Rocky Balboa's Signature Healthy Muscle Building Smoothie

Check out this cool and funny video this dude did

while being inspired by the Rocky flicks. I think

deep down a lot, probably most, of us have done

something either in our fitness training and/or

nutrition that resembles what we've seen on the

silver screen. I know I for years have worked out

to the Rocky 4 training montage soundtrack. LOL

Hey it's pretty good at motivating me and when

it plays I visualize what Rocky and Drago were

doing and it makes me work even harder. So I

guess it serves its intended purpose. Anyway

watch the vid and then read the rest of my

article.

I came across a great article to a while ago by Dr. John Claydon and
it looks very good on explaining the great benefits of eating raw eggs. 
I do this pretty much every day and if you read on Mercola.com
Dr. Mercola has some great advice regarding eating raw eggs as well
as the quick testing methods for a healthy or unhealthy egg.  Sick eggs
only come from sick chickens. 1 in 30,000 eggs contains salmonella
and the chances of you eating that many in your life are very slim.
This is explained much further on those 2 websites.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"The process of cooking eggs destroy the very goodness that our bodies so
desperately need as the nature of proteins and fats is altered when exposed to heat.  When cooked, the egg protein changes its chemical shape; it is often this process that can be the cause of allergies.  Generally when eating raw eggs, any incidence of egg allergy will disappear.

Surprisingly, in spite of ‘bad press’ raw eggs, organic or at least from a known
source of healthy free-range chickens, are an excellent health tonic. The regular consumption of raw eggs will do wonders for your overall health.  Exceptionally
easy to digest, raw eggs provide a wonderful boost to the immune system, and a completely balanced nutritional package. A good immune system is one of several things the body needs to overcome cancer."

For the rest of the article please CLICK HERE.

How I eat my raw eggs is like this:

Bob Garon's Signature Healthy Muscle Recovery Smoothie

1.  One Vita-mix Blender, which by the way is THE BEST blender on the market today... PERIOD.

2. Fill the Vita-mix with 1 cup of filtered H2O

3.  Toss in a couple pieces of fruit alongside 1 tspn of virgin coconut oil and 2 tblspns of raw cacao powder.

 4.  Wait to pour in the eggs cause the egg protein is very fragile and will
be destroyed from the blades.

5.  Blend the fruit, coconut oil & water together for a minute or so.

6. Crack & pour in 4-5 raw eggs and blend very gently for 2-3 seconds.

7. Pour contents into a big tall glass and enjoy these VERY healthy &
yummy foods.

Honestly this may seem like it will not taste good simply because of your image of Rocky Balboa drinking a plain glass filled to the brim with nothing but raw eggs, but trust me and give it a shot.
I know, know, know you will love it. It actually tastes kinda like chocolate milk. Mmmm... yummy!

Let me know if you have any questions.

The History and Future of Standard Redux

Today I was sorting through some of my old articles and came across this one and realized that I never posted it on my blog for all of you to enjoy. I wrote it as an exclusive article for Scott Bird and his really cool site http://StraightToTheBar.com.

Here is an excerpt from my article titled: "The History and Future of Standard"

Arthur Saxon demonstrating bent press.

"When I think of strength and someone who is fit I do
not think of someone who goes out and runs long distances. Now that may
be a matter of opinion, but surely I am not alone in this thinking.
Where people got the idea that running for long distances is actually
good for the body I have no idea....


...People of today are not pillars of strength by any means and I don’t care if you can toss kegs over a wall or drag a train a few feet on its tracks. That says nothing about Warrior Strength to me. Of course those folks are strong, but they do not possess the kind of true strength of men such as Milo, Arthur Saxon (pictured above), Sig Klien, and Eugen Sandow."

Look back for inspiration and forward for results. You will love this read.

Follow the link to read the rest of the article: The History and Future of Standard

When you're done please comment right here at BobGaronTraining.com and please tell me what you thought. Thanks!

Grain-Free Susbstitues For An Ongoing Healthy Lifestyle

Bob Garon's Portion:

Lately I've been asked by quite a few people about me no longer eating grains and if I'm not eating grains what in the world DO I eat since grains are in everything. Well yes grains are in a lot of things, but definitely not everything. If you are a processed foods eater or consume meats that are not grassfed then yes grains will be in everything that you eat. But if you look beyond foods purchased in the middle of any grocery store to that of around the peripheries as well as more closer to nature itself you will find that grains are not that hard to NOT eat and/or replace. That is the exact nature of this article and one that Mark Sisson recently blogged about himself. So instead of reiterating what he did so very well listing in the first place I will simply redigest his great wealth of information for you to enjoy all the very healthy yummy goodness.

I am always asked the question and read among the Paleo community: "If you do not eat grains then what about bread/rice/pasta/mashed potatoes/pizza/sweets, etc? What they're really wanting to know is what type of healthy foods can be eaten that will satisfy any lingering comfort food cravings? Ultimately in a world and lifestyle that is fully adapted to eating enough of the very necessary and essential fat, these "comfort food" urges would honestly not even be existent. If we ate this way ongoing our bellies and brains would be so satiated because of the constant consumption of food quality such as in grassfed(higher CLA content and grain free) organic(chemical & hormone free) meat, healthy fat, wild caught fish, vegetables, and bits of fruit.  In fact the more we eat that way the more our bodies will actually crave what we truly need instead of what we think we want.

It is important that when we make any changes in our lives that we do so with very small increments. If we do this our success rate jumps and then chance of new habits sticking will be much, much higher. I have an upcoming intensive Fit Body Challenge, one that centers around making small (but definitely doable) positive changes that will not only give you a truly amazing and very fast physical transformation, but also one that will stretch you mentally as well.


Mark Sisson's Portion:

Finding alternate low-carb versions of the classic high-carb foods can be just the ticket to maintaining your personal health commitments under duress – and for that reason, I rounded up every low-carb food alternative source I could find. Strict Primal Blueprint pros and Primal stalwarts, forgive me, but I’m doing it for everyone’s collective good. Consider this my 80/20 moment. (wink) [You remember Pareto's Law right?]

 

Breads/Muffins/Cakes

Primal Spinach Bread
Carrot Walnut Bread
Primal Pumpkin Loaf
Flax Bread (Thanks for both of these, Get Primal!)
Coconut Flour Rolls (Thanks, Tim!)
Medicine Woman’s Roots: Golden Flax Bread
Gluten-Free Bread
Focaccia-Style Flax Bread
Oopsie Rolls (Gluten-Free Buns)
Low-Carb Meatloaf (Hey, it’s technically in loaf form. Thanks, Richard!)

Chips and Crackers

Primal Nut Crackers
Grain Free Almond Crackers
Primal Sweet Potato Chips
Sweet Potato Chips with Cinnamon

Pizza

Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Tim’s version)
Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Richard’s version)
Son of Grok’s Famous Pizza Crust
Eggplant Pizza (scroll down a bit)
Paleo Pizza (Thanks, Scott!)
Sunflower Seed Pizza Crust
Zucchini Pizza Crust

Rice

Cauliflower Rice Pilaf (Thanks, maba!)
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Cauliflower Pesto Rice (Thanks, Elizabeth!)

Pasta

Summer Squash Noodles
Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce
Low-Carb “Lasagna”
Noodleless Lasagna
“Spaghetti” with Meat Sauce
Eggplant Lasagna

Mashed Potatoes

Broccoli-Carrot Mash
Mashed Cauliflower (Steam, then into the food processor with salt, butter, and pepper – super easy)
Mashed Butternut Squash

Dairy

Coconut milk (Smoothie)
Almond milk

Flours

Almond Meal
Coconut Flour

Breaded Fried Stuff

Coconut Chicken Fingers with Spicy Fruit Chutney
Coconut Encrusted Chicken Salad
Almond and Parmesan Baked Tilapia

Thickeners

Low-Carb Thickener

Pancakes

Almond Pancakes
Coconut Pancakes
Rick’s Primal Pancakes
Paleo Pancakes
Low-Carb Almond Meal Pancakes
New Almond Meal Pancake Variant

Snacks

Primal Alternatives to Non-Primal Snacks
Primal Energy Bar
Make Your Own Jerky
Make Your Own Dried Fruit
Spicy Almonds
SoG’s Primal Poppers
SoG’s Dinosaur Droppings

Desserts

Low-Carb Dessert Recipes (Almond Macaroons, Fruit and Nut Crumble etc.)
Primal Pie Filling
Flourless Pie Crust
SoG’s Gorilla Cake
Raw Walnut Cupcakes
Dairy-Free Custard

Whew. That should about do it. Thanks to everyone who graciously made their recipes available online, and thanks to the entire Primal community. [If you feel you might falter and need a quick fix or cheat], consider this low-carb roundup an instant support system for those times of weakness. Oh, and let me know if I missed anything.

Grok on!

Mark Sisson is the author of The Primal Blueprint and an avid practitioner of the Paleo Eating Lifestyle. You can subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds here.

Trust Yourself To Be Better Than Yesterday

Trust Yourself To Be Better Than Yesterday

Blogged by Bob Garon & Glen Husted

Just got back from working out and I have to say there is no greater cure for apathy than to go against what you feel sometimes. Five years ago I weaned myself off artificial foods, trans fats, pork, bleached flour, etc. and have not been sick once since. I realize about ninety percent of the problems people have are a result of poor choices in their life (not wearing safety belts, helmets, obesity, poor diet, smoking, drinking, drugs, hanging with the wrong crowd, etc.).

There comes a time when we shouldn't just blame the devil for our problems and instead pray for a spirit of discipline and wisdom as to what we expose our bodies to with all of the chemicals and pesticides and hydrogenated this and that.

Our greatest enemy is often the one we face in the mirror every day. Being skinny does not equal healthy, and yes, even young healthy people can die. Stress and pollution will kill us all eventually, but is that a cop out or excuse to ignore our health?

There are so many benefits, even spiritually, that come from physically eating what is direct from nature than what is created in a lab from man. I still eat what I like and have my naughty foods, but I just choose different sources of these foods. I've given up grains and most meats, but if you regularly eat those foods choose to eat whole wheat over bleached flour, grassfed beef without hormones or antibiotics injected, chocolate with unprocessed sugar, etc.

And also remember that the skin is an absorbent organ. Whatever chemicals you put on your body go into your system, so if you are eating chemicals, putting chemicals on your skin, hair, etc. how much are you directly weakening your immune system on a daily basis?

This rant isn't about worry, fear, or paranoia, but about education and awareness rather than staying ignorant for the sake of repressing guilt feelings and living in your downward spiral of a rut. Food can be a great pleasure or an addiction. Recognizing the emotional triggers that cause us to eat excessively or unhealthy is a start to a better way of life. Food does not equal love. And to truly, truly enjoy it means to not be controlled by it. And I don't say this as a judgment or condemnation of anyone, just an encouragement to us all. I am human just like the rest of us.

True wholeness is a culmination of the three: body, soul, spirit. This is the real you. Why neglect one over the other?

Bob Garon's Confessions Of Blatant Heartfelt Honesty Inspired By Third Format

I'm taking a HUGE chance at expressing myself in this blog post to all of you. The chance I take is being misunderstood and/or misinterpreted. That happens quite a bit where reading is concerned if the author is not fully known to his or her audience. It is then up to the author to express themselves the best they can and know how. I did that here and hope I did it effectively, but as a human I don't do things perfectly and would like feedback. There is a comment section at the bottom of every post and if this post upsets you please write a comment because my intentions are definitely NOT that. If you are upset then that means you did not interpret me accurately. If you understand my words you will clearly see that I fully open my heart and mind to you for a brief moment becoming vulnerable. It is in that vulnerability that I truly express my thoughts.



The following was mentioned and asked of me by one of my pastors, Jeremy Jernigan, over on the Third Format Blog here: http://www.thirdformat.com/

"I love when people challenge indifference, especially in a spiritual context. So here's one to get us thinking.

'The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.' George Bernard Shaw

Do you agree? Is indifference really worse than hate?"

I find that my struggle is the mental judgment of people. I have developed almost this sixth sense of how to read people and to do so very quickly after meeting them.

Based upon my initial feelings and ongoing continued perception of them based upon their own actions/inactions I derive a mental concept of who they are and then maintain that mental judgment. The longer I know them, they may do things that cause me to keep stacking judgments and then each time I think of them, interact with them, or simply observe them the judgments are there and so therefore my overall opinion of them may or may not be a positive one based solely on all of this- which was again their actions/inactions to begin with.

Ok so to answer the question I wanted to provide that background so you can have a bit of an insight into my people perception process. Ultimately I do not, and never will, hate anyone. What happens in my own heart is an extremely deep desire to help people become physically and mentally stronger in themselves than they already are. This causes me to have a mental attachment that, can at times be quite exhausting and which can or cannot, entirely depend on exactly who they are to me in my life, be a positive or negative experience.

Whether any of this makes sense to you I'm not sure so I will put it into more practical terms.

As most of you know, I am a fitness coach and run my own Kettlebell Boot Camp in the evenings in Gilbert, Arizona at Discovery Park. My goal is to help people get fit, stay fit and live longer, healthier lives. Well not everyone wants to do this. That is to be understood, BUT to me when I see that I think in my mind: "why not?". Why don't they want to take their health, which is sometimes the only thing they CAN control in their lives, and do whatever it takes to make it the absolute best that it can be. Now of course I understand that most folks aren't going to prioritize their bodies, health, and exercise as I would like. So grace is definitely in order. Even though I understand that it is a difficult challenge for me to see people try to get the quick fix and magic cure all to obesity, deconditioning, and any overall health conditions when in FACT these can most always be remedied by good nutrition and exercise.

Now this will not ever be accomplished by what the government wants and the content that's put into all these magazines weekly and monthly editions regarding nutrition as they see it. No, but it will definitely come through the hard work of everyone who actually WANTS to become mentally and physically stronger. It is not something that is easy to achieve for if it was more people would already be there. For me it's hard to sit back and watch people try to do EVERYTHING that is opposite of what they should be doing. They almost run from what it is that will truly give them what they both desire and need. The formula is simple and it's told to us our entire lives: proper diet that's a lifestyle and everyday activity and exercise. Of course that goes much, much deeper, but the essence is clear. The way it works is first wanting and then executing into actions.

My attachment comes when the 'want' begins and I then automatically do everything I know how to, throw my entire knowledge and self at the person, and they simply expect changes because of their want. Well it's a struggle for me to disengage myself from the emotional side of helping people connect to their dreams when the end result is within my power to partner with them to get there.

So to circle back to the qualm of being indifferent or hating as a disservice to humanity I would have to say that yes indifference is quite the quandary. When you hate at least you will know without a doubt whether you like or dislike that person. The only issue there is then why did the hate begin in the first place and can it be resolved and removed. Indifference, on the other hand, can be a much more sticky dilemma in that people will always fail themselves and fail us. We're human and if we allow those failures to affect us there lies the problem because we will then always have one. The problem lies within ourselves.

My Current Lifestyle: Vegetarian, Vegan, Omnivore, Paleolithic, What Is It?

After speaking with a couple peeps recently they noticed that I have changed my eating over the past few months and asked that I briefly paint a picture for your regarding my lifestyle. Oh and the pic to your left is the exact conversation we had. I'm glad someone captured it on film.

So between the spit in the eyes and deafening volume I was able to get a couple words out edge wise. Here's what I said: I advocate wholeheartedly the elimination of any and all grains from one's diet and replace that with an eating lifestyle that is high in healthy fats. Healthy fats will never directly make you fat. That is misleading propaganda from the food industry to sell more grains. Think about this logically for a moment: If eating low fat, and thus replacing the fat with their great marketing campaign to sell "whole grains", actually makes people healthy then why are there more overweight/obese people than ever as well as more cases of diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and cholesterol, etc.? I think there needs to be a paradigm shift in our nutrition. Eat low to no grains and have at least 50%, if not more, of your food be from healthy fats. Watch your body fat drop so fast. Ok so yes my rant here was for a purpose. Isn't it always? Ha!

So here's a little run down on what my eating lifestyle has evolved to: I do not eat any animal source of food except wild caught fish, organic whole eggs, and cook only with Virgin (unrefined) Coconut Oil, which is a medium chain fatty acid. From time to time I may have a little bit of raw dairy, but that's not very often. Raw (unpasteurized) dairy is the only dairy I will ever consume since it is still alive and filled with nutrients and enzymes.

I used to eat A LOT of animal fats. I would go through a pint of organic Greek full-fat yogurt daily as well as bricks and bricks of raw cheese and gallons of raw full-fat organic milk from grass-fed cows on a weekly basis. I cut them all out months ago when I decided to try a much more vegetarian and on most days actually a vegan based diet.

I also intermediate fast 18-20 hours every day, have for years, eating only one meal that's staggered in the evening that starts and ends with "colors" (vegetables and fruits). My brief thoughts on meal timing is this: what would primal people do? They wouldn't have gum to chew, or graze on foods during the day. They had to hunt & gather their daily meal. There wasn't a refrigerator for shelf life storage. They didn't eat until they retrieved it all & then prepared it. That was in the evening. That's why I eat the way I eat and when I eat.

I also exercise 5-6 days (kettlebell & bodyweight GPP training personally and within my Kettlebell Boot Camp) a week during my fast in order to maximize the glucagon fat burning experience alongside the estrogen & insulin suppression and testosterone & GH increase.

My fat sources mainly come from unrefined virgin coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds; however I will be eliminating the seeds for a while since their fat is primarily omega-6 which causes a pro-inflammatory response in the body. I need to get my inflammation rebalanced from a few lingering injuries. I do not have celiac disease, but do have an intolerance to gluten that took me 18 years to finally realize. I'm glad I did cause I have never felt better. I have recently cut out all grains from my diet whatsoever.

After much thought and ongoing research I am not convinced to restrict my eating to that of vegan, but moreover create a balanced Paleo lifestyle that provides its benefits married to that of vegetarian as much as possible. Sounds goofy I know, but I will make it happen. I'm a freak like that.

Here's a quick cooking video I did with my lovely wife Lisa and "Julia Childs" giving you a great vegetarian meal that's so easy, inexpensive, and quick to prepare. Enjoy!

Synergy Kettlebell Boot Camp Quick Highlight Workout: Rain or Shine

We always find ways to get an awesome workout at Synergy Kettlebell Boot Camp. Come rain, shine, sleet, dust storm monsoons, you name it and we train in it. The body doesn't know the difference and sure enough we gain more courage while losing lots of fat. That's what refines a true Fitness Warrior and Warrior Goddess.

All my Campers are amazing people experiences awesome fat loss results every single day and I love being around every one of them. Thanks guys & gals for the opportunity to be your coach and see all your body and life changing goals actually happen. You all are ROCKSTARS!!!

"Fat Blasting" is our theme and kettlebells is how we have our fun! Synergy Kettlebell Boot Camp doesn't really have any mystical powers that melt fat and sculpt bodies even though it might seem like it does and I'd really like to think it does. Here's a cool vid I put together from one of our really cool workouts last week during the start of a monsoon. It clearly showcases how tough these peeps are.