Blackberry Protein & Antioxidant Smoothie

Smoothie week continues with the Blackberry Protein Smoothie.  I grow my own blackberries in the backyard so I have to come up with different ways to use them.  Blackberries are loaded with fiber and antioxidants so it’s hard to go wrong with them.

2 handfuls of blackberries
1 scoop of protein powder (use any flavor you like, I used vanilla)
1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt
2 packets of stevia/truvia (if your blackberries are sour and you like a sweeter drink)
1/2 to 2/3 cup of milk (depending on how thick you want it)
1 cup of ice

Just blend all of that up and enjoy your cold, creamy smoothie after a nice hard workout!  This one is easy to make and you don’t need that many ingredients.  Depending on the protein powder and type of yogurt you use, you are looking at a little over 30 grams of protein with this one.

Healthy (and Tasty) Chocolate Banana Smoothie Recipe

If you are looking to add more protein to your diet but hate the taste of most protein shakes, this recipe is for you.  It tastes great, is loaded with protein and other healthy ingredients, is quick to make and will give you energy after a hard workout.

All you need is:
1/2 cup of milk (I used organic whole milk)
1 scoop of protein powder (I used Optimum Nutrition’s Vanilla)
2 tablespoons of Honey (you will need to microwave it for 15 seconds so it will mix well)
1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder (not needed if you used chocolate protein powder)
1 banana
1 free range egg (optional)
1 cup of ice

Just blend all of that up and in a few seconds you will have a cold creamy shake filled with protein and healthy ingredients that tastes great and will give you energy!  Depending on your protein powder and if you used the egg or not, you are looking at nearly 40 grams of protein in this.

Lyoto Machida officially removed from #1 contender spot

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“When I make a fight, I don’t say a word until everything is signed. I did exactly what I never do. That big media call was the next day and Machida couldn’t be reached and his manager thought he’d take the fight,” “Before this happened he was terrorizing me for a title shot, and then he said four weeks wasn’t enough. But then things start going in another direction. It happened to Rashad Evans. He was out of a fight for a year and a half. Machida is not next in line now. He will need to go fight somebody else first.” -Dana White

In what should come as a surprise to no one, Dana White has gone back on his word once again and has taken away Lyoto Machida’s title shot.  Originally the title shot was promised to the winner of Shogun Rua vs  Brandon Vera, but that didn’t last long.  Dana changed it to whoever performs the best out of Shogun Rua vs Brandon Vera and Lyoto Machida vs Ryan Bader.  Well that winner was Lyoto Machida.

What is amazing about all of this is that Lyoto Machida is being punished for something that wasn’t even his fault.  UFC 151 being canceled has been blamed on everyone except the people really at fault, Dana White and his Zuffa crew.  These guys have been watering down the PPV cards for years and UFC 151 was so bad, that without Jon Jones and Dan Henderson carrying the card by themselves, there wasn’t even one fight on it anyone wanted to see.

If the UFC had been selling lots of tickets they wouldn’t have canceled, with or without Jones, but reports are that they had barely sold any tickets and the event was going to be a huge flop.  So as Dana does, he went on a smear campaign, against Jon Jones, Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida and anyone else he could try and pass the blame on besides himself.  It is not the fighters fault that Zuffa tried to pass off a garbage card onto the viewers and it back fired on them.  Bashing all of the top guys at Light Heavy Weight isn’t going to help the situation.  I really wish these fighters would start standing up for themselves and realize that they are the ones with all of the power, but they give it to Zuffa all the time.

One good thing out of this is that we might be able to see Lyoto Machida vs Dan Henderson if Henderson heals from his injury in the next few months.  I think that would be a great fight.  I would rather Jon Jones just move up to heavyweight if he beats Vitor Belfort.  Jones is huge and walks around as big as most heavyweights and he has a longer reach.  It would give him a challenge and open up all kinds of new and exciting fights.

Zone Perfect Strawberry Yogurt Nutrition Bar

Today I am going to be reviewing Zone Perfect’s Strawberry Yogurt Nutrition Bar

Taste:
I really like the taste of this Strawberry Yogurt bar.  It’s not just the standard flavors put into every protein/nutrition bar (chocolate, peanut butter, etc).  It’s nice to have some variety and this bar certainly offers that.

Protein & Nutrition:
This nutrition bar contains 14 grams of protein and 18 vitamins and minerals.  It is also all-natural.  It’s hard to go wrong with any of that.  One of the biggest problems with most protein shakes and bars is that they have artificial sweeteners in them, so it’s nice to find a product free of those types of things.

Servings:
These come in a box or individually wrapped.  Regardless of if one uses these as a meal replacement or a snack (depending on your goals), these are an inexpensive and healthy addition to your day.

Caveman Training

I recently started a new workout program and in that program I have mentioned that my cardio largely consists of something called Caveman training. I briefly described how it works but I wanted to post some videos just to give you guys a better understanding of it.

Video #1:

Caveman training can basically consist of anything you want, but it is generally sport specific and includes explosive moments. Generally you will do 5 minute rounds. I started with 3 rounds but will eventually work my way up to 5. You can mix up the exercises you do in each round or complete the same ones over again, it's all up to you and what you want to do. This built in variety helps keep things from becoming boring.


Video #2:

New Workout Program: Day 4

If you haven’t read Day 3 yet, you can find it here:  http://ironfitnessonline.com/?p=166

Resistance Training:

Triceps, Shoulders & Abs


Dips (using the total gym, you can also use a chair)

5 sets, Reps 21/27/19/19/27

Shoulder Press – 3 sets, 8 reps

Crunches

5 sets, reps 24/32/23/23/32

Cardio

My cadio was shadow boxing outside.  Similar to when I was hitting my heavy bag during a previous workout, I also was able to train some techniques and strategies at the same time.  It’s also a nice change of pace.  Down the road I will move up to 5 rounds instead of 3 (5 minutes each round).  I will also start wearing my weighted vest to make it harder.

New Workout Program: Day 3

If you haven’t read Day 2 yet, you can find it here:  http://ironfitnessonline.com/?p=147

Resistance Training:

Legs & Neck

Squats (using a Kettlebell for added resistance)

Reps 22/29/20/21/29

Dead Lift – 3 sets, 12 reps

Neck Bridge – 3 sets, 10 reps (this exercise is for grappling, you can replace it with something else, like lunges or toe raise)

Cardio

My cardio was another day of caveman training.  I did mostly different exercises than the last time but still used a mixture of Kettlebells, running, ground & pound on a heavy bag, punching a standing heavy bag and body weight exercises.  You can do pretty much anything you want to, but you need to keep working for the entire 5 minute round, before taking a 1 minute break and repeating for up to 3 rounds.