Photo: Courtesy of Andre Rush

Andre Rush, also known as the Ripped Chef, doesn’t blend in with a crowd that easily. A military veteran who served as White House chef in four presidential offices, Rush first caught our attention in 2018 when a Photo of him working in the White House went viral. Everyone wanted to know: who was the chef with the huge biceps?

Rush, who weighs 285 pounds?He actually has huge biceps – 24 inches – big enough that he has to slit the sleeves of his chef uniform to make them fit. These biceps have earned him the reputation of “the strongest chef in the military” (and the nickname “Tiny”).

Rush’s formidable weapons were developed thanks to a lifelong fitness habit that included regular weight training, not to mention stunts like 2,222 pushups per day, to help raise awareness about military service and suicide prevention.

All of this training comes on top of a long, successful career in the military where he had to balance his fitness and diet with a busy schedule that has taken him around the world and seeing him cook in almost every setting imaginable.

Since rising to prominence, Rush has branched out into a number of new ventures including signing a contract for a television show, Chef in the City, as well as speaking at a number of events. Here at Lifehacker, we wanted to know how he manages to juggle his intense fitness and nutritional goals with a full work schedule. As it turns out, consistency (as well as a love of flavorful foods) is key.

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Juggling work and fitness is a lifelong endeavor

Rush credits his ability to balance work and fitness with his upbringing in Mississippi, where his father took him to work as soon as he could run. “That was the norm for the south at the time,” said Rush.

As a high school student, Rush also played soccer and ran athletics, which led to his lifelong fitness habit and the first time he honed his ability to juggle workouts with a busy work schedule. However, he had to be flexible when exercising as he did not always have access to the equipment he needed and his schedule did not always allow him time to use the school gym. How about joining a gym? “The YMCA cost money,” said Rush.

Rush recognizes that everyone is different and that people have different goals. His advice is to think of fitness as a lifelong pursuit rather than a means to an end where it is important to focus on the essentials, performing every day and being ready to work hard. “This is a trip,” said Rush.

Enjoy your food

Since he’s a chef, it would be rather suspect if Rush were content to eat meal after meal of dry, unseasoned chicken breasts and steamed broccoli. Food should taste good even if it serves a different purpose.

“I hate boring food,” said Rush. “I hate when you can’t taste, enjoy, and be satisfied with your food.” As a chef, Rush has developed a number of strategies to meet his nutritional needs without resorting to the boring food he often comes across at bodybuilding events .

When it comes to protein, Rush alternates between chicken, fish, and beef. Although beef has a bad rap among the health conscious, it finds that it goes for the lean cuts. “Eat in moderation,” he said. To mix things up and add flavor, he suggests getting creative with using herbs and spices.

One of Rush’s latest projects is a collaboration with Southern Comfort on Trail ReMix, a sweet and salty student mix of alcohol-infused jerky to raise the bar for high-protein snacks. In addition to being high in protein, “it has the carbohydrates I need,” said Rush. “It tastes really good.”

Fitness requires listening to your body

Rush realizes that what works for him doesn’t always work for others. “You have to listen to your body,” said Rush. “Understanding the basics and being knowledgeable is more important than anything.”

From an early age, Rush has been paying attention to what his body tells him, whether it be to adjust his diet or change his fitness routine. He credits this awareness as an essential part of achieving his fitness goals.

He always urges people starting a new fitness program to see their doctor first, which includes doing blood tests. Once you’ve incorporated this information into your fitness plan, it’s important to focus on being consistent and working hard while also paying attention to what your body needs.

Photo: Artazum (Shutterstock)

Before you take out a mortgage, consider that 28/36 rule to make sure you are not overwhelmed. How does the rule work? It is a sensible way to measure your debt load before submitting an application, and most lenders are already using it to approve loans. So you might as well run the numbers to see how they stack up. This is how it works.

What is the 28/36 rule?

Perhaps you have heard the phrase “House poor“? It describes the phenomenon where a homeowner invests all of their financing and money in owning a home – to the point that they cannot cover other expenses like unexpected repairs or healthcare costs. Of course, this can result in homeowners defaulting on their mortgage. To avoid this, lenders like to see two specific debt-to-income ratios known as the 28/36 rule, broken down as follows:

• Your total real estate costs shouldn’t be higher than 28 percent Your gross monthly income. Known as “Front-end ratio”This covers housing costs including mortgage, property tax, mortgage insurance, and homeowner association fees (although for some reason utilities are not included). To know if your front-end rate exceeds 28%, add up all of your housing costs (or potential housing costs) and divide the total by your gross monthly income. Then multiply that number by 100 to get your front-end ratio.
• Your total debt (including your real estate expenses) cannot exceed 36 percent Your gross monthly income. Known as your “debt-to-income” or “Back end“Ratio this includes credit cards, student loans, personal loans, car loans, alimony, child support and utility bills. To know if your back-end quota exceeds 36%, add up all of your monthly housing and consumer debt and divide the total by your gross monthly income. Then multiply that number by 100 to get your back-end ratio.

What if my debt crosses the 28/36 threshold?

All is not lost. You can still qualify for loans if you have excellent credit, and Insider advises Government-sponsored FHA, VA, or USDA loans will approve slightly higher quotas.

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Note, however, that applying for a mortgage becomes one pull hard on your creditthat may temporarily affect your creditworthiness. It is for this reason that you should complete the numbers before applying for a mortgage as it will give you an idea of ​​whether you are eligible without the tough credit check. If you don’t qualify, financial experts recommend waiting to buy a home until you have more income or a larger down payment.

Despite the confusion of our nation confusing slow hug of legal cannabis, recreational cannabis use has been a thing for millennia. While it grew once wild in parking lots in New York City, it costs a pretty penny now – especially when it’s related to all of the taxes that legal sales add – so looking for ways to improve the effects provided by each bud is a valid strategy.

Some of us have evaded the weed smoking law for years; others are accessing legal, personalized experiences for the first time – and such an experience becomes absolutely zonked, a time-honored tradition that for one type of person means a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine marathon and a pack of Dark Russet from Trader Joe’s chips, while for others it means social, active or outdoor fun. All of these are valid ways to enjoy the effects of cannabis use. But some of you may need a little help feeling completely floating, and we are here to share some tips and tricks to get you there.

Why mango and grass are a potent mix

While this is not a recipe or a food guide, it can be helpful to find your way around certain foods if you want to get the most out of a high – thanks to phytochemicals. Cannabis itself is made from hundreds of these guysall of which activate the entourage effect; The combined effects of these chemicals and cannabinoids like THC trigger the high we know as “high”. Much of these chemicals are also found in tons of foods, plants, and products.

Aromatic compounds, like terpenes, give ouid its luxurious and varied fragrance. Myrcene, found in mango fruits, is just one of these substances and has been studied for its anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) properties. You can access these beneficial effects with the right variety of mango and cannabis, but it’s important to note that effects vary widely from strain to strain. It’s not just stoner talk either – the theory behind it it is scientifically based– but the resulting experience is not easily predictable unless you have a laboratory on hand to run tests on your fruits and fruity weed.

Myrcene is found not only in mango, but also in bay leaves, lemongrass, and cardamom. This funky, pungent phytochemical isn’t the only psychoactive terpene in the arsenal either –Lemon lime is often seen as energizing, and is readily available in citrus, while linalool is the floral backbone of soothing lavender. All of these terpenes are featured in a wave of “experience-based” products in the cannabis market that purport to drive your experience from metering pens to Kin slips.

And then there are the less scientifically based but often repeated anecdotal tricks that banana bread means to me. While there isn’t much data (yet) to back this up, anyone who has eaten my infused banana bread is inexplicably more stoned than intended, and that’s not because I packed it with high levels of THC. Sometimes I think it’s the spices – I use the cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom to flavor the delicious loaf – but similarly flavored foods have never worked like the banana version. At the moment, I suspect that the effects could be linked to the phytochemicals in the extremely overripe bananas I use to make them.

Fuel your high with aromatherapy

While getting super stoned can be great, let’s face it – getting your high up can also mean taking it down a bit. There is no proven way to recover from a cannabis drunkenness, and while it isn’t life threatening, it is quite uncomfortable for people who haven’t signed up for the trip. Anecdotally, sniffing peppercorns and drinking lemonade work, but I prefer simple aromatherapy to relax a chill sesh. Using scents to relax your body and brain will help you focus on the experience, which will naturally enhance it. Take a touch of linalool-rich lavender to keep things centered or dab on some thinned mint to relieve pain. These methods work both before and after consumption.

Take a tolerance break

One important way to feel more stoned is to get stoned less often. If you are a strict recreational user and moderate cannabis user, you can probably attest that resuming will make you feel a little on your head, while a daily or medicinal user may need a stronger punch to feel the mood. Taking a so-called “T-break” (short for tolerance) for a period of time that reflects your consumption habits gives your body’s CB receptors a chance to reset.

Mix’n’Match

I find it hard to classify this as a method, but a fairly common way to calm yourself down is to combine cannabis with other intoxicating and / or psychoactive substances. Caffeine and weed are the easiest to pull off – many regular users consume cannabis and coffee (or tea or lemonade or Red Bull) at the same time for calm concentration. Some find it too scary, but this mix is ​​pretty safe, so if you’re already using either of the two reliably and successfully, don’t be afraid to experiment.

Other combinations are more complicated. Alcohol and cannabis are another place to go for many, but there are risks that are not widely discussed. THC can increase the unsafe effects of alcohol – and if you already drink a lot, that’s a bad idea – and The combination of the two leads to an excess of THC in the bloodstreamwhich means extra high. While you can enjoy the high of this intoxicating pairing, don’t overdo it.

Another mixture remains pretty off-limits, but since it’s decriminalized in my area, I can tell you that it’s consumed regularly – often at the same time as weed. Psychedelics like psilocybin, DMT, and others are used in self-therapeutic situations as well as in recreational scenarios. This is another research area that has not yet been explored, but some report that cannabis can offset and mitigate some of the unpleasant side effects of psychedelic substances. One word of caution: I would strongly recommend keeping them separate until you have experience as many find them too intense taken together.

Even if you’ve been a boss since the ’70s, try one of these heady hacks – it could change everything. After all, it’s the best way to mix cannabis into the flow of your daily life – with all of its food, drink, and activities.

Photo: By Pegasene (Shutterstock)

Keeping your garden healthy is especially difficult when an unexpected plant strikes it for resources. Lots invasive plants need little or no light, and too much sun doesn’t matter. They are adaptable, which is why they will spread so easily around your yard and move so quickly that it seems almost impossible to stop them.

If you’re struggling to eradicate invasive plants from your garden, here are a few ways you can manage and stop, or at least slow down, them.

Are Invasive Plants Really a Threat?

All plants are living things, and some would argue that they should grow how they want. And while that’s fine for some plant species, invasive plants pose a real threat to the ecosystem and wildlife. How the US Forest Service reported, “[i]Invasive species have contributed to the decline of 42% of endangered and threatened species in the US, and 18% of threatened or threatened species in the US are the main contributors to their decline. ”Once these plants occupy an area, they withdraw from others Plant nutrients and reduce biodiversity in the area.

The effect of these plants extends beyond our forests as they produce large numbers of seeds that animals and humans easily spread. Like English ivy and kudzu can spread into your back yard and devastate your yard and garden. Their roots can also dig into brick and wood walls and affect their structures. (Chances are your outdoor cabin won’t survive them.) English ivy vines too climb treescreating canopies that prevent light from penetrating.

How to uproot invasive plants from small areas

The strong roots make English ivy and other ground covers difficult to get rid of, so the only way to keep them at bay is to remove the roots and stop seed transfer. There are several ways to do this, and none of them are fun, except maybe the last one.

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You can pull up the roots by hand, smother the plants, use spray (natural weed killers recommended when walking this trail) or mowing and raking. If all else fails, you can rent Goats to eat up every inch of the stubborn plant.

If you have a smaller area, pulling up the weeds may be the easiest option. Make sure you have a shovel and suitable sacks available, then just use a shovel and trowel to dig up the plant and some of the surrounding soil. Remove and drop the soil around the roots, leaving the soil loose and worked; Then let the earth dry completely.

Drying out the soil will kill any remaining roots or debris and prevent the ivy from returning. The loose soil will be the perfect environment for new native plants. Plant native plants as soon as possible to revitalize your garden. The nature conservatory suggests starting this process in the spring, when the soil is loose and wet.

Mow and smother English ivy from large areas

When you need to cover a larger area, mowing or suffocating your garden invaders is a less of the hassle option than hand weeding. When mowing, be sure to mow as low off the ground as possible to remove all of the plant. (A weed killer does the job too.) Then, thoroughly rake the area and bag the dirt and discard it. Leftover leaves, sticks, and clippings will only encourage the Scorge to return.

Choking is the slowest option, covering the affected area with thick cardboard and mulch, removing air, water, and light from the area. Before attempting to cover the area, mow or weed the area and tear up as many roots as possible. Then you would water the soil to remove air pockets and lay out cardboard to completely cover the soil plus two inches beyond the affected area to prevent light from penetrating.

The nature conservatory recommends adding ten to 15 layers of cardboard and newspaper and wetting between each layer. They will then leave the soil covered for the next six months. All that is left is to monitor the area, touch up any visible holes, and look for unwanted sprouts.