04/08/2014 - Chef Jose's Corner Returns!

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Mon, 2014-04-07 21:24

Chef Jose’s Corner #2

It’s Tuesday! Time for another tasty recipe from Chef Jose! Today, in Chef Jose’s Corner, is a tasty, yet simple recipe for Meatball Vegetable Soup. You can make a large batch and freeze the leftovers for a night when you are too busy to cook. The recipe as written serves up to 10, so there should be plenty to freeze!

Meatballs

1 ½ pounds Grass Fed Ground Beef, Ground Pork, or half and half

1 TBSP Garlic powder

1 TBSP Onion powder

1 TBSP Salt

1 TBSP Pepper

1.     Combine ground meat with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

2.     Form into small, uniform sized meatballs. To assist in uniformity, you can use a small ice cream scoop size 16 or 18. If you don’t have one, measure with your fingers or a small spoon.

3.     Set aside.

Veggie Soup

1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

2 Yellow Squash, diced

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and diced

1 Zucchini, diced

2 Carrots, diced

2 Celery stalks, diced

2 TBSP Chili powder

2 TBSP Cumin

1 TBSP Smoked Paprika

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

4 Quarts vegetable stock or beef stock for meatier flavor

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 Green Onions, cut bias

 

1.     Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in a large stockpot, until onion is translucent

2.     Add the rest of vegetables and seasonings, continue to sauté

3.     Add the stock and allow to boil, once it boils add the uncooked meatballs, you set aside earlier

4.     Let the soup simmer until the sweet potato and meatballs are fully cooked approx. 35-40 min.

5.     Season with salt and pepper to taste

6.     Garnish with freshly cut green onions


Jose Martinez is the Head Chef at Woodward Academy North Campus, Boot Camp rock star and recent Paleo convert. Jose will be sharing his tasty creations on a regular basis, so check back often for more delicious meals!

04/01/2014 - Welcome to Chef Jose's Corner!

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Tue, 2014-04-01 15:33

Chef Jose’s Corner has arrived!

In the first installment of Chef Jose’s Corner, Jose shares his recipe for Chipotle Marinated Fish (Turbot or other lean white fish), Braised Garlicky Brussels Sprouts, and Sweet Potato Hash. 

Chipotle Marinated Fish

Ingredients:

½ Red onion

3-4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 Lemon

2 Garlic cloves

2-3 Chipotles in adobo sauce seeds removed and chopped (leave seeds in for extra spicy)

1 tsp each Salt and Pepper

1 pound Turbot or any lean White fish

Instructions:

1.     Mix onion, EVOO, Garlic, Lemon, and Chipotle in a small bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper

2.     Add the Raw Turbo and let marinate overnight.

3.     Grill until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees (F) for 15 seconds or until the fish begins to flake.

Braised Garlicky Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 pound Brussels Sprouts, Cleaned and rinsed

2 tsp Garlic

¼ cup Water

Instructions:

1.     Using a sauté pan with a lid, pour olive oil into pan and heat on medium heat

2.     Once hot add garlic and Brussel Sprouts sauté for 2 min

3.     Add water, Cover pan and turn to low heat for additional 8 minutes

4.     The water will cook out and the Brussels Sprouts will get a charred look, they are finished when fork tender.

Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients

1-2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Sweet Potatoes

1 tsp each Salt and Pepper

Directions

1.     Peel Sweet potato and grate.

2.     Heat EVOO in a sauté pan and add grated potatoes. Be sure to stack the grated potato like a pancake, season with salt and pepper.

3.     Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes.

ENJOY!

Jose is the Head Chef at Woodward Academy North Campus, Boot Camp rock star and recent Paleo convert. Jose will be sharing his tasty creations on a regular basis, so check back often for more delicious meals!

Upcoming Events, Races, and Other Fun - Spring 2014

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Thu, 2014-03-06 21:53

Upcoming Events Spring 2014

After the weather we have had the last few weeks, it finally looks like Spring is on it’s way! The arrival of spring means festivals, races, and baseball! At Smugs Fitness, there are plenty of events we’ll be participating in this spring and hope to see many of you there. Here is a listing of some events to check out and participate in this spring!

Sunday March 23, 2014

Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon

7:00 AM Start beginning in Centennial Olympic Park and winding through most of Atlanta. It’s a great race with spectators everywhere! If you aren’t already registered, you can register HERE. For more details about the race, please visit the race website http://www.georgiamarathon.com/. Hope to see you running (wearing your Smugs Fitness Tshirt) or cheering (wearing your Smugs Fitness Tshirt)!

Saturday March 29, 2014

Canine Companions for Independence’s DogFest Walk ’n Roll

Barrett Park Outdoor Program Hotshot, Susan Gordon is a team captain and would love to see many of you join her squad. DogFest begins at 8:30 AM with check-in followed by the opening ceremony at 9:15. The walk will kick off immediately following the opening ceremony. DogFest will be held at First Baptist Church Atlanta. For more information about the event, please visit their website http://www.cci.org/dogfestAtlanta. You can also get updated info by following the DogFest on Facebook (DogFest Atlanta) and Twitter (@ATL_CCIDogFest).

Friday April 4, 2014

GoRuck Challenge Atlanta

The Challenge starts at 9:00 PM and will likely finish up sometime in the wee hours of the morning.

8-10 hours covering 15-20 miles while carrying a ruck full of bricks….what more can I say? It’s a great team event and one that will be awesome in Atlanta given our knowledge of the terrain. Get some friends together, sign up and get after it!

Register for the GORUCK CHALLENGE.

Saturday April 12, 2014

City of Hapeville Spring into Action Festival

The 5K Run/Walk starts at 8:00 AM.   Click to register for the race!

To view the race route, CLICK HERE!

Sunday April 27, 2014

20th Annual Lauren’s Run and CURE Childhood Cancer Picnic

Lauren’s Run is the annual fundraiser for CURE and offers plenty of race options for runners of all levels (10K, 5K, 2K Run/Walk, and Tot Trot). The 10K and 5K races start at 8:00 AM.

Lauren's Run is a Peachtree qualifier!

Click to register for the race and for additional details.

Saturday May 3, 2014(Smugs Fitness Sponsored Event!)

Tri-Cities Annual 10K Run and 5K Walk/Run

Winding through Historic College Park both the 5K and 10K routes offer rolling hills and plenty of scenery. Sign up, put on your Smugs Fitness T-shirt, and join us for a great race benefitting the Main Street Academy. The 5K and 10K start at 8:00 AM.

CLICK HERE for registration and race information.

As we continue to progress through race and festival season, check back for more race updates and a new list of events!

DogFest 2014!

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Thu, 2014-02-27 15:46

Here's a preview of one of the upcoming events this Spring in which many our Smugs Fitness athletes will be participating. A full list of events will be posted early in March. 

Saturday March 29, 2014

Canine Companions for Independence’s DogFest Walk ’n Roll

Barrett Park Outdoor Program Hotshot, Susan Gordon is a team captain and would love to see many of you join her squad. DogFest begins at 8:30 AM with check-in followed by the opening ceremony at 9:15. The walk will kick off immediately following the opening ceremony. DogFest will be held at First Baptist Church Atlanta. For more information about the event, please visit their website http://www.cci.org/dogfestAtlanta.

You can also get updated information by liking the DogFest on Facebook (DogFest Atlanta) and following the DogFest on Twitter (@ATL_CCIDogFest).

Come one, come all, human or dog!

02/01/2014 - "Flexuary" Challenge

Submitted by admin on Sat, 2014-02-01 18:24

February = “Flexuary”

As we welcome in the month of February with a break from the winter weather (in the southeast) followed by a day filled with food, football and commercials, I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the “Flexuary Challenge.” Beneath the “Daily Workout” each day, you will see a suggested flexibility/mobility task along with some ideas (videos, images, etc.) for how to improve your mobility in the suggested area. In addition to completing the suggested flexibility work for the day, I also recommend spending an extended amount of time once per week working on your flexibility and mobility by practicing yoga, getting a massage, or visiting your preferred mobility voodoo doctor (chiropractor, ART specialist, Graston specialist, etc.).

Here are three “tools” that will help you on your flexibility quest this month. Don’t worry…if you don’t have them, they are not essential, but highly recommended!

-Foam Roller:  An essential tool for working on your soft tissue. Foam rolling improves muscle recovery and increases your flexibility!

-Lacrosse Ball:  You can find these anywhere! Never leave home without one!

-Stretching Straps:  If you have stretching straps, they are great for helping add resistance to your stretch. If you’re in a pinch, a towel or t-shirt can also work great!

I hope you enjoy this month's challenge and hope you experience all the benefits of getting “Flexier” this month! Who knows? Maybe by the end of the month, you’ll be flexible enough to star in the next Volvo Commercial! Van Damme who?

01/28/2014- Goals Update #1!

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2014-01-27 09:20

If you read my blog post on goals from a few weeks back you know I set 3 fitness/health goals for myself for 2014 (if you missed it, here’s it is!).

Here’s a quick update on how things are progressing.

GOAL #1:  Run 100 Days.

7 runs completed, which includes the first race in the 2014 Greenville Dirt Seriesthis past weekend. 28 days in, 7 runs completed means I need to pick up the pace a little to reach my goal.

GOAL #2:  Win my age group in the 2014 Greenville Dirt Series.

I came in first place overall in Saturday’s 8K trail race with a time of 33:42. The next race is April 19 2014, so I am currently leading my age group and overall. It’s early in the series, so I am continuing to set my sights on my age group.

GOAL #3:  Go 90 days without any alcoholic beverages.

I am 22 days into my goal and feeling great! Here are a few observations:

1.     I am drinking much more hot tea at night to help calm the body before bed.

2.     My recovery and performance seem to be improving, but it’s hard to tell for sure. I’ll need a little more time and few more tough workouts to accurately rate my recovery. In general, I feel awesome and have been sleeping better…when Lilly lets us!

3.     Going out to a bar or out to dinner without ordering a beverage is strange. Servers seem surprised when someone at the table doesn’t order a drink when everyone else at the table orders one. I also perceive that many servers I have encountered do not give you the same level of service as they do when folks order drinks. Perhaps this is because the bill will be lower and thus affect the amount tipped? Is there any truth to this or merely perception? Any servers out there care to chime in and lend some insight?

4.     No drinking at dinner = Money saved! 

How are you goals going? Sticking to them? Making progress? Chime in on Facebook or post your comments..

01/16/2014 - 2014 GOALS!

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Wed, 2014-01-15 14:09

Goals!

Welcome to 2014! We are roughly halfway through the first month of the year and you’ve been bombarded with Happy New Year wishes, advertisements encouraging you to “change” X, Y, and Z about yourself, and discounted gym membership offers. Now that the craze is starting to die down, I am going to ask you not to change or join my fitness program (at a discount or otherwise), but to set your sights on something for 2014 and work your tail off to get there.  Before declaring your goals, here are a few questions to ask yourself.

What do I want to accomplish this year as it relates to my health and fitness? 

What tools/skills do I already have to help me achieve my goals?

Who can support me in pursuing my goals?

If you haven’t been able been able to identify any goals for the coming year, why not? If you are actively engaged in a training program, you must have some driving force behind all the sweat, soreness, and callouses you experience during your training! So…pick something that makes you tick, gets you fired up and excited, and write it down. Then, tell others so you have support. Next, make a plan for achieving your goal(s) and finally, work your butt off training to accomplish your goal(s)!

Every year, I set a few fitness/health goals for myself and I train hard to reach them. I am sharing my goals from 2013 and my goals for 2014 with you…for support, for accountability, and because writing them down and sharing them make it more difficult to forget!

Here’s a recap of my fitness goal from 2013. If you notice, I fell short not once, but twice. I am batting 0.333. If compared to a baseball batting average, I make a pretty solid candidate for the Hall of Fame!

GOAL #1:  Clean and Jerk 225 pounds by 11/30/2013. 

RESULT: I cleaned 235 pounds and I hit 220 pounds on the Jerk. When I then put the two movements together to achieve my Clean and Jerk goal, I fell short and ended up failing at 225 pounds after succeeding at 220 pounds. I came up 5 pounds short of my goal. Technique and some additional strength will get me there. I’ll keep working!

GOAL #2:  Run a 5 K in under 18 minutes by 12/31/2013.

RESULT: I missed this goal by a long shot. My best 5 K race of the year was 19:02…I have a lot of work to do in this area if I am going to achieve sub-18 minutes!

GOAL #3: 100 consecutive Russian Kettlebell Swings  with 24 kG bell.

RESULT: Completed on April 24th, 2013…a little bit faster than I expected. Perhaps I should have reached a little bit higher like 150 swings.

 

What are my fitness/health goals for 2014?

GOAL #1:

Run 100 days. Interval workouts, tempo runs, and races all count toward my total. Through 01/14/2014, I have completed 4 days of running.

GOAL #2:

Win my age group in the 2014 Greenville Dirt Series. The first race is 01/25/2014.

GOAL #3:

Go 90 days without any alcoholic beverages. My rationale for this goal is to monitor my performance, improve my sleeping, and see how productive I can be with my mind completely unaltered at all times. It’s an experiment and one that will be interesting. I began my streak on 01/06/2013…it’s been 11 days (today included) and things are looking good! Check back in a few weeks to see an update to how my experiment is going.

So, now it’s your turn. Put yourself out there and post your goals to comments or Facebook. We’re here to support you and check in with you about your progress. Good luck!

New Class Times in Hapeville!

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Tue, 2014-01-14 08:25

FREE YOGA SESSION and OPEN HOUSE!

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Wed, 2013-12-11 11:12

Hello and thanks for reading! Please join us for our Open House and Free Yoga session Wednesday December 18, 2013 from 6:30-8:00 PM at our indoor facility. Hope you can come to check us out!

Beef with Cabbage Recipe - 12/06/2013

Submitted by Sam Mugavero on Thu, 2013-12-05 19:34

Boost Testosterone with this recipe!

As it is the holiday season, my wife, 8-week old daughter, and I have ventured out to do some shopping over the past week. Most of the time, even though we intend to shop for family and friends, Kmugs and I end up stopping and looking at things for Lilly. It is during these stops that I have encountered something strange…I find myself saying things previously unfamiliar to me such as “Awww…that’s cute!” or “Lilly will look so precious in that!” or “I love that pink sleeper with the little cupcakes on it!”

After thoughts like this enter my head, my inner voice usually responds with,  “Wait…a minute, did I seriously just think that? If I did, what the hell is wrong with me? Am I sick? Has someone been sneaking soy products into my meals?”

So…what is wrong with me? Naturally, my immediate response is that I must be under some duress and am experiencing a battle with Low-T…that’s right Low Testosterone. Clearly this is the logical culprit! What else would explain my uncontrollable urge to use the words cute and precious over and over again each day?   And to actually enjoy helping my wife pick out holiday outfits for our daughter? Since I am not a huge fan of going to the doctor or taking supplements, I decided to try and attack this problem naturally by preparing a meal bursting with flavor and rich in testosterone boosting foods. Studies have determined red meat to be an excellent food for boosting testosterone (for a humorous self study on the effect of red meat on testosterone levels, read Tim Ferris’s book, “The Four Hour Body”) and other studies link increases in testosterone to eating cruciferous vegetables rich in indole-3-carbinol (I3C).

I had some Grass Fed Beef and green cabbage in the fridge and decided to put them together in a meal to help attack my “self diagnosed” Low-T issue. The recipe is simple and the entire meal including prep took less than 25 minutes!

Grass Fed Ground Beef and Cabbage

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 pound of Grass Fed Ground Beef

½ Head of Green Cabbage (shredded or sliced into thin strips)

1 medium Onion (diced)

1 Red, Green, Orange, or Yellow Bell Pepper (diced)

3 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)

1 tsp. Olive Oil

½ tsp. Chili Powder

½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the grass fed beef (season with salt, pepper, and chili powder) over medium heat (3-5 minutes). In the meantime, dice the pepper and onions, slice the cabbage into thin strips, and finely chop the garlic. When the beef is finished, remove from the skillet and set it aside as you add the cabbage, onions, pepper, and garlic to the skillet. Add the cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and saute for 6-8 minutes until cooked. Toss the beef back into the skillet, stir and allow to cook together for 2 more minutes.  Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Enjoy!

Just to be clear, do I really think I have Low-T issue? Not likely and as Kmugs pointed out, “Maybe you are just quickly adapting to being the father of a baby girl? Did you ever think of that, Mr. Low-T?” Such an obvious answer, no wonder I missed it! At least I discovered a tasty new meal to put into the rotation and maybe it will provide me with a boost of Testosterone as a bonus! (such a cute ending to the story…Ugh, there it goes again! More cabbage please!) As an added bonus: Despite the testosterone boosting power of the meal, Kmugs was able to enjoy it without any repercussions commonly associated with elevated testosterone, so ladies don’t worry, you aren’t in any danger of looking like a man after eating this meal! 

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