A, push ups and rows is B and curls and extensions is C. Be sure to take a 90 second rest between each set.

What’s so effective about this workout is that it hits each of the big movement patterns for the upper body. We have horizontal push and pull (pushups and rows) and we have vertical push and pull (dips and pull ups). We also move the arm through flexion and extension which is essential if you really want to eek out as much growth as possible.

There’s also some ab/core work in there for good measure to break things up a bit. You can add weight to your plank via a backpack to really test your might. This will help to stop the exercise getting boring too.

For some context, I only do this workout twice a week and it takes about half an hour to complete. Any more and it may start to get a little overkill, especially if you’re in holiday. Twice is enough in my opinion and you should spend the rest of your time enjoying your life.

#4 HOW TO STAY FIT WHILE TRAVELLING FOR WORK - DIET

The easiest thing you can do is bring some rations with you if your airline allows it. Bring some tinned sardines, some epic bars, protein bites, packs of rice or whatever dried goods you fancy eating.

These will make things a lot easier and straight forward if you’re worried about poor food selections when travelling abroad. This is probably the easiest diet hack and a key element of keeping fit whilst travelling.

If you don’t fancy packing your bags with foodie bits, you can implement my favourite eating hack – intermittent fasting. Click the link to find out everything about IF but basically, you skip breakfast and consume all your food for the day in an 8 hour window – fasting for the other 16 hours.

This helps to curb cravings and overconsumption of food whilst still allowing you to enjoy the local delicacies within that timeframe. We all know that filling, healthy meals can help you lose weight, make it easier staying healthy and are all round great for health and fitness - so avoid just eating fast food and protein powder.

how to not get fat while travelling or on vacation

I also recommend aiming for a nice balance of protein and fats with minimal carbs for breakfast as this keeps the insulin spike down when you break the fast. If you do consume carbs just make sure that fats are accompanying them (think avocado on toast with some OJ).

The ideal meal would be salmon, a couple of eggs cooked in coconut oil and half an avocado but anything that follows that basic rule is ideal for fuelling a day with no crash.

As I am considering heading back to a vegan diet I will give a vegan example too! Try sourdough bread with peanut butter, chia seeds and some blueberries. Blueberries are quite low in carbs and sugar and PB is surprisingly high in protein – bonus.

IS THIS ACTUALLY EFFECTIVE?

Damn right it is!

At any level, these workouts will at worst, keep you fit on your travels. At best, they will add muscle or burn fat depending on your diet and they may just revolutionise the way you train. By freeing yourself of the ball and chain that is the gym, you become free to live life again.

I’m not saying that the gym isn’t great – it is. If I hadn’t discovered the gym back when I was 15 then I would have never become who I am today. But sometimes, it can get a bit stressful trying to keep up with a regime, especially if you don’t work out at home and you have various other commitments.

Being able to get these sort of quick, effective, minimalist workouts in is perfect for anyone looking to pack on muscle and lose fat without having to spend their life in a gym. I always say that fitness should add to your life, not take away from it and these routines will help you do just that for the long run, they’re not just for keeping fit whilst travelling!

SHOP: THE TRAVEL COLLECTION

GOLDEN NUGGETS

No, this tasty childhood cereal is not the hidden key to untold gains. But I can give you some tips that may help you along the way.

The 30/60 rule

Keeping fit whilst travelling needn’t be the minefield that people would have you believe it to be. The 30/60 rule is something which we can all apply.

For every 30 minutes we spend sat down, get up and walk around or stretch for 60 seconds. 2 minutes every hour isn’t too much of a commitment is it? Just stand up and get the blood flowing round again. Even though you’ll be doing a lot of walking on your travels, I guarantee you’ll spend a lot of time sat down so just remember this little tip for when you start cramping up after being sat at the all you can eat buffet for 5 hours.

Always take the stairs

This may seem like a ball ache and truth be told – it is. However, taking the stairs whenever you get the opportunity is one of the best ways to increase your total calorie burn for the day. It’s also one of the most effective cardio workouts you can do, for literally no cost.

If you’re looking for the cheapest and most convenient way of keeping fit whilst travelling – you’ve got it here. Even if you didn’t do the workouts outlined above, just taking the stairs at any chance you get will allow you to stay uber-fit and keep your body fat in check almost without trying.

Fitness isn't just about bodyweight exercises, weight loss, hotel gyms or resistance bands - it's about finding actional things to improve your fitness when answering How To Stay Fit On Vacation Bodybuilding.

Mindset

I know there is a lot of talk about keeping fit whilst travelling in this article, but one crucial component to travelling is to set your mind to relaxation mode.

You want to return home refreshed, not burnt out – like so many people do after a trip abroad. I know it’s easier said than done but make sure you try not to stress over the little things and don’t ‘let yourself go’ if that makes sense.

Look at your holiday as a time to recharge your batteries and come home with a whole lot more get up and go about you. That will keep you fit as a fiddle and stop you feeling lethargic and guilty for your indulgences.

The novelty factor

This could be a lot of people’s favourite way of keeping fit whilst travelling. The novelty factor allows us to do a lot of exercise without even realising it’s exercise.

In Thailand? Try a Muay Thai lesson. Spain? Flamenco dancing. Gone all the way to New Zealand? Why not try some rugby? These may be extreme examples and may not exactly be to your tastes but you get the idea.

Using local activities that are genuine cultural experiences at the same time can be one of the best and most fun ways to stay in shape whilst still experiencing your travels to their fullest.

You see – keeping fit whilst travelling is wayyyy easier than you think. I used to stress about finding a gym with a squat rack, walking too much as it might burn muscle and strength or even missing a workout all together.

Now however, I do two weights workouts a week along with some sprints and this can be done anywhere, making working out on the fly easier than ever.

If you can prize yourself a way from the gym-dependent mindset that so many of us fall into, you may just unlock your most fruitful period of gains.

Either way, it’s something to think about.

Best Pillows For Side Sleepers UK: Leesa

Here we go again! This is my second collaboration with Leesa Sleep, who have been kind enough to sort yours truly out with their new sheet and pillow set. This is one of the best pillows for side sleepers in the UK.

If you’re interested in my last post on the Leesa mattress, you can have a quick read of that before carrying on. If not, I won’t hold it against you – promise.

Best Pillows For Side Sleepers uk: Leesa

WHO ARE LEESA? Best Pillows For Side Sleepers UK

Leesa are one of the world’s leading mattress specialists. If you were to have a read through their reviews on trust pilot you’d think people were paid to say what they’re saying.

Everyone loves Leesa. If you’re interested in getting knee deep in some reviews that aren’t mine, you can check them out here.

I’ve said it before but Leesa are the good guys of the corporate world. They donate one mattress for every ten they sell, they plant one tree for each mattress they sell and they donate a huge portion of their time to supporting local and national organisations.

If Leesa was a person I’d buy them a pint (or a vodka red bull, whatever floats their boat).

SHOP: THE LEESA RANGE

THE LEESA SHEET SET

Let’s start with the sheet set because this is exciting stuff. How sad is it that I’m getting excited about bed sheets?

Anyway, whatever.

Leesa have teamed up with THIRD. who are a company that produce luxury linen from the finest cotton money can buy.

The sheet set has a ‘sateen weave’ which apparently makes it softer to the touch after each wash.

As I’m sure you’re aware, sheets usually get a bit rough and bobbly with each wash so the fact that these get better with age is a massive bonus and it means your sheets will last you a whole lot longer. I can’t say this enough – you get what you pay for.

As long as you’re not soiling yourself nightly then these sheets are gonna last you a helluva long time.

MY EXPERIENCE

I’m not going to pretend I usually sleep on sandpaper – my usual sheets are pretty sweet, but they’re not specialist sheets.

Leesa and THIRD. have engineered the holy grail of sheets here and the difference in comfort was night and day (was that a pun?). On that first night I was out like a light, much like my first night on their mattress.

After another week or so of testing, it just got comfier and comfier. Obviously it is tailor made for the Leesa mattress (although it fits all other mattresses) so it fits like a glove and gives the best possible conditions for shuteye.

This was the perfect storm for helping me to get my fabled 8 hours. This is especially important for me, as someone who sleeps on their side, I need a pillow that fits my personal preference, has the right firmness levels and keeps my spine aligned.

I know it’s not exactly a huge selling point but THIRD. also threw in a wee care package with a few bits to aid my sleep quest. Some teabags, sleep spray and even a cheeky link to their wind down playlist on Spotify.

THE LEESA PILLOW

Apparently, the Leesa Pillow took years of development along with hundreds of prototypes just to get it out in the public eye.

That’s a lot of man hours for a pillow, but that's why it's one of the Best Pillows For Side Sleepers UK.

With that in mind, it would be fair to say that this pillow should be blowing its competitors out of the water. And that’s basically what it does – but I’ll get into that further down.

This pillow is made with the same technology that NASA use. Although it’s probably wise not to make the mistake I did and try to make a rocket out of it. Apparently that’s not feasible.

Back to the NASA tech anyway. The Leesa pillow uses an airflow system in the memory foam layer that helps one side of the pillow to stay cool – aiding in your quest for the best sleep of your life. Good gear if you ask me.

MY EXPERIENCE

I can’t think of a funny comparison for what putting my head on this pillow for the first time felt like. But rest assured, it felt rather pleasant. Maybe my first motorboat?

Paired with the sheets, the pillow worked wonders for collecting Zzz’s. Then pair THAT with the mattress and you’re basically guaranteed to wake up feeling born again.

After a couple of weeks I had noticed that my sleep was a lot more consistent. Not that I’m a bad sleeper anyway but I feel like this pillow was the cherry on top. Now, I’m not saying the Leesa pillow is magic – it could have been a placebo effect – but bloody hell it was good.

After digging even further into the tech behind the pillow itself, I found out why it was so perfect for my big fat head. It has a memory foam centre and is topped with premium microfibres, meaning it keeps your head and neck in perfect alignment all night no matter what position you sleep in.

I've always looked for the right supportive pillow/medium firm pillow that not only allows me to stay in the right sleep position, but is also machine washable and anti allergy. I've found the one.

FANCY IT? Best Pillows For Side Sleepers UK

Yet again, the Leesa team have smashed it out the park. On top of one of the best mattresses in the world, they’re producing cooling pillows and magic bed sheets.

I’m a guy who prioritises sleep over most things – and with good reason. By upgrading my sleeping gear I have been able to optimise my sleep & overall wellbeing, which is something I can’t recommend enough.

If you want to get started on your sleep improvement journey, you can get £100 off your purchase with the code ‘IMTHEMANBLUEPRINT01‘.

SHOP: THE LEESA RANGE

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Weighted Pushups: The best exercise you're not doing.

How did I realise weighted pushups were such a fantastic movement?

Well, as I work out in the comfort of my own home, I often have time to try out different exercises that may look a bit weird to the average gym goer. I try to find more efficient ways to do old school exercises as you really can’t beat the basics.

BUT, you can always put a fresh spin on these basics. Weighed pushups aren’t exactly new but a lot of people just don’t know how to properly perform it. With that in mind, let’s crack on with it.

Here’s your guide to weighted pushups: The best exercise you’re not doing.

WHAT ARE WEIGHTED PUSHUPS?

The standard pushup is an amazing exercise that builds a huge chest, shoulders and triceps. It also works the core as it is used to stabilise the body throughout the movement.

The only problem with regular pushups is that once you can do them with ease, adding more reps simply won’t build muscle. You want to be staying in the 6-12 rep range ideally for the best muscle building results.

This is where weighted pushups come in. Doing these by having someone load weight plates on your upper back is one way to do it, but frankly, it’s uncomfortable, unsafe and can only be done with a training partner to load and unload the weights.

HOW TO DO THEM

Invest in a dipping belt and load the weight that way. This allows for virtually unlimited overloading of the exercise (which is key to muscle growth).

To allow the dip belt to be effective, you need some clearance from the ground. To achieve this, set a barbell up at around knee height and bench a body’s length away. This will be your platform.

The position of the load is also important, loading the weights around the mid to lower back allows the pushup to play to its strength – the fact that the scapula isn’t fixed against an object such as in the bench press.

This allows for reduced inflammation around the target muscles and is what makes this unique move so beneficial.

ADDING THEM TO YOUR WORKOUT

And here’s a sample workout to include weighted pushups in:

Bench Press: 3 sets of 8 reps

Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 10 reps

Cable Laterals: 3 sets of 12 reps

Weighted Pushups: 3 sets of 12 reps

Cable Flyes: 3 sets of 15 reps

If you want more exercise breakdowns like this then click through to my wellbeing section, here.

Home gym 101: How to build the perfect home gym

Oh thy humble home gym – the secret sauce for those looking to get huge in a time efficient manner. If you’ve got a bit of space in your home, you need to consider installing some iron.

I’ve been flitting between home gyms and commercial gyms for the past 6 years now, which is due to the fact I’ve moved home 7 times meaning in some circumstances, building a home gym was quite hard.

As someone with experience in both realms, I can see the positives and negatives of each. I have to say though – when you pit the two against each other, there is only one clear winner…

BUT FIRST OF ALL: THE CASE FOR COMMERCIAL GYMS

Right, let’s be honest – most of us will have a gym membership if we’re into fitness. The amenities offered by gyms is unrivalled. They have hundreds of pieces of fancy gym machines, saunas, swimming pools, swanky showers, gym classes, etc. The list is endless.

The thing is though…is this even necessary? If you work out at home you have weights to push, pull, curl, squat and whatever else. You should also have a shower (hopefully). Do you really need anything else? I’d argue that you most certainly do not. Classes? Get ’em on Youtube. Machines? Don’t need them. Swimming pool? Just fill your bath up really high (please don’t).

The only thing I’d say you’re missing out on is a sauna (if your gym even has one). They are absolutely amazing BUT, you can pick up weird little sauna pods online for pretty cheap and whack that in your newly built home gym. Just something to think about.

Basically, there aren’t too many arguments for the use of commercial gyms over home ones except for your circumstance. In my opinion, motivation shouldn’t be an issue and if you have the resources to work out at home then you most definitely should.

THE CASE FOR THE HOME GYM

Building your own home gym is going to be the best thing you ever do. If you go for it, you will find that all these benefits will pop up at some point or another.

The cost is much lower

Okay, maybe not initially. But think of it as a lifelong investment. Let’s say you’re 25 for instance. You’re probably going to work out till you pop your clogs which is when you’re 80 let’s say. That’s 55 years of iron. If your gym membership costs you £30/month, that works out to £360 a year, which works out to almost £20,000 over your lifetime. Now that’s a pretty conservative estimate – imagine all the time and money spent on commuting to and from the gym and you’re looking at a lot more than 20k.

You can start your home gym with nothing but your bodyweight and slowly add to the collection over time – my home gym has cost me about £700 so far. If I was to add everything on this list it would still be nowhere near that commercial gym figure. Just think about that for a second.

You save countless commuting time

As mentioned briefly above, you’re going to spend a whole lot of your life commuting to and from the gym. Can you really afford to be doing that along with your commute to and from your job? I know I can’t. I get that there will be gyms close to your office but it’s still another little commute even if that is the case.

A lot of people I know will go home, get changed, have dinner and then go and work out. This makes their day full of 4 commutes – that’s not good for anyone who values their time.

The solution is to set your home gym up and work out right before or after you go to work. This makes you more likely to work out than if you were to try and go back out to pump the iron after your Wednesday night chilli.

You’re the only member

This is what I enjoy most about having a home gym. The equipment is always free, you don’t have to be distracted by other people talking or asking how many sets you have left.

You can simply go in, get your workout done with no distractions and get out.

If you like company to motivate you then why not invite your pals over for a workout? You may enjoy the intense atmosphere and you could make it a thing to train in your home gym with your mates more often. It can become a social thing, it’s not always about isolating yourself from the world – although sometimes that is quite nice.

You can do what you want

Fancy working out in nothing but sandals? Why not! It’s your gym and you can do anything you please. You can do all the stupid exercises you were afraid to do in the normie gym, you can play your music loud and you can grunt and make stupid faces to grind out those last few reps.

Building a home gym really creates a sense of freedom, lets you express yourself and do what you want whilst not having to look over your shoulder to see if you’re being judged.

Open all hours

You wanna work out at 1pm? Okay. What about 12am? Most certainly sir. Christmas day?? The gains don’t wait even for Santa my man. Any time you want to work out, you can. No bank holiday closures, unexpected late openings, nothing. If you want to work out, do it.

This makes it easier for you to fit training around your life. You may have to stay late at the office or you may have to be somewhere super early – whatever it is, you can fit a workout in instead of being a slave the gym’s opening hours.

It almost feels like getting control of your life back – no joke.

WHY YOU NEED OLYMPIC WEIGHTS

We will touch on Olympic weights in the Barebones segment but I’m going to cover it now because I believe it deserves its own section.

You see a lot of part-timers in their garage with a standard weights bar with those little screw-on ends. This is good if you’re just starting out and I applaud anyone who works out instead of siting on their backside all day. However, if you’re looking to make real progress then you better believe you’re going to need an Olympic barbell and weights.

“But, whyyyyy?” I hear you and your York bench & barbell set cry. Well, because your barbell set is gonna bend and snap once you start lifting heavier weights. They can usually support about 100kg (225lbs) max before bending out of shape and breaking. The size of the plates also makes conventional lifts from the floor needlessly more difficult to perform, exposing you to uneccessary injury risk.

By investing in an Olympic set now, you future-proof your gains- this equipment will last you (probably) forever if you care for it correctly. The barbell itself is much heavier and sturdier and rotates which will help your wrists out a lot during big lifts that involve any sort of wrist movement – which is basically all lifts ever.

There’s a reason you’ll never see a commercial gym with a standard bar – treat your home gym the same way.

ULTRA-BAREBONES

If you’re looking to go super minimalist in your set up and don’t want to spend a penny, then you can literally just use your bodyweight to get fit.

If you’re willing to purchase a little bit of kit, I’d recommend a door frame pull-up bar that doubles up as a dip bar. These are pretty cheap and will get you in great shape if you make the relevant progress.

Equipment:

Bodyweight – Cost (£0)
Door frame pull-up & dip bar – Cost (£15)

SHOP: ULTRA BARBONES

An example beginner workout would be a round of pull-ups, dips and jump squats. You would do 5 sets of each for 10 reps and try to add weight to each exercise by holding on to household items if you don’t want to invest in weights yet. Try holding old milk jugs filled with stones for your jump squats and holding a heavy book or two between your legs for the pull ups and dips.

The workout would look like this:

Pull-ups (10 reps)
Rest (30 seconds)
Dips (10 reps)
Rest (30 seconds)
Jump squat (10 reps)
Rest (60 seconds)
Repeat 4 more times

BAREBONES

This is the minimum amount of equipment you can use to get great results. You can of course, get great results with just bodyweight, but the difficulty arises when it comes to loading exercises.

Once you can do 10 push ups, doing 10 more isn’t going to build muscle, you need to be adding weight to your exercises in order to stimulate the muscle to grow. This is where the Olympic barbell comes into play.

Just having the bar and plates is enough to start off with (you can do hundreds of exercises such as clean & presses, rows, deadlifts, curls, etc, etc) but by adding in a pull-up & dip tower along with a dipping belt, you’ll really be able to take your gains to the next level.

Equipment:

Olympic bar & plates set – Cost (£300)
Pull-up & dip tower – Cost (£90)
Dip belt – Cost (£25)

SHOP: BAREBONES

Here, you can push your training into a more comprehensive routine. You could employ properly weighted pull-ups and dips now, alongside a variety of barbell moves. Below is an example workout:

Clean & Press – 3 sets of 5 (2 minutes rest in between sets)
Pull-ups – 3 sets of 8 (2 minutes rest)
Dips – 3 sets of 8 (2 minutes rest)
Barbell rows – 3 sets of 10 (2 minutes rest)
Skullcrushers – 2 sets of 12 (1 minute rest)
Barbell curls – 2 sets of 12 (1 minute rest)

INTERMEDIATE

This is where I believe most lifters should be within the first 6 months to a year of lifting. If you aren’t doing exercises that require a squat rack then you’re probably not optimising your training correctly.

A squat rack is an essential purchase to getting peak #gains from your home gym. This will allow you to do heavy bench presses, overhead presses, squats, rack pulls, shrugs, heavy curls and just about anything else that involves having the weight off the ground.

I’ve also included a weights tree as in all likelihood, you’re going to be adding to your weight plate collection as you go along, so having a tree to keep everything organised will just make the whole experience much easier. If you walk into your home gym and see a million plates scattered round the floor then you run the risk of demotivating yourself – something which you don’t need. It’s a small thing but it’s made a big difference for me.

At this stage you’re probably going to want to invest in a pair of 20kg (45lb) bumper plates. These should be rubber or at least rubber encased. What bumper plates will allow you to do is slam your bar down from whatever height without damaging the other plates. If you have bought cast iron plates like I have, then you run the risk of snapping them if you go heavy enough on deadlifts or drop the barbell off your back during a squat.

A bench also becomes essential when you reach this stage. A sturdy bench shouldn’t cost the earth and will probably double the amount of exercises you will be able to do. You can now finally join the ‘how much do you bench, bro?’ club.

There’s also some dumbbells in there too that can help you to perform things like lateral raises, dumbbell curls, weighted lunges, flyes, etc. I’m not a huge fan of dumbbells and prefer barbell exercises much more but, they can add a new dimension and stimulus to your workouts.

Equipment:

Squat rack – Cost (£150)
Weights tree – Cost (£30)
Bumper plates – Cost (£110)
Bench – Cost (£80)
Olympic dumbbells – Cost (£30)

SHOP: INTERMEDIATE

You should take this opportunity to really build up your compound moves here. An example workout would look like this:

Squat – 3 sets of 5 (3 minutes rest in between sets)
Bench press – 3 sets of 8 (2 minutes rest)
Pull-ups – 3 sets of 8 (2 minutes rest)
Dips – 3 sets of 10 (2 minutes rest)
Rows – 3 sets of 10 (2 minutes rest)

ADVANCED

By this stage in your lifting/home gym career, you should have excellent strength standards and a decent physique. This is when you can start to get more advanced in your workout programming and employ some fun moves to add to your arsenal.

Cable exercises can help to hit muscles from much different angles and tensions than conventional barbell and dumbbell exercises. The fact that you will likely be splitting your training up into body parts (Push, pull, legs) as opposed to full body workouts means that you can add more exercises to each workout. Obviously you should still be aiming to be progressing on the compound lifts but more isolation and assistance work can really help to bring up your overall development.

I am a huge fan of the hex bar and this is actually the cornerstone of my ‘athletic blueprint’ workout program as it is the perfect mix between a squat and a deadlift with none of the drawbacks. I would probably recommend getting one of these straight off the bat but each to their own…

Olympic rings can help you to develop gymnast-level control of your body as they allow you to practice moves such as the iron cross & maltese along with offering different kinds of stimulation in standard moves such as dips, pull-ups and dead hangs.

A landmine holder is such a versatile bit of kit. It will allow you to perform landmine laterals (a favourite of mine), T-bar rows, landmine presses, squats and cleans. It’s a very efficient bit of kit and pretty cheap for what it offers as well. Of course you could go old school and whack the end of the barbell in a corner of the room but if you have the money I’d recommend going for the safer option.

Ah the weighted vest. A mainstay in military training and the secret for so many fit bodies out there. You can whack a weighted vest on and everything becomes harder. Walking? Harder. Jumping? Harder. Taking a deuce? Much harder. Seriously though, the weighted vest is an excellent bit of kit and allows for variable resistance in exercises where it would usually be very difficult to do so, such as sprints, box jumps and hill walking. These will build muscle and torch fat no doubt.

Battle ropes are my favourite bit of cardio equipment. My home gym has these babies and I can’t believe I ever trained without them. They offer a full body workout and give you a fat arm pump along with burning fat at an almost alarming rate. They’re cheap and they are extremely effective. Pair these with a lower body cardio exercise like sprints or bike sprints to get a huge fat burning boost.

Now I know this is a boring one but let’s quickly talk about flooring. Luckily for me, I can beat my garage floor up because it can take it. I know a lot of people can’t. This is where you will probably need to kit your home gym out with some decent flooring. This will help to protect your weight plates and your floor, meaning you’re actually getting quite a bit of bang for your buck. This one comes down to personal preference but it just bears mentioning.

The airdyne bike has been showing up everywhere nowadays and with good reason. This bike differs from most cardio equipment in that it has no motor. Just a big old fan that naturally increases the resistance of the exercise the more beans you give it. Basically, the harder you push, the harder it gets. Even though it’s a leg-centric move, it works your arms and your legs much like the battle ropes. You can also burn some major calories on the airdyne compared to other cardio equipment (this guy burnt 87 calories in 60 SECONDS), which is exactly what we want in our home gym – the most bang for your buck.

Finally, my favourite – the sauna/sauna pod. If you’re looking to go full Scandi then you could invest in a big boy sauna. You can pick up a single person sauna for kind of cheap nowadays (£800-ish) and there are more expensive options if you want to fit a few more people in. But, for those who are after the benefits of the sauna without having to pay huge price tags – there are sauna pods. These offer most of the same benefits while being much cheaper and easier to install/fit in your house. As long as you don’t mind looking like Neil Armstrong then this could be the perfect addition to your home gym.

Equipment:

Hex bar – Cost (£90)
Cable machine – Cost (£420)
Landmine – Cost (£80)
Olympic rings – Cost (£30)
Weighted vest – Cost (£40)
Battle ropes – Cost (£30)
Flooring – Cost (£15+)
Airdyne bike – Cost (£180)
Sauna – Cost (£200+)

SHOP: ADVANCED

Since you will likely be training at a much more advanced level here, you will be adding volume to workouts and splitting up from full body into more of a body part split. Here is an example of a ‘Legs, abs & cardio’ workout.

Deficit hex bar deadlift (leg focus) – 3 sets of 8 (2 minutes rest in between sets)
Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 10 (2 minutes rest)
Landmine front squat – 3 sets of 10 (2 minutes rest)
Cable kick backs – 3 sets of 12 (1 minute rest)
Cable crunch – 3 sets of 15 (1 minute rest)
Bike sprints – 3 sets of 15 seconds (45 seconds rest)
Weighted dead hangs – 3 sets of as long as possible (1 minute rest)
Sauna to rid the body of waste built up during workout – (15-30 minutes)

EXTRAS

These are just little bits that you can add to your gym over time to really put the icing on the protein packed cake. They’re self explanatory so I won’t go in to depth – you know what they’re for.

Equipment:

Foam roller – Cost (£10)
Speakers – Cost (£90)
Jump rope – Cost (£12)
Resistance bands – Cost (£10)

SHOP: EXTRAS

You will not need everything on this list but it is as comprehensive as you will find on the web and you can take inspiration from the equipment and workouts listed in order to create your ideal home gym. One thing is for sure, anything that is not on this list, you’re probably not gonna need.

There’s your complete guide to starting and growing your home gym into something that you can be proud of. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – get started with a bar, make some serious strength progression and before you know it you’ll be adding in bits, getting bigger & stronger, all whilst saving time and money.

What’s not to love?

How To Build Your Confidence As A Man - The Four Pillars

We live in a society where anxiety is rising and rising and an alarming rate. This can be attributed to so many different things such as social media, poor diet, sedentary lifestyles, lack of social interaction - the list goes on. This is an epidemic and this is the cure - sort of.

We live in a society where anxiety and lack of confidence is rising and rising at an alarming rate. This can be attributed to so many different things such as social media, poor diet, sedentary lifestyles, lack of social interaction – the list goes on. This blog is going to tell you how to build your confidence as a man.

Some of these things can’t really be helped, most of us have to sit behind a desk for 8 hours a day, we only have access to ready meals and we don’t really get a chance to go out because of other commitments, etc.

With this in mind, I have developed what I believe to be the 4 pillars of building bulletproof confidence that will aid you in your quest to become the best man you possibly can.

The reason I have picked these is that they are easy to implement for literally anyone. Each pillar will take up a tiny part of your day and will almost certainly add to your quality of life if you practice them consistently.

ABUNDANCE - Build Self Confidence As A Man

First off, what is abundance and how can this help you feel more confident? In this instance, I’m talking about the abundance mindset.

In short, this way of thinking is aimed at completely reshaping the way you think about things. It will help you to frame situations in a positive manner and allow you to get out of the victim mentality that so many of us have fallen prey to in modern society.

How To Build Your Confidence As A Man — *Abundance will give you the confidence to climb a multitude of large cogs*

The easiest way to practice abundance is to write down 3 things that you felt went well during your day before you go to sleep. This makes you focus on what is actually going well in your life and stops you from leaning your cognitive bias toward insignificant negatives of the day.

This is part of the reason I have stopped journaling. Writing down all your stresses is supposed to be a cleansing experience but in reality, it just made me focus on the negatives. Use this little trick to become a much more abundant and confident fella.

MEDITATION

Meditation is one of the best stress relievers there is. Doing some meditation every day will bring your cortisol levels down massively and help you achieve your desired outcome. Decreased cortisol means increased testosterone – which means you’ll be biologically and psychologically more dominant. When you’re feeling so unstressed, it’s hard not to have superior confidence.

Meditation also teaches you to breathe deeply and from the stomach – not the chest, like most of us tend to do. This focus on breath will help you to stay calm in stressful situations that may trigger anxiety, force you to lose your cool or make you retreat into your shell. By becoming aware of your breathing, you become more present – something which others will pick up on subconsciously.

Meditation can build your confidence as a man

If you perform some meditation before you go to sleep, you will sleep deeper and at a heightened quality than if you were to simply switch the light off and go to sleep the conventional way.

Clearing your head of negative thoughts will help you to achieve more REM sleep and lower cortisol even more. As we know, lowered cortisol is good for testosterone, as is getting great sleep – so you’re effectively killing two very large birds with one stone here.

how to build your confidence as a man - NOFAP

This is something I’ve been kind of reluctant to talk about on the blog because of the nature of the topic but it’s something that I believe is essential if you want to lead a fulfilling life.

This topic is NoFap - and is one of the best ways to master your strengths and weaknesses, build mental health and feel comfortable in relationships.

There are loads of gurus online who promote this in order to make a quick buck from worried guys on the internet – they’ll sell courses on it and special supplements to go along with it when in reality, all you have to do when practising NoFap is not fiddle with your sausage.

I won't go too far into the nitty-gritty of the whole topic but the general gist of it is that we’re a world that’s addicted to porn. This addiction has gotten to a point where guys (even young guys) are sitting at home in front of a screen and beating it for 2 hours a day.

It has started to rewire our brains – our very beliefs when it comes to respecting the opposite sex, our expectations of the real world and our actual ability to handle ourselves in social situations.

To sum it up, porn has created a generation of fellas who are so devoid of confidence, they’d rather date a robot than talk to real-life people.

Four Ways to Build Your Confidence As A Man — *A visual representation of my NoFap induced relaxation*

Others (including myself) who have taken back their self-control have experienced confidence related benefits such as:

Increased energy
Deeper sleep
Reduced brain fog
A complete psychological ‘reset’

This is something I am quite passionate about but there are others who have an infinitely better grasp on the subject so if you’d like to read more, here’s a few resources:

Your Brain On Porn

Reddit No Fap

NoFap Official Page

There are also some sources which cite NoFaps benefit to increasing testosterone (good for body building) and can develop guys into more confident men.

COLD SHOWERS

These are my absolute favourite thing to do, especially if I’m feeling a bit unmotivated and introverted. Set your shower to a mild setting, get in and then slowly turn the dial down until it’s as cold as it’ll (or you can) go. This will build confidence like no other. Being able to face an ice cold shower every morning and night will help you to build balls of steel.

It’s these little victories that will help you to develop the sort of inner confidence that others can only dream of. All you have to do is face up to a little bit of adversity each and every day. Getting out of that comfort zone that so many of us are afraid to leave will be the best thing you’ll ever do.

The benefits to cold showers are varied and I have written about all of them in more depth here if you fancy having a little gander.

So, to recap and answer how to build your confidence as a man:

– Write down 3 things that went well that day each night.

– Meditate twice a day.

– Practice nofap and get a handle on your self-discipline.

– Take a cold shower every morning and night.

You now have your 4 pillars – your confidence foundations if you will.

Use this information as you please, but if you can implement at least one each week then you’ll be on your way to becoming that charming swine you were always destined to be. This isn't a quick fix or short confidence boost, it's a proven way for increasing your self confidence, to become a confident person and improve your body language.

Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

The Navy Seal Breathing Technique To Calm Down

Today's article will be discussing the Navy Seal breathing technique to calm down. This technique has been around for thousands of years in yoga practice but hasn't had as much publicity as it maybe should have. That has began to change in recent years with advocates such as Wim Hoff and the Navy Seals singing its praises.

Today’s article will be discussing box breathing. This technique has been around for thousands of years in yoga practice but hasn’t had as much publicity as it maybe should have. That has began to change in recent years with advocates such as Wim Hoff and the Navy Seals singing its praises. It has become even more popular recently after being called the “navy seal breathing technique to calm down”.

WHAT IS BOX BREATHING? Navy Seal Breathing Technique to Calm Down

Box breathing is a method of conscious deep breathing that is used to calm the mind and body. Whilst being able to boost sporting and athletic performance it can be a huge stress reliever as well due to the meditative nature of the practice.

It is named box breathing due to the way in which one is supposed to envision each breath. More on this a little bit later.

MAIN USES

Box breathing can be used for a variety of things. Its main uses include but are not limited to;

Calming the sympathetic nervous system.
Improving PTSD.
Reduce blood pressure
Decreasing anxiety and panic attack prevalence - improving mental health, reducing stress and anxiety
Aiding in the induction and quality of sleep through this well known relaxation technique
Improving pain management.

How do I do it? Navy Seal Breathing Technique To Calm Down

As mentioned before, you must envision your breathes in a box format. There are four steps to this process – each step forming one side of the box. Now we have that oh-so complicated visual exercise out of the way I’ll give you the steps.

Whilst sitting up straight, inhale for four seconds, filling your lungs with as much air as possible.
Hold the air in your lungs for 4 seconds - holding your breath is a key part
Slowly exhale for four seconds, completely emptying your lungs of any air.
Hold this emptiness for four seconds.

Repeat this process for as long as you want until you either fall asleep or are de-stressed beyond belief.

Remember, it is normal to feel slightly dizzy if it’s your first few times doing this so don’t worry about that. Just take a rest, sit in a chair and make sure you’re not standing up when you're practicing box breathing.

Navy Seal Breathing Technique to Calm Down

WHY BOX BREATHING TECHNIQUE?

If you’re looking to improve your stress levels then this can be a massively useful tool as it brings you into the present moment and stops your mind from dwelling on unnecessary details of your life. Lowering your stress and keeping yourself in a relaxed state can be one of the most important factors to focus on when trying to decrease cortisol in the long term, which can aid in increasing testosterone so give box breathing some serious thought.

The other impressive benefit of box breathing I listed above was that it can actually help you to get to sleep whilst also improving the quality of that sleep too. I know so many people who struggle with sleep and it affects them the next day in a seemingly never-ending cycle.

Most of the time, people struggle to get enough sleep because their minds are constantly doing overtime worrying about every little thing in their lives.

By focusing solely on breathing it prevents your mind from thinking about anything else, allowing you to drift into a much deeper, uninterrupted sleep. As we all know, quality sleep is key to maintaining high testosterone levels so anything that can help with this is absolutely invaluable.

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Rack Pulls: Why they are a natural lifter's best friend

WHAT ARE RACK PULLS?

Rack pulls are one of the simplest exercises you can do in your training. As the name suggests, you pull off the squat rack. It’s the easiest compound exercise to load up and should be in your training at least once per week if you’re looking to build your back and your deadlift.

THE THREE VARIATIONS & HOW TO DO THEM

There are 3 variations to the rack pull, you have below the knee – where the rack pins are set below the knee (shock horror), just above the knee and then one pin position above that again. The easiest of these variations to load up is the furthest position above the knee, however this will not give you the most benefits and will basically just work your grip strength.

The best variation in my opinion, is the below the knee position as this best simulates a deadlift and therefore, this is the variation I will be referencing in this article. You can see how to correctly perform the rack pull below.

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If you wish to increase the range of motion further, you can employ a snatch grip for the lift, which again simulates the deadlift’s range of motion whilst allowing for greater loading of weight. If you wish to employ the snatch grip for your rack pull then you can see how to do this below also.

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WHY ARE THEY GOOD FOR THE NATURAL LIFTER?

Huge trap stress

Rack pulls put an immense amount of stress upon the traps – even more than deadlifts and shrugs. The trap muscles are notoriously hard to grow, so being able to overload them with the weights that rack pulls offer makes doing this exercise a no-brainer.

It is common knowledge that steroid using lifters tend to grow huge traps, upper back and shoulders due to how steroids interact with the androgen receptors in these areas. By building up the traps, it can completely transform your look as a natural and make you look far bigger in clothes which is a bonus.

Builds a thick back

Placing so much stress on the back can only cause massive hypertrophy. This exercise isn’t just for building smaller body parts and assisting lifts, it will build a big, thick & wide back. I use this along with weighted chins and standard deadlifts and my back is by far my strongest area. No need for lat pull-downs and iso-lateral cable rows at a 90″ inversion atop a unicorn whilst riding into the mists of Avalon.

Helps the lockout portion of the deadlift

The rack pull simulates the upper portion of a deadlift, which means that the pulling strength and explosiveness you build from rack pulling has transferable qualities to your conventional deadlift.

If you struggle with locking your deadlifts out at the top, practising rack pulls allows you to add massive amounts of volume and overload to this particular sticking point without having to perform too many tiring deadlifts that would hinder your overall recovery.

Less full body stress

The rack pull places less overall stress on the body which means you can do them for some considerable volume and not fry your central nervous system. I do 5 sets of 5 for rack pulls once a week on a separate day to my deadlifts.

This allows for a decent amount of recovery and means you’re hitting similar movements twice a week which is optimal for strength and muscle gains in the long run.

Boosts the ego

This one is sort of a joke but the rack pull can really skyrocket your confidence. Knowing that you can handle far more weight in your hands than you’ve ever done before builds up a mentality that becomes bulletproof to self doubt. When you’ve pulled 200kg from the rack, pulling a 160kg deadlift will be a much less daunting task than attempting that weight for the first time without having ever felt it in your hands.

Speaking anecdotally, once I started to incorporate rack pulls into my regime, my deadlifts flew up – and I think this was because I knew I could lift, lock out and hold far more weight than I was tasked with lifting from the floor.

If you’re not convinced to get down to the gym and start doing rack pulls straight away then I don’t know what else I can do for you son. Give them a go for at least 3 months and watch your deadlift, traps and upper back blow up.

Stoicism: Why this philosophy will change your life

Stoicism has gained a lot of popularity recently with people shifting away from constantly dwelling on the past and fixating on the future. People want to move away from materialistic desires and go back to becoming truly happy with what they have in the present moment.

I attribute this in part, to the fantastic book ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle which taught readers how to live in the present moment and become truly happy.

WHAT IS STOICISM?

Stoicism was founded by Greek Philosopher Zeno in the 3rd century BC. The key point that Stoicism attempts to make is that true happiness comes as a result of accepting the present moment for what it is. This includes acceptance of our emotions – abstaining from our desire for pleasure and our fears of pain.

It is centred around nature and the natural cycle of life – in short, treat everyone fairly, understand your role within nature’s plan and detach yourself from emotion as this can cloud judgement.

BENEFITS OF STOICISM

The benefits that stoicism hold are unlimited depending on how you interpret the philosophy, but I have listed the top ones which I have found in my experience with it.

Connection to nature

By appreciating your role in nature’s cycle, you allow yourself to accept the fact that you cannot change at this moment in time and you have a role to play in the Universe. This realisation of a bigger picture can calm your thoughts and allow you to feel more ‘at one’ with the world.

Increased consciousness

Once you become aware of your thought processes, it makes you more attuned to how your mind works. This can allow you to challenge your perceptions and live a more conscious life instead of suffering from the dreaded ‘autopilot’ that a lot of us cave into in the modern world.

De-stress

Letting go of you materialistic desires and becoming truly present takes a lot of stress out of day-to-day life. When you stop worrying about what is in the past and what is in the future, you free yourself from that which you cannot control. This allows you to become the architect of your own life. This is what separates stoics from everyone else, they are content with their life because they have accepted the present for what it truly is.

HOW YOU CAN BECOME A STOIC

Be open minded at all times

You do not have all the answers, no matter how much you think you do. I have been victim to this mindset, which can close your mind to advice that could have greatly benefited my life.

Once you open up your mind, you become truly engaged with what others have to say and allow yourself to soak up far more knowledge than if you had your walls firmly up.

Read quotes and meditations from famous stoics

This allows you stay on track with your Stoic journey. By reminding yourself of stoic principles each week, you can begin to understand its underlying principles – expanding your mind in the process.

Whenever you feel demotivated and lost on your journey, referring back to famous philosophers can offer beneficial guidance on where you want to go.

Let time pass before engaging in emotion-driven reactions

One pitfall that the majority of us suffer from is our tendency to use knee-jerk reactions when presented with a difficult situation. We let our emotions take control and act without thinking of the consequences.

By taking a step back and becoming conscious of our emotions, we allow ourselves to be calm amongst chaos and never act upon impulse again. This can stop a lot of regrettable confrontation or decisions being made in future, contributing to your increased wellbeing.

If you want to become happier with what you have and express gratitude every single day then adopt a stoic mindset. This will lead to you becoming much more productive, engaging in healthier relationships and experiencing a spike in your general well-being.

There’s your guide to Stoicism, easy isn’t it.

How your grooming essentials are killing your testosterone

What does the average man’s grooming bag look like? My guess is he will have a £3 plastic zip up contraption containing a can of Lynx, some 99p shaving cream, a disposable Gillette razor and finally, a lovely plastic toothbrush complete with the newest Colgate toothpaste promising a glistening smile fit for a king.

If your wash bag resembles this monstrosity in any way, shape or form, this article will probably shock and potentially offend you. I don’t really care – what I do care about is the sad decline of testosterone (and the modern man in general) in this generation and therefore it is my duty to address one of the biggest – and most ignored causes of this. Grooming essentials.

THE FIRST GROOMING CULPRIT: TOOTHBRUSH

What’s so bad about it?

Chances are, your toothbrush is made from plastic. Not only is this terrible for the environment due to plastic’s almost infinite breakdown time – it is awful for your testosterone. By over-exposing your body to plastic, you can disrupt what is known as your endocrine system (the body’s hormonal hub).

This is facilitated by the much demonised BPA, which can leach from plastics into your body. To then go one step further and put this stuff in your mouth by using a plastic toothbrush is almost beggar’s belief. Billions of men do this daily without second thought, not realising the harm they are doing to their testosterone.

What can I do?

What I have been doing for the past couple of years is using a bamboo toothbrush with charcoal bristles. Whilst this sounds all very la-di-da, it is actually an effective way of getting rid of any plastic from your tooth-care routine and is good for the environment due to bamboo being easily bio-degradable.

The charcoal bristles also aid in cleaning teeth as charcoal has many antibacterial properties. No need for the latest Colgate teeth whitening super duper 3000 mouth blasting moon rock infused tooth foam then…

TOOTHPASTE

What’s so bad about it?

Along with your toothbrush, your toothpaste is completing a hefty one-two grooming combo on your testosterone levels. Most toothpastes contain at least 20 ingredients, 90% of which you can’t pronounce and end in oxide, zine or ate.

Basically, if your toothpaste contains more than one ingredient ending in each of those or you can’t pronounce over half the ingredients list, chuck it in the bin.

The single most dangerous ingredient in toothpaste is fluoride. This has been in toothpaste since its inception and is still used as a teeth whitening aid to this day. Fluoride has been shown to significantly lower testosterone and wreak havoc among various other bodily functions such as the neurological system and gut health.

What can I do?

The most basic step and one which I recommend to anyone starting out would be to invest in a fluoride free toothpaste. After this though, I recommend going full hippy and buying some all natural toothpaste that contains only natural ingredients and absolutely no chemicals.

Any natural toothpaste that contains baking soda will do the trick nicely as this has been shown to be one of the most effective active teeth whitening ingredients around. Having used the Georganics range for the past couple of years, I have noticed my teeth looking whiter than ever (despite upping my intake of coffee substantially…).

DEODORANT

What’s so bad about it?

One thing that shocked me into switching my deodorant overnight was the fact that cans of deodorant contain anti-freeze. Yes, ANTI-FREEZE. What a strange concept it is then, to liberally spray this all over your ‘pits.

Your armpit skin is more absorbent than most parts of the body, so putting these harmful chemicals in the huge quantities that men tend to spray them onto the body is a recipe for hormonal disaster.

What can I do?

If you’re a really sweaty, stinky fella then maybe going full natural could be a bit of a disaster. Switch to roll on and try to limit the application to the bare essentials if you want to lower your exposure to harmful chemicals.

I use a deodorant stick called Salt of the Earth. It’s literally just a stick of solid salt but it does the business, will last you years and is odourless, so if you wear aftershave then that can take centre stage instead of overpowering deo.

Top that with a dollop of coconut oil under each armpit and you’ve got a rock solid antiperspirant. Coconut oil has antibacterial properties and can absorb smell – another use for this absolute men’s health powerhouse.

SHAVING CREAM

What’s so bad about it?

The majority of off-the-shelf shaving creams are a tin full of bollocks in my humble opinion. Far too many harmful chemicals such as Triethanolamine are packed into the average bottle of squirt, which has been shown to increase your risk of liver & testicular cancer. Not something you’d like from your grooming staples.

Whilst levels of Triethanolamine may be small, the majority of men tend to shave at least a couple of times per week, meaning these doses stack up and can spell disaster for your long term wellbeing.

What can I do?

Find yourself a quality shaving cream or lather from brands you know you can trust. I used to use coconut oil as my shaving cream and post-shave moisturiser. Whilst this may be the best way to shun the chems, my skin was too sensitive for this lack of lather, much like millions of other men.

If this is the case for you then opt for the highest quality and lowest amount of chemicals possible. I really like Cade by L’Occitane & any of Cornerstone’s offerings.

HAIR PRODUCTS

What’s so bad about it?

Where to start with this one? Gels, waxes, pomade’s, sprays, shampoos…you name it, there’s about a million zillion different grooming products for men’s hair and almost every one of them is hurting your testosterone levels. Let’s say the average man uses a dollop of pomade in his hair every day.

Contaminants such as lead and coal tar have been found in hair pomades in recent years – I don’t need to explain why these are bad to be massaging onto your scalp.

Then there’s your shampoos. Most men I know tend to use head & shoulders or bedhead shampoos. Whilst these may reduce your dandruff, they will over time not only strip your hair of natural oils and nutrients – they’ll strip your gonads of their precious T.

Sodium lauryl sulphate is the biggest offender here and has been shown to lower testosterone in males significantly. This is what is used to create the foaming effect in your shampoo for the most part and therefore can be easily left out without much effect on your hair.

What can I do?

For styling your hair I recommend a big ol’ dollop of everyone’s favourite little miracle – coconut oil. I’ve been using it in my hair for years now and even my barber has asked me what I use in it.

Whilst this completely neutralises any threat to testosterone and provides vital nutrients for your hair, it also gives it decent hold and keeps it soft instead of that horrible hard, straw-like effect that so many hair products give.

In terms of shampoos, shop around on eBay and Etsy for all natural offerings. These tend to last for months and months, smell great and are so much healthier for your hair than the mass-produced garbage peddled in shops.

I’m currently using something called all-natural (believe it or not) that I got off Etsy which acts as a shampoo and bodywash, so you’re killing two birds with one stone, not killing your testosterone in both stones.

Whilst having every grooming item optimised for testosterone production can be hard for a lot of people, you really do reap the benefits when making the change. Of course, compromises can be made in all areas – sweaty fellas may opt to keep the deodorant, smokers may opt for stain preventing toothpaste etc.

However, by making a conscious effort to try and eliminate chemicals, toxins and xenoestrogens from your grooming regime, you will be doing your hormones a huge favour.

Dead hangs: Exercise guide & Benefits

Dead hangs – doesn’t sound very exciting does it?

The benefits of this exercise certainly are though. Hanging on a bar is one of the easiest things you can do and the risk to reward ratio is better than any other exercise out there, hands down.

DEAD HANGS? WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

There’s quite a lot in it for you actually. I have listed some of the top benefits here but the improvements that dead hangs will offer you in the long run are far more detailed than these five points.

Spinal Decompression

The biggest draw when it comes to dead hangs is their proficiency at decompressing the spine. Hanging for just a few minutes per week can help to undo all the compression you put your spine under day in, day out from things like squatting in the gym, sitting all day and carrying heavy backpacks. This is great for spinal strength and can vastly improve your posture.

Grip strength

Another fantastic benefit that dead hangs offer is that they can turbocharge your grip strength. Having to hold onto the bar for far longer than you usually would forces your forearms to work overtime keeping you and the bar acquainted.

Over time as you build up your hang time and eventually add weight to the exercise, you will gain a vice-like grip that will carry over to your big lifts such as deadlifts, chin ups and rows.

Build huge forearms

An often overlooked benefit of dead hangs is that along with building mammoth grip strength, they also blow up your forearms. You’ll realise once you give these a go – doing 4 sets of dead hangs per week will blast your forearms 10x as hard as 10 sets of mindless forearm curls with 15kg barbells.

It’s a much more natural way to build mass and vascularity whilst adding transferable grip strength to your arsenal.

Rotator cuff strength

The rotator cuff is to a lifter what the metatarsal is to a footballer. These puppies are the main culprits when it comes to injuries in their respective practices. The rotator cuff is one of the most vulnerable muscles and is often injured due to an overload of pressing movements.

Because it isn’t a show muscle people tend to overlook it’s importance in favour of 5 extra sets of bench press. By doing a few sets of dead hangs you can stimulate the rotator cuff and proof them against strain and injury in the future – all whilst working a variety of other areas simultaneously.

Un-tightens lats

The final benefit that dead hangs posses is that they can stretch out and un-tighten the lats. The lats are crucial in pulling AND pushing movements so keeping them loose and healthy is key to skyrocketing your pressing exercises like bench press (where your lats do a large portion of the work) and overhead press.

It goes without saying that this will also carry over into your chins, dead lifts and rows. For the sake of a few minutes a week it looks like you’re getting some serious bang for your buck here doesn’t it?

HOW?

So, how exactly do you complete a dead hang?

Grab a pull up bar, totally disengage every muscle in your body and just hang onto the bar for as long as you can.

For your first go, record your max hang time.

After finding this, work out 70% of your max and use this as your ‘working weight’ to stop fatigue setting in and interfering with your other exercises. So you would do 2 sets of 70% of this time a few times a week after a workout.

Try to then add 5 seconds on to that time every month, retesting your max every 12 weeks.

Make sense?

CONCLUSION

Dead hangs are the easiest and most efficient exercise you’re not doing. Add them to the end of your workouts three times a week to decompress that spine, blast your forearms and super-strength your rotator cuffs. Try it for 12 weeks and see how much your performance and wellbeing come on.

What Helps Clear Up Brain Fog: Causes, Symptoms & Remedy

What Helps Clear Up Brain Fog - A comprehensive guide on the causes, symptoms and remedies.

Brain fog is an extremely common issue in today’s society due to our overly fast-paced lifestyles and lack of healthy living in all areas. It is a state of mental fatigue whereby a person will generally lose focus and become irritable more often than usual. Luckily for you though, brain fog is widely considered to be easily reversible providing the right course of action is taken. This blog will answer what helps clear up brain fog.

The Causes of brain fog

High stress levels

Having high stress levels can play havoc with your hormones. Having chronically high stress over a long period of time can lead to extremely high cortisol, low dopamine and the testosterone levels of a 700 year old corpse. Your hormones are so susceptible to stress and therefore it is paramount that you get this under control.

Inflammation

Inflammation can be caused by a lot of things but the main culprits are stress and your diet. The main dietary cause of inflammation is the ingestion of processed foods – something that is common place in this day and age. Most foods in the modern age will cause some degree of inflammation but there are steps you can take to limit this.

what helps clear up brain fog: Causes, symptoms & remedy

Lack of sleep

Another big offender here, lack of sleep can be attributed to all manner of problems but brain fog is definitely one of its bigger targets. Lacking sleep can have a knock-on effect on your stress levels AND inflammation, making this the most important factor to dial in during your fight against the fog.

The SYMPTOMS of brain fog

Some of the most common symptoms to look out for when trying to diagnose brain fog include:

There are many other answers to what does brain fog feel like - ultimately, brain fog will be unique to you, so make sure to speak to your doctor if you feel you are being impacted by the symptoms of brain fog.

HOW TO REVERSE BRAIN FOG

You are probably going to be thinking "how to get rid of brain fog" and the ways you can reverse the effects of brain fog - below I have added three things you can do to get rid of the symptoms. These have not been medically reviewed, so be sure to speak to your doctor to discuss your brain health, mental health and medical condition if needed.

De-stress

As mentioned before, stressing will only fog your brain out faster. In order to clear your mind you will have to put a lot of your efforts into tackling stress. This could involve practising meditation each night before you go to sleep, working out a few times a week, keeping a diary or even supplementing with adaptogenic herbs such as ashwaghanda. Adding these steps into your daily routine can drastically reduce stress and help you feel clear headed in no time.

Don’t limit macronutrients

Low-quality fats from processed foods can cause brain fog, but low fat intake can cause brain fog. High levels of processed and refined carbs can cause brain fog but low carb intake can cause brain fog. See what I’m saying here? Don’t demonise a macronutrient because some schmuck told you it’s the devil.

Keep a healthy serving of healthy fats in your diet from things like olive oil, salmon, quality beef, organic butter and coconut oil. Add to that some healthy carbs from foods such as sweet potatoes, bananas, berries and green veg along with a moderate serving of protein from animal meats and lentils. Keep your macronutrient split around 40% Carb/ 40% Fat/ 20% Protein and you’ll be just fine.

Remember, that without macronutrients, your immune system will not function optimally and you could develop chronic fatigue syndrome.

Sleep long, sleep deep

The most important factor to get in check – improving your sleep should not be taken lightly as it can improve brain function and increase red blood cells. The most potent actions for attaining a deeper and longer sleep are to switch off all electronic devices an hour before bed (failing this, buy some blue-light blocking glasses), get a nighttime routine and to make sure your room is cold.

You would be surprised how many people are impacted by sleep deprivation - you need to make sure you're getting enough hours of sleep as otherwise, you can develop poor concentration and disrupt your mental clarity.

These three tips have been shown to skyrocket your sleep quality in just one night, meaning you get instant benefits.

There’s your definitive guide to brain fog and how you combat the symptoms. If you can address these basic areas then you will notice a huge difference in your mental ‘sharpness’ and feel much more energised in no time.

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Forget the dog. The Sauna is Man's new best friend.

Have you ever wondered if saunas are actually any good for you? Turns out they are. Very much so. Get your sweat on and learn about the benefits of the sauna.

SAUNA PRECONCEPTIONS

The sauna can conjure up a whole host of images for different people. For some, it’s a place where you can flush toxins, zone out and enjoy a peaceful cleanse. For others, it’s an old man’s saggy gonads swinging freely, dripping sweat just about everywhere they possibly can.

No matter what your preconceptions are of the sauna, I’m here today to tell you about the benefits you can reap if you choose the hotbox life. So long as you make sure you go in without any old overly body-confident gentlemen then you should be fine…

IMPROVES SKIN

As we all know, saunas are quite hot. The heat given off by the hot rocks of the sauna raises your skin’s internal temperature – increasing the blood flow to top-layer cells exponentially for the duration of your session.

The increase in blood flow means more oxygen (amongst other nutrients) is transported to your cells and these nutrients allow for your skin to repair itself efficiently – even as your natural reparation processes get slower with age.

STRENGTHENS HEART

After reading another article – this time from Harvard University, it became crystal clear that saunas have an extremely beneficial effect on the blood flow system. The researchers at Harvard suggested that increased blood flow caused by sauna sessions decreased blood pressure and decreased the risk of heart attacks in men in particular – good news for the fellas.

Taking a trip to the sauna has also been shown to lower cholesterol. This has been suggested to be caused by the sauna’s stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, which can mimic the effects of exercise – causing a decrease in overall cholesterol levels and further decreasing your risk of heart disease.

PROTECTS BRAIN FUNCTION

Studies have shown that regular use of the sauna can decrease your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease as you age. This promising research was conducted on over 2,000 men over a 20-year period which further adds to the validity of their claims.

The key here is regular use if you want to decrease your risks of brain ailments. Those who went 4-6 times per week were over 60% less likely to develop diseases of the brain than those who went just once.

BOOSTS IMMUNITY

One interesting effect of sauna exposure is that it can boost the strength of your immune system. It’s been shown that as little as two saunas per week can reduce your risk of colds and flu by 65%! That’s a huge improvement in flu resistance and highlights just how effective saunas can be to overall health.

How exactly does a sauna help with immunity? Well, once your body is exposed to the heat, it triggers your body’s immune system to ward off bacterial infection. This causes your body to produce more white blood cells whilst sweating out a whole load of toxins that would have otherwise been kept within the body. This all creates a more harmonious and balanced immune system that protects your body as opposed to fighting against it.

IMPROVES GYM PERFORMANCE

Some small-scale studies have considered the effects of saunas on athletic performance, with one in particular finding that athletes who followed running workouts with sauna sessions of only a half hour were able to run further without hitting exhaustion after just three weeks.

This was attributed to the increased levels of blood plasma in the body caused by the heat of the sauna. This increase in haemoglobin allows for better oxygen transfer from the lungs to the rest of your body – meaning that cardiovascular performance can be increased massively.

Basically, using the sauna is like real life cheat codes. Forget your Grand Theft Auto jet pack cheats, climbing into the sauna is the way forward.

If that list isn’t enough to get you down to the sauna I don’t know what is. Don’t let them Scandis keep all the good stuff for themselves – get sweaty.

Spiritual and Psychological Benefits of Hiking

After visiting Moel Famau a couple of weeks ago I was inspired to write a piece on hiking. The hike itself wasn’t particularly hard – there were literally children doing it. But, there was just something special about it – I got such a buzz afterwards. This got me interested in learning more about the spiritual and psychological benefits of hiking.

Despite not being the most challenging it was certainly a tough 4 hours and provided an almost instant improvement to my wellbeing, which prompted me to do some research into the area. Some of the results I found were extremely promising.

I am going to share with you some of my anecdotal experiences mixed in with the hard science behind hiking and how these can have immense benefit to you – and more importantly, your testosterone (which you should always pay attention to)

The Scenery Can Clear Your Mind

Going up a mountain and hiking in nature is pretty much a guaranteed way to get yourself some of the best views in the world. Just looking out at the vast expanse ahead can have a fantastic head-clearing effect, which is only helped by the health benefits of hiking.

When we reached the summit of Moel Famau (not the hardest task in the world), we sat there in silence for about 5 minutes just taking in the miles and miles of green space ahead of us.

Besides getting a break from her whining…it offered me a perfect opportunity to let my mind completely empty. After a few stressful weeks with work beforehand it had an extremely de-stressing effect on me.

Clearing my mind not only gets rid of negative thoughts, but it also boosts my creative problem solving skills, perfect for problem solving tasks in everyday life. This can be almost like a form of exercises, which, as well as being great to reduce stress, has immense physical benefits (almost as much as the physical activity itself!)

Clearing your head has been shown to decrease cortisol substantially which can lead to huge increases in testosterone. This is mainly due to cortisol’s SHGB increasing properties. Basically – Clear mind – Lower Cortisol – Lower SHGB – Higher total & free testosterone.

The Air Can Improve Blood Flow

Although it’s quite common knowledge, I’m going to tell you anyway – the higher above sea level you go, the thinner the air becomes. Believe it or not, mountains are quite a way above sea level, meaning there’s less of that precious air for you to breathe in.

This challenges your respiratory system, and physical fitness in general much more than a standard walk. It can also induce a state of hypoxia without having to use one of those ridiculous bane masks that fitness ‘gurus’ like to pedal quite regularly.

Induced hypoxia has been shown to have a myriad of benefits such as increased blood flow to tissues, higher blood cell production, reduced risk of heart diseases, lower blood pressure and higher Vo2 max. These results can actually be observed after only one bout of exercise meaning just one hike can give you lasting benefits.

The Success of Getting Outside and The Spiritual Benefits of Hiking

There is a certain sense of accomplishment you get when you reach the summit. Technically, Moel Famau is actually a hill so my sense of accomplishment was diminished slightly upon learning that. This success and accomplishment gave me a spiritual boost, which is really hard to describe in words unless you have a spiritual experience yourself.

However, this is universal throughout life. Who doesn’t love to accomplish something after putting in some seriously hard work? Getting a high grade after putting in hours of research, winning a game of football you’ve put your all into or even completing a video game you’ve stayed up all night to play.

This is backed up by science which shows that competing with people or against yourself can be beneficial to testosterone. Especially when you taste success or complete a massive task – this can skyrocket testosterone and give you a massive mood boost along with the benefits increased testosterone bring.

Spiritual and Psychological Benefits of Hiking

THE END

To conclude, not only is hiking a great way to access the world’s greatest views but it comes with a whole host of health benefits both for the mind and body. Get your hiking boots out and get rambling.

Blue light: The dangers and how to combat them

Blue light is a type of light given off by electronic devices mostly. Think phone, laptop, tablet etc. It’s a much more powerful and concentrated type of light compared to natural forms such as sunlight. It comes with its fair share of disadvantages which is why I bring you today’s article.

Let’s take a look at the potential side effects.

SLEEP DISRUPTION

The biggest issue that gets all the publicity when it comes to blue light is the fact that it can disrupt sleep. As we all know, sleep is one of the most fundamental building blocks to high levels of testosterone and muscle building.

To ensure that you get at least 8 hours per night you should be wary of blue light and its sleep disrupting dangers.

EYESIGHT

With every man and his dog now possessing some form of electronic device capable of giving off substantial amounts of blue light it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a huge increase of people under 30 suffering from eye problems due to constant strain.

DIABETES

There was a small-scale study conducted into Circadian rhythms and how shifting them gradually can affect the human body. They found that this shift caused a spike in blood sugar which put subjects in a pre-diabetic state.

Blue light has been shown to mimic real life sunlight, making your body believe it’s still daytime when you should actually be going to bed (thus messing up your body clock). Basically, don’t shift that good ol’ Circadian rhythm and you’ll be much healthier for it.

So, what can I do???

SWITCH OFF AN HOUR BEFORE YOU GO TO BED

One thing I like to try and do is switch my electronics off about half an hour to an hour before I go to bed. If you read a book or do something relaxing like yoga or meditation it lets you take your mind off everything going on like messages, emails, notifications etc and allows you to simply relax and get in the right state of mind for bed.

Having your mind running overtime will keep you awake for hours and you’ll kick yourself in the morning when you’ve got no energy for the day ahead and your whole day is off to the worst start possible.

SWITCH TO NIGHT MODE

You can use night mode on apps such as Facebook and Twitter or if you have an iPhone, use the blue light reducing feature they have now installed in their phones.

I’m sure there’s some wonderful app out there that helps just as well if you’re on Android but I couldn’t be bothered looking for that so you can do your own research…

BUY A PAIR OF BLUE LIGHT BLOCKING GLASSES

I’ve only recently bought these but I noticed the difference straight away after using them. When I was sat on the laptop or even just zoned out watching TV I felt like I was straining much less to concentrate on what was in front of me.

I slept like a baby from the first night of wearing them and long may it continue. They look surprisingly un-awful as well which is a bonus. You can buy pairs for pretty cheap on eBay or Amazon.

So, to conclude…

So, there you have it, blue light’s major dangers and what you can do right now to minimise them. From trying out these tips myself I’ve noticed a drastic reduction in the time it takes me to ‘switch off’ at night. This has helped me sleep brilliantly, which has aided in my recovery and surprisingly, my mood the next day.

Give at least one of them a go and see for yourself.

The Testosterone Diet: Supercharge your testosterone

Today’s article will be taking you through a very detailed testosterone diet template.

After reading this article you’ll have a much greater knowledge of testosterone increasing foods and how to use them together in your testosterone diet in order to elicit the most optimal hormonal response.

THE TESTOSTERONE DIET

First of all, I recommend using a 12/3/6 intermittent fasting protocol in the testosterone diet.

This means eating a meal at 12pm, 3pm and 6pm.

Your snack is there for when you get hungry between meals or up to 8pm if you are still hungry. You should consume nothing but coffee and water before 12pm or after 6-8pm if you want to reap the fasting benefits.

MEAL ONE – THE MAN SMOOTHIE

The first ‘meal’ of the testosterone diet comes in the form of a smoothie. This is an upgraded version of my ultimate man smoothie recipe with some minor tweaks to improve its benefits further.

2 bananas

Bananas are full of potassium and aid greatly in boosting recovery due to their high electrolyte content.

100g frozen berries

Get yourself a big bag of mixed frozen berries and you’ll be getting a huge dose of antioxidants, vitamin C and resveratol which are all fantastic for testosterone production and overall health. Not to mention they make the smoothie taste fantastic.

100g pomegranate seeds

Without a doubt my favourite addition to this smoothie. Pomegranate tastes amazing and are an extremely potent nitric oxide booster which boosts blood flow around the body. Great for meeting your performance goals.

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

These are a fantastic source of iron and magnesium which are vital nutrients for overall health and vitality.

100g steamed beetroot

Beets are loaded with vitamins A & C and have a large amount of folic acid as well. They make the shake taste great as well.

100g watermelon

Watermelon is one of the densest sources of L-Citrulline which is great – just like pomegranates, for increasing blood flow. This nutrient will help you achieve improved vascularity as well if that’s something you’re into.

1 raw egg

Eggs are great. They’re full of protein and healthy saturates. Adding a raw one into this smoothie allows you to get these great benefits without even noticing it’s in there.

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

This adds a nice flavour to the drink and has proven benefits when fighting off diabetes and improving blood sugar levels.

2 Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts are loaded with selenium which is one of the lesser known nutrients but is a potent T-booster. Just two of these will give you your full selenium needs for the day.

1 tbsp Honey

Honey helps to prevent cancer and can actually increase your athletic function so if you are an avid gym goer then honey should definitely be part of your arsenal.

1cm cube Ginger

Ginger can be used to treat all manner of stomach problems. Since testosterone health can be directly linked to gut health, implementing ginger can be hugely beneficial.

1/4 tbsp turmeric

Turmeric can go some way to preventing Alzheimer’s disease and can be used as an anti-inflammatory supplement to aid your intense gym sessions.

3 dates

Dates are full of iron and magnesium, two essential nutrients for a healthy endocrine system.

25g whey protein

Now for a final protein boost. Whey is one of the most easily absorbed forms of protein and putting a scoop into the smoothie makes it the ideal post workout shake.

1 tsp ashwaghanda

This adaptogenic herb has been shown to improve your sleep and significantly lower stress. It may also improve testosterone but results have mostly been observed in animals so far.

1 tsp maca

Maca may not actually be the potent testosterone booster it was previously claimed as being. However, it is fantastic at balancing hormonal levels, boosting energy naturally and giving your libido a kick start.

1 tsp Ginkgo biloba

This herb can improve concentration, improve libido and can fight depression and stress. Basically, it’s like cheating at health but it’s cheap and legal.

1 tsp Forskolin

Forskolin can reduce blood pressure and help manage weight. These are both beneficial to increasing testosterone and becoming the healthiest version of yourself.

COOKING

Quite a tough one this…
Add all the ingredients into the blender.
Press blend.

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 1.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 790
    
    Total Fat 17 g
    
    Saturated Fat 5 g
    26 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 3 g
    24 %
  
    Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 245 mg
    82 %
  
    Sodium 184 mg
    8 %
  
    Potassium 1101 mg
    31 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 135 g
     45 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 18 g
     72 %
  
    Sugars 96 g
    
    Protein 37 g
    74 %
  
    Vitamin A
    9 %
  
    Vitamin C
    119 %
  
    Calcium
    7 %
  
    Iron
    18 %

* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

MEAL TWO – BOLOGNESE

150g pasta

Tasty and full of fibre. Also helps to up the calorie content of the dish. This isn’t conducive to a ‘testosterone diet’ per se but it’s tasty and that’s all that matters.

70g bolognese sauce

You can make your own by blending tomatoes and spices but I use this for ease. Makes the dish taste authentic enough that you don’t have to think about how bloody healthy this meal is.

50g spinach

This is the poster boy for health foods. Full of zinc, iron and folate, Pop Eye’s food of choice is one you simply can’t afford to be leaving out of your daily intake.

1 clove garlic

When this is paired with the freshly squeezed orange juice it will boost your nitric oxide by up to 200%! This is great news for your blood flow and sporting performance.

100g button mushrooms

Button mushrooms are an amazing source of vitamin B, C & D along with being an unusually potent source of potassium.

130g beef mince

Red meat is a powerhouse of nutrients – iron, zinc, protein & healthy fats to name a few. Animal protein is most bio-available when compared to plant sources – although don’t discard the protein you can acquire from your greens.

3 finger chillies

Recently, chillies have become renowned for their high levels of capsaicin, a nutrient that can reduce cancer, headaches and increase testosterone. Go with spice if you want to give your T levels a kick.

1/2 large avocado

The greatest plant source of monounsaturated fat, maybe tied with coconut oil is avocado. They can lower cholesterol, protect your heart and can aid in the absorption in other nutrients – all fantastic things if you want to be healthy and increase your T.

1/2 lime

Citrus fruits such as lime can aid in a massive spectrum of areas. They can improve your eye health, skin health and your digestion. All areas you should be striving to improve if you’re looking to become the healthiest version of yourself.

COOKING

Saute spinach, chillies, mushrooms and garlic in a dash of water.
Add in the mince and cook til brown.
Boil the pasta.
Add the cooked ingredients together and top with the bolognese sauce until it heats up.
Serve and top with the avocado and the juice of the lime.

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 1.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 1142
    
    Total Fat 46 g
    71 %
  
    Saturated Fat 16 g
    80 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 8 g
    
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    0 %
  
    Sodium 616 mg
    26 %
  
    Potassium 1688 mg
    48 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 130 g
    43 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 14 g
    55 %
  
    Sugars 12 g
    
    Protein 51 g
    103 %
  
    Vitamin A
    322 %
  
    Vitamin C
    110 %
  
    Calcium
    17 %
  
    Iron
    32 %

MEAL THREE – CHICKEN, EGGS & VEG

3 eggs

See above. These should be a staple in any testosterone diet.

125g chicken

Chicken is amazing if you’re looking to add protein into your diet for relatively low calorie expenditure.

100g broccoli

Broccoli is fantastic at flushing oestrogen from the body and is full of vital nutrients like folate, vitamin E and manganese. This should be a staple.

1 bell pepper

Bell peppers have got great T boosting vitamins and minerals including folate, vitamin C and potassium.

4 sticks of asparagus

Asparagus is a brilliant source of vitamin B1, choline and vitamin C.

Spices of choice

Tasty and healthy, no more needs to be said here. These are perfect for keeping the testosterone diet fresh.

Sea salt & pepper

Sea salt is chock-full of minerals, just make sure you stay hydrated and stay away from the rat poison that is conventional table salt. As for pepper, see above.

Coconut oil

Using coconut oil instead of your usual 1-cal sprays or vegetable oil nonsense has been shown to increase your testosterone due to its high levels of saturated fat. Coconut oil is one of the best fruit-based sources of this essential nutrient for perfecting your body’s T production.

Vinegar (optional)

Red wine vinegar is a great topping for your meals and is full of antioxidants.

COOKING

Saute the chicken, peppers, broccoli and asparagus in the coconut oil then empty onto a plate.
Cook the eggs in a pan with the remainder of the veg juices and add in the salt & pepper.
Add everything into the plate and top with spices and the vinegar.

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 1.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 556
    
    Total Fat 29 g
    44 %
  
    Saturated Fat 17 g
    84 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
    
    Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 608 mg
    203 %
  
    Sodium 1282 mg
    53 %
  
    Potassium 846 mg
    24 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 16 g
    5 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 5 g
    18 %
  
    Sugars 9 g
    
    Protein 59 g
    119 %
  
    Vitamin A
    35 %
  
    Vitamin C
    466 %
  
    Calcium
    12 %
  
    Iron
    25 %

SNACKS

3 stalks of celery, 2 tbsp Natural Peanut butter & 1 tsp cinnamon

Celery is a great source of folate & vitamin K and is great at boosting blood flow. Peanut butter is good for boosting the calorie content of this dish and has a great helping of protein and fat. Finally, cinnamon can lower blood pressure and protect against heart disease.

PREP

Fill the celery with peanut butter and top it with cinnamon. Another extremely tough recipe.

50g Grapes

Not only are grapes tasty but they are another potent blood flow booster too

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 1.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 268
    
    Total Fat 16 g
    25 %
  
    Saturated Fat 2 g
    10 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
    
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    0 %
  
    Sodium 154 mg
    6 %
  
    Potassium 509 mg
    15 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 22 g
    7 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 7 g
    27 %
  
    Sugars 13 g
    
    Protein 10 g
    19 %
  
    Vitamin A
    17 %
  
    Vitamin C
    10 %
  
    Calcium
    10 %
  
    Iron
    3 %

DRINKS

1-2 cup(s) of coffee

Coffee is a great nitric oxide booster and may help to prevent erectile dysfunction.

3 litres of water

Keeping hydrated is key to keeping your body running as smoothly as possible, amongst hundreds of other functions – fill up on as much water as you can

200ml freshly squeezed orange juice

Orange juice is a great source of vitamin C. Make sure to take this with the bolognese meal, as vitamin C and garlic is a potent nitric oxide booster which can be great for your T.

This testosterone diet meal plan comes to;

2,850 calories
158g protein
325g carbs
108g fat

This gives you 150 calories to treat yourself each day. This could be in the form of some sweets, some chocolate or even just some trail mix. You can switch it up every day to keep you on track with the plan and stop yourself getting bored.

So there you have it, if you’re looking to bulk up, build muscle and increase your testosterone then the testosterone diet should be your go-to every time.

Eat these things 80% of the time for 3 months and you’ll notice a huge difference.

Coconut oil is a man's best friend. Here's why

Coconut oil is the Swiss army knife for the modern man’s health and wellbeing. You could probably replace every single thing you own with coconut oil and you’d have a better product on your hands.

Okay, maybe not everything…

But, I’m about to talk you through all the uses for coconut oil that can hugely benefit us men in particular.

COCONUT OIL FOR COOKING

Using coco oil instead of your usual 1-cal sprays or vegetable oil nonsense has been shown to increase your testosterone due to its high levels of saturated fat. It is one of the best fruit-based sources of this essential nutrient for perfecting your body’s big-T production.

TANNING

This is for the vainer gents out there. Whilst it’s probably not advisable to put coconut oil on before you head into the sun (unless you want to sizzle like the little pale sausage you are), applying it to your skin post-sun exposure can help your skin tan and turn brown – not the usual bright red.

HAIR WAX

This is one I discovered by accident a couple of years ago and haven’t used a conventional hair product since. Add a fingertip full of coconut oil to slightly wet hair and comb into the style you go for. Once that’s dried you’ll have a solid hold for about two days if you don’t wash it out. This will save you money on constantly buying hair wax as a tub of coconut oil will last you for months and costs about £3.

DEODORANT

This is another slightly unconventional use for coconut oil but an extremely useful one. I apply my stick deodorant and then use a thin layer of oil over the top. This is extremely effective as coconut oil has been shown to posses antibacterial properties and is excellent at neutralising underarm smells – perfect if you want to avoid smelling of 3 week old onions.

SHAVING CREAM & MOISTURISER

This one is quite novel and may not be the best for those with extremely sensitive skin. However, I have had great success when using coconut oil as my shaving cream AND as my post-shave moisturiser. It allowed me to get a great smooth shave and didn’t irritate my skin noticeably more than a conventional cream. This saved me lots of money and kept my skin in top condition.

I have now moved to a natural shaving gel from Cornerstone as my skin did start to feel the burn just using oil but if your skin isn’t sensitive then give this one a shot.

So there you have it. Using coconut oil as a replacement for your conventional items can save you mounds of money and can help you to shun all the chemicals we are now seeing in grooming and cooking products, which helps you to optimise key hormones in your body such as testosterone, DHT and SHGB.

Give your normal products a rest for 2 weeks and sub in coconut oil. I guarantee you’ll feel great and not miss your old stuff at all.

Smoothies For Testosterone and Male Enhancement

This smoothie will turn boys into men. This is my recipe for one of the best smoothies for testosterone and male enhancement.

Probably not, but it might put a few hairs on your chest. I can also guarantee you’ll feel like a new man, with much more energy and drive to get out into the world. The reason for these effects is the fantastic benefits of the ingredients that make up this recipe.

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE MAN SMOOTHIE (SERVES 1)

This is one of the most ultimate smoothies for testosterone and male enhancement that can boost and increase your testosterone levels, help with erectile dysfunction, help blood circulation and support your sexual desire.

2 bananas

Bananas are full of potassium and aid greatly in boosting recovery due to their high electrolyte content.

100g frozen berries

100g pomegranate seeds

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

These are a fantastic source of iron and magnesium which are vital nutrients for overall health and vitality.

100g steamed beetroot

Beets are loaded with vitamins A & C and have a large amount of folic acid as well. They make the shake taste great as well.

100g watermelon

1 raw egg

Eggs are great. They’re full of protein and healthy saturates. Adding a raw one into this smoothie allows you to get these great benefits without even noticing it’s in there.

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

This adds a nice flavour to the drink and has proven benefits when fighting off diabetes and improving blood sugar levels.

25g whey protein

Now for a final protein boost. Whey is one of the most easily absorbed forms of protein and putting a scoop into the smoothie makes it the ideal post workout shake.

Feel free to add additional ingredients as you wish - some people may decide to add peanut butter, almond milk and additions for extra health benefits.

OPTIONAL

The next 3 ingredients are optional but I believe they can add an extra boost to your sex drive, sexual performance and overall testosterone production.

1 tsp maca powder

1 tsp ashwaghanda

This adaptogenic herb has been shown to improve your sleep and significantly lower stress. It may also improve testosterone but results have mostly been observed in animals so far.

5g creatine

Creatine is one of the few clinically proven supplements that has been shown to increase muscle mass and add strength at a significant rate. Just 5g a day has been shown to improve these areas so I recommend loading up on this if you want to optimise your gains.

Amino Acids

Adding amino acid to your smoothie recipe (especially during a cut) can maximise your muscle building potential as well as boost your testosterone levels through the above ingredients.

COOKING

Prepare yourself because the following steps may be hard to comprehend.
Empty the ingredients into a blender.
Press blend.

CONCLUSION - Smoothies For Male Enhancement

Ultimately, there is no single thing that is suddenly going to put your testosterone through the roof or give you the male enhancement you've been looking for... but don't worry, the above recipe has tested and proven ingredient to make a difference.

Hopefully those steps weren’t too difficult to follow. Jokes aside, this recipe is quick, easy and packs a serious punch in terms of nutrition. This will help you in your journey to adding mass to your frame and size to your balls. Below is the macro and micro breakdown.

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 1.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 628
    
    Total Fat 15 g
    23 %
  
    Saturated Fat 4 g
    22 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
    24 %
  
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 245 mg
    82 %
  
    Sodium 182 mg
    8 %
  
    Potassium 856 mg
    24 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 92 g
     31 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 15 g
     61 %
  
    Sugars 63 g
    
    Protein 35 g
    71 %
  
    Vitamin A
    9 %
  
    Vitamin C
    118 %
  
    Calcium
    6 %
  
    Iron
    11 %

Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Slow cooker stew recipe for boosting testosterone

Today I present to you the ultimate recipe for raising testosterone levels - the best god damn slow cooker stew you ever did see.

This recipe is incredibly tasty and easy to make. It contains less than 10 main ingredients plus spices so hopefully it won't blow your mind.

The recipe is as follows;

Slow cooker stew (serves 5)

1kg White Potatoes

Potatoes are a superior carbohydrate source than conventional man-made grains and provide a steady release of energy to fuel workouts. Not to mention their various testosterone boosting benefits.

500g Grass-fed red meat

Red meat is the go to protein source for those looking to increase testosterone as it contains many essential nutrients required to perfect one's endocrine system like Zinc, L-Carnitine, Iron & b12.

3 types of veg (I usually go for 400g mushrooms, 3 bell peppers and 3 carrots)

Veggies are chock-full of testosterone boosting nutrients like vitamins A, B & C along with magnesium, folic acid and potassium.

1 Tbsp of either Butter or Coconut Oil

Fat, especially saturated fat is crucial to optimal hormonal health. Cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone, meaning a lot of your staple foods should include some degree of this male-friendly nutrient. Just don't overdo your fat intake (Keep it around 30-40%) as you don't want cancer, hypertension or liver failure - do you.

Juice of a Lemon

Citrus fruits have been shown to be extremely testosterone friendly due to extremely high levels of vitamin C and rather high levels of Thiamine per serving.

4 cloves of Garlic

Garlic is an amazing T booster due to its high levels of quercetin. This gives garlic anti-inflammatory properties and is also a very potent nitric oxide booster.

1cm cube of Ginger

Studies have shown ginger to effectively raise serum testicular testosterone levels. It can also help to protect joints and lower bad cholesterol.

2 Tbsp of All spice

This adds flavour and as an added bonus, spices within allspice like cumin have been shown to have positive effects on testosterone - tasty.

Handful of Parsley

Due to its high levels of apigening, parsley can be classed as one of the best garnishes about when it comes to the big T.

250ml veg stock

Veg stock is used here to improve the taste and sauce of the entire meal. Veg stock is also very healthy due to its high concentration of vegetable nutrients like vitamins A, B & C and folic acid.

6 blended vine tomatoes

Tomatoes are actually a very healthy food which can aid in healthy hormonal function due to their high levels of vitamin A & B and fibre. By blending up natural loose tomatoes you avoid the BPA's in tinned tomatoes which is a huge bonus for optimising hormonal output.

Avocado (Optional)

These fat bombs are amazing for testosterone production. They contain lots of Vitamin E, which is great but they are also full of Saturated and Monounsaturated fats which have been correlated with higher testosterone production.

Cooking

Chop up the potatoes, meat and your chosen veg - set aside.
Finely chop the ginger, garlic and parsley - set aside.
Boil 250ml water and stir in veg stock.
Blend up your 6 vine tomatoes.
Line your slow cooker with your chosen fat source.
Make a base of flavour by placing in the all spice, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and parsley.
Add in potatoes, meat and veg.
Pour over the veg stock and blended tomatoes.
Set your slow cooker to cook for 8 hours on a low heat.
If you would like to bump up the fat and calorie content of this dish then add an avocado in.

Conclusion

As you can see, there's a bit of wiggle room for ingredients so you can change the tastes to your liking and keep it fresh so you don't get bored.By using the slow cooker you tenderise the meat and let all the flavours really come through - not to mention the fact that you can just throw everything in there and let it cook for 8 hours with no effort at all.Below is the macro-nutrient breakdown for a serving of slow cooker stew - feel free to play about with the amount of servings you break it in to.

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 5.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 519
    
    Total Fat 22 g
    33 %
  
    Saturated Fat 10 g
    49 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 8 g
    
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 6 mg
    2 %
  
    Sodium 103 mg
    4 %
  
    Potassium 630 mg
    18 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 51 g
     17 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 8 g
     31 %
  
    Sugars 11 g
    
    Protein 29 g
    58 %
  
    Vitamin A
    26 %
  
    Vitamin C
    94 %
  
    Calcium
    12 %
  
    Iron
    52 %

Testosterone Boosting Carnivore Slow Cooker Chilli Recipe

Today I present to you a recipe that is not only easy to make, it’s incredibly tasty to boot. This is a slow cooker chilli with a twist, it is choc-full of testosterone boosting ingredients that lend themselves perfectly to muscle growth.

You’ll need a slow cooker, chopping board, knife, a tin opener and big ol’ spoon. The recipe yields 6 servings. Serve with rice to boost the calories and carb content if you wish. Sometimes I’ll add in tortilla chips as a treat that also takes the calories up way past 1,000 which is great if you’re looking to bulk up.

THE SLOW COOKER CHILLI

2kg lean mince (Beef, pork, turkey)

I tend to use beef here as the base for my slow cooker chilli as it has been shown on countless occasions to raise testosterone levels due its high levels of Zinc, Iron and vitamin b12. It also packs a serious punch when it comes to protein and healthy fats – both fantastic for T production.

4 cloves of garlic

Garlic is an amazing T booster due to its high levels of quercetin. This gives garlic anti-inflamatory properties and is also a very potent nitric oxide booster.

1 onion

Onions also contain quercetin which is fantastic for T production. This together with garlic may give you stinky breath but it’ll certainly put a little bit more hair on your chest so I’d say it’s worth it.

3 bell peppers

Bell peppers have got great T boosting vitamins and minerals including folate, vitamin C and potassium.

2 tins of kidney beans

All types of beans are great for health in general and pack a high amount of protein per gram. Just be sure to wash them before cooking or face the windy consequences.

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

This is mainly for the taste and a saucy base for the recipe. However tomatoes are actually a very healthy food which can aid in healthy hormonal function due to their high levels of vitamin A & B and fibre.

1 pack of chilli spice mix

This is mainly to add lots of taste to the dish BUT spices have been shown to aid in digestive health, hormonal health and brain function in the past, so load up on spices if you want to experience some great benefits.

3 large avocados

These fat bombs are amazing for testosterone production. They contain lots of Vitamin E, which is great but they are also full of Saturate and Mono-unsaturated fats which have been correlated with higher testosterone production and are without a doubt my favourite way of increasing my fat intake.

250g spinach

Spinach has got lots of magnesium, iron and vitamin b6 which all help to boost testosterone, increase nitric oxide and can also help protect against cancer.

250g rice (optional)

Rice is a fantastic way of getting in some much needed calories if you’re bulking, it also tastes brilliant with chilli.

50g tortilla chips (optional)

I love tortilla chips, they give that full-on mexican vibe to the meal and taste brilliant. If you can afford the extra couple of hundred calories then treat yourself. Nothing tops off a slow cooker chilli like some tortilla chip goodness.

COOKING

Cut up your veg & garlic & empty into the slow cooker.
Add in half the pack of spice mix & half the tin of chopped tomatoes.
Drain kidney beans & add into the slow cooker.
Add in the mince and the rest of the spice mix. Mix everything up.
Cook on low for 6-8hrs.
Whilst everything is cooking, evenly distribute spinach and avocado into 6 containers.
When it’s all cooked, divide into the 6 containers.
This recipe freezes well so put portions in the freezer if they’re not going to be consumed within the next couple of days.

Below is the macronutrient and micronutrient breakdown of the slow cooker chilli without rice or tortilla chips;

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 6.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 734
    
    Total Fat 36 g
    55 %
  
    Saturated Fat 8 g
    39 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
    
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    0 %
  
    Sodium 361 mg
    15 %
  
    Potassium 232 mg
    7 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 25 g
     8 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 9 g
     37 %
  
    Sugars 9 g
    
    Protein 72 g
    143 %
  
    Vitamin A
    4 %
  
    Vitamin C
    288 %
  
    Calcium
    1 %
  
    Iron
    3 %

Does Journaling Help With Mental Health? My Experience

I believe journaling to be a great tool for improving your thought processes over time. Writing your thoughts down every morning can be an extremely cathartic experience. This blog is going to answer the question “does journaling help with mental health?” and cover my experience.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH JOURNALING

I’ve been using journals as a means to improve my cognition for the past few weeks and have definitely noticed a big difference in that time.

Below, I have listed a few benefits you can expect from journaling and given some evidence for you to have a look at if you’re still not convinced.

Does Journaling Help With Mental Health?

Keeping a diary as a teenager is really common and relieves the pressure that comes with coping with difficult thoughts and feelings. It can be a good thing to plough through some of the uncertainty and confusion you’re going through.

You may have stopped writing in a diary once you became an adult, but journaling is a great way to recollect your thoughts and understand them better. Staying connected with your thoughts through a journal can be a great thing. It can offer you an outlet for your emotions and help improve your mental health.

One way to feel better in any emotional situation is by finding an outlet where you can express yourself. A journal is a great way to manage your mental health by helping you with these things:

Deal with and overcome anxiety
Descrease stress
Overcome depression

Journaling helps control symptoms and improve mood by:

Helping you put concerns and worries into context to the bigger picture
Tracking symptoms and habits over weeks, allowing you to identify patterns
Providing opportunities to review your progress and self-monitor.

does journaling help with mental health? From my experience, journalling is a fantastic way to deal with mental health (as identified in this study), it can provide a way to express your emotions, track your progress and communicate to yourself, and others about how you're feeling.

IMPROVES IQ

Does Journaling Help With Mental Health? My Experience

The constant writing and use of your brain associated with journaling every day can improve your IQ according to some sources. This is great news if you’re looking to keep your brain on its toes and improve your vocabulary whilst improving other areas of your mental state.

Journaling benefits for mental health: EXPANDS YOUR MEMORY

According to some research, there is a relationship between the hand and the brain. As words are technically physical representations of ideas, getting these down on paper on a regular basis allows you to boost your ability to re-compose ideas whilst writing and improve cognitive recall over time.

Benefits of journaling: ALLOWS YOU TO EMPTY YOUR MIND

This is a subjective benefit that I have noticed since taking up journaling. It allows me to empty my thoughts onto the page every morning and start the day off with a clear mind, meaning I can concentrate on what is important to me on that particular day. This has been proven in research which has shown those who write journals regularly suffer far less stress than those who don’t.

So these are some of the amazing benefits on offer if you start journaling, how exactly can you get started?

I recommend buying a cheap notebook and writing for 5 minutes every morning, aiming to fill at least half a page each time. Write anything that comes into your mind, aiming to empty all of your thoughts and cognitions onto the page and let them out of your mind.

Try to keep it to a certain structure – things that are stressing you out, things you are thankful for, things you are looking forward to and goals you are working towards. This way you will always have a structure to prompt you when you get stuck and this will also organises your entries conveniently.

Emptying your mind is also really useful if you want to get rid of negative thoughts or negative emotions, forget a traumatic event or traumatic experience and even realist physical health benefits.

Improves Progress In Your Business

If you're a business owner, you may often find that you do your best work when you have a clear, direct mindset. Journaling can be a great way to empty your mind (as covered above) and better align your day-to-day activities towards your long-term goals.

In my routine, I journal every day and make sure that I write down three things I'm grateful for (some people may call this a gratitude journal), three things I want to achieve that day and something I could have improved on the day before, all using pen and paper - this keeps me present and helps my business, as it keeps me focussed on what matters!

Journaling can take much less that 20 minutes - journaling prompts benefits that are 100% work journaling practice on a daily basis.

Once you’ve started you’ll be able to check back in a month or so’s time and check whether things that were stressing you have been resolved or something you’d been looking forward to had gone to plan. I find this is a great way of tracking progress and making sure that stressors don’t hang around for longer than they have to, making you a much happier person in the long run.

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Why cold showers are your new best friend

I love cold showers and try to pluck up the courage to do them every day. Here are some of the best benefits of turning up the cold and how it can apply to you.

BUILDS SERIOUS WILLPOWER

Over the past few years of doing cold showers, I’ve found that my willpower has skyrocketed. Knowing you are capable of doing something that you perceived to be hard can have a carry-over effect into the real world. It gives you a real sense of control and can definitely increase your overall confidence.

BOOSTS TESTOSTERONE

Cold showers have been shown to increase testosterone which is one of the most promising benefits for men looking to optimise their hormonal environments. This increase in test may be responsible for boosts in fertility and recovery that have been found recently.

STRENGTHENS IMMUNITY

Taking a cold shower has been shown to boost immunity in those who consistently stick with it over time. This can be linked to the improved circulation that cold temperatures elicited by the showers can create.

DECREASES STRESS

One interesting benefit that cold showers can give you is the reduction of stress. This may be down to the improvements in sleep that can also be observed from this. Reducing stress is one thing that you should be striving for constantly due to its links with many of the western world’s biggest problems such as heart attacks, heightened blood pressure and lowered libido.

STIMULATES THE LYMPHATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Turning down the temperature of your showers has been shown to boost the lymphatic nervous system which I have written about in previous articles. Boosting the LNS has been shown to improve a myriad of health markers which is why you should definitely give it some thought.

A FINAL WORD ON COLD SHOWERS

So there are the top benefits of cold showers and why they’re your new best friend. Give cold showers a try for the next week or so and see if you feel any of these. You may even feel some other benefits not listed. You never know until you try.

Dry brushing may hold the key to longevity. Here's why

I use dry brushing every morning. What exactly is dry brushing? You can find a more detailed explanation on what it is and how to do it here but basically, you scrub your skin with a brush or a loofah to get rid of the dead skin cells. I would recommend it to anyone. Below are some of the reasons you should start doing it.

DRY BRUSHING INCREASES BLOOD FLOW AND CIRCULATION

The act of brushing in circular motions can have a positive effect on blood circulation around your body and increase the disposal of metabolic waste from your body which is vitally important for a clean bill of health.

HELPS SKIN TO BREATHE

Brushing removes excess oils and any dirt that clogs up pores. This leaves your skin much softer and clearer which is not only great aesthetically but also great for your overall skin health as it has less pollutants to fight off on a daily basis.

STIMULATES THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

This is one of the most beneficial advantages of dry brushing. The lymphatic system is your body’s biggest player when it comes to immunity. It allows your body to remove interstitial fluid from various tissues amongst other cleansing functions. Dry brushing stimulates this which is hugely beneficial to your health.

THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS

Brushing on a regular basis has been said to be almost meditative in nature. The constant and repetitive act of brushing can sooth the mind and muscle simultaneously and be a way to effectively stress bust before the start of the day.

CAN AID IN RELIEVING DIGESTIVE STRESS

By stimulating the lymphatic system, it helps your body get rid of many negative toxins. This can indirectly lead to much improved kidney function and increased digestion efficiency.

You can pick up body brushes cheap anywhere so it’s worth giving it a go and judging whether these benefits are of any use to you and whether it’s something you want to add into your daily routine.

5 Harmful Effects Of Plastic

Nowadays, plastics are part and parcel of every day life. Everyone vaguely knows the dangers of plastic and that it isn’t great but we plod along buying plastic water bottles every day, drinking out of plastic cups, wrapping our food up in plastic packaging, brushing our teeth with plastic toothbrushes, carrying shopping in plastic bags. The list goes on and on.

Everything is plastic and we don’t even realise. There are however, some things you can do to combat the issues that plastic presents. Below is a list of risks plastics pose and a few simple changes you can implement to improve your health and your environmental footprint. This blog is going to cover 5 harmful effects of plastics and what you can do to stop them.

THE 5 DANGERS and Harmful Effects OF PLASTIC

The amount of food and water that we consume that is wrapped in plastic and thrown away has led to a large amount of toxic chemicals, plastic pollution and harmful chemicals released into the environment.

The 5 harmful effects of plastic below are just some of the reasons that we need to reduce plastic waste (i.e. single use plastic and plastic items) that gets released into marine environments.

#1 GENDER BENDING

This has been shown to be prevalent in young males who drink from plastic bottles. If you want to avoid becoming a biologically feminised male I’d suggest keeping away from drinking out of your plastic water bottle from now on.

#2 Harmful Effects of Plastic - CANCER

Cancer has actually been shown to be associated with continual exposure to plastics. Keep away from consuming things from plastic containers and putting plastic in your mouth if you want a lower risk of cancer.

#3 LOWERED LIBIDO

A loss of sex drive is a common side effect of repeated exposure to plastic. Each generation has had significantly lower testosterone than the last, which coincides perfectly with the rise in plastic consumption. If you want to keep up your drive to procreate then limit your plastics brother.

The 4th Harmful Effect of Plastic - INCREASED FAT GAIN

An increase in fat mass has been shown time and time again to be associated with the increased plastic use of today. If you don’t want a spare tyre then ditch the plastic, simple.

#5 ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION

Last but certainly not least is environmental destruction. Most plastic produced in the world today is used just once (think bottled water, food packaging, cellophane & disposable cutlery). This contributes to polluted oceans, overflowing landfills and a dying Earth. Limit your consumption of plastic, in particular disposable plastic, if you want to be the difference.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Doing something to save the environment isn't about marine animals and sea turtles - it is about removing the many million tons of plastic that is impacting the health of humanity too.

CHANGE YOUR EVERYDAY WATER BOTTLE

Your first step towards reducing the dangers of plastic should be changing your bottle to a stainless steel or glass bottle you are reducing the amount of plastic water bottles you buy and dispose of every day and you are also minimising plastic contact with your mouth. I use The Corkcicle, which keeps your drink ice cold for over a day and looks sleek as well. You can get them relatively cheap here.

GET A BAMBOO TOOTHBRUSH

I use this toothbrush which is bio-degradable and so can be recycled once you’ve finished using it. They are extremely cheap and using them minimises plastic contact with the mouth.

Get a bag for life

If you get yourself a bag for life you stop yourself from constantly getting new plastic bags which just end up getting shoved under your kitchen sink, thus saving yourself money with every shop and also doing your bit to reduce plastic production and consumption. I picked this bag for life up from my local store but you can get any old tat as long as it’s not made of plastic.

UPGRADE YOUR COOKING UTENSILS

This is one of the biggest dangers of plastic, get rid of your horrible Teflon pans and plastic spatulas. These are the worst offenders when it comes to carcinogen release. Plus who wants melted spatula bits in their dinner? Get wooden or stainless steel utensils like a wooden spoon, steel ladle and a steel spatula. On top of that, get yourself a cast iron skillet to cook your meals in and these basics should see you through the majority of the time.

UPGRADE YOUR FOOD CONTAINERS

Who doesn’t love Tupperware? If you’re in to prepping your meals, you’ll be familiar with these little gems. However, most of the time they absorb colour and smell from your meals and over time they go grotty, meaning you’ll probably throw them out, contributing to the plastic graveyards we see today.

When people microwave their meals in these plastic containers, the carcinogens in the Tupperware leak into your food and you ingest this – yum. To combat this, I recommend having a complete overhaul of your Tupperware. Either buy glass Pyrex lunch boxes or if you’ve got a bit extra, go for stainless steel.

The only real option I have found here in the UK is a company called Elephant Box, their containers are amazing and I own a fair few. Whilst on the pricey side, they are very good quality and will last you. Just beware, you can’t microwave stainless steel, but you can put it in the oven. If none of these seem like a possibility to you then just put your food in the plastic containers but don’t heat up the meals whilst inside.

STORAGE BOXES

Instead of storing your things in big cheap, easily breakable plastic boxes, why not try and source a couple of wooden ones? They look much cooler and constant interaction with them won’t harm your hormonal health. These are less likely to crack as well, meaning you won’t be throwing them out on the regular like you would with plastic ones.

PENS

Get yourself a quality pen. Not only does it make you appear more professional than using a cracked little biro, it stops you holding (and maybe chewing?) a toxic plastic tube all day. I bought myself a Parker pen online and I believe it to be one of my better investments.

RAZORS

How many people do you know that use disposable, awful quality razors they bought from a pound shop? I would wager most of the people you know. Either invest in a quality straight or safety razor if you’ve got the stones.

If not, like myself, then go for a cornerstone razor. They offer a stainless steel handle with your initials engraved and some heads to get you started. Best shave I’ve ever had, hands down and it’s pretty cheap as well.

COAT HANGERS

If you still have flimsy plastic hangers that don’t really fit the shoulders of your clothes then you need to grow up. You don’t have to be fancy here, I bought 25 wooden hangers for £10, they fit the shoulders on my clothes so my stuff isn’t misshapen and creased.

It also stops the constant throwing out of hangers that contribute to our waste problem – the biggest offender when it comes to dangers of plastic. Not to mention, it looks much better than having 38 different types of yellow, blue and red plastic hangers in your wardrobe.

These are just some of the dangers of plastic, there are many many more which I suggest you look at and make up your own mind. I do believe however, that these are easily implemented steps that will help you in every day life and I urge you to give them a try at least once.

Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Long Term Side Effects Of Intermittent Fasting: A Review

I love intermittent fasting and have been using it since I first discovered it at 17. I’ve tried all the protocols; 16:8, Eat Stop Eat, just skip breakfast…the list goes on. I have found that the best protocol to use is a sort of just skip breakfast bastardisation of the 16:8 method. This blog will give a complete review of intermittent fasting as well as cover the long term side effects of intermittent fasting.

I recommend checking out this guide to intermittent fasting, as if you don't follow the best practices, you may fall into binge eating, incorrect restriction diets and subsequently miss out on the health benefits.

LET’S TALK ABOUT INTERMITTENT FASTING

Basically, just aim to break your fast around 1pm-2pm every day and you’ll end up pretty much adhering to a 16 hour fast each day without being anal about things. Anyway, this post isn’t about the hows of fasting, it’s about the whys and why exactly you should be using it. Here are 10 the side effects of intermittent fasting that you need to be aware of.

CELLULAR REPAIR (AUTOPHAGY)

Long Term Side Effects Of Intermittent Fasting: A Review

First of all, for those who don’t know what autophagy is – it’s basically the way your cells repair themselves. In its simplest form, your body eats itself to prevent cellular damage accumulation. “What are you on about and why is this good for me?” I hear you shouting from the rooftops.

Well, because autophagy is your body’s way of keeping you young, it is high in young people and lowers with age. Since fasting can increase these levels by up to 500% it would be wise to give it a go if your aim is to fight them wrinkles off for a few more years.

INCREASED INSULIN SENSITIVITY

Fasting has been shown as an extremely effective way of increasing insulin sensitivity which can improve results in the gym and can also have a controlling effect on type 2 diabetes.

Just make sure you don't forget to drink as this could lead to unhealthy long term effects, unhealthy weight loss or short term negative impacts.

INCREASED METABOLISM

Below is an infographic that highlights the problems with obesity. One way to tackle this is to improve your metabolism. Fasting has been shown to boost metabolism and aid in fat loss in numerous studies. If you’re looking to lose fat, this is an extremely handy tool to have in your arsenal.

The true impacts and long term effects of intermittent fasting

INCREASED HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE

Studies have shown that after a short period of time whilst fasting, there is increased regular secretions of HGH throughout the day. This is good news if you’re looking to build muscle and optimise your hormonal health as higher HGH levels have been correlated with increased muscle mass and testosterone conversion.

CONTROL OVER HUNGER

What are the impacts of intermittent fasting

One benefit that I have noticed is my ability to now differentiate actual hunger from perceived hunger and actually have control over my appetite. This has been shown to be the case time and time again in so many past studies, stating that improved ghrelin regulation are at the heart of this. Also, most of the time, hunger is just a mistaken feeling of thirst and so realising this helped me to differentiate between the two and stop gorging.

PROTECTS AGAINST CANCER

This one links in with the decreased insulin point above. Improved insulin sensitivity has been linked to reduced risks of several types of cancers. This is good news for us in the Western world especially, as our society and the famed ‘Western diet’ is one of the biggest causes of cancer we’ve ever seen.

IMPROVED COGNITIVE FUNCTION

The main way that fasting can improve cognitive function is via reduced oxidative damage in the brain. Oxidative stress in the brain is probably the biggest culprit for brain fog – something which we can all agree is extremely frustrating. Lowering this stress can help to not only eliminate brain fog but also to increase the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor which is responsible for the growth of neurons within the hippocampus. Bit science-y but it’s all good stuff…promise.

LOWERED FOOD ANXIETY

One subjective improvement I noticed was much lower food anxiety. I used to be so anal about what I ate and did so much meal prep the mind boggles. Now I don’t have to think about eating for about 5 or 6 hours after I wake up, which frees my mind to concentrate on other things like writing, meeting deadlines or simply just zoning out and relaxing.

Fasting has given me so much perspective on my relationship with food and busted all the usual myths the fitness industry pedals such as “EAT 400 CALORIE MEALS EVERY 2 HOURS OR YOUR MUSCLES WILL SHRIVEL AND YOUR PENIS WILL FALL OFF”.

Having this insight has aided me in wading through all the BS and accelerated the rate at which I can now decipher the true from the false when it comes to fitness. Massive tangent of a paragraph but just some food for thought (no pun intended).

IMPROVED MEMORY

One extremely promising area of literature has explored the memory effects that fasting has on the human brain. It was shown that inducing a fasted state enhanced the ability of nerve cells to repair DNA, improving memory as well as a whole host of other areas of the brain.

Whilst this research is still quite new and technology still has a way to go to be able to accurately measure these sorts of things, it is very exciting to think such a simple thing can have such profound effects.

IMPROVED CONCENTRATION AND FOCUS

Finally, another cognitive benefit. Fasting can increase both concentration and focus. This may be part due to the improved quality of sleep that fasting brings. An interesting side-note, a study on soldiers who fasted before flying to a foreign country were better able to combat the effects of jet-lag than those who didn’t which may suggest that the regulation of sleep, concentration and wakefulness are all inter-connected.

Whilst all these benefits are great and I do advocate using intermittent fasting all the time, there are obviously occasions where fasting is not an option – think family breakfasts or holidays. As long as you are fasting more often than not (i.e. most of the days per week), you will most likely experience the majority of these benefits and maybe more that aren’t listed, without the negative side effects such as low blood sugar.

One final side note, a lot of studies done on intermittent fasting tend to be conducted on animals as a lot of testing is rather unethical (think medically induced strokes) and so some findings may not be applicable to humans.

Regardless, whilst intermittent fasting is not a magic pill, I feel so much better when I fast than when I don’t and believe that you should at least give it a good go for a few weeks and see for yourself.

Be sure to follow me on socials to keep up with the daily goings on of The Man Blueprint. You can also sign up for my inner circle using the newsletter form above.

Just drop your email in there and it’s job done. Completely free and completely brilliant. Whilst you’re here, have a little browse of some other article you might like below too. You won’t regret it.

Muscle building Trail Mix Recipe: Why nuts are the way forward

Muscle building trail mix. A recipe for the ages, this bad boy makes a tasty testosterone boosting snack. I love this recipe for its simplicity – throw everything into a mixing bowl, mix it and you’re good to go. It’s filling, tasty and great for testosterone production, what’s not to love?

The ingredients listed below yield about 3, 500ml jars worth of trail mix. This equates to around 20 servings but you can play around with the portions as you please.

MUSCLE BUILDING TRAIL MIX

250g cashews

Cashews are low in testosterone-lowering fibre and are full of health boosting vitamins E, K and B6. It also helps that cashews are delicious, just make sure you buy unsalted.

300g Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts are absolutely chock-full of testosterone boosting nutrient selenium which can boost sperm quality and increase total testosterone in men.

250g macadamia nuts

These nuts are fantastic, their ratio of monounsaturated fats to polyunsaturates are great, unlike other varieties like peanuts. These are by far and away the best nut you can consume.

500g dates

Dates are fantastic for boosting all sorts of health markers like digestion, blood pressure and heart function. However their high levels of vital nutrients like iron make them a potent T-booster.

500g raisins

Raisins are packed to the brim full of vitamins like iron and potassium whilst also being extremely tasty. One of the tastier ways to eat for health and extremely cheap when bought in bulk.

Cooking

Empty all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Mix everything well so there’s an even distribution of nuts, dates and raisins.
Siphon off into jars or however you wish to store the mix.

Here’s the nutrient breakdown for your muscle building trail mix based on 20 servings but again, you can play round with the portion sizes;

    Nutrition Facts
    % Daily Value*
  
    Servings 20.0
    
    Amount Per Serving
    
    Calories 352
    
    Total Fat 25 g
    39 %
  
    Saturated Fat 5 g
    25 %
  
    Monounsaturated Fat 10 g
    
    Polyunsaturated Fat 10 g
    
    Trans Fat 0 g
    
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    0 %
  
    Sodium 4 mg
    0 %
  
    Potassium 434 mg
    12 %
  
    Total Carbohydrate 29 g
     10 %
  
    Dietary Fiber 4 g
     16 %
  
    Sugars 22 g
    
    Protein 6 g
    12 %
  
    Vitamin A
    0 %
  
    Vitamin C
    0 %
  
    Calcium
    5 %
  
    Iron
    10 %

Night time routine? What is it and why you need one.

A great day starts with a great night…or more specifically, with a great night time routine.

Let me explain.

If you wake up and before you do work of any kind you have to pack your bag, pick what clothes you’re going to wear, make lunch for the day, respond to emails from the night before…you see where this is going.

Basically you’re rushing around and the chances are you’re going to forget something, get to work/school/wherever, realise you’ve left something you shouldn’t have and your day is off to an almighty stinker.

Compare this to if the night before, you had a solid night time routine in place. You had gotten an outfit ready and hung it on the back of your door, made your lunch for the following day, responded to all your emails, got to bed before midnight to ensure a rejuvenating sleep and all you have to do when you wake up is roll out of bed, shower, brush your teeth, throw your clothes on and head out the door.

Which situation sounds like a better start to the day?

Sleep is the most fundamental step you should be addressing in your quest towards increasing your testosterone levels with studies showing that every hour of seep lost results in a corresponding decrease in testosterone.

If this isn’t reason enough to take your sleep seriously then how about this study that has shown those who regularly get less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night tend to have a higher mortality rate than their Zzz-collecting counterparts.

ENTER, THE MAN BLUEPRINT NIGHT TIME ROUTINE

Enough of the studies and more of what you should be doing. Below is the ideal night time routine that will see you dozing off in no time and being completely prepared for the day ahead, ready to seize whatever comes your way.

NO SCREENS FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR BEFORE BED

The blue light emitted from electrical screens such as phones and laptops messes up your body’s natural clock and decreases melatonin secretion which is imperative to a good night’s sleep – so just switch off an hour before you plan to go to bed and you’re good to go. This is the best way to start a night time routine as it allows you to concentrate on everything else with no distractions from your phone.

READ A BOOK FOR AROUND 30 MINUTES

This helps to relax your mind and gives you a chance to practice learning new ideas whilst maybe giving you some inspiration (especially if you opt for non-fiction).

DO SOME YOGA OR WORK ON YOUR POSTURE

This is another way of relaxing your mind (see a theme here?) and your body. I suggest this a yoga routine as a way of limbering up and getting ready for sleep. You can also work on posture – here is my favourite routine for a much more powerful stance.

The importance of powerful posture has been identified in much research but Amy Cuddy and her now world-famous TED talk puts it perfectly, highlighting how simply appearing more powerful can skyrocket your testosterone in minutes (yes, minutes). See below for her explanation.

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SHOULDER DISLOCATIONS AND FOAM ROLLING

I use a resistance band to do 15 dislocations every night and every morning to keep my shoulders mobile and flexible and since doing them, I have noticed a marked improvement in my posture and reduction in any aches in my rotator cuff or shoulder area in general.

As for foam rolling, we all know how much it hurts but using them is a fantastic way to relax the body and increase your performance.

PLAN AHEAD

This links to the example given at the beginning of this article. Get your lunch cooked, get your bag packed, do whatever you need to do to be ready for the day ahead and you’ll thank yourself when 7am comes knocking.

JOURNAL

This could be done morning or night (or both) but basically, write down whatever is on your mind – What are you grateful for? What are your worries? What do you want to accomplish in the near and distant future?

Anything on your mind, get it down. The only rule is keep it to under 5 minutes, then close it and forget about it, this helps keep your mind clear and happy. Click here to see why and how to keep a journal in more depth.

MAKE A TO-DO LIST

Is there anything better than ticking something off a to-do list? The answer to that is obviously no. Make a list of what needs to be done the following day and this will give your day a sense of purpose and keep you focused. If you take anything from this list – this is it.

COLD (OR AS COLD AS YOU CAN HANDLE) SHOWER

All your thoughts have now been spilled on to pages, get in the shower and forget about everything. Having a hot shower before bed is actually detrimental to sleep as your body has to cool itself back down to optimal sleeping temperature and this will keep you awake unnecessarily. Take it down a few degrees and you’ll feel fresh but ready for sleep.

MEDITATE

If you are really serious about being able to empty your mind and want to increase your productivity, self-control and overall well-being then meditate for at least 5 minutes every night. Meditating can decrease cortisol and increase testosterone while lowering stress and a whole host of other mental issues – do it. Here is a video on how to meditate, give it a go for 2 weeks and see the difference.

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GET INTO BED AND CONCENTRATE ON YOUR BREATHING

This follows on from meditation, lie down and concentrate on deep breathing. This will allow you to control unnecessary thoughts and help you drift off seamlessly, ready to attack the next day feeling refreshed.

BONUS TIP

Keep your room cold. Many studies have proven that a lower room temperature is optimal for sleep as being too hot will make you uncomfortable and disturbs sleep, possibly messing up your circadian rhythm. Just keep your window ajar and you’re probably in the ball park for the ideal temperature – plus, this lets in fresh air which is ideal for relieving a stuffy atmosphere.

BONUS TIP #2

Sleep naked. Being naked in bed has been shown to much more beneficial to increased sperm count and testicular health than sleeping in heat-inducing tight boxers or pyjamas. If that isn’t reason enough to ditch the Spongebob PJ’s then I don’t know what is.

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