I finally got around to buying grass fed beef in bulk and can’t wait to introduce this healthy indulgence to our diets once or twice a week.  It seems like red meat is always popping up on lists of bad things to eat; better order the chicken not the steak. What gives?

The red meat of today that you find in your grocery store comes from cows that have been raised in atrocious conditions and fed grains, corn and loads of antibiotics and hormones to induce fast growth and fatness. The food they’re feeding them itself was grown using GMO’s and pesticides. Pure garbage.

The meat I recently purchased is from Brandon Natural Beef, and the cattle are raised from birth in natural grass fields in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado; grazing on a cacophony of natural mountain grasses that flavor the meat. I’m told that I should experiment and source from different farmers as tasting the different meats is like tasting different wines. This is the meat that our disease and ailment-free ancestors ate. (I know we live longer now, but that’s not because people were dying from cancer and heart disease, they were dying from cholera, dysentery, influenza, malaria, etc… things we have medicine for now).  Grass fed beef contains higher levels of healthy fats like cancer-fighting CLA and inflammation reducing omega-3’s and lower amounts of omega-6 and saturated fats than their grain fed malnourished brothers.

Haven’t cooked it yet, that will be blog 2, but so excited to try it.  The meat you see in this picture was ~$400, and includes the following:

15 – 12 oz. Rib eye
8 – 12 oz. New york strip

4 – 7 oz. Tenderloin Filet
2 – 22 oz. T-Bone
3 – 3 lb briskets
15 lbs ground beef

$400 sounds like a lot. Right? Well it did to me, but let’s break this down in a very simple manner. The 29 steaks that I purchased, would easily average $12 each for the corn, grain, and GMO poisoned beef.  That’s $348 already, and I haven’t even accounted for the briskets and ground beef. I’d say I got a pretty good deal.

So clean out some freezer space, clean ahead and buy in bulk and eat guilt free red meat.

Fun fact: Michael Jordan ate a 23 oz steak before every game…though not sure if it was grass fed.

Here’s a link to a discussion between Ben Greenfield and John Wood the CEO of US Wellness Meats.

#Grassfedbeef

Back loaded with weight, shaking, dripping sweat and every muscle in my body and thought in my mind determined to not let this metal crush me to the ground. My new found love: Squats. Now I’m doing an intense bike ride on Saturday morning and hitting the gym with the family on Sunday; needless to say I have trouble walking and sitting entering the week, but I welcome it. Francis Underwood would have to agree “this is the kind of pain that makes you strong!”

I have seriously ignored weightlifting in the last couple of years. Spare time, I’d rather go for a run. Plus, I want to continue improving in Triathlon, so better to spend precious spare time on the Swim, Bike and Run…right? Sure, but weightlifting has benefits that pay serious dividends. I’ve noticed my bike has been improving as a result and I’m not as sore as I used to be after an intense ride.

Why squat?

1. Engages every major muscle group in your body. 
2. Powerful, sculpted legs, butt and back. Check…all good! Back muscles and entire core fully engaged.  
3. Squats trigger the release of testosterone and human growth hormone.  Who needs Viagra?
4. Building strength and muscle through weightlifting benefits performance in endurance events and helps injury prevention.  
5. It’s fun to break up the monotony. 

My Sunday routine now is a 45 minute swim, huge squat routine discussed above and I also throw in additional sets of lunges, pull-ups, dips and whatever else looks fun (below is a picture of me performing a ‘light’ clean-and-jerk exercise). On Wednesday morning I’ll spend 20-30 minutes in my garage doing push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups, as a complement to the goal of putting on some muscle.

I’m feeling awesome, seeing new muscles pop and loving the way I feel!

P.S. If you don’t want to hit the gym to get this benefit, I recommend two 10 minute sessions a week: Do as many deep squat-to-jumps as you can in 10 minutes. Trust me; you’ll be dead and feeling great!