Curtis in action with Fox 10's Kristin Anderson

Wow so much to cover in this blog post! Today marked the day of an amazing opportunity at Rock Star Boot Camp. We were on Fox 10 News!!! As in the TV channel! CLICK HERE to see the clip of the action! It's so amazing how many people came out to support what we do, how hard we all work, and salute our trainers; Curtis, Rachelle, and Debbie for always taking us to the next level. Are you ready for the Spartan Race next week? It's going to be so awesome, I can hardly contain myself. RSBC is the leader in obstacle race training, get in on that action with Spartan Workout Info HERE. Check out some of our training walls, where else can you get these? NOWHERE!








More good news, if you've been keeping up with updates on the Rock Star Facebook page (make sure you LIKE the page to get news, updates, recipes, workout tips.. etc) you'll know that tomorrow, Saturday 2/4/12 is the beginning of yet another new chapter, Kid's Camp. What does it involve? A little teaser from Rachelle:


"Agility hurdles, hop scotch, ladder jacks, sand-bell toss and run, football scrimmage, scavenger hunt and Simon says...what do these things have in common?? Kids Camp at Rock Star Boot Camp 9am Saturday (Desert Ridge location). Don't let your kids be left out. Fun and Fitness all in one place. We've set the age range at 8-13, but we're flexible if your young teen wants to work it out like a true Rock Star or your mature 7 year old needs to burn off some calories along with some energy, this is the camp for them. We will modify the workouts, just like we do for all our campers (from Spartan Racers to Grandma Jean at 75 years young) no matter the age! All the kids will get a great workout, modified to their level, while having tons of fun."






For all the information on Kid's Camp and how to sign up CLICK HERE, don't miss out on this one!


A lot of info huh? Now on to the yummy stuff. Personally I find it a little challenging some (most) days to get in good snacks and food throughout the day. Having little ones at home, sometimes taking care of ourselves gets pushed to the back burner while we care for them. Still, we NEED to eat to fuel our bodies for day to day activities and overall health. My favorite go-to snack is Greek yogurt dip (my preference is Ranch, although I've never had the ones from Costco that look amazing) and every kind of veggie there is. Great source of protein, and really you can eat as many veggies as you want, all day long! I make about a cup at a time and snack on that throughout the day. It's easy, fast, delicious, healthy... the total package.

1 cup of Greek yogurt with a Ranch dip packet.

Cucumber salad is also a quick, 10 minute or less, snack idea. It's pretty filling too because all of the water in the ingredients. I snack on this all day long, a few bites here and there: 1 large cucumber, 2 roma tomatoes, half a bunch of cilantro, half small red onion, a few tbls of lemon juice (one big lemon will be enough juice for normal people, but I like a lot), salt to taste. It's best to sprinkle the salt on top and let it marinate for about 30 minutes (totally optional) so the flavors are really drawn out by the salt. Or if you can't wait to dive in, eat it right away!


Of course munching on raw almonds, apples/bananas and peanut butter, hard-boiled eggs are always a staple snack too but I can never get enough fresh cucumbers. I need a cucumber garden.


My last favorite is a smoothie. My husband actually found the recipe online one night and made it for me for my post workout drink. I LOVE IT. He has one ready for me every night when I come home from camp. It kind of reminds me of a strawberry milkshake from Burger King, except WAY better.


Mangoberry Smoothie
1 cup Silk Pure Coconut Original coconut milk
½ cup fresh or frozen mango pieces
½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries
½ tsp freshly grated ginger 
1 tablespoon honey or agave

Recipe found at http://www.silkpurecoconut.com/

½ cup ice


Blend until smooth. Sip with a bendy straw ;)


The nutrition info for the recipe above is:


Calories 125; Fat 3g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 18mg; Carbohydrates 26g; Fiber 2g; Sugars 21g; Protein 1g; Vitamin A 12% DV; Vitamin C 70% DV; Calcium 24% DV; Iron 6% DV


My protein powder added 28g.


This smoothie is great for a snack, light in between meal, breakfast... It will definitely fill you up!


If you would like more info on recipes and nutrition tips join the Rock Star Fit & Healthy Group. There is LOTS of great information shared between campers.


Lastly, don't forget to read this week's camper testimonial ----------------->


If you have any questions, would like to join us at RSBC for the madness that we all love, check out the Rock Star Boot Camp website.

**HOLD UP!** 





Before you read the blog post... Check out our latest feature/testimonial from our camper Andrew or "Tomlinson" as you've heard Curtis yell over the loud speaker. It's right there, to the right. 

See it?
READ IT!!------------------------------->

That was awesome huh?  Okay, you can read the rest now :)

Ever walk down the meat and deli departments of Whole Foods and Spouts and see "NITRATE FREE" written big like that all over the packaged meats? Lunch meat, hot dogs, bacon etc? Then have you heard the Rock Star trainers preaching "NO NITRATES" over and over when talking about nutrition? There's a good reason...

Nitrates and Nitrites are compounds found that have been linked to cancer in both lab animals and humans. There are many studies, some that show the link between certain cancers in adults, and some that don't. You'll see nitrates mostly on packages of cured meats. It helps to retard the growth of bacteria and preserve flavor and color. Shockingly though, unless you eat cured me with every single meal, every single day of the week, vegetables have the highest source of nitrates. Say WHAAA?? Vegetables??? Yes, don't fret though.

Nitrates and Nitrates occur naturally in foods and water and are produced by living cells. They're important for many different chemical reactions in the body and actually you could argue that nitrates and nitrites are essential to your health. However vital in natural form, they can react with other compounds in your body or other food to form cancer-causing substances. These reactions are most likely to occur in the presence of protein... Meat is obviously mostly protein. Still worried that your veggies have nitrates? Studies also show that these cancer-causing compound-forming reactions are most likely to occur less when accompanied with Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants...


With all that said, don't panic. There are ways to reduce your cancer risk and still eat healthy, nutritious, delicious food:

Buy nitrate/nitrate free hotdogs: If you can't do with out hot dogs, make sure to purchase them nitrate free. They will taste the same (maybe better!) but they wont be the same pink color.. if you think about it, bright pink meat is just weird anyway! Nitrates help out with the pink color, so without them, they'll be a tan or even brown. It'll take some time getting use to, but it's all for the better.

Reduce the amount of cured food you eat in general. That includes baloney, bacon, ham. Try sliced turkey or roast beef. Just don't eat cured meats every single day.

Give your bacon TLC and cook it slowly! cook your bacon on low heat and DON'T burn it. Cooking bacon (or any cured meat) quickly on high heat greatly increases the reaction of nitrates and produces TONS more nitrosamines (the bad stuff). Also, buy nitrate free bacon.

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!!!  This is a cardinal rule for Rock Stars so I'm sure you already are eating a steady amount of veggies right? RIGHT?? Right. The more vegetables you eat, the more antioxidants and Vitamin C your body will have to inhibit the conversion of nitrates into harmful compounds.

For the parents or parents to be: Infants and children are at highest risk of exposure to nitrates. Of all the testing and studies done, this age group was affected the greatest with the most significant side effects. Ever heard of Blue Baby Syndrome? Make special effort to feed your children nitrate/nitrite free food and water. Especially when pregnant, avoid eating cured meats and other nitrate preserved food. Fetuses are THE most vulnerable to nitrate poisoning. If you live near a farm, make sure to have your water tested for nitrates as well.

You want to eat bacon? Do it, but the healthiest that you can, and enjoy it.
It's all about doing what you can to make yourself healthier and hold yourself accountable.

Who is participating in the Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, or any other obstacle race coming up? Cheers and more power to you, I'm envious and look forward to my turn!


Also remember that we're always looking for more stories like Andrew's so email them to me at erika.staten@gmail.com

**NOTE: This is formation is purely my finding and interpretations of the information I've read. I'm not a doctor and if any of the information is inaccurate or you disagree, I'd love to know about it so I can correct it.**

I have some some really ridiculous 'fitness' gadget crap
on the market, but this is the latest and greatest.

I am normally not a fan of Ellen, but you have to admit this
is REALLY funny stuff...check out this video of the new
"Hawaii Exercise Chair".

Hey, maybe we can trade in our jump ropes and dumbbells for
a bunch of these at boot camp, yes? Now THAT would fun. ;)

Enjoy...